The night had come and the four in the smithies waited in anticipation for Jex to finish his tricks. He had the full attention of the woman and his compatriots. Jex held the coin out so the woman behind the smithy counter could see it in plain sight. It sat on his palm, clearly visible. Closing his hand, he quickly hid it out of sight. Jex knocked his hands together and opened them. The coin had vanished completely.
Those around him stared slightly jaw slacked. There had been no noise or anything dropped.
"How did you do that?" the woman asked, inspecting his hands further. Seeing no further trace of the coin, she grunted. "Peddler's play," she growled.
Jex grinned ear to ear and reached around to the collar of the woman's shirt and withdrew not only one coin but two. He held them up in front of her face. "Not quite," he boasted and set both coins on the table with a smirk. He leaned on the counter, smug as can be.
"How did you do that?" Ray floundered, trying to figure out Jex's little trick.
Jex placed a pointer in the air. "If I told you, that would take away the magic," he winked then turned toward the shopkeeper who appeared less than impressed with his games.
"I suppose two wears will cut it, but this is a rare blade. Three will do you better," the woman muttered, crossing her arms with a huff.
Jex raised his brows and held out a hand. "For that I'll need assistance. Can I borrow a wear?" he said slyly.
The woman pursed her lips then with a heavy smack of her palm, she placed a wear on the counter. "This had better be good, boy. Quite frankly, you're wasting my time."
Jex smiled mischievously, picking up all three wears off the counter and clapping his hands together. All three disappeared like before and Jex reached for a nearby stein. He shook the mug up and down and it made no sound. Turning the stein like it was pouring liquid out of it, four gold coins rolled out onto the counter and clattered in clinks when they fell.
The woman's eyes gleamed. "Incredible," she awed, her mouth agape. The others in the room watched curiously. The woman then handed off the short blade to Jex. "Three wears will do, and I thank you for the show."
Jex laughed and took hold of the blade. He could feel a strange lingering power emanating from it as he clutched its handle and held it up, showing off his prize. "You're most welcome. I hope you enjoy your wears." With that, Jex beckoned the small group out of the shop.
Once out of the shop, Jex turned to Ray and took her hand placing a single gold in her palm.
Ray looked at it dumbfounded. "Wait, I don't understand, How did you get a single wear?" She asked.
"Simple," Jex chuckled. "It was an illusion."
"But that means-"
"Yes, I didn't exactly pay her for the blade," Jex admitted, a guilty twinge in his voice.
Ray frowned, fury building up in her instantly and turning her face red as a beet. Before Ray could react, Canin placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"Where dishonesty should not be encouraged, it can be necessary. The blade may prove helpful in the future. We don't know that. And she wasn't exactly the most friendly woman. I feel she deserved to be taken advantage of," he notioned.
Ray slumped in a pout. "I don't want to encourage dishonesty at all," she mumbled, then remembered what Jex had said. "Where did you learn how to make illusions like that anyways?"
Jex shrugged. "I think that the power came to me slowly. Nimer was right, my awakening is happening. What illusions are to do with it, I have yet to know."
"I'd prefer you use your powers for good, Jex," Ray sighed, then all eyes landed on a figure down the road who wandered down the dark street on horseback. Even in the diminished light and torches the black horse and the figure riding it was recognizable. It was Nimer.
All four sets of feet quickened down the road and soon ran toward him to give him a greeting. His head was bowed and crusty splotches of blood still littered his face and clothing. He slid off his horse and said nothing.
"Your face is covered in blood," Jex observed the obvious.
Gaining no response from their guide, Ray asked, "Are you alright?"
Still, there was no response.
Nimer looked forlorn toward the muddy ground, a frown curling his lips dowards. "What I have feared and wanted to doubt is true. The hells are open. I was unable to put her to rest," he admitted after a few more moments of silence.
"Oh," Jex answered, ashamed he had asked anything in the first place.
"What do we do now? That's just going to make things harder, isn't it?" Ray asked, concerned.
Nimer tugged on his coat and grabbed the leather reigns of his horse. "It will but we can't worry about it right now. We must continue our journey before they find the key."
"The key? The hells? What are you talking about?" Rin asked, a little miffed. "Can someone explain to me what's going on?"
Nimer put a hand up before Canin could say anything to Rin. "It doesn't matter at this point. Let's get inside where it's warm. I'm far too hungry and distraught to be hung up on such matters. We have a bounty to catch." With that he started walking his steed towards the inn, the others following him closely.
Rin scoffed and mumbled, "Unbelievable."
At the Tin Inn, they washed up for the first time in a week in warm drawn baths, cleaning the weariness of the week's journey from their bodies. They ordered food and ale and the small group of five sat around a rounded oak table in the middle of the tavern. Silence hung on them heavily as tired eyes stared into the deep wells of their dark drinks.
Ray picked up hers taking a drink, eyes widening at the taste. The ale was smooth and easily slid down the throat, some of the best she had tasted in a long while.
"So, how are we going to lure out our fang faced friend?" Rin asked, breaking the silence. "If we're in such a hurry, I suggest we make a plan."
"That's a good question," Jex admitted. "I'm very new to this. I really haven't gotten a clue where to start."
Most eyes turned to Nimer, him being the experienced one of the group. Nimer held out his hand toward Jex. "Let me see the weapon you bought."
Jex handed over the sword reluctantly. He was fond of the blade for some reason and felt a little possessive of it.
Nimer admired the gem at the pummel and eyed it carefully before handing the blade back to Jex. "Don't lose that blade. It has one of the shards we are looking for embedded in it. It's valuable to us intact."
Rin knitted his brows and asked in his raspy tone, "What are you talking about,shards?"
Nimer's gaze toward him was like icy daggers. "You stole Annabelle's necklace. It's around your neck right now. Don't think that those are just ordinary gemstones embedded in that cross."
Rin handled the cross medallion with care watching the crudely cut gems gleam in the light of the tavern. "I see. What exactly do the gems do?"
Nimer slowly explained like he had done before, the tales of people coming to power and losing their humanity to the shards. The three hung on every word, this being the first time even Jex had heard the full explanation. It didn't sound good to him and he slowly set the sword down on the table and stared at it wearily.
"I'm not sure I like what the shards do," Jex admitted.
"No one does. Though if it is meant to be and we are drawn toward the shards, it's better that we look for them," Nimer explained. "You must see this through, Jex." The farm boy nodded his head understanding his words. This was no longer just a light journey into the woods. This was a real issue they had to solve.
"Now I meant to tell you, that sword is going to be useless toward a vampire. If you were hunting a werewolf or a lycan, silver would be better for the cause. We need a wooden stake," Nimer said.
"Oh, so it was a waste of coin," he said looking to Canin.
Canin huffed a small laugh, "Yes, but as I said. It might still come in handy. Besides, embedded with a shard, it was needed."
"The more you collect the better," Nimer added. "You especially need to surround yourself with shards having had one used on you. Your awakening may be tricky. It could slow down or speed up but I fear it may be more painful than others."
"Point taken," Jex said and picked up the sword, sheathing it. "Where are we going to get a stake then? I don't think it would be wise to return to the shop we went to earlier."
"Why not?" Nimer asked, looking at the boy suspiciously.
"I may have used magic to get this one from the smithy," Jex admitted with a guilty laugh.
"I told him to use his powers for good," Ray glared at him.
"It would be wise not to put us on the bounty board," Nimer said subtly, then ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Even more reason to leave this town as soon as we can."
"Then we should find a stake as soon as we can," Ray urged.
"It might be wise to visit a church of Faelira. Usually clans of monster hunters reside there deep in their caverns or will have weapons to fight the undead," Nimer said, leaning back in his chair. He had lit his pipe in the process and blew a perfect ring of smoke into the air and watched it dissipate.
"That's interesting. Maybe we can even learn more about luring out the creature," Ray said with curiosity, tapping her mug lightly with her fingers. The thought of learning something new appealed to her.
"They may know more than me, and that is saying something," Nimer chuckled. "I say we get some rest and head over to the church after we rest."
The other four nodded in agreement. Jex then raised his glass. "If we are going to be hunting, I'd like to make a toast. May our veins stay clear of teeth."
Smiles twitched on the other four's faces before Canin and Ray both burst out laughing. All five joined glasses with a light harsh clink of the wood and they enjoyed light conversation the rest of the evening before bed.