Surya stood at the inn's side entrance, arms folded tightly across his chest, watching as Angela shuffled through the small pouch of gold chips Shen had divided among them the previous day. The early sun angled across the narrow lane, making dust motes glow like sparks in the air. Quiet moments like these felt rarer since they'd arrived in Sveethlad. Now that they were on a mission of their own—namely, finding any trace of Hayazaki—they had a strange sense of both freedom and apprehension.
"It's not much," Angela murmured, half-lidded eyes scanning the handful of coins in her palm. "But enough to buy leads if we need them."
Surya offered a slight nod, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "We'll do what we can. If the city's anything like the stories, rumors spread quick enough, especially down near the outer markets. Or around shady taverns where bounties get posted." He tried to hide his impatience behind a thin smile. "Just hope we're not too late."
