Specks of dust danced in rays of sunlight that shone through the window, lighting the room up until the door. The morning brought with it a much needed wave of light to shine down on the beauty of Tyraleth, lighting up the stone city, letting everyone know it was time to get to work.
Kane laid in his bed with his face buried underneath his blanket, keeping away from the light he found harsh. After last night's trip to the Starfall Manor, he found it hard to sleep, often times staring at the wand Medeya gave him.
I still didn't figure out much, so he thought, slowly pulling away the cover so that his eyes could meet with the lit up room. He sighed. Now I have a wand that's already been appraised, but now I need to figure out how to forge a staff.
That was something that his mind dwelled on throughout the night. He may have been able to skip the appraisal process, and he still didn't understand the connection Maleagant mentioned, but now a new problem presented itself:
How do I forge a staff? he asked himself, sitting up and looking back to see his coat hung on the head rest. He quickly reached into a pocket, took out the wand, and twirled it between his fingers, seeing Medeya's image whenever he'd look at it.
He smiled, though that was quickly wiped off his face as the door to his room slammed open, finding none other than Bauer donned in his burnished, black plate armour. Just as quickly as the door opened, he hid the wand underneath his covers, staring at the faceplate that looked right back at him.
"Good," said Bauer, his voice airy and distorted beneath the mask, "I thought you might still be asleep. You still look tired, however."
Kane nodded, his heart raced, for the last thing he wanted was for Bauer to know that he'd snuck out at night and broke a couple of rules, so to speak.
Bauer chuckled, shaking his head as he closed the door. "Well, it's time for you to get out of bed. We've got a job to complete."
"Ah fuck," said Kane, groaning at the thought of having to perform more tasks for Frederick. "Do we ever get a day to just rest?"
"Nope," said Bauer, walking over to the window and taking a look outside, though he quickly regretted it with how bright everything was, thanks to the snow reflecting the sunlight. "We need to get more silver... forgot?"
Kane sighed, slowly sliding the wand further underneath the covers. "No, but I just wanted to take some time to figure out this magic shit. Maleagant mentioned in his notes that I should forge a staff."
"I know, it's all you've been talking about ever since we got here."
Kane raised a brow, turning to observe Bauer, who held a hand over face as he looked out. "Actually, it was since you got your armour," he snapped, "and it's because we haven't done anything for my part!"
"Oh relax, man," replied Bauer, shaking his head as he dreaded Kane's lamentations. "Swords and armour are way easier to deal with than that wizard shit you've got going on." He tapped his knuckles on his chestplate, letting the metal percussion fill the silence. "Besides, did you forget how we got this armour?"
Kane shook his head as he looked away. While he made it seem like Bauer was simply wasting time and only thinking about himself, that was only his perspective. After all, the armour was acquired from a raided caravan that the nefandites were looting. Saving the lives of the drivers came with the added benefit of being granted any one reward, which ended up being the armour.
Still, he wished that he could just have one day to figure out his, as Bauer would put it, "wizard shit" and get it over with. Besides, if it was that much more complicated, would it not be better to figure it out sooner rather than later?
"Alright, fuck it," he said, looking up at the chandelier that reflected the light with its many glass rectangles fitted around, "what's the job?"
"Oh, you're not gonna like this one."
"Fucking hell. It's another nefandite gear looting job, isn't it?" he asked, crossing his arms as he shook his head. "I'm getting real fucking bored of that shit. It really doesn't even create that big of a problem for Nefandyr. We're just a thorn in their side at this point."
"It's worse."
"What could possibly be worse?"
Bauer sighed and, without sparing him a glance, walked back to the door as he said, "Just get ready and come down. Fatty will explain everything better than I can."
Kane watched as the door closed, once again leaving him in solitude, with enough time to take out the wand and stare at it. What caught his attention most was the dark blue jewel hewn near the golden pommel. He traced its edge with his thumb, admiring it as the contours gleamed in the light.
For once, life seemed brighter.
After spending enough time lost in his thoughts, however, Kane would eventually get ready and make his way down, wondering just what possibly could've been a worse job than attacking nefandites acting as highwaymen.
Scouting? Gathering materials? he wondered, staring at the floor at the bottom of the steps as he slowly made his way down. I've done those for Maleagant already, but they're not that bad. Maybe Bauer is exaggerating the...
As he stood at the base of the staircase, he took notice of the same three men gathered around the bar stand that he saw Frederick speaking with the day before, each one wearing the same clothing. Sat on a stool was Bauer, who looked straight at him.
"Ah! And there's our knight's little helper!" exclaimed Frederick, smiling brightly as he clasped his hands together.
Kane frowned, standing place as his body tensed and clasped fists, wanting nothing more than to say whatever crossed his mind instantly. What the fuck did you just call me?
He knew he couldn't say that, however, given that the clients were here, and Bauer would tear him apart for not just breaking the rule of silence, but also for doing it in a vulgar way. So he ended up silently taking a seat next to Bauer, crossing his arms as he stared at the wine racks fitted into the wall.
"... there's no one better for the job, I tell you," continued Frederick, returning his gaze to the men in red, green, and blue. "It'll be like Solis the tenth!"
Kane looked up at Bauer, raising a brow, though he was met with Bauer's shrug, who was equally as confused about what happened on Solis the tenth.
That was only natural, given that Solis was the month where the days were the hottest, whereas they arrived in Lunus, the coldest of days. Whatever happened back in Solis was a long while ago.
"Are you certain they are capable?" asked the man in green, rubbing his chin as he stared at Bauer out of the corner of his eye, revealing a hint of mistrust in his plummy voice. "This task requires the utmost diligence. We do not have need for crude tactics."
"No, no, no! Of course not!" said Frederick, his brows raised as he walked over to Bauer and placed a hand on his pauldron, struggling to do so even as he stood on the tips of his toes. "My associates here always execute their work with precision and elegance."
Though they had no choice but to keep silent anyway, Kane and Bauer understood that their silence was a testament to them acknowledging that their work was far from this so-called "precision and elegance". For them, when on the job, anything would go, so long as it got the desired results. No need for whatever nonsense and protocol.
The man in blue waved a hand after fixing his monocle. "Very well, what is your price?"
"Two-thousand silvers."
"Two-thousand!" retorted the man in red, losing his breath as he spat out his drink, spraying it all over Bauer's armour. "Have you gone mad?"
"We could very well bribe the guards with that much!" added the man in green, struggling to keep his brows on his face.
Frederick handed Bauer a couple of napkins, while Kane struggled to hold his laughter. "Gentlemen, I assure you this is a reasonable price! My men here are—"
"Whoever they are matters not!" interrupted the man in blue, slamming a fist against the countertop. "Two-thousand silvers is simply preposterous! Why pay you double the price that Gilligan has stated?"
"Because Gilligan is not confident!"
"Pardon me?" said the man in green. "How so?"
"Trust me, gentlemen, Gilligan lacks the confidence in his men to get the job done," said Frederick, running a finger along the table with a cloth underneath, cleaning up the mess. "I am most certain that my men will complete the task with not just precision, but also with haste! If they fail to do so, then consider the job on the house!"
Kane and Bauer quickly exchanged glances. Though their faces were well hidden, they both could see right through each other, wanting nothing more than to back away from the job.
Not completing the job to the "T" and losing out on a bit of silver was one thing, but making even one mistake and losing their entire pay was a whole new issue that they, quite frankly, were not too fond of.
Kane was particularly furious about it, especially since Bauer was the one who decided to take the job without him being there. Not to mention, given Bauer's surprise, it seemed to Kane that he also took the job not knowing that such a policy existed.
The three men quickly huddled, taking a couple minutes to discuss the offer. After those couple of minutes, they turned back and, in unison, said, "Approved."