The tavern hummed with heat and noise, alive with shadows and salt. Sailors laughed too loud, trying to drown the sea's weight in cheap ale. Coins clinked, mugs slammed, and somewhere in the haze of smoke and sweat, broken dreams soaked into the splintered wood. Ithri sat still, a predator among prey, his gaze locked on the wiry man across the table.
Sharp eyes. Sharp grin. Kael looked like he'd been forged from broken glass.
"Let's see if you're worth it," Kael rasped, his voice cutting through the din.
Ithri leaned back, slow and deliberate. His smirk didn't reach his eyes. He lifted his glass, amber liquid swirling like firelight, and took a slow sip. It burned, but his hand didn't waver as he set it down with a deliberate thunk.
"Lead on," he said, the words a blade wrapped in velvet.
Kael didn't move. Instead, he dropped into the chair beside Ithri, his sharp edges dulling as he slouched. Elbows on the table, fingers drumming a broken rhythm, his movements carried the unsteady weight of a man too far into his cups. Behind him, a woman stood silent and still, her shadow long in the flickering lanternlight.
"Another round!" Kael barked, waving toward the bar with a heavy hand. His words slurred, tumbling over each other like waves crashing against the rocks. Another mug landed on the table, foam spilling into the growing puddle of ale and sweat.
Kael leaned closer, his breath sour and heavy, his grin widening to show yellowed teeth. "You think you're clever," he sneered. "All quiet, playing coy. But this world? It chews clever alive."
Ithri didn't blink. Didn't flinch. Kael's words broke against him like waves on stone. He let the silence linger, taut and deliberate. Around them, the tavern seemed to lean in, murmurs faltering as eyes flicked toward their table.
Kael broke first, snorting as he slapped his chest with a force that rattled the table. "Kael," he said, voice louder now. "Means something fierce in a tongue no one remembers. And you—" He jabbed a finger at Ithri. "You're the one they whisper about, right? Black market fighter. Champion. You're what we need. Close combat. A killer."
'Famous,' Ithri thought, his smirk curling into something sharper.
"Depends," he said, his voice soft but steady. "Do you think I am?"
Kael's laugh exploded, loud and raw, scattering the tension like broken glass. He slammed a hand on the table, sending a mug wobbling to its edge. "Oh, I know your type," he crowed. "Quiet, sharp. All coiled up until someone pushes too hard. Then? Then you snap. That's when it gets fun."
Ithri's eyes flicked to the woman behind Kael. She hadn't moved not a step, not a breath out of place. Her posture stayed taut, a coiled spring, her face unreadable. The quiet around her was heavy, like a predator waiting to pounce. Her silence drowned Kael's drunken boasts with ease.
"We think you're a perfect fit for our team," the woman said, her voice low and steady. "Saw your fight in the black market."
'I'm famous,' Ithri thought, the corner of his mouth twitching into the faintest smirk.
Her words were direct, cutting through the haze of noise around them. Ithri's eyes stayed on her, feeling the weight of her gaze. She didn't need to say more; there was no arrogance, no boast just a statement of fact. The silence between them stretched, unspoken challenges hanging in the air.
The woman didn't blink, didn't look away. She waited, as if she already knew the answer.
Kael noticed his glance and erupted into another bark of laughter. "Don't let her fool you," he said, jerking his thumb toward the woman. "Lina? Deadliest thing in this room. Doesn't need words her araw says it all."
Lina didn't react, but her gaze stayed fixed on Ithri. There was something cold and precise in her eyes, sharper than any drunken flattery. Her lips twitched, almost imperceptibly, as if amused by Kael's rambling. But she stayed silent, every inch of her carved in steel.
Lina's lips twitched, the faintest hint of a smile. Her eyes stayed locked on Ithri, unblinking and cold.
Kael leaned back, pointing a shaking finger at Ithri. "You've got the look, though. Seen the worst, yeah? And you're still standing. Stupid or smart, doesn't matter. The gears grind everyone down eventually."
"Not everyone," Ithri said, his tone cutting like steel.
Kael's grin flickered, then darkened. He leaned closer, his voice dropping low. "Doesn't matter how sharp you think you are. The grind comes for everyone."
"Enough." Lina's voice was ice slicing through the air. She stepped forward, her movements fluid, her gaze flicking to Kael before settling on Ithri. "Decide. Now."
Kael shrugged, muttering under his breath as his attention drifted back to Ithri. The drunken haze lifted briefly, replaced by something sharper, hungrier. "You in, or just passing through?"
Ithri didn't answer right away. His fingers curled around the glass, lifting it to the light. The liquid inside fractured the glow into jagged, shifting patterns. He drank slowly, savoring the burn as it slid down his throat. When he set the glass back on the table, it hit with a sharp, purposeful crack.
' I came in knowing what I'd choose ' he thought. 'but part of me considered saying no. If I had... they'd have killed me for sure. '
I don't pass through," Ithri said, his voice low and cutting, each word hanging in the air like a challenge. "I leave marks."
Kael stared at him for a moment, then grinned, wide and feral. His hand clapped Ithri's shoulder hard. "Good. You'll fit right in."
Before Kael could speak again, Lina's hand landed on Ithri's shoulder, steady and sure. She nodded toward a shadowed stairwell at the back. "Not tonight," she said, her voice calm but firm. "Tomorrow, things change. Keep quiet. Don't make waves. We're not the kind of people who draw attention."
Ithri shrugged off her hand smoothly, each movement deliberate. Outlaws, he thought, the word settling heavily in his mind. Fits better than I expected.
He turned toward Lina, his voice steady as he asked, "Enigma says I can get an artifact?"
Kael snorted, waving a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. But you'll have to take on a mission first. Can't just hand over something like that without a little work."
Ithri's eyes narrowed slightly. "How much time to get one, possibly?" His tone was calm, but there was an edge now, a hint of impatience breaking through.
Kael shrugged, brushing the question aside. "Let's talk after," he said quickly. "We're here against the monarchists, not for power or money. We're here for the people."
The pieces clicked in Ithri's mind, the realization hitting like a gut punch. I got scammed. The cold truth sank in. This wasn't about a noble cause or the artifact. It was a ploy a way to use him for something he didn't yet understand. And they'd left him with no choice but to play along.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath, the word carrying all the weight of his frustration.
Without another glance at the others, Ithri turned and headed out, his steps purposeful, his mind already working.