In the middle of the darkness and fueled by adrenaline, the young urchin's fingers clenched around the pouch of gold as his bare feet slapped against the cobbled streets. The moment he lifted the package, he could tell it was heavy... full of coins. There was a thought to escape and keep it, but even while his breath was coming in quick, measured bursts, running for his life, he knew if he did so... It would be the last thing he did. He was young... but not reckless. He saw others end up dead, younger than him just because they thought they could get away with anything. He knew better. And...
He knew this city like the back of his hand, every narrow passage, every half-hidden alleyway, every crumbling stone that could send an unwary man tumbling to the ground... In more ways than one. Many never got up from their tumble, lying in the ditch with broken necks, taking the wrong step along the way.
He was not going to be one of them, so he pushed down the thoughts, beckoning him, focusing on completing his task instead. The men who were after him were fast, but they weren't fast enough.
Sniffing once, he could tell that the night air was thick with the guarantee of rain coming down soon. Good... it will help him escape even more efficiently. Right as he thought that, sprinting through the winding streets of Velgrada, he felt the first cold droplets splatter against his face.
"Not even a moment late, is it?" he smiled to himself.
The rain was his ally. The city always became a different beast when it was showered from above. All the sounds were muffled, footprints disappeared, and visibility turned to nothing more than shifting shadows beneath the night's flickering lanterns around the main streets. Just like that, the cobblestones grew slick underfoot, but he was used to it. He had spent his entire life navigating these streets barefooted, and tonight, it wasn't any different.
"He went that way... fuck, look out!" He heard, coming from somewhere nearby, making him grin, hearing the crash as some of them probably slipped and fell.
Still, he also could pick out a sharp whistle behind him that told him his pursuers were trying to coordinate. They weren't dumb; he had to give them that. They had spread out, trying to cut him off, but they didn't understand how the slums worked. These upper-city bastards only set foot into these parts of town when they were looking to hire troublesome guys. Without a proper guide... they were already lost; they just didn't know it. The alley he ran into bent and twisted in ways that made maps useless. You had to live here to truly understand them because the local gangs continuously barred and reopened pathways, depending on who was occupying certain streets and homes.
Ducking into a side passage, he scrambled over a pile of crates, one of these blockades, and pressed himself through the gap between two leaning buildings. He was small enough to slip through, but the larger men chasing him wouldn't be able to follow. And if they began removing the boxes... hehe, the local gangs would come and cause them to be bogged down in a brawl. Just what he wanted. He already heard the curses behind him as they realized their mistake, mixed in with angry locals appearing, but he didn't stop to celebrate. He couldn't afford to.
So, he kept running.
With the rain now falling in earnest, he took another sharp turn, sprinting through an abandoned courtyard. In the center, a broken fountain stood overgrown with moss. The sound of water dripping from the cracked stone basin mixed together with the pitter-patter of rain, creating a strange, almost musical rhythm. He darted into the shadows of a half-collapsed building, finally reaching the spot where he was told to hide the package.
A loose stone, third from the corner.
Quickly, he knelt, pried it up, and stuffed the pouch of gold into the hollow space beneath. He pressed the stone back into place, making sure it looked undisturbed, the same as the ground around his feet, and then took a deep breath before launching himself back into the streets.
This time, he was on his way to lose any possible followers and go into hiding for a few days. He just turned a corner when he heard more shouts. By listening to the muffled noise, they were getting desperate now. He needed to give them something to chase.
Spotting an overturned barrel, he slammed his foot against it, sending it rolling into another alleyway before he ducked into a different side passage and climbed up a drainpipe onto the rooftops. He moved fast, leaping from one building to the next, the slick rain making every step dangerously slippery, but his feet were sure, holding onto the tiles like a monkey's paw. Below, the frustrated men hurried toward the barrel's sound, never realizing their prey was now above them.
By the time they discovered they'd been fooled, the boy was long gone... and they lost the midnight play of tag.
...
....
...
After getting free of the chaos, Lira and I headed back towards our inn, which was only a block away from the drop-off point. Getting close to it, I broke off after a certain point. Pulling up my cloak, I hurried like a shadow through the empty streets, the rain masking any sound of my boots against the hard cobblestones. I still kept my pace steady, neither too fast nor too slow, in case someone was watching. Rushing would attract attention, and right now, I was just another figure hastening his steps to escape the downpour.
Arriving at the back alley, I took a moment to scan the surroundings before kneeling by the loose stone, curious if I was the first there. It didn't take long for my fingers to find the edges, and with ease, I pried it up. The pouch was right where it should be.
"Good boy," I whispered, feeling a faint smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. The kid had done well. Very well. I will need to recruit him. As soon as possible.
Tucking the pouch into my cloak, I straightened, scanning my surroundings, and walked away at the same speed, keeping to the shadows. So far, so good... I do hope that this will be a sign of what is coming for us in the future. Because if it is, I think I just found what I want to do with my new life.
...
....
...
Morning came with a dull, grey sky above the city. The streets were still wet from the night's downpour, letting rain gather in massive pools around them. In the office of Veren & Sons, the usual tension filled the air completely as Markus Veren sat behind his desk, rubbing his temples. Willem paced furiously before their desk, his boots thudding against the wooden floor, almost as if he wanted to stomp out the night's little thief, like some kind of magic trick, his frustration manifesting in every sharp movement of his body. He was fuming, and he would blow. Any time...
"It was a damn trap!" He finally snapped, slamming his fist onto the desk. The sound echoed through the room, making Edvin, sitting in the corner, flinch. "That little rat slipped right through our fingers! We should've never—"
"Enough!" Markus yelled back, his voice cutting through Willem's rant like a blade. He looked exhausted, his eyes rimmed with sleeplessness and the taste of defeat, but even then, his authority within the company remained unshaken. It couldn't be shaken because then, they were indeed done—forever. "We knew there was a risk."
"A risk?" Willem scoffed, throwing up his hands. His face was flushed, his voice rising once again with every word. "We threw two hundred gold into the gutter, Markus! And for what? Nothing! They probably never even had any clues and just played us... They knew we were desperate! That shipment is still gone, and now we're out even more coin!"
Before Markus, Edvin, or Rellen could reply, a knock sounded at the door. All of them went silent instantly, and it was Edvin who stood up and walked to the door, happy for any kind of intrusion into this unpleasant meeting. Opening it, I saw a local courier there holding a bag of letters, rummaging through it until I found the correct one. Nodding at the man, he simply held up the sealed parchment in his hand, the paper slightly damp from the rain.
"Sir, a letter for your business," he said, holding it out. "It has already been paid for."
Edvin took it, noting the dark ink used to scrawl the company's name on it. Thanking the courier, the man was already off, so he hurriedly closed the door and handed it to his boss.
Without saying anything, Marcus broke the seal and unfolded the paper quickly, his eyes scanning the message. As he read, his expression changed at once. What appeared in it was not anger or frustration but something else—something thoughtful and partially relieved.
"..." Willem, still seething, demanded, but his voice a tinge more restrained this time around. "Well? What is it?"
Markus didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned the letter around, trying to see if there was more or not, before he slid it across the desk for the others to read. What Willem caught first was the unmistakable signature at the bottom.
Shade.
"So it was... not a trap?" Rellen asked while silence settled over the room once again. It took a few minutes for them to read the letter before Markus exhaled slowly, rubbing his chin.
"It does look like that we weren't played," he murmured. "Not yet, anyway."
"That is yet to be seen!" Willem snorted as he snatched up the letter, eyes darting across the words. His expression shifted from fury to thoughtfulness; he was trying to see through any possible traps. On the other hand, Rellen leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowing as he mulled over the words in the message.
"To the merchants of Veren & Sons,
Your payment has been received. As promised, I will now provide the location of your stolen goods. They are hidden in the sewers beneath the eastern market, near the old shrine. Be warned—the thieves are still active, and they will not take kindly to interference. As for when they are trying to move the goods, that information is not included in the price I had set for you. Still, you should have enough time to gather your men and head down to retrieve it. A friendly reminder, though: Proceed with caution.
-Shade."
"Gather all our available men!" Markus said, standing up from his chair, his fingers rolled into a fist in front of him. "This Shade," he whispered, his voice low, "isn't done with us yet."
"Trap?" Rellen asked, making Willem look at his brother and wait for his assessment.
"Could be." Markus nodded. "But my gut tells me it isn't. Let's go; we can't dilly-dally! If this message is true, we don't have much time. Willem!"
"Yes?" He asked, putting the letter back down.
"You will go down with the others first while Rellen and I cover possible exists. Edvin!"
"I'm listening."
"Go out to the city and try to find the kid who we chased through the night."
"It won't be easy..." Edvin muttered.
"I know. Don't threaten him, don't even be an antagonist to him if you find the kid! Reward him even."
"Boss?" Edvin asked, a bit surprised, but Markus just waved his hand so all of them remained silent and just listened to him.
"Tell him we are grateful and ask the kid if he can help us meet with this... Shade. If we do get our goods back..."
"Then we owe him one," Rellen said calmly, and even Willem kept his tongue in his mouth this time around.
"Yes," Markus nodded, "and I hate owing others. It is best if we pay our debts and pay them early."