Chapter narrated by Fin:
15/14/95
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CONTRACT #637-G
Required Rank: 2
Client: Merchant Osvath, eastern district
Task: A group of individuals has been intercepting my suppliers before they reach my shop and demanding payment. Three individuals confirmed. Situation to be resolved without involving the city guard.
Reward: 20 silver coins.
Note: I want them discouraged, not buried.
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The contract was straightforward.
Nothing difficult. When Balyn saw the brief, he looked at me and muttered, "An hour" — his estimate of how long it would take.
We were done in 46 minutes.
The brief was correct.
Three young guys, no older than seventeen.
They tried to fight us, but they were all confidence and no real skill. We limited ourselves to dodging their attacks. They got tired quickly.
Then came the worst part of the contract — convincing these kids that what they were doing was wrong, and that if they continued, another contract with their names on it would appear on the board. And the adventurers who took it might not limit themselves to dodging.
Balyn succeeded surprisingly quickly. It always surprises me how good he is with words.
The first impression people usually get from someone as big and quiet as Balyn is the complete opposite of how he actually is. He is probably the most gentle person I have ever met.
"That was faster than we thought. Your ability to talk to people really surprises me, Bal."
"They're just confused kids who saw the first chance to make easy money and took it," he said. "Hopefully they think twice after this."
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I went back to the guild. It was still early morning. Balyn went to the market to see if he could get a good deal on some fish.
At the board, I saw her.
White hair, red eyes, pointed ears. Sera's new partner.
Over the past week, she had been talked about more than almost anything else in the guild — mostly because of the private registration with Holt.
Some called her Sera's lucky charm. Since she arrived, Sera had been completing contracts faster than usual, even by her standards.
There was also talk that she might be the reason Sera finally reaches rank 2, which I thought underestimated Sera, but wasn't entirely wrong either.
I watched her standing in front of the board for a long time. I knew she was blind — it wasn't hard to notice after observing her for a bit — but what surprised me was the way she moved through the guild as if her limitation didn't exist.
She was just standing there, facing the board. She probably realized she couldn't read the contracts, but didn't want to step away to protect her pride.
People were beginning to stare. Some were trying to hide a laugh.
She didn't deserve that.
I walked over to her.
"The rank one contracts are on the right side, lower section," I said.
I briefly explained what was available.
She ended up choosing a delivery job.
As she was leaving, she stopped. She wanted to thank me and asked my name.
"Fin," I said. "My name is Fin."
Her expression shifted clearly at that.
"Thank you, Fin," she said, and then left to do her contract.
The way she reacted…
"So Sera told her. That's… surprising."
For someone who talks so much, she is surprisingly private about certain things.
I still remember that time she had three glasses of beer and then she…
Better not to think about that now.
I took a contract from the board and sat down to wait for Balyn to return.
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Balyn arrived a few hours later. He had a wide smile on his face and a bucket of fish.
From what he told me, he had been negotiating with three vendors at the market. Apparently something had happened to the trade routes from Serath's coast, and fish prices were skyrocketing.
Balyn made a deal and helped move some product in exchange for what he had now.
Balyn's love for fish was something else.
I told him about the contract I had picked.
It seemed more time-consuming, but the pay reflected that.
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CONTRACT #001-G
Required Rank: 2
Client: Guild Administration
Task: Unusual activity reported in the southern district, near the old warehouse quarter. Residents have filed complaints about strange sounds at night and unfamiliar individuals moving through the area. Investigate and report findings.
Reward: 32 silver coins.
Note: Observation and reporting only. Do not engage.
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The southern district was quiet that day. Quieter than usual. It was the poorest part of the city.
I had been in poor districts before. They were never quiet. Not like this.
The streets weren't empty. People were there, going about their business. But there was something in the way they moved, as if they were trying to take up as little space as possible.
When I tried asking questions, they all denied that anything strange was happening.
"Strange activity? I haven't noticed a thing. You must be mistaken, young man," one of the residents said, avoiding my eyes.
We tried several times, getting similar responses. The answers felt almost mechanical, like they had been practiced.
"They all deny that anything is happening," Balyn said once we were far enough away.
"Yes," I said. "But something is definitely wrong here, Balyn. Have you noticed?"
"Noticed what, Fin?"
"We haven't seen a single soldier of the Church of Reval in the entire area."
Balyn stopped walking.
He looked around the street.
"Now that you mention it," he said slowly, "that's true. Not a single one."
The absence of Reval's soldiers was a clear sign that something was wrong.
By the contract's standards, what we had was already enough. Unusual behavior, no Church presence, and a general sense of tension.
We could leave now, report back to Holt, and it would be complete.
But something felt very wrong here.
And I wanted to know more.
"Let's check the cart street," I said. "If we don't find anything else, we leave."
Balyn followed without a word.
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The cart street was silent. Too silent.
There were only a few people around. We split up to cover more ground.
The first person I approached was an old man sitting outside a narrow building. When I got closer, he put on a smile.
Nothing strange was happening, he said. Just a quiet day.
There was something off about it. When a stranger approaches you, that's not the kind of expression you make.
Then I asked about the absence of the Church of Reval.
His smile remained, but something behind it shifted. His eyes flicked quickly upward and to the right.
The rooftop behind me.
He caught himself. The smile returned.
He said I was mistaken. That young men these days are too paranoid. Then he excused himself and left.
Once he was gone, I turned to look at the rooftop.
Nothing.
I returned to Balyn.
"Anything?" I asked.
"The woman I spoke to hasn't left her building in four days," he said. "She said it like it was normal."
"She also looked at the rooftops when she thought I wasn't watching."
We exchanged a look.
"We're being watched," I said.
"Yes," Balyn replied. "I think we have been since we entered the district."
"We need to leave."
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We moved quickly. It was getting dark, though the sun hadn't set yet. The street was nearly empty — just us and a gnome cleaning.
We were about to leave the district when a sharp sound cut through the air.
Something fast.
I turned.
A knife was buried in the gnome's neck. Blood poured down.
I reached for my sword immediately. Balyn already had his mace out.
We stood back to back. My thoughts slowed as adrenaline flooded my system.
I couldn't see who had thrown the knife.
"Do you see anything?"
"Nothing."
I couldn't see anything—but I could hear it.
Movement.
Fast.
Circling.
Whoever it was, they were patient. Skilled.
One strike. One kill.
"The gnome," Balyn said quietly.
"I know." A pause. "We can't help him."
We needed cover.
"On my count," I said. "We move left. Corner building. One door. Roof windows. Easier to defend."
"And the roof?"
"One problem at a time."
"Fin."
"One problem at a time."
Silence.
The movement stopped.
"Ready," he said.
"Three," I said. "Two—"
The attack came before I reached one.
From above.
A figure dropped into range.
I stepped aside—barely. Steel cut through the air where my head had been.
She landed lightly.
Too lightly.
Then stepped back.
A young woman. Dark cloak. A black blindfold wrapped tightly across her eyes.
She drew a sword and went still.
Then tilted her head slightly.
Listening.
I moved first. A step back.
The moment the sound reached her, she lunged.
Fast.
Faster than both of us.
Steel met steel as I barely blocked. The force pushed me back.
Balyn came in from the side. His mace cut through the air.
She turned toward the sound.
A knife flashed into her hand.
Balyn blocked—but not completely. A cut opened across his shoulder.
She disengaged instantly.
Back to that same stance.
How do we turn this around?
She attacked again the moment my foot made a sound.
The moment my foot made a sound…
Could it be?
I glanced at Balyn.
He understood.
I stepped forward.
She attacked again.
I was ready.
Our blades met.
She was strong. Pressing into me.
I started losing ground.
Balyn swung.
She reacted instantly.
A kick to my stomach.
I hit the ground.
She ducked under Balyn's strike, ready to finish him.
I swept her legs.
She caught herself with her hands and pushed back.
Distance again.
Same stance.
Head tilted.
I stood as quietly as I could.
Balyn looked at me.
I nodded.
I had what I needed.
She couldn't see.
She reacted to sound.
I signaled it to Balyn.
He understood.
We adjusted.
Two fingers.
Me.
Then her left side.
He moved first.
Loud.
Heavy steps.
"Is that all you've got?" he shouted.
Her head snapped toward him.
I moved.
Slow.
Silent.
Balyn kept advancing, louder with every step.
"Come on!" he called. "Show me something!"
Her blade lifted toward him.
All her focus there.
I closed in.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Close enough.
I lunged.
Grabbed her wrist.
Twisted.
Hard.
A crack.
The sword fell.
She exhaled sharply—but didn't hesitate.
Knife in her other hand.
Balyn's mace came down.
The knife dropped beside the sword.
She went still.
"It's over," I said.
No answer.
"You're disarmed," I continued. "We're taking you to—"
Footsteps.
Behind me.
Fast.
I started to turn—
The knife was already in my stomach.
Everything slowed.
Realization hit as the blood began to pour.
We were never fighting just one opponent.