As Corven returned to the undercity, forced to wait out the daylight hours before heading to the surface, his sharp eyes caught sight of a familiar figure among the crowd.
It was the sa man he had hired days ago to deliver silver to the widow.
The rcenary was pacing the busy streets, stopping random passersby, clearly searching for soone.
That soone was Corven.
But sothing felt off.
The pouch of silver that should have been delivered was still in the rcenary’s hand.
Corven’s brows knit together. Without hesitation, he stepped forward—yet in the blink of an eye, he was already behind the man.
"Hey."
His hand landed firmly on the rcenary’s shoulder.
"Holy—!" The rcenary spun around in alarm, nearly stumbling back as his body twisted away from the sudden voice and contact.
But the tension in his fra loosened as soon as he recognized Corven.
"Oh... it’s just you, boss," he muttered, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck.
Corven’s voice was low but edged with irritation. "Why are you here with the pouch? Weren’t you supposed to deliver it?"
He had made the task simple—there was no way the man could have misunderstood.
"Well, that’s the thing," the rcenary said, tossing the pouch toward him. "Apparently, the person you wanted to deliver this to was abducted a day before I arrived."
Corven caught the pouch without breaking eye contact. His pupils thinned into sothing dangerous.
"...What?"
The silver coins inside clinked softly as his grip tightened. "What do you an?"
The rcenary’s gaze sharpened, sensing the danger behind Corven’s tone. If he answered poorly, he had no doubt the baron might end him here and now.
’A vampire caring this much for a human?’ he thought. Strange.
"I asked around," the rcenary explained carefully. "Locals didn’t know anything, so I started my own investigation.
Lucky for you, they’re still in Underzen—they didn’t bother to cover their tracks."
Corven’s expression eased just enough to show the rcenary he wasn’t about to be cut down.
"Details. Now."
The man nodded. "Follow , I’ll lead you there."
"That won’t be necessary. I’ll handle it myself," Corven replied.
"No," the rcenary countered, "I’d like to join."
Corven narrowed his eyes. "Because I haven’t paid you yet?"
"That’s part of it. But technically I haven’t finished my job for you yet as well, and I’m a man of my word." The rcenary’s grin was small—subtle enough not to be mistaken for enjoynt. He knew if Corven thought he was treating this like entertainnt, he’d be dead before the next breath.
Without another word, they turned off the main street into a shadowed alley.
"Give a mont."
The rcenary bit his thumb, pressing the bleeding digit to the wall of a worn stone building. He began drawing a rough pentagram. It wasn’t pretty, but the lines were clean enough to function.
"What are you doing?" Corven asked, his tone flat.
The man didn’t answer. He murmured sothing under his breath, his voice so low that even Corven’s vampiric hearing couldn’t make it out.
The pentagram glowed with a dark violet light, and in its center, a sleek black blade began to materialize. The rcenary gripped its hilt, pulling it free in one smooth motion. The blade shimred faintly, its sheen carrying an unsettling, almost otherworldly hue.
The bloody lines of the pentagram lted away, vanishing into the cracks of the cobblestone.
"Preparation," the man said with a faint smile. "At first, I planned to raid the place alone and tell you afterward. But I decided it was better to bring this to you directly."
"And why is that important for to know?" Corven asked, unimpressed.
"So you’ll rember to pay after I help," the rcenary replied evenly.
"I was already thinking about that," Corven said with a short nod.
"Good."
He sheathed the new sword opposite his usual one, then stepped back toward the bustling street.
"Care to explain why this widow matters so much to you?" the rcenary asked, walking ahead. "I can see it in your face."
Corven’s gaze darkened. "I made a dumb decision back then. And with everything good that’s happened to lately, the regret hit hard. Out of nowhere."
For a split second, the mory bled through—her eyes the night she lost everything, wide with shock, glinting like silver through flesh. He had turned away back then, letting the mont rot into silence through a stupid excuse. Now it gnawed at him, sharper than any blade.
"Sounds reasonable enough," the rcenary said, letting it drop.
It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination—a dium-sized pub with the mixed scent of ale, blood, and sweat spilling from the open doorway. Inside were rcenaries, locals, and a few wandering tourists—both human and vampire.
"We’re here," the rcenary said as they stepped inside.
The barkeep glanced up, a pair of crimson eyes revealing his vampiric nature. But his aura was weak—nothing like the opponents Corven had faced recently.
"Need anything, gentlen?" the barkeep asked, gesturing toward the nu above the counter.
Before Corven could respond, a voice entered his mind.
’Want to do this the sneaky but long way? Or the loud but fast way?’
It was the rcenary, speaking directly into his head. Telepathy.
Corven’s eyes narrowed slightly. The man was more capable than he had initially guessed.
’Blink twice for yes, thrice for no.’
Corven considered. He didn’t want to cause unnecessary commotion, but he was the baron now—legal immunity, to a point, was his. And the longer he delayed, the greater the risk to the widow.
He blinked twice.
’Good choice, boss.’
The room humd with low chatter, the clink of mugs and the sll of cheap ale. A pair of card players argued over a bet, a drunk human laughed too loud in the corner, and for one fragile heartbeat, the pub felt almost ordinary.
But in the next second, blood sprayed across Corven’s cheek before he even registered the movent.
The barkeep’s head hit the floor with a dull thud, severed by the rcenary’s eldritch blade.
"Everyone! Leave if you want to live!" the rcenary bellowed, his voice carrying enough weight to send custors scrambling for the door.
And for the first ti in this whole encounter, Corven found himself smiling faintly.
He was starting to like this rcenary.
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