19 Market Stree (1/2)

It was the weirdest send-off ever, and yet, based on the salamander's own words I could tell our meeting was simply a prologue. A prologue to what, I didn't know. That would be a problem for another time. I hoped.

The guards returned our weapons to us before they kicked us out of their panic-inducing room and out the front door of their station.

The sky above was still dark despite the brilliant glow of the golden moon that shown across the Fayne like a much lesser version of Mudgard's sun. Although it wasn't as strong as daylight the golden moon's glow at least kept some of the shadows at bay.

I mentioned shadows because I noticed how Luca and Varda still worried over our encounter with the salamander from Lover's Embrace. You could see this in the wary darting of their eyes against every shadowy surface.

”They won't jump us right after they set us free, you know?” I reasoned.

”That's exactly what they would like you to think, Dean,” Varda countered with a shove at my back. ”And when we least expect it,” she slid a finger across her throat. ”Boom. The end.”

”Yeah,” Luca nodded in agreement.

”You know what, Varda, you need to lighten up...” I grabbed her and Luca by the shoulders and steered them into the cobbled street heading deeper into the city, ”Let's go shopping!”

Luca sighed. ”You gave our unit funds to Aura to hold, remember?”

I smirked at him. ”Don't worry about that. She and Edo will find us.”

As I said this, two hooded forms—that of a slim female elf and a hulking half-ogre—walked out of a side street that was teeming with travelers.

We walked over to them feeling a little more relaxed.

”They let you out?” Edo asked. His eyes warily scanning the building we just left.

”Yup... They'll probably start tailing us from now on,” I answered in feigned unconcernedness.

”You said,” Luca started, but I cut him off with, ”It doesn't matter if they follow us. So long as they don't stop us from doing what we came to do.”

Aura frowned. ”Doesn't that seem a little too reckless?”

”We're the Foolhardies... it's what we do.” I winked at her. ”But you should put on your mask just in case. It's better they assumed you were some rich elf maiden rather than know for sure that you're the princess of the Pavilion.”

Edo grunted approvingly. ”Yeah, especially if there are drow close by...”

The thought of drow being so close made Aura's brow creased. So she did as I asked and put on her golden half-mask. She pulled up her hood over her head as a further precaution.

It did very little to hide her ethereal-like beauty. Nothing seemed to be able to do that.

Luca smacked me lightly on the shoulder.

I glanced at him in annoyance. ”What?”

”You were drooling,” he whispered in my ear before grinning like an idiot and then walking away.

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”I was not!” I called to his back, but Luca ignored me. He and Varda had gone ahead.

At the corner of my eye, I saw several shadows move stealthily across the street opposite us.

”Edo,” I nodded my head toward the opposite street. ”Watch our backs.”

Edo's eyes narrowed. ”Want me to kill them now?”

”Um, no... that would give them just cause to attack,” I reasoned. ”There's more of them here than us... let's just wait and see what happens.”

Edo grunted an acknowledgment.

Realizing that I was using us as bait, I turned to Aura and asked, ”You okay with that?”

She shrugged. ”We're partners. I trust you.”

As she walked away, I gazed at her back with a weird, fluttering feeling in my chest.

”Let's go, Dean,” Edo pushed me forward. ”You can gawk at her later.”

”I wasn't gawking,” I grumbled as my eye glanced back at the shadows. Then I jogged after Edo and said, ”I really wasn't!”