Bassi and I walked into the Coclot Pathfinder hall with no small amount of trepidation. We didn’t show it, obviously, because that would be inviting trouble.

A pathfinder hall like this one was pretty massive, it had to be really, since it housed all those who were part of their guild. The bottom floor though, that was one, massive tavern. It wasn’t a big ol’ stone hall like you’d see in anime or whatever, there were nooks and crannies and multiple bars.

So in reality, it was more like four or five different taverns all welded together in a hodgepodge mess, each separated from the other by a random smattering of load bearing walls and pillars. If I was honest, I actually really liked the vibe of the place. It was cozy without feeling cramped.

Our objective here was to recruit my old classmates in our effort to save Jean. Well, and Bassi’s old family, but that was a secondary objective in my book.

We weren’t hiding our identities either, wearing what would be considered formal wear by the slate snakes’ standards. I was in my full ninja suit getup with my guild cloak over my shoulder, while Bassi had her leather armour and cloak. You could tell that people recognised us as we entered, the nearer groups going quiet as they watched us.

Bassi gave them all an indifferent smile and turned to me with her signature raised eyebrow. “Well? Let’s find them.”

“Alright,” I said, looking warily about us in search of our targets. I couldn’t pick them out from here, so with a motion of my hand for Bassi to follow me, I stepped further inside.

Eyes trailed us as we walked, but people seemed to calm down and continue what they were doing after a few moments.

The structure was so interesting to me, its age showing in every floorboard and pitted stone block. It was one of those buildings that had existed for so long and been expanded on so many times that you couldn’t tell where the original structure had been. This type of place was stacked to the rafters with tales and legends surrounding it and all its past inhabitants. I wonder if I could get someone to tell me about them sometime…

My nerdgasm over the old building was interrupted when a man at a table we were passing began to get out of his seat, daggers singing from their sheaths. Bassi and I reacted with an inhuman speed only possessed by those of our race. Her swords slid silently from their twin sheaths at her back while I didn’t bother with my own knives, instead creating two black daggers out of solid shadow.

Luckily for him, his friend lunged, grabbing the man’s arm and tugging him back down with more than a little force. “What are you doing mate? Them’s fae, and some of the most dangerous ones in the city to boot.”

“They’re worth quite a bit of gold, I figure the risk is worth the reward, right?” the first man said, sounding and looking very unsure of himself now.

“This ain’t a gamble, there ain’t no risk, and there ain’t no reward,” his friend urged, eyeing us with no small amount of fear. “It ain’t no risk, because they will cut you up. It’s a certainty, there’s no dice roll, no card play here. You’re betting with the sun and the moon.”

The opportunist didn’t let up, staring up at the two of us as he warred with his own embarrassment, but in the end self preservation won out, and he settled down properly into his chair.

“Smart man,” Bassi chuckled, motioning for me to keep walking. As we passed, a little flick of her wrist produced a gold coin, which she dropped onto the table in front of the man, dancing that little spinning dance that coins do. “Make sure you remember that intelligence, yeah?”

The table of pathfinders just stared with wide eyed confusion as we sauntered off, except for the man with the knives, who slapped his hand down on the table to stop the coin. “Yes ma’am.”

I spotted Leon a few moments later, he and a few of my other classmates were all seated around a table off in a corner, chatting away and completely oblivious to our approach. Bassi and I moved without any noise of our own, so I wasn't too surprised. It was part of our job after all.

Rather than say anything, I just stepped up behind Leon and placed Jean’s letter down in front of him, startling the whole table in the process.

Leon, for his part, turned to look up at me in surprise. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off with a gesture towards the letter. “Read it.”

“Uh, okay…” he said, tone uncertain as he picked it up. That uncertainty turned to yet more surprise as his eyes landed on it. He read the first sentence silently, then quickly realised he should read it aloud to the rest of the table.

When he finished reading, he let out a long sigh and turned to look back up at me. “You’re going to help her?”

“Me and Basilisk, yeah,” I nodded, pulling down my mask in a show of friendship. “Was hoping some of you would be willing to come help.”

“There’s coin in it for everyone who comes along,” Bassi mentioned, placing a gentle hand on my waist as she stepped up beside me.

“How much?” asked Jamie from the corner of the table.

“Less for you,” Bassi replied without pause.

Sitting off to the side with a book in her hands, Beth gave a delighted little chuckle, “Well, if you’re paying Jamie less, I’m coming on principle! I mean, I’m willing to go help out Joan anyway, and you don’t need to pay me. She’s one of us.”

“More for you then,” Bassi said, pointing to Beth with a smile.

“I’m coming, for sure,” Leon nodded, smoothing out the letter on the table with his hands. “I’m sure everyone else here will come along too, for money or for our classmate.”

There were a few who shook their heads, but most agreed. Looked like Leon had taken the leadership role in their group. Kinda fit him, if I was honest.

“I’ll ask the others if they want to come as well, since going out into the wastes is generally better done in a large group,” Leon told me with a cocky grin. “We’ll save this bunch of stuck up elves, no problem.”

“Awesome,” I smiled, pulling my mask back up. “Bassi and I will link up with you all outside the city in two days. No need to meet at any specific place, we’ll find you.”

“How?” asked one of the guys I didn’t recognise.

“We’re thieves, we’ll find you,” I winked. “Tailing you lot will be easy, you make so much noise with all that armour you wear. Our marks are usually wearing silk, so this will be quite a bit easier.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Leon grumbled good-naturedly, rolling his eyes. Then they fell on Bassi’s hand, the one at my waist. He opened his mouth as though to comment on the intimacy between myself and Bassi, then appeared to think better of it.

“I think we will take our leave now,” Bassi said quietly.

That had Leon pouting. “Not going to stay and hang out?”

“I’d rather not stick around here,” I said with a wince, pointing a thumb in the direction of the eyes that were watching us. “This place isn’t exactly safe for us. We can catch up later.”

“Oh… right,” he frowned, seeming genuinely bummed out that we couldn’t stay. “See you in a few days then?”

“That’s the plan,” I agreed, then turned to Bassi and nodded toward the door. “Time to go?”

****

We made it out of the Pathfinder den without any more incidents, although a few enterprising individuals attempted to follow us. Fortunately for them, Bassi allowed them to live. I wouldn’t have, to be honest. A threat against my life and the life of the woman I cared for is more than enough reason to remove that threat on a permanent basis, in my book anyway.

When we made it home however, there was an incident. The moment we stepped into the tavern, half the guild confronted us.

“You’re leaving?” Swipe asked, while Lark asked, “Where are you going?”

Singer stood off to the side looking guilty, sending an apologetic wince our way. “Sorry…”

Our very attractive, very exasperated leader gave a long suffering sigh as she faced the group. “Mist and I have some… personal business to attend to out in the wastes. I’d rather not bring anyone we don’t need to, especially given the skill set needed to survive out there isn’t one that many of you possess.”

“We heard Mist read that letter that popped into your lap,” Jitters said, hand on hip. “You’re going out there, just the two of you?”

“Not just the two of us,” Bassi said with a shake of her head. She turned to me with a question in her eyes, did I want to talk about myself?

“Previous friends of mine will be going with us,” I said quietly, thankful that I had my mask up still. “They have an interest in what is happening out there too. They are the ones that my friend mentioned in the letter.”

“I don’t like this,” Dancer rumbled, his big arms crossed over his equally large chest.

“You are allowed to not like it, doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen,” Bassi told him bluntly. “This isn’t something we’re doing on a whim. The lives of people we care about are on the line, either we go and try to help, or we spend the rest of our lives wondering. We’re going, that’s final. Singer is in charge until I get back.”

The large man gave a rumble of discontent, but otherwise stayed quiet. The others clearly weren’t happy about things either, but they’d just have to deal with it. My biggest worry now was someone like Swipe going and pissing off the wrong people in a moment of adrenaline fuelled kleptomania.

“Navigator, Mist and I will take food in my quarters, if that’s alright,” Bassi said after a tense moment of silence.

We barely made it to her room before Jitters barged in behind us. “I want to come too.”

Bassi regarded her for a moment, taking her time in replying as she seated herself on the edge of her large desk. “Why is that?”

“Mist,” she told us, pointing to me. “When she told me about all that stuff, I had to go digging, find out if anyone else knew of such machines.”

“You found something?” I asked, suddenly excited. Internally, the old nerd I used to be surfaced with a vengeance. Ancient technology? Crazy magical contraptions?

“I did,” she said, tone going all high and squeaky with the same excitement I was feeling. “Some of the civilisations that were further from Anamoor had stuff a little like what you described. I want to see if I can find some, maybe even salvage smaller things, document the rest.”

“I’m not sure if—“ Bassi began, but I reached over and placed a finger on her lips.

“No, this is important,” I said eagerly. “If she actually finds something, there’s a good chance that it will be really good at killing things. People love making death machines, and if we figure out how to use it, we can use it on the creatures outside the walls!”

Bassi continued to stare at me skeptically, so I used something that I’d never been able to use before now. I pulled the girlfriend puppy dog eyes, pouting and looking all sad, the whole works.

“Okay, fine,” she finally grumbled, rolling her eyes at me.

Jitters and I shared a high five.

QuietValerie

Sorry it took so long to get another chapter of this out. Adhd brain, I don't make the rules.