It only fully occurred to him what he was about to be a part of while standing on the rocky beach, staring out at the dark mass of the ocean. The moon was out, but compared to the well-lit center of the city, this out-of-the-way corner of it was dark and silent. They weren't too far away from the harbor, however. There were no ships docked at the moment, but the pier was in sight, illuminated by a couple of torches.

It was just him and Elaya here. Kaz had been asleep when they'd left, which was a small blessing because Rhenor didn't feel like listening to the other man trying to convince him to not do this, or potentially try to join them. And besides, Rhenor still felt angry with Kaz, so he didn't mind the distance for now.

The other two thieves—called Arion and Serina, as Rhenor had found out—had stayed behind as well. They must have already known very well where this underwater cave was, and so there was no reason for them to wake up a good while before dawn. But Rhenor didn't envy them at all. He felt too anxious and restless to sleep. He had woken up several times during his short rest, and each time, it had been difficult to fall asleep again.

"Ready?" Elaya asked, holding up her vial of luminous algae. Rhenor didn't like the sight of it. He didn't trust anything that glowed without a flame, but it would be necessary if they were to steal the money at night. Rhenor wondered where these people had gotten it originally, though. He'd never seen glowing algae.

"Yes. Let's go."

Rhenor took off his cloak and shoes, hoping that no one would steal them in the meantime. Elaya also took off her cloak, revealing that she was only wearing a tunic underneath, and not the armor. But that made sense. It would hardly do anything for her when swimming.

He followed her into the water, shivering at the coldness of it. It wasn't icy, or anything close to it, but it was still far from pleasant. Rhenor tried not to let that get to him and just kept up the pace as he slowly got used to the temperature and the pebbles under his bare feet.

The water was up to their waists when Elaya suddenly disappeared under the water, only to reappear right after, shaking water out of her hair. And Rhenor quickly found out why as his foot slipped, suddenly touching nothing.

Rhenor took a breath, taking a step forward with his other foot as well and gasping as he found himself up to his neck in cold water. But at least he didn't seem to have any trouble staying above the surface, which he took as a good sign.

Elaya raised the vial of algae, illuminating the water around them. "Hold your breath and follow me."

As she disappeared under the water, Rhenor took in a deep breath and did the same, opening his eyes under the water as soon as he did. Ignoring the uncomfortable feeling that came with it, he quickly found the glowing of Elaya's vial, noticing it was heading down, so he followed.

She was much faster than he would have thought, given the fact that she had to hold the vial with one hand, which limited her movements. Rhenor would have thought that Elaya had just been training for this mission, but by her own admission she hadn't been here for long, so he doubted that.

He kept swimming deeper and deeper, close to the stone wall that had been beneath their feet when they'd stood at the beach. It formed a sort of a cliff under the water, and Rhenor assumed this wall was where the cave entrance was going to be.

His lungs were starting to burn as Elaya finally showed him the opening in the stone—a hole barely large for a person to fit through, which he could barely see in the dark water. But once again, he just followed the light of the vial, watching it light up the cave entrance and move along its smooth walls as Elaya swam through it.

Hoping that Elaya had been right about that air pocket in the cave as his lungs burned more and more, Rhenor swam inside as well, using the narrow walls to get himself faster up the tunnel he found himself in.

It didn't help him relax in the slightest, but he just kept going, particularly once he noticed that the light above had stopped moving. Elaya must have reached the end, which urged him to speed up.

He finally broke through the surface of the water, gasping and breathing fast and hard for a moment. It hadn't been as close to his limits as it could have been, but he still hadn't liked it.

"You all right, Rhen?" Elaya asked him as he dragged himself onto the stone floor of the cave where she was sitting. He just nodded, not feeling like giving her a verbal reply as he looked around.

The cave was bigger than he'd expected, but that didn't mean it was by any means large. And what he had expected even less was for it to also hide stolen goods. Particularly a lot of gold and silver cutlery, goblets, and coins, but there were other items, all of them metal, presumably due to anything else being too large and easy to damage with water.

Rhen shook water out of his hair, already dreading when it would dry and leave salt in its wake. His clothes stuck to him uncomfortably, and given that the cave wasn't exactly warm, he quickly started to shiver.

"Think you can do this while swimming with the coins? They will weigh you down."

Rhenor certainly hoped he could do it. "Yes, though I'm not sure how many of those I can carry like this."

Elaya nodded. "Due to the number of people we have, we won't be able to take all of it. But that had been the plan from the start. It doesn't matter how many people we have because the bigger the group, the more noticeable it becomes."

Right, that made sense. Rhen had been sort of wondering why the original plan was for only five people. And why his involvement would change things so much.

"And honestly, I don't think Nova thought there would be a lot of money left behind. The island territories aren't populated by many."

Rhenor wouldn't know. He barely knew there were islands under the dragons' rule, and he certainly didn't know how many there were, or how many people lived on them. Where were these islands, anyway? In general, he didn't know about what else was there outside of the dragons' domain, which was either intentional on their part, or Rhenor was just ignorant.

His immediate thought was to ask Kaz once he got back because of course, Kaz would know at least something, but he quickly realized why he couldn't. And he also didn't want to anymore, knowing how awkward and unpleasant it would be. It wasn't like the knowledge would give him much, anyway.

"Nova's estimate was a few thousand talons."

That was still more money than Rhenor could ever hope to make in his lifetime, so he would take it. And it helped him feel a bit more confident about their mission, as well. Surely a ship carrying only a few thousand talons wouldn't be as heavily defended, right? It wouldn't be very profitable for the dragons to spend more on the ship and crew than they would bring back in taxes.

Not to mention that Rhen had no doubts that some of that crew took a few coins for themselves.

"You overheard something, didn't you?"

Rhen blinked at her as he hugged himself, trying to warm up. He really needed to dry off by a fire soon, or he'd catch something.

"I mean when I, erm, asked you to bring the alcohol," Elaya added, raising her eyebrows at him. She didn't need to do that, though. He understood perfectly well what she was implying. He'd understood perfectly well when it had happened.

"You said you would let this be until the mission was done," he muttered, running a hand through his wet hair just as an excuse to do something. He didn't want to talk about this ever, but Elaya seemed to be that type of person who got whatever they set their mind to.

"Yes, well, I don't like seeing Kaz mope," she said, sighing. "But based on how you're handling this, I assume you don't know the half of it."

Rhenor tilted his head at her, dread filling his heart. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's not my place to tell," Elaya replied, making Rhenor feel very annoyed. Kaz wasn't going to tell him anything, and Elaya clearly knew something and didn't want to say anything either. "But I'm just asking you to not blame Kaz for whatever is happening between the two of you. His whole world has just fallen apart. He's hurt and confused."

Rhenor stayed silent, only throwing a scowl her way. On some level, he was certainly aware of this. Kaz had spent more than two decades living in luxury, and now he didn't even have a roof over his head. But at the same time, it was he who seemed to want to insist on them not being compatible because Rhenor hadn't been born into a wealthy family. As if that mattered at all.

"Just...talk to him before you do something rash, all right?" Elaya looked him straight in the eye, completely serious. It completely stopped Rhenor from saying anything. "I realize we only just met, but Kaz is my friend. And I can tell you don't want to break his heart."

Rhenor wasn't entirely sure whose heart was being broken at this point, but no, he didn't want that. But Kaz was causing this all on his own. Rhenor would understand if he thought Rhen didn't want to be with him because of how he tended to talk about the dragons and the people associated with them, but he had made it clear that he didn't care where Kaz had come from.

There wasn't much else said before they once again jumped in the water, heading back down into the cold ocean and back to the surface. Rhenor was surprised to see the sun's first rays illuminating the city already, but it certainly made finding the underwater cave much easier.

Even from where he was currently, high above it, he could see the opening in the stone wall when he looked for it hard enough. He quickly made it to shore, shaking water off himself as best he could. He wouldn't mind a nice, warm fire right now, but he wasn't sure how possible that was with that basement not being exactly suited for it.

He collected his things, his cold fingers still dripping with water. At least no one had stolen them. That was a relief, though he had completely forgotten he should have worried about that.

Elaya made a noise of disgust as she waved her arms, trying to dry off, too. "Come on, we need to get back before someone sees us."

Walking through half of the city did help Rhen get warmer, and his clothes had dried at least somewhat, but they were still very uncomfortable. It hadn't really occurred to him that this would be a problem with everything else that had been on his mind, but surprisingly once they jumped down the trapdoor and into the basement, Elaya had given him new clothes, as well as a cloth towel to dry off with. He certainly hadn't expected that, but it made sense since the whole basement was full of stolen things.

And this woolen, dark blue tunic and trousers certainly seemed expensive. If nothing else, the tunic was blue, which meant a dye had been used, and that itself meant the piece of clothing was much more expensive than he'd ever care to invest. But there was also a pattern sewn into the hems of it in golden thread.

This certainly wasn't anything he'd ever wear, but right now he was just grateful for the change of clothes. He hid in the storage room and changed his clothes as quickly as possible after drying himself off with the towel.

He walked back to the other room, wet clothes in one hand while he rubbed his hair with the other and the towel. He received an amused grin from Elaya when he put the towel down, which probably meant his hair looked awful at the moment, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Elaya was already wearing new clothes as well, her now loose, damp hair the only evidence of their early morning swim.

As Rhenor put his original clothes over one of the chairs, he grew increasingly aware of the fact that these new clothes were much more comfortable to wear, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Well, he knew he didn't like it on principle, but he couldn't help but enjoy the soft and warm material, which made him annoyed.

Since there was nothing else to do but wait for tonight, Rhenor decided to get a few more hours of sleep since he could use all the rest he could get. But that turned out to be much more difficult than he would have thought. He kept thinking about Kaz, which made it hard to fall asleep, even though if there was something that should be keeping him up, it should be the plan. Attacking the ship, managing to swim from it to the cave, anything but Kaz.

And when he finally managed to drift off, his dreams were strange. It was a confusing blur of shadows and figures and leathery wings bringing with it anxiety and discomfort. And in what felt like minutes he woke up with a start, but for no good reason. He couldn't even remember what had caused it.

He breathed out, running a hand through his hair, which now stuck up all over from the combination of him tossing and turning and being damp.

He did feel relatively rested now, but not more at peace or calm. He kept trying to remember what he'd seen to make such a sense of impending doom so present, but the more he tried to remember the less he could recall the dream.

Rhenor shook his head and got up, stretching. He wondered how long he'd slept because it didn't feel like long, and yet it did at the same time. But there was no way to tell here, since there were no windows, of course.

He walked to the other room, seeing as this one was empty, only to almost bump into Elaya.

"Ah, you're awake," she said, though despite her pleasant tone, her eyes were serious and focused. "Just in time."

Rhenor frowned. Had he slept through the whole day? "For what?"

"The ship's supposed to arrive at any moment. We are going to gather as much information as we can," she explained, tilting her head, her brow furrowed. "Have I forgotten to mention this part of the plan?"

Rhenor just shook his head. He almost found it amusing, which was odd because he'd think he'd be annoyed at her for not telling him this. But it made sense. All of those plans had been theoretical, so it was only wise to scope out the scene and see if there was something Nova hadn't anticipated.

"Sorry, must have slipped my mind." Elaya walked past him, grabbing her cloak and putting the hood over her head so that her hair wasn't visible at all. While blond hair wasn't rare by any means in this part of the kingdom, it was still probably a good idea to disguise it since the city guards must have been told what she looked like.

Rhenor hoped that he wasn't being actively searched for. He would assume that not having done anything illegal would be enough to not worry about this, but he doubted that mattered to the dragons, so he would have to be cautious.

He took his fur cloak as well, throwing it over his shoulders. For a second, he played around with the idea of bringing his bow with him as well but then decided against it. He wasn't likely to need it. He didn't want to kill people, no matter their allegiance with the dragons. Not all of them had chosen it, after all. And even if they had, he still didn't like the idea of killing his own kind outside of self-defense. And clearly neither did anyone else here because they opted for darts with a sleeping concoction instead of arrows.

He was about to follow Elaya out of the room when they both came to a halt as an exhausted-looking Kaz blocked their path. Maybe block wasn't the right word, though. He mostly just stood there, looking tired and depressed. Had he not slept at all since they'd last spoken?

Rhenor felt guilt stir within him, but he quickly pushed it away.

"Please, don't do this," Kaz pleaded, but his voice was steady. He looked from Rhen to Elaya and back again, looking at them with big, sad eyes. It was quite difficult to look back, but Rhenor managed.

"We've already discussed this, Kaz," Rhen replied, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible, though he wasn't sure if it was to avoid sounding angry or sad. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling anymore. He just didn't like it.

Rhenor pushed past him as gently as he could, glad that at least Kaz let himself be moved. He didn't want to be forceful, though Kaz's hurt looks were much worse than having to push him away.

Damn him. Kaz was the one causing this. Maybe if he lowered his impossible standards, Rhenor wouldn't be so eager to try to help Elaya and the others.

But none of this made Rhenor feel any better, and if anything, his guilt got all the worse.

"But...." Kaz followed behind them as they both made their way to the ladder leading to the trapdoor. "What if it's a trap? What if something happens? I don't want to lose you. Either of you."

Rhen swallowed, trying not to look at him. It would make leaving all the more difficult. Though he couldn't not look when Elaya hugged Kaz. He looked like he was hanging onto her for dear life.

"You won't. We'll be fine, I promise."

Rhen was sure all three of them knew it was a very empty promise. There was no way of knowing how this would turn out, but the odds were in their favor, assuming things would go according to plan.

And they should if the situation went as expected. And if not, they could still call this off, which was what they were going to find out now. Rhen hoped they wouldn't give up on the plan, though. He truly did want to give the dragons a problem they would have to deal with and to show them that their rule wasn't as stable as they liked to think.

He climbed up and out of the basement before Kaz could try to convince them to reconsider, breathing in the surprisingly warm air. From the edge of the city where the basement was located, he could smell the salt of the ocean. They must have been very close to the coast, though Rhen still hadn't managed to mentally map Sigallah as well as he would have liked.

Despite not being around Kaz anymore, he got progressively more irritated with him as they snuck through the narrow streets of what truly seemed like the worst part of the city. Rhenor just couldn't focus on the task at hand as much as he wanted to because of Kaz. He kept thinking about him instead, about the fact that maybe Rhenor shouldn't do this, but he immediately rejected that thought whenever it came up.

This wasn't about Kaz, and he didn't understand how much this meant to Rhen, or Elaya with the life he had had until now. Elaya looked a little distracted as well, but she didn't seem to want to talk about it, and neither did Rhenor, so they just stayed silent as they made their way back to the harbor.

It was fascinating how many dank, narrow alleys Sigallah had to offer, and how easily Elaya kept finding them to keep out of the sight of as many people as possible. With the position of the sun, Rhen estimated that it was already afternoon, which he really wouldn't have expected. His body must have appreciated that for once he hadn't slept directly on the ground.

They got to the harbor right as the ship was about to reach it. Rhenor had a limited view of it, given that he was leaning onto a wall to stay hidden, but even then he couldn't help but feel awe when he saw it.

For some reason, he'd thought ships were smaller than this—possibly because he'd never seen one in person. The thought of infiltrating something this colossal seemed impossible, but at the same time it made him more determined to do it. The size would offer a lot of space to hide in.

Though that awe quickly dissipated when his eyes fell on the red and gold flags and banners that hung from the ship's various parts. There were even large banners hanging over the sides, which only showed the dragons' ego all the better. Surely if one set one of these on fire, the whole ship would quickly follow.

There weren't as many people on board as he'd thought there might be—only around five—but there could be more inside, so this meant very little. And there would most likely be guards helping them protect the money at night, but Rhen was staying hopeful.

He turned around when he felt tugging on his arm, letting Elaya lead him a bit farther back into the alley they were standing in.

"Arion and Serina should already be waiting under the dock to see if they can overhear something important, so we'll find a vantage point to watch from above," she said, to which Rhenor nodded. That sounded like a good idea to him.

And so he followed her through more alleys and dark corners, only noticing they were heading uphill due to it being physically more taxing. There was barely any change in scenery except for sandstone houses in various levels of disrepair, and the odd wooden house, made of rotten, or otherwise damaged planks.

The people reflected this as well, usually wearing heavily repaired, unwashed clothing, and looking far less joyous than the people on the other side of Sigallah. Rhenor tried to keep his anger at seeing that to himself and only focused on following Elaya further up onto the hill the city spread across.

Once they finally reached the top Elaya stopped, looking down onto the harbor. They weren't that far away from it, certainly not as far as Rhenor would have assumed, so they could still easily see the individual members of the crew moving and working their various tasks.

The part of the city they had found themselves in was more open, but there seemed to be fewer people around, so even if someone found him and Elaya suspicious, they weren't likely to get reported. And Rhenor also had a feeling there weren't many guards in this part of the city either. Which meant that they might very easily find themselves being mugged, but at least the guards shouldn't cause them trouble.

They both sat down in the grass next to the crumbling wall of a house, looking down at the ship intently. For a moment Rhenor wondered if it would be worth it to steal it. He knew nothing about sailing, but perhaps Elaya, or the other two did. But as much as that idea appealed to the part of him that insisted on offending those haughty lizards at every possible turn, it would not end well.

The ship was too recognizable and much too large to man with only five people—especially if most of them had no idea what to do. So as much as Rhen liked the idea, it would be safer to simply steal the silver and disappear.

They watched the ship for hours, trying to figure out how many people exactly there were, how the extra guards on the pier behaved, and where the crew went when they went off to the city.

As the sun started to make its way down to the ocean, Rhenor couldn't help but feel more and more antsy. He could tell Elaya wasn't completely calm either, but she wasn't letting it distract her, and neither would Rhen.

Finally, as the sun disappeared below the horizon, and the city became darker and colder, they started heading back down to the harbor, still doing their best to avoid as many eyes as possible.

It was time.