✴

There was a grating sound of steel against rock. Thia sat on the floor, legs crossed, sharpening her blade on a whetstone. The rock had a jagged, uneven shape that betrayed its natural origin. No, this was not some finely crafted, high-grade whetstone; to most people it would probably look like any other ordinary rock. But within its plain superficial appearance hid a brilliant secret: a special constitution of minerals, enabling it to hone the dull—into the deadly.

The stone was quite valuable, but the knife could have paid for it a hundred times over. Steel weapons were very rare in the Boroughs, carried almost exclusively by mercenaries or outlaws. The only way to obtain them was by stealing directly from the High Guard—or from someone else who had. Apparently the Ascendant's natural advantage over the Lowborn wasn't enough: they seemed to require all the material advantages as well.

Thia had been thirteen years old when she had looted her knife off of a corpse in an alley. The unfortunate victim must have been wounded elsewhere, only venturing into the alley to die, otherwise the killer would have surely retrieved the blade for themselves. She was still living in the children's home then, and finding the knife had provided her with the opportunity to start forging her own path: taking on various jobs which she would have never considered, were it not for the additional protection that the weapon offered. When she had been forced to wield it for the first time, she had discovered something about herself: that she possessed the constitution required to do what was necessary. It had hidden inside her all along, like the minerals hiding inside the rock, and when revealed it provided her with purpose.

There was a loud knock on the door. Thia stood up and sheathed her knife in a smooth motion: the kind of motion which—performed with such casual grace—could only come from years of experience. She opened the door to find Ortis' face looking back at her.

"You ready?" he asked in a gruff voice.

Ortis was a very easy-going person—maybe even a little too much so, if you asked Thia—but while on the job he took on a much more serious air. The man looked like a real brute: he was large, muscular, with a shaved head and a square face. Normally his attitude more than made up for his rough exterior; he generally had a very relaxing effect on people. But when he was like this, Thia supposed that anyone in their right mind would avoid him as if he was death itself.

"Of course", Thia replied. "Lead the way".

✴ ✴

"So, are you going to brief me on who exactly we're meeting this fine morning?"

They were striding down the dark street in unison. It was still early and few people stirred within the damp, gloomy corners of the Boroughs. Ortis kept his eyes fixed forward, barely acknowledging her except for a muttered reply:

"I think it's better if you see when we get there. Just..." he gave her a glance from the corner of his eye, "be cool, yeah?"

"When am I not?" she scoffed, at once amused and slightly concerned by his remark.

"Oh, you have your moments," he said, letting out a wry smile.

She furrowed her brow at this, but didn't say anything further. They kept walking in silence until they came to an area on the north-eastern side of the Boroughs, where Ortis led them down a side street between two large buildings close to the inner wall. There was a door on the side of one of the buildings here, out of view from the main street. Ortis knocked on the door using a distinct rhythm—obviously some sort of code. The lock gave off a satisfying click in response and after looking around for a moment, as if to make sure they weren't being watched, Ortis let himself in.

They stepped into a room which was completely bare, aside from the person standing at its center: a long, slim man in a shimmering, dark red suit. He stood straight, holding his head high—a prominent, aquiline nose protruding from his long face and short, brown hair swirling around it in wild locks. He didn't seem much older than Thia, but he did possess a certain aura of authority. Upon seeing him, Thia's body immediately tensed up and her hand wanted to find the hilt of her knife. It took all of her willpower to resist the impulse.

He's a rotten Ascendant! she thought, clenching her jaw. What was Ortis thinking, bringing us here?

The man stepped forward holding out his right hand and Ortis took it, giving it a firm shake.

"Ah, the man I've heard so much about," the voice was gentle, almost jovial, but had a commanding quality to it. It was the voice of someone to whom it had never occurred to try and artificially exert confidence—which was in itself strangely imposing. He looked over Ortis' shoulder, inspecting Thia. "And this is?"

"Thia," Ortis replied, "I brought her along for extra security. That was the idea, right?"

She cringed at hearing her own name uttered in the presence of this Ascendant stranger. She might trust Ortis more than anyone, but even that trust only went so far.

"Indeed," the man answered. "To be frank, I'm surprised you only brought one. I suppose trustworthy folk are as hard to find as good food these days, no?" He smiled broadly.

"Sure, but two people are plenty for this kind of operation. More than that and you're basically asking to get noticed."

"Well, well... looks like recruiting you was a fine choice indeed," the man said thoughtfully. "I may not be a dullard, but I certainly have a lot to learn when it comes to street smarts, it seems." He walked over to Thia and extended his hand to her. She didn't take it.

"What do you need us for?" She asked in the most neutral voice she could muster.

The man looked confused for a moment, but then simply smiled at her and lowered his hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Thia. My name is Eigne, but I take it that pleasantries are redundant, yes?"

"Yes," she answered dryly.

That friendly smile never left Eigne's face, in spite of her blank stare. It frustrated her incredibly; she wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid grin off his face. He took a step back and gestured towards an adjacent room.

"Alright then, let's get down to business."

✴ ✴ ✴

In the second room there stood a table, upon which a bundle of cloth lay neatly wrapped together. The fabric was of high quality and Thia wondered what sort of valuable content could be hidden inside: food, medicine or perhaps fresh pieces of clothing? Ortis picked up the package and it gave off a muffled clinking sound as he did so. Vials of medicine, then, she thought. Great... ain't this familiar.

The events from two nights ago flashed through her head—lingering on the image of that unconscious man, bleeding onto the floorboards. She shuddered. That night, she had at least been able to take comfort in the fact that she had been helping a sick Lowborn boy. Could she bring herself to go to the same lengths for the benefit of this Ascendant scum? She didn't think so.

"How far?" Ortis asked Eigne, bringing her thoughts back to the moment.

"It's only a few blocks from here," Eigne responded. "I'll lead the way—you just follow and make sure the package is secure. We shouldn't have too much trouble if we move quickly, yes?"

"You tell me," Ortis grunted. "Do you have any reason to expect trouble?"

"I may have... drawn some unwanted attention lately," Eigne responded tactfully.

"What are we talking about here?" Thia asked, frustrated. "Looters? Rival gang? Spit it out already."

Eigne looked at her, unphased by her forwardness. That stupid smile again—it really got under her skin.

"High Guard," he finally said.

Thia froze. She glanced over at Ortis, who gave her an uncomfortable look. He had already suspected this, she realized. Heavens, Ortis, what are you thinking? First this Ascendant contractor, then potential trouble with the High Guard? But part of her was intrigued by the idea: an Ascendant operating opposed to the High Guard? It didn't make sense.

"Is that a problem?" Eigne asked, the first hint of worry appearing on his face.

"Depends," Thia replied and turned toward Ortis: "You said usual rate. I assume this level of risk was taken into account when you said that?"

"Of course," Ortis replied.

"Then it's no problem," Thia said matter-of-factly.

No problem indeed—while she didn't care for the idea of risking an altercation with the High Guard, her conscience had been greatly eased by this revelation. Protecting the interest of an Ascendant against Lowborn would not have sat right with her. Not in the slightest. But this appeared to be a different story entirely—and one that had her dangerously curious at that.

"Then we better get going," Ortis said, "before the city awakens."

When they came out on the side street Eigne took the lead as promised, Ortis following with the package in his arms and Thia close behind him. Moving onto the main street, Eigne pulled a hood up over his head. Thia started. She hadn't noticed his cloak until just now: dark brown with emerald embroidery—it was the same kind worn by the runner from the other night. She clenched her teeth. "I may have drawn some unwanted attention", he had said. Well, that was the understatement of the year. But it was too late to turn back now.

✴ ✴ ✴ ✴

Eigne had been right, the High Guard were certainly more alert than usual today. And no wonder, Thia thought, one of them had been killed yesterday. When was the last time that had happened? She didn't know. One thing she did know: if they were caught, it was all over. Perhaps that wouldn't be so bad, she considered—at least there would be no more breathing in dust, no more scorching under the midday sun, no more watching people die from disease or Duacillin pills. And no more killing. Then again, there would also be one less person looking out for the most vulnerable Lowborn. She decided the trade was a bad one. She would not die today—not before exhausting all possible alternatives. She would gladly throw Eigne to the wolves if it came to that, and if that wasn't enough she would simply take as many High Guards with her as she could.

They kept stopping briefly at certain intersections—Eigne would raise his hand, signalling for them to halt, then suddenly continue forward at a brisk pace. The darkness was retreating now, the streets slowly brightening with a dim greyish light, diffused by the mist and dust swirling in between the cramped houses. The familiar sound of clinking armor echoed all around them, making it seem like High Guard patrols lurked behind every corner. It was impossible to determine which direction the sounds came from, yet they somehow managed to avoid running into anyone. At one point, the three of them took a right turn onto an intersecting road, and when Thia glanced over her shoulder she saw two High Guards walking down the street in the opposite direction. Her heart jumped. They had seemingly avoided them by blind luck—Eigne hadn't even stopped to glance around the corner before barreling out onto the street.

Eventually they arrived at a building halfway between the inner and outer wall. Eigne unlocked the door and urged Thia and Ortis inside, before entering himself and hurriedly locking the door behind them. They all breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"I'll take that," a voice from behind Thia uttered.