The lonely Night

Slim came out and looked at Laki and Kiyu. "What's this pile of grief here? Look at that kid, at least he's careful!"

Laughing, he went back inside and waved the others in.

'Waiting is over!'

Waiting outside in the alley was annoying, but the time was also too short to meditate. Now it was time to tackle their escape from Oras. Whatever that escape would look like.

Kiyu let Laki and Zhèngyi go first and closed the door behind her. This was the first time she got a glimpse of the inside of the lonely night and was.... not surprised. After all, Slim's hut already looked so run-down, so she hadn't had high hopes for this accommodation.

'At least there are no holes in the walls here.' In moments like these, it was easy for her not to expect anything for which she might have felt disappointed afterwards.

The group joined Slim at the bar, where he already had another bottle of alcohol in front of him. No one said anything, and Kiyu felt an uneasiness rising inside her. What had they just gotten themselves into?

"So, this idiot gang of kids you are expecting to do this?" the muscular host asked, annoyed, looking at Slim. "They don't look special now, if you ask me."

Kiyu looked to her comrades and saw Zhèngyi holding back the anger he felt at the moment. Understandable, considering who had just insulted her. The guy looked like he could eat the three of them for breakfast. Therefore, she did not want to go for a strength comparison.

"I assure you they'll get the job done with flying colors." said Slim, grinning before taking a hearty swig from the bottle. "

"Very well," the stranger replied. " if you say so. And you're going to let them go through this alone?"

"What are you talking about?" roared Zhèngyi, who seemed unable to contain his bad temper. "You guys make it sound like it's a secret mission of life and death!"

He crossed his arms and looked away to avoid the fearful gaze of the host.

Kiyu and Laki, on the other hand, continued to look ahead. Unlike Kiyu, Laki also acted somewhat offended by the stranger's statements. After all, he had called them idiots and Laki liked to act quick, anyway. So far, this only showed itself in dismissive behavior.

However, Kiyu continued to sit straight on the bar stool and had her hands in her lap. During the insults, she hadn't pulled a face once, at least not consciously.

"Who is that little one there, looking so unconcerned all the time? At least one who doesn't snap at the slightest remark."

"That little one," Slim replied, "is why I'm not worried about the mission." He laughed out loud before resuming his drinking.

Kiyu's eyes widened when she heard Slim's words. On the one hand, she would have loved to ram the bottle deep down his throat, but on the other hand, Cheryu would give her a sermon just for the thought.

'But what does he mean by that?'

She had never once displayed her powers while they were with Slim. Sure, she had helped a little with her endurance and mountain exhaustion, but it was so minor that no one could have noticed. Did he notice it?

Could any old man say with complete certainty right away that she was a Spiritformer? For Kiyu, this had always been a special power she used with care. Perhaps it was time to let go of the idea that her abilities were like a hidden secret.

"I understand.... however. I heard you needed a ship to take you out of Xianzhu the Trade Magnate's sphere of influence." he explained.

Now it became much more interesting for the group and even Zhèngyi, who before had ignored the things they talked about in a huff, now turned to the conversation.

"Well, as luck would have it, tomorrow such a ship will come by.... but."

"But what?" asked Zhèngyi, leaning forward.

"The ship doesn't take passengers. It's a merchant ship that's supposed to carry a... special extra cargo. The second catch is, that cargo has yet to be procured."

They all widened their eyes when they heard the words. That was what their mission was about - a theft. Whatever it was, it had to be precious.

"I guess we're the pickup people?" asked Kiyu, masking any emotion.

"Collectors, transporters, deliverers." the stranger replied, shrugging his shoulders. "The cargo is in a warehouse here in Oras, and indeed no one plans transport for it. However, as luck would have it, one of my clients is interested in that very cargo, if you understand."

He grinned, looking at the faces of the children in front of him.

"We're supposed to steal this cargo, whatever it is, from the warehouse, bring it to the port undetected, and smuggle it onto the ship," Laki whispered, grinning. "Sounds doable, doesn't it, Kiki?"

"That depends on what the cargo is and how heavily it's guarded." she replied, glancing again at the host, hoping to get a few more details.

"You weren't lying," the stranger said, grinning over at Slim, who seemed to ignore him, however. "You messed with Xianzhu and got desperate."

There was silence after he uttered that. It was still a problematic issue for the group and none of him felt like joking.

"Is there anything useful coming?" grumbled Zhèngyi.

"Ha! It is a small ornament of pure gold in the cargo. Though it is not so valuable because of its material, but because of its meaning. The ornament is in the shape of a dragon falcon, you will recognize it from that. Just wait a moment."

The burly innkeeper disappeared into a back room just behind the counter and reappeared only after a few minutes.

"Here I have a map of Oras," he opened, "and here is where your destination is. We ourselves are located here."

His broad fingers pointed to the places on the map where both they and their destination were located. It was fortunate that the map was larger, because otherwise, because of his fat fingers, they would have seen only the road instead of the buildings.

"Tomorrow morning you will grab the ornament, get to the harbor without causing a ruckus, and board the ship at the far left edge of the pier. You will recognize it by the figurehead in the shape of a bear's head."

"And then what?" wondered Laki. "What happens to us then?"

Without making a sound, the innkeeper turned to Slim again and looked at him in bewilderment. But old Slim had no intention of interfering and instead continued to drink from his bottle.

"Oh boy," he sighed. "Okay, you get on the ship and travel to Xiangyuan City together with the ornament. There, my local contact will reveal you and take the cargo. You will find out everything else then."

Without waiting for another word, he headed back toward the door behind the counter and opened the door. "You can spend the night here until tomorrow morning. The tavern is no longer in use anyway, and I'm only here during the day for contact."

"What's your profit in it, anyway?", Kiyu asked old Slim, who was still sitting at the counter, hanging on to his bottle. She didn't expect a satisfactory answer, but at least asking cost nothing.

"Who knows?" he countered, grinning.

With the bottle still at his mouth, he straightened up and walked towards the main entrance. "I don't think we'll see each other again so soon. Don't screw it up."

With those words, he left the flophouse, leaving the silent group around Kiyu behind.

"What do you think?" inquired Zhèngyi. "Are we going through with this?"

"I think we should at least try. If it gets us away from that monster Xianzhu, we can't leave it to the left," Laki said, turning to the two.

Kiyu propped her head on her right hand, whose arm she had placed on the counter.

"We're already in so deep that I'm afraid we have no choice but to try," she said.

"Either Xianzhu will catch us through his political network, or... whatever this group is will catch us. We've learned things one doesn't learn without a risk," she continued.

"Then it's decided." countered Zhèngyi. "And what are we going to do until the raid? Do we want to hang around here in this flophouse until tomorrow morning?"

"Let's go see the city," Laki cheered. "Oras is so much bigger than Jarifa, there must be so much to see here."

Kiyu nodded. "Besides, we should use this time to visit the warehouse. We need to know how many guards there are and what the route to the port is."

"Agreed," Zhèngyi replied.

Together they made their way to the exit and noticed that the key still stuck from the inside. So they had gained this dosshouse as a base?

Kiyu turned to Zhèngyi, who understood what she was getting at. He went to the door behind the counter and came back with a key in his hand.

"Looks like this shabby tavern is ours now," he grinned.