The Fifth Night

The fifth night of the hunt had now begun. Cloaked in darkness, the shade demon waits next to the northern gate. Deciding to be physically present just in case anything were to happen. The woman who's looking for a smuggler arrives soon after, she looks nervous and uneasy. Constantly walking around or doing something else to keep her busy.

A few hours pass by, the scenario not changing a bit. Until a copper-skinned individual arrives, he's also cloaked and has an air of secrecy around him. He approaches the woman, who walks around uneasy.

"Are you the one looking for Blechian cuisine?"

"Yes, I am."

"What type of food exactly? I need to know my ingredients, after all." The cloaked man asks, cautiously, asking what needs to be smuggled.

"This list has everything that I want on it. Now what about the pricing?"

The cloaked man begins to smile as he looks very happy with everything written on the piece of paper.

"This is quite an unexpected cuisine, far more... spicy than usual." The man's voice has become more slimy, Either the product is better than expected or the potential profit is.

"I am aware. How much?" The woman says, clearly unimpressed with the man's changed demeanor.

"If I were to sell this recipe, I would want half of the gains."

"Which would give me a total of?"

"Sixty Frieden."

"That won't do, what about a quarter?"

"I am the one risking my life."

"I need 75 golden Frieden from this mission. Sixty won't do."

"How about this? You will get your 75 golden Frieden, but if I manage to sell it for more than originally planned, the price won't change.

"Fine by me."

It seems that the 2 individuals came to a quick conclusion. Since one just needs a fixed amount and doesn't care about the rest. These "negotiations" went quite smoothly. The woman now hands over, the paper. The man reaches out and immediately pockets it.

"How long will it take?"

"Depends on the negotiations. If I had to guess, around a month."

"Where do we meet?"

"I'll send word in advance. This is not my first rodeo." The man responds, assuring the woman that everything will be fine. The amount of money on the line, probably the only reason why she's properly getting calmed down.

Secessus keeps a close watch and waits for the woman to disappear. Unfortunately, it's Zared that disappears into a nearby alley first. The shade demon chases him sneakily, his dark aura very efficient as the three moons in the air shine dimly.

'Wait…. Three moons? I feel like this should have some heavy repercussions. But never mind that.' The shade demon thinks, noticing this different natural phenomenon he isn't used to.

Leaving behind his doubts about how this would affect tidal waves. Secessus continues to follow Zared hoping to find the smuggler go to some smuggler's den. This chase of about 5 minutes as Zared enters some house near the outskirts of the city.

Secessus thinks about breaking and entering but decides against since simply using the same trick he has used these past nights should do the trick. Controlling a mix of blood and darkness, he finds himself in a decently looking house. It's nothing impressive compared to Kir's house in the center of the city, but for something around the outskirts it seems to be high quality. The furniture whilst simple looks to be of good quality as even some paintings decorate the house.

The cloaked smuggler called Zared is in the house, lighted thanks to a candle he's carrying. As he makes his way through the house, he calmly pulls off the cloak. Showing his mid-long dirt blonde hair slightly swaying to the right side.

He enters a room, the shade of Secessus still following him closely. Inside the room is a large bed, with a woman and a baby laying in it. He gently wakes up the woman from her sleep and explains the discussion from before. Telling her that this job is risky, but seeing how much he can gain worth it. The woman, who was awoken by what seems to be her husband or lover, listens closely. Nodding her head whilst he explains, it seems this is not the first time such a scenario has come up.

"When are you thinking of leaving?" The woman asks whilst making sure their child is still asleep.

"Tomorrow by dawn. I want to cash in as quickly as possible. Then we can finally leave this city." Zared replies, sitting on the side of the bed, looking at the door as he speaks.

"Be careful."

'Great, what to do now?' Secesssu thinks, hearing a lot of personal information, but unfortunately not any useful ones.

'He's leaving by dawn, so it seems he doesn't have to reconvene with any other smugglers. But he and Aya have to know each other otherwise that granary boy wouldn't know both of them, right? Or do they just act independently? No, that can't be right because Aya was the leader they said.' Secessus brainstorms all the information he knows for sure. Hoping that somehow he can make the right conclusion.

'What's more is that It's risky to let more time pass by. The assassin is probably making headway every day as well…. Why did I agree to this?' Secessus laments his decision to accept his quest before knocking on the door.

A few impatient knocks later and the dirty blond haired smuggler named Zared opens the door slightly, leaving it ajar since someone's knocking on an unsightly hour.

Secessus immediately uses strings of darkness to grab Zared and cover his mouth. He slowly enters the house as the smuggler desperately struggles to break free from his hold. The shade demon makes his way to the dining room, seating himself and zared at opposite sides.

"I'm sorry for barging in, but you need to tell me something before you leave, tomorrow." Secessus announces as he dispels the dark strings surrounding Zared.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Zared asks, not yelling, as his eyes often stray to the door of the room he was in just before.

"Where can I find Aya?"

"How should I know?"

"Because you're a smuggler, just like her. To be clear, I don't intend to harm her. However, she seems to know something about the grand duke staying here, and one of his assassins also knows this information." Secessus opts to tell his side of the story, hoping to sway Zared.

Unfortunately, Zared simply scoffs, clearly not believing the man who broke and entered in his house using magic to not be the assassin himself.

"What is your task, then? To warn her?"

"To kill the assassin."

"So you're an assassin after all." Zared laughs, seeing that the man before him is no hair better than the one he's supposed to stop.

"You don't know even half of what I am. My hands are stained in blood." Secessus says as he summons a fireball. The fire comes together in the palm of his hand, crackling wildly. He points the fireball to the room where Zared's lover and child are sleeping.

"Candlelight can be so dangerous. So much useless death because of something so frivolous." He says as the fire in his hand becomes even more intense.

"Wait! Like I said, I don't know where Aya is. But I have a good guess." Zared rapidly explains, seeing the raging fire become fiercer.

"Then tell me, otherwise I turn everything here into ashes."