It was midday when I got inside the woods. My thoughts carried me to that darkness that saved us. No matter how much I thought about it, it did save us. I replayed the previous events in my mind. I had to find a clue as to why that thing, whatever it was, saved us, and helped Nag avoid big trouble.

I heard a twig snap in the distance. I stopped and squinted at its direction. Soon after, a hulking silhouette made its way toward me. Cloaked and covering his head, Nag approached me with slouched shoulders.

"Hey there friend," I called out to him, trying to sound cheerful.

"I see you've recovered," he said. His voice was gruff, a little too deep.

"Feeling better yourself?" I asked. "I heard you got injured."

"It was nothing," Nag replied. "How did it go with the rich man?"

"I mentioned the darkness," I said. "I was instantly cleared of all charges after that, even you actually."

Nag chuckled lightly. "My crime was to get in this village," he said.

"The first human settlement you end up in, and they're already after you, eh?" I asked.

"I expected as much," he said. "You weren't really welcome when you stumbled into ours."

"Fair point," I said. "What will you do now?"

"I think I will stay around," he said. "I'll help you learn some magic, deliver on my promise. After that, I think I'll roam the wilderness. I'll try to find my own kind who live above the ground."

"You sound a bit too depressed," I said. "Cheer up. You're still free, and alive."

"It's what saved us that makes me feel down," Nag said.

"You agree that it saved us, right?"

"What would you call it? One moment we were surrounded. I was ready to fight them back, obliterate them if need be. The next it became so dark I couldn't even see past my nose."

"How did you get away?" I asked.

"I felt something pull me aside," Nag said. "I didn't know what it was, so I attacked…"

"Is this how you got injured?"

Nag nodded. I snorted.

He removed his hood and shot me a dark look. "You weren't any better," he said. "You ate dirt while that guard pummeled you down."

"We were both in deep s.h.i.+t," I said. "Don't get upset. It's good to laugh at your misery from time to time. You'll live longer."

"We already live longer than all of you humans," Nag said. "I don't need shame to follow me wherever I go."

"What are you going to do about it then?"

"I want to look for that thing," he replied. "I want to know why it saved us. I have a strong suspicion it's human, or some other life form. Its hands were small as it led me out of the darkness, and it spoke your tongue. This eliminates the possibility that it's my kind."

"I have that suspicion too," I said. "And as it so happens, that Lord Bodrick invited me to the inn he's staying in. He has a job for me, he said. My sixth sense tells me he'll ask me to look into that darkness thing."

"Will you do it?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't like working for others, especially the rich and n.o.ble kind. They have too many conditions. They require reports and quick results too. This thing needs investigating. I don't think I can find whatever causes it quickly."

"But you need the money," Nag retorted.

"I need to get laid too," I said. "You don't see me hitting on every woman I lay eyes on."

That made him laugh, it was good to see him relax a little. "I thought you didn't look at women to keep the thought of Kiera alive," he said.

"Her thought is alive," I said. "I do what I do now to avenge her death, as well as my family's, but that doesn't mean I should remain faithful to a dead woman."

Nag's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. It was my turn to laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked, scowling.

"Nothing," I said. "I'm just not used to your kind's facial expressions."

"Whatever," he said. "Are we going to investigate this darkness thing?"

"Oh, yes," I said. "People say it's hostile. I just don't believe it, but if we make it known that we're actually looking for it, it will turn its attention to us."

"You got any plans?" he asked.

"A shadow of one," I said. "I don't think people will actually speak about it here. We might have to go to the city to find more clues."

"Which brings us back to the money problem," Nag said.

"Not to mention your desire to stay away from human settlements," I said.

"What do we do then?"

"I'll see what the great Lord Bodrick has to offer," I said. "If it's about the darkness, then I'll respectfully decline. If it's some other job, then I'll take it. Who knows, it might help us get to the city. Imagine if you are allowed inside Merinsk, under his protection."

"I wouldn't go anyway," Nag said. "I hate owing favors to humans."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "The only human you owe a favor to is me," I said.

"That's different," Nag said.

He gave me that stubborn look after that, which urged me not to ask any more questions. I dropped the matter then.

"Where can I find you?" I asked. "I'm heading to the mayor's office now. I'll pay Bodrick a visit after that. I'd like to report what I've found out to you."

"Just walk in here," he said. "I'll get in touch, if you're not followed."

"Alright," I said.

I turned to leave when Nag cleared his throat. I turned to look at him. He was staring at me in a way that made me feel a bit awkward.

"It's good to see you alive," he said.

"Likewise," I replied with a warm smile. "Don't get caught out here," I said then left.

When I reached the village, the marketplace was swarming with people. The smell of barbecue invaded my nostrils. I strolled about the stands on my way to the mayor's office. There were all kinds of fruit, cakes, barbecued meat, not to mention lots of flower crowns and garlands.

The atmosphere was cheerful. People chatted happily as they hurried from one stand to the other, spending their hard earned money, or their husband's. Most of the merchants shot me dark looks as I pa.s.sed by though. News truly spread fast in small villages. The women, on the other hand, shot me even darker looks.

I swept the thought of exploring the marketplace after that. I could clearly feel that I wasn't welcome. Some of Bodrick's men b.u.t.ted shoulders with me as they walked by. It was obvious they were looking to start something. I was no longer welcome around here.

I made my way to the mayor's office as fast as I could. It was a large mansion with a conical roof. It was made out of white oak, and had a clock tower that unnaturally protruded from the middle. It was the only thing that stood out in this stale village. The clock tower's conical roof was adorned with a flower crown, larger than life.

Unpleasant guards led me inside the mayor's study, where I waited for almost an hour. I took my time thinking about the people in this village then, of how women looked abnormally detached from men. Each walked in different rows, even in the busy marketplace. You'd never see a man walking among women, and vice versa.

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The door to the study sprung up and a short stout man appeared. He had one of these forgettable faces, round, balding head, with a bushy mustache and a monocle. He looked like every man trying hard to look like a n.o.ble. When he spoke, his voice was squeaky, high pitched.

"I hear you're the one who defeated the Song-folk," he said, extending his hand to me. I shook it and nodded.

"I had help though," I said. "If it weren't for my friend, Nag, I would be dead by now."

The man gave me an uncomfortable smile. "I'm the mayor of this peaceful village," he said. "You can call me Cristoph."

"I'm Zedd," I said. "Shall we get to business? I have an appointment with Lord Bodrick, and I'm afraid I'm late."

The mayor gave me another uncomfortable smile then led me to his desk. He made sure to sit on the other side, while beckoning me to take a small, worn out chair opposite him. The desk was too large, too clean for a mayor of such a small hamlet. There were no stacked papers, no scribes running in and out of the place to get his signatures for this and that doc.u.ment.

We spoke about the contract. I managed to squeeze another gold coin out of him, on account of the villager's a.s.sault on my life. I also had to bring up Bodrick's offer and what he said about the mayor's greediness – I might have improvised, but who would go and question Lord Borcik? – All in all, I came out richer than I'd expected.

Lord Bodrick was busy when I reached the inn. His guards asked me to come back in the morning. I left the place and headed for the tavern. It was the only place that would still accept me, given I sit in the back and don't bother anyone.

The sound of high pitched laughter reached me before I even pushed the door open. When I got inside, I saw Zoey sitting on a man's lap. Her face was fl.u.s.tered, too close to the man as well. He'd whisper something to her ear and she'd just wail in laughter. I wondered how her voice didn't annoy him.

"Who's that?" I asked Morrison as I reached the bar.

"A bounty hunter," the tavern owner answered. He was scowling. His eyes darted back and forth, between the mugs he cleaned and the man on whose laps Zoey sat. "Says he's hunting the merchant robber," Morrison went on.

"You don't like him, do you?" I asked.

"He's nothing but bad news," Morrison replied. "If you hunt that merchant robber, you're bound to bring misery along."

"Do you know him?" I asked.

Morrison nodded. "He goes by the name Osgar," he said.

"Is he famous?" I asked.

"Quite," Morrison replied. "Most people call him Peg Leg," he went on. "Don't call him that though. I don't want my tavern trashed."

I snorted at the nickname. "Zoey wouldn't mind the nickname."

Morrison chuckled. "We'll see by the end of the day, won't we?" he said, smirking and jerking his head toward them. From the looks of it, Zoey clearly fancied the man.