The Arcane Trilogy: Sins of the Past - Book 2

Chapter 24: Unending Dread

Thieram never thought he'd be thought of as "the muscle". Afterall, if he had to describe himself to someone, "the muscle" would be one of the last words he'd use. Sure, he had a good level of physical fitness and he wasn't as thin as a stick, but compared to the usual heavy hitters that worked for Silco, he was nothing more than an ant.

So the fact that Sevika had ordered him to provide backup to Ran, specifically as the image of a heavy hitting enforcer, was definitely not something he was comfortable with. He was confident that he could stand behind Ran and look like he meant business, but if a fight broke out against the hooded man that had effortlessly murdered two of their thugs outside 'The Last Drop' before casually strolling in with one of their heads, he would be as useful as nipples on a breastplate. However, when Sevika was involved, you didn't have a choice. If she said jump, you did it without question, and then prayed that you jumped high enough to satisfy her needs.

Thieram did not know the meeting place, so he dutifully followed Ran, who led a group comprising herself, Dustin, Thieram and Narn, whose biceps dwarfed the size of a normal man's skull. Thieram tried to hide it, but he could feel his blood boiling away with uncertainty as the group delved further and further down increasingly darker and smaller alleyways, with Thieram the only person in the group with no idea as to where they would be going.

Eventually, the group arrived at the same meeting place as before, with the thin bridge looming over the darkened path. Ran stood at the head of the group, with Dustin stood off to her side, slightly fidgeting. Thieram did not know if it was anticipation or fear that moved the man, as the bartender tried to stand as still and stoically as possible, to hide the nerves that bounced through his body. Narn also stood tall and unmoving next to Thieram, but his iron scowl did not suggest that the larger thug had fallen victim to the fear that plagued the bartender.

Over the course of the minutes that followed, Thieram found his heart beat settling slightly, as he slowly shifted into the tough facade that was required of him. However, he felt his rib cage almost break under the pressure of his terrified heart as a familiar shadowy figure slowly came into view out of the hazy soft green mist that encased the horizon. The terror that gripped Thieram when the same man had placed the head of one of his colleagues onto the counter at 'The Last Drop' was firmly burnt onto the bartender's mind. Simply seeing the same cloaked shape was enough to reduce the bartender to nothing more than a scared child, but he hid those emotions beneath his attempt of a menacing face, even if every fibre in his being screamed at him to run away. The only thing that he feared more than facing the mysterious killer was the wrath he would face from Sevika if he disobeyed her.

The cloaked trio stopped a few metres before Ran, with one of the large figures that followed the smaller man depositing another large chest on the cold stones below; a container that matched the same design and shape of the boxes from the first meeting. The chest landed with a deep thud, implying that it was in fact filled to the brim. The large man who dropped it opened up the chest before stepping back behind the smaller hooded man, who's unmoving form continued to watch the group before him with invisible eyes.

From where Ran was standing, she could see lots of coin pouches had been stuffed into the box, but could not accurately tell how many cogs were in each one. She reclined her head slightly to the side, all the while maintaining eye contact with the hooded men.

"Thieram, count it." Simply ordered Ran with a cold tone, prompting Thieram to immediately start forward, his pace slightly slowing as he approached the chest which brought him closer to the hooded man.

"You don't need to do that. The chest contains 500,00 cogs." Simply stated the hooded man with an impassive tone, causing Thieram to freeze mid move as he knelt down and placed his hands on the cold wooden surface.