Amongst Thieves

7.

The list Forge provided them was unnecessarily long and overly extensive, but Maize knew they had more than enough gold on their person to satisfy their needs. Shopping was admittedly one of her guilty pleasures, but she was more used to stealing the items she wanted because she couldn't afford them rather than actually outright paying for them without recourse.

Ress, she could tell as they walked through Dreduor's merchant district, was of the same mind, his hand protectively at the pouch on his belt as he scoured the list for the fourth time that morning.

After spending the night attempting to reason and rationalize the requirements of Lawson Forge's list, Maize decided that they would need to be awake at the break of dawn to embark on preparing for their new endeavor. Not only was she anxious to begin, but she knew the sooner they were on the streets, the more time they had without Celese and her hounds following their scent.

The Denmother's request remained heavy on her shoulders as they walked side-by-side over the worn cobblestones in the early morning mist. Surrounded by the storefronts and common people going about their daily jobs, Maize almost felt normal with Ress by her side. Despite the blades strapped beneath their cloaks, they did, for a moment, look just like anyone else running their errands in the damp morning air.

None of them, however, had a list or a purpose like hers.

They took advantage of the time off Celese had given them, which allowed them ample time to prepare for their unprecedented mission while at the same time attempt to concoct a plan that would allow them the time to leave the Den with as little suspicion as possible.

They did eventually decide to stick with the story about Ress' ailing aunt outside of the city, and with him being her closest relative, he felt it was in his familial duty to see her to her final resting place. Not only would it allow them the time away, but also cement Celese's suspicions of him and further allow Maize to leave with him to better watch for his potential betrayal.

The irony would not be lost, and she hoped she had the strength to explain it to Celese when the time came.

But first, they needed to gather their supplies.

Maize knew each and every one of the shopkeepers she needed to see, and also knew that the added coin she paid them would be enough to buy their silence. The seamstress was pleasantly sweet when Maize ordered three dresses by the end of the week and paid double for them. The shoemaker grunted and set to work when she requested a new pair of boots for each of them. Having little by way of cosmetics, Maize needed to buy a brand new collection, and the stylist's appointment was scheduled for the day before she needed to meet with Forge.

It was all coming together, except for one final item.

"I was able to reach out to Josue," Ress explained as they walked through the city streets at sundown two days before their departure. "He said he'd be setting up shop early to accommodate our leave."

"How were you able to reach him?" Contacting the market's merchants on anything but market day was frowned upon. Some saw it was contaminating the commerce of the city, others felt it was a sign of favoritism and outside dealing. Knowing that Josue was the only one who came to the city who was able to supply the herbs Maize needed, she didn't worry too much about the assumption of favoritism among the remainder of the market.

"The last market, when his supply was low, I asked him when he expected more. He said this week, however there an additional purchaser who was buying more than he could produce."

A sudden stab of pain in Maize's head had her slowing her movements. "Someone else is buying the herbs?"

"That's what he said."

"Did he say who? Or for what reasons?"

"You know he wouldn't, and he didn't."

That someone else needed the same herbs that Maize used to subdue the revenant in her head...

"The herbs have other properties that I'm sure can assist with plenty of ailments we don't know about."

She hated it when Ress was able to read her so well.

"So, he said he'd have them for us?"

"He couldn't promise he'd be able to have them for market day, but did suggest he would be there tonight to begin setting up his tent before anyone else at the market arrived..."

Maize bit at the inside of her cheek.

"Hey," Ress said softly, stopping to face her. "We're almost at the end of this. You just have to trust me to do what I need to do for you."

"You're doing too much."

"I'm doing exactly what you need me to do."

She gave him a small smile while she tried to ignore the pounding in her skull.

She waited for it, but the voice didn't speak. Good. Just one more day and it would be the beginning of the end of its torment.

"FIRE!"

Their sentimental moment was broken by the screams of alarm in the distance. Merchants stepped out of their stores for more information as the common people rushed to find out what was happening.

Down the street, the darkening sky was alight with the flickering flames as they reached skyward as the smoke rose towards the stratosphere. The smell of burning grew stronger the closer they walked, and only when the crowd grew too thick to move closer did they realize what, exactly, was the cause for concern.

Nestled between two established brick common houses, the marketplace was an empty lot filled with makeshift tents and stalls once a week to buy, sell, and barter goods from Dreduor and beyond.

And it was up in flames.

A cry escaped Maize as she tried to lean up on her toes to see above the crowd, but there was too much smoke, and too many curious bystanders, to be able to get closer from the ground.

So she did what she did best.

Pulling on Ress' arm, she nodded towards the closest building and didn't need to explain further as he followed her lead and she began to climb. The room was slanted so their perch was precarious, but it was high enough for them to see the devastation below them.

The fire crew was already running towards the conflagration with buckets of water while the local patrol was pumping the wells but the damage was already done. Whatever was below in the marketplace had already been engulfed beyond salvation and any efforts now were made to ensure the remainder of the surrounding buildings didn't follow the same fate.

In addition to the panic of putting out the flames, another small group had encircled the entrance of the marketplace, as if to make space for something... or to stay away from it.

Maize couldn't see from her vantage point, and options were limited, but the curiosity was too much and slowly she began to creep across the slanted roof.

"Where are you going?" Ress hissed, but he already knew the answer and followed her all the same.

Climbing to one of the eaves, she dug her newly-healed fingertips between the singles and leaned as low as she could to better inspect the crowd below.

As Maize feared, they weren't so much gathering to remain out of the way of what was happening in the marketplace, but rather surrounding something that had been brought out from the infernal flames.

Black and charred, it lay on the ground in the fetal position. At first, Maize thought it was an animal who had been caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, but the cries that erupted from the crowd had Maize leaning closer- almost too close. Ress had caught up to her and grabbed hold of her arm, and if he hadn't Maize wondered if she would have fallen. But she was too distracted, too taken aback by the scene below, and if anyone else had been watching them or looking to take them off their guard, they'd have been able to do so easily.

But she didn't care.

Not as she realized that it wasn't an animal or an unknown merchant lying on that street.

It was Josue, and with him burned away Maize's only course of action to maintaining her sanity.