"Well now, you’ve got quite the sharp reflexes, don’t you? Nearly had me sent off to the next life." Patches chuckled and shook his head, still rubbing his neck. "What a shame that would’ve been, eh? A poor merchant, cut down in his prime."

  Chael said nothing and merely watched him with an expression that was hard to read. Patches took that as an invitation to keep rambling.

  "Ah, but where are my manners?" He clapped his hands together and grinned. "I should be offering you something for the fright, no? A little goodwill, a little hospitality."

  He reached for the small, tattered pouch at his waist and opened it before reaching inside much deeper than should have been physically possible.

  Chael's gaze narrowed.

  ‘An Interspatial Pouch. Another one…’

  They were super rare and expensive. Only the wealthiest in Eldermire City carried them. And yet, here it was, dangling from the belt of some rat-faced merchant squatting in this forsaken cathedral.

  First Echinda, a petty mongrel. And now him?!

  Where were they getting it from?!

  Patches, oblivious to Chael’s scrutiny, continued rummaging through his pouch. "Let’s see, let’s see… Ah!"

  He pulled out a few dry ration packs, which were wrapped tightly in waxed cloth. "A fine meal for weary travelers!" He tossed them toward Chael, who caught them without much thought. "No charge, of course! Consider it an act of goodwill, missy."

  Chael’s brow twitched.

  ‘Missy?’

  He briefly considered correcting him. Then, he decided he couldn’t be bothered.

  If this idiot wanted to assume, then that was his problem.

  Instead, Chael studied the rations. The smell was faint but familiar; it was that of salted meat which was preserved well enough to last for months, possibly years. There were also dried fruits and what looked like a type of hard-baked grain biscuit. Survival food.

  Patches, meanwhile, had already moved on and pulled out a small wooden box. He flipped it open and revealed several tiny glass vials filled with a thick, golden liquid.

  "Vitality Vials," Patches announced proudly like a true merchant, tapping one of the vials. "A rare commodity, these. Restores stamina and helps with wounds. Keeps you from keeling over too soon, if you catch my drift."

  Chael’s eyes flickered toward them. Potions, essentially. They weren't as powerful as the healing abilities of a high-ranked Harbinger, but they were very valuable nonetheless.

  Before he could say anything, Patches reached into his pouch again, only to freeze.

  For a moment, his entire demeanor changed.

  His fingers had brushed against something, and when he pulled his hand back, a strange, red orb slipped out with it.

  Chael caught only a glimpse before Patches immediately shoved it back into the pouch.

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  Patches then let out a forced chuckle and the back of his head.

  "Oops! Didn’t mean to show that one." He laughed it off, waving a hand as if it were nothing. "Just a little keepsake of mine. Nothing to worry your pretty little head over."

  Chael’s brows scrunched lightly at the sight of that orb. Had he still been an Unveiled, he would’ve passed it off as a normal gem, but now that he was a Harbinger, Chael sensed the faintest of resonance from it in the split second that it was out.

  ‘A magical artifact?’ He thought.

  But before Chael could press the issue, Patches moved on quickly and changed the subject.

  "Now then! How about a meal, eh? It’s not often you get free food in a place like this!" He gestured toward the rations and threw a pack at him. "Go on, have some!"

  Chael caught the packet nonchalantly. He wasn’t too bothered by the magical artifact, though he was slightly curious. He didn’t press the issue; after all, he wasn’t the type to steal or entice violence.

  But if Patches had any ulterior motives, then it’d be a different story.

  Chael tossed a pack at him. "You eat first."

  At the back of his mind, he prayed that Patches did have ulterior motives because then he could not only beat him up but also take his pouch and that other magical artifact.

  Patches blinked. Then grinned.

  "Ah, smart girl! Smart girl, indeed." He chuckled, opened the cloth, and pulled out a piece of dried meat. He took an exaggerated bite, chewing loudly before swallowing.

  "See? No poison. No tricks. Just a humble merchant’s generosity!"

  Chael remained silent, but in his mind, he had already murdered Patches three times.

  Patches wiped his mouth, still grinning. "Untrustworthiness, my dear, might just save your life one day."

  Chael's gaze flicked toward the Vitality Vials. He hadn't been thinking about them at first, but now, after the fight with the Hollowed Choir and the knight - not one but two - he was painfully aware of his body’s condition.

  His arm was still broken, his dominant hand was just barely usable, and though the pain had dulled significantly since becoming a Harbinger, it was still there.

  Healing as a Harbinger was faster than that of a normal human, but if he had one or two of those vials… it would speed up the process significantly.

  Patches, ever perceptive, noticed his lingering stare and grinned. "Ah, now you’re interested."

  Chael didn’t respond.

  Patches leaned forward slightly and shook the small wooden box so that the vials clinked together. "These don’t come for free, you know."

  "I don’t have anything to trade."

  Patches whistled, and his eyes flicked over Chael’s torn and bloodstained clothes. "Now that’s a shame! You’re dressed like someone worth robbing, but these are in absolute tatters. Wouldn’t fetch a single coin!"

  Chael gave him a dry look. "Flattering."

  Patches laughed, but then his gaze landed on something else.

  The Redfall Talisman.

  The small, apple-shaped pendant Echidna had given him.

  For the first time since they’d started talking, Patches’ expression shifted.

  He studied it carefully with something calculating behind his eyes.

  Chael didn’t like that look.

  Before the merchant could say anything, Chael shook his head. "Never mind."

  Patches let out a dramatic sigh. "Suit yourself."

  He then tossed a Vitality Vial toward him anyway.

  Chael caught it with his good hand and raised an eyebrow. "I… thought these didn’t come for free."

  "You’re wounded," Patches shrugged. "And generosity is good for business. Besides, I like my customers to stay alive. Hard to make repeat sales when people keep keeling over."

  Chael didn’t bother questioning it. He popped the cork off the vial and downed the golden liquid. It was thick, strangely warm, and had a faintly bitter aftertaste.

  Immediately, he felt his body react.

  The ache in his limbs eased, and the dull, constant pain in his broken arm softened to a manageable level. His ribs felt less bruised, and when he tested his fingers, there was already more mobility than before.

  The effects were gradual, but they were working.

  He sighed, rolling his shoulder slightly before speaking again. "So, what about you?"

  Patches blinked. "What about me?"

  "You’re here, a human, selling goods in the middle of this cursed cathedral. I want to know how you got here in the first place."