Chapter 5: It shined.

  Max'Sall and Dormion walked through the Ashen streets, walking through and past other Dull and the humans that were just trying to get by. It was a decent day, at least in Max'Sall's eyes; he thought it would be a good day. It was raining today, which was often enough in Storarnum, as it was almost as if The Concept was shining down on people during their month. That was something he could give to Kursoon and their culture in general; at least it was easy enough to remember when you were told.

  His wounds still pained him from yesterday, but most of the actual pain was starting to dwindle; now he was only left with bruises. Maybe some of his bones were broken, but he didn't feel anything too bad from before. Besides, he didn't really have any time to dedicate to healing or rest; no work, no money, and that would mean death. Plus, getting out of that cramped home would make him feel better; at least he thought so.

  "Let's hope there isn't anything too dangerous today." Dormion had said with a little bit of a smile. Perhaps he was just trying to keep the mood light so that Max'Sall was distracted from his pain, and for the most part he was.

  "You know, I think he should just give us something so difficult that we have to travel across all of Fala'mor to do it. That would be the least exciting." Max'Sall commented with little regard for who heard. The people around started to notice the two Dulls walking towards the line of restaurants that sat upon the upper hill that Kursoon was on. It was an almost plaza-style collection of all sorts of restaurants that Kursoon had to offer, though the price typically waned between too much and way too much.

  He and Dormion ignored the looks, which were mostly on Max'Sall since he still didn't wear the heavy coat and masks that would cover most of his face. Other Dull walked the street as well, still in the same heavy coats and garments, but most tried to stay away from the attention they were drawing. They had made it to a set of large stairs that took them up to The Mix, which sat upon an almost plateau-style high rise with three other restaurants that served various foods from other villages.

  "Perhaps we should take to him... Do you think that he might listen?" Dormion had asked, and yet Max'Sall figured that he was only asking in case he had something to say or thought that Caelen had changed. He would never change; people like him don't.

  "To what? If we asked him to get an easier job, he would probably just tell us to go clean toilets instead; that would be much easier." He wasn't wrong; it would be much easier, but he had tried going to other jobs and people that were hiring in need of pure physical labor, which seemed to have no more open spots after he attempted to ask for a job.

  "I know, we should just hope and pray to Creation itself." Dormion placed his hands together flatly, which he said was a pretty common way people prayed to Creation. Dormion was a lot more religious than Max'Sall had assumed, which he didn't mind. Perhaps some of those prayers landed his way when he found money on the street or perfectly good food about to be thrown out.

  He whispered a quiet chant as they both walked into The Mix, the place a little bit more quiet than usual. They walked in to the sound of laughter as Toran had looked over to the both of them in a small nod.

  "Quiet day, eh Toran?" Max'Sall had asked, since he knew Toran was never a guy to get mad or too emotive. Toran simply sighed as he was cleaning another plate. Dormion went up to try and speak the password before Toran simply held a hand up and motioned towards the office space in the back, where all the noise was being heard from.

  Max'Sall raised an eyebrow before steeling his nerves; he would need to at least have some kind of grudge-like emotion within; it fueled his need to do his job and kept a spare bit just in case Caelen hit just the right nerve on just the right day. Dormion simply motioned Max'Sall to walk over to him as they both walked towards the door. Toran didn't say anything, which normally meant he had more important matters, but the room was almost empty. Why was his silence today so suffocating?

  Dormion knocked on the door as he coughed to make sure his voice wasn't going to give out as he spoke.

  "Uh, Caelen? Are you in there?" The laughing was stifled for a moment before a sudden step of almost crushing footsteps went towards the door. The door opened to see a man, no, a monster covered in pure colored armor. Each plate interlocking into another, he looked like a statue of some hero. Max'Sall couldn't see his face, as the helmet was blocking that, and he simply nodded towards Dormion and opened the door wider to the office space.

  There in the now well-lit room sat Caelen as he was sipping some purple liquid that Max'Sall didn't really know, so he figured it was most likely wine. He hadn't seen Caelen drink wine before, though. Caelen had continued laughing at the other figures in the room, though they were hard to see since they must have been near the corner of the room.

  "Ah, you two! Come, come! I have a job for you." He had waved them into the room as Dormion and Max'Sall both walked in. The armored man went into the west side of the room near a cabinet as he leaned on the wall. The moment they walked in, Max'Sall saw the now three figures... the same three that had beaten them up yesterday. They looked towards the two of them with small snickers as Rylander wiggled his fingers in towards them, like they were close friends. The other two laughed as Max'Sall was starting to feel his fist grip tightly. What he wouldn't do to hit Rylander across the face.

  The large man in the beautiful armor stood tall, almost as tall as the room; he had to be at least a foot taller than anyone in the room. Was he Luong? No, Max'Sall had heard that they don't wear armor like that; their bodies functioned as strong armor anyway. Dormion had walked up to the sitting Caelen as Max'Sall stood next to him.

  Max'Sall noted a small box sitting in between Caelen and themselves; it was a simple box without even a keyhole, just a small latch. Why was it sitting out in the open? Max'Sall looked over to Caelen, whose face was a shade of red. Against the tan of his skin, it was almost like he was drunk? Max'Sall understood that perhaps that was what happened when Blot was a little more scarce. Alcohol was a poor man's drink, at least that's what people around him said; why have wine and mead when you could drink liquid that keeps that good feeling without the side effects? It made sense, at least to him.

  "You two, good thing you are here. I need you to deliver something to a friend of mine near Matthias Hall. It's just a small thing." Caelen never spoke like this; he must have been drunk. His voice was calm and collected, but there were parts where his voice would go up and down in pitch, like he was trying to control his speaking tone.

  Max'Sall looked over to the large man; unlike the rest, this man irked him. He stood over the two of them, looking down on them. That might have been due to his height, but the way he stood over them with his arms crossed and his head tilted up towards him, that was something he was trying to enforce. To his left, Max'Sall the giant hammer that the man must have carried; he was a warrior, no doubt, but that armor looked too good. No guard he had ever seen wore something so...ornate? He looked like a hero in a story, but unlike those stories, Max'Sall could feel something about this man that pushed his nerves towards the edge.

  Caelen had practically gone underneath his desk to pick up a small satchel similar to that they had yesterday for the people in the same room. Max'Sall had looked to them as well; they were as jovial as Caelen looked to be, but their faces weren't as red as his. Rylander had simply looked over him, with the same wicked smile he had carried before. What was he doing here?

  "What about those three?" Max'Sall had said before turning towards Caelen, who had taken another sip of wine. Rylander and his crew stopped laughing and cheering as they looked towards Caelen as well.

  "Oh, those are my new recruits! You know, more employees of mine. They showed great determination, telling me how I scammed them, and decided to give them a chance on a mission." Max'Sall's teeth gritted tightly.

  Why? He backed towards Rylander as he simply gave him a thumbs up. It was only then when Max'Sall noticed a metal pipe at his side, the same pipe he used yesterday to beat him to a bloody pulp. Max'Sall felt everyone around him was looking down upon him, like dragon hawks circling their prey. Was there any hope of escape?

  "You can't be serious! You duped them yesterday, and now you all are buddy-buddy?!" Max'Sall shouldn't have been getting so worked up; it never went well. Caelen had simply put down his cup of wine as he looked towards the armored man. The man only had to step forward for those heavy set footsteps to stomp into the floor, like a tremor made only by a man. Max'Sall looked to the man who had moved forward; his left hand was not gripping the shaft of his hammer, now staring directly at Max'Sall.

  "Watch your mouth, Dull." His voice boomed like thunder, and he moved like a mountain. Every single fiber of Max'Sall's heart was screaming out in fear towards him. He was sweating; he could feel those beads trickle down the side of his head. Why was this man so large? Was he Luong? Those thoughts raced through Max'Sall's head before he just tried to keep those nerves in check.

  "Listen, I thought you guys could use the help. The business is growing, and everything is getting just a little harder. I need the people, and it's clear that these gentlemen needed the money for future endeavors. Let's just all bury the hatchet and just work together, no more ill intentions, eh?" He was clearly drunk, at least from what he was spewing.

  "He's right, Max; let's just do our best to work together from now on. Let bygones be bygones, right?" Rylander had said, approaching Max'Sall from the corner of darkness. He let him get close but nothing else, as he simply stared at him with little regard.

  His fist clenched as Rylander was close enough to at least get a good hit off; maybe then he would just see how far he could take it. Max'Sall never wanted to kill a man, but this was no man; a bully by some... a monster to him.

  But then what? Kill him, and that was it. There would be no second chances for him, and he would most likely be sent to Black Water; there he could rot even worse than he was here. No, the best thing to do was to suck it up and deal with it. Weather the storm.

  Max'Sall looked back to Dormion as he simply just shook his head in disdain and quickly took the satchel from the front of the table. Max'Sall wanted to quickly search the items contained within it, but doing so here would be a sign of bad faith, and he didn't want to anger anyone in this room, especially the man who seemed to deal with problems like that for a living.

  "You're right...bury the hatchet." Max'Sall simply said as he held out his hand, trying to keep the peace. He would have smiled, but there was nothing to smile about, even if it was fake. Rylander did smile as he grabbed Max'Sall's hand towards the wrist, where he pushed his fingernails into his skin. It didn't cut, but it hurt like the concepts. He noted how Rylander's wickedness didn't seem to falter any further before he let go and pulled away.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "Glad to see that we can see eye to eye." Rylander had said before walking back to that same corner. Dormion had put on the satchel as he motioned for Max'Sall to follow him after.

  "Where is this to be delivered...sir?" Dormion, said with hesitation. Was he angry as well?

  "Simple really, just a small delivery to the First Captain of the Mercantile District. Captain Ichorn, yeah, that's him." Max'Sall didn't recognize the name, but he was to guess it was most likely that man had come in yesterday to talk to Caelen. That made things easier, but returning to that place was something he didn't want to do.

  Max'Sall simply nodded as he was already heading out the door. He quickly opened the door to the office before he began to walk away. He made it to the door before he heard someone cough behind. Toran was looking at him as he was washing a glass.

  "Goodbye, Max'Sall." There was a calmness to his voice that Max'Sall couldn't place. He didn't have a deep voice, but only then did it feel like he was holding onto something that made his heart turn. He had never said this before, not during the nine years he has been doing this job. Maybe his heart was warming up to him.

  "Bye, Toran. I'll be back soon." Max'Sall simply walked out of The Mix, not thinking about it any more. He waited a few moments before Dormion had walked out of the door. He had also said goodbye to Toran, so he was definitely warming up to them. Dormion adjusted the satchel on his right shoulder as they both began to make their way towards the mercantile district.

  They began to walk slowly together as Dormion began to open the satchel itself. They were only barely away from the restaurant before Max'Sall walked with him quickly. People were starting to gather near the shops while wearing thinner clothing. Kursoonian people usually like the rain too, one of the only things he could relate to them with. They wore clothes that exposed a little more skin to the cool edge of the rainfall and wore more natural blue hues for the day. The Blessings festival had already passed, but it felt like it again today.

  Max'Sall could feel the tension between the two as he simply adjusted himself and spoke softly.

  "I can't believe he would do that. He had to have known what they did; why else would they have done that?" Max'Sall was trying not to get mad, but he wanted to hear more if Dormion was feeling something similar.

  "I know...I didn't know what to do. That man looked like a true warrior in that armor. I wonder how much of the world he had seen." Max'Sall didn't think about that much; the freedom to go and be somewhere else was always in the back of his mind, but he could only hear the man's voice as it dripped with something boiling underneath.

  "I don't know, why did he look at us like that? And he called us Dull too, already bad first impressions." Max'Sall said, walking into the district itself. The stairs became much more noticeable, but it was less due to the rain itself.

  "We just have to ignore them. Like we said yesterday...another thing that pushes us underneath the water." Max'Sall had said with contempt.

  "Don't use my words like that. We can do this; we just need one strong push, and we can continue down the hill, never looking back!" Dormion still was that ball of energy and hope that he had been for all this time.

  "Never look back is right. Hope to never have to do this kind of job ever again." Saying that reminded him of the satchel Dormion was given as he looked towards it and pointed towards it.

  "We aren't going anywhere until I see what's in that." Dormion had stopped quickly before holding up the satchel.

  "Max'Sall! Think about if someone else were to see it. What then?"

  "I don't care; I'm not getting beat up because Caelen decided to not give another man what he is owed. Either we check right now, or we find somewhere to do it quietly. But I am not going to deliver this thing with only a half-developed understanding of what it is we are doing." Max'Sall simply waited for Dormion to answer before he moved.

  Dormion sighed before he looked around and pointed towards a small alleyway that went into another street, but it was a little darker and isolated in that area.

  "There, let's go there at least." Dormion had moved towards the alleyway as he shook off the excess water on his coat. Dormion had taken the satchel as he opened it from the silver latch and opened it up to the simple leather to a note. The satchel only had one pocket, meant to carry papers and small objects.

  Inside was a single note with a maroon stamp that was carefully sealed with wax. Nothing else was stuffed within. Dormion had picked up the small note, trying to garner any real information from it, but since it had no real writing until he opened up the letter, he was left blank.

  "It's just a letter; maybe he was right, just a simple job." Max'Sall didn't want to believe that, not after yesterday.

  "Let me see it, the satchel I mean." Dormion hesitated for a second before he handed him the satchel. Max'Sall quickly sifted his hand through the satchel's insides, trying to look through the bag.

  He was looking thoroughly, trying to make sure that there was nothing within the bag itself. Was he just paranoid? Maybe there was nothing wrong with this, and he just was looking for something that didn't exist. What had he been looking for?

  "Maybe there is just nothing. An easy mission because he feels bad about--"

  As if by some force willing, he felt something hard within the satchel, like a small rock that was almost enclosed into the leather itself. Max'Sall quickly picked at the leather as he found a small notch in the leather that was clearly sewn together in a hurry as he opened it up.

  There, a brilliant ruby gemstone sat within. It was only about two inches in length, maybe half an inch in width, with a beautiful cut. Gemstones were not made this beautifully; they were cut and shaped into something marvelous like this. He held the stone as it glowed with a faint red hue in his hand. Dormion had looked towards the gemstone as he was just as enamored as Max'Sall was.

  Max'Sall didn't know what to say; every emotion he felt in this moment only sharpened his focus around this stone. It was a key, a key to something so much more. Something this beautiful, this pristine, would go for at least a green enamel, maybe even a blue. This changed everything. Flashes of dark nights and smaller and smaller portions of food flashed into his eyes before the glow of the ruby shined away those memories.

  "This… this could be our opportunity."

  ***

  Caelen sipped down the rest of the bottle of Everburn, a purple wine that he liked to keep for special occasions. He didn't have Blot to drink; otherwise, that was what was typically in his glass. He regretted having made that slip-up with the Blot shipment now that he had very little of it to drink, so he saved it for later.

  After the bottle had been polished off, he had taken out a small pen before taking out a small slip of paper and began to write. He was writing a small glyph, meant to honor the dead the same as you would put on the grave of a soldier. He would have to keep his glyphs decent-looking from time to time; when you were in this business, you had to make declarations and glyphs to people you never truly cared for.

  "They already went off, I assume to the First Captain." Caelen had begun to get some of his senses back after polishing off the wine as Kogon had removed his helmet, his stern eyes looking towards the rain out of the window towards the east of the room.

  "Most likely." Caelen didn't answer very much more; what was the point? The plan was set in motion long before the two Dulls came; he knew his job and knew it well. There needed to be a scene soon.

  "I took you for a coward, just a man who uses others for his gain." Kogon said without as much as moving a muscle. Caelen looked up as the man was gripping his maul in his right hand and his helmet clutched in between his left arm and his armpit.

  "What about now?"

  "You still are a coward, but a respectable coward." Caelen looked back at the paper as he looked at the retribution glyph. It was wrong. He knew it was wrong, and he never took the time to correct it, maybe because he never gave two bits whether or not it was correct. When was the last time someone died that he cared about?

  "Not since Mother died, I suppose." When was the last time he had thought about it? It didn't matter; none of it mattered. She died a nobody; he would not. He pushed away the small note before simply waiting.

  "What is a coward anyway?" Caelen had asked, almost as if he wasn't speaking to Kogon in particular, like a question that only The Concepts would know.

  "Guess that depends on what you think I mean. It could mean lots of things. A traitor, a person of feeble mind, someone that won't get their hands dirty."

  Kogon seemed like the question was already bothering him, despite almost implying what each of them meant.

  "So a respectable coward is someone who will get their hands dirty...but not without the help of others?" Caelen assumed Kogon was talking about his plan. It was dirty, underhanded, and overall in poor taste of judgment, but how else was he supposed to remove those two and cause a scene overall? He had enough of the Paramores...but he was so close.

  "No, a respectable coward is the man who acknowledges how little they matter in the grand scheme of everything and yet still decides to watch from the sidelines. They are, as one would say, the least ignorant of all cowards. " Kogon had pronounced as he sipped from a wine cup that looked small in his large gloved hands.

  Ignorance. How long has Caelen been ignorant about where he stood in the entire scheme of things? His mind was fuzzy; it was the wine that kept those bubbling thoughts to the surface instead of repressing those soft mushes of thought back down into the darkness of his mind, where he would sip on the wine until they came back or were erased from his mind.

  It's been eleven years since he had been in the Paramore family, and how long did it take him to see what truly mattered to this life that he cultivated? Was it money? Was it fame and renown?

  "No. It was never any of those things." Caelen thought before gripping his hand into a tight fist. He looked up from his desk to see Kogon still standing there in his plated Runic Silver. No, it truly was the power.

  A man covered in Runic Silver was an army; a man with too much money to fill his pockets was still just a man, and he would die like any other man. Even worse, when he would die, the man with the pockets full of enamel would spill it all out onto the cold ground where others would take it. Money was paid for power, but it was not power. Even the queen of Kursoon knew it, and the weakest, most insignificant Dull all knew, but he was blind this entire time.

  "I'm not a respectable coward..." Caelen had said it out loud. Kogon raised his eyebrow as he turned his entire body towards Caelen, who was staring at him intently. His gemstone-lined buttons glistened in the small lit room.

  "Oh? Then what do you think you are, Mr. Fullon?" Kogon asked, his face stern and menacing. Caelen was scared, but not of him, about what he stood for. Kogon was the beacon of humanity, the strength of the cause, and he didn't even know it.

  "I am just a man, not a coward, not respectable...just a man."

  Kogon didn't say anything, waiting simply for Caelen to speak up. Caelen stood up as he heard footsteps walk towards his office door; he simply let them walk closer as he grabbed a green enamel out of his leather-bound money pouch, a small fortune for some, a significant piece of metal to him.

  "A man is now a coward; he carries no labels like that. He is not the money in his pocket or the amount of people that know his name. It's the armor he wears, the weapon he brings to the table, knowing the blood that spreads across it. I carry no armor, no weapon, only the money I keep safely tucked away inside my chest. Perhaps that is why I am no coward; I haven't earned the title yet.

  Kogon simply waited awhile before he chuckled to himself. For a second, Caelen saw the look in the man's eyes. It was not a look of power, nor a look of understanding. It was something that burned within: Fury. Caelen had heard it before, but he wasn't sure where or when. He could only remember his mother speaking of what Fury did to a man.

  "Fine then, Mr. Fullon. You are indeed a man. If not a foolish one."

  The door opened quickly as a Kursoon guard walked in; his face was serious with hints of both surprise and fear as he quickly saluted to Caelen and stood up straight in a soldier's posture. Caelen looked over to the man in hopes of the news.

  "Well?"

  "Sir! Both Dull were seen running towards the mercantile district, sir!

  Good, this was good.

  "Did they look the same as I have described?"

  "It was hard to tell, sir; most Dulls looked similar, but one had a heavy coat and the other had long dark hair and worn-out clothes." That was them. He didn't want to make examples of them, but a man without power didn't have anything truly there to begin with.

  "Good, those thieves need to be brought to justice. Send the captain out to arrest them." The soldier nodded quickly as he rushed out of the room. Kogon seemed to laugh as he put on his helmet and adjusted the maul and threw it onto his back with a small leather strap that kept it attached.

  "Do what must be done; return that gemstone to me. Cause a scene." Caelen had said, his voice barely a whisper. Kogon has nodded as he began to walk towards the door, but not before turning towards Caelen once more.

  "You say you are just a man...but I don't think that's true." Caelen paused, trying quickly to piece together what the armored man was trying to imply. Before he could say anything back, Kogon simply turned back around and began to walk as he said something to Caelen.

  "You are also one sick bastard." Kogon laughed as some of the same Fury that was in his eyes seemed to penetrate towards his voice, like the thunder in the sky. He had walked off as he was off to finish the job. Caelen simply looked outside towards the rain; it was getting worse by the minute, and soon it would be pouring outside. Yet despite that, the words of Kogon pierced back into his mind, and for the first time in a while, Caelen smiled as broadly as he could.

  "You got that right."