Page 2

Chapter 2

Sickness

G ray skies and dark shadows covered the fishing village in a heavy silence. It was that rare moment of quiet before dawn, where all the babes were finally asleep and the crows had yet to wake; even the tumultuous waves surrendered their battle to the jagged rocks guarding the shore. A delicate silence as thin as a spider’s web, easily broken by the scuff of a boot or ping of pebbles on glass. As Elnok moved through the shadows and leapt onto a nearby rooftop, one might think he threaded the thin web himself.

The silence split and fell as a loud ring of a bell echoed throughout the village. Elnok crouched low as he steadied himself on the sloped roof, the tiles rickety and cold as they wobbled beneath his black leather boots. Doors opened one by one, people sticking out their heads and checking both ways, their hesitation palpable as a different sound echoed throughout the village.

Laughter.

Not the contagious kind that brought smiles, but the kind that caused skin to ripple and the spine to tighten. Laughter from the pirates who had rampaged the village last week and now considered it under their rule. An unfortunately common practice in these coastal parts.

Elnok scoffed. If this village had guards who knew how to wield a sword, these idiotic marauders would’ve run off with their watered-down mead the moment they stepped foot on this shore. Yet who ruled the village mattered little to him.

Cold metal circled his eye as he peered through his monocular out to the unruly sea. White caps clipped against the horizon while a pelican dove for its breakfast, the bird narrowly dodging the fast-approaching ship. Billowing white sails and a gold maiden statue sent waves of relief and panic in Elnok’s chest.

They came.

Elnok returned his monocular to his pocket. He had less than an hour before the royal vessel docked. Thighs burning from crouching, Elnok maneuvered to the side of the roof with a huge gaping hole, one he’d been diligently widening all week. He’d covered it with straw from a nearby stable that’d been empty the past few days, the last of the horses having mysteriously disappeared.

It didn’t surprise Elnok when he learned a few days later that the butcher wasn’t just selling fish, but animal meat.

Livestock had become a rarity.

He removed the straw, the smell of diseased meat flooding his nostrils. Cursing under his breath, he quickly placed his black cloth over the bridge of his nose. The wooden ceiling beam shuddered under his weight as he slowly lowered himself. Soundlessly, he stalked along the beam, stopping once he was above the meat counter. The shop’s toothless owner caught flies with his hands and, to Elnok’s dismay, ate them.

“Boss,” a gruff voice sounded from outside. “It’s those damned kids again. They’re taking off our wood panels on the alleyway side.”

“Well, go take care of it,” the fly-eating, meat-shop-owning man demanded.

“Can’t. Guard said it’s your job, not mine.”

Grumbling something about the “absurd laws of this wayward town”, the shop owner joined his hired hand out of the shop, leaving Elnok with his prize. Elnok smiled, knowing full well he’d have to find the coin he promised the young girl who agreed to be his distraction.

One job at a time.

Swiftly, Elnok tied his trusted rope around the ceiling beam. He gave the knot a hefty tug, and then lowered himself while the shop owner became occupied with the town’s deviant children.

He searched the stained display case. Intestines, hearts—oh gods, bladders ?—kidneys, and tongues hung in their typical spots…

And then he found it. A locked cabinet.

“Here we are,” Elnok whispered.

He pulled out his pick and wrench and wedged them into the lock, searching for the tumblers, each click a sweet ping of satisfaction. One final click and the cabinet opened.

Elnok let out a low whistle, grinning at the half-eaten loaf of bread.

“Tell those guards they should be the ones taking care of those roaches, not me,” the shop owner bellowed.

Elnok’s heart sputtered as he snatched the bread, stuffing it into his bag and ducking behind the counter.

“I swear to the blubbering gods,” The shop owner entered the shop—a far larger man than Elnok had taken into account—and stopped, staring at the dangling rope.

“What in the hell is this?” the man grumbled.

Elnok cursed. He should leave the rope, run out of the shop, and get a new one. But he’d had it for years. It’d been through his best of times and worst of times—it was a part of himself, really. He couldn’t abandon such a fine piece of corded straw, least of all to a man who ate flies . Elnok grimaced as he picked up one of the bladders, quietly walking with bent knees to the other side of the counter until he was directly behind the shop owner.

“Strange, isn’t it?” Elnok said, “You’d think a hanging was about to take place.”

Eyes wild, the shop owner spun around, his attempt to grab Elnok by the throat dodged as Elnok stepped to the side, holding up the bloodied bladder.

“ Thief ,” the man growled.

“Actually, I was hoping we could do some business?—”

The man lunged for Elnok. Instincts threading through his muscles, Elnok jumped, narrowly missing the tackle that would’ve surely broken a few of his ribs. Without missing a step, Elnok threw the bladder at the man, grabbed his rope, and climbed.

“Guards! Guards !” the shop owner yelled.

Splinters piercing his fingers, Elnok gripped the beam, balancing and unraveling the rope in one swoop. Tying it up and wrapping it around his waist, Elnok ran across the beam.

“ My bread ! You low-life bastard!”

Elnok didn’t have time to refute the man’s rather rude statement. Instead, he jumped up through the roof’s hole. Chilled air whipped his face as he leaped onto another rooftop, and then the next. Armor clanked loudly as guards pursued him on the ground. He circled his way out of sight, finally sliding flat onto the familiar tiles of the infirmary’s rooftop.

He waited, ears straining, breaths heavy.

Distant shouts rang through the town while seagulls squawked, the sounds of pursuit fading into the opposite direction.

Not my best work.

Elnok crawled across the cold roof tiles. He removed his other stash of hay, exposing the hole he’d made last week for his other frequented destination. He silently jumped down onto the wooden rafter.

The familiar stench of rotten corpses and bloated fish assaulted his senses as he ran across the flimsy beam. Cots lined the infirmary floor, people with graying skin sending watery coughs into the air while nurses rushed to and fro, more than likely offering their morning “delicacy” of ground fish with lentils. But Elnok doubted if it was anything more than rat intestines and bile.

Elnok stopped as he found the familiar mop of dark brown hair. Smiling underneath his face cloth, he jumped off the beam and fell through the air.

A woman yelped as he landed with a light thud, straddling Orym, his closest of friends and most trusted companion.

Orym stiffened in fright only to give way to a loud cackle.

“You brutish man!” Orym laughed as he coughed into his fist, blood dribbling from the side of his mouth. “You nearly killed my nurse.”

Elnok smiled as he said, “I would never do such a thing to sweet Yenna.”

“How dare you?” The nurse, Yenna, scolded him from behind.

Elnok turned to find her in her usual garb, beige linens and a matching face scarf. Her green eyes and dark eyebrows were set against brown skin.

She grabbed his arm and shoved him to the side, forcing him to sit on his ass next to Orym’s cot. With anyone else, he would grab their arm and twist until the bone broke, but he did no such thing to Yenna. She took good care of Orym.

“This needs to end, Jasper,” she whispered, her grip strong despite her small arms.

Jasper.

The alias by which Elnok was known in this coastal village, for his true name would only render unwanted suspicion. Better to remain anonymous under the guise of an unimportant, petty thief than someone of importance. Although, with the ship docking soon, it wouldn’t matter much longer.

“My dramatics wouldn’t be needed if you’d inform the guards to let me through,” Elnok replied as he raised a brow, “But I think you rather enjoy a good show.”

“What I would enjoy is if you let us do our jobs and not frighten our patients,” she hissed.

“Oh come now, Yenna, he’s just bringing some much-needed excitement to our otherwise dreary lives,” Orym teased as his brown eyes shone against his pallid skin, “Isn’t that right, Jasper ?”

“A duty I take more seriously than most,” Elnok said with a wink, readjusting his face cloth over his nose.

He tossed the bag to Orym, his friend laughing loudly as he held the piece of bread in his hand, ripping off a bite and stuffing it in his mouth.

“I won’t lie,” Orym said, crumbs falling from his mouth, “I had my doubts, but I suppose you are the better thief.”

Yenna groaned.

Elnok patted the nurse’s shoulder. “No need to complain, seeing that Orym will be walking out of this piss-stained infirmary and joining me for some shitty ale come nightfall.”

Orym’s eyes widened. Yenna batted Elnok’s hand off her arm.

“You found medicine?” Orym whispered.

“The Vutrorian ship will be docked within the hour,” Elnok replied, “and with it, the request I sent weeks ago.”

Orym’s face stilled.

“A Vutrorian vessel?” Yenna said, desperation in her voice as her brows knitted together, “Perhaps the gods have heard our prayers.”

“Or perhaps my letter was well-received,” Elnok countered as he gripped Orym’s shoulder. A well of emotion rose in his chest, the blood dripping down his friend’s chin was a sure sign the sickness would take him in the coming weeks.

But Elnok refused to watch his friend die.

Orym struggled to raise his arm as he gripped Elnok in return. What had once been thick, corded muscle under golden skin was now small and frail, having lost all its color. His eyes were the only part of him that still looked alive.

“The medicine is only a rumor,” Orym choked out.

Elnok clenched his jaw as he said, “If Vutror wasn’t sourcing it from Estea, I wouldn’t believe it either.”

“ Estea ?” Yenna interrupted, “Those magical imbeciles wouldn’t help anyone outside of their godsforsaken forest even if they knew we were all to die tomorrow.”

“Did someone say Estea?” a woman lying in a cot next to them said as she lifted herself to face them. Her skin was sheet white and blood stained her chin.

“Now’s not the time for your stories,” Yenna said in a sing-song voice, “Go back to sleep?—”

“My brother wanted to go to Estea. He braved Lhaal Forest two years ago to do it.” The woman continued, her arms shaking, “Our family’s grain field had finally withered; the last one in our village. But my brother refused to accept it and made to demand food from Estea. He’d been told their women could create crops from the ground with their magic—crops that were ready to harvest. Can you imagine? Growing grain to bake it that same day? What I would give for a single fucking piece of bread again!” Tears began to well in her eyes, “But he never returned.”

“No one returns from Lhaal,” another person voiced, a man on a different cot, “Your brother was a damned fool for such a venture.”

“Everyone,” Yenna pleaded, “Please, go back to sleep?—”

“He was one of our best fighters,” the woman argued.

“Doesn’t fucking matter how good of a fighter he was,” the man replied, “Nothing can get past the monsters that live in that devilish forest.”

“A Dynami can,” she argued.

The man on the cot laughed bitterly, “Magical, blubbering Esteans. Disgraceful to call them warriors. If it wasn’t for their magic, they’d be useless.”

“I heard a Dynami was spotted along the coast,” Orym said as he coughed.

“What?” the woman replied, “But they’re only meant to go as far as Vutror. Why would they be on the coast?”

“Bet someone stole a piece of that stone while they were sleeping,” the man cackled.

“Someone stole a piece of orodyte from a Dynami?” the woman asked, her voice rising.

“I’ve heard they kill for that sort of thing,” Orym said.

“What if they’re going on a killing spree?” the woman said, eyes wide and shaking, “Are we all going to die before this sickness takes us?”

Suddenly she erupted into shouts. Surprise took over the infirmary as others joined in the woman’s panic. Nurses rushed to their patients’ sides with calming words and bowls of gutted, cooked fish.

“This is your fault,” Yenna hissed to Elnok and Orym as she stood.

Elnok didn’t have time to reply as she left, aiding her fellow nurses as they fought to maintain the peace in the infirmary.

“I think she’s rather fond of you,” Orym said with a small grin.

“Her consistent threats are certainly charming.” Elnok smirked.

“She doesn’t talk much until you show up, you know.”

“And you don’t seem to notice the way she can’t take her eyes off of you.”

He grinned, more blood sliding down his chin. “I suppose I’m quite the looker at the moment, aren’t I?”

Elnok scoffed, ignoring the way his chest tightened. It’d only been three weeks since their stay at a nearby village, staking out an expensive jeweler and enacting one of their best, most elaborate heists in years. They’d ate well those next few days and drank like royals, wearing one of the crowns they kept for themselves.

The next morning, Orym vomited blood.

“But you’re serious?” Orym continued, “You sent a letter to Vutror? For medicine?”

“I did.”

“So you’re telling me they’re docking a ship that carries a medicine coveted by everyone in response to a common villager’s request?”

“I can be quite convincing.”

Orym fell silent, his smile fading as his eyes turned to the ceiling.

“If you go on that ship, Elnok, I’m going to kill you.”

“That would certainly put a damper on things,” Elnok replied.

“You can’t risk being recognized.”

“And you can’t die.”

They stared at one another for a long moment.

“I’ll recover,” Orym said, his body too sick for him to lift his head, “I’m young— we’re young—a mere twenty-six years of age. And besides, there are people in here who are faring far worse than me. They need the medicine.”

“There’s no recovery from the sickness without medicine, Orym. I don’t care how optimistic you are. And I can’t get enough for everyone, so if I give it away to one person, then more will want it and?—”

“You don’t understand what this is like,” Orym snapped.

Elnok dropped his hand from his shoulder.

“Gods, just… listen to me for one fucking moment before you get yourself killed, alright?” Orym continued, “This sickness has had me for only two weeks, and it’s been nothing short of torturous. Others have been in this pain for months; I can’t take the medicine in good conscience.” He stared at Elnok with steely eyes, “Even if you bring it to me, I’ll refuse it.”

Elnok flared his nostrils. Damn his friend and his high morals.

“Damn my high morals,” Orym said with a sly smile, “That’s what you’re thinking, innit?”

“You really are a worthless thief, and an even worse fisherman,” Elnok replied. He knew any further argument wouldn’t get them anywhere. His friend had made his decision, and Elnok hated and loved him for it all the same.

“You surpass the master and what do I get? Insults,” he said with a wink.

Orym shut his eyes and feigned a snore as Yenna made her way back to the cot. Elnok restrained himself from slapping his friend in the face as he caught her stare, her hips swaying to and fro as she crouched down next to them.

“Sang him to sleep again?” she inquired, a mischievousness in her tone. The infirmary was back to its usual lull. “Perhaps we should hire you, if you weren’t such a bothersome fool.”

“I’m afraid my earnings would take a real dive if I switched occupations,” Elnok replied.

She clicked her tongue as her gaze roamed his chest then back up to his eyes.

“I know your name isn’t Jasper , by the way. No one else cares enough to realize it, but no common man could convince a Vutrorian vessel to his aid.” She paused. “Whoever you are, just make sure you actually start… doing something.”

“And what exactly do you mean by doing something , Yenna?”

“I followed you for a few nights when you first entered town, but from what I saw, you don’t do much.” The woman raised a brow, “You just… run around, steal food, and bring it back to your friends.”

Heat rushed into Elnok’s face. He hadn’t been careful these past few weeks, his desire to see Orym healed overshadowing his typical pattern of staying close to the shadows. But perhaps it was more than that. After he sent that letter to Vutror, he’d grown careless. There would be no point in hiding much longer.

“There’s something else you should know,” she whispered, “everyone’s trying to say this sickness lasts for a few months, and according to past cases, it did. But more and more cases are proving otherwise. Now, it’s taking people in three weeks or less.”

Elnok’s breathing faltered. “That would mean…”

“Orym has a week, maybe less.”

He formed his hands into fists, his fingers digging into his skin.

She continued, “Whoever you are, this town could use your help. In fact, this entire continent could, so if you have any kind of power that could change things around here?—”

“I’ll be back tonight.” Elnok avoided her gaze as he stood. “Keep him out of trouble.”

He ignored the wounded look in Yenna’s eyes as he left the premises. The guards sputtered, questioning how he’d gotten into the infirmary. Elnok ignored them as the Vutrorian ship approached the harbor.

He knew Orym wouldn’t like his plan, knew the man’s heart was too wide and too deep to accept a cure that others wouldn’t have access to. But Elnok found no qualms in letting others fall to misfortune if it meant those he cared for lived.

It didn’t matter if Orym had one week left or three months. He’d get him the medicine today.

Orym would be cured by sundown.