Bounty-ful

Ephraim deliberately stepped out from the doorway and headed down the street, taking turns at random, in case anyone had managed to follow him. After another half-hour, when on an empty street, Ephraim case the spell once again.

Orin, having grown incredibly bored, headed inside. "Anyone else want to take over watch?" He asked Kestrel and Thea. "I, for one, am quite finished with being awake for now."

Thea shrugged and stood up, "I am able to watch, you should rest while you can..."

The only response to Ephraim's spell was a small indication that someone was looking his way, the someone turning out to be a weary man covered in coal dust, carrying tools. He stared briefly at Ephraim and the shining runes of the spell before continuing along his route, giving Ephraim a wide berth.

*

"Thanks, Thea," Kestrel said with a sigh of relief, "Call me when you want me to take over."

Orin found himself unable to sleep, knowing that Ephraim and Aurelia were still out there. He pulled out one of his arrows and examined it, making sure the runes on it were still in good condition, then checked the glass of the tip for cracks. He took his time, doing the same check on each arrow.

Figuring that either nobody was following him, of that if they were, there'd be no way to tell, Ephraim headed to the rendezvous point a full hour and a half early, unsure whether to expect Aurelia there or not.

The bookkeeper rolled over in bed and studied Orin for a while before saying something.

"Can I ask you a question? You just signed up with these people today. How do you know you can trust them?"

*

The bar Aurelia had mentioned was teeming at this hour, rowdy drunks spilling out into the streets. One bumped into Ephraim as he approached. He looked stunned for a second, then frowned.

"Yer lookin' for trouble, tough guy."

Thea watched the docks from the shadows, suspicious of every movement, ready to act. Her naps earlier had left her with plenty of energy.

Orin smiled at the bookkeeper and said, "I don't." looking back to his arrows,  he continued, "I do,  however,  trust myself to stay alive if things go awry.  I'm sure they're a nice enough bunch.  They have yet to do anything that makes me want to Lodge an arrow in their necks.  I've been on a job or two where I really wanted to so that." Though the bookkeeper couldn't see it,  Orin was rubbing a scar on his upper arm when he next spoke. "Once,  I did." He looked back at the bookkeeper.  "To be fair,  I've got one for you.  What started you working for the Marids in the first place?"

The bookkeeper sighed.

"You have to understand that to most people, they aren't an evil empire. They'll come into a town that has resources and create jobs, build facilities, be a model neighbour. Nothing underhanded, at least in most cases. That's when I joined. They needed clerks to do the accounting for their mining operation. Everything was fine for years, and then I got promoted. A couple of promotions and then you're involved with the dirty side of the business. Did you know they train every Marid family member as an assassin? And you never know who the normal workers are and who can kill you as easily as breathing. I was on the edge of it in a little town, doing normal accounting and hiding bribes and kickbacks in the numbers. Too deep to get out. I wouldn't have left if I actually had any family, because they aren't above that. I took papers with me for insurance, so I could sell to someone and start a new life if they came after me. They're copies, of course, but it seems like they missed them anyways. Or maybe there was more to it than what was on the surface. I don't know. I just want to survive this and start again somewhere the Marids haven't touched."

Ephraim raised his hands in a placative gesture, "Nothing of the sort, good sir." He said to the drunken patron, "I'm just searching for a decent place to sit while I await a companion's arrival."

Thea continued her shift guarding, keeping a close eye out for the suspicious figures she had seen earlier and for Aurelia and Ephraim. She was a bit concerned that they were still gone, but figured they could mostly look out for themselves.

The drunk squinted at Ephraim, trying to figure out if he was being sincere. Evidently he was satisfied, because he simply grunted and walked on past.

Upon entering the bar, Ephraim's initial impression that it wasn't that nice a place was confirmed. The rowdy drunk outside seemed to have been multiplied inside. There was a band on a raised stage hurriedly packing up their instruments and a couple of shoving matches that had not yet escalated. Ephraim spotted two seat in the corner.

"Well," said Orin, "in my opinion, it sounds like you're in one of two places. Either you are right, and those papers are more important than you thought, or this is just a lifetime job, and the Marids are simply ensuring that." Orin paused and mulled things over a bit, then said, "I say this in the purely hypothetical, but have you ever considered faking your own death? Do not read into that as an offer or a threat. It's simply a question." The last part was said with his hands up defensively.

Seeing the seats, Ephraim headed towards them, thankful they were out of the way.

Satisfied with the condition of his bow and arrows, Orin pulled out a small pouch and a pipe. After filling the bowl of the pipe, he put the puck away and put the pipe to his lips. The runes on a metal band around the top of the pipe glowed for a moment, and a small bead of fire ignited the contents. Orin drew a long pull, and let out a series of smoke rings. The smoke had a fragrant, soothing door to it. He held the pipe out to the bookkeeper. "Care for a drag?" He asked, "It's a pleasant herbal blend. Good for the nerves."

A large man suddenly loomed between Ephraim and the seats.

"Those are taken, bud."

***

The bookkeeper shook his head.

"No thanks. And yes, I've thought about faking my own death, but about the only thing the Marids will accept without seeing a body is a fall from an airship. And I haven't figured out how to manage that without actually dying. Plus there's the matter of the records. I don't think they'll stop looking for those, even if I'm dead, and they're my only way to buy myself out of this mess."

Ephraim peered at the seats, verifying that they were, in fact, empty and with no indication of being held. Seeing that the large man was almost certainly speaking falsely to him, Ephraim considered his situation for a moment. "I see." He said, "By any chance would there be two empty seats available for my occupation?"

Orin took another pull on his pipe and let it out slowly, ending with a sigh. "Well, I really don't know what we can do for you, aside from diverting any attempts that come our way." He said in a defeated tone. "im' sorry to be a downer, but that's all I can come to with this. The others may have better ideas, but we haven't exactly had time to hash them out." He fell into silence for a bit, pipe hanging from his mouth and the occasional whip of smoke escaping his mouth. "I wish we could figure out why the Marids want those papers so badly."

The man crossed his arms.

"Don't know. Don't care. These seats are-"

"It's all right, Georgie, he's with me," said a feminine voice. Aurelia slipped through the crowd, patting the large man on the arm and continuing to one of the seats. She smirked at Ephraim.

"This does complicate the question of who's paying."

***

The bookkeeper shook his head.

"No, no, you're doing more than I can do. I just have to hope your information broker isn't going to run to the Marids hoping to make a quick buck. If she's any good, she'd rather have the papers."

He sighed.

"Or maybe not. The Marids could be the safer bet in the long term."

Ephraim shrugged, "I don't see how." He said, gesturing towards the seats, "'First gets table, second buys,' isn't that what you said? Well, you got the table."

Aurelia shrugged.

"I cheated by sending a runner. Didn't think you'd arrive before me. So it depends on what the contest was meant to award--speed of arrival or results."

"Hmm..." Ephraim said, contemplating Aurelia's statement. "That does complicate the issue somewhat." He thought a moment longer "Before we decide anything, I have to ask, how did you find time to send a runner while shaking a tail?"

Aurelia smiled.

"Easy. I pulled a street urchin from the onlookers about a minute after we parted company. No one watches grubby kids. Told her to wait five minutes before running the message and took off."

"Clever." Ephraim nodded, "Frankly, who pays is unimportant. Since you got tables, I'm quite willing to get the food."