Page 71 of The Ballad of a Bard

Crimson almost dropped the book.

Heartache had left his talisman withher.

It hadn’t been her knives at all, but a necklace. And she’d pawned it off, as if it were some common piece of jewellery. Perhaps that’s why he never came back. He’d heard that she sold it, tossing it away like she wanted to toss him away. She had to retrieve it, had to find it before they left for Valkrigge.

But where would it be now?

There was no telling if the shop owner still had it, or if he hadn’t already found an interested party to buy the item. Of course there was the off chance that customers thought it to be just another replicated relic like the Lucky Talisman produced and sold off to the highest bidder, for the highest price.

Crimson grabbed her brown boots and shoved her feet in, one by one. She tugged on the red leather jacket of Lyric, leaving behind the matching trousers. One by one, she laced up the hooks until it was flush against her tunic and shoved her hair into a messy braid. West had dropped off the newly sharpened dagger for her, alongside a belt that would fit around her waist. She hooked it on, sliding the metal pin into place and adjusting until the sheath was within easy access.

She could remember the name of the shoppe and where it was roughly located. In the Silver Gate, by the name of the Dancing Dragon. It had taken her three days to work up the nerves to march past the gate and into the well groomed part of the city, but no one below it would have given her a decent price for the trinkets.

Crimson turned towards his desk, folding her lip inward. She’d need money, and other than the tidy sum of it in her apartment, she didn’t have any with her. She rifled through the side tables, through the shelves and his desk drawers until shecame across a small pouch with a leather drawstring in the fattest drawer across the middle of his desk.

She would repay him as soon as she made another visit down to the Spinning Compass. For now, she needed to hurry down to the Silver Gate and try to find Heartache’s necklace. She tucked the bag into her coat pocket, patting it until it lay flat against her torso. It wouldn’t do any good to have the obvious bulge attract thieves.

West was training with a couple of guards in the arena below, but it wasn’t like he’d forbidden her from leaving the palace on her own volition. And yet she couldn’t help but feel as though she were sneaking behind his back. She snuck a peek out the window as he dodged a blow from a massive man, Rook if she recalled correctly.

He wouldn’t mind.

Crimson exited the apartment, closed the door behind her and headed towards the castle entrance.

It wasn’t terribly hot outside but she still felt every inch of the sun as it bore down on her. It was the end of the week, so children ran about with spare change, fleeting in and out of the marvellous shoppes within the Gold Gate. Ten minutes had passed since she’d left, and she was nearing the Silver Gate. The lightposts weren’t lit and she didn’t expect them to be until the first brace of dawn took over. With every level that she descended down into the Empire, the guise was clear.

In the gate that cut off the Empress and the palace, the cobblestone streets were even, well tended to and even lined with moss in between the cracks to give it a natural appeal. Thegates were straight and the folk that lived within were of the finest caliber.

Passing into the Gold Gate, differences could be easily spotted. The buildings were a tad bit smaller, less grand and there wasn’t as much flashy jewellery on display. No gem hat pins or fancy scarves woven from the most expensive cashmere. There was no moss in between the stones and there was less care when they’d been laid down.

Entering the Silver Gate, and it lessened. There were no ridges that lined the street, nor were the shoppes in such a massive bulk as the gates beforehand. There were fewer light posts and less green grass to fill in the gaps. Even the clothes had been taken down a notch, to colourful shades and an occasional ruby sparkling here and there. But the people who roamed in this part of Tazali were still far better off than the poor souls stuck beneath the Bronze Gate.

There was no road there, at least not one that wasn’t made of dirt and earth. Grass was brown, if there even was any. Anyone from all walks of life were allowed to wander wherever they pleased, but it was rare that one would find anyone below the Bronze Gate. Unless they were lured into the Blades of Blood in the Pits.

Crimson found the silver dragon that curled into itself on the wooden sign above a familiar building and pushed past a bustling couple who preened over a ring on her left hand, giggling to themselves and acting as if they were madly in love. The male placed a chaste kiss on her cheek before eyeing her up and down suspiciously.

“I’m not going to steal your items.” She scowled at them. “I don’t need to, see?” She patted her pocket twice, the sound of coins clinking against each other seeming to be enough proof to the couple as they left her standing on the stoop.

Crimson sighed and ducked inside, immediately overwhelmedby the sheer amount of items all along the walls. There were thin vials filled with strange liquids that were more sludge than liquid, fat jars on top of small jars that held fur and claws and aged bones. There were wide buckets along the floor with random trinkets stuffed into them and massive carpets rolled up in one corner. If someone dropped a torch in here, the entire store would go up in a fantastic blaze of fire.

She weaved through the tall cabinets of curiosities, past the long-eared basset hound sleeping on the floor with a loud snore that could rival a humans. She bumped into the huge portrait of a rotund man in an Emperor’s get up, with a crooked crown of blue upon his head. Crimson edged around the counter until she found herself face to face with the shortest man she’d ever met in her entire life.

“Welcome to the Dancing Dragon! We have everything you could ever need and much,much moreinside! Looking for a mirror that will show you your true self? Why, just turn around and you’ll find three over there! How about a necklace with diamonds as bright as the stars themself? Directly from the Northern Starhimself.It might cost you a pretty penny, but you’ll be the envy of all your greatest friends and worst foes! They could be the same, and they’d still be jealous of such a mighty trinket!”

Crimson highly doubted that the piece in question actually belonged to the Saint, but she didn’t say anything about it. Insulting the merchant wouldn’t buy her any favours, and she needed all she could get.

“They all sound lovely but I’m looking for a piece in particular. One I sold here a while back.” She feigned disinterest as he grabbed a stool and hopped up the three steps.

“I can’t promise I’d have it still, depending on how long ago you pawned it off. But I can most certainly take a look!” Hewiggled back and forth impatiently, as if he just couldn’t wait to make another sale. There was a glass display under his arms, that turned about and blocked off the second half of the shoppe. Inside the cases, there were a horde of items that even a dragon couldn’t resist.

Keys with tiny gems in the end of them, diadems with fake stones and bent metal, silver spoons with decorative vines hammered into them. There were chokers of the blackest satin, hats with the biggest feathers, shoes with long laces and dainty heels. She could hardly know where to begin looking for her fathers talisman, let alone a general idea of where it could be.

“It’s a simple necklace,” She started, mimicking how long the chain was with her fingers. “A copy of the Saint Heartache’s relic. It would have been eight years ago or so.”

“Eight years ago.” He hummed to himself, tapping his chin as he began to peer into his display cases. “Now that is a tricky little number.”

“I understand if you don’t have it still, but it never hurts to check.” Crimson admitted, knowing that it was scarce regardless of how long ago it had been. Saints talismans -fake or not, sold faster than hotcakes.

“I know I have a handful of broken compasses for the Star somewhere since his was the most common to get one’s hands on.” The man jumped down off his stool and started rummaging through the mess behind the counter.

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