“You...look great. I didn't think you would agree to help Velstadt. I’d explain the whole story but it’s a convoluted mess in itself. But he needs this ring back, I honestly felt bad for him.” Abel explained.
A few people were running out of Revelare to see the old pervert and redheaded damsel, making it fairly easy to walk right through the nosy security team that watched right out front. The place was large and dimly lit with some sort of red light that shone at the center of the lobby. Although Cricket and Abel just easily walked inside, a frustrated woman simply waited for them behind a desk.
“Ah, it's you again. Change your mind?” Her red lips curved into a smile that died at the sight of Cricket in his arms.
“Oh, who are...?”
The young woman instantly clapped a few times. “Oh! You must be Polly...! A little eager, are we? You haven't even checked in with us yet.”
She laughed and slapped lightly at her desk, turning around to jot down a few words in a small book.
“Ah…We’ve uh, met before.” Abel looked at Cricket and shrugged while the woman’s back was turned.
“Oh?” She looked back at them and watched them both curiously. “Shame for Violet then!… She was taking a liking to you!”
“Maybe next time?”
“Next time? That's great news, a new regular for the girls is always nice!” She laughed and pointed at Polly. “You two stay here while I get some things set up.”
The woman left for the back rooms and Abel quickly turned to Cricket, moving while his arm was still locked with hers.
“Let’s hurry. Velstadt had gotten thrown out of the room upstairs.” Abel moved as quickly as he could with Cricket, eventually crossing paths with a short-haired brunette as they went up the stairs. It was Violet.
“? Hey—“
“Sorry!” Abel interrupted rudely, reaching the top of the stairs amongst the lewd moans and raunchy sounds. Opening the door to a room, a naked man angrily shouted at them to leave.
“Shit,” Abel murmured, ripping out his sword from his back to threaten the man who quickly severed his anger. Closing the door behind them and locking it, Abel looked over to Cricket and sheathed his weapon.
“That asshole never told us where in the room he hid it. Look for a smooth, black obsidian ring.” Abel quickly ran to the drawers and began pulling them out.
Cricket began to tear through the room as quickly as she could, knowing that their time was beyond limited--hunting in spots that would have made sense to a former thief. That was what Velstadt was as well, wasn't he?
She pulled boots upside down, felt along the rafters on the ceiling, and knocked against wood for any signs of a hollowed space. She managed to find a hidden place in a hollowed-out floorboard by the bed--ignoring the naked men who Abel had convinced to be more frightened than angry.
Abel scavenged around, pulling some furniture and tossing away a few items that were obstructing his search. He paused the moment he heard banging, quickly moving over to the door to hear voices.
“Damn.” He regretted, figuring that Violet must have informed a few others right away. His palms went onto the door when he saw it nearly open with a large boom.
"Got it!" She announced, pulling out a black obsidian ring. "Let's go through the window." She advised, sticking the ring in her money pouch. With Violet having spotted them, it wouldn't be long before security broke through the door.
She pushed the dual doors to the window and peered down to the street below before hopping onto the windowsill and steadily climbing down using the nooks, windows, and decor along the establishment.
When she finally reached ground level, she looked up to see Abel falling the full two stories to land hard on his feet. He could see official guards make their way toward them, a nervous frown forming.
“We’re getting surrounded.” Abel pointed out, seeing guards beginning to approach them from another side.
“Bloody flames, at least send a signal or something when the job’s done.” Velstadt’s voice came out from behind them, an arm draping over both their necks and pulling them in together. He passed a black sphere to Cricket, looking over to Abel with a satisfied grin.
“We’ll meet at the ruined cathedral at the center of Morya. Try not to bring your friends.” Velstadt spoke as if they weren’t about to be surrounded. It was only a matter of time before they were hauled away, identified, and possibly ruined whatever Thorne had built up over his relationship with Morya.
He reached to take Abel’s wrist and hovered it over the sphere Cricket was holding. “Quit your worryin’ and hold your breath. If you take in this stuff when it booms you’ll be hacking up your lungs for a good hour.”
“Huh?” Abel watched him raise his hand to slam it down onto the sphere, pressing it tight onto Cricket’s. An explosion of thick black smoke that quickly spread over a fourth of the district had turned the visibility nearly to zero and left everyone who was breathing normally, coughing like their lungs were full of sand. Velstadt released both their hands after a firm squeeze to keep the pair together, patting them both on their backs before he blended and disappeared within the inky, black fog.
Cricket caught on quickly enough and kept a tight hold of Abel's hand, rushing through the darkness blindly. They bumped into people, but in the chaos, everyone was bumping into everyone. She couldn't see her own nose in front of her, the fog was so thick, but she kept a tight hold of Abel's hand, refusing to let go as the crowd of people shoved and pushed and cried out to one another.
“That idiot Velstadt is a genius!" She cried out as she finally found a new alley to go through, and finally a door that wasn't locked. She pulled Abel in and slammed the door closed behind her. They were in some sort of storage room--boxes of cargo filled the room, and Cricket began to look for another exit.
Abel maneuvered his way through the large room, pushing a few crates until he finally reached a door. He placed his ear to it, realizing that it would lead them through to the shop. But it was difficult to hear.
“Something tells me it's not the first time he hid in this cathedral.” Abel looked over to Cricket with thought. “The center of Morya is that old burnt town square. As long as we escape out of this district, we should be clear the rest of the way.” Abel opened the door, realizing that they were headed into the back rooms of a shop. “Sophia must be in the clear already and Velstadt probably believes we can't match his pace. We’re on our own.”
Not that he had a problem with that.
"Yeah, he seemed to have the meeting place picked out already. I bet he knew he'd need one at some point or another." She said a bit sourly as she followed Abel to the door.
The shop they walked into seemed to be some sort of zoo. There were cages and glass containers of all shapes and sizes, filled with animals both familiar and foreign. A carton of kittens stood on top of a side table next to a glass aquarium filled with swimming lizards that glowed a bright red--the water in the container bubbling and steaming from the heat they produced. A bird whose feathers seemed to be made from metal sat in a cage in the back, next to an octopus with a thousand human-looking eyes. Some puppies slept in a basket next to a rabbit whose fur mimicked the night sky.
An old man jerked upright from his place at the counter, and he whirled around to look at the pair, scowling behind oversized spectacles.
"What the hell do you two think you are doing?! No one is allowed back there!"
Abel was so entranced by the magical animals that he didn't even notice the owner who yelled at them until a few seconds later.
“Ah, sorry...just passing through.” Abel walked along the edge of the room and watched a few of the strange creatures, some embedded with the elements in the very soul while others had features that completely altered their normal appearance. Whatever the owner was saying afterward had completely gone in one ear and out the other, entranced by how different and unique the animals were.
There was one cage however that interested him. It had some sort of glowing rainbow cloak draped over it, pinned at the top by a spherical knob that glowed the same. He turned the knob and the cloak fell to the ground, revealing a strange colored black and red colored chick that hopped and chirped around in surprise.
“Sorry little guy.” Abel raised his hands with a smile, backing away a step as the owner screamed and yelled something through Abel’s focus.
Abel pulled out a wrapped handful of bread from one of his leather pouches at his waist, took a piece, and dropped it at the bird’s feet within the cage.
Happily, it pecked away at the piece and watched Abel place the source back into the pouch before chirping wildly for more. And with a cute spread of its little wings, reality ripples around its body and created a singularity, little crackles of red streaking through the miniature black hole as it was engulfed within it. In less than three seconds the bird was gone, leaving Abel blinking while both hands grabbed the cage. His head tilted to the sides of it while he searched, realizing that the cloak was some sort of veil to prevent such a predicament.
“Uh,” Abel backed away from the cage and peered over to the owner with a crooked, nervous smile.
The shopkeeper looked beyond furious as the pair made their way through the store, but that was nothing in comparison to his rage when Abel pulled off the cloak and allowed the bird inside it to escape.
"That shadow sparrow was worth 30,000 spira! HOW do you two plan on paying?!"
“30 thousand?” Abel repeated, looking back over to the empty cage with no surprise. He saw plenty of creatures like these in his life, knowing that most of them were rare and endangered. Abel nudged Cricket a little, and with a small nod from her, they quickly exited the exotic shop, much to the shopkeeper's rage.
"What the hell were you thinking with that bird?" Did he feed every stray he came across?
Abel stammered a little with some embarrassment as they ran through the streets. “Sorry, it seemed hungry. I didn’t think bread was going to make it do that! Do you think it was allergic or something?” There was a hint of concern for the little chick, though whatever happened couldn’t be taken back now.
“Let's keep moving. I bet they are both already waiting.” Abel picked up the pace, eventually leading them out of the district and into the Slums. It was a relatively small district compared to the ones they had been in with a lot fewer people walking along the street. Homes and structures were terribly kept and those that they could see wore stitched-up clothing.
“Over there.” Abel pointed with his chin at the starting point of the half district known as ‘Old Town’. The entire district was abandoned save for those few who were even forced out of the Slums. Every structure was clearly burned down and destroyed with particles of ash still floating around the environment. Their destination was spotted not too far into their walk into the ruins, a large decrepit cathedral with its stained glass destroyed, stone demolished, and decor tarnished.
“Hey! They made it!” Sophia shouted to Velstadt from above the ruined roof.
“ Sophia! Get the fuck down! We are supposed to be hiding! ” Velstadt’s voice rang out from within, loud enough to startle her from her insane height.
“O-oh! Right!” She exclaimed, leaning back and disappearing from Cricket and Abel’s line of sight. The cathedral was of some sort of discontinued faith, likely torched and destroyed due to simply existing. The district too, seemed to have suffered the same fate.
A warm kind of amusement filled Cricket as she saw Sophia and Velstadt's conduct.
“Oh good, you weren't followed.” Velstadt watched the two enter through the large, splintered wooden door.
“Color me impressed. I should have taken you instead.” He laughed and stood up from the large, broken statue that he had sat on, his smile widening as they drew closer. Abel steered off in another direction, interested in looking at a few of the ruins.
“Not bad. I didn't expect much from you but there is certainly more to you than being a Queen.” He nodded and extended his hand out, expecting the ring to be tossed over to him. Sophia was high up on the barely stable beams above them, chiming in with a small defense for Cricket.
"Most people like that I'm a Queen." She mumbled lowly as she nonetheless tossed the ring back to him.
“I told you she’s capable. My intuition never steers me wrong.” She hung upside down and wagged a finger at Velstadt. “I knew since the beginning, so she is mine , you thief.”
Velstadt folded his arms. “Rude. I'm not trying to steal her from you, we are a team.”
Sophia blew a raspberry and released herself from the beam, landing on her feet next to Velstadt and Cricket. “Just try not to wager any of your deeply cherished valuables next time.” She jabbed, watching Velstadt do an eye roll.
Abel was crouching down, picking the severed head of a female statue, watching it in solitude. Most of the detail of the face was damaged and faded, but he was intrigued as he had been with the magical animals earlier.
Dropping the head, a destroyed tome was lifted from the rubble, opening it to see faded illustrations and smothered ink.
This place is much older than it seems. I've....seen similar designs and statues like this somewhere…
“.....”
"Remember Velstadt, team or no--you owe us now." Cricket reminded.
Now Cricket was waving his debt to him in his face, which was something that even Sophia cringed about with a suck of air. The expression on her face said ‘You really shouldn’t have said that’, but Velstadt surprisingly was not angry about it.
Instead, he laughed. Laughed harder than anyone possibly had seen him do.
“You remind me of my daughter, Vestya. Naive, brave, and reckless all at once.” He reached for his flask and popped it open, drinking some of its contents with a burn on his tongue. “It’s a wonder how you made it as a thief when you pour so much faith into that kid. You’re lucky he has a good soul.”
Sophia and Velstadt looked over to Abel, who was still crouched and buried in his book.
“Anyway, sure. You got me. I’ll teach you everything I know. Then, we are square.” He turned around and began to walk up the steps, avoiding the hazardous cracks and broken stones along the way.
“You have my thanks, Cricket. ”
Sophia rubbed the bridge of her nose as she watched the interaction.
Cricket didn't like the fact that there was something about him that clearly resonated with her. Maybe it was because they were both thieves but it wasn't the best feeling; knowing that someone had clocked you so completely.
“?!”
Abel dropped the book and let out a cry of pain, a hand going to his temple as he clenched his teeth. It was a strange moment, but one he quickly brushed off when the ache dulled into a mild tolerance. Picking up the book, he dusted it off and kept it by his side while he apologized for the strange and sudden behavior.
“Sorry. A bit of a migraine.” He looked at the two women, slightly in discomfort.
"You sure you're ok?" Cricket asked, walking up to him and examining the book he'd dropped.
“Yeah, I'm... I'm fine.” Abel opened the tome when asked, starting at a page that was originally physically difficult to look at. A finger traced along the page an illustration of thirteen important figures. Well, at least Abel thought they were important.
“I'm not sure. Some kind of Bible. It’s some story that's trying to be told. I....remember some of these symbols and faces. But it's almost like it hurts to hunt for details. Without a shadow of doubt, this is something I knew of in the past.”
"Hurts?" Cricket echoed, looking at Abel with some concern. How could reading something hurt him? Cricket herself was only just barely literate--not having much use for an academic focus when she'd been living on the streets and hunting for every meal. But she didn't feel anything physically wrong with her when she looked at the page he pointed out.
Sophia walked over and peered over both their shoulders, instantly recognizing some of the figures. She reached over and flipped a few pages, her brows furrowing with some confusion. “How peculiar. Some of this stuff shares people and events with Necrimity . Seta teaches more about the god of death, while this...teaches something else.”
Sophia flipped back to the illustration with the thirteen, tapping her finger at the largest and most prominent one out of the group. “This is Nimis. Probably the most powerful god we know.” Abel finally recalled. “How strange.”
Sophia blinked. “I’m not religious at all but it's odd. Perhaps that's why this place was wrecked.”
"I don't believe in any of it." The girl who could help people tap into their magical powers said with a little shrug. "Nadia isn't big on religion.
It was odd but he felt like some sort of barrier had lifted from within him. There were memories of his that could barely be made out that were somehow linked with all this.
Something abnormal was happening. Or rather something abnormal happened to him already.
“I think--” Sophia tackled Abel to the ground, no explanation given when she ran her hands over him, searching for something.
“Sophia! What are you--”
“I saw something!” She yelled, digging her hand into a pouch to rip out Abel’s piece of bread. The wax paper that it was wrapped in was poked and torn, more than half of the large piece was completely gone.
Abel pushed her lightly off of him and stood up, to dust himself. Before he could scold her, Sophia grasped at the top of his head, causing him to fall once again.
“I got it! I got it!” Sophia danced while the light chirping coming from her clasped hands echoed off the destroyed walls. It quickly slipped out of them and fluttered around Cricket until that familiar singularity formed over its body and vanished just as it had done in the store.
“Shit! Quick little bugger!”
The bird landed on Abel’s head again, which made him extend a hand to Sophia to get her to stop chasing it.
“It’s the shadow sparrow we saw earlier.” Abel looked at the piece of bread that was on the floor and picked it up.
He held it up over his head, allowing it to peck at it a few times only for it to drop the pieces onto both Abel's head and the stone floor.
“It’s full.” Abel reached up to pet the spikey tuft of feathers on its head, a mix of red and black that gave it a very unique appearance. With Abel standing up yet again, it fluttered off to perch itself on a pillar next to Cricket, its bright eyes staring with small little twitches of its head.
"Looks like you didn't kill it after all." She placed her hands on her hips as she examined it.
"It's pretty, but I can't imagine who would buy something so easily lost." She let out a little sigh. "Well, consider yourself a successful thief Abel. You've just got yourself a pet worth 30,000 Spira."
Maybe they could sell it themselves and use what they made to help the war effort. As if reading her mind, the sparrow released a rough whistle at her, fluttering its wings and zapping a bit--clearly considering its options about where to teleport or fly next.
"Maybe you can train it."
“Train it? I don't even know how to take care of it.” Abel shook his head in disagreement. “And I didn't steal it...We should probably return it to the owner.”
He looked over to the young bird, watching it react to everyone’s words.
Can it understand what we’re saying..?
“I thought we were going to eat it?” Sophia frowned disappointingly, the bird quickly flying off the pillar to soar for a few seconds before warping a few times and landing onto Abel’s head again.
“I don't think it’s going to give you the choice of returning it. Guess you're stuck with it.” Cricket assumed.
“Abel doesn't have the heart to sell the bird anyway,” Velstadt said from the top of the stairs. “We could easily swindle someone for eighty thousand. It’s an endangered breed and altered by Aether. Finding another one like that, with a team of fifteen people, would take forty years minimum. And when it is found, good luck catching it.”
Abel sighed and gently took the bird off his head, bringing it in front of him with an uncertain gaze. A finger petted the tuft on its head again, the bird nestling itself into Abel’s palm comfortably.
“You are pretty quick with warping around all of a sudden. The first one took a while...Must not have had the chance to do it often.” Abel spoke to the bird.
“Give it time and it would be able to warp as fast as a lightning bolt,” Velatadt informed.
Abel smiled faintly, finding it fitting for how the sharp tuft reminded him of a bolt of lightning.
“Bolt is a pretty cool name.”
The small bird chirped comfortably at its name and tucked its head beneath its wing.
"Alright, Bolt." She agreed, crossing her arms over her chest. "But no more strays after this."
Abel slipped the tiny bird into his pouch, seeing it snuggle comfortably inside.
Velstadt stretched and turned to Cricket. “Alright. Let's go ahead and get started on training since you aren't busy.”
“Wait, now?” Sophia asked.
“You wanted me to co-train, so yes now. She’s under your umbrella but you are under mine. And training with weapons will not be enough if you don't have the strength and proper muscles to use them effectively. Abel, you can tag along for this session but don't get used to it. I don't need her distracted.”
Abel looked over to Cricket but eventually nodded in agreement.
“I'm old and unable to move as I'm used to but you’re young, you’re a woman, and you will move much more nimble than I ever could or will. So. I want twenty repetitions of you sprinting up those steps and long jumping off to the bottom. If you sprain your ankle or break your leg landing, you’re not worth my time.”
Sophia looked at the steps, nervously laughing at how far she had to leap.
“I am so sorry ,” Sophia whispered to Cricket, her nervous smile turning into an apologetic expression.
Soon enough a full month had gone by and Abel’s training outside the walls of Morya was interrupted by a royal knight.
Thorne watched the scene unfold, a sharp, determined stare as he listened to Abel express his disinterest.
But the guard waved the young mercenary’s words off.
He'd have no choice but to meet Morya’s royal queen, alone.