Crisp air stings my skin under the soft hue of the moonlit night. Sighing, I wander the empty streets waiting for the sun to begin its ascent to where the moon sits in the sky. The silence is deafening, offering no comfort to the churning within my unsettled stomach.

I wrap my arms around myself tightly as I shiver, a fickle breeze swamping through the fibres of my clothing. A distant caw of a crow echoes in the desolate street. I clench my jaw and walk quickly through the narrow streets, rubbing my arms as I glance around each corner. 'It's never this quiet', I think to myself, suspicion creeping into my chest. It's not uncommon for me to be wandering the empty streets at night, but tonight felt different. Perhaps it was just my nerves from the meeting with Enoch that had me on edge? Sitting on a bench I tap my foot against the cobbled stones and look up at the star-spotted sky and search the constellations. 'Orion, Aquila...Boötes...' I name the patterned stars above me over and over as I wait for the sun.

My eyes meet the playful peering of the orange sun over the thatch roofs. Normally, I would greet the sun with a cheerful smile. However, this morning its presence doesn't indicate my departure for home. Groaning, I stand pushing my hands into my thighs. 'Time to go', I encourage myself to leave the comfort of the solitary bench for the library, running my hand through knotted dark hair with a heavy sigh. I look to my left down the once-empty street seeing the first signs of merchants preparing for the opening of their stores. "Sil!" I turn my gaze to meet the soft eyes of my trusted blacksmith. He leans from a soot-covered windowsill, waving his rough calloused hand. Forcing a smile, I begrudgingly stride to meet him.

"Fabron! How's the family?", I lean against the wall next to his mucky window. Peering at me through dull golden wisps he shakes his head solemnly. "It's been a tough few weeks. Nova... Well, you know her. Always smiling, even when the little one cries all day and night." Fabron sighs and turns his gaze to the ground, sucking air through his teeth. "You wouldn't happen to be bringing any trade my way would ya, old friend?" He looks at me with desperate eyes. I press my lips together thinking of the possible supplies I will be gathering in the coming days. "I'll be paying you a visit. It'll be a hefty order." A small smile curls at the corners of his lips to my promise. "Fantastic! I look forward to ya visit then, Sil." With an acknowledging nod, turning steadily on my heels and I continue down the busy street to the library.

I halt in front of the white stone slab staircase that leads to the heavy oak doors. Enoch wouldn't be as obvious to simply meet me inside, so I glance around the entrance for any signs of him. 'If he would just give me a little more information for these meetings I wouldn't have to loiter like an oaf' I scold the man to myself. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I stalk around the entrance of the building. Checking between the endless narrow pillars and nooks of the marble architecture before I press my forehead against the cold stone.

"Silas, you fuckin' fool", I hear Enoch's rusty voice hiss from the alley between the library and the archives facility. Flustered by my idiocy I saunter to join him in the umbrageous gap. I will blame my lack of observation on my fatigue...

"Sorry, I appear to be a bit out of it..." I smile sheepishly, hoping his confidence in me hasn't faltered. Enoch brushes off my excuse with his hand and a grim expression.
"Let's just hurry this along. You're late", he scolds, digging out a thick wad of paper bound in tanned leather from his dusty bag.
"This is everything I have on the Crith Omdat...", Enoch presents the folder to my open hands. I untangle the twine that binds it together and begin to sift through the endless pages.
"Enoch, most of this is about the guards, the house... maybe some of the protections the witch has placed on it..." I muster out in a flurry, flicking through the pages with haste.
"But what do you have on the Crith itself?", I raise my brow to the man who chuckles back at me. Enoch reaches over and separates the final two pages from the stack, indicating his knowledge.
"You gotta be kidding me" I sigh, "two pages, that's all you've given me to work with?".
"It's all I got" Enoch shrugs, his eyes wandering the dark alley with disinterest. "The Crith is a mystery lad, you're lucky I got as much as I did."

I pull the two pages to the front of the stack, searching through the scarce information slowly before lifting my eyes back to meet Enoch's gaze. I let out a sigh "So the Crith, it is like a beacon of prosperity... a magnet of wealth for those who are in possession of it?". Enoch nods slowly. "That's right, you've never wondered why the Damaris' are so wealthy with little trade?"

"I guess it wasn't something I worried myself over, I had other things to be concerned about. Rather than where another family's wealth came from." I frown, grazing over the next page about the Crith. My eyes widen as I see that only half of the page is filled. 'I can find more than this, useless...'  I curse the insufficient information.

"Right, well if that's all you have. I'll take my payment and get on with getting it for you" I request my payment from Enoch hurriedly, filled with desire to leave and begin learning more of what I have got myself into.

"Very well, lad. Here you go 2'500 coin, as per you request." Enoch formalising himself before lugging four purses of coin from his bag and dropping them at my feet. I crouch as I pick up the bags and he looks down at me smugly. I reach out to grab the purses, my eyes locked on his burning into him with suspicion. "I will get it to you as soon a-".

Enoch pushes past me with a devilish smile, knocking me back into the wall with a sudden thud. "You've got three weeks, Silas. I'll see you then with the Crith, you know our meeting place". His voice of gravel crunches through my body as he leaves the alley. 'Three weeks, three weeks, three...' anger boils and courses through my chest, fists turning white as I grip the papers Enoch had left me with.

I slug my way back home planning my trip back to the library and archives tomorrow, but for now I need to sleep and give my family some of the coin that Enoch has paid. Stopping in front of the flimsy door to my home and draw out my feigned smile. 'They can't know'. I open the door slowly and creep through the small living room making sure to not wake anyone. Reaching my hand to the handle of my bedroom door and unlatch the catch. A low creak escapes the wood as I gently push it open, the noise sending goose bumps over my skin.

"Silas!" I turn to meet the hushed scold of my younger sister. She stands against her doorframe in her night gown, face red with irritation from my late arrival home. I laugh lightly and press my finger to my lips. "Shh." I reply playfully. "Let me get a bit of sleep before you berate me for coming home late" I whisper to her, hoping she doesn't wake our mother. In a huff she turns on her heels and storms back into her room slamming her door. "Brienne... Come on..." I mumble to myself, annoyed by her childish behaviour. Entering my room, I gently place my bag with the papers and coin from Enoch to the floor and then rest onto the hard mattress. I roll onto my back, closing my eyes to get a couple of hours sleep before I venture back out to pursue the Crith Omdat.

Birds chime outside my bedroom window as I wake from my brief slumber. Eyes groggy and heavy, I lazily stretch out my tired limbs and yawn. Looking down for the bag to count the coins and decide how much I will need for supplies and what will be left for my family. My eyes narrow at my bag as I notice the buckle is undone. 'I wouldn't have left that undone... not with so much coin in there'. I realise that Brienne would have gone through my bag and in a panic, I rush out of my room and collide with my furious thirteen-year-old sister. "What is wrong with you?!" She scolds, holding up the papers of information from Enoch. I laugh nervously as I think of an explanation. "How many times has Ma told ya to stop thieving?" Her words sting me like venom.

"Brienne!" I snatch the papers out of her hand and glare down at her. "Listen to me carefully because I will only say this once more. If I didn't work we would starve to death on the streets... I'm sorry I don't have a conventional job like you want me to, but life isn't some fantasy." I tell her sternly, once I have finished my small lecture my gaze softens on my baby sister. "and stop rummaging through my shit." I tap her head with the papers and laugh as I walk back into my room to return them to my bag she had stolen from.

"Sil!" The echo of my Mother's voice rings through me like shards of glass. 'The little snitch' I think curses to my sister as I hesitantly walk to the kitchen, Brienne gifts me a sickly sweet smile as I pass her in the narrow hallway. "Hi Ma" My tone is soft as I greet my Mother by the kitchen sink. She twists her head to look at me from over her shoulder. Her soft brown hair waves down her back, while strands loop over her shoulders and tuck into the collar of her wool dress.

"You do too much for us..." She begins her incessant pleads, I have heard so many times. "Ma, please now isn't the time for-" She cuts me off before I can continue with my returning my own plea.

"Brienne said you have accepted another job from Enoch... Please tell me she's lying." I watch her hang her head toward the sink as she sighs. I look down and walk over to my Mother wrapping an arm around her shoulders tightly. "I'm sorry." I whisper into her hair, savouring her the comfort of her embrace before I leave again. "How much did he pay you? You said you would never work for the man again, it must have been a lot. How much?" I meet her worried eyes and shake my head. "Don't worry about that, it's enough to keep you and Brienne afloat for a while." I smile, reassuringly. "Only me and Brienne?" Her dark brown eyes bare daggers into mine at the mere hint of my death. I hum dismissively of her question, walk to the cabinet and gingerly pulling out two cups. "Tea?" I smile holding the two cups by my cheeks.

"Silas please, you nearly died the last time you worked for him, the money... We don't need it!" Her voice cracks as she shouts her concerns to me, I cast my eyes aside refusing to meet her gaze. Ma grabs my face with shaky hands to bring my dark brown eyes to meet hers, I gently shake my head in her hands. I couldn't turn down the job, Enoch held an axe above their unknowing heads because of my foolishness. It was me or them...

She sighs in defeat and draws my head down to lean my forehead against hers. "Are you definitely going through with this?" She whispers hopelessly and I reply with a simple nod. "Be safe, Sil. Please come home" I kiss my Mother's cheek, "I will, I promise."

'Shit...' Realising the time, I rush grabbing my bag and remove two of the four pouches of coin. Dropping them on the small dining table by the front door as I make my exit, I have never been one for Goodbyes, Ma says they are bad omens.


© Danifrayz


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