The morning was quiet. The sun had not risen above the horizon just yet, its light just creeping over the far horizon. Residue of rain clung to blades of grass, clouds veiled blue-lit sky.
A light flurry of ashen leaves blew across a lean young man. He walked slowly, only wearing a simple tunic and a matching pair of pants. Crossing a bridge, he took a small glance over its edge. Notes rustled in his pockets, less than yesterday.
Quies walked with a calculated ambition. His tired morning gaze eyed the ground and leaves as he walked through the entrance into the Temple of the Blade. Its brutalist, raw stone architecture on the exterior matched the glum feeling of the morning.
His footsteps transitioned from a hard thump to a deep, resonant clack on the wooden floors of the temple interior. Lamps and torches burned, illuminating the walls and radiating warmth. Taking his hands out of his pocket, Quies savored it.
'Would he be awake right now?'
His eyes swept the floor as he descended the wooden steps leading down to the main training room.
Surprisingly, he could hear the sounds of weapons clashing from a distance, muted by the off-white walls and wooden supports. Sliding the wooden door open, he could see what he assumed to be Vigil trainees sparring with their trainers. Of course, there were less people compared to the last time he went here, due to how early it was.
The important thing was that Evengarde was there, watching the trainees as usual. Quies didn't even need to step into the room and look around—he could already feel the galebreather's presence. Suddenly, he put his hands back into his pockets.
Evengarde seemed to notice Quies' presence too, turning his head and glancing at him. As Quies approached, the two exchanged their usual greetings.
"You're up this early?" Quies asked.
"That was what I was planning on asking you. Are you, perhaps, looking forward to this mission? You definitely recovered well."
Evengarde eyed him up and down.
"My attunement's pretty versatile, you could say… Anyways, I was wondering what I would receive in return for completing the mission successfully. I understand that we both have a mutual hatred for the Lord Regent but, to be honest…"
Quies eyed the ground.
"...I'm flat broke…"
"It's quite evident that you are."
'Rubbing it in, huh?'
Evengarde eyed him up and down one more time.
"How about, say, a thousand- no… two thousand notes? I'll transfer you a quarter of that sum right now, since you definitely need it."
Quies froze.
'What the depths!?'
"Y-yeah! That sounds like a reasonable amount."
"Swell. I, currently, don't have 500 notes on my person, so I'll give you what I have currently. I've just appraised a few items I have in my armory which, in a sense, have fallen out of fashion."
He reached into the coat pocket of his white vigil shroud.
'So this was how Valerie got so much money…'
He was shocked just a couple of days ago when Valerie dropped a thousand notes on a simple lunch, spending nearly 66% more than she needed to! Now, here he was, about to receive double that amount from the guy which gave Valerie all of that money.
Evengarde pulled out three pristine coins which shone like silver.
"Take it, you definitely need it. Speaking of which, is that the same tunic you wore to spar with me?"
Evengarde's face slightly scrunched at the realization.
"No, Evengarde, this one's a different one. The inn doesn't exactly have the most vivid assortments of clothing. I took the time to do some laundry yesterday, so the tunic should be clean."
"Huh…"
Evengarde passed the three coins to Quies, who held them with care. Sweat began to precipitate at his fingertips; he quickly stored the notes in his pocket.
"You know, if you want to get rid of the scent of blood quickly, dehydrated Thresher skin is great for that. Don't ask me why it works, but the skin shavings from it rubbing against the clothes suck up the metallic scent. It works for other unpleasant odors, too…"
'What in the depths is a Thresher…'
Along with his 'huh', Evengarde also seemed to be keen on sharing small tidbits of information he picked up throughout his life. Quies didn't know what a thresher was, so he was rather confused when Evengarde mentioned that its dehydrated skin would be great for cleaning clothes…
If Quies could imagine the animal Evengarde was talking about based off of his context clues, he'd probably theorize an animal with thick, reptile-like skin. Perhaps it would walk on all fours too, or maybe it was bipedal. Megalodaunts are bipedal…
"...anyways, do you need any gear? If so, I suggest paying a visit to the temple blacksmith; he's close to the training room. I suggest you purchase a pipped coat from him, along with whatever else you need. Winter's coming."
"Right. I'll- do that… By the way, I don't think I've set up a bank account yet. I've been- uh, isolated, per se, so I never had the time to make one."
Evengarde raised an eyebrow.
"Uh- I… just thought you should know just in case you want to transfer any funds… f-from this mission of course."
"That's helpful information Quies, thanks. If you hadn't told me, I would've stirred up a quarrel with the banker for half a day. Once you finish this mission, set one up immediately. By then, Valerie would probably be in good enough condition to help you, if you require it."
"That's good to know. Both your remark and Valerie's state of health."
Quies was relieved to receive that small sliver of news about Valerie. It seems that, over the past two days, the Vigils have been working hard at mending her ailments.
After saying a few more customary goodbyes, the two parted ways.
Evengarde agreed to hold the money in Quies' stead, since the young man hadn't created a bank account yet. Once he comes back, then they could sort things out.
If he comes back…
'I will come back.'
Still, a thin shadow of doubt shrouded his confidence.