NG EY

5 | Making peace and plans.

And yet. You're in power. We die under your watch.

My reluctant watch. They have no right to treat us like this.

Well, what right do we have to judge them?

The same rights as any carnivore. 

Valkin leaned over the table and raised an eyebrow impressively high. "You can't be serious," he said.

"It's our best shot," Kellyn replied.

Valkin shrugged. "Sure, but..."

"Tell me you've seen a scroll like this before," Fox said, gesturing towards the Ng Ey. Kellyn was keeping a tight hold on it, even from his hiding place at the back of the booth.

"Hope doesn't come easy to me."

Rigo put down his fork and settled his firm gaze on Valkin one more time. Valkin twitched. "All I'm asking is that you leave Kellyn alone," Rigo said. "His pastime has proven far more valuable to us than his prize money would be. Think about the long term."

Kellyn added, "We only need 26 hours."

"Oh, you're going tonight?" Valkin sighed and slowly twirled his glass of whiskey around on its edge with one finger. He scratched his graying beard. "Fates," he finally said. "I'd come if I wasn't so drunk."

Kellyn managed a smile. "We'll tell you how it goes."

"Unfortunately," Rigo said, "it's not going to go anywhere if we can't figure out what we need to do in the Ng Ey chamber." He chuckled and savored a bite of meat. "Leave it to Athael to make everything so overcomplicated."

"He was a unique guy," Fox smirked.

Kellyn kept noticing Audra glancing their way between drink orders. He hoped she wasn't overhearing anything, as much as he knew that the pub was far too busy for such a thing to be possible. Nalia noticed his attention stray and elbowed him. "Just act normal," she murmured.

"Are you sure the riddle involves something in the chamber?" Valkin said as he finished his glass. "I didn't hear anything about any cages being there. Or, you know, ghostly creatures."

Kellyn bit his lip. "Yeah. There weren't any."

Rigo took another peek at his translated copy of the Ng Ey. "'Where ghostly creatures are caged, rotate the light'." His brow furrowed as he studied the riddle. "Kellyn, what was the first word of the second line, again? In Kirevean?"

"Durata, I think," Kellyn said. He checked. "Yep. Durata."

"Right. That's something."

Valkin smiled. "Ah. That was one of the first spells I learned to control in school. It did feel a bit silly, having one small word on the entire scroll."

"Athael would have expected someone Kellyn's age to have access to a rotation spell and not much else," Rigo said. "We'll have to find a copy of it."

Nalia piped up. "I have one in the shop, somewhere."

"Of course you do," Valkin huffed. Nalia lowered her eyes, and he swallowed. "I'm sorry. We're all doing what we can to get by."

"Do I have it right that you're earning a living wage from betting on pool?" Nalia asked him.

"Yes, actually. I earn more than you'd think. But that's only because people are desperate."

"Hey, I saw you do a cool jump shot today," Kellyn said. "You're pretty good!"