Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

Owning the Streets

Darya walked into the last bar of the night, knowing that she should have called it as over after the last one, but feeling that she wasn't supposed to.

Three nights of wandering the streets, following up hunches and leads, talking to people who knew other people and following the nose of her Rulin companion, and they had found several other people who knew whispers and possibilities of what may be happening, who was pulling the strings.

The streets were teeming with people from all over, merchants, traders, Clairvalan and other nations alike, having arrived in anticipation of the coronation happening in two days. People looking to profit from the crowds looking to watch, whether legitimate or below board.

It was no longer a mystery in the capital who she was or what she was looking for when she walked into an establishment. Some of the inns and bar owners were innocent, merely strong-armed into playing by Kethan's rules, or in need of patronage enough that they would look the other way.

Others had been those they were dragging away under arrest. Darya had shut down five establishments in the last three nights, the team had fought four brawls and three sword fights, chased down seven people who thought it was easier to run than it was to fight, nevertheless, she knew she wasn't finding the right people.

There was still something she needed to be searching for. She just didn't know exactly what it was.

This inn had seen better days, in a part of the capital which had once been an honest, legitimate place to stay as a traveller. Not too expensive, but not full of the kind of people it was now.

She wondered if the innkeeper, who looked older than she should, tired and worn with a look of worry on her face as she approached Darya, though her eyes watched as Davanos and Cansal shifted around and began walking idly through the tavern.

The woman stopped in front of Darya, looking defeated and defiant all at once, offering a bow. "Lady Darya, welcome to the Wild Fox, I'm Sara, the owner."

Darya glanced around thoughtfully, noting the eyes on her, the less than reputable characters, but there were no street thugs, no children or women looking to turn tricks here, it was run down and seedy, but there was an order to it.

She frowned and looked back at Sara. "I'm Captain Darya, working on behalf of the authority of the Regency. We have received information that you provide shelter and services to people who may have plotted against the safety of Clairval."

The woman paled at the accusation before squaring her chin and levelling her gaze on Darya's. "I paid the tithe to the gang of thugs, thieves and murderers that run the streets here, yes. And sometimes I provided rooms or storage to them, because you do what you have to, to survive. What they were doing, I didn't care. Just no drugs, no children, no prostitutes. I did my best to keep those rules in place."

Darya saw Davanos nod, though he was across the room and not appearing to be paying attention, confirming the woman was telling the truth for the most part, before offering a shrug. "This looks like a place that would be willing to support a return to even more order. Without paying tithes to the next thug that comes along."

"Aye." Sara frowned at her. "My mother would cry to see it like this, but I think she would have hated it if I lost it, or lost my life trying to cling to high ideals and all. But a couple nights of order, don't make a safe city."

Darya nodded at those words, letting out a slow breath. "I know. We know. But we also need the people in the city to want it to be safe." She paused, though, frowning when Davanos stopped in front of a door, a concerned look on his face. "What's in there?"

The woman turned and frowned, shaking her head. "That's an old storage closet, extra chairs and tables, some boxes of things my mother put away, As you can tell by the tables that are..." she stopped as Davanos gruffly told the people sitting at the long table to move, a couple of them paused, but most scrambled to obey, the rest following suit as Cansal and the other Rulin Guard moved in, all three men pushing the long heavy table out of the way. "Well, I haven't gone in there in ages. Nobody has, to my knowledge."