Shadow Honor - Book 1 of The Trial

Shadow Honor - 2

Styx was nothing but a shadow to eyes untrained to darkness. Fortunately for Styx he had spent all of his seventeen years in The Shade, the sprawling mass of caverns and holes that lay beneath the city of Pentalus; the den of those who were unwanted in the clean and lighted streets above. His eyes were well accustomed to piercing the darkness, though he did have the edge that many of the Shades had as well. The Shadesight tattoo at the side of his left eye was infused with the blood of a small rodent that lived in the depths, and granted him the ability to see in ways that his human heritage did not. Seeing in the darkness was never a problem for most Shades.

The structure in front of Styx sat high in the wall of the grand cavern, a pit so deep that if he dropped a stone from its top he would never hear it hit the bottom. That was enough for most non-natives to stay as far away from the edges of the pit as possible, though generations of people living in The Shade had carved out dwellings into the high walls of the cavern, and had likewise carved homes into the large pillars that supported the roof of the cave. The Shade was a city to rival Pentalus all on its own, and it teemed with life; if one could call the existence of those who lived there, 'life', instead of mere 'survival'.

Far beneath him lay the lower levels of The Shade, which housed the majority of its populace. Though torches and lamps dotted the cavern floor on occasion, they did little to fight away the oppressing darkness that filled the great expanse. Nefarious business was done in the shadows more often than it was done in the light, and the darkness gave ample opportunity for those with the urge to take advantage of their neighbors without detection. The Shade was dark, damp, and dirty, and only those who had the skill to survive on their own would do so. Everyone in The Shade served their own interests first, and rarely served another's at all, unless it would also benefit them.

The upper levels of The Shade held little interest for the thieves and scoundrels who made up most of the denizens of the lower depths. They preferred to distance themselves from Pentalus unless they had business with its inhabitants or were working a heist in the city. Styx appreciated their apprehension; there were pickings in this section that no one even realized. He had spent the last two years clearing out abandoned buildings in the Upper Shade, looking for hidden stashes and long forgotten relics. His wealth had grown significantly, and he was considering starting his own guild if he could find anyone worth sharing his interests. He had distanced himself from nearly everyone he knew and only met with others when he fenced his acquisitions. Friends were hard to come by in The Shade.

Styx had been casing the structure for the better part of the month, and knew it for the drop point that it was. He had been clearing out a dwelling on a pillar some twenty yards inside from the cavern wall, when he had noticed a portly old merchant from Pentalus entering the stone structure. He watched from a window as the merchant and his bodyguards walked cautiously through the entrance, fear evident in every step they took. Styx had stifled a laugh at the man's trepidation, not wanting to scare the old man off. Other than the few who still lived in the Upper Shade the region was virtually empty, and the merchant had nothing to fear. Styx's curiosity was piqued as he realized what that meant; the merchant had no reason to be there unless he had business with one of the lower denizens.

Where there was business in The Shade there was also profit to be made by those on the sidelines, if they had the nerve to take advantage of it. Styx had watched a merchant make weekly deliveries; always at the same time, and always in the same manner. The merchant would walk down the steps to the entrance; his movements encumbered by something heavy which Styx assumed to be a large sum in coins. The merchant would then move to the upper level of the structure where Styx could observe him through the window as he put several sacks in the corner of the upper room. Then the merchant would leave the building, his footsteps lighter, though his trepidation was anything but. He was still looking over his shoulder as he took the path back up the staircase to Pentalus.