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They arrived at the silversmith’s shop as the sun was beginning to set. The fiend knocked on the door and called out, “Smith, may I enter, or is it too late at night for business?”

After a few moments, the door opened. The woman standing in the opening towered over the other mortal, expression severe. It soured visibly when seeing the fiend, dressed in all dark and with their hood up. Thadus decided not to involve himself with this and opted to step away. He was not fond of these sorts of matters.

The fiend said, voice bright, “I look for a certain item, and someone told me it might be at your pawnshop. If it is an inconvenience, I shall take my leave.”

The woman turned to look at Thadus, who scowled right back at her. How dare she try to threaten him? Did she think she was impressive? She was a mortal! She should offer him respect, not glare. He wasn’t fearful of her mediocre smithing techniques, if that was what she thought. He could make the silver obey him if he wanted to.

“He with you?” she asked the fiend and motioned toward Thadus.

“Does that better my changes or lessen them to ask about my item? Whichever is more beneficial is my answer.”

“He’s not from around here,” the silversmith said.

Was that an accusation? How dare!! Who does she think she is? A spellcaster elder? Naturally, he was not from a mortal settlement! He was from Eden! Eden!!

“Neither am I,” the fiend replied, tone amicable.

They lowered the hood, their fiery hair shining bright in the same colour as the sunset. The silver in their earrings caught some of the light too and looked akin to shining gold.

“So, would you mind if I inquire about a few things, smith?”

The silversmith gave the fiend an extended silence, then looked at Thadus once more. Only after this did she step aside to let them in.

The fiend waved for Thadus to come along.

Thadus unfortunately had a debt to settle, so although he considered leaving at this very moment… He was a spellcaster! If he could not hold his end of any contract he himself made, then he was even lesser than a mortal. He could not allow his untarnished reputation be stained by this questionable encounter.

He would not allow it!

The mischievous wind spirit pulled at his clothes and tugged at his hair. He waved it away.

It had been following him around since he entered the vicinity of this city-state. It circled him, bringing the chill of night in its breeze.

I’ll entertain you later, sprite. Do not bring me unfortunate weather just because you have to wait. Impatient spirits ought to find better company than occupied people, he told it.

The lunatic tilted their head, a small smile lifting the corners of their mouth. Thadus humphed. He approached them. When he was a couple of steps away from the door, they chuckled softly and entered.

Thadus paused, eyebrows pulling together. He turned to the spirit which had moved to circle a lone tree, making the branches groan and leaves rustle. Apprehensive, he touched his hair and brushed away any potential dust and leaves from his coat, but he couldn’t find anything. He was still immaculate in his presentation, as he had ensured he was at all times.

He remained doubtful, but he couldn’t say of what, exactly. The mortal may have been questionably knowledgeable, but the spirits undoubtedly did not attempt to communicate with them, so they certainly weren’t able to perceive them.

He looked around once more, unable to notice anything out of the norm with the spirits. Only then did he enter the shop.

The shop was what one could expect of an establishment of this kind, he supposed. There were silver items on display behind a counter, and on top of the counter itself there were a lantern illuminating  the shop and a scale. Thadus was aware it was to determine the rate of silver in each item, and thus its value. He still found this rather outdated. Could they not learn a better system? It truly was unreliable.

The lunatic was looking through several items on display on a shelf, while the woman stood before the counter with her arms crossed in front of her.

“Is this a well-established pawnshop specialised in silver?” the fiend asked as they moved to look at another shelf.

“It is. We ordinarily only allow silver here. Occasionally gold, but it’s seldom.”

“What about gemstones?”

“We rather not. They can be difficult to evaluate without appropriate training.”

The fiend nodded, their gold and silver earrings moving at the action. “Do you make tokens here?”

“If you want to buy an identity, you’ve come to the wrong shop, stranger.”

“I sincerely apologise. I did not accuse you of such a transgression; you misunderstand,” the fiend responded calmly. “As a silversmith, do you make tokens for the wealthy houses?”

“Why are you asking if you’re not attempting to buy one?”

“Then, let me speak with clarity: would you recognise a silver rose token?”

The woman lowered her arms somewhat and looked the fiend up and down again. She walked to a door that opened up to nothing but a staircase. “Dearest wife! Have you seen any tokens with silver roses in the pawnshop as of recent?” she shouted up the stairs.

There was shuffling upstairs before quiet steps came from the stairs. A raised skirt and embroidered shoes was first to appear. Soon a young, delicate woman had arrived. She looked between Thadus and the fiend. Thadus turned to look at the fiend, too.

This was not his problem. She needed not try to assess him for this matter.

“Silver rose tokens,” she repeated, her voice soft, her demeanour much different from the cautious silversmith. She took in the fiend’s appearance, eyes lingering on their features, their earrings, and the sash of their attire. “We did not have any fools bring us any tokens. Who would dare bring something such as those to my humble shop?”

She stepped behind the counter and picked up a several inches thick leather-bound tome that looked as large as half her torso. It slammed onto the wooden counter as she put it down. She opened it up where it had been marked and flipped a couple of couple of pages back.

“However, we did have someone try to exchange numerous banking notes. While not all of them were, many of them had the stamp for the Silver Rose Confederation. It was quite a large sum, so it was quite unusual. They had silver markings, none of them a note for any gold. With the rumours of the disruption in the Confederation, I dared not to exchange such a sum into silver coins. We wouldn’t even have enough coins for such a sum; this is not a bank after all.”

The fiend hummed. “Was it one or two people?”

“Just one. The customer seemed not to be from that region, however. Not a native of Rockforge either, because I was asked about where to find a bank when I said I couldn’t exchange them, as if there would be such a thing in the Lower City.”

“Was the total sum, perchance, between six-hundred and, say, around a thousand silver?”

“It was, indeed,” the woman said.

“Well, then I have found a lead to my stolen money, but if they split it up between them, I might not get all of my travel funds back.” The not-thief looked thoughtful, as they added, “It happened down at the Main Market. Earlier today, prior to noon.”

The soft-spoken woman turned to the silversmith. “Have you heard of anything of the matter during the day? People talk when walking past the smithy.”

“I did hear there was an odd earthquake today,” the silversmith replied. “Just a small one. Most think it may have been related to the salt mines. The silver mine has had no disruptions.”

The fiend gave Thadus an accusatory look.

Thadus had done no wrong! He definitely couldn’t create earthquakes. He was a spellcaster! He was still only human! Humanity had limits on how much they could do! It must have been any of the mines!

“Oh, the old man down at the artisan lane cheating visitors out of their valuables did say there was another thief chase after a noble got robbed in that district, but they got away, apparently.”

Thadus had not got robbed! In fact, how could anyone even think they could rob him? Spellcasters would not stoop so low and there were no measly mortals that could best him. None at all.

“We need to have all these thieves hung soon. This can’t go on,” the soft-spoken woman said.

A solemn silence fell in the pawnshop.

Thadus still found it bewildering that they would hold such intense emotion toward thievery. Was it not just the loss of a few items or coins? They could be replaced. Life could not.

The fiend looked thoughtful before they broke the silence. “If someone else comes in with the remainder of the money, a sum that equals it all to a total of fifteen-hundred silver,” they said, “do feel free to keep it. Even if I don’t retrieve the entire sum, I plan on leaving before dawn arrives, as long as the lost token is retrieved, so there is little value for me here.”

“We can’t possibly accept that!” the silversmith exclaimed.

“Use it for charity if you don’t wish to keep it. Or drop it off at the dashing bearded maiden’s tavern. They could have good use for it, too. It’s a small loss for me, if it can help those here in Rockforge’s Lower City.”

“We truly can’t,” the silversmith reiterated.

“Then find any use for it. I am afraid I truly can’t stay in Rockforge any longer. I was already supposed to set out this morning after buying travelling rations, but then I had my purse snatched from me.”

Thadus couldn’t help but feel minimally curious about why this person thought they had been in this city-state for too long…

“My sole condition,” the not-thief added, “is that rather than hanging, I hope you will implore for exile. Life is more valuable than silver, whether the life is that of an upright person or someone forced to live off of petty thievery.”

Thadus reluctantly agreed that silver was not worth to be hung over. However, he would never voice agreement with a mere mortal.

The two women were silent, and then the silversmith nodded, before saying. “You should try the black market. I know nowhere else you might be able to find your token.”

The not-thief shook their head. “I appreciate the advice, however, I already went earlier today. It is unlikely they can fence it there either,” the fiend replied casually. “Now, we ought to leave. You two have my sincerest gratitude, regardless, and may your shop remain an upright one. I did receive some very valuable information. I ought to get some of my money back through this and I have my ways to find my token based on what I have learnt here.” The fiend bowed slightly to them both. “I wish you a continued joyful marriage.”

They turned to him, “Let us go, Lord Thadus.”

Thadus was apprehensive.

Or perhaps he should not be that, because every time he doubted this devil, it turned into an inconvenience for Thadus himself.

“Stranger!” the delicate woman called out.

The not-thief turned to her. “Yes?”

“May we know the name of our patron, were the money to appear?”

“My humble self’s name is merely known as Linden. I carry no other names.”

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Author’s Note

Finally! Linden’s name reveal! I’ve been excited to reveal it since I decided on it.