Another set of knocks hit the door. “Cian,” Gawain said from the other side.
Cian sighed but made his way to the door, opening it only to lean in the doorway.
“Everything all right?” Gawain asked. The man looked like he’d taken a few hits and his clothes carried a bit of dirt.
“Yes, but we might not get so lucky next time,” Cian said.
Faust clenched his hand. Cian must have heard him or felt his magic react in the hold at the least. He wasn’t confident he’d be able to hold back next time. His magic was too unstable.
Gawain looked over Cian’s shoulder at Faust. “You got guts, kid.”
“I am not a kid.”
“His name is Rath,” Cian added.
Gawain chuckled, his face lighting with mirth. “I hadn’t expected you to ever ask me for anything, Cian. It’s not every day you demand I do something for you. All you ever ask for are the High King’s belongings, not to hide people.”
Faust swallowed, uneasy about Cian collecting Qinn’s belongings. The hold held a few, but the way Gawain spoke made it seem like Cian housed plenty more items of Qinn’s.
Cian smiled, the ice evident in his tone. “You have little else to offer me, Gawain.”
“Right,” Gawain said. “Preferably, I’d like to not repeat this little incident. The knights will be vigilant about chasing our hides for the next few days. Both of you can make yourselves scarce in a few hours.” Gawain shot Cian an amused glance. “Be nice to your new assistant. It will do you good to engage in conversations once in a while.”
Cian shook his head, a grim smile on his lips. “Letting those knights have him would’ve turned out to be far worse. Trust me, Gawain.”
Gawain studied Cian, nodding. “I’ll have a medallion sent to him later, or you can give him one of your spares if I can’t get it to you. He can use the room you’ve been storing things in until you’re ready to leave.”
Cian stood straight.
“As if I didn’t notice you were storing more of the High King’s things in there.” Gawain smirked. “The Blessed is pleased with your finds so far, but he is still searching for a chest no one can open.”
Faust kept his expression neutral through careful practice. The last chest. Terrence had said the last chest wasn’t anywhere in the three known kingdoms. He must have meant here.
“I am looking for it,” Cian said. “I’ve found many items scattered throughout Drokan, but nothing indicates the chest’s location.”
“Our deity cherished that chest,” Gawain said. “We must find it first.”
Faust itched to bring out the map he’d found in his clothes. The fresh mark on the map could be the location of the chest.
Gold flickered and swirled around the guild master the longer Gawain stood in the doorway, as if it reflected his words about the chest being important to Koros. Faust swallowed, unease growing in his chest.
“Well,” Gawain said, “Rhys wants to destroy any items belonging to the High King, so we must continue to thwart him. Blessed’s orders.”
Cian’s head dipped in a sharp nod, his eyes full of determined fire.
Faust made a mental note. There was a division among the ruling parties. Lucky for him, but with Gawain’s aura being gold, he still needed to be careful.
“I’ll leave you two in peace. Get along.” Gawain waved. “I’ll gather the coin you need for the next few jobs.”
Cian watched Gawain until he was out of sight before turning back to Faust. “Let me show you to your room. Then you can use the baths. I can brief you on what we’ll be doing later. You should take the time to relax while you can. We usually aren’t left alone for long. Please follow me.”
Faust didn’t like the sound of that, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter. He followed Cian, waiting until he locked the door before they moved to a hallway not too far from the study. They stopped in front of an unmarked wooden door.
“My room is four doors from this one on the righthand side,” Cian said. “The fifth is Gawain’s. I will handle anything you need, no matter how small.”
“Thank you,” Faust said.
Cian unhooked a key from his belt and passed the key to Faust. “This is your key. Don’t lose it.”
Faust nodded. The key was heavy in his hand, as if it signified the wealth it kept safe. He unlocked the door and stared. Piles of journals, clothing, old armor, chests, jewelry, and various small weapons lined one wall, the small bed hugging the opposite wall. A light-colored drape covered a medium sized window and allowed diluted light into the room.
Cian snapped his fingers and a fire starter clicked. Light flooded the space from an overhead lantern.
Faust blinked, his mouth open in shock. He eyed the strange metal mechanism filled with various little glass orbs of fire encased by opaque shades.
Cian chuckled. “Never seen fire lights before?”
Faust shook his head, halting at his slip up. His face burned with embarrassment. He wouldn’t fit into Drokan like this.
“It’s like lighting a fire,” Cian said, dismissing Faust’s reaction. He walked underneath it and touched a small cord. “Pull this and it snuffs the flames out. Gawain’s still working on developing one for those who can’t use fire. So far, a metal line to a switch seems to work, but sometimes it fails.” Cian shrugged.
Faust couldn’t wait to introduce these lights to the other kingdoms.
“If you move anything, try to put it back where you found it,” Cian said. “No one else is allowed to touch these things but you and me.”
“I understand.”
“You can place the map in here, too, if you want, or keep it on you,” Cian said with a side-glance. “We can go over it in a spare moment after your bath.”
Faust didn’t make any outward movements, but if Cian had good hearing, he thought the pounding of his heart would’ve given away his interest and alarm. Cian’s interest in Qinn’s belongings could work in Faust’s favor or land him in another prison in a castle.
“The baths should be free right now, so you can bathe in peace. The guys will be rowdy otherwise. You being new and all. Nosy bunch they are,” Cian said. “If you take a left from Gawain’s room and down the hall, you’ll find the bathing area.”
Faust flicked the gemstone from his bracelet to his hand and toyed with the gem in his palm. A bath sounded great, but he wouldn’t be able to hide the Mark of Linos. Plus, they’d ask too many questions after seeing his scars.
“You can remove the outer bandages when you bathe. Those can be replaced before we leave, but the one I placed on your skin should be all right to submerge in water.” Cian said. “It should hold for another few days.”
Faust eyed his leg, curious. Roe would love to learn about these robust and sticky bandages. “No one will be in there? You are certain?”
“There shouldn’t be. If anything changes, I’ll come running. I have to check my logs and prepare for the next few deals,” Cian said. “Leaving in the middle of the night should give us enough cover to get an inn room somewhere without anyone seeing us.”
Faust nodded.
Cian shot Faust a small smile before he exited and closed the door.