Aramora

Chapter 8: Innocence

Malachi grumbles. "Fine then, lead the way. You'd better not be misleading us, thief. You're also one of the 'rats beneath our feet'." He glares at him.

Lavern laughs and pushes off of the wall. "Well, this 'rat' is cutting past the scraps and helping you get straight to the coffer. Take it or leave it, old man," he states and brushes past him to walk down the stone stairs. Naomi chuckles as she follows, throwing a snarky grin at Malachi as she passes and rushes to join Lavern.

He led them to a broken old sewer grate that leads down to dark stone tunnels beneath the city. They followed these tunnels, smelling of mildew and dust, until they reached a dead-end wall at the end of the passageway. Lavern pulls out one of his daggers and uses it to draw a strange symbol in the stone. Once he's done, he sheathes the blade and the markings glow white. As they fade out, the wall splits in two and slides open, leading them into the Cle'va Guild.

The massive dome-shaped room is filled with chests lining the walls, and shelves stacked with bags of numis. The stone floor curves around the center of the room, which holds a set of wooden stairs, spiraling up to a higher wooden platform, beneath the hole in the ceiling that is covered with wooden boards, leading up to the abandoned well above ground.

Atop the platform is a statue of the deity worshipped across the land, Mazenya. Behind the statue is a table set with stacks of numis and maps and standing over it is a woman with white hair, cat ears and tail, and blue eyes wearing a set of black and dark brown leather armor that's slimmer than the others and somewhat resembles the attire of the statue.

Scurrying all around the edges of the room are men and women, most of them Adaliaen or Tus'Felnis, and all of them dressed in similar black leather armor as Lavern. They rummage through chests, sit around at wooden tables with flagons, and train with daggers, short swords, and bows at practice targets.

As they walk through the room towards the wooden platform and the stone entrance closes behind them, they feel as the eyes in the shadows find them, watching their every move with caution and mistrust.

Naomi lowers her voice as she speaks to Lavern. "Are you sure it's okay that we're here?" she asks uncomfortably.

Lavern shrugs. "Don't mind them, they give those looks to each other all the time. Down here, the only person you can trust is yourself," he explains and they begin ascending the wooden stairs.

They reach the top and Lavern holds up his hand for the others to wait as he approaches the white-haired woman at the table. Her ear flicks towards him and she turns around as he stops walking and stands a few feet away.

Her eyes dart to the group accompanying him and they narrow back to him. "You'd better have a damn good reason for bringing strangers into our guild, Lavern. Do not make Cle'Mishari remind you of how thin the ice you tread on already is," Cle'Mishari states.

She speaks in the same manner and accent as Naomi remembers Nisha talking in when she showed them a bit of how most Tus'Felnis speak.

Lavern nods. "I can vouch for them, don't worry. They're not going to sell us out. And even if they did, we're already feared across the continent. No one in their right mind is going to mess with us," he says with a confident grin.

The Guild Master huffs and leans back on the table. "You know Cle'Mishari trusts only herself and her blades. But she hopes you would not have come here with intent on breaking one of our strict rules without something being in it for this one. So, let's hear it."

Lavern steps towards her. "If I'm right, you've made some kind of deal with Socles recently, haven't you?" he starts.

Cle'Mishari chuckles. "She has. This one told the queen she would have the guild's protection for the rest of the year in exchange for something of tremendous value," she says.