Into That Wild Blue Yonder

21. Pick Your Battles

The salesman returned far quicker than anticipated and motioned for Idara and Colm to follow him up to the corporate offices. Colm watched Idara look back longingly at the collection as they walked off to do their work, but he couldn't blame her. He felt an inexplicable draw toward the designs as well.

The salesman led them up a large and intricately decorated spiral stairwell, clad with wall hangings and hand-crafted hardwood railing. The stairwell felt like an ancient ruin with doorways sunken into the walls off slightly wider steps every now and again. They climbed what was probably around four flights of stairs by the time the salesman motioned for them to enter and left them to find their way from there.

They stepped awkwardly through the thin doorway and into a very modern office space, a complete changeover from the stairwell that led them there. Professionally dressed corporates trekked across the room and between cubicles, stacks of paperwork in hand and clipboards hanging off cubicle walls everywhere. They hardly noticed Idara and Colm walking through the small, makeshift hallways.

They navigated the maze of thin walls to a corner office and waited outside the door for a minute before knocking. When no answer came, Idara knocked harder, and someone on the other side sounded like they scrambled to throw their chair aside and rush to the door. She stepped back as it cracked inward and a single, emerald green eye peeped through to look her over.

"Terribly sorry, you came to see me?" the man said.

"Uhh, are you Christobal?" Idara asked uncertainly.

"That is me, yes," the man replied. "Who might you be?"

"My name is Idara, and this is Colm," Idara said, motioning her hand to Colm. He stood silently with his hands in his pockets. "We were sent here by a man named Anselm-"

"Ah!" Christobal said excitedly. He shut the door and the sound of several locks unhooking sounded off from the other side. Idara looked to Colm in confusion who simply shrugged in response. When the door opened, Christobal was already walking back towards his desk.

"Uhh, may we come in?" Idara asked as Colm walked in without waiting. She was about to grab his shoulder and stop him when Christobal chuckled and waved them in.

"Oh, of course!" Christobal said. Colm continued to the window and leaned against it to look outside while Idara walked up to Christobal's desk.

Loose drawing paper and pencils of varying sizes littered the surface of his desk. Idara glanced left to right to see dozens of designs for different types of jewelry, ranging from necklaces and chokers to intricate bracelets and rings. Christobal hurriedly gathered up his papers and shoved them all into his desk before she could get a decent look at any one of them. Idara stepped back and looked away like she had done something wrong by looking down at them.

"So... I guess he told you why we came?" Idara asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," Christobal answered, grunting while still trying to fit his designs into his desk. "He simply told me you are most reliable for, I guess we'll say... dicey situations."

"Well, he told you right!" Idara said proudly. "We can handle anything you can throw at us. Right, Colm?"

"Sure."

"What do you need us for?"

"Just a moment," Christobal said, looking back and forth. "I know I have it here... somewhere..." Idara stood and watched as he sifted through the drawers in and behind his desk in search of something that would explain his need. "Ah!" he shouted, pulling up a tattered piece of paper. "Here."