“Please take this.”
Shin, the former gladiator, eyed the worn leather pouch on the polished white table before him. Was this why Melissa, the City Forgotten by Time’s manager, had asked to see him in her office?
“What is it...?” he asked.
“Proprietor Noor asked that I pass it along. He requests its delivery to a beastfolk settlement in the north.”
“Noor? Oh, the guy who saved my hide in the colosseum?”
Shin’s scarred face lowered as he once again examined the dull-colored pouch. He paused, deep in thought, then picked it up as if to accept. The pouch had some weight to it, and a light clattering came from within.
“What’s in here?” he mused. “Stones?”
“For your own sake, I would pretend so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? It’s not something dangerous, is it?”
“It is, in a sense. Though it will not harm you directly.”
“What’s with the riddle...? Ah, it doesn’t matter. I owe him my life. Danger or no, a little errand like this is nothing in comparison. Which settlement, though? There are several in the north.”
“He mentioned there being a map inside the pouch.”
“A map? Must be this, then.” Shin reached into the bag and retrieved a scrap of paper from atop a bed of shiny rainbow stones. “Hmm? You’re telling me this is a map?”
Although it bore the usual markings—symbols, words, and such—the snaking lines and messy handwriting made it a nightmare to comprehend. Worse still, Noor’s directions were all irrelevant-seeming nonsense; the cipher on some ancient treasure map might have been easier to understand.
“Keep your back to the rising sun, then turn left at the odd-looking boulder to your right.”
“Go straight between the two strangely shaped cactus plants.”
Shin spent some time glaring at the esoteric instructions, furrowing his brow and humming in frustration. Then he clapped his hands together.
“I’ve got it,” he said. “Noor wants me to go there, does he?”
“You have a destination in mind?”
“Yeah. Noor’s instructions make barely a lick of sense, but I get the gist of them. It’s my hometown.”
“Your hometown?” Surprise flickered across Melissa’s features before her cool composure returned. “In that case, please make the journey at once. I understand there are also two letters inside the pouch—please deliver those as well.”
“Got it. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“And this is for you.”
“For...what? This wasn’t in my contract.”
“Consider it a bonus for your...special fight.”
As he accepted the small bundle being offered to him, Shin noticed traces of remorse seeping through Melissa’s expression. “What’s this, now?” he asked. “Concerned for me, were you?”
“As a fundamental rule, only the gladiator slaves guilty of serious crimes were to be matched against the green dragon. It might have been Rashid, the former proprietor, who proposed the exception, but that does not change the fact that it went against our establishment’s code of operations.” Melissa cast her eyes down. “I admit, I never expected you to agree.”
“If someone in your position starts worrying about those kinds of things, you won’t ever see an end to it,” Shin said, the corners of his mouth upturned. “Consider it all water under the bridge; I was partly to blame for letting the reward money tempt me into signing the contract in the first place. Plus, while I can’t say I was ever comfortable, you never treated us beastfolk poorly. I’m grateful for that. And it all resulted in my freedom in the end, right? Though I suppose you could also call me unemployed. In any case, the air tastes so much sweeter when you’re free of debt.”
Shin took in an exaggerated breath, a broad smile on his scarred face as he tossed the small bundle into the leather pouch.
Melissa exhaled softly. “Then I trust you to see the delivery through.”
“Yeah. Thanks for everything. And a word of advice—don’t let matters this small bother you so much. You might not realize it, but it’s all over your face.”
“My face...?” Disgruntled, she brought a hand to her cheek.
Turning his back on the city’s manager, Shin departed, his stride energetic as he advanced across the desert sands. Nostalgic thoughts of home traveled with him. Such a long time had passed since his last visit...but he doubted much had changed in his absence.