The Broken Shield lived up to its name, with an actual broken shield — supposedly belonging to some legendary hero — mounted above the bar. The tavern catered to mid-level adventurers, those who'd survived long enough to afford decent drinks but weren't successful enough for the upscale establishments near Guild Headquarters.
I arrived precisely at the eighth bell, slipping through the crowded main room to a corner table where Thorne sat alone, nursing a mug of something dark. No sign of Kira yet.
"Jin," Thorne acknowledged as I took a seat opposite him. "Right on time again."
"Habit," I replied. "Any word from Kira?"
"Said she'd be here." He shrugged. "Doesn't trust me to distribute shares fairly. Can't blame her."
I studied Thorne's face, noticing subtle changes since our return. The perpetual tension around his eyes had eased. His hands weren't trembling anymore. Whatever business he'd conducted with his crystal fragment had apparently relieved his most immediate pressures.
"Success with your creditors?" I asked.
"The Iron Syndicate is satisfied," he confirmed. "For now." He pushed a small pouch across the table. "Your share. About what we agreed."
The pouch clinked heavily as I picked it up, more substantial than I'd expected from a single fragment. I opened it to find several gold pieces and a smaller leather pouch within.
"What's this?" I asked, lifting the inner container.
"Bonus," Thorne said. "Crystal dust. Small amount, but useful for certain... enhancements."
I carefully set the inner pouch back into the main one without opening it. From what I'd seen in the Crimson Labyrinth, I wasn't eager to experiment with its products.
"Generous," I said cautiously. "Given the outcome."
Thorne leaned forward, lowering his voice. "About that. You saw the trap before Dain did. A trap specialist with years of experience, and you spotted it first."
I tensed, immediately regretting having drawn attention to my mysteriously acquired skill. "Lucky observation."
"No." He shook his head. "That wasn't luck. And it wasn't just 'noticing patterns.' You knew exactly what to look for." His eyes narrowed. "Your Guild file says D-rank generalist with no specializations. But that's not accurate, is it?"
"My Guild assessment was thorough," I said, which wasn't technically a lie. It just happened before I'd acquired my receipt purchased skill.
"I'm not with the Guild," Thorne replied. "And I don't care if you're hiding abilities to avoid higher expedition fees or taxes. But I need to know what I'm working with."
"Working with?" I echoed. "The expedition's over."
"This one is." He took a long swallow from his mug. "I'm planning another."
I stared at him. "You can't be serious. Dain died."
"Dain died, and we came back with an extremely high-quality crystal fragment," Thorne corrected. "Do you know how rare that is? Most expeditions lose people and get nothing. At least we got something valuable from his sacrifice."
The casualness with which he dismissed Dain's horrible death was chilling, and also uncomfortably familiar to my own thoughts about death as a resource.
"When?" I asked, surprising myself with the question.
"Ten days. New moon. The Labyrinth is less active then, according to my research." He leaned closer. "Triple share for you this time. And I'm recruiting more capable members. B-ranks minimum."
Higher-ranked adventurers meant better survival skills, which theoretically meant fewer deaths... but also potentially more points per death when they did occur. The calculation happened automatically in my mind, another sign of my moral deterioration.
"I'll think about it," I said, pocketing the payment.
Thorne nodded. "Fair enough. Let me know by the end of the week."
The tavern door banged open, and Kira strode in, scanning the room until she spotted our table. Her expression was thunderous as she approached.
"You're late," Thorne said mildly.
"Arena ran long," she replied, dropping into a chair. "Pay up."
Thorne slid a pouch identical to mine across the table. Kira opened it, counted the contents with practiced efficiency, then frowned at the inner pouch.
"What's this?"
"Crystal dust. Bonus."
She rewrapped everything and tucked it into her vest. "This concludes our business."
"Actually," Thorne began, "I'm planning another—"
"No." Kira cut him off. "Never again. You're bad luck, Blackwood."
"Triple share," he offered.
"Not for all the gold in Ravengate." She stood. "Jin, word of advice, don't go back to that place. Especially not with him." She jerked her head toward Thorne. "Nobody survives that many disasters by accident."
With that, she stalked out, leaving an uncomfortable silence behind her.
"Passionate," Thorne commented dryly. "But she'll come around when she needs the money. They always do."
I wasn't so sure. Kira struck me as someone with firm principles, the kind of person I might have been in another life, before survival became my only meaningful principle.
"I should go," I said, rising from the table. "Early meeting tomorrow."
"Think about my offer," Thorne called after me. "Triple share. Better team."
I waved without looking back.
Outside, the night air had cooled considerably. I paused on the street, debating whether to head straight home or find another tavern for a quick drink. After the day's events, alcohol seemed increasingly attractive.
"She's right, you know," a familiar raspy voice said from the shadows beside the tavern entrance. "About him being bad luck."
I turned to find Morrigan leaning against the wall, her collection of pendants and charms glinting dully in the lamplight.
"Following me now?" I asked, irritation overcoming my usual caution around the information broker.
"Observing," she corrected. "Like you do. Patterns, remember?"
"What do you want, Morrigan?"
"Just making an observation." She pushed off from the wall, moving with surprising grace for someone her age. "Thorne Blackwood has led five expeditions. All five suffered casualties. All five had exactly one survivor."
I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the night air. "Let me guess. Him."
"Not always." Her rheumy eyes fixed on me with uncomfortable intensity. "Sometimes it's a different person. A new recruit. Someone without connections or history. Someone who can disappear afterward."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Information is my business, Jin. I deal in facts, not suggestions." She reached into a pocket of her tattered robe and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. "But here's a fact you might find interesting. A list of Thorne Blackwood's previous expeditions, with dates, destinations, and... outcomes."
I hesitated, then took the parchment. "How much?"
"Consider it an investment in our future relationship." Her smile revealed those gap-filled gums again. "You're becoming a person of interest, Jin Harker. And I like keeping track of interesting people."
With that cryptic statement, she melted back into the shadows, leaving me alone with the folded parchment and a growing sense of unease.
I waited until I was safely in my room before unfolding Morrigan's document. The handwriting was spidery but precise, listing five expeditions over the past two years:
1. Howling Cavern (Level 2) - Three casualties, one survivor (Thorne Blackwood)
2. Whispering Catacombs (Level 2) - Four casualties, one survivor (Thorne Blackwood)
3. Azure Depths Outpost (Level 3) - Two casualties, two survivors (Thorne Blackwood and Elena Vasquez, disappeared after return)
4. Crimson Labyrinth (Level 3) - Three casualties, one survivor (Thorne Blackwood)
5. Crimson Labyrinth (Level 3) - Two casualties, two survivors (Thorne Blackwood and Marsh Willow, died in "unrelated incident" one week after return)
And now our expedition would be added to the list. One casualty, three survivors — Thorne, Kira and myself.
I sat on the edge of my bed, the implications sinking in. Either Thorne was exactly what he appeared to be—a desperate treasure hunter with terrible luck—or something far more sinister was happening.
Could Thorne somehow be engineering these disasters? Ensuring that he survived while others died?
Or was there another explanation? The receipt system had proven that inexplicable powers existed in this world. What if Thorne had his own version? What if he was benefiting from deaths somehow, just as I hoped to?
The thought was both disturbing and oddly comforting. Disturbing because it suggested a deliberate malevolence behind what I'd perceived as random dungeon tragedies. Comforting because it meant I wasn't the only one making these morally reprehensible calculations.
I refolded the parchment and tucked it into my money pouch for safekeeping. Whatever the truth, I needed more information before deciding whether to join Thorne's next expedition.
And then there was the matter of the missing receipt. Why hadn't I received points for Dain's death? I needed to understand the rules governing this power if I was going to use it effectively.
Tomorrow's meeting with Investigator Reyne suddenly seemed even more complicated than before. Not only did I need to explain my own suspicious survival record, but now I had questions about Thorne's as well.
Sometimes survival meant making difficult choices. Other times, it meant knowing which questions to ask, and of whom.
For now, I will sleep. Tomorrow would bring its own challenges, and I needed to be sharp to face them.
But as I drifted off, I couldn't shake the feeling of the strange absence of the receipt I'd expected to receive from his death.
What was I missing?