She laid the parchment on her desk, and we pored over it.This job was as simple as it got.Get in, open the safe, steal a document, and get out.Almosttooeasy.
“If you come across any coin or other loot while you’re in there, that’ll be yours to keep.We prefer that you take some, actually, as it deflects suspicion.Looks more like a simple robbery rather than espionage.”
“I think I can manage that,” I said with a wry smile.This job sounded better by the moment.
“Very good.Oh, and have you met Sprocket?”
“Sprocket?”I asked, eyebrows raised.
“Our guild quartermaster.He will outfit you with everything you need.”
“The Gearhouse” was in the depths of the Order’s headquarters.I’d thought Elena and I had explored every room, but I was wrong.The entrance was in the very library I had borrowed the books from, behind a bookcase that slid away to reveal a winding staircase.One hundred twenty-six stairs later, I found myself in a large room filled from floor to ceiling with supplies, weapons, alchemists’ tools, a blacksmith’s forge, and countless other items that could’ve supplied a small army.
A grizzled man in dirty overalls—Sprocket, I assumed—was deep in concentration, sitting at a table and working on a mechanical contraption.He probed inside a mass of gears and levers with two delicate-looking instruments, his elbows poking out to the sides.This, combined with his haphazard hair and the magnifying glass attached to his spectacles, made him look like some exotic insect.
I stood quietly, letting him concentrate.Besides picking locks, I hadn’t tinkered much with mechanical things, mostly because I had none around, and the intricacy fascinated me.
The man sighed.“Would you please stop looking at me so loudly?”
I looked around to see if there was someone else in the room.When I came up empty, I realized he must have been referring to me.
“Beg your pardon?”I asked.
“You’re practically screaming at me with those eyes.”
“You can hear my…eyes?”
“Yes, they are very loud,” he said, then let out a sigh as he set down his tools and looked my way.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” I said.“I can come back later.”
“No need.After all that racket, I’ve lost my concentration,” he said, not angrily or dismissively, just like he was stating a fact.“People call me Sprocket.From the look of you, I’d guess you are our new recruit.Cas, right?”
“That’s right,” I said.
“Rumor has it that you are quite the potion-maker.”
“Oh?Who did you hear that from?”
“Darion Thorne speaks very highly of you.”
I felt my cheeks flush.“Is that so?”
“Really likes you, that one,” Sprocket said.“Never thought I’d see him that happy again after…” His eyes grew wide.Then he blinked and turned back to his device.
“After what?”I asked.
He said nothing, just continued to work.I was about to ask again when he said, “Feel free to use any of the herbs and reagents you need.Let me know if you need any help.”
It seemed that conversation was over, but Sprocket had successfully planted a seed of worry in my mind, as if I didn’t have enough to obsess about.What had happened in Darion’s past to make him so unhappy?It got me thinking about how I knew very little about Darion’s life before we met.He rarely brought it up, and he’d mentioned his family only once.Maybe now that I’d joined the Order, he might start opening up more.Time would tell.
I set to work, crafting a myriad of potions—smoke bombs, flash-bangs, scent cancelers, and other equipment essential for a typical job.Halfway through, Sprocket came over, observing my work and occasionally interjecting with a question or comment.He was a little odd, but he was smart, and I liked his enthusiasm.He even gave me a tip or two about how to improve the efficacy of several of my potions.
But he never brought up Darion again, and I decided not to press him.
Once I had a full load and a few potions to spare, I said my goodbyes to Sprocket, headed upstairs, and prepared to leave.It felt a little odd doing a job without Garrick.
The Royal Guard and the Sentinels were everywhere.The good news was that after my encounter with them yesterday, I knew that if I made my mind quiet enough, I could tune in to the thrumming they seemed to emit.Because of this, I could map their positions and avoid them.But I was also very careful not to overextend myself.If the slightest tickle of that horrible darkness licked at my senses, I could quickly detach.
