As night approached, the lanterns took up more and more of the view. That didn’t stop the residents of Comi nor their pleasantries. People mingled and laughed as their conversations all merged into a wave of noises.

  The wind carried a variety of scents and spices; it spread to fill the city with thoughts of a full stomach. The wind also carried a chill that tickled the spine.

  It gave Quin a feeling that the temperature could turn in a hurry.

  He and his teammates returned where they stored the wagon. Most of their possessions had been left behind due to the busyness of the day.

  The free time afforded them a chance to make some quick withdrawals.

  Ythan and the other Neravivs had yet to come back from their secret journey. As the Tyroviv in charge, Conon cooked up the squad’s next plan of action now that the sun firmly departed.

  “Okay so Bossman’s pretty far from us I reckon, ‘n’ we’re kinda far from our home base,” he began.

  “Now if there’s anything I’ve learned ‘n my years doin’ this, it’s that as crazy as things get durin’ the day, it got nothing on the craziness of night.

  “So get whatever you might need for tonight cuz you never know what could happen. Best to have ‘n’ not need than to need ‘n’ not have right?”

  He and Onyl went to retrieve their belongings. Quin just stayed behind, many of his belongings were strewn out in the wilderness.

  He was grateful to have recovered his book but if he had a choice, he would have elected to keep the sandals.

  The work he put into its creation, only for them to end up in the middle of nowhere where they collected dirt and dung.

  All he wanted was to give Aesther something, anything as a sign of how much she mattered to him. Now he had nothing, back to square one.

  Worst of all, Aesther said she would be in town.

  He had as much of a tangible opportunity as he did back home to present his gift, at least he had. If anything, he would have a chance to see her lovely face again. A silver lining.

  “Are you plannin’ to head back?” Conon asked Onyl as he collected his things. “Cuz I plan on takin’ a walk around. See what’s goin’ on ‘n’ stuff.”

  “Yes I was actually. Do you need me to carry some things back? These better not be things you need.”

  He clapped his hands in gratitude. “Aaahh yer the best, ‘n’ of course not. I have what I need right here.” He then displayed his two fists as his head turned to Quin. “How ‘bout you brother? You callin’ it a day?”

  “Huh? Oh no, no. I already got some rest earlier. I don’t mind walking and looking around.”

  “Alright. Sounds like we have the evenin’ settled. If Bossman suddenly shows up or something, we’ll let you know.”

  “Very well. Keep your necks loose.” Onyl’s eyes then narrowed upon her new teammate. “Especially you Quin.”

  She went into her things and picked up her trusty staff, but she saw something that rose her eyebrow.

  “Why...wha...whose sandals are these?” she asked as she held up the purple slips.

  Surprise, confusion, and elation all entered Quin’s head at once. He rushed over to his partner in a blink.

  “Those are mine actually,” he stated as his hands stuck out to retrieve them.

  Bemusement took over Onyl’s face. She looked at the sandals then at Quin then repeated.

  “Th...these are yours? They...you do not look like you would fit them.”

  “It’s a long story and I don’t know why they ended up with your things but they’re mine and they’re important to me so please just give it to me. Please please.”

  His hands opened and closed as he awaited a response. A long second went by before Onyl’s expression changed from shock to unsettled.

  Her eyes dipped to a corner as she handed the sandals without a word. Then without any eye contact, she walked away and went on her way.

  Quin paid no attention to any of that. He couldn’t believe it. The sandals returned to his possession. He embraced them as new ideas and hopes entered his head one after another.

  Now that the sandals were back, his opportunities came back as well.

  “Uh, do you need a moment alone or something?” Conon asked with arms crossed and a slight concern.

  Now Quin paid attention as he remembered his surroundings.

  “Oh, oh. No, I’m fine. I’m good.” He took off his cloak to actually see his sandals secured in a pocket. “Uh what were we doing?” A thought popped in his head. “Oh actually, you wouldn’t happen to know where to find any merchants?”

  “Actually, that’s where we’re goin’. The first place would’ve been the harbor, but...yeah. So we’ll have to kinda just look around, see what we can find.”

  “I see. Well maybe we should go back to where the chroniclers were and start from there. Since they had to find a place on short notice, then maybe the merchants had to as well.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. You look like you want to take the lead. Go for it brother.”

  The two set off on their search as they took a light stroll down a road. Whatever reason Conon had to seek a merchant, it certainly wasn’t the same reason as Quin’s.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Now more than ever, he wanted to find Aesther. His eyes darted from left to right.

  He thought the sandals were gone for good when serendipity gave him another chance.

  The next time these sandals left his possession would be the moment they end up in Aesther’s. He’d rather die than lose even one of them.

  “I appreciate you not asking anything about the sandals,” he mentioned to Conon.

  “Hey, we all got our vices,” Conon replied with a nonchalant face. “I would’ve imagined it was havin’ to ask questions though.”

  “Wait, vices? What? No, it’s not what you’re thinking.”

  “Yeah yeah.” Conon waved off. “You won’t hear anything from me brother.”

  “They’re actually for someone else and they’re here in town. I’m hoping we’ll meet her.”

  “So you had ‘em wit’ you the whole time knowin’ you’d need ‘em here?”

  “Well...no. I didn’t...think I’d need them here, but-”

  “Okay, so you have ‘em just cuz?”

  “Well...uh...”

  “Look brother, I don’t think anything different of you for it, so you don’t have to make stuff up. But if yer gonna, you might want to come up wit’ something better for Onyl. She’ll end up soundin’ like you wit’ all the questions.”

  “D’oooohhh.” Quin voiced with both palms on his mask. So much for serendipity.

  Little of the scene drew his attention, conflicting thoughts prevailed in his mind.

  That changed when he spotted something down a narrow passageway. He stopped to get a better look at the shadowy object off the ground when he noticed it move.

  “What’s up?” Conon asked.

  “There’s somebody down that...wait, it’s a Cosondere.”

  The two rushed down the passageway when they saw a slumped Tyroviv against a corner. A mask covered her face, itself covered by her blonde hair.

  “Whoa. What happened here?” Conon asked out loud before he checked her pulse.

  “What’ll we do?” Quin inquired.

  “Okay, she’s still alive. Go find the first Cosondere you see, I’ll take her over to-”

  The Tyroviv started to slowly move as she returned to consciousness.

  “Hey, you okay?” asked Conon. “Are you hurt? What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “Ah, oh. Guess I slept too long,” she responded.

  “Huh?” the two men replied.

  She looked down and slapped at her lap. “There was a cat here earlier. They must have ran off.”

  She got up and stretched, seemingly oblivious of the other two Tyrovivs. Both men shared a perplexed expression, though Quin’s was concealed.

  “Whoa, it’s this late already?” she noted as she looked at the sky. “Better cast out of here.”

  She rushed up to a building before she sprinted up its wall. When she couldn’t go any further, she bounced across the alley.

  In seconds, she reached the roof. She turned to the men below before she waved at them.

  “Many thanks for the wake up call,” she told them before she dashed out of sight.

  The two Tyrovivs looked at one another, each had questions that couldn’t be answered.

  Conon simply shrugged. “Well I guess no harm, no foul. Movin’ on.”

  Back on the road, the search resumed. The air chilled as the sky further darkened. The crowds mingled and laughed some more, their faces illuminated by lanterns and roasts.

  Quin asked around, but the replies he received ranged from off-topic reverence to cloak-coded indifference. Neither were helpful.

  Still, Quin felt like he got closer. Since he wore a cloak and mask, people would naturally look at him. He just needed to see Aesther on the other side.

  Instead, the only faces on the other side were apathy and apprehension.

  A few dozen steps later, it became clear they wouldn’t find anything on the ground.

  Conon started to look up at the colony of towers and Quin knew their search was about to cover more altitude than latitude.

  “Hmm. Startin’ to think we might not find anything here on the ground. Let’s head on up, see what we can find there.”

  “Let’s double-check one more time before we go up. It’d be pretty annoying to go all the way up there just to come back down right?”

  Conon shook his head. “Nah, it’s usually the other way around. I wasn’t expectin’ much down here anyway, but I’d figure we check since we’re here.”

  Quin had to think fast.

  He knew he wouldn’t find Aesther up along the colony of towers but more than that, he simply wasn’t interested in the high climb. He looked at the nearby buildings when he thought of a compromise.

  “Let’s just make one more sweep from the roofs,” he suggested. “We’ll have more of a better view from there. If we don’t see anything, then we can go up the towers.”

  Conon mulled over Quin’s proposal before he casually bobbed his head in agreement.

  “Yeah sure, why not. Not really pressed for time or anything. We’ll take one more look.”

  Quin lightly clenched his fist in success. He had bought himself some time. The two jumped up to the roofs and though he didn’t like the view, Quin had to pay attention to find Aesther.

  Overhead, the Tyrovivs faced much less foot traffic as they hopped from building to building. With every landing, people below lifted their heads above.

  Quin still couldn’t find the face he sought. Soon, doubt began to creep in.

  Aesther said the prior day that she would be here, but perhaps the sight of a closed harbor sent her back.

  On that topic, the craziness in the harbor district could have also driven her group out of the city.

  The Tyrovivs leaped up to one of the taller buildings in the area. They had as good of a view as they could get, all things considered. Perhaps Quin wanted too much, he concluded.

  Just minutes ago, he believed he lost the sandals forever. He should count his blessings that he had them back at all. As long as he had them, he could wait for the next opportunity.

  Quin looked behind him toward the lofty towers; he did not look forward to the sights from up there.

  So much was that the case, he turned away just for a brief respite. He looked down the main road and the dwindled crowd when his eyes came to a halt.

  Half a dozen buildings away, Quin saw a light that glowed brighter than any lantern in town.

  Every person around her faded to a blur while she herself became clearer to see. Every shadow along a wall shriveled while hers thrived in the center of light. Every lantern burned brighter whenever she neared and dimmed duller whenever she walked by.

  There among a small crew with a cart, it was her. It was Aesther.

  Quin kept his eyes on her as he leaped ahead of Conon to smaller buildings. He pushed himself across the ledges, as he made sure to not let the heights bother him.

  He saw it, he saw his opportunity.

  A couple of buildings away, he briefly stopped to check his cloak. He felt the sandals behind him and started to think about how he would approach.

  He couldn’t just jump in from the dark, especially with his attire.

  Suddenly, Aesther turned in Quin’s direction. He panicked and turned away from her, unready with his introduction.

  Then again, he was a Cosondere behind a mask. She couldn’t possibly tell him apart could she?

  Quin turned his head slightly when he noticed plenty of people who all turned in the same the same direction. Something else took their attention.

  He followed their lead and saw the conspicuous source. Groups of people could be seen as they climbed the steps of the three biggest towers.

  Two people for each tower, it looked as if they were all engaged in a race to the top.

  The fact that they raced up the numerous steps with a crawl instead of any leaps clued Quin in that they were Yerps.

  Sprawled up along the sky bridges, several Sentar’i spectated the episode. It seemed like no one knew what to make of the event.

  Quin turned his head back to what he really wanted to see, but his eyes were disappointed. Aesther had vanished and he couldn’t trace her anywhere.

  Another dashed opportunity, it started to feel like he was a part of some cruel game.

  Conon sprang up beside him. He took another peek at the scene before he shook his head.

  “Before you ask, no. I don’t think they’re allowed to do that. Looks like a bunch of drunks. Wanna get a closer look?”

  Quin tucked his head low. “Lead the way,” he replied.

  Conon noticed the sudden lack of energy. “Don’t lose yer spirit now brother. The night’s only gettin’ started.”

  He coiled from roof to roof as he zipped over in direction of the towers and the peculiar Yerps.

  Quin took one more look behind him where he still couldn’t locate Aesther. He had no other choice but to move on. He sighed as he felt his cloak behind him, he still had the sandals. That’s what mattered.

  It would have been a lovely moment to see Aesther with the sandals even if it would have been too dark to see her with them.

  It remained a dream in his head for the time being and right now, it had to be relegated to the back of his head.

  He focused his thoughts ahead to the towers and sprang after Conon.