As he woke up in comfortable warmth, Nido grimaced from a splitting headache.

  Going through the scattered memories in his mind, he counted all the stolen bottles they went through. Only to decide that it was all of them.

  He sat up, blinking his blurry vision away. Taking the pitcher of water on the end table next to him, Nido quenched his thirst.

  Sighing with content, he grabbed the covers and snuggled back to the sleeping woman.

  As he pressed her body against himself, Nido finally realized something was amiss.

  The woman had long golden hair, a slender body, and somehow, even though they must have been sleeping for some time, cold feet.

  "No..." Nido thought. Scared to see a specific person under the covers, he gently and slowly moved away. Then he circled around the sleeping person. Trying to peek at the woman's face.

  Thankfully, her nose was a bit too long, her brows thicker, and her mouth less full. Now that he had truly woken up, he noticed that even her hair did not match. There were streaks of brown here and there, and the hair itself had the hue of hay, rather than gold.

  No, the person lying next to him definitely was not Evelynn.

  But who was she? And for that matter, where was he?

  The room was rather spacious and lavish, and there were not many of those in Kitva anymore. Along with the nice view of the overcrowded square, Nido had no need to guess anymore.

  Somehow, he had gotten into one of the noble residences.

  Butt naked, and unexplainably a bit scared, Nido methodically searched the room for his undergarments. Finally finding them under one of the big wooden wardrobes, along with his pants and one boot, Nido decided that the rest had to be elsewhere.

  Taking one last look at the sleeping beauty in the bed, he questioned whether the silent exit was really necessary.

  He shrugged his shoulders and quietly walked out the door.

  The hallway was empty and Nido hurried to use the opportunity.

  As he quickly made his way down the hall, two voices started emerging from the other side.

  Without thinking, Nido flew into the first doors he found. As he quickly closed them behind him, he had realized that he just entered the servant's room. Dirty clothes were thrown into baskets and clean ones were neatly folded and prepared on the table.

  And just on the top of the dirty pile, his remaining shoe rested.

  Thanking his luck, Nido grabbed it and sat to put it on. Only to spot the set of clean clothes. Surprisingly, they seemed to be rather big, maybe even big enough to accommodate his build...

  Once the voices passed the room he was hiding in, Nido made his way out in a dashing set of new clothes.

  He managed to sneak the rest of the way out without arousing suspicion. He acted nonchalant and arrogant when passing by the servants. Since they were afraid to offend a new master, even if they did not know him, none of them dared to ask him any questions. One even unlocked the main doors to let him out.

  Deatt had always said that being of nobility must be boring, but Nido quite enjoyed the nervous glances of the servants.

  Crossing the square, he reached the big tent and slid the covers to the side.

  Evelynn was lying on her furs, her clothes stained with drink, and she snored almost as loud as Nido Himself. With a gleeful smile, he gently put his hands on her shoulders, before he shook her.

  "There you are!" he exclaimed loudly, jerking Evelynn awake.

  "Huh!" Evelynn woke up in a panic, her eyes almost doubling in size. "What are you doing?" she yelled, her voice still half-asleep.

  "I am just glad that you are sleeping here. You know, in your furs! As it should be!" Nido let go of her shoulders.

  "What?" Evelynn asked, and then she groaned while holding her head.

  "Everything is fine. Nothing is wrong. You are here!" he continued.

  "What are you-" she strained to look at him. "What are you wearing?"

  "Uhm. Clothes?"

  "Nido, what did you do?" Evelynn asked. It had been a long time ago, but Nido knew that tone of voice. His mother used to talk to him like that whenever he was bad. Although Evelynn was nowhere near as scary as his orcish mother, he still felt the sudden urge to hide.

  "I did not steal them if that is your question." He said.

  "Good. I was afraid that-"

  "I merely exchanged them with mine." Nido could not help himself.

  Evelynn rolled her eyes and laid back on the furs. Too hungover to care.

  "Do you know where Deatt is?" She asked. "I think he was supposed to meet up with Bernard again."

  "He is not with you?" Nido bent over to check the rest of the furs.

  "Why would he be with me?"

  "Well, I thought..." Nido shrugged. "I don't know, makes sense to me."

  "So you don't know where he is?"

  Nido slowly shook his head.

  "I can meet Berry myself, I guess."

  "No. What if something happens? We need Deatt." Evelynn said, looking over her clothes. "We will have to go find him. He must have wandered off when we...Do you remember what happened yesterday at all?"

  "I know nothing. I have no idea who that woman was either."

  "What woman?" she arched her brow at him.

  "Not you, that's for sure," Nido replied.

  "You know what? Maybe I really don't want to know. We have to find Deatt anyway." she said as she stood up. She unbuttoned the first two buttons on her tunic, then cast a glance at Nido.

  "Would you mind walking out for a second?"

  "Yeah, yeah sure," he said, somewhat disappointed.

  Deatt was an enigma. A shadow hidden somewhere dark and secret.

  Nido and Evelynn already retraced all the places they had remembered their nightly drinking took them. The cathedral, where Nido and Deatt rather blasphemously pissed at its walls, the gate, where they convinced one of the guards to do a handstand, and lastly the tavern, where they drank through two more bottles on Berry's tab. The last one was obviously Deatt's idea.

  But no matter where they went, Deatt was nowhere to be seen. He had not even left any clues behind, suggesting where he might be.

  Nido was beginning to be concerned for Deatt, while Evelynn cursed him for making her do so much in her hangover.

  But then a thought appeared in Nido's mind. While Deatt was mostly a good type of drunk, happy, and energetic like Nido, if left alone, Deatt could become rather mournful. In those times, he opted to return to places that he knew, and that felt comfortable.

  He led Evelynn through the gate, where the guard from yesterday was still stationed. He seemed in much the same condition as Evelynn. It did not take a lot of convincing to let them through, but he said that he had not seen Deatt after they left.

  Nido moved through the narrow street, somewhat in the direction of the prison, but that was not his goal.

  Stopping before a house with a fence riddled with roses, he pushed aside the stems riddled with thorns and revealed a pile of rubble. He started hauling the stones to a pile a few meters away, slowly uncovering an iron hatch.

  It was one of the three ways to get into their old hideout.

  Nido was not prone to be overly sentimental, but walking through the tunnel to the place he had called his home pulled on his heartstrings.

  It had been a very long time since he was here last and he had doubted that he might ever see it again.

  The room he climbed into from the tunnel was the storage room. Not for any loot, but for tools and alike. Nido looked at his old axes with a smile, though the sight was a bit disheartening. He would not bring any back with him. The iron was rusty and the shafts were rotten through.

  The next room was the common room. There, Deatt, Nido, and Carmilla used to drink. He had a lot of memories with Berry as well, but he had left for the guard long before the others started drinking.

  The inside was a bit dirty. The dust has accumulated, covering every surface, except a small circle on the barely standing table. The roof had fallen further at some point, throwing wooden debris into the room. The leather armchairs were rotted through. The whole room smelled of decay, dirt, and grime. The scent of vacancy.

  "So...this is where you grew up?" Evelynn asked a hint of pity in her voice.

  "It looked a lot better before. It had been abandoned for too long. Honestly, we were lucky. This was one of the safer streets in midtown. And this house always had plenty of room for all of us."

  "I can't imagine Carmilla living here with you two. I like her, but she does seem a bit too focused on wealth and luxury."

  "Maybe now." Nido sighed. "But not always. She used to be happy with whatever Deatt managed to get her," he said, reaching for one of the planks below one of the armchairs. He pulled out a small box.

  He opened it to reveal various trinkets, along with a plethora of old, but still pleasant smells. A few gold rings with sparkly gems, circlets, lockets, and other items were in a heap inside. There were also pouches with dried flowers and many letters.

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  "What's in those?" Evelynn asked, curious. She almost reached inside, before Nido jerked the chest away. He had wanted to read them as well. Whenever Deatt was writing his sweet words for Carmilla, she always seemed so chipper. So happy with what he had given her. Nido wanted to be able to write like that.

  But there were lines he would not cross. This was a bit too personal and important. Maybe if it was not the thing that broke Deatt for so long, he might have. But Deatt deserved to have this part of his life for himself.

  "It wouldn't be right to read those. They are from Deatt." Nido said, closing the small chest.

  The jewelry might have helped if they sold it elsewhere, but he suddenly felt about it much the same as about the letters. They were not his to sell.

  He put it back into the floorboard, even though he knew that it would probably never be opened again. Some things were better left in the past.

  Evelynn watched as Nido put the chest back. Not with greed or anything alike, more with pity, maybe a new understanding of Deatt. Nido was not sure if he should have revealed that part of him at all. Deatt would probably disapprove, but Nido felt it prudent. For what reason? Maybe just because he trusted Evelynn.

  When Deatt was not here, Nido knew instantly where to go. He walked toward the door that led to Deatt's room. There he stopped.

  "I...I should go there alone. If you don't mind?" Nido asked.

  Evelynn, her face full of sympathy, only slightly nodded.

  "Just make sure he is alright," she said.

  "I will," he answered as he entered the door.

  Deatt was sitting on his bed, he was still awake, holding a half-drank bottle in his hand. The bottle was covered with dust itself, as was Deatt for the most part. There was a small basket on the floor, filled with almost mummified meat on a bone, along with things that were too rotten and disheveled to be recognized.

  And there was an open letter, right next to Deatt.

  "Hey, we were searching for you for the whole day you know?" Nido tried to joke around, sitting next to Deatt. But his friend had not even moved, had not even twitched.

  "You a...You alright? You know Evelynn was really worried about you." Nido continued talking, without getting a response.

  "Can I drink with you?" he asked.

  Deatt absentmindedly handed him the bottle.

  Nido smelt the bottle and felt reluctance to drink. His orcish ancestry gave him an iron gut, but the wine smelt almost the same as the one he hid back in the cellar, only worse.

  Still, he could not let his friend drink alone. He took a swig.

  Then he sat in silence. There was nothing he could offer Deatt to help him other than his presence. Nothing else to do but wait and hope that his friend would come out of his stupor.

  When they were almost to the bottom of the bottle, Deatt finally spoke.

  "Do you know why?" he asked, watching the rot-riddled basket before them. "Why she did do what she did?"

  "You mean the heist?"

  Deatt nodded.

  "I never thought about it. I always believed that it wasn't on purpose. But if it was? I don't know. I don't know Deatt."

  "Me neither..." Deatt said slowly, before handing Nido the letter.

  Nido awkwardly took it. There was some writing there, but he knew nothing of what it meant. All he could discern was Carmilla's signature, along with a mark of her lips in red lipstick.

  "I'm sorry. I still can't read Deatt."

  "She left me this. Congratulations on the heist's success. She wrote that she loved me, that she wanted to share the basket with me when I came back. To celebrate." Deatt grimaced. "She...she suggested that now we would have enough. That I won't have to go thieving again. That she could sell some of her things if it helped. She said she wants me to marry her..."

  Nido tried to digest the information but was mostly unable to. It did not make sense. Why would she act so nonchalant when they arrived in Zenwall? Why would she act like nothing ever happened? Like she cared little for Deatt?

  "Why Nido? I don't...I just don't get it."

  "Maybe she really wasn't lying. Maybe we really had shit luck back then."Nido handed Deatt the bottle.

  "Then why would she never come visit? Not once!" Deatt's voice rose. "We were in prison! For five fucking years! She never sent a letter, never tried to talk to me! She left me Nido! Completely!"

  "I know."

  "Marry her? Did she want to settle down and live a comfortable fucking life? I guess Vael is good for that. The lovely rich bastard! With his money, she must be living like a princess!" Deatt kicked the basket in his anger. It mushed against the wall. Then he grabbed the end table and smashed it in the same place.

  "Deatt, I don't think-"

  "And now? I even work for the bastard! I work for him!" Deatt yelled. "She called for me after five years of letting me rot! And what do I do? I run straight for her again."

  "Deatt!" Nido stood up and took him by the shoulders. "I know. I know just what a toll this has had on you. But you do not work for him. You work with him. You work with him only because you need to. Once we get Gnenmo, we can tell them to fuck right off. We will steal everything. Suck him dry. We will make sure of that."

  Deatt shook in his grasp. Not because he was trying to escape it, but for the vortex of emotions that he was going through. He stood still for a while, looking into Nido's eyes.

  "Everything Nido. We will take everything."

  Evelynn was doing her hardest not to spy on the conversation Nido and Deatt were having in the next room, as well as not to peer into the chest hidden in the board.

  She was way too interested in the past that Deatt and Nido might have had here.

  To direct her attention elsewhere, she walked around the room, looking at the various things that were there.

  Even though she never saw the hideout in its glory days, she could feel how living in it must have been once. The things in the storage room were neatly divided, the common room used to have a lot of sitting space and there were remnants of flowers and other decorations.

  Her manor was clean and neat. There were a lot of expansive decorations everywhere, along with comfortable and lavish furniture. But for all that was inside that building, it was so empty. She was the sole resident and she never felt as if the place offered enough comfort to be called home.

  Compared to that, this hideout had to be very messy. Things were where people needed them. The armchairs were a bit too close to each other, making it hard to pass between them. The windows were obscured, making the room much darker than it had to be.

  But it still felt much less abandoned and more full of life than her old home did since her parents left.

  Walking around the other doors, she opened one to peer inside.

  She was fairly sure it was Nido's. The big bed and stone weights, along with the drawings of women in suggestive forms were big enough of a hint. She decided that she wouldn't have to search the room further and went to the other door.

  Based on what she understood so far, it used to be Bernard's. It looked like a human did not step into the room for an even longer time than the rest of the hideout.

  There was a small bed, a table that must have been barely standing, and what could only be described as a set of wooden armor, fit for a child.

  On the table, under a thick layer of dust, was a piece of paper.

  After coming closer and examining them, Evelynn realized that they were supposed to be blueprints. It was obviously made by a child, the writing more akin to scribbles than readable instructions. But she still managed to read them.

  "Haven." she read out loud. It must have been the name of the place, the text situated right above the blueprints.

  There was a fighting pit, treasury, a giant hall for celebrations, great three bedrooms, an armory, and a lot more. But there was one obviously added toward the whole thing, out of place even among the uneven rooms. "Bernard's cove." was written above it. There were many small circles inside the room, along with a big arrow, pointing to them. "Paladin things." was written above it.

  Evelynn could not help but smile. It was obvious that this was made before Bernard and Deatt went their separate ways. At that time, the three of them - or maybe four, Evelynn still was not sure exactly when Carmilla joined their gang - must have gone through a lot of hardship. Three young boys surviving and thieving for food.

  But even then, she could not help but imagine just how different her life would be, only if she was surviving there with them.

  Suddenly a loud crash sounded from Deatt's room, followed by the sound of smashing glass.

  Evelynn slowly moved to the common room, deciding whether she should interfere with a possible fight. But what could she do? To whom?

  She could not fight Nido, and she definitely did not want to hurt Deatt. There was nothing she could do but wait and hope.

  The room was quiet after that and her heart pounded in stress.

  Then the doors opened and Deatt walked out, followed by Nido.

  "Bernard is waiting," Deatt said as he came out, his face resolute. But Evelynn noticed how red his eyes were, along with how his arms shook.

  But there was no reason to point that out. Whatever happened, Deatt has decided.

  "Let's go then."