54 Trisha
Chapter ??.
(Drent)( Trisha POV)
01. Trisha crept across a wooden floor, She winced when the floor creaked, She could see the shadowy outline of Eliya standing still in the moonlit attic. Eliya was next to her walking in the dark building, Eliya whispered," be quiet, we don't want to be caught." Trisha said," you are going to get us caught by talking, let's hurry." Trisha and Eliya walked over to the shadowy outlines of boxes on the far wall. Trishas heart was beating wildly, the smell of potatoes and apples filled her nose. She reached into the first crate, She pulled out something round and brought a rough feeling and took a bite, Trisha coughed at the bitter flavour of potatoes. Trisha took her cotton sack and put 10 unbitten potatoes in the bag. The potatoes were delicious when cooked and she couldn't wait to finally have some real food.
02. She pulled off the top of the next crate, the food inside was smooth and smelled of citrus, she picked one up and took a bite of the juicy apple. Trisha put as many apples as she could fit inside her sac until it was full. She smiled and turned to Eliya, She could see the outline of the other thief and she too was carrying a sack. Trisha whispered," Let's go, no telling if someone heard us. Trisha crossed the hall now being much less sneaky, in a hurry to get back home she didn't bother being quiet. Slam! Trisha jumped, She could hear someone downstairs opening doors and clearly climbing stairs. Trisha pulled herself through the window and waited for Eliya, She held her breath and looked around the dark alley below for anyone watching.
03. Eliya said," take my bag," Trisha took the big heavy sac and stepped back while Eliya climbed through the window. The slanted roof they have on overlooked a dark alley, Trisha did her best to keep balance, her stomach turned every time she looked down. Light entered the room they had just left, Trisha quickly rushed across the roof after Eliya. She was holding tightly to the two large sacks of food and smiling ear to ear. She could hear the shudder slam shut on the window they had just exited, the resident inside must be going to yell for the guards.
04. The two women ran across the roofs trying not to fall until they reached a section of wall they couldn't cross, Trisha and Eliya entered the top window of the completely dark building. Trisha was finally able to relax she sat on the floor and pulled open her sack of food. She could see the outline of Eliya across from her doing the same. Trisha used some flint she had to light some old boards in the fireplace, Trisha wiped away the dirt from some old cloth and tried again. She used the flint to finally get a small fire going in the fireplace. The room lit up, and smoke entered her mouth and eyes causing her to cough, she quickly piled on more bords she had piled next to the fire for such an occasion. After the previous owner had disappeared she and Eliya had taken over this building and were now using tables and chairs to burn instead of firewood.
05. She sighed, the furniture was coated in dust, It was too bad food was soo hard to get. She stared at Eliya who had sunken cheeks with bags under her eyes. They had both not gotten much sleep in the past few weeks, The house was okay she supposed, it kept off the rain and kept out the wind so good mostly. The only problem was since the guild had been burned down by that green fire they hadn't been able to make any money. Trisha and Eliya still had their weapons, and so clearing the building of other squatters had been fairly easy.
06. Trisha took a bite and had to wipe away the delicious juice from her chin, she had almost forgotten how delicious apples were. The fire soon started to crackle, She searched through one of the old cupboards until she found what she was looking for. A metal pan, the thing was rusty and looked like it might kill her if she cooked with it. Trisha put back the old pan and took out her sword, this would half to do, She skewered one of her precious potatoes on one of her two thin swords and held it over the flames. Eliya joined her and they had their first real meal in days.
07. Trisha yawned, she looked over at her friend Eliya whose shoulder-length brown hair was curly and dirty. Eliya lay on the hard floor and appeared to be trying to sleep, Trisha sighed, her friend had lost weight since the guild had burned and look thinner. Trisha wrapped herself in a thin cotton blanket next to the dying fire and drifted off to sleep contemplating revenge on the being responsible. The morning came and she yawned trying to clear the frizz from her long hair, she had been protectively wrapped around her treasure trove of food, Trisha eagerly pulled out another one of those delicious apples. The delicious flavour reminded her of better times bringing her mind to her new goal, to kill the thing that took away what she had worked so hard to get, She didn't realize how much she would miss the harsh dark guild until she lost it. Now all she could do was curse herself for not getting revenge on the demon that had caused her such suffering. If she hadn't been too stunned she could have caught the demon at the merchants guild hall a week ago, Or was that two weeks ago she couldn't quite remember.
08. After eating food, Trisha walked over to Eliya, she shook the young woman, Eliya grumbled give me 20 minutes. Trisha sighed, Eliya did not enjoy waking up early, Trisha found the best time to search for new targets to borrow from was the morning as it was the time most people weren't paying much attention. Trisha gave up, She walked downstairs, the stairs creaked loudly much to her happiness. Sneaking up on them was impossible with those stairs, She unlocked the bottom door and stepped outside. She took in a deep breath and gagged with the foul odours drifting along the streets, most people in this part of the city dumped waste into gutters to be carried outside the city. Trisha stepped over the foul gutter, covering her nose and joined the few people already going about their daily business.
09. She followed the crowd, she kept track of the alleys, as she needed to make sure she could escape if she needed to. Trisha was hoping that she and Eliya could find something to help them earn money. Trisha wanted to be on time to listen to the day's news from the city Cryer, She wanted to find a new way to make money that didn't involve Madame Curia's house. She had no desire to do something like that, In fact, just the thought of working there sent shivers down her spine. Trisha couldn't get rid of the depressing thoughts, The last few weeks had really tested her resolve, Trisha perked up, she could see the man standing on a stool, She leaned against a wall and relaxed. The Cryer casually was going on and on about the war, the man talked about the great duty of every citizen to do their part in fighting the enemy. The army was offering soldiers a monthly pay, Trisha was only passingly interested, as the wounded returning from the war in wagons was ever-growing. She had seen a cart two days ago that was filled with soldiers with horrific wounds and some were missing limbs.
10. Trisha heard something new, The Cryer on the city corner shouted, "High inquisitor Kelvin is offering anyone with the talent for magic a chance to join the church with a monthly wage to help hunt down the demonic fiends that have been terrorizing the city, report to the church if you are a mage." Trisha got excited, She walked over to the Cryer who was picking up his stool, She asked, What do you mean demons, I thought there was only one?" the man replied," The church inquisitor reported there is two, one demon attacked one of the church and the other is the heretic Reskeme. She was surprised to hear that there were two demons on the loose and wasn't sure which one had been the cause of that green fire. Trisha made her way back towards the run-down building as she was excited to Talk to Eliya. They might be able to both join the church for good pay. The city Cryer was yelling some gossip about how a noble had his ear bitten off, This caused many in the crowd that she could see to smile or laugh.
11. Trisha used her key to open the locked door and walked inside, she walked up the stairs in a hurry. Trisha shook Eliya who was still sleeping. She said," I have news, the town Cryer told about the high inquisitor trying to higher people with magic. Eliya mumbled," What about the guards to the upper city we won't be able to pass." Trisha said," Why didn't I think about that, those damned stuck up nobles don't let anybody into the upper city without an invitation." Trisha collapsed on her back next to Eliya and just stared at the ceiling, joining the army or joining the inquisition, at least if she joined the army they would keep her fed, what about working for a noble tho, she could she see the piles of copper and silver, best of all she would be able to kill the demons herself.
12. Trisha had thought of joining a craft to make money, but she and Eliya were warriors and mages, they had both made the decision to look for something that suited them. She hadn't the faintest clue that finding a job in a city during this time of war would be so damned hard. The army was always there, but she wanted something that actually paid money. Noble inquisitor guy it was, she would find a way to get to the church. Trisha pushed away from the thought of the likable Reskeme and told herself He deserved what was coming to him. Trisha said," any ideas on how we can contact the church noble?" Eliya said," they have been hunting for the demon, if we wait for another demon citing maybe he will come out.?" Trisha said," there hasn't been an attack in days, no telling when the next will be."
13. Eliya sat up in her too-thin blanket, She said," We could try talking to some guards? Trisha said," those stuck-up guards would just curse us until we left, Eliya, our clothes are ragged and dirty we look and we look like we haven't had a bath in weeks." Trisha said," We could sneak into the messengers' guildhall, with one of their uniforms on we would surely be allowed through the gates." Trisha said," all we need to do is wait until everyone goes to sleep or leaves and we can sneak in for the clothes." Eliya smiled and nodded her head.
