YSHTA

"Have we stopped pretending to be strangers," Sage asked the half-elf. "Are you not worried your friends will suspect you?"

Kaylee made a momentary turn in the direction she came from before facing her with a frown.

"I am no longer with them," she answered matter-of-factly.

"Good for you," Sage said, before turning her back to her and resuming her walk.

"I am not done talking to you!" the half-elf called. In the next moment she was in line side-by-side with her, matching her pace.

"Unfortunately I haven't a copper on me," she said, still walking.

"Do you expect me to believe that?" Kaylee asked incredulously. "What about the gold you received from the stores you raided?"

Hearing this, Sage halted and looked the half-elf up and down. She took in Kaylee's entire frame, trapped in leather-wear that only served to accentuate her shape. Her hazel eyes in the sun had become gold, turning her frown into something of an ethereal brilliance. Again, for the second time since she met her, Sage admitted that the half-elf was very attractive.

But-

She looked away and resumed her march.

The last time she entertained such thoughts she ended up with a knife in her chest. Therefore she was determined never to get close to anyone like that ever again. In this new life- or rather, imitation of life- she swore never to get distracted by such trivialities ever again.

Her priorities were clear; get a clue on the Elixir of Rejuvenation, but that was likely to be a long-term goal. In the meantime she would seek out magical knowledge to strengthen herself in the eventuality that someone discovered what she was and came after her. Other than that she did not have any other plans; maybe amass a huge fortune with which she can laze around for a couple of centuries.

"Fencing the goods in Tiih would have been a stupid decision," she replied.

It was Thievery 101. One should not sell stolen goods close to where they were stolen or they would be easily tracked down. The intense response to her "shopping" spree had been an even bigger incentive for her to not do it. From what she had witnessed when she strode along the poor districts, pawning the jewels she had stolen would have only served to bring the thugs of aristocrats to her door.

"So you're not denying that it was you?" Kaylee asked with a half-surprised tone. It seemed she had not fully believed it was her until confirmation.

Sage cast her a side glance. "I don't see a reason to hide it from you. Seeing as the two of us are bonded and all."

The half-elf's only response to this was an angry huff. After that she remained silent, keeping pace with Sage. The two of them continued to draw attention as they passed the line. Some of those who waited obediently in the row gave them hostile glares which she paid no heed to.

Finally, after passing much of the line she moved away from it completely.

"Where are we going?" Kaylee asked, still in line with her.

"You mean where am I going?" she replied, shooting the half-elf a curious look. "Why are you following me?"

"I'll leave you when I get my gold back?" Kaylee replied venomously.

Sage responded to this with a faint smile. "Would that be your gold alone or that of your squad?"

"My squad's of course! I'll give it to them when I return to Tiih."

"Why have you separated from them? Did something happen?"

"That's none of your fucking business," Kaylee growled, her temper suddenly flaring.

Sage guessed it was something related to her, so she chose not to enquire any further.

"Suit yourself," she said, and did not say anything else.

The two continued to walk until the line to enter Yshta was no longer in view. Looking around and seeing no one else apart from the two of them Sage suddenly grabbed the shoulder of the older woman and {Blink}ed towards the wall. So surprised Kaylee was that when they suddenly arrived at the foot of the wall she lost her footing and crashed face first into the wall. The impact was accompanied by a soft thud. She did not sustain any serious injuries fortunately; although the process did result in her getting a small lump on her forehead.

She was not happy about that.

"You fucking bitch!" the half-elf cried.

She walked up to her and swung a punch, but Sage had expected it long ago and activated {Ghostwalk}. Kaylee tried a few more times with the same fruitless results before she gave up and chose to continue her attack with words instead.

Sage allowed her to continue until the half-elf was out of breath before she spoke up.

"I hope you realised that you've probably alerted the guards that might have been stationed atop the wall," she said silently. "Any moment now one of them will probably look down and spot us here."

From the way Kaylee looked at her, she looked like she was about to have an outburst. In the end she chose to stand down with a huff.

"Do you want to sneak into the city?" she asked, looking up to the top of the wall. "Flying over the wall doesn't seem like a smart idea. We'll be noticed for sure."

Instead of responding Sage merely took the woman's gloved hand and walked into the wall without acknowledging her reaction. This caused Kaylee to yelp indignantly, but the next moment her voice halted as an almost tangible darkness enveloped them. Sage pressed forward as a weak force rose to oppose her march. This was the first time that she had experienced something like this when she entered spectral form.; she surmised it had to do with the fact that it was her first time {Ghostwalk}ing through such a thick wall. If she tried to walk through a mountain the resistance would probably be much worse. Still, she continued on, dragging Kaylee along as they drudged through what felt like deep water. Luckily the feeling lasted only a couple of steps. Before long it completely vanished as they burst through the wall.

They had made it inside the city.

On this side of the wall they saw several houses- not the dilapidated kind often seen in the slums but also not the exquisite type found in affluent neighbourhoods. There were a few people about, but these people did not notice them entering because the moment Sage and Kaylee burst through the wall Sage immediately activated {Invisibility}. Then she dragged the half-elf along to the closest alley and dispelled the ability. Releasing a satisfied breath, she felt her lips curl upwards as she looked around. She had entered the city without creating a fuss.

"You're a ghost?" Kaylee asked incredulously.

Only when she saw the half-elf's expression did she realise that the other party had never seen her use her racial abilities in such an obvious manner.

"Something along those lines," she uttered a simple reply before changing the topic. "How familiar are you with this city?"

"I was born here." Kaylee's tone turned dry, as if wishing it was otherwise. She probably did not have good memories of this place.

That was none of Sage's concern though.

"Do you know where we are?" she asked.

When the two of them exited the alleyway Kaylee looked around at the people and structures before responding.

"We're somewhere in the Grey District."

The half-elf went on to compound the response with an explanation of the city's layout.

In Yshta, the closer one got to the middle the more opulent the structures became. In the very centre of the city was the Silver Palace As the abode of the king and also the site of the state's most important discussions, the palace and its surroundings made up the entirety of the Gold District. Surrounding the palace were the homes of the aristocracy in what was called the Blue District. This neighbourhood was then enclosed by the upper-middleclass Green District; part of which had been ceded to wealthy merchants and transformed into the luxurious Emerald District. The Grey District they were in right now was for the lower middleclass; which was just slightly better than the Brown District, the slumps.

Kaylee went on to further mention that there was a Red District. It was the second smallest neighbourhood after the Gold District, but- according to the half-elf- probably the area in which most money was spent throughout the year. It was a place that was apparently popular for those with a certain… "itch" they sought to scratch.

Sage listened to the half-elf's narration as she headed in a certain direction. It was not that specific a direction as what she actually followed was a certain bad smell. In her experience this sort of odour was prevalent in the slumps; follow it and you were bound to end up there.

That was exactly her plan.

When they arrived in the so-called Brown District she did not slow or rush her pace; maintaining the stride she had earlier.

"Where are we going?" Kaylee asked, more like demanded.

"Nowhere in particular," she replied. "Just fishing around."

"Fishing for what?" the half-elf asked confused.

Sage was about to respond when she noticed the noise in the street die down as two armed silhouettes appeared in front of them. Looking back, she spotted three more thugs coming from behind. Like their two companions they were armed with an assortment of daggers and steel bars.

"Them," she said to Kaylee.

It was almost a guarantee that thugs in the slumps would jump out of whatever hole they lived in and try to rob to passing well-dressed ladies who seemingly had no protection.

"Give over your money," one of the thugs facing them said. His raised his knife to his face and licked the blade, maybe thinking it looked intimidating. "Do it we won't hurt you."

Sage continued to talk to Kaylee as if the thug had not spoken. "I need to get in contact with a good information broker and thugs are the kind of people you can expect to have such information."

More often than not the unsavoury sorts knew others who dealt in the darker trades, especially those with notoriety in the underworld. This was because thugs were merely small-time criminals. If they wanted to have a long career and an even longer life, they needed to know the big guys so they could be clear of where not to tread.

"Are you gonna take them or should I?" Sage asked as she watched the lead thug impatiently step up to reach for her when he got no response.

"I'm not your hired goon," the half-elf said indignantly. "Do your own dirty work."

"Fine," she responded with a shrug. "Though, I'd have thought with the amount of stress you seemed to have accumulated you would jump at the chance to release it."

The thug's hand was mere centimetres from Sage; she was going to use her hand to intercept him when Kaylee's shot out and socked him in the face, sending him to the ground hard. Fortunately for him the half-elf pulled her punch or she could have easily killed him due to the difference in their physiques.

Then Kaylee gave her a sneer before going on to incapacitate the rest of the thugs. As for the other natives of the slumps; when they witnessed Kaylee make quick work of the thugs many of them faded into the shadows, turning the previously populated street into an almost empty one.

Although Kaylee pulled her punches, she made sure they hurt. Blood was drawn and bones were broken; clearly she a lot of frustrations to vent. A few minutes into the beating the thugs were crying for mercy. At this point Sage gently asked her to stop before querying the now swollen thugs on what she wanted to know. To make sure they were anything but truthful she went as far as to threaten them that she would be back if she discovered some discrepancies in their information.

That got them talking real quick.

More than an hour later they stepped into the Red District.