“So you want me to find the box, and inside the box will be the egg.”
Finding magic in Yoran wasn’t necessarily an easy task, and this might be even more difficult than he thought. Gavin had been involved with magic more often than he would’ve preferred since coming to Yoran, which was surprising given its status in the city.
After all, the punishment for using magic was so severe.
“I need some idea about how to find this Zella.”
“I can’t help you,” Davel said.
“Because you don’t know where to find her?”
“Zella, like so many of the other enchanters, has disappeared. Gone underground. There was a time when they worked more openly, but no one does these days. They can’t risk it.”
Gavin wasn’t sure if there was going to be any way for him to find the information he wanted about Zella, but if nothing else, he suspected that completing this job would be worth a fair amount of money.
“What are you prepared to offer?” he asked.
“I thought I would see what you thought the job was worth.”
Gavin smiled. “I’m sure you did. I’m curious what you were prepared to offer.”
When it came to targets and hits, the kinds of jobs he’d fallen into lately, they paid because of the value of the target. Gavin had not hesitated to charge a premium for such tasks. Killing somebody was bloody work—and dangerous. In this case, he wasn’t at all sure what he should be charging. He most definitely didn’t want to undervalue his services.
“I could pay twenty gold crowns.”
Gavin tried to keep his face neutral. Twenty gold was more than he would’ve proposed. Even more reason for him to have let Davel make the first offer.
But it also put him on edge.
If Davel was willing to offer twenty gold crowns, it suggested that whatever he wanted from Gavin was far more dangerous than what he was letting on.
“Thirty.”
“Thirty? You do realize that twenty gold crowns is—”
“You’re asking me to find a magical enchantress in a city where magic has been forbidden. You’re asking me to find a magical item that’s considerably powerful.” He hesitated, unsure if that last part was true. “And it’s going to take significant assets on my part to find it.” Gavin forced a smile. “So, thirty gold crowns.”
“I suppose I could come up with the difference,” Davel said.
“I require half up front.”
“Half? I can give you a third.”
Which meant he had only ten gold crowns. And he’d banked on the idea of getting the rest. He must’ve known that Gavin was going to ask for half up front.
Gavin debated whether or not to push, but he wasn’t sure if he should in this case. Even if he didn’t complete the job, he would take the money. Not that he would tell Davel that.
“Fine, we’ll start with ten. When I find Zella’s location, I’ll send word, and you’ll provide an additional ten. When the job is completed, I’ll require the final ten.”
Davel took a deep breath, and then he nodded. “I can agree to those terms.”
“Good. Now about that tea.”
When he got back to the Dragon, Gavin took a seat across from Gaspar. The inside of the tavern was quiet. There were a few occupied tables, which was unusual these days. Several patrons had empty mugs of ale in front of them, and one had a tray of food. Maybe Jessica had decided to start serving others again. It was about time. Thankfully, she hadn’t resumed hiring minstrels. Gavin didn’t know if he’d be able to deal with that. She often chose the worst musicians, almost as if to taunt him.
He handed Gaspar the paper with the drawing of the egg. “Is this your doing?” Gavin asked.
“I think if you knew me better, you would know I’m not much of an artist.”
“Not the drawing. The job.”
Gaspar held his gaze. “What job? You already have a job.”
“So you aren’t responsible for putting out word on the street that I can find things for people?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Why would you?”
Gaspar glared at him. “We’re busy enough as it is. I don’t need to get into some debate with you about whether I’m trying to complicate things. Listen, boy, we need to figure out how to get into the Captain’s fortress and rescue this kid. So what is it?”
“Some sort of magical egg. He called it a jade egg. Said it was stolen by a woman named Zella.” Gavin watched Gaspar, looking for a spark of recognition in his eyes. Gaspar had been in Yoran for a long time. If such a person existed, he would have some idea who they were.
“Am I supposed to know who this Zella is?”
“I don’t know. Do you?”
“Listen. If you’re going to keep at this, I think we’re going to have a difficult time.”
“I’m just trying to figure out if you’re playing a different game,” Gavin said.
“None of this is a game, boy. We’re talking about someone’s life. I know that doesn’t matter to you as much as it does to some of us, but it matters to me.”
“Why is that?”
“Why is what? Why is life valuable? If I have to tell you that, then you had a greater failing when you were younger than I’d realized.”
“No, not that. Why do you care so much about me taking this job?”
“It’s not a matter of me caring whether you take this job at all. It’s a matter of you finishing what you’ve agreed to.”
“Seeing as how others decided on my behalf, I’m not so sure I agreed to anything.”
Gaspar scowled at him, and Gavin resisted the urge to smile any more than he already was. Mostly, he was pushing Gaspar. He needed to know whether Gaspar was responsible for the rumors in the city, and from the way he was reacting, Gavin could tell Gaspar had
