Prologue: A Shady Arrangement.
As dawn dyed the sky with red and orange, while the wind turned cold and harsh, all activity within the streets died down for the day. Children went to bed, men returned from a day of hard work, and women finished their chores. Darkness crept in rapidly, then. Nocturnal creatures formed a new crowd, awaiting any prey with a heavy purse.
It is no wonder how a shadowy figure walked unnoticed. It hid inside a dark long cloak so no one would find out its true identity. Its hood seemed a bit loose, yet it would not fall down with the force of the wind. Its boots shone under the moonlight. Polished steel. The figure was wearing an armor. Its steps were confident, and strangely silent. It walked as if its choice of clothes was a mere dress. The person was familiar with the place, most likely a local.
The figure took a turn into an alley, where someone else awaited. A woman, wearing a dark leather armor and apparently armed with dual swords. You would need to be a real fool to believe those weapons were her only defense, though. These kinds of people usually have many tricks up their sleeves.
The woman watched as the figure approached. Her mind wanted to know who she was dealing with. It came in handy when contractors wanted to avoid paying the rest of her fee, but she could not directly ask any names. It was not professional.
The bounty hunter straightened to face the figure when it approached. It shoved a hand into its cloak, then showed her a bag which sounded like coins. The woman extended her own hand forward, asking for the money.
"Task?" she had not been told much when the meeting was arranged. She would not have even come if the money had not ringed loud to her ears. It was the sound she always enjoyed. The figure threw the bag to her and hid its hand again within the cloak
"I want you to acquire a rare antiquity." it commanded, with a female voice as the bounty hunter observed. "Its last known position is inside the Deep Roads. It is a dwarven relic"
"Whoa, hold on" she did not like where this was going. Not one bit. The Deep Roads were something else entirely. She grabbed a coin from the bag to look at it briefly. Just in case it was fake. "Are you even aware of what you're asking?"
"I wouldn't be here otherwise" the figure seemed angrily offended by the hunter's comment
"The Deep Road's a nasty place. I can't just go in alone. Going there is double my usual fee."
The figure took another bag from inside her cloak and an envelope. She handed both items to the hunter.
"The rest, when you return with the relic. All the information you need is inside it."
The hunter took the objects with hesitation. Her experiences with the Deep Roads had never been good. Still, something told her she would not be able to refuse this contract. She tried to appear satisfied.
"You have one year to complete the contract." the figure warned "I will be watching. I have more than enough resources to hunt you down if you fail. Don't ever forget that."
With those last words, the mysterious woman left through the same way she came. The hunter was left alone with a lot of questions in her mind and a small sense of regret. Something told her there was more to this relic than what she was being told. She tried to calm her thoughts. She just needed to proceed as she always did with other contracts. The sooner she found it, the sooner she could get over with this deal. She grabbed one of her throwing knives from her belt to open the envelope in her hand. At least she was not going to start the search empty handed.
Prologues tend to be short, after all...
This story needs to be beta-read, so my guess is there will be mistakes. I apologize if anything sounds weird or confusing. I always do proof-reading, but it is never enough. I will edit it in the future when it is corrected.
I can't be sure when, but more of Lyrium Greed is coming. I promise!
Thank you so much for reading, even if you don't review (a review would be nice, though, just to know what you think, but I understand people who don't usually review...) I appreciate you took the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it and will come back for more soon!