Chapter 8: A New Lead

The sun was close to setting when Yasuo and Toru stepped out of the tavern. Night had almost fallen, and the streets of Talos were dark and empty. The city seemed a different place; streets that had been flooding with people only hours ago were now empty and vacant. Their footsteps echoed in the quiet air as they made their way down the dark streets. On the edges of his vision, Yasuo could see shadowy figures hiding in the dark corners of the city, and he reminded himself not to lower his guard. Talos was a dangerous place.

He followed Toru as the older man walked purposefully down the dark streets; he seemed to know where he was going, and Yasuo followed. Slowly, they made their way deeper into the dark heart of the city, and the night seemed to grow heavier around them. Many of the buildings did not have any lights, and the darkness hung over them like a dense fog. Yasuo followed Toru as he walked quickly down winding passageways and narrow side-streets, not slowing in his pace.

Yasuo was about to ask him how far they were from their destination when Toru stopped suddenly. Yasuo looked around, but there was nothing of note to see. The dark walls of buildings rose like tombstones around him, and Yasuo was suddenly seized with an uncomfortable feeling.

Why do I feel like this is an ambush? Why do I feel like I just got set up?

His hand reached unconsciously for the handle to his sword before he remembered that it was not there. He took a silent step back away from Toru, who had not turned to face him and did not seem to notice him backing away.

Shit. I have nowhere to run. I don't know where I am, or how to get out of here.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the night, hushed and quiet.

"Toru? Is that you?"

"Yes," replied Toru, just as noiselessly. He turned around to face Yasuo, and motioned for him to come closer. His suspicion abating, Yasuo let go of the breath he was holding. Although his heart still beat faster than normal, the uncomfortable pressure that had settled over his chest vanished.

How could he have thought that this man would betray him? Had Toru not already earned his trust? He had saved him, housed him, while all the while knowing the stranger he protected was dangerous. Yasuo felt sickened in himself; Toru had trusted him, and here he was, unable to return that faith.

Where has my honor gone? he asked himself morosely. He shook himself and with slow steps, he walked over to where Toru stood. For a moment, there was only silence. Then, with the sound of scuffling footsteps, a figure appeared out of the darkness, as if it were nothing more than a shadow itself.

But it was no shadow; it was a small man, with a balding scalp and a pinched face that was at the moment damp with worry. He clutched a cap tightly in his hands, twisting it so much that it resembled more a snake than anything.

"I hope you know how much trouble I could get in for this," he whispered hurriedly to Toru, his small dark eyes glancing around incessantly. "Customs officers aren't supposed to give out information. That's why it's classified!"

"I know, Mikah, and I thank you for taking the risk. But this is important. You know I wouldn't ask you if it weren't."

The man called Mikah did not reply, instead nodding dismissively. "I know, I know. Doesn't make me feel any better, though." He jumped slightly as his eyes fell on Yasuo, evidently noticing him for the first time. "Is this him?" he asked Toru, his eyes not moving from Yasuo.

Toru nodded. "Aye. This is the one. Now, can you tell us what you saw?"

Mikah cleared his throat. "Fine, fine. Sometime last week, a group of men came into the city, and they had with them the object you described. It was long, wrapped in cloth, and was quite heavy. I remember it because they absolutely refused to show me what it was."

"Then how did they get inside the city?" asked Yasuo.

Mikah merely licked his lips. "Well, uhh… they gave me a very handsome sum to simply look the other way."

Yasuo nodded slowly. So he was bribed.

Toru cast a glance at Yasuo out of the corner of his eye before looking at Mikah again. "That doesn't matter now. What else can you tell us? How many people were in the group?"

"I'd say about 5 or 6. I don't know if they came in with others afterwards, or if they intended to meet others already in the city. But that's how many were there."

"Do you know what they were here for? Are they traders or craftsmen?"

Mikah gave a wheezy, uneasy sort of chuckle. "Craftsmen? Sure, they were a very specific sort of craftsmen." He swallowed. "They're bounty hunters. Dangerous men, they are. Covered in swords and knives and the like."

"How do you know?" asked Yasuo.

Mikah smiled weakly, but it did nothing more than to make him seem even greener with worry. "They were talking about it, weren't they? Right in front of me. Counting heads, so to speak."

"Hold on…" said Toru slowly. "You said they refused to show you what was in the cloth. But they showed you the rest of their swords?"

"Yes. I didn't understand it either. Obviously, at the time, I thought it was something a whole lot worse than a sword, didn't I? I wasn't about to ask any questions, either. Not when they had Noxians and Bilgewater pirates with them."

"Noxians?"

"Yeah. I recognized their tattoos and their way of talking. There's a lot of Noxians around here, and you pick up some things. Whether you want to or not."

Yasuo went silent, and beside him, Toru did the same. He could tell they were both thinking the same thing.

This just got a whole lot more complicated. Bounty hunters, and Noxian ones, at that, are something I wouldn't want to deal with.

Mikah watched them as they stood in silence, his eyes flicking between the pair. "Is that it?" he asked finally. "Is that all you want to know? Because I really don't want to stay out here any longer than I have to."

"One more thing," asked Yasuo. Mikah looked unhappy as he turned to him. "Do you have any idea where they're going to be tomorrow? Or when they're leaving Talos?"

"I can do better than that," said the small man. "I can tell you where they're staying tonight."

Yasuo and Toru stopped before the dark doors of the Bent Knife Inn. The building was tall and as black as the night that surrounded it, the only lights visible from within those of guttering candles. The doors were scored with large gash marks that did nothing but add to his trepidation.

Charming name, he thought to himself. He looked at Toru, and saw that his own feelings of unease were mirrored on the old man's face.

"Are you sure we can trust this Mikah to tell us the truth?" he asked finally. Toru looked at him.

"Mikah might not be the most courageous of men, but I don't see why he'd lie," replied Toru, although he did not sound entirely convinced himself. Yasuo grunted, unable to completely mask his skepticism.

He took a deep breath before pressing a hand to the cold wood of the door. Slowly, he pushed it open. The room he entered was almost as dark as the night outside. The only meager source of light came from a solitary candle that stood on a counter at the opposite end of the room. Although he could not see them clearly, Yasuo could more than feel the presence of several other bodies, and felt the uncomfortable weight of their eyes on him. Looking straight ahead, he walked over the counter, with Toru following close behind.

The man at the counter was shrouded in shadow, and he looked at them as they stopped before him.

"May I help you?" he asked. The politeness of his words did little to mask the sharpness of his tone or the malice hidden behind his breath.

"A room," said Yasuo simply; he had more than enough experience dealing with unsavory characters such as the ones in this room, and had long since figured out how to deal with them: talk little, reveal even less.

The man nodded, and he leaned forward. "Payment?"

Wordlessly, Yasuo removed his coin purse from within his clothes, careful to keep it hidden from the prying eyes of the others in the room. He placed two coins on the counter, watching as the man took them and examined them in the dim light. With a satisfied grunt, he pocketed the coins and passed Yasuo a key.

"Last room on the right. Don't get it dirty."

Yasuo gave a frozen smile. You mean, any dirtier than it already is.

"Not a problem," he said with a painfully obvious insincerity. The man scowled at him, but said nothing. Motioning for Toru to follow, he passed into the dark hallway that was to the right of the counter, all the while looking over his shoulder.

"Impressive, the way you handled that," said Toru when they had entered their room. It was just as Yasuo had expected: small, dark, and unpleasant smelling. There were two beds, each shoved roughly into opposite corners of the room. Yasuo lit the stubby candle that stood dejectedly on the single dresser; it had seen better days.

"Not really," said Yasuo with a shrug. "All these inn and tavern owners are all the same: lazy, greedy and corrupt. All you have to know is how to deal with them."

"That may be true, but even so. It takes some nerves to stare them down like that."

"When you've seen war, men like that don't scare you. It's the quiet ones you're afraid of," said Yasuo softly. Toru did not reply. Yasuo sat on the bed, somewhat surprised to see that it did not bend or groan under his weight.

"Might as well try to get some sleep," said Toru, and Yasuo showed his agreement by lying on the bed with his hands behind his head; there was no way in hell he was going to get under the covers. "We'll see if we can catch those bounty hunters tomorrow morning. But for now, I need some sleep."

"Good night, Toru."

"Good night, stranger."

The words between them extinguished as quickly as the dying candle.