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Chapter 8: The Opportunity
Four Months Later:
As the moon hangs high above the quiet district of Stohess, below it's a whole other story. A complete opposite of its counterpart, the central area of Aurum lights up the cavern with lamps, echoes of laughter bouncing off the walls.
Father from the central area where men and women gorge on food and drinks lies the quieter streets of the district, where the wealthy and powerful controlling the city itself live within their territories.
Towards the far East, where the buildings are built lower than their neighbours lays a walled compound, crawling with guards and lit up like a beacon compared to the razed buildings in its vicinity.
Surrounded by a three-meter wall with a building in three corners with the middle two stories larger than the rest, all connected with hallways. A dozen men guard both the top and ground with more resting within, the building seemingly guarded against every approach.
But within the tallest building, on the second-highest floor is an empty office taking up half the area and excessively decorated. Near the back wall is a large wooden desk with papers strewn about uncaringly, on the wall itself are two large windows on either end, giving one a view of the central area of sin within the city.
The only sound within the office is the dulled voices of those beneath and the creaking of the ceiling above as someone walks around.
Shink
With a small sound, the tip of a knife pushes out from the bottom of the left window, shimmying around slightly before it's slowly brought closer to the center where it catches on the locked latch. The knife pushes the latch until it's free and holds there for a moment before the window is silently opened outwards and the knife's brought back.
As fresh air filters in along with the dull sound of the city a ways away, a mop of brown hair and blue eyes slowly peer over the edge and look around the empty room before ducking down.
There's some shuffling before a gloved hand grabs onto the windowsill with another soon following. The boy pulls himself under the open window and through the opening, quietly stepping onto the carpet with his boots.
Leaving the window the boy approaches the desk, quickly looking over the papers covering it before dismissing them and lowering himself to the filing cabinet below. The boy quickly gets to work on the lock attached with his tools, periodically pausing to listen out the door.
Within a minute, the lock opens with a small -Click- and he pulls the drawer out, revealing files filled with different papers, but with no order to them.
Sighing with irritation the boy looks into the first folder, quickly scanning every page before moving on. As he tediously goes through each file, he hears a loud -Bang- from above along with a shatter, making the boy jump before he starts to hear yelling from above as well.
'Gotta hurry.' The boy starts going through the files with more fervour. He starts to reach the end when he hears the heavy footsteps above stomp away before disappearing. He sags in relief for a moment before he focuses on the drawer, finally finding what he needs as he pulls the out-of-place paper from a file of flour transportation logistics, reading through it properly to confirm it before folding it away.
BANG
The double doors fling open as a pudgy man charges in like a bull, looking dishevelled with a crimson robe thrown carelessly over his nightwear with two other men helplessly following from behind.
"What I want to know is how the hell Sherbolt found out about it!" The man yells with a red face, immediately stomping to a shelf holding various wines. Grabbing one, he opens it with a -Pop- and drinks directly from the bottle, negligently wiping away the dribble from his chin as a man wearing a leather cuirass with a flintlock pistol attached to his waist.
"Only select people knew about it Mr. Musfit, so we can start from those that were-"
"Sir, did you happen to open the window after I closed it?" The man wearing a suit speaks up, fixing his gaze on the open window blowing sheets of paper off the table.
"Hah!? Why the fuck would I do that!" Mr. Musfit yells out, already starting to get drunk.
"But only us two have the key for the office, if neither of us did it…" He trails off at the end, the other man comes to the same conclusion as well, pulling his pistol and aiming towards the desk with both hands.
Click
Priming his pistol, the man slowly advances with a tight grip on it, his two companions staying silent and cautiously shuffling backwards. Holding his breath, the man quickly turns around the desk and aims down towards… nothing, nothing except the open filing cabinet. Not knowing they were holding their breaths, everyone exhales in relief as he lowers his gun.
"Nothing here, only thing out of place is an open drawer."
Mr. Musfit sighs in relief, "That's good, that's good." Taking a long swing from the bottle, he holds it above his head for a moment, relishing the burning sensation before his eyes widen and he spits out the liquid with a cough.
"Sir!" "Mr. Musfit!"
He doesn't answer the two as he desperately goes to his desk, stumbling over his feet a bit before he kneels beside the open drawer and starts rifling through the files. The two watch on uneasily as the man starts throwing files out frantically before pulling a certain file out and dumping it on the desk.
"No no no, it's got to be here! It has to be!" He screams desperately as he looks through the papers before he slams his hands on the table in anger.
"FUCK!"
His curse echoes through the desolate streets housing compounds, its occupants enjoying the city to its fullest with only bored and drunk guards hearing his cry.
A few blocks away the same boy exits out of an alleyway, his grey tunic changed to off-white with an unbuttoned brown vest over it. Assimilating with the slowly growing throng of people, he swiftly flows down the street, staying low-profile and out of trouble as he traverses through streets until he comes upon a large building with a pair of guards posted at the front.
He passes by after a negligent glance from them and continues on inside. Passing by hallways and those heading down them with purpose, he heads up the large staircase in the center to the second floor and then up a spiralling one to the fourth floor.
The floor's largely empty, the only people he meets are just a duo of guards on either side of a normal door once he turns a corner. The two stop their conversation to take a look at him, after a moment one knocks on the door and steps in while the other starts a conversation.
"Easy job?" He asks questioningly.
The boy raises his hand in a so-so gesture and shrugs, that's as far as they get before the other guard steps back out again.
"Go on in." He says with a tilt of his head.
Nodding once he pushes the door open and enters revealing a bland office, at least compared to the gaudy one he was in less than an hour beforehand. Closing the door with a click, he approaches the desk where a man sits, sifting through papers in his hand.
"Back so soon?" He distractingly asks, writing something down on one of the pages.
Responding with a hum, the boy waits until the man shuffles the papers into a stack and sets them away before he gives his full attention to him.
"So Eirlet, I assume you confirmed it?" He poses it as a question but they both know he wouldn't be there without it.
Rather than responding, he reaches to the side of his waist and pulls a slip of folded paper out and places it on the desk, Sherbolt pausing for a moment before taking it. Unfolding it, he takes a moment to read through the letter before setting it down with a smirk, looking up with a satisfied expression.
"Knew you were up to something Musfit." He says to no one in particular.
Eirlet waits patiently as he brings out a small pouch and sets it on the table. Eirlet eyes the pouch curiously, looking at Sherbolt's calm face before he hesitantly reaches for it and dumps its contents in his hand, five silver coins.
"Two silver like the job offered," He responds to Eirlet's dumbfounded expression as he fixes his gaze on the coins, "And the other three is a bonus for going beyond and getting me proper evidence that I can use for our expansion and so swiftly." He finishes as Eirlet puts the coins back in the pouch and safely tucks them away.
Grabbing the blank page and pen he's offered, 'I'm certainly not going to deny bonuses but wasn't getting the evidence part of the job?' He writes, looking at Sherbolt questioningly.
"What I meant was just listen in and see if you can confirm that he made deals with people he wasn't supposed to. I wasn't expecting you to get past more than a dozen armed guards and into his office and steal," He punctuates by tapping a finger on the letter, "A signed letter addressed to The Ivory Company, agreeing to give the Fang's faulty armaments for more monetary benefits."
Eirlet takes that in for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly, 'I know the general gist of how things are run but this stuff's more intricate than I care to know about. Sherbolt can take care of that while I get more coin for training.'
Sherbolt smiles amusedly at Eirlet's dismissal of his exceptional success.
'That all? I was thinking of getting a bigger fight sometime next week so I need some time to prepare.' Eirlet asks, ready to be dismissed and head to bed.
"No need to schedule a fight." Eirlet raises his eyebrow questioningly, "There's this… opportunity, that's been made available and it has quite a few people looking for more income jumping at the opportunity." He says vaguely.
'Opportunity?'
"An opportunity to go outside Wall Rose." He says simply.
Eirlet eyes widen in surprise and shock, 'Go outside Wall Rose!?'
His shock is pretty evident given Sherbolt's amused smile and response, "I was as surprised as you are when I heard as well, especially after the culling."
Eirlet grimaces at the mention of the expedition, remembering how the underground city became nearly deserted as everyone went into hiding, not wanting to be found and sent out the walls due to their profession. Even then, many criminals that worked in the outer ring were sent out, them being mainly grunts that couldn't bribe their way out, which showed after a dip in Aurum's chaotic atmosphere.
"But you have to think about the many benefits out there, many merchants, nobles and higher class citizens didn't make it to Rose. There are probably dozens of caravans that are nearby, filled with valuables that are just sitting there." He tells Eirlet his thoughts, "For people needing a lot of coin for themselves -like yourself-, this is a ripe opportunity."
Eirlet thinks over his explanation, hesitant on jumping the gun and thoroughly thinking through it.
'If the opportunity is so good then won't there be a lot of competition?'
"Not really," He explains, "There are definitely going to be quite a few people aiming for this but compared to those being offered it many won't try their hand. Too risky to waste their manpower on something with a low return, especially after the culling. Only low-level gangs and individuals will go out because their needs are less than ours."
Eirlet scowls, 'Then why offer this to me? It'll be impossible for me to fight titans as I am. Best case scenario I die in one bite.'
"Two reasons. Firstly, what I'm planning to do with what you have given me will make quite a few people, influential people, hold a grudge against me which extends to you as well given your technically 'under' me." He does air quotes with his fingers, "They would try to do something to you and I'm sure you don't want to be stuck in The Pit for months." Eirlet nods reluctantly at that, already hating staying underground for weeks on end without going out, never mind just in The Pit.
"Secondly, both Gavec and I trust in the skills you have shown thus far. Your time in The Pit has pushed you far enough in close combat that you can take care of yourself against any typical opponent, no matter your difference." He gestures over Eirlet, indicating his height which is a little above five feet, "Combining that with your exceptional hunting skills, it makes you one of the best in my personal opinion, to venture out the wall safely. Well, as safe as you can be without military gear."
Eirlet stays silent, pondering over the offer as Sherbolt goes back to his documents in the meantime.
'This is going to be risky without ODM gear, but Sherbolt won't give me one out of good faith, neither will Gavec's price go down and that's something I'll need but I might be able to nab one from a corpse out there,' He starts tapping his finger, 'High-risk high rewards. I'll definitely be meeting a titan no matter what… but given there'll be more people I can escape if I'm far enough.'
He writes something down and slides it over to Sherbolt who reads it over and meets Eirlet's eyes with an amused smirk, "The best one I have is for seven silver, although I can drop it to five because it's just been collecting dust for the past few years."
Wincing slightly, Eirlet reluctantly grabs the pouch he was just given and tosses it to Sherbolt who stores it away again.
"I'll send it in the morning. And are you accepting the opportunity?" He asks with some hope in his eyes.
Eirlet closes his eyes and nods, reluctant to head back out there but knowing it'll help in the long term.
"Good, the first group is being sent off in two weeks so get prepared, I'll tell you more later on. Send Illias in on your way out would you." He says, dismissing Eirlet.
Nodding goodbye he turns and exits his office, sending the same guard he spoke to in and he starts heading out the building.
As he traverses through the crowded streets on the way to The Pit, he remembers something that he can do while out there, 'Can I… go back home?'
He sadly thinks, thinking back to his burning home that he hasn't visited since then, 'I won't have to worry about meeting those men now so it's probably safe. It's deep in titan territory so I won't be going anytime soon but… I have to see it, I have to see if there's anything left.' As he solemnly stays silent, one that breaks once he turns into an alley and promptly turns around, leaving the couple to their business as he goes another way.
He tries to distract and cleanse his mind to forget the vivid view he got, 'I'm literally going to be looting from dead people,' He dodges around a man who stumbles to the ground half-naked, 'I won't get cursed, will I? I'm not stepping into a church.' He thinks with some revulsion at the end, remembering the rumours he's heard of some of the pastors.
Shivering, he continues down the street, slightly more mindful of keeping his distance from people now.
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Two Weeks Later:
Clip Clop Clip Clop
Hooves clobber on the ground as a horse treks along a dirt path, its two riders silent as they approach a looming wall a short distance away with a group of people numbering about three dozen loitering below in a small clearing within the forest. Stopping nearby the pair gain some glances but none speak, sticking close to their groups as they wait.
Eirlet jumps off the horse and takes a moment to look around, noting how many are in groups of four or five, the only individuals being him and another young man wearing a hat leaning against the wall. Nearly everyone has muskets or daggers on them while a trio is surprisingly equipped with ODM gear and three civilian horses.
Eirlet's eye lingers longer on them, surprised and wary of who they are and who they work for, 'Getting ODM gear is the easy part for them, investing enough training for them to use it is a whole other story.'
He turns and eyes Gavec sitting on the horse who also brings his gaze back before addressing him, in a lower tone so those surrounding don't listen in, "Don't worry about them, they're going somewhere farther than where you're going, you won't meet them once you get out there."
Nodding, Eirlet grabs the quiver filled with two dozen arrows from the horseback and slings it over, right beside the dull brown recurve bow he bought two weeks ago.
'Mixed with iron bamboo and cedar, this bow will not be breaking on me anytime soon.' He thinks, pleased with his expensive purchase.
Trotting his horse around, Gavec prepares to leave, "Remember kid, stay light and stay in the back, let the shits here take the brunt of anything." He says the last bit with a smirk.
Huffing amusedly, he watches as Gavec trots off, who turns his head back to him, "I'll be expecting a souvenir!" He yells with a smile, laughing as he disappears past the trees.
Eirlet sends him the bird, used to his antics as he walks to a tree in the periphery of the cluster, coincidentally near the young man, who he notices periodically sending glances his way.
Before he can wonder what's up with him, Eirlet picks up a sound gradually getting louder above him.
'That sounds like… gears turning?'
Tilting his head up, he watches in surprise and some wonder as a large platform of wood slowly descends from above, quiet conversations dying off as others soon notice it. People step back as the platform lands with a dull -Thump-, inside are two people, both wearing Garrison uniforms and ODM gear along with a musket in their hands.
Everyone waits until a soldier with a smoking cigarette steps forward, "You all know what's happening here so pay up and let's get this show on the road." He says and he kicks down the railing dividing them.
Everyone shuffles on and hand over a silver with Eirlet being one of the last to get on, sticking to the railing.
'Let's hope I find something that can at least pay for the fee.'
Once the last person boards, the two soldiers lock the railing once again and one loudly whistles, looking above as he does.
After a moment of silence, the ropes attached start to move and pull them up. Eirlet watches in hidden awe as they get above the trees and go higher and higher, seeing a river of green expanding in all directions, slowly bleeding to hills and plains.
Halfway up and in the midst of trying to see as far as he can, the smoking soldier speaks up, "Ok! To reiterate, you've got until sundown tomorrow to come back and get pulled up. If you come after though," He gives an unnerving smile, "You'll be on your own for the next two weeks till we're on duty again."
Some of the less confident people start whispering to one another, worried about staying out there longer than they need. As he finished talking, the elevator finally reached the top, revealing that they were being pulled up by four horses on either end. Standing guard and intently watching the group are ten garrison soldiers, each holding a musket as well.
Across the section of the wall are tents and a dozen cannons sitting on their tracks, lined up with tools set around them.
'This squad is probably on maintenance duty.' Eirlet thinks as their all lead off to the next elevator that would take them down, 'They're probably taking advantage of their lack of oversight to do this. No one would be around such a remote area to notice anything wrong.'
Looking over the edge of the wall, all he sees are plains and sparse clumps of trees, not seeing much else except a forest far off in the horizon.
Once everyone's set and the horses are hooked to the ropes, the smoking soldier addresses them as they start going down, "One piece of advice," He breathes out some smoke, "Go East, it's the closest town around and only a couple hour trek." He advises before he pulls his head back.
They descend to the ground in tense silence, everyone watching the landscape with their hands gripping their weapons tightly, even the well-equipped trio glance around with hands gripping their handles.
Thump
Once again on solid ground, groups start walking off and huddling together, making final checks before their dangerous journey.
"Oi!" A bulky man loudly speaks, everyone silencing to listen, "We're all heading to the town he said, let's stick together for now yeah? Strength and safety in numbers and all that."
Behind him stand the largest group, numbering about a dozen and all well-armed. Most of the groups readily agree to his proposal, knowing how numbers could make a difference.
'Well, only to have meat shields readily available.' Eirlet passively thinks, nearly everyone thinking the same as him, only those naive and truly desperate believing his words.
Clip Clop Clip Clop
Looking to the side, Eirlet sees the trio from before galloping away from the group, leaving them in the dust.
"Hey! Where are you going!?"
"Strange, why are they heading South?"
Although curious, everyone dismisses them, not wanting to gain their ire and wanting to stay focused while outside.
As everyone starts walking at a steady pace due East like the soldier recommended, Eirlet sticks near the back and glances at the small figures of the horsemen, 'It better be worth it if they're going South. I bet… that two of them will die and the third… severely injured!' Eirlet darkly thinks, amusing himself as they start their long trek.
The large group travels for two hours without incident, taking a small break before continuing on, wanting to get to their destination quickly. Everyone constantly watch their surroundings, ready to run like hell if they see anything remotely like a titan and watching the people in their temporary group as well, not trusting them one bit.
Eirlet quietly sticks to the back along with the only other lone wolf. He was happy with minding his own business, wanting to have little association with anyone and get out during nightfall, but the glances he was still getting from the young man is making that a pipe dream.
'Hoooh. Gonna have to address this right now or it might come to bite me later. Don't think we've got a grudge but can't be sure, curious mabey friendly? If he's either then he's a dumbass thinking about it right now.' Finished assessing him, Eirlet pointedly looks towards the man when he glances at him again.
The man flusters a bit when he notices he's been found out, lifting his head slightly to look at him. Eirlet gets his first clear view of the man's delicate face, with dark brown eyes and strands of auburn hair peeking out beneath the hat, the man blushes slightly.
"Umm, I -ahem," He starts with a high voice before he clears his throat, speaking with a slightly deeper tone, "I was wondering since you're alone, would you like to team up? At least temporarily while we watch each other's backs out here." He says, eyeing Eirlet expectantly.
Skeptically watching him from the corner of his eye, Eirlet seriously thinks over his offer, 'Why would he want to partner with me even temporarily? No one around here would want a kid to slow them down, the only reason they'd approach me would be as a meat shield.' Eirlet scans over the man, trying to find any hint of hidden intentions and finding none.
'He'll probably be expecting me to be a bit naive and accept… yeah, that's a good idea. I'll surprise him and use him instead. Either way, I'm never trusting anyone out here with my back.'
Eirlet nods a little hastily, poorly hiding apparent relief at having someone to watch his back. The man smiles at his response and the two go back to silence.
Looking to the side, Eirlet's eyes widen slightly before he splits off from the group and runs back from where they came, angling himself to the treeline in the distance. The young man soon follows, stumbling slightly before desperately picking up speed, those around them stay dumbfounded for a moment before the more alert among them start pushing their group to run.
Soon another group splits and runs towards the forest to their left, prompting nearly everyone else to disperse frantically. People yell and scramble away, many not knowing what's happening but knowing to get away but their question is soon answered.
The group near the forest freeze, the largest group from before who are following them stop as well in confusion.
Thump Thump Crash
Birds fly away in a swarm, their fluttering wings unnerving the leading man to run away, not staying to figure out what's coming.
A very good idea.
CRASH
As a tree falls a few dozen meters ahead, the runners get a good look at the massive humanoid flailing its arms and barreling its way through trees.
Many worn and burly thugs start screaming, dropping their weapons and running away from the monstrosity, leaving the leader of their group with a small group of men fearfully sticking their ground.
"Me- MEN! FIRE!" The leader stutters out, initiating the first shot to its torso, the rest soon following with a volley of rounds.
BANG BANG BANG
Bullets hit all over its body, legs, arms, torso, head, no less than a dozen rounds go into the titan before it flops over with a groan, skidding to a stop a few meters in front of them.
Through the haze of smoke, the leader pants, sweat dripping from his face as he gazes on the downed titan with shock before a grin soon forms on his face.
"He, hehe, HAHAHA!" He laughs out after a moment, grinning like a maniac, "We took down a titan! A titan!"
His men soon start whooping and laughing in joy at having taken down a titan, nearly everyone that were running stop and turn to look at their celebration, stupefied at the steaming titan at their feet.
The leader gets closer to the titan and nudges its face with his foot, when it doesn't react he manically smiles and opens his arms wide and declares, "Look at us! Those cowards ran away while we took down a titan! We don't need them! We are the be-!"
CRUNCH
Everyone watching pales as blood squirts everywhere, painting the ground red as the man's head plops onto the ground, right beside his feet.
Gulp
A few vomit in disgust whilst those close start hyperventilating as the titan rises to its feet, blood dripping from its blank face. The remaining men drop their weapons and start fleeing with tears in their eyes, trying to get as far away as possible.
A man stumbles in the midst of running away, "Hey! Help me up! Help me man!" He calls out to his friends, none sparing him a glance as they leave him behind.
Thump Thump
The titan slowly starts walking to him, stretching an arm out towards him as he desperately tries to crawl away, tears streaming down his face.
"No no no! N-!" The large hand wraps around his torso and squeezes.
Crunch
Blood gushes from his mouth with pieces of his guts along with it as he's raised above the titans waiting mouth and dropped unceremoniously, dead before he disappears.
Licking its lips, the titan looks for its next target, locking on to one it leaps, grabbing a trio at once as it leaves a furrow on the ground behind it.
As the titan starts hunting and feasting, Eirlet runs through the forest, listening until the screams fade away until he stops against a tree.
'Well fuck me. I was expecting us to meet one but way earlier, guess we were lucky.' He thinks as he eyes the young man stumble to him, panting and sweating as he rests against the tree.
"How. In the hell. Did you run. A kilometre so fast?" He pants out, grabbing his canteen and gulping some water as they rest.
Eirlet doesn't answer, instead he brings out his compass and gets his bearings before moving again, more stealthily than before.
'Thankfully we're not too far off track and downwind so we don't need to worry about being chased, at least by that titan.' He thinks as the young man squawks and catches up beside him, walking a bit too noisily for Eirlet's taste.
"Hey, you think the rest died?" The man questions, glancing at Eirlet.
He shrugs in response, knowing that some are probably still alive as some of them had some brains to keep running without stopping.
"You don't talk much do you?" He says, looking at Eirlet expectantly.
"..."
The two walk in silence, the young man still staring at him, waiting for a response he doesn't give as he keeps walking unbothered.
"Haaah," He sighs, "Fine, then where are we going? Back to the wall?"
Shaking his head, he turns his compass to the man, showing that they are heading East.
"Alright then." The man stretches his arms, "At least we'll have less competition." He says with some mirth.
The two travel through the forest, Eirlet having to take a detour once when he heard more stomping in the distance which fortunately disappeared momentarily.
A little over an hour later, they reach the treeline of the forest where in the distance they see a dilapidated farmhouse along with a barn, the surrounding fields overgrown with grass and weeds after four years of abandonment.
'Farms are typically near villages or towns, that means we aren't that far off now.' He thinks as the two cross the field and near the house.
From the outside he can see that the house is in ruins, a majority of the walls knocked down with the roof being held precariously by the remaining beams.
Knowing that it'll be a pain to search through the two skip over them, following the worn dirt path that leads away from the house. Travelling for a few more minutes, the path soon merges with a larger one, leading them up a small hill where they get their first look at the town they've risked their lives for.
"Uhhhh, is that? That's pretty big, bigger than I thought." The young man dumbly says, gazing across the deserted town.
Eirlet nods in agreement, gazing over the town and mapping whatever he can from above, 'This was probably the hub center around here, the buffer before merchandise heads further inside.'
He notices that some areas of the town are in ruins, clearly the work of titans but he sees none from his vantage point, 'Could be hiding anywhere around here, can't exactly see the whole town.'
Fortunately from his position, he can see where some rather large buildings are, looking more extravagant than their neighbours, 'And I'm betting that's where the merchants lived, and merchants equal money.' He thinks with some anticipation.
Before they start moving though, Eirlet sees some movement towards the West entrance which presumably leads towards Karanes. Looking closer, he can see that it's the group that they came with, at least the ones that were smart enough to run like they did.
Ducking down he pulls the young man to do the same who squeaks with some resistance before he stops when Eirlet points to the ruffled group in the distance who disperse and enter the town, having not seen them on the hill.
"Ah." He realizes, "Guess we should avoid them, they're probably pretty mad about us ditching without warning." He says nonchalantly.
Eirlet glances at the man, assessing his attitude over leaving the group without warning, 'Guess he's not as naive as I thought he was if he's fine with having them as shields. Which further pushes that he's gonna dupe me as well.'
Nodding in agreement, he gestures for the man to lead which he does, the two going around the hill rather than over it so they can get closer to the better part of the town and further from their former colleagues.
The two make their way through the streets as quiet and fast as they can, taking care of the rubble littering the streets and sticking to small passageways in case they run across a titan. Fortunately, the two make it two blocks in without incident, arriving at a street with multi-story buildings spread down the street, indicating the start of the higher class area.
"Damn." The young man quietly says, looking at a large pile of human bones on the side of the road, the stone around it covered in dried blood.
The two give a wide berth around the pile and keep walking, Eirlet passing a curious eye over it and noticing that many of them are broken, 'Now what leaves stuff like that I wonder.'
The two go further and approach a building, one of its neighbours just a pile of rubble whilst the other has its entrance knocked over.
"Wanna search together?" The young man offers as he walks towards the first building.
Shaking his head, Eirlet gestures over to the next building and heads towards it.
"Suit yourself. I'll wait outside once I'm done here." His voice trails off as the unlocked door closes behind him.
Stepping over bricks and wood Eirlet enters the building, noticing a clothed skeleton missing its lower half down the hallway, looking like it tried crawling away before it died.
Approaching the remains, he sees a ring where its finger should have been, a small jewel of some sort on the dark yellow metal.
Kneeling down Eirlet picks the ring up, the bones sliding off as he cleans off some grime and examines it, 'Have no clue what the jewel is but the metal might be gold.' He twists it around to see if there's anything to it, finding nothing, 'It's rusted and old but I can probably sell it for a silver or two after cleaning it up.' He thinks with some joy at finding something worth his last job.
Getting up he starts searching the place with more enthusiasm than before, finding many expensive-looking items like paintings and decorations but none that are small enough to take with him.
With some disappointment he leaves the building, meeting with the young man waiting outside before they head to their next target without a word between them.
The next two buildings bring him no better luck either, 'Dammit, these guys were close enough that most people were able to leave and bring some stuff with them. Not many stuck around too long.' He sourly thinks as he exits the building and meets the young man who also has a frown on his face.
"Seems we've both have had some bad luck." He says as they rest in an alley and eat, the sun casting orange rays as it starts to set.
Taking a bite of his food, the young man ponders as he chews before swallowing, "It's getting late now so we should find a place to camp for the night before heading out at dusk. I don't know about you but I'd rather not find a titan while we can't see."
Tapping a finger on his knee, Eirlet looks to the sky and takes in the time, 'We have half an hour before nightfall, we can probably hit another building before camping in it.'
Deciding on a plan Eirlet gestures towards a house on the corner of the street, one looking quite untouched compared to its neighbours which raises his hope slightly.
The man raises an eyebrow, "You're a greedy little kid you know." He pauses for a moment before continuing, "Alright let's go for it together, it's got a good view anyway." He says as he pushes off the wall, Eirlet following.
This time the door's locked which forces Eirlet to open a window like before, being a tight fit for the both of them. Entering to what looks to be the reception hall of the building, he sees that it looks untouched, dust layering everything.
"I think we've found the jackpot." The young man says with a growing smile, running a finger across a table that comes up gray, "Doesn't look like anyone was home during the invasion, otherwise the place would look more chaotic. And that means," He turns to look at Eirlet with an excited smile, "Everything should be where it's supposed to be."
Eirlet returns the grin before the man runs up the stairs with a skip in his step, himself following more sedately but still excited. Reaching the top floor he sees that the man entered one of the two rooms and is in the midst of rummaging through drawers, exclaiming slightly as he picks up small pieces of jewelry.
Entering his own room he starts searching through it similarly, finding a few rings which he stashes in his small pack.
'This place literally makes up for the trip out here! Everything together is at least worth a gold or two!' He joyously thinks as he picks all the drawers clean.
Looking through the room just in case he comes up with nothing else but it doesn't damper his mood. The young man exits his room at the same time as him, a smile plastered on his face as he snaps his pack close.
"Alright that's enough for me, this room has a nice view of the street so we can camp here." He points back at the room he just came from.
Entering, Eirlet crosses the floor and wipes his sleeve on the dirty window, cleaning a patch for him to see through to the dark street, the sky clouded enough that even he's having some trouble seeing clearly.
As he scans the street, the young man sits down behind him with a groan, taking his pack off and setting it down as a pillow as he lays on it.
"Well you can take the first shift, you'll need the rest more than I will." He says as he gets comfortable.
Humming in confirmation, Eirlet grabs a chair and sits beside the window, getting ready for a long night of watching.
