Finn O'Connor
:: 21st Ymiden, 717
There was only one place in Etzos where the unfortunates were sheltered from the elements. Hidden away behind the veneer of a bustling city was the Underground, home to the homeless and downtrodden. So often he’d been warned by the caretakers at the orphanage that he would end up among the unfortunates if he didn’t mend his ways, yet he had never really listened, never considered the chance off ending up amid the mass of puckered and gaunt faces that wandered aimlessly in the dark. Yet not all that stumbled drunkenly through the maze of the Underground were poor. The golden nels flowed richly in the handful of underground establishment that encouraged their guests to gamble, and there was hope yet that some of the gold pieces would find their way into his pocket.
Being a born Etzori, Finn didn’t wait around for the immortal of luck, if one such immortal even existed, to show up and throw gold at his feet. He had to take matters into his own hands and find a way to survive the coming trials, until he had managed to find his sister in the city of circles.
In search of fortune, his path had guided him into a dark and damp establishment in the underground. The floor was slippery from spilt mead and it reeked of smoke and stiff drinks. Aside from a few cursory glances, he didn’t immediately gain the kind of attention he wanted. He propped his back up against a wall and crossed his arms over his chest as he gazed into the crowded tavern.
It hadn’t taken him long to learn to play the game. There were as many people looking for a job as there were unsavory types with “unique” and “greatly rewarding” opportunities. Yet of those searching for employment, few could claim to have the particular skillset that Finn offered. Life under Caltweld and later Gangui the Barbarian, at Foster’s Landing had hardened him in mind and body alike, yet he had retained a heart-melting, innocent look about him. It had saved him on numerous occassions and it was this particular combination of qualities that he had to thank for the small wave from a broad, middle-aged man in the corner, whose features were half-hidden in the shadow. The man had a knack for sniffing out the right kind of employee for the right job, and this kid looked perfect for what he needed done.
Finn did not hesitate for a moment and bounded over to where the man sat, eager to gain some employment. It wasn’t until he’d turned the chair opposite the hooded figure around and sat down on it that man gazed up. The skin on his face was saggy around the chin and his dark eyes were large and watery. The chair upon which the man was seated creaked in protest to any movement as the man sized Finn up before speaking the hallowed words.
“Lookin’ for work?”
Finn gave a stiff nod in reply. It was only thanks to the hardships he’d endured in Foster’s Landing that he managed to maintain a steady gaze. The man before him possessed a formidable and thick head, accompanied by an equally broad neck and bulging shoulders. Finn knew this was his last chance to turn away.
A moment passed before the man shifted in his seat again to take a sip from a bottle on the rickety table between them. After he’d set the beverage down, he leaned forward and instructed Finn in a low voice.
“There’s an alchemist in town. The Hero of Oscillus, or te Undeceived is what he’s call’d. Has a lab an’ all in te tower of Ministers. D’you know where that is?”
“Course,” he almost huffed. Any fool knew were the tower was. It was hard to miss.
“That wasn’t my meaning,” the man grumbled. “D’you know where te lab is?”
Finn frowned. “I don’t,” he answered plainly.
“Few do,” the man replied. “But I have my ways.” He sipped his drink again and seemed to weigh his next words carefully. “Simply put,” he sighed eventually, “I need something retrieved from the tower.”
Finn’s jaw slackened. From the moment he’d sat down, he’d signed an invisible contract with the man and part of the unwritten contract was that jobs offered were at least remotely feasible. Yet this one clearly wasn’t.
“You mean stealin’?” Finn said in disbelief.
“Doran, as he’s called, is quite the alchemist. His recipes, his secret recipes are of great interest to me. His lab is in the tower. Presumably in the cellar, where the previous one worked.”
“I didn’t take you for an’ alchemist,” Finn answered bluntly. “But anyway, it’s too dangerous. I’ll never get close, let alone get past the guards.” He spoke with a certain expertise, for he was well acquainted with the Black Guard. Well enough to know that only the strongest, smartest, and meanest of them all were ever on duty to protect the tower. If one of them would catch him breaking into the heart of Etzos…he shuddered at the thought.
“Don’t worry about the guards,” the man said. “Nance will get you through.”
The man turned in his seat and motioned for a scantily clad woman with finely brushed red hair to come over. Finn didn’t take too long to guess her line of work as she smoothly came over to them with swaying hips
.
“Nance, this is…?”
“Finn,” he answered curtly.
Robert gestured between them. “Nance, Finn. Finn, Nance.”
Nance cocked her head at him, a frown of concern marring her otherwise impeccable features. “Bit young innit?” her voice betraying her station in life. She moved over to him, close enough for him to smell the perfume on her body. Before he knew it, she’d hooked a finger under his chin and studied him as though inspecting some curious animal. “I don’t know Robert,” she muttered as she let go. “I wouldn’t be so sure about ‘im.”
Robert shook his head. “I know the hard-workin’ type when I see one.”
Finn wondered what Nance had gleaned from him with just a simple touch. Maybe she was a witch and had cast some scrutinizing spell on him! The mere thought made him feel tainted, but he soon forgot about the whole ordeal when Robert resumed talking.
“Nance works for The Curly Hare. You know what that is?”
Finn gulped. Thankfully the underground tavern was dimly lit as his cheeks started to flush red. Nance spared him the awkwardness by huffing an “of course he knows! Every man knows!”
“Lord Trask has been a regular customer, shall we say,” Robert grinned. “Nance here is your ticket inside. The guards will know to let her through, and you’re just with her.”
“I doubt that would work,” Finn protested. “Besides, I am not really a thief. I am sure there are other people who could do a much bette-“
He was shushed by a motion of Robert’s hand. “I have considered all of that already, boy. I picked you for a reason.” Finn opened his mouth to ask why, but once again, Robert was faster. “I picked you cause I’ve seen you work. You have charm, an innocent face… I saw you nick from that fine gent over there the other day,” he nudged his head in the direction of a red-faced, lubberly man at the other side of the room.
“I didn-“
Again, Robert shushed him. ”There it is,” he laughed, “that face you make when you deny something. It’s golden. Did you see it Nance? That's what I was talking about!" He let out a snigger before returning to the matter at hand. "It’s only ‘cause I trust my eyes more than I trust you that I ain’t falling for it. With Nance’s help, you’ll get through no problem, trust me. Besides, the guards wouldn’t want to risk any trouble with Trask. If he hears they didn’t let his favorite plaything through just because her son came along. The real question is if you’re man enough to give it a try…”
The insinuation on Robert’s part was a clever one, for he had correctly assumed that the brown-haired boy before him would not put up with it.
“Course I am,” Finn bit back through clenched teeth, “but what’s in it for me?”
“Thirty gold nels, and ten more for every full recipe you manage to get back to me.”
"Forty."
"Thirty-five then," Robert answered.
"No. Forty."
Robert smiled wryly. "Thirty-seven, and not a copper more."
Any self-respecting burglar would have laughed at the numbers proposed by Robert. After all, breaking into the tower of Ministers was no small feat and mighty risky business to boot. Yet, blessed and cursed in equal measure by the naivety of youth, Finn accepted and shook hands with Robert before Nance took him under her wing. With gold she’d gotten from Robert she ordered a warm meal and a hearty drink for Finn and arranged lodgings so he would have some a bed to sleep in. It wasn’t until after Finn had tucked himself in that his heart leapt to his throat. He’d agreed to breaking into the tower. The tower. He grimaced in the dark of the room. There was nothing else for it. He needed the money badly.
--
He awoke the next day to a gentle tapping at his door. Groaning, he cast the blankets aside and opened the door a smidge. It was Nance. She looked even sweeter than he had remembered her.
“Can I come in?” she spoke gently. He unfastened a hook on the door and let her through into the small bedroom while he gathered his clothes and dressed.
“Oh, don’t use those,” Nance interjected as he was about to pull his shirt over his head. “I’ve got these for you,” she held a pile of various items and toiletries in her arms and took out a stack of neatly folded clothes from the bottom. They were of decent make, better than anything he had and a lot cleaner too. It looked like they hadn’t been worn by anyone before. The purpose of the clothes soon became apparent as they would make him appear to be some kind of errand boy serving one of the ministers in the tower. While he wasn’t quite sure if the clothes were official, they could certainly pass for such a purpose.
“I hope I got your size about right. Here, try them on.”
After he had dressed they finally left the semi-dark of the underground and emerged above ground. The sky had turned a leaden grey and thunder rumbled in the distance. It was much closer to evening than Finn had thought, his sense of time warped by having remained in the underground for a few trials.
Just before they reached the tower, Nance stopped and handed him a small vial containing a greenish substance. “Be careful with it,” she warned. “It’s an acid of sorts. If you encounter any closed doors you just pour it on the lock.” He nodded in reply and carefully dropped the vial in the inner pocket of his jacket. “Alright,” Nance took a deep breath before grabbing his hand. “Here we go…”
The guards on duty looked menacing, decked out as they were in elite attire. About six of them guarded the direct entrance to the tower though Finn suspected there were far more guards watching, hidden from view. Yet they did not go through the main entrance as Nance took a sudden turn to the right and dragged Finn along through several fast turns before halting at plain looking door in neighbouring alley.
“I thought we were going to the tower,” Finn piped up at her side.
“We are,” she whispered before giving a pattern of knocks on the door.
For half a trill, nothing happened, and Finn was just beginning to doubt the whole plan when the door creaked open. An old guard opened the door about halfway before he spotted Finn.
“Who’s that!” he barked gruffly. “It’s bad enough that I have strumpets coming through here!”
“Please, George, it’s just my boy. He won’t tell anyone anything.” While she spoke, Finn couldn’t help but notice how she put her foot between the door.
“Can’t he just go home?”
Nance features contorted. She had obviously practiced her replies, but for whatever reason, the words now failed to enter into her mind. Recognizing the danger, Finn was quick to step in and put on his best innocent face. “I won’t do anything,” he promised in a sweet voice. “It’s a long way to go home and mum doesn’t think it’s safe for me to be out alone at night.”
George didn’t appear entirely convinced, but another deep rumble in the sky finally persuaded him to let the pair in before the thunderstorm would break out in full. Indeed, it would be immoral to let a young child walk home alone in this kind of weather.
“Very well then,” he sighed. “But only this once.”
After Nance had reassured the old guard they finally stepped into a long, narrow hallway that ended in a flight of stairs spiraling upward. Once they had emerged on the other side another guard halted them, but soon let them through once he recognized Nance.
Now inside the walled section that shielded the tower from the outside world, Nance guided him across the promenades surrounding the tall building until he could make out a final pair of guardsmen at the main entrance to the massive tower. A loud boom reverberated against the sky. Thick droplets of rain were starting to splash down as the clouds grew dark and angry.
“I’ll distract them for a bit,” Nance whispered as she let go of his hand. “Once you have what you need, meet me back here. They’re unlikely to check on you when you’re leaving…”
Finn felt a pang of anxiety shoot through his bones as she left his side to chat up the guards. He waited until Nance had the attention of both the guardsmen. Heart racing, he swerved around the swordsmen and headed straight for the entrance. One of the soldiers was about to turn back around from his conversation with Nance when she suddenly pointed skyward. In just a handful of trills the rain swelled from a light trickle into stormy downpour and it was thanks to the cover that the loud rain and thunder provided that Finn managed to sneak into the tower, leaving a trail of wet footsteps in his wake. Without a moment’s hesitation, he took the first staircase leading downward that he came across. Now it got tricky. Where exactly in the tower did this Alchemist have his lab? Worse still, had Robert ensured that the man wasn’t inside? It all seemed like a very bad idea all of a sudden. Yet, there was no turning back now, and he reminded himself that he could earn some good money if he managed to get a handful of recipes. He had memorized some examples that Robert had shown him before his departure with Nance, so he knew what to be looking for.
Yet the first problem was finding the damned laboratory to begin with. There were no tags or signs on any of the three doors that lined the cold hallway he found himself in. Though it was tempting to use the vial of acid on all of them, it was far too risky. One misstep, and he would wander into the room of some minister or ambassador, and thereby right into the cruel hands of the law. He could ill-afford to make such a mistake. Quiet as a mouse, he tip-toed over to the first door and peeked through the keyhole. Someone or something moved inside and he heard muffled voices.
Just when he bent over to peek through the second keyhole, he heard footsteps coming down the staircase. Judging by the sound of it, it was only one man. But that would be all that was needed to get himself arrested and locked up for good! Forced to make a choice between the second and the last door, Finn chose the last. Of course, the door was locked. With shaking hands, Finn pulled the vial of acid from his inner pocket and poured some of the substance into the keyhole. While the acid bit into the steel, it didn’t quite work fast enough. The shadow of a tall man had descended about halfway down the stairs as Finn quickly stuffed the vial back in his pocket.
For the briefest of moments Doran would be able to spot the horrified look on Finn’s face before the latter swapped it for a look of guilt. Being a renowned alchemist, the mortalborn would undoubtedly be able to detect the acidic scent, and it wouldn’t take long to find out where it came from either. Yet the most surprising aspect of the entire scene would certainly be Finn’s answer when inquired about the damage done to the door into the laboratory.
“It’s just a prank!” he’d say before hanging his head in feigned defeat. “I mean, I just wanted to impress you…I heard you’re the greatest alchemist in all the land and I’d thought I’d…” he searched for words but couldn’t come up with much else than pretending to be an aspiring student. “I brewed it myself,” he swallowed as he handed over the vial to Doran. Whether the mortalborn would be charmed, impressed, or outright angered, remained to be seen. Yet no matter what happened, Finn realized he could forget about getting any payment from Robert, even if he managed to get out. Unless…unless he would manage to convince the imposing, dark-haired chemist that he was interested in being apprenticed to the Hero of Oscillus. He bit down on his lower lip. It was his only chance.
Being a born Etzori, Finn didn’t wait around for the immortal of luck, if one such immortal even existed, to show up and throw gold at his feet. He had to take matters into his own hands and find a way to survive the coming trials, until he had managed to find his sister in the city of circles.
In search of fortune, his path had guided him into a dark and damp establishment in the underground. The floor was slippery from spilt mead and it reeked of smoke and stiff drinks. Aside from a few cursory glances, he didn’t immediately gain the kind of attention he wanted. He propped his back up against a wall and crossed his arms over his chest as he gazed into the crowded tavern.
It hadn’t taken him long to learn to play the game. There were as many people looking for a job as there were unsavory types with “unique” and “greatly rewarding” opportunities. Yet of those searching for employment, few could claim to have the particular skillset that Finn offered. Life under Caltweld and later Gangui the Barbarian, at Foster’s Landing had hardened him in mind and body alike, yet he had retained a heart-melting, innocent look about him. It had saved him on numerous occassions and it was this particular combination of qualities that he had to thank for the small wave from a broad, middle-aged man in the corner, whose features were half-hidden in the shadow. The man had a knack for sniffing out the right kind of employee for the right job, and this kid looked perfect for what he needed done.
Finn did not hesitate for a moment and bounded over to where the man sat, eager to gain some employment. It wasn’t until he’d turned the chair opposite the hooded figure around and sat down on it that man gazed up. The skin on his face was saggy around the chin and his dark eyes were large and watery. The chair upon which the man was seated creaked in protest to any movement as the man sized Finn up before speaking the hallowed words.
“Lookin’ for work?”
Finn gave a stiff nod in reply. It was only thanks to the hardships he’d endured in Foster’s Landing that he managed to maintain a steady gaze. The man before him possessed a formidable and thick head, accompanied by an equally broad neck and bulging shoulders. Finn knew this was his last chance to turn away.
A moment passed before the man shifted in his seat again to take a sip from a bottle on the rickety table between them. After he’d set the beverage down, he leaned forward and instructed Finn in a low voice.
“There’s an alchemist in town. The Hero of Oscillus, or te Undeceived is what he’s call’d. Has a lab an’ all in te tower of Ministers. D’you know where that is?”
“Course,” he almost huffed. Any fool knew were the tower was. It was hard to miss.
“That wasn’t my meaning,” the man grumbled. “D’you know where te lab is?”
Finn frowned. “I don’t,” he answered plainly.
“Few do,” the man replied. “But I have my ways.” He sipped his drink again and seemed to weigh his next words carefully. “Simply put,” he sighed eventually, “I need something retrieved from the tower.”
Finn’s jaw slackened. From the moment he’d sat down, he’d signed an invisible contract with the man and part of the unwritten contract was that jobs offered were at least remotely feasible. Yet this one clearly wasn’t.
“You mean stealin’?” Finn said in disbelief.
“Doran, as he’s called, is quite the alchemist. His recipes, his secret recipes are of great interest to me. His lab is in the tower. Presumably in the cellar, where the previous one worked.”
“I didn’t take you for an’ alchemist,” Finn answered bluntly. “But anyway, it’s too dangerous. I’ll never get close, let alone get past the guards.” He spoke with a certain expertise, for he was well acquainted with the Black Guard. Well enough to know that only the strongest, smartest, and meanest of them all were ever on duty to protect the tower. If one of them would catch him breaking into the heart of Etzos…he shuddered at the thought.
“Don’t worry about the guards,” the man said. “Nance will get you through.”
The man turned in his seat and motioned for a scantily clad woman with finely brushed red hair to come over. Finn didn’t take too long to guess her line of work as she smoothly came over to them with swaying hips
.
“Nance, this is…?”
“Finn,” he answered curtly.
Robert gestured between them. “Nance, Finn. Finn, Nance.”
Nance cocked her head at him, a frown of concern marring her otherwise impeccable features. “Bit young innit?” her voice betraying her station in life. She moved over to him, close enough for him to smell the perfume on her body. Before he knew it, she’d hooked a finger under his chin and studied him as though inspecting some curious animal. “I don’t know Robert,” she muttered as she let go. “I wouldn’t be so sure about ‘im.”
Robert shook his head. “I know the hard-workin’ type when I see one.”
Finn wondered what Nance had gleaned from him with just a simple touch. Maybe she was a witch and had cast some scrutinizing spell on him! The mere thought made him feel tainted, but he soon forgot about the whole ordeal when Robert resumed talking.
“Nance works for The Curly Hare. You know what that is?”
Finn gulped. Thankfully the underground tavern was dimly lit as his cheeks started to flush red. Nance spared him the awkwardness by huffing an “of course he knows! Every man knows!”
“Lord Trask has been a regular customer, shall we say,” Robert grinned. “Nance here is your ticket inside. The guards will know to let her through, and you’re just with her.”
“I doubt that would work,” Finn protested. “Besides, I am not really a thief. I am sure there are other people who could do a much bette-“
He was shushed by a motion of Robert’s hand. “I have considered all of that already, boy. I picked you for a reason.” Finn opened his mouth to ask why, but once again, Robert was faster. “I picked you cause I’ve seen you work. You have charm, an innocent face… I saw you nick from that fine gent over there the other day,” he nudged his head in the direction of a red-faced, lubberly man at the other side of the room.
“I didn-“
Again, Robert shushed him. ”There it is,” he laughed, “that face you make when you deny something. It’s golden. Did you see it Nance? That's what I was talking about!" He let out a snigger before returning to the matter at hand. "It’s only ‘cause I trust my eyes more than I trust you that I ain’t falling for it. With Nance’s help, you’ll get through no problem, trust me. Besides, the guards wouldn’t want to risk any trouble with Trask. If he hears they didn’t let his favorite plaything through just because her son came along. The real question is if you’re man enough to give it a try…”
The insinuation on Robert’s part was a clever one, for he had correctly assumed that the brown-haired boy before him would not put up with it.
“Course I am,” Finn bit back through clenched teeth, “but what’s in it for me?”
“Thirty gold nels, and ten more for every full recipe you manage to get back to me.”
"Forty."
"Thirty-five then," Robert answered.
"No. Forty."
Robert smiled wryly. "Thirty-seven, and not a copper more."
Any self-respecting burglar would have laughed at the numbers proposed by Robert. After all, breaking into the tower of Ministers was no small feat and mighty risky business to boot. Yet, blessed and cursed in equal measure by the naivety of youth, Finn accepted and shook hands with Robert before Nance took him under her wing. With gold she’d gotten from Robert she ordered a warm meal and a hearty drink for Finn and arranged lodgings so he would have some a bed to sleep in. It wasn’t until after Finn had tucked himself in that his heart leapt to his throat. He’d agreed to breaking into the tower. The tower. He grimaced in the dark of the room. There was nothing else for it. He needed the money badly.
--
He awoke the next day to a gentle tapping at his door. Groaning, he cast the blankets aside and opened the door a smidge. It was Nance. She looked even sweeter than he had remembered her.
“Can I come in?” she spoke gently. He unfastened a hook on the door and let her through into the small bedroom while he gathered his clothes and dressed.
“Oh, don’t use those,” Nance interjected as he was about to pull his shirt over his head. “I’ve got these for you,” she held a pile of various items and toiletries in her arms and took out a stack of neatly folded clothes from the bottom. They were of decent make, better than anything he had and a lot cleaner too. It looked like they hadn’t been worn by anyone before. The purpose of the clothes soon became apparent as they would make him appear to be some kind of errand boy serving one of the ministers in the tower. While he wasn’t quite sure if the clothes were official, they could certainly pass for such a purpose.
“I hope I got your size about right. Here, try them on.”
After he had dressed they finally left the semi-dark of the underground and emerged above ground. The sky had turned a leaden grey and thunder rumbled in the distance. It was much closer to evening than Finn had thought, his sense of time warped by having remained in the underground for a few trials.
Just before they reached the tower, Nance stopped and handed him a small vial containing a greenish substance. “Be careful with it,” she warned. “It’s an acid of sorts. If you encounter any closed doors you just pour it on the lock.” He nodded in reply and carefully dropped the vial in the inner pocket of his jacket. “Alright,” Nance took a deep breath before grabbing his hand. “Here we go…”
The guards on duty looked menacing, decked out as they were in elite attire. About six of them guarded the direct entrance to the tower though Finn suspected there were far more guards watching, hidden from view. Yet they did not go through the main entrance as Nance took a sudden turn to the right and dragged Finn along through several fast turns before halting at plain looking door in neighbouring alley.
“I thought we were going to the tower,” Finn piped up at her side.
“We are,” she whispered before giving a pattern of knocks on the door.
For half a trill, nothing happened, and Finn was just beginning to doubt the whole plan when the door creaked open. An old guard opened the door about halfway before he spotted Finn.
“Who’s that!” he barked gruffly. “It’s bad enough that I have strumpets coming through here!”
“Please, George, it’s just my boy. He won’t tell anyone anything.” While she spoke, Finn couldn’t help but notice how she put her foot between the door.
“Can’t he just go home?”
Nance features contorted. She had obviously practiced her replies, but for whatever reason, the words now failed to enter into her mind. Recognizing the danger, Finn was quick to step in and put on his best innocent face. “I won’t do anything,” he promised in a sweet voice. “It’s a long way to go home and mum doesn’t think it’s safe for me to be out alone at night.”
George didn’t appear entirely convinced, but another deep rumble in the sky finally persuaded him to let the pair in before the thunderstorm would break out in full. Indeed, it would be immoral to let a young child walk home alone in this kind of weather.
“Very well then,” he sighed. “But only this once.”
After Nance had reassured the old guard they finally stepped into a long, narrow hallway that ended in a flight of stairs spiraling upward. Once they had emerged on the other side another guard halted them, but soon let them through once he recognized Nance.
Now inside the walled section that shielded the tower from the outside world, Nance guided him across the promenades surrounding the tall building until he could make out a final pair of guardsmen at the main entrance to the massive tower. A loud boom reverberated against the sky. Thick droplets of rain were starting to splash down as the clouds grew dark and angry.
“I’ll distract them for a bit,” Nance whispered as she let go of his hand. “Once you have what you need, meet me back here. They’re unlikely to check on you when you’re leaving…”
Finn felt a pang of anxiety shoot through his bones as she left his side to chat up the guards. He waited until Nance had the attention of both the guardsmen. Heart racing, he swerved around the swordsmen and headed straight for the entrance. One of the soldiers was about to turn back around from his conversation with Nance when she suddenly pointed skyward. In just a handful of trills the rain swelled from a light trickle into stormy downpour and it was thanks to the cover that the loud rain and thunder provided that Finn managed to sneak into the tower, leaving a trail of wet footsteps in his wake. Without a moment’s hesitation, he took the first staircase leading downward that he came across. Now it got tricky. Where exactly in the tower did this Alchemist have his lab? Worse still, had Robert ensured that the man wasn’t inside? It all seemed like a very bad idea all of a sudden. Yet, there was no turning back now, and he reminded himself that he could earn some good money if he managed to get a handful of recipes. He had memorized some examples that Robert had shown him before his departure with Nance, so he knew what to be looking for.
Yet the first problem was finding the damned laboratory to begin with. There were no tags or signs on any of the three doors that lined the cold hallway he found himself in. Though it was tempting to use the vial of acid on all of them, it was far too risky. One misstep, and he would wander into the room of some minister or ambassador, and thereby right into the cruel hands of the law. He could ill-afford to make such a mistake. Quiet as a mouse, he tip-toed over to the first door and peeked through the keyhole. Someone or something moved inside and he heard muffled voices.
Just when he bent over to peek through the second keyhole, he heard footsteps coming down the staircase. Judging by the sound of it, it was only one man. But that would be all that was needed to get himself arrested and locked up for good! Forced to make a choice between the second and the last door, Finn chose the last. Of course, the door was locked. With shaking hands, Finn pulled the vial of acid from his inner pocket and poured some of the substance into the keyhole. While the acid bit into the steel, it didn’t quite work fast enough. The shadow of a tall man had descended about halfway down the stairs as Finn quickly stuffed the vial back in his pocket.
For the briefest of moments Doran would be able to spot the horrified look on Finn’s face before the latter swapped it for a look of guilt. Being a renowned alchemist, the mortalborn would undoubtedly be able to detect the acidic scent, and it wouldn’t take long to find out where it came from either. Yet the most surprising aspect of the entire scene would certainly be Finn’s answer when inquired about the damage done to the door into the laboratory.
“It’s just a prank!” he’d say before hanging his head in feigned defeat. “I mean, I just wanted to impress you…I heard you’re the greatest alchemist in all the land and I’d thought I’d…” he searched for words but couldn’t come up with much else than pretending to be an aspiring student. “I brewed it myself,” he swallowed as he handed over the vial to Doran. Whether the mortalborn would be charmed, impressed, or outright angered, remained to be seen. Yet no matter what happened, Finn realized he could forget about getting any payment from Robert, even if he managed to get out. Unless…unless he would manage to convince the imposing, dark-haired chemist that he was interested in being apprenticed to the Hero of Oscillus. He bit down on his lower lip. It was his only chance.
