After all, Amber had finally, after months of nudging her, worn down her sister enough that Aurora agreed to give up her bangle for one evening. The youngest of the Argyris sisters had been too preoccupied with a migraine to protest the matter. So long as Amber had it back to her by morning and kept it in a pristine condition, those had been Aurora's stipulations. She had eagerly taken the family heirloom in hand and rushed it down to Ravio's store.
She had kept in touch with the masked salesman over the past few months, paying multiple visits to him as he settled into his new shop, a quaint little store at the end of a small strip mall. Ravio had appreciated her friendliness, her presence and support lifting his spirits as he struggled to build a customer base. They had spent weeks swapping tales and chatting. Amber, as talkative as ever, had spilled every detail about herself and her sisters, including some that Aurora almost would have certainly objected to her sharing, had she known. Ravio mostly kept his end of the discussions focused on his business and trade, but never learning the salesman's history or seeing his face had never bothered Amber; no, she was content to let him regale her with his knowledge of magical artifacts and weaponry.
That knowledge had made the evening's great discovery possible, after all. Aurora had recounted tales which attested to the heirloom's magical power, but she had always dismissed the veracity of those stories. Even with an expert on these kinds of items right in front of her, the youngest Argyris sister had shown no interest in having her treasured accessory appraised. Amber, though? She had seen an opportunity, and she simply wasn't the type to not reach out and grab an opportunity within her reach. To Amber's delight, Ravio had been able to, after lengthy inspection, confirm that the bangle contained a vast reserve of power. It was no weapon, however. No, instead, it served to enhance the inherent magical powers of the wearer, providing a vast reserve of energy that would strengthen its wielder's spells and powers. Unfortunately, not just any soul could make use of the vast reserve contained within. Without a significant investment of power, the artifact's user would be unable to liberate the vast power contained within; unless one's magical abilities were sufficiently powerful in the first place, the bangle would remain totally and completely unresponsive, nothing more than a normal piece of jewelry. She hadn't much understood what Ravio was getting at when he tried explain it all in terms of activation energy and chemical reactions, but the analogy made more sense once he had compared it to a dam holding back the waters of an inland sea only bursting and releasing the formidable power of the entire sea only after the energy contained in explosives was leveraged to weaken the dam. It had been disheartening, of course, to find out that neither her nor either of her sisters were likely ever to possess the power required to make use of the heirloom's special property, but Amber's disappointment had ebbed after Ravio brought out drinks. Knowing how much Amber enjoyed a good drink, he had gone out and bought her, as a sign of their friendship, some rum and the ingredients needed to make a few mixed drinks. Given that he didn't drink, he was more than happy to keep her glass filled for the duration of her visit, too.
She was riding high on the evening - well, that and the buzz of the alcohol - as she strolled down the streets of this little commercial district in the Outer City. Sure, it was late - just past midnight, actually. But she wasn't the only one out and about. There were still a few people milling about, and there had to be plenty more still partying in the bars and nightclubs. Why, she could probably go find herself a good time somewhere, meet some more people and make some ne-
You. You look like a classy woman searching for a good time.
Sorry, what was that?
Amber glanced in the direction of the voice which had called out to her, finding… someone - the individual had sounded almost like a man, but sure looked like a woman - peering out from the darkness of an alley, beckoning her with a single hand sticking out from the shadows. The individual's face stuck out of the shadows, too, but it was mostly concealed by the cloth wrapped around it.
I'm looking for someone interested in a good time. I have a place we can go back to for some privacy. I'll have to charge you to spend the night, but the prices are cheap.
Amber caught herself laughing as the realization washed over her. This woman - despite her remarkably deep voice, she was, Amber was sure, a woman - was a prostitute, one trying to skirt questions of legality by ostensibly charging only for a night's lodging. The second thought amused her far more than the first; she had been spending too much time with her younger sister, if she was starting to think about that kind of thing.
With a smile and a wave of acknowledgement, Amber made her way over to the woman in the alley, following her in even as she drew deeper and deeper into the shadows. She had been propositioned in far stranger ways before, both while out partying and on the streets as she returned home after late nights out, and, while she didn't always accept, saying yes to some of those propositions had led to some great nights. As well as the night had gone, she didn't see any reason not to at least hear this woman out. She had, after all, wanted to meet some new people tonight…
The duo stood in the center of the alley, barely able to see one another in the shadows. Amber briefly considered conjuring some sparks on her fingertips, so the electrical arcs and the faint glow of her eyes and accessories could provide some light, but she made no move to do so. She'd at least see what this woman was offering. Really, she'd rather have someone to spend the next few hours out on the town with more than a partner in bed. If she was lucky, maybe she could convince her to just spend the night out and about, having some fun together, but there was at least the chance she could get both out of her.
Soooo, what were you thinking? If your place is around here, we could hit up a club first! I can treat! I think it'd be fun to, like, get to know each other, don't you? Oh. I'm Amber, by the way.
Amber, eh? The look checks out. It was nice seeing your jewelry in the light. It had a nice shine to it.
Oh? You like it? Then check this out!
Now, Amber did let sparks dance on her fingertips, the harsh but dim white light generated by the crackling electricity suffused with a soft yellow-orange glow. She could see the woman in front of her a little more clearly now, see that she was almost entirely wrapped in cloth, only a few strands of blonde hair peeking out near her blue eyes. Those blue eyes were shining with excitement, in a more metaphorical way than Amber's own. Amber had no way of knowing that those eyes belonged to Fleur Boland, to the thief who went by the name Eve.
Your necklace, can I see it?
Sure, yeah! But it's gonna stop glowing as soon as I take it off.
Amber's words weren't quite accurate. The necklace didn't stop glowing until she had handed it off to the other woman, until the very moment she actually let go of it. The woman inspected it carefully, turning it over, poring over every fine detail on it by Amber's light. As for Amber herself, her mind was elsewhere. She swayed impatiently, thinking it neat that this woman had taken such an interest in her accessories but ready to head off with her to a more energetic scene as soon as possible, or, if she had no interest, to leave her behind.
The woman handed the necklace back, but, as she made clear with a gesture at the bangle on Amber's wrist, she wasn't done with her inspections.
It's a symbol of craftsmanship. Someone put in real effort to make it. But what I'm interested in is that. Silver doesn't exactly go with your look. Something you'd sell?
Mmm… No, sorry. It's not really mine. Well, it is, but we all share it, you know? I don't really care all that much about it, but I'm not supposed to give it away or sell it. I'm supposed to take care of it. Plus, I just found out something really cool about it, and I wanna tell my sisters.
I don't follow. Does it belong to you, or not?
Her voice had a hint of incredulousness, but her flat, unwavering tone made it difficult to gauge what she was thinking.
Well, it's complicated. It's like, it belongs to me, but it's not just me it belongs to. I'm allowed to take it out, but I couldn't give away without asking people.
The details don't matter, I guess. Shame you can't sell it. But you could let me see, at least? That's within your rights?
Hmm. I guess so. But I kinda wanna get going. Don't you wanna look at it in the light? We could find a bar and I could let you see it in there.
No. I don't think it's a good idea. You hear about the thieves lately? Been a string of people having things stolen from their home, having things stolen from them out on the streets. Doesn't seem like anyone's safe anywhere. We go where people could see us, someone could poach this. Besides, it looks prettier in your glow. Everything does.
Amber's face lit up, but not because of the compliment. Flattery wouldn't get anyone anywhere with her. She'd heard it all. No, she was excited for another reason…
Hey! I know a thief! I think. I dunno. I haven't talked to her a lot, but I've seen her around this one bar. It's a cool place. Maybe we could go ask her if she knows about anything? It's a little far from here, but we could go see if it's still open. They're getting ready for a big night, so I don't know. But we could check!
As she went on, Amber removed her bangle and went to hand it over almost unthinkingly. Was it the alcohol? Her generally trustful disposition? Was it the fact that the strange woman had already lowered her guard, when she had already inspected and returned the necklace? Whatever the reason may have been, the only thing that had registered in Amber's mind by the time she let out a gasp was the sensation of having the bangle snatched from her outstretched hand and the sensation of the mysterious woman's foot hitting her shin as she turned to flee.
Hey! Where are you going? Hold on!
Amber wasted no time, immediately letting loose a jolt of electricity in the direction of the fleeing thief. She made certain that the blast was weak, comparable to a taser. She wasn't looking to harm anyone. As a matter of fact, she still hoped there was some kind of misunderstanding…
The miniature bolt of lightning illuminated the whole of the alleyway, giving Amber a clear view of the woman absconding with her - with her family's - heirloom. In that brief moment, Amber's eyes fell upon the woman's hand - not the one with the bangle, but one which had remained one the woman's hip for the whole of their conversation, one which, she could clearly see now, held a small, shovel-shaped rod. Amber couldn't identify it, but anyone with a basic familiarity of magical weapons could have easily recognized it as a Sand Rod. As swiftly as Amber had thrown her powers around, the fleeing woman gave the magical implement a swing, conjuring up a whirling storm of silicates, pebbles, and grains of minerals. As for the lightning? It meant the blast of minerals head-on… and fizzled out as the electrical energy, channeled and conducted by the impurities and the trace metals in the more-literal-than-usual dirt devil, was directed into the earth - or wait passed as the earth on a flying city, at least.
Amber stood frozen, her eyes wide with shock at the sight of someone so expertly countering her powers, as she watched the last few pieces of stone and dirt settle and coat the ground of the alley. Anyone else in the situation might have smelled a rat, figuring that it was too much of a coincidence that the woman who had targeted her happened to have the perfect weapon to use against someone with electrical powers. As she sprinted down the alley to give chase, though? The thought never once crossed Amber's mind. No, only a single word rang through her mind, like a sound effect set to loop, as she emerged on another empty street - it was indeed empty, with no sign of the thief in either direction.
Shit.
XXX
Some twenty minutes later, Ravio fell out of his bed - he was living in his shop, to cut down on his costs so his dream wouldn't die in a whimper before it even got off the ground - as a banging at the door startled him awake. The stunned salesman, lying in a heap, pulled himself across across the floor to the nearest shelf, preferring to stay low to the ground just in case fire of any kind should start flying through his store space. He considered momentarily whether or not he should cautiously call out to whatever individual seemed to be poised to break down his door, but the answer came before he could work up the nerve.
RAVIO! RAVIO! I NEED HELP! I don't know where else to go! PLEASE OPEN UP!
Standing outside the merchant's door, shaking and frantically pounding on the door but relatively composed otherwise, Amber prayed that her merchant friend would be able to provide some help, some advice, anything. She couldn't go back to her sisters, not after having had the bangle stolen from her. Sure, Aurora would eventually… no, no, not even that was a guarantee. Amber had made mistakes before, some of them arguably much worse than this, but this would hit her younger sister so much more deeply than any of it. There wasn't much that Aurora treasured more than her status as the effective head of her family, as the representative of the Argyris name and house, and that bangle had long symbolized the status in her eyes. If Amber were the one responsible for losing that physical symbol…
Unfortunately for Amber, the door remained tightly shut, though she could hear all sorts of items knocking around - some shattering even - inside of the building.
H-ho-hold on! I need my mask! I need to get dressed! Amber, ho-hold on! Tell me what happened. I'm coming!
Her explanation sped along at a mile a minute, Amber's tale barely comprehensible as she raced through the night's events, her words jumping around as quickly as her thoughts.
It's gone, Ravio! I was walking, and there was this lady, and she was standing in the alley! And, and, and, my necklace! And there was dust! And she asked if I wanted to spend the night! And I tried to stop her! But she had, like, a toy shovel! And she took the bangle! She took it!
Inside, the scrambling merchant found his head spinning. He couldn't follow anything Amber was saying… but he had a feeling he knew what had happened. His heart dropped in his chest as he asked the question, his voice loud enough to be heard through the door but shaking and weak.
A...Amber… are you saying, you've been robbed?
YES! She took it, and I don't know what to do!
That's all he needed to hear. Ravio, only halfway done in getting his outfit all put together, fell back on his bum, holding his head in his hands as he shook it. After one worryingly large thud, Amber heard nothing but silence. After a few intense minutes, Ravio's voice finally came through the door once more.
Amber… I think… I think you need to go to the police. I'll go with you. Give me a minute. I'm so sorry, Amber, but you have to go to them. They'll be able to track it down, find out who did it. I'm sorry. I know it's hard, but you have to go to the police.
Still stuck outside the door, Amber hesitated to respond. She had told Ravio so much about her family. He had to understand why that wasn't an option, didn't he? She suddenly felt hollow inside as the realization hit her. He wasn't going to help her. She needed someone who could help her without there being an official record, right? Even if they got it back, Aurora would never forgive her, right? No, there had to be someone else who could help her without filing a report. She could go to Valhalla, ask people on the sly there. She'd have to be careful, given easy it would be for the information to get back to her sisters, but there had to be some-
Everything okay out here? Someone shouting about a thief?
Looking a few doors down from Ravio's, Amber spotted a new figure, an individual standing in the light spilling out of a now-opened storefront. He looked strange… like a river otter the size of a person, but he was far from the strangest person she had seen in Olympia. A still-shaking and mentally shaken Amber stared at him, unsure of what to say, unsure of whether or not she should share her tale with this stranger. Realizing that she wasn't going to be speaking anytime soon, the otter piped up first.
Listen, I wouldn't normally do this, but you seem so upset that I kinda have to. It's why I got into this business, to put people at ease. Name's Lyle, by the way. I was burning the midnight oil here at the office. Let me tell you, I've heard all about the thieves around here. Birds, women… I've even heard something about a bird woman. Come on in. I've been dealing with this. I can help you out.
Her heart skipped a beat. Had she been sent a miracle? Her words came slowly and betrayed her incredulity.
You can really help me? You don't mean calling the police or something, do you? I need this to be kept a secret.
Don't you worry. Lyle doesn't share his records with anyone. Give the financials to the regulators, give the courts the details when they send the subpoenas, but it's strict client confidentiality until then. You come into my place? Bang. You're in and out in an hour, everything you need.
On wobbling legs, Amber approached the otter, scarcely believing her good fortune. Lyle ushered her into his unit of the strip mall, even grabbing an ill-fitting coat off the coat rack right inside the building and putting it on her. She seemed to be shivering, after all, as far as he could tell.
A moment after the otter and woman slipped into the doorway, a man in a rabbit mask finally poked his head out of his shop.
Am-Amber? Wh-where… where did you go?
He scanned the entire area, but Amber had seemingly disappeared. He fretted, debating on whether he ought to go to the police on her behalf. The thought of doing nothing… it made his stomach churn. He felt sick. After a few minutes of contemplation, he finally withdrew his head back into his store, his parting words - words to no one in particular - barely more than a quavering whisper.
I'm sorry, Amber.
XXX
An hour later, Amber was gripping the armrests of her chair so tightly that her fingers were going numb. She had to keep gripping it tighter, though, to resist the urge to get up and bolt from the room, to find someone else to help her. She trusted Lyle, but, god, was he taking forever. He had made her go over what had happened three times over the course of twenty minutes, making her go more slowly every time. After that, he had thrown all kinds of weird terms at her that made her almost - almost - wish Aurora had been there with her to translate for her. There was all this stuff about premiums, and coverage, and policy exceptions, and he had asked so many questions about everything she and her sisters owned and how much it was worth. She couldn't have understood it all at her best, and it may as well have been gibberish to her this evening. It brought her some relief when he had finished with all the questions and the business talk, but she found herself growing restless as he worked for over ten minutes to draw up paperwork.
For Lyle's part, he spent that hour reveling - internally, of course - in Amber's discomfort and her ignorance. For months, he had been encouraging his partners to focus their efforts on more lucrative demographics, the ones he could nickel-and-dime the most when he drew up a policy. The young, especially young couples just starting to find their footing in the world, those were his favorite customers. They didn't have the experience to know he took them to the cleaners with his policies, and they were oh-so-desperate to protect what little they had starting out. Elderly customers, they, too, put a smile on his face when they walked in the door. It was, after all, so easy to get them confused, to get them bogged down in so many details they didn't know what they were buying anymore. Plus, they were so sentimental. There was almost always one or two special items they were willing to spend their life savings on getting insured. After those groups, he most liked working-class folks, the relatively uneducated ones he could fleece with ease. Everything was legal, in technical terms, but anyone with any sense would have called Lyle out for the thief he was.
That's why he had to be discerning when it came to his clientele. If he suspected someone was smarter than they were letting on, he played it safer, stuck to a more normal set of policies. Thankfully for him, Amber Argyris wasn't smarter than she was letting on, at least when it came to the matters they were discussing. She'd even given him a big bonus, coming in and wanting to keep everything a secret between the two of them. It made his job easier. Yes, she was exactly the right mix of ignorant and rich that made him drool. The night that was Amber's nightmare felt like a dream for him.
He didn't fully understand what all he had become involved in. There were some thieves, There were some agents gathering information, himself included. The details didn't matter, though. He was making money hand-over-foot, bringing in dough in larger amounts than he ever had before. It wasn't exactly enough to make him a millionaire, and he had to split some of the earnings - off the books, of course - with his partners, but it was still a windfall, and he was going to stay in whatever house of cards he had been pulled into as long as he could.
Noting that Amber didn't look like she was going to sit much longer, Lyle put his name on one final document and looked up at his client, a false smile gracing his face.
Okay, I think I have everything put together here. Now, you know that I wouldn't normally do this, but I'm going to make a special exception for you. I'm going to let you lump everything you said your sisters had with them into your policy. We'll go ahead and get all of you covered under your name. Someone robs any of you? You come here. I pay you. Bang. You're covered. But, listen, you can't tell anyone, right? Not even your sisters. I could get in big trouble for doing this.
Amber let out a sigh of relief. This was it. Lyle had everything ready, and she was about to get out of this mess. Sure, she might show up really late in the morning, but she'd be back in the morning with the bangle. She shuddered at the realization she was going to have to tell Aurora to stop handling her accounts and take them over herself… but, hey, her sister would probably like that, right? And if it meant she'd still talk to her...
Yeah, no problem. So, if I sign all of this, and I bring the money in the morning, and you get to take money out of my account, you'll make everything right?
That's right. Lyle's got you covered. You can rest at ease.
And the bangle? You'll have it in the morning, too?
Lyle kept himself from smirking, feigning surprise. She was asking exactly the questions he had hoped she'd ask. Oh, how he loved this moment, when someone who had already been robbed came into his office, desperate to get back what they had lost. He didn't exactly know what was happening to the items that were stolen, but he did know that - as long as it happened before the end of the week - he could make a few calls and get those items delivered right to his office. It gave him a means to squeeze even more out of his most desperate customers. He had even started planting rumors about his black market connections, so he could attract even more of the people who his partners were robbing.
Your bangle? The thing that was already stolen? You're busting my chops! That's not how insurance works! I can't do that. I'd love to, but I can't pay out for what you've already lost. I'd be bankrupt in a week if I paid out after the fact.
Now Amber did spring from her chair, anger creeping into her normally cheerful voice as she shouted at the otter across the desk. She couldn't have wasted her time here… she just couldn't have…
But you said you could help me! And I don't want money! I just want the bangle back!
Lyle, well-versed in his art, forced a sigh. He looked into Amber's eyes, then cast his gaze towards the ground, looking contemplative and melancholy. Amber's words were mere whispers, now, and, her eyes, darting back and forth between Lyle and the clock on the wall, were beginning to well with tears.
Please… please… Lyle, please…
Finally, after what felt to Amber like an eternity, without raising his head, the otter spoke. As he spoke, he wrote down a number - quite a sum to throw around, even for a member of the Argyris household - on a notepad and slid it across the desk so Amber could read it.
Alright. Look, I hate to see people like this. I see it too much. At least I usually get to pay people. But, look, I have connections. People on the black market. They can find anything, buy it up for me. There's gotta be a fee, of course. There's always a fee. And it's big. Hazard pay. You get it. And if you want this back by morning, I'm really going to have to call in some favors. So there's an expediency fee. But if you give me this? Bang. It'll be here in the morning. Guaranteed. Can you do it? We'll shake right now. You can go wait for the banks to open, and I'll start making calls. Deal?
He wasn't lying, for once. He did actually come through on his promises to get people's stolen items back, as long as they came in early enough for him to make it possible. It was important. He had to keep his word-of-mouth reputation intact, had to get people to trust he could get their good back.
Amber hesitated to reach out and shake Lyle's hand. She stared at the number Lyle had written, a lump in her throat. She had enough that she could cover it, though she'd either have to reign in her spending for a month or two, or she'd have to… no. No, she couldn't ask for more money. Her sister would give it to her, even if only begrudgingly and with suspicions, but she couldn't ask her for it, not after all this. She wasn't even upset about the money. More than anything, she didn't want to have to lie to her sisters, to lie to anyone, really. She just wanted this problem to go away, and what problem in her life had she not been able to solve by throwing cash at it or letting someone else take care of it for her? It was something Aurora had always criticized her for, for ignoring her problems in favor of solving them as quickly as possible so she could get back to having fun. But what was wrong with that? What was wrong with her wanting to put this night behind her, and to go out with her sisters and have fun, and to go and visit Ravio and show him that all was well, so they could have fun together? Hadn't she and her sisters agreed, even, that they were all going to take a day for themselves at Valhalla sometime in the next week or two? She wasn't wrong for wanting that to still happen, without any ill feelings from this night hanging over their heads…
Right?
Trying to push the doubts out of her head, Amber reached out and shook Lyle's… paw, really. As for the otter? He finally allowed himself to smirk.
See? You can calm down. Rest. Easy. Relax. Lyle takes care of everyone who walks in his door.
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