They eventually reached a crowded, open-door bazaar that seemed to be populated with more civilian looking individuals. Kaelen pushed past swaths of people to make way for the group, yanking her legs away from grubby hands of beggars that littered along the sandstone walls. The air was rank with the scent of putrid sweat and dust, mingled with dried spices and freshly harvested protein; the further into the bazaar they got, the more people became crammed from shoulder to shoulder trying to shop for necessities. Naomi ducked to avoid a shoot of otatea bamboo swinging from the shoulders of a vendor, nearly stumbling into a woman balancing a stack of clay bowls. Everywhere, hands darted around each stall - some to buy, some to steal, some to beg.

"Why on earth are there so many homeless?" Thom narrowed his eyes - even as one of the taller, wider men in the room, he was being constantly bumped into and his pockets fondled, though they'd find nothing. His grip on Radriel's leash tightened.

Radriel shrugged. "One of the oil factories burned down a few weeks back, so lotsa people lost their jobs."

At that exact moment, a scuffle broke out from behind them. There was shouting, the sound of flesh against flesh, and then a shower of floury white powder erupting and showering the crowd.

"Also," Radriel grinned. "This ain't exactly a city known for honesty."

The shouting increased, and Kaelen threw a dirty look back at the group. "Less chatting, more moving. I don't want to stick around here any longer than we have to."

After what seemed like an eternity, Kaelen veered sharply down another alley that one would've missed altogether had they not known what to look for. Cassien went in first before her as a precaution, never releasing his hand from hers as he guided the way. The path was narrow - the men had to slant their bodies sideways to fit, with Thom so tightly packed in that he almost didn't fit. The walls were made of cracked brick, and the space was so dark that one could've gotten lost if there hadn't only been one direction to continue towards. The noise of the bazaar faded behind them to an eerie quiet, and Naomi could sense Cassen's body tensing side by side to hers. She knew exactly what he was thinking, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't - where were they going?

They popped out one by one from the narrow crevice, facing a sand-coloured tavern with a faded sign that read 'The Iron Mongoose.' Kaelen stood frozen by the steps for several breaths, and Radriel nudged her.

"We, uh, are we gonna go in any time soon?"

"Shut up," Kaelen scowled at him. "Give me a minute."

Thom, Darius and Cassien looked at each other questioningly. There was nothing immediately dangerous in their vicinity as they could see - the alleyway was relatively well lit and free of vermin, and it seemed their narrow path had simply been a shortcut to avoid the main bustling streets of the city where even more rambunctiousness was taking place. Aryn was puzzled, and Naomi could see the faint shimmer of silver in his eyes as he observed Kaelen's emotions, though he said nothing.

Even Kaelen didn't know why she brought them here. She hadn't come here before, not once - not even when she found out about the establishment's existence. Stubbornly, she told herself it was for the sake of her mission; going anywhere else where the branding might be recognized would also pose a risk of recognition, that someone might slip and reveal that she was still actively working under Alistair.

But wasn't it also possible that she was trying to show some sense of vulnerability in the only way she knew how?

Finally, she let out a breath. "Let's go."

They headed inside to find tables were jammed together and relatively void of customers. The walls were plastered with framed pictures and faded murals of a once brighter looking Redgorn, and a worn staircase sat in the far corner that presumably led up to the sleeping rooms. At the left hand side of the room was a sturdy bar counter manned by a tall, bulky man with cropped red hair and a long scar running from ear to chin. His skin was tanned and weathered by the sun, years of hardship creasing his face.

The man didn't need to look up as he hollered at them. "Sit wherever you want, breakfast special ends in an hour. Someone'll be by to take your orders."

"Oh, thank god," Thom didn't question it, racing for a table and dragging Radriel behind him.

The rest followed behind except for Kaelen and Naomi, who waved at Cassien to continue with her. He raised a brow, but otherwise didn't question it.

She walked beside Kaelen, speaking softly. "Everything okay?"

For once, her voice was missing the edge it normally did. "...Yeah. I'm fine. You go first, I just… want to sort out the bill first, for eating and staying here."

Naomi hesitated before offering a small smile. "I'll make sure to pay you back double once we're back in Calypsa."

"You don't-" Kaelen's brows furrowed just as she caught onto the attempt of a joke. The corners of her lips twitched up. "Right. Thanks."

Naomi smiled again, slipping away to rejoin the others. Kaelen turned back, taking a deep breath before approaching the counter. "Need to settle the bill."

"Well, miss, you just got here so there's not really anything to settle yet. But if you wanna prepay-"

"I was told I don't have to pay at all."

He halted midway, his face twisting in confusion as he continued wiping the counter. "Do I know you?"

"No," Kaelen replied, clearing her throat. "But I know you. I have - had - a friend, who told me I could come here for a safe place to stay."

The man grunted. "We get that line a lot 'round here. Who's your friend?"

She tilted her chin up, a pained look in her eyes. "Kaelen Borinsky."

His hands froze, and finally, the man looked up. Naomi noticed even from a distance that they were a startling aqua blue - almost the exact shade as Kaelen's. She held back a gasp, eyes locked onto the scene.

The man let out a shaky laugh. "And how do you know her?"

Kaelen didn't flinch. "Doesn't matter. But she told me if I was ever desperate for help, that I could come here. That you owed it to her."

"I don't owe-"

"Yes, you do," Kaelen nearly hissed, knuckles white as she clamped the underside of the counter edge. "You abandoned her. You sold her. She has - had - no one to help her."'

His face twisted with a semblance of regret, anger, and disbelief at her audacity. "You don't know what you're talking about. I… I had no choice, times were hard-"

"And what about her? You don't think times were hard for her? She was twelve, you son of a bitch," Her voice was full of venom, a deep guttural growl.

He swallowed hard, and for a moment, a flash of recognition ran through him. "Are you.. Are you-?"

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Kaelen's nostrils flared, and for a moment, she almost slipped. But when she spoke, her voice was flat and clipped. "No. She died a long time ago."

"You-" His voice cracked. "She had the same eyes. We have the same eyes."

"Yeah," Kaelen looked away. "She said you'd say that. But I'm not her."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but either out of cowardice or a hard denial of who was really in front of him, he closed it shut. Kaelen knew he would. Her father had never owned up to anything he did in his life. It wouldn't have mattered if she stood there actually claiming to be his daughter - he would've found some way to excuse his atrocious past.

She cleared her throat once more. "So, about that bill."

"Stay as long as you need," The man nodded slowly. "It's on me. No questions asked."

"Coin, too," Kaelen pressed, and their eyes locked. "Whatever you sold her for originally - I want double."

He nodded once. "Alright."

The man crouched low under the counter for a few minutes before standing, placing a coin-filled bag on the counter. Kaelen swiped it and turned away swiftly, but her hand shook ever so slightly. The man watched her go, silent and willfully, purposely ignorant.

**

They took full advantage of the Mongoose's covered amenities for the entire day as a chance to rest and fill their bellies. In the late evening, the two women took the chance of an empty bathhouse to scrub their muddied clothes and less than tidy hair.

For the better part of an hour, they kept their eyes politely averted from each other and made no attempt at conversation; Naomi, nervous that she might slip up and expose what they suspected, and Kaelen, unable to find the right words to convey her thoughts.

They sat together by a wash tub, elbows hunched over the edge as they wrung out their freshly washed clothes. Kaelen spoke first in a blurt, shocking even herself. "I'm sorry."

Naomi's fingers froze on the twisted cloth. "I'm sorry?"

"No, I said…" Kaelen clenched her teeth, forcing it between slits. "I said I'm sorry."

Naomi blinked in surprise before a flood of word vomit rambled out from her mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry! I said 'I'm sorry' as in 'I'm sorry, I misheard you' but really I should've said 'pardon me' to be more clear."

Shut up, shut up, shut up, Naomi internally scolded herself.

"It's fine. I just… You know. For… everything. For how I've treated you. Talked to you. I'm not…" Kaelen trailed off, scowling at her own reflection in the grimy water. "I'm not good at this."

One heartbeat passed, then two, then three - and Kaelen nearly rescinded her moment of vulnerability at the silence before Naomi spoke, her voice thoughtful. "Thank you for saying that. I don't… I don't hold any ill will towards you - I always hoped you'd come around when you were ready."

The red-head tapped her foot compulsively, warring from within to expose yet another truth. "That… That man at the counter. The bartender. He's… That's my shit excuse of a father."

"Your father-?"

She nodded, lips in a tight line. "First time I've seen him in ten years. Don't even know why I bothered. He sold me off like cattle, and I came here expecting some kind of big apology for what he did to me. But he didn't even… He recognized me. I know he did. But still, he couldn't even own up to it."

She clenched her hands into a tight fist, knuckles running white. "Stupid idea."

"It's not stupid," Naomi affirmed. "It's reasonable. It's human."

Kaelen's brows scrunched together. "How are you always so okay with everything? Always so accepting of everything that gets thrown at you?"

"I'm not. But I have to be," Naomi responded simply, as if it were written in stone. "It's how I was raised."

Kaelen's mind wandered back to the night that Naomi had shared a brief glimpse of the strict rule she lived under her mother's thumb. Maybe she did understand, after all.

"So you don't hate me? Even though I treated you like shit pretty much from the get go?"

Naomi almost laughed. "I never did, but I think that's something I should be asking you."

"Fair point," Kaelen pursed her lips. "...And I don't, either."

"I figured," Her voice was impossibly soft, frighteningly sincere. "Otherwise you wouldn't have pulled me from the water."

"I had no choice."

Naomi flattened the dress against her chest, folding it downwards towards her legs. Her words echoed Aryn's like a voice drifting through a cave. "Everyone has a choice. No one would've known if you had let me drown or drift off - you chose otherwise. That's all I needed to know from the very beginning."

Naomi paused once more before she gave a half-grin. "I'm sorry your father is a piece of crap."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Kaelen laughed. Really laughed - teeth shown and cheeks pinched. Even though the two women couldn't be any more different - it was then that Kaelen realized they were also much, much more alike than she originally thought.

**

By the next morning as they departed in clean clothes and replenished rations, Naomi felt a tinge of hope she hadn't felt since the first sight of Cassien back in Harsbach. Refreshed, the group left the Iron Mongoose behind and sought for a blacksmith's shop at Kaelen's recommendation.

The interior of the shop was cool and dimmed, wall hooked with displays of varying armor pieces: reinforced chain mail, scale mail, leather pieces, and even a full suit of heavy metal behind the main shop counter. Weaponry lined racks that sat in neat rows, and the shop's proprietor - an older brown haired woman with charcoal smeared skin and thick callouses - went through each available piece. Money appeared to be no issue with a flash of Kaelen's arm and a portion of their coin. In fact, the owner appeared to treat them with utmost caution at the very sight of it.

Out of earshot, Darius spoke. "What do you think is up with that branding?"

"I don't care as long as I get this blade," Thom replied, running his hand along the smooth top of the longsword before showing it to a disinterested Radriel. He whistled impressively. "Seriously, we're paying a fraction of what this would normally cost."

Cassien helped adjust a split-skirt tunic on Naomi, weaving the straps at her lower back. "Most likely something to do with an inner circle of Alistair's."

Aryn held a hand crossbow at eye level, gauging its weight. "Brandings are usually done for identification and commitment to a specific gang or organization. But since Kaelen escaped from Redgorn, they couldn't have altered it to prove she's a disloyalist."

Darius frowned, tugging on a new pair of leather gloves. "Still…"

"Shhh, shhh," Thom hushed him, and tossed a dagger that he caught in the knick of time. "I wouldn't worry about it as long as it gets us some shiny new goodies."

"I think we should look on the bright side," Naomi said as she tested the flexibility of the fitted pants beneath her tunic. "She's been helping us a lot, and well, some of us haven't been very grateful…" She gave Cassien a teasing look, rising to her toes to peck his lips. "Not that I'm calling out anyone in particular."

Cassien shook his head with a smirk, swiping the tip of her nose playfully. "Hush, you."

"Oh yeah," Darius scoffed. "I'm so grateful she hasn't killed us yet."

"Well it's going to be pretty hard to do that when she's paying for us to be fitted and armed," Naomi glared as she flicked Darius's ear. "Be nice."

"I am being nice," Darius grumbled, slapping her hand away. "You talked Frosty here into not letting us-"

"Good news and bad news," Kaelen interrupted as she walked towards them, seemingly not having caught their conversation. "Good news: Everyone's been paid up for a full set each including either one martial weapon or two simple items instead. Bad news: as far as climbing equipment goes, we've got rope and some nails. That's it."

"No harness? Or any kind of saddle or straps?" Darius questioned.

"Not in a blacksmith's shop, and definitely not with our budget," Kaelen responded, holding out the empty bag for effect.

He clicked his tongue. "Alright. If that's the best we've got, then I guess we have no choice but to make it work."

Just as Kaelen was about to turn away, Naomi sharply elbowed Darius deliberately, crouching low beside Cassien, pretending to help him adjust his boots. He mouthed a yelp of pain at her, and Naomi shot him a dirty look while jerking her head towards an inattentive Kaelen.

He groaned, pressing his lips into a tight line. Darius cleared his throat. "Thanks."

"Thank you, who?" Naomi corrected quickly, covering her words with a fake cough at the end.

Darius rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Kaelen, for graciously providing us with the equipment we need to slaughter your boss."

Kaelen stilled, face morphed into a confused look. "Where is this coming from?"

He pointed at Naomi. "Nomi's fault."

"Hey!"

"It is! You told me to be nice!"

Aryn nudged Darius. "You were being sarcastic, not nice."

"You're not helping, Ryn," Darius scowled almost playfully at him.

Naomi laughed lightly. "Well… We should be. She got us a place to stay, hot food, hot water, and now all of this. So I think we should all show a little more gratitude."

Everyone went quiet, exchanging looks at Naomi's defense of Kaelen. Even Kaelen seemed caught off guard, despite their shared moment yesterday. To be graceful in private was one thing, but to openly stand up for her was another.

Radriel broke the silence. "Pretty and nice. If I wasn't strapped to a leash, I'd take her out for a drink."

A heartbeat passed before Thom broke first with a snort, Darius and Aryn holding back an amused laugh with their hands to their mouth, and even Cassien bit back the smallest smile. "Try it, and I'll tie a second rope around your neck."

Still, one by one, the others nodded their heads appreciatively at her. Even if they still held their suspicions, it couldn't be argued that she had contributed a major effort to get them to where they currently were. Kaelen couldn't hide the tiny grin that passed over her strong features. For the barest moment, it felt like all of them - excluding Radriel - finally shared a single, unified moment since they had departed from Tudor.

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