While Jazz waited, he analyzed the wall of the house. The wood was dark gray and he recognized it as being brought in from the nearby forest. It was harsher to the touch than the materials he was used to, and there was no coat of paint on it. He wanted to knock on it to gauge its resistance, but abstained in case it was thin and then he could alert someone.

Right on time, Jinx returned, holding a heavy chain.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, a little startled.

"Nicked it from the blacksmith. It might take him some time to figure out it's missing. Hands out."

"You're not tying me up with that."

"I am if you want to step out into the open and join me in the inn."

Jazz gritted his teeth wondering if the promise of a warm bed would soothe the humiliation. "I'd rather be tied under different circumstances."

"Cute, but it's either this or you wait out here while I go snoop for information."

That was definitely out of the question, so with a groan he reached out his wrists and conceded to playing a prisoner. He even decided to go all in, so he hunched and walked with a slight limp to indicate that Jinx might have roughed him up at some point.

The inn was easy to spot since it was one of the few buildings with lights on and was the largest in the main square. The inside was marginally warmer than the outside and everything, from the bar to the tables and benches, were made out of the same dark wood.

There were few patrons inside, obviously not guests but rather regulars of the tavern side, but they all halted their conversations as Jinx walked in.

"What?" she challenged, her Endirian flawless. She didn't bother waiting for an answer but headed to a table in the back, yanking Jazz along.

He made a show to stumble, but followed her and sat in front of her at the table in the corner. The seat was surprisingly uncomfortable.

"Hey!" The barkeep, a large man with the belly the size of an ale keg, rushed over to them. "You can't have that thing in here."

"I beg your pardon?" Jinx said, her tone deadly.

"That..." The large man nodded towards Jazz. "Vermin belongs outside."

"I see your point," she said with a curt nod. "But I intend to sell this vermin for top coin, so I will not be leaving him out in the cold. It does not appear that this establishment has a stable."

The innkeeper huffed. "A stable? Where do you think you are? Corosa? Ain't no one in these parts who owns horses."

Jazz opened his mouth to ask something, but she kicked him under the table. It took all his willpower not to curse.

"Yeah? What about the army?"

The man narrowed his light eyes at her. "Where you from, lass?"

"Don't lass me, you simpleton," she said between her teeth. "It's none of your fucking business where I'm from."

"Then get out of my inn."

"Gladly. And I'll let my guild know they're not welcomed in this shithole either."

"Gu-gu-guild?" The man's eyes moved from her to Jazz and the chains. "My apologies. Would you like some food and ale?"

Jazz raised his head enough to lift a questioning brow at Jinx, but she completely ignored him, still glaring at the innkeeper as if he'd mortally offended her.

"I asked you a question, moron."

"We haven't seen any army here for years."

Jinx accepted his answer with a slight nod. "Yes, I want food and ale. And a room for the night. Also, bring something for my possession as well."

"I, um... I'm sorry but we cannot allow the thing at a table."

She let out a long sigh. "Fine." She pulled on the chain and half-dragged Jazz out of his seat. "On the floor, worm!"

He obeyed at once, glad that he hadn't resisted out of reflex. She pulled further, indicating that he was to come and sit next to her bench. It was a stroke of brilliance because this way, he could see the room, too, and had the wall right behind him so he could lean against it.

This appeased the innkeeper because he scurried away to fetch food and beverages.

"What was that?" he whispered, not raising his head to look at her.

"People here really hate Iridians."

"Yes, okay, fine. I caught that. Why did your mention of a guild scare him like that?"

"I'm going to assume that Talia has guilds, too. Merchant and manufacturers." She kept her voice low as she propped her chin in her hand. "Here, it's more than that. There are certain guilds which are very dangerous. One of them is the slave traders. You see, slavery is not exactly legal in Endir, but the hatred for Iridians is so great, the authorities look the other way. So the people who practice it are either supported by the Assassins' guild, or are backed up by the people in charge."

"I see." Jazz analyzed that bit of information. "So you are dangerous."

"Very. By the way, don't touch the food he brings you. It will be garbage. I'll save you some of mine."

Right on cue, the fat innkeeper hurried back holding a pot of stew and a tankard of ale for Jinx and a wooden plate for him. He let it drop at Jazz's feet, not even looking at him. It was filled with moldy cheese and a slice of bread which looked harder than a rock.

"Get some water, too," she ordered. "For me."

The man nodded and rushed away.

"Interesting about the army," Jazz said. "I'm glad you asked."

"I could guess it's what you wanted to know when you unwisely opened your mouth."

"You're a cruel slave trader. It's turning me on, not going to lie. Do you think fornicating with your slave is frowned upon here?"

"Shut up," she said, kicking him lightly.

He chanced a glance at her and was satisfied to see that she'd covered her mouth to hide her smile. They fell silent after that, Jinx enjoying her food and him studying the patrons in the inn from under his hood. The atmosphere was rough, much like it was in Yarik, so it was hard to identify whether there were any changes. Being this close to the border, he supposed they'd be a harsher crowd and they would have to go deeper into the country to get information.

The conversation was mostly inconsequential too, focusing on the day to day of the people in the village. Jazz was a second away from tuning it all out and focusing on his impending headache when more interesting words caught his attention.

"... he swears he saw a Cusith in the forest," said a thin man with ginger hair seated at the bar.

"Bullshit," his companion said. "There hasn't been Cusiths in them woods for decades."

"Yeah, well, Jorje would disagree."

"He's a drunkard anyway!"

"Aren't we all?"

The two laughed and changed the subject to dying crops. Jazz waited a few more seconds then looked up at Jinx. She didn't seem to have heard the conversation because her narrowed eyes were fixed in a different direction. The sound of footsteps indicated someone approaching their table, so Jazz lowered his head again.

"Where'd you pick up this one?"

"What, so you can steal my source? Fuck off," she said between her teeth.

"I wouldn't be so dismissive." The man dressed in a heavy black traveling cloak slid into the seat in front of her. "You reek of Iride."

For a moment, Jazz saw her stiffening, but then she drummed her fingers against the table. "Huh, let me see. I come here with an Iridian slave. Where could I have picked him up?"

The stranger leaned over the table. "So you've been to Iride. Are the rumors true?"

Shit. Jazz hadn't expected to be questioned about Iride when they'd crossed the border to ask questions about Endir. He only prayed to whichever god would listen that Jinx would find a way to deflect.

"It depends," she says. "I've heard a lot of rumors about both Iride and Endir lately. Hard to say which are true."

The stranger hesitated. "Rumor has it that there's a new king in Iride."

Jinx huffed. "Rumor has it that there's a ruler in Endir as well."

"There's all sorts of rumors flying from Corosa and stupid peasants are prone to believe them."

"I could say the same thing about Iride's side of the matter. There are no roses growing in either country."

They were at a stand-still. The man in the cloak pulled back and the lower side of his face became visible which was not of much use since it showed a dirty blond beard.

"You know, the thing about magical creatures is that they need magic to return. Endir hasn't seen magic in over thirty years."

"Neither has Iride. If I'm not mistaken, the cause is the same."

"Not entirely. The death of the Witch King chased the magic out of Endir. Iride was just too afraid of it."

Jinx kept her poker face even if she knew it wasn't true. It wasn't the death of the Witch King which had depleted the magic, but Lucille's sorrow over it and her decision to torch everything in her path after she'd lost her daughter. Jazz had barely been born during the war so he couldn't know for sure, but he had the suspicion that Endir was very different before, when it had magic.

"The effect was the same, so who cares?" Jinx asked with a shrug.

"Rumor has it magic is returning."

"I've heard rumors that Endirians are fleeing to Iride."

The man tensed at this and fell silent. Jinx waited for about a minute before she leaned back in her own seat.

"As you can tell, rumors are bothersome things. You can't really trust them and they are worth nothing."

"I disagree. Rumors are worth much if they come from a good source."

"I'm very interested to know why you would believe me to be a great source," she said, turning his words around.

"You come from Iride with a slave the size of a mountain. I'm very interested how you managed to capture him and keep him in check."

"He's bad in the head," she said without missing a beat. Jazz pinched her calf, but she expertly ignored him. "And yes, I did come from Iride. However, I will not exchange information for free."

The stranger now seemed more interested. "How much?"

"I don't need gold. I'm about to get my fill for this one. I would appreciate some equally valuable information."

The man leaned closer. "There are rumors that the army is on the move."

Jinx leaned over the table, too. "In what direction?"

"I don't know that."

"What of the Steward?"

"Oh, that is highly valuable information."

"More than Iride opening its borders with Annora and Talia?"

"They opened the borders?"

Jinx relaxed back into her seat, a smirk on her face. "Whoever said that?"

"The Steward is rumored to be dead, but this is indeed merely a rumor. I'm not even sure where it started," the man said quickly. "Things have been... odd lately."

"Odd how? And yes, the borders are now open for trade."

"There seems to be a shift happening. Even the air feels a little different. Crisper, colder. It's very cold for this time of year." The man drummed his fingers on the table. "The opening of borders is a big change in policy."

She only shrugged. "This is about all I know which could be of use. Apparently, things are changing in both kingdoms. Which is bad for business."

"True, true." The stranger now seemed lost in thought. After a few moments, he got up and left without a parting word.

Jinx focused on her food again, her eyebrows bunched. Jazz could do little but wait, even if his knee was bouncing with repressed energy. He glanced around the room again and noticed that a few of the patrons were giving them odd looks. Even if the conversation had been hushed, who knew who that man actually was. What Jinx had shared had been valuable, but not enough to endanger Cage or Iride.

"We need to talk," she muttered, standing and taking the bowl of stew with her.

"No shit." He made his way to his feet, keeping his hunch and limp.

As they passed the bar, it was obvious that the innkeeper was appalled that an Iridian slave would be sleeping in one of the rooms, but Jinx glared at him, so he didn't complain and just called out, "First door on your left."

Once they reached a small and rickety room, Jazz let the chains slide down his wrists, pulled his cloak off and received the food from her. He was famished, so he practically inhaled the stew which was not half bad.

"It's obvious that something is going on," she mumbled, checking the window. "And we're not safe here."

"I don't think we'll be safe anywhere in Endir," he replied through mouthfuls of bread. "But we did gather some interesting insight."

"Yes, true." She dropped the curtain and sat on the small bed. "Kat's presence is being felt. I especially found his observation about the air interesting."

"Fits Kat's icy nature." He dropped the bowl on the table and sat next to her on the bed. Surprisingly, it didn't feel much better than the floor. "The army hasn't been around, which most likely means they're not planning an invasion yet, or it hasn't reached the stage where they dispatch troops."

"And the magical creatures returning means that the land is seeing magic again, just like Iride."

"Kat definitely took the throne."

She nudged his shoulder gently. "And here you were claiming it would take her a long time."

"Lucille is a very volatile factor in all this."

"As is Cecille. Have you even seen her since she dumped us on the shore?"

"No." And he wasn't sorry about that at all. "Either way, this is just one border village. We should go deeper into enemy territory and see what we find."

Jinx nodded, but her expression was reluctant enough to warrant a questioning raise of his eyebrows.

"I don't like this," she said. "You're in constant danger here."

"So are you if they figure out you work for the king of Iride."

"Yes, but they have to figure that out. I look Endirian."

"And I look Talian."

"The difference between Talians and Iridians is too insignificant for these simpletons to catch. Their first impulse would be to kill you and then check your race. All this hatred..."

Jazz took her in his arms and rested his chin on top of his head. "I know, love. It gets to you after a while. We're all humans, after all. But a history of war cannot be erased just like that."

"A history of war," she huffed. "We should take turns sleeping. I don't want to risk that fat innkeeper calling the town guard on us or something."

"Agreed. I'll take first watch." He let her go, pulled out the only chair in the room and rested it against the door.

Jinx gave him a weak smile and settled in bed, obviously exhausted. Jazz was tired himself, but he leaned the chair back and stared at the ceiling, running all the information they'd gathered through his mind.

There were many subtle things, the beginning of a puzzle that formed an image they couldn't yet see. He hated doing this but he needed to. With a heavy sigh, he delved into the world of future possibilities.

⚜⚜⚜

And here we are again! I know this part is a little longer, but I didn't have a better breaking point from the first part for obvious reasons.

Changes are happening for both kingdoms and peasants are wary. Also, Jazz might be in more danger than he thought, just for looking different. Let's hope the salve trader trick works for the entire time they need to be there.

I hope you're all enjoying the story and that you're ready for things to escalate on both sides. Because yes, you will be getting Kat soon enough.