After the bodies had been cleared away, Sayla had returned to the inn with Norris. She still found it hard to think back to what happened and questions swirled through her mind like a raging storm. She hadn't gotten the opportunity to properly tell Norris about what happened but it was hard to find the words to begin.
"That man, what was his name?"
Sayla raised her head. Norris was sitting on a chair across from the bed she was sitting on, looking at her with an indecipherable expression. "Did he tell you?"
She shook her head. "No, he only told me where his younger sister lives." She paused, "Do you think it's strange too?"
"What?"
"I mean he died so suddenly...he was fine just a few moments earlier."
"He had a heart ailment." Norris replied matter-of-factly. "The magic must have put a strain on his body and caused his heart to fail."
Sayla bit her lip, unable to counter that. He was just a random person she met for a short while so it wasn't like she knew enough about him to decisively say anything. Suddenly remembering something, she jumped up.
"Hey, what happened to that purse?! The one he stole."
"Oh that." Norris didn't seem to care about the purse in the slightest. "I tried to give it back to the person it was taken from but I was told to just throw it away."
"What? Why?!"
"You know why." He said annoyed, eyebrows furrowed. "It was completely ruined! After that reckless thing you did, it's no surprise."
"I already told you I'm sorry!" Sayla yelled, "I just wanted to help. I won't do it again okay?!" She flung herself back onto the bed. It was the first time she found herself properly at odds with Norris. She didn't blame him- as a master guide, it would hurt his ratings if one of his clients were to suddenly die. If that man hadn't chosen to save her then she would be dead. Although it was really him balancing out the scale if you think about it- not that thieves had any obligation to even out the karmic scales.
"It's fine." Norris said, flatly. He had already gone back to his default settings but she could tell that he felt as awkward as she did by the twitch of his eyebrow. "What was the thing you wanted to tell me?"
"What thing?"
"Something about his 'dying wishes'."
"Ah that's right!" Sayla jumped up again. "That's why I remembered the purse. He told me he stole it to give as a gift to his younger sister."
"Is that why he told you where she lives?"
"Right! Let's go now before it gets too late."
"It's only morning though..." Norris grumbled as she dragged him out of their room. A whole day had passed since the incident and she wanted to say that her sleep was plagued by nightmares of what she witnessed but surprisingly, she had slept really well. A part of her wondered if it was callous that she could go into such a deep sleep but the louder part of her felt like she deserved that much after everything that happened. Norris didn't directly say anything but he seemed to agree with that and though they hadn't known each other long, she found herself trusting his judgement.
***
"Is this it?" Norris looked at the building, unimpressed.
"This should be it." Sayla affirmed. She was carrying a white purse in one hand- it was the closest colour and design to what the thief had stolen. The main difference was that it had more accessories added to it-ocean pearls and gold leaves raised the extravagance by a lot. It was lucky that Sayla knew a seller in that area since purses weren't a very common item in such places. Only the wealthy could afford them and they weren't any more functional than a nap sack.
Sayla knocked on the door to the apothecary and a thin middle-aged woman in a green uniform opened it. She smiled sweetly at them, "Welcome, how may I help you?"
Judging by her mannerisms, she was the owner of the shop. As if to confirm that, the woman quickly headed behind the counter. "We tend to open later in the day but I suppose it's an urgent issue."
Norris looked at Sayla, rolling his eyes with a know it all look. Sayla felt her face turn redder than it already was. It wasn't like she knew the timings of the apothecary and she just wanted to get their task done with as soon as possible!
She coughed to offset her embarrassment and looked at the owner apologetically, "Sorry, it's not really an urgent issue. Do you happen to know if a young woman lives on the floor above this? She has an older brother."
The owner paused. "Do you mean Len?"
"Ah I don't know if that's her name but it's probably her."
The owner hummed, resting her face on her palm as she thought. "I don't know much about her family situation but she told me that they went abroad. They found a job in another kingdom and took it."
"Really?" Sayla was starting to question if she was the right person. She didn't think that the thief would have such a family background. Even if they did, why leave them there alone? It also seemed like she was hiding her brother's existence.
"Yes." The owner quickly turned to look at the clock behind her, "She should be coming back from magic lessons anytime now."
"Magic lessons? Do you mean she's also a magic wielder?!"
"Don't be so loud." Norris interjected, saying something for the first time since entering.
"It's okay, I don't mind." The owner replied reassuringly, "Yes, she's actually the teacher there. I think today was her day off but sometimes she gives short one on one lessons to her students."
"That's amazing..." Sayla was still in awe. Magic was a very foreign concept to her. She had once tried asking Norris to tell her more about it, hoping that he would be more knowledgeable as a guide but unlike her- he didn't seem to view magic the same way.
'How's it different from a weapon or skill?' He had told her.
'I guess if you've seen it all your life then it isn't.' She answered but Norris was like her in the sense that he didn't have any magical abilities. Would someone who didn't really not feel jealous or amazed by those who have it?
Just as she was about to ask more questions, a bell chimed signaling that the door had opened and a young woman dressed in a frilly gown opened it. "I'm back." She announced, cheerfully- closing the door without noticing the two strangers.
"Ah Len. You have some visitors."
"Visitors?" Len looked at them confused, "Who are you?"
"We're here to give you this." Norris said bluntly, taking the purse from Sayla and tossing it to Len.
"Hey be careful with that!" Sayla exclaimed, shocked at how quickly he had passed it off to her. In fact, he was already heading towards the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" She whispered to him furiously.
"Something about her feels off." Norris replied, pointing not so subtly at Len. Luckily, she was too busy staring at the purse to notice.
"We're already here so just bear with it!"
"Is this for me?" A voice from behind them put a halt to their argument as Len finally looked away from the purse.
"That's right!" Sayla said, clapping her hands together. "Your brother told us to give it to you and he also told us to tell you not to worry! You see, he's gone on a trip-"
"Thank you!" The girl was smiling at them but Norris was right, something felt unnatural about it. It almost seemed as if she was trying to cut Sayla off.
"Would you like to come up for some refreshments?"
"Sure!" But Sayla wasn't the type to dwell on things like that so she had no trouble agreeing. Norris appeared unconvinced but he nevertheless followed the two of them upstairs.
The staircase was crammed behind a door and made entirely of creaky wood. Sayla wasn't abnormally tall either but she found herself having to lower her head to avoid hitting the ceiling towards the end. Thankfully, the staircase opened into a spacious living room.
"You can sit down." Len said, already sitting down on one of the chairs. Her tone was different than earlier though...
Sayla and Norris took a seat on one of the longer couches as Len started flipping through a book that was placed next to her. "Sit here for 10 minutes and then get out." She said at last, not even looking up at them.
"What?" Sayla's eyes widened.
"Are these your true colours?" Norris retorted, raising an eyebrow. He turned to face Sayla, "Are you sure this is her? I think we've just handed the purse over to a liar."
"But this is definitely the place..." Sayla trailed off.
Out of the blue, a burst of hot wind went by her face. The wall across from her was charred. She let out the air she didn't even know she was holding.
"Fire magic?!" She said when she finally came to her wits. Norris was already standing up, glaring at the aggressor who was still flipping through her book.
"Is that proof enough for you?" The aggressor said without batting an eye. "You ran into a gloomy looking guy wearing gloves who can run fast, right?"
She shut the book and set it down on the table next to her.
"He's my older brother."