Unwritten Rules

The inn was loud and messy, as was to be expected. The door creaked open, turning a few heads, but they quickly returned to their drinks and food. A handful of merchants sat at the far tables, with sunken eyes and low voices. The inn woman from the morning caught them as they attempted to sulk past to their borrowed room. “Not having any food?” She looked at the injuries they had all over their bodies, dry blood and bruises on their faces. Both Ren and Hibiki were about to speak, but a wooden clattering interrupted them. “Take them up with you; they’re leftovers, and you’ve worked hard at the concordium, your first job, right?” Four small wooden bowls of cold risotto were on the side with a small plate of dry bread on the side. No one looked her in the eyes, but they all uttered their heartfelt thanks and grabbed the bowls. They climbed the narrow staircase without a word with their food in hand, the floorboards squeaking underneath. Alice lingered close to Miyako, relying on her for support. Hibiki walked just a little ahead, his arms hanging loosely at his side. They reached the door and used the worn key, all of them slinking inside into the safety. The room seemed even smaller in the lack of light.

The only light piercing the room was coming from the many oil lanterns outside. The glass of the window was fogged, and the room air was stale. They entered one after the other and let their packs thud to the floor. Ren made his way to the window, the fear of the soldier being there again affecting him. Hibiki leant against a corner and fell to the floor with a loud exhale. Alice curled herself onto the mattress in a ball, and Miyako lowered herself to the floor by the window next to Ren's legs, knife in her lap and food on the floor next to her, her eyes already distant. Ren placed his back to the window. Alice began to cry, staring into her bowl, the others eating in silence.

After a bite of his food, Ren wiped his lips to remove the taste of lingering blood from his mouth. Hibiki broke the silence; he leant forward with his elbows on his knees, and his voice was too loud for the small room. “Those things—the weird rats—they were so strange; it didn’t seem like the same magic that guy used.” His head jerked toward Alice, then toward Miyako before ending on Ren. “You guys have all just…snapped at one point or another.” He pointed at Ren. “The wolf” – his hand moved to Miyako. “The pest extermination” – his hand finally pointed towards Alice. “Those…things.”

Miyako’s voice was low. and full of warning “Don’t point fingers like that.” He moved his eyes to her. as she spoke. “It wasn’t the same as before, but it wasn’t just her either. Whatever’s happening, it’s happening to all of us. It’s likely it will happen to you too.” Hibiki scoffed and moved his eyes back onto Alice. “Still though,” she flinched under his gaze, and her voice cracked once more. “I didn’t do anything. I just—shouted.” Her words broke into a sob as she curled further into a ball. “I begged them to stop, and then they came. I didn’t call them. They just…” She trailed off, staring at her hands. Ren rubbed his face and the bruise forming there, then finally spoke, his voice flat but weighted. “Doesn’t matter if you called them or not. It still happened. If that’s the wrong place… we’re dead.” Miyako chimed in. “We need to make money and quick. I’m pretty sure that soldier knows where we are.” The thought twisted something in Ren’s gut. He imagined the barkeep downstairs, the merchants, and the guards patrolling outside. Every one of them just needed one reason to decide the four were worth selling out.

It was Hibiki again who spoke, but quieter and with less animosity. “That book… Sora’s book. Are we even sure this is it? This world doesn’t feel like it started at page one. It’s too I dunno ‘established’. So much is already here. If this is really the same book, then why are we dropped in halfway?” His voice cracked. He couldn't bring himself to grin anymore. Alice’s voice followed, the tears still halfway down her face. “But if it is, then Sora…” she trembled. “What does that mean for him? For us?” Ren put down his bowl. “I just don’t think we’re readers anymore. We’re somewhere, whether that’s the book or not. We need to be careful.” Miyako leant forward. “We need a plan. We can’t hide in cheap rooms and hope no one notices. Like I said before, we need money. A lot of it. Enough to buy our way out of the city and find somewhere quiet.”

Ren nodded faintly, staring at the wall. “The papers Darius gave us—they were one-time. We can’t just walk back in if we leave. Not unless we want chains around our necks. If we want more papers or more help, we’ll have to go back to him. But not empty-handed. Miyako is right.” Hibiki leant back against the wall, thumping his head once against the wood. “So what? We just keep crawling through basements and holds, smashing rats for scraps? That’s not surviving—that’s just a slow death.” “No,” Ren muttered. “We take bigger jobs. Riskier ones. Then we leave the city, and out there, where it’s quieter, we figure out what’s happening to us. We practise it, learn to control it, whatever it is.” Alice's eyes were wide and wet. “And what if it happens again? What if next time… it’s something worse?” “Then it happens again. But better it happens out there than here, surrounded by eyes.”

Miyako's tone was wary as she sheathed her knife finally. “The Concordium – if anyone knows how magic is supposed to work in this place, it’ll be them. We can’t keep fumbling in the dark forever.” Hibiki laughed sharply. “Ask the same people we’re hiding from to teach us? Yeah, brilliant plan. Maybe they’ll give us medals too.” Ren didn't snap this time; he just looked tired. “We don’t have a choice. We need information and money, and that place has both.” Alice sniffed. “So… that’s it then? We just keep doing jobs until we have enough coin to buy our way out?” Miyako answered before Ren. “We stay here while we can; we take it in shifts to stay awake and look out for that guard.

Then each day we can save money and get out of this place; we have a few more days left with what we’ve bought. That should be enough, okay?” Alice replied meekly. “O–okay.” Ren added on to Miyako’s speech. “In the morning we can ask the inn lady if there’s anywhere quiet In the city, maybe we can find somewhere to practise before leaving the city.” Hibiki snorted and closed his eyes, muttering at them. “Whatever.” Miyako stood up and leant on the window, staring out. “I’ll take first watch so you guys get some sleep. I’ll wake you up in a few hours, Ren, so I can get a bit of sleep before the morning.” For a moment, it almost felt safe.