Inside the long-abandoned bar of his parents, Leo became increasingly anxious. Adry and Jany should have long returned from their errand, as they sought to sell that golden cup found in the secret passage beneath their current dwelling, the Fiery Inn.
The Inn, belonging to his family for centuries, was not only the place where he grew up and still lives, but also the only thing his parents left him with after disappearing into sheer nothingness. But that moment is already a decade old. Since then, the three of them have been living on what they could find in the cellar nestled in between bottles of leftover booze and dusty family heirlooms.
Leo often found himself wondering how all that junk managed to end up in their home before coming to the conclusion that an Inn really is a place where all sorts of weird people manage to end up. The gold cup, the other two were currently out trying to exchange for money, and a meal was still on another level. Golden and inlaid with all sorts of stones shining brilliantly in the light of the azure moon, its value couldn't compare with anything else they found up to this point.
Dwelling on memories of their short but eventful life, Leo nervously expected the return of his companions. Still, the moon continued to rise up the sky and illuminate the salon with its old sofas and low tables, yet the street outside remained eerily silent.
In their absence, Leo was helpless against the gangs roaming the streets of the market district, but for some unexplainable reason, even they avoided the streets this night. Just then two indistinct faces looked over from the far side of the street, their silhouettes hidden by pitch-black robes and hoods. Like shadows, they dashed across the street, one holding out a small shining object - a key! Instantly on alert, Leo sprung up from the sofa he had made his own at the sight of the signal, just in time to see three bulky men chasing behind the shadows. It almost looked unfair looking at the scene as the two running away looked about half as big as their pursuers in their mad dash. Leo quickly opened the door to allow them to enter. The three men abruptly stopped in their tracks, clearly afraid of approaching the dark and worn-down building. Defeated, they slowly made their way across the street and into the dark alleys and backrooms of the market district.
As they hurriedly removed their disguises, the grinning faces of Adry and Jany were revealed in the light of the lamp they cautiously turned on. Grinning from ear to ear, the red-haired Adry held out a stash of neatly folded green bills she pulled out of one of her inner pockets. On their surface, the faces of various middle-aged men could be seen, alongside numbers ranging from 1 to 10, their total value being almost 300 royal pounds!
"Didn't think the cup would be this expensive!" exclaimed the stunned Leo, a smile creeping up his cheeks.
"We neither..."
"With this much money, we can afford our current lifestyle for almost a year!"
Pulling out a small silver object, the short boy with ruffled black hair, Jany, explained: "Some shady guy at the hidden market by the church said we should give this to you. Said that it belonged to your parents or something like that..."
"He was also the one to buy the cup!" added Adry.
Having a closer look at it, the object in Leo's hand was a small emblem engraved with a golden phoenix which was hard to notice, given the rust and dirt on the emblem. On closer inspection, a miniature sun could be made out behind as well.
The silence was ultimately broken by Adry stating that the two had brought dinner. Soon three small paper bags stained with grease were resting on one of the short tables, a tantalising fragrance rising up from within them.
That alone was enough to make Leo salivate at their first real meal in almost a week. Opening up the bags, steaming buns emerged from within them, one for each of them. They didn't have steamed buns for almost three months now, their meals consisting mostly of the leftovers of the nearby restaurants and stale bread with milk. Now the buns even seemed to be filled with meat and vegetables.
For Leo, the warm dinner felt almost as good as the money as they slowly and silently began their dinner.
Soon the three drifted off into a quiet and peaceful sleep, their day being a complete success.
...
When Leo awoke in the middle of the night, the emblem in his back pocket seemed to emit a slight warmth. Pulling it out, he could see the phoenix slightly glowing as if the ashes beneath it hadn't quite died down.
"What a strange little thing..." he murmured whilst slowly falling asleep amidst the comforting warmth...