"Now let's see what we came here for." Desil pointed towards the chest while Asher dusted his cloth.

Asher ignored on the chest. He kept an eye on the tied-up woman while Desil broke the chest's latch to reveal a well insulated and cushioned interior with a small glass vial. The vial contained some kind of worm that wriggled inside.

"All this trouble for this little thing." Desil deflated as he showed Asher the merchandise.

"Ugh...put it back...And best not tell the men." Asher sighed with disgust. Before they could continue the woman began to wake up from her enforced catnap. 

"Should we question her?" Asher asked crouching over the woman with his knife in hand.

"Don't bother...She's hanged...any word out of her mouth is either a lie or a death sentence." Desil put the vial back in the chest and narrowed his eyes at the woman who was struggling to get up.

"All these people are...Hanged men...they're criminals who sold their bodies." Desil explained eyeing the talisman around her bosom a bit too much for Asher's like.

"Eyes up here...what do you mean sold their bodies?" Asher snapped with his fingers at Desil who sighed.

"They're criminals who were sentenced to die...their only alternative is signing up to be a hanged man...few years of mercenary work and you're off the hook...the catch is your soul is bound to follow orders...isn't that right." Desil looked at the disheveled lady who simply smiled silently.

"No hard feelings...make it quick please." She spoke up with a bit of desperation. Asher hesitated when he heard these words. He froze with confusion and a pang of something akin to guilt. Desil didn't miss that and walked up to her.

"Watch it pup...your wearing too many emotions." Desil said holding his gun to the woman's head. Just as he was about to shoot the woman smirked a bit that's when he noticed the crimson tattoo showing at her arm. 

He narrowly missed her head with the shot but punched her hard enough to almost knock her out again.

"You sly bitch!" Desil punched her again but Asher stopped him before he went any further.

"Who's wearing too many emotions now?" Asher said smugly but Desil was uncharacteristically pissed.

"You don't understand if I shot her I'd be dead." Desil flared at the woman who simply smiled. Blood drizzled down her mouth and her teeth were drenched with red.

"Would the hanged men come after you?" Asher asked confused.

"Worse." Desil uttered and grabbed the woman's hand and unraveled the bandage on the side of her arm to reveal a crimson deep red tattoo of a chained hourglass.

"Crims lad...thundering Crims...If I had shot her...bloodletters would have swarmed this place." Desil huffed and calmed down.

Asher shivered. He'd heard stories about the ghosts. You pay a few years off your life and the tattoo would give people a reason to think twice before gutting you. If they do decide to gut you, they'd better be ready to fight off hordes of bloodletters for the rest of their lives.

"So what do we do with her?" Asher asked eyeing the woman who was leaning against the wooden wall.

"Killing her isn't an option but torture..." Before Desil could continue the eye talisman around her neck lit with a golden light. The woman panicked trying to grab the gun from Desil's hand but the golden eye rose in the air till the woman floated slightly above the ground.

She screamed and struggled as the thorny chains dug into her neck and flesh. A minute of struggle and the vain effort amounted to a horrid look of defeat as she was hanged. The body was soon thrown to the ground motionless.

"Ugh pup...it was a long day...lets just go." Desil shook his head. He grabbed the his shield and the chest before departing to the upper deck.

Asher stayed for a minute. He stared at the talisman for a long while.

'She signed a deal too...she tried to survive...we're next...maybe dying was the better option.' Regret spoke up but Asher shook his head.

"She's a creep and a criminal...I'm different...I have to be." He spoke loudly and stomped his way back outside.

Soon after the Fang torched the ship and erased any traced of fighting before leaving. They'd gather and climb inside one of the abandoned vents. Maneuvering through the ecosystem of metal moss and machinery was an easy undertaking when you knew what to look for.

Multiple places hid signs only members of the fang recognized. These signs acted as directions to safehouses or hidden routes. The group at this point disbanded leaving Asher, Desil and two others as not to draw attention. 

Evantually they reached one of the main elevators that led them to the higher levels of the undercity inside the Crevice. Desil handed one of the operators and constables some money and they resumed their walk.

Asher kept his head down. He didn't like the slums or the undercity as the folk down here called it. The streets barely saw the sunlight and slaves roamed everywhere. He could even glimpse a guy selling drugs in broad daylight. 

They only stopped when they arrived at a bar called the winking damsel. Inside Desil nodded to the bartender and both him and Asher sat at the bar.

"One Lux and a cup of milk." Desil teased to the bartender as knocked three times on the wood. The bartender nodded and pressed a button. He gestured to Desil who got up. Asher followed the man as they both made their way to the backside of the bar where a set of stairs opened up.

"How come the code down here is a freaking Lux?" Asher asked amused by the secrecy.

"Because it's not on the menu smartass...plus it doesn't have any alcohol so when people usually order it's a signal to old Jeff that we're here for business." Desil explained, his weight echoing on the stairs that led to another Elevator. Pressing the button they descended a surprising distance.

"I get all that...I meant why a Lux...could be anything." Asher was curious if it symbolized anything.

"Oh Elend just likes the drink...ask him next time."

-------------

"Shit...that hurts." Asher was back in his room. It was big...at least big enough not to make him uncomfortable but it lacked any amenities aside from a desk and a bed.

"Why are you doing this again?" Desil asked looking at the half naked boy who was covering up his bruises with make up.

"We have the potions you know...Elend isn't always right you know." Desil shook his head and sighed.

"Elend isn't right in most times...but I'm V right now...I have to keep up appearances." Asher flinched again as he applied more of the make up.

"Plus I won't always have access to potions so this is important." Asher affirmed himself while Desil rolled his eyes.

"Then take the damned party off...Flames know I want to just sleep the week off." Desil sighed.

"You know you always say Flames that and Flames this...I'm starting to think you actually believe in the white flame." Asher mocked man who just stroked his orange beard.

"It's not belief more than it is belief...its nice to think something is watching out for you." Desil preached while Asher rolled his eyes.

"You've got the Ox spirit you're attuned to...don't see why you'd like any more watching. At least yours only ask for you to feed it nice food and not to follow a convoluted doctrine." Asher questioned the man putting his makeup aside.

"Traum has a name and he's a connoisseur of fine dining." Desil rubbed the tattoo mark around his left arm which pulsed with a faint orange.

"Whatever...I'm done...let's finally wrap this up." Asher wore his cloth, struggling a bit with the mask which always got stuck. Desil mocked him around the corridors till he eventually reached Elend's office.

When they entered Elend was pacing inside from left to right. He went a full minute before he acknowledged they're actually there.

"Calm down...we still have time before they arrive..." Desil sighed at Elend. He was privy to sylph's eccentricities. 

"I am calm...don't I look calm...any calmer and I might shoot someone and it won't be the fun kind." Elend didn't stop pacing but Desil finally grabbed and placed him in his chair.

"We got the goods...we might even make extra after dealing with the mercs." Desil laughed a bit to lay off the anxious atmosphere. 

Asher was just sitting aside. This was a regular thing with Elend. He always got anxious before a major deal. The man had a nose for good opportunities but taking the plunge just freaked him out. That was why he and Desil made a good team.

Before could Desil resolve the situation a grunt came in. "They're here." He shouted before scampering off in a hurry. When the words Echoed in the office. Desil froze while Elend sunk into his chair deeper.

"Who's here why is everybody so tense?" Asher asked confused at their weird antics. Before could either them answer a cloaked figure entered the office.

The cloak was black and covered with green runes from top to bottom. It covered everything aside from two red dots that glared at the three. Desil was standing menacingly next to Elend who was staring at the creature with an air of professionalism. 

The two managed to keep up appearances when it mattered.

"Merchandise?" The cloaked figure croaked with an unnatural voice. It was so inhumane that it sent shivers down Asher's spine. He couldn't tell if the cloaked figure was man or a woman if human at all. 

Elend snapped his fingers and Desil grabbed the chest and displayed the contents Infront of the cloaked figure. It didn't move its hand to grab the vial inside but inside a centipede like tail slithered from beneath the cloak and gabbed the glass vial.

"Good." The thing said with the same chilling frequency after turning the vial around for a long silent while. It then placed the vial back in the chest and grabbed the whole thing with its tail. 

The cloaked figure turned and began to leave without asking any questions.

"We ran into a few problems of the mercenary kind...a lot of people died...so maybe a bit extra compensation wouldn't hurt." Elend spoke as Desil tightened his grip on his shield.

The creature quickly turned around and stared at the Elend. The two red dots surrounded by darkness becoming four as if two eyes just emerged.

"Problems?"