They were given a room with two beds. Which was a good thing because Cassian might have saved Ethelred the trouble and killed himself if he had to share with the thief. It was already difficult enough to keep from following that particular instinct when faced with the pest’s continued presence. 

At least I managed to take back the piece of the staff, Cassian thought. All I have to do is find the right moment to leave. 

He was sure he would be able to find a proper opportunity. If not, Cassian would make one. Anything to get away from the thief that had wormed his way into Cassian’s life, clinging on like a particularly stubborn barnacle. Said barnacle was currently putting on quite the show. 

“My dear friend is quite sickly, you see, so he was afraid he would disturb the people of your town with his presence. It was poor luck that he happened to have an encounter with the creature.” 

If Cassian didn’t know any better, he would be tempted to believe the thief’s story. As it was, he was able to recognize it for the load of shit it was. He huffed, resigned to having to put up with the thief for at least a night as he worked on bandaging his arm. 

The wounds the bear had inflicted were far more showy than they were serious. Once the bleeding had stopped, it was a simple matter of cleaning the wound and wrapping it up. A healthy amount of one of Cassian’s salves would aid in the healing process. He was only glad that the thief was too busy dealing with the townspeople to be a bother. 

Besides, there were some things Cassian would rather keep to himself. 

He ignored the obnoxious chatter outside and finished wrapping up his arm. Practice had made him quick at the task, each turn of the bandages neat. Cassian was relieved when he was done, tucking away the unused materials back into his bag and making a note to replenish his supply of medicines. 

Cassian was interrupted by the door opening. He looked up to find the familiar face of the thief currently sporting a wide grin that was just a little too gleeful for Cassian’s liking. 

“What did you do?” Casian asked. The question surprised even him because he really shouldn’t have cared. He told himself it would be good to know if he should be ready to get run out of town.

“Why do you always think the worst of me?” Cassian didn’t deign that with a response. “In any case, you’ll be glad to know that aside from securing a room for us, I’ve also been promised some fair compensation.” He closed the door and walked further into the room. 

“For what?” Cassian couldn’t imagine why they should be paid on top of being given a fairly comfortable room for the night. After all, no one had asked them to take care of the beast and Cassian had certainly not expected to be rewarded for doing his best to stay alive. 

“Well, I might have mentioned my sickly friend just so happens to be skilled enough in magic to provide some protection spells.”

Cassian briefly debated the merits of murdering the thief and leaving. It was a shame that he wasn’t ready to deal with the pain that getting away would be. 

“There’s a lot wrong with that claim, not the least of which is that we’re far from being friends.” He took personal offense to that claim. “You’ve really made a whole career out of lying and stealing, haven’t you?” 

“Gotta work with what’s at hand,” the thief shrugged. Absolutely shameless. 

“And what makes you so sure I can do what you’ve already promised these people?” 

“What does it matter if you can’t? Just pretend! Wave your hands, mutter some nonsense and throw out some sparkles.” 

Once again, Cassian found himself feeling deeply offended. He watched with a glare as the thief began to rummage around his belongings, likely for a change of clothes, given the filth he was covered in at the moment. Cassian himself had been more than happy to get cleaned up after the scuffle in the woods. 

“And why should I play along with your ridiculous act?” 

The thief stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Cassian. For some reason that was completely unknown to Cassian, he seemed surprised. One would think he would know better after spending the last couple of days with Cassian. Then again, the necromancer had never been confident of the thief’s intelligence. 

“What do you mean why? We’re getting paid for it. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to sleep indoors when we get the chance and that means we need money.” 

Once again, there were a lot of assumptions being made. Cassian didn’t have the patience or care to pick each apart, but there was one he would definitely need to clear up. 

“There’s no we,” he said. “I will be leaving as soon as possible and, with any luck, will never cross paths with you again. I don’t know what you’ll do, but I don’t really care.” 

“Fine. Then hand over the staff.” 

“No.” 

Elias threw his hands up in frustration. 

“Why do you even need it if you’re not going to search for the rest of it? Isn’t your plan to go die in a cave?” 

Cassian was getting tired of glaring. Truly, being around the thief was testing what little patience he’d cultivated over the course of his life. 

“Do you know what to do with it? Or how to handle it? How to seal its power away so as to not attract creatures that might want it?” Cassian doubted it. By the looks of the thief, he knew all too well that Cassian had a point. It was still unlikely that he would admit it. 

Unfortunately for Cassian, he was rarely wrong. 

“Isn’t that a good reason for you to come with me? You know how to deal with the staff and I bet you can find the rest of it. I can deal with Ethelred and whatever trouble we come across.” 

“Oh, I didn’t know you were a great warrior. All this time I thought you were just a fool of a thief with a toothpick for a weapon,” Cassian said dryly. He watched with satisfaction as Elias’ face reddened. 

“You know, you’re not my first choice of travel partner either, but we both have something to gain from this.” Cassian looked at Elias, unconvinced. “Wouldn’t you like to get back at Ethelred for…whatever it is he did? You keep saying he’s petty, well you’re damn petty too from what I’ve seen. One would think you’d jump at the chance to be as big of a pain in his ass as possible.” 

“How eloquent,” Cassian said dryly. “This might be hard for you to grasp, but I’m tired. I’ve had to deal with Ethelred for longer than I would wish on anyone and fighting back has only gotten me a miserable life, so you’ll understand if I don’t feel like chasing after him.” 

In response, the thief let out a sound of pure frustration before storming off. He didn’t bother to argue after that, likely too tired both from the fight earlier as well as from arguing with Cassian. It wasn’t long until the quiet of the room was broken by the not-so-quiet snoring coming from the thief. Cassian wasn’t surprised the man could manage to be irritating even in his sleep. 

Cassian laid in bed, staring into the darkness of the room and—to his great misfortune—found that he couldn’t sleep. At least, not with Elias snoring away just a short distance away. More than that, there were the thoughts the thief had stirred up within Cassian’s mind with his determination to go after the rest of the staff’s fragments. 

Much as Cassian hated to admit it, the thief had a point about him being the only one with the ability to deal with the fragments. He was used to the power the magical artifact held, having depended on that very power since escaping from Ethelred. That very power made each piece that remained lost a potent danger. Though Cassian tried to ignore that thought, it weighed on him—more so after their run-in with the bear. 

Even he wasn’t sure of just what trouble the power of the staff could conjure up. It was a volatile thing and, in his desperation, Cassian had scattered it into the winds without any thought as to the consequences. At the time, Cassian had only sought to keep it out of Ethelred’s hands. Now, he had to wonder just whose hands those pieces would end up in. How many people would be hurt because of his carelessness.

And now the thief will fix my mistakes, he thought bitterly and glanced at the faint shape of Elias as he slept. 

The thought haunted Cassian until he finally drifted off to sleep, though he didn’t do so before making a choice that he could only hope he wouldn’t come to regret.