Valis and Adam made their way to the fishmonger's building, or at least they thought that's what it was. From the outside, it looked like it was about to collapse, as if only someone's sheer willpower was keeping it standing. The walls were gray, the plaster chipped, and the wooden sign above the entrance was broken, with only a single letter left: "F".

"Is this... it?" Adam asked.
Valis replied with a slight hesitation in his voice, "Let's find out, I guess..."

Piles of trash were stacked in front of the entrance. They had to move them just to reach the door. Valis slid the key into the lock, estimating his odds at fifty-fifty. But the lock gave way immediately. He turned the key, opened the door, and they stepped inside.

The smell of rotten fish hit them like a punch. Adam covered his nose with his forearm, trying not to breathe it in. Valis froze. The stench brought back memories; this was the same smell that filled the rooms where the Finger Cutters used to feed him. He stood there, paralyzed for a few long seconds.

"Sir Veragon?" Adam asked uncertainly.

Valis snapped out of it.

"Don't call me that," he growled. "Call me Valen like we agreed. Now... let's get to work."

The place was disgusting. Even with some windows open, the stench lingered. Valis checked one side of the building while Adam went the other way. A moment later, Adam called out:

"Valen, can you please come here?!"

Valis joined him and saw what had surprised Adam.

A red-haired teenage boy sat in the corner, staring at them defiantly, as if he was ready to fight.

Valis said firmly, "Who are you? What are you doing here? We rented this place so you really have to leave."

"I've got nowhere else to go..." the boy muttered.

Despite an angry look and furrowed eyebrows, somewhere deep inside Valis did feel a little bit of empathy towards the boy. He understood him, he was once in the same place, with nowhere to go.

"You can stay until we're done cleaning. I'll pay you a few coins, but after that, you'll need to leave, understood? What's your name?"

"...Eggie..." the boy whispered.

"Wedgie?!" Adam who normally seemed poker-faced this time laughed out loud. "That's funny..."

"No, it's Reggie!" the boy snapped.

Valis stopped them both. "Alright, alright. You want a job?"

The boy nodded.

And so, the three of them began cleaning the old building.

Working with Reggie wasn't easy. He clung tightly to his odd convictions, mostly old folk superstitions, like avoiding entering the rooms where doors opened inwards or not stepping on the first step of the staircase, believing that the boundary between worlds thins there.

But Valis didn't mind it. From the moment they met, he felt an odd connection with the boy, as if their fates shared a common thread.

Reggie was tall and skinny, with messy hair. But what caught Valis's attention the most was his hand. It was scarred and gnarled from an old burn. The moment he saw it, he was reminded of his own pain. A wave of sadness passed through him while thinking of the boy who, clearly, had suffered in his life too.

'Maybe when the operation starts, I'll offer him a permanent contract,' he thought.

At one point, He saw Reggie crawling across the floor.

"What is he doing?" he asked out loud, confused.

Adam sighed and rolled his eyes. "He saw a raven outside the window and said it was a bad omen. He claims that if he sees one first thing in the morning, it ruins his whole day."

Valis smiled slightly. "I kind of agree with him..."

After a few days, the building was finally ready. The floors were scrubbed clean, and the stench of fish had long since aired out. Some furniture was still usable, but most would need to be replaced. The ground floor now housed a warehouse, an office, and a front room, and upstairs were the sleeping quarters. Luckily, the building had running water, which meant Valis's room came with an en-suite bathroom.

Val sat at the desk in the office and began writing a letter to Ron, informing him that the building was secured and ready to receive their first shipments of steel. He also requested two or three trusted members of his unit; he needed hands to work. The letter was deliberately vague, just in case it was intercepted. No one should suspect what Valis was really doing in Ladven.

After sealing the envelope, he unrolled a map of the city. They have to start looking for buyers. Tomorrow, they will begin looking for contracts. He slid small wooden pieces across the map, thinking through the best areas to search for clients.

He didn't even realize when he dozed off in the chair.

...

A whole night had passed. A knock at the door woke him up. Adam stood there with a steaming cup of coffee.

"Sir, drink something warm," he said, glancing down at the map.

"Adam, stop calling me that," Valis replied dryly, cracking his neck after spending the night behind his desk. "From now on, I'm Valen."

In the evening, Val together with Adam set out into the city, walking through streets Valis had never been in before. The farther they went, the narrower and more suspicious the alleys became.

"Wait," Valis muttered. "We're going the wrong way. We're supposed to find the Queen of Hearts tavern."

Adam looked around. "No, no... I'm sure it's here..."

They stopped in front of a wooden sign. Outside, a large group of men was already gathered, waiting on the stairs, queuing to the entrance.

Valis said quietly, "Adam... this is a brothel..."

Adam responded, louder than he intended, "I'm telling you, Valen, this is the place you marked on the map."

Valis understood instantly; he must have shifted one of the markers with his arm when he fell asleep in the office.

"Let's turn back," he said, pulling his hood lower over his face.

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him:

"Wait. I need to check something..."

Valis froze. That voice; he'd recognize it anywhere. Deep, husky, with a gravelly undertone. Maybe slightly deeper now than before, but unmistakable. He didn't even have to turn around, but something inside him wanted to know for sure.

He looked at the person behind him.

'Shit! ' he thought immediately.

It was him.

Raven.

There was no time to think. He bolted upstairs into the building.

Pushing through the crowd, elbowing past strangers.

"Excuse me! Please wait, there's a line here!" someone shouted.

But Valis wasn't listening. He charged through the building, weaving between customers and workers. The heavy scent of perfumes hit him as he ran through the corridors. He could hear some women moaning behind the closed doors and accidentally knocked over one of the ladies, but caught her before she hit the floor.

"Sorry! Is there another exit?" he asked her urgently.

"Yes, around the back!" she said quickly, surprised.

He was gone in an instant, darting through the back alley and vanishing into the maze of narrow streets. He ran so fast, with his heart racing, all the way back toward the port and his rented building. 

Raven was seven years older now. He seemed just the same as he remembered him, but also completely different.

There was no trace of the innocence of youth. In that boy's place stood a man: taller, broader in the shoulders, with a commanding frame and confident moves. He looked powerful. His black hair had grown longer since the last time Valis had seen him, and it fell loosely around his face. When their eyes met, just for that split second back then, it was like being caught in the gaze of a predator. Valis felt a chill spread down his spine. For a moment, he felt like a vulnerable prey.

He did wonder, 'He did recognise me, right? Or was it just my imagination? I need to calm down' it wasn't time to show himself just yet..

'But what was Raven doing there, in the brothel? Was he visiting this shady establishment back then when they were engaged, too?' Somehow, he felt angry, that thought only fueled his hatred for Raven.

A few moments later, Adam caught up with him by the docks.

"Are you okay? Valen?"

"Yeah... Thought I saw someone I knew. Just a familiar face. But I might've been mistaken."
He took a breath, trying to calm himself down. "Let's get ready for the incoming shipments. Where's Reggie?"

"Full moon tonight," Adam said, sighing. "He's probably hiding in some corner, trying not to tempt fate..."

"We need to speed things up, Adam", Valis responded firmly.

...

In the next few weeks, they slowly increased their stock of steel and two more buildings nearby were rented as warehouses and run by his newly arrived unit members. Some of the material was arriving directly from Avene, but the majority they purchased directly in Ladven. Valis intended to deplete the region of steel to leave the market desaturated before starting his operation.

He hired Reggie permanently and kept sending him together with Adam to secretly spread the rumors in the nearby taverns about a new merchant in the city, providing all sorts of services, and among them, supplying steel.

He called it simply "Valen's Guild & Supply". Not too obvious, not too weird. Easy to spell and perfect for subtle operations.

Soon, it will catch an interest of local tradesmen and blacksmiths, who were interested in buying steel at a great price.