Tempris

Part 2: Talya

With a sigh, Taly pushed open the door to the drafty little room she now called home. It wasn't much—only a few flecks of paint still clung to the walls, the roof leaked, and stacks of old books she'd found around the gates took the place of furniture. Nevertheless, the rent was cheap, and the woman who managed the tavern downstairs generally did a pretty good job of keeping the riffraff away from the second-floor rooms.

Things could be worse... and certainly had been before she'd found someone willing to rent to a shardless.

Water dripped onto the scuffed wooden floor as Taly trudged across the tiny room, peeling off her wet clothes as she went. How she yearned for the days when she owned more than one set of clothing. When she had abruptly decided to leave the manor and her life as the Marquess' adopted ward, she hadn't thought to grab any extra clothes. That was a mistake in hindsight.

Straining her ears, she could already hear the telltale sounds of the tavern's kitchens opening down below, the staff likely getting ready for the lunch rush. Her stomach gurgled at the thought of food. It had been almost a week since she'd had the luxury of a full belly.

Looking at the bed stuffed into the corner, Taly debated just going back to sleep, but her stomach grumbled again, more insistently this time.

Okay. Shower first. Then food.

Except... Taly pushed aside the sheet that had been hung across the doorless entry to her washroom and turned the nozzle on the shower. Nothing came out. With a growl, she banged against the wall, rattling the fire and water crystals that had been embedded into a rusty metal panel on the side of the tub. The stones flickered, the tap dripped, but then... nothing.

Stepping up onto the lip of the shower, she peered over a small ledge near the ceiling. Two small violet gemstones—shadow crystals—were ensconced behind a jumble of dusty wiring. Unlike other types of crystals, shadow crystals could be used to store raw aether and then wired to power an array of different contraptions, including plumbing. The light shining from within the two crystals responsible for powering her shower was almost nonexistent, meaning that the crystals hadn't been able to collect enough aether from the tavern's primary aether grid to even allow her a cold rinse. This was not an uncommon occurrence. The last time she'd had enough water to take a full shower was almost three days ago.

"Happy birthday to me," she sang bitterly, wringing the water out of her clothes as best she could before dressing. At the very least, her unplanned dive into Lake Reginea had done a good job of washing away the dirt and grime.

Pulling on her soggy boots, she hesitated, studying the dark navy jacket she'd found at the Aion Gate several months ago. Although she considered herself quite lucky to have found a piece of clothing in such good condition, she didn't know how much good it did her soaking wet. Unfortunately, she didn't have a replacement. When she made her initial flight from the manor, she had been wearing a sturdy leather jacket inlaid with a series of very expensive protective wards, but she had traded it at the Swap last month when the salvage had been especially lean.