He stood from his seat and gestured for her to follow, leading her into the storeroom, and from there into the basement. Underneath the inn, in this quiet place, the fingerless barkeep seemed to live, and were it not for the lack of windows, the room wouldn’t be distinguishable from a very nice bedroom and office combination.

There was a large solid steel vault next to the bed that apparently pulled double duty as a nightstand, though it lacked any sort of dial. Quincy uttered an incomprehensible word, pressed his hand against the metal, and it clicked open. From within he retrieved two pouches - one bulging and one nearly empty - which he pressed into her hands.

“One’s got four hundred gelt in Cold-iron Sovereigns, the other’s got a hundred gelt in silvers,” he sighed, having already composed himself. If she hadn’t seen him on the verge of breaking down only moments prior, she wouldn’t have been able to notice the subtle sadness in his smiling face. Even still, he met her eyes with a steely gaze of his own, adding on “The room’s yours until sundown. A moment longer and it’s another eight gelt.”

Something felt off here. He didn’t seem angry or even upset that he’d been found out, but rather a mixture of relief and grief. Like he simultaneously wanted the beast to be slain, but had had a fondness for its human personality.

“One more question. Did you truly send people to be eaten by the beast, or was that…”

“Something I told him so he wouldn’t try to run away, yes,” Quincy admitted. “I only sent beast-slayers I truly believed could put him down, all others I either denied altogether or set on a wild goose chase. The fact their failures served to stave off his hunting sprees was an unintended benefit.”

He wasn’t lying, or if he was, she couldn’t tell. Zel opened the emptier pouch, retrieved two of the coins contained therein, and held them out in offer, “Two-hundred for the contract, two-hundred as hazard pay.”

The coins were heavy and ice-cold in her hand, but she knew better than to betray her ignorance of their nature by looking at them in curiosity.

Quincy looked at them, then back at her. A shake of his head.

“I don’t back out of a deal once I agree to it.” he said. “If you want to give it back, spend it. I’ll return the favor, though - I’ll let you know that the governor came looking for you while you were gone.”

“The governor? What would the governor have to do with me?” she raised an eyebrow, stowing the coins back into their pouch. The memory of what she heard the gate guards say when she left flashed through her mind just as Quincy confirmed it.

“You did challenge his son to an honor duel and proceed to beat his teeth in. You’re not Ikesian, so I wager you’ll be fine. Now, if you don’t mind...”

Zel was more than satisfied with the outcome.