Going Back to the Hotel

Lydia found Shad in the Lobby, where she had left him. She sat back down at his table and dropped the pouch on it. “Done. It was no end of hassle getting it there, but it’s over now. The guy was a prick.”

“He is what you would have been had both your parents' souls been owned. I thought you would benefit from some perspective on the matter.” He poured the pouch onto the table. “These coins are magic power. Owned souls, placed in gems, boiled in molten gold, crystalize into them before being cut into shape.”

Lydia looked at the coins, each one a different colour of crystal, with gold veins running through them and making up the circular shape. It was as if someone had taken a crystal flower and squashed it onto a gold coin to merge them.

“Was is it worth it?” She asked, counting a dozen on the table.

“It is difficult to say. You can keep the eleven. You will have expenditures during your stay. I will take one to represent the start of your repayment. You can give me as much or as little as you wish. The only deadline is for the total to be paid before your ****.” Shad took a single coin that disappeared into his sleeve while he gathered the rest back in the pouch and pushed it towards Lydia.

“Right. I need a drink and several showers.” Lydia got up and returned to her room after grabbing a bottle from the bar.