A few weeks had passed since Jak had nearly frozen to death. It was still cold and wintery, but the weather had turned milder, with all but the deepest snow melted.

The initial excitement of a spark at his shrine had calmed down for him, but the fact it seemed to have stayed there and kept signalling its presence had made him more determined in his prayers than ever.

Jak walked through the streets of Perthame, the city that had been his home for his entire life. People, with the improved weather, were bustling on the midday streets. There were hawkers, peddlers, errand boys, labourers of all kinds and Even a procession of priests to the god Lugus passed by, their white robes with glittering golden embroidery a semi-rare sight outside of the temple district.

The sound of music and laughter distracted Jak from his journey towards his next contact. A small crowd had gathered in the street ahead.

It took a moment of wheedling around the crowd before Jak could see what the crowd was interested in. A troupe of entertainers were performing in the centre of the crowd, three of them were playing a merry tattoo, while two more were acting the fool, causing the crowd to laugh at their escapades.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jak saw a movement. An elderly sour-faced merchant was standing next to Jak, thoroughly distracted by the troupe. A street kid, taller and slightly better fed than Jak, with a mop of black hair, was gently cutting at the merchant’s purse strings with an old knife.

Just as the knife cut through the string, the merchant looked down at Jak and the boy who had been robbing him, the urchin’s hand still outstretched and holding the purse.

The merchant bellowed, “Thieves!”

The music stopped as the entire crowd turned to look. Jak and the boy both bolted away from the crowd. The elderly merchant began running after them with surprising speed for someone so old. As they ran through the crowded street, the merchant called out “stop, thief!” repeatedly behind them.

A balding labourer ahead of them stepped forward to grab them. The boy slipped past him with a laugh. Jak was not so lucky. The labourer roughly grabbed his collar. Jak knew if caught he was probably dead and the fear induced adrenaline made him throw his full weight into keeping running. There was a ripping noise as Jak broke free, leaving a large part of his top behind.

Jak stumbled at suddenly being free. He fell forwards, running a couple steps on all fours before regaining balance and carrying on with very little of his momentum lost.

Jak ran on further, catching back up to the thief. They took several turnings into alleyways and quieter streets.

Once shouting had faded into the distance and they had made it to the safety of a quiet street, both boys dropped to the floor panting heavily. It was a few minutes before either spoke.

“I’m Tham,” the boy said at last, quickly wiping his hand on his top before holding out to Jak to shake.

“Jak.” Jak replied shortly, still exhausted from the sudden run. He shook Tham’s hand.

“I thought you were dead when that guy caught you,” Tham said, raising a fist above his own head and drooping his head with his tongue sticking out to mimic the victim of a hanging.

“Me too. My shirt’s all ripped.”

Tham looked sympathetically at Jak. “You working for anyone? There’s a few of us we all work together under mast- under a leader and share out what we make. I reckon you’d be good at it.”

Jak shook his head and waved away the idea. “No thanks, I don’t want to be a thief. I’d rather earn my coin honestly. You know what happens when we get caught.”

“So, what if it’s risky? I can tell you’re on the street like me. There are plenty of ways to die here every day. A friend of mine froze to death during that snowstorm a few weeks back. Plenty of ships looking to press-gang a new cabin boy and who knows if you’ll ever come back from that. Even a few criminals, I here the slavers will pay a lot for a pretty young boy...”

“I’ve survived this long.” Jak said defensively.

“Yes, but I reckon you’re by yourself. What happens if you get sick? What happens if you can’t make money for a few days?”

“I’m not alone. I’ve got a spar-” Jak caught himself, but not in time.

Tham’s eyes went wide in shock. “You’ve got a spark helping you?”

“I’ve got to go,” Jak said hastily, standing up.

Tham scrambled up and gave Jak a calculating look. Before reaching into the pilfered purse and pulling out a silver.

“Here Jak, take this. I reckon you’ll need it and it was my fault that you nearly... y’know.” Tham made the hanging gesture again.

Jak reluctantly took the coin, very aware of the cold air seeping into his ruined top.

“I reckon we could be friends. Where you staying?” Tham asked.

Tham saw the hesitation to answer in Jak’s face and spoke again before Jak could respond.

“I understand. Bet you’ve got a nice little hidey-hole and you don’t want to blab about it. I’ll tell you what, if you want to track me down, ask for Gios down at the monster’s head. He’ll know how to find me.”

“I gotta go, “ Jak said cautiously.

“Sure, see you around,” Tham said, waving towards Jak as he left.