Skrakch rolled his eyes when he saw Zacharias drunkenly hand off the small vial of swirling liquid to Winifred. He should’ve known that the wench wanted a fix. Here she was, newly Chosen and all she could think about was twisting her head with Dragon’s Blood. It was pathetic, and no, he didn’t just think that because he was jealous. Well, not -only- because he was jealous anyways..

And Zacharias? Judging by the rapidly swelling black eye he had, he’d either cheated in his card game or tried to flirt with one of the serving wenches again. That was the downfall of spending his time with two idiots. They were way too wrapped up in silly little things that didn’t matter like drugs and drinking rather than looking at the bigger picture.

He’d been hoping that once she’d gotten her fix, Winifred would’ve been more open to talking about her time away. As it happened, they’d been distracted by yet another one of Zacharias’ plans for riches.

“I’m nae gonna lie. I’ve missed the feeling of sorting out a new gig,” Winifred said as she cracked her knuckles and tucked into the massive meat pie she’d ordered, ignorant or uncaring of the gravy running down her chin.

“And this one is bloody massive!” Zacharias’ replied. The Halfling seemed a little less drunk than when Skrakch had left him which made him question if he’d been putting it on a little. “We’re talkin’ big time here. The Casey Auction!”

“What? Ye must be jokin? Are ye off yer wee head?” Winifred asked through a mouthful of meat and pastry.

“Like you have to ask,” Skrakch said darkly. “This is just drunken nonsense,” He continued with a shake of his head. Zacharias was prone to some idiotic ideas but this one surely had to take the cake.

The Casey Auction was an annual event that took place at Lord Casey’s palatial mansion in the Residential District. Lords, ladies, and even royalty would come from all over the world for Casey’s grand ball and auction. It was the best place to find the rarest and most powerful magical artifacts. Once in a lifetime pieces that would be sold to the highest bidder.

It was, undoubtedly, most thieves' dream to get the chance to swipe something from there. But it was an impossible task. The Casey Estate was heavily guarded and extra security would be in place for the event. There would be no way even the most accomplished rogue would be able to sneak in undetected...

“Ya think you’re so bloody clever Squeakers,” Zacharias said with a roll of his eyes. He leaned over the table, swaying slightly. “But as it happens, I’ve got my hands on a ticket! No need for us to sneak in when we’re invited!”

“Oh yeah? And how did someone like you get a ticket to The Casey Auction?” Skrakch asked. “Let me guess. You forged one. That’s really smart. They’ll never be able to tell!” He added sarcastically. “This is just another one of your hair-brained schemes,” He shook his head dismissively.

“Look Squeaks, you wanna get Chosen don’t ya? Besides, it ain’t forged. Doesn’t matter where I got it. Fact is, I have it. Which means we’ve got an easy way into the biggest score in Dray’Mel,” Zacharias replied smugly.

“Aye, and ye reckon they will nae be suspicious if ye go in there with a pit fighter, a Rat, and a Goblin in tow?” Winifred asked doubtfully.

“Of course, I don’t love,” Zacharias grinned smugly. He leaned back in his chair as though he were a king and he was waiting for his unruly courtiers to settle down. “That’s why you’re gonna use the ticket. Squeakers and the Goblin Idiot can hang around outside for backup and I figured I’ll find me own way in.”

“What?” Skrakch and Winifred said simultaneously, both sounding utterly incredulous. Winfred was shaking her head and started to protest about ‘going back into that world’ while Skrakch glared at the Halfling. There was no way he was going to sit around on the sidelines! How the Hells would he ever become Chosen doing that?

“Well clearly we need to think about this more,” Skrakch dismissed the idea offhandedly. “But Winifred, come on. Now you’ve gotten your fix, tell us about the Pact.”

“Oh, here he goes…” Zacharias muttered with another roll of his eyes. He summoned a nearby serving wench and passed her his empty tankard.

“This is important.” Skrakch insisted. “Start with how you used it to snap Ornn’s arms like twigs. I’ve seen that Golem break a man's spine in half, more than one actually. There’s no way that didn’t require superhuman strength,” He continued. It was hard to keep the jealous edge out of his voice.

“Aye and ye think something I could tell ye would change much for ye?” Winifred asked. “That bloody stone beast had me danglin’ like a sack of tatties. It was only a matter of time after Sykes finished with the wee man here and then I’d be next,” She explained with a shudder. “But that’s the thing…I figured, what’s the point in being scared? So I got angry. Really fuckin’ angry. I snapped a wee bit I reckon and I took it out on the stone beast,” She shrugged as if it had been some simple feat. “And what else? Well, ye know. I killed the Elf and then I got taken away.”

“Yes, yes,” Skrakch waved a paw, irritated. “That makes sense being that your Crux is Break, but-”

“Oi, hang on a sec. If your word-whatever is ‘break’…then how the fuck does that translate to you being able to move faster than shit off a shovel?” Zacharias asked.

“Do I look like the expert?” Winifred replied. “I cannae tell ye, only guess. Probably because I broke myself as well as the Golem? It’s like if yer a wee slouch in the pits…ye can only lift 100 pounds aye? Well, if ye managed to lift 200 pounds one day then ye’d be breaking that limit right?”

Zacharias seemed to take the explanation and shrugged, getting stuck into yet another tankard full of mead and making eyes at some poor soul across the room. Skrakch however, rubbed his temples. So she broke her own limits and got Chosen? What kind of bullshit nonsense was that? Had that not been what he’d been doing this whole time?

“Well I’ve heard some uses of a Pact can be esoteric,” He continued. “But does that mean you’d be able to completely lift Ornn? Or Hells, jump the city walls in a single bound? There’s got to be some upper limit no?”

“I’ve told ye Rat, I’m nae expert,” Winifred said peevishly. “All I know is that now I’m stronger, faster, and better than I’ve ever been. It’s nae my fault that yer nae up to snuff,” She added with a smirk.

Skrakch just couldn’t understand it. The implication of her Crux didn’t make much sense. ‘Break’ was such a general term. Most of the Cruxes that he’d read about and studied were more fantastical in nature. Hells, Blazock’s Crux seemed more magical than it and frankly, a lot more terrifying to boot…

Perhaps it had something to do with a Chosen’s approach to life? The old Goblin was a master of runic magic while Winifred…well, she just punched things. Thinking about it like that made it seem as though a Crux reacted to the personality of its owner. Or maybe it just meant that it was bound by Winifred’s own understanding of the word. Break in the literal sense of physically smashing something as opposed to breaking hold between realms or breaking someone’s mind.

“Been a while since I’ve seen ye so distracted Rat,” Winifred said as Skrakch continued to ponder the meaning.

“He’s working on some new nonsense theory,” Zacharias chuckled.

“My theories aren’t nonsense,” Skrakch shot back, letting out a small hiss, his fur bristling. “They’re perfectly logical which I know is something that continues to elude you, Zacharias. Just because I have a theory or two that doesn’t work out…that just means they need more work.”

“Well how about laying off the theories for now and getting back to, oh, I don’t know…only the biggest fucking score of our lives!”

“Fine,” Skrakch seethed. “But one more thing…Chosen always receive a title alongside their Pact,” He turned back to Winifred with interest. “Please tell me it’s something more embarrassing than The Burned Husk,”

“Ye’ll only take the piss,” Winifred answered with a scowl.

“Almost certainly,” Zacharias grinned, watching her expectantly. “Don’t leave us in suspense!”

“Fine…” Winifred sighed heavily. “It’s the Unbending Scrapper,” She muttered darkly.

A few seconds of silence passed. Skrakch could feel the smirk blossoming on his face threatening to turn into a full-blown grin. He looked across the table at Zacharias who chuckled into his tankard and shook his head.

“Aye, well, at least I have a title!” Winifred replied defensively.

“You certainly do my dear,” Zacharias raised his tankard to her. “A toast to our good friend Scraps here! Long may she not bend!”