Linked by Blood and Bone
Thalen didn't bother knocking; he threw his weight against the warped timber, sending the door swinging inward with a sharp squeak.
"We're closed," rasped an old, gravelly voice from the shadowy depths of the cluttered room. A blind woman with deep facial scars and cloudy, milky-white eyes sat hunched over a bubbling bronze cauldron, stirring a thick, violet concoction with a wooden spoon. "Unless you brought gold or blood, turn around and take your dying heartbeats elsewhere."
"We didn't bring gold, Madame Kaelin," Thalen said, stepping into the dim light and lowering his hood to reveal the stark academy crest embroidered on his ruined collar. "But we brought a problem that concerns you jus