"It's fine," Bence sighed. 

They fumbled through all the different areas they'd need to poison for the dust to take proper effect. There were small holes, rat droppings, and other indicators of each spot of where the cursed creatures may be. During this, Bence was silently having to do the work he had been desperately trying to avoid the whole time, and a bit roughed up for it. He bit his tongue to stop himself from muttering curses and complaints. By the time they were done, he let out a sigh of relief and stretched his arms, feeling a few pops in his back from all the time he spent bending over to look for the damn rodents. 

"NOW, it's done," Bence muttered. 

Next time, he wouldn't hire a magic-user. In these cases, it was much better to stick to some moron with a sword than an overly powerful mage. Bence dug into his pockets and pulled out three silver pieces and dropped them into Siris' hands. A part of him wanted to refuse to pay entirely, since Bence ended up doing half of the work anyway and got a few whacks in the face. But…. If such a powerful sorcerer was bothering to help him out it either meant Siris was really dumb or really desperate. Either way, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity. 

"Here. Your pay." Bence sighed, "Look…. kid…. maybe you should go try some of the construction areas of the city? If you controlled that wind power of yours and keep it within working areas, I'm sure the laborers could find use for you." 

That was all the advice he could give the stranger at the moment. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. 

Siris silently gave his assistance until every location in his memory was handled. He had hoped he had improved in his understanding since the auction incident, but it appeared Shiloh's subsequent tongue-lashing held water. He had learned how to weave the elements, but failed to use them in daily practice. She had made it clear how vast the gap in magical aptitude between them was, but he had thought nothing of it until today. Yet despite only being able to perform a tenth of what he knew, she was experienced enough to complete tasks efficiently without trouble. He humbly accepted the payment for his work, not faulting the guard if he had decided to give less than intended. Such carelessness on his part would have been far worse than relinquishing what he earned. Bence's consolation was met by a polite bow and refusal. "Thank you for your kind words, but I believe I've done enough already. It appears I still have a ways to go." 

Though inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, this blunder-riddled encounter left Siris reevaluating what he believed and knew. The so-called misfortune deity's bold claim that there was no difference between mortals and the divine took on another meaning. Stratification over assumed station was nothing more than hubris. What good was an adept with the highest accolades if they could not do what mortals did? Turning to head for an airship bound for Iria, Siris chose to leave the shopping for another day. If it was for the materials he sought, there was no harm in waiting a bit more.