"The Key of Oblivion"

IV

A nondescript cafe on a small street, immersed in the autumn haze, smelled of freshly ground coffee and baked goods. Three people sat at a table in the back, almost blending into the interior. Alan, a thin man with sharp features and a gaze that seemed to frost the glass. Across from him, a woman - Olga - warmed her hands with a distant air over a large ceramic cup, her gaze fixed somewhere in the distance. Between them, immersed in digital chaos, sat Jake. His laptop was connected to his PDA via a patch cord, and from there, a thin cord ran to some homemade device with blinking LEDs. From the outside, they could have passed for old friends discussing their weekend plans.

"So Longreath took the bait," Alan said quietly, his voice low and slightly hoarse. "His mutt called on an open channel like a complete idiot."

"That means he was forced," Olga replied equally quietly, her gaze fixed on the steam rising from her cup. "Someone's playing us. I don't like it. Someone could get hurt."

"Information cleaner than a sterile operating room," Jake muttered, scrolling through the data on the screen. "And yet, there's zero of it. No name, no description of the artifact. Just the Edelweiss Hotel and Longreath's fury. As if someone had swept away all the unnecessary information with a broom."

Alan grinned, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"I don't care what this thing is. The main thing is that this fosterling doesn't get it. That's enough."

"That might not be enough if there's something serious behind it," Olga retorted, finally looking up at him. "Rumors say that Alice is after this artifact. The one from the stories."

"Stories," Alan snorted, leaning back in his chair. "Horror stories for losers who can't explain where their artifact went."

"I checked," Jake chimed in, tearing his attention away from the screen for a moment. "Not a single confirmed trace. Only myths and whispers in the dark corners of the internet. If she exists, she's a ghost."

They were silent. There was no meeting, no vote. Just silence, as the decision was being made.

"Okay," Alan abruptly pushed the table, causing Olga's cup to clink. "Sitting here is pointless."

"Agreed," Olga finished her coffee in one gulp and stood, adjusting her loose jacket, revealing a holster. "We can only find out what's there once we get there."

"I'll find the fastest route," Jake was already coiling up his wires, his movements quick and precise. "And I'll check what hotel it is. If it's a trap, it's better to know beforehand."

The stream of passersby. There was no fuss, impatience, or panic. There was only a confidence born not of a plan, but of a strange, almost intuitive understanding of one another. They walked, discussing the road and possible obstacles like ordinary people, and none of the passersby could have guessed that this trio was heading towards something that could change their lives, driven by a simple desire to prevent evil from winning. And by the fact that they always acted exactly like this - spontaneously, but always together.