Ink & Crown

Chapter 76 – Following the Lead

That night, the conversation returned to the events of the meeting.

They sat across from each other at the table, the meal already served, but Eiran’s attention wasn’t on the food.

He hadn’t said anything yet, but it showed anyway. The way he kept glancing up and the way he seemed to be waiting.

Taren noticed it almost immediately.

“Go on,” he said, pointing lightly at him. “You’ve been waiting to ask since I walked in.”

Eiran gave a small, sheepish smile. “I wasn’t going to rush you,” he said.

Taren shook his head slightly. “You look like you’re waiting for a story,” he said. “Just ask.”

Eiran leaned forward a little. “So?” he said. “How did it go?”

Taren didn’t stretch it out. “It didn’t,” he said.

Eiran blinked. “That bad?”

“Not bad,” Taren replied. “Clear.”

That caught Eiran’s attention more than anything else.

Taren explained the meeting from the beginning. Where it had taken place, who was there and how the discussion had started. He kept it simple, moving through it without adding more than necessary.

Eiran listened closely, interrupting now and then.

“Wait, they just bundled everything together like that?” he asked at one point.

“Yes.”

“And they expected him to agree?”

Taren gave a small nod.

“That’s how it usually works.”

Eiran frowned slightly but didn’t argue yet.

“And then?”

Taren continued, explaining how the discussion had shifted, how the terms had been rejected, and how the conversation had ended without much room to move forward.

Eiran let out a quiet breath when he was done.

“So that’s it?” he asked.

“For now,” Taren said.

Eiran leaned back slightly, thinking it over, his earlier curiosity settling into something more grounded.

“Feels like it slipped away too easily,” he said after a moment.

Taren nodded.

“There wasn’t much to discuss after the terms were presented.”

Eiran leaned back a little, considering it.

His expression shifted.

“That Varis guy,” he said, the irritation clear now, “He’s the same one, isn’t he?”

Taren didn’t answer immediately. He didn’t need to.

Eiran let out a short breath.

“He’s always like this,” he said. “Cutting in, pushing things his way… acting like he’s the only one who knows what he’s doing.”

His tone sharpened slightly.

“Why did you even take him with you?” he asked. “You should have handled it yourself.”

Taren shook his head once. “It doesn’t work like that,” he said.

Eiran frowned. “Why not?”

“Because it wasn’t my call,” Taren replied. “I pushed for adjusting the terms before the meeting. The chief didn’t agree.”

He paused briefly, then continued, “Varis was assigned to handle it.”

Eiran didn’t look convinced. “Then you shouldn’t have let it go like that,” he said.

Taren glanced at him. “I didn’t,” he said.

That made Eiran pause. “I asked to be there,” Taren continued. “Otherwise, he would have gone alone.” His tone remained even. “And it wouldn’t have gone any better.”

Eiran exhaled, some of the edge in his expression easing, though the frustration didn’t fully leave.

“Still…” he said, shaking his head slightly. “You should have been more assertive, uncle.”

The words weren’t harsh, just honest, and Taren didn’t respond to that.

Eiran didn’t argue immediately, but the thought stayed.

“Feels like the same thing every time,” he said after a moment. “You see something, you try to help, and then it just… slips away.”

Taren said nothing as there wasn’t an easy answer to that.

Eiran hesitated slightly. For a moment, he almost said more, that his uncle should be more direct, that he shouldn’t hold back, that maybe staying there wasn’t worth it anymore. But the words didn’t come out. He already knew how that would go.

This wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed Eiran’s mind. He had said it before, more than once, in different ways, that Taren could leave, that he wouldn’t have trouble finding a better position elsewhere and that someone would recognize his experience and give him the role he should have had by now. But it had never gone far.

Taren never dismissed the idea outright. He simply didn’t act on it.

There were reasons for that, ones that were hard to forget, the kind that didn’t fade just because circumstances changed.

Eiran understood them, maybe not fully, but enough.

The help Taren had received back then hadn’t been small. And it hadn’t just been for himself, that made it harder to walk away. Even now, even when things were no longer the same.

Eiran sighed quietly. He could see it clearly from the outside. The way things had shifted, the way Taren had been moved aside, the work he was doing now compared to what he should have been doing, none of it matched. But knowing that didn’t make the decision any easier. So, he didn’t say it again.

Eiran exhaled quietly and let it go.

“Still,” he said instead, “it’s a shame.”

Taren gave a small nod. “It is.”

The conversation didn’t stay there for long. But the thought did.

After a moment, Taren glanced at him.

“Any work tomorrow?” he asked.

Eiran nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “Small role. Just an extra.”

He gave a faint smile.

“Pay’s not much,” he added, “but they’re covering breakfast, so that helps.”

Taren let out a quiet breath, almost a faint chuckle.

“Take what you can get,” he said. “It adds up.”

Eiran nodded.

“I know.”

Taren continued, his tone steady.

“Every role matters,” he said. “Small or big. You build from it.”

He paused briefly, then added,

“So, when something better comes along, you’re ready for it.”

Eiran held his gaze for a moment, then nodded again.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m not skipping anything.”

There was no hesitation in it.

Just quiet certainty.

The next morning came early.

Eiran was already up before the first light had fully settled. He moved through his routine without delay, got ready, and stepped out soon after.

The set was across the city, and by the time he arrived, work had already begun. Equipment was being moved into place, lights adjusted, and people moved through the space with quiet efficiency. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, even without needing to say much.

It wasn’t unfamiliar to him anymore. He had been on enough sets to understand the rhythm, even if his role in it remained small.

After checking in, he received his instructions and took his position when called. The role itself was simple, just background movement across the frame with no lines to deliver. Even so, he paid attention to what was happening around him. Timing mattered. Positioning mattered. Where to look, where not to, how to move without drawing focus… small details, but they made a difference.

The scene was repeated several times. Between takes, he watched the adjustments being made, how the actors refined their delivery, and how the crew coordinated each change. It was part of why he kept showing up, even for roles like this. There was always something to learn.

When the break was finally called, he made his way to the side where food had been arranged. It wasn’t anything elaborate, but it was enough. He picked up a plate and found a place to stand, eating without much thought at first.

A few others had gathered nearby, talking casually. Like him, they were extras, moving from one small role to another. Their conversation carried easily.

“I’m telling you, it’s actually good,” one of them said. “Didn’t expect much at first, but it holds up.”

“Which one?” someone asked.

“That detective book. A Study in Scarlet.”

Eiran’s attention shifted slightly, though he didn’t look up.

“You still haven’t read it?” the first man continued. “You should. It’s not like the usual ones.”

“Is it really that different?”

“Just read it,” he said. “You’ll get it once you start.”

Eiran hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

“It is,” he said.

The others looked at him.

“You’ve read it?” one of them asked.

Eiran nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Where did you even find it?” another asked. “I only heard about it last week.”

“Bookstore near my place,” Eiran said. “It was already moving well.”

The first man gave a small nod.

“Same here,” he said. “I got it from a stall outside the station. They were recommending it to everyone.”

“I saw people talking about it online too,” someone else added.

The conversation moved on after that, but the mention stayed with him. It wasn’t the first time he had heard it, and it didn’t feel like a coincidence anymore.

He had seen it come up in different places, at different times, and now even here, among people who had no connection to publishing or writing.

Eiran ate his meal slowly, his thoughts settling on the same point.

The book wasn’t just doing well… it really was spreading.

Eiran finished his meal and returned to his position when called. The remaining shots didn’t take long. His role was small, and once it was done, there was no reason for him to stay.

After signing out, he stepped away from the set and checked his wristlink out of habit. There were no new listings for the rest of the day. He scrolled through a few platforms anyway, but most of the available roles were either already filled or scheduled for later in the week.

He closed the wristlink and looked up. It was still early, earlier than he usually found himself free, and heading back home didn’t feel necessary yet.

For a moment, he simply stood there, considering what to do next. Then his thoughts returned to the same thing he had been hearing repeatedly over the past few days.

He had heard it again just now, from people who normally wouldn’t be talking about books, no reason to be talking about it beyond their own interest. That was what made it stand out.

He glanced at his wristlink again and pulled up the details he had checked the night before. The name appeared once more. Stone & Quill.

The press handling the printing.

He paused briefly, then made up his mind. It wasn’t close enough to walk, and taking a tram would not make sense either, since it was too far. The maglev line, on the other hand, would get him there directly.

With that settled, he adjusted his bag slightly, set the route, and headed toward the nearest station without giving it further thought.

The ride didn’t take long.

Once seated, Eiran leaned back slightly and brought up his wristlink again. If he was heading there, it made sense to look into the place beforehand.

He searched for Stone & Quill and scrolled through the initial results, but there wasn’t much to go on. Most of what appeared was either repeated across different sources or too brief to be useful.

After refining the search, he began going through older entries instead. That was where the details started to appear, though not in any structured way. The information was scattered across smaller local reports, the kind that usually went unnoticed unless someone was specifically looking for them.

What he found followed a consistent pattern. The press had been struggling for some time, with declining orders, fewer returning clients, and gradual downsizing over the years. There were mentions of employees being let go as operations slowed, and nothing suggested any attempt at recovery.

Eiran continued reading, looking for something more recent, but the trail didn’t extend much further. There were no follow-up reports, no updates, and no indication that the situation had improved. The coverage simply stopped, as if the press had faded out of relevance.

That in itself wasn’t unusual. A business like that wouldn’t attract attention unless something significant happened, and from what he could see, nothing had. Even the articles he had found were limited and buried deep enough that most people wouldn’t come across them.

He closed the news about the press and leaned back, thinking it over. Based on everything he had just read, Stone & Quill should have been close to shutting down. Instead, it was active again, expanding, and handling a book that people seemed to be talking about everywhere.

Eiran glanced out briefly as the maglev continued along its route, then looked back at his wristlink. The difference between what he had read and what he had seen earlier didn’t align, and the more he thought about it, the more it stood out.