Minutes after Veigan and Garik’s departure, Viessa gave me an earful for promising them most of the gold. But with a stroke of luck, physical exhaustion got the better of her and she passed out, right there in the workshop on a stool, head down on a workbench, taking a much needed nap which allowed me to bask in the sanctity of silence.

  I pondered the next best course of action, assuming the Silverlight Plains quest went well. Yet, every time my thoughts wandered over the subject, I couldn't shake the feeling something huge was eluding me.

  Justice's disappearance and Chaos's sudden radio silence sat like a fist-sized stone in the bottom of my gut. I wished him dead, fantasizing his cruel demise, but not before he confessed to what was festering inside of me.

  As dusk overtook the horizon, Hanover had still not returned and I knew something more than a bad burrito was keeping him.

  "Wake up."

  Viessa choked on her snore, and shot up straight on her stool. "I'm awake."

  "Hanover should've been back by now. We're moving."

  I ducked under the workshop's half-open door and she followed me into the scrapyard, past our horses, and out into the streets.

  We turned down a narrow vein of stone wedged between two buildings, stopping at a dead-end tucked out of sight.

  I crouched with my back against the wall and activated Void Seer, shifting my gaze over Hanover's scrapyard.

  Night settled across Ingcaster set to the soundtrack of Viessa's soft whispers, practicing words the system automatically translated. Since gaining Void Seer's first mastery point, I noticed a direct increase in its stability, despite the change being unmentioned in the ability’s description.

  Eventually, a horse drawn wagon covered with a weathered tarp creaked into view. Three men rode with it. One held the reins, hunched and silent, hiding beneath a wide-brimmed hat. The other two sat perched on the sagging canvas, their eyes scanning the surroundings with a wary sharpness.

  Karma's Gaze disclosed their identities, and extensive rap sheets. Three level threes. Dirty Royal Guards involved in scams, bribes, and extortion, earning them each four digits worth of negative karma.

  "Check the workshop," Anwar said, his voice muffled from the cloth covering his face.

  The others hopped down from the wagon and raised the workshop's door revealing the stack of gold bars.

  "Jackpot," one said, his scratchy voice bleeding through the cloth.

  Between the three of them, they loaded the gold bars into the wagon swiftly and departed within minutes.

  I tracked their movements from the sky, noting every turn. They headed to the eastern edge of the Merchant's Promenade--a grim stretch of factories and soot-stained warehouses.

  At the end of the road, they guided the wagon down a cobblestone ramp that fed into an abandoned, underground storage facility. Inside, Hanover sat bloody and bruised in a wooden chair, hands bound in iron shackles behind his back.

  Corporal Donnigan sat opposite of him, legs crossed, posture relaxed as he polished off his flask.

  "I am sorry about this," Donnigan said. "I've never found joy in shaking down drinking buddies. I just experienced a terrible series of bad beats. First the card game with the Watchmaster, then I was up over 100 gold till I lost it all at the Stacked Deck."

  He stood up and swayed over to Hanover, who had his chin tucked into his chest, sweat matted hair hanging over his face.

  "Don't act like that. Offering me 50 gold to set you up with Kelfloss, you must have something good. I just wish you’d told me sooner instead of making me cut your toe off."

  I hadn't noticed the dirty bandage wrapped around the blacksmith's foot until now.

  "Hey, look at me." He pressed his flask underneath Hanover's chin, forcefully tilting it up. "Don't worry, I had one of the boys put it on ice. And if this pays out, I'll give you the 50 gold finder's fee and you can pay to have it sewn back on."

  Donnigan slapped his shoulder. "Sounds like they're here."

  The wide barn-sized door swung open and the horse drawn wagon rolled in. Anwar pulled the cloth down from his face, grinning ear to ear.

  "Corporal, we've hit it big.”

  Donnigan lifted the canvas and clicked his boots together. "By Galdir's fortune. Tonight is blessed."

  Hanover let out a hearty laugh, showing off his freshly chipped teeth. "You have no idea whose gold that is, or who it belongs to."

  "Shut up. The man who thought it was a smart idea to leave his wealth in your hands deserves to be taught a hard life lesson," Donnigan said.

  "I forgive you, Don, but you got to have them send it back. For all our sake's," Hanover said.

  But I had heard enough and dropped Void Seer's connection.

  "Graceful. Elegant. Beaut--beautiful." Viessa continued sounding out words until she noticed my return.

  "I worry about you using such a strange ability at length... After what happened is it wise to concede control of your body? What if it--"

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  My heart skipped a beat and I could've swore I heard the off-key note of a recorder bleated two streets over. I raised my hand and waved Viessa off before she could finish. "Don't speak on the subject anymore. For now, I'm fine."

  I crouched low, one knee sinking onto the damp cobblestone as I leaned forward and extended a hand behind me.

  "Huh?"

  "Hop on."

  "What about our horses?"

  "This is faster. Quick, before the blacksmith dies."

  She placed one hand on my shoulder and swung her legs over my hips like she was hugging a tree. Her frame was light, posture upright and tense.

  "I'm trusting you not to drop me," she murmured, adjusting her weight as I activated Agility Burst, blasted out of the alley, leapt up onto an awning and then onto the roof.

  She anchored herself to my back, arms cinched around my neck, whispering prayers as I bounded from roof to roof enroute to the party.

  ***

  "You're not listening," Hanover shouted. "The gold wouldn't be here if he hadn't allowed it."

  "Who?"

  "I can't say, he'd kill me."

  Their discussion came in crystal clear as I cut through the backstreets, reaching the passage where the ramp curled underground.

  "I know a bluff when I see it," Donnigan said.

  "No, you don't, Don! Otherwise you wouldn't lose so much goddamn money playing cards."

  "I tried being nice, but you just couldn't stop pissing me off."

  Donnigan's dagger flashed free as he stepped toward the blacksmith, but a draft swept in from the doorway to his left. Our silent arrival stole his moment.

  Viessa dropped off my back and she stumbled over to the wall with a dizzied sigh.

  Anwar, and the two goons guarding the wagon holding my gold, pointed their swords in my direction.

  "Idiots, I told you to make sure you weren't followed," Donnigan said as he sheathed his dagger and produced a silver insignia pin that he pinched between the tips of his fingers. "Whoever you are, better luck next time. The Royal Guard is confiscating this suspicious amount of gold."

  "You don't know who I am?"

  "Another masked criminal. Probably a thief. I don't care who you are. I'm giving you one chance. Take it and leave before you find the weight of the Royal Guard pressed against your neck."

  I couldn't believe none of these idiots recognized me as the sole figure the Royal Guard had spent the past week sweeping Oarwin for. On second thought, I hadn’t left many witnesses to give the guard much of a description. I stared past them, making eye contact with Hanover.

  "Do you know the details of the exchange?"

  Hanover nodded. "Please don't kill them."

  "Aye, asshole I warned you. Arrest them," he said.

  Anwar moved toward me with a pair of iron shackles in his hands like I wasn't going to put up a fight. He even did one of those confident "Come on, the jig is up," head nods, not entertaining even the slightest possibility of resistance.

  "Watch your step, it's dark in here."

  One moment later, Anwar fell to the side, blood spurting from the precise incision along his neck. Nobody had seen the ultra thin shadow line I had whisked through him with my hands still in my pockets.

  "What--" the front half of the second guard’s face fell from his skull, interrupting what was sure to be an insightful question.

  The third goon reached for his sword only finding his right hand departing from his wrist. When he reached for the wound his left hand joined the right at his feet. Then his head fell from his shoulders.

  It was gruesome, justified fun. Not only were these scumbags deserving of worse, but I needed more experience testing Shadow Weave's newfound flexibility.

  Donnigan backpedaled, waving the Royal Guard's insignia of an armored bear holding a spear like it would actually summon an armored spear wielding bear to save his ass.

  "Stop!" he screamed like his lungs were on fire. "I'm a corporal in the Royal Guard! If you kill me they'll never stop hunting you."

  "I don't mind."

  "Wait, you need me! I arranged the meeting. Kelfloss is expecting me, if I'm not there, you'll have no deal."

  I thought it over for a second. "OK. Go on then. I'll be watching."

  +10 XP

  +5 Karma

  ***

  In a warehouse on the north eastern side of the Merchant's Promenade, Hanover and Donnigan sat astride their horses, watching in a despondent silence. Kelfloss's men unloaded the bars of gold with practiced haste, stacking them on a heavy duty cart.

  The warehouse itself was a repurposed tannery, its stone walls stained by years of smoke and chemicals. Crates of contraband lined the walls, half-shrouded in tarps. Overhead, magelights quietly buzzed, dousing the busy floor in a sickly green hue.

  Target: Kelfloss

  Level: 4

  Karma: -8,750

  Additional Data: Established and currently runs the largest fencing operation in Ingcaster. Specializes in smuggling relics, enchanted arms, and exotic animals. Supported by a vast network of bribed guards, and influential connections kept in an organized ledger. Hates tomatoes.

  Useful information? Is my luck finally turning around?

  With a crooked smile etched across his face, Kelfloss combed his unruly beard with jeweled fingers, gaudy rings present on each digit. He licked his lips as the last gold bar was set on the cart beside him.

  His entourage consisted of nine men ranging between levels three and six. They formed a semi-circle around their boss. All of them practiced the same intimidating stare.

  "Donny, where have your manners gone? Introduce me to your friend."

  "Uh, this is Hanover."

  The blacksmith gulped.

  "Nice to meet you, Hanover. How did you come into possession of so much gold?"

  "I..."

  Kelfloss interrupted him, cackling like a hyena at a caribou buffet. His men forced themselves to chuckle in unison.

  "It's only a joke." He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, noticing neither of them had joined in on the hilarity. "What's the matter? I'm about to make a generous offer."

  "Let's hear it," Donnigan said.

  "Damn, you used to be more fun. Fine, straight to business." Kelfloss waved his hand over the stack of bars. "Well, it is pure. I'll give you 2,000 gold for all of it."

  "2,000? You're out of yer mind," Hanover said. "There's 40 bars there."

  "Donny, you should remind him who he's talking to." Kelfloss frowned.

  "But he’s right! You'll make at least 20 from flipping it. Anything under 10 is unreasonable," Donnigan said. "We need this."

  "Oh, now that you're a corporal you think I have to bow to you? Did you forget who's responsible for your promotion?”

  Kelfloss signaled one of his level six bodyguards, who carried over an iron strongbox. Coins rattled inside as the brute dropped it off in the back of their wagon and motioned them toward the exit.

  "Take what I've given you and get lost," Kelfloss said.

  "What a farce," Hanover said. "I was always told how you were Ingcaster's premier fence. We can't leave without four more of those strongboxes."

  "I'm trying to be courteous here Donny, but your friend's making it tough. Do I need to call the Brutalizer down here?"

  The magelights flickered overhead and Donnigan's eyes darted through the warehouse. Dread drilled through his false bravado.

  "He's here! Hurry, rally everyone now."

  Wrong.

  I was outside, one block away, sitting next to Viessa on a wooden bench, surveilling the exchange with Void Seer as it turned into another underhanded ripoff.

  "What's the problem Donny? Trust me, you don’t want me calling the Brutalizer back from his break."

  "You don't understand. This guy fucking showed up and killed them–three of my men, some of the promenade division's finest. He used some weird magic and they dropped dead." Donnigan kept his head on a swivel, eyes shifting to and fro. "If you don't give us the coins he'll kill us all."

  I disengaged Void Seer.

  "What's the matter?" Viessa asked.

  "They failed. Like I figured, nothing gets done in Ingcaster without a show of force."

  Call to Action

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