Steamforged Sorcery - Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Gears chugged loudly. Angel shifted so that he could get a better look of the dark elevator shaft and crossed his hands on the table in front of him. A minute later, a dull clang rang through the room as the platform ground to a halt.

A Hunter strode out from the shadows, a large triangular hat perched on their head. Their face was completely obscured by a scarred metal mask with two tubes near the mouth area that led to a small tank at their side. Their clothes were heavy canvas with metal plates for armor over vital areas. Dozens of pouches that Angel suspected housed artifacts were distributed across their body.

The Hunter sat down in the chair across from Angel. He stared into their eyes but could see only darkness behind them.

“You want to cross the desert?” The Hunter asked. Their voice came out metallic and staticky, making it impossible to determine their age or gender.

“I do,” Angel said. “Have you made the crossing before?”

“Yes. Not escorting someone, but I’ve made it. Before we continue, show me the coin. I’ll not be wasting my time if you don’t have it.”

Angel reached into his pouch and stacked the five Vei on the table in front of him, not taking his eyes off the hunter the entire time. “Happy?”

“For now. Why do you need to cross?”

“Is that relevant?”

“No, actually. Mostly curiosity,” the Hunter admitted. “Five Vei will get you a one way trip. No promises on the way back, and I don’t know how long I’ll stick around our destination.”

“That’s fine,” Angel said. “But why should I hire you? I need a Hunter, but I’m going to need some proof that you’re capable enough. How do I know that you won’t just gut me the moment we leave Bronze City and take my money?”

“The Hunter’s Guild would wring me alive,” the Hunter replied. They let out a burst of static that Angel realized was probably a laugh. “The money is good, but I have no plans of dying for it.”

“Sensible,” Angel said. “In that case, how do I know that you’re good enough to keep us alive?”

“It looks badly on the guild if a Hunter fails. They wouldn’t have sent someone unqualified for the task. Besides, it doesn’t look like you’re going to have much of a choice. How many other Hunters showed up?”

“How’d you know that?” Angel asked, grimacing.

“You just told me.”

Angel pressed his lips together. He wished he could get a better look at the Hunter’s face, but he got the feeling they didn’t have any plans of taking their mask off.

“There will be two of us,” Angel said finally. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning, before the sun rises.”

The Hunter cocked their head, examining Angel. “Nobody said anything about two people.”

Angel wordlessly put another Vei on the stack. The Hunter reached out and swept the coins across the table and into one of their bags.

“Pleasure doing business with you…”

“Angel,” Angel said, extending his hand. The Hunter shook it.

“You can call me Cowl.”

“A pleasure, Cowl,” Angel said. “Be at the city gates an hour before the sun rises tomorrow.”

Cowl gave him a single nod before turning and sweeping out of the room. It was hard to be certain, but Angel decided Cowl was probably a man due to the Hunter’s stocky build. Cowl stepped onto the elevator and pulled a small lever. The elevator descended into the darkness, leaving nothing but the rattling of chains in its wake.

It returned a minute or two later to collect Angel. He got on, leaving the cup of water behind him, and descended into the darkness. When the elevator reached the ground, he hopped off and quickly swept out of the Hunter’s Rest.

The sun had already started to set overhead, positioning itself in the perfect spot to shine in Angel’s eyes. He raised a hand in annoyance, scurrying to shelter within the tight alleys to avoid its heat.

Angel dropped by the marketplace and bought a pack full of rations and two large water skins for fifty Vex, which made his travel purse considerably lighter. There was food in the Barren, but it was safer to be prepared and carry the extra weight than starve to death halfway to their destination.

He made his way back towards Fence’s shop, bobbing and weaving through the crowd just in case anyone had followed him. Angel didn’t have any reason to think that he was being watched, but it never hurt to be careful when he was about to kidnap the Magistrate’s daughter. Permission or not, he got the feeling that guards wouldn’t be far behind him.

Fence was sitting in his chair and examining a sword when Angel got back. The large merchant glanced up at him and grunted before looking back down.

“Hello to you too,” Angel said, unlocking his door and stepping into his room. He closed it behind him and set his travel pack down on the ground. He scanned the room, checking the hundreds of artifacts and checking if any were worth bringing with him.

Most of them were either broken or so damaged that there was no point bringing them along. Angel sighed and sat down in his chair. He pulled out the pendant and the clamshell and set them on the table.

It took him a few minutes to get it open once again. The motions that the clamshell took were almost exactly the ones he’d memorized, although there were a few small changes that he’d gotten incorrect. Angel went back over the process in his mind, then turned his attention to the pendant.

He spent the next few hours hunched over the table tinkering with the artifact. Unfortunately, just like the previous day, it was entirely unresponsive to his attempts. By the time Angel let out a disgruntled sigh and sat back, night had fallen.

Angel closed the pendant and the clamshell, wrapping them both up and returning them to their spots in his pocket. Then he turned the light off at his desk and headed to bed. After all, it was a bad idea to stage a kidnapping when one was low on sleep.