Steamforged Sorcery - Chapter 23 (Patreon)

Angel was surprised to realize that he did, which only served to make him dislike the bandit more. Vita reached down to his side and opened a small pouch. He revealed a large brown disk with a small button in its center.

The man pressed on it and tossed the device out before him. It expanded outwards, forming into a small circular table. Several chairs sprang up from around it. Vita sat down at one of the chairs and sent them a pointed look.

Baffled, Angel sat down across from him. Neither Vanessa nor Cowl made any move to join them. Vita clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“You are much more polite than your companions.”

“I think I’m just dumber,” Angel muttered.

Vita let out a short bark of laughter. “Perhaps. Do you care for a drink?”

“I don’t suppose you’re going to poison me?”

“We’ve got you dead to rights,” Vita replied. “Why would I need to poison you?”

He pulled a flask from his side and took a swig from it before offering it to Angel. The Seeker studied the man for a moment, then shrugged and took it from him. He took a quick drink and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was just water.

“Thanks,” Angel said, handing it back to him. “I have to say, you aren’t like most of the other bandits I’ve interacted with.”

“Nor are you akin to the majority of my targets,” Vita said. “The general response tends to include brainless scampering and screaming.”

“Sounds horrible,” Angel said with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

“Indeed,” Vita agreed. “It really is a pity that we had to meet in these circumstances. I hate to interfere with a good man’s work.”

“Well, you don’t have to interfere if you don’t want to.”

“Nor do you have to complete your own job,” Vita replied. “We can dance around this until the sun sets again, but it’ll get us nowhere.”

Vita drew a segmented blade from its spot at his side and set it down on the table. He drummed his fingers on the hilt, his gaze shifting from Angel to Vanessa as he drummed his fingers on chin.

“Boss Vita!” a man called down to them from the ship. The bandit’s eye twitched.

“Now is not the time, Terrence. I’m in the middle of a discussion.”

“The Magistrate stiffed us, sir!” the man yelled. “I just finished counting through the Vei – we’re fifty short!”

“I told you to count that three days ago!” Vita said, his composure breaking as he glared up at the man from beneath his wide brimmed hat. “Are you sure you counted it right?”

Angel took the moment to discretely pop one of the cylinders from his arm and slide it into the slot in his arm.

“Yes boss!”

“And how do you know?” Vita asked, crossing his arms. “Did you count it twice?”

“Three times, boss!”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was coming up short the first two?” Vita snapped. He shook his head in disgust and slammed his sword back into its sheathe. “What is it with you people and pushing their responsibilities off until the last minute? Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to deliver the girl to the Magistrate, only to realize we’d been scammed after we finished the task?”

“Damn Magistrates,” Angel said. “Horrible customers.”

“I can’t agree more,” Vita said, clicking his tongue. “Almost as bad as lazy subordinates. I suppose this does throw something of a wrench into our discussion. Without the coin, I don’t see any good reason to tarnish our polite conversation.”

“You’re letting us leave?” Vanessa asked, her eyes widening.

“Leave is such a strong word,” Vita said, waving his hand. “Perhaps a ‘temporary stay of hunting’ would be more accurate. I’ll be calling the good Magistrate shortly after our chat, and he’s going to give me the rest of my fee. And then I will come looking for you again. If you manage to run farther, we might even get paid extra for the trouble of chasing you down. A good trade, no? I get more money, and you get a taste of hope.”

“That’s quite considerate of you,” Angel said.

“Consider it thanks for being so civil. It’s hard to have a good conversation nowadays,” Vita said. “It was a pleasure meeting you…”

“Angel.”

“It was a pleasure, Angel,” Vita said. “I look forward to our next chat in a day or two. Take care of yourself.”

Vita whistled and jerked a thumb up at the craft above them. His crew grabbed onto the ropes, which started to ascend as a pulley system chugged to life on the ship’s deck.

Angel blinked. The bandit actually seemed to be telling the truth. The man had to be playing at something, but he didn’t have any idea what it might be. Vita laughed at the Seeker’s expression. He slapped the table and it collapsed back into a small disk, nearly dumping Angel on the sand. Vita pocketed it and gave them a wink.

“I’ll be seeing you all,” the bandit said, grabbing onto his rope as it started to rise up into the sky. “Make sure the three of you run as fast as your little feet can carry you. I’d hate for either of us to start overstaying our welcome.”

The chopper rose up into the air, their shade vanishing as it disappeared behind the distant clouds. The three of them stared up at it, baffled.

“Did we just get spared because he got cheated out of his money?” Vanessa asked, her expression alternating between disbelief and fear.

“Questions later,” Cowl said, his wings sprouting from his back. “Don’t look good fortune in the mouth. We move. Now. That man was far too relaxed. A fight against his crew would almost certainly end very badly for us. We need to reach Silver Sands before they catch back up to us.”