“Picked up a new companion, I see?” Saoirse remarks dryly, as Seren confidently struts back out of the facility to where the servant was waiting by the curb, a very meek, very frightened, and most of all very confused colt scampering along behind her.
“You saw the conditions in there! I couldn’t just leave him.” Seren announces, glancing back at the colt who still seems unsure if he is in trouble or not. Laying down on her haunches, Seren gently approaches the colt sympathetically. “Hey, I don’t think I got your name.”
“R-Rian, sir.” the colt responds uncertainly, eyes flicking up to Saoirse in confusion and then back to Seren. He doesn’t seem willing to say any more than what was directly asked of him, so Seren nods in confirmation.
“Alright, Rian. I’m afraid I can’t take you somewhere safe immediately, but if you’d be okay with it, I could take you in as a servant on our way back from our mission. It’s not much, but you’d be properly fed, clothed, and sheltered, and the conditions would be much better than that.” She snarls, jerking her head towards the power plant behind them.
Looking back at Rian, the colt blinks at Seren in confusion. “Y-you’re… asking me?” He sounds almost incredulous, a hint of suspicion entering his eyes.
Seren nods her head. “We still need to find a place to stay the night, once we do I could leave you with enough to stay there a few nights while we get this sorted. If you don’t want to take me up on my offer, you can feel free to just take what I leave you with and go, but it would be safer to come with us when we return. You don’t need to decide right now.”
Rian just stands there, stunned, before shakily nodding his head. Seren levitates the colt up onto her back; perhaps a slightly more intimate gesture than she’d have preferred for a lowborn stranger, but he was still tired, shaken up, and positively filthy, and having him walk behind them would slow them down. And that was unacceptable; the sun is sinking in the sky, and who knew when they’d find a good place to stay?
Actually… Seren thinks. Somepony here might. Turning to the colt on her back, the gryph gets his attention before delicately asking, “we still need someplace to stay for the night. Do you happen to know where we can find one?”
Rian shakily nods his head, before suppressing another coughing fit; those young lungs of his sure are struggling. “U-um, I know where some of the adult workers stay. It’s not too far away.” he affirms. Seren nods in response, signalling the colt to show the way, and the three set off back into the big city.
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Given her location, Seren accepts the considerably below-standard lodgings with grace and dignity; Starshot of course is just happy to have a proper bed to sleep in for the second night in a row, while Rian seems too confused by recent events to even think of resting. Perhaps because of the bedding being far less comfortable than she is used to, Seren awakens early the following morning.
“Alright! First light! It’s high time we get on the road.” Seren announces, stretching in the middle of the small, two-bed chamber they had stayed the night. Rian was curled up at the foot of her bed, and lazily opens his eyes in response to the sudden surge of movement; Already, Seren is levitating her saddlebags up onto her back.
Saoirse Starshot groans and leans forward in bed, blinking blearily. Looking out the window, she can readily see that “first light” is a bit of an exaggeration; the horizon has only just barely begun to brighten, still dark enough that the variety of buildings across the street are silhouetted in darkness. The sun is certainly nowhere to be seen, and the stars are still out, though fading quickly. Nothing new there; Seren always was an early bird. Gryph. Whatever. Summoning up all the energy she can, Starshot curls up like a spring before unwinding, leaping out of bed onto all fours.
Seren barely waits for Saoirse to finish yawning before using her telekinesis to levitate his saddlebags onto her, and opening the door out to the tavern. Immediately a variety of sensations find them: The smell of cheap booze and grilled vegetables, the sound of quiet chatter from the lobby. Seemingly, they aren’t the first to get up. Jerking her head forwards, Seren motions towards the front of the establishment. “We’ll get breakfast, then head out.” Seren states, before turning to Rian, who still looks to be in a daze, though a full night's rest had helped alleviate the worst of his coughing at least. “I’ll make sure the keep knows to keep you fed and lodged. If you want to return home with us, we’ll be back in a week or two; otherwise, feel free to head out when you will.” With that out of the way, she steps out into the lobby.
It isn’t particularly busy this early in the morning, but there is a pony on duty and a hoofful sitting around the entryway; A couple of middle-aged hyperaustralans staring deep into mugs of ale, a couple of stallions in a corner talking about something or another quietly with suspicious glances around as if on the lookout for eavesdroppers, and a lone plains pony with a stern, serious expression reading something on the bulletin board posted near the exit.
Slapping a couple coins down on the counter in front of the barkeep, Seren leans against the counter. “We need breakfast, stat. I’ll pay extra if you can make it snappy. We’ll take some Pióg an aoire if you have that.”
The barkeep gulps anxiously upon seeing his clients horn, bowing steeply. “Of course, your excellency. Only, I’m afraid I am not familiar with...” He trails off, not knowing how to pronounce the phrase Seren had just said.
Starshot rolls her eyes and props herself up on the counter as well. “She means Shepherds pie.” She states dryly.
The barkeep salutes. “Oh! Of course, right away.” With that, she disappears back into the kitchen while Seren and Starshot retire to one of the round tables with their wobbly bar-stools.
“I guess having an aristocrat around does have some advantages.” Starshot jokes, glancing over at the kitchen with a lopsided smile. “He sure looked shocked to see such privileged clientele.”
“Hopefully it gets him to deliver it quickly.” Seren states, already tapping a talon on the round table impatiently. “Evander made it sound like this mission was very time sensitive, so I’m impatient to get away.” She doesn’t mention that she is also keen to leave the dingy building she is currently stuck inside of. Patience. She reminds herself, silently. A proper aristocrat does not let such things bother them. Remain focused on the mission. You’ll be back home before you know it. Her adventurous spirit is waning more than a little, looking around at the stained floors and wattle-and-daub walls surrounding her.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Are you sure you even know the way?” Starshot questions. “I know you have a map, but I saw that thing; it wasn’t exactly the most detailed, it looked like it had been drawn up in a hurry. I know we’re heading east, but given what we’ve seen of the roads out there…” Starshot trails off.
Seren winces; the servant had a point. That labyrinthian mess of corridors and alleyways was not particularly easy to navigate. “I’m afraid not. I suppose we’ll need to see if we can’t purchase...” Frowning, she trails off. Somepony is standing behind her, she feels it. Looking over her shoulder, she is greeted with the stern countenance of the violet-eyed plains pony who had been surveying the bulletin board when she’d first entered.
“I could not help but hear that you are unfamiliar with these parts, and in a hurry. Correct?” His tone is polite, but obviously not upper-crust based on his cadence and tone; there is a definitive roughness and vulgar accent to his speech which makes the courteous speech sound almost out of place.
Seren regards the pony warily. She had been speaking too loudly, hadn’t she? She had been told that this situation had to be kept under wraps, and here she is blabbering on about where she was going in a public establishment. Mentally cursing herself, Seren contemplates how best to respond. “Perhaps. Do you have a map you wish to sell us?” She asks; it didn’t seem like the best place to purchase one, but hopefully she could end the conversation without inadvertently giving away more details.
The stallion shakes his head in response. “Not quite. Allow me to introduce myself, milady; I am Daithi Ironcoin. Bounty hunter by trade, though I perform all manner of errands for both the local aristocracy and law enforcement.” The stallion bows his head deferentially. “My work has taken me all over the region, and I am familiar with how to travel quickly and quietly in pursuit of my quarry. Might I offer my services as a guide?”
Seren casts a nervous look towards Starshot. A local guide would certainly be helpful-assuming that Daithi here is telling the truth about his capabilities, that is-but if it is so important to keep the mission secret would that compromise their needs?
Daithi must have noticed her hesitation, because he steps back, raising his head to address her once more. “Allow me to assure you, I am quite used to treating matters with discretion in my line of work. You need not worry about me running my mouth; Such activities tend to be bad for the lifespan of those who work for the aristocracy.”
“C’mon Ser, what are you waiting for? You were the one talking about how we needed to get a move on.” Starshot interjects.
Seren shoots the servant an irked look, before turning back to the bounty hunter. “Allow me to think it over during breakfast, if you please. I will have an answer for you by then.”
Daithi nods and bows one final time, graciously. “Of course, milady. Take your time.”
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After ensuring the tavernkeeper knows to treat Rian with the utmost respect and dignity-the little colt deserved that much after the hellhole she’d dug him out of-Seren and Saoirse are keen to set off again. And, as fate would have it, the two once again find themselves joined by an unexpected tag-along. The fee for Daithi is negligible to Seren, and she figures that having him in her employ is probably better than some stallion having heard about a foreign unicorn being on a time-sensitive, delicate mission.
Stepping out onto the street, the sun just now beginning to crest over the horizon, Seren turns to her latest acquisition. “Alright, Daithi. Come, show us the fastest way out of town. We’re heading to a location in the wilderness east of here. We’ll share more details once we’re out of the city.” Seren states, rounding on her new companion and waiting for his response.
Daithi Ironcoin salutes, and motions rearwards. “There’s an intracity tram system, that would be the fastest way to get to the outskirts. From there, you can head through the east-side slums, and then follow the road to a couple of small villages out that way. That would be the best place to head out cross-country.” The stallion explains in a professional and level tone.
Seren winces. Slums..? If this was considered the nice part of town, she shuddered to imagine what that could mean. Oh well, there is nothing for it. “Very well. I’ll follow your lead.” Seren nods, leaving the bounty hunter to lead the way down the unfamiliar, graffiti-ridden streets.
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Seren dismally stares out the window of the tram, taking in the expanse of dull, muddy gray cityscape that almost blends in with the overcast sky above. At the least, it seems a bit more organized than the inner city had been; all neat concrete pathways, sometimes linearly organized into rectangular blocks and sometimes a mess of gridlock. Turning her head back, Seren addresses Daithi. “How long will the ride be? How far out are we going?”
Daithi is there, polishing his guns while sitting back in his booth seat. It was far from luxuriant, fairly stiff plastic seating, but at least there is a decent chunk of leg room and a nice table fixed to the wall. The bounty hunter glances up and out the window in response. “About twenty-five more minutes, if I had to guess. You’ll be able to tell we’re getting close when those concrete blocks start to give way to more makeshift structures. The tram doesn't provide service through the slums, of course, so we’ll have to go the rest of the way on hoof.”
Seren nods and sits down, leaving only Saoirse staring intently out into the world. “So this is what awaits me when I get out of here…” There is a subtle twinge of conflict in her voice that draws Seren’s attention.
“What, something the matter? Normally you’d sound more excited about that.” She asks, with one brow raised.
Saoirse jerks her head away and lowers it, refusing to reply. Daithi, however, is quick to respond. “You’re not hyperaustralan, you wouldn’t end up in one of these chunks. The outskirts were built up right-quick to accept the deluge of displaced hyperaustralans after the war. Guess this is what they found the most efficient.” Daithi shrugs. “If you’re going to try and make it on your own, you should head up north. A lot of the youth try that route, though who knows how many actually meet with any success.”
“I’m sure I’d be fine.” Saoirse hisses out through her teeth, continuing to stare intently out at the landscape beyond uneasily.
The group does not speak much, as the tram reaches its destination and they disembark; perhaps it's the uncomfortable air of their surroundings. The artificial feeling blocks of brutalist architecture steadily gives way to something less orderly but no less squalid; mounds of makeshift buildings, tents and scrapheaps cobbled together around what little older, more proper architecture had predated the slums. Instead of concrete, the paths are little more than slurries of mud and dirt here; despite that technically being a sign of less development, Seren actually finds that aspect something of a relief. The smell of cigarettes hangs heavy in the air, but at least the industrial smog has taken a back seat.
Daithi leads them onwards, unswervingly, as the population gets lighter and lighter. Suddenly, at one end of the sole properly maintained street running through the district, the slums seem to just cut off into forest around the road, the outside lined with an erected concrete barrier considerably nicer than the buildings it’s blocking from view. In the distance, the spires of a tower can be seen poking above the treeline.
““I don’t understand. Why do so many of them choose to live back there? Surely they don’t own the property, so it’s not like land laws are stopping them.” Saoirse asks, looking around. “Wouldn’t it be better to live out here, away from all that smoke?”
Daithi shakes his head without glancing back. “Aristocratic estate. We’re free to use the roads- Duke up in his palace makes sure his vassals aren't running tolls, since it dries up trade-but that's about it. You so much as think about settling down anywhere along this road, they’ll have you dead to rights, clapped in chains and sold into a life of serfdom right-quick. Only ones who can make it up here are serfs working the land or outlaws on the run; And, of course, those sent to catch them, like myself.” Daithi turns his head back to Seren and nods briefly. “C’mon, there’s a good spot to camp another few miles down the road. We ought to see if we can make it there before the daylight’s completely faded.”