Galis woke up with a headache and a fever. The harsh rays of the sun's light had already flooded the entirety of the claustrophobic bedroom he had slept in, just turning around to shield himself put him inches away from another wall.

‘I slept for way longer than intended.’ Galis thought, his mind still foggy. With a bit of effort, he dragged himself out of his bed and into the bathroom in the room adjacent. Clambering over all manner of boxes and half-assembled furniture.

It had been a very long time since he had slept in the log cabin, over four months to be exact. In the past when money had been tight, he was out here almost every week. But in recent times there just wasn’t any incentive to be risking his life outside city walls.

“I should start thinking about my situation.” He mumbled, stumbling his way over to the sink, picking up a toothbrush and rinsing it. Last night he barely had the strength to change into dry clothes and pass out over his bed, but after a full night's rest, his anxiety had slowly started to creep up on him again. Intrusive thoughts of house invasions ate at Galis while he freshened himself up, but he forced himself to calm down.

At least he looked better. Staring at his reflection in a poorly fastened mirror opposite him, Galis could see his skin had regained some of its colour and his eyes looked only tired and not deathly sunken.

‘Still, at the rate I’m stressing, I’ll have white hairs by the end of next week.’ He thought as he eyed himself more closely. Past bioengineering meant old age was a distant future for most folk in Valtsomu, but surprisingly there still were many cases of people getting full heads of silver hair due to sheer mental pressure, and while he didn’t wish to be one of them, his circumstances might have other plans.

For a few minutes, Galis just stared down at the sink under him, watching the water run down the drain. It wasn’t the first time he had been burdened with decision paralysis and yet the weight of his choices made his previous experiences with it feel pale in comparison. His head throbbed in dull pain as he went over his choices, prompting him to rub it lightly.

The more vocal part of him felt as though he should just dump the damned device and run as far as his legs could take him. But another much smaller part wondered if he could use it in some sort of way.

‘Like what.’ Galis scoffed at himself, ‘I was originally just going to pawn it off for quick cash, but that’s way too risky now, no sane buyer would ever take this ticking time bomb off my hands. What other use could it possibly have?’

Oh, wait. The ‘Power over human consciousness’… If what the stranger said held even an ounce of truth, then it would be foolish to throw away such an opportunity. Yet, Galis also held little to no interest in trying to learn it. Only a fool would try to gain something that so obviously held that many strings attached and gaining that kind of power would not only bring more unwanted attention but also put him in the sights of some dangerous people. He very much doubted that the top brass that ran the city didn’t already know about and possibly have control over something this crazy.

‘But at the same time, I can’t just get rid of it.’ He lamented. Finding a clean way to rid himself of this incriminating evidence was easier said than done after all. He didn’t have the tools to destroy it, and any other method would leave some sort of trace back to him. Which was idiotic considering how the Watchman operated.”

In the end, having gone full circle in his line of questioning, Galis opted to not do anything about it at that moment. Searching the entire city was a feat that would take a great deal of time even for the superhuman guardsmen, as such there was no reason why he wouldn’t be safe for the time being. No need to make any rash decisions. Instead, he found himself wandering over to his storeroom, which was a small cupboard on the opposite end of the cabin, in search of breakfast.

Galis passed through his living room, on his way there, and idly wondered if the classical music channel was still running after the broadcasted lockdown. But he was too hungry to bother checking.

Finally arriving at the small and bleak cupboard, all he found was a thick layer of dust and several sneezes hidden in the empty drawers. It was unsurprising because he was absent for so long, but it didn’t stop him from feeling annoyed.

It seemed as though he would have to visit Scorch Mark for some supplies.

‘Well, no time like the present.’ He thought while yawning. Hopefully, he could make it back before noon if he left now.

Galis walked into his bedroom again, gathering his belongings that hadn’t been soaked from the previous night’s downpour. Luckily, he had a spare coat which only took a few minutes to dust off before he put it on. He spared one glance at the rectangular case that he had left on his bedside table before shaking his head and leaving.

The walk to Scorch was an uneventful one, as he trekked back towards the city walls, he could already see the clusters of colourful tents and burnt sand which lined the walls of the supercity like moss on a tree.

The ground had long since dried from the night before, making the craters left by attacks on the city much easier to spot. Galis carefully navigated his way around them, one time he had nearly broken his neck accidentally falling into one.

‘Simpler times.’ He thought, strolling at a relaxed pace.

It didn’t take him long to find his way back to the city’s gates, only this time instead of going through them he took a hard left and walked for a while longer. Coarse dirt gradually gave way to red sand as he kept his pace and sparse tents and stalls surrounded him, growing slowly in size and number. Quiet distant murmurs began to transform into loud chatter the closer he drew.

Soon his vision was filled, a sea of market stalls and people greeted him their bright fluorescent colours a stark contrast to the heavy black walls of Valtsomu.

“Galis good to see you again!” A group of heavily muscled workers called out to him as they passed him by in the crowded streets. Each carrying large pieces of lumber.

“Morning Vito,” He called out to the leader of the group. “Do you guys need any help?”

“Always looking out for folk, aren’t ya? Don’t worry about us little man, some lumbar isn’t the worst thing we’ve had to deliver.” Vito replied, not stopping his pace.

“Are you sure?” Galis asked as they slowly began to disappear back into the crowd.

“We’ll be fine!” The last man at the back yelled, his voice barely making it over the cacophony of noise. “Go see Vini, she’s been worried sick asking for you!”

“And come back to get a drink with us when you’re done!” Another man in a yellow bandanna added with a small chuckle.

Galis gave them a thumbs up and kept walking. He knew quite a few people in the half-town, half-bazaar that was Scorch Mark, it was where he spent most of his time while working outside city walls after all.

The crowd seemed to only get thicker and denser as he moved forward to an almost impossible degree, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, especially at this hour.

Scorch Mark was a well-known rest stop. Since many regular citizens were often forced to look outside city walls for work, some time ago they banded together to create this home away from home. A place where they could live and trade amongst each other while working whatever jobs they had on the outside. The same went for him, back when he frequented the place.

He wasn’t halfway into the bazaar when another voice made itself known.

“Galis? Galis Is that you!?” Across the streams of people on his left, he could see a tall woman in a blue dress waving at him enthusiastically. It was a merchant that he was familiar with, and also his only close friend in Scorch.

Watching her relentless waving caused him to cringe inwardly. In truth, he had hoped to quickly buy enough food to last him a while and lay low in his home. Being here for any longer than necessary was a big risk. Should he just ignore her? Surely, she wouldn’t blame him for pretending he couldn’t hear her.

After a brief deliberation period, he ended up wandering towards her anyway, as his father would say ‘Respect begets respect’. It wouldn’t do to just leave without at least saying hello.

“Good morning, Marina, how are you?” Galis said, stepping up to the dark yellow tent which she stood under. The merchant girl looked exactly how he remembered, short-cut black hair which fell over one of her eyes and deep navy-blue iris’. Her expression was always morphed into a sharp grin that glinted in the harsh sun.

She looked down at him with a dissatisfied expression, “It’s afternoon and what in the almighty hell are you wearing? Who walks around in a big black coat in this weather?”

“It was a style choice?” He shrugged, not wanting to admit that those were the limitations of his wardrobe.

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“Calling it style is borderline crazy; you look like somebody snuck into your house and replaced your entire wardrobe with a clothes rack from three decades ago.”

Galis raised a brow at her, “Speak for yourself, who wears a dress in this day and age? That hardly constitutes as ‘modern clothing’.”

She puffed her cheeks at him, “I’ll have you know that it was a birthday gift, and it suits me, unlike your horrid fashion tastes.”

“…Birthday?” He muttered while scratching his chin. Damn, if he had missed that he must have been gone for a while, he had been relentlessly busy over the past few months. But it didn’t matter much now, since his schedule had been completely upended by the crime.

“Yeah, it was last month, I’m surprised you weren’t here. Half of the entire damned town threw me a surprise party, which, by the way, is also the last time I tell my brother I want a quiet celebration.”

Galis scratched his cheek sheepishly.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there; I was caught up with some other stuff.”

“Bah.” She scoffed, swatting the air, “Everyone’s busy nowadays, don’t worry about it. I’ll just expect twice as many presents next year.”

“I don’t think that’s allowed”

“Don’t make me charge interest.” Marina wagged a finger at him.

“…Fine.” Galis gave up with a sigh. He then turned his gaze to the multitude of goods behind her, Marina was a well-known merchant as most of her goods came from the coast which was notoriously hard to deliver from. Being one of the only people with connections there gave her a lot of respect among the other residents of Scorch, and this was in addition to the fact that she insisted on knowing each of her customers personally. If only to swindle more money from them.

“Need any help unpacking those?” Galis said, gesturing to several crates in the tent.

“Aw, Sweet of you to offer, Galis, but I have this under control.”

“Really? I’ve never known you to turn down unpaid labour, you were practically a slave driver with how hard you worked your employees in the past.”

Marina pulled a face while resting her hands on her hips, “What sort of person do you think I am… Besides I’ve already paid Sherma’s boys for their help, otherwise your birthday present would be helping me unload all of this.”

“So, it’s only because you’ve already spent the money.” Galis joked, which earned him a hard smack on the arm.

“Like you wouldn’t help me if I asked.” She grumbled in response, “You're too nice for that.”

Galis felt a wave of guilt wash over him. So, he was too nice not to help others but not above stealing putting the people he cared about in danger, huh?

He shook himself out of it and shrugged his shoulders, “Maybe I would, Maybe I wouldn’t”

She fixed him with an amused stare, and then the corners of her mouth broke into a cheesy grin.

“You’re a terrible liar. In any case, when were you planning on telling me where you’ve disappeared for the past several months? I need to know how I’m supposed to earn a living without my favourite client!”

“You don’t have a favourite client.” He pointed out. Trying to steer away from the conversation.

“Dodging the question won’t save you.” She retorted.

For a minute, they both glared at each other. Galis was already regretting talking to Marina, he didn’t want to drag her into his problems, but she wasn’t likely to walk away without a proper answer.

“I found work in the city, so I haven’t had the time to come out in a while.” He lied, well it wasn’t technically a lie. Galis had been trying to find a decent job in the city for several years now and was in the process of being hired for one before he stole from that noble.

“I probably won’t see you for a while after this either.” Galis continued, “The only reason I’m even out here today is to buy food since it’s a lot cheaper here than in the city,”

He saw her face flash in disappointment for a split second, but then the look was gone as if it were never there.

“Ah, congratulations then, I’m happy for you.” She said, “I’m sure you’ll do great.”

He gave a curt nod, and then lightly coughed into his fist. “Well then, with that said, I should get going. I still have a few errands to run.” He returned her ever-present smile with a small one of his own, “I’ll see you later, Marina.”

Galis then turned around to step back out into the busy sun-beaten crowds when a soft but firm grasp held his shoulder in place.

“I’m coming with you.” He heard a stubborn voice behind him.

“What?” He replied.

“You heard me, I’m joining you with whatever the hell it is you're doing.”

“…Why exactly?” Galis asked cautiously causing the merchant girl to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“You practically disappeared from Scorch without a single goodbye months ago, now you come back just to tell me you’re leaving again? At least let me tag along, it’s practically been an eternity for me since I last got to hang out with a friend.” She complained.

“Don’t you know practically everybody here? How have you not hung out with anybody?”

“So? Doesn’t make me any less busy, I’ve got some hours to kill before the Buzzsaws help me unpack cargo anyhow.”

Galis drew his lips to a thin line.

“But surely there are better uses for your time?” He asked.

Marina rolled her eyes at him and began to walk forward.

“Not interested in your excuses Galis, now let's get moving.” She pulled him out into the flow of people.

‘She feels pushier than usual.’ Galis thought, travelling next to her amidst the crowd. It would have been a waste of time to argue with the bull-headed merchant, so he opted to just let her follow him. The longer he spent in Scorch the more danger he was in, so he would simply have to take whatever he could get and leave before anything else happened.

They kept an even pace through the twists and turns of the sweltering marketplace. Passing by the occasional dilapidated building which stuck out like a sore thumb. Valtsomu had originally planned to be expanded much further outward, but after some internal conflict, the plan was scrapped. These buildings were all that remained of that vision.

Marina was easily keeping pace with him, humming an unfamiliar tune as they worked through the crowd.

“Where are we off to anyway?” She asked curiously.

“I’m planning on stopping by at Vini’s because she usually has spare stock for a cheap price. I’ve been running low on food, so I need to stock up.” He replied

“What?!” She exclaimed, looking at him incredulously. “Your ol’ Pal right here is a great trader, why don’t you come to me for this?”

“Remember when you almost scammed me into paying triple what I owed you, due to some ‘Mix up with delivery’?” He deadpanned.

“…Point taken.” Marina sulked, “But in my defence, I didn’t know you as well back then.”

Galis rolled his eyes at her and turned his eyes back onto the path ahead. It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination, compared to most of the other tents and stalls which were covered by tarps to shield away the burning sun, this structure was a lot more barebones.

Old, creaking wooden boards made the pop-up shop look like a gentle wind could collapse it into a pile of dust. The image was not aided by the fact that it was covered head to toe in black talismans which made the structure almost sag with weight.

Sat in the booth looking over a faded travel brochure was a shorter, aged woman. Though not quite old enough to warrant wrinkles, her face still crinkled heavily whenever she smiled. Evidenced by the fact that she did so right as Galis approached her.

“Bel Fortuna!” She said, with a heart chuckle. Slowly clapping her hands which caused the whole structure to shake slightly. “Today really is my lucky day!”

“Good afternoon miss Forganu,” Galis replied with a polite smile, “I hope you are well.”

“Better now that you are here.” She said, the last of her laughs ebbing away. “It has been such time since I last laid my eyes on you young Galis. Tell me of my husband and yourself!”

“Nole is alright, still a big old bundle of joy.”

Vini cackled at his answer, “What praise! My husband would be sure to fly into a rage at this. I am glad he is of no trouble to yourself.”

“He’s only trouble if you let him be,” Galis muttered with a wry smile.

“A fine answer as any, though not many share your opinion. Now how about you young Galis? Where have you been prancing around during the time of which you were absent?”

“He’s been two-timing us, Vini.” Marina cut in unhelpfully. " He said he’s been seeing other jobs in the city. Can you believe him?”

Vini’s eyes widened with shock.

“Tashko!” She exclaimed leaning down closer to him, “This news is of great consequence! You must quickly explain in great detail why you left without explanation.”

“I meant to tell you eventually; I’ve just been so caught up with personal business in Valtsomu.” He grimaced.

“I don’t believe him for the record, I think he just forgot about us.” Marina piped up again.

Galis levelled her with a flat stare, to which she replied by childishly sticking out her tongue.

Vini either didn’t see the interaction or wasn’t paying attention, as she whipped around searching for something amidst the giant piles of assorted knickknacks shelved behind her.

“This job is in the city?” Vini muttered, “This is worthy of celebration.”

“It’s no big deal” Galis replied, “It’s nothing especially grand.”

But the booth owner paid him no mind, putting her fingers in her mouth and emitting a shrill whistle. No sooner had she done so than a distinct metal figure rounded a corner from behind the structure as if it were there the entire time.

The small steel robot wheeled in, it was oval in shape and traversed the dusty road on a large circular saw blade. Its silvery surface was weathered and stained, covered by an old, thick brown cloak cross-stitched with thousands of strange-looking gold symbols.

The Buzzsaw, named after the man who invented it—Victor Buzzsaw—was the result of a breakthrough in household automation. Some years ago, tech companies in Valtsomu developed a fully functional mechanical servant designed to replace all household labour. To nobody's surprise, the technology was expensive, and only the elite could afford the luxury models. That remained the case for many years until one terrible mechanic, obsessed with taking things apart, accidentally reverse-engineered one of these machines after finding it in the trash.

Thinking he could make a fortune; the mechanic mass-produced the design and sold it to the public for a fraction of the original price. He was caught almost immediately and vanished from the public eye, but by then, the damage had already been done. Suddenly, nearly everyone had access to the technology, even if they weren’t the best in quality. The machines became known as Buzzsaws, in honour of the man who, through his greed, inadvertently made life easier for millions.

“Good afternoon, Ms Vini, how may I help?” The machine spoke in a flat monotone voice.

“Tin, darling, could you help me find the Tromsha?”

“Certainly,” Tin replied.

It slid into the booth along Vini through a side door and began carefully moving stacks of boxes and other miscellaneous items.

Galis had seen other Buzzsaws before, but none were dressed quite as strangely as this one, he just brushed it off as one of Vini’s strange hobbies. The woman seemed to hold a deep love for ancient mythology even going as far as covering her entire place of work in odd symbolic items as a homage of some sort.

“Tromsha?” Marina asked curiously, “What’s that?”

“It is my native tongue, Faatal,” Vini replied, her voice muffled as she stuck her head in a box, “It holds the meaning of protection and sincerity.”

“One thing can hold two meanings?”

“Such is the nature of, Faatal,” Vini said, turning around with a disparaged look, “I am deeply sorry, Galis I seem to be more and more disorganised these days.”

He shook his head lightly.

“It’s not a problem, you didn’t need to give me anything anyway,” Galis said with a small smile.

Seconds later Tin popped up next to Vini, “I have located the item.” The machine said, holding up a smooth circular disk. It was an intermingling black and white stone with a large green eye carved into the centre.

Galis accepted the object humbly, as it was handed over to him. He didn’t want to turn down a gift after all.

“That is the eye of The Journeyman,” Vini said, sagely stroking her chin, “Its purpose is to draw kind-hearted, honest people toward you in your travels and shield you from those with malintent.”

“I see,” He replied tracing a thumb over the cold stone, “Thank you Vini.”

“No, thank you young Galis,” She said, “We will miss you dearly.”