Lukas yawned in the early morning light, trying to keep his jaw from dislocating. He’d been up late last night and had a scant few hours of sleep. Now, just before dawn, he was already on his way to Mazer’s Emporium.

He’d left his sister still sleeping at home with a loaf of bread and slices of hard yellow cheese. Ten HiJin of it cost as much as a fresh loaf of bread but it would be worth it when he imagined her eyes lighting up at the treat.

It had been a week since he started work and already he felt much more confident in meeting his goals. While the daily wage from Mazer wasn’t much more than what he’d earn on his own, he frequently had enough Animus left over from the day to sell to the cartridge shop for about four or five copper pennies.

He was also fed at midday so he saved costs there, too. The past week, he was mostly working in the warehouse despite what Mazer originally said, double-checking the crates to audit the weight. He wasn’t the only one to do so, of course, another with a similar technique as his Facet worked for Mazer, too. He hadn’t officially met the other auditor though.

Today was the day he and Aengus worked in the docks. Not the River Quay but the Chaos Channel Quay. He had to meet with Aengus first though and then the two of them would head over to the Northern Mid Ring.

He left the shack early because he still couldn’t afford to pay for the Circuit Tram ride up to the Southern Mid Ring. They would have to take the Tram to get to North but at least that one would be paid for by the Emporium.

He’d also been given working clothes by Mazer, on loan as long as he worked for the Emporium. It was a plain-looking shirt, light brown and made of woven cotton. It soaked in his sweat when he worked and stank after a day’s labour in the sweltering warehouse but it was definitely better than his threadbare outfits.

The early morning air was nice and cool, a bit breezy. The Season of Fire’s heat came in by midmorning and at least the Channel would be cooler. A few minutes walk and he was finally at the Stairs of Torment as it was colloquially called. Five hundred steps up from the Lower Ring to the Southern Mid. The first time he tried climbing, he had to stop after a hundred steps to catch his breath. He wound up late that day. Still, it was technically the shorter route compared to taking the circumferential road.

“Well, on to the trials!” He smacked his cheeks and started climbing. Lukas took the steps at an even pace. Every twenty-five steps was a landing and a stone bench to rest. He breezed past the first three landings but when his legs started protesting, he sat on a bench and looked at the view.

While he wasn’t that high up yet, there were few buildings in the Lower Ring that exceeded three storeys high. It generally sloped down from the base of the cliff, though the lay of the land rose towards the north. A minute later, he felt better and continued climbing, stopping to rest every three landings he climbed past. He worked up a fine sweat by the time he arrived at the top.

He continued down Gemstone Boulevard until he arrived at 28 Quartz Avenue, knocked on the gate, and was let in. The sun still hadn’t fully risen when he entered. Aengus stood in the lounge, a cup of steaming tea in hand, looking as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as a cat that got to the cream.

“Good morning. Have a cup of tea first. We’re not due at the Quay for another hour.”

“Is the Arkship here already?” he asked as he joined Aengus.

“Of course, we wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“I guess you really can’t see it unless you’re at the Quay.”

“Or some of the tunnels,” Aengus smirked. “The mountain is riddled with them “

‘Ah, the tunnels under the city.’ Lukas thought with a shudder. Tales at bedtime spoke of the shadowmen and creepers dwelling in the endless tunnels, just waiting for a disobedient child to come near enough for them to whisk away and turn into stew. Tales to frighten children, he knew now, but there was always a grain of truth in every tale.

Some of those tunnels led to the planar barrier, and in some cases especially during the Full Moon, something could come through. All of the entrances were guarded by the militia and the Duke’s armed forces, though he wondered why they didn’t just block them all off with boulders or just plain collapse the tunnels. He could never know how the ruling elite decided things, so he threw the thought at the back of his mind.

He served himself tea from the pot, adding a generous dollop of cream and honey which made it so sweet it made his teeth ache. He’d been more modest a few days earlier but since Aengus helped himself to the honey, Lukas figured it was fine.

They both sipped their tea in silence. Lukas felt the honey perk him up after the morning commute, enough that he felt he could easily get through the day. He’d probably be at the quay until evening, considering the amount of cargo he’d have to audit.

When they were done, Aengus handed him a packed lunch and they left the warehouse cum office. The sun had started warming up the morning by the time they arrived at the waiting shed. The Tram was already there, picking up passengers. They managed to get a couple of the last few seats and they were off.

Lukas tried to peer down the Channel when they were crossing the Gap but the Chaos light drowned out everything else. He felt both awe and terror radiating from it, though from how Aengus and the other passengers brushed it off, it was a natural occurrence.

The Tram dropped them off at the waiting shed nearest the Quay but that still left a substantial distance for them to walk. The early morning had a lot of pedestrians heading to the market or maybe other places of work. There were a few kids running around; Lukas dodged a couple of them as they burst past him, giggling.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

They were about to cross an intersection when Aengus nudged his side and whistled in a low tone. He had a smirk on his face and he rolled his eyes ostensibly to point out a direction. Lukas turned to look and immediately saw what, or rather who, the other boy was looking at.

It was that incredibly beautiful but cold-looking girl from his first day at Mazer’s, and she was running down the sidewalk coming towards their direction. Her long hair was in a ponytail that fluttered behind her and her cheeks were slightly flushed, just enough to accentuate her fair complexion. It was only after she ran past them that Lukas realized how fast she was going. She had run around the block by the time he blinked his eyes. Nearly unnoticed behind her, was the pair of twins, looking plump, well-fed, and, frankly, exhausted.

“Whew, now that’s a sight you don’t see every day,” Aengus grinned.

Lukas shook his head. “She’s out of our league.”

“One can dream.”

“I’d rather focus on what’s within reach,” Lukas said shortly. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah.” Aengus shook his head as though to clear his mind. “Right, we’re due in a few minutes.”

The both of them hurried to Channel Quay Road, passing through a checkpoint where Aengus presented their papers. They entered a building that stood flush against the cliff face. Light and heavy haulers trundled in and out of the tunnel road beside it. After signing the logbook at the counter, there were nearly a dozen lines doing the same, the two of them were finally allowed into the quay.

This was the first time Lukas would see an Arkship and he imagined it to be a particularly large version of the river barge he could see in the Lower Ring’s river quay.

They walked for a while until one side of the tunnel opened into the Channel. The Chaos swirling inside was held back by the light of several lamps set every fifty paces along the side. Lukas peered up and saw a sliver of the sky. While the Gap narrowed to about a couple dozen paces when viewed through the bridge, it widened again considerably once they were inside. Across the chasm was another set of docks that weren't open to the public.

There was also a huge metal wall that blocked out the Channel. Where was the Arkship though? They’ve been walking for a few minutes and he still hasn't seen the vessel .

“Where is it? I thought you said the Arkship was here already?” Lukas couldn't help asking.

“You’re blind.” Aengus snorted then he pointed towards the wall. Lukas frowned. Was it smaller than he expected?

“Where?”

Aengus sighed. “You’ll see.”

But of course, there was nothing there. Only when Lukas saw the steel ramp leading into it did he realize that the ‘wall’ was actually the hull of the Arkship. He looked up, and up, and up. The mountain was at least a hundred paces high and who knew how deep the gorge went. The top part of the Arkship went just above the lip next to the Upper Ring’s passenger docks.

“Ancestors!”

“Yeah,” Aengus agreed.

“Are we going to board?” Lukas asked hopefully.

“‘Fraid not. We’re headed to the cargo holding area.”

The holding area turned out to be a large rectangular room that was carved directly from the mountain. The walls were bare though the ceiling had several light panels that shed warm light. Unfortunately, the height of the place was about three storeys, with crates packed on shelves all the way up to the ceiling. That meant that there were a lot of shadowed areas along the corridors.

There were dozens, if not hundreds, of clerks, auditors, and stevedores bustling around the cargo. Lukas and Aengus headed to their berth, corridor 50, column 12. Level 2.

“More stairs.” Lukas groaned. At least it was only up one flight. They arrived where Mazer’s cargo was being held for inspection. Aengus gave Lukas the crystal screen with the list. It was mostly a string of letters and numbers printed on the side of the crates that he had to match, and double-check the weight.

There was minimal variance, Lukas discovered, mostly from the humidity that may have caused the wood swell. He found all nineteen crates to be in order and it only took him a couple of hours to do so.

Well, he was done already. Lukas wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Aengus?” he called out.

No answer. Frowning, he looked around and didn’t find his, er, handler.

“Aengus I’m done!” he called a little louder.

With no answer forthcoming, Lukas climbed down to the bottom level and glanced up and down the corridor. Aside from a stevedore carrying a crate half as tall as he was over his shoulders, there was no one else there. The man glanced at him curiously but focused on his task.

“Aengus?” Lukas picked a direction and walked that way, looking up at the higher levels only to realize that from his angle, he couldn’t see much beyond the number dock plates. “Hey, where in Chaos did you wander off to?”

He reached the end of the corridor and went over to the next one. Still no Aengus. He was thinking to just head to the lounge area to wait but his handler was supposed to stay with him and double-check his work. Besides, the paperwork that would allow him to leave the cargo holding area was with the other boy.

He skipped the next couple of corridors, except when he reached the following on, corridor 56, he got the urge to go down it to check.

“Aengus!”

“Hsst!”

“Huh?” Lukas looked up. Aengus was on the third level looking down at him with narrowed eyes. He held his finger across his lips and shushed.

Lukas shrugged and leaned against a column while the other boy went deeper into the storage area. A few minutes later, he came down the stairs and nodded. “You were finished earlier than I expected.”

“Yeah, well,” Lukas shrugged. “What were you doing up--!”

Aengus clapped his hand over Lukas’ mouth. “Shh! Not here. I’ll tell you later. Don’t talk about it.”

Lukas nodded mutely but he frowned even harder. When Aengus removed his hand, “I don’t like this. What is this about?” He did keep his voice down though.

“Later, I said!” Aengus hissed. “Come on!”

He grabbed Lukas’ arm and dragged him off. The other boy was stronger than his wiry frame suggested and Lukas barely kept to his feet as he was pulled along a few dozen paces. When he finally got his balance, Aengus let go. Lukas was curious and quite suspicious of the other boy by now, but he decided to keep silent until he talked. If he didn’t explain, he could always complain to Mazer later.

They returned to the lounge and Aengus grabbed their food from the lockers. They headed over to the cafeteria down the road and settled on a booth. They ate quietly, with Lukas glaring at the other boy. Aengus simply ignored him and ate mechanically, taking a sip of water every now and then.

The sandwich should have been delicious but Lukas barely even remembered eating. When they were done, he tapped his fingers on the table. “Well?”

“I won’t give you any details,” Aengus began, “not here anyway.” He glanced around the cafeteria filled with working-class men and women. The buzz of conversation drowned out any individual words even from three paces away. Aengus leaned over the table and motioned for Lukas to do the same. Then he spoke in a low voice, barely audible even from this close, “Aren’t you tired of living in this hand to mouth existence?”

Lukas jerked back, his mouth opening and closing but he couldn’t say anything. What was there to be tired off? The Fates have dealt him this hand and it was up to him to use it. He could only do his best to make sure Kiruna received a better deal than he did. Still…

“What do you mean?” He couldn’t help but lean even closer.

Aengus’ lips curled into a smile, there was a vicious light in his eyes.