Elmer stood up and crossed the alleyway toward Nick and Newt where they were seated.

As soon as he came before the pair, they looked up at him sharply, their rough and moist brown hairs, accompanied by their hollow cheeks, making them appear more spent now that he saw them up close.

“Hello, I’m Elmer.” He leaned over and introduced himself first with a smile—courtesy demanded as he had been taught by the doctor: Eli Atkinson. “I heard you chaps talking about something rather interesting, and it honestly did catch my attention. Do you mind letting me in on it?”

Nick stretched out his palm immediately, and Elmer suddenly turned abash. It was not free. Ostrich-lady was right. But he would not accept defeat. Now, he just had to see if it was cheaper than hers.

“Seven pence,” Nick said almost as soon as Elmer finished arranging his thoughts, unknowingly shattering his little heart.

Elmer’s lips twitched as he wrenched his gaze away from theirs in silence, straightened himself, and left their presence. There was little to no need to bargain with such an absurd starting price.

“Told you,” Ostrich-lady said to him as soon as he dropped himself back beside her. Then, without giving him a moment to relax she added, “Five pence.” Her palm outstretched.

Elmer jerked his head to the side as his face squeezed. “What? You said four pence just now.” He was taken aback by this daylight robbery.

“No,” she voiced. “Just now I said five. Four pence was given to you before you stood up and went to the boys.” Then there it was again, her coy smile.

Elmer lifted a brow. “You don’t even have an idea of what I want to know about?”

“Bounty hunting. Isn’t it?”

Elmer gasped. “How do you know that?”

Ostrich-lady sucked in a quick breath and shook her head. “We are seated in an alleyway, how hard do you think it is to hear conversations?”

True.

Elmer smacked his lips. “And you can answer all my questions?”

“Certainly.” She smiled and nodded her head, ginger hair bouncing up and down, as she outstretched her palm again.

Elmer let out a sigh and dug out five pence from the money in his waist bag—while hiding it from her shamelessly searching gaze—before he put it into her palm. She squeezed it with a satisfied look and nodded.

“So, what exactly about the bounty hunters do you want to know?” she asked.

“Everything about them and how to become one.” He was paying five pence, of course he wanted to get his money’s worth.

“Alright.” Ostrich-lady cleared her throat and started to answer Elmer’s question. “Bounty hunting is just a job. I’d say it’s something like being a police official, but just slightly advanced. The policemen take on the day responsibilities of petty crimes, but the bounty hunters take on the real job—the job of night.” She raised a finger and waved it dramatically, and Elmer was suddenly filled with a slight chill.

The job of night… Doesn’t sound too appealing…

“Strange things come out at night,” she continued, “and that’s why not just anyone can take on the work of a bounty hunter.”

Elmer suddenly recalled the events of the night five years ago when Mabel’s soul had been… His face scrunched slightly with anger, but he quickly lowered his head and adjusted his glasses until it softened up so ostrich-lady would not notice.

“What are these night things?” Elmer questioned, and ostrich-lady grimaced.

“Any added question is three pence,” she told Elmer, shaking him into a shudder, but he remained silent nonetheless. “Don’t interrupt me again.” She eased off her grimace and resumed. “Because of the difficulties of bounty hunting, only the Ascenders are capable of handling such jobs.”

Ascenders… Elmer’s gaze narrowed into slits.

“The Ascenders are those who are able to use the powers of the Gods. Those who have seen them say they are stronger and faster than us normal humans, and I’ve even heard that they can cast spells and do some weird magic tricks.” She seemed to be enjoying herself, seeing as she had said the latter half in some sort of a taunting whisper. Was she expecting him to be scared? And besides…

They’re not magic tricks, they’re rituals…

Elmer had seen how revolting the methods of these Ascenders were firsthand. He could boldly say that whatever they did was not some mere magic trick; it was something sickening that had rid his sister of all life and turned her into a breathing shell. His mouth became bitter.

“But they were not born that way,” ostrich-lady drew Elmer away from his vexing thoughts as she carried on. “The Ascenders were not born with the powers of the Gods. In fact, it’s fairly easy to get these powers.”

Elmer’s face tightened, and without his knowledge he let words of question slip out of his mouth, “Fairly easy? How so?”

He already knew all she had said about the Ascenders through Pip, but he had let her blabber on regardless, hoping she would somehow tie it back to the bounty hunting job he had asked about. However, what did she mean by it was easy? Pip had said it wasn’t—at least for people of their social status. The money to enroll was expensive. Or was there some other way to get into the Church of Time’s college?

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Ostrich-lady pulled a face. “You’re lucky that’s a part of my explanation.” She tsked and went on with it. “Through elixirs.”

“It”… Elmer knew immediately. Then what about the Church’s college?

“It’s through the elixirs that a person can become an Ascender. Quite easy, right? Only, they are very expensive and can only be made by Alchemists with the emperor’s seal.”

Alchemists? Elmer was confused. She had yet to mention the college.

“Wait. What do you mean by that? I thought you could only become an Ascender by going through the Church’s college?” What was going on? Had all Pip told him been nonsense—every single thing?

“Alright.” Ostrich-lady clapped her hands once and snapped him out of his thoughts. “That’s all I know.”

“Huh?” Elmer’s stomach had a heavy feeling. “Wait, wait. That can’t be all? You have to answer my questions.”

The ginger haired lady turned her nose up at him. “No. I’ve said your money’s worth already.” She stretched out her palm. “Unless you have more to pay?”

Elmer clenched his fist as he glanced at her palm before taking his eyes back to meet her gaze. “Then just answer one last question for me.” She rolled her eyes with a deep inhale, but that did not stop him. “Becoming an Ascender is not only possible through enrolling in the Church of Time’s college?”

The lady sighed. “What are you saying? No one becomes an Ascender by attending the Church of Time’s college. Wait. Why did I just explain the basics of being an Ascender to you?” She grumbled as she scratched her hair. “I’m doing it again.”

Elmer felt himself sinking into the ground.

If the college did not lecture people on how to become Ascenders, then how was he going to learn about them and find a way to save Mabel? It was not fair. His whole purpose for coming to this city was crumbling down. What was he going to do now?

“I’ve told you all I know though. The only way to know more about the Ascenders is by becoming one.” The lady said, and Elmer shifted his eyes from the ground back to her. “Think of it as something like driving the steam cars. We all know this is how they are driven, but to actually know why it moves the way it does we’ll have to become drivers. I guess, I’m not sure. Well, that’s that.”

Becoming an Ascender… Elmer swung deep into his mind. Was that… Was it truly the only way?

“Do you want to become one?” The tiny voice of the ginger-haired lady abruptly drew Elmer out of the drowning waters of his thoughts. He looked at her dumbfoundedly and she put in again, “Do you want to become an Ascender?”

Elmer breathed out deeply and peered down into his hands. “I… I don’t know.”

The Gods were beings he hated. How could he take ahold of their help? But what if that was really the only way to save Mabel? Becoming an Ascender? Elmer shut his eyes and flung himself into the darkness beneath his eyelids, that was until the lady beside him pulled him out again.

“It’s dangerous,” she said, but he knew she was not warning him or talking him against it, as what she put in next did not align with that. “If you want to do it though, then you’ll need money. I know a way.”

The silent demeanor which had been on her face a moment ago suddenly vanished, and in its place returned the rowdy aura she had brought with herself at the start.

Something illegal… Elmer immediately deduced.

“Think about it. You’ll make enough money to get the Ascender elixir, and after that you can become a bounty hunter which means far greater money than you could ever make from just carrying bags.” She looked at his slender arms and scoffed momentarily. “Even though you look weak, but I’m sure you can pull it off.”

Somehow, that made Elmer laugh, but in a weird manner. “What do you mean weak? I’m not weak, this is just—”

“Sure.” She brushed it off, then went back to trying to convince the person she had just demeaned. “It’s money I’m talking to you about. Don’t you have a tingle-tingle feeling in your heart to know what the job is?”

Elmer downturned his lips for a moment as if to ponder. “Alright, what’s the job?”

Ostrich-lady smiled. “Taking back what’s mine.”

“You mean stealing what’s not yours?” Elmer was not surprised. He had already expected it to be that sort of job.

“No,” she grimaced, “I’m taking back what’s mine.”

“Sure.” Elmer gave her a cold-shoulder and turned his face away from her. But as usual, she was quite persistent.

She jumped into his front and fed his gaze with her face. “I’m serious here. I swear it’s not stealing.”

“Really? How come? If this thing you want to take back is not at your place, how is it not stealing?” Elmer wanted to hear what sort of lie she would come up with.

“Because it was taken from me.” Her face turned grim and Elmer’s eyebrows twitched in response. “The landlord, he took it all after my father’s death, saying it was all his, every single thing.” Her face tightened further.

What’s this…? Isn’t she supposed to be lying…? No, no… don’t forget, Elmer. She is lying…

“If this man said it was all his, doesn’t that mean it actually is?” Elmer questioned.

“No.” She shook her head sullenly. “None of what he took was his. He said my father owed him some money, but that was a lie. My father never owed him anything—he never owed anyone anything. I tried explaining to the police but none of them would take my words over the words of the landlord. Can you see now? It’s actually mine. I was duped.”

Hierarchies… Elmer’s chest squeezed as he remembered the steam car’s condescending driver, and how the Merchant’s District looked like. Maybe she was not lying after all.

“Then how come you never tried taking it back ever since?” Even though he no longer felt like she was lying, skepticism still lingered somewhere within him.

“Who told you I’ve not tried?” She creased her eyebrows at him. “I’m not just fast enough on my own. You were quite fast yesterday, that’s why I’m asking you. Come on, I’m even going to pay you enough money for your help.”

Elmer eyed her with a glint of suspicion still. “Why me? Why did you not ask the others seated in this alleyway or anywhere else?”

“Ugh,” she grunted and fell to sit on the ground. Even he knew how tiring he was. “If any other person could be of help to me why would I keep bothering with you?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Elmer clicked his tongue.

“So, come on. It’s not like it’s something illegal, and you’ll still make quite some money.” She placed her hands on his knees as she widened her eyes at him.

Elmer did not like this one bit. But Pip had fed him nonsense about the college, and now his plans had all come crashing down. The prospect that being an Ascender was probably the only way to bring Mabel’s soul back was all that remained.

And to be an Ascender he would need the elixir that would turn him into one—and of course the money for that. If what ostrich-lady was saying bore any truth, then it might be foolish for him to lose out on it.

It’s not illegal… Elmer closed his eyes and assured himself, then opened it once again. “When and where?”