It's only a few small blocks before I make it to the main road. I turn east, and start walking at a quick pace. I want to get to the river and start washing since it's getting late. Even in the middle of summer, it's going to start cooling off. I'm getting kind of sore from lifting that absurdly heavy hammer earlier, but I still try to go quickly. The crowds aren't so bad at this time of day, so I don't need to fight to get through which is nice. Especially when passing through the central market, which is normally packed full of people.
I poke idly at The Reeb while my mind wanders. Eventually, an odd thought occurs to me. I pretend to kick it with each step. Moving my mana in time with my feet, I whack it in a steady, quick rhythm. Kick, kick, kick, kick...
Apparently this is enough to occupy me for quite some time, because I arrive at the East Gate while I'm mindlessly kicking away. I'm one of the only ones heading out, unlike the large numbers of people coming in through the gate. I wonder where they're all coming from? No one pays me any mind, so I just push through the crowd. I glance at the guards as usual, but don't see Francis here today. Then I proceed through the gate.
Wait! My mind lurches as a thought from earlier surfaces late, after I've almost put Francis out of my mind again. I haven't talked about mana with anyone yet because I don't know if they know about it or if it's only a rail unit thing. I can ask Francis about that since he knows about me, and about rail units. He should be able to tell me if most people know of mana, if they know rail units have it, or even if it's something exclusive to rail units or not. However, I don't really have any particularly good time to meet him. I'll just have to wait until I spot him while I'm going into or out of the city.
But then he'll be on duty, so I shouldn't take up too much of his time... I can't go meet him after his shift either. He always got home after the twelfth bell, and I need to be inside by then... This is surprisingly difficult. Maybe in the morning? If I get out quickly after breakfast, I can go to the garrison and meet him right before he starts work, right? Given the difference in the distance from the orphanage and Francis' house, I'll really have to run if I want to beat him there.
Once I settle on that, I return to my current task, getting washed up. I pull off my robe, then look at my scraps of cloth. I still have mine, tied into a tiny pouch with my one tin, plus the little rust ball inside. Then there's the new scrap of cloth I bought today, but I owe it to the orphanage. So for the time being, I transfer the two bits of metal to the other cloth and enter the river with mine.
The flashbacks are as bad as ever, but I forcibly ignore them as best I can while scrubbing the dark soot, as well as weeks of sticky grime, from my skin. I work on my hair for a bit too, bringing it to a considerably lighter shade of gray than before. It's too much time and work to get it completely clean, but that should be enough that it doesn't knot up so easily, so I move on. Standing just at the edge of the river, I soak my robe in the warm summer water and wring it out.
However, my arms are so tired from earlier that I can hardly accomplish anything. So I lean against some rocks at the edge of the river, using the weight of my body to scrub it against the rocks. It lightens a good deal as well before my already tired, burning arms are almost completely unusable again. That's when I call it quits. I squeeze out my last bit of energy to wring what water I can from it before putting it back on.
It's not too long until the tenth bell. I should be back by the eleventh, so I'll have a little time left over. I start walking, the sun slowly falling to the bottom of the sky in front of me.
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I settle back into the same rhythm of kicking The Reeb in time with my footsteps. It's a surprisingly good way to pass the time as I walk. Though it kind of makes me think I've completely given up on figuring out what the thing is. My mind goes back to when it seemed to move suddenly back in the blacksmith workshop. That's a starting point at least. Maybe if I try to recreate that situation I can figure something out. So, just attempt to lift something really heavy? Or maybe it was because the hammer was kind of like a weapon. Does it react to weapons?
Of course, it could also be specific to being at a blacksmith's workshop for some reason, but there's no good way to test that. So that's what I'll work on. Testing whether it relates to heavy things or weapons. Getting something heavy shouldn't be too hard, but where am I supposed to find a weapon? If I go back to the rail program building I can try with the sparring weapons, but those are really heavy, so I don't know if that would really help much. Not to mention that I don't want to set foot in that building again unless I absolutely have to.
"Well, I should just start with something heavy," I think aloud, "if it works, I can probably rule out weapons?" Though I should probably still test that to be sure, but if something heavy is enough to get it to move again, I might be able to figure out more about The Reeb from that. I'll just leave weapons until later.
I'm most of the way back to the central plaza, mind wandering through my plans, and continuing to idly kick The Reeb around, when something new occurs to me. I'm going to go to the guard barracks early tomorrow. Where is it? I went there once with Marrianne, and again with Francis, but I wasn't really paying close attention to the exact location at the time. It was definitely near the main road, over in the northwest district. I should go past there again to make sure I know exactly where it is, since I need to get there as soon as possible tomorrow.
I continue straight through the central plaza toward West Main Street, passing through the market as it begins to slow down for the night. I wonder if they sell any weapons? I never saw any at other markets, but maybe the central market has some? I don't want to waste time, so I only glance at the wares as I pass. Nothing seems to jump out though, just normal shop stuff like I always see. I move on without worrying about it much. Maybe weapons are sold some other way. Francis always had a sword, but he's a guard- wait, Francis has a sword! I can just ask him to let me hold it tomorrow! I hurry on my way toward the guard barracks.
Eventually, I stop and look at the surrounding buildings. "I think it was around here..." I head up an alley on the north side of the main street, walking a couple blocks while looking both ways at each intersection to see if there's anything that looks familiar. I circle back to the main road a couple times, moving a few blocks east and west before trying again, but nothing is looking particularly familiar. I end up in a small well plaza between a few buildings unsure if I'm near where I'm trying to go, or far off the mark.
For now I can just try asking someone. I go to a woman washing clothes near the well and ask if she knows where the guard barracks is.
"What, are you lost?" the woman asks, looking a little concerned.
"Ah, no, I'm fine. I'm just looking for someone and they should be somewhere around the guard barracks." I try to quickly calm her worries.
"Is that so?" She does look a bit relieved. Are lost children taught to go to the barracks? That is where Marrianne brought me to ask about missing children... "It should be over... that way," the woman points in a general direction. "It's not that far away."
I nod, say, "Thank you," and follow in the direction she pointed. I walk a little ways, until I think I've gone far enough probably, and try circling through the surrounding blocks, but I'm still coming up empty. It doesn't help that the streets in this area are much smaller than other sections of the city. They're practically the size of alleys elsewhere. I just can't seem to remember the look of the area I'm searching for. I know the guard barracks is a wooden building with a strong looking stone foundation. But I didn't look that closely at any of the other buildings around it, so I'm kind of stuck.
I keep walking, but I'm not sure if I'm even going in the right direction at this point. I guess I'll go back to the main road and try again. If all else fails, I can backtrack all the way to the market plaza and ask for directions.
"I didn't expect it to be so hard to find, it's a good thing I'm doing this today instead of tomorrow," I sigh. "Now the main road is..." I turn. Which way was it? I turn around a few more times. I never really explored this far west, so I don't know this area of the city at all. I look up to get my bearings, but the sun has already gone below the tall buildings that press close on the sides of the narrow streets here. The strip of sky I can see is too small to tell which direction the sunlight is coming from, and I can't see the city walls either...
I sigh, then start walking again. Since I can't determine my direction here, I need to find a more open area first. A larger road will give me more visibility so I can find my way back to the main road. Once I'm there I'll be able to navigate again. It's not too long before I reach a little plaza with a well. I check the roads out of the plaza and follow the largest one. I continue following a few more roads. They twist and turn more than I'm used to in other areas of the city. Were the blocks not as well thought out when they were building these streets? Nevertheless, I continue following the path onto progressively larger roads, when I hit a sudden dead end.
What in the world? I know the streets here are smaller than other areas of the city, but this street is at least the size of the streets elsewhere in town! I sigh, searching the nearby alleys for a cut through.
"Hey little girl, are you lost?" a man calls out. I turn back.
"Actually, yeah, I think I am kind of lost," I respond. I guess I did wind up lost after all. I look up at the man. Based on his clothes, he's a peasant, but doesn't look too badly off. At least he's able to keep his clothing patched together, unlike the people in the area I live in now.
"Where are you going?"
"Just trying to get back to the main road." I can work on finding the garrison once I'm back somewhere I recognize.
"Ahh, yeah. Streets around here are real tricky. Lots of folks wind up dead-ended here because this looks like it'll lead back. Here, this is the way," he starts walking to one of the alleyways I was looking at. "Right through here, go straight for a while and it'll get you back to the main street." He points through the alley.
"Oh, thanks a lot."
"It's no problem," he responds. I walk through the alley. It crosses over another tiny street on the other side. I go into the next alley on the other side of the street and continue on. The path winds through a number of buildings before coming out to a tiny plaza, squeezed between four buildings at each corner.
"You lost, honey?" a man asks. He's sitting by one of the buildings. He stands as I start to walk past.
"Kind of, a man said I can make it back to the main road by walking through here," I point straight ahead like he told me.
"The main road? I can show you the way," he volunteers.
"Ah, that's fine, I don't want to impose," I try not to bother him, I already got directions after all.
"It's no problem, the roads around here are tricky," he says almost the exact same thing as the last man, not that it makes it any less true. These roads are ridiculous... "You can get turned around really easy if you don't know the way."
"Well then, thank you for your help." I nod to him. He's offering, and I really don't want to get even more lost than I already am, so I figure accepting his help makes the most sense here. He begins to lead the way, out the other side of the tiny plaza, and he begins to take me through the winding streets. A couple of times, he turns onto one of the forks in the path. If I'd tried to keep walking straight ahead, I definitely would have missed these turns and ended up more lost, wouldn't I? It's a relief having a guide for this area, I'll need to watch out for it in the future.
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We continue down the tiny alley-like roads cutting through the tall buildings on all sides. The buildings press so close there's surprisingly little light in this area, even during the day. Eventually, the man stops suddenly and turns back to me. "We're here," he says, pushing open a door into a building next to us.
"I'm sorry, I said I was going to the main road." I must not have been clear enough earlier.
"Oh, is that so?" he says, laughing at his mistake.
While he says that, he pushes me through the open door. I stumble a few steps into the area while the door slams behind me.
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What the? What's happening? It's pitch black in here, I can't see anything at all. I turn around and walk back to the door, running my hands over the wooden surface, but there doesn't seem to be any way to open it from this side. I turn back around. It's so dark, will I even be able to see when my eyes adjust fully? I don't know if I'll be able to see anything even then.
Just what is going on here? Why would someone suddenly push me into a random building? Before I can figure anything out, I need to explore this area. Since it's so dark, activating my divine gear for light is the most obvious solution. But that would reveal my identity, and I have no idea if I'm alone or not.
I try to listen for anyone else, and something catches my ear. It feels like I'm breathing really loudly, so I hold my breath for a few moments to listen more closely. I can hear the breath of someone else here. It's really quiet though. "Hello?" I ask into the darkness, but they don't answer. I slowly walk forward, holding my arms out groping in the dark.
After a few steps, I get a better idea of where the breathing is coming from, and move that way. "Hello?" I ask again quietly when I get near them. For some reason, I hear them scuffing against the floor and sliding away from me. I quickly follow the sound. "Is something wrong?" I'm worried that they aren't answering. Is it an animal maybe? Not a person?
I hear a thunk, like they backed up into a wall, and they start whimpering. It definitely sounds like a person... Kneeling down, I touch the them. They're small, definitely a child. At first, they shake in my hands. So I draw them into a hug. This always makes me feel better, so maybe it will help them too. Feeling their body more closely now, they are even smaller than me, maybe four or five years old. "My name is Aria, who are you?" I ask softly.
"Jenny..." they whimper. So a little girl? It sounds like she's about to cry at any moment.
"Hi Jenny, it's nice to meet you," I try to keep her calm.
"I want my Mommy..." she continues to sniffle and whine.
I don't know where her mother would be, so I try asking. "Where did you last see her?"
"We were going shopping, but then she was gone..." She starts to shake again and I squeeze her a little tighter.
"So, how did you end up here?"
"A man told me he would help me find her, but then he brought me here. I just want my Mommy back..." she sobs.
"Don't worry, we'll find your Mommy," I reassure her, though I'm really starting to get worried. It sounds like she ended up here the same way I did. Is that man doing this to multiple children? But why? There must be something in it for him, but I don't know what. For the time being, I have to find out what's in this room. "Hey Jenny, is there anyone else in here with you?" I ask.
"No..." I can feel her shake her head.
"Ok, can you close your eyes for a bit?"
"Why?"
"It's going to get really bright in here and it'll hurt your eyes," I tell her.
"Ok..."
"Just keep them covered until I tell you that you to look again, ok?" I ask to make sure she understands. I feel her nod a few times. I gently help her cover her eyes with her hands to make extra sure. I don't want her to see my divine gear, but I'm not lying when I say seeing it would really hurt her eyes after being in this dark room for a long time.
"Ok, just give me a little time. Be a good girl and don't look, I'll be right here the whole time." She whimpers a little as I take a step away from her, but seems to be waiting obediently for now. I have to do this quickly.
After a deep breath, I light up my divine gear completely. Unexpectedly, The Reeb reacts again, but I ignore it, much more important things to do now. My gear blazes to life, suddenly illuminating the dark room in stark white. The sudden change feels like I'm stabbing my dark-adjusted eyes with fire. I wince for a while before the pain subsides and I can basically see again. Once I can, I turn in place to get a good look at the area we're in.
Firstly, it's tiny. Hardly ten paces across, even for me. Unfortunately, there is nothing here. It's just an empty room with empty wooden walls, an empty wooden floor, and a single wooden door leading out, with no handle on this side. No windows, no furniture, no decorations, nothing. Just us and the door we can't open.
I let my gear go out again. What do I do in this situation? Even if I rule out finding the guard barracks tonight, I still need to get home by curfew. Not to mention, I also need to get Jenny back to her mother.
So of course the main goal is escaping this room, but how? I don't have anything to use, or any way to open the door. Fear finally begins to take hold on my heart. I sit back down with Jenny, hugging her to my side. "It's ok, you can look again now." I whisper. I have no idea how to get out of here. I don't even know why I'm here in the first place. I try to keep myself composed. I can't start crying now. I need to think.
I have... two pieces of cloth, a ball of tin, bit of rust, my robe, my shoes, and... That's it, isn't it? I feel at my shoes briefly. They're made of solid strips of some tough material with no laces like other shoes I've seen, so I don't even have laces, which might have been useful... somehow.
I go back to just sitting with Jenny. With her whimpering at my side, I don't think I can hold myself together much longer.
"Hey Jenny, do you have anything with you? Anything at all?" I ask. I'm trying not to sound desperate. She just shakes her head. I hug her close again. "That's fine... I'm sorry, I... I don't think I can get us out of here right now. Let's just wait a bit, ok?"
"Ok." she replies sadly. I can't take sitting in this dark room with no way out, but I don't want to make Jenny even more scared, so I turn my face away and let myself cry silently. It feels a little better, but I'm still so scared, I have no idea what's going to happen. All I can do is wait for the situation to change.
While waiting in the dark, I continue to push The Reeb anxiously. If only you could miraculously solve this situation, I think at it. But the thing doesn't seem to have any function. I squeeze it repeatedly, trying to take out some of my anxiety and stress on it, but it's not helping. I can't seem to squeeze the thing anyway, it doesn't compress at all when I try. I don't know if I'm even doing it right to squeeze it or not. I can't control the situation inside myself either... My heart just keeps sinking as I wait.
Without warning, the door suddenly opens again. I see a boy stumble in before it slams closed once more. Why is someone pushing children into this tiny room? "Hey! Let me out!" the boy suddenly shouts, banging on the door. He slams repeatedly, so loud and hard the sound seems to shake the room we're in, but the door doesn't budge at all. "Damn..." he finally seems to calm down after a while.
I gulp. Even if I'm really scared, I've been trying to stay calm because I don't understand the situation. He just went all out on the door, immediately trying to break it. I hadn't thought of that at all. I'm nervous after his outburst, but I speak up anyway. Maybe he can help me come up with more possible solutions I haven't been able to think of.
"H-hello?" I say quietly.
"Who's there?!" the boy shouts. He already sounds angry again.
"M-my name is Aria, this is Jenny. We're trapped in here too."
"Ahh, so they took you too?" He suddenly sounds less angry, but kind of resigned.
"They? I guess so? Do you know what's going on?"
"Huh? We're being kidnapped, obviously!" He seems to get angry as easily as Mister Fredricson. But I don't understand, so I have to keep asking questions even as he shouts at me.
"What does 'kidnapped' mean? I don't understand."
"You don't even know that?" He sighs. I hear him sit heavily against the door across from us. "Kidnapping is when someone steals kids. Like us. My parents always warned me to watch out for them... Aah, I'm so stupid!" He shouts and slams the wall. I flinch, and hear Jenny whimper in my arms.
"Wait, stealing people?" I ask. Then, does that not count for me? The thought occurs to me, but I ignore it for now, since it's not relevant. If they don't know I'm not human, they'll steal me anyway. So you can steal people, not just things? Why?
"Why would anyone steal people?" I ask.
"To sell them of course. Didn't your parents ever teach you anything?"
"No, I don't have any parents." I answer. It feels bad, everyone asking over and over about what my parents teach me, when I never had any. I guess everyone else learns all of their common sense from their parents.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," the boy apologizes. He goes quiet for a bit. So they steal people to sell them? Like the way Mister Fredricson sells children? But he doesn't steal the kids, he just gives them a place to live. The way Emily explained it, you aren't allowed to sell people, so he found a loophole by not actually selling kids, but just taking a payment to let someone adopt them.
In which case... these people are doing the exact opposite. They're outright breaking the law selling people like they would sell things. So instead of making it so the kids don't have a choice who adopts them, they just trap kids like this instead? But isn't stealing and breaking the law supposed to be bad? They're doing something like this for money?
Wait, I suddenly realize a completely different problem. I can't get stolen, I'm supposed to go into combat soon! If I don't go because I'm trapped somewhere like this, I have no idea what will happen. While I'm worrying over this, the boy speaks up again, shaking me from my worries.
"I'm Aiden by the way." It seems like his spirit comes back really fast. "So have you searched this room? Is there anything in here?"
"I checked, but it's empty."
"You sure, even the walls and everything?"
"Yeah..."
"Well... I'll check again just in case. It's so dark, you definitely could have missed something." I hear him beginning to scrape around on the floor and walls, searching the room for anything I missed. I don't tell him I searched with light earlier. It would be too hard to explain, and I don't want to get in his way. Jenny didn't have anything, but maybe Aiden has something with him that could be of use.
So while he searches, I ask, "Do you have anything with you? Anything at all?"
"Nah, nothing useful. I didn't think I'd be getting into anything so I only left with some pocket change today..." He sounds regretful as he speaks, but what he says sparks my interest.
"You have money with you? Do you have a nuvrite coin?"
"Yeah... why?" he sounds suspicious.
"It's hard to explain, can I see one?"
"Sure, but you have to give it back."
"Ok." I nod even though he can't see me. He walks over and I hear a jingle, then he places a coin on the floor with a distinct clunk, so I know where to find it. I pick it up, but...
"Uh, this isn't a nuvrite coin," I say.
"Really? I can't see anything... How about this one?" He places another coin on the floor.
"Yeah, this is one. Thank you." I say and give him back the first coin.
"How can you even tell...?" he mutters while going back to searching restlessly. I can hear him running his hands up and down the walls as he circles the room. Jenny however, just continues to sit at my side.
Just like before, I can feel a connection through the metal. I have no idea what it does, but maybe I can find some special use for this. Something, anything. I don't have any other ideas.