Re-entering the city was a simple matter. With Venari’s medallion, the guards gave us no trouble. Even at such an early hour, the commoners ring was already a bustling hub of activity. Stalls lined the streets, with most selling vegetables or cured meats, but there were few selling trinkets, charms, or weapons. While I did see a handful of shops selling slaves, they were all sickly and weak, unlike the ones in the merchants ring.

I kept walking around, absentmindedly admiring my surroundings. Merchants and salesmen competed for my attention, promoting their wares by shouting at the top of their voices. I ignored them for the most part, contenting myself with just browsing.

“You there, boy,” a voice suddenly spoke into my ear. Even though the din of the market, the voice was loud and clear, as if the speaker had spoken directly into my ear. Looking around, I identified the source of the voice, an oddly dressed man sitting inside a colorful tent. The tent itself appeared as though it had come from a carnival, with red, blue, and yellow streaks running across the canvas. I was inexplicably drawn to the tent, and after a moment's hesitation, I made my way over.

“Hail and well met, my good fellow!” the man said whimsically. His goods, an assorted collection of seemingly random items, was spread across a thin blanket in front of the entrance of his tent. The man himself was equally as strange. My eyes wandered across his attire, failing to find a single portion that had any semblance of coherence. With a hat that reminded me of a dunce cap, a bright purple vest, a pair of oversized breeches, and what looked like moss that had been torn from the ground and stuck to his feet for shoes, the man was the embodiment of the word ‘random’. The most interesting part of his outfit was the red crow perched on his shoulder, its claws digging into the man’s skin. Its black beady eyes kept a constant watch on me as its head twitched and bobbed.

“CAW!” It screeched.

“Yes, I know he’s got food on his cheek,” I heard him reply to the crow.

“What? I replied confusedly, touching my face and wondering. My hand came away clean, and the man broke into raucous laughter.

“HAHAHAHA! I miss gullible youths like you!” he exclaimed, slapping his knee with one hand and wiping a tear away with the other.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah man, you totally got me.”

Squatting down, I picked up and examined a piece of scrap metal that had mysterious symbols carved into it. “What’s your name?”

“Name? In this realm of existence, names are but fleeting echoes, like a jester's joke in the wind, are they not?” he prattled. “Ah, but I expect you do not care or understand such things,” he chuckled, seeing my bewildered expression. “You may address this one as Luan.”

“Are you a clown or something?”

“HA!” Luan barked out a laugh, startling me. “Are we not all clowns in this great stage called life, my friend?”

“[His unusual behavior may stem from some sort of mental disorder.]”

I sighed wearily, feeling like a headache was coming on. “So why’d you call me over? There something I can do for you?

Luan ignored my question, staring at me with an unwavering gaze. I fidgeted slightly, unnerved by his undivided attention. “Ding ding ding! Look at you, Huggy,” he exclaimed suddenly, addressing the bird, “you were right on the money!”

“CAW CAAAWW”

“What???” I asked, trying to make sense of the whole situation.

Luan leaned in close and pointed his gnarled finger at my nose. “You're not from around here!” he said in a sing-song manner.

“Er, well, this is only my second visit to the city-”

“Wrooooooooooooong! You know exactly what I’m talking about…” he said, his voice lowering to a whisper.

An ice cold tingle went down my spine. “There’s no way he knows…”

“I, uh, I don’t k-know what you mean,” I stammered, looking around to see if anyone had heard what he said.

“You can’t lie to me, Evan Vonlichten.”

Sitting back down on the ground and letting out a heavy breath, he started rummaging through the garbage. “I should go thank her later, this is going to be fun…” I heard him mutter under his breath.

“How do you know my name?” I demanded to know.

“CAAAW” the bird shrieked at me.

“Aha! Found it!” Luan exclaimed excitedly after pulling out a dagger from his pile of trash. Looking closely at it, he pursed his lips before leaning over to his red crow. “Pssst! You sure we have to give him this one?”

“Cawwww” it responded, slapping him on the back of the head with its wings.

“Ow! Ok, ok!”

Luan suddenly threw the dagger at my feet. “You’re gonna need that.”

I jumped back in fright, narrowly avoiding having my foot pierced through. I was ready to deliver a scathing remark at the strange man, but my voice died in my throat when I realized that he had disappeared. Everything, from Luan himself, to his crow and his tent had vanished into thin air. The patch of dirt that his tent was on appeared undisturbed, without any imprints or tracks. I crouched down and plucked the dagger from the ground, holding it up to my eye and examining it. The blade was shaped like a leaf with one vertical vein running down the length of the blade, and several horizontal ones shooting off every few centimeters. It had a small cross-guard, with unknown green runes inscribed into the metal. The hilt was wrapped in a smooth yet tough silk that easily conformed to the shape of my hand. Unsure whether to keep it or not, I decided to hold onto it for the time being.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Turning to the neighboring stall, I asked the trader where the tent that had just been here had gone.

“That there’s been a free lot for months now. I’d think I’d notice if anyone moved in there. But since you’re here, why don’t you look at my wares.”

I declined the offer, and I heard him mutter something about “disrespectful kids”.Taking one last look at the empty plot of land, I wandered off, my mind still occupied by what just happened.

“What in god’s name just happened Eve?”

“[Analyzing…insufficient information to draw a conclusion.]”

I fell silent as I wandered, my thoughts swirling around in my head.

“It’s been a crazy few months, huh Eve?” I suddenly spoke to Eve.

“[Yes. Many unexpected things have happened.]”

“How do you think Dad’s doing back home?”

“[As the father of one of the Asylum Seekers, he will be well compensated for his sacrifice, even if it was an unwilling one.]”

“Yeah…I wish I could talk to him though…”

“[Why?]”

“It’s just…I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do here. Am I supposed to find a way back to Earth? Build the space stabilizer like I was originally supposed to do? Live out my life here hoping another Asylum Seeker completes the mission?”

“[I cannot answer that question.]”

I sighed forlornly. “I know. Thanks for listening though.”

“[You are welcome. Please take care of your mental health. It is important that you relieve stress often.]”

Talking with Eve put me in a good mood, and I started quietly singing a song my dad used to sing to me before I slept.

“Hush now, my child, the moon's in its trance,

Shadows are moving in a ghostly dance.

Whispers from the corners, from where darkness may seep,

Close your eyes tightly, it's time now to sleep..”

“[I do not recognize this song.]”

I shrugged my shoulders.“I didn’t expect you to. My dad’s the only one I’ve ever heard it from.”

I was so preoccupied with talking with Eve that I didn’t notice the streets getting dirtier and the houses becoming more dilapidated as I walked further into the commoner ring. Haggard figures hung around alleyways and street corners, and it wasn’t until I bumped into someone that I took note of my surroundings. The figure mumbled a quick apology before walking away.

“Are these the city slums?”

“[This area appears to be significantly poorer than other areas of the city, so you are likely correct.]”

Suddenly, I heard the figure I had bumped into yell, “Let go of me you fucking psycho!”

Turning around, I saw one of the Predators that had been following behind me had grabbed the hooded figure by the arm.

“You have stolen an item from my creator. Return it immediately.”

“I didn’t steal anything you fucking idiot!”

“Target refusing to comply. Following pain-compliance protocols.”

The palm of the hand that was grabbing the figure slid open, and with a sharp crackle, an electrical current went through him. He let out a strangled cry of pain and tried to wriggle free, but he couldn’t escape the vice-like grip of the robot.

The Predator stopped the taser after a few seconds. “Return the stolen item immediately.”

“Okay, Okay!” the figure yelled, tossing something at me. Catching it, I realized it was the coin purse I thought was still attached to my hip.

“Eve…”

“[Yes?]”

“Don’t tell me I got pickpocketed…”

“[You did.]”

“Fuck…”

Re-tying the coin purse to my hip, I walked over to the figure and pulled off his hood to reveal a young boy who couldn’t have been more than 14 years old. His cheeks were gaunt and pale, and I could see how thin he was through the outline of his clothes. His short brown hair was covered in dirt and grime, and it was clear he hadn’t washed himself in a while.

“What are you doing?” he asked fearfully.

I sighed. Motioning to the other Predator, I used their two bodies to block the sight of anyone who may have been watching us. I reached into my pocket and pulled out two gold coins and handed them to the boy.

“I was in your place once,” I said. “Make sure you get something to eat, kay?”

The boy looked at the coins in disbelief. Slipping the money into his pocket, I patted his shoulder before saying, “Let him go.”

The Predator released him immediately and started following me once again. The boy just stood there in shock, even as we rounded the corner and lost sight of him.

“[That was very generous of you.]”

“Eh, it’s like I told him. I remember being cold and hungry too. Hopefully that money can last him a while.”

I continued strolling through the slums for a while, taking in all the sights and sounds. Luckily, with two beefy-looking bodyguards behind me, nobody dared to try to rob me again. However, the prostitutes that seemed to be on every street called out to me, seeing an easy mark.

“Hey handsome,” one of them said, batting her eyelashes in an exaggerated fashion, “Wanna come spend a night with me?”

I ignored them completely, but that didn’t stop their efforts. With my simple but high quality clothes, and the fact that I had bodyguards, they could see I probably had money, and plenty of it. I was forced to duck into a random alleyway to get some peace and quiet, managing to lose them. Once I was sure they didn’t know where I was, I decided to leave the slums and get a place to sleep in the merchants ring. Remembering the inn that I stayed at during my last visit, I went to the Blue Lagoon and rented a room. I didn’t need sleep, but I saw it as a good opportunity to do some diagnostics tests on myself and the Predators in peace.

“[The surveillance drones and other robots will arrive in one hour,]” Eve alerted me after some time had passed.

I stood up and had a nice stretch before grabbing my belongings and leaving the inn. The outside air was chilly, and I could see the breath of the few others that were up at such an early hour.

“Ye best prepare well,” I heard an old man talking to a woman, “I feel like this winter will be a cold one.”

Quickening my pace, I left the city and returned to the small grove where the transponder had been placed. Just as I arrived, I heard the sound of engines roaring in the distance.

“Looks like they’re here,” I said aloud.