Episode: 5.9

--- Ember ---

“You know when you said we were going to the Deviant’s Market I was expecting something a little… different…” She told Aiden as she stared at the warehouse in front of them.

Aiden laughed as he lit another cigarette. “If it makes you feel better, it’s a little more lively inside.”

“Still, this looks like a regular indoor flea market.”

“You say that before we actually go into said market.”

She ran a hand down her face before sighing. “I know, but shouldn’t it be hidden in case Sanctuary tries to do a raid or something?”

Aiden rolled his eyes as he inhaled a lungful of (poison). “Remember that talk we had like an hour ago, where we talked about how much better this branch of Sanctuary is compared to others?”

“Yeah…” She frowned, still not sure how much of that conversation she agreed with.

“Well, Ash would never authorize a raid of a public place like this, nor would any Captain or Lieutenant worth their rank. Too many civilian casualties would get caught in the crossfire.” Aiden explained shaking his head.

“Still, is it really such a good idea to be open in such a public place?” She asked, knowing no matter what Aiden thought some racist asshole would pull something on the people coming and going from a known Deviant location.

“It’s a mix of: hidden in plain sight, because this doesn’t look like a Deviant gathering spot to those who don’t know. And safety in numbers, since there are probably a hundred or so Deviants from all the nearby towns gathered here at any given moment.” Aiden paused for a moment before shrugging. “Civilian shields from the tourists probably help a bit too.”

She turned to Aiden.

(Is he serious about that last bit?)

After a moment, in which she couldn’t tell if he was, she shook her head and dropped it as she got back on topic. “I don’t know, I was just expecting something… different is all…”

Aiden watched her for a moment before shrugging. “There are several kinds of markets in a Masquerade town.” He gestured to the building in front of them. “This one is an ‘open market’ where Deviants and non, meet and trade freely and openly. Next would be the underground market, which is usually just those involved in the Masquerade.”

She immediately cut in on that bit of information. “And we’re not going there because?”

“Because that place is PG-13 and you’re clearly twelve.”

She frowned at him. “That’s not a real reason.”

Aiden gave her look and a laugh. “I’d tell you why it is, but I’m pretty sure I’d give you nightmares if I did.”

She scoffed. “I’ve seen horror movies before.”

“You ever been in the horror movie?”

She tensed at his tone of voice and noticed how he was giving her a much more serious look than a few moments ago.

“No…” She admitted quietly.

“Then you aren’t ready for New Haven’s underground market.” Aiden warned her, before shifting back into his laidback attitude.

She swallowed.

(What the hell was that?)

She wasn’t given much time to ponder that question as Aiden held open the front door of the warehouse, and she got her first look at a Deviant Market.

Stepping into the actual warehouse, she paused as she realized they’d stepped onto a platform, one that ringed the absolutely massive room and jutted out several meters leaving enough space to line the walls with a number of stalls and still be able to see the actual market below.

The market itself was filled with tents, stalls, and stands of various shapes and sizes and filled with all manner of wares, from mechanical to magical, with people moving between it all in groups of twos and threes, and in the center of it all was what looked like an open stadium, lined with a gathering crowd at various points to watch people do things she couldn’t quite make out from where she stood.

Every so often along the platform, there was a set of stairs leading both to the main floor as well as a third one above them, that she couldn’t quite see. All of the guardrails lining the platforms were wrapped in a number of differently colored lights, that shone even brighter given how the main warehouse lights above were all turned off. Leaving the room blanketed in an artificial night that was lit up by the numerous lights and decorations wrapped around the tents, stalls, and wires that connected them all together. The decor of the entire room giving the aesthetic of a carnival mid-way through the night, despite only being three in the afternoon.

(Amazing…)

“You’ll find the Masquerade has a tendency towards off-beat aesthetics.” Aiden commented, making her blush as she realized she’d been staring at everything for several minutes

“Huh?”

Aiden grinned before gesturing to the market below. “People involved in the Masquerade, Deviants and non, they have a tendency to pick up a… unique sense of tastes. Has something to do with all the Madness in the air.”

She glanced around at the various lights and decorations, as well as the people wearing masks of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and couldn’t help but think, (It’s not a bad aesthetic…)

“Come on.” Aiden waved, gesturing for her to follow him down into the main market below. Something she had no problem with if it gave her a closer look at everything.

As they moved through the various stands towards, whatever destination Aiden had in mind, she couldn’t help but notice how there were more people wearing masks than not, and how a number of them seemed to be the various shopkeepers. “Why are so many people wearing masks?”

“It’s for the sake of anonymity.” Aiden answered, puffing on his cigarette. “In the old days Asylum or Sanctuary would mark the people coming and going from the market as Deviants and then give them this big hassle over everything, until they could come up with a reason to arrest them. So, people started wearing masks and using aliases to help them slip past everything.”

“Like Masks, er, the superhero kind?”

Aiden chuckled as he flicked off a bit of ash. “Yeah, the slang term ‘Masks’, actually started in reference to the ‘masks’ coming and going from the markets. Eventually people took the Sanctuary term for these market goers out of context and applied it to the vigilantes and criminals that had started acting out in the open in the years leading up to the fall of Asylum. After all, why else would the new and reformed police be watching people?” Aiden added with sarcasm.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Huh…” (That’s interesting…)

She looked around again, this time paying a little more attention to all of the masks before realizing something else. “Why aren’t we wearing masks? I mean, aren’t you a Hunter?” (and Hunters are supposed to be pretty deep into the Masquerade…)

“I am.” Aiden nodded. “That said, I don’t bother with the whole mask thing. Rather than hiding in anonymity, I press my reputation as a… relatively good Hunter. Honestly, thinking about it now, not many Hunters actually bother with the whole mask thing.” He gestured to the crowd around them, or rather at the crowd parting around them. “Enough people in our local Masquerades know who we are, that it’s kind of pointless for us to wear masks, especially since ‘the hunt’ is our profession.”

(That makes sense…)

Aiden laughed, as if remembering something funny, before continuing in an odd tone of voice. “Regardless of which tune of the Masquerade they dance to, no one wants to piss off a Hunter. Especially when they might need them to fight the big bad monsters that dance to that very same tune.”

She couldn’t help but blink at the strangeness of (whatever the hell) that was. “What… what was that?”

“Something an old friend once told me.” Aiden admitted, a light smile on his face as he twirled his cane.

(Okay…) She nodded a little unsurely, before something occurred to her. “Why am I not wearing a mask then? I mean, I’m not a Hunter.”

“Association.” Aiden shrugged as he pulled out a cigarette from his vest pocket. “If you’re seen with me enough, without wearing a mask, people will associate the fact that you're ‘mask-less’ and that you’re with me, meaning you aren’t some tourist and they should in turn, leave you alone.”

She frowned. “You’re putting a lot of faith into your reputation.”

Aiden smirked as he lit his cigarette. “A reputation for killing things that piss me off.”

She considered that for a moment, before seeing his point. “Touché.”

As they neared the center of the warehouse, she noticed a crowd beginning to gather around a pair of masked teenagers standing in two circles about twenty meters apart.

“What’s that?” She asked remembering how there’d been something of an open stadium in the center of the warehouse.

“Arcane Duel.” Aiden answered as if that explained everything.

“And for someone who is new to all of this?”

Aiden rolled his eyes before taking his cigarette out of his mouth. “It’s a duel, between Arcane. It’s right there in the name, kid. Don’t know what more you were expecting with that question.”

Ember frowned. “Well, how about the rules to said duel?”

A person on the sidelines raised their arms while talking to both Arcane. (A referee?)

“Couple ways to play them…” Aiden began, exhaling a cloud of smoke. “Given how they’re here, they’re probably following the standard Association rules.”

Both Arcane nodded before the referee threw down their arms.

“First,” He gestured to the circles at their feet. “neither Arcane can leave their circle, nor can they directly attack the other player so long as they stay in the opposite circle.”

“Then how do they attack or score hits?”

Aiden raised a finger and pointed at the duel. “Watch.”

Turning back to the field, she watched as both Arcane began making a series of gestures involving their hands and forearms, before throwing their hands out.

A mix of light and smoke erupted from their arms shooting forward before spinning through the air and crashing a few meters ahead of them. From within each cloud forms began to take shape, in a way that seemed almost familiar…

“Contracts…” She murmured, connecting the rough spectacle before her to Thorne’s clean and smooth summoning and dismissal of her bird.

“Correct.” Aiden gave her an approving nod. “The main idea of the game is to damage your opponent’s Contracts, thus burning through their magic supply. First one to fall below a certain threshold, usually about... ten percent, loses.”

From one cloud of smoke a pack of large blue wolf-like creatures erupted out rushing for the other side of the field, the one in the lead leaping fangs first into the other cloud.

“Ugh, you shoot the cloud before it disperses, not run in.” Aiden groaned from beside her, and almost immediately after the same wolf-like creature was thrown out of the smoke and sent rolling across the ground.

The second cloud was swept apart to reveal a small group of short leather garbed green men, each carrying a small dagger or a wooden club, and all of them wearing a mocking sneer.

She blinked. (Are… are those actual fantasy novel goblins?)

She glanced at Aiden and saw how he was watching the fight with a slight narrowing of his eyes as focused on something. And given how into the fight he seemed to be she didn’t feel like interrupting him. So instead, she sat and watched the fight for a few more minutes, watching the way the goblins seemed to fend off the wolf-creatures through a mix of teamwork, even as the wolves wore them down with the same principle.

“Yeah, let’s move on.” Aiden finally sighed.

“Huh?” She asked, drawing her attention away from the fight that seemed to be dragging on.

“I was only sticking around because the kid summoned goblins, and I wanted to make sure they were actual Nexus goblins rather than the wild things.” Aiden explained, rolling his neck before walking away.

She turned to follow him, not even interested in the fight anymore. “What do you mean?”

“Goblins fall into two categories, ‘wild’ and ‘civilized.’” Aiden began, before pausing at her look. “And yes, I know the connotations of those categories, but they really do apply here. Wild goblins are an all bandit culture that… well they hurt people in a bad way and don’t really care that they do. Civilized goblins on the other hand, while greedy and aggressive, are willing to make deals, barter, and talk rather than just defaulting to pillaging and ra-” Aiden glanced at her and coughed, (due to all of his smoking), before finishing with: “raiding the lands.”

“So, you were making sure they weren’t the bandit goblins, but the mercenary ones? To make sure they weren’t going to hurt anyone?”

Aiden shrugged. “To simplify, yes.”

She hummed.

(Well, I guess that is his job technically…)

“So, how’d you know they were ‘civilized’?” she asked, the last word tasting dirty on her tongue, given what ‘wild’ and ‘civilized’ usually meant to a foreign culture looking at another.

Aiden watched her for a moment, before looking ahead. “Well, the main thing is, they didn’t kill one of their weaker brothers and throw him at the wolves to try and get an opening.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah,” Aiden nodded solemnly. “Good goblins are loyal to their tribe if no one else, the bad ones won’t hesitate to cull the weak.”

That… was an unpleasant thought…

As they walked through the market in silence, her attention began to drift between the various stands around them, and the various wares each one was trying to sell. From a toy maker who made simple but living mechanical animals, to a tent filled to the brim with plants of all shapes and sizes, including a few that seemed to be moving on their own…

(Let’s avoid those for now…)

After another moment, Aiden paused before glancing around a bit.

“Something up?” she asked curiously.

Aiden nodded as he turned back to her. “Yeah, I’ve got something I’ve got to take care of nearby, so why don’t you keep looking around here? See if you can’t find something you want.”

She couldn’t help but frown. “You’re leaving?” (Again?)

Aiden rubbed at the back of his neck, before sighing. “Yeah, I’ve got a couple of Hunter things I need to take care of real quick, I’ll be back in like ten, fifteen minutes.”

Her face scrunched up, as she remembered the whole reason why they stopped by Sanctuary earlier. “You mean that job you got from Ash?”

Aiden nodded. “Yeah, it’s connected to that, and there’s this other thing Amelia needed me to do, that I can take care of at the same time.”

“Then why can’t I go with you?” She pressed not wanting to be left alone again.

“Because it involves a shady guy, that I’m not trusting within the same building as you let alone the same room.” Aiden explained with a frown. “Unfortunately, he’s also the only guy who can take care of what I need fast enough to be worth the price.”

“So, you’re just going to leave me alone in the middle of this place?” She gestured around them incredulously, not caring if a few people had stopped to watch the drama. “By myself?!”

Aiden watched her for a moment before dropping his head with a sigh. “You remember what I said at the station?”

“Tell anyone who bothers me I’m with you?” She answered, wondering why Aiden seemed to think his reputation was enough to make strangers back off.

(I could halfway understand Sanctuary since he worked with them, but a random stranger off the streets…) She shook her head. (No way…)

“Same rule applies here.” He told her unaware of her disbelief, as he gestured to the area around them where people were already moving on.

“I think the rules are a little different between an open market and a Sanctuary station!” She ground out.

“You’re right they are.” Aiden nodded seriously. “There someone gives you trouble they get a demerit. Here they get beaten to within an inch of their life.”

She blinked. “What?”

Aiden gave her a frown. “Look, one of the three rules everyone involved in the Masquerade takes seriously, be they Arcane, Deadmen, Malcontent, or regular humans, is ‘Don’t hurt kids.’ Anyone touches you; you shout for help. Every able body that hears you will come forth and beat that idiot into a bloody pulp if they don’t immediately leave you alone.”

“You honestly believe that?” She asked doubtfully. “Have you never heard of the bystander effect?”

“Surprised you have…” Aiden muttered under his beath, barely loud enough for her to hear.

(This asshole!)

Aiden sighed, before shaking his head and gesturing around them. “Look around, how many unaccompanied minors do you see?” Her eyes followed his gesture and landed on what looked like a ten-year-old wearing a mask and watching the Arcane Duels with no adults in sight. “Like I said, Deviants take the keeping kids safe thing very seriously.”

She gave Aiden a look, before shaking her head in disgust. “Well, obviously you don’t.”

She turned and left, not bothering to see if he followed her.