Come all ye 'smiths, both great and small! Gather 'round! Come heed our calls!

Raise your glass, forge your heart! ‘Chant bold tonight, for ‘morro who falls?

– Random bard @ Hammaltin’s

Chapter 7 – Sushi Sam’s

Toki and Golgheim continued silently through the forest.

Toki was immersed in her thoughts, when Golgheim's deep voice broke the quiet. "Tokyo, how did you defeat Dutch Eternal? Have you been training, or did you happen upon an opportunity?"

Toki exhaled, her breath puffing out in the cool air like smoke. "I’m not 50-capped yet, if that’s what you’re asking," she responded with a shrug that failed to display her usually fiery spirit. The stress of recent events hung on her like a leaden cloak, dampening the spark that typically danced in her eyes. Her stomach rumbled.

"Ah," Golgheim mused, his tone laced with concern and a hint of something more paternal. "Strength is not merely the flexing of muscles, but the resilience of spirit."

"Resilience, right..." Toki's words trailed off into the forest, lost among the trees.

Sensing her disquiet, Golgheim flashed a rare, mischievous grin. "Perhaps a dash through the woods would ignite your… pomp? A race to my estate!"

"Race?" Her eyebrow arched skeptically. "I’ve done enough running tonight. I’m not in the mood.'"

"Come now, surely the prospect of victory might rouse some small ember of enthusiasm. Or perhaps you’re afraid?" Golgheim teased, his eyes twinkling with an almost boyish challenge.

"Ha!" Toki snorted, the corner of her mouth twitching upward. The absurdity of racing this monster sparked a semblance of competitiveness within her. It was a welcome distraction from the ominous shadows that loomed over her thoughts. "You're on, you geezer."

With a swift motion, Golgheim set off, his green robes billowing behind him like the sails of a ship catching wind. Toki sighed, casting one last glance at the serenity of the nighttime landscape before launching herself after him.

They danced between the starlight that dared to pierce the canopy. The forest was alive with a symphony of sound—twigs snapping underfoot, leaves rustling in their wake, the occasional startled creature darting away from their careening paths.

"Keep up or yield to the relentless march of age and wisdom!" Golgheim called back.

"Yield? Ha!" Toki huffed, the word igniting a tiny spark within her, a smile finally breaking through her stoic facade. Perhaps the first in days. The forest blurred into streaks of dark green and brown as she pushed her body, the air humming with the tension of their friendly contest.

[You are being summoned by Law Cats. Prepare for meld in 5 seconds.]

"Mind the saplings, Toki! They are young and full of life," Golgheim called out, his voice tinged with laughter despite the situation.

Oh shit.

A jolt of unbidden power seized Toki mid-stride, wrenching her from the race. The forest vanished, replaced by a sterile hum and the muted clack of distant keyboards. Stumbling, she caught herself. She straightened warily, eyes wide, taking in the geometric rigidity of the room—a stark contrast to the natural chaos of the woods.

"Where in the seven hells...?" Her voice trailed off as she approached the vast window in front of her. Below, a tapestry of lights unfurled across an impossible cityscape, where structures defied imagination and gravity with equal impunity. Vehicles hovered and darted like metallic insects between glass spires that pierced the sky—the ships in the Aris sky could never match their speed. This was no quaint village; it was a metropolis from a time not even dreamt.

"Ya look like ya seen a ghost, hun." A woman’s voice sliced through the awe and confusion. Toki spun to find a cat-lady perched on the corner of the desk, legs crossed, a smirk playing upon her lips. “Marsha. Marsha Mallow.” Marsha's suit was as crisp as her tone, her feline eyes glinting with mischief beneath stylish frames.

"This isn't funny. I've got—"

"Important things to do? Please. You're here now, might as well enjoy the view," Marsha cut in, waving a dismissive hand encased in a glove tailored from what must have been pure chutzpah.

Where am I? How’d I get here?

"Ah, doll, it's just temporary. Poor system ripped ya from a swim without notice? Only ya mind’s here. Hope ya don’t drown, though." Marsha interrupted, pointing to the machine humming above. Her words tumbled out in a cascade that bore her distinctive accent like a badge of honor.

I’m still wet, but the water is clinging to me, not the floor. Strange.

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Marsha leaned against a desk cluttered with paperwork and what appeared to be a half-knitted scarf, her next project idly twined between her fingers. "Besides, we have business don’t we. Speaking of business, did ya hear about Sushi Sam's?"

Toki’s expression betrayed her wonder. "Uh. What?" Toki asked, one eyebrow arching with skepticism.

"Sushi Sam’s! Don’t tell me you’re a country bumkin." Marsha exclaimed, her expression mock-serious. "The best dragon roll this side of the multiverse, and they're closing down. Can ya believe it? Heard the owner ran afoul of a solar kraken—literal, not metaphorical."

Toki giggled at the absurdity. "A sushi chef with a kraken problem," Toki parroted, allowing herself a laugh, releasing some of the tension winding tight within her core.

"Thata girl. That’s what I wanted to see. Unfortunately, we've got more pressing fish to fry than my soon-to-be-lamented lunch spot." Marsha's tone shifted as she inspected a document. “You’re from the sticks, Aris. Never heard of it,” she said, her playful banter receding.

Toki couldn't help but crack a smile, despite the whirlwind of events. Marsha's rapid-fire banter was disarming, and maybe that was precisely what she needed. Marsha poured an amber liquid into two glasses, the fluid dance of it catching the light, and put it on the high table in front of her.

"Alright, Toki, down to brass tacks. Or was it thumbtacks? Either way, you've got yourself in a heap of trouble with the Falkori Dragons, and that's not the sort of mess ya clean up with apologies and a dustpan."

Toki accepted the glass but didn't pick it up, sensing the shift in the room's atmosphere. "So I've guessed."

"Smart girl," Marsha chuckled, the sound dry. "Those scaly nuisances are all in a tizzy 'cause ya offed one of their own. Now, I don't need to tell ya they're annoying assholes, but when push comes to shove, they stick tighter than snailmermaid superglue on a spaceship hull."

"Great," Toki muttered, wry humor failing to mask the dread pooling in her stomach.

"Exactly. And the system we've got? Ain't gonna shield ya for long. That's why ya need us. Law Cats. We know loopholes like mice know cheese."

"I thought you were a cat?" Toki eyed the lawyer warily. Marsha was sharp, she could tell, her mind whirring faster than the metal insects zipping by outside the window. A predator in pinstripes.

“Feliform, dear.” Without warning, Marsha slapped a document onto the glass tabletop. The contract glared up at Toki, full of legal jargon and predatory clauses.

"Here's the deal," Marsha said, tapping her claw-like nails on the paper. "We handle your case, keep the dragons from turning you into a charcoal brisket, and for our troubles, we take a modest 40% of whatever reward you're wrangling for."

"Forty percent?" Toki balked, feeling the imbalance of power like a seesaw tipped against her. They want me dead? I thought it was for the reward. She didn’t actually know how valuable her reward was, but instinct, honed by Elara, had taught her to negotiate.

“Up front.”

Toki let out a laugh. Theatrical, but necessary.

"Hey, nobody said justice was cheap," Marsha retorted, her eyes gleaming like polished obsidian. "Plus, it ain't just about the money, doll. It's about survival. Ya play in the big leagues now, and those dragons? They'll come at ya with fire and fury, and there ain't no way a small-time planet can withstand that kind of heat. At least not without us."

Toki stared at the contract, the words swimming before her. This felt more like signing away her soul than securing an ally. The scales were tipped far out of her favor.

"Just sign here, Tokyo," Marsha encouraged, though the lawyer's confidence suggested she was already counting her cut.

Toki's fingers traced the edges of the contract with deliberate slowness, a clause hastily scrutinized under her wary gaze. She was no stranger to the fine print that danced devilishly between the lines.

"Marsha," Toki started, her voice threaded with an unyielding resolve, "I'm going to need some time with this."

Marsha's tail swished, betraying an impatience she otherwise masked with a purr-like chuckle. "Honey, I get it, ya wanna be thorough. But let me tell ya, time is a luxury we don't have. The dragons? They're not filing their claws waiting for us to get our act together. They’re filing for intercession to access Aris.”

"I appreciate the urgency, but I won't sign away more than I have to. There are terms here that would make even a saint feel swindled."

"Saints don't last long in draconic jurisprudence," Marsha quipped, whiskers twitching with impatience. "But fine, make your revisions. Just remember, we need to file an injunction yesterday."

"Yesterday can wait a tad longer," Toki shot back, her wit unfazed by urgency. "I've got as much interest in being dragon fodder as you do in skipping a yarn sale, but I won't be cornered into signing something this lopsided."

"Fine," Marsha conceded with a flick of her whiskers, "but tick-tock, kitty clock's ticking. Don't take too long, or you'll be the main course in a dragon-sized sushi roll, and I ain't talking about Sushi Sam’s."

[Law Cats follow-up appointment is scheduled]

[0/1 ad-hoc appointments available]

[Draft contract is available]

[Timer: 6 hours]

A sudden vertigo sensation seized Toki, the room spiraling away as if reality itself had been twisted like a Mobius strip. She felt her mind pulled back, a journey as silent as space and just as disorienting. In an instant, she found herself standing in the dense forest once more.

"Damn it," she muttered, scanning her surroundings.

Golgheim was nowhere in sight. Her feet moved of their own accord, intuition guided her path to his estate. It didn’t take her conscious thought – instead she focused on the details of her interaction.

Marsha is a shark. Could I even have drunk from that cup, or was it foreplay? Maybe just a gesture to disarm me… Gods, I was in the stars. Imagine what they’ve done in that city. Imagine the forgeworks! Fuck that’s right… that's my lawyer. Shit! Those dragons are coming here!?!

Toki frowned as she realized she was still in deep shit. At least I’m not being chased by a solar kraken. That sounds awful.

"Coming for you, Golgheim," she declared into the night, the challenge thrown to the wind as she raced to reclaim the time stolen from her. "You're not rid of me that easily." Plus, I need you to read this contract. You’ve been swindled plenty before.

The forest gave way a short dash later, and Toki burst forth from the timberline, stars suddenly vivid above interspersed between rain clouds. There stood Golgheim, an aura of disappointment eclipsing his form. Behind him was a wooden homestead, quaint even.

"You’re slow," he chastised.

Toki brushed a strand of white hair from her face, her breath steady as she met Golgheim's, feeling a sting of embarrassment heat her cheeks. “I was...delayed.”

“The challenges you face cannot be outrun,” he continued, his gaze piercing through her defenses. “To kill a dragon is no small feat; it requires a fortitude that must be honed, lest you falter when karma catches up. Because it will now, Toki. It will.”