Beyond the gate, sculptures and fountains lined the road. They entered the courtyard that led to the emerald building. In the center stood a two-story tall marble statue depicting a man and a woman side-by-side. They were holding hands, stone fingers interlocked. The man’s other hand was raised in a posh wave. The plaque on the pedestal read: The Honorable and Exalted Burgermeister Stondemaier Jaqlov and the Graceful Lady Ophelia.

“It seems like this guy really loves rocks,” Gwil said. “I gotta ask him why he loves rocks so much.”

“There is no good reason you’d ever be talking to him,” Leira said. “And he doesn’t give a damn about rocks, you idiot. Just the doubloons.”

“I can’t believe this place was here all this time, so close,” Gwil said. “I could’ve popped over for a visit.”

As they circled around the statue, Gwil thought it wasteful that such a fancy area was empty. The gleaming green building loomed ahead. The main structure was made of emerald, accented with gold enameling. The dome was glass, segmented like a halved orange.

The building was positioned right up against the cliff’s edge, which seemed a needless risk.

“Ah, I see,” Leira muttered.

The double doors were tall and made of solid gold except for the narrow rectangular windows set in their centers. They must have been tremendously heavy, yet they swung open on their own as Gwil and Leira approached.

“Do not speak,” Leira hissed. She strode ahead in a huff, her footsteps echoing through the wide-open space.

It was the biggest room Gwil had ever seen. He stopped in the doorway, gaping at the ceiling. You could’ve stuffed the whole of Reverie village inside.

He jolted at a sudden metallic clang somewhere within the walls and lowered his gaze to see a host of people dressed in fancy clothes, all bustling about. Even the furniture was shiny—plush leather couches and polished tables and such. Sconces hung from the walls, holding glowing crystals that cast bright light.

Gwil caught up to Leira, who, with her back straight and her chin held high, strode toward the long desk at the back of the room. Beside the desk was a large hallway blocked by a gate.

A bespectacled woman sat behind the desk, fixing Leira with a pronounced sneer.

Leira slammed her hands down on the desk. “What are you looking at, you worthless doorbell?”

The woman’s sneer melted away. She clasped her hands and bowed her head. “Forgive me, my lady. I live to serve. How may I help you?”

Leira slammed the desk again. “My brother and I were nearly killed by the gross incompetence of one of the Burgermeister’s servants. Do you think you can help with that?” She finished with a huff that seemed to burst from her lungs.

“I pray that I can, my lady,” the woman said, keeping her eyes cast downward.

“You can quit wasting time and let us through immediately,” Leira snapped. Her voice was pitched as if she were plugging her nose. “Whilst on a sightseeing expedition, sanctioned by Burgermeister Jaqlov himself, we were assailed by bandits and robbed. They stole everything from us. On top of that, our escort fled during the attack, abandoning us. And on top of that, my brave brother was beaten by the savages. He requires medical attention.”

Gwil hunched over and clutched his stomach. But he wondered at the strength of Leira’s lie, because they both carried bulky backpacks.

The woman made to speak, but Leira cut her off. “I dare you to ask for identification. I dare you. I told you, we were robbed, you witless slave.” She threw her head back, looking up at the ceiling. “My necklace was worth five times your sorry life.”

“O-of course, my lady. My apologies, my lady. I was only going to say I would let you descend immediately. Please, give me the name of the disgraceful servant who abandoned you. He must be hunted down and punished.”

Leira’s tongue clicked like a cracking whip. “Why would I trust you with that information when you come from the same stock of filth? I suspect you would conspire with the culprit.”

“Forgive me, my lady. I’m a worthless fool.”

Leira gestured at the gate and shook her head as if appalled that it was not open yet.

“At once, my lady. My pleasure.”

The two halves of the metal gate receded inward in opening. The woman lowered her forehead to the desk. Leira stalked toward the hall.

Gwil approached the prostrating woman. “What’s your name?”

“Sophia,” she whimpered.

“Come along, Haribald!” Leira snapped. She jerked her head to get Gwil to follow.

The hallway led them into a cylindrical chamber made of thick panels of glass, bracketed by gold trim. Within the glass stirred a glowing white-blue liquid. The substance was beady, with little bubbles that writhed like maggots. Jagged black skeins crackled throughout, and there was a barely audible mosquito-like whine.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

A pair of doors closed, sealing them in. In the center of the chamber, a huge chain went through the floor and ceiling. It cranked, and the lift began to descend.

“Oh, that’s appalling,” Leira muttered. She pointed at the glowing window. “Kaia.”

Gwil glared at her. “What the hell was that?”

She tossed her hair back and posed. “I know. I’d make an amazing actress, wouldn’t I?”

“Why were you so mean to that lady?”

“So she would let us down, of course. You really didn’t pick up on that?”

“Who cares about that? She looked like she was gonna cry.”

Leira covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh, you poor, sweet boy. I’m so sorry. And you were so excited…”

“Huh?”

“Gwil, that was nothing,” Leira said. “That woman is just grateful I didn’t try to have her executed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you see?” Leira said. “She’s a slave, Gwil. It’s all a veneer. This is a terrible place. And honestly, working in that nice lobby, I bet she’s one of the lucky ones.”

“Lucky? What’d you mean she’s a slave?”

“Don’t. You’re gonna make me cry with all that stupid innocence.” Leira took a breath. “Just about everyone who works here is enslaved. That’s how these sorts of baronies work. There’s the ruler, his aristocracy, and everyone else. Seems like this Jaqlov jerk-off is really making a killing though. With all the gold and gemstones, I’m thinking it must be mining.”

Gwil bit at his lip. “These slaves are all stuck here?”

“Yeah,” Leira said. “Like prisoners.”

“And they’re all scared like that lady up there?”

Leira shrugged and nodded.

“That’s gross,” Gwil said. “And you’re way too good at acting like that.”

“Thank you,” Leira said. “The key is to be as depraved and maniacal as possible. And they think my eyeflower is a splice, so that helps.”

“Hmm… we’re gonna have to make it up to that Sophia lady,” Gwil said.

“Sure, why not?” Leira said absently as she examined the chamber.

Gwil pointed at the glowing glass. “So, this Kaia is making the lift work?”

“The mechanism definitely runs on Kaia, but it wouldn’t need nearly so much. I think what’s in the glass is just decorative. Probably a billion doubloons worth, for a decoration. Ridiculous.”

“It’s million, isn’t it?”

“Wha– No. Billion with a ‘B’. Very big number,” Leira said, spreading her arms wide.

Gwil shook his head.

“Right. Don’t try to correct me about anything related to numbers, please.”

With a sharp stone-on-stone clap, the lift reached the bottom. The doors opened to reveal a packed, glittering cobblestone street awash with golden sunlight and unbridled revelry.

A sea of people. Drums pounded beneath a chorus of excited chattering. It was a swirling swathe of color, both fluttering decorations and fine garb, bedazzled and betassled.

The press swallowed them. Gwil squinted against the assault of blinding glares thrown by all the shining metal objects.

Acrobats swung from hanging silks, performers walked on stilts, and musicians played foreign instruments. On the right, a tunnel through the canyon wall revealed a beach packed with people and umbrellas. It had black sand that glittered with jewel dust.

So many people. Silk gowns and masks and ornate headdresses. Gwil spotted a couple splicers—a woman with big yellow eyes like a cat, and a man with clawed lizard hands. Mayor Guice and his wife Margaret were the only splicers Gwil had seen before. They both had deer antlers.

A shadow darkened the far end of the street, cast by the great stone wall that loomed over the entire city.

Gwil’s head swiveled in every direction as Leira took his hand and dragged him a short way down a side street.

From here, he saw another marvel. Above one end of the wall, carved into the side of the canyon, was a huge hollow. That exposed cavern housed a field of greenery speckled with flowers and, towards the back, a giant stone building.

“Is that a castle?” Gwil said, pointing.

“Eh, I’d call it a manor,” Leira said. She bit her lip while fiddling with the petals of her eyeflower. “Well, what’d you think?”

“Who are all these people?” Gwil said. “Did they build this place?”

“What? No. They’re just aristocrats and guests at the resort.”

“What about all the slaves? Do those people know?”

Leira nodded and gestured broadly. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

The people who passed by gave Gwil and Leira a wide berth. In their dirty clothes, they were like the stain on an otherwise immaculate dress.

Gwil looked around. It was so noisy—all the sounds were trapped by the confines of the canyon. “I don’t get it. There’re slaves for this? For what? For fun?”

“Well, I-”

It hit them both at the same time. A smell. A wonderful smell. A door had opened next to them. Gwil smelled meats and seafood and exotic spices that he’d never smelled before. A restaurant! In the window, a fountained bubbled with liquid chocolate.

“Leira!”

“I know. I see it,” she said, deadly serious. “We need some money.”

“Yeah!”

“C’mon,” Leira said. “I’ll get us some.”

They went back to the main street. Gwil followed as Leira led the way through.

The ground shook. Excitement rippled through the crowd as everyone began clearing the road. Gwil and Leira were swept up and separated.

“Ooh!”

Gwil forgot everything, because a giant rock was lumbering down the street. The thing was wide, shaped a bit like a bipedal turtle. About four meters tall, its body and limbs consisted entirely of hewn boulders of various sizes and shapes, all rolling against each other to generate movement. Raised across its shoulders like a yoke was a wooden, curtained structure. Nestled within a cutout in the rock-person’s torso was a metallic core that glowed blue with what Gwil recognized as Kaia.

“What is that?” Gwil asked the mustached man standing beside him.

The man didn’t answer, so Gwil poked him in the ribs.

“What is that?”

“One of Burgermeister Jaqlov’s famous Taluses,” the man said with a sneer.

An alarm wailed. Gwil looked around for Leira but failed to find her. The Talus was walking away, and Gwil wanted a better look. He pushed his way through the crowd and made it back to the empty street, where he stood just behind the Talus.

Black smog wisped from a port on its back. The rocks that made up its body were smooth as river stones. A wide rectangular block served as the body. The limbs utilized long, flat stones and ball-shaped joints. The arms ended in stubby-fingered hands. The flapping curtains on the yoke revealed two chairs inside. You can ride around in it!

People were shouting. A flash of red.

Everything cracked.

Gwil flipped through the air and landed hard on his back. His vision faded. Pain flared, and then melted away as his Nirva came to life. His sight bloomed back into clarity. Ethereal mist steamed off his skin, poured from his mouth like breath in cold weather.

Gwil sat up, dumbstruck. Everyone was gawking at him, many were laughing. He turned and saw a big red object. After a blink, he recognized the skimmer that had passed them above the city.

One of the vehicle’s gullwing doors flipped open, and a red-faced man came storming out, flapping his arms and shouting. Gwil couldn’t make out what the man was saying because his head was still ringing.

The man stood over him and then hawked and spat.

A loogie landed on Gwil’s shoulder. He wondered if this guy was drunk or addled.

“Worthless scum!” the man screamed, stomping his foot.