Dampfstadt, the precious gem of Ebenerz. The harbour city was located at the southern edge of the country, guiding ships, merchants and tourists towards its clean streets and bright buildings. Its slums and dirty back alleys were awkwardly swept to the side, the brittle facade of a beautiful city patched up with whatever was at hand which granted it a rugged looking charm.

Pipes and vents wound themselves through these parts of Dampfstadt, the city’s signature steam rising upwards rhythmically. The surrounding buildings, built tall as could be, cast the tight alleys into deep shadows. Illuminated nearly all day round by orange to yellow Amber lamps.

Countless passages, called Steam Ways, lead around the city. Primarily meant for repairmen to check on the pipes, they were naturally used by everyone to get around quicker. That this was entirely illegal didn’t bother anyone. Since when did the city’s guard care about actually checking on the slums anyways?

“Come on! Hurry up, Jak! I wanna see the festival…!” Jenny waved impatiently towards Jak as she climbed along the smaller pipes and then leaped with a swing towards the Steam Way. The Mouse Fennec’s massive ears wagged excitedly, she would have probably taken straight off if they had been just a little bit larger.

“They’re still building up, it’s not going to runaway.” Jak grinned back from good twenty meters below. The wolf cat jumped up the wooden crates carelessly stacked atop another at the wall of the alley and then pulled himself up along the warm metal of the nearby vent. A second later he landed in the Steam Way besides Jenny.

And then he ran past her, throwing her a teasing smirk.

“Last to get to the market is a stinking Haggard!” He laughed as she squawked indignantly, hurrying to catch up with him.

“Stop…! Dumbass! Cheater…!” She cursed after him with an angry pout that she would swear was actually a menacing glare. Her teal dress fluttered around her legs.

“Bleh~” Jak maturely stuck his tongue out at her, a wide smile on his face.

Two steps later a loud crashing sound could be heard behind them and Jak sweated hard as he sped up for wholly different reasons than to annoy his little sister in all but blood. The wooden crates hadn’t even shuddered, he swore!

“D-don’t just leave me behind…!” Jenny cried out, crocodile tears rushing down her face as she desperately tried to overtake him.

———

Cautiously Jak peaked out of the Steam Way. While the guards didn’t check them around the slums, the market was a completely different case. Luckily this was one of the less explored side alleys of the market and so nobody was even wandering in the streets below. Never mind a guard.

Giving Jenny a thumbs up of the all-clear, he jumped down and landed softly on the cobblestone. Jenny followed him a second later, dress flaring as the air caught in it, and he caught her easily, gently setting her back down. A wide grin was on her face and she could barely contain herself, wanting to hurry up and just see the festival already.

The market was the largest attraction of Dampfstadt and connected to the various parks and suburbs through numerous streets, rails and other means. Here the showmanship of the city was on full display. Marble fronts covered nearly every building, hanging gardens crossed above the bustling streets. These arching paths allowed for overtop walks or had trains and buses drive across them to conveniently travel from location to location.

Jak and Jenny weren’t new to the sight or buzzing hustle of the crowded streets that made up the more popular parts of the market. Still, the fluttering banners and flags and added Amber lights that could be seen everywhere made everything seem so much more busy and alive. An impressive feat.

“Woah…” Jenny gasped in awe after they had squeezed themselves through the crowd, her eyes were sparkling wide as she strained her neck to look upwards.

“Please keep a safe distance! No one’s allowed past the barrier!”

A combination of wooden barricades and tape barred their way as the city guard’s vehicles stood scattered behind. A squad of guards stood beyond the barrier and kept the excited spectators on the other side. Sleek helmets and mirrored glass made it so that only their mouths or muzzles could be seen, drawn into stern neutral frowns as they gestured and called out their warnings periodically.

Barely anyone gave them even a second glance, long since used to their presence, as everyone looked at and chatted excitedly about what was being build in the currently closed off Dampf Erz Plaza. Massive cranes were heaving massive structures upwards, fitting them together like oversized puzzle pieces. The Dampfhaus Rollercoaster. Combining funhouse, restaurant and rollercoaster in one with numerous other stores and booths scattered throughout the temporary building that was the trademark of the Dampfstädter Lebensfest.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

And Jenny could barely see the tip from where she was standing! Why did everything have to be so tall?! Or why did she have to be so tiny?! It wasn’t fair!

A startled squeak escaped her as Jak suddenly grabbed her by the sides before she could try to jump up at the barrier, lifting her onto his shoulders.

“Much better, right?” He grinned up at her.

“Hehe, yeah!” Jenny laughed, feeling like she was towering over everybody even though nearly everybody around her was still at least a head taller.

A loud metal echo could be heard as another piece was fitted into the Dampfhaus and the crane’s chains groaned in relief as the tension escaped them. Immediately the worker controlling the machine swung downwards to take hold of the next as others checked the new connection for any problems.

In the distance, the Dampf Tower could be seen overlooking the entirety of the city. Even now it towered over everything, visible from nearly ever part of Dampfstadt.

It would still take another two days days before the Dampfhaus would be finished and the festival finally started in its entirety. That didn’t mean the vendors all around the market hadn’t already jumped on the chance to make a quick buck in these preliminary days. Tourists from all around the world had arrived over the last few days in preparation and they were eager to find and buy pretty baubles of a genuine Ebenerz festival.

“Lebensperlen and Glasslichter! Buy them here!”

“Get your sweetheart a heart in glass! Satisfaction guaranteed~!”

“Rings and necklaces! Rings and necklaces! Don’t want to carry around your Life Pearls without a ring or necklace, do ya?!”

Already the market was nearly deafening in its cacophony. And the festival would only make things louder. Jenny was flitting excitedly from stand to stand through the crowd, entirely unbothered by the noise or how many people she was annoying by cutting in line or running through their legs.

Watching the construction was a lot of fun for the first few minutes but then it got quickly boring, especially with so many more exciting sights dotting the market.

Jak followed diligently after his chosen sister, passing by vendors and taking a glimpse at their wares. Mostly just the same, varied collection of Life Pearls and simple knickknacks. One even had images of various popular comic and book characters set in the glass instead of the traditionally used symbols and promises.

Slyly he swiped a few of them in passing, adding them to the collection of other ill-gained goods filling his jacket’s pockets. Probably not worth much, but he still mused about the amount of Flickers those would get him at the Back Market.

“So, any trouble with Haggard, lately?” Jak asked Jenny as he caught up with her after a light jog.

She froze for a second and then shook her head, even as her ears laid themselves rather conspicuously flat.

“I-it wasn’t trouble…!” Jenny defended herself with a pout under his deadpan gaze.

———

Jenny snuck tiredly down the stairs of the orphanage, blearily rubbing her eyes as she suppressed a wide yawn. Her bladder was being annoying and her throat was parched. She was just rounding the next turn in the hallway when her eyes widened and she quickly flitted back around the corner.

“.. got… it? No…” The hushed but intense whispers echoed from the window across as two figures stood around it, a second one peaking in through the frame.

Haggard was the one standing at the side, the blood red and black tiger wolf oozing ominously as ever as he glared at his two stooges. Dane the rather thick built cat bear, barely so fitting through the window, and Invit, the cowardly and lanky lion weasel, ducked their heads nervously. Forcefully Haggard ripped a small box out of their hands, stuffing it into one of his oversized jacket’s pockets.

There was something sinister about it all.

Eyes wide, Jenny clasped her hands over her nose and mouth to be as quiet as possible. They hadn’t seen her, yet, or she would have already been snatched up! R-right? C-could they hear her racing heart?

Risking another peak around the corner, Jenny just saw Haggard dragging them up the stairs at the end of the hallway. It lead up to the roof and nobody was allowed up there without permission. How did he even get the key for it?

Bladder and thirst forgotten, Jenny hurried back to her own room and hid under her blankets. Questions and worries flitted through her mind before she dozed off again, to a less than restful slumber. Any nightmare she may have had was thankfully forgotten the next morning. Her barely missed meeting with the three main troublemakers of the orphanage, however, was still burned into her memory.

———

“I didn’t tell the head because I didn’t want them to know someone saw them…” Jenny ended her retelling with an anxious mumble.

“Great, what the Abyss are those three doing?” Jak wondered with a light grumble and shook his head, glaring slightly into the distance as he crossed his arms.

Haggard and his two motley minions were the reason he had run away from the orphanage in the first place. The worst bullies back then and now they were bigger and older. That, and he had felt like someone was watching him whenever night came. The feeling had gone away since he had left and during the times he had snuck back into the orphanage to visit Jenny it hadn’t returned either.

Then he blinked and quickly shook the negative air away as Jenny was looking rather down in the dumps after her story.

“Come on! Let’s see if we can’t find the best Baumkuchen of the market!” Jak grinned, ruffling through her hair which she reacted to with a cute squawk and miffed pout. Her hands rushed upwards to somehow unruffle her hair back into its natural chaos.

“But how will we know it’s the actual best Baumkuchen…?” Jenny asked genuinely confused.

“We just have to try them all~!” Jak laughed and took the lead, hand pointing towards the nearest stand of baked goods. The mouse fennec’s eyes widened with excited sparkles and flitted excitedly after him.

“Ooh! We have to try everything else as well, then!” She declared eagerly, face splitting into a wide grin. “I wanna know what those prall lines taste like, too!”

———

“Captain, please order Lieutenant Zepehn to report.” A gruff voice called out, smoke blown into the darkened room, as the bustling and sunlit activity around the construction site was muffled and cast into dusk by thick, tinted glass.