Still groggy themself, Omet shook Quet awake. “C’mon, we’ve got places to be.”
What little sleep Quet managed to get that night was a godsend, but all she now wanted was just a little more. Maybe an extra ten or eleven hours. Was that so much to ask. “Mmf.”
“I feel you, but we’re heading down. Tight schedule, sis.”
Quet pulled herself out of her sleeping bag. It took her a minute to gather the mental faculties needed to de-summon the bag, then another twenty seconds to get herself a bottle of water to splash in her face. It did help, though.
Downstairs, Mark, Horan, Omet, Waia and Xiao were waiting by the fireplace, with varying degrees of alertness. Quet joined them with her belt slung over her shoulder, and the receptionist performed their little number on the fireplace to allow access to the elevator.
“If the King doesn’t help us after making us wait all this time,” grumbled Waia as they all piled onto the platform, “I’m gonna twist that little demon into a puddle.”
“I’ll help,” added Mark.
Quet was ready for the trip down and summoned herself a blindfold once she saw the first sign of someone passing by comet-style. On the whole, the trip to the King’s casino was a lot less eventful the second time round. Horan thought he saw Salamin and her crew standing on a platform down the street, but there was little else to make note of on the way there. Once you had seen Sinkhole once, you had seen it a hundred times; and they were running out of what little time they had left.
The casino itself seemed much more crowded than last time. The group had to be extra careful to avoid stepping on anyone as they made their way to the first staircase, but the security was familiar with them and the subsequent floors were mercifully similar to their first time through.
On the last floor before the King’s ‘office’, the monster himself appeared in front of the group, flanked by the two guards normally standing outside his office door. “Figures you people would want to come back here. Feeling the heat now?” He glanced at Xiao. “Looks like you found a friend, too. How nice.”
“Stow it,” said Mark. “We gave you more than enough time to have your fun with us. Are you in or out?”
“Ooh, right that.” The King chuckled and leaned against one of the rusty chrome bars halfway up the railing, glancing down at the first floor below. “Probably would’ve been on board, were it not for the… counteroffer.”
Mark groaned. “Should’ve seen that coming. I really should’ve.”
Waia gripped the railing tightly. A slight creak sounded out from beneath her fingerless gloves as the metal began to glow a dull red and buckle under her grip. “You listen here. We’ve all had a long past few days, and you had better start explaining yourself before I punt you all the way back to ground level.”
The King hopped away from the now painfully hot railing, trying to paint the action in a calmer light. “Sorry to break it to you, missy, but you might’ve noticed that these are uncertain times. And this whole establishment thrives on uncertainty. I got approached by none other than Yang herself, and she gave me quite the offer. In exchange for lending her a helping hand or two hundred, she’s giving me the ability to whitelist anyone of my choosing from that little electrical lightshow topside. Seems like quite the lucrative service I could be providing to the unfortunate citizens of Tragnil trapped down here, wouldn’t you say?”
“Oh, you little…” Waia took a step forward, but stopped in her tracks when the King’s entourage leveled their spears at her, both tips glowing with strings of glyphs.
The King sniggered. “Oh, that’s good. Yeah, you might not want to do this right now. It’s unsporting to attack a monster in his own home, and it would be such a shame if I couldn’t foot the, ah, cleaning bill to Yang. I’ll let you leave without leaving a mess, for now. Those people down there will be a lot quicker to finish you off once we’ve gotten started. I do hope to see you at Yang’s place.” He waved a pudgy hand at them. “Ciao.”
-
Back on the first floor, Mark threw a Carnlac out of the space below a table, then crawled underneath and curled up. “I thought things might let up today. I thought the nightmare would have stopped. That whole trip yesterday was pointless. This would have been easier if we just did the attack then!”
“Dude, c’mon, we’re not psychic,” said Horan. “If anything, we should’ve expected this. Of course that little demon would side with the obvious choice. The house always wins in places like this.”
Xiao nodded. “I definitely wouldn’t have even tried to throw my lot in with someone like that. But hey, at least I got to use those resources of his to track you down. Didn’t take long to find you guys, considering we were already in the same building at one point.”
Horan gave Xiao a look that the demon couldn’t quite place. “What are you even trying to say?”
“I-I don’t actually know. I’m just trying to be optimistic, but I don’t really have much to work with. Guess you guys are just used to stuff like this.” Xiao put his hands in his pockets. “Just gonna stay quiet.”
Horan turned back down to Mark. “Okay, we gotta get moving. Figure out our next move, all that.”
Mark didn’t move.
“So,” asked Omet, “do we just leave you here? That your plan?”
Mark slowly began to climb out from under the table. Horan’s eye widened. “Oh no, he’s getting an idea.”
Mark looked up at Xiao while Horan helped him up. “Hey, you said you found a guy here who can track down anyone in the city?”
“That’s what he told me,” said Xiao. “And he found you guys easy enough.”
Mark nodded slowly. “We can use that. None of us know the castle all that well, and that includes Yang. But if I’m not mistaken, there’s someone nearby who does.”
-
“Getting some serious déjà vu right now,” said Horan, as he carried Waia on his back while the two of them flew up to the borders of the invisible barrier surrounding Tragnil.
“Except the roles are reversed this time,” agreed Waia. “Also, I’m making this easy for you. You don’t need to carry a delirious, full-sized Primus on your back. I’m staying travel-sized, just for you.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“I feel so blessed.”
Getting out of sinkholes without using the street-level manholes was inconvenient, but commandeering a Sinker elevator as it deposited its passengers and taking it up to the building’s roof was a far more unpleasant experience. Fortunately, Orsinus’ lightning powers didn’t extend this far up the barrier, so the two Primoi passed through with no issue. Only so much could go wrong at once.
Horan dropped Waia off at the front porch of a five-storey apartment block in the Wizardly Suburbs. They both felt a slight buzzing in their legs for every step they took on their way from the front porch to the entrance. This building, thankfully, didn’t seem to be alive.
The information broker in the casino had needed considerable bribing, enough for all four Primoi to have to share the load to avoid suffering from any negative side-effects of exsanguination. But the price had certainly been justified, and the broker managed to find the exact address and floor of their target in a matter of minutes. Waia checked her phone while she and Horan ascended the staircase. Eight minutes until Salamin’s docking permission expired. The others would have to work fast, but not that fast.
Horan and Waia came to a stop at an apartment on the fourth floor, number 43. Horan and Waia exchanged looks. “You want to knock, or should I?” asked the former.
“You do it,” said Waia. “You’ve got a less intimidating face.”
“If you say so.” Horan shifted into his human form in order to be fully visible through the doorframe, then knocked twice on the door. After a few seconds, he heard a rustling sound coming from inside. The door slowly opened, revealing a poorly-dressed Salazar.
“I’ve got the rent, you really don’t need to check early every-” He leapt back and fell onto the floor, pointing both arms at Horan and Waia. The spines on his wrists quivered with anticipation. “Wh- Pillar’s sake, really? You guys? I really don’t need this right now.”
“Calm down,” said Horan, putting his hands up. “We’re here to talk.”
Salazar glanced over at Waia and scurried further back into his apartment. “Right, because she’s totally the type to bring to a civil conversation.”
“I’m just here to make sure nobody— Horan— gets hurt. And for the record, I tried to kill you once.” Waia folded her arms. “You’re just being petty at this point.”
“Okay, how about this?” Horan made sure he wasn’t standing in the doorway, then cleared his throat. “As Pharaoh of the Egyptian Domain, I swear that I will not enter your home without your consent. And now…” He held up an open hand and pushed it forward. The instant the hand entered the doorway, it compressed and flattened, as if hitting an invisible wall. Horan retracted his hand. “…I can’t come in. Because I mean you no harm. We need your help.”
“Sucks to be y’all, then.” Salazar got up and attempted to shut the door, only to find it blocked by the steel toe of Waia’s boot.
Waia chuckled. “Horan here might not be able to come in, but I do whatever I want.”
Salazar groaned. “Don’t do this. I’m already on thin ice with my landlord, I can’t take a full-on brawl.”
“We’re not gonna do anything bad unless you make us,” stated Horan, putting his hands in his pockets.
Salazar looked between the two Primoi, then sighed and stepped aside. “C’mon in.”
Horan nodded and walked inside, followed shortly by Waia. The modest apartment was in a state of general disarray, covered in the telltale signs of what Horan identified as a one-person party. Food wrappers, stains on the wooden floor, crushed cans, the works. A small living/dining room was the first room to greet visitors after the tiny foyer, reminding Waia of her own home. A squat hall led off into a bedroom and bathroom. Aside from a fur-covered bench and small dining table, the only notable furniture in the living room was a hook by the door which held Salazar’s old hat and coat.
Horan cleared the bench opposite the living room’s sole window of food scraps, then sat down. “I’d compliment this place, but I don’t have much honest to say about it.” He looked out of the window, which presented a completely blank, gray vista, save for one or two floating buildings. “View’s… okay, I guess.”
“Yeah, yeah, say whatever y’all want.” Salazar pulled up a chair and sat opposite Horan. “Didn’t exactly have time to clean up for y’a- you. Sorry about the accent, I know it’s uncivilized. But you two better start explaining what exactly you want from me, so that you can get out of my house as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see how this goes.” Waia leaned against the foyer wall, sliding her feet forward so that her legs barred the door like a living ‘do-not’ sign.
“Right, so.” Horan steepled his fingers in his lap. “As you may or may not know, our whole group is on a pretty tight time limit to get into Yang’s castle, get a thing, and leave. In some ways, the parameters of that mission statement have been simplified. But in many more, they’ve been complicated. And at this point, we’re more than a little desperate.”
“I can believe that.” Salazar leaned back in his chair. “And now you’re coming to who I can only assume is one of those complications?”
“More or less,” agreed Horan. “Of course, we know you resigned yesterday. You were very public.”
“Correct, I was very public about the fact that I want no part in this.” Salazar didn’t raise his voice, but both Primoi could tell that he wanted to.
“Yeah, well, neither do we,” muttered Waia.
Horan nodded in confirmation of his partner’s statement. “Problem is, things have been going downhill really quickly. Not just for us, but for Tragnil on the whole. You hear about the Ley Line electrocutions?”
Salazar sighed. “Yup. I did warn Yang against that, but I really should’ve seen it coming. I’m just surprised by how little time it took her to go mad with power.”
“Mm-hmm, so are you gonna help us get rid of her? My friend Mark came up with a plan to get us inside, and his track record with plans is actually pretty alright.”
“I’m sure.” Salazar folded his arms. “It’s a real shame that I’m not in any way obligated to do anything about this, not since I resigned. There’s no way the Leviathan Council is coming back at this point, Tragnil passed the point of no return a while ago.”
Horan placed his hands on his thighs and blew out his cheeks. “Sure, that’s, um… Yeah. Things aren’t looking good. People are swarming down to Sinkhole to avoid being blasted to bits, the city’s pretty much under lockdown when it comes to large scale travel, Yang hired the King specifically to make life harder for us, with his little army of washed-up adventurers and everything.”
Salazar nodded. “Figures that that pasty little demon would get himself involved in this.”
“Yeah, and now could be your chance to bring him to justice! O-or something. I’m not really that familiar with how things work around here.”
“I’ll be honest?” Salazar got up and walked over to the window, staring out at the vast expanse beyond the city. “I don’t really care. The Leviathan Council never did, why should I? Tragnil’s been in a downward spiral ever since it ended up on the map. All folks like me could do was slow down its death. But I’d say its time has come. Why not let a cat lady bring it down out of a madness for power? Better than handing it over to someone like the King. This just puts all those people out of their misery, rips the band-aid off and tells them to leave before things get any worse.”
Waia snorted. “What, because we made you look bad one time? Get over yourself, it’s not over until it’s over. If those Leviathans never cared about the city, then you go and find someone who does. Let me guess, up until yesterday you were all patriotic about serving your city and keeping it safe? Pfft. You’re a sore loser, is what you are.”
Horan shot Waia a dirty look from where he was sitting. “Dude, don’t make this any harder for me, we’re already-”
Salazar wheeled on Waia. “So you’re just gonna start blamin’ me for all this? I did what I could, but there’s only so much I can manage when the freeloaders in that castle could take out half the force I had left in the city in a couple of seconds. I’m just one person now. Might as well move on with my life.”
Waia responded with little beyond a sneer. “You might be one person, but me and my buddies definitely aren’t. There’s nothing that really can’t be fixed, as long as you’re willing to do whatever it takes to fix it. If you think something’s a lost cause, that just means you never cared enough to want it saved.”
Salazar looked Waia in the eye for a moment, then averted his gaze down to the floor. “Y’all really think you can manage?”
“Nope. But we’re not cowards. You know, My Domain used to say something about me.”
“If you say so.” Not bothering to hear the rest of Waia’s spiel, Salazar looked over at Horan, then back at Waia, then sighed. “And where do y’all plan to take me?”