A pull of the trigger, and a man drops dead. Another trigger pull, another falls. No more than five seconds, and a bloody fight concludes. That’s how quick a firefight can progress.
Ken’s finger is itchy, and he doesn't know what to do. He points his gun at two men, who in turn had theirs points at him. From one moment to the next, any one of them could be on the floor a lifeless body.
“Who are you!”
Ken stares coldly, his finger at the ready, and remains silent at the question thrown at him.
“Answer me!”
The two men are just about ready to fire. In their eyes, Ken is a dangerous stranger. With three dead people in the alley, they wouldn’t dare think what their companion could have experienced had they not arrived.
“Ross—”
“Stop.”
A soft voice echoes behind Ken. The woman referred to as Ross steps forward beside Ken and stretches her hand out in front of him. He ignores this action and maintains eye contact with the two men.
“Don’t harm him! This man saved my life.”
“Oh, I bet he did!”
“Please. Just stop. There’s no need to fight. Lower your weapons.”
The two men hesitate but eventually begin to lower their flintlocks slowly. The woman then turns to Ken, who notices her glare and lowers his gun as well.
“Ross, what happened.”
“He—”
“I saved her. That’s what happened,” Ken says.
“Did I give you permission to speak?” snaps one of the men.
“I don’t remember needing permission,” Ken retorts.
“You want help remembering?” The man steps forward with anger before being held back by the other guy.
Ken holds up his gun slightly at the man’s aggressive behavior. The woman notices this and motions Ken to restrain himself.
“Ross,” says the other man who hasn’t yet said anything.
“I’m fine. These guys here cornered me, but this man arrived and killed them.”
Satisfied, the man looks at Ken. “What’s your name?”
Ken glances at ‘Ross’, then back at the man. “Ken,” he says as he puts his gun back in his holster. Crisis averted, he relaxes but remains vigilant for anything.
“You killed these men?”
“That’s right.”
The man simply nods. “We should get out of here. You caused quite a commotion.”
He turns to leave. The other more aggressive guy sneers as he looks at Ken with suspicion and doubt. ‘Ross’ tugs at Ken’s coat and looks at him.
“You should follow us. We need to leave.”
“Who are those guys?” Ken asks.
“They are my brothers. Pay them no mind. They are always protective of me. Now come, follow me. My name is Eleanor, by the way. Only my brothers call me Ross.” She smiles.
Before following them out, Ken takes a few seconds to pick up the spent casings off the floor. As he does so, he finds something peculiar. Something metallic is on the ground, painted black. He almost missed it. He picks it up and examines it further. It is a small iron emblem. Like a badge or pin, it is in the shape of a bird with its wings spread out. It is entirely black, and no wording of any sort is written on it. He thinks it is strange; perhaps it means something. It must have fallen from either the thugs or Eleanor, most likely the thugs. He puts it in his pocket for safekeeping. Maybe he can ask Marc or someone else if it means anything.
Walking out the alley, he turns around to look at the mayhem that had just transpired.
“What are you doing?”
Ken looks at Eleanor, who stood a few steps away from him with the brothers in the distance.
“Listen, I really need to head back home. I have stuff to do.”
“But you saved me. I’m in your debt. I must pay you back somehow.”
“No need. I didn’t save you for a reward.”
“Then why did you save me?”
Ken doesn't answer. He isn’t entirely sure why he did it either. By all means, he should have gone about his day; it isn’t any of his business. He even considered it a colossal mistake because he was forced to use and reveal his firearm and potentially screwed himself.
“It's getting darker, and the rain will only get worse. At least have supper with us. It’s the least I can do to show my gratitude.”
Ken thinks about it. The rain nor the darkness bothers him, but he doesn't want to be rude. Furthermore, they’ve seen his firearm, and he has seen theirs. He doesn't know how they got flintlocks and is curious to find out.
“Yeah. Sure. I guess I have time.”
Eleanor smiles like a child and gleefully leads Ken to her home.
.
.
The sky is black, the sun is down, and the moon is dim. Ken is in the home of these siblings whom he had met not more than an hour ago. As expected, their home is run down, much like the rest of the district. It is an old two-story timber-framed house which is a mess within. Dusty, trash on the floor, some areas looked to be rotting. It is also dark; only a few candles are lit.
Ken is sitting at a rickety table on the first floor. Though the house is two stories, the area space is relatively small. Sitting at the table is the two brothers, one of them is staring at Ken with intensity. It is clear he doesn't like Ken for some reason. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Eleanor enters with a few bowls and a big pot and serves some sort of soup to everyone. She smiles when she serves Ken’s soup which makes Ken slightly uncomfortable.
“So… what’s your name?” Ken asks one brother.
“Solomon,” says the one who stares at him with hostility.
“I’m Caleb,” says the more calm brother.
“So you guys live here alone?”
“Yes, we do,” Eleanor says, “our parents died a while ago. Now it’s just us.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“What about you?” Solomon asks. “What in heaven’s name is someone like you doing in this part of town anyhow? You don’t belong here.”
“Solomon,” Eleanor warns him.
“What? I’m just trying to learn more about the man who saved my dear sister,” he says sarcastically.
“I’m recruiting people to work for me.”
“Really? Work? What work? Maids? Slavery? Prostitution perhaps? Are you trying to turn my sister into a harlot?”
“Solomon!”
“Why is he even here?! He could be with the damn STC! Just look at his clothes! He’s no commoner!”
Solomon’s sudden outburst makes everyone quiet. Eleanor no longer tries to calm him down. Everyone is now examining Ken. He only shakes his head.
“I’m not associated with those assholes.”
“Then who? Are you Venesian?”
“No, I’m not. I’m not associated with anyone.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“What crawled up your ass?”
“What?”
“Why are you so aggressive and hostile towards me? I have yet to harm any of you.”
Solomon doesn't respond, and no one else says anything else.
“I’m from a company called Ardai Industries. I’m recruiting workers to work in our factories,” Ken says.
“I’ve never heard of any company like that. What does it do?” Eleanor asks.
“We design and build stuff. Right now, we are recruiting people to build new carriages.”
“Then you’re in the wrong place. There are no craftsmen in Egwater.”
“They don’t need to be. We will teach workers what they need to do. Their tasks are simple enough for anyone to do. We pay eight pence an hour.”
“Sounds like a scam.”
“Let me ask a question. What is that weapon you guys pointed at me in the alley?”
Solomon straightens himself and lifts his head in anticipation. The three of them keep quiet and look at each other. Solomon, in particular, radiates animosity.
“I know it is a flintlock pistol. How did you get them?”
“We can’t tell you,” Caleb says.
“Why?”
“You best forget you ever saw anything. This part of town is notoriously inhospitable and dangerous. You never know when an accident will happen,” Solomon threatens.
“What about you? You pointed something at us too,” Caleb says calmly.
Ken looks at Eleanor, who is the only one who saw him fire his gun. But her face is blank as if remembering the event.
“It’s called a Glock. An experimental weapon developed by Ardai.”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” Solomon says, not believing Ken.
“C’mon, enough on this subject. Let’s just eat,” Eleanor says. “We can talk about this another time.”
.
.
It is midnight, the soup that was served was better than Ken had expected. In the end, Ken was given a room to sleep in for the night on the second floor. Eleanor reasoned that the district would be far too dangerous for Ken to walk back to his home at night by himself. In her reasoning, she seemed almost desperate for Ken to spend the night. Ken also felt as if she was trying to flirt with him.
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Now, Ken is sitting on a bed. It isn’t even a bed; they are just bedsheets on the floor in a room with nothing to light it up. The floor is dusty and dirty and brings Ken’s mind back to the ship he sailed on.
After supper, as a ‘thank you’, Eleanor offered to work for Ken for reduced pay or even for free. He is fine with providing her a job but rejected the idea of reduced pay, but Eleanor argued that it would already be more money than any other work they could find and is more than enough to survive and thrive on. Still, Ken was stern that she would receive full pay, and Eleanor ultimately agreed.
As he lays on the floor, Ken’s thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. When he goes to open it, he is met with Eleanor wearing a seductive see-through white gown.
“Ah, shit…” Ken rolls his eyes and turns around.
“What’s wrong?” Eleanor says.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I just… wanted to show my gratitude. For both saving me and giving me the opportunity to work for you,” Eleanor says seductively as she enters. “I simply must repay you…”
Eleanor tries to get closer to Ken, but he is having none of that. He proceeds to back away from her and evades her attempt to grab on to him.
“Wait! Slow down! Why are you doing this?”
“What do you mean? Am I not enough for you?”
“That’s not what I meant. Look, maybe I should leave after all.” Ken walks out the door and down the stairs to the bottom floor. He feels like whatever she is trying to do, she is trying too hard.
“Ken, wait! What did I do wrong?!”
He ignores her and continues towards the door, but Eleanor grabs hold of his shoulder. Feeling the hand, Ken turns around and holds her hand tightly. “Do not touch me,” he says threateningly.
“I’m sorry! What did I do wrong? Was that not what you wanted?”
“Tell me. What makes you think I wanted that?”
“What do you mean? Why else would you save me and give me a job with high pay?” Eleanor says with confusion.
“I’ll tell you one thing. I didn’t do it for you to come into my room for a hookup.”
“What?”
Ken lets go of her hand and heads for the door. “If you’ll excuse me.”
“I’m sorry! Wait! Come back! I was wrong!”
Ken turns around to see her face full of regret; he thinks he might have even seen a tear.
“I’m sorry for assuming your intentions. I am just so happy and thankful for your kindness.”
Ken rolls his eyes and looks around the room. He doesn't know what her problem is. He doesn't understand how she came to the conclusion that she did. He helped her because he felt it right to do so, not because he wanted a favor.
“Just… think nothing of it. I must go.”
Ken opens the door and walks right out, closing the door behind him before Eleanor can say anything else. He walks away into the darkness amidst the rain and disappears into the night.
.
.
The next day, Ken is in the comfort of his own home. A cozy and comfortable home. He had overslept and remained in his bed for much longer than he had intended. He is simply exhausted, especially after everything that happened the day before.
What was supposed to be a typical day of recruiting turned into a drama-filled night. And he almost feels wrong too. He feels a bit bad that he left Eleanor before she could say anything. It is rude, and Ken feels a bit like an asshole, but she isn’t clean either. After all, she tried to seduce him. For what? Gratitude? It would have been worse had he let it happen. He can’t afford to get attached while on a job, not to mention the risk of unforeseen STDs in a pre-industrial kingdom. In the bad side of town, no less.
Suppressing the thoughts of the previous day, Ken gets out of bed and prepares to leave. He overslept and is already running many hours late, and he has many things to do. Ardai wouldn’t grow by itself.
.
.
On the north side of the city, near the gate in the Stonegate District, one particular workshop is busy. A muscular middle-aged man is yelling at a group of younger apprentices. For the past week or so, they have been contracted to build the most strange carriage for a previously unknown corporation. A certain Ardai Industries had presented the workshop with a new luxury carriage design for construction. At first, they were skeptical but agreed to build it after hearing how much they would be paid.
The carriage is just about complete. The apprentices are just double-checking the blueprints and the carriage to make sure it is all there. As the man stands and admires his work, he hears a familiar voice call out to him.
“Edgar!”
He turns around to see it is the young man who had initially sought their services.
“Well met Mister Kai!”
“Please, just call me Ken. So how goes the prototype?”
“Your ‘A1 Coach’ is complete. My apprentices are just double-checking the blueprints you gave us. I have to say, kid, it turned out way better than I expected.”
“It looks beautiful, doesn’t it? Have you test-driven it yet?” Ken says as he approaches the four-door coach.
The coach hasn’t been painted yet and shows the exposed wood exterior and steel frame. It is a massive coach in comparison to others. If it isn’t for the unmistakable shape of a horse-drawn coach, it almost looks like some sort of car. It looks like a longer Wells Fargo stagecoach.
“Goodness, no. Had something gone wrong, I wouldn’t get paid.” Edgar laughs.
Ken jumps onto a step underneath one of the doors and holds onto a handle on the side.
“So far, so good,” he says.
Unexpectedly, he starts to violently jump up and down, much to the dismay of Edgar and the apprentices.
“Woah! Hey! Settle down! You’re going to damage it!”
As Ken jumps, the carriage bounces up and down as small creaking noises came from the wheels.
One of the innovations in the A1 Coach that all other carriages lacked is a suspension system. What the A1 is equipped with are steel leaf springs that allow the carriage to travel over rougher terrain while preventing the passengers from feeling every pebble.
“Relax, Edgar. I wouldn’t sell it if it couldn’t take any abuse. I need to make sure it’s rugged and reliable.”
Ken jumps back down and makes his way to the rear of the carriage. Right below the rear window is a drawing, presumably for when it is painted. ‘A1 Coach’ is written above an illustration of a simple rose vector. Underneath the rose is the words ‘Ardai Industries’.
Ken puts his hands below the window and pushes ever so slightly, and the wheels begin to rotate.
“Excellent. They work,” he says.
What Ken is referring to are the redesigned wheels. He makes it of utmost importance that the wheels are perfectly round. In addition, Ken had to essentially invent steel ball bearings to implement them into the carriage and make it move effortlessly. Forging the ball bearings is perhaps the most challenging component of the carriage—something whose manufacture had to be made easier eventually.
“I’m impressed, Edgar! You really came through!”
“Of course I did! Who do you take me for?” he says as Ken pats his back.
“So then, you think you can make more?”
“That’s difficult to say. This ‘A1’ takes a lot of effort to construct. We’d need more skilled workers to make them in numbers.”
“Haha, don’t worry about that. I’m hiring a bunch of workers who will build nothing but carriages. I just need your help to teach them how.”
“You want me to teach unskilled workers to make these? Do you realize what you’re asking of me?”
“Don’t you worry, Edgar. They don’t all need to know how to build the whole thing. I’ll explain when the time comes. Also, before I forget, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Hmm?”
Ken proceeds to reach into his pocket, takes out the black metal bird he found the day before and shows it to Edgar.
“I found this on the floor the other day. It caught my interest but thought it strange. Do you know what it is?”
Edgar is immediately alerted to the emblem and widens his eyes.
“Oh boy… Kid, this isn't something to mess with. You best return that thing to wherever you found it and forget you ever saw it. I’ve lived long enough to know that this symbol often means trouble.”
“I don’t understand. What is it?” Ken asks with confusion.
“If you don’t know, it’s better if you don’t learn.”
Edgar expresses a clear sense of urgency, and Ken figures he wouldn’t say much more on the subject and puts away the bird.
“Fine. I’ll trust your wisdom, must be pretty serious.”
Edgar only nods.
.
.
Later that day, Ken makes his way to the Casiem. He left Edgar to work on producing more prototypes to test and showcase. Ever since renovations began, the Casiem started to take shape and draw attention as some sort of attraction for people passing by.
Getting closer to the Casiem, Ken can already see a few people looking at the unique structure and talking amongst themselves. If anything, the extra attention will serve to establish its prominence.
The Casiem is a mostly stone building. Renovations led to large windows being installed as well as larger and polished doors. One of the most noticeable features is how the structure identified itself. While most stores, workshops, or offices have signs hanging off the side of the wall, the Casiem instead has the name and logo painted on the building itself in an oblique style.
Above the windows is blue lettering that reads ‘Ardai Industries’. To the right of the lettering is a simple blue rose head spread outwards. Ken’s intention with the design is to imitate American aerospace defense contractors. Underneath it all is smaller lettering that reads ‘Advanced Research, Development, And Innovative Industries’.
It is truly a sight to see for the populous observers for its odd and unique design not seen anywhere else. Usually, people would have assumed some sort of intricate crest to be in place of the logo.
Upon entering, Ken is met with a reception area modeled after modern reception with the company name and logo behind the receptionist sitting behind a counter.
On the other side of the large room is an area with seats where people sit and wait for meetings or appointments and whatnot. However, the seats are occupied.
“Ken! Where have you been!”
Marc is standing in front of the seated people who noticed Ken entering. If nothing else, he looked irritated.
“What happened?” Ken asks.
“You tell me! You disappeared yesterday night and didn’t come in this morning. I thought you might have gotten yourself killed in Egwater.”
“Don’t worry, man, I’m fine. So what’s going on here?” Ken looks at the five people sitting.
“These guys came here for a job yesterday but didn’t look anything special. So I was going to reject them but insisted that they had valuable skills and knowledge that we could use. Then they started blabbering about a bunch of subjects, principles, and theories to prove themselves. Honestly, it reminded me of you, so I hired them since they truly seem educated despite their appearance. Problem is, I have no idea what job they should be assigned, so I was hoping you could take over.”
Ken takes a long hard look at the five recruits. Though he looks to be examining them, in actuality, he is internally laughing to himself.
“All right then, I’ll take over and give them an interview in my office. Thanks, Marc.”
“Yeah yeah. I’ll be heading to my armory. Drop by if you need anything.”
As Marc leaves the Casiem, Ken leads the five men through a door and up the stairs into his office on the top floor.
Once they enter and sit down in their seats, Ken looks at the five men, who in turn lock eyes on him. Suddenly, everyone starts laughing, and the room fills with nothing but giggling.
“Glad to see you, Kai.”
“Glad to see you guys too.”
These men sitting before Ken are, in fact, his team who sailed to Scorcia with him. Matt is included among them. What makes them unique is that they are an all-American team of operators, the only Americans outside Entesia. But of course, no one knows that.
“You work quick, Kai! Who would have guessed that you would have set up this shit so fast?”
“Dude! Why else would the EIA hire me? What about you guys? Where have you guys gone since the boat?”
“Ah, Jax and I went west to explore a bit, crossed a few rivers, found a few villages. It’s all forest. I think we might even have found a jungle. I gotta tell ya. Shit’s like a fucking RPG out there. In fact, Cayde here’s an official adventurer living the fucking dream, even spent a few days with adventurer groups.” Matt laughs.
“No shit?”
“Nah, dude, ‘adventurer’ is more of an honorary title. Just a subclass of the broader mercenary. We’re all mercenaries while a few carry the extra title of adventurer,” Cayde says.
“The fuck is the difference?”
“Tradition or some shit. Adventurers take a moral high ground. Like Matt says, it’s like an RPG game out there. Adventurers focus on monsters, wildlife, and other threats to civilization. Non-adventurers focus on where morals aren’t clear and pay is high. But they are all still mercenaries.”
“Bet he did it to be a hero and save a damsel in distress. A princess, maybe?” Jax says.
“Dude, I wish! I took a contract that took me to the capital city, Scorrest. Haven’t met a princess yet but definitely on the bucket list,” Cayde replies.
“I know someone who might have. Kai here went to a banquet in which the Scorcian princess attended.”
“How would you know? Where the hell have you been, Reed?” Ken asks.
“I never left! I’ve been in Efielge the whole time snooping around the place. I even tried to get into that same banquet, but they kicked me out. Told me I needed an invitation,” Reed says.
“You met a princess, Kai? Please tell me your dating,” Cayde says.
“Dude, if only. I only got a glimpse from afar, never got close.”
“Was she hot?”
“Oh hell yeah.”
The group laughs amongst themselves as if they are still in high school.
Throughout the rest of the day, Ken had administrative duties to do. He confirmed their employment and gave them their designated jobs. Because they all held twenty-first-century knowledge, they are all assigned as lead researchers and engineers at Ardai who would seemingly invent new technologies.
Up until now, Ken was the one in the spotlight. As such, he is most prone to public exposure. This is the reason why Matt, Cayde, Jax, and Reed dispersed upon arriving in Efielge to avoid the spotlight from shining at all of them right off the gate. They wanted their involvement with Ardai to seem more natural, and starting as newly hired employees gave better cover than five friends pushing an industrial revolution. It would simply be too suspicious that way.
.
.
It is midnight. The only ones within the Casiem are Ken, Matt, Cayde, Reed, and Jax. They are all gathered in Ken’s office near an open window on the top floor.
In one corner of the office are several large packs, similar to the one Ken carried on the first day. They are owned by the other team members, each having different equipment. Where Ken had books, blueprints, and money, Matt brought disassembled rifles. One rifle for each member. Jax’s pack is full of ammunition to make those rifles useful, as well as the sidearms everyone carried and several articles of clothing for any ‘special’ assignment. Reed, on the other hand, had a manpack radio for long-range communication while Cayde brought some electronics and batteries for everyone’s handheld radios, the manpack, and other electronic equipment.
As convenient as it seems, their gathering is predetermined. It is a date and time they all memorized and couldn’t miss. They had to be together this day.
Huddling around Reed’s manpack radio, they are attempting to communicate with the Entesian military to relay their progress. They have less than a few hours after midnight to do this. It is a small window that they wouldn’t get again.
Reed double-checks the radio to make sure it is on the correct frequency and holds up the microphone to his mouth.
“This is Ringleader, is anyone there?”
Only silence follows.