Luna looked at herself in the reflection of the polished iron table. She was fourteen years old, and she had a ridiculous amount of piercings on her face, almost enough to forge a chainmail band. She sat at the table next to Cyrus as he negotiated with a group of rough men and women that unsettled her. Luna found herself distracted by the breathtaking view out the large window. The meeting was taking place on the third floor and the view of the river and mountains behind the docks was unbelievable. Sure beats any of the views found in the Undercity.
A morbidly obese woman wearing a painfully obvious wig sat at the table flanked by two bodyguards. “Are you going to waste more of our precious time Cyrus? I have a dinner party I need to be getting to.” She mumbled, multiple chins jiggling with each syllable. Her sentiment was met by nods and whispers of agreement from most of the others at the long table.
Cyrus narrowed his eyes, taking a bite of an apple before lounging back in his chair and kicking his feet up onto the table. “I assure you my esteemed colleagues, what I have to show you is well worth the wait. Maybe skipping a few dinner parties might be to your benefit?” His question was met with a loud gasp from the many chinned woman and snickers from the others.
A Bohlkovian man with a nose that looked to have been broken way too many times raised his voice, “We asked you to cook us up something to keep our mill workers productive and energized over long shifts. Did you or didn’t you?”
Cyrus roared with laughter until he fell back out of his chair. He popped back up quickly with a serious expression, then paused for a long moment, holding the menacing blank stare.
“Tell us!” Shouted the impatient Bohlkovian, a sentiment harmoniously reinforced by the others.
Cyrus turned his head to the left with a huge grin. “Did I?” He swung his head to the right, expression switching to one of sadness. “Or didn’t I?” He went back and forth a few times before a tattooed Chamaroonian man interrupted him.
“I don’t have time to deal with this madman. I’m out of here!” The dark skinned Chamaroonian said, as he turned and started walking away.
Cyrus jumped up on the table swinging his arms out theatrically and tossing the apple over his shoulder. “Yes, you could leave. But then you wouldn’t get to see this in action.” Cyrus exclaimed, pulling a small syringe from his pocket and holding it up with mouth open and wide eyes. “The answer to your prayers, my precious congregation of angels.”
All of the eyes in the room shifted to the syringe. Cyrus was undoubtedly unstable, but he was also an alchemist of unparalleled skill.
Cyrus strided down off the table, throwing the syringe up into the air then dusting off his jacket before catching the syringe gracefully. “Well my friends, who wants to try it first?” He asked, running his pointer finger across the hourglass tattoo on his neck.
The room became silent as a gambler who had just lost it all. As useful and ingenious as Cyrus was, he had a well-earned reputation for being cruel and unpredictable. Not exactly the type of man a wise person accepts a mysterious injection from, at least, not a wise person with hopes of a long life.
Bad wig Betty grabbed one of her bodyguards by the arm. “Paul will volunteer.” She said, causing the mans eyes to race with terror. Luna could tell he was probably weighing his options and considering throwing himself out the window.
The other bodyguard guided Paul to an empty chair next to a dusty bookshelf. He did his best to sit still but his nerves were kicking in and he was sweating profusely.
Cyrus glanced over at Luna, snapping his fingers to get her attention. “Would you be so kind as to administer the sting, my apprentice?” It was framed as a question but had all of the familiar markings of a command.
Luna nodded, taking the syringe of oily black liquid over to where Paul was sitting. She placed the syringe between her teeth and tied a leather strap tightly around his bicep. The room became tense and silent as everyone looked on with great interest—everyone except Cyrus, who was now pouring himself a cup of steaming hot black tea. The earthy and sweet aroma wafting up from the kettle filled the room. Cyrus seemed surprisingly uninterested all of a sudden, looking out the window, he smirked as he took in the view. Veins bulged in Paul’s arm as if they were trying to escape the confines of his body. Paul closed his eyes, a feeling of anticipation invoked nausea burning through him. His heart beat with such a rapid cadence, he had a legitimate concern that his heart might explode.
Luna’s brow scrunched as she concentrated on Paul's muscular arm, “Little pinch.” She held the syringe up for a second looking at it before stabbing it into his vein and injecting the liquid straight into his bloodstream.
Paul grimaced, looking frantically around the room for a moment. Everyone in the room except Cyrus held their breath as time seemed to freeze. Paul breathed in sharply as the drug hit his system. His demeanor changed suddenly and his expression shifted. Paul now grinned ear to ear as he purred like a cat. He fidgeted in the chair for a minute scratching his arms and neck until he couldn’t take it any longer. He got up snickering and began pacing quickly around the room.
The woman with the ill-fitting wig’s intrigued gaze was like a starving woman watching a world class chef prepare a meal. “Well, how do you feel, Paul?”
The rest of the room leaned forward in their chairs. Cyrus sipped his tea watching the ships flow in and out of the port, giving the impression he was bored of the entire meeting, his own meeting. Luna sat back down and watched Paul as a scientist watches a mouse.
Paul couldn’t stop moving; he was running around the room now laughing. “I…I…I feel great! I’ve never felt this good in my life! I could run all the way to Cloudreach!”
Luna could see it in their eyes, they were hooked.
Cyrus continued to watch the ships. “So now you know. I’ve done exactly as I assured you I would. Now, do you have what I asked for?”
A man with a ridiculously long and braided mustache stood. “Yes. We have prepared two warehouses in the docks district, precisely outfitted to match your specifications. A small fleet of ships is ready and waiting as well.” He twirled his mustache and tilted his head, “How long will it take to ramp up production?”
Cyrus smiled and brushed his red hair back. “I’d say we can be pumping sting out of there within a fortnight.”
Luna couldn’t help but feel guilty—the heavy feeling lingered in her gut like the aftermath of eating bad Undercity street food. Have I helped to open Pandora's box?
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
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She woke up with a pounding headache and a fog of confusion weighing over her. At first she thought she was on a prairie but upon closer realization she noticed she was inside of a massive glass terrarium—she wasn’t sure which was more weird. Luna could see the warehouse through the tall glass walls. Written on the glass wall in blood was another riddle, it said, What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps, can run but never walks, and has a bank but no money? Luna scratched her head. Bloody awesome, exactly what I needed, more riddles.
To make things even more bizarre, the biggest snake she had ever seen emerged from beneath a dead oak tree. It just had to be a snake. I hate snakes. When it noticed her it hissed and launched itself towards Luna. Oh, and how great, it looks like it’s hungry.
It was far from the first time Luna Stone had been forced to run for her life. Still, it was never a course of action she particularly enjoyed. Trapped inside of a giant glass terrarium and being chased by a massive snake, she couldn’t help but question her life choices. I don’t know why near death experiences always make me feel so introspective. Panic gripped her when she reached for her sword instinctively. Maddock had taken her rapier and vials before trapping her in the glass garden; her options for escape were limited to say the least. Time to get creative. I’ve had nothing most of my life, I know better than anyone how to survive without any help.
The tall grass whipped at her legs as she sprinted—Luna was doing the best she could to evade the oversized serpent that seemed dead set on eating her for lunch. Maker! I can’t help but feel like a…well…like a rat dropped into a snake's cage. She looked back over her shoulder and saw the snake launch into the air and come flying at her. Luna faked left then cut hard to her right and somersaulted, narrowly avoiding the jaws of the slithering behemoth.
The serpent crashed loudly into the glass making a vibrating sound that reverberated through the strange prison. Luna looked up from the scattered foliage, spitting out a mouthful of leaves and noticed a small detail that just might help her survive. Where the snake had barreled into the glass was a tiny crack. This glass prison might not be as impenetrable as I thought.
The enraged hissing of the fanged giant reminded her to keep her feet moving, and she booked it for one of the dead trees in the corner of the terrarium. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get there, but it beats being out in the open like a sitting duck. Do snakes eat ducks? I suppose it doesn’t really matter right now.
When she made it to the lifeless oak the serpent was hot on her heels. Luna began climbing as quickly as she could, but it wasn’t quite fast enough. The monster launched upwards, sinking its razor sharp fangs into her foot. She cried out in pain, bringing down her other foot and kicking wildly in an attempt to free herself from the jaws of the snake. Luna’s foot stomped the creature directly in its eye and it shrieked, letting go of her trapped foot and disappearing into the tall grass. That’s it! Maybe I can blind this dumb beast and turn its biggest strength into a weakness.
Rustling in the brush paired with the colorful top of the serpent slithering towards her informed Luna that the monster had recovered. The gigantic snake had gotten a taste and now it was coming back for seconds. Luna snapped a sturdy branch loose and waited in the dead oak for just the right moment. The angry behemoth popped out of the tall grass and launched at Luna, fangs ready to crush her.
Wait for it. Patience. Wait. Time seemed to slow down around Luna as the snake flew through the air towards her one eye swollen shut from when her boot had stomped it. Now! Luna jumped down towards the serpent bringing down the jagged branch with two hands hard. The branch pierced deeply into the snakes eye and it flailed wildly, throwing Luna high up into the air.
Luna soared through the air, gritting her teeth as she looked down at the hard dirt that gravity was eager to reacquaint her with. This isn’t going to feel nice. In an attempt to protect her injured foot from the impact she turned right before hitting the ground. This proved to be a mistake and she paid the price when she crashed into the compacted dirt. Her hip took the brunt of the fall and her old friend, pain, greeted her with a searing hello. The serpent thrashed around blindly and Luna realized that if she didn’t move out of its trajectory, and quickly, it was going to crush her.
Climbing to her feet proved more difficult than she expected. Her left foot was gushing blood and she couldn’t feel her right leg with the exception of waves of fiery pain. Luna fell back to the ground unable to put weight on her leg. Well, I guess this is the end. Being crushed by a gigantic snake definitely wasn’t something I ever saw coming. She felt a large and jagged rock digging into her ribs and it gave her an idea.
The behemoth was nearly on top of her. Luna grabbed the rough rock and threw it as hard as she could while laying on the ground. The rock hit the glass wall on the other side of the terrarium and the sound rang out. The eyeless serpents head shot towards the impact and charged towards it. Okay…that was too close for comfort. Let's try this again.
Luna managed to get back to her feet by shifting all of her weight onto her bloody foot. A look of anguish gripped her face while she tried her best to fight through it. They say people get wiser with age but I can’t help but feel like my plans constantly get worse year over year. It’s looking like early retirement might be my only hope at this point. Luna shouted as loudly as she could, trying her best to get the snake's attention,“Hey! Yeah, you big slithering dummy! I’m over here, come and get me if you can!”
The serpent turned to face Luna, hissing angrily before launching straight towards her with blinding speed.
Luna glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was in the right spot. Perfect! Normally having your back to the wall is a bad thing, that’s what I was always taught anyways. But whoever came up with that old adage wasn’t standing in front of a crack in a glass prison. The monstrous snake charged at her and Luna massaged her right leg vigorously. Come on! Wake up damnit. I need you to work! You can sleep later!
The blinded behemoth was only yards away from her when it dove towards her, jaw disconnected and ready to swallow Luna whole. It was so close she could smell the odor of death and decay surrounding it—the scent made her gag.
Now is the moment of truth. Please don’t fail me now leg! Luna planted her right leg and miraculously it didn’t buckle underneath her. She jumped to the side at the last possible moment and the monstrous serpent slammed hard into the glass. The wall of the glass garden shattered, exploding and sending thousands of little shards of glass spraying in every direction.
Luna sat there for a second stunned by the way that events had unfolded. The colossal serpent slithered away smashing through the corrugated metal wall of the warehouse and out into the town. Moonlight poured into the faintly lit warehouse and the sound of screaming citizens echoed in the distance. Yikes. My apologies to the unsuspecting inhabitants of Cantrick. That certainly won’t be fun to deal with. However…that’s someone else's problem now. I need to catch Maddock before he kills again and my ship leaves tomorrow evening so I need to do it quickly.
She limped her way out of the glass prison over to a trunk sitting next to the grotesque mannequin display. The crime scene gave her the chills. Maddock is truly sick in the head. What kind of monster would think to do something like this for their own enjoyment?
Luna opened the trunk and inside was her rapier and possessions. It looks like Maddock was trying to frame me for the murder while using his pet to make sure I couldn’t tell my side of the story. She threw on her cloak, strapped her rapier on her hip and threw her bag of vials over her shoulder. Each movement large or small painfully reminded her just how beaten up her body was. Her foot was still bleeding heavily and she knew it was important for her to clean it and stitch it up very soon.
The sound of investigators shouting and hounds barking sounded off from the foyer. Luna looked down at herself covered in blood and dirt then over to the dismembered corpse. This is bad! If I get caught here I can’t imagine I’ll be able to talk my way out of this. She staggered out the hole in the warehouse the snake had made before disappearing into the shadows. She could hear the disgusted gasps and comments from the investigators faintly behind her as they discovered the gruesome scene.