Luna limped her way through the shadows and back alleys to get back to Steelhook’s. The tavern was one of those places that became much livelier at night and this night was no exception. The bar was full of loud and smelly people drinking and gambling away their meager paychecks. Luna hobbled up to the bar and waved down Steelhook who took his sweet time finishing a joke he was telling at the other end of the room. When the one-eyed barkeep finally made his way to her, his single eye narrowed. “My lord lassie, ya look terrible! What chewed ya up and spit ya out?”
Luna returned his question with a scowl. “I’d rather not talk about it. I need a bottle of something strong.”
He put his hands up and laughed. “Okay lassie you don’t need to tell ole Steelhook twice. Here this bottle of gin will take the edge off.”
She nodded, slamming down some copper crowns on the bar and snatching the bottle of liquor from his hand. As she walked gingerly across the bar a rough sailor tried to catcall her. One venomous look from Luna sent him stumbling drunkenly off in the other direction. She staggered up the stairs, unlocked the door, entered, slammed the door shut, and plopped down on the bed. Why does the world hate me?
Her boot was mangled and she had left a fresh trail of blood behind her. When she pulled the boot and sock free to get a feel for the damage, she rolled her eyes. Scratch that. It’s not the world that hates me. It’s the bloody universe. Luna’s foot was a bloody mess. The razor sharp fangs of the serpent had nearly pierced all the way through her foot. She popped the cork and threw back a gulp of the alcohol before making a face like someone who stepped in horse manure.
Why do I always have to do things the hard way? I should’ve just pickpocketed the fare from some idiot noble. Who knows, they probably would’ve deserved it. Luna hopped on one foot over to her knapsack and pulled out a needle and thread. Maker! This is going to suck. She took another swig of the gin for safe measure before pouring some on her foot. As soon as the liquor made contact with the wound she grimaced and shouted profanities that need not be repeated.
A man from the room over shouted through the thin wall, “Oy! Keep it down over there!”
Luna’s eyes burned with a rage so hot that it would make the sun envious. With a voice like a tempest she yelled back at him, “You mind your own damn business or I’ll come over there and throw you out the bloody window!”
The man must have preferred to avoid being hurled out the window because no response returned. Luna closed her eyes and breathed deeply a few times. Next she bit down on a balled up rag and held the needle over the flame of a candle for a minute. As she did her best to sew up the nasty wound she tried to think about her friends and family back in Cloudreach. All of this misery is going to be worth it in the end when I make all of our lives comfortable. Who knows, maybe I’ll even laugh about it all once it’s in the distant past. But she definitely wasn’t laughing then as she threaded the needle through her still very fresh wound. Her foot burned in searing agony and she felt herself becoming nauseous from the pain.
Luna managed to sew her foot up without throwing up in the end, but there were parts in which it was uncomfortably close. She took another drink from the bottle of gin which was now empty and laid back on the sad excuse for a bed. Luna felt her heartbeat through the stabbing pain in her foot, her hip was bruised black and blue and she was starting to wonder if her wounded arm might be getting infected.
As she looked at the dirty ceiling she thought she could make out a water stain that looked like her father. I’m a mess. I bet you never thought my life would turn out this way dad. You taught me how to be a survivor—I don’t think I’d still be alive if it wasn't for you. I think I would’ve given up on life or maybe even stayed working for Cyrus. You showed me that life is precious. Not just the lives of the ones we care about, but all lives. I’m doing my best to make you proud. I’m going to persevere and make a better life for not just me and Lane, but for our entire community. In my heart, deep down, that’s what I think that’s what you would’ve wanted.
Luna fell asleep with tears running down her face. But even though things were difficult now, she still managed to smile thinking about the future she hoped to build.
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When the crowing roosters woke Luna up, a single word burned feverishly in her mind. Persevere. She grabbed some of the remaining salmon jerky from her bag and chewed on while staring out the window. Luna could see the harbor from the window. Ships full of cargo and crew came and went, the wide river providing them a decent way to make a living. Today is the day. I need to catch Maddock and collect that bounty so I can board the ship to Nisse this evening. No one is standing in my way but me. I can do this.
As she took a drink from her waterskin to wash down the smoky peppered fish she pondered the riddle from the wall of the glass garden. 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? She repeated the riddle in her mind over and over again. Eventually she grunted and threw the piece of salmon across the room in frustration. If I never hear another riddle again, I think I would die happy.
Luna walked over to her bag and pulled out her portable alchemist's satchel, spreading out the contents on the straw bed. She picked up a teal flower and held it up in front of her face, squinting her left eye. The sugar flox! Something tells me this might come in handy. Luna pulled out a small mortar and pestle and placed the petals from the sugar flox into it with a few night stool mushroom caps and a metallic iron powder. She ground them together until they resembled a silvery blue sand. Luna picked up a vial of shark fin oil and dumped the ground mixture into it. She corked it before shaking it vigorously—a sound like the beating of a hummingbird's wings buzzed from the vial.
Luna poured the liquid out into two small vials sealing each with a cork and tucking them into her cloak for later. She did her best to patch up her worn boot that was three steps past falling apart. The job she did would work for now, though she didn’t likely have a career as a cobbler in her future. She got ready for the day and stepped out into the hallway, locking the door before limping down the stairs.
In the bar Steelhook was performing his morning routine which mainly seemed to be harassing the cleaning staff with bad jokes. He yelled out a greeting when he saw her walking down the stairs, “Good morning lassie, feelin a bit better this morning?”
Luna grunted, a sound in this case that likely meant something along the lines of, I feel like hot garbage but I’ve got no time to stop moving. She tied her hair up and interrupted a lame joke Steelhook was forcing on the staff, “Steelhook, you any good at riddles?”
The crusty one eyed man raised his eyebrows and put his hands on his hips. “Lil lady, I’m the best around at riddles.”
Luna sighed. “Let’s see if that’s true. 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?”
Steelhook made a noise of contemplation and paced back and forth. Luna thought she saw steam coming out of his ears as he was thinking. The man’s face broke into a big grin and he put his pointer finger up in the air while he bounced up and down. “Ah hah. What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps, can run but never walks, an has a bank but no money? The answer you seek lassie is a river.”
Luna brought her hand to her chin and nodded, a subtle smirk forming on her face. She ran to Steelhook as quickly as her injured foot would allow, patting him on his head and flicking him a few copper crowns. “You’re a genius.”
He spit on the floor and gave a heart belly laugh. “Tell me somethin’ I don’t know!”
Luna narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Do the Maddock’s happen to have any ships docked in the river currently?”
“Aye, they sure do. Only one vessel is currently docked in Cantrick. It’s a transport for exotic animals called The Predator.”
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Luna shook her head slowly. “Why is that name not surprising to me in the slightest…” She ran through a plan in her head before standing and grunting. She yelled back over her shoulder as she went through the door, “Thank you sir! You’re a gentleman and a scholar!”
She pulled her hood up to obscure her face and made her way to the docks district. She found a spot overlooking the ships in port and scanned for The Predator. She quickly noticed a large vessel hoisting a white flag with a black set of fangs on it. Sure enough, there it was written on the side of the craft, the words, The Predator. Looks like the ship is abandoned. No crew in sight. But I’d bet I might find something interesting if I sneak aboard.
Luna waded through the crowded market and walked with purpose to the ship. As long as I look like I know what I’m doing no one will stop me. Just as she thought, no one considered her out of place and she walked aboard The Predator. The sturdy wooden ship had a captain's quarters above deck but she figured that what she might be looking for was likely below the deck. Luna pulled up a hatch in the center of the deck and slowly walked down an oak staircase that led down into the cargo hold. It was eerily silent with the exception of the occasional animal noise but she still moved cautiously, doing her best not to make any unnecessary sounds.
As she looked around the hold she saw that it was full of row after row of wooden crates. They varied in size from humorously tiny to absurdly massive. She crept through the rows looking for anything suspicious and she kept her head on a swivel. Luna certainly didn’t need any more chemically induced naps.
That’s when Luna heard a hatch open above. With wide eyes she looked for a place to hide. She found an empty wooden crate without a lid and she climbed inside as quietly as she could. Her hurt foot smacked awkwardly into the frame and she gasped. Luckily no one seemed to notice the sounds of animals shuffling around. The sounds of heavy footsteps and wheels rolling over the uneven planks moved closer to her until they were right in front of her.
Luna peaked through a crack in the crate trying her best not to breathe. Standing only a few yards in front of her was Maddock, he was opening up a wooden crate he had rolled in on a dolly. Luna watched nervously and her stomach sank when he popped the lid off of the crate. He pulled a teenage girl who was bound tightly but still alive from the wooden box. She tried to struggle but it was no use, she was bound with heavy ropes. Maddock had a sickening smile on his face and he ran the back of his hand over her face whispering into her ear.
The sight made Luna want to vomit. Maddock threw her over his shoulder and waddled over to a cage with a sleeping bear in it. He opened the door of the cage with one arm and tossed her into the cage before closing the door. What a sick bastard! I need to get her out of there quickly. He’s not going to beat me again. Persevere. Luna jumped out of the wooden crate right as Maddock jabbed the bear hard through the cage with his cane.
Maddock spun around, surprised to see her. “Well, well, well Mrs. Cavendish was it? You showed up just in time for feeding time. Boris here hasn’t eaten in wee—”
Luna didn’t have time for his villainous monologue, she had a girl to save, and a ship to catch. Drawing her rapier fluidly she lunged at Maddock. He was far quicker than she expected and he drew a blade out of his cane, adeptly parrying her blade and smacking it out wide.
Maddock launched into a well rehearsed flurry of stabs and crossing slashes. Luna was caught off guard and it took all of her experience to dodge and block. Her wounded foot certainly wasn’t helping her and more than once his slim cane blade nicked her as she couldn’t quite get out of harm's way in time. The whole time he was striking like a fencing instructor he was talking calmly to her, “That was rather rude to interrupt my story, you lowborn mule. Did you expect me to be a helpless noble without any arms training? My grandfather may have been a cruel man but he was nothing if not paranoid. I’ve been training fencing since I was just a boy.”
Luna noticed over Maddock’s shoulder that Boris the bear had woken up and he was extremely interested in the bound girl. She did her best to switch to the offensive hoping she might be able to get a leg up on Maddock but his defense was just as flawless as his offense. She felt around in her pocket and she swore under her breath when she realized she only had one more vines of entanglement vial. Should I use it to beat Maddock or trap the bear and save the girl? Her heartbeat raced as she tried to find the perfect answer. She struggled to do so on account of also trying her very best not to be skewered by her opponent.
Luna reached into her cloak and threw her last vial of entanglement. It hurled through the air and struck the wooden hull behind the cage. Thick green vines materialized, swirling from the hull and wrapping the bear up. Boris roared in frustration and the girl wepeed in terror.
Maddock laughed menacingly. “You’ve only delayed the inevitable, you lizard brained street rat!”
Luna launched off a crate with her good foot and came at Maddock with a heavy attack from above. The attack caught him off guard and he tripped over his feet before crashing hard to the wooden floor. Luna wanted to utilize the momentum to press the attack and finish him. Unfortunately, when she landed on her injured foot a blast of searing pain erupted and she collapsed to the ground. A quick glance showed her that a syringe had fallen from Maddock’s smock when he fell.
Luna tried to spring to her feet, but she needed to use her arm to push herself back up. It was just way too slow, and when she got to her feet Maddock was right in her face launching a series of expertly thrown attacks. Luna deflected or side-stepped most of the attacks but one slid down her rapier and grazed her forearm. She felt her warm blood running down her arm. I am getting so extremely tired of feeling my own blood leaking from my body!
Now I know that I’m outmatched in a pure swordfight. Time to get creative. Persevere. Luna parried his lunging strike wide and caught Maddock off guard by rolling past him. In one fluid motion she dropped her sword and scooped up the syringe off the ground. Luna stabbed it into his leg and plunged the dark fluid into his bloodstream.
Maddock knew exactly what had occurred and he cried out, “You clever bitc—” Thunk! He hit the floor hard unconsciously before he could finish his sentence.
Luna limped over to the bear cage and struggled to drag the girl out to safety with her injured foot hindering her. Persevere! Luna was never the tallest or strongest girl in a given room but she dug deep and managed to drag the bound girl out of the cage. Slamming the cage door shut with a grunt, Luna breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Luna untied the helpless girl and removed the gag from her mouth. “It’s okay, you’re safe now. Everything is going to be alright!”
The girl was sobbing when she hugged Luna tightly. “Thank you…so much…I thought…I was going…to die…”
“It’s going to be okay. This sick freak isn’t going to harm another girl ever again.” Luna said, patting her on the back and speaking in a soft voice. “Now I need you to help me tie him up so we can take him to the lead investigator.”
The girl still had a river of tears pouring down her face and she was doing her best to process the grim situation but she looked at Luna and nodded. Together they tied up Maddock before placing him in a crate on the dolly to help them transport him to the guard station. Luna pulled the vial she had prepared earlier that day and uncorked it. She held it up in front of her before pouring it down Maddock’s throat. That should help make sure you don’t try to lie your way out of this.
Moving Maddock inside of the crate helped to stop the people on the busy streets from being nosey. Luna kept her hair in her face and her hood obscuring most of her face. With the help of the dolly Luna was able to get him to the guard station with relative ease, though her hurt foot did feel like an explosion of needles stabbing her with every step.
When they arrived a tired and monotone guard greeted them, “Special delivery for us?”
Luna grunted and shrugged. “You could definitely say that. I’ve brought you the puzzle killer and now I’ll be taking that reward.” She popped the lid off the crate and inside was Maddock squirming.
Despite the heavy bags under the guards eyes his eyes grew and his jaw dropped. “You gotta be kidding me? The puzzle killer was Mr. Maddock? I’ll go grab the captain he won’t believe this, he gets a shave from ole’ Maddock weekly.”
The guard ran into the tall wooden building and returned with a handful of men and women. They were absolutely fascinated by the idea that the killer had been right under their noses—figuratively and literally for some mustachioed guards. A man with a long braided goatee and a tricorn hat cut a path through the gawking guards. “This is ludicrous! What proof do you have that Maddock is the puzzle killer?”
Luna pointed to the puffy eyed young girl. “I have brought a witness who he tried to feed to a bear this very morning. She will testify to the validity of my accusation.” The girl nodded looking down at her feet. Luna removed the gag from Maddock’s mouth. “I’ve given the good barber here a truth serum so he won’t be able to lie his way out of his predicament. How many women have you killed Maddock?”
Maddock shot Luna a vehement scowl and spit at her before his face contorted and he answered the question that he very much wished he could ignore, “Twenty-six.”
The shocked guards looked at each other like they couldn’t believe it. The man in the Tricorn hat shook his head and scrunched his brow. “I seriously just can’t believe it was you all this time.” He pointed his finger towards the guard house. “Take him to the dungeon until he can be put on trial. He will pay for each and every one of his heinous crimes.”
The guards grabbed him by the arms and dragged him into the building. Maddock cursed back at Luna over his shoulder, “Damn you! You’ll pay for this!”
The captain in the hat shifted his attention to Luna. “Thank you so much for saving this girl’s life and the countless others he would’ve preyed on next. You’ve done a service to the city of Cantrick that will never be forgotten.” A woman ran up to him from inside and handed the captain a large knapsack that jingled with the sound of many coins. “This is for you. You’ve earned it.” The captain said, smiling with his tired brown eyes and handing the bag to Luna.
Luna nodded then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, accepting the heavy bag from him and throwing it over her shoulder. She turned and walked away, as she felt the warm breeze on her face she grinned.