The clatter of footsteps and voices came from above as Kayden crouched in the darkness of the hull behind a stack of crates. She had snuck aboard the Galant Sparrow while the sailors had been distracted finding out everything they had just unloaded needed to be brought back aboard the ship and transported Cliffside. They of course had been none too pleased about this news.

It would have been impossible to stay hidden on the deck, so Kayden slipped down into the hull where there were many more options to stay hidden. Then she waited, and waited. Finally, after what felt like forever, and after she had almost been spotted several times by sailors bringing cargo down that couldn’t be stored on deck, she felt the ship lurch away from the docks.

After several long minutes the ship came to a halt as it waited to dock at the Cliffside port. Even from here she could hear the merchant who owned this vessel arguing with a foreman who had intercepted them on a skiff. The foreman was claiming that he had no record that the Galant Sparrow was going to dock today, and the merchant was arguing that there was some type of mix up and the Dockside foreman sent them here.

Eventually after many loud back and forths the merchant finally wore the foreman down. The foreman told them to dock but not to start unloading anything until he got a hold of the dockmaster who would untangle this whole mess. The foreman returned to his skiff which pulled away while the Galant Sparrow docked.

Since the sailors were trapped on their vessel until they received confirmation from the foreman that it was okay to unload, that meant Kayden was also trapped. She couldn’t try to disembark without being seen until they were otherwise occupied. She could just make a break for it, and the sailors probably wouldn’t pursue her very far, but better to be careful. She was in Cliffside after all.

While pulling up to the docks Cliffside, Kayden wasn’t able to make out much from the tiny windows that surrounded the hull, especially since where she was situated was mostly pointed away from the city, but she did manage to catch a brief glimpse.

Cliffside was, as the name stated, built upon a series of outcroppings along the side of the plateau. Since there was even less room here then atop the plateau, every available spot was crammed to maximum occupancy. There were no parks or yards, even the streets were extremely narrow, most of them not even wide enough for a cart to fit through. Shanties were built upon shanties to form into towers that looked like they could be blown over with a strong enough gust of wind.

And because the city was built into the shadow of a mountain, even though it was midday, it was perpetually gloomy. That combined with the general griminess, painted a very ugly and depressing picture. Seeing Cliffside was like picking up the rock of Mitros and revealing all of the slimy bugs that had made the dank place underneath their home. To make up for this the denizens of Cliffside had spread colorful paint and lights all over the place. The cliff face where homes could not be built was covered in all sorts of beautiful murals. She didn’t even know how it was possible for people to have climbed to a lot of those spots, let alone paint humongous works of art.

There were also many man made platforms suspended between levels with baskets suspended from wires traveling to and from them. Most of these were utilized for the transport of goods but she also saw people riding in them. She knew she was currently sitting in a skyship suspended in the air by nothing but magic, but the idea of trusting those thin wires to carry her and dozens of other people hundreds of feet in the air made Kayden feel nauseous.

Tons of smoke filled the air here with all of the mineral refining factories from the mines, and since they were nestled into the mountain, there wasn’t really anywhere for all of that pollution to go. It appeared to be a common trend for people to wear masks in order to breathe in as little of the fumes as possible, but Kayden saw many people still going about without a care in the world.

Kayden pulled a scarf from her pack and wrapped it around her face. It would serve the dual-purpose of protecting her lungs and hiding her identity, although she doubted the police would follow her here.

She knew this was only the surface level and that Cliffside hosted a completely unique culture from her own even though they were technically one and the same city. She still hadn’t even seen the supposedly great caverns which housed even more of Cliffside and which Uptowners rarely caught a glimpse. It was a strange thought to witness just how big Cliffside really was. The way they talked about it Uptown, one would assume it was just this single unsavory colony, which was the home of criminals, and not a full blown community that rivaled Uptown in size.

She had no idea how she was going to locate her father in this mess. All she had was the name of his gang Nikiphero, and she didn’t think it would be a good idea going around asking random people if they could direct her to Nikiphero as if it was a community center and not a den of murderers and theives. For one, it would immediately mark her as an outsider and an easy target for exploitation, and for another she might run into a rival gang which might attack her for even asking about Nikiphero.

Her first course of action would be to gather as much general info about the city as possible. That meant sticking to the docks where such questions wouldn’t seem out of place. She might even be able to locate a guide that was willing to divulge such things for a price. Hopefully it wasn’t too expensive because she had a feeling this search was going to take quite a bit of time and she would need all of the money she could get.

There finally came a sound overhead which indicated that the Galant Sparrow was okay to begin unloading. Once she was sure that the sailors' work was well underway, she risked peeking up out of the hull. There were still a few men on the deck directing the unloading procedure, but they were rather preoccupied to notice a girl slip up out of the hull.

She slowly lowered the trapdoor so it didn’t make a noise and alert them to her presence, then made her way to the side of the ship where it rested alongside the dock and lept over to land among some crates.

She considered trying to sneak across the dock to the street, but then decided to simply stand up straight and walk out like she belonged here. A couple of dock workers looked at her suspiciously but there were so many different people walking around because of the mixup with the Galant Sparrow’s paperwork that it was hardly that odd that there was someone else they didn’t recognize, so she was able to pass all of them without being stopped or questioned.

The docks here were surprisingly very similar to that of Dockside’s in layout if not exactly in cleanliness or organization, but Kayden could tell relatively easily how things worked here. It would only be when she left the docks that she would enter into a world of unknowns.

There were a few police officers standing around--these docks were still an important part of Mitros even if they were Cliffside--but these guards were significantly more relaxed and less disciplined than those Uptown. Kayden got the sense that they were there more for appearances than anything else.

Unsure of where to go from here, Kayden approached a foreman that didn’t look too busy.

“Excuse me,” she said. When he didn’t seem to notice her, she asked it again more loudly.

He glanced at her, taking in her clothes. She had changed out of her school uniform but her clothes hardly fit in here. They were a lot finer than she saw anyone else wearing, even though she had never considered her clothes particularly nice compared to what most other people wore Uptown.

“What do you want?”

“I’m wondering if you might know where I could locate a guide.”

The man snorted. “Not much business for tourism Cliffside, miss. I would suggest you abandon whatever notion of adventure you thought you might find down here and head back Uptown where you belong before you get yourself killed.”

Kayden was glad for the scarf covering up her face so the man couldn’t see her embarrassment. She reached into her pocket and fumbled out the pocket full of scripts.

“I could pay you for the information.”

The man took in the fist full of scripts, and Kayden could see the greedy glint in his eyes.

“Fifty scripts.”

“Twenty.”

The man grumbled something, but then nodded. Kayden handed over the bill.

“I would ask around at Fullger’s. It’s a tavern just down the street there.” He pointed. “You’ll see the sign. It’s a lightning bolt striking the mast of an airship. Ask for Gladys.”

Kayden nodded her thanks then set off in that direction, but paused when the foreman laid his hand on her shoulder.

“Listen, I don’t particularly care if you have some sort of death wish, but my brother has a young daughter and I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t at least try to dissuade you from doing whatever it is you think you came down here to do.”

“I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.” Kayden tried to fill her voice with as much confidence as possible.

The man nodded. “I can tell you're dead set on accomplishing something, and you’re probably not going to listen to someone like me, but you’re not going to find whatever it is you’re looking for. You’re just going to end up hurt or worse.”

She shrunk away from the knowing expression he held in his eyes. What did he know about what she was doing here? He didn’t know anything about her.

“I said I’m fine. I can protect myself.” She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and hurried away, losing herself to the crowd.

It didn’t take long to locate Fullger’s. The foreman had been right and the sign was easy to spot. It was colorfully lit with some fluorescent bulbs and looked like a popular spot because even outside the door there were patrons hanging about.

As she approached the door, the men gave her strange looks but nobody stopped her. She pushed through the door and was met to the sight of a wide open bar crammed full of tables and loud sailors. Waitresses navigated the narrow spaces with drinks and food expertly. A burly bouncer leaning beside the door watching over the place gave her a look when she entered but didn’t say anything.

“Excuse me,” she said to him. “Is Gladys here?”

The bouncer tilted his head in the direction of the bar at the end of the room where a busty, handsome woman with a burn scar on her cheek was filling up kegs that she handed to the waitresses on trays. Kayden thanked the bouncer who grunted and made her way over to Gladys.

“Excuse me,” she said when she stood at the bar.

Gladys looked at her, but continued working while she talked. “If you're looking for a job, I’m sorry we’ve got no spots available. You might try Spud’s Alehouse, I hear they had a dishwasher that just walked out. Chester! How long does it take!? It’s stew! Nobody cares how it looks! You’re feeding sailors, not a judge!”

A man shouted through a window that led into the kitchen. “I take pride in my work regardless of who I serve! You can’t rush art!”

Gladys grumbled a curse then shouted back. “If you weren’t my nephew I’d have fired you ages ago!”

“Love you too! The stew will be done in a minute!”

“Excuse me,” Kayden tried to interject again.

She had tried several times throughout the course of their shouting match, but Gladys had completely ignored her. She finally seemed to catch the woman’s attention.

“What are you still doing here? You’re getting in the way. Didn’t I tell you I didn’t need the help. Although, if you were a cook, I would consider replacing my useless nephew.”

“I heard that!” her nephew shouted from the back.

“You were supposed to!”

“I don’t want a job,” Kayden said before they could get into another shouting match. “I need information.”

She reached into her pocket to pull out her scripts. It seemed to have worked to catch the foreman’s interest so she didn’t see why it couldn’t work here as well. Gladys saw the wad of bills and snorted.

“What, are you trying to get yourself killed flashing that kind of money around? Do yourself a favor and go back to whatever palace you came from. Chester, where is that stew!?

“Coming!” A tray loaded full of bowls of stew appeared on the counter in front of the window, carried by a young man growing a scraggly beard.

“About time! Sarah, the stew’s ready!”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

A waitress came up to the window and grabbed the tray of stew. It must have been heavy by how much it was loaded but the waitress shouldered it with practiced ease and proceeded to make her way around the room, handing out bowls of stew to the expectant faces of the crowd. Men began digging in immediately with many pleased moans issued around the room.

“You hear that, Gladdy,” Chester said with a pleased expression. “That is the sound of people who appreciate a true artist's work.”

Gladys grumbled again but Kayden was beginning to get the impression that this was how she showed her affection. Gladys grabbed another passing waitress and told her to man the bar, then she finally turned to Kayden with her hands on her hips.

“Well, if you refuse to be turned away then I suppose I can hear you out. Follow me and for goodness sake, put that money away before you attract the wrong sort of attention!”

Kayden put the money in her pocket and followed Gladys to a small office in the back. Gladys took a seat behind a desk stacked with papers and gestured for Kayden to take a seat at the only other chair. She then proceeded to pull out a large ledger, put on some glasses, and begin to notate it.

“What do you want then? And be quick about it.”

“I was told that you might be able to direct me to a guide of Cliffside.”

Gladys rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed, then looked at Kayden with a very stern expression. “And why would I do that?”

“I’ll pay you.” Kayden reached to pull out her money again.

“Girl, you really are as dimwitted as you look. Didn’t I tell you to keep that money in your pocket. I have half a mind to take it from you just to teach you a lesson.”

Kayden froze from extracting her scripts and looked up challengingly at Gladys. “You can try.”

Gladys snorted. “Well at least you aren’t spineless. Just stupid then. That might even be worse. So, who are you then, some bored Uptowner who heard some tall tale about Cliffside and thought you might take a look around? At best you’ll be robbed blind the second you step foot out of the docks, and at worst, well, you wouldn’t be the first Uptowner who got in over their head and ended up thrown off the side of a cliff. Head on back to whichever fool you hired to ferry you down here and return to whatever plush mansion you call home.”

“No, you don’t understand--”

“No, I understand perfectly,” Gladys said, starting to get angry. “You Uptowners are all the same. You think Cliffside exists to fulfill your every dark whim. Well, I have news for you sweetheart, just because you grew up rich and privileged while the rest of us have to muck out a living down here, doesn’t mean you are one ounce better than us. Now, leave!”

Kayden jumped in surprise at the sudden change in her tone. She had begun as a somewhat exasperated matronly figure and turned into a dangerous woman ready to fight. For the first time Kayden recognized how large the woman’s arms were. Kayden didn’t doubt, even with her aura, that Gladys could beat her in a fight.

“I’m not an Uptowner. I’m a Cliffsider like you.”

“I don’t know why you would pretend at something that is so obviously not true, and I won’t play your games. I don’t have the inclination or the time. I will not ask you to leave again.”

“I’m looking for my father, please, you have to help me!” In a last ditch effort Kayden decided to reveal some of the truth. “I know I don’t look like a Cliffsider, and to be honest I don’t really consider myself to be one, but my father is, and he’s gone missing. Even if you don’t help me, I’m still going to look for him.”

Her sudden outpouring seemed to have some effect on Gladys who had been in the process of standing to escort her out. With this new information she sat back heavily in her chair. It groaned under her wait.

“Hmm, looking for a missing father. I’ll admit that it is a stirring confession, but it makes you no less of an idiot for coming here. If your father really has gone missing then--and I don’t enjoy being the bearer of bad news--but he is most likely dead, or as good as. My answer remains the same. Go back Uptown, this place will only break a girl like you.”

“He’s not dead,” Kayden said firmly even though the father she knew wouldn’t have abandoned her like he had. Sure he had left her for days at a time on numerous occasions but that had always been with forewarning and never for this long. “He has--protection.”

“Protection? By that I assume you mean some gang’s? That’s the only type of protection available down here.”

Kayden didn’t need to answer, her silence was confirmation enough.

“If that is the case then it sounds to me like he isn’t so much missing as he just doesn’t want to be found.” Even though she still sounded like she was trying to blow Kayden off, Kayden could tell that Gladys was interested in her dilemma. “What gang is he associated with?”

Kayden only paused for a moment before answering. If she wanted to find information on her father’s whereabouts this seemed like the best option, and Gladys seemed trustworthy enough. Kayden didn’t think Gladys was the type that would sell her out to another gang.

“Nikiphero.”

Gladys whistled. “Your father has gotten himself in deep, hasn’t he? That is a dangerous name to throw around. I hope you haven’t told this to anyone else, have you?”

Kayden rapidly shook her head, surprised that she had elicited such a reaction from Gladys. She didn’t know much of the hierarchical structure of gangs Cliffside, but it sounded like Nikiphero was near the top. No wonder the police were looking around so frantically for her father if he was involved with something like that. Who was this man she had lived with her whole life?

“If you know what is good for you, you won’t ever say that name again, especially around strangers like me you have only just met. That is sure to get you a one way ticket off the side of a cliff. But from what you have told me, it is more obvious than ever that you should return to Uptown.”

Kayden tried to say something but Gladys held up a hand for her to remain silent.

“Listen, it sounds like your father has really got himself tangled up in some nasty, dangerous business. If he hasn’t tried to contact you, it is for one of two reasons. Either he is dead, or he is protecting you. And do you think he would want you running headlong into danger if either of those two options is true?”

Kayden no longer cared what her father’s intentions were in abandoning her. She was going to find him and get down to the bottom of this no matter what.

“You might as well stop trying to persuade me to give up,” she said. “I am going to look for him with or without your help, and returning to Uptown isn’t an option, the police are looking for me.”

It was a calculated risk revealing this, Gladys could very well hand her over to the police and be done with this whole situation, but if she had revealed this much and Gladys was still talking to her, then she felt like it was okay to reveal this as well.

Gladys shook her head. “What a mess. Now you're bringing the police to my door? I should have thrown you out while I had the chance.”

“The police don’t know where I am. They won’t bother you.”

“Sweetheart, you stand out so much that even a blind man would be able to track your movements. Cliffsiders have no love for the police, but any one of them would sell you out for a handful of scripts.”

“I--I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She had ignorantly believed that her scarf covering her face would keep any unwanted attention away.

“It’s too late for apologies. No use wasting time then, I guess. The police could get here any second and it will be best for everyone if you are gone by then. Fine, I’ll help you.” She gave Kayden a long appraising look, then sighed again. “A hundred scripts and we’ll call it good, although with the amount of trouble you have brought to my tavern, I should be charging you five times as much.” This last part was directed more at herself than at Kayden, in much the same grumble she had used when speaking with Chester.

Kayden quickly handed over the scripts with many profuse thank yous.

“Don’t thank me yet. I still don’t even know if I can help you. It will be up to whether or not Darris agrees to take you under his wing, and if he says no then I’m afraid there’s nothing else I can do. And you’re not getting your money back if he says no.”

Gladys left the room and called out across the tavern, “Darris, come here for a minute. I’ve got a potential client for you.”

When she returned, she was escorting an older man with graying, brown hair which was slicked back but had since somewhat fallen into disarray, and a thick mustache. He had a slight build, wore a nondescript gray cloak, and had a rapier belted to his side. He looked like a washed up, swashbuckler. He stumbled drunkenly as they came through the door, and squinted suspiciously at Kayden.

“This is the client?” his voice was gruff and somewhat slurred. “An Uptown girl? No thanks. They’re nothing but a headache. Last time I tangled with one of them I almost lost my head when her husband found us.”

It looked like Gladys had been right and Kayden stuck out as an Uptowner. That was a huge problem. She needed to find some clothes that would allow her to blend in more easily.

“He’s drunk,” Kayden accused.

“Am not,” he said like a child, and then swayed back and forth.

“Would the both of you shut up,” Gladys said and closed the door behind her. “Darris you aren’t really in a position to be turning down clients. I know for a fact, I’m not the only tavern where you’ve been running up a tab. And you, little girl, will take whatever you can get. Darris might not be much to look at but he knows his way around Cliffside better than anyone. If anyone can lead you to Nikiphero it is him.”

Darris immediately seemed to sober up. “Did you say Nikiphero? Oh no, there is no way I am going to get involved with gang business, especially that gang. What is a pretty girl like you doing getting involved with a lot like them?”

Kayden ignored his question. “All I need is for you to lead me to them. You won’t have to get involved with them beyond that.”

“Even that is enough for me to get killed. You think they will take kindly to me guiding random girls from Uptown to their hideouts. No no no. Thanks for the job offer Gladys, but I’ll get your money some other way. The docks are always looking for workers.”

“The docks want nothing to do with you after that stunt you pulled with the dock master’s daughter. You're blacklisted on basically every jobsite within Cliffside at this point. Unless you want to wear an apron and help out Chester in the back, you’ll take this job.”

“That was taken way out of context. I was only teaching her how to fence. As a teacher, I need to correct my students' mistakes, and at times that requires me to place my hands where in another situation it may be deemed as inappropriate. I had only the most honest of intentions.”

“I’m sure,” Gladys said.

“Isn’t there anyone else more--sober that could guide me?” Kayden asked.

“Hey, I’m the one turning down the job, not you.”

“Darris is the best option you have. He may not look or sound it, but he’s honest enough. He won’t rob you or sell you out.”

“I told you, I’m not taking the job.”

Kayden glanced at the drunken man, then back at Galdys and sighed. “Fine, I’ll take him.”

“What did I say? You--”

He stopped mid sentence as he saw the large stack of scripts that she pulled from her pocket and licked his lips.

“How much did you say this job was paying?”

“I didn’t,” Gladys said with an amused smile.

“Five hundred,” Kayden said. It was almost half of what she had, but she knew it would have to be a lot in order to get him interested.

“Fi--” he coughed and regained his composure. “Seven-fifty and you have yourself a deal.”

“Five hundred.” She pulled out the requisite amount, held it out, then shoved the rest into her pocket.

He glanced at the money, then at her, then back at the money. “Fine.”

Before he could take it, Gladys snatched it out of Kayden’s hand.

“Hey!” Darris said. “That’s my money!”

“Not all of it, or did you forget you have a tab.” Gladys took about fifty from the stack then handed the rest over. Darris grumbled but didn’t argue.

“I think that concludes our business. Oh, and I would hurry up if I was you. The police are after her, and they could be here any minute.”

“Wha--” Darris only shook his head, and ran his hand through his hair. “Come on then.”

Before Kayden could leave with her guide, Gladys grabbed her. “I don’t suppose I can try one more time to dissuade you.”

Kayden shook her head.

“Alright. Good luck then.”

“Thanks,” was all she said, then followed Darris out of the tavern.

“This way,” Darris said, not looking back to see if she was following. He pulled out a flask and took a long swig from it, stumbling as he did.

“Where are we going?” Kayden asked because he wasn’t taking her further into Cliffside but skirting along the docks. “You’re supposed to take me to Nikiphero.”

“Shhh,” he said, stopping and clamping his hand over her mouth while looking around to see if anyone had heard. “Are you trying to get the both of us killed? Never say that name where anyone can hear it. Better yet, never say that name at all.”

Only once she nodded did he remove his hand.

“We are going to my sister’s. We can’t very well have you walk into gang territory wearing that. For that matter, we can’t have you walking around anywhere in Cliffside like that. Some young opportunists will try and take you hostage for ransom, and I don’t feel like killing anyone today in order to protect some Uptowner who’s in way over her head.”

Kayden nodded sagely at his words. She had determined herself that she needed different clothes.

Darris took her through several streets that took them further away from the docks and the crowds and noise that were associated with it. There were still plenty of people walking around here, but everyone seemed to keep to themselves. She caught sight of some interesting figures such as a crippled lizardman huddled in the corner with a blanket, and a little girl in a stained dress holding the lead to a vicious dog-looking creature that had six legs and was about three times her size. The dog gave her a big lick across the face and she hugged him around his thick neck. It was all very strange and alien to Kayden.

“This way.”

Darris cut through into a narrow street that was empty of people except for a single man leaning against a wall. When they approached he pushed off from the wall and blocked their path.

Darris laid a hand on his rapier still swaying slightly from his drunkenness. “What are you doing here, Yeri?”

Yeri wore a tank top, which exposed his rippling muscles for everyone to see. He would be able to snap Darris in half like a twig.

“Me and my friends couldn’t help noticing that lady in Fullger’s.”

Two other men came out of the shadows from behind, cutting off their escape.

“We thought to ourselves, hey, if Darris thinks this client is worth his time, then surely she is worth our time too. What do you say Darris? How about you cut some friends into this Uptown pie you’ve dug your mits into?”

Darris looked from Yeri to the two men approaching from behind. He clenched the hilt of his rapier, and the other men pulled knives from their belts. Kayden got ready for a fight by channeling as much of her aura as she could into her fists.

Darris sighed then released his grip on his rapier and held up his hands. He glanced at Kayden and shrugged at her wide eyes.

“Sorry, but I’m not about to be killed over some Uptown girl I just met.” He turned to Yeri. “She’s all yours.”

Then he stepped to the side for Kayden to face the three men alone.

Kayden would have cursed Darris, but she was too focused on the men surrounding her. Darris slunked away into the shadows.

“Come on girly,” Yeri said. “No need for things to get nasty. Just hand over that backpack and money you’ve got in your pockets and we’ll be on our way.”

Her backpack!

Kayden nodded like she was giving up and pulled her backpack off. The men drew closer, lowering their knives because they thought they had won. She slipped her hand into the side pocket and grasped the thin piece of wood that she had stashed there, the wand.