“So, yer sayin’ I shouldn’t-”

“Yes! That’s what I’m fucking saying… Skunk, she’s a working girl. By the time she’s willing to settle down…” Will said again. He’d already made that point, for one Miss Kitty was a decade older than Skunk, and two she was a prostitute but Will didn’t want to get into that again. Instead, he went to his other argument, “Just take a trip to Vicksby when you can or that other town upriver or-”

“Belview?” Skunk asked. Will had actually been thinking of Davenshire.

“Sure, Belview… or just wait. The towns going to be picking up and people are going to be moving here, right? I’m sure there’s gonna be at least a few girls your- our age moving in that’re single,” Will said with a new point, the fact Silverstead was likely going to be growing soon. He hadn’t thought of that earlier and to his surprise, it seemed to have more of an effect. Will wished he’d said it earlier.

Skunk got quiet and looked thoughtful but Will left him to it. It’d been a long conversation and Will had given up on his non-commissioned officer mentorship approach with both of them sitting on the counter in favor of getting back to work. Skunk for his part didn’t seem to mind and even started pulling out random things from under the counter after cleaning away to cobwebs with his hand and putting them on top. Will glanced at the assortment of tall glasses, couple shot glasses, mugs, papers, a wooden tray, a broken set of scales, and another couple official looking stamps but didn’t care. He was too busy using his broom for what it was meant for after stepping outside and using his boot to scrape away as much of the webbing as he could.

It was a bit of a pointless act, he still had a lot of dangling dust webs in the back but he wanted to get at least the front cleaned up. Besides being the largest single space it may or may not have had to do with the fact that it was likely where Kate would be dropping off the clothes. Will wasn’t trying to impress her but if she showed up early he wasn’t about to let her walk into his new place while it was covered in shit. At least it was mouse droppings not bat guano.

“Hey, Will… Think I found where that other keys go to,” Will called out from behind the counter. Will dropped what he was doing to see what he was talking about and when he got next to Skunk his jaw dropped. There was a hatch in the floor behind the counter, complete with a keyhole.

“That a basement?” Will asked the obvious.

“Dunno,” Skunk shrugged and stepped back so Will could clean it off, “No, that ain’t no basement.”

Will had to agree. Once it was swept he could still barely notice it, the outline of the wood hatch just barely visible thanks to being made in a way to mimic the floorboards. Without seeing the handle and keyhole, it would have been impossible to notice. And Will was almost certain that a broken bookcase had been sitting right on top of them until he threw it in the pile out back. Skunk reached out his hand and snapped his fingers at Will.

“What?”

“The keys,” Skunk said and snapped again, “I’m a deputy and this here’s been hidden. Gotta make sure it ain’t somethin’ illegal down there.”

“You’re going to investigate it?” Will asked, not really wanting to hand over the keys. Even though he had to admit, he’d arrived at the same conclusion. You didn’t hide the door to the basement to store legal stuff.

“Yep,” Skunk said and pointed to his badge, so Will relented and handed over the key. To his surprise, Skunk stood up and started heading towards the front door.

“Where you going?” Will asked.

“Gonna get Jakob… Boss told both of us to get scarce after the Mayor and that Marshall showed up at the jail. Said we was taking up space,” Skunk said and disappeared out the door. Will looked down at the hatch, then at his front door. Specifically, the lock of his front door and ran after him. He would be damned if he didn’t keep an eye on the key to his new place.

“He’s at the saloon, isn’t he?” Will asked as he trotted up beside Skunk.

“Reckon… He won’t be with Betsy or Miss Kitty though. Boss put a stop to that a long time ago,” Skunk said… Wait?

“He used to do it on duty?” Will asked and almost laughed. The phrase ‘On Duty Booty’ coming to mind.

“Only when things were slow, ya know,” Skunk said but his grin told Will that he knew his statement was full of shit. It was almost always slow.

The two of them walked up the steps and made their way inside. The saloon hadn’t changed at all but it still had a different ambiance to it. A tension in the air… Most likely due to the two women standing in sexy granny panties and corsets giving each other a staredown. Will spotted Jakob sitting off to the side, the deputy keeping an eye on Miss Kitty and Big Titty Betsy while they glared at each other from across the bar. Will joined him.

“Was there a fight?” Will asked, mainly wondering about their lack of clothing. He’d seen a few girls fight where things had gotten pulled off.

“Nah, they just hate each other… don’t think it’ll go to blows or shootin’. Just a… professional rivalry,” Jakob said.

“Betsy don’t want Miss Kitty workin’ here?” Skunk asked.

“Nope… Least not after one of Kitty’s girls let slip they were gonna go claim that old saloon cross the river and pull tricks outta there... after getting it cleaned up of course. They do it and we’ll be gettin’ a second saloon in Silverstead. Betsy were with her-” Jakob pointed to one of the Vicksby girls, ”-when she said it. It was after they took care of a fella willin’ to pay for two. Betsy was so mad she tried to chase Kitty out the saloon ‘fore even getting dressed… If you’d gotten here a few minutes ago it’d been more interestin’, they weren’t as dressed before,” Jakob informed them. Will could only imagine, they were barely dressed as it was! Though with Miss Kitty, he just had to remember. He’d seen her before.

“Shouldn’t you… I don’t know, step in?” Will asked, “Keep the town’s peace and all that?”

“Nah, we ain’t gotta do nothin’ till someone draws a piece or throws a good punch. Even if they do a lil scrappin’ it’ll be alright,” Skunk said, having forgotten why he came there.

“Okay?” Will shook his head at that. He still wasn’t sure about the idea Kate put in his head about the lawmen in town being corrupt but they were lazy or had a very lax set of laws to enforce. At least two of the deputies. He couldn’t be sure about Victor, the man usually on the night shift from what he’d learned.

They didn’t have to wait long though because Betsy took a step to up the anty, she didn’t throw a punch but suddenly pulled down her corset to show the saloon her namesake. The action was immediately joined by some whoops and cheers so whatever she said couldn’t be heard. With only the look on her face to judge, Will bet it wasn’t nice but he regrettable wasn’t a lip reader. Then Betsy made what could only be a rude gesture before storming off towards the back…

It was a lot more confusing and childish than what Will had expected. He watched for a moment to see if Betsy came back but she didn’t and Kitty just grinned with her arms crossed over her chest, then spotted Will. She flashed him a smile and a little wave before sitting down on a customer’s lap. She looked proud to have won, whatever the hell that was supposed to be. A Bawdy House standoff?

Maybe they had been trying to use Skills on each other, it was the only way to explain the strange behavior in Will’s opinion. Betsy did disrobe unexpectedly and actually looked surprised to do it, followed by anger. Was it possible that it wasn’t her own doing? He guessed it probably was possible a [Prostitute] had a Skill to entice their clients to strip down quickly and the two had been trying to embarrass one another. With Kitty’s Skills coming out on top.

Will realized it was the first actual ‘duel’ he’d seen, one that ended with the saloon getting to see a set of Double-Es instead of bloodshed. He thought it was a little fucked up that a Skill could be used to make someone do that if he was right. But then again, if he was right, Betsy was trying to do the same and it was better than them shooting or stabbing each other… or any other form of violence for that matter.

It also brought up the question of whether or not dueling with mental Skills was actually common. He might have walked right passed one in Fairpoint and not known. Or maybe even in Silverstead and Vicksby.

“Whelp… that’s that,” Jakob stopped laughing and cheering to say before he went to sit down. But Skunk stopped him.

“Got somethin’ else. We was cleaning out the old minin’ office and done found a secret passage,” Skunk told him. Jakob’s brows immediately crossed.

“A secret passage?” Jakob asked for confirmation.

“There’s a pretty well hidden hatch behind the counter. I’ve been in there since mid afternoon but I didn’t notice it until Skunk found the handle,” Will explained.

“Yup, and we’ve gotta make sure there ain’t nothin’ illegal down there… being deputies and all,” Will rolled his eyes as Skunk spun the keys around his finger while he informed Jakob of his logic. It was sound logic but Will thought he was getting more of a kick out of it than he should have.

Jakob looked at the keys for a moment then shrugged and gestured to the door. The three of them headed out and quickly made their way back to the Mining office across the street. Their departure was almost completely unnoticed.

It didn’t take long for Skunk to try the keys and find the one to unlock the hatch but when he grabbed the handle he paused and drew his revolver.

“Might be something dangerous down there that wants to get out,” Skunk said. Will hoped there wasn’t considering he planned on living there but drew his too.

Once they were all set, Skunk pulled up the hatch and swung it back. They were immediately greeted by another hatch.

“The hell? Why’s there two of ‘em?” Jakob asked. Will and Skunk didn’t have an answer either but lowered their weapons. Though Will was a bit more apprehensive about it.

The second hatch wasn’t a hidden wooden one built to look by floorboards. It was a heavy iron one with a large handwheel to engage or disengage a set of thick steel bars that were the locks. Why was that below the mining office?

It took them another half hour to get the thing to budge. Will had to use up the oil he’d gotten for the locks and hinges and some well placed leverage in the form of pickaxe handles to get the thing to turn at all. They also had to wait for Jakob to get back with a couple lanterns, it was getting dark.

As soon as it unlocked with a grinding sound, Skunk tipped backwards to his ass and took aim with his revolver at the hole… but whatever he was expecting didn’t happen.

“So open it?” Jakob asked, seemingly a little less sure about the situation.

“I suppose,” Skunk answered and grabbed the wheel to lift. Again it was more work than what they’d set out for and it took both Skunk and Will to lift it while Jakob watched with his weapon drawn. When it opened he stepped forward with a lantern and they looked down into the abyss.

That was a fitting description for it in Will’s mind. It was a hole, a deep dark hole with a very questionable ladder going down. Skunk looked at it and crawled down from the floor to stand on the rim of the metal frame for the hatch and was about to put his foot on the top rung of the later but Will grabbed him before he could do it.

“I don’t think that’ll hold you,” he said and Skunk inspected it again before giving it a kick and watching the board crumble.

Will looked around and grabbed a coffee cup off the counter and held it over the hole. He let it drop and started counting, when he barely reached two, he heard the faint shatter of ceramic and whistled. Even with that short of a timeframe that was a sizable fall.

He assumed the gravity of Cradus was one G, which it felt like. So he called it 9.8ish meters per second squared, which put it in at around 20 meters to the bottom. Which meant the damn hole below his new place was six stories deep! Which was insane in a town where there were only a handful of two story buildings above ground.

“That’s- It’s about a sixty foot drop,” Will informed the other two, correcting himself before he could use metric. They gave him a strange look and he realized he should explain a little more, “I went to college to learn this stuff, a university. I can tell roughly how deep something is by how long it takes for something to reach the bottom.”

Jakob looked mildly impressed at his statement but Skunk didn’t. He was too preoccupied climbing back up onto the proper floor, but at least it meant he believed Will.

“I’ll be back,” Jakob announced and headed for the doorway.

“Whatchya getting’?” Skunk asked.

“Rope!”

“Wait, wait. We’re not gonna lower someone-” Will started, fearing an idiotic idea.

“No, for a lantern!” Jakob yelled back as he left… that was better.

“What the fuck is that?” Will asked, leaning as far over the hole as he dared. He reached out and grabbed the rope and pulled the lantern back up a foot before lowering it back down slowly. The Air shimmered both times the lantern passed a certain area.

“Dunno… Maybe some sorta magical trap?” Jakob offered as he lifted the rope again to watch the sir shimmer ten meters below the hatch. It was a long way down but it was still clearly visible. It was like watching the ripples of light while underwater. Each wave creating new flowing patterns but unlike water, it stopped shimmering for the most part when the lantern was through. Also, it glowed in an unnatural way, it reminded Will of neon lighting or more specifically a hologram with neon tones.

“Maybe it’s like a warnin’ bell for somethin’” Skunk said. Will let go of the rope and stopped playing with it just in case it was a magical warning enchantment of some sort. Though, him letting go didn’t stop Jakob from bobbing the lantern through it again.

“I think we should probably lock this again until we know more,” Will said and looked at the other two.

“Hold up,” Jakob said and started giving it more rope, “We haven’t seen if we can see anything at the bottom.”

Will wasn’t sure if they’d be able to see anything considering the distance but the lantern was already plunging down into the darkness. He watched it go until it came to a halt, with Jakob giving a few more feet to make sure it was on the bottom, the line grew slack.

Will shifted onto his stomach and peeked his head out over the hole and looked down. He could see two lights. The thin band of glowing rope swaying in the hole near the event horizon of the effect and far below a soft glow from the lantern. Even with his perception stat, he couldn’t make out much of anything below.

“Pull it u-” Will started to say but stopped when the lantern’s light below suddenly disappeared. He listened and heard a faint screech and a moment later Jakob let out a yelp as the rope was yanked out of his hand. Will grabbed for his legs but Skunk got him by the collar before he could be completely pulled off balance. The rope fell in and Will watched as its end passed the magical effect. A second later a louder screech echoed up the shaft and two blue lights shone below.

“Fuck!” Will saw fire and jumped up but Skunk was already moving to the hatch cover. He braced himself against the counter behind him and pushed off with a foot, sending the lid slamming closed. All three of them jumped on it right before the lid lifted up an inch and a blast of hot air poured out. They scrambled and after some effort and more leverage they got the lock engaged, though it took them a lot less time to lock it than to open it.

“What in the hells was that?” Jakob panted.

“I think I know what that shimmer is now,” Will said at the same time.

“What?” they both asked.

“I bet that’s what it looks like when someone watches someone else going through the entrance to the dungeon,” Will said and sat down on the lip of the hidden hatch.

“What makes you think that?” Skunk asked.

Will didn’t answer, it was more of a hope than a real hypothesis but still, he hoped he was right. He remembered the Sheriff not being concerned about the idea of monsters coming out of the dungeon and he desperately hoped that was true. Though he wasn’t too thrilled about having an entrance 10 meters below his feet.

Will looked up at the other two and saw them still waiting for him to say something but he realized they didn’t get the implications. They hadn’t seen it, “Because if it isn’t that means that thing can come out.”

Will ignored their reaction and focused on the memory in his mind. The sight he’d seen just before the flames, two glowing blue eyes looking up at him from the depths and in the breath before the fire erupted up the tunnel. A scaled, silver head. It wasn’t very big but it glowed slightly for a moment as its mouth lit up its surroundings. Giving his enhanced sight a chance to barely see... but with [Zoom] from his Profession class, Will could make out the head, four legs, and a set of wings.

“That was a fucking baby dragon…” Will whispered to only himself and shook slightly. A terrifying chill going down his spine.