Iggy watched Christoph walk up to the door of Gren Kelvin's house. Life outside the town was harsh, and there was always danger associated with it. But still, to die while so close to home? It was cruel.

Christoph knocked on the door. Iggy's chest tightened and her back stiffened. How do you tell somebody their family had died? She wasn't even the one delivering the news and she was paralyzed by the incoming wave of torment she would bear witness to.

The door opened, revealing a woman: Mrs. Penelope Kelvin. Her bronze skin attracted rays of sunlight as if she were a magnet for light particles, accentuated by full lips and a permanent expression of deep patience. Iggy was always fascinated by her almost ethereal, regal bearing, all brought together by crystal eyes hinting at her nymph heritage. It was often agreed that Mrs. Kelvin was the most captivating beauty in town, and on that front Iggy had to agree. She would also argue that she was its kindest, bearing further weight to bestowing such sad news.

"Hello? Mrs. Kelvin?"

"Why yes my boy, that's me. What brings you to my door?" Her voice came out in a rumble. It resonated with strength, but more importantly grace.

The look of composure she sported became troubled. From Christoph's sympathetic expression and Iggy standing stiff outside her front lawn, who she gave a nod to, Penelope could tell this encounter would bear her no good news.

With a sigh, Christoph carefully offered her Gren's blade. "Your husband and his companions were attacked outside of town. Sadly, none of them made it. I managed to take their bodies away from the road and hide them, but you'll have to send somebody out to retrieve them."

Penelope blinked. She accepted the sword, holding it in her hands. "Attacked?"

"Yes. By bandits. I dealt with them accordingly."

Penelope opened her mouth to say something but closed it again.

Christoph also handed her a small chest from his satchel. Penelope scrutinized it. Clicking it open, she gave a cursory glance inside, and with another huff, closed it.

"Both of my hands weighed down by what remains of my... of Gren's love. So that's it, huh?"

Christoph bowed his head. "I'm deeply sorry. If I had come across them sooner, I would've done something."

Penelope closed her eyes and smiled sardonically. "We can say that about anything, boy. We just learn to deal with what we can't change."

"If you don't mind me asking, who were the men accompanying him?"

"Friends of ours: Quincy and Barnes. Stubborn old fools, but dear God, they never knew how to fight. My husband could at one point, but he'd become stricken with illness. He became too weak to even stand without assistance, which is why he dared head out to see a doctor who could help him."

Penelope's thumb rubbed the front of the small chest. "I should've gone with him. Ha! See, there I go too, thinking about things I can't change."

Christoph nodded. "Yeah."

After giving her the location of the bodies, Christoph gave another bow. He turned back to Iggy whose eyes were downcast.

"I almost forgot! What was your name, boy?"

Christoph blinked in surprise, realizing he had forgotten to introduce himself. He spun around on his heel. "Oh, so sorry about that! The name's Christoph, Christoph Pax. I plan to stay in town for a week or so."

"Christoph, Christoph..." Penelope gave him a warm smile. "Thank you for killing those bandits. If I didn't know their fates, I wouldn't rest until I'd found them and repaid the favour. My... Gren would never have wanted that. His life ended in bloodshed, yet he never desired any in mine or anybody else's."

Before closing the door, Iggy couldn't help but see her face begin to contort. Tears dripped down her chin, and the first gasp of a sob flitted out the door before it closed.

Christoph gave a weary sigh. "That always sucks." Looking at Iggy, he saw she was wiping at her eyes. "You know her?"

Iggy took a deep breath to compose herself before she answered, eyes still red. "She's the kindest woman in town if you ask me. She's set up a soup kitchen in the town's poorest district. The only nights she doesn't visit are holidays or family stuff."

Christoph nodded. "You can tell she's lovely just by meeting her. Which is why we're gonna head over to the bar and drink for her and Gren now!"

Iggy nodded back. "Yeah... Wait, what?"

...

Half an hour later, Iggy found herself with a mug in hand, Christoph happily chugging his ale by her side. Eye twitching, she gave Christoph a sidelong glance.

"It's not even noon. Who invites a girl they don't even know out to get a drink at this time?"

Christoph gave a satisfied smack of his lips as he finished drinking, hands stretching up. "Sorry about that, I've been travelling all night. So from a certain point of view, you could say it's about... one in the morning for me?"

"Well from my point of view that's even worse!"

Barking with laughter, Christoph set his mug down. "Ah, don't worry. I can handle it. You won't have to deal with hungover Christoph. Besides, you're still underage, so you can have your cider without worry."

The local pub they were in was cozy. With light streaming through the windows, a wonderful selection of alcohol and trademark pub food, this was a place for the everyman to sit down after a long day at work, or even whenever they had one off. Iggy preferred not to come here when it was most busy. She had never been good with crowds. Still, she had to admit that the place being empty was a nice bit of peace compared to her rambunctious excursion that morning. And then, of course...

Iggy's eyes were downcast. Christoph gave her a concerned look. "Still shaken up after the whole thing with Mrs. Kelvin?"

Tracing a small pattern in the wood, Iggy mustered a sad smile. "It's just weird. One moment you're seeing somebody you – you know; one of the sweetest women alive learn her friends and husband have died but in the next, we're joking around in a pub."

"Well, I can't very well imagine why you shouldn't."

"Huh?"

Christoph took a hearty gulp out of his mug. "There's no telling what tomorrow's gonna bring, or even what the rest of today has in store for you. You think you should feel guilty for experiencing joy?"

"Well, no, of course not—"

"Then what's the problem? You can pay respect to the dead, feel sad for them and the people they left behind but there's no error in feeling good." Christoph placed a hand on Iggy's shoulder. "Your emotions aren't strangers to each other."

Iggy blinked. A new smile began to adorn her face as Christoph's words of encouragement sunk in.

"Yeah. I guess that's a good way of looking at things. But to go back to the thing with your magic; that was still pretty impressive. You're running low on sleep and you still managed to beat the Pickpocket."

"Would've been a serious problem if I couldn't. There's only so much a regular human can do against a practiced magic user, especially when it's channeled all throughout your body."

"I've never seen that before." Iggy set her mug down and folded her arms. "I'd never have thought you could wrap your magical energy all around your body to boost performance."

"Well, you shouldn't. Not unless you have years of training. One slight miscalculation and you end up doing more damage to yourself than your opponent." Christoph swirled his drink around. "It's said that the seven main elements bind the world together, and that's not a lie. Every time you use that power for yourself, you ask the world permission to use it. Any bit of energy wasted and is a sign of major disrespect."

"You're talking about the theory of time being another element in addition to the original six?"

"So you do know about that! Well, it depends on who you ask. The standard six being fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Light and Darkness are what's taught in Sunday school, but once you get into advanced magic you begin to learn about what they all comprise of: Time."

Iggy shook her head. "You sure? Time is time. It isn't some piece of magic we control, it's just something we consume with our zeit tech."

"Part of that's true, but it's still energy. My bike? It runs entirely off the time stored in its battery. Have to head to the nearest chronomill whenever I run empty about once a month." Christoph raised his mug to his lips. "In the end, we all function the exact same as machines. We need to consume energy to live."

He took another swig from his tankard. "You see that? I drank it. But that alcohol doesn't simply disappear. My body's going to absorb the useful nutrients, which is admittedly very little, and use it as fuel. But just because I've consumed it doesn't mean it's gone. That energy doesn't vanish, it transforms. Zeit tech works the same way. Do you know what time transforms into once its used?"

Iggy shrugged. "Couldn't begin to guess."

"It turns into the past. Hard to wrap your head around, but there you go."

"I don't think I'm able to. It turns into the past? How?"

"Because the more time we consume, then less of the future is left for us to experience. It accelerates the end of life as we know it. Or so the leading theories say. If we can't get a handle on how time is being consumed at an ever-increasing pace with zeit technology taking the world by storm then bam! One day our world comes to an end and a new one is born."

Iggy smiled nervously. "I admit, that sounds sort of disturbing, but are we sure it's going to happen?"

Christoph gave Iggy a sly look. "Pretty sure. Leading scientists from where I'm from have all determined that's the case. Don't tell me you're one of the types who thinks seeing is believing."

"I wouldn't be an Apeiran if that were the case," Iggy replied. "I don't know, what you're saying makes sense, but I guess it's just hard for me to accept..."

She shook her head. "But that aside, I'm curious about the other thing you've mentioned. I've never heard of time being a branch of magic you can explore, and trust me, I've run through a good share of tutors. It's a resource, but I wouldn't really call it an element. I've never even heard it be used for magical purposes."

"Really?" Christoph took a steady sip of his drink. Swishing it around in his mouth a little, he let it slide down his throat. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Time research is banned on this continent, and the government do their utmost to ensure word of it doesn't spread through the papers."

"Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me."

"I guess it does, but there are a lot of Time users out there. And the more they learn about it, the closer they are to finding what binds it together. I need to find it before they do."

Iggy cocked her eyebrow at that. "So you're on the hunt for something? Treasure?"

"I don't think of it so much as treasure as it is the key to a new era of human ingenuity. One that would allow us to stride confidently forward to a future that doesn't rely on time technology, avoid any disasters."

"That's a big goal to shoot for. Sure you can do it?"

"I'd be surprised if nobody did. The job I have to do requires that I travel all over. That experience broadens your perspective. It makes you think differently. Less about how you can keep your feet on the ground and more about how long they can leave it.

"I've seen palaces made of snow, Ms. Iggy. Desert villages powered solely by moon and starlight during times of drought. Colleges of magic with tomes flying about the place, waiting to be read by anybody possessing even an ounce of curiosity. I've even visited a country floating up high in the sky. I trust you've heard of those, at least?"

Iggy gave a small smile, always content with hearing of these mystical places. "Yeah, actually. I've heard of those. Locations that make your entire world just a little bit bigger by being in them."

"Not just that." Christoph gave her a determined look, burgeoning with a thirst for knowledge. "It's the kind of stuff that makes you think anything's possible. If mortal beings can create incredible things like the bike I ride, then just imagine the other natural tools we haven't discovered yet. That's the kind of thing I'm trying to find."

Iggy cocked her head this time. "You really believe in this stuff, huh?"

"I know how it sounds. I'm passionate about this, and I try to fish for like minded individuals to have these kinds of conversations with."

Iggy downed the rest of her mug, smacking her lips confidently. "Well, Mr. Conspiracy Adventurer man, this has been a real treat, but I do have a 'rest of my day' to get to."

Stepping back from the bar, she thanked the barman. Stretching her arms up, she said, "I'm not entirely sure what you're looking for and I'm not going to ask. I'm sorry I couldn't be your 'like-minded' gal as it were, but I know you'll find what you're looking for eventually. Thank you again for helping me out earlier. Enjoy your time here."

Iggy walked to the door, but before exiting she paused and whipped back around. "But if you do happen to need anything else, don't hesitate to ask around for me. My house is on the eastern end of town, not too far from the central plaza."

Christoph nodded. "Perhaps I will."

"Good. Oh, and watch out for the southwestern part of Asphodel. Lotta rough and tumble types there." With a final nod, Iggy flounced out the door, leaving Christoph behind to enjoy his drink in silence. Pulling out his pocket watch, he saw the day was far from over.

The bartender, a burly middle-aged fellow, went up to Christoph. "I admit, I get a lot of unique conversations going on in here, but none quite like that."

"I'm glad you found it illuminating." Christoph finished his tankard, setting it on the counter. "Say, for an extra fifty lepta, I was hoping you'd tell me about where to find some good info in this town. I've heard a few famous adventurers have made stops in this place every few years."

The bartender stroked his chin. "A few, yes. Is this about the treasure you're looking for?"

"It's not really treasure, as I've already mentioned. Just an important discovery I'm hoping to make. You ever hear of an old dungeon or ruins around these parts? It might have been hidden in there."

The bartender chuckled. "There's an abandoned firecrystal mine not too far from here built over some old ruins, but if there's some mystical chamber holding your prize, I wouldn't know about it. They're only so much a local pub owner knows."

"Oh, I understand the chances were low, but I still had to check." Christoph slid another few lepta across the counter. "I was really hoping you could point me in the direction of the underground help center here, which I'm told is actually pretty reliable."

...

With the terrible affairs of the morning behind her, Iggy loitered around the town square. The sulfur bomb from earlier had long since dispersed and order had been restored to the town.

If Iggy was being honest, despite the frustration the Pickpocket caused her, she did have to wonder why they kept doing this to her. Despite being rude, irascible, no-good, savage, basically a waste of space—

Iggy took a deep breath. No use getting worked up twice in one day. So, as it were...

The only reasons she could think of the Pickpocket continuing to target her specifically were:

One: they had a crush on her. Not ideal.

Two: they wanted a friend to hang around with. Less not ideal.

Scratching the back of her head, Iggy could only sigh. She truly did have some awful luck.

She was brought out of her pondering by a loud shriek from behind her. Whirling around, she could see the flitting of dark robes down one of the alleys, purse in hand. Looking for the source of the scream, she could see the local Apeiran preacher helping his wife back up from the ground.

"Thieves! Dratted, darned incorrigible little weasels! They paw at any scrap of money they can find and set off where we can't find them! The garbage from the southwest end... They should all be strung up, shot and beaten to death!"

The preacher patted the shoulder of his flustered wife. "Tulsa, it's a pain, I know, but that was only one of your purses. There's not much use in yelling your head off in the middle of town-"

"Oh, don't you give me that drivel! You get up in front of a crowd every Sunday to preach Apeiros' great name and how we must 'purify our bases.' Asphodel's base is, quite frankly, tainted."

"Well, I wouldn't say—"

"And another thing! Why on Earth can't that Pickpocket be strung up too? At least the other rats in this town have the decency to steal just a few things and leave just as quickly. Meanwhile he keeps picking on that poor girl."

All throughout the conversation, the woman's face grew increasingly toad-like. So much so that Iggy was feeling a strong compulsion to hit her, see just how far her eyes could bulge. Maybe that'd knock some of the vileness out of her.

But wait, why was she feeling so defensive of the Pickpocket all of a sudden? True, what this woman had said wasn't acceptable even if she had just had her purse stolen, but there was no reason to be angry on the behalf of her harasser.

Exactly that. No reason at all to be angry.

Iggy left the square feeling her good mood sap away. She didn't say a word to the pastor or his wife. She simply dragged her feet back home.

...

It was a little past noon now. Christoph had checked into the local inn and was making his way to the furthest edge of town. He took in a deep breath of the sea breeze.

Even for a small town, this place seemed exceedingly charming. While other towns could feel somewhat timid, Christoph felt the character of Asphodel speaking to him. It was hard to describe, but any true adventurer would understand and savor this sensation.

However, it was easy to see where the money was concentrated too. As he headed to south-western end of the town, the buildings grew less extravagant and more patchwork. A couple seemed outright deserted but for the occasional child who would flit around in it.

Eventually Christoph reached a point where everybody was dressed in varying colours of grey, brown and black. Life had fled this part of town. Where everybody was living pleasantly throughout three quarters of it, this remaining part was left in squalor. Why?

Approaching a wooden gate, Christoph rapped it twice, pausing for a couple seconds, and then rapping it three times more, concluding with one final sharp tap a couple seconds later.

"Aye, aye, coming," came a crochety voice. The shutter at the top of the door opened where two beady little eyes came peering out of it. "You a visitor? What brings you to this part of town."

"I'm here for some firecrystal suppressant. I thought the locals would be the most likely to have it."

The eyes narrowed. "You look fairly young, kid. I gotta warn you right here: You step through this door and there ain't nothing we're gonna be able to do to keep ya safe. Some angry folks on the other side of this door who don't know how to play nice. Are you absolutely sure you wanna come in here?"

"Not leaving until I do."

"Eh... at least you're determined." A few thuds could be heard on the other side of the door along with the clinking of locks being undone. A few seconds later, the door was thrown open by somebody less than half of Christoph's height. Craning down, he saw a dwarf in front of him wearing a moth-eaten vest, an old tunic and a pair of trousers.

"Charon must have sent you over, eh? That's his knock of recommendation you did there."

Christoph placed a hand under his chin, surveying the dwarf carefully.

"Er, my name is Galley, by the way. Not that we'll be acquainted long. Mind not eying me like I'm some lab specimen?"

"Oh, sorry." Christoph put his arms back at his sides and gave a slight bow in apology. "I'm Christoph. I was just wondering why this part of town was so run down, and I think I've found an answer. Mostly dwarves in this section?"

"Awfully presumptuous of you." Galley huffed out a sigh. "But yes, you're right. This is the dwarf end of town. You're lucky you said that to me. One of the other fellas in here mighta tried to cut your tongue out for that if they thought you were being cheeky."

"Trust me, I know that all too well. I could tell you aren't the ill-tempered type."

Galley smiled. "You're polite, at least. C'mon, the boss man is over this way."

This gated section of town was slightly better off than the district outside, but not by much. Dwarves milled about, and there was a small set of stalls selling fish and vegetables. Further to his right, a row of crops sat drinking in the sun.

He could sense a lot of hostility. Everybody who caught a glimpse of him fixed him with a reproachful glare. A pointed warning to not infringe on what little they had.

Galley led Christoph to the other side of the area. There was a large space carved into the wall, as if an attempt to gouge out a piece of the town that had abandoned them. A thick-necked dwarf was sitting on a rickety old chair inside, a book in his hands. His beard was thick, pointed downward in a small, braided goatee. Gazing up, his dark eyes surveyed Christoph with the sharpness and strength of a blacksmith's most trustworthy tool.

"And who have you brought me today, Galley?"

"This man is Christoph, sir. He comes from out of town and is looking for firecrystal suppressant."

Christoph bowed. "It's as he says."

The dwarf, who appeared to be the leader here, placed his book down and put his fingertips together. "That comes at a price."

"How much for your name," Christoph asked.

"Friendship. Since I doubt we will come to know each other in any meaningful way, you can simply call me the King of Stones."

Christoph smiled. "Okay, King. How much for fire crystal suppressant?"

The King sat still for a few seconds. "I'd say that could be very pricey for you."

In the corner of his eye, Christoph saw a small group of teenage dwarves eying him with evident hate. They were huddled together pretty close. "I'd prefer to keep this transaction brief. Some people here don't seem to be taking my presence too kindly."

"People who've been shown mostly hate have a hard time displaying anything else. Especially from people who look like you."

Christoph nodded. "Things seem rough here."

"This place has been ruled by old money for a long time. The fishing industry in this town has netted people a steady income for generations, and recently fashion. In a simpler time, us dwarves operated in a mine for income. But then they started applying zeit technology to vehicles so they wouldn't need combustion engines anymore, meaning that industry died out quick. You see the results before you."

"Spreading out to other job fields wasn't successful?"

"Mining was the only way we could earn a sustainable living off of. Aside from any part time jobs, all we can do is try and compete with the town's main businesses.

"But it doesn't matter." The chair creaked as the King leaned backward. "We just need a little bit of... uprooting the competition. You seem a capable fellow, or so I hear from one of my best."

Christoph chuckled. "The Pickpocket. Little brat."

"Useful little brat. Wastes time like no other chasing after one girl instead of getting more money for us, but the info provided in exchange... it's useful."

"What do you need me to do?"

The King bent forward. "Root out the competition. Set fire to a few of their fishing stalls, the bank. In the confusion, that lets us move in and offer up our products to traders in exchange. The people who come by here every week or so don't care what's loaded onto their trucks so long as it's good."

Christoph tried to maintain his smile. "Sorry, but that's not in my MO. I try not to get too involved with the places I visit."

The King crossed his arms. "Then you don't get what you need. Simple as that."

"Supposing you have it."

Those dangerously sharp eyes narrowed to slits. "I see you've got wit. Rest assured that I leave no good deeds unrewarded. All I need you to do is disrupt the competition. What's the problem here?"

"I already explained the problem. I'd appreciate it if you could set me up with a different task instead."

The King snorted. "Why? Big fellow like you think you can steal fast enough without being seen? Gather info like the Pickpocket? Give me pity money like Gren Kelvin?"

"Gren Kelvin? You know him?"

"Hmm? That name mean something to you boy?"

"It should. I found him dead this morning."

With that, Christoph went on to explain what had happened on his way to Asphodel. The King of Stone's face grew, to put it most aptly, stony as the story went on. Once Christoph was finished he seemed to deflate.

"That's a shame. One of the few good ones here. Penny's gotta be devastated."

A few more seconds passed, and the King closed his eyes with a short exhale through his nose. "Alright. Guess I can be a little softer on you."

Sitting up straight, the King laid out his request. "Listen here. I want to do things the direct way and sabotage the competition, but I know that's not going to fly with you."

"Even if that meant destroying the Kelvin business?"

"That'd have been the exception, of course. But that's clearly not happening. If you do want a spying job instead, I've got a proposal for you. Tonight, I hear that there's a council meeting happening 'bout seven. Relay what they say to me and I'll reward you for your service."

Christoph nodded. "I can do that. Where is it being held?"

"Oh, right out on the water with a giant bonfire and a feast of skewers for dinner!" His tone was scathing, as was his glare. "Where do you think, genius? The big town hall in the northeast. Man of your talents could've figured that out easily. See what those kings of the Styx are up to and report back to me as soon as you find out." The King reached down for his book and flipped it open on his lap, his attention reoccupied once more.

Sensing little benefit to staying much longer, Christoph said a brief goodbye and gave another small bow. He turned around and headed back to the entrance, Galley alongside him again.

Christoph gave a quiet snort. "Quite the character."

Galley chuckled at that. "Oh, don't mind that tramp. He's usually the sharpest one around here and don't take too kindly to intellectual equals coming his way. He doesn't do well with any threat to his authority, no matter how small. It's not like many of us in here can match him. All of the education we have pertains to fishing, farming and daft tales of dwarven patriotism, whatever the hell that means."

"You seem an open-minded fellow. What's the bigger issue here?"

"It's the system, mate. This whole town runs on the motto of 'by humans, for humans' and we're always shut out. Penny and a few others have set up their soup kitchen which we have people rotate for throughout the week, but they can only do so much. Some days we persist entirely without food and eat it not long before bed, so we don't fall asleep hungry. That's when we're lucky."

"And these kings of Styx won't lower prices or set up benefits for you?"

"No. This town's rich, my boy. That always means you've gotta put people at the bottom of the ladder."

Christoph looked at one of the large ships heading into the harbour. For such a small town, they seemed to have plenty to go around.

Galley followed his line of thinking. "If only it were that simple. Folks in town are nice enough, but it's all surface level. Most don't care to alter their lifestyle. They don't care to change. We could shrivel up and die and they'd carry on without fuss."

Christoph nodded silently. That silence went unbroken all the way to the gate where with a curt farewell, Christoph set off to prepare.