It turned out that the Ruby Rest, a name I couldn’t help but enjoy, didn’t actually have much to drink other than some surprisingly strong beer and water. Their food selection wasn’t much better, but they had a few options that I had tried at other places around the Scorch.

I ordered myself a plate of meatballs and pan-fried bread as a side, and Kate ordered the same, treating us both to some of the strong beer that came in a pair of large wooden mugs.

The saloon was pretty much empty except for an older gentleman drinking at the bar, so Kate and I made our way to a table in the corner with our drinks while we waited for the food.

“Pretty nice place really, can see myself coming here a lot between work.” Kate looked around, taking in the atmosphere.

The saloon was at least well lit by crystal lamps, simple glass bowls containing several small chunks of a relatively common softly glowing gemstone known as emberlite casting a soothing orange light over everything. I found it a bit too quiet, but I was sure once the new settlers had fully moved in it would be a lot more lively every night.

“Yeah, hope work brings me back this way from time to time, always nice to see how a new settlement is doing.” I agreed with Kate as I took an experimental sip from my beer, hoping I didn't sound too awkward.

It indeed was as strong as the short and stocky man behind the bar had promised, tasting bitter and roasted, almost like coffee. All in all, it wasn’t too bad, I just usually preferred fancy mixed drinks or soda like ruby root beer or sunstone sarsaparilla when I could afford it, but you rarely saw those out this deep in the Scorch. Kate raised an eyebrow as she watched me drink, so I set my mug down and took a breath.

“Good stuff, little strong but definitely good.”

“Glad to hear it.” Kate gave me a grin, raising her own mug and downing half of it in one.

My eyes went a little wide at this display, and I couldn’t help but laugh as Kate had to set down her mug and start coughing.

“Ack, sorry ‘bout that, thought it would look really impressive.” Kate spluttered, reaching into a pocket of her waistcoat and pulling out a fancy looking handkerchief to wipe her face.

“Hey, it was impressive in its own way if that helps?” I found myself laughing even more.

Despite coming into the saloon looking to talk business, it was hard not to relax and start to unwind around Kate. Almost unconsciously I found myself starting to open up a bit and just chat to her. I was rarely the type to actually go out drinking with a stranger unless it was business. You could definitely call me antisocial, but once you actually got me to a saloon with a drink in my hand? I felt fine.

“So, just how new to the Scorch are you Kate?”

“That obvious huh? Been three days, arrived at one of the bigger towns on the border, Emberstone, then joined a couple of caravans to go deeper into the Scorch.”

“Ah fair enough, Emberstone is a nice place, where I like to recover after too many jobs get the better of me.” I took another sip of my own beer, getting used to the taste now.

“Do ya usually travel with caravans too? I’ve heard a lot of freelancers can travel solo out there without too much trouble.” I took a second to answer, thinking things over.

Kate was a researcher, so I could understand all the questions, but if anyone else was asking me these kinds of things I would likely be on guard.

“From time to time I do yeah. If I can rent a horse I will, but going on foot is mostly alright so long as you’re careful.”

“Ya really go on foot? What if ya get caught by monsters?”

I took a stiff drink from my mug, sitting it down with a soft thud and using my free hand to wipe the excess from my lips.

“Then I have to fight them.”

Kate quietly gulped, taking a moment to ask her next question.

“What a life it must be, ya ever sleep out there?”

“Not if I can avoid it, ground is pretty decent for growing crops but its by no means comfy, and goes without saying you don’t want to be caught unawares.” I grimaced remembering the couple of cold nights I had spent on the crystal sands of the Scorch, clutching my repeater close to my chest and flinching at the slightest noise.

“Oh yeah, y’all quite a few farmers out here don’t ya?” Kate reached into another pocket on her waistcoat and pulled out a small blue notebook, flipping through it.

“Can’t grow anything on the starsand, but there are a few experimental sites where they got crops to grow really fast?” she read out.

I was glad to see she had done her homework before heading out here.

“Yup, something you researchers are still trying to figure out, but If you’re lucky you might end up in a settlement with a good farm attached after a good harvest.” I nodded, my stomach rumbling slightly at the thought of some of the food I had been lucky enough to try.

It was a major pain to actually grow anything out here, especially as they had to resort to shipping in soil from outside the Scorch, but there was something about the magical properties of the area that could make certain crops grow rapidly.

“Pretty rare, but if you can I definitely recommend trying some of the fruit and veg they grow locally, really good stuff.”

“Speaking of…” Kate nodded as the short man from behind the bar brought over our food.

There were four plates in total, two with a collection of large breaded meatballs and the others with crispy and buttery pan-fried bread. It all looked delicious, and I had been struggling to focus on our conversation with the smell of sizzling meat and frying bread filling the saloon, so I wasted no time digging in once my food was in front of me.

“These are pretty good, they keep cattle locally too or something?” seeing my enthusiasm Kate speared one of the meatballs, looking it over inquisitively before taking a bite.

“Sadly not, Scorch doesn’t usually get high-quality meat either since things can spoil pretty quick in the heat out here.”

“So what am I eating here then Cy?” Kate narrowed her eyes at me.

I just shrugged, popping another of my own meatballs into my mouth.

“Bull testicles, pretty normal out here, every town has at least one or two dishes with them since there are quite a few ways to prepare them.”

“Oh is that all?” Kate shrugged and kept on chewing.

“I thought you were gonna tell me they were spider meat or something really gross.”

“Nope, although I’ve heard there are a few towns where-”

“Maybe tell me that story later Cy, wouldn’t want to lose my appetite yeah?”

“Sure thing.” I grinned, returning to my meal.

I was sure the scientist in Kate would be interested to hear that some people did collect meat from destroyed crystal creatures, scraping it from their shattered crystal armour. I had never tried it myself but some people swore by the scorpion and spider kebabs some towns sold, so maybe I would give it a go someday.

For now, both Kate and I just focused on our food. The meatballs were quite gamey and a bit rubbery, but the meat itself was also juicy with a lot of flavour.

Some places battered them and fried them in oil but here they were just cooked in a pan like the nice crispy bread they were served with. It all made for a very filling and satisfying meal, and I was glad to see Kate was enjoying it too.

“Much better than travel rations right?” I took another long draw of my beer as I stacked my empty plates on one another.

Kate looked up from her meal surprised.

“Exactly what I was thinking, not sure how long I could actually survive on that dry bread and crumbly cheese for every meal, is that what y’all eat while you work?”

“Pretty much, you can’t really bring cooked food with you out into the Scorch, it tends to attract monsters.” Kate seemed to go back into deep thought for a few seconds, so I just enjoyed my drink and politely let her think.

“On that subject, what if I wanted to hire you for a job?” Kate asked the question quite casually, but I could hear the worry in her voice.

“You mean you want me to protect you while you do your research?”

“Wow, I’m that obvious huh?”

“Not at all, I’ve been working freelance out here for four years though, I’m used to it.”

“Well, hit the nail right on the head really. The guild sent me out here with enough money for food, lodgings and protection if needed, so I figure I’m better hiring the guy who’s already saved me once rather than risking it with some freelancer right?”

“No promises, but fill me in on the details and we’ll talk about it, I was planning on sticking around Clearvein for a few days anyway, so chances are I should be free for it.”

“Sounds good, no pressure to accept or anything, would just be good to talk it through anyway.” I nodded in response.

“End of the day if you’re not interested in hiring me, I’ll put you in contact with someone trustworthy.”

“Alright great, ya want another drink before we get down to business?”

“Sure, if you don’t mind.” I reached down for my coin pouch but Kate waved a hand dismissively.

“On me, call it a consultation fee or something.”

“If you’re sure.”

Kate answered by getting up and heading over to the counter, just as a number of settlers, most from the caravan, filed into the saloon in a rowdy crowd.

They headed straight for the bar of course, but Kate had thankfully ordered fast and was able to bring our drinks over before things got too messy over there.

“Looks like they’re celebrating too huh?” Kate nodded as I took my drink and thanked her.

“Yeah, any trip in the Scorch where someone doesn’t die is worth a little celebration honestly.”

“Gee, really getting me excited for my study trip there Cy.”

“Sorry, sorry, I’m sure you’ll be fine though even if I don’t come along. Smaller groups can move around a lot easier than big ones in the Scorch.”

“Good to know, but I think I’d feel a lot safer with ya coming along.” Kate blushed slightly as she said this, and I pulled out my small business ledger, getting ready to quote her a price.

“Alright, so tell me a bit more about the job Kate, what precisely will it involve?”

“Oh right! Well I’m here on leave from Lunar Heights, I’ve been writing a paper on the properties and possibilities of crystal magic, so the Scorch seemed like the perfect place for a research trip.” Kate started to tell me her story and I jotted down a few notes.

If she had come to the Scorch from Lunar Heights she was likely a magic-user of some kind. The academy was extremely well known across the continent and probably the rest of the world too, being one of the few that specialised in magic.

The school was open to anyone interested in learning, not just those with magical talent but I still jotted it down, intending to ask her later. Her powers wouldn’t function properly in the Scorch if she had any, but it was always worth knowing.

I always took extra caution when it came to mages generally speaking. To say I had bad experiences with magic would be like calling the Scorch a luxury holiday location. Despite that, I wasn't stupid enough to automatically hate all mages.

One of my only friends Barnabus had a connection to the domain of fire, but I had never seen him use it for anything other than nearly blowing himself up after one too many drinks.

Realistically, I didn’t see the problem with a little extra caution when there were people in the world that could literally set you on fire with a thought; outside of the Scorch at least.

“One of my professors put me in contact with someone in the research guild out here, and they told me they had a few reports of the creatures acting strangely by Clearvein, so I’ve got to head out to a few sites around the town and make some reports on what I see.”

“They give you a map?”

“Oh sure, just a second…” Kate grabbed her bag and started to rummage through it.

I didn’t mean to peek but it was hard for me not to notice the overabundance of notebooks and pencils within, as well as a number of glass jars.

“Planning on collecting some samples?” I said as she pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.

“That’s the hope, yeah. Lunar Heights has a lotta researchers that specialise in studying crystals, but there’s never been an official research mission to the Scorch before now.”

“Oh? Why’s that? They usually send out research teams to investigate magical phenomena don’t they?” I had heard tales of the academy plenty of times growing up.

I think there must have been a point in everyone’s life where they dreamed of one day developing magical powers, and the idea of going to a magical school to train them was understandably exciting.

“They usually do, but the Scorch was deemed too dangerous for both students and professors, especially with all the political issues getting involved meant for them.”

“Then why the change now?”

“Well, basically my whole time there I’ve been begging the headmaster to let me come here so I can write my thesis on the Scorch, they were pretty reluctant but I wore ‘em down enough that they were willing to let me come here with a few conditions in place.” I was about to ask what conditions Kate was talking about, when we were both interrupted by a mug slamming down onto the table between us.

“Hey hey! Don’t go buying your own drinks here gunslinger!” I eased off the tight grip I found I had suddenly developed on my repeater, turning to the rowdy group of settlers who had arrived at the table with their own drinks.

“Hey there fellas, we were actually trying to talk about some-” I found myself cut off as one of the settlers, a muscular man I had made note of as one of those who had taken up arms against the sapphire spiders, placed an arm around one of my shoulders.

“Hey come on buddy, after surviving something like that we should be celebrating right? Tell us some stories or something!” the small group of about five settlers all cheered in approval.

I was surprised they were being this rowdy when they had only just arrived in the saloon, it seemed like they must have already found some hard alcohol to enjoy before they had headed here.

I supposed those who had just had a brush with death with the crystalline horrors of the Scorch had a decent enough excuse to start drinking as soon as possible.

“Really guys, it was no big deal, but could you please-” I knew I had said something wrong from the way Kate grimaced at my words, but I tried to power through until the drunks once again cut me off.

“No big deal? This guy saves our lives, kills about a hundred skitterers out there and it’s no big deal?!” I silently groaned as I realised my own slip-up.

With perhaps some of the worst timing possible, some of the rooks had entered the Ruby Rest while the settlers had been talking to me, and at that last statement they had begun glaring at me from their table across the room. It was just my luck really, I had just done my job, and now I was sure rumours would spread about how the crystal gunslinger was bragging about being a hero to all the locals, stealing credit from the rooks.

It wouldn’t have been the first time, and I could see it easily happening again and making life difficult, I just had no clue how to shut it down.

I had enough trouble dealing with people normally, when they were drunk I had no idea how to deal with them all. Thankfully Kate seemed ready with a save, holding up a finger telling me to wait for a second and slipping away from the table over to the bartender once again. I really hoped she had a way out, and wasn’t just placing an order for more drinks or meatballs.

“Look really, if you want to thank me just tell your friends I’m for hire or-”

“Come on, must be one or two stories you can tell me and my friends right? How about letting us hold your fancy gun?” The crowd all cheered at that idea and I once again found myself gripping the barrel of my repeater, moving it from leaning against the table to on my lap.

I didn’t want any of the rowdy group of men and women messing around with my gun, and I was sure things were about to get messy if I outright refused their less than reasonable request.

“Well howdy there fellas, sorry to interrupt but I’m supposed to show this young sir to his room for the evenin’.” Kate had returned with a metal key, spinning it around on one finger and making the drunk settlers grumble.

I stood from my seat as quickly as I could, making sure I had everything with me and pushing my way through the crowd over to Kate.

“Thanks for that.” I whispered as Kate guided me over to the staircase leading to the rooms where people could stay the night.

“No problem Cy, no offence, but ya clearly don’t know how to handle yourself around drunk people.” Kate grinned and I sighed.

“And you do?”

“Course, I’m a student, remember?”

“Fair enough.” I shrugged as Kate unlocked the door and held it open for me, not wanting to be rude I carefully made my way into the room and took a look around.

It was fairly simple but nice enough as far as the Scorch went. Well insulated with a bathroom, simple table, window and a couple of chairs, the only thing I found strange was the number of beds.

“Hope you don’t find it too forward, I figured we would both be staying here anyway so I got a room with two twins, that alright?” Kate blushed slightly as I turned to ask her about the beds.

In all honesty, I felt more than a little awkward sharing a room with someone I had just met. I hadn’t really shared a room with anyone for years, definitely not since coming to the Scorch.

Part of me wanted to turn Kate down, I certainly would have if she had suggested the idea to me in the saloon, but now we were here I didn’t want to upset her. It was nothing personal, but she would probably take it that way if I turned down her generosity so I just nodded.

“Should be fine yeah, don’t think I snore, but apologies if I do.” I tried to play things off calm and cool, when in reality my mind was racing.

Could I trust Kate? Was she really just showing kindness to a stranger or was this a ploy of some kind? She seemed genuine, but what if she was here to rob me, steal my precious gun? Even worse, what if she was sent here to find me and bring me out of the Scorch? That idea scared me more than any crystal creature ever could.

“So, what made you want to come to the Scorch Kate, why not somewhere else?” I sat on the bed closest to the door.

I didn’t want to seem too obvious about it, but questioning Kate was going to be important if I actually wanted to get some sleep in the same room as her tonight.

“Because the Scorch is still a new frontier, most of the other areas like it in Lux and on the other continents have been studied to death. Tons of books and theories ya can go and read about them, but nobody has written a book about the Warped Scorch yet.”

“And I suppose you’re going to be the one to write the first?”

“That’s the hope!” Kate pulled open a compartment on her backpack, revealing all of her notebooks, but I could only see the one pencil.

“Sure that will last you through all those?”

“Should do, my roommate lent it to me before I left, it’s made out of a twig from the Evergrowth woods.”

“So it just keeps growing back when you wear it down?”

“Yep, perfect for the researcher on the go, gave me all this extra room for more notebooks!”

“Very nice…” I awkwardly laughed.

It was still incredibly weird meeting someone so enthusiastic about the Scorch. Or maybe I had gone for too long without talking to someone enthusiastic about life in general.

“So do ya have to deal with that kinda thing a lot?” Kate had set down her own bag now and sat on the other bed, facing toward me.

“Which part? People usually get pretty rowdy in the evening, surviving a day in the Scorch is always cause for celebration.”

“I mean all the praise, they may have been drunk but I think they meant well ya know?”

“Oh, that.” I had to think before I responded in full, because I honestly didn’t know how I felt about it myself.

I had been working in the Scorch for nearly five years now, and word about me had inevitably spread once I started coming back successfully from my jobs.

Finding someone who could consistently succeed in the Scorch, whether the job was escorting caravans for the rooks of the protection guild, scouting out dangerous areas for the mapping guild or just making deliveries for the courier guild, was a rare and valuable opportunity.

There were others like me of course, using unique magic or technological means to make a living out here, but for the time being, we were few in number. I knew of less than ten other crystal firearm users like myself as the weapons were insanely hard to craft and difficult to use effectively when actually faced with the skittering and screeching crystal beasts of the Scorch.

There were a few who managed to make a living without them but they were rare exceptions. Most of the time if people wanted to move across the Scorch, they needed to bring a hefty guard of at least ten rooks all outfitted with armor and heavy crystal fortified weapons like greatswords and warhammers to chip away at the monsters. This method was effective but much more expensive and time-consuming than having one individual travel with you.

I also really wasn’t a fan of heavy armor in the often sweltering heat of the Scorch, much preferring the mobility of my simple leather duster and light clothes when I had to fight. When regular people saw one of us in action, destroying crystal creatures much faster and seemingly more effectively than a group of hardened warriors, word was bound to spread and songs were bound to be sung in a few saloons.

“It does happen from time to time, but I really try not to let it go to my head. I’m no hero, neither are the rooks. We’re all just trying to make a living.” I answered Kate honestly after my long pause.

All things considered, I couldn’t even really understand where all that praise was coming from. There had been a lot of spiders and I had made short work of them, helping the caravan arrive without any casualties or injuries, but it was still strange to me.

The rooks had done just as much as me, if not more, why was nobody offering to buy them drinks?

That kind of attack was honestly pretty light compared to what it could have been. I had seen spiders attack in greater numbers than that, and even at the same time as other creatures that weren’t so easy for me to deal with. But with my rather unique line of work, I supposed I just saw things differently than most living out here.

“Well that’s good to hear at least, although sure the other students would be mighty jealous if they knew a real hero was helping me with my studies out here.” Kate teased.

“Sadly, people trying to be heroes out here don’t last too long out here Kate.” I was serious as I spoke this time.

I had seen too many people come out here looking for adventure, with no real experience other than reading stories. I had seen those kinds of people try their luck in the Scorch one too many times to joke about anymore. It never ended well. Kate fell silent for a long few seconds before nodding in response.

“Got it, not a hero, just a professional then?”

“A professional working for a researcher, we do the job and get home safely, no heroics.”

“Gotcha, no heroics.” Kate nodded somberly.

I felt like a jerk for stamping out some of her excitement to be in the Scorch, but I made peace with it by reminding myself of the consequences of letting her treat the experience as one big adventure.

At the end of the day I would infinitely prefer having Kate think of me as a bit of a jerk and be alive than the alternative. There was a bit of an awkward silence after this exchange, so I decided to break it by reaching into one of my own well-worn bags and pulling out a small tin.

“Want one?” I held the tin out to Kate, who was narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“Depends, what is it?” She peered closer, taking in the plain silver tin, trying to find some hint of what was inside.

I just shrugged and popped it open.

“Just some sweets, always pick up a tin or two whenever I get into one of the bigger towns, bit of a celebration for whenever I finish a job.” I reached into the tin and picked out a round red candy that smelled strongly of strawberry.

I popped it into my mouth casually, enjoying the strong flavor and sweet taste. It was no replacement for the real thing, but real fruit was hard to find in the Scorch. Most of the crops people grew out here was stuff like corn, beans and potatoes. Even with the strange magic that helped crops grow, it was still a difficult process.

Somedays, a certain crop would grow fine, another it would wither and die as if they had never been watered. Researchers were working overtime to figure out the specifics, but vegetables seemed to survive a lot better than fruits so far, which was why people rarely bothered trying to grow them.

“Isn’t stuff like this super expensive out here? Didn’t get much of a chance to shop but I heard any kind of luxury is pretty pricey.”

“Kinda? But you gotta enjoy the little things every now and then, some people smoke, some drink, I just like my sweet stuff.” I shrugged, offering Kate the tin again.

I didn’t mind sharing, and often used the sweets for trade as well as enjoying them myself. Kate reached into the tin and pulled out one of the yellow sweets, popping it into her mouth before I could warn her of the flavour.

“Ack!” I couldn’t help but start laughing as her mouth and face shrivelled up in response to the sour lemon flavouring I was all too familiar with.

I had to give her points for not just spitting the sweet out.

“I promise that wasn’t on purpose or anything.” I knew it didn’t help to laugh as I apologised but I really couldn’t help myself.

Kate had recovered somewhat from the initial burst of sourness and was now glaring grumpily at me.

“No really, there are like ten different flavours in here, you just got really unlucky with that one!” I tilted down the tin to show Kate that I wasn’t lying, although it didn’t seem to help much.

“OK, you get a free pass this time Cy, but I will get you back for this…” Kate continued to grumble as she chewed on the hard sweet.

I simply shrugged in response.

“That doesn’t really sound like a free pass, but sure, guess I deserve it for my generosity.”

“Oh calm down.” Kate punched me in the shoulder, but I didn’t really feel it through my leather duster.

Kate and I chatted for a little bit more and I quickly forgot about my suspicions toward her. It was hard to think of her as the backstabbing type.

Of course, part of my mind continued to tell me that she wouldn’t be a very good thief or assassin if I could tell from just a few hours of talking to her, but I knew that if I went through my life thinking that way, I wouldn’t even be alive now.

At the end of the day, I wanted to trust Kate, so I did. Before bed, I forced myself to get back into business talk. We agreed upon a fair fee in exchange for my services escorting her through the Scorch for two days, including splitting the fee for the room we were sharing so I could store my extra gear and payment here and she could store her own extra belongings while we were out.

I also talked to her possibility of extending my contact depending on how long it ended up taking, and she agreed to my rates before sharing a map the sites we would be visiting with me. After I had done a little bit of planning and prep work with the map, I said goodnight and we both headed to bed.

It felt strange to me as I tried to sleep; knowing she was there, in the same room. I hadn’t properly shared a room with anyone in four years, and was honestly starting to wonder if I ever would again.

Despite being unsure if I would be able to sleep, the bed felt more comfortable than the usual ones I was so used to. A strange, almost nostalgic sensation set over me as I heard the soft sounds of Kate breathing in the bed across the room. Memories of my childhood, memories of a small house on the outskirts of one of the largest cities of the northern desert nation of Kenbry, started filling my mind.

I could almost feel that familiar sensation of warm sand on my bare feet. Sand that didn’t cut you when you touched it. I had always loved that sensation. For once, my memories weren’t bringing me pain, and before long I slipped into a peaceful sleep.

It was the first I had in far too long. And the last I would have for a long while.