The Nutty Squirrel is just like any other bar in the lower ring of Llomeryn.

Seedy, dingy, and incredibly filthy, but what sets it apart is that at any time of the day, it was always full. All the bars in the lower ring of Llomeryn are incredibly dangerous. They were all filled with criminals, vagrants, or people under the control of gangs or cartels. Yet somehow, the nutty squirrel has managed to be free from their control. So word spread of the only safe haven for people who just wanted to have a good time, and so it earned its reputation as not just the safest bar in the lower ring but in the entire city.

It was only noon, but already the two-story building was filled with loud music and people dancing, drinking, and partying the day away. The second floor, however, was much more reserved, with its tables filled with people gambling.

One table in the middle had numerous people that watched the six players who sat around the table. The stakes were high as the game was about to end, with the pot money now at fifty thousand credits, an impressive amount for a bar in the poorest part of the city.

The long-haired young man whose brown hair was beautifully braided on the side was clearly the one winning. He had all the qualities of nobility. Clean tanned skin, hazel eyes behind gold framed round glasses, a well-kempt beard, and an athletic body matched with a well-tailored fitted long-sleeve leather jacket with a fur trim. With one hand, he rolled a gold coin across his fingers. His face, however, showed no emotion as he raised his bet.

"I raise."

Four other men raised their bets, and the pot money climbed to seventy thousand credits. The man across from him, an old man who wore a bowler hat, checked his cards.

"All in."

The crowd murmured in excitement as it had gone up to one hundred thousand credits. The young man stared him down. Both their faces showed no movement as their eyes locked with the rival player. After a while, he matched his bet.

"All in."

He even threw in the gold coin he played with. The crowd grew around the table as the pot of money climbed to one hundred fifty thousand credits. It was chump change compared to the amount they play in the upper rings, but down here it can set a man and his family for life.

"Reveal cards."

Four men revealed their cards, and with each reveal, the hand climbed higher and the crowd cheered each time. Soon it was only the long-haired young man and the old man in the bowler hat left. The bowler hat man revealed his cards, and the hand was a full house. The young man smiled.

"Mister Faraday, your cards."

The young man revealed his cards, and they were too low. The crowd erupted as the bowler hat man won the entire pot. In defeat, he raised his hand in the air and applauded as well. As the crowd and the bowler hat man celebrated, Faraday left the table and headed down to the ground floor. He headed straight to the bar and sat down in the most secluded seat at the edge.

"Lost your game?" A portly, dark-skinned man with a uniformed style short beard was in charge of the bar. He laughed as he handed him a mug filled with beer.

"Damn scammers! I got hustled! There was no way I could have lost!" He took a drink as the bartender just gave him a judging look. "Don’t give me that look, Regis."

"I know that amount is peanuts for you, Baldric. But still, it’s a waste of money. Luna will freak out when she finds your allowance is just going into gambling."

"First off, I was gambling with my own money. Besides, it’s not a total waste. See that guy over there? "

Baldric pointed to a young man who walked down the stairs looking for someone. The young man clearly was not from around there as his clothes were far too clean and his actions were reserved and timid.

"He had been following me before I got here, so I gave him a chance to catch up. I was hoping he would approach me up there before I lost my spare change, but he just watched the entire time. Have you seen him before?"

"Nope, but his clothes clearly are from Braenarim or at least Tonusa. My guess is that he has a contract."

Baldric laughed. "He can’t afford it."

They watched as the young man navigated through the ground floor with difficulty. "Think we should talk to him?"

"Your call." Regis said as he started to go back to his employees. "Just don’t make a mess, it’s the middle of the lunch rush."

Baldric whistled and raised his hand so the young man could see him. He bumped into a lot of people on the way, and he offered the stool next to him, but the young man did not sit down.

"Mister Baldric Faraday?"

Baldric raised his mug. "That’s me. But I am just going to say it now, if you want a signed copy of a book, it will cost ten credits. If it is any matter regarding any purchases made in the emporium, however, you need a receipt, the defective product with the original packaging, and bring it to-"

"No sir, No, it’s none of those things. Let me introduce myself. I’m Enzin, a messenger from the church and the inquisition."

"The Inquisition?" Baldric said as he took a drink. "So you are what the faithful's weekly donations pay for? What does a man of the Maker want with a humble businessman like me?"

"I’m not here for you, sir. I am acting on behalf of the Revered Mother, Inquisitor Marsilia. I am looking for your associate, Lady Luna. We have some questions regarding her present dealings with farmers from Silvus, Braenarim, and Rugnor. They said, You know where I can find her."

Baldric chuckled. "Friend, if you want to know where she is, why not go up to the diamond ring and ask at the floating oasis? They’ll even give you a price guide on how much you pay per contract."

"We are not here for a contract, sir. This is an important matter that requires her immediate cooperation. They said that you know her best rather than the brotherhood of bounty hunters and you can tell us her current location right now. Please sir, this is an issue we cannot delay and we are desperate."

Baldric surveyed Enzin, and based on his face and movements, he wasn’t lying.

"Look junior. I don’t know where she is right now, alright? She left six weeks ago and only said she would be working on multiple contracts. All I can say is that she is due to return sometime next week, but I do not know exactly when. If you really want to talk with her, I suggest you visit the emporium when it is in the market square during market hours, or try visiting her mansion near the city limits from the beginning of next week. There happy?"

"Understood, sir, but if she arrives and contacts you first, please tell her that we need to meet with her as soon as possible." Enzin handed him a card with the details of a hotel in the diamond ring. "Please give her this information and ask that she meet with us right away."

"Will do, friend. Now you came all this way, let me at least get you a pint." Baldric pocketed the card, and Enzin just shook his head.

"I must decline as I need to immediately report to my superior, sir. Thank you for your cooperation and may the Maker bless you, Sir Baldric."

"Maker bless you too." With that, Enzin left, and once he was gone, Regis returned.

"What was that about?"

"It’s the Inquisition. They are looking for Luna." Baldric finished his drink.

Regis whistled. "Never a dull moment with her, is it?"

"Luna just loves making enemies. I really need to find a new job."

"You mean, find a job where you actually need to work? Yeah, right. But this is pretty serious if the inquisition is involved. I’m surprised they sent a skinny boy to press you for details; the church’s goons do not mess around."

Baldric took out the card and looked at the details. "What the hell did she do now?"

"Are you going to help them?" Regis asked.

"Ha! Nope." Baldric flicked the card and it landed perfectly in a nearby bin.

=0o0=

It was late afternoon and they were almost back to the main road. Luna carried Elizabeth all the way and only set her down two times.

The first was when she had to fill her canteen with water from a river. When she finished, Luna flicked a switch, and the canteen began to heat up. It began to boil and sanitize the water from the inside. She also picked up some edible berries, which she put away for when the child would wake up. Second was when they passed where the children's and Ketil’s corpses were. She marked the location on her map. Luna then covered him with the last of her spare clothes and swore that she would send someone to retrieve his body.

As she made the long walk back, she pondered everything the child said. Luna knew that mages suffer from extreme exhaustion when they overuse their magic, and the best cure was aerium, or lots of rest. Mages outside of colleges are rare, and she encountered a few throughout her years as a bounty hunter. She thought that she had seen every branch of magic, and yet Luna had never even heard of a mage who could completely restore injuries without leaving scars or any traces.

Mages draw their power either from arcane or primal sources, and those are the only sources that are allowed by the church. While the more dangerous Ork warlocks get their power using blood or death sources, such rituals are considered outlawed and using them is an immediate death sentence if caught.

But all sources of power emit dark or violent glows or auras. Yet Luna could remember the bright light before she passed out. It was nothing she had ever heard of, but the energy she felt was warm and safe. More surprising was that it left no scars and even completely healed her shattered arm. And the way she said her magic was gifts.

Whoever taught her that magic was a gift either was completely innocent of how the world treats mages or a completely dangerous mage themselves. Luna had many questions for Elizabeth when she woke up, but she was not even sure if she would get a straight answer.

They finally reached the main road and she was thankful the soft earth gave her steambike a trail, which she just followed back. At the same time, Elizabeth stirred awake.

"Well, good afternoon." Luna greeted her. "Feeling better?"

Elizabeth did not respond as she was still half asleep, but her complexion looked far better than this morning. Luna then heard Elizabeth’s stomach growl.

"Hungry?" Elizabeth nodded, and Luna put her down.

They both sat down by a stump near the road. As Elizabeth started munching on some snacks, Luna sat next to her and drew out her map.

If we kept walking back down the road where we are now, it would take us six hours just to reach Yeten.

The sun was already low in the sky, and once night fell, Luna knew it would be dangerous for the two of them to walk out onto the mountain road. Elizabeth offered her some of the trail mix, which Luna took only one piece of.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better." The child said, with a mouthful of snacks.

"Good." Luna folded her map and placed it back in her bag. "Hope you are ready because we still have a long way to go. Ready to walk this time?"

"Mmmhmmm." Elizabeth drank from the canteen. Once she had finished, she handed it back to Luna. "Ready!"

The more they walked, the more Elizabeth woke up and became livelier; the child could keep up with her pace now. Elizabeth looked calm and even slowed down to look at the view of the scenic mountain ranges that were covered with the beautiful orange and brown of the changing leaves. Luna had to admit the child was resilient when taking into account everything that had happened in the past few days.

They walked for a full hour until Luna saw something that made her sigh with relief. It was an auto-carriage, and an elderly couple rode at the front. It was headed in their direction, and Luna tried to get their attention.

"Hey! Hey!" Luna yelled as she waved her arms. The motorized carriage stopped as it approached them.

"Well, hello there." The old man who held the wheel greeted them. "A long way to come out for a walk."

"Yeah, we got lost along the way. Listen, where are you from?"

"Yeten." We are going up to Plork to sell our melons."

"There are fallen trees up ahead, that is why we are walking down. May I ask how much you will sell your melons in Plork? "

"Twenty drakan for the whole carriage. Why?"

Luna reached for her pouch and brought five sheets of Ablan credits. "Can you give us a ride to Yeten? I’ll buy your entire stock. Here are a hundred Ablan credits."

The old couple were surprised at the amount. Six months of work and expenses, paid in an instant.

"Yes... Yes... Yes...Yes ma'am!"

There was not enough space at the front, so they had to ride at the back. On the trip down to Yeten, the old couple shared stories with Luna, mostly about crops and a deal they discovered being offered to many farmers in the region. Luna then drew out a throwing knife and carved open a watermelon. She gave Elizabeth and the elderly couple some slices before she ate a slice herself.

The sun had set by the time they reached Yeten. Coming down the mountain, they could see the numerous lights coming from the city. They could also see the airship port as it was the tallest building in the city, but no airships were at the tower.

"So where should we stop, dears?" The old woman asked Luna.

"By the train station please." She replied.

They dropped them off at the front of the station, and the old couple got off to unload the watermelons before Luna stopped them.

"Keep it." Luna then took one more watermelon and then both she and Elizabeth waved the grateful old couple goodbye.

"Ever ridden the train before?" Luna asked as they entered the crowded station.

"Not this way." Luna could see that Elizabeth was excited as she looked around.

Inside, the schedule of the trains was placed on top of the counters. However, on the board, every train that was about to head west had been cancelled. The only train that accepted passengers was headed to Ablan in the next half hour. Confused, Luna approached the counter.

"Excuse me, what happened to all the trains going to Braenarim? Usually there are three of them heading there at this hour." Luna asked, but the man behind the counter did not even look up from the tabloid he was reading.

"Sorry ma’am, all trains heading west has been cancelled until further notice." Luna looked up at the board again and weighed out their options.

The airship that was supposed to take them to Braenarim is long gone. And airships only come once a week here at the ranges, so waiting for another week is useless. The safest bet is to go to Ablan and then, from Llomeryn, catch an airship to Braenarim.

"Fine, give me one adult and one child ticket for the train to Ablan. First class."