“Anyway, shop’s closed now. I’m going to work in here,” Argent said, and shuffled into the room on the other side of his living quarters without another word. Penny stared after him for a moment, then turned to see Simon and Annette still fast asleep next to each other on the floor. Penny gathered clothes from her bag and went upstairs, taking the medicine for Hector in hand.
Upstairs Penny forced medicine into his parted lips, but Hector didn’t wake. She fought with the idea of giving him the miraculous water she’d stolen from Warwick’s Grotto to spare him the pain of recovery, but decided that it should be saved for a moment of mortal peril, if it were ever to arise.
Penny changed and wandered back downstairs, feeling lost and hungry. Upon checking the icebox, she found nothing but a prehistoric hunk of bread, a large assortment of drinks, and a collection of the ruby-red potions that Penny suspected were the same as the ones Armonie mixed for them. It dawned on her then how Argent could continue to work without needing sleep.
She helped herself to some water, but found this only made her hungrier, and went to consult Argent. Cautiously approaching the door, Penny listened to the sounds of sawing and banging that came from behind it before knocking, hoping that Argent would not be angry with her for interrupting.
“Yeah,” his voice answered.
She opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Argent sat at a workbench covered in spare parts, wedges of wood, dowels, sheets of metal, springs, oddly shaped tools, and hunks of raw magic, all categorized by color and size. Sawdust was everywhere, piled over the floor and gathered in heaps in the corners of the room. Along the shelves were rows of dried plants and mushrooms, doll parts and metal joints, deep hued jewels glinting, captive insects shuddering within their respective containers, and several thousand feet of thread. Sheaves of cloth material leaned up against the wall, and animal bones and bits of shining glass shards hung from the ceiling. A very bright light stood on the table, casting the rest of the room in bleak shadow. Argent wore a pair of eccentric glasses that had dozens of different lenses and knobs as he worked on something that looked like a flat silver disc with legs.
“What do you want?” he asked, sounding perturbed as he used a type of onyx-colored sandpaper to smooth the sides of the disc. He picked up a metal pen with a red-hot glowing tip and started carving designs and letters around the rim of the disk.
“What is that thing?” Penny peered closer.
Argent glared at her before turning back to his work. “Nothing that concerns you…just yet, anyway,” he answered. Penny was surprised that such a disheveled person could express such exactness and refined beauty in his work. “Your friend is still alive, right?”
“They said he would make it. What did you mean by ‘just yet’?” she pressed.
“Good,” Argent commented, starting on another flourish beside the one he had just finished. “Keep him alive until this is done and I’ll tell you. Now get out, you’re irritating me,” he ordered, clicking a button on his glasses that caused a few of the lenses to spring back.
Penny moved to leave and stopped, spotting a half-finished puppet lying on the workbench, its mechanical innards splayed.
“Why do you make those awful things?” she could not help but ask as she pointed to it.
Frustrated, Argent swiveled around on the stool, ripping off the outlandish glasses and setting them on the workbench beside him. “Because people pay a great deal of money for them and they make for wonderful help and companionship,” he answered with little emotion.
“So basically you sell people’s souls for money?” Penny challenged, crossing her arms.
“Pretty much. But like I said before, they’re free to come and go as they please. The thing is, not many of them want to leave. They’re afraid to pass on. So instead of having them wander aimlessly or maybe become a ghost, I give them a way to live on―and make a handsome profit along the way.” He looked over at a huge safe in the corner with glowing affection.
“How come they’re so valuable if souls are hanging around everywhere, then?” Penny countered.
“Frankly, because not too many crafters have the skill. It’s astoundingly difficult to make one that functions at all, much less functions well. I think there is only one other crafter alive in the world who can make them as well as I can, and he was one of my mentors,” Argent told her, and it was clear to Penny he wasn’t bragging.
“So what are you, some type of crafting genius then?”
“Some people have said so. I was the youngest person in a millennium to get a license from the Guild—seven years old. I was called a prodigy a lot in my youth, but I didn’t really do anything special. It just sort of comes naturally, you know?” Argent shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed.
“The Crafter’s Guild? In Iverton? Why do you live in Hulver if you come from Iverton?” Penny questioned.
Argent smiled his lopsided grin, looking at Penny with distant curiosity, as if she were a type of rare specimen. “Well, I could think of a few good lies to answer that question, but the truth is because goblins―unlike humans―leave me the hell alone, and I value privacy,” Argent declared. “And I never said I came from Iverton, I only studied there, but I can go back whenever I want. I’ve got an importer’s pass, so I get to ride the airships for free. Now, would you kindly get out? I need to work.” He stood and pushed Penny lightly out of the workshop by the small of her back.
SIMON WOKE VERY disoriented and jumpy, and it took Penny several minutes to calm him down. Annette, roused by his shouting, was eager to get back into her own clothes as soon as possible. As she bathed upstairs, Penny filled Simon in on what had happened while he was unconscious. He seemed wary of Argent and in no hurry to meet him, and also rather put out that he had passed out and been rescued by Penny.
“And it would’ve been such a good chance to impress Annette. The saving of lives is such an excellent inspiration for romance,” he muttered, smoothing his mustache.
“Simon, you do recall that it was you who pushed us over the edge, right?” Penny asked, cocking her head.
“I knew you ladies would fall for me sooner or later,” he replied with a half-smile and Penny laughed, glad to see he was back to his normal self. Annette came downstairs looking fresh and lovely as if she had been through nothing more than just a run-of-the-mill bad day, and Simon went up to change as well. After discussing the fact that they were all ravenous, they came to the conclusion that it was time to find a meal.
Mustering up some courage, Penny led their small party out into Hulver, Hector’s wallet grasped tightly in her hands. The moment they stepped outside and down the stairs, the buzz of the night hit them. Argent’s shop perched on a small hill that overlooked the city. Using her enchanted glasses, Penny read the sign in front of his shop.
“Atelier Argent. Commissions welcome, inquire within,” Penny read off the wooden sign that swung from an iron pole. The sides of the brilliant green shop were hand-painted with celestial images and metallic, golden carvings of stars and moons. Through the dark windows Penny could see glittering objects in glass cases.
They set off down the hill toward the labyrinthine city streets below. It was clear that Hulver was a city that never slept; cars running on steam and magic rattled by at a tireless rate. Penny had expected a number of anteloos crowding the lanes, but instead was shocked to see goblins riding creatures that looked like enormous pale centipedes with huge, ghostly green eyes. Far above their heads flowed a skyway of gargantuan moths, which looked to be the same species as the one Deimos had escaped on from the ball. Their huge wings blustered in the night air, the powder on their bodies creating an eerie luminescence in the sky. The twin moons of Elydria seemed closer to the world this evening and had taken on an orangey hue. Many goblins turned their heads to look at the humans who had come into their territory and Penny understood how the faeries must have felt when she had stared so shamelessly at them on her first day in Iverton.
Everything
around them, from the alleyways to the buildings, looked dingy and battered. Yet out of the surrounding gloom came fire-flashes of color from every window in the town. From what Penny could see, it was not normal to use clear glass for windows or lamps in Hulver, and in its stead jewel-colored stained glass shone out of every household and shop front. Scarlet, cobalt, and sea green paper lanterns hung from a number of shops, enticing street traffic to wander inside. Signs illuminated by magic blinked out from every corner, sputtering and hissing silent messages of discounts, advertisements for extravagant restaurants, and directions to risqué night-shows. Many of the vendors and eateries were open air or lacked walls dividing them from the street, and goblins came and went as they pleased, weaving in and out of shopping centers and jumping up on barstools next to compact kitchens churning out food of all kinds. If Penny squinted her eyes, it seemed as if a hundred broken shards of rainbow light were swimming in a rippling sea of black.
They stopped at an eatery that looked respectable. A short green curtain hung down from the low ceiling, separating it from the street traffic. Behind the curtain was a low counter with an entire kitchen on the other side, lit by crimson lanterns. Penny took a seat, feeling quite out of place as she watched the team of goblins cooking. At length a server approached and greeted them in Gobblish.
“What will I make for you, friends?” he asked.
“Erm, might you have any recommendations?” Simon suggested. Annette looked lost, likely owing to the fact that she could not speak a word of Gobblish. The server thought for a moment, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Serpent stew―very popular. Three serpent stews, Ongkor,” the goblin called back, turning away from them, not bothering to get approval.
“Serpent stew?” Annette repeated in a harassed tone after Penny translated for her. She groaned and put her head down on her folded arms. “I miss Auntie’s cooking already… Oh!” She lifted her head up. “That reminds me! I haven’t called Gavin.”
The server soon returned and slid three steaming bowls in front of them before demanding several ruby yuebells. They all stared at their dinner for a moment before Simon attempted the first taste. He chewed for a long time, then shrugged and nodded his head.
“Not bad,” he concluded, and took another spoonful. Penny was hungry enough to eat anything, but still tried not to look at what was floating around in the bowl. It had a salty, savory flavor. Penny ordered another bowl to take back to Hector, and once they had finished eating, the group left the steamy restaurant and headed back up the street.
Twenty minutes into wandering around the streets looking for the way back, Penny realized that they had lost their way. Not a single street in Hulver was straight or uncluttered, and it was no surprise that they had taken several wrong turns. Annette seemed on the verge of a panic attack when Penny spotted a goblin wearing a familiar type of coat, too similar to the ranger’s uniform of Iverton to be ignored. He stopped when she tapped him on the shoulder, looking surprised to see a human.
“Please, sir. Can you help us? We’ve lost our way. We’re trying to find a place called Atelier Argent, do you know it?” Penny inquired. The goblin ranger’s eyes widened at her perfect Gobblish.
“I think I know the place. I’ll take you to it, if I can,” he agreed and led them down a narrow alleyway canopied by an assortment of plumbing pipes and robes hanging on clotheslines.
“Erm, what’s with all these decorations and posters? Is something going on?” Penny asked, and the ranger looked back at Penny to see if she was being serious. He stifled what sounded like a laugh.
“It’s all for the Goblin Carnival. It starts next week―lasts for five nights. Happens every year. All the people celebrate before the winter is here, and at the end our king will make his speech,” the ranger explained as he escorted them past a steam parts supply shop that looked somewhat familiar to Penny. “It’s a great big party. You should stay around to see it. Many from all over the world come to make merry the streets. Is this the place you are looking for?” He stopped at a small pathway that led to the stairs outside of Argent’s shop.
“Yes, this is it! Thank you very much, sir!” Penny said with a grin, which he returned. Penny cast her eyes aside and shivered, knowing that she would never get used to seeing goblins smile.
Hector was still fast asleep in Argent’s bed, but looked as if his complexion had gained some color since she’d been away. After helping him drink some more of the thick green medicine, she attempted to wake him up. Although stubborn at first, he opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.
“Wh-where am I?” he croaked and tried to sit up, crying out in pain as a fresh spot of blood blossomed into the bandages wrapped around his chest and midsection.
“Jeez, Hector, lie back!” Penny shouted, helping him downward onto the pillow as he winced in pain. “You just reopened your wounds!”
“What happened?” Hector’s voice was high with uneasiness as he tried to orient himself. It took a moment to quiet him down before Penny could reiterate what happened. He turned a delicate shade of green as she described the fomorian attack. She tried to fill him in on what happened afterward, but could see that he was already drifting back off. Stopping her explanation, Penny helped him eat some stew before he fell back into the sanctity of sleep, overwhelmed by the pain.
Penny arrived downstairs to find Annette and Simon discussing their plans about what to do.
“Well, I don’t see how we can trust him. I say we should get out of here while we still can.” Simon shot a dark look at the door that Argent was barricaded behind.
“Hector could die if we move him, and I’m not going to wander around this godforsaken city while dangerous criminals are prowling around trying to abduct me. I say staying here is the safest bet we’ve got, even if Argent is a bit of a―ruffian,” Annette disagreed, then turned to Penny. “What do you think we should do?”
“There’s no two ways about it, we need to stay here,” Penny conceded. “I’m not taking any chances with Hector’s life. He should be back to normal in a week. Once he’s feeling better, Simon, Hector, and I can visit the castle like Noah wanted, and then we’ll be on our way to Mulgrith. Annette can decide then if she’ll want to return to Iverton after that,” Penny said, forcing herself to sound confident. Hector had always been the unofficial leader of the group and she was uncomfortable making decisions without consulting him, but Annette and Simon seemed willing to listen to her.
They curled up on the floor in an attempt to get more sleep. Once Annette and Simon’s breathing grew rhythmic, Penny tiptoed away from the blankets and opened up Argent’s icebox in search of his stores of the ruby-red energy potion. She drained the bottle, coughing as the liquid burned her throat. She replaced the empty bottle in the icebox and went outside.
It was a few hours past midnight and the air had a nasty chill, but Penny coped, used to the cold after living in Oregon most of her life. A little ladder clung to the side of the building and led up to a space on the roof, and Penny climbed up it, at last getting a true look at the vastness of Hulver.
It was like a sea of glaring lights and signs, all winking back in pumpkin orange and Caspian blue amongst the gloom and smog of the city. The fluttering shapes of the large moths danced between the silhouettes of towers and lopsided structures. Penny did an about face and could see the foggy ocean several miles off. Further off to the south, a thick wall of trees trailed off into the distance until they became one with the black horizon line. She guessed this was Mulgrith and wondered how they were supposed to find a single person hiding in all of those trees.
Penny watched the stars in the sky fade away as the inky black changed to lavender and then to a weak shade of yellow. The morning began misty, and Penny shivered from head to toe in the moments before the orange-red sun rose again. As daylight swept through Hulver and smoke started to rise out of the chimneys, she heard the front door open up underneath her. Argent stepped into the early morning, blinking a
nd scratching at the back of his head. As if he could sense someone watching him, he swiveled around, his silver hair fluttering, and looked straight up at Penny. He cocked his head to the side.
“What are you doing up there? That’s my thinking spot,” he called up to her. Penny tiptoed along the tiles of the roof and made for the ladder, climbing down onto the porch.
“I didn’t know it was your spot, sorry. I was just killing time,” she apologized, trying to ignore his curious stare. He watched her for a moment longer, then shrugged, seeming uninterested in prying so early in the morning.
“Are you going to open the shop now?”
“Yeah, wanna help? I don’t have any employees, so it’s always nice to have an extra pair of hands,” Argent said.
Penny was about to agree when a thought occurred to her. With a mischievous smile, she offered to help him out for the rest of the week in return for food, and Argent acquiesced after some consideration.
She helped Argent open the front doors and carry a number of signs to the front of the shop, along with displays full of cheap magical trinkets, decorations, festival masks, and fireworks for the upcoming carnival. Together they went about bedecking his entire store in carnival decorations.
By late morning the first groups of customers shuffled in and Argent asked Penny to help conduct sales. This was second nature to Penny, who had worked at her mother’s shop since she was fifteen years old. By noon, the shop was swarming with customers. Argent turned on a good deal of charm as he stalked about the aisles and explained the functions and qualities of each of his products.
Annette and Simon got up around noon and smirked at Penny running up and down the stairs to do Argent’s bidding. After noon Penny sent Simon to go and get lunch for everyone, and she stopped long enough to eat and give Hector his medicine. Annette tried to come down and visit them in the shop, but Penny had to remind her that it was not a good idea in case anyone recognized her, and the actress huffed back upstairs.
The Angel of Elydria (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 1) Page 30
