Decyl motioned for them to run up the stairs. “Go. Last door down the hall.” He looked behind him. “Hurry.”
Mal stopped. “What about you?”
Decyl appeared to be humbled by Mal’s sudden change, but pushed him forward. “Needn’t worry about me, kid. I will meet you in Upper City.”
The three ventured down the hall, away from the stairs. “Where is she?” a voice boomed from downstairs. They froze, looked at one another wide-eyed, daring not to take a breath.
“Where is who?” Decyl asked.
“Move up and search the premises. If you find them, take them.”
Mal gestured at Xoey’s head. She reached up to find she left the hat in the room below. There was no time to go back. Nadine grabbed their hands, pulled them to the end room, and shut the door. Heavy footfall banged up the steps then seemed to split, one to the left and a pair to the right.
In haste they looked around the cluttered room. Papers were strewn about the floor and desks covered with open books showed pictures of fantastical creatures that never existed, not even in her wildest imagination. Beautiful canvases with bright and ornate paintings covered the walls. And there, across the room, was the blessing—a small window that led out to the city. Xoey tiptoed quickly over to the porthole to find that they would have to jump down two stories. It took a bit of pulling to open it as paint wedged it shut.
Nadine urged them to climb out first. Xoey decided to show them how to land properly. She was grateful for the buzz throughout the Under City. As she jumped she bent her knees, and once she landed, she extended them out. Mal didn’t appear too comfortable with heights, and Nadine threatened to push him. Regardless, he fell and managed not to break his legs, though Xoey decided it was pure luck as he did a bizarre half tumble after landing.
Nadine climbed onto the windowsill. She leaned forward on her toes in preparation to jump, but somebody grabbed her from behind. “Nadine!” Mal yelled out, uncaring as to who heard him. Xoey stepped forward, but without a weapon she was powerless. Nadine struggled in the man’s grasp. Xoey took a step back as Nadine’s entire form began to illuminate with a pure white glow; it hummed, violently shaking the windows of the house.
She could feel her jaw drop. “How in the…” she managed to utter.
The black-clad man dropped Nadine, and she jumped without looking back. She then scrambled to her feet. “Run!” she screamed.
The questions that lingered in Xoey’s mind disappeared as two men jumped out the same window. “Go!” Xoey dashed, barely managing to slip past their grasp. The three of them zigged and zagged through the crowds. She ducked under several parcels that were being carried by passersby. Xoey managed to see several of the boxes go flying as the men pushed them out of their way. A long-lashed gnome uttered curses at the Shinobi.
Pins fell out of Xoey’s loose bun, and soon her hair was a red light begging for anyone to spot her through the thick crowd. Mal jumped up with a grin, and snatched a hat from a spectacled man. “Just need to borrow this!” he hollered before he plopped it on Xoey’s head.
The poor man barely had time to react, and when he shouted “Hey!” they were nowhere to be found. Xoey hoped that Decyl and Ferr were alright. Maybe they’d managed to escape, too.
“Why this be lighting up?” she heard a petite, taupe gnome ask no one in particular. He held up a rather large rifle; the barrel tapered out to the shape of a horn.
Two booths over, another added, “The light is green. Hmph, must be a malfunction.”
Whether it was by his own desire or under the control of something else, the gun aimed directly at the shorter of the Shinobi. Mal and Nadine pulled Xoey through two rather large women in paisley attire. She chuckled nervously at their unpleasant sideways glance.
In another stall, an elderly gnome backed away from his merchandise. Xoey could see a wall of green lights flashing on his boomerang sticks. “She’s about to blow!” Xoey wasn’t sure what was happening, but she wasn’t about to stick around to find out. The Shinobi paused in their tracks and took heed that every weapon within the market was aiming directly at them.
Mal paused in his stride. “What’s making them…?”
Nadine yanked at his arm rather harshly. “Questions later.” With all the focus on the ninjas, Xoey swiped one of the boomerang sticks.
The doors to Old Town were just up the stairs. A man stood guard at the entrance. He stopped them. “Can’t very well enter Old Town without your protective eyewear.” He handed each of them a pair of blue tinted goggles.
Xoey began to question why, but Nadine pushed her along with a soft chuckle. “Just put them on,” she whispered in Xoey’s ear.
Chapter Four
Old Town
It was a bit strange to see a dull sapphire glint, but when Mal opened the doors, the eerie glow went away. It was as though she were looking through regular spectacles. After the door shut behind them, she lifted up the bottom of the left eyepiece to see that the entire town had a yellow haze. She had thought to ask where the smog came from, but the architecture of the town was something she had never seen before. Her jaw dropped. Mal pushed it back up, as they briskly walked down the soot covered streets.
A looming man sat in a small box that rolled down the street in two wheels that were at least six feet tall. His shiny shoes rested in stirrups, and he controlled the mechanism using two levers at his sides. Women clad in dark colors huddled together under steel umbrellas. Xoey only began to understand why when she dodged out of the way of a falling pipe. Each building had a layer of metal to give it a uniform appearance. Unfortunately, some of the sheets curled back under the weight and some had fallen ages ago. Steam pumped out of each chimneystack, giving life to the city and to those within it. There were metal signs above each door that echoed the name and profession of the inhabitants.
The Tockers…To make any clock tick-tock.
The Wheelers…Every wheel imaginable—from the home to the road.
The Gizmos…Everything in between.
The Lighters…To light your way.
The Chimers…Keeping every hour aligned.
Mal ushered Xoey over near the doorway of the Chimers, and as discreetly as possible flicked his gaze over to the robust green clad woman. “That’s Mrs. Chimer,” he said under his breath. She had a head full of bundled sage-colored hair, and a button nose that seemed dwarfed under her rosy red cheeks. With one simple glance, Xoey couldn’t see anything wrong with the owner…that is until she walked toward a potential buyer, and one leg was, at least, five inches shorter than the other.
With a press under Xoey’s chin, Mal realigned her dropped jaw again. “Using the right potion, she would have been just fine,” he said as he led her back down the path where Nadine patiently waited.
“How can you tell the difference between the good stuff and the fake?” Xoey inquired as she turned to see Mrs. Chimer shuffling around as she showed off her inventory.
Nadine edged over. “The actual Ichen Lager has little brown seeds within the brew, whereas the replica is just a green concoction that boils.” She cast a measured gaze. “It shouldn’t boil…ever.”
There were plenty more shops, everything from anchors, clothing, and the infamous jumper boots. Mal pressed on, despite Xoey’s objections and pleas to see the boots in action. He swore she’d see them in Upper City.
The large twisted clock in the center of town chimed the hour. In the shadow of the towering building was a statue of a man in a refined pose, with chin up, arms folded behind his back, and narrow chest puffed out toward the sky. The curled mustache suited his oval face, but the way he slicked down his hair to part perfectly in the middle was quite a shame.
The bronze statue was being cleaned by a short elderly man standing on a rickety worn ladder. Mal crinkled his nose at the sculpture. He didn’t seem entirely pleased with the man, but neither did
Xoey for that matter, since apparently he hated pirates for no particular reason. She wondered what plot they had found out, but even if she knew, what could she do?
Nadine whispered to Xoey, “That’s Mr. Sweeper. He’s known for our brooms, but he has to clean up that figure every day at noon. Can’t have Nix with droppings on his shoulder.” Xoey, surprisingly, understood the presentation of certain idols—they had to scrub the ship at every port to a gleaming shine.
Nadine motioned to a small shop. The sign said:
The Forgers, Counters, Vaulters & Sons…Forge, count, and store currency.
Xoey had heard of banks. They were bizarre little places where people kept their coins. She was rather content leaving her earnings in the ground, but what use did that give her now?
She followed the siblings into the building. Elaborate was far from a word she would use to describe it. Along the sides, men pounded metal with red hot hammers. They were drenched in sweat and dirt, and the only part of their body that was clean from soot was behind their goggles.
“Those are the Forgers,” said Nadine. The Forgers did not look up from their work as the three passed them by. They walked down a narrow hall that led into another room. A tall red-headed woman dressed in green lace and satin stood in the center of the perfect white room. Xoey looked back at the dirt tracks they had brought in.
“Pay no mind,” she said to Xoey. “The Sweepers come by twice a day to clean up the mess.” She looked to the siblings. “What can I do for you?”
“We’d like to withdraw funds,” said Nadine.
“Down the hall to the right, and take this with you so you are not attacked by the paralythiums.” She handed each of them a thick copper bracelet with a red blinking light. “When you are at your vault, which is number 24, the light will turn blue. The gears in the bracelet will reveal a key. If you attempt to go anywhere else, they will attack.”
She ushered them out of the white room.
“What is a paralythium?” asked Xoey.
Nadine led them down another hallway. The doors were closed but Xoey could see men and women of all ages counting coins affixed on geared shelves using long metal sticks. Mal piped up. “They are snakes that can paralyze you with just a single bite.”
The Counters weren’t of interest anymore. “What if they got out or bit the wrong person?”
Nadine shook her head. “The paralyzing effects only last long enough for you to be escorted out of the vaults. The paralythiums rather like it here in the warm ceilings and they are attracted to the natural salt in the stone walls.” Nadine pointed up at the wooden beams. Xoey could see clusters of brown snakes with dark bands around their scaled bodies. Their forked tongues licked the white substance from the peach stone walls.
Vault door number 24 was covered in gears. Mal grabbed the lever and turned the main gear which caused a chain reaction of the others. The melody of chimes and clicks resounded throughout the long hall. Each of their bracelets turned blue, and the paralythiums did not attack their heads.
Inside the vault was a large statue made of wired copper, steel, and various other metals that gave him eyes, arms, and legs. The being hummed to life when they entered the room, as steam billowed from behind the statue’s head. Nadine smiled. “We would like to make a withdrawal, please.”
The statue opened its stomach to reveal a stack of white and blue coins. She plucked a little knapsack from the corner of the otherwise vacant room and filled up the bag.
“The Counters will inform you of your total withdrawal as well as how much you have left,” the statue said behind a closed mouth.
“It is not necessary.”
The statue’s eyes blinked diagonally. “Of course, Nadine Tinkerton.”
Where Old Town was cast in shadow, Upper City was a marvelous rendition. They pocketed the goggles, and whereas the two siblings could have yawned, Xoey stared in wonderment. The city glowed and vibrated in various shades of gold, copper, bronze, tin, and silver. In between the metal colossal buildings were grand quaint homes made of wood panels. Grey cobblestone streets had just been polished, and as she looked around and farther down the street, she could see two men on their knees smoothing out each stone.
She had never seen such a delicate desire to keep a city polished. Washers hung on riggings, scrubbers moved along the curbs with brushes on their motorized vehicles pushing any trash out of sight. Xoey blinked at the heavy boots upon some that passed by. They seemed to be too much of a burden for a stroll, but as a man stopped near them, adjusted several knobs on the sides, looked up, and jumped well over a hundred feet to land above them on a platform of a building, she knew she wanted a set—now more than ever. It was explained to her that since the city relied on space, the elevators and platforms rested on the exteriors of the buildings. Nadine seemed to shrink down as the women tsked at her choice of boyish attire.
In the center of town, where another statue of Nix had been erected, there was a crowd gathered around the hardware gazebo. Curious, the three of them moved through to see what the fuss was about. Etched into the foil parchments were invitations to a fair provided by Nix, of course. What caught her eye was the mention of pirates sponsored by the Tinkertons.
Come one, come all, to the fairest traveling fair of them all. Giants from Frost’s Pass, Red Trolls from No Man’s Land, and even pirates, at last. The main attraction will be provided by the Tinkertons, so join us in two nights for a jovial night for all ages—it will be fun!
~Nix
Xoey swallowed a lump in her throat and suddenly became very thirsty. Nadine withheld a gasp. Mal chewed on his lip. Xoey took a giant step back into the wide girth of a stomach that belonged to a towering bald man. She muttered an apology, and he harrumphed down at her; which was a lot better than his massive fist clobbering her upon her delicate head.
Mal pocketed an invitation, and they found themselves in a rush farther down the narrow street. They took a right down Tinker Lane, and the first right into a two story house with precisely cut windows and balconies below the upper level. The cherry home had a gazebo style wrap-around porch that welcomed the group straight into the foyer. Butternut wood stretched down the long hall and up the rounded stairs. Much like the ship, stacked books filled each chair. The ceiling was at least ten feet above that—stretched out to meet white crown molding. She found herself a big fan of the pocket doors.
They climbed up three flights of stairs into the rustic attic. When Mal closed the door, Xoey wanted answers. “What are you?” She looked to Nadine.
Nadine’s dark eyes burned bright as she lit the lantern. “Ferr spoke of the war and how humans were granted magic by the Djinn. My mother and I are the last of our kind—it never faded within our line.”
Xoey scratched her nose. “Well, that’s great right? It means that Nell can get your father back here.”
They both shook their heads. “Doesn’t work like that, Xoey.”
Xoey sat down on a stack of books. “What do you mean?” she inquired.
Nadine responded quite delicately. “All of the elements are temperamental, bound to grow and decline as they see fit, and yet control isn’t their decision. It is the same with their magic. We can’t will it. It comes when it decides.”
She was confused. “What’s the point in that?”
Mal shuffled through a trunk.
Nadine sighed. “If you could have the power to save another, even fickle power, would you?”
Xoey wanted to say no, but all she could think about was her father. “I guess, yeah.”
“Then there you have it. Something in this world is better than nothing.” Nadine glanced over at Mal. “What are you doing?”
Mal wiggled his lips in thought. “The invitation said the Tinkertons. Dad never mentioned being part of the fair.”
Xoey chimed. “Maybe it’s a clue to where they are? Or a trap…”
Nadine nodded. “Likely the latter.”
Mal’s shoulders drooped. “Well, what should we do?”
Xoey felt the only way to find answers was to go. “We’ll head in, in disguise. Maybe Decyl can figure something out?”
Out from the darkened corner, a familiar voice responded. “Well, I may have a plan.” Xoey smiled at Decyl.
Even Mal looked relieved to see him alive. “Where is Ferr?” Nadine asked.
Decyl waved a hand. “He’s just fine.”
“What’s the plan?” Xoey inquired as she adjusted the books beneath her. The gnome’s eyes narrowed in pure mischief.
“Chaos, dear child…” She must have looked as confused as she felt, as he further explained. “Nix has been pushing weapon sales up through the roof since the end of the Great War. In the darker parts of Old Town, there are numerous groups who seek to protect themselves, due to the illustrious propaganda. Pirates, the residents of Yorego, Desert Town, and Storm’s Hold are all seeking the destruction of this fine city.” He gave a slight shrug. “Which may be true, but it isn’t as intense as he believes. They seek isolation as we desire the same. There is a method to his madness, and we must somehow be the downfall.”
Xoey was overwhelmed by the thought of taking down those who were stronger, faster, and well, quite older than she.
Mal looked uneasy. “Um…so how exactly do we do that and not be hung?”
Nadine reached into Mal’s front pocket, revealing the invitation. “This is our key.”
Mal added. “Yeah, but how?”
Nadine fought an exasperated sigh. “The fair isn’t a one day ordeal. It takes a few days to set it up. So we’ll have someone sneak in and take notes of what is going on behind the scenes, and most importantly who is there. Once we have an idea, we’ll be able to plan accordingly.” Mal and Nadine looked straight at Xoey.
She grew wide-eyed. “Nuh uh…”
They nodded. “They know us, Xoey. We are the children of the Tinkertons, and you’re just a visitor. Besides, if you get caught, you can just play it off like you didn’t know it wasn’t open yet. More importantly, there is likely a clue to where our parents are.”
Adventures of Captain Xdey Page 4
