Debut

Debut

A week after Mr. Markson’s first book shipment left, Rain got the message she had been waiting for.

[Reader Hornet has attained the skill: Death Wisper.]

[Creating class around Death Wisper for reader Hornet.]

[Notice: Reader Hornet is immune to physical corruption.]

[Notice: Reader Hornet’s mental corruption has risen 63%. Current mental corruption 63%.]

Perfect.

With a high mental corruption, there was no way Hornet wasn’t insane. ‘Death Wisper’ also sounded deadly enough that Rain felt confident that the bandits were now having a bad day.

The outcome wasn’t as certain as she would have liked. She would have preferred being added to the shipment in a slave cage to ensure everything played out right, but she had picked Mr. Markson because he never got involved in that filth. It would be suspicious if he suddenly tried to ship one slave.

Leaning against a clean Mid Ring wall, Rain watched the sunset as she waited for more messages. When the sky went dark with no more notifications, Rain decided that none were incoming and pushed herself off the wall.

Her plans with Mr. Markson were coming along nicely, but Rain needed far more sway in the city than one merchant to influence things in the right direction. It was time to dip her toes into the city's crime to go with the finger she had in its economics.

Rain headed to a section of the Low Ring she usually avoided. As she walked down the steep ramp that led from the Mid Ring to the Low Ring, the colorful, neat signs and bronze filigreed walls of the Mid Ring gave way to the dirtier and colorless streets of the Low Ring. Unlike other sections of the Low Ring, though, this part had no children playing, even with an armed adult to keep watch.

That wasn’t to say the streets were empty, though they were just filled with a different sort. Rain wrapped her face in her scarf. That bit of clothing did more than she thought when she first bought it - or, well, the scarf that her cloak ate at least - it kept the ash out during eruptions, the warmth in, and her face hidden. Rain just wished it could hide the rest of her as she avoided the third person who thought a small girl on her own might make a good payday.

Eventually, she found the place she was looking for, a rundown housing building. Rain counted the windows seven floors up; there was a light. Her target was home.

It was a shared living space, so it shouldn't be too hard to get in, but Rain wanted to make more of an entrance than just knocking on his door. Looking at the building, Rain sighed. She could use the window; it just wouldn’t look as cool as she wanted. If she could sneak in unnoticed and be there when he turned around, that would be the best; then she could say something cool and make a dramatic escape like in the plays she had been watching most nights.

Rain checked that her hair was hidden in her scarf and entered the building's front door. One of the door's hinges was broken, making it harder to open than she expected. The inside of the building was dimly lit and had a funny smell. Once her eyes finally adjusted, she saw the dirty stone walls with a pair of doors on opposite sides of a rickety pine staircase. Some of those steps looked rotten.

“Learning to read.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Why are you here!”

“To offer you a way to get those two a better life.”

“I'm not selling them or letting you take them.”

“No, they will have a better life because I can offer you the power to build them one.”

Rain wasn’t sure if she was playing her part well enough. The dialogue seemed ok, but she was just standing there. She needed to figure out how to do a cool pose or walk before her image as a mysterious woman in black was ruined.

With no better ideas, Rain decided that sitting on the desk would have to do. Placing her hands on the desk behind her, Rain tried to boost herself up onto it. She misjudged its height. Glad her hair covered her burning ears, Rain decided that using the chair as a stepping stool was a better way up.

“The terms are simple. I’ll give you the power to take over the Ash Grifters like you’ve been aiming for. I’ll even help you take down the Black Stones and the Bloody Shovels afterward. In exchange, you’ll help me with tasks from time to time.”

“What are you talking about? I’m Ark’s loyal man!”

“We both know that you’re not.”

The knuckles on Less’s hand turned white at Rain’s comment. He took a step towards Rain, knife ready.

“I’ll show you how loyal I...”

“I guess I need to show you what I can do.” Rain cut him off, Right leg dangling off the side of the desk while she rested her chin on her left knee.

Rain opened the container deep inside herself, where she kept all the feelings she wasn’t ready to deal with; letting out a single drop of twisted black emotion, she pushed it into her aura. The shadows exploded out from under her, extinguishing all light.