act17mini

I'm Nymph!

There is a sudden crack of thunder in the dark sky, but no raindrops fall.

The sound echoes through the walls, rubble and buried pipelines. The thick and heavy shell begins to peel off, revealing the original texture beneath.

Oh dear, look at the time! It's been a pleasure talking to you, but I have to get some veggies from the Vertical Farm. Gotta rush, bye!

Oh, okay! Bye!

The young Sarkaz carries his shopping bag with his tail and strolls leisurely into the alley, showing no signs of a rush.

Burningtail Junction... cherry tree? I remember the place, but I thought the cherry trees were cut down before the civil war.

I smell fried potatoes. Where are they?

Here were are. This street still looks the same.

There used to be a huge piece of Originium crystal here. Did they move it out, or do I remember wrong?

Bean Sprout said things were bad here, but I haven't seen a single hoodlum yet. I should sock him one when I get back.

My house is just around the corner. She used to stand guard here, and I'd get a good beating if she caught me running out into the streets.

What's the point of looking for it, though? It's been so many years. People come and go; somebody else probably lives there now.

What would they think if I said it used to be my home? They'd probably think I was crazy, or just an idiot. Not like I can come back and reclaim it as mine.

...Just a quick look. That'll do.

Go around the corner and get your look. Then go get something to eat. Just another day.

Wait, where's the house?

Just a wall? Where's the roof?

Who tore down my house?!

What are you shouting about, silly big guy?

Shouldn't you go home and roast some potatoes? What are you doing on Broken Horn turf? They'll strip you naked, you know.

Whose kid are you? Who taught you to talk like that?

The girl in the window does not answer. She makes a face and wags her little head.

The mercenary sees the black rocks growing out of her neck.

This is Broken Horn turf? How?

Don't you see the red words on the wall? Oh, don't tell me—you can't read?

It says, 'TRAITOR'. That's what they say happens to the guys who get on the wrong side of the Broken Horns.

Hey, don't go! I can teach you, if you want to learn to read. I've got nothing against you Head-Sellers. Hehe.

The mercenary stops in his tracks and turns around, looking up at the girl from below the window.

His yellow, muddled eyes make it difficult to hide much emotion.

What's a Head-Seller?

That's what the Broken Horns call people like you, wearing a jacket like that, coming back from the <i>outside.</i>

But the girl who taught me to read won't let me use that word. She says...

Where can I find the Broken Horns?

Hey, stop right there! Who are you?

Two days in the Broken Horns got you blind? I'm here for the gang meeting.

Gang meeting? You? What are you talking about? This isn't your barbecue stall. Since when do cooks get a seat at the table?

Has your dumb ass healed up? You want me to get the Consultant?

I don't see him anywhere. Where are you gonna find him? Boss says the meeting starts after three bangs on the steel bucket, and no one else gets to go in.

I'm not deaf. It's only been two bangs.

Oh?

That's three there.

Heh, you know what, I'll take a little pity on you. You want to go in, give me three roast potatoes tomorrow, and I'm not paying for them.

Sure. If you dare.

Take a guess what extra <i>seasoning</i> I'm gonna put on them.

Hey, hold it! Did I say you could go in?

What are you looking at? I'm talking to you!

Me? I'm here to listen...

Get lost! This is no place for you. See this?

Er... a fire poker?

A knife! Made from a horn! It's really sharp!

Ouch! That must have hurt. Why would you poke your finger like that? Here, I have a bandage...

You—get lost!

This should be the place, but how do I get in?

I've heard that the Broken Horns are a bunch of unruly young kids, and now...

Come on, Nymph. Think of your friends. Could anyone help?

Not this one, not that one either. This one might have some influence at a gang meeting, but I don't think she's in Kazdel anymore...

What about the Consultant? All the gangs in this district listen to him. But I've never seen him, and I don't know where he lives.

I should just wait here. He's always the one officiating the gang meetings. I'm sure he'll come by.

...No one's coming?!

Are you waiting for someone, Miss Nymph?

Pohl! Did you get your veggies?

I was a little late. All they had left was sweet potatoes. That farmer's a grumpy one, he doesn't let you pick. It took a lot of sweet-talking to get a few decent-looking ones.

Wow, sweet potatoes can get this big? The ones I know aren't even a third the size.

The only way to get ones this big is to try your luck at the Vertical Farm, but I hear the farmers keep the best ones for themselves.

Anyway, what are you doing here?

Oh, I was trying my luck to see if I could run into the Consultant here. The Broken Horns won't let me in, but they wouldn't stop me if I was with the Consultant.

It might not go down quite like that... do you know the Consultant?

I asked someone to help get in touch with him, but I never got a response.

So you're waiting for someone you've never met? How would you recognize him?

That's why I said I was trying my luck. Maybe he'd know me?

Is that piece of iron really so important?

Not just to me. It's important to everyone else here. I have to bring it back to—

The Furnace?

Yes! You saw it too? The fireworks last night...

They came from the Furnace. But wasn't the appeasement ceremony in progress then? Are we talking about... revenants? But why are you here? What about the Liches?

Huh? You know about all that?

Just my luck, I thought I was imagining things... this is even worse than I thought.

You've been standing here for a while, right? How many times did they bang the steel bucket?

Three times, I think.

The gang meeting has started. I shouldn't have spent so much time shopping today.

It may not be too late. I think they'll wait for the Consultant...

Fair point. A gang meeting without the Consultant is basically a brawl.

Hmm...

Well, it's your lucky day, Nymph. Or maybe unlucky day. Come on, let's get this trouble all fixed up.

Huh? No, wait! You don't even know what's going on...

I'll tell you my theory on the way, and you can correct me, if I'm wrong.

Beastshit! No goddamned way!

That courtyard was given to us by the Military Commission, and the Consultant signed off on all business on these streets! Why should we move out just because you say so?

Calm down, Barrel, this isn't personal. As for you, Beck, you need to watch your words.

As if I'm wrong, Ebony?

Why should these Head-Sellers be allowed to take our turf after spending so many years on the outside?

You weren't the boss of your gang when the Consultant gave them those two blocks.

You know what, I should have kicked the old man off his seat sooner. I wouldn't have let the Head-Sellers set foot in here if I was in the room back then.

Say that again, I dare you.

Don't just stand there staring, pull them apart! You should get your mouth slapped, Beck. They were out there risking their lives for us.

And you, Barrel, stop being such a hard-head! Beck could run his mouth all day, but none of it matters until the Consultant gets here.

Stop defending them, Ebony! Who gives a damn about the Consultant? How many men does he have? How many blades does he have?

Not as many men as you. But blades? That's hard to say.

Consultant.