Chương 3: Cyclops

Atzi stared as the aftermath of the explosion slowly expanded into the distant sky. Did someone attack us?! Atzi darted back inside Fence's shack.

"There's a huge, huge explosion in the distance! I… maybe we're at war now."

"What?!" Fence scrambled out of their hole and ran outside. Atzi followed.

"The Saintess's holy shits…" the smaller lizard muttered as they looked up. This isn't good. If there's a war there could be a draft! I don't want to fight! Atzi had already forgotten her earlier terror - she didn't want to think about it, and not thinking about things was something she was very good at.

"... is the job still on?" Fence glared at her, before whispering, "Probably, but come back here tomorrow evening and I'll know."

"Alright. I'll be back." Wait, I should try to get the money now.

"Any chance of a little advance for a nice meal before I go…?"

"Fuck no!"

"It might be my last proper meal, if anything goes wrong." Atzi played it up, making herself look as sad-but-brave as possible.

"Then don't fuck it up!" Fence shouted, heading back towards their shack. Atzi stuck her tongue out.

"You must sleep on a block of ice, you're so cold. That should at least work sometimes!" Fence re-entered their home.

"If I had a bronze for every sob story I've heard, I still wouldn't give any away." Cheapskate. Atzi huffed and wandered off. Ugh, I don't want to walk all the way back to the slums. Sostra's size meant that much of Atzi's day had already been taken up by walking. What started as a lazy walk turned annoying as she slinked her way through the clogged streets. She weaved her way through people in worried talks over the explosion. Get out of the way! Stop taking up the street just to gossip!

War was a popular theory, but so were a mage's experiment gone wrong, the wrath of some magical monster, and others more far-fetched. She even ducked in and out of the center of the road, down which mostly carts traveled. I wish I could ride a cart. It'd be so much better. She stretched her clawed feet as she walked along. Atzi did not make it even halfway back to the slums before she was distracted by the sign of an inn called 'The One Eye Open'.

She'd never been there before, but was tempted by the weight of her coins. What if I get a room? And a bath! I can take it easy before the big job tomorrow. Atzi, you're a genius. The inside was busy, every one of its dozen-and-half tables taken up. The front bar and its many stools were also half taken, so Atzi took a seat at the end, a single empty seat beside her, as she waited for the owner to appear. Said owner emerged from the back, carrying a tray of bowls. Holy shit, a cyclops!

The woman had one big, purple eye in the center of her face, with lighter purple hair in a neat bob cut. Even her giant eyelashes were purple. She wore a tan dress with a dark brown apron, and was a few inches taller than most women, which meant many more than Atzi. Atzi stared at her as she served the food to a table. She had never seen a cyclops before. They lived in Cthargictha, or 'Cthy', deep within mountainous caverns few from the Empire had ever been to.

She'd heard rumors they were made of stone, but they were clearly softer than that. I thought they'd look uglier than this. She kept looking a little bit longer. Atzi's drool hit the floorboards, sizzling. She quickly leapt from her seat and started rubbing the spot before she could get yelled at - or worse, asked to pay for it. The cyclops walked over to her.

"Can I help you…?" she uncertainly asked the prone Atzi. Oh gods she probably thinks I'm looking up her dress. Act natural.

"Oh, uh, I thought I saw a bug."

"A live one? That's not good, I'll have to-""No, no, there wasn't actually one." Atzi laughed awkwardly, standing. The wound to the floorboard wasn't even noticeable.

"Can I rent a room?" She smiled brightly and Atzi's heart melted. I'm definitely coming back here.

"Sure. I'm Hemm, by the way. It'll be four bronze a night." Atzi's heart refroze. Four bronze! That's way too much money! It was the cheapest inn in Sostra. Damn, but I can't tell her I don't have enough money, then she'll think I'm cheap. Wait, what if…

"How much for a meal?"

"We're serving a delicious rice congee for a bronze coin, two if you want to add meat. Chicken or bug." Two bronze is still pretty expensive… but the food sure does smell good, and I'll be rich after tomorrow's job anyway!

"Chicken." I want revenge on those clucking bastards. Besides, I had bug earlier. Variety is good. Hemm held out a hand. Unlike at Parish's, it was a pay first establishment. Atzi gave an awkward and thoroughly un-charismatic smile showing her sharp teeth, then handed over two stolen coins.

"One bowl of chicken rice congee!" Hemm yelled to the back, depositing the coins into her apron. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Atzi took back her seat and waited for her meal. After only a minute, someone sat beside her. Instantly, Atzi's whole body tensed. The newcomer was the scarred guardswoman from the gambling hall. Atzi slowly turned to look.

"U-um, hello…?" She tensed up, ready to run. She would have already, but she really wanted her food. The guardswoman gave a fierce grin.

"Guess what, lizard?" Please don't be 'You're under arrest.'

"You won? A lot?"

"Damn right! After you left!" She laughed uproariously. Atzi went from scared to relieved to upset.

"Yeah, rub it in…" I'm going to give you lead poisoning!

"What kind of idiot walks into a gambling house with only one coin to blow, anyway?" She smirked.

"I had to save the rest for food!" The guardswoman could have made the connection that this wasn't true, because Atzi had complained about the coin being her 'hot meal'. From there, it was only a short jump to figuring out Atzi had more money for food, and wondering where the money came from for such a poor looking lizard. But the guardswoman didn't realize this, because all guards are dumbasses. Atzi said, "I'll win it back next time, anyway." The guardswoman scoffed.

"Yeah, well, do it while I'm not there." Then she leaned back in her stool, complaining to the air.

"Godsdamn, what's taking them so long?" A chill ran down Atzi's tail. No, it can't be.

"... You're eating here too, then?"

"I didn't want to have a meeting on my day off, but hey, bosses are paying for our meals so I'm not complaining. You're probably going to have to move off when the rest of the guards get here. Important we have room, after all."

"Must be real lucky being a guard… they're not all showing up right now, are they? I still have to eat."

"Well they're taking their damn time, that's for sure." Hemm placed down a bowl in front of Atzi. Yes! It smelled delicious, and the bits of chicken glistened. Atzi lifted her wooden spoon, ready to take a bite.

"Hey, here they are now." Atzi spat poison on the table in a nervous reflex, and dropped her spoon clattering against the counter. The group of guards made their way through the busy inn.

"Move out the way, move out the way," they said to clear their entrance. There were about twenty of them, basically forcing their way in. At the back of the group was one of the commanders of the guards, Brea. Unlike the rank-and-file guards, her uniform was all black, giving her an intimidating appearance, which was only enhanced by the huge claymore on her back. I remember her, which means she definitely remembers me.

Atzi scrambled out of her seat, before sneaking to the side of the room, behind some other patrons. Wait, my food! But it was too late. The guards had already taken up posts where she'd been sitting, cutting her off from her two hard earned coins of food. I can't wait to poison you all! If I was already rich I'd do it for free! Atzi was so upset that, rather than fleeing immediately, she decided to stay hidden and listen in. It must have been near a full guardhouse that had turned up.

And Brea being there too meant it was probably the central one. It'll be really good to hear if they're planning 'inspect all cups carefully day' tomorrow. Nobody seemed to object to the guards kicking a bunch of them out. Even though they should have known that the guards didn't do anything except stop the sort of crimes that basically didn't matter. The guards chatted a bit as they got settled.

"What do you think that explosion was?" one asked.

"Looks like it came from Novae." A guard grunted, his eyes shifting nervously.

"Do you think they'll ship us out to war?"

"With the festival coming up? They're going to double our shifts!"

"Quiet down, you lot," Brea ordered, and quiet they did.

"You'll get answers eventually. For now, first order of business." Her voice dropped quiet, and Atzi snuck slightly closer to better hear.

"We'll need you all to be on your best behavior. Lots of people will be coming into the city from all over the Empire and it's important things are orderly. Until next week is over, I'm banning all gambling and drinking on your off hours, so better get it in tonight while you can." The guards groaned. The guardswoman who'd been chatting with Atzi groaned the loudest. Atzi chuckled. Sucks to be you, suckers! Hopefully the cups aren't for drinking beer from. …

Wait, since they're all of Central's here, this is a prime opportunity! I should go scope it out, figure out my entrance. She waited until someone else was leaving and used them as cover to flow out from the inn. The sky was already on its last dregs of color, and torchlight was becoming the main illumination of Sostra. The street traffic was full of people looking for meals. Atzi would have liked one, too, if she'd still had the money or time.

The central guardhouse was a stone building connected to the tall fence between the market street she traveled, and the market side of the rich district. Atzi found a suitable location nearby, beside a tall shop advertising useless services like 'spear polishing' and 'weighing'. She crept around the corner of the building and peered a slight distance away at the guardhouse. A single guard was outside, yawning in the torchlight with his helmet off, its flat top acting as a makeshift chair for him.

Beside him was an entrance into the guardhouse, and an adjacent window - though the window was partially covered by a thorny bush, planted in a large wooden trough. There were three stories to the building. The second story also had a window with a light visible from inside, and the third had no window at all. Atop the third floor was a sight post, with a wooden awning, currently empty. That seems like the best entrance, then slink down from the top. Atzi's eyes trailed down.

Ground floor is always a bad idea - too much chance of being seen on the other side. The door to the guardhouse opened, and another commander of the guard stepped out with an angry expression on her face. Shit! I thought they were all gone! Atzi cursed the gods for her poor luck. She quickly ducked back behind her corner, hoping she wasn't spotted. She knew she hadn't been when she overheard the commander chastising the guard.

"No napping on the job! Don't sit! Wear your helmet properly!" With all the trouble Atzi had landed in, her face had been distributed to everyone with an ounce of power with the law. Any guard commander would love to catch her, and wring from her whatever answers they could. The guard gave some panicked excuse Atzi couldn't hear the details of, and she heard the scraping of his helmet against stone, some kind of clatter, and a curse.

"Now look what you did!" I need to get out of here. Atzi thought, failing to look under her. She took one step and tripped right over the helmet. She hit the ground with a loud 'whump.'

"What was that noise?"

"I'll get-""No, you've done enough already. You stand here, as per your post, and I'll get it. Then we'll have words."

"Y-yes ma'am!" Atzi screamed internally as she heard the heavy stomping of boots approach.