A Fistful of Dollars

“My luck with trains has been pretty shit,” John said, leaning back in his seat. He sipped a delightful fruity tea that the waiter had recommended. “First Jarako, now this.”

“Didn’t you do this one to yourself?” Mandruzzo quipped, in the seat opposite John. “Your desire to do the right thing is admirable, but you can’t complain about it after as though it were mere chance.”

“I’d do it again, even if it were to put me in any actual danger,” John said, setting the drink down in the cupholder next to him. Cinder appeared only to him, staring out of the large window to the quickly passing landscape.

See something interesting? John asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye. She floated in place contentedly for a few moments before answering.

No, Master. Just… reminiscing. I’ve never been off Earth, but this landscape is familiar to me, Cinder replied, taking in the wide open plains that their train was rushing through.

“Why don’t you just turn into fire and let the bullets pass through you next time?” Grace asked, leaning over the edge of her chair and putting her hand through the obliging pyromancer’s stomach to emphasize her point.

“You could’ve given him a shield sticker,” Amy teased, and Grace, startled at the realization that she indeed could have helped, fell forward into Abigail’s lap.

“I’ll do it now!” Grace said, tilting back to standing and not meeting the eyes of the oblivious brunette whose crotch she had just accidentally stuck her head in. She grabbed a stack of stickers from her coat pocket, distributing them to her friends. “Put these under your clothes. The shield will take a few hits for you, the boot will make you faster, and the crystal helps you make mana.”

John did as she said, putting the stickers on his arms underneath his sleeves. He watched the telltale sign of her tattoo glowing, signaling their activation.

Mana Regeneration increased by 10% for 4 hours! Agility increased by 5% for 4 hours! Gained 200 temporary HP!

Instantly he felt both more limber and more powerful. Though their effects were minor, the power surging through his veins and the nimbleness of his fingers as he rolled a bullet between them told another story.

“I’ve also made everyone special bonuses! Except for you, bubble guy, I didn’t know much about you,” Grace explained, taking a fireball, a dog treat and three laser stickers from her pocket. She handed them to Abigail, Amy, and John, respectively.

“Abby, yours should make your fire hotter. Amy, yours should act like an inspire spell to all of your pets. John, yours should show you the trajectory of your shots if you put it on your mas- glasse-... that thing and your guns. I hope you like them!” She withdrew after giving them their gifts. She backed away from the center of the seats, slouching and crossing her arms while her friends appraised their stickers. She lowered her poofy black hat from her head, covering her face with it.

“That’s so cool!” Abigail said, eyes alight with joy and flame. She leapt out of her seat and tackle hugged the skilled stickersmith next to her, smiling broadly.

“That’s amazing Grace!”

“Very thoughtful,” John agreed, sticking two onto his guns and then hesitantly applying the third to the somewhat sentient mask. It stuck onto the backside of the mask and looked to be floating in mid-air before the mask’s glamour adjusted and it too disappeared. “And practical. But… what do you mean should?”

“I’ve never worked with these spells before, so the stickers might not work. If anything goes wrong, they’ll just be cute decorations,” Grace admitted, cracking her knuckles and joining her hands together in front of her tattoo. After a few moments, it shined brightly. “Did it work?”

“Ohohohoho, yeah,” the pyromancer laughed, a small fire blazing to life in her hands. “Can you make me like… a million more of these?”

“Ditto, I could feel the bond with my pets strengthen when you activated it. They’re eager to fight now,” Amy said, calling a small rodent to her hand. With the rocking of the train, its small tophat bounced off its head and into its paws. Affixing it back atop firmly, it squeaked triumphantly and skittered up her arm and onto her shoulder before disappearing.

“Yeah… I’m going to need at least seventeen more sets of these,” John said, looking at the pop-up that had appeared when the sticker activated.

The beneficial enchantment “Guiding Path” has been applied to The Mask of Rebellious Justice for 4 Hours! Due to the learning nature of this item, forty eight hours of exposure will see the mask gradually absorb the enchantment, and after seventy two hours it will become a permanent feature.

“You guys really like them?” Grace asked, lifting up her hat and showing a bashful smile. Abigail simply hugged her again, and this time John and Amy joined in.

“C’mon,” Abigail said, happily waving Mandruzzo over. After an exaggerated sigh of annoyance, he joined the pile of feel-goodness.

“With the reward for the bounty, I thought we’d be escorting a reputable merchant. Alas, this place is a dump,” Mandruzzo said as they exited the train station, and John couldn’t help but agree.

I wonder why this station is even on the route at all. This town is so small, John thought, looking around. From the platform the station was built on, he could see the entire town. Gone were immaculate towers to the heavens of the capital, in their place ramshackle houses which would fit equally well in a western movie as in a steampunk novel. Activating Symphony of the Night, he enhanced his vision and filled out his minimap, looking around the town. The only possible places of interest were two general stores, two stables, and three inns, one of which had a sign labelling it as a saloon instead.

I think this town is quite charming, Cinder commented, taking in the sights through John’s eyes. It is… familiar.

“...should be in the Grog and Goggles, according to the dossier,” John caught the last of Amy’s sentence as he deactivated Symphony of the Night. “Does anyone see it?”

“Three blocks that way,” John said, and the other three looked in the direction he pointed. “I scouted the town while you were talking.”

“Well, aren’t you full of surprises,” Mandruzzo laughed, patting John on the shoulder, “we set out then, yes?”

Unfortunately, there were no food carts lining the street to this train station as there had been in the capital, and so the walk to the inn went fairly quickly. Outside the small building was a uniform black caravan of wagons, each emblazoned with the logo of a small dragon wearing big goggles.

Rummaging through the lead wagon was a young woman with just such a dragon on her shoulder, though it was made out of gears and shocks rather than guts and sinew.

“Excuse us!” Abigail called from the middle of the group, waving excitedly at the girl. “We’re looking for a Phoebe Cross!”

“That’s me!” the young woman called over her shoulder, causing the dragon there to take flight. After a few more moments of tinkering inside her wagon, she came out with soot stains across her cheeks and a meek smile.

“How can I help you?” She tucked her hair, which was one large, brown braid behind her shoulder. She had a pair of goggles on her head with an adjustable switch hiding multiple lenses, and she put them on as she turned to them. She also had a leather glove on, which was overlaid by spindly brass rods over her fingers and what looked to be a pressure dial on her wrist. “Oh my! That’s a fascinating mask!”

“You can see my mask?” John asked, a little disturbed. Maybe it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

“Ye- actually, no. A moment.” She switched to a different pair of lenses every few seconds before sighing in frustration. “No, no I cannot. May I?”

John used Advanced Spy on her to confirm her identity and clear her as a threat proposing a deal. “If you explain, I’ll dispel the glamour for a few seconds.”

“When it was disguised before, it kept disappearing after a few moments every time I tried to identify it. As if it recognized that I saw through its illusion and adjusted itself accordingly. Reverting to a previous tool didn’t help either. Was this your doing?” she asked, approaching him. He dismissed the glamour, allowing the mask to take its true form. Her fingers of bronze tapped the mask, and she immediately recoiled away. “No… the object itself wishes not to be identified. Fascinating.”

“Are these people giving you trouble, Phoebe?” A woman dressed similar to the inquiring merchant stepped out of the saloon, an ethereal blue fire in her hand.

“No! They’re- Well, what are you five here for?” Phoebe asked, stepping back from John. At his command, the mask turned back into its glasses and stubble combo. “Oh! Are you the contractors I hired?”

“Bingo!” Abigail said, a little too excited. When Grace gave her a questioning look, she whispered to her comparatively worldly friend, “What, that’s how you use that, right?”

“That’s right,” John continued over the subtle squabble the two proceeded to have, using Advanced Spy on this newcomer as well, “we’re here to make sure you get to the next town safely.

“We don’t need them, they don’t look that tough. I bet I could take them,” Josephine said, looking among the group.

“Oh, oh! You should play rock paper scissors for who proves her wrong!” Grace exclaimed, gesturing to Abigail, John, and Mandruzzo. Amy looked a little offended, so Grace added, “Do you want to show off?” This made the beast tamer drop all hostility.

“I don’t know how to play,” Abigail complained, but John and Mandruzzo were already sizing each other up.

“What kind of man are you, signor? Strong like rock, flexible like paper, aggressive like scissors?” the Italian asked, making the sign for each with his hands as he spoke.

“I could ask you the same question, bubble man. Since you’ve so graciously outlined their characteristics though, I think I know the answer.” The temptation to use Mind Reading on Mandruzzo was great, but John didn’t out of respect for the game. What kind of gamer would I be if I cheated during a competition?

He thinks that I’d normally choose rock, and I think he’d normally choose paper. The question is if he’s going to anticipate my anticipation of his choosing, John thought, and noticed Abigail look on after a quick explanation from Grace, annoyed. “You’ll watch us and play the winner.”

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” they said in unison, Mandruzzo holding out an open hand and John holding out two fingers. John was a little ashamed that this was among his proudest moments since joining the Abyss. “Scissors cut paper.”

“A tactical genius, as always. That is why you’re our glorious leader after all,” Mandruzzo joked. “Now you have to play her… I don’t envy you.”

“Alright Abigail, do you understand how to play?” John asked, looking to the naive brunette. The look on her face terrified him, it was by far the most determined he had ever seen her.

“I’m ready.”

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” They said in unison, John holding out an open hand. To his surprise, Abigail held out her hand as a mass of flames.