“Hey! Wake up sleepyhead!”
A cloth covered pillow hit Valerie in the face as she began to come to consciousness. Slowly sitting up, she noticed that a faint glow of orange light seeped into their abode through the hole in the roof.
“Did I oversleep? What time is it?” Valerie rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms out above her.
Max checked his wrist as if he was checking a watch that didn’t exist. “Let’s see, it’s about we-are-running-late-o’clock.”
Val rolled her eyes and tossed her blanket aside. “Ha-ha, very funny. I’m getting up, I’m getting up.”
Both began to change into their clothes. For Valerie, a tattered flannel and a pair of light wash jeans. Max put on the same faded track t-shirt he wore every day with a ripped pair of khaki shorts. Quickly grabbing their stuff, they darted out of their make-shift home and toward the west part of Greymont. The streets were quiet heading toward the Ravenglass. The sounds of holographic screens occasionally brushed the ears of the two teenagers. The roads shifted into rougher sidewalks, which made it tough for Val and Max to power walk into the Ravenglass. They made their way to the large warehouse that towered over every building in the Ravenglass. The slowly crept in the building through the big metal doors. A large, bluish screen read the time in front of them: 6:27 AM. They both took out keycards and put them into a small device connected to the wall. When they each entered their keycards, their faces appeared on the holographic screen in front of them, with their name written next to it.
“Not going to lie, I can’t believe we made it on time”. Valerie put the keycard back in her pocket, sneaking in breaths between each word.
“Maybe if you weren’t asleep up until 6:00 AM we wouldn’t be coming this close”. Max put his keycard away as well.
They walked toward the center of the room, where a square area had been separated from the desks and computers of the Loggers. This area was carpeted in grey with a large black couch sitting against the wall. Two coat racks stood in the corners of the square, holding about 6 long, black cloaks on each. Max and Valerie both took a seat on either ends of the couch. Two other similarly aged people stood at the two corners. One made eye contact with Max.
“Ah! Finally! I was wondering when you guys were going to show up!” The person who piped up was a female, about their age, with curly red hair who was shorter than both Max and Valerie.
“Sorry Natalie, we were running late because someone wanted to sleep in”. Max subtly pointed toward Val.
Val scoffed after being blamed. “Excuse me, I overslept, I didn’t sleep in, there’s a huge difference”. She slumped back in the couch.
The other person, a young man with longer, blond hair grabbed a cloak of one of the coat racks and began to put it around his body. His mess of blond hair reached his shoulders and his blue eyes could catch someone's attention from even meters away. A small blue, holographic image appeared from a device he was holding: A collapsible, clear tablet that glowed blue when powered up.
“You guys have fun arguing like a bunch of children, I’m actually going to try and get some work done today. Some people can actually make 3845 dollars a day. You better get to it.” He quickly made his way to the front door of The Network building and disappeared from sight, holding his cloak to cover his face and hair.
Max rolled his eyes. “What the hell? He brought in the necklace yesterday? I can’t stand that guy! Stupid entitled, Los Angeles looking-“
“Who? Logan?” Val lowered her voice, “That guy is all talk, don’t let him get to you.”
Max and Val felt vibrations coming from their pockets. They both pulled out similar devices to the one Logan pulled out. Once open, they projected a three dimensional image with text occasionally underneath. On Max’s; a ring-shaped object, with green text underneath. On Val’s; an egg covered in scales.
Val nudged Max on the side while he was staring at his assignment.
“Look at this, do you know what this is?”
Max slowly looked up from his tablet. “Uh, no, I don’t actually. But I guess you’ll just have to find, whatever it is, somehow. We don’t ask the questions remember, that’s not in our job description."
“It looks like I have to go to a place called The Menagerie. I’ve never even seen or heard of it from all the times we’ve been in the Oldswick”.
Max put his tablet away and back into his pocket. “I believe in you Val, if anyone can figure it out, it’s you."
Val groaned and put the tablet away in her pocket. They both waved to Natalie as they walked toward the cloak-filled coat racks. Each grabbing a cloak, they quickly wrapped them around their bodies and headed toward the door.
Max looked at Val as they headed out. “Just another day’s work, right?”
Exiting The Network building, the two cloaked teenagers walked toward the cobblestone wall that separated the Oldswick and the Ravenglass. Upon arriving, Max pulled out his key from under his shirt. He inserted it into a small hole on the left side of the wall. With a few clicks, the wall shifted and slid to the right, leaving a small space where Valerie and Max could slip through. They both squeezed past the wall and entered the Oldswick.
The atmosphere changed as they crossed over, distant chatter could be heard from the Open Market past the alleys. The air smelled like oak and jasmine, and wafted through the narrow streets of the alley where Max and Val had slipped through the wall. They waded through the maze of alleys until it opened up into the bustling Open Market of the Oldswick. A large circle of stands and traveling merchants had set up shop in the middle of town, creating a hub of activity. Vendors sold their wares to a variety of people: elves, centaurs, dwarves, fairies, and anyone else that one could think of. There were about 5 paths that spoked off the initial circle where the vendors were set up. In the distance, a large castle-like tower stood, looking over the Open Market and the rest of the Oldswick.
Val and Max made their way to the center of the market, pushing past patrons browsing the contents at the stands. They kept their heads down and their hoods up. Max pulled out his tablet and looked at the holographic image that showed.
“So, this says I have to get a silver ring, but it has some sort of special enchantment. It says the ring must have the ability to make the user turn invisible,” Max chuckled. “Well, this’ll be fun.” He looked closer at the tablet.
Valerie’s eyes got wider. “That sounds like a terrible idea! When that gets to the Ironbrook, the person who has it could cause chaos.”
Max laughed excitedly. “Yeah, I love it. But, that’s not our problem. What happens after the item is sold is not our responsibility.”
He put his tablet away in his cloak. Val pulled out her tablet and examined her assignment. The image flickered; a large red egg covered in tiny scales. The tiny text underneath read: Sold at The Menagerie.
“I’ve never been to The Menagerie. I don’t even know where that is. Do you have any idea where it is?”
Max looked up thoughtfully. “Surprisingly no, despite how well we know the Oldswick. You might just have to ask around and talk to the, uh, unnaturals.”
Val groaned. “You know I hate talking to them.”
“Well, why don’t you get to work, I gotta head to the blacksmith.”
Val nodded and watched as he vanished into the crowd. She continued to look at her tablet. The Menagerie. She had never even heard of the place. She discreetly put the tablet away in her cloak and meandered up to the elf selling wooden staffs out of a cart. He looked much different than the herbalist she had met before. Although he was an elf, he was much heavier and had no hair. He wore thin glasses on the bridge of his nose.
“Uh, excuse me?” Val kept her hood up. The elf looked up from the wood carving he was working on.
“May I help you?” He seemed annoyed that someone had shifted his focus from his work. His voice was deep and gruff.
“Could you point me in the direction of The Menagerie?”
The elf looked Val up and down. He was pale with pointed ears, wearing a sophisticated purple cloak. “I do not know who you are, but I highly doubt that someone like you would have significant business there. Are you even allowed in here?”
The tone in his voice stung Val, but she quickly shook it off. “I’m sorry…sir, but I just need to know where it is.”
He sighed. “It’s somewhere that way. Now get lost!” He lazily pointed north.
“I’m sorry to bother you, can I at least have your name, please?”
“Laeroth. Now, if you’re not going to buy something, please leave me alone”. He sat down at his workstation right behind his cart. He motioned for Valerie to go away.
Laeroth quickly went back to his work and didn’t say another word to Valerie. She turned around to face the tower in the distance that looked over the market. She started to make her way out of the familiar market and into the heart of the Oldswick.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
