“Maybe start with your name,” Angel suggested. “I can’t keep thinking of you as ‘kid’.”

“Aaron. And those things - the Buried Gods - they showed up almost a week ago. Maybe more. I can’t remember. They just came out of the sand around the city. One minute there was nothing, and then half of Blackstone was in shadow.”

“That explains how they can get around without people noticing them,” Angel muttered. “I figured they could hide under the sand, but moving as well? Is there anything the damn things can’t do?”

“I saw the cannons shooting at them,” Aaron continued, not stopping to acknowledge Angel’s words. “They didn’t do anything. Then a bunch of masked people jumped out of the Buried God in airships. They attacked the people manning the cannons and swarmed the city.”

Aaron paused and his hands clenched until his knuckles turned white. “They killed everyone that fought back. I saw a lot of them die, but it was like they had an endless supply. We couldn’t fight back. My parents told me to hide in here and then went out to help. I heard a big fight from the Magistrate’s estate, and then it was quiet.”

“Did they kill everyone?” Tilly asked in horror.

“Not everyone,” Aaron replied. A tiny spark of hope lit in his eyes. “The fighting ended a few days ago. They rounded up a bunch of people and took them onto the Buried Gods, but a lot of us are still here.”

“What happened to your parents?” Alison asked.

“I don’t know,” Aaron said. He swallowed hard. “But they were both Tinkerers, and they were asking for Tinkerers, so they should be alive. There’s no reason to ask for Tinkerers if you don’t need them alive, right?”

He glanced amongst them, desperate for someone to agree.

“You’re right,” Angel said, taking pity on him. “It sounds like they need them alive. But why in the Barren would they need Tinkerers now?”

“You reckon that flaming idiot Reave blew up the Key while he was having a tantrum?” Silver asked.

They all paused. Aaron gave them a confused glance as a smile pulled across Angel’s face and he let out a sharp bark of laughter.

“It was right next to him, wasn’t it?” Angel asked. “You might be right. He could have blasted the thing.”

“It’s unlikely he completely destroyed it,” Lilian warned. “If he had, he would have come for us again. It’s very possible he did some damage and is trying to get a local to fix it, though.”

“What are you all talking about?” Aaron asked. “Reave? The Key?”

“It’s honestly better if you don’t know,” Tilly said.

“Why? This is my home,” Aaron snapped. “They’ve got my parents, not yours. What do you have to do with these Reawakening people?”

“It’s fine, Tilly,” Angel said before she could reply. “If I recall, you had similar questions. Aaron is already in the middle of this. The least we can do is answer his questions.”

He gave Aaron a general rundown of the situation, keeping things as high level as possible and downplaying their own role in the situation. There was no need to make the kid a liability if the Reawakening somehow captured him.

“So you’re trying to fight the Reawakening? Just the five of you? And you’re winning?” Aaron pressed.

“I’m not sure if winning is the right word,” Angel said, visions of Molten Ridge smoking in the distance surfacing in his mind. “But we’re more than a thorn in their side.”

Aaron took the empty pitcher and reached under the counter. Something clicked and water splashed against glass. A few moments later, he put the filled pitcher back on the counter.

“I want to help. You can save my parents, can’t you?”

“I don’t know,” Angel answered honestly. He took more water from the pitcher and splashed himself.

“We aren’t trying to be cruel,” Silver said, pulling out a chair and spinning it around before sitting down and leaning his arms on the backrest. “The Barren itself is at risk, kid. Lots of people are going to die. We probably will to. We can’t promise to save anyone. Especially if it means trading a few lives to save everyone else.”

Aaron pierced Silver with a flat stare. His mouth worked as he searched for words, trying to control his emotions. “I get that. But you can try, right?”

“We can try,” Lilian said. “But we have a duty. I’m partially responsible for this mess, and I need to do my part in undoing it. If we get a chance, we’ll do everything we can to save everyone trapped in the Buried Gods.”

“You want something done, you gotta do it yourself,” Silver said, adjusting his hat. “The only person you can count on when everything goes to shit is yourself.”

Aaron’s eyes latched onto the former bandit. “That’s it. I’ll go with you.”

“No!” Tilly exclaimed. “You’ll get killed. Don’t you realize these are a bunch of murderers that won’t blink twice if you die? You aren’t ready to deal with them.”

Angel couldn’t help but remember a similar conversation he’d had with Tilly and Alison only a few weeks ago.

“You can’t be any older than me,” Aaron replied, crossing his arms. “And the metal armed guy said it himself. You have to focus on your mission or whatever. Someone needs to try and save the people there at all costs while you guys are doing your part.”

“And how do you propose to do that on your own?” Lilian asked. “Do you know how to fight or have powerful magic?”

“No, not really. I took some mandatory training classes, but nothing beyond that.”

“And you think you can beat a group of people that have lived since the Great War?” Tilly asked.

“They don’t seem the most competent. I don’t really get what’s going on, but it sounds like that Key was important, and Reave got pissed off and blew it up. That doesn’t strike me as too clever.”

Angel had to hold back a laugh. The kid had them there, and Reave really wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed. He supposed it was probably unfair to hold it against the man considering he was in a perpetual state of pain, but that didn’t stop him from doing it anyways.

“It’s really brave to want to help,” Alison said. “Tilly and I were the same, and part of me wishes we had never stepped into this. I don’t want to demean you, but what can you do if you can’t use magic or fight? You’ll get killed for nothing.”

Aaron frowned, but it looked like he was taking Alison’s warning seriously. After a few moments, the kid’s eyes lit up. “I’m a pretty good shot. My mom took me hunting sometimes. I’m no guild Hunter, but I’ve got good aim. Maybe that would help?”

“Did you shoot anything that was close to you?” Silver asked. “Or something that was aware of your presence?”

“Well, no,” Aaron admitted. “I used a beam cannon. It’s in the back of the store, actually.”

He headed into a door behind the counter and reemerged a minute later with a long hand cannon. Its barrel was nearly as long as he was tall, and three canisters stuck out from near the hilt.

“I haven’t seen one of those in a long time,” Angel said with a whistle. “They aren’t nearly as effective as gauntlets. Where was it made? I don’t recognize it.”

“My dad,” Aaron said proudly. “I was gonna become a Tinkerer too, after my mandatory service with the Blackstone militia was over. It’s a straight shot, though.”

“It won’t be any good close range,” Silver said, shaking his head. “And if you don’t have experience in a fight against something trying to kill you, you’ll end up dead. Sorry, kid. Your parents would probably thank me for saving your life by telling you no now.”

Aaron lowered the gun, his brow creasing. “But…”

“How about this,” Angel suggested, gently cutting him off. “We need a place to lie low while we prepare to deal with the Reawakening. This might take some time and living in the sewers doesn’t appeal to me. If you want to fight the Reawakening, let us stay here. If you come up with some way to fight them that doesn’t involve you just instantly killing yourself, we’ll consider it. How’s that sound?”

“Fine, but only if you train me when you aren’t planning,” Arron said. “You’ve got to be good fighters. Especially the hat guy, since knows so much about it. Teach me.”

“Just what we need,” Silver groaned. “Another trainee.”

“We don’t know if we’ll have time,” Lilian warned Aaron. “But if we do, I can promise to teach you at least a little. Nothing beyond that, though. There’s a chance we never get an opportunity to train you.”

“That’s fine,” Aaron said, a bitter smirk playing across his features. “Somehow, I think you might be here for a while.”