Simply walking around the Third Shell was a task in itself. Girls passed by with nary a look in our direction. If they did stare, it was with bitter contempt.

“Feel like someone could jump us at any moment,” I muttered.

“W-What do you mean?” Cannoli squeaked, inching toward me.

“Don’t worry about it. Just stay close.”

It felt like we were exploring a long, curved half-pipe. Over half the path was occupied by tents and smaller buildings constructed along the length of the Shell. Very few structures stood higher than two stories.

The girls were as worn as the buildings, wearing tattered clothing and in desperate need of a shower. A tall, muscular catgirl left one of the houses, crouching under the doorway on her way out. Her gaze caught me, and she waved casually to us.

“Oh, it’s the slightly bigger man and his Party!” she said.

Only slightly bigger?

“Sir Matt, it is Jaya,” Ceres pointed out.

“Hey, Jaya,” I said as we closed the distance between us. The girls followed close behind me. “Can you show us where the Guild Hall is?”

Jaya’s face fell. “You sure you wanna go there?”

I shrugged. “Just taking in the sights.”

She sighed. “You aren’t going to like what you see.”

“That seems to be the trend,” Ravyn commented.

“There’s got to be some work available, right?” asked Keke. “Anything?”

“Maybe.” Jaya shrugged. “I don’t pick up work from there very often anymore. It’s pretty damn repetitive, so I try to pick up other Quests.”

I frowned. “What do you mean other Quests?”

“I go from girl to girl, asking if they need help with anything.” She gestured to a few more pitiful ones some ways away from us. “I consider it my duty.”

“Do you make much?” I asked.

“I doubt it,” said Keke.

Jaya clicked her tongue twice in succession. “You got it. Bells are hard to come by. Doubt I had to tell you that much. Can’t imagine your time at the inn was great either.” She nodded at our unified groans. “Had a feeling. Well, I’d be glad to show you the way. Just don’t expect too much. The place is being held together by spit and a prayer.” When none of us said anything, she continued. “That was a joke.”

“O-Oh,” I said with a nervous laugh. At this point, it wouldn’t have surprised me. Seeing how thin and dirty most of the catgirls were, I’d discarded any expectations. All I wanted to do was break into Magni’s ‘castle’ and rip him a new one for how he mistreated these girls.

“Sir Matt?” Ceres was standing in front of me, her hands clasped in front of her. “Are you coming?”

I shook my head, clearing the image of tossing Magni from a balcony away. The others were already walking alongside Jaya, chatting. “Sorry. I guess I got caught up in my head for a bit there.”

“Understandably.” Ceres stood by and waited until I started to walk. When I did, she took to my side, her stare never resting on one thing for long.

“Ceres?”

“Yes, Sir Matt?”

I stifled a laugh. Maybe one day, she’d stop referring to me like a knight. “What do you make of the situation? You saw the downfall of Shi Island. I want to hear what you think. Do you see any similarities?”

Ceres blinked twice, and her mouth hung open. “It is… a complicated situation. Celestia, as detestable a woman as she was, could be properly thwarted through the virtues of kind-hearted men like you and Tristan. Perhaps if the queen had not been so preoccupied, she could have assisted us as well.” She looked up to the clear blue sky as she spoke. “I worry that the trouble we encounter here is more deep-seated. Magni’s power, I fear, is absolute. It will take much to usurp him.”

“Already thinking of knocking him down from his sand castle before we’ve spoken with him, huh?”

Her stare grew more serious. “I fear that even if we do manage to remove him from the issue at hand, it will take many years before Ichi Island will recover. He should not be allowed to return.”

That was a very dangerous thing to say—especially for a catgirl. This was beginning to feel like a repeat of Shi Island all over again. There had to be something we could do to help Ichi Island recover afterward. Assuming we were able to rip the idiot from his perch.

“Let’s catch up,” I said. “I want to hear Jaya’s opinion on this.”

“Of course!”

“About time you caught up,” said Ravyn. “Baka.”

“Good to see you too,” I said, walking by Jaya’s side. Ceres kept pace with me on my right, glancing over her shoulder. “Anything you can tell us? Well, more than you have?”

“They’re building another Shell,” said Keke.

My eyes widened. “You’re joking.”

Jaya shook her head. “I’m afraid not, little man.” Little? “Plans are almost complete from what I understand.” Jaya cracked her neck to her left and then to her right. “The whole island’s going to burn before he changes his mind.”

I swallowed, looking up at a girl hanging from one of the many cages. She slipped her fingers between the gaps of the iron mesh of her cell with a pleading stare. Her emerald-green eyes bore into me, and it took me everything I had not to pull my axe out and go to town on the anchored rope. Nobody deserved this kind of torture.

Keep your head on straight. Even if you got her down, hundreds more would suffer. I drew a deep breath and bowed my head, pretending not to see her. I wanted to vomit. Focus on Magni. Figure out what you can do about him first.

“We’re here,” Jaya said, ripping me away from my thoughts.

I frowned. “I understand I’m not a local but are you sure this is it?”

“I told you it was nothing to be impressed by,” said Jaya. “See? Orange flag. Just like I said yesterday.”

Sure enough, the orange flag swayed slowly in the meager breeze.

“But this thing is barely holding,” Cannoli said, her tone like that of a concerned mother.

“At least they have one,” said Keke, a hand on her hip.

“Mattaku. Stop commenting on the damn thing, and let’s just get inside. Time is money.” Ravyn was the first to step forward. She pushed open the door, and her trailing voice followed.

There was a sign—or at least, what remained of it—made of wood that looked older than Granny Nauka. Cracks splintered it like something heavy had struck it. Several times. The words ‘Guild Hall’ had been scrawled across it with white paint. Unfortunately, someone had come along and put a nice big red ‘x’ across it. It was so worn-looking, you could’ve told me it’d been that way for decades, and I would’ve believed you.

“Eck!” I heard Ravyn say from inside.

“Let’s check it out, I guess,” I said. Jaya entered after Ravyn, then Keke and Cannoli behind her. Ceres stayed behind me when I walked in.

As soon as I was inside, I was met with a new wretched stench. One more pungent than the aromas hanging over the city. If the girl in the cage was damn near enough to get me hurling, then this would finish the job. Assuming we stayed here long enough.

“What the hell is that smell?” I asked.

“Hey! Business! We need business!” said Ravyn. She had reached the front desk, and really, to no one’s surprise, nobody was standing there. With Ball perched on her shoulder, she leaned over to try and see down the hallway. For one pleasant little slice of the day, Ravyn inadvertently offered me a nice peek of the skin just below her butt.

Nice absolute territory.

“Calm down, rascal,” Jaya said, walking in front of me with her arms outstretched.

Well, perhaps that was for the best. I need to stay focused.

“Rascal?” asked a bewildered Ravyn over her shoulder.

With my eyes back on the prize—the important one, anyway—I looked around. The entire structure was made of stone. As small as it was, whoever was staying made good use of the space. An old sofa with stuffing poking from numerous chairs sat to the right. To my left was an old rickety bench flanked by two shelves hanging a few feet in the air. A dust-covered, ceramic flowerpot with a very, very dead plant rested on one shelf, and a rolled scroll with a red seal perched on the other.

“At least it’s cozy?” Cannoli murmured, moving toward Ravyn.

“Careful, don’t step there,” Keke said, pulling Cannoli back slightly. “Looks like something broke.”

I glanced at the floor to find shards of sharp glass scattered in a thin circle. Bless you for your attention to detail.

“Thanks, Keke,” Cannoli said brightly.

“This is ridiculous,” said Ravyn. “Hey! Is anyone home? I’ll jump over the counter if you don’t come out!”

“Ravyn, I would not suggest that,” said Ceres. “That is most unlike a lady.”

“I get that a lot,” Ravyn said, turning to Ceres for a moment. “Hey! Hello!”

At last, a brunette girl with braids tied into mounds on the side of her head appeared, yawning. She was a dainty thing, barely the same height as Cannoli, and just as lithe. Her eyes were like sapphires—cold, dark, and sparkling. Without saying a word, she flipped open a book I couldn’t see and thumbed through the pages for a time.

“Hey,” I said, coming up to the counter next. “Name’s Matt. Are you the Guild Hall attendant here?”

Slowly, she raised her head. “Yeah. Sec.”

I frowned. “Uh. Okay?”

We waited patiently as the girl slowly turned each page. I leaned on one arm, drumming my fingers. Wood creaked under my weight, and I pulled back.

Nope. Not letting it happen again.

“Eva, come on,” said Jaya. “Don’t be like this.”

Eva raised her eyes to look at Jaya, then sighed. “Fine.” She shut the book. “What do you want?”

This conversation was going nowhere fast. “We’re adventurers, and—”

“My condolences,” she said without looking at me.

“Uh, thanks. Anyways, we wanted to see if there were any Quests available.”

Eva, at last, turned to me. “Maybe.”

“Is there something wrong?” asked Cannoli. “I know things are stressful here, but maybe we can do something to help?”

At that, Eva glared. “Help? Not likely.” She flipped her book back open and began to page through it again. After a while, she stopped, her finger resting on a single sentence. “Missing pet. Want to take it?”

Can someone even afford to have a pet here?

“We could do that,” Keke said with the same tone she always used when she had to get something done. “Do you have anything else? We’re going to be here for a while.”

“Bad idea. Let me check,” said Eva.

“Hey,” I whispered to Keke. “Are you sure? A missing pet?”

She smiled. “I’ve spent a good part of my life hunting. I bet I could track it down.”

“Here,” said Eva. “Fix the relationship between two sisters. Twins. They’re upset. They don’t like each other.”

So we play family counselor too?

As I opened my mouth to speak, Ceres stepped forward. “We will accept both Quests,” she said. “Please put us down.”

Eva scanned over us, pointing at each of us with her finger. “I count six. The Quests are only for one Party.”

“I’m not in their party,” said Jaya. “I’ll be supervising.”

“Understood.” Eva bowed and retrieved a quill and ink. “Party leader’s name?”

“Matt.”

“Matt. Strange name.” Eva scratched it into her book, then set the quill aside. Then, like washing an invisible car, she ran her hand through the air between her and me. “Snapped.”

“Snapped?”

“Guild Halls are required to take a snap of the person,” explained Ravyn. “So that way if someone tries to claim the bounty for your Quest, they can confirm it with the Guild Hall attendant.”

“What’s a snap?” I asked.

“Oh, boy,” Ravyn sighed. “It’s a type of magic that locks away a person's appearance in your head. There are a few ways the magic can be used, but Guild Halls usually bind a person's name with the ink they use in their books.” Ravyn straightened her back, scratching the back of Ball’s neck. “Then, when she touches the ink, it recalls the memory she snapped. That’s how they verify it’s you.”

Jaya whistled. “You know your stuff.”

Ravyn shrugged. “Been doing this for a long fucking time.”

“Appear, iPaw.” The device manifested in my hand. Using my forefinger, I scrolled through the iPaw’s numerous systems, navigating to the [Quest] screen. “There it is! We have two Quests now!”

“That’s great, Matt!” Keke said, grinning. “Finally, a real Quest.”

New Notifications!

New Quest!

[The Golden Beetle]

I can’t find Glitter, my pet bascar, anywhere! Please, he’s never run away before! All I have to give is my allowance and one water ration. Can you help?

Rewards:

5 XP 12 Bells 1 Water Ration

New Quest!

[Twin Splints]

My daughters refuse to get along! We don’t have the room for them to be fighting, and I need help selling in the markets during the day hours. Please talk some sense into them!

Rewards:

10 XP 25 Bells