Four : The Belltower
My ears folded back in annoyance at my situation. I should have been paying more attention. If I had, maybe I wouldn't have gotten stuck like this. With so many ponies around, all of them with a stick up their ass, I have no opportunities to escape. Just about every pony around here is equipt with a firearm and actually paying attention to their surroundings. I'm going to have to bide my time and see where this goes, maybe I'll find an opportunity later.
The walk was short but slow. I could see our destination was a small shack right next to the Ponyville gates. Unfortunately, the young dappled mare to my right made the walk slower than it should have been as she pointed her rifle at me with her nervous, shakey wings. "D-don't try anything, mister!" she said with a gulp.
I rolled my eyes.
"Silver," the stallion to my left started as he adjusted the cowpony hat atop his head, "Pay attention ta where your walkin' an' calm down. He ain't gonna do nothin'. 'Taint no spy, no hostile neither. But he might become hostile if ya keep bein' an idiot."
She blushed, lowered her weapon and looked at her hooves.
Dusty leaned in towards me. "Don't mind the kid, first day jitters an' all that." he drawled.
First day? These rebels must be in some kind of dire need if they're using kids for guard duty. I'm just glad she didn't accidentally pull the trigger. With the mare paying more attention to where she was walking, our pace picked up some. We finally reached the small building and my two chaperones stopped. I glanced over at them, waiting for them to direct me.
"Please give any an' all weapons on yourself to Silver an' head on inside. You'll be interviewed and if y'all are deemed a non-hostile an' not a spy for the King, your weapons will be returned to ya an' y'all will be free ta go." Dusty recited. Then he sighed, "Look just, please don't cause any trouble. This is all basically a publicity stunt to keep the ponies calm. Commander Short Stack knows you ain't a danger nor any other pony from The Everfree but it's procedure in these types of situations. She's also pretty pissed her dumbass brother's in the hospital again and is taking it out on everypony else."
If these rebels are doing this to everyone coming and going from the Everfree Forest, of course this is going to raise tensions between the Solar Nation and the Rouge Rogues. Merchant's not going to be happy with this if he gets the whole place complaining to him and the other Eight about interrogations. Really, I shouldn't worry about it because this is going to be his problem and not mine but, I'm going to have to watch where I step around town if there are going to be pissed off ponies prancing around.
Dusty's command, give up my weapons? I'd really rather not. In this day and age you really didn't want to be without some form of defense. If something irritated that commander she could start shooting for no reason and her cronies would follow her order without question. I don't like this scenario but what other options do I have? There are rebels everywhere I look, all ready for battle. Damnit.
Reluctantly, I removed my bow and quiver, setting them gently on the ground. I pulled my two daggers out of their sheaths that were tied to my rear legs and set them down as well. My lockpicking tools were not weapons so I could at least keep those on me but what about my blackjack? That was the last weapon I had on me unless you counted my mini crowbar. I debated for a moment on if they would actually frisk me for anything else or not. I could risk it, keep my club on me in case of an emergency, but this stallion told me to play along and I would be set free. Should I trust him? Absolutely not. There are very few ponies I trust in this world and I'm not about to start trusting somepony who works for the rebels. I do, however, trust in my own skills so, I pass my blackjack over as well.
"Got anythin' else on ya?" Dusty asked me. I told him no and he gave me a skeptical look. If he tried to search me I was going to kick his teeth in. I glared at him and he backed off, raising a hoof in defeat. I gave an irritated snort and trotted inside.
The one room building was just as unimpressive inside as it was outside. There weren't any decorations, no paint on the walls or even a rug on the dirt floor. I'm surprised they didn't have a banner with their stupid logo hanging up in here. The only thing within was a table and two chairs. On the opposite side of the room from me sat another filly who was just old enough for her cutiemark. She was an off-white color with pastel shades of blue and yellow in her mane. She had a bright orange bird tattooed on her butt, she wore a light armored top and there was a rifle hanging from a sling around her chest.
Another kid? I could handle her. No windows here though so the only exit was the door I came through. That's fine, I'm not leaving here without my weapons and that's the exit that led me to them. I looked at the young mare. She gave me a big smile and gestured at the empty chair. No thanks, I'd much rather stand.
"It's not gunna bite, silly!" she told me in an annoyingly cheery voice.
I ignored her.
She cocked her head at me and shrugged her shoulders. The mare then began to flip through some papers on the desk, grabbed a pencil in her teeth and started to ask questions. "What's your name? I'm Canary, it's nice to meet you!"
"Double Round." I lied.
"Hiya Double Round!" she said and scribbled something on the paper, "Why do you have your hood up inside? It's not raining in here. Or outside for that matter. Are you a spy? Are you trying to be secretive? What kind of secrets are you hiding? Got any good ones? Tell me, tell me!"
I gave her a flat look. Yeah right, like I was going to tell her anything.
"Where did you come from anyway? You kinda smell." Can't argue with that after walking through the streets of Canterlot. "If you want a bath I wouldn't recommend the water here right now, it's kind of tainted and it'll make you sick. You're probably better off using the water from Saddle Lake because it's cleaner but you gotta watch out for the lake monster. Have you ever seen one of those monsters? Those things are called sea serpents. They're this big slimy thing that lives in the water and it can eat a pony in one bite! Why are they called a sea serpent when they don't live in the sea? They should be called lake serpents since they live in the lake. But besides that, why eat ponies? We're not food! Food is like, cake and pasta and salads, not people. I'm making myself hungry, are you hungry? What's your favorite food? I know King Sombra's is grape jelly! Curious how I know? Cause I'm super smart, that's how! I also know that there's exactly two hundred and forty-seven crystal ponies in Canterlot. Of that, only twenty-three are foals and–"
I really have to wonder if this filly is on some kind of drug; she's talking so fast I can't even get a word in edgewise. Would be nice if we could wrap this up. I'd like to go home, but how can I get her to shut up? The door behind me opened as if answering my silent question.
"Hiya Rooroo!" Canary said as she dropped the pencil out of her mouth and waved a hoof ecstatically at the pony that interrupted us.
She was another earth pony mare. Green with a long curly turquoise mane and tail that bounced with every movement. She wore thick barding on her entire body and had twin pistols at her sides. She gave Canary an unamused stare. "Canary Blues, I can hear you through the wall. You need to interrogate him properly and keep off the subject of your stupid crystal ponies. Read the sheet and ask him the questions. Stop gossiping." Really it was a one-sided conversation, not gossip, but who was I to argue? If the filly getting berated got this over with faster, I wasn't going to raise my opinion.
"Aww come on Roo! We're just talking about stuff and things, you don't have to get all huffy about it." Canary pouted.
"Canary!" the older mare barked. The filly flinched and almost ducked under the table. "Your job is to interrogate prisoners, not have a friendly chat with them. Do your job or I will report you, again."
Canary's eyes grew wide and she ran to Roo. "No, please no! They'll put me on bedpan duty again. It's so gross, please don't! I promise I'll be good!" she groveled.
Seeing that both mares were distracted with one another, I easily took the filly's saddlebag. There probably isn't anything interesting in here but I deserve some kind of reward for putting up with the little brat.
"Hey, somepony's gotta clean them. Dr. Patch 'n Stitch and H.N. need all the help they can get with the injured at their clinic." Roo shrugged, not in the least bit moved by the filly's plight.
Canary looked up at Roo with big watery eyes, her bottom lip quivering ever so slightly.
"Ugh, fine." the older mare snorted as she rolled her eyes, "But you have to do your job properly, got it?"
"Yes boss!" Canary said, giving her a salute. Finally, we can get this over with.
Roo gave the filly one last stern look and exited, leaving the two of us alone in the room. Canary heaved a sigh as she slowly marched back to her seat. Picking up the pencil between her teeth, she began the interrogation in a monotonous tone. It seems all her cheerfulness has deflated at the thought of washing bedpans. That's okay, it was getting on my nerves. There's something inherently wrong with people who are overly cheerful. I can't put my hoof on exactly what but, they really put me off. Like this mare before me whose attitude completely capsized and she was now a depressed lump. I can't work with this, I need ponies to be consistent.
Despite my internal frustrations with her, just as before, she still wouldn't let me speak. She read off the questions one by one and spoke an answer for me. Then she told herself out loud that it was probably correct judging by my appearance. I was okay with that. It seemed as if this was her form of rebellion at the no-fun policy. She also stayed quiet for long periods of time, writing down what seemed like a lot more than what she had said the answer would be. Not exactly sure what she was doing but, so long as I got to leave soon and be on my way, I wasn't going to have to steal everything she owned. Assuming she actually owned anything. I doubt it though.
A couple of hours had passed by and Roo came back in. Not surprisingly, Canary wasn't as enthusiastic at seeing the older pony this time. Roo stated that there was a group of ponies apprehended and they needed to be processed. The younger mare passed the clipboard over and told her superior that I should be good to go. After a thorough check of the paperwork, Roo pointed a hoof at the door and told me to leave. Good, finally.
I made my way past her and through the exit, entrance, whatever you want to classify a single door to a room as, and I stopped when I saw Silver. She was playing with my bow. She froze when she saw me and I gave her an icy stare.
"Um…" she began, "Is- Is he…"
"Give him his stuff back and get him out of here." Roo barked.
The filly gave me a sheepish grin as she moved away so I could collect my things. I'm surprised they gave me everything back and I'm even more surprised they're letting me go so easily. They didn't even take a single arrow out of my quiver. I'm not sure if I should find that suspicious or not. And, with that thought, I do a double check of all my gear just to make sure they didn't plant anything suspicious.
Not finding anything out of the ordinary, I finally acknowledge the stallion giving me a hard stare. I raised an eyebrow at him and he swished his blue and white tail in response. That dented tin can cutiemark seems to match his bent out of shape attitude. Whatever. I start walking towards the treeline and he follows me. They're giving me another escort, apparently. He didn't speak a word to me until I was right at the forest's edge.
"Go on, git and don't come back!" he snarled and gestured at the trees with his head. Well that was a fond farewell.
I gave an annoyed snort in response as I trotted off into the forest. Knowing my way around, I easily made my way through and to the town of The Everfree. I entered the mercenary town, passing the buildings I was so familiar with. Trotting along on the rickety wooden path that led through the town I saw ponies, griffons and a couple minotaurs wandering about. Some were going about their business, others standing in small groups and talking amongst each other while others were making deals, selling slaves, weapons or expensive trinkets.
Passing Dr. Slice's office, as soon as his nurse unlocked the door, four twitchy ponies shoved their way inside to get more of whatever drug they were obviously addicted to. As I passed the Rouge Rogue's job board, I saw a couple of stallions arguing with the mare at the front desk. Something about being angry at the price for information. I'm not surprised. Information is just as valuable a commodity as food or medicine. Everything has its price.
As I passed by the Crippled Cragadile Inn, there was a sizable crowd complaining at a tan pegasus with a multicolored mane. I know exactly who he is. He's an asshole and he deserves to be shot. I wasn't about to though, I'd get into trouble with Merchant if I did. It does amuse me that everypony's pissed off at him and he's having a hard time calming the crowd. I could see he was shouting back at them, probably telling them he has no control over whatever they were yelling at him about but they were all so boisterous that his words sounded like garbled nonsense.
I could, however, make out some of what the crowd was saying. It was obvious they were angry with the rebels detaining and interrogating them. I was right, the residents of The Everfree were not happy with the intrusion of their private comings and goings and were not going to keep their opinions to themselves. At least I don't have to worry about the politics between towns. I have always refused to be a member of any organization.
Being registered with the Rouge Rogues entailed a portion of my earnings would be turned in to the leaders so they could pay for the free food they gave to their community. Any jobs had to go through the job board to keep track of who did what and bounties on other members could not be collected in town. As much as having sanctuary within any Rouge Rogue territory is a tempting offer, I prefer not to be owned by some institution or person. Besides, everypony here knows Merchant will beat the shit out of those who mess with me. Perks of knowing the boss I suppose.
Despite having asylum in The Everfree, I do not live here. I continued on beyond the border and toward my destination. The path that led East of the town wasn't maintained since it was less frequently traveled. The brush was thicker which made my progress slower but as soon as I reached the ancient castle grounds, the foliage thinned out.
I had been told this was the home of the ruler of Equestria before King Sombra took control a millennia ago. I'm not sure how true it is but, judging by the damage that time has wrought on the fortress I would say the age is about right at least. The forest has taken the land back for itself. Tall trees grew from inside the structure, breaking down walls with their branches. Vines wrapped around the grand pillars and grass and bushes grew from out of cracks between the aging cobblestones. The work of pony hooves for past royalty has been subdued to the test of time.
When I was younger and I discovered the castle, I had always wanted to go explore the rubble. I imagined there were probably treasures of gold and jewels hidden away within. I was always told I wasn't allowed to go inside. I tried to argue back that there was possibly the greatest treasure in all of Equestria inside but I had to listen to their rules because they were my seniors and they were bigger than I was. As I grew older and wiser, I understood why. As much as I want to find the ancient treasure of kings past, it was not safe to explore a death trap over a thousand years old. The castle was already crumbling to pieces, somepony wandering around and moving rubble would bring its collapse sooner. The urge to find the treasure room was still strong but I had my own hoard to return to.
I trotted around the massive structure and came upon a bending stream. I followed the river away from the castle and around a large jagged rock structure known as Ragged Rock Ridge. As I passed, a few small boulders came tumbling down just ahead of me. I slowed my pace to a stop. Looking to where the rocks came from, I saw one last boulder fall down the cliffside. In my peripheral vision, I caught movement at the top of the ridge. When I looked directly at it, whatever it was had gone. There are rumors about spirits in this area. I don't believe in ghosts and ghouls, they're usually just stories to keep strangers away from some kind of secret.
Moving on, I passed by a bridge that led across the water before I came to a fork in the river. Following the stream Northward, I crossed some railroad tracks that I knew took ponies from Canterlot to Baltimare or Fillydelphia and came upon an open field. Looming above me was Foal Mountain. It wasn't the biggest mountain in Equestria but it had once been important enough for King Sombra to demand a royal city be built here.
I stepped along the cracked stone trail that led through the small line of trees that seemed to guard the mountain range. I passed several cautionary signs that were nailed to the trees, giving several different warnings to travelers. Along the side of the road were a few forgotten suitcases, a broken toy and an abandoned waggon with a broken wheel. The badly torn cloth cover of the vehicle was softly waving in the light breeze of the morning.
I stopped just in front of a large, hastily built wall that obstructed the path ahead. It had a pony skull painted in red on it that took up the entire face of the structure. The barricade was made of large cut stones with a thick wooden beam for support every ten feet or so. Large dark crystals protruded from the earth below to help give the wall extra support. With years of neglect on upkeep, much of the surrounding forest latched itself to the pony made structure and gave it an almost enchanted look.
I grabbed the rope that dangled down from the grappling hook which was already anchored to the top of the stone and I scaled the side. When I reached the structure's peak I was able to see what was hidden beyond. The landscape before me was familiar to me, someplace I felt safe and secure. My hidden home where nopony dares to tread.
Below me on the other side were dozens of carts and wagons. Most were wrecked and broken, empty save for their deceased occupants and drivers. Long dead ponies lay scattered along the path as if they crushed each other while trying to get past the walls. The vast majority of them were unicorns and they were wearing some sort of formal outfits to show their high class status. Earth ponies were still latched to the carts with their slave collars and chains. Some of the bones had damages to them, a cracked skull or a sharp blade lodged between bones and some pierced through with bullet holes. There were adults and children, slaves and masters, civilians and King's guards alike. Nopony survived the tragedy that occurred here so long ago.
I descended to the other side and continued on the road for a bit. Two massive statues loomed above the road. They faced one another on either side of me, built to represent faceless rearing unicorns. The statues marked a change for the road as well as the city limits. The pathway was now paved with white quartz blocks, each having their own unique design of black veins splitting the stones in various ways looking like inverted lightning strikes. On the outer edge of the fancified road were more of the black crystals, framing the sides with its contrast to the white quartz.
Unfortunately though, time had taken its toll on the beauty that had once been and now most of the road was damaged with cracks and foliage growing between. One of the unicorn statues had lost a leg and the other its tail. They weren't truly lost of course, they had fallen to the ground and destroyed some of the roadway beneath. Just like the marble pathway that led to Canterlot, this road also had the king's sigil held high on flagpoles lining the road. Most of the flags were non-existent at this point though.
I continued to follow the elevation as it weaved back and forth up the mountain side until I reached a large wooden platform that was attached to a pulley system high above. Unlike most of the surrounding pony-built architecture, this elevator actually still worked as intended. It also helped that I maintained it on occasion, I don't exactly have the urge to fall off the mountain side from an old frayed rope.
I entered the dumbwaiter, grabbed the line and began to pull. The primitive hoist system did its job and lifted the wooden platform into the air until Thief and I reached the top. I tied the rope off to make sure it didn't drop us back down and I exited into the city of King's Hoof.
King's Hoof was fairly new though shortly abandoned after construction. It was a feat of engineering that stabilized the town between two mountain peaks as well as an overabundance of lower structure supports. It was a combination of wood beetles and constant landslides that impeded construction but the King was demanding so the workers did what they could. What ultimately suspended progress was the illness that was discovered within the caverns of Foal Mountain. It had gone unnoticed at first but then spread like wildfire. Everypony panicked and tried to flee. Very few survived the quarantined city but the plague wasn't stopped. It somehow spread to the rest of Equestria. King's Hoof, eventually renamed to Pestilence Peak, was an abandoned city left to the flora and fauna. And me, of course.
That left the city to ruin. It was a lonely mountain now, isolated, shunned and cold. With nopony to fight against the pests or collapsing shale, the town has begun to crumble down the mountainside. Half of it has already fallen to the abyss but the half I live on seems sturdy enough. I know, I was just talking about how a millenia-old crumbling castle wasn't safe to explore but I live in a decaying city. It's not the same, now shut up.
I trotted on, passing cottages and storefronts. The homes of long gone ponies had a faded symbol painted on the door; a large circle with an X that split it into four sections. In each of the sections were different numbers. The top spot showed how many ponies in total lived in the house, the left numbered how many children were inside. The right counted how many sick leaving the bottom to tally the dead. They were apparently to warn others to stay away or get sick, something that was demanded by the King at the time.
I made my way through the city and towards the incomplete castle. My hoofsteps echoed through the streets as I continued, the only sound I could hear in the uninhabited space. I eventually came upon a small bridge that led over a dry canal. I walked across the overpass and was finally at my destination. The city's bell tower.
The building was as large as it was tall. The bottom level, like most of the buildings in the town, was made of stones held together with soft lime mortar to glue them together. The remaining four floors were made of wood with the second and higher floors overhanging the first by about a foot. The majority of the walls displayed stained glass windows with religious depictions on them. The bell tower itself had notably lacked a bell from this angle.
Due to the fallen news press building that had collapsed in front of the tower, the front door was inaccessible. I knew of another entrance though. Turning back to the culvert, I descended the sewage access ladder and walked towards a pile of bricks. Stone and wood had been blasted out from the inside of the church, leaving a hole for me to enter through and into the basement. I easily climbed the heap and entered the building.
Inside the room was dark and slightly damp, the only light coming from the hole in the wall where the rising sunlight slowly peeked through. Cobwebs were thick and hung low on the rafters, catching bugs and dust alike. Along one wall there was a rack full of unopened wine bottles. In large rows filling the majority of the space were larger racks to hold oaken wine barrels that were still corked.
From a crack in one of the walls, a white rat came running up to me. I knew exactly who she was. One of my older rats, Winter, who Merchant and I used to send notes to each other. I gave her a smile and held out my hoof to her. After she boarded, I lifted her up to greet her and she gave my nose a lick. I sat down and adjusted the small collar she wore, checking for any messages. As I expected, a small piece of paper was attached. I removed it and stuffed it in my pocket. Winter hopped onto my withers, I stood and walked up the set of stairs that led me to the ground level.
The nave of the cathedral looked a bit more inviting with the light filtering through the colorful windows along the front and sides of the building. I stood behind the chancel and was hidden by a thick stage backdrop. Moving around the curtain, I came to the podium where somepony's God was sculpted for them to worship. It was a massive white alicorn doing battle with a monstrous black creature made of many different animals. The flags on either side of the statue were of the white alicorn standing tall while the darkness was below, subdued by the powerful being that dominated the banner. An old dusty tomb had been left open on the dias, forgotten after the last congregation. Beyond the stage were rows and rows of pews. Here and there were skeletons of ponies who prayed in their last moments to the statue before them.
I trotted past the pews and toward the main entrance of the building. I made my way up the spiral staircase next to the large double doors and past the second floor. It was a room that was filled with cots and mattresses. The other end of the room was sectioned off for a large kitchen and a few tables to eat at. The cots were shoved in a corner of the room while the mattresses were violently torn apart. My rats liked to use them for their nests and I may have helped them get the stuffing out. Not surprisingly, Thief and Winter both decided to disembark their ride and scamper off to see their families. I smiled as I watched my companions go.
The spiral staircase led me to the third floor of the cathedral where all of the large desks were shoved to the walls of the room, leaving the center vacant. Along one of the walls was a wardrobe that I knew to contain ancient robes worn by the clergy ponies and their transitional deacons. On two of the desks next to the wardrobe were books stacked up high which were collecting dust; I had no interest in any of their religious texts. The other desks contained materials which I have collected over the years. Stolen documents, journals, unframed paintings and unpolished jewelry. Display cases filled with ornaments and trinkets that shined like the stars and sparkled with the sunlight.
Hanging from the clean rafters of this room were several pieces of silken linen, their designs completely mismatched each other not to mention the decor of the church. Most of them were decorated in brilliant gemstones, others had golden laced thread and magnificent embroidery that had most likely taken weeks of hoof stitching to get just right. My favorite was the mural of the Crystal Empire. The castle was embroidered with fine thread and studded with black diamonds to compliment the white fire opals that topped the citadel. Not many ponies can accurately illustrate the grand city but this one did it justice. I get a shiver down my spine every time I see it, reminds me why I never want to go back.
The elegant scenery I had hung above my work desk that was placed directly next to the winding staircase. Above was a fishing net where I hung some of my tools. On the top of the desk I had left my polishing supplies and a hoof full of unfinished arrows. I really need to work on those, I'm getting low. On the floor next to the desk was a neatly stacked tower of empty picture frames while filled ones hung on every open wall space. In the center of the room I had display stands where the most elegant pieces of jewelry were presented; too precious to be sold to my fence.
I moved to my work desk, pulled down my hood and mask then removed my saddlebags. I removed all the items and put them away where they belonged. In the larger drawer of the desk is where I kept the items in need of cleaning while paper things like bonds or journals got placed into the smaller drawer for examination later. I hung my bow and quiver up on their respective hooks that were attached to the fishing net. I'm still upset that I had given that charm to the little filly. I shouldn't have, she didn't deserve it and I know she's not going to take proper care of it. I need to get it back from her but, not today though.
The last item I removed from my bag was the box I had stolen from Count Markus. It was painted bright red and accented in thin golden lines that made a stunning design. Studded on the lid was a large sapphire with four small pearls around it. At the front of the box was a keyhole. Pulling out my tools, I got to work. I heard the soft scraping of my lockpicks against the inside as I felt around, placing the tumblers into their slots. It didn't take me long to unlock the box, I was well experienced and this lock was amateurish at best.
The inside was lined with dark gray plush velvet which cradled seven shards of a blue gem. I picked one up to examine it. I've never seen a gemstone like this before. It wasn't sapphire, tanzanite or zircon which were the obvious blue gems it could have been. It definitely wasn't a blue diamond, they were more clear than this milky thing was. Though I couldn't figure it out, they were at least of some precious importance to be kept in such an ornate box. Examining them closer, it was clear to me they were part of something larger; two of the pieces even fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Must have been why the mercs at the bar called them shards, mustang shards to be precise. But what in Equus is a mustang gemstone?
I gave an involuntary yawn and shook myself. Looking out the window I could see the sun rising higher in the sky. It was close to midday, was it that late already? This mystery was going to have to wait until tomorrow then, maybe my fence will know what they are. I left the box and gem shards on the workbench and ascended the spiral staircase once more.
The fourth floor of the cathedral was a small attic room that hid away old scrolls covered in cobwebs. Those I shoved in a corner a long time ago, I needed the room for my barrels. In every last bit of open space they could fit in, this room had over a dozen barrels filled to the brim with golden bits. As I stepped off of the stairs, the floor gave a long groan, complaining at the weight it was forced to bear. The roof above was badly damaged with a large piece of metal protruding through the wood and a couple lengths of frayed rope danged down.
The coins I had collected in my saddlebags I brought upstairs with me so I could add them to my hoard. To the average pony, this was more than a fortune but, for me, this wasn't enough. It would never be enough. I have been collecting and adding to my stash for more than twenty years and I still didn't have what I needed. I wonder if I ever would.
I turned to the ladder on the far side of the room, squeezed between the barrels and climbed up to the final level of the building. This level was more like a gazebo with a short wall on all sides and a rounded roof held up by thick wooden posts. Above me, the mechanisms that once held the large bell in place were broken, ripped down with the bell when the old wood gave way to rot. The bell itself lay on the crushed floor of the tower. Next to it was a small table with two drawers, a lantern and a silver pocket watch on top of it.
I took the note I received from Winter, set it on the desk and removed my gear. Folding them methodically, I placed them neatly in the drawers and I left my boots on the floor. Looking out to the city below, I could see everything. The unfinished castle, the houses and shops, the mountain peaks and the eerie caverns that spawned the plague. The sun shone down over it all, illuminating my kingdom before me. I do not possess a crown, subjects or ponies to till my lands. I do not have ponies to guard my territory nor do I have others to bow to my every whim. Regardless, this empty land before me is mine and mine alone. I am king of rubble and dirt, of cobwebs and wild dogs. It's not exactly what I want but at least it's better than a slave collar. I turned away and toward the fallen bell to read the letter.
'Hey Clout, it's me. It's been months, why not come visit so I know you're alive? I'm getting worried about you. Your shipment has been here for a while now, come pick it up already! I've got a new helper and she really wants to open it. I can't wait for you to meet her, she's absolutely adorable! I wish you would find a mare and settle down already.
I've got a job for you. A stinking journalist got his hooves on information that would get us into trouble and I think you should pay him a visit. My brother also has a job for you. Come see me soon!
– M.'
My eyes lingered on the second to last line and I seethed. Why would I ever do a job for that no good asshole. Merchant should know better. The fuck is he drinking that's making him think I would agree to a job from Flight?
I was brought out of my anger when Thief jumped up onto my shoulder. "Oh, hi." I said to her and she twitched her whiskers at me, "We need to go see Merchant tomorrow." She hopped down and ran inside of the bell. "Oh, is it bedtime already?" I asked with a chuckle, "Alright, I'm coming."
I stuffed the letter inside of the drawer and walked over to the open side of the bell. I moved aside the old raggedy sheet I had hanging over the entrance and into the metal mouth. My bed resembled more of a nest than a cot, it was a pile of straw, cotton and ripped sheets. I curled up on my makeshift mattress, waited for Thief to settle into her spot next to me, I laid my head down and fell asleep.