The Devil's Foundry

The man glared. “Ten Copper, final offer.”

Rel nodded, handing over the coins with a smile. The shopkeep grumbled as he handed over a bolt of linen. It was rough material, but still worth much more than the ten copper Rel had paid for it.

Bartering came easier after unlocking that Cutting Words skill, but Rel still didn’t know what to think of the whole Minion class, especially the part about knives and all of that.

It was better than cobbler, though.

Into the bag it went, along with the rest of Lady Via’s purchases. Rel tucked the rest of the coins away, stepping out into the street. A man bumped into the minion, sending Rel staggering for half a step, cap almost flying off.

With a muttered swear, Rel caught the hat, jamming it back on and scampering out of the way of the two burly men walking down the street.

With a furtive glance towards the street, Rel ducked into a nearby alleyway, before reaching into her tunic and pulling a small case out from beneath her bindings. Rel held up the small, barely palm-sized mirror, hissing when she saw a long strand of hair had fallen loose from her cap. She quickly tidied it up, tugging her cap low and giving herself a once-over to make sure she looked like an underfed cobbler boy again.

Well, underfed Fillet Minion now, whatever that was supposed to be.

With a nod, Rel tucked the mirror away again, letting out a sigh of relief when the metal was pressed against her skin once more.

It was one of the last things she had from her mother.

Pausing once more to make sure her cap was firmly affixed and to check that she hadn’t lost her purse, Rel stepped back out onto the street. She let out a low sigh, before screwing up her courage and continuing through the market district.

Lady Via had given her a list of items to find. Thus far, she’d managed only the basics, some things either too expensive or else entirely impossible to locate. Why would anyone turn copper into wire? At least she’d talked to a smith who said he could probably do it; she’d have to confirm with Lady Via before committing to a deal.

Rel stepped to the side of a large cart, heading back towards the old docks. The sun was high overhead, and the canvas bag she’d picked up to carry everything was digging into her shoulders, but Rel still had one more stop left to make.

Her feet pounded down familiar dirt roads as she moved away from the old thoroughfare. Stone buildings gave way to wood, and she ducked her head at the sight of familiar faces.

Not that she thought anyone would recognize her; it had been years since she’d left home.

But old lady Mara was still cooking stew in a pot right outside her door. Rel remembered her parents sending her over there for lunch, and the old woman would tell them about tales of famous adventurers and daring knights. She taught them how to read too, even though Rel had hated it at the time.

It turned out that knowing her letters was the biggest reason she’d managed to survive after… leaving home. Most craftsmen wouldn’t take on a dirty urchin, but one who knew their letters and could count higher than ten? That was a different matter.

Rel patted the parchment scroll tucked up her sleeve. Lady Via was the most recent in a long line of jobs, but she was the first woman Rel had worked for.

Rel didn’t know how to feel about that. Her… Da and Lady Via wouldn’t get along, to say the least.

She came to a stop in front of her old house.

If possible, it looked even worse than she remembered it. The wooden steps leading up to the door were half-sunk into the mud, and what little paint she remembered had long since been stripped off. She remembered painting that door with her Mom’s crew, before.

Rel shook her head; there was a reason she’d saved this stop for last. At this time of day, all of the miners were working. She walked up to the door, lifting it by the splintery handle until the battered wooden hinge slipped clear of the latch and let her push the door open.

She closed it behind her, sucking in a deep breath at the dusty and grimy interior of her childhood home.

Even the warehouse looked cleaner.

She took a step forward, old boards creaking beneath her feet.

“Heh-?” Rel froze at the voice. “Who’s there?!”

She swallowed as a tall, gaunt man came around the corner. Her eyes caught on the near empty green bottle in the man’s bony fingers.

“Who the feck are you!”

Rel shivered, but… she wasn’t the same girl who’d run away from here nearly five years ago. She was… she was better now, she had a rare class, and Lady Via had trusted her to find the things they needed, while Dee and Dum, career toughs, were busy putting up a new roof.

So, she raced her head. “Hello, Da.”

The man blinked, eyes squinting at Rel, before his chapped lips cracked into a grin. “Relly!” He spread his arms, teetering slightly. “I kn-knew you’d be back.”

Rel didn’t step forward. When her Da was on the bottle… She shook her head. “I’m just here to grab my stuff.”

His smile collapsed into a sharp glare. “Eh? What stuff.” He straightened up slightly, towering nearly a foot and a half over Rel. She’d always had her mother’s height. “Sold everything you didn’t already steal.”

Her heart clenched in her chest. “Thought you said you’d knew I’d come back.” Her voice was rough, she hated it, clutching tighter at the bag at her side. “I dun care, just let me through, I want to look at my old room.”

Da spat. “Thought I raised you better than that, Relia, didn’t raise me no back-talking little shit, did I?”

She glared at him. “You didn’t raise me at all!” She spread her feet. “Ma did, and the day she died you—you—ugh!”

Her Da chuckled, leaning forward. “You always did look just like her, Relia.” He took a staggering step forward, hand reaching towards her. “Look, I know we didn’t always see eye to eye, but yah came back. We can...” He licked his lips. “Talk about it.”

Then his hand came down on her shoulder and Relia lost her shit.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

The words cut the air, not just in their volume, but with physical force. Her Da staggered back, clutching at his chest as her skill drew a thin line right below his clavicle. His hand came away bloody.

His eyes lost focus for a second, and she saw the exact moment he realized she had a new class.

Rel drew herself up to her full height. She was tall for a woman, taller than Lady Via certainly, but she knew she didn’t look very intimidating.

Luckily, she had a class for that.

“Just let me go through my room, and I won’t have to hurt you.”

The man looked at her for a second. “Relia, who’d you get mixed up with. If it’s one of them gangs I can help out, I’ve got connections and—”

“I dun—I don’t need your connections.” She took a trembling breath. “Go back to your chair, and I’ll be gone before you finish that bottle.”

She met her Da’s eyes, and he looked away.

“’S not your room anymore.”

“I don’t care.”

She walked forward, forcing the man to give way, shoving past him into the main room of the house.

It was a small building, but still bigger than most places she’d lived since running away. There was a rickety staircase leading up to a small loft where her Da’s bed was, and a tiny little nook in the back that was her old room.

She opened the door and froze.

On her bed was a girl, barely older than Rel herself. She was asleep, but Rel could see the telltale greying skin around her eyes and fingernails. She shot a glance towards her father, stewing on his chair in the corner.

What she’d taken for just wrinkles were actually signs of Miner’s Root, weren’t they. She bit her tongue, shoving into the room. She’d thought…

It didn’t matter what she’d thought, obviously she’d been wrong.

The door banged against the far wall of her little room, and the girl on the bed stirred. “Aker?” Her eyes fluttered, pupils dilated. She looked around sleepily. “Again?”

Rel felt her gorge rising as the girl spread her legs slightly, letting the thin sheet fall off them.

She looked away, kneeling on the floor at the foot of the bed as the girl fell asleep again. Miner’s Root did that, she knew people who took it just to sleep away the day. She just… never thought her father would be one of them.

Never thought he’d have a girl with hair the exact same shade as—

Relia bit her lip so hard it bled. The sharp tang of iron on her tongue drew her back to why she was here. Her Da said he’d sold everything, and she believed the—the bastard. But there was one thing he didn’t know about.

She found the plank easily, even after all these years. Her fingers were bigger now, but she wormed them right into the crease in the warped board. She hissed as a splinter dug into her thumb, working the board upwards with short jerks.

It popped free. Rel’s hand darted into the hole, yanking out an oilskin pouch. The fabric was dry and cracked, but it was unbroken. She undid the tie, peeking inside.

With a sharp nod, Rel pulled it shut again and stood.

She needed to get out of this place before she threw up.

Rel didn’t spare a glance towards her father as she left the house, ignoring his plaintive whining. She stormed down the dirt roads of her old neighborhood, practically daring someone to get in her way.

For once in her life, no one did.

Before she even realized it, she was back in front of their warehouse. It was only a little deeper in the old docks than her house had been. She remembered these streets; she’d been all over this part of Silverwall before her Ma had—.

Rel swallowed, walking into the warehouse.

Dee and Dum were finished with the roof and were adding some more support beams to the walls. Rel picked out Lady Via on the far side of the room, deep in thought.

Shaking off the last of her shivers, she started forward again.

Part of Rel, a large part, still wondered why she kept coming back. She’d had ample chances to leave; hells below, two silver was even enough to buy an apprenticeship with a real merchant, one that wouldn’t try to get his ‘money’s worth’ after he realized she was a woman.

But for some reason, she came back to Lady Via time and time again.

“Good, you’ve returned.”

Rel gave a nod at that, setting her bag on the ground in front of the Lady.

Maybe it would go the same as every other time. Rel would get a new class, gain a level or two, and then have to leave. Even then, that was fine. Rel got a rare class this time, and in Silverwall, that was worth its weight in gold.

Via opened the bag, going over the contents. “Better than I expected honestly.” She shrugged. “I suppose it was a miracle to expect copper wire.”

But… Lady Via trusted her. Lady Via had plans. Lady Via was an outworlder. It was clear Lady Via wasn’t a good person. She used wicked magic, turned a man into a demon; but good people hadn’t ever done right by Rel either. Maybe it wouldn’t turn out the same this time. And just like always, Rel didn’t have anywhere else to go.

Relia had never had anywhere to go since the day her mother died.

She swallowed. “I found a smith who said he can make copper wire, but it’s not cheap.”

“No, it wouldn’t be.” Lady Via smiled. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.”

Relia wanted to know how this woman always seemed to know where she was going, always seemed to have everything all figured out.

“I also have… this.” She held out the oilskin pouch.

Lady Via raised an eyebrow, taking the pouch and weighing it in a single small hand. Then she opened it. Her expression lit up as she pulled the small compass from the bag. Even after all these years, the brass case was just as bright as the day Rel’s mother had given it to her.

“Be good.” Ma had said. “Be good and I’ll bring you with me on my next voyage.”

But then she’d sailed away and never came back. And Rel had tried to be good. She’d tried and tried and tried, but all being good had gotten her was an empty stomach and another set of bruises.

“Oh.” Lady Via’s eyes widened. “Rel, you’ve outdone yourself.” She grinned, and Rel felt a spark of pride growing in her chest. “Lodestone.” The woman laughed. “With this, we’ll turn the world on its head!”

And Rel nodded, because being good had never gotten her anywhere.

So maybe, it was time to be a bit wicked.