Book 2 Chapter 20

The bustle of a busy settlement welcomed Diya, followed by a blast of cold air. The stone buildings immediately around the hub carried the FTF’s logo and snow-covered their roofs. Even though the moon was directly overhead, the streets were busy with woolly bovines pulling carts. Diya spotted several people riding tall, horned deer and strange shaggy beasts too.

“Keep moving, mate,” an armed FTF guard called to him, guiding a pair of oxen to where he stood. Just as Diya got out of the way, the front end of a wagon peaked out of the gate. The guard got the pack animals in the harness, and they pulled the vehicle through. It housed two passengers and a tall stack of crates.

The gate stood as an independent stone arch full of white light. Diya had never witnessed such a layout before. The guards were regulating traffic, so one side—the one Diya had just exited, only had people coming out of it. While people heading to the primary hub used the other.

Stalls lined the square surrounding the gate. Their individual lamps illuminated their wares of steaming pots and charcoal-lit grills. It might’ve been midnight on the ninth floor, but the eight had just woken up and were starting their business day. In the distance, he spotted Climbers wearing De Lawney and Montagu crests too. So, he didn’t stand around. Diya rushed to the binding stone, attuned it with his soul, and visited the local upgrade station.

First, Diya fused Mole’s Claw with a tier-one Exploding Inkfire Ball card. Much to his glee, it produced a tier-two copy of the first card that added exploding inkfire drippings to the claws. The product put a smile on his face. It was better than he’d expected. The basic Exploding Inkfire Ball card was a weak experimental copy, and he only intended to use it as upgrading fodder. Next, he fused the product with his latest gauntlet, creating the tier-three card: Clawed Launcher Gauntlet. It had two new keywords. Digger and Inkfire Blast.

Testing would have to wait. Diya raced back to the gate. The pedestrian line was much shorter, and he found himself in the primary hub within ten minutes.

The gate room was crowded as usual. Since the FTF’s jacket didn’t have a hood, Diya partially summoned his coat using white ink and used it to cover his head. Then it was a matter of weaving through the crowd before he exited the tower.

When the smells of New Calcutta and the Bay of Bengal entered Diya’s nose, he couldn’t help but smile. Even though Diya was considering becoming a permanent resident of Gaia’s Ark, Diya had grown up in the city. It’s where he had gotten to know Neer and Alexander. As a result, he loved it. Dawn had just passed, and he took a moment to admire the city as it woke up beyond the Climber’s Market. Despite the time of day, barges and ferries crowded the canals, connecting the two major markets to the docks.

Diya wasn’t sure how to proceed. Initially, he had planned on making a beeline for the Boleyn house. Now, he wasn’t so sure. There was no telling whether Edgar and company were in. For all he knew, Baba could’ve left their service already. At least, he hoped he had. The alternative would break his heart. Either way, after his last encounter with the house, he didn’t blindly want to face them again.

After some thought, Diya chose to visit Kartik first. He dealt with Baba on a semi-regular basis, after all. Whenever the Boleyns needed a new card, Baba or one of his workers would visit Kartik first. Since the merchant dealt with several other houses and organizations, too, he was a veritable wellspring of information.

It had been a while since Diya had indulged in proper spiced tea, so he spent a little over an hour indulging in the treat. He walked around the already open shops holding the clay vessel, examining wares in the already open shops. He dared to venture into the high-end stores as well. Not long ago, the clerks would’ve looked down on him for the lack of noble connections or a highly upgraded soul. Now, thanks to FTF’s logo on his shoulder, they scrambled to wait on him hand and foot. Diya blamed commissioned-based pay systems for their behavior.

Even though it was an arsehole move, Diya had them top up his tea before giving them the cold shoulder. He only paused once when he came across a Core-upgraded axe made of materials only found in the fourth interval. It tickled him that he could afford it. He’d never known the luxury of being well-off, but despite his bank balance, he couldn’t justify the expense. Perhaps he’d consider such a purchase someday after he had set up Baba for a decent life in the city.

When the nearby clock tower rang eight times, Diya made his way over to Kartik’s store. Much to his surprise, the shop wasn’t just open, but there was a small crowd of Climbers around the storefront bidding on a trio of showcased cards.

The crowd’s density made it impossible to pick people out of the mess, but Diya spotted almost every noble house’s crest among the mess. He climbed atop a pile of crates, crossed his legs, and watched the chaos.

The first card to go belonged to a Lynaur. Diya had only read about the rare creature and had never encountered any art depicting them. As the bidding began, he leaned forward, watching the golden card. Most accounts talked about odd, six-limbed lions. A human torso grew out of where their neck should’ve been. The beasts featured human arms that ended in claws and a giant lion head. They displayed a variety of magical abilities and wielded a variety of weapons, including bows and polearms. The few Climbers that had encountered them called the beasts vicious hunters.

“The seller reports the Lynaur stalked them soundlessly across the twenty-fifth floor’s plains,” Kartik said during his sales pitch. “It shot frost blasts from its mouth and wielded a spear.”

Even though the crowd started shouting their bids all at once, Kartik masterfully picked through them. Diya had never witnessed him during such sales and couldn’t help but admire his control over the interested parties. Diya couldn’t help but hypothesize how the card would interact with Gwyneth’s soul—gaining freezing blasts in addition to her lightning attacks would give her a formidable variety of spells.

In the end, it was an Arab sheik’s valet that outbid everyone. After handing Kartik a stack of black-metal tablets, she handed the golden card to her employer, who inspected it before placing it in a velvet-lined box. They left straight after. The following card on offer came from a mantis on the twentieth floor. It boasted metallic chitin, flight, and quick regeneration. It, too, sold straight away. However, when Kartik announced the final sale item, most of the crowd dispersed. It was by far the weakest of the three, and Diya recognized the red card. It belonged to Red Charger.

Diya had never been to auctions before, but he had heard sellers started with the worst wares and then worked their way up to the most valuable articles. Kartik knew the crowd in Climber’s Market better than anyone Diya knew, though. So, he didn’t question the man’s ways.

When the remaining groups started bidding on the red card, he recognized one of the voices. After taking a couple of minutes to scan the crowd for the short woman, he found her. It was Yuki. No matter how much he looked, Diya failed to find Hina or Koki. Mei stuck close to the cape-soul-using Climber, but the others were nowhere to be seen. Diya felt his jaw clench and his ears burn. There was a chance they had parted ways for the sake of shopping. Something inside Diya said otherwise. He worried Yuki had successfully gotten rid of Koki and then turned on Hina when she tried to claim her payment. Diya hoped he was wrong but couldn’t help but fight the urge to mess with her.

“Twenty pounds,” Diya yelled, joining the crowd. The last bid had been Yuki’s at eighteen.

“Who said that?” Kartik asked, looking over the crowd. Diya raised a hand. “The gentleman from the Fair Trade Federation bids twenty pounds. Would anyone like to raise that?”

“Twenty-one!” A man to Diya’s left yelled.

“My verified card and five pounds!” Yuki called.

“The Ito clan’s representative bids a card valued at eighteen pounds and five on top. Would anyone like to top that?”

Everyone fell silent on hearing Kartik’s words. When Yuki’s eyes met Diya’s, her eyes widened. Then a smug expression replaced her surprise, making his blood boil. Uzeth’s card had proven invaluable, but Diya still despised the woman for her former betrayal.

“Twenty-five pounds!”

Yuki’s face contorted into a vicious scowl on hearing his bid. “The card and an additional ten!” The other team looked between the pair before stepping back from Kartik’s shop, leaving Diya to stand next to Yuki and Mei. The latter woman struggled to meet his eye. “Are you willing to contest it, Diya Sen?”

“I won’t if you tell me where Koki and Hina are?”

Yuki smirked. “We ran into trouble on the ninth floor,” she answered.

“Does that mean you left them to die instead of fighting when things got tough?” Diya felt his jaw clench as he asked the question.

The crowd behind them murmured, and Yuki looked back at them, keeping her face expressionless. “It was a mistake hiring you and Hina. We let her continue as our porter, and she let herself get run down by a deer, of all things. The last I saw of Koki, he was impaled on its horns.” Yuki sighed, shaking his head. “She didn’t just fail to keep up but went down with all our loot. If we didn’t lose all our cards, I wouldn’t be here wasting my time on—” She looked down at Red Charger’s card. “Are you going to top my bid or continue wasting my time?”

When Diya looked at Kartik, the man shook his head. “Fine,” Diya said. “I’d rather not stand shoulder to shoulder with the honourless Ito clan anyway. The card is yours. I don’t have the means to top your bid.”

“Very well! Twenty-eight pounds going once. Going twice? Sold to the beautiful Japanese ladies.” Yuki stomped over to Kartik and handed him a silver card and ten large notes. After claiming her prize, she handed it to Mei and spared Diya a final glance before pushing her way through the crowd. They stood around, looking Diya up and down for a moment before dispersing.

“Your father would consider that rather unethical, Diya,” Kartik said, holding the silver card up to the light. “Betting on your own wares to hike up the price? What would you do if she backed down?”

“I’d take the card back from you and sleep well,” Diya answered. “That woman is vile.”

Kartik laughed. “I’ve dealt with her clan before. None of them was as vile as her.”

“She got my friend killed. I think.” Diya sighed, shaking his head. “Have you heard from my father?”

Kartik looked Diya up and down. He walked past Diya and closed the store’s doors. “It’s good you showed up when you did. The Boleyns are furious, and he’s been laying low.”

“Do you know where he is?” Diya asked.

Kartik nodded. “Before I send you on your way, how about we sort out your take from the sale.”