Ding.
Lucian woke with an irritated look at the sound. Even with the sky covered in dark clouds, today marked a week since he came to the Mudrats. Kid Jeff had mentioned that since people couldn't tell day from night on this island, Selena built a mechanical bell on the shore so they would know when a day had passed.
He turned to get up but couldn't. He was sleeping in a pile of hay covered with a sheet, packed in with a dozen other kids, and one of them had a leg across his chest. He grunted while he threw it back.
He walked over to the new clothes Miss Rachel had prepared for him.
Plain shirt, trousers cut down from something adult. He rolled the sleeves twice, tied a rope around his waist for a belt, and wrapped a strip of cloth over his right wrist.
In this group the adults were outnumbered by the kids. A lot. And the whole thing was managed by five people. The rest were out with Killian. The kids were well-behaved and seemed to follow whatever the Heads told them, and each had a different role, but Lucian was still having a hard time adjusting.S
He put the Mudrats at bandit level in terms of strength, and the resources were not enough for the size of the group. And they seemed to genuinely care about each other, which Lucian saw as a weakness.
He'd also learned that the Mudrats' job was delivering goods between the island and the western continent, like merchants. The only difference was the sea route Killian used. It was faster, and very few knew it.
Lucian knew how valuable a sea route could be. Wars had started over less. Plenty of people would take advantage of a group this small, especially in a place like Crossroad, where there was no law to break in the first place.
That was what concerned him.
Something valuable held by something weak does not stay held for long.
He finished with the rope at his waist and pulled the cloth tighter over his wrist.
Then he went to see Selena for the job.
. . .
Her room smelled the same as before. Herbs and metal.
Selena checked his wounds and his arm.
"It seems you heal faster than expected, Lucy," she said. "You're almost like Killian."
"Killian? Is it because I'm Blessed?"
"Probably."
"Do you have a way to test it?"
"You're the first Blessed I've ever seen. It's rare." Selena sat back. "Maybe we could run a test, if you survive."
"Where's Killian?"
"He left for business yesterday."
She rolled to the table and picked up a folded paper and a small pouch.
"Here's the information on the target."
He took it and read it.
The first page was a drawing of a man with a short description underneath. His name was Don Seal. Fat cheeks, a creepy smile, and one gold tooth.
The next page said Awakened Enforcer, with the abilities of the class listed below it. The rest was various information and a schedule of the target.
The main job was to kill Don Seal and retrieve a ring.
"Is this correct?"
"Yes. We've been watching that place for months."
"What's this?" He held up the small pouch.
"A very potent paralyzing powder," Selena said. "It could put down a young black whale."
"Oh, really? Thanks."
Lucian did not know what a black whale was. But if it was a whale, the powder must be effective.
"Oh, and here." She held out something wrapped in cloth. "A smoke bomb. I made it. It might help."
He took that too and tucked both inside his shirt.
"Anything else I should know?"
Selena was quiet for a moment. One of the mechanical arms folded slowly closed at her side.
"He's an Enforcer," she said. "That means he's durable and can take almost any attack. For the powder to work, he has to inhale it or swallow it."
"I'll keep that in mind." Lucian nodded and turned to go.
He was at the doorway when she spoke again.
"Also. Don't let him touch you, or it's over."
"Alright."
"Good luck," Selena said, waving, a wary look on her face.
Kid Jeff was waiting outside with a bag over his shoulder, rocking on his heels like he had been there a while.
"Did you bring anything useful?" Lucian asked.
"I brought stuff. Not sure it's useful," Kid Jeff replied.
"We'll find out."
. . .
The two of them walked through a dark tunnel that connected to one of the Mudrats outposts, narrow enough that only a small person could pass. Kid Jeff carried the only light, a dim stone that barely reached the walls. Cold water covered their feet, and a long tube ran along the ceiling, blowing air.
After an hour they reached a larger room.
Three kids sat there talking and laughing. They were covered in dirt, their faces tired, but they looked fine otherwise. Digging tools leaned against the corner beside a crate. It seemed they had been here a while.
"How's the digging?" Kid Jeff asked.
"We put the support beams in the new tunnel. The rest are already in position."
"Okay, take a rest. Fourth will handle the rest." Kid Jeff pointed at Lucian, grinning like it was a joke.
"He's too young to be Fourth Head," one of them said with a skeptical look.
"He still has to finish the job, you know," another said.
"Hey, don't be rude. I'm Mark. Let's be friends."
Before Lucian could answer, Kid Jeff cut in. "Hey, hey. Go back now or I'll report it to Sister."
"Uh. Okay, okay," they said in unison, already crawling into another tunnel.
Kid Jeff pulled out a map and spread it against the wall.
"Right now, we're under the central district, and this part here is the place." He tapped it, then traced a line. "We'll wait here for a while before we go out."
The map covered almost the whole island. Most of it was crossed out or faded. Some sections opened into larger rooms, marked in red or green.
"We've only explored a little of this. Some tunnels flood, some collapse, and some are full of monsters," Kid Jeff said. "So we mark what we know and only use certain paths."
"How did you find all this?"
"Boss said it's part of an underground city. They found it by accident." He shrugged. "Sister Selena thinks it was part of an old civilization in the eastern continent. Something separated it from the rest, but nobody knows what."
After a while, Kid Jeff folded the map and put it away. Then he went to the corner and started fiddling with the crate and the digging tools.
While they waited, Lucian let his thoughts run.
There was one line he kept coming back to. The contract only started once the job was done.
Right now, he was outside. Killian was gone and would not be back for a while. This was probably the last chance he would get to walk away and look for Lizzy.
He weighed his current situation.
Even if he knew where Lizzy was right now, he still hesitated to leave. The southern port had shown him what he was dealing with.
He needed strength. He needed information.
If he stayed and finished the job, he would become a Head, and he could gain both. But he would be under someone. And he considered the Mudrats nothing more than child soldiers. Against the other groups in Crossroad, a Head's position here meant very little.
He had seen it before. Small groups always carried the worst orders, and they were always expendable.
He still had not decided when a head popped out of one of the side tunnels.
"Hey, Kid Jeff. We saw the target go into the place. You're good to go."
"Alright. Let's go, Lucy."