A violent jolt tore me from my slumber as the carriage wheel clattered harshly against a jagged desert rock. In the same chaotic second, the vehicle shifted, causing the heavy canvas curtains to part just enough for a stray, blinding beam of desert sunlight to bounce directly across my face.
The intense heat pierced through my sensitive skin like a branding iron. I lurked backward, jolting in pure agony, a muffled, guttural scream tearing from my throat. The nearby migrants jumped in their seats, staring at me with wide, terrified eyes.
"Ugh, what a weirdo..." one of them muttered, pulling their child closer to the opposite side of the cart.
Alta, who had been sitting quietly by my side the entire time, paid the travelers no mind. She leaned over, her beautiful, feminine face filled with gentle concern as her deep voice rumbled softly.
"Morning, Eirene. How was your sleep?"
I didn't answer, instead pulling my deep canvas hood aggressively forward to block out the offending light. I was incredibly irritated, my much-needed rest had been brutally interrupted once again. It had already been two agonizing days since we first boarded this grueling carriage.
Inside, my patience was wearing dangerously thin. My massive, dark blood wings twitched beneath my commoner dress, practically begging to burst through the fabric of my cloak. If I were to just unleash my wings and take to the skies, this entire journey across the dunes would take us a mere few hours without a single stop. But instead, we were trapped in this agonizingly slow, wooden contraption that constantly needed to pull over so the horses could rest. The travel was absolute torture.
Beside me, Alta was a pillar of absolute patience. She had more than enough raw power to deploy her true Chimera form and carry us both across the desert expanse in a heartbeat, but she kept her composure. We were monsters trying to survive in a deeply hostile world. There was absolutely no way we would expose our true forms to the public; doing so would instantly destroy our reputations, brand us as targets, and invite the executioner's blade.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the coachman's voice echoed from the front seat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at Sisiphon City!"
The carriage ground to a halt with a heavy squeal of its brakes. Alta and I immediately gathered our things and stepped down from the wooden steps, joining the weary group of migrants as they flooded out onto the dusty streets.
The moment my boots hit the ground, the relentless, oppressive desert sun beat down on us with full force. Out here in the open waste, the blazing heat and blinding glare were a hundred times worse than back in the capital. The environment was an absolute nightmare for my severely mutated skin, forcing me to tighten my traveler's cloak and lean heavily into Alta's shadow as we prepared to hunt down the hidden sand cave.
Alta stretched her arms, her long, shiny black hair swaying as she let out a weary sigh.
"We need to rest first, Eirene. My legs are completely stiff and tired from all that sitting. We should enter Sisiphon City and find a place to unwind."
I gave her a small nod beneath my hood. This was far from my first time stepping into the oasis metropolis. Just weeks before, I had single-handedly dismantled the city's entire underground drug empire in a brutal, four-day crusade. Because I had operated entirely in the shadows during that bloodbath, I didn't know how the general public would react to my arrival today.
As we walked through the outer thoroughfares, I looked around and was genuinely surprised. The streets were remarkably clean. There were no more strung-out addicts lining the alleys, no more heavily armed cartel thugs roaming around looking for trouble, and the terrifying shadow of the former drug lord, Oksana, was completely gone. I had truly purged this place.
We approached the inner city gates and were met by the guard on duty. It was Nikolai, the friendly city gatekeeper who had been incredibly kind to me during my previous stay.
"Tolls and status cards, please, ladies," Nikolai said warmly.
I reached into my purse and handed over my metallic credentials. Nikolai took the card, glanced at the name, and his eyes instantly went wide with shock. He looked up, trying to peer past the deep canvas shadow of my hood.
"Eirene! You're back! Man, it is amazing to see you here. Truly, thank you for saving our city from those cartels. We owe you everything."
He then turned his attention to Alta's card, stamping it with an extra layer of respect.
"Well, look at that. You brought a high-profile visitor with you, Eirene! It's none other than the Blessed Blade herself. Welcome back, Alta, though you've been to this city numerous times, so you already know the layout."
Alta took her card back, offering Nikolai a graceful bow, and we walked through the threshold. Once we were out of earshot of the guards, she leaned in close to me, her deep male voice filled with genuine amazement.
"Wow, Eirene... I had absolutely no idea you were so popular out here, you didn't mention that you single-handedly saved an entire city."
I couldn't help but let a rare, silent smile creep across my scarred face beneath my hood. It felt good to know my violence had left a positive mark somewhere. Pulling out one of my newly purchased notepads and a pencil, I quickly scribbled a note and showed it to her:
Let's get out of this sun. An inn nearby.
Alta agreed immediately. Keeping our heads low to avoid any unnecessary crowds, we marched down the clean cobblestone streets, heading straight toward a familiar, shaded inn.
Then Plasma muttered through my thoughts once again, but more believable.
"Ugh, this inn again."
As Plasma reminded, the memory of my last visit to the Sand-Glass Inn still left a foul taste in my mouth. Back when I was actively hunting down Oksana, this place had been an absolute rotting carcass of a building. I vividly remembered the ammonia stench of stale urine and disgusting sperm stains at the bedsheets, the floorboards groaning under my boots, and the hunched, greedy innkeeper who had swindled me out of two silver pieces with a vulture-like grin. It had been so filthy that my AI assistant, Plasma, had warned me the man would probably steal my luggage by dawn, and I hadn't even dared to touch the stained, reeking sheets. I had heard rumors that Nikolai was planning to shut this wretched place down due to the abysmal, health-hazardous service, so as Alta and I approached the entrance, I fully expected it to be dirtier and more neglected than ever before.
But the moment we stepped through the heavy doors, my expectations were completely shattered.
There was no foul odor, no groaning rot, and the greedy old man from last week was nowhere to be seen. In his place behind the polished wooden ledger desk stood a kind, vibrant woman wearing somewhat gaudy makeup. Feeling safe within the secluded walls of the establishment, I reached up and lowered my canvas hood, letting my scarred face and single jade-green eye show.
The woman looked up, her eyes widening to the size of saucers as she recognized my features.
"You're... you're Eirene! The legendary bounty hunter who single-handedly saved our city from the cartels! Oh my goodness, it is an absolute honor and a pleasure to meet you!"
It seemed my reputation as the savior of Sisiphon City had completely transformed the way people viewed me here. When Alta and I moved to book a room for the day, the grateful woman adamantly refused to take a single coin from us, forcefully waving her hands and insisting that our stay was entirely free of charge as a small token of appreciation for my heroic actions. I offered her a polite, grateful nod, took the key, and led Alta up the stairs.
Instead of the biohazard I had braced myself for, the transformation of the inn became even more apparent the closer we got to our quarters. We hadn't even crossed within inches of the door frame before a wonderfully fresh, fragrant aroma greeted our noses, completely replacing the old stench of decay and old spices.
I unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping into a beautifully maintained, pristine sanctuary. The sheets were crisp and white, the furniture was spotless, and the grimy, moth-eaten curtains of the past had been replaced with clean, elegant drapes that perfectly blocked out the harsh desert sun. I closed the door behind us and locked it tight, finally letting out a long, exhausted breath. We had a clean, safe haven to rest our bodies, and with Alta by my side, we could finally gather our strength before heading out into the shifting sands to face the Neospiders.