The Hollows smelled like oil-slicked sweat and whispered deals gone sour.
Jona descended the rusted ladder, his new abilities keeping him sure-footed in the darkness. Three stories below the Crimson Capital's streets, the black market sprawled through old sewer tunnels and forgotten basements. Gas lamps flickered behind barred windows. Steam vents hissed from makeshift forges. Voices echoed off slick stone walls, haggling in a dozen languages.
No House authority down here. Just greed and survival.
Perfect.
His coat was soaked with rain from the surface, the stolen vials pressing cold against his ribs. The hunt had intensified within an hour. Mech-guards on every corner. Airships sweeping search-lights across rooftops. House Priolo wasn't playing around.
Jona pulled his hood lower and pushed into the market proper.
The main corridor was chaos. Vendors hawked everything from bootleg mastery primers to steam-powered crossbows. A woman with Mirror mastery sold illusions to hiding fugitives. Two men argued over a map to some dungeon in the Wastes. Somewhere, a fiddle played a jaunty tune that clashed with the tension in the air.
Jona's new senses picked up details he'd never noticed before. The way shadows pooled deeper in certain corners. The pulse of ambient energy from enchanted items. Even the subtle wrongness of poisoned blades disguised as regular steel.
[Perception Check: Success][Threat Level: Moderate. Bounty Hunters Detected: 3 within 50 meters]
He cursed under his breath. Of course there'd be hunters down here already. Word must have spread fast.
A hand grabbed his elbow.
Jona spun, shadows coiling instinctively around his fingers. An old woman stood there, gap-toothed grin splitting her weathered face. She wore rings on every finger, each one thrumming with faint magic.
"Easy, shadow-boy," she rasped. "You look lost. First time in the Hollows?"
"I'm fine," Jona said, pulling away.
"You're hunted." Her eyes glittered. "Fresh awakened. Bounty on your head by now, I'd wager. You need Vex."
"Who?"
"Info broker. Best in the Capital." She jerked her chin toward a side tunnel. "Third door. Tell him Greta sent you. He'll only charge double instead of triple."
Jona hesitated. Information cost, but ignorance could get him killed faster. He nodded and slipped into the tunnel.
The third door was reinforced steel with a viewing slot. Jona knocked.
The slot opened. A single eye peered out, bloodshot and calculating.
"Greta sent me," Jona said.
The door swung open.
Inside was a cramped office lit by a single rune-lamp. A thin man sat behind a desk stacked with bounty notices and maps, fingers steepled, wearing spectacles that magnified his eyes to unsettling proportions.
"Vex," the man said. "And you're the shadow who killed Jin Priolo. Impressive work for street trash."
Jona's hand moved to the knife at his belt. "How'd you—"
"I know everything that happens in this city within three hours." Vex tapped his temple. "Whisper mastery contacts. Very useful for my profession. Now, you want to know your situation. Standard rate is fifty silver. For you, one hundred."
"Greta said double."
"I lied to Greta." Vex smiled. "Supply and demand, boy. You're famous now."
Jona pulled coins from his pocket. The last of his savings. He slapped them on the desk.
Vex counted them, nodded, and pulled out a fresh bounty notice. Jona's face stared back at him, sketched in surprising detail. The artist had even captured his scowl.
"Fifty thousand gold," Vex read. "Dead or alive. Posted one hour ago by Matriarch Selene herself. Every hunter from here to the Fractured Coast is mobilizing. House Priolo wants your head on a pike."
Jona's stomach dropped. Fifty thousand. That was enough to buy a mansion. To set up a family for generations.
"That's insane," he said. "For one heir?"
"Jin wasn't just one heir. He was Selene's favorite." Vex leaned back. "You killed her golden boy. She's making an example. Already put out a secondary bounty: ten thousand for anyone who shelters you."
The room felt smaller suddenly. Jona forced himself to breathe. "So nowhere's safe."
"I didn't say that." Vex's smile widened. "There are always options. House Fennec, for instance. Boss Ren doesn't bow to Priolo pressure. His territory in the eastern slums, he makes his own rules. If you can reach him, he might offer sanctuary."
"Might?"
"He's unpredictable. But he respects guts, and killing a Great House heir takes guts." Vex pulled out a second paper, this one showing a rough map. "His compound is here. Two miles through hostile streets. Plenty of hunters between you and safety."
Jona studied the map. "What's the catch?"
"No catch. Just advice." Vex's magnified eyes fixed on him. "You're awakened now, boy. That makes you valuable. But power without allies is just a fancy way to die young. Find your people before Priolo finds you."
Jona took the map and stood. "Thanks."
"One more thing." Vex's voice stopped him at the door. "That Underworld mastery you stole? It's marked. Every House knows you have it now. Some will want to study you. Others will want you dead before you get strong enough to threaten them. Watch your back."
Jona stepped back into the market, his mind racing. He needed gear. Something better than street clothes and a rusty knife. And he needed it fast.
A weapons stall caught his eye. The vendor was a broad-shouldered woman with Metal mastery, judging by the way she casually bent a steel rod into shape with her bare hands.
"How much for a short sword?" Jona asked.
She glanced up, assessed him in two seconds, and named a price.
He pulled out one of the stolen vials. "Will this cover it?"
Her eyes widened. "That's a Tier 2 catalyst. Worth three swords. You robbing masters now?"
"Something like that."
She grinned. "Alright, kid. Sword, leather armor, and a set of throwing knives. Deal?"
"Deal."
Ten minutes later, Jona was strapping on the armor when a voice rumbled behind him.
"Well, well. Fresh meat."
Jona turned.
The man was massive. Easily six and a half feet, built like a mech-guard, with a scarred face and arms thick as tree trunks. He wore mismatched armor plates and carried a warhammer that looked like it could cave in a building. His grin showed too many teeth.
Bounty hunter.
[Threat Analysis: Lomenol Kade - Metal Mastery, Tier 2][Recommended Action: Flee or Negotiate]
"Lomenol," Jona said, reading the name from his system. "Nice hammer. Compensating for something?"
The grin faltered. "You got a mouth on you."
"Yeah, it's my best feature. Along with my stunning good looks and modest personality." Jona spread his hands. "Look, I know there's a bounty. Fifty thousand gold. Very tempting. But here's the thing: you try to take me in, we fight, and even if you win, you'll be so banged up that three other hunters will jump you for the prize. Economics."
Lomenol's brow furrowed. "You saying I can't handle you?"
"I'm saying you'd win, and then you'd lose. Pyrrhic victory. Very tragic." Jona tilted his head. "Or, hear me out, you let me walk. I'll owe you a favor. And a guy with Underworld mastery who just killed a Great House heir? That's a favor you want in your pocket."
For a long moment, Lomenol just stared. Then he laughed, deep and booming, drawing stares from nearby vendors.
"You got balls, shadow-boy," he said. "Most people piss themselves when they see me. You're trying to negotiate."
"I prefer talking to bleeding. Call me crazy."
"Alright." Lomenol shouldered his hammer. "I'll bite. One favor, when I call it in. And you better not die before I collect, or I'll be pissed."
"Deal." Jona stuck out his hand.
Lomenol shook it. His grip could have crushed stone, but he kept it light. "Word of advice? House Fennec's your best shot. Boss Ren's compound has walls thick enough to stop even Priolo's mech-guards. Get there before dawn, because after sunrise, the main hunters arrive. The real killers."
"How encouraging."
"Hey, you want me to lie? You're in deep shit, kid. But you knew that when you caved in Jin's skull." Lomenol clapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over. "Good luck. Try not to die stupidly."
He walked away, whistling.
Jona exhaled. One problem solved. About a hundred more to go.
He finished gearing up, testing the weight of the sword. It felt right. The leather armor fit snugly, offering protection without slowing him down. The throwing knives went into sheaths along his belt.
[Equipment Acquired][Short Sword: +2 Damage][Leather Armor: +3 Defense][Throwing Knives (6): +1 Ranged Damage][Status Update: Combat Readiness Improved]
Better. Not great, but better.
Jona pulled out Vex's map, tracing the route to House Fennec. Two miles. Through the eastern slums where Priolo's influence was weakest but general chaos reigned. Gangs. Rogue masters. Things that went bump in the night.
He thought of his mother's stories. House Mozzeri had controlled those slums once, before the fall. Before the other Houses carved up their territory like vultures on a corpse. If he could reach Fennec, maybe he'd have time to figure out his next move. Maybe even start planning his climb.
Fifty thousand gold on his head. Houses watching his every move. Killers mobilizing across the city.
Jona grinned.
"Alright, Boss Ren," he muttered, pulling his hood up. "Let's see if you're as crazy as everyone says."
He headed for the ladder, shadows curling around him like old friends.
[Quest Updated: Survive the Night][Objective: Reach House Fennec Compound - 0/1][Warning: Hunter Activity Detected - Threat Level Rising][Time Until Dawn: 4 Hours, 23 Minutes]
Behind him, the Hollows buzzed with rumors of the shadow who'd killed a prince. Ahead, the night waited with teeth bared.
But Jona Mozzeri was done running scared.
It was time to see how far shadows could climb.