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Renegade High Brush
d93696
Muriel: "Excuse me, father. I have a few questions about someone who lived in Pang a number of years ago."
The two men in the peculiar hats look at me in unison, their conversation coming to a gradual halt. I did not realize at first how much louder I spoke than the two clergymen, as my voice echoed throughout the cavernous dome and even managed to turn the heads of the armed guards.
Priest: "Of course, child."
Muriel: "I want to know about Peter Lucky, because I want to find him to speak with him."
Priest: "Peter Lucky, you said?"
I nod, and the men exchange looks as though mutually considering how to tactfully provide an answer to the query. The priest is an old man, but the monk appears only to be in his thirties or so.
Priest: "I have not heard that name in a long time. I remember when he came through this town. He had a presence that made him known somehow. The young man was a magnificent fabricator. The stewards of our cloister who have trained lifelong wilted in comparison to him." There is a pause here, though the man tries to begin again twice unsuccessfully before carrying on, "He was, however, a raucous one. He was a good boy, but he could not keep himself out of trouble. Him and his friend, of course - the two of them were positively inseparable."
Muriel: "I believe that that was Penn. He was my older brother."
Priest: "Penn? Oh yes, of course. He was?"
Why did he have to ask? He could have just left it there. I nodded anyway, and the monk next to him placed his hand on my shoulder. I did not want to be touched, so I shrugged him off. The already morose-looking men donned frowns.
Priest: "I am sorry child. Uh... ehem. I wish that I could help you more."
Muriel: "Where did Peter Lucky go?"
Priest: "I wish that I knew. What a fascinating young man he was."
Muriel: "Thank you, father."
As I waved them off in my curt way, the monk followed behind for a few steps.
Monk: "Miss, I happen to know a thing. See, I was just about your age when Peter Lucky walked the city. After the Second Ink War, he left. He said that he was going to end the fighting and do big things. Uh... help people, he said. He just kept on saying that. I can hear his voice in my head even now with it."
Muriel: "Thank you."
I walked out of the temple alone again, even my bare footfalls echoing through the dome. If I had known that it would be this difficult to find Lucky, maybe I would have reconsidered, but what else am I going to do? This city is a dead-end. There are no jobs, and my house is literally a hole in the ground.
If this is what I have, should I be resigned to staying here until I get sick and die?
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