Those aren't just any guards… they're Shinori ones… Riven thought to himself, only taking a glance at the men.
The two men wore a dark black cloak, and what looked like a red insignia embedded into the fabric. The scrawny looking guard leaned into the other guard's ear whispering something that was inaudible. Not before long, the two turned away and left, reliving the people within the building.
"So what was that about?" Eryndor asked in confusion.
"I have no idea and I really don't care." Riven picked up his bowl again, finishing up what remained inside of it.
"No room for seconds?"
"None." Riven replied, standing up.
"Where are you going? Aren't you going to pay?"
"Don't have to, this place gives free meals to scavengers like ourselves."
"Then why did you ask to pay… oh… I see…"
Riven smirks, putting his mask back on. Eryndor shakes his head and puts his mask back on as well.
Can't believe I'm that gullible that a person I just met would pay for my food anyways.
"So where are we heading next? We still have some time to kill before we need to turn this thing in, I assume." Eryndor looks into his pocket, watching as the core glows that same faint red as it did when it was outside.
"Lets just head to the train station, it's close by and you can turn in there without dealing with all the hassle of the exchange office."
"So be it I guess." Eryndor replied back and with that, the two of them walked out the restaurant and back into the bustling streets.
"Its just down this road." Riven says, beginning to head down the path.
Eryndor follows close by, not wanting to stray away from Riven for some odd reason, he felt as if they met before, or maybe it was just his imagination.
"So… is there anything you hate…? Or maybe anything that you like…? "
"I hate forgelings, and love eating, not much too it."
"C'mon surely you have something else you like to do like uh…. Maybe drawing?." Eryndor said
"Nope, nothing."
Well there goes my attempt at making small talk… jeez… cant this guy take a hint?
"How much charge do you have in your filters?" Riven asked, "Just a little under 23%"
"Yeah that's not good, I'm at 27%. Let's get to the station sooner than later." Riven said.
The streets buzzed with noise — the hiss of steam pipes, the grinding of passing by cars, and the murmuring of people that weaved between the stalls all added to the ambience. Every building leaned on another like they were barely holding each other up, some of their walls backend with soot.
Eryndor caught glimpses of vendors, their carts filled with different parts, however in this section of the sector, most of the items being sold were scrap and other pieces of metals used in factory work. The air here reeked of smoke and oil, almost enough to leave a nasty taste in his mouth.
"Hey" Eryndor said, stepping over a loose pipe that laid on the ground. "So who were those people in the restaurant earlier?" Why was everyone so tense?"
Riven glanced over his shoulder but kept walking. "Those where Shinori guards, real nasty people, some consider them the best of the best the Smolder's army has to offer." Riven dodged and shuffled through the street as it became more and more busier with Eryndor doing the same.
"They don't usually come by here often, and that's because they work for the Central authority—nobles executives, basically whoever's rich enough to pull some strings. Which means if the Shinori are out here, it means someone higher up in the smolder is looking for something… or someone…"
"Well that's comforting." Eryndor muttered
"It doesn't really matter to us anyway, we haven't done anything to attract their attention."
They turned a corner where the smoke grew denser, and the metallic hum of machinery filled the air. Up ahead, the train station towered over the street — a massive structure of steel and rust, its pipes pulsing with dull blue light from the ash reactors buried beneath it. Steam rose in heavy bursts every few seconds, and the ground trembled whenever a train departed or arrived.
"There it is," Riven said. "The heart of the South sector."
Eryndor tilted his head, staring at the maze of rails and cables that lined the station. "Looks more like lungs the way all that smoke is gathered up there."
They approached the gate to the station where a few other scavengers waited in line, each holding their own dimly glowing cores. Some cores flickered weakly, others burned bright red — a sign of their quality, and how much value they were worth.
A bored-looking guard stood behind a reinforced glass counter, his armor scratched and dull. "Next!" he barked, not even bothering to look up.
Eryndor hesitated when it was his turn, but came to his senses, he walked up and pulled out the core from his pouch, placing it on the counter. "Here, two mask filters please!"
The guard finally looked up, looking at Eryndor with clear disinterest. "A small one, you're lucky it's still active." He placed the metal into a container which then hissed and locked shut. "Wait there." The guard asked, turning to leave his post.
"Eryndor stepped back, glancing at Riven. "You think he's gonna run off with it?"
"If he tried, he wouldn't make it very far. The system is automated, everything is recorded."
"Right… automated." Eryndor said unconvinced.
A few moments later the guard returned, tossing two filters on the counter as well as some metal tokens. "There. Credit transfer complete, now get out of my line."
Eryndor grabbed the canisters, attaching one to his belt. Riven grabbed the other one and flicked a token in between his fingers.
The two stepped away from the counter as another scavenger took their place. From the station's windows, Eryndor could see the towering metal walls not too far in the distance. The same one he fought so hard to make back just hours ago.
"Hey," he said quietly. "Thanks… for getting me back there… you know in the wasteland…" Eryndor said quietly but enough for Riven to hear.
"It's whatever… I was just there at the right time."
"I mean, maybe. But still."
Riven glanced at the distant horizon—the faint orange haze of the wasteland turning into a faint red as it entered the smog above the city. "You shouldn't be thanking me, we only live on borrowed time anyways."
Just then, the intercom over the city crackled suddenly, echoing through the station they stood in.
"Attention all residents: Shinori patrol units have entered the Southern Sector. Please remain within designated districts until further notice."
The station fell quiet for a second while the steam and pipes still hissed. After that, the station filled with chatter once again.
"Guess they're staying for a little longer." Eryndor said.
Riven eyes narrowed beneath his mask, "Yeah… a little longer…"
The two began to walk out of the station but not before Eryndor caught a glimpse of the new train that rolled in after his exchange with the guard.
"That's weird, the crates they're carrying look heavier than normal." Eryndor said, stopping just at the gate exit.
"What are you some sort of crate expert? Let's go."
"Well I used to work for the logistics department for the south before I became a scavenger." Eryndor turned his attention back to Riven now.
"So you remember that but not anything about your arm?"
"Listen, that's besides the point, those boxes are not the right one's a train should be loading to deliver to another region."
"I assure you, I haven't seen a train fail its delivery, maybe they're just out of boxes or something and they're just using those ones for now" Riven said, downplaying Eryndor's rash thoughts.
"I…Eryndor sighed. "You might be right… I haven't heard of a failed delivery either and I worked for the branch that's responsible."
"Now come on, we have to get back to work." Riven mentioned, walking further from the station. Eryndor looked backed, and then caught up with Riven.
The train in question, finished loading up, blowing its horn, as its wheels began to slowly spin as it rolled out of the station and onto the railways of the city.
"See nothing to worry about." Riven said, walking down the street as he watched the train exit.
"Yeah, you were right—"
Not even within five minutes,
A deafening crack split the air, followed by a shockwave that rippled through the streets. In the distance, the train burst apart in a blinding eruption of orange and white fire, the explosion swallowing the tracks whole. Shards of molten metal and shattered glass spiraled into the sky as a black plume of smoke rose higher and higher, painting the southern skyline in chaos. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and the screams of the crowd were drowned out by the roaring inferno.