Two whole days and half of a third day. That was how long Gunnar’s journey was to reach Guilders Rise. Or, at least reach the canyon where it lived. He felt cooped up, restless, sure he could have stepped out and stretched his legs, but it would have wasted valuable travel time.

Truth be told Gunnar had never seen a canyon in person before, mountains, sure, there were many within the walls of the rings, maybe there was a canyon or two too, but he hadn’t seen any. There had been plenty of vods with them in, seeing them live was very different, almost awe inspiring.

The clementine weaved in and out of the rocky spires, a few strands of civilization began to crop up the further he got in. Unlike most of what he had passed by, these had signs of life. Sitting between two canyon walls a shack was built partially into both rocks, connecting the two with a walkway outside and a ladder pulled up. If you lived outside one of the major mines, you had to find your own way to defend your home.

An extremely tanned woman stepped out of its door with a full cooling suit on. Walther had thrown one in the truck too, in case Gunnar needed it. They kept your body at more or less room temperature, but were expensive and a little delicate. Most folks that lived out here would have at least one suit, but it would probably only be used when necessary.

She stared at the Clementine for a few seconds before calling out someone else inside. A whole family of similarly tanned folk poked their heads round the corner, all staring at Gunnar as he drove by. Must have been rare to visitors outside of the cargo folk or sun worshippers.

Something then occurred to Gunnar. The route to Guilders Rise was a tight road wide enough for a single vehicle. How did they get the ore and resources from here to the city? There wasn’t enough room for the hulking machines, so they must have used their smallest vehicles for the job. It was no wonder Guilders Rise wasn’t as successful or as well known as most mines. They couldn’t be making much of a profit. Perhaps the safety that these canyon walls gave them made it worth the smaller pay.

Speaking of safety, he also began to notice more signs of combat, and a dozen hidden gun-hides. Spot amongst the tall canyon walls where near hidden guards lay waiting for something to shoot at. They cleared away the bodies, unlike that last mine he saw, but the scorched rocks were hard to cover.

Gunnar was driven deeper into the canyon and the deeper he got the more signs of life he found and the less signs of conflict. Similarly designed buildings yet denser, a few mounted guns here and there, but they seemed more a precaution than anything, especially with the sniper nests from earlier. There were never more than a few houses huddled together, but every one found his presence very interesting.

Finally, after passing a small village Gunnar reached a wide opening with guards behind sandbags either side of it. The large opening was almost a full circle within the great canyon’s walls. There were two other entrances equally guarded, but otherwise the natural thick rock walls made more than decent defenses.

In the center of the giant clearing lay a giant hole with a large mining crane jutting out of it. A ramp on the left led deep inside and a small windowed hut sat by the ramp’s entrance. A few vehicles lay at the mouth leaving enough room for another to get past and drive under the ground. There were a few dozen homes dug into the canyon walls just like outside, with a few other buildings scattered around surrounding the pit. A bar sat against the rock on the far end with an outside porch that was well shaded and a few dusty roads connected it all together. Just behind the guards a sign hung over the road that simply read ‘Guilders Rise’. It had a few bullet holes riddled throughout it, as did the guards. Somehow some thugs made it even this far.

A few heads turned as his vehicle entered the town proper. In similar situations to those he had seen outside, tanned skin, sweating foreheads and a few cooling suits scattered amongst them. Looking at the houses the population had to be less than a hundred, perhaps even as low as fifty. That included the children. He could see a few of them playing some kind of ball game in a shaded play area near the pub.

Finally, the Clementine stopped at the first layer of the mine after driving down the ramp. They had dug a small parking zone into the walls, not originally visible. It was kept standing by strong metal struts and netting. There were a few other vehicles around him, scuffed and dented, but otherwise it was empty.

A small light flashed on the dashboard and a mechanical voice told him he had reached his destination, and wished him well upon the rest of his journey. Gunnar mumbled thanks to the bodiless voice as he slid open the door, keeping the key close to hand. It shut behind and with a few clunks and locked itself shut. He had already put the cooling suit on that Walther had supplied, so he didn’t feel the heat as much as he could off, but that didn’t stop it from hitting him harder than any heat he had felt before. He took a deep breath, to try and steady himself only to be filled with the stale stench of old sweat and oil.

He turned around from the Clementine to see a crowd of miners and a few children staring at him. They must have followed him into the parking zone, but he definitely didn’t notice them. The mercenary generally didn’t do anything high profile, so this kind of attention was quite uncomfortable for him. He threw a little wave and an awkward half smile.

A woman pushed through the crowd, she wore a similar suit to the miners except for two white stripes and slightly better material. She reached the front with a frustrated grunt, pushing a few gawking sweat soaked workers out of the way. The woman scowled at them then turned to Gunnar, pulling out a cell pad with a protective casing around it. ‘Don’t have any indication of any noble visits on the manifest. Who are you and what do you want?’ she asked him.

The mercenary lent against the back of the truck striking a casual pose. The woman was his type, might not have been the time to flirt, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make a good impression for future visits. ‘Not here to cause trouble, I hope at least. I’m looking for someone and the truck belongs to my boss, he lent it to me.’

She scoffed. ‘Ain’t many interesting folk around here, just a bunch of drunkard miners, who ya looking for?’

Gunnar scanned the crowd with a feeling of discomfort. ‘Is there somewhere we can talk privately?’ he asked.

A moment passed as the woman thought over his request. With a sigh she turned and waved for Gunnar to follow her. ‘Shows over you lot, quit gawking and make us some shrapnel.’

As soon as he stepped out from the shade of the parking zone, Gunnar had to shield his eyes. The sun was burning red hot, even outside the Rings wall wasn’t this bad. It was no wonder everyone around here got so tanned even with a cooling suit on.

The woman stopped as Gunnar grumbled in the heat. She reached into a satchel around her waist and pulled out a cylinder throwing it to the mercenary. ‘Use this. The kids use it until they get used to the heat. Helps to keep one handy.’

Gunnar looked at the cylinder, it had a lid which he opened to reveal some sort of gel. He reached in a few fingers and began to hesitantly wipe it across his skin, almost instantly the painful heat died down wherever he slathered the stuff.

The woman nodded and turned to carry on to the building at the entrance to the mine, Gunnar continued to cover his exposed skin as he jogged to catch up. When he was finished he offered the gel back to the woman. She declined it. ‘This is one of the few things we’ve got a killer ton of, keep it, they’re as cheap as sand out here.’

He wasn’t one to complain about a gift, so Gunnar sealed the gel back up and dropped it in a deep pocket. ‘What’s it made out of?’

With a groan the door to their destination stumbled open, the woman stood by it to allow her guest in first. ‘Cactus. And some other cheap shit. Ain’t nothing better at surviving out here than the cacti. Should’ve been obvious that it could help us really.’

Relief filled the mercenary as he stepped into the room. A far more reasonable temperature washed over him. It would still be hot by undercity standards, but he wasn’t about to melt, so that was something. ‘Maybe I should grab a few on my way back.’ he joked.

The woman didn’t laugh, instead she sat in her sand-stained half broken chair and pushed it behind the desk. The room around them was maintained with minimal effort. In the corner sat a broom with a few piles of sand lazily swept against the walls. There was a single deskpad on the desk, though it was an ancient model. The glass panes that surrounded them were thick with dust and cracks. ‘So. Who are you looking for?’ she asked again with barely disguised irritation.

Gunnar turned to make sure the door was closed then approached the desk. ‘Does the name Devon ring a bell?’

She thought for a moment then shook her head. ‘We’ve got a Decklin and a Damon, ain’t no Devon. If that’s who you’re looking for I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time.’ The woman shrugged, hands entwined on the desk.

The mercenary had considered that Devon wouldn’t have gone by his actual name, not exactly the best choice when you’re trying to hide. That didn’t mean that Devon wasn’t here though. ‘He could have gone by something else. I dunno how long you’ve been here, but he would’ve turned up a while ago. With a group of cultists at his back, beaten and bloodied I’d expect.’

Something flashed behind her eyes. ‘You’re talking about the Gospel of Puinsee ain’tcha?’ She asked.

Gunnar nodded. He didn’t expect the cult to be known out here, still this meant they had at least been through the town. His heart quickened at the thought of getting closer. ‘Are they still around? I need to find their leader.’

The forewoman looked up at him quizzically. ‘Yeah. They’re nearby,’ she stated.

‘. . .Any more than that?’

She eyed Gunnar’s outfit then darted her eyes to the Clementine behind them. ‘Your boss is a noble right? Got plenty of shrapnel?’

Well, it was naive of Gunnar to expect this for free. He’d spent too much time around the sisters and Aethelstan. “How much we talkin’?” he sighed.

For the first time, the woman smiled. ‘We don’t need too much out here, say 2,000?’

Just for some simple information, that price was extortionate, though looking at this room alone he could understand why she wanted that much and considering the wealth Walther had and would continue to practically throw at him, it was also a drop in the ocean. Gunnar mulled it over for only a few seconds, weighing the pros far higher than the cons. He pulled a few chips out of his pocket and placed the right amount upon the table. ‘Why not.’ he winked.

A hand grasped the chips and the woman eyed them up. She smiled, opening a nearby draw and throwing it in, locking said drawer afterwards. ‘Much obliged,’ she nodded a thanks to the Mercenary. ‘Yeah the bastards are still here. Don’t know exactly where, but I can tell you we see them around occasionally, usually popping up to buy supplies.’

Gunnar clicked his tongue. ‘Come on, I paid to be told you don’t know where they are?’

She chuckled. ‘Easy big guy. Just letting you know they’re trying to stay hidden. When they got here they paid me a decent amount to head into the mine, didn’t pay me to keep it a secret though,’ the woman smirked. ‘Anyway, after trying to convert a few of my people, they disappeared down below and we didn’t see them for months. Then all of a sudden they appeared on the edge of the town between two cliffs.’

It was easy to deduce that Devon and his followers made their own entrance outside the mines. What was it with the Gospel and underground mines? Surely there are far better places, especially given their Gods tendency to. . . Moult. ‘Ain’t you worried they’ll be pissed you’re telling me this?’

‘You’re asking me that now?’ the woman scoffed. ‘Nah, like I said, they never asked me to keep it a secret, more fool them. Besides, ain’t got any loyalty, fuckers have turned a few of my workers over the years.’ She shifted in her chair and looked out the window with a troubled expression. ‘They give me the creeps, being honest. Never seen a single one wearing a cooling suit, yet they never seem even a little bothered. In fact they always seem in top form, but I never seen their faces I spose.’ The woman paused. ‘You don’t think there’s. . .’ She trailed off.

Gunnar knew what she wanted to ask. She had to ask herself and him the question. Could there be some truth to their beliefs? He didn’t know if he wanted to tell her that the answer to that question was an existential yes. Still, he had assumed they would be weakened, being so far from their home. Did their Gods ‘Gift’ extend this far?

His focus was on the wrong thing. The main takeaway was that there was indeed a sect of the Gospel of Puinsee here and he couldn’t imagine it was anyone but Devon. If he had all the time in the world he’d find the entrance to their home in the mines. ‘How big are the mines exactly? Do you know where they’re holed up?’

The woman snapped back into the room. ‘Uh. . . Not a clue being honest. Thought I knew the mines like the back of my hand, but shit, they’ve been around longer than I have. Somehow they found a corner even I can’t find.’

So, that was definitely out of the question, which gave him another very simple.though quite risky choice. Go between those two cliff faces and yell out to them. They must have had a sentry or at least a kind of surveillance system. He just had to hope it wouldn’t lead to a firefight.

The mercenary pointed to the area he assumed they made their appearance, given the fact she was staring at it not long ago. ‘Is it there they appear?’

She nodded. ‘Made it that obvious, did I? Yeah, between Shrunk road and the general market, deeper in.’ The woman pointed at a set of shacks and a small shop with a rusted sign over its entrance that read simply ‘shop’. She pointed out that the actual location was somewhat further up, though she had just been staring at the entrance.

Gunnar resigned himself to heading back outside. ‘Thanks,’ he said before heading for the door.

‘You gonna get rid of them?’

He stopped, hand on the door handle. ‘Not the plan, today at least, but maybe one day.’

She smiled. ‘Then maybe one day you’ll get my thanks.’

The mercenary paused, throwing back a simple smile before walking out the door. The heat blasted him straight away, less overwhelming than before, but it still became the focal point of the moment.

A few miners stared at him as he shielded his face, acting like it was something bizarre to see. Even with sunglasses on it was difficult to bear and most of the miners didn’t even have those. How were they not blind?

As his eyes drifted from anywhere but the sky, Gunnar locked his vision on the general store. Hidden amongst the graffiti was a familiar symbol, that of the Gospel. It wasn’t quite like the central churches, but close enough that he recognised it. Indeed, the cult had been slowly sinking its claws in, though the Speaker claimed Devon was quite aggressive when it came to spreading the gospel, perhaps he still preferred to lay low given his current situation.

He had a general idea of where to start looking, so the mercenary began his quite brisk walk towards the valley. He wanted to sprint for the shade, but he also didn’t want to look foolish in front of that forewoman, she seemed moderately interested and that was enough for him.