Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 601: The Three Ring Bazaar

Chapter 601: The Three Ring Bazaar

As Alex was busy with Eucleides inside the carriage, Ulysses sat in the driver’s seat, having already replaced the fellow for quite some time.

Hearing Alex’s signal, which came in the form of three consecutive knocks, he got the donkeys wheeling the carriage forward to slowly turn, intent on heading back to the ironworks factory.

However, just as they were about to complete the turn, a certain individual caught his eye.

She was dressed in similar clothing to most folks with a veil obscuring her features, but for some reason, Ulysses couldn’t help but feel a connection to her.

Just as he thought to call out to her, she quickly disappeared into another street, leaving him unsure of what to do.

A part of him wished to chase after her as he could still feel the connection, and so, just as he was about to do so, yet another series of knocks occurred, causing Ulysses to pause.

Letting out a sigh, he decided to focus on his primary assignment while putting at the back of his mind to divine the girl’s origins later on.

And so, the carriage once again began to move, quickly arriving at the entrance to the ironworks since it hadn’t gone far in the first place.

The carriage door opened, and Eucleides stepped out, accompanied by Alex, though the latter remained unseen, making use of Nightwalker to hide his presence.

Together, they walked into the ironworks, with Alex quickly finding himself in a hulking behemoth of a structure.

A series of sounds blended, making for a cacophony that left Alex unwilling to spend too long within.

To think that there were people who saw this place as a home away from home, a workplace to frequent.

And not just adults, but children too, judging from the few young lads Alex saw scurrying about with items.

Eucleides led the way to the engineer he’d place in charge of his airship which he’d christened, the Skyrunner.

"What are you doing here, Eucleides?... I told you, it’s going to take at least two days before I’m done with the fittings." The engineer remarked, seemingly annoyed to be disturbed during working hours.

Eucleides replied. "Apologies, Nicanor but I don’t think there’s a need for the fittings any longer."

The engineer, Nicanor, raised a brow as he questioned. "What do you mean?"

"I have urgent work to get to, I believe it would be best to postpone the fittings until I get back."

"What are you talking about?" Nicanor asked. "Aren’t you aware of the no-flying ban that’s been set?... Do you plan on upsetting those crazy machines?"

"Look, just put Skyrunner back together and stop asking questions. Understood?"

Nicanor frowned, his gut telling him that something wasn’t right but as an engineer, he had learned to mind his business.

"Alright then, it’s your funeral," Nicanor said before turning towards the suspended airship. "Put it back together, boys; our patron here plans on dying early. Let’s not keep him waiting."

And so, Nicanor stepped away while Eucleides let out a heavy sigh.

Meanwhile, Alex looked around, having the weird sensation that someone was looking in his direction.

***

As Nicanor’s boys went about putting Skyrunner back together, Eucleides stepped out to put a crew together since one man couldn’t fly an airship.

Alex followed him, ensuring that he didn’t get any funny ideas as he went about his task.

Surprisingly, Eucleides didn’t try to plan any games, remaining quite obedient as he quickly put together a crew of acquaintances who seemed to have already been expecting his visit.

Finally, nighttime arrived with the Night eye announcing its presence in the night sky.

Most people were already asleep, with only the wanton folks still skulking the streets at this ungodly hour.

Ulysses pulled up the carriage at the ironworks, this time accompanied by Ana and their luggage from Boars Inn.

She had been absent, hoping to find traces of the clown Alex had seen but alas, her search ended up being fruitless.

"If I’d known, I would have never convinced Alex to leave," Ana muttered in a resigned tone.

Ulysses managed a smile as he replied. "It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done, at least we are leaving."

"Hah, I guess you are right. Focus on the positive." Ana remarked with Ulysses nodding.

"Exactly. Now come on, Alex is waiting."

Together, they walked into the ironworks to find Eucleides crew prepping the airship for take-off, with Alex watching everything from a height.

"Something is off," Alex muttered as Ana and Ulysses came up to meet him.

"How?" Ulysses asked.

Pursing his lips, Alex replied. "It’s too easy. I expected it would take at least two days, but everything is ready to go in a day. Also, we still haven’t figured out why the clown targeted us."

"I asked that earlier but you pushed it aside."

"Because I was in a hurry. Don’t blame me for acting on impulse."

"So what now?" Ana asked. "Do we leave?"

"No, there’s no need," Alex said. "We’ll keep watch for now, see where it takes us. As long as we reach the Boundary, I don’t much care about anything else."

Just then, Ulysses felt the same connection as earlier in the day, quickly drawing his attention to one of the crew members taking things aboard the Skyrunner.

Ulysses’ expression shifted as he knew everyone that Eucleides had picked but he hadn’t seen her among them.

Which meant that she had joined afterward.

Ulysses watched her enter the airship, pondering whether to approach or not.

In the end, he decided to let Alex know.

"A stowaway?" Ana suggested with Alex shaking his head.

"No, but I might have an idea of what’s happening right now."

"What do you mean?"

Letting out a sigh, Alex replied. "We are being used as a getaway ticket out of the city."

"Wait, you don’t mean..."

"I reckon most of the people down there are related to the same ones the Automatons are searching for." Alex remarked before adding with a sigh. "the Three Ring Bazaar."