Chapter 40

Two Sides of a Coin

Closer now, the town wall showed its real height. Stone blocks and old cement patched together, coarse iron rods set in the seams, Crystone lamps spaced along the top. Light poured down and stretched the queue at the gate into long shadows.

Eren stopped at the back of the line and pulled off his hood.

The gate wasn't as chaotic as he'd imagined. Two guards on each side—leather armor over gray-blue cloth vests, short clubs at their hips. People and carts in two lines: foot traffic left, mule carts and flatbeds right. Notices pasted in the entry tunnel, letters big enough to read from a distance. Eren only caught the heading—town entry registration.

When their turn came, a guard looked over the four of them.

"Where from? What brings you to town?"

Lila spoke first. "Foothill Town. Looking for work—and kin."

The guard turned to Meng Xiangyang.

Meng Xiangyang hoisted his bundle higher. "Kin and work—same as them."

The guard's eyes paused on the half crossbow arm showing behind Lila, then slid to whatever hung at Eren's back.

"Mind your gear." His tone was flat. "Town's crowded. If trouble breaks out, don't say we didn't warn you."

He waved them through without another question.

The tunnel smelled of damp lime. Past the gate, the open-country wind cut off at the wall and another sound took over: cart wheels squealing on stone, vendors shouting in the distance, iron gates grinding on their hinges.

Meng Xiangyang stood inside the gate, eyes everywhere.

"This street's wide," he said quietly.

Rusak's night market was in full swing. Just inside the gate, small eateries and shops lined the road, Crystone lamps at every door, colors mismatched so the pavement showed warm and cold patches. Houses and storefronts in neat rows. The plaster was old, but nothing like the half-collapsed village houses along the road.

Nova's steps slowed the moment he smelled food.

Lila glanced at him, then at Eren. Eren nodded. "Eat first."

They picked a roadside place. A wooden sign read Mutton Stew; under it, a price list nailed to the board. A little pricier than on the road, but not enough to walk off.

The room was packed. The four of them squeezed into half a table in a corner. The server moved fast—a pot of mutton stew with flatbread pieces, a plate of greens, four steamed buns, and a small dish of chili paste.

A thin film of oil floated on the broth. Spice in the pot had buried the gaminess; the greens cut it, and the paste sharpened everything.

Nova bit carefully, then his eyes lit.

"Good!" he said.

"Of course." Meng Xiangyang blew on his soup, sucked air from the heat, and grinned anyway. "This is Rusak."

Lila ate fast too. Hungry all day, she wasn't picky—but halfway through she asked the owner, "Fat-tail sheep?"

"Fresh batch." The man stacked empty bowls on his tray as he talked. "In this morning. Stewed till it's tender."

Lila nodded. "I'd heard Rusak runs a lot of sheep. Fat-tail sheep, and a kind called iron-paw goats—easier to keep than pre-Impact stock."

The owner laughed. "You know your animals. Both breeds came up after the Impact—mutant stock, they say. They'll live on little water and scrub. Fat-tails grow thick wool; the tail hangs with a sack of fat. Iron-paws are tougher—on gravel slopes their hooves go click-click—but they reek."

"Folks eating this well these years, credit's due to Guild councilor Banpong. Guy knows his business. Iron Crystal Guild's got breeding, feed, and supply running smooth—otherwise where's all this meat coming from?"

Lila smiled and went back to her bowl, filing the name away.

Eren didn't join the talk. He pushed the last two chunks of meat from the pot to Nova and Lila and dipped his bun in the broth.

When they paid, Lila took out Crystone coins.

"Little Meng, our treat—don't argue." She set the coins on the table and smiled at him. "Once you're settled, you treat us back."

"Thanks, Sister Lila." Meng Xiangyang's face opened right up. "First pay I get, I'm buying you a proper meal."

"But I need to find my cousin now. Get too late and they'll already be asleep."

"Know where to go?" Eren asked.

"Rough idea. Cousin wrote—the south loading yard, loading crew. Ask around, someone should know." Meng Xiangyang slung his bundle and straightened, energy back in his shoulders. "If I land on my feet, maybe I can point you to work too."

Lila smiled. "You look after yourself first."

He waved and turned into the southbound crowd. Not far on, he looked back and waved once more before carts and bodies swallowed him.

Lila checked the sky. "We need a place to sleep."

Cheap beds inside the wall weren't hard to find—but you paid for what you got.

The second inn along the street had a board: small rooms, hot water extra, valuables at your own risk. Rules pasted at the door—lights out, washing, damage fees—in dense small print.

The keeper was a tall thin woman behind the counter, fingers on her abacus. Hearing three people, she flipped a wooden tag. "One room left—back corner, second floor. Two beds, you can squeeze. Shared wash and latrine at the end of the hall."

Lila asked the price.

The keeper named a figure, then added, "Want it cheaper, there's those little houses by the scrap dump. Not great if you've got a kid with you."

Eren and Lila traded a look and paid.

The room was at the end of the second floor—thin door, plaster missing in patches, window that only opened halfway. One wide wooden bed, one narrow one, a wooden basin and old kettle in the corner, a chipped chest at the foot of the bed. Small, but clean enough.

Nova set his bundle on the bed and sat down, letting out a long breath. "How many days are we staying?"

Lila was unslinging her crossbow. She looked at Eren.

They'd talked about it on the road—only Nova hadn't heard it yet. Eren latched the door, checked the street through the window, then turned back.

"Probably more than a few." He said it plain. "Money's thin. We need work—and a line to the revolutionaries."

Nova blinked, but he didn't look disappointed.

"So we're staying in Rusak a while?"

"Yeah." Lila sat beside him, unlaced her boots, rolled her ankles. "Daytime, work and ask around. Going straight to the revolutionaries is too conspicuous."

Nova thought a moment, then nodded. "Sounds good. Food's good here. And the room's… okay too."

Lila laughed at that. "You adapt fast."

"I'm just being honest." Nova said it seriously. "Still beats sleeping rough. And the mutton's good."

Lila's smile faded a touch. She rubbed his hair. "Then tomorrow we really need to find work—or we won't eat many more meals like that."

Nova didn't dodge. Instead he asked, "Can I help?"

"Not yet." Eren split the remaining Crystone coins and stowed them. "Stick with us. Don't go wandering on your own."

Nova nodded fast. "I know."

Lila saw how quick he answered and added, "Not saying you can't look around. Rusak's big—tomorrow we walk it first, get our bearings."

"Okay."

When they washed up, the hall was all footsteps. Someone carried a basin past, complaining the water was cold. Next door, voices low, counting where to go tomorrow. Outside, a patrol passed once—a short whistle like a copper bell, then gone.

They settled for the night. Lila set the crossbow where she could reach it. Eren took the narrow bed by the door. Lila and Nova shared the wide one, Nova against the wall. Once the lamp was out, there was only the neighbor's snoring and restless turning, and streetlight bleeding through the gap in the window.

Nova didn't sleep right away.

He turned his back to the room, hand in his pocket, and drew out a flat object slowly. A thin black casing, cold in his palm, edges traced with fine silicon-grain patterns like hard crust on scrap metal. The screen stayed dark—but at one angle a thread of faint cold light slid across it.

Nova held his breath and stared a long time.

The bed boards creaked behind him.

"Still awake?" Lila's voice came through the dark—not loud, but it pulled him back into the room.

Nova's hand snapped shut. He stuffed the old phone into his pocket and rolled flat. "Going to sleep."

Lila didn't get up. She hadn't seen what was in his hand—only mumbled through sleepiness, "Sleep, then."

Nova pulled the blanket to his chin. His eyes stayed open.