Cobblestone streets gave way to the dirt of the less traveled Quarry Road. With the faint light of the city’s gas lamps behind us, and the darkness of the forest betwixt us and Kings Mine, my companion and I were forced to don lucent-goggles. Heavy, awkward things, they had the unique ability to peal back the shadows and were worth every penny I paid.

“Do you honestly think he’d let us trap him in the mine?” Roger asked.

A diminutive man who had spent his formative years bar brawling, Roger had become a priceless asset.

“Not exactly. He suspects that his false trail leading back to the governor’s mansion will busy us with bureaucracy until the next skyship docks at Peregrine Tower. We have slightly less than thirty-six hours to catch the thief known as Copperwire before he disappears into the aethyr.”

“You have considerably less than that.” A third voice chimed in.

Roger and I dove in opposite directions, as tiny slivers of frozen mercury rained down.

Mercury bows?

The game just got interesting.