Luna Maarkus vs. the Phantom League

2.

I will admit, I did jump pretty high when Atticus mumbled in my ear. I thought for a moment about whether I should tell him what I saw, but decided against it. I didn't want to scare him. "Oh! It's nothing. I just thought I saw a girl I used to know." It wasn't entirely false, but not entirely true either. I waited for my friend to turn around before I ripped the poster I had been staring at from the wall and crumpled it up, stuffing it in my pocket. I hurried to catch up with him, trying and not really succeeding to make it look like I had been right behind him the whole time. We continued walking toward the exit, both intensely imagining that I hadn't been acting really weird all day. Neither of us wanted to confront my suspiciousness. Making excuses about not wanting my boss to be angry with me, I sped up our pace until we were almost running. "Here." Atticus pulled me into an area that I soon deduced to be ivy-covered ruins. "As you know, manipulators are technically not supposed to teleport strangers, but some do. This is a spot where manipulators go to so that they don't get in trouble." I nodded, sweat dripping down my neck. "Let's go." Atticus turned his ring twice, and with a rush of air, we were standing directly behind a Saltoorian trading outpost. "Thank you so much Atticus, I can take it from here." He hugged me and stepped back, turning his ring again just before he disappeared. 

***

I walked into the outpost with my head down, hoping that no one would recognize me. I passed the stalls without incident and hurried into the globe on the very end of the row, shutting the door behind me. "Ah, Luna. How good to see you!" The fanged smile on Gedd's face was telling me the opposite. "What do you have for me today? And it better be good, what with you skipping out on our last meeting." I looked down at my feet and mumbled something about broken hoverbikes. I fumbled in my pack for the emblems and laid them all out on the counter for my boss to inspect. "This is all of them? My, my...these will certainly fetch me a hefty price..." He ran a hand over his bald head, red skin darkened by years of working out in the sun. "This is all I have. What is my payment?" I stepped closer to the counter and wondered if he had any boots in his storeroom. "Just you wait. I'll get you whatever you need...after I find a place for these little pretties." He scooped up the emblems and thudded away into the back of the store. Once he emerged from behind the curtain separating the two sides, he asked, "Now what could I possibly procure for you today, Miss Maarkus?" There's that smile again. "I'd like some new boots and a tempescope. And since the emblems were so valuable," Gedd raised what would have been his eyebrows if Saltoori could grow hair, "I want you to pay the rest back in credits." He grunted and began to poke around his shop looking for my payment. "Here's the boots and the 'scope, I'll get your credits for you in a second here." I tapped my foot to the music playing in one of the stalls outside, glad that Gedd had a globe to sell his wares in, since Xasha was mostly rainforest and it could get pretty hot.

Pictured above: Globe, used for housing and business 

The Saltoorian set the boots and the tempescope down on the counter and ducked into the back where I assumed he kept his safe. I pulled on the new shoes, reveling in the shiny buckles and pointed toes. I had never had anything this fancy, though I was well aware that Gedd did not sell the highest quality goods. For all I knew, someone could have died in them. Next, I slipped the tempescope into my pack and closed it tight. Not many people in my position had these, but I knew that my boss had gotten this one cheap because it belonged to someone that was supposedly cursed. Saltoorians were extremely superstitious, but Dannecians certainly weren't. The tempescope was a small box that showed the weather outside. It was really only useful if you stayed indoors most of the time, which was true for many. I wanted one simply because I liked to watch it change, and it would sell for a lot if I could find the right vendor. Gedd resurfaced from the back and handed me the credits. I eyed them cautiously; I wasn't the most trustworthy girl. When I was satisfied with the amount, I thanked Gedd for his service and stepped out into the jungle.

Pictured above: boots typical of Xasha commonfolk

Pictured above: tempescope