5.1 A Glorified Theme Park

Kroprom's main feature was a giant engine wheel spinning on top of the tallest tower at its center, and it all went downhill from there, no pun intended. Engine wheels, engine wheels everywhere. Some were golden. Some were silver. Some were bronze. Many had been defiled with street art. In the past, they'd erected (pun intended) a project to rebuild its walls with metal, but this had fallen apart as more and more citizens complained about the sun's blinding reflection, and also the heat, and the slave wages, and multiple laundering schemes; such was the state of what had once been lauded as 'the crowning achievement of sentient species'.

Long, long ago, it'd been conceived as a way to prove they'd no longer have to bow down to nature; now nature would bow down to them. To whom, exactly? Not to the cretins that'd turned a marvel of science (at the time) into a glorified theme park, that was for sure.

Two-Rabbit thought about this while urinating. When he finished and washed his hands, and walked out the bathroom, what he saw didn't surprise or disappoint him—not anymore, though it would've, in the past. All of them but Cheery glued their faces to the window of the train, for they'd finally left the tunnels, which meant Kroprom was within their line of sight (they'd built tracks on top of the sand as a marketing ploy, or, well, a long stone road and then tracks).

From their feeble point of view, he got it, though. Kroprom was the second biggest city-state in Imim, famed for its outstanding engineering and technology... except it was a ruse. One of Two-Rabbit's past lives had ended with him killing himself by jumping from the tower out of spite because they'd had no deaths yet and kept boasting about it. Well, not anymore. It'd hurt, but it'd been worth it. It'd never match the harm Kroprom had done to civilization at large, but it helped him sleep at night, when nothing else would. Unfortunately, he could only kill himself eight times, or he would've artificially inflated the city's mortality rate to satiate his need for revenge.

Cheery didn't look very cheery, so Two-Rabbit sat next to him to seethe, alone, but not lonely.

Now that he took a better look, Pwee wasn't rubbing his face against the glass; he merely glanced outside. Or at everyone else's buttocks, which were thankfully clothed. "What's the purpose of the wheel at the center?" Asked Akiha. The answer: a shocking display of hubris.

Mish replied, "It's some new technology to gather magic more efficiently."

"Oh, truly? How does it work?"

The answer: it did not. "Uh... it's revolutionary technology seeking to change the world's frequency." Mish had just recited the city's slogan. In a way, such toomfoolery symbolized the city as a whole.

"Have you been there before?" Inquired Pwee.

"Nope. I've always wanted to, but... you know."

"Ah. Yeah."

"You know what?" Asked Akiha.

"Taxes," said Cheery. "One hundred zuli per person."

Cheery was mean. He'd only said this because he knew it'd negatively impact morale. Before this happened, however, Mish countered, "But we have a lot of money right now so I thought it'd be fine it's a once in a lifetime opportunity they sell really good equipment and there's a lot of bored people so I think we'll get a lot of new members because you know anyway I thought it'd be fine it's just a hundred."

Snail almost looked transfixed, mouth open, as though witnessing magic for the first time. But no, it was a city. Just a city.

"Makes sense," said Akiha, even though it didn't, and he knew it. "You're correct. We do have 'a lot' of money. Best to spend it, and time, wisely."

Two-Rabbit was the first to hop off the train upon arriving to Kr*prom. Engine wheels, engine wheels everywhere. Lots of steam. Cheery and Pwee were swift to take off the junk off their hair, for even if they'd never visited such place, they ought to know about its... reputation. Strange. Two-Rabbit could see someone as young and jumpy as Pwee succumbing to peer pressure, but Cheery? Did the idea of a stranger making fun of his tribe's customs bother him so? Off went his rings, his bracelets, and other such paraphernalia, into the safety of his satchel. He glanced at Snail and opened his mouth, then closed it, rolling his eyes, as if remembering... what? That Snail was mad at him? How was that any more mature?

Speaking of which, Snail walked past Cheery, next to Mish. They made their way across floor tiles pointlessly made of metal, paid the prohibitive entry fee by listing their citizen ID to the doormen, then walked inside. Two-Rabbit's hair bristled, but he managed.

Against Khon-Pak or Morr's cozy colors, this place looked like a garbage can. So did the people. He could never understand the appeal of wearing costumes to 'belong'. Denizens and tourists alike wore top hats and monocles for literally no reason. Gone were the colors, but alas; due to fake luxury, gone was the common sense, too.

"There are lots of..." Akiha trailed off. "Why is everything made of metal? Why do most engines connect to nothing? Is that a... monorail?"

Was it good or bad that he seemed far more perturbed by this city than the previous ones? Maybe good, because he didn't seem awed the way the rest (minus Cheery) were. Two-Rabbit walked with his eyes straight ahead, towards... wherever it was they headed.

Akiha almost seemed to speak to himself. "I suppose it makes sense to channel magic as an energy source given its strange behavior in the desert. I wonder if stars will look white. Depending on how many new members we acquire, we can stay here a night or two, although... well... it does seem pricey, but... we all have our funds to spend at the moment..."

Two-Rabbit had once had a daughter and a son. Both of them got angry at him from time to time. What did he do? Talk to them anyway. After a while, silence just became awkward, then sad, then bitter. Snail didn't seem like the sort of child to throw tantrums of the sort, so why was she so quiet? At what point would Two-Rabbit have to intervene?

"...food first, then weapons, then pam—letters. Fuck. Travelers!" Now Akiha spoke to the rest. "Our schedule is as follows: after breakfast, we can purchase supplies. Together. Splitting up has led to enough digressions. Once we've geared up, we can have lunch, then spend the rest of the day recruiting new members to our—"

"Cult." That was Cheery.

"—cause. Cérise, shut up. Mish, stop laughing. Depending on how many..."

Che... ry? Cherry? Raabi often used simplified names to present themselves to outsiders, though these two didn't seem to care that much. It could be a young people thing. Back in the day, beastmen who failed to partake in the clownish trend of wearing clothes were ostracized if they left their hometowns. Two-Rabbit had been one of the first to defy this. Why should they, after all, cover what was covered already? So it could be that, but with Raabi and names. He'd have to ask Cheery and Pwee to pronounce and spell for him later.

"...understood?"

"Gotcha," said Mish. Snail nodded, and Pwee said yes, too.

They stopped at a coffee shop close to the train station, which was stupid because those often were expensive due to them preying on those too lazy to walk/think, but Two-Rabbit said nothing, because the less time they spent on this giant garbage can, the better. Everyone inside wore a variation of gloves, top hats, monocles, or boots. Usually all of them. Their thinly-veiled disdain for dissenters had a fifty percent efficacy rate: Cheery was Cheery, Two-Rabbit was Two-Rabbit, and Akiha seemed more concerned about getting fined over wearing the wrong color again.

"Sweetie," Mish told Snail, "Order whatever you like. I'll pay."

"Oh, but. I have money right now..."

"You'll need it for later. Trust me! You too, Ploo. My treat."

There was no falafel, but Two-Rabbit wouldn't have eaten anyway. He had a stash of it. He'd live off them until they left this giant garbage can. When Akiha asked why he refused to eat, he simply answered, "No," and that was enough.

Kroprom could've been something. A city running entirely on residual magic? An utopia with no poverty, no crime, no suffering? Anything but this.

"Eat something," Akiha told Cheery, who proceeded to order a bottle of wine. "Not that." So Cheery ordered a single cookie. He also did this to be mean. He seemed to like being mean specifically to Akiha, who, symbiotically, was snappier with him.

When Snail thought no one else was watching, she stashed away the majority of her meal into a container. Was this the point where Two-Rabbit intervened?

They ate, and they left, and Two-Rabbit ate falafel. "Guys," Pwee said, but he was ignored. "Guys. Um. GUYS?" Nothing.

Two-Rabbit stomped the ground. Everyone stopped, and a few nearby engines rattled. "Pwee wants to say something."

"Pwee," corrected P.. loo... Plee? "P-L-U-I-E."

"Ah. My bad." He'd ask Cheery about the spelling of his name later.

"Thank you, though. So, um. Before we purchase supplies, could go to the bank and check our accounts? It'll be quick. I'm not saying the guards are stealing money or anything, but sometimes they make mistakes, so we should. Yeah."

They did.

Mish often had this bizarre mouth shape, like a lopsided 3. As she exited her booth at the bank (which was made of metal and pointlessly surrounded by spinning engines and tubes), this intensified. "All good," she informed. "I'm rich. We're all rich. WOO!"

Akiha was next, and he confirmed this, with less fanfare. Then went Pluie. Then Snail. Two-Rabbit refused to because it wasn't as though he'd buy weapons anyway, and so Cheery was last. When he came back, there were no woos. "Pluie," he said. "I need to talk to you for a moment."

Pluie seemed to know what this was about, because he tensed. He complied, however. The rest of them sat at the waiting area outside the bank, near a bench with engines as decorations, but while the twosome walked far, it wasn't far enough, and so Two-Rabbit heard their secret prattling anyway.

Cheery told Pluie: "You got scammed," to which Pwee said nothing. "But you knew that already, didn't you?" Still nothing. "Your asshole co-workers stole most of the money while—"

"No!" Finally, Pluie spoke. "It wasn't... they wouldn't do that."

"Then where's the rest of the reward?"

"Well. The thing is. The pink's guy tattoo was fake."

"It wasn't." While Cheery often sounded irritated, this was the first time Two-Rabbit detected real anger in his voice.

While Pluie took his time to respond (or, more appropriately, to compose himself), Two-Rabbit focused back on Mish, Snail, and Akiha. Their topic was predictable, but needed. "You gotta tell us what's going on, sweetie," Mish told her. "We're here to help, all right?"

"I know."

Akiha asked, "Do you want me to talk to hi—"

"No!"

"Huh? Why not?"

"Just don't."

But then Pluie replied, "With all due respect, you're just a citizen, so how can you tell? Unless you were also one of them, but you're not, because it'd be very strange if you were. Besides, your mark is fake. The commander said the eyepatch guy's mark was also fake, and when I thought about it it makes sense because if we'd been able to defeat the surviving Wraith, that would've also been very strange, and illogical. No offense. Also, my co-workers aren't thieves. I don't think they'd do something like pretending they caught the Wraith, give us a portion of the money, and then keep the rest to themselves. I think we would've known if that happened. The news about a Wraith being captured would be all over the place. S-so it was a fake. I just wanted to check our accounts in case the, um. It was a fake."

Two-Rabbit had no business getting irritated over the ransom of a bandit he didn't catch, but that sure didn't stop him. 'The rest of the million' implied their payout should've been a couple orders of magnitude bigger, after all. Still, to spread this theory among the rest would lead to chaos.

"...right," said Cheery. "See that tavern? I'm staying there until you pack of imbeciles are done playing. Tell Akiha not to bother showing up before that or I'll kill myself. Goodbye."

Either that was a very strange response, or Cheery was a strange man in general, or perhaps Two-Rabbit wasn't strange enough. He would've thought that for a million zuli, Cheery would've argued more on the subject, but apparently not. Perhaps he'd just messed up and was too ashamed to admit it. Either way, Pluie returned, Cheeryless.

It was Akiha's turn to sound irritated. "Where did he go?"

"He said he'll join back la—"

"Oh, for fuck's—" Akiha cleared his throat. He placed his fingers on his lips for some reason, closing his eyes. "Where is he?"

Why didn't Pluie just answer? Should Two-Rabbit?

Snail asked, "Did he tell you to 'pick him up' later?" When Pluie nodded, she added, "Then he'll stay there. It's fine. Let's not fight. Please."

Maybe Two-Rabbit was the strange one, because he really didn't get it.