Bleeding Hearts Don't Beat Long

The Liar

The group stepped out of the train onto a stone platform, the station they found themselves in was brickwork, but it lacked any sort of mortar joining the rocks instead it just stuck together like a jigsaw without any bit of the cutting out of line. It was an architectural style emblematic of geomancy, but Sunny was the only one who took any note of it as without relevant knowledge it was just a grey building. New Penglai was not Penglai or new for that matter as it was a company town that got reclaimed by settlers after the Benny gang made a show of force with a quite literal scorched earth ethos. Sunny racks his brain for something he can trust Zhu not to mess up if left to his own devices.

"Zhu, take Ollie and go buy some bullets" Sunny slapped some sterling into the outlaw's palm, although it wasn't even enough for a full cylinder in most places "You can pay for your own bullets, this is to get a weapon, a dirk or something like that should be fine" Oliver peeled up one side of his bandage to reveal an inky eye.

"that r-really isn't n-necessary-" Sunny flicked Oliver dead centre of the forehead.

"necessary is my department, so you just make sure Zhu doesn't shoot the dearly beloved of another wizard" Zhu got into Sunny's personal space with an accusatory tone.

"what will you be doing?" Sunny tightened the knot holding his bundle of heist supplies on his shoulder, after which he held up three fingers and curled them to count down his responsibilities.

"I'll get us accommodation, see if I can rent out some horses, plus I'm getting new clothes and a bath." Sunny confidently explained while never specifying the order he would be doing those in. Surya walked off causing the conversation to come to a close with enough confidence that it felt natural, his footsteps echoing in the largely unpopulated station. Sunny stepped out onto the cobbled streets under the light of the moon and enchanted streetlights, spheres of neodymium steel topped black poles of faintly Baroque design. The enchantment was very simple, storing light during the day before slowly releasing it at night. Much of New Penglai made use of such enchanted over-engineering and if Sunny wasn't worried about being brutally killed by an ageless horror, he might have been enjoying himself. He fell back to reality as a cart tore down the street near him with a clattering of iron-clad hooves on stone.

"out of the way, Bronzite!" the driver called out when Sunny was already jumping out of the way, Bronzite may have been a correct description of his nationality but he didn't like how it sounded coming from a noble accent, so he gave the cart a rude gesture on impulse before saying something so rude I will refrain from writing it down. Sunny then added the collection of some matches to his mental list.

Sunny unfixed his hair and smeared some mud on his face before limping into a haberdashery with a loud proclamation made in an upper-class accent, something vaguely Platinum colony but not too new world.

"egads! You there sir! I was just assaulted!" Sunny projected an obscene amount of indignation while remaining pompous, roughly matching the energy of the fancy clothing dispensary. A pale man who had used some cosmetics to mimic the visual signifiers of tuberculosis minus some of the less romanticised symptoms, stepped out from behind the counter while wringing their hands together.

"By Jove, are you alright" they asked with a voice that had not even brushed sincerity on the way out his mouth.

"Wha-! Obviously not good sir, my coat has been ruined and my purse snatched!" Sunny swung his arms to convey how upset he was, with the added benefit of slinging mud around "I am to be dining with heads of the mages' court, and here I am looking akin to an urchin!" the mud-slinging evolved the merchant's polite concern to urgency.

"Sir, please calm down, I can offer you a new suit and simply send the bill to your estate" They took on a placating tone and Sunny kept back a grin from ruining his performance as he snapped forward the lapel of his coat with the huff of someone superhumanly self-important.