The Starlight Lancer

Chapter 117: The Glyph Maestro

"Highly specialized knowledge, such as celestium engineering, focus rifle maintenance, and glyph software repair, is always in high demand in the Nova Rim."

—Traboor Holda, Business Guru and Life Coach

Zaina's crutch slipped, nearly spilling her to the floor. She grumbled and kept moving—people were already staring at her mark, and the last thing she wanted was to give prying eyes a reason to look.

I hate this.

Gizmo, in low-power mode for the time being, was wrapped in fabric and slung over her shoulder, making it awkward to hobble on the knockoff crutches provided by the Order's health service. Her little friend swung back and forth with every step, throwing off her balance.

All I need to do is get him to Valsi's shop.

While she was glad to be off bed-rest, the leg was still giving her a fair amount of grief. She wasn't yet able to walk unassisted, much less run or jump. That made it especially difficult to navigate the semi-crowded throughways of Market Isle, a floating island within Kaado's crust; every available inch of land was dedicated to the Kaado Market—including the island's edges, where simgrav fields allowed vendors and shoppers alike to shop sideways. A coming-and-going of Order-approved merchants selling everything from freshly printed vegetables and shanks of trimeat to Anacazan jewelry and history books lined every street, while the buildings were reserved for established shops, hotels, or restaurants.

With all the makeshift signs and advertisements blocking most of the street markers, Market Isle was a nightmare to navigate even without considering the foot traffic. It seemed to Zaina that people had two speeds: aimlessly meandering or aggressively reckless.

Finally, she managed to make it to a cross-section. There she maneuvered around a large, tall sign that said, "Uluvrian Tarmok, Cheapest Price on Market Isle!" to see the street's name.

Okay, I'm on Alaverus Causeway. So it should be...

She scanned the nearby buildings, knowing the shop she was looking for was on a corner. One was a hostel, another a restaurant, and then—there it was. The sign, which read, "Valsi's Glyph Repair" was partially covered by a sign affixed to the top of a vendor's cart showing a picture of Ru Gumalgi, a Valathonian delicacy.

Valsi's shop was quite plain—a windowless, single-story building made of wood. The front entrance looked like the only door on the whole building. A light blue awning with a blue stripe shaded the door, and two dead plants were displayed in cracked vases outside, their loose dirt spilling to the floor.

Zaina shook her head—she hadn't been sure what to expect coming into this, and seeing the shop had only instilled more trepidation. She cooed to Gizmo, "Don't worry, little buddy. We're gonna get you some help."

It occurred to her that Gizmo was in low-power mode—she was talking to herself.

Hell, maybe I need to hear it right now, too.

Zaina was about to open the door when a glyph opened it from inside.

"Oh," she said, "thank you."

The glyph replied with a high-pitched beep. Zaina entered Valsi's shop, a cramped mess of crates filled with machine parts, tables with books, tools, and assorted metal scraps stacked haphazardly, and shelves packed to the brim with glyphs and glyph manuals. The store looked ready to fall apart if Zaina breathed wrong. She carefully set her crutches on the floor and unwrapped Gizmo.

There behind the furthest table, was a Cuataran woman with pale, milky skin. She had a bulbous head with three eyes, a circular mouth, and no visible nose. She wore heavily stained mechanic's clothes and sported a pair of trinocs, with each eye-port zooming in and out as needed.