Chausable

Ch. 1 Acrid smoke had pooled at the ceiling of Ferrous’s Bar and had already begun to haze over the rest of the room. Even for a bar in Talocan, it was a busy night. Reagent could hardly make out any of the regulars though the crowd of partygoers. A loud, flowery shirt was the only sign of the proprietor, Ferrous as he flittered through the bedlam, struggling to keep on top of the orders for Scinter’s Mark and Margate Martinis. Reagent leaned back into the solitary corner booth, under the shade of faux Palm trees and Tiki decorations as he took a moment to relax. He’d delivered his shipment just in time for the festival rush

   The bamboo wind chimes of the Kojiki district clattered softly as an unusually strong wind flowed through the deserted alleyways. The air was bright and crisp, cherry blossom leaves danced through the wind, tracing out elaborate loops and swirls like graceful songbirds.   Gravel ground softly underfoot as Reagent stepped slowly into the district square, pushing springer rounds into his revolver cylinder with his thumb. He never took his eyes from the hunched figure that stood, almost motionless, at the opposite end of the square. The stranger did not lift his head as Marshall stopped, clicking the cylinder closed and sliding the weapon i