In a dark alley of the ancient desert metropolis of Wellspring City, a man is quietly vaporized by a thing he will never understand. Magic is to blame, and the technocratic Dynamic Brotherhood will hold the entire city's arcane community accountable with a broken-door inquisition if the culprit is not found. Baffled by the blackened body, the City Watch hire a gray-market consult. They call the Beast of Sector Sixteen - the notorious (and perennially cash-light) mutant mercenary Baulric Featherlight. With time running out, no other choice, and the lives of his friends up against the wall, it falls to the half-ton manhunter to leverage his magic, cybernetics, instincts, and wits to plumb the depths of the Thousandfold Polis and unearth the perpetrator, before the Brotherhood cuts its own justice from the hides of thousands.

(Cover art by UncertaintyCrossing. You can find more of his works here.)

(obligatory extra note: im an internet busker who subsists on the generosity of readers like you. if you haven't done your good deed for the day and you think my work is worth paying for, why not tip some spare change into my hat? i'd be awful appreciative ♥)

[premium game of the year DLC edition edit: if you've read the whole thing for free and want to buy a copy for yourself, this dang ol' story is available for purchase on amazon now. it's not super special, but showing your support by buying it would make writing new ones a lot easier. thanks a million billion for reading either way ♥]