The arch spat them out into a wide chamber carved from the hollow of a gargantuan bell. The walls of bronze and silver shimmered faintly in the dim light, rippling as if vibrating in response to their presence. Small lanterns — shaped like tiny bells — swung from the ceiling, casting elongated shadows that danced across the metallic floor. Faint murmurs, fragmented and layered, filled the air: whispers, bargains, warnings, and the occasional chuckle. The sound carried in strange waves, bending around corners, echoing from nowhere.
Lyra's eyes widened. "I take it back. I love this place."
Aric's lips twitched. "You take everything back when you're scared. I think it's a pattern."
"You mean like when we walked across that frozen battlefield and I almost stepped on an echo-phantom?" she shot back, waving a finger. "I was right! Again!"
The child stood between them, bells chiming softly. "Focus. Market is alive. Eyes open. Tongue sharper than blades."
Aric inhaled and scanned the market. Merchants stood behind stalls crafted from resonance shards and hollowed-out bells, their goods piled in precarious towers. Some sold fragments of lost memories, others offered tuning shards — small devices that could bend echoes to the buyer's will. A few had creatures in cages, shimmering semi-transparent, squawking in faint harmonic tones. The market smelled of metallic ozone, damp stone, and something sweet, like crystallized honey.
Lyra leaned in toward a stall where a plump merchant was juggling small shards. "What's that smell?"
"Memory sugar," Aric replied softly. "Tastes like nostalgia, burns your tongue if you swallow too much."
The child's bells jingled. "We need information, not candy. Bounty hunters have interest in Master."
Lyra froze mid-step. "Master? What?"
Aric gritted his teeth. "Don't draw attention."
They approached a stall with a low, vibrating hum. The merchant, a wiry woman with bell-threaded hair, studied them with sharp, glittering eyes. "New faces," she said, her voice rippling as though layered with several tones. "And not the usual sort. Lost or looking for trouble?"
"Looking for information," Aric said, keeping his tone even. "About the Resonance Gate nearby."
The merchant's eyes narrowed. "Everyone wants something from the Gate. Dangerous, you know. Ghosts, echoes, the unclaimed…" She tapped her finger on a small bronze bell, and a faint vibration thrummed through the floor.
Lyra leaned closer, whispering, "I bet she wants our coin."
Aric smiled faintly. "Coin, or cunning. Sometimes cunning buys more."
Lyra's grin widened. "Good thing I'm clever." She reached into her cloak, producing a small vial that shimmered with light. "This isn't for sale," she said sweetly. "It's… a gift. For information."
The merchant cocked her head. "Gift, hmm?" She leaned forward, inspecting it. "I see. Very clever. Maybe too clever. And you, Master?"
Aric froze. The child's bells rang softly. "Too loud. Be careful."
He glanced at Lyra, who was biting her lip. "Play it smooth. We need her."
Aric lowered his voice to a murmur. "We'll trade a piece of knowledge in return. A fragment of the map."
The merchant's eyes widened. "Ah, the map." She rubbed her chin. "Dangerous business. You understand what you're asking? The Cartel has eyes everywhere. They pay for whispers."
Lyra rolled her eyes. "We're already on their radar, so…"
"Exactly," Aric interrupted. "We have leverage. Information about the nearest Resonance Gate in exchange for a safe passage route, and nothing more."
The merchant hummed, the bell-threaded hair vibrating like strings. "Agreed," she said, sliding a small tuning shard across the stall. "Take this. It will guide your resonance, allow you to step lightly through unstable echoes near the Gate. But beware… the Cartel has eyes here too."
Lyra whispered as they took the shard. "Great. So everyone in this market wants to kill us or steal from us."
Aric murmured, "Some might just want gossip. That's easier."
They turned to leave when a loud clang echoed through the market. A stall on the far side had exploded in a shower of shards, and a shadowy figure dashed into the crowd. The merchant scowled. "Cartel. They know you're alive."
Lyra muttered, "I knew it. Can we ever have a quiet day?"
The child jingled its bells frantically. "Move. Now."
They weaved through the market, dodging merchants, runaway shards, and panicked exiles. Aric kept one hand on the fragment, guiding them with precise steps. Lyra ducked under a hanging bell, bouncing off its resonance to avoid a swinging shard, while the child's small form zipped like a blur between the crowd.
They reached a small alcove, catching their breath. Lyra leaned against the wall, hands on her knees. "Well, that was fun."
"Fun? That was almost lethal," Aric said, brushing shards off his coat.
Lyra smirked. "Come on. You can't lie — part of you liked it."
"Part of me is alive, that's different," he replied.
The child's bells jingled, a soft warning. "They watch us. Cartel presence growing. Must leave."
Aric nodded. "Right. The market gave us what we needed. Let's move before curiosity becomes hostility."
As they exited, the arches of the bell chamber cast their shadows long across the metallic floor. Outside, the Outer Rungs stretched before them, jagged and hollowed, but now with the guidance of the tuning shard, they could navigate the resonance paths safely.
Lyra peered back at the market, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips. "We should come back someday. Maybe bring gifts next time… or just chaos."
Aric shook his head. "Chaos tends to find us anyway."
They moved forward in silence, each step echoing faintly, carrying them closer to the next challenge — the labyrinthine corridors and the Waking Bell that awaited them.
But somewhere in the shadows of the market, a pair of glittering eyes watched, calculating. The Cartel's presence had already begun to converge, and the hunt for Aric, the one they called Master, had only just begun.