World Tree Online- the Endless Savanna- 3rd Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  Kimm looked honestly hurt by Heath’s words, but still nodded. “When this is over, I want answers. Real answers.”

  Heath nodded, unsure if he wanted to go down that road with her. But, if he succeeded and got the information Fence wanted without getting caught, giving her a few answers was the least he could do.

  “Now, how about you introduce me to that band I didn’t know you were part of,” Heath suggested.

  “I can’t always play at the club,” Kimm said, blushing. “I just don’t make enough money. So, I take side gigs with this group of Bards I met at that contest I told you about.”

  “Right, can’t wait to meet them,” Heath said with a grin back on his face.

  * * *

  Heath paused in his story telling. When I looked to check on him, he was sitting down and drinking some water. A quick check of his status showed he was out of mana.

  It was a good time for a break in the story anyway. Tikka’s runner, Twill, the Hunters, and the other Cheetahmen arrived. Some of them looking a little worse for wear.

  “What happened to you guys?” I asked.

  “When the runner found us and told us you found the slaves. I got it into my head to try and cause a distraction,” Twill answered. “We found a stable down our path. I thought it would be a good idea to send the animals running wild. The Slave Stablemaster did not agree. And we might have lit the stable on fire in our fight with him. But it was at least successful in getting the animals running wild in the courtyard.”

  “What about the wagons?” I asked. “We might need those later to help get these people out of here.”

  “Parked near the gate,” Twill answered. “The stable fire should not be able to get to them.”

  “Let’s hope not,” I said. “Alright, Tikka, while the Slavers are distracted, I need you and your tribesmen to start getting these people to safety. Healthiest first, we’ll keep healing the weaker ones.”

  “It will be done,” Tikka said proudly then began barking orders to the other Cheetahmen.

  Chapter 28 - Heath

  “Alright, Heath, let’s hear the rest of this story,” I said, resuming healing.

  “Right, so, meeting the band,” Heath started only to be stopped when Sooty appeared.

  “Small problem,” Sooty said.

  “What?” I asked, worrying that the guards already caught on to us.

  “The two at the top of the stairs were already dead,” Sooty answered.

  I looked to Heath and asked, “Your handywork?”

  “Guilty,” Heath replied. “Anyway, where was I? Right, meeting the band.”

  * * *

  Across the street, the other three members of the band were waiting.

  The Orc glaring in my direction crossed his arms and asked, “Is this the guy?” was taller than Heath though they dressed mostly the same, jeans and a leather jacket. His skin was dark green and his hair dark, maybe black, and done in long dreadlocks.

  “Yeah, this is the guy,” Kimm replied. “The good news is, he actually knows how to play. Bad news is, it’s like we thought. Fence sent him to rob the place.”

  The Orc cursed. “If he gets caught, we’re all dead,” he said to Kim, then focused on Heath. “Do you hear that? We’re all dead if you get caught.”

  “Then you better not do anything stupid that gets me caught,” Heath replied. It was a cold response. It was the kind of response Heath would have given as ‘Morte’. With a deep calming breath, Heath tried again. “Look, I know you don’t like this. I can’t really blame you. Sadly, I’m more likely to get caught if you act strangely, than because of anything I do. I’m very good at what I do, I promise, I will not let any of you take any heat for this.”

  Krag snorted and huffed. “Fine,” he finally said, stomping away toward the servant’s entrance Heath had scouted earlier.

  “That was Krag. He’s really a teddy bear,” the Human woman said. was short, not Dwarf or Gnome short, but not much taller. She had bright green and orange hair that alternated in bands, creating a pumpkin shape around her head. “I’m Tana, nice to meet you Heath.”

  “Nice to meet you as well,” Heath replied, shaking the offered hand.

  “Anyway, I play lead guitar and sing backup. Krag is our base guitarist. And Thor Gunderson here is our drummer,” Tana continued. “And obviously you know Kimm, our lead singer.”

  “Thor,” Thor said, saying it more like ‘Tor’. “Mine name is Thor Gunderson. We’ve been playing together for months and you still can’t say mine name right,” Thor complained in a heavy Swedish accent. Thor was almost as tall as Tana, though considerably wider and more rounded around the belly. He had the typical thickly muscled arms that was normal of most Dwarves. He also had the traditional beard that was knotted and braided intricately. It matched well with the long hair on his head, though that seemed more of a Viking style. The sides of his head were shaved clean and the remaining hair on top of his head was braided into a not-quite mohawk, all of which was very blond.

  Tana just rolled her eyes. “It’s spelled Thor,” she said, teasingly but Heath could clearly see Thor didn’t appreciate it very much.

  “Before you two get into it again and end up forgoing the gig in exchange for finding a hotel room, let’s go,” Kimm said, corralling her bandmates and getting the pair to blush furiously.

  Heath couldn’t help but chuckle and follow. “I suppose that means I’m playing backup on the guitar.”

  Kimm looked back only to roll her eyes and push along toward the servant’s entrance.

  Inside, Heath was reminded of the kitchen of Mardi’s manor in Root City, back when they had first met the Dwarven Duchess, before she became Marie and faked her death. That whole act was something Heath was particularly proud of . . . except for the hurting Micaela part. Hurting Micaela was like kicking a puppy, it just wasn’t cricket.

  “I do not know why the young master insists on such riffraff,” the butler complained. “But what the master wants, the master gets. So, ground rules. Upstairs and any of the bedrooms are off limits, do not go getting any ideas about sneaking off to . . . well, you get my point. You will get a 15-minute break after the first hour. A 30-minute break after the second hour. And a final 15-minute break after the third hour. Provided everything goes well, you will be paid in full at the end of the night. Now, if there are no questions, Cloe, guide these people to where they will be performing.”

  A small girl stepped forward and answered, “Yes sir, Mr. Ridley.” She was Beastkin by the look of her. Half-Deer or something like that. She was timid and looked very downtrodden. Very much a servant that is seen and not heard . . . maybe not even seen.

  “Thank you, little lady,” Heath said gregariously. “And don’t you worry about a thing, Mr. Ripley. We’ll be on our best behavior,” he added, giving the little Deergirl a wink, but getting no reaction from the girl.

  “Mr. Ridley,” the Human butler corrected harshly. “And do not, I repeat. Do not speak to the help. If you need something, you will speak only to me. And though I should not need to mention it. You will not speak with the guests or the young master.”

  “Like I said, nothing to worry about, Mr. Ripley,” Heath said, purposely irritating the butler. Heath knew this man’s type well enough. The more Heath annoyed him, the more he would do to distance himself from Heath. And the more he distanced himself, the more time Heath would get to do the job.

  Mr. Ridley cleared his throat agitatedly. “Cleo, show them the way,” he said with a very controlled voice, then turned swiftly away and marched into what appeared to be his personal quarters and office.

  showed the band through the house, pointedly ignoring any question Heath might have asked. He asked about each room they passed. He asked how many servants there were. He even asked if she had a boyfriend, which other than making her cheeks tinge slightly pink, elicited zero verbal responses. Heath kept trying, but it was clearly futile, the
girl was well trained.

  “What do you think you were doing?” Krag demanded, his voice a hiss but still loud enough to fill the empty ballroom they were setting up in.

  “Trying to get information,” Heath answered, unphased by the anger Krag was directing at him. “At least I got under Ridley’s skin. He’ll do everything he can to avoid me for the rest of the night. Still, I wish I could have gotten that girl talking. Poor thing looked terrified when Ridley said her name.”

  “Wait, all that was . . . intentional?” Krag asked disbelievingly.

  “I told you, I’m good at what I do,” Heath said, winking at the large Orc. “Now, we should go ahead and warm up. I need to learn the back up to whatever songs you play.” Then Heath had a thought and asked, “Wait, do you play covers or originals?”

  “Mostly covers,” Kimm said. “We can stick with that for you tonight, here’s our playlist,” she said, handing him a list of almost 50 songs, more than enough for three hours of play. “If there is anything on there you don’t know we can practice now.”

  “No, I know these,” Heath said. He really did know them, some of them better than he would ever have wanted to. He represented a quarter of the bands that originally played those songs. Half of them he tried to represent at one time or another. And the last quarter were songs from before even his time and given his . . . preference for real rock and roll, he definitely knew the listed songs.

  “Great,” Krag said, starting a song on his base guitar. “Then you know this.”

  Heath immediately started strumming right along with the chorus.

  Krag frowned and changed songs.

  Heath made the switch easily enough.

  Krag tested him with a few more songs before he got frustrated. “Fine, don’t mess us up. This is a big payday for us,” he stated harshly and walked away toward the refreshment stand.

  “You do you,” Heath called after him, sitting down on the edge of the stage.

  Kimm sat down on the edge next to him, looking slightly tentative about saying anything.

  “What’s on your mind?” Heath asked, plucking at a string as he messed with the tuning.

  Kimm frowned. “Can I ask . . . what are you here to-”

  Heath cut her off before she said something that could get them both into trouble. “Play?” Heath said, finishing her sentence and giving her a look. “Nothing special,” he said. “Just looking for the experience. Maybe a little knowledge,” he answered, retuning his guitar again into something more standard for playing backup guitar.

  “What kind of . . . experience?” Kimm asked, frowning and getting the hint to be careful about how she asked something.

  “Not sure, but I’ll know it when I see it,” Heath said.

  Kimm quirked her lips down slightly before smiling a little. Apparently, stealing information wasn’t so bad in her opinion.

  Eventually, guests began to arrive and fill the ballroom. They were all young teenagers. Teenagers that apparently took fashion advice from the adventurers. Lots of mismatched clothes and random armor pieces. Actually, Heath thought that might have been the theme of the party. And if it was, why would they hire an adventurer band? Never mind, what kind of adventurer themed party wouldn’t include the music adventurers like?

  “House music,” Kimm said, getting the band started. Heath played with them, it couldn’t really be considered a song, more just riffing together. When Kimm motioned they started the first song of their set.

  Heath played but most of his focus was on the people in the room. Sure, they were teens, but teens still talked. Overheard things from their parents and repeated it stupidly to their friends. It was bragging but that was how it went at that age.

  One of the boys near the stage asked, “Does your dad really have a Legendary Dagger?” The question was directed to what Heath assumed was the young master. His nameplate helped a little. was round and doughy for being level 5. Then again, who knew if the boy even bothered training up any of his stats.

  “Nah, it is just a Mystic Dagger,” the boy, the heir, answered.

  Another boy asked, “Can we see it?”

  “Maybe,” the heir replied, taunting his friends. Heath could tell the boy either had no intention of showing them or he just didn’t have access to the room. “It is in my dad’s office on the ground floor. We can try to look at it, but my dad probably locked it up because of my party tonight.”

  “It is a great party Jamie,” a young teenage girl gushed. “The adventurer theme was such a good idea. Do you like my costume?” Twirling around in her baby pink robes that clung to her pubescent body.

  The heir, now known as Jamie, asked, “Adventurer Mage?” He leered as his eyes looked up and down her body.

  The girl nodded.

  “A little bland,” the boy teased.

  The girl pouted.

  “But maybe you can show it off in private with me later,” Jamie suggested, his leering smile growing wider.

  The girl blushed and looked away.

  The boys laughed.

  “I am thirsty boys. Let us get a drink,” Jamie said, moving his group away toward the refreshment table.

  Heath didn’t like the boy much, but he did give him some good information. Specifically, where his father’s office was. Well, not exactly where the office was but at least the boy eliminated every floor but the ground floor for him. As far as Heath was concerned, he was halfway there.

  As the first hour ended, Heath and the band returned to the kitchen for their 15-minute break.

  “Mind showing me to someplace I can freshen up?” Heath asked the same small Deergirl that originally escorted them.

  The girl looked indecisive for a moment, looking for the butler.

  “I promise, restroom and back,” Heath said. “Mr. Ripley never needs to know,” he added with a wink.

  The Deergirl fussed a moment, looking around, then nodded.

  Heath grinned and followed.

  Once Heath was in the restroom with a simple sink and mirror, he turned on the water and vanished, activating his ‘Stealth’ and creeped right back out into the hall, carefully slipping around the waiting maid.

  He only had 15-minutes, so he needed to make them count. It wasn’t enough time to actually complete the mission, but it was enough time to search for the office location. The manor was large but thankfully not a maze of hallways. He found the office without a problem and tested the doors. Doors that wouldn’t even jiggle.

  “Alright, you guys must promise you will not tell my father,” Jamie’s voice carried from the hallway. “And we must be quick. I am not even supposed to have this key.”

  Heath tucked back into a corner that had very little lighting and waited. Jamie was about to give him a way in.

  One of the boys with him asked, “Is that a magic lock?” He stared intently at the key that Jamie was now showing off.

  “You better believe it. If anyone tries to pick this lock, they will get the shock of their lives. Might even kill them. My father spared no expense,” Jamie bragged.

  Heath grinned from his place in the shadows. The boy really was making it too easy.

  Jamie unlocked the door and showed his friends inside.

  Heath heard a lot of Ooh’s and Ah’s and more bragging from Jamie about how he was already at Rank VI with his ‘Dagger’ skill, to which Heath just rolled his eyes.

  Finally, the boys left, and Jamie locked the door behind him, slipping the key into his pocket. It was like taking candy from a baby. Heath slipped the key out of the heir’s pocket and into his own, then beat feet back to the bathroom where Cloe was still dutifully waiting.

  Heath made sure to splash water on his face and soak his hair properly then shake out to give it the rock and roller wet look.

  “Thanks for waiting, Cloe,” Heath said. “Let’s head back.”

  Cloe nodded once dutifully and showed Heath the way.

  Thankfully, the only glare upon their return w
as from Krag.

  “About time to play again, yeah?” Heath asked, grinning.

  Kimm and the others all looked at him suspiciously, but no one said a thing.

  The band was guided back to the ballroom and started their next set. Trying to enjoy the music. Heath was still keeping an ear open for any interesting tidbits. A few rumors of whose mother was sleeping with whose father, but otherwise, they were pretty tame.

  It was nearing the end of the second set when Heath noticed something. The teens. They were all Humans. Heath saw plenty of non-Human servants and valets, but not one guest was non-Human. Heath filed that away for later. It might be something to investigate down the road.

  When the next break came, Heath excused himself again. “I’ll be back, need to cool off again.”

  Cloe started to follow him, but he stopped her. “No need little lady, I know the way.”

  Cloe looked like she wanted to protest but Heath moved too quickly for her, almost moving too fast for her to see.

  Heath felt bad about that, but it was better if she knew nothing of what he was up to. He still stopped into the restroom and turned on the water, just in case. Heath moved quickly through the manor, using the shadows where he could, staying silent, even as he slipped the key into the door lock. He quickly slid inside the office, not quite closing the door behind him.

  Heath began methodically searching the room. Checking behind books on the shelves, searching desk drawers but not finding anything locked or trapped to suggest there might be something valuable here. In fact, the only thing valuable was the mystic quality dagger displayed on the desk.

  Then Heath looked closer at the dagger, or rather the display stand. There was something glowing below the dagger that was barely visible. Heath lifted the dagger from its display stand and saw what was glowing. It was a hole. rectangular with points at the top and bottom. Heath looked again at the dagger then back at the hole and grinned. Heath slid the dagger into the hole. It clicked into place, but nothing happened. Heath tried twisting the handle and a click across the room drew his attention to one of the bookshelves which now had an angle to it.