Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1)

by Grayson Sinclair

  After eating, I stopped by one of the liquor vendors and purchased ten casks of yellowhammer ale to be delivered to Gloom-Harbor. I owed Gil for all that he’d done for me, and a few casks of his favorite ale would be a good start. I paid five gold, and the merchant promised to have them delivered in under five days. That taken care of, we still had to find clothes for Eris and me.

  The next square was for the women, a bevy of female merchants and vendors selling anything and everything a woman could dream of—dresses, jewelry, and perfumes by the thousands. I ignored most of it, though a few things caught my eye, and an idea popped into my head. Eris won’t get the meaning of it, but she’ll love it when I explain it to her. We passed by several jewelry stalls until I found the items I wanted.

  A pair of solid gold rings, each a perfect circle, gleaming under the light of the sun. They caught my attention amidst the several others dotted around. For some reason, I had to have them. Paying an outrageous two gold for both, I took Eris aside down an empty side alley.

  I didn’t think the ceremony of getting down on one knee was needed here, but just handing it to her felt wrong. So, I compromised a little.

  “I have a gift for you.”

  She’d seen me purchase the rings, and I’d seen the quizzical look as I paid for them. Entomancers didn’t seem to have the equivalent practice, and humans on Nexus didn’t spend money on frivolous things like wedding rings. This was a bit of an old-fashioned tradition, but since we were married, I wanted to do things right.

  “Hold out your hand.”

  She did so without hesitation. I gingerly took her hand in mine and placed the ring on her finger. It shrank to fit her slim finger perfectly. She admired the glint of the ring on her finger but didn’t understand the significance of it.

  I explained to her, back on Earth, married partners would receive golden wedding bands to symbolize their bond of matrimony. As I walked her through the custom, her eyes welled with tears. She hugged me and drew my face down to hers in a passionate kiss.

  “I love you, Sam. For now, until eternity.”

  “Until eternity.”

  She took my ring in her hand, mimicking the motion I’d made. As before, it fit perfectly around my rough hands.

  I would eventually have them both enchanted. When we get back to Gloom-Harbor, I’ll get with Markos, see what works best.

  Thinking of the quirky mage made me wonder how our Gloom shroom business was going and how the Gloam was progressing. I’ll ask when we get back.

  With my little marriage ceremony over with and Eris whistling happily to herself, we meandered among the frilly lace gowns and sparkling tiaras. Nothing that would do for either of us.

  Eventually, we found a stall selling more modest traveling clothes and the like. There was even an armor section, but I skipped over that, Eris hadn’t worn her chestplate after the first day, and with her chitin armor, anything we bought would likely be inferior, but I did help pick out over a dozen different tunics and skirts for her.

  Some were like the ones she’d been wearing, but others were cut much more to her size and would hug her curves better. A few had plunging necklines, and I had to veto those; her nipples kept popping out whenever she moved.

  With her clothes sorted out, she changed into one of her new outfits. A long black skirt that came down to her knees and a purple sleeveless tunic with a modest neckline, which hinted at her breasts without revealing them.

  With her situated, I needed to sort out my own wardrobe conundrum. We swept past the cooking and general outdoor gear market section along with the pet and animal market. I steered clear of the slave auction house as I wanted nothing to do with them, and I didn’t want Eris to see the men and women in cages.

  Finally, we arrived at the men’s apparel section. It was much smaller than the women’s, but men generally hated shopping. It was a sacred rule among us.

  Much like the shop I’d purchased Eris’s clothes at, I found one selling all manner of tunics and matching breeches and pants. I avoided any of the tights and hose, along with the finer doublets that were meant for fashion rather than functionality, but I picked several sets of cotton and linen shirts and some sturdy canvas pants.

  With my purchases made and safely stowed in my inventory, we made our way to the crafts district. Having my armor repaired was the last item I needed to take care of, and no way was I going to meet my informant with shoddy, torn armor. Regardless of my appearance, I didn’t want to look like an easy mark. I don’t need a knife in my back today.

  As we reached the market square, where all the craftsmen, blacksmiths, leatherworkers, and weaponsmiths plied their trade. A myriad of smells assaulted me. I’d been here a few times in the past, but I always forgot how pungent the air was.

  The sulfuric odor of molten metal combined with the sharp scent of steel. All with the undertone of dyeing leather, which gave off the most repugnant odor imaginable. The smell didn’t seem to faze Eris. I, however, was forced to breathe through my mouth, though the mental illusion of every breath I took coating my tongue with the foul air made me want to gag.

  I suffered through enough to wander over to one of the armor workers. He was stout, with arms so heavy with muscle that they looked larger than my head. He had a rough lined face and a perfectly waxed bald head and sported a neatly trimmed beard. The man had the general appearance of someone who took time out of his day for basic hygiene. His white shirt and black leather apron were singed and torn from the day’s labors.

  He grumbled a rough greeting, using grunts rather than actual words. Without a reply, I retrieved my armor from my inventory and slid it across the table with a single word. “Repair.”

  “Five silver.” He spoke, his voice was hoarse as if speaking caused him great pain.

  I slid him a gold. “How long?”

  He pondered for a moment, looking the armor over with a keen, expert eye. He scratched at his head before answering. “Two hours.”

  I frowned. That would be cutting it too close. I need to get there at least half an hour before to set up in case of trouble. I pulled out another gold and slid it across to him. “How long now?”

  The man smiled knowingly and held up a single finger. An hour. Perfect.

  I nodded and let him get on with his job. Taking hold of Eris’s hand, we moseyed around the square, looking at the various tradesmen working their craft. It was a fascinating experience to see, watching them mold metal and leather into beautiful works of art.

  The hour flew by, as walking arm in arm with Eris was a delightful experience. She dragged me every time something caught her eye, pulling me along, but I didn’t mind, because she was having fun.

  We soon found ourselves back in front of the nameless armorsmith, who, without a word, unceremoniously handed me my gear and went back to work.

  It was nearly flawless.

  He’d had to replace almost all of the metal. The chestplate was entirely new, but the shoulder guards had been left untouched. My vambraces were also new, and he’d used a much stronger metal to form the bulk of it. The tears in the leather and studs had been replaced, but he didn’t have the skin of an elder dragon to patch the holes and cracks, so he’d stretched what leather he could and sewed new pieces of what looked like silver drake's skin over to reinforce the thin areas. The bright silver skin of the drake paired well with the black and gray bane wolf fur and complemented the azure leather nicely.

  All in all, I’d say he improved it quite a bit. I donned the armor; the weight settled around me comfortably. It was heavier than I remembered, but with my increased Strength, I could handle it just fine.

  With my gear in the best condition I could reasonably hope for, it was time to make our way to the meeting place. Which was obviously a tavern.

  The Crescent Rose. A bar that wasn’t your normal bar. I held Eris’s hand tightly as we passed by the merchants’ square entirely and made our way to the slums.

  Even in the height of civilization and
commerce where gold flows like rivers, there’s still enough room for the poor and the desperate who can barely eke out enough copper to feed themselves. More than anyone else, beggars and the poor made excellent spies. Going largely unnoticed by most, they overheard everything and would happily spill those secrets for a pittance.

  I made my way through the winding labyrinth of side streets and alleyways, filled to the brim with the hungry and the despondent. After dropping a bribe to a child who had to have been no more than five or six, he showed us the way to the Rose.

  It had moved since the last time I'd been here, but I knew I was in the right place when I saw a single red door and a large gentleman next to it.

  The door was always red. No matter in what part of the city the Rose resided, the door was the giveaway. The man standing next to the door was the following factor of authentication.

  The doorman was always standing guard outside the Rose, day or night, rain or snow. He was there. I’d never seen him take a single step in all the years I’d known about the place.

  In my younger days, Mika, Lonny, and I had bets on who’d witness the doorman moving first. I’d always had a competitive streak, and so I set up on the roof a nearby building. For an entire day, I watched nonstop to see doorman move. Sleep, hunger, and thirst had won long before doorman budged an inch. At this point, I was convinced he wasn’t human. A golem wrapped in illusion magic maybe, or something.

  The doorman was waiting for us when we arrived. Pale from lack of sunlight and not a shred of hair anywhere on his face, his coal-black eyes stared straight ahead. Dressed in tight black cotton underclothes and leather armor, he didn’t so much as turn his head, but I knew he’d been aware of us long before we came into view.

  “Password?” Doorman asked. His voice, the deepest baritone I’d ever heard, sounding like two stones colliding against one another.

  “To the king, who walks in shadow.”

  “Accepted.”

  He opened the door for us and stood still, waiting for us to enter. Eris was still riding the high of sightseeing and decided to run over and greet the large man.

  “Hello, I’m Eris.”

  The doorman paused before nodding his head. It was by a fraction of an inch, but unmistakable.

  “A pleasure, miss.”

  Then he went back to his statue impression. As we went inside, Eris asked me who he was.

  “That was Mr. Doorman…the, ah…doorman.”

  “I like him.”

  I chuckled. “In fairness, you like most people.”

  Eris laughed. “True.”

  The tavern was dark when we exited the hallway. A quick look around told me there wasn’t anyone we needed to avoid. The Rose hosted all manner of criminals and deviants, so I was always cautious.

  The Rose wasn’t like any other tavern I’d ever been in before. There were not any obnoxious bands playing music at the loudest volume they could manage, nor were there noisy, annoying patrons. It was a dark place with sharp corners and dim lighting.

  The center of the room was lined with wooden support beams, and the entire far wall housed the bar, in the opposite corners, were tables and booths, all far away from prying eyes or ears. This wasn’t a place to hang your hat after a long hard day’s work. This was a tavern built for shady backroom characters, dealing shady backroom deals.

  There was barely enough light to move around without tripping over anything; shadows danced on the walls as the torch flames flickered. I chose a booth by the back with a clear view of the door. My contact had yet to arrive, as he was one for punctuality but was rarely early.

  I kept my head low, and my hand tight around Eris’s waist as I made my way over to the bar. The bartender was a well-dressed man by the name of Jackson, mid to late thirties, wearing fine dark clothing and a tailored vest with a red silk pocket square. Jackson had a clean-shaven face and styled dark brown hair that was beginning to gray. He bore a puckered scar from his neck to the base of his jaw, and his bored eyes stared silently at me.

  “Ale,” I told him and slid him a coin. He nodded and poured me one, keeping out of reach and sliding it to me, waiting for me to leave before taking my money. We went back to the booth, and Eris slid in first while we waited for my contact. It took him nearly twenty minutes to arrive, while I’d drained my ale in half that time. I limited myself as I needed my wits about me to deal with the man.

  As my contact walked in the door, I snapped my eyes to him, taking his features in instantly. Not expecting trouble, but certainly ready for it. Phineas noticed my presence almost immediately; his eyes lit up darkly.

  Phineas Carn was a weasel of a man, in every sense of the word. His thin, pinched face constantly looked like he had just tasted something foul. His small, beady blue eyes darted back and forth, looking for his paranoia induced enemies everywhere, while he ran his sweaty palms through his lank and greasy dark hair.

  He withdrew a sweat-stained handkerchief from the pocket of his hip-length coat and dabbed at his forehead.

  Gods, I hate dealing with him. Though he had eyes and ears everywhere and usually had reliable information, it didn’t matter that I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. If he came through for us, it would be worth the headache.

  “Good afternoon, Duran,” he whispered, sliding into the booth.

  “Phineas.”

  He glanced his eyes over Eris, who kept quiet under her hood, his eyes trailing over her form with curiosity before coming back to mine. “Who’s she?”

  It was a fair question since I’d never once brought a guest with me when I met with him, but I didn’t feel like explaining anything to this man. I especially didn’t want him seeing Eris’s face. He’d happily sell us both out for that payday.

  Eris went to open her mouth, but I spoke before she could. “No one you need to concern yourself with. Now can we get down to business?”

  Eris frowned at me for speaking for her. I’ll apologize later, but I can’t risk Phineas knowing too much. I placed a hand on her warm thigh and squeezed. She immediately lost her frown and grinned at me, taking my hand in hers and absentmindedly brushing her hair out of her face. In the process, she knocked her hood off.

  The tips of her ears caught the fabric before it could fall off completely, but the damage was done. Her compounded eyes were visible, and one of her ears was sticking out.

  Phineas went wide-eyed at the sight of her, his face paled as he looked into the depths of the abyss. His panic was soon replaced by excitement. My knife went to his throat, and I stared him down.

  “You never saw her. One word to anyone, anyone at all, and I will make your last moments so painful that you beg me for death, and it will not come. Do I make myself clear?”

  He gulped in fear as perspiration bled on his face. “C-c-c-crystal.”

  Phineas was many things. Intelligent, ambitious, a backstabbing deviant, and above all else, a coward. He won’t risk his life by defying me.

  He nodded at me frantically, but he still had questions about her. I sighed as he asked, “She’s a demi…yes?”

  “Yep, now can we get down to business?”

  “Where did you find her?”

  “She found me. Now. Can we get down to business?”

  Phineas grinned a sly smile, showing off his blackened teeth. “Of course, of course, of course.”

  I stifled the need to strangle him and asked my questions.

  “My guild was attacked over a week ago by an unknown enemy. Hundreds of troops and a full guild to raid us. I need to know who it was.”

  “I’m assuming you’ve ruled out the Alliance?”

  I nodded at him. “First thing we eliminated.”

  Phineas pondered over the question for a moment, drumming his fingers on the wooden table in a staccato rhythm, which was all for show. Despite the utter contempt I had for the man, he had a superb intellect and never forgot anything. Either he knew the answer right away, or he knew nothing, but his thinking was an act.
/>
  “Rumors have been making their way to me for months now. Nothing concrete, mind you, just hearsay and secondhand accounts. But according to my sources, there is a person or persons who have been making waves recently. I don’t know who, but they have incredibly deep coffers, buying up anything and everything of value. Unique trinkets, artifacts, weapons, and armor. You name it.” He paused, glancing between Eris and me. “Hell, they’re even buying slaves of all races at prices like I’ve never seen before.”

  “Damn,” I sighed, letting my breath out long and slow. “That’s not anything we haven’t figured out already.” I knew they had deep pockets already. If they’re buying slaves, then I was right about my hunch. It must be who Darren and his ilk were working for, and we let him slip through our fingers.

  Though slavers were a dime a dozen around here. Might ask around the auction house, see if I can bribe my way into some information, or beat it out of them—one of the two.

  “That’s all you have for me?” I asked, skeptical.

  He nodded his head. “Unfortunately. You could try asking around the merchants and slavers, see if anyone would be willing to talk, but I wouldn’t bet on it. The kind of money that’s being thrown around keeps lips tight.”

  “Godsdamn it.”

  I sighed deeply, rising from the comfortable seating. This was a waste of time, and questioning every Tom, Dick, and Harry, I could get my hands on was likely to end up the same way. What other choice do I have? No other leads and far too many questions.

  “Well, thanks anyway. If you hear anything, I want to know about it first.” I slid across a small bag of gold. Not a fortune, but too much for the little information he’d delivered. If it saved me time and energy in the future, I’d consider it worth it. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

  Eris hooked her arm around mine, and I helped pull her out of the seat. Once she was standing on her own two feet, I dropped her arm, only to have her wind her fingers through mine.

  “Have a good day, Duran,” Phineas called to me as we left.

  I ignored him, putting him entirely out of my mind as we walked back through the dark hallway towards the door. If he can’t help us, I’ll have to find another informant who can.