by Jez Cajiao
“No, mate, you stood up and you did what was right, and if we ever come across that cocksucker, Bateman? Feel free to shoot him down. Especially if the taxman is aboard.” I said with feeling.
“Ha!” Oren laughed. “Aye, well, I’ll be holdin’ ye t’ that, laddie! Anyway, when I lost th’ contract, I also lost th’ cover t’ go t’ the villages we’d been usin’… Mal did pay me, fer th’ gold I’d lost and me cut I’d ha’ earned iff’n his lad had been on time. But it was still only fer what I’d earned up ‘til then.”
“Sounds like he’s a good guy?” I said and Oren snorted, shaking his head.
“Nah, laddie. Mal be a smuggler, plain an’ simple. He be out t’ line ‘is pockets, ye better believe that, but he do be honorable. Iff’n e’ says he’ll do it, he will. T’ weeks go by, an’ I’m almost outta gold, when I’m offered the chance t’ come here. I took it, obviously. I didna have a choice.”
“Oren don’t worry about it, mate. I’ve seen you with those that were slaves. They love you, man, and you were the captain of the ship they were on. If you were any less of a good man, they’d never have accepted you the way they have. You did what you had to do, and we all know that. Let it go.” I put my hand on his shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze, and he let out a long breath.
“It means a lot t’ hear ye say that, Jax, it really does.” He brushed a hand across his eyes and coughed, continuing gruffly. “Anyway! What I be sayin’ is that iff’n ye want a way t’ get shit done in Himnel, Mal be th’ man t’ get it sorted, fer a price.”
“Okay, but how do we get to him? And what’s the price gonna be? We haven’t got much gold, mate…” I said, frowning. I’d happily give him all the gold I had if he could help me to pull off a guerilla-style raid on the city, but… “I’ll be honest, Oren; I don’t like the idea of telling him our plans. What’s to stop him selling us to Barabarattas?”
“He be from Narkolt, laddie. He’d be locked up if they found ‘im, and all his stash took. Only reason th’ nobles ha’ no handed ‘im over to the guard already is he owes ‘em gold. Once that be paid, he’ll be taken; he knows it, so I bet he be losin’ deliberate-like at th’ cards.” Oren gave a short laugh at that, then amended his assertion. “Losin’ as much as he can bring himself to, anyway!”
“Right, but…”
“Problem ye got, is th’ the guards figured that the ships could be full o’ troops, so they be searchin’ every ship when it lands now. Ye’re no a citizen. T’ guards be on t’ look-out fer spies and saboteurs. Ye’ll no get five feet afore ye’re fightin’, an ye better believe they’ll be ready.”
“So, we’re fucked, then?” I asked, my mood dropping faster than a drunken blonde’s underwear.
“No exactly…ye see, laddie, ‘afore th’ smugglers were using th’ Airships, they be using t’ smuggler’s road…” Oren grinned at me, and I raised one eyebrow.
“Go on…”
“Well, our Barrett once be seein’ a lassie who rode security on th’ caravans th’ smugglers used, an’ e’ told me about it. Turns out, there’s an old forgotten escape tunnel under th’ walls, leads out to a place a few miles north o’ th’ city. It be a dark place, deep under th’ ground, scary.”
“An’ remember I’m a dwarf. Ma ancestors lived under th’ mountains, so iff’n I say it be a deep feckin dark hole; trust me, it be that, all right?” He shook his head. “It used to be a way fer smuggler’s caravans to pass into th’ city and out. It were a sweet way to avoid those who’d want a cut o’ the profits. Thing be, though, there’s a lot in the dark places o’ the realm that likes a bit o’ fresh meat. Sometimes people did disappear; sometimes, it be one or two, other times it be entire caravans, nothin’ ever turnin’ back up. Last few months, somethin’s been happenin down there, and ain’t nobody making it through, so they turned to me and mine.”
“These tunnels, don’t suppose you know where they start and end?”
“Nah, well… no really…”
“Come on, Oren… gimme!” I said, staring at him.
“Well, Barrett, he mighta had a wee fling wit’ a lassie who be a guard on th’ caravans, way back…”
“Wait; I just spoke to Barrett, and he said nothing about this tunnel?”
“Well, let’s jus’ say he does no have good memories o’ the lassie, and leave it at that, okay?” Oren said, grinning at me. “Mebbe next time we get ‘im drunk, we can get ‘im to tell ye, and show th’ scars!” He snorted and shook his head.
“Mad bastard always goes fer the dangerous lassies, an ‘e never learns! Like someone else I know!”
“Get fucked,” I grinned, and he laughed.
“Ha! Oracle do be plannin’ on breakin’ ye one way or t’other; she be clear on tha’! Anyway, another problem be how ye be plannin’ on payin’ Mal and t’other smugglers.”
I smiled mischievously, and he closed his eyes and shook his head. “Oh no, I be sensin’ another wee mad plan…I dinna need to hear it. No, I’ll jus’ stay here, safe an’ warm in ma wee bed…”
“You’ve not got a bed, mate, but I could be persuaded to give up the captain’s cabin…”
“Ye already did! I be the Captain on this ship, so it be ma cabin! Dinna start tha’ shit!”
“Hahaha! All right, man, I’m just fucking with you!” I said, shaking my head and laughing. “But seriously though, if there’s something down in the tunnels that’s been raiding the caravans, all we need to do is kill it and nick the gear back…”
“Aye, that be true, but wha’ if it be another SporeMother, or a dragon, or a bunch o’ fuckin’ cave trolls?” He shook his head, looking dismayed.
“Well, let’s face it, this isn’t a plan. It’s a fucking half-baked idea. We’re going to be risking our lives on it, and we could lose, big time,” It was true, but even as I said it, I felt a grin tugging at my cheeks.
“Oh lordy, no.” Oren muttered with his head in his hands. “Gods protect me from mad bastards like ye!”
“You love it, mate!” I said, and he shook his head in exasperation.
“Well, mebbe ye can do it again, I dunno, but we need a fuck ton o’ luck, and to sort those bastards out!” Oren said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the people huddled miserably in the cages on the deck.
“I’m going to patch up Bob first, and then we talk to them. Are there any that you know from before?” I asked hopefully.
“There be two lads that I recognize, but they be shipyard rats, never been out flyin’ th’ ships before, just fixin’ ’em. Might be that some o’ the reason there be so many arguments is because they be new to the ship. I’ll go talk to ’em; willna be long. Bob be a scary bastard, so I bet they’ll be happy to do anythin’ I ask when he be standin’ behind me!” Oren winked at me and set off towards the cages, giving me the chance to actually inspect the inhabitants properly for the first time.
I’d made a point of ignoring the people held in them, as I’d seen them as the ship’s crew. Because it was a warship, I had assumed they must all be loyal to Barabarattas. However, now that I knew that Oren’s crew had been under the watchful eye of the guards, it made me wonder if these buggers had been the same? Maybe there weren’t so many loyal to the city, as just too scared to step out of line? Whatever…I thought, turning to look up at the raised deck and seeing the top of Bob’s skull reflecting the sunlight. I headed over, taking the steps two at a time, but came to sudden halt when I reached the top.
Bob stood motionless, waiting for an order and watching over the ship, surrounded by the four corpses of the captain, the mage, and the last two guards that he’d killed yesterday.
The sun was well up now, and the combination of the warmth, the dead bodies, and the sticky blood had attracted flies by the dozens, if not hundreds. Bob stood motionless near the top of the stairs, but I grimaced as I looked around.
I needed the corpses for their bones in order to repair Bob. I also needed to check them over, as these were the most likely to have decent g
ear, and when I tore the bones apart to rebuild Bob, the flesh and internal organs tended to liquify and become a noxious mess. I didn’t want the gear ruined. I’d have to do it the old-fashioned way, but that didn’t mean I had to do it alone. I walked to the side of the ship, looking down to find Lydia staggering over and hurling a rock the size of her head off the balcony to disappear into the trees below. She stood catching her breath for a second before straightening up as though she was fine, as soon as one of the wanna-be hunters appeared. Before she could disappear from view, I called out to her.
“Hey, Lydia!” She stopped, looking around a bit until she saw me waving a hand, and she jogged across to the gangplank and up onto the ship. In short order, she was up on the raised deck with me, clapping her fist to her chest in salute and trying to ignore the flies as assiduously as I was.
“Aye, m’lord?” she asked, her eyes watering from the smell.
“I need a little help, and you were the closest that I know I can trust.” I said, noting the way she stood even straighter and the faint smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth as she nodded back at me.
“’Course, m’lord, what d’ yer need?” she said.
“Well, I need to search these bodies, I’m afraid. You mind helping me out?” I saw the tightening around her eyes at the thought, but she went straight ahead, nodding at me and turning to the corpses.
“I’ll strip ‘em down and get rid of ’em. Do you want me to bring the gear to you, or…”?
“Don’t worry, I’m not that much of an asshole, Lydia. I’ll be doing it too; I just wanted a little help, that’s all. We need to strip anything useful off first. Just pile it up here, okay?” I said, getting a nod in return as I went to the nearest body on my side.
It was that prick of a light mage. I had no idea what his name was, and I really didn’t care, so I quickly searched him. I found a few potions; two mana ones were pretty easy to identify, the almost glowing blue syrupy content literally screamed ‘mana potion’ to me, and when I used ‘Identify’ on them, I wasn’t surprised at all.
Mana Solution
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
This mana potion will restore 150 mana immediately, followed by a further 2.5 mana per second for 90 seconds.
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Uncommon
Yes
97/100
N/A
The only surprising thing was the strength, I slipped them both into my potions pouch with a clink of bottles, and cast ‘Identify’ on the third unknown potion. It was brown, and well… it was gloopy as fuck. I tilted it from side to side and watched it move with the slow viscosity of mud. I really didn’t want to drink it, no matter what it was.
Earthen Ability Boost
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
This potion will increase the imbiber’s affinity for Earth magic by 20% for 180 seconds.
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Uncommon
Yes
82/100
N/A
I figured it was a good potion, if you had a load of earth spells, but hell no, not for me. I stored it in the potion pouch for the moment, but immediately forgot it in my excitement when I pulled off the mage’s rings.
Ring of Veritas
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
The ring of Veritas was made by the Dwarven Sage Bennitos. Bennitos grew so enraged one day at the sloppy lies his customers told him that he created a ring that would glow in the presence of untruths.
Be warned, this ring will only react if the subject of the wearer’s attention is aware they are lying...
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Rare
Yes
11/100
0/150
I could see some serious uses for this straight away, but the fact that it was both out of charges, and down to a durability of eleven out of one hundred meant I was shit outta luck.
I put it on, as it was fairly cool looking, a jet-black band with a single white stone set into the top, but I figured it was useless until I found a way to repair or recharge it. Preferably both. The second ring was another plain ring of healing, almost identical to my first, but with a lower threshold needed for activation, and only healing thirty points, rather than fifty, per use.
Ring of Healing
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
This ring provides a 30-point healing twice per day, minimum intelligence to safely use this item is 7.
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Uncommon
Yes
72/100
2/2 (recharges daily)
I put it in my pocket for now, resolving to give it to someone that needed it. I quickly searched the rest of the mage. His robes were well-made, and had armor plates sewn into them, but they weren’t magical, and while he carried a pair of fair-sized pouches on him, the first was only coin.
It contained thirty-seven gold, a handful of silver and copper that I didn’t bother to count, and two small rubies, which, while pretty, were all pretty useless for now. They probably would help when we got to the city, I guessed, so they weren’t a complete disappointment.
I tossed the coin purse to the side, getting a startled look from Lydia as she saw how little I cared for the coins. That look shifted to outright amazement when I tipped the contents of the second purse out into my hand and grinned, obviously much more interested in them.
The pouch was packed full of dried alchemical ingredients, I quickly checked through them and found:
16 x Labian Leaves
9 x Manaberries
3 x Mugrot
19 x Bernicle Beans
I ate one of each at a time, studying the notifications that popped up with each one.
Labian Leaves
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
These long tubers have an earthy taste but are oddly satisfying.
Uses Discovered:
1) Restore Mana
2)
3) ?
4) ?
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Common
No
100/100
N/A
Manaberries
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
These small blue berries pop with flavor and leave a refreshing minty aftertaste.
Uses Discovered:
1) Restore Mana
2) ?
3) ?
4) ?
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Common
No
100/100
N/A
Mugrot
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
The Mugrot stems are long and sticky, but the heat they infuse into dishes is highly sought after. Beware overindulgence!
Uses Discovered:
1) Fortify Mana
2) ?
3) ?
4) ?
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Common
No
100/100
N/A
Bernicle Beans
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
These green beans have a gritty texture but leave an…. unusual… aftertaste.
Uses Discovered:
1) Restore Mana
2) ?
3) ?
4) ?
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Common
>
No
100/100
N/A
I spat the remains of the Bernicle bean out as soon as I got the notification. The others had been fairly tasty, but those…hell no. Never again unless I absolutely had to. They burned like chilies on the tongue but had no flavor at all! I looked at Lydia and caught her grinning before she tried to hide it.
