“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
