Braz recounted his tale after a drunken night out. My eyes darted over to him, and I gave him a glare. He did not see it, of course, and simply continued.
"You’d think someone as skilled as me would just beat them all up, but I froze up! I gave them all my money, and they took off with it! My intoxicated mind chose flight over fight, when fight was obviously the better option. Can you believe that?"
I took a deep breath, calming myself down; he was finished. All I had to do was nod, and he would be done. Slowly, I brought my head up and down, trying to signal to him that I heard his story, and found it entertaining. He would be satisfied with that—
"Anyways, the next day, I—"
I felt my eyes twitched, and then I had enough. I turned to my companion, and shushed him. "Shush! Can’t you keep it down?"
"Why should we?" Braz asked, a bewildered look plastered onto his face. "It’s not like they can hear us over the wind and the sea. Ignoring the fact that no one is probably nearby. We’ll be fine!"
I could not understand the man’s chipper attitude; he was almost always like this, which I initially thought was an act to get me to lower my guard, but I now knew this was just how he was. He dismissively waved a hand.
"You don’t need to be so on edge all the time, Melas. I’ve done this a hundred times, and I have never been caught!"
I bit my tongue and balled my hand into a fist, both stopping a retort from coming out as well as preventing me from instinctively knocking on wood. Is he serious? I thought stupidly. There was no reason to think that: no one would fool around purposely at a time like this.
"It’s better to be safe than sorry, Braz," I said simply.
"You’re too uptight," he replied uncaringly. "But if you insist, I’ll put a lid on it. Anyways, we’re almost there."
I frowned. How did he know that?
And yet, he was right. I felt the boat jerk as we came to a slow but sudden stop; the boat still rocked back and forth, but it was more stable now. I waited with bated breath as the sound of footfalls on wooden planks approached, and a conversation broke out.
Light shone against the cloth blanket, and I could see the shadow of figures talking just a few feet away from me. The discussion continued on for about a minute, while I felt sweat slowly trickle down the side of my head. I could almost hear the tiny bead of water splattering all over the creaky wood floor, despite knowing that it was my fear getting to my head.
After what felt like forever, the guards left and the light went away. I exhaled deeply, but did it as quietly as possible; it might not have been over just yet. A moment passed, and finally I could relax.
"All clear."
I heard the whisper; it was the signal that we could leave. Along with Jack, Lisa, and Braz, I slowly rolled over the thick cloth blanket covering us amongst the barrels and crates, and we got to our feet.
Blinking to adjust to the light, I glanced around to take in where we were: it was the docks. The same pier that Gennady and I found ourselves in a fight with sailors from The Lightbringer’s Vessel in. Or perhaps they were criminals? They apparently worked for the Elise, so they probably were criminals.
I turned to face the man who had been in charge of bringing us here. Kai and two other pirates from the crew that saw me do magic were the ones that had brought us here. They sailed the relatively tiny wooden vessel here under the guise of small time merchants coming in from a nearby city’s port to sell their wares out of desperation. It had worked, and now we were good to continue with our plan.
I met the brown-green eyes of the Quartermaster as he switched his disguise. He had previously been dressed as a merchant, but now he was donning the cap and vest of a sailor, as he stepped out onto the wooden platform.
"What now?" I asked, hopping onto the pier right behind him.
Kai nodded in the direction of Jack and Lisa. "We’re following them." He gestured back at the two pirates by his side. "Myself, Vinnie, and Elda are going to pretend to be part of their crew. You and Braz are their bodyguards. They’ll get us to where we need to go, without any questions asked."
"What exactly am I supposed to do as their bodyguard?" I raised an eyebrow underneath my mask.
Braz patted my lightly on the shoulder as he walked past me.
"Just stand there and look intimidating. It’s easy!"
I rolled my eyes. That’s not exactly going to be easy, I quipped mentally.
I said nothing further, and followed Jack and Lisa as the two led the way.
The two smugglers were well connected in the city of Luke; they had their own network of spies, informants, and allies… up until the Elise came about and alienated them from their contacts. It was not a complete separation.
In the same way that drugs, gambling, and prostitution were ostensibly proscribed in Laxis yet was still prevalent throughout the country— especially Luke— Jack and Lisa still worked with some of their former informants and allies. Sure, it was miniscule compared to those they previously worked with, and sure, it was never for anything big since they had to remain subtle, but they did work together.
And it was with their help we were going to get to the Elise’s warehouse.
Jack and Lisa entered what appeared to be the front door of a liquor store, and I followed behind
