Jake and Drak were pushed unceremoniously out of the warehouse with the dwarf guarding the entrance glaring at them and slamming the door shut. Jake stumbled a couple of steps and then stopped, glancing back at the closed door.
“Well that could have gone worse,” Drak said.
Jake stared at him, starting to wonder if his business partner was completely insane. “We now have to do a job for a gang leader that has nothing to do with our skills and abilities to get a crate for an elf to then get an ingredient to make a potion for a murderous gnome, who is probably an assassin or something. What part of this could have gone worse in your mind,”
Drak considered it for a moment. “We could be dead.”
Jake sighed. Technically, the Dragonkin was right but if he just hadn’t agreed to that first job. Shaking his head, Jake mentally cut himself off. It was what it was, there was no point in getting stuck in his head. They needed to figure out what to do to complete their tasks.
“I’m hungry,” Drak announced. “I saw some food carts just a couple of streets back. Let’s get some lunch and make a plan.”
Jake agreed and the pair walked a couple of blocks in the direction Drak remembered as they were led to the warehouse. Turned out it was a little further than he remembered but they did find the food carts and bought themselves some lunch.
They sat on a broken wall by a derelict building and ate in silence for a moment.
“So, what do we know about the group we are looking for?” Drak said.
Jake had been taking some notes while Gage was telling them about the group they were targeting and he scanned them now. “Seems like the head guy is called Roy, he’s the one we need to get to and try to talk some sense into them.”
Drak frowned. “Not sure these gang types have a lot of sense.”
“I know,” Jake admitted. “But there’s just two of us, I don’t think we can intimidate them. So I’m thinking that we look to see what might get them to back off and leave Gage’s territory to him. Self-preservation is always a good aspect - work with us or the big guys will come along and forcibly move you on?”
Drak thought about it. “Guess that could work. I suppose it depends on how keen they are to take on Gage and his men.”
Jake paused, looking at what he was eating. “What is this by the way? It has a weird taste.”
Drak shrugged. “Could be chicken, maybe rat, possibly badger. Probably a mix of all three.”
“I don’t get it, badger? We’re in the city,” Jake queried.
“Why chicken?” Drak countered. “Do you see many farms around here?”
Jake considered it for a moment then shrugged. “Okay back to business. I think we should start by checking out the area where these guys are based because Gage was a bit vague. We can maybe even get straight to this Roy guy.”
“That’s a good idea,” Drak agreed. “From what he said, we head back to the canal where we found the crate, then head about three blocks north from there.”
They finished their food and followed the directions Gage had provided to get back to where they had first met his men. Then they crossed the canal and headed north for three blocks.
“This doesn’t really look like a gang headquarters,” Drak said frowning at a series of nearly derelict buildings in front of them.
“I’m going to scout along this side,” Jake said, pointing to the right. “Why don’t you check out those buildings to the left? Try to keep out of sight,” he added, although he realised that his friend with his red frill and brown flat cap wasn’t going to be someone that people ignored.
The pair separated and Jake walked down the right side of the largest of the buildings. While the front of the building looked in bad condition, some of the side walls were more solid and there was an area that had an intact roof.
The building across the alley had a solid area of the wall and a metal ladder on it. Jake climbed the ladder to the second storey so he could get a better view of the large building and the surrounding area.
Inside the derelict building, there were a series of tents and a few wooden huts. He could see a number of people moving around the area but none of them seemed to instantly stand out as the boss they were looking for.
He watched for a moment to see a group of people enter from the rear of the building, carrying crates. Another team of people then set about opening them and sorting the contents. It all looked more like a small village than the headquarters of a vicious gang.
Jake climbed back down before anyone spotted him and headed back to the front of the building. He sheltered in another smaller building across the street and waited for Drak’s return.
A short time later, Jake gave a start as his friend appeared at his side, having spotted him and sneaked around without making a sound.
“What did you see?” Drak asked and Jake told him what he’d seen.
“There's another building on the other side of this one that seems to have a similar set up. I could see some wooden sheds and there was a guy standing outside. I just asked him for some fake directions because he spotted me. I think it is probably their storage area or something similar,” Drak replied.
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“So I don’t think this is going to be a case of just walking in and asking to chat with Roy,” Jake said thoughtfully. “I think we need to head home, and decide on a plan of action. And honestly, I could do with a drink.”
“That sounds good to me,” Drak agreed. “Asher’s place?”
Jake nodded. “Guess we’d better mention that we might need just a little longer to get his crate while we are there.”
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The pair walked back to The Loop station and retraced their earlier route back to Vine Road. They disembarked at the station before the one they had used the first evening as it was nearer the Goldleaf Bar.
The bar was much busier than their first visit with people dancing on the dance floor to a jaunty song played by a three-person band. Most of the bar stools were occupied and there were a variety of group sizes occupying tables around the room.
The two made their way to one of the booths in the corner furthest from the dance floor so they could chat. Drak stopped at the bar, which was being tended by another elf, and grabbed them both a drink.
They sat down at the table, Jake sipping the pale blue liquid. It was refreshing and had a faint herbal flavour that Jake felt like he almost recognised but couldn’t quite put his finger on.
Drak downed half of his in one go and burped loudly, grinning. “So how do we find this Roy guy then?”
“We could almost do with finding someone that knew a gang member and could make an introduction for us,” Jake admitted. “You know lots of people, got any connections in The Husk that could help us?”
Drak considered it for a few minutes, mentally ticking off names. Then he shook his head. “Dad had a few people he used to deal with out there but I don’t think any of them were connected to this gang. I’ve never heard of this Roy character before so they are maybe really new to the area.”
“Have you heard of Gage before?” Jake asked curiously.
Drak winced a little. “Yeah, I’ve heard his name before. He’s been running that gang for a long time and some people say he’s even a top lieutenant in the Black Rats. He’s a serious guy, we really don’t want to mess with him,” he added, sounding a bit unconvincing.
“Maybe we should have known that before we went to get the crate,” Jake observed pointedly but Drak just nodded, ignoring the jibe.
“I have an in with this gang you are seeking!” a voice announced brightly, making them both jump. They spun around to see Asher standing behind them, a grin on his face. He tipped his invisible hat to them in greeting.
“You do?” Drak asked.
Asher nodded. “There’s a young lady called Symphony who worked with those guys. She’s currently working here with me as a bartender. If I ask her, she’ll help you get in touch with Roy.”
Jake spoke before Drak could. “And what’s that going to cost us?”
Asher’s expression turned to false shock. “I wouldn’t charge my friends for an introduction! Besides, I want you guys to get my crate and I'm guessing this is the best way to get that done?”
Jake nodded. “Yes, it is,” he replied, without going any further.
“Okay! Then I’ll reach out to Silt and get her to meet you guys here in the morning. She can take you out to The Husk and get you a meeting with Roy,” Asher said.
“Silt? I thought you said her name was Symphony?” Drak queried.
“Everyone calls her Silt,” Asher replied. “No-one calls her Symphony unless they really don’t want to be on her good side.”
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Jake woke up on his second morning in Hollowcrest and peeped out of the window cautiously to see if they had any company. Luckily, there was no sign of one of the Jeffs outside.
He dressed and headed to the kitchen to make some breakfast. They were due to meet Asher’s contact, Silt, a little later this morning at the bar.
He entered the kitchen and stopped. There was a female half-elf sitting at their kitchen table, drinking something. She had silver hair, cut in a short bob and dark grey eyes. She was wearing a dark blue vest with a long sleeve shirt under it and loose fitting trousers. While most of her clothes were a little scruffy, her black boots were high quality and well maintained.
“Hi,” she said. She was flicking through one of Jake’s potion notebooks that had been in store below the last time he’d seen it.
“Hi,” Jake said, a little speechless. “Who are you and what are you doing in here?”
“I’m Silt,” she replied. “Asher told me you guys need me to take you to meet Roy.”
Jake decided to play it cool. He walked across to the stove and turned on the ring to heat water for a cup of coffee. “Ah, we thought we were meeting you at Asher’s bar a little later.”
“I thought I’d check you out. You guys need to have a bit of work done on your security. Honestly, it was stupidly easy to get in here. I could have helped myself to all kinds of stuff downstairs and just walked out. Honestly, a blind child could break into this place” she informed him.
“I guess security hasn’t been a major issue before now,” Jake admitted, pouring the hot water over his coffee. “But thanks for letting us know. I’m Jake, by the way.”
“I know,” she replied. “Asher said one human called Jake, one Dragonkin called Drak. So it's pretty easy to guess which one you are.”
Jake crossed to their cupboard to see what was around for breakfast.
“What the hell?” Drak said from the doorway, hands raised ready for a fight. “Who are you?”
“This is Asher’s contact, Silt,” Jake replied, sitting opposite the half-elf at the table. “She let herself in and apparently we need to work on our security.”
“Definitely, I’ll walk you through some tips later,” she answered, ignoring his sarcasm.
Drak continued to look a bit baffled by the situation. Jake gestured to the kettle. “Water’s still hot if you want a drink.”
The Dragonkin crossed the room and made himself a mug of tea, adding a couple of drops of a green liquid by the kettle for his hangover. Still looking baffled, he joined them at the table. “So can you help us to get to meet this Roy guy? Drak asked.
Silt gave an odd smirk but nodded. “Sure, I used to work with them and I know most of the crew. But what do you need to talk to Roy about?”
Drak glanced at Jake who gave a slight shake of the head. It was best to keep things simple in his opinion. “We are getting a crate back for Asher and we have a business proposal for Roy that will help us do that,” Jake replied, keeping it purposefully vague.
“And my fee for this? How much are you paying me” she asked.
Another look passed between the two alchemists. This was the first they had heard about it costing anything.
“Three silver,” Drak said before Jake could say anything.
Silt gave him a sour look. “Do you think I’m cheap? Five silvers.”
“Three silvers, six coppers,” Drak replied. “And remember, you are helping Asher.”
“I don’t work for favours or goodwill, it doesn’t help me feed myself,” she replied. “Four silver and nine coppers.”
“Four silvers and three coppers,” Jake stepped in. “A fair price for simply making an introduction.”
She studied him for a moment. “Okay, let’s head to The Husk and see if we can find Roy.”