Chapter 28: Charlie Boils

Name Chase Class Hunter,Lvl1 Marks 1 Guild Seven Banes SD 984

“We HAve Your fRiend. Bring 500 gold to the bridg by midnite. Loook for em and we slit his throat.”

Chase read the ransom note out loud to the guild and then tossed it on the table. He had found it stuck to the door of The Noble Blade after discovering that Thomas was missing. All around the table were looks of shock.

“Poor Thomas!” Said Amelie, covering her mouth with her hands. “Will he be okay?”

“I assume,” said Chase, sitting in a chair with a sigh. “But we need to figure out our next move.”

“Rescue?” Said Claire. Any animosity she had toward Chase or Amelie after the fight with Belek was gone. Her eyes were alive with fire and fury.

“We don’t know where he is,” said Chase.

“You don’t remember this happening before in Moon Town?”

Chase shook his head, and decided to cast his gaze at the floor.

“We never stayed here long enough to have to see this. I think I did hear about this happening, though.”

“What will they do?” Asked Amelie.

“Erm…well,” Chase remembered most of the details but didn’t want to upset anyone. “I am not totally sure, but—.”

“It’s the Bluehound gang,” said Arlo from the bar. Before him were several empty glasses and he hiccuped as he turned around on his stool. “And if you lot have any ideas of trying to rescue your friend then go ahead and say goodbye to him.”

“The Blue Hound gang?” Said Brent. “That’s who has Thomas? What will they do to him?”

“Just as they said in their note,” said Arlo. He drained the last of his beer and then belched. “Slit his throat if you don’t pay the ransom.”

“This,” said Marlon, who also had a collection of empty mugs before him. “Is very bad! Barkeep, I’m out of beer!”

Claire scowled and punched his shoulder which caused the old man to yelp with pain.

“Thomas is missing, Marlon. Stop drinking!”

“Arlo,” said Alex. He was sitting impassively now but when Chase had discovered the note he had practically ran down every ally looking for the boy such was his concern. “Do you know where they would be keeping him?”

Arlo sighed and peered into his empty mug. The Innkeeper wasn’t behind the counter and didn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon.

“Look, I’ve had this conversation, oh, hundreds of times in my life. The Blood Hound gang has been kidnapping party members since the beginning of Esem. Out of all the times someone has asked me about rescuing their friend, I would say only about one out of fifty has ever managed to actually do it,” he burped. “The best course of action is to go down to the bank and request a loan.”

“One out of fifty?” Said Amelie with despair. “That’s it?”

“That’s about right,” said Arlo. “What happens is the kidnaps’ friends go charging into their hideout. The gang sees them coming from a mile away and by the time the players get inside their friend has already been killed and they have half a dozen deranged killers to deal with.”

“There are no other options?” Said Brent. He looked completely helpless being told the only way to solve this problem was with money.

“Just about,” shrugged Arlo. “Of course, there was this one time when the person who got kidnapped freed himself. That was quite a thing when it happened. I remember he killed all the gang members except for he leader, Charlie Boils, who he pushed out a window. Broke both of ol’Boils’ legs it did. Don’t think the gang kidnapped a single player for a year after that.”

“A loan it is then, I guess,” said Chase. “I wasn’t planning on being in debt so early in our adventure to the Bank of Avalon but I suppose there is nothing more we can do.”

“It’s the right idea,” said Arlo. “You’ll thank yourself when you get your friend back. The Blue Hound gang does not play around. But I have never heard of them hurting anyone if they received the gold, so you should be good there.”

“Very comforting to hear that,” said Chase sarcastically.

“We have to get him back,” said Amelie, placing her hand on Chase’s arm.

“Don’t worry, we will. We can’t be leaving our little thief in the hands of these bandits.”

Chase stood up and stretched.

“Alright, I will go down to the bank and get the loan. I am sure they will gouge my eyes out with the interest. Last I heard loans for kidnappings had rather high rates.”

“I’ll go too,” said Claire and Alex at the same time. Brent also stood up.

“No,” said Chase, shaking his head. “I’ll do this alone. If they see all of us wandering around the streets they may think we are looking for him.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Arlo. “Glad you are taking my advice on this one.”

The guild did not look happy about this but no one argued with the NPC.

“After I get the money I’ll come back here and we will wait for midnight. Guess we will be staying here in the inn tonight,” Chase deposited the sack of coins he had laying on the table into his inventory. “We won’t be upgrading anything before we leave, either. Get used to your weapons. All we will have money for is the wagon and some supplies for training.”

“A small price to pay,” said Marlon. He seemed to have sobered up some since Claire hit him and was nodding gravely. Chase felt his eyebrow twitch he glanced at his empty mugs.

I am going to have to keep an eye on this one, realized Chase. Of course, a beer after all this trouble he was about to go through sounded nice, so he didn’t mention Marlon’s daytime drinking.

“Right,” said Chase. “Expect me back in a couple hours. First time players at the bank have to sign a few things. It’s a process. Someone told me that,” he added, avoiding Arlo’s confused stare.

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He left before any more could be said.

Hang in there, Thomas, he thought. Please don’t do anything stupid.

—

“Hey, big nose!”

“You talkin’ to me?”

“Well there’s no one else around, is there?”

“That’s true—wait! What did you call me?”

“Big nose. But now that I got a good look at you I could have also said ‘cross eyed’, ‘crooked teeth’, or even ‘smelly fat old man’.”

Thomas ducked as a wooden mug crashed against his cage and sprayed him with liquor. His capture shrieked with laughter and held his large belly.

“Quiet, boy, before I get really angry,” said the man. He picked up a knife and began paring his nails. “You better hope your friends are getting the ransom together right now. Otherwise I’ll be slitting your precious throat myself.”

“Really brave of you to kidnap a kid just minding his own business,” said Thomas. He flopped down and leaned against the bars of his cage. Despite his attitude he was fighting back the fear he felt at having been kidnapped and wanted to keep his captor in sight at all times.

“Brave?” Said the man. He stood up and came over to the cage. He passed by a couple light sources and when he came to Thomas’ cage the fading sun pouring through a broken window and illuminated his face into a nasty visage. He was like no NPC Thomas had ever seen. Missing teeth, sallow eyes, and a drooping belly that hung over his belt which was barely holding up a pair of tattered trousers.

“What do you know about brave, boy?” He hissed, coming close to the cage. Thomas could smell the drink on his breath and wanted to simultaneously vomit and run away.

“I know brave people don’t kidnap kids.”

“Hah!” Said the man. He spit out the side of his mouth and then wiped his face with a dirty hand. “You’re the one quivering in your boots. The last person we had in there was a woman, and she never let us scare her once. Was spitting and hollering for hours on end.”

“So? Is that what you want me to do?”

“Nah, boy. You misunderstand me.” The man grinned evilly and held up his knife which flashed in the light. Thomas watched it anxiously and held his tongue. “All you players are born the way you are. Some are brave, some are cowards. But you get to change. Grow stronger. Become a man one day I suspect if your friends follow our demands. But us lowly schlubs can’t change. The reason I kidnapped you was because I was designed to it. Can’t help it really.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re a bad man.”

The bandit threw his head back and laughed.

“Man? How can I be a man? I am a creation made by the great creator in the sky, AION himself. Nothing I do has any matter. None at all. So when you say I ain’t brave, it’s not because I’m a cold blooded killer, but because I can’t help how I was made.”

Thomas didn’t know what to say to that and so just looked away. The man grunted and then tapped the cage lock with his knife.

“Nothing to say? Good. Let’s just keep quite until your friends bring us the money. This lock ain’t being unlocked until close to midnight. I suggest you just sit tight. I may be a patient bloke, but our leader ain’t so reasonable.”

At that moment the door in the front banged open, allowing light from the outside. Thomas had a brief glimpse of a narrow alley before the door shut closed behind a small man who appeared 15 years older than Thomas’ jailer. For the first time Thomas noticed they appeared to be in an old church of some kind. The ceilings above stretched high into the air and the light didn’t reach their dark crevices.

“Bill, don’t chat with the captive,” said the man. He gave Thomas a scowl and then walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a pair of mugs.

“Sorry, boss,” said Bill. He hitched his pants up before returning to the table where his boss was now pouring drinks. “Where is the rest of the gang?”

“Black Dan is watching the Inn where those players are at right now. He sent a message that one of them left and was heading towards the bank. Tabitha is on guard outside. And Tilka should be returning soon. Here,” he handed a water skin to Bill. “Give this to him.”

Every ounce of Thomas’ being wanted to dump the water out in spite but there was something about this new guy that unnerved him far more than the jailer, Bill. He was mostly bald, and his eyes were always twitching everywhere as he talked. His face was a perpetual frown which pinched his features and made him appear like a hawk.

“Thanks,” muttered Thomas as he took the water. He uncorked the skin and drank slowly so as not to show them he was desperately thirsty.

“Sounds like these players got the right idea going to the bank,” said Bill as he sat down beside the boss again. “Looks like we are getting an easy pay day again.”

“Don’t count your dragons before they hatch,” said the boss eyeing Thomas.

“What?” Bill turned around and glanced at Thomas. “This one ain’t trying anything—I’ve already talked to him.”

“Little boys can be trouble, Bill.”

“You mean like that one time?”

The boss didn’t respond. He only took a slow drink from his mug, draining the entire thing in one go.

“That was a fluke,” said Bill. He was trying to sound casual but doing a bad job at doing so. Thomas saw him take a gulp before continuing and he lowered his voice. “That kid who did us all in is long gone. You read the papers, right? Spade is dead—.”

“Don’t say his name!” Shouted the boss. He threw his mug against the wall where it clattered to the floor. His entire being was shook with rage. “Don’t. EVER! SAY HIS NAME!”

“Sorry, Charlie,” said Bill. He had turned white and his hands were laying flat on the table. His voice shook as he apologized.

“Useless schlub,” spat the boss, Charlie. “I have one rule in this miserable place and its never to say that players name. One rule, Bill. Don’t make me do to you what he did to me. I’ll drop you out that window up there and see how you like having both your stumpy legs broken.”

“Won’t happen again, Charlie.” Bill nodded his head a dozen times. If it weren’t for Chase’s old name being dropped Thomas might have laughed.

What did Chase do to these guys? Wondered Thomas. A sick thrill went through him as he imagined Chase bursting through the door, plugging them both with arrows.

“What are you grinning at?” Sneered Charlie. He stood up and Thomas felt his expression fall immediately. Instead of coming to the cage he walked back to the cupboard and took out the bottle. For a moment Thomas fancied he saw a small locked chest pushed into the corner.

“Quiet, boy!” Shouted Bill despite Thomas not saying anything.

For some reason Thomas felt a surge of bravery in his veins. Perhaps it was hearing that Chase had previously savaged them that gave him the courage.

“You be quiet you dim witted monkey. The only difference between you and an ape is that one is a stinky fat banana eater and the other one is a monkey.”

Bill spun around, enraged, but was stopped by his boss’ shrieking laughter.

“Hahahaha! You tell him boy!” Charlie had forgotten about the drink and was holding his sides. “Might have to tell him what an ape is though! Hahaha!”

Bill bared his teeth like a feral animal and his eyes were like twin coals as he glared at Thomas. Seeing Charlie’s sudden change in mood seemed to off balance him and so instead of responding he sat heavily in his chair, back to Thomas.

“…stinky fat banana eater and the other is a monkey,” repeated Charlie as he came back to the table with his mug. “I’ll remember that one, boy. Hehe.”

“Wasn’t that funny,” muttered Bill. He sounded hurt.

“Ah, would you look at that?” Said Charlie, pointing at his henchmen’s face. “Looks like you hurt poor Bills feelings.”

“Nah, boss, it’s just—.”

“Shut up, fool.” Charlie’s good humor vanished. “Boy! Apologize to Bill. Now!”

“Um, I-I-I-I’m sorry, Bill,” stammered Thomas. All his confidence was gone. Charlie’s mood swings were seriously throwing him off. Somewhere in deep in Thomas’ memories there was a ghost of a memory telling him to be careful around such volatile people. He decided for once in his life since spawning to just go with what he was feeling.

“Good,” said Charlie, taking a sip of his drink. “Bill, this is when you say ‘I accept your apology.’”

Bills shoulders slumped. And without turning around he muttered something indistinguishable.

“Louder,” said Charlie. He squeezed his mug until Thomas heard a small cracking sound. “Don’t make me say it again.”

“I accept your apology, boy,” said Bill. He turned around to say it and Thomas saw the fear on his face.

“There,” said Charlie, suddenly looking smug. “Don’t ever let no one say that Charlie Boils, leader of the Blue Hound gang, ain’t capable of brokering peace. Hah!”

“Yes, boss.”

“Don’t look so happy,” said Charlie dryly. “Go get yourself another drink. We got some hours to wait till its time to go to the bridge.”

After that Thomas said nothing, and the gang members responded in kind. They chatted about trivial things and drank some more until Charlie said he had to go and check on something. When he left Bill ignored Thomas and went back to paring his nails for which he was thankful. If it wasn’t for a pressing concern arising deep within him Thomas wouldn’t have said another word.

“I have to pee,” said Thomas after he couldn’t hold it anymore.

“Huh? Oh,” said Bill. He pointed to the side of the cage. “Just go right there. Everyone else does.”

“What? Thats disgusting!”

“You’re telling me,” said Bill, nodding. “It’s Black Dan’s turn to clean the cage after you’re gone but it’ll probably be me who ends up doing it.”

“Don’t you have a bottle or something?” Said Thomas. He really did not feel like peeing in front of this old man if he could help it at all.

“We need the bottles,” said Bill, starting to get annoyed. “Just go.”

Thomas sighed but decided to hold it for as long as he could. Bill didn’t seem to be playing the part of a bandit anymore and so Thomas decided to distract himself with a question.

“Bill?”

“Huh?” He turned his head. “What?”

“Who is that Spade guy your boss was talking about?”

Bill immediately shot a fearful look at the door.

“He’s nobody,” said Bill, looking nervous. “Don’t go asking questions like that.”

“Sounded like a scary guy to me,” said Thomas. He had to be careful to keep Bill scared and not angry if he could. After his comment about the monkey Thomas had been sure once Bill left that he was going to slit his throat with or without the ransom money.

“I can’t really remember,” said Bill, staring at the table. Perhaps it was the alcohol that loosened his tongue or resentment at Charlie but Thomas didn’t interrupt him. “Someone forgot to close the cage door properly. I always thought it was Tabitha, Tabitha thought it was me. Anyways the kid got out and found a knife. Last thing I remember I was staring at this door,” he pointed where Charlie had left. “And then nothing. He must have rammed it through my skull as hard as he could. Then he found the rest of us and one by one killed us all. Poor Charlie he pushed out the window up there.”

“Sounds terrible,” said Thomas consolingly. “Well, I could never do that.”

“Couldn’t happen again, anyways,” he said, sounding more confident. He suddenly sneered at Thomas. “I am more alert than ever. Even if that cage was open just the smallest sound and I would know you were out. I could even be asleep and I would wake up and—.”

“Slit my throat?”

“Yeah,” nodded Bill. He sighed and poured himself another drink even though Charlie had told him not to. “Yeah. Now be quiet. For real this time. I’m feeling a bit drowsy.”

“Alright, Bill you got it,” said Thomas. He was suddenly feeling very relaxed and happy, despite his situation and if Bill had been turned around he would have seen a broad smile break across his face as Thomas stared up at the ceiling.

From a broken window, high above the ground, a rope was being lowered, and Chase was pressing his finger against his lips as he looked at Thomas from on high.