Chapter 3 Plans for escape and other things
The ride through the city was slow going every few streets we had to avoid some sort of checkpoint that the soldier’s had set up to find me. Sometimes we had no choice but to go through one was searched very thoroughly. They had gotten too close to finding me in my hiding spot. Yulia ended up have to join Lucas up front to deter any further suspicion. The soldier’s gave a sign paper showing that we could pass freely through the rest of the city since we had been searched three times already. Even then we still had to wait for those who hadn’t been searched. By time we managed to get to the winter hideout night had begun to fall.
I was not allowed to help unload the wagon because even here there where soldier’s nearby. I was surprised to see that we were in another warehouse when did they get this place and how did they afford it. I looked around and saw how. This building was abandoned the holes in the room and now I could smell the scent of decay. And if I remembered some of these building once had hidden room underneath them for smuggling goods.
Even though I was itching to ask Lucas or John how they manage to get this I followed John, who again was holding the wooden box, to the secret passage underneath the building. Yulia much to my ire decided to help out Lucas and empty the wagon. I remained silent as John lifted up the trap door to a very new set of stairs. As soon as we got in far enough I couldn’t help myself I asked him. “How is that you guys were able to pay for all of this? And who fixed it up for you?”
He laughed at my curiosity maybe remembering how I asked him endless questions when I was younger. “Quite easily really we had been having this rebuilt for years after you left. It’s not complete yet but the man who we had been paying to rebuild this said anything that’s left shouldn’t take him more than a month.”I whistled softly to myself as we passed to big room’s that I see were the rooms for the children to sleep in. “Those holes you saw help break up any smoke produce by are fires and that smell helps cover up the smell of smoke.” I understood the need for that; they couldn’t always get good solid wood that would be completely smokeless. “It’s far from perfect though this used to be a base for a smuggling operation but this one didn’t have a tunnel to the outside. So we still need to find a way out for both you and Yulia.”
I should have known that it would have been too much to ask for to have an easy escape from my home. Along the hallway at irregular intervals were torches that had a shield to prevent the flames from catching the wood on fire. We passed two more rooms, the first I could see the target dummy’s had already been setup and in the other I saw on the wall highly polished metal. It was exactly like the same room I had practiced my swordsmanship once so long ago. I knew Lucas wouldn’t just leave that the old metal at the old hideout they would go back with others themselves to get it. The tunnel turn and before we made the turn I could smell food being cooked. The last room was the largest one the far wall was a fireplace large enough to hold the big kettle pot that the food was cooking in. Around the room I could saw the rest of the children who had help bring all of the stuff back here. For now the room was devoid of any furniture but that would soon change.
Yulia was the first to come around the corner I smiled to myself when I saw she was also empty handed. I heard her grumbling to herself and from what I heard whoever it was about was not in the least flattering. Gave me a quick smile as she walked passed me to the kettle over the fire. Apparently Lucas decided it would better for her to cook than help bring down the supplies. I looked at the wooden box no not box but a small chest. I looked at with a question in my eye. He laughed and opened up the box. My eye widened as saw the full contents of the chest. It was filled to the brim of a mixture of gold, silver and copper coins. I was not the only one to notice chest full of coins but before any of the children could get close enough to take a better look John snapped in back shut.
“I don’t know how much is really in there but I think it will be more than enough to get you and Yulia smuggled out of the city safely enough. But you two will be on your own after that me or Lucas don’t know many people that know their way to the Empires border. We’ll make sure you have enough supplies to last you a while and a pair of horses to ride.”
“I can make do with that. It would be helpful if you get your hands on a map it would be useful if I could read it properly.” He shook his head at the last comment, I sighed. Well I guess I can’t everything go my way. I had a quick thought about trying once more to convince Yulia to go home and stay there but I discarded the idea I knew she wouldn’t. So I bid my time and waited for the others to bring the furniture which gratefully didn’t take them long. Soon I was busy moving and rearranging the tables, chairs and cabinets so they would fit in what now I realized was the small space provided. With so many helping hands it didn’t take long for everything to be done and setup to both Lucas’s and Johns liking.
Since the tables were set up the youngest grabbed wooden bowls and spoons out the two cabinets. I knew when it came to certain things like proper eating ware Lucas and John spared no expense. Then I heard Jason call out my name. I looked and smiled to see two of my old friends I walked over to them. Jason was now built more like John than any of the rest of us. His hair was brown and eyes were a dark green and his nose was shaped a little like a beak. He somewhere along the way since I last saw him decided to grow a beard, it looked good on him. Like John Jason was turning out to be a weapon master and spent now more of his time training and teaching the youngling the basic skills. And somewhere along the way he seemed to have adopted the old weapons master taste in clothing color. So John had chosen him as his replacement to be the second in command for when he died.
Then there was Jenny standing right next to him. She was slim and beautiful, her hair was a black and she had grown it down to the small of her back. Her eyes were a dark brown and always seem to have a smile in them, and her nose was straight and slim. Unlike most females she didn’t wear a skirt. Her pants like her shirt varied in grays and blacks. This made it easier for her to hide in the shadows. I hugged both of my friends from my childhood I had rarely seen them since leaving. Even though I hated to admit it she was always the better thief and I was glad when I heard she agreed to be Lucas’s replacement.
“Jenny, Jason it’s so good to see you! I heard you two are eventually going to take over the guild.” I laughed when I saw the shock on their faces when I told them I already knew. “I don’t think there are a better two people to run this place when Lucas and John pass into the next world.”
“Where not dead yet boy and we both can still hear very well.” John growled. Everyone except Yulia laughed getting the old joke. “I wish you of all people would stop reminding me off my age.” The laughter got even louder even John joined in.
“I’ve also heard,” I said slyly “that you two are now a couple.” Jason grinned at me and I wink back at him. Jenny just blush.
“I would like to know how in the hell you find out about these things Amaru.” Jenny was still blushing.
I just grinned and said “Sorry Jenns it’s a trade secret. Maybe someday I will tell you or not.” Jenny threw her hands up in exasperation. She may have always been the better thief but she could never hold a candle to my intelligence gathering.
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To me such things were easy to me. I just somehow always understood people. Oh don’t get me wrong I just don’t go and start asking around. You had to be subtle about such things and believe me there were many ways do such things. Though the easiest ways were one just listening to them and just let them do all the talking. The other was buying them drinks to loosen their tongues that way. The other two ways is to simply bribe them or the one I hated the most because I lacked any finesse was simply to beat the information out of them. But there are still many ways to gather intel just depends on your creativity and resources.
My stomach growled reminding me and everyone else in the room that I was hungry. This set off another round of laughter. “Well it seems,” Jason said through much laughter, “that we can still tell time by Amaru’s stomach.” And with perfect timing Yulia announced that supper was finally ready.
Supper was the same as he had always remembered it. Boastful and often exaggerated thefts, outrunning the guards, and even tales of over the top heists from a noble’s house. Every time someone was there during the story he or she would correct some of the points in the story with much laughter. I even disillusioned some of the children of their future leader by telling them of their screws ups. This would get much laughter especially when Jenny and Jason try to get revenge and tell embarrassing stories of their own about me. And to my surprise even Yulia joined in tell way to embarrassing tales about me and some of my less than successful attempts at thefts, the ones that I did tell her about.
When it came to clean up everyone worked as a team and got things done quickly. Some clean up the plates while other prepared to the baths in the adjoining rooms. It amazed me when I saw how they were getting water down here. The reason they had chosen this building was because smugglers had used it to hide rare animals and often dangerous ones. So they needed a way to easily keep the animals watered so they had pipes connect to a local well. It was really ingenious when you thought about it. Lucas and John couldn’t have picked a better spot to move their operation and somehow I knew this wouldn’t become the ‘winter’ hideout. Once everyone but me, Yulia, Lucas, John, Jason and Jenny were done with their baths they went to bed.
As soon as the last person went into the bedroom the mood immediately became somber. I sat next to Yulia at the table while Lucas sat opposite from us. Next to me was Jenny and Jason sat next to her. John went and grabbed the wooden chest stolen from Boris and opened it up. Jenny and Jason’s reaction was the same as mine none of has seen so much coin all in one place. Knowing what to do me, Jenny and Lucas started to count the coin. It was the best system I took all the cooper coins while Jenny and Lucas took the silver and gold coins respectively.
Yulia tried to help but was stopped by Jason. “Leave them to it they have a good system the three of them. Why don’t we make ourselves useful and make some kaffee.” Yulia sighed, I didn’t know what she was thinking but she got up and helped Jason. We slowly counted to make sure we had counted the right amount then we counted it again just make sure we didn’t miss count. We were done counting just about the time the smell of the kaffee began to fill the room. Yulia brought over cups and sat them in front of use while Jason put to pots of the stuff in front of us. Yulia poured my cup and hers, naturally she was used to serving people so when she went around the table and poured everyone else a cup to. Everyone thanked her as she came around and once she was done she took her place next to me and began sipping her cup of kaffee.
“So how much do we have Lucas?” John asked.
“Well according my count Boris was a fool to have this much just lying around.” He gestured at the three piles. “The gold coins alone amount to thirty five gold.” Whispers ran across the table in awe of the amount of gold coins Lucas had counted.
“I agree with you Lucas,” Jenny was the first to speak up, “this pile here is nearly fifteen gold. Well to be more exact fourteen gold and eighty silver.”
“My pile holds two gold, nine silver, and three copper.” I barely spoke because I was trying to add that all up in my head.
Unsurprisingly John beat me to it. “That in total is fifty two gold, eighty nine silver, and three copper.” Jason whistled when he heard the total amount, Lucas somehow looked unfazed, Yulia and Jenny just looked dumbstruck and me I didn’t know how I looked. “No offense Amaru I hope we don’t have to spend even half of this to get you to out, but somehow I doubt that’s likely.”
“Your correct in that my old friend, the way things are I doubt even a good smuggler with a working tunnel will take less than fifteen gold for the both of them. That not including getting them a good horse each and supplies for their travels.” The mood became a little down trodden because even I imagined what that gold could have meant for the guild. “But lucky for us I know a good smuggler and she does owe me a favor and she’s pretty well connected so she’ll know who Amaru already is.”
“I know who you’re talking about and I don’t like that idea Lucas I don’t exactly trust her.” John voice was full of anger and a little bitterness. I had a feeling who they were talking about and from what I heard from her reputation I didn’t like it either. But like Lucas she was the best and I knew she had no love for the nobles and official’s of the city so maybe that might work in our favor.
“Would she really betray us?” Yulia voice was full of concern, I wrapped my arm around her to sooth her a little.
“Yes she would if she thought she could get a lot of gold from that betrayal and live. But I have a plan so that way I know her trust is absolute.” He pulled out two vials and placed them on the table. Both vials were black except the red and blue dots on them. “The vial with the red dot is a poison that takes about three days to kill you in the most painful way possible. The vial with the blue dot is it antidote. This is how I plan to gain her absolute trust.” I frowned at the thought but I also knew it was for the best.
The rest of the plan was pretty simple John and Jason would go out by supplies and horses. I would spend the day packing what I would need to make sure my swords and knifes would stay sharp. Finding me some armor and if need be fix it and filling up two quivers full of arrows. The when John and Jason got back help them slip up the supplies between my pack and Yulia’s. Jenny would give her pants from her own closet of cloths and would help empty her pack that wasn’t absolutely important for our travels. Lucas would ‘negotiate’ our escape from the city with the smuggler. When everything was laid out and agreed upon we all went to are beds.
Yulia and I were sleeping in the same room where we ate. John supplied us with two bed rolls that we would also be bringing with us. I helped her put are bedrolls next the fire. Once they were down Yulia laid down without saying much. I used my cloak to cover her up while I went her pack to find her cloak to give her while I used mine. I leaned down to get my cloak from Yulia I heard her soft even breathing letting me know she had already fallen asleep. I laid down next to her and promptly went to sleep myself.