Dantes moved out of the brothel and out onto the narrow ‘streets’ of the undermarket. Unlike in Collared territory where everyone knew who he was and their behavior toward him had changed, in the undermarket he was nondescript enough that no one seemed to recognize him. There were a few glances and whispers of course, especially when they saw the rapier at his waist, but nowhere near the recognition he received in Collared territory. He kept watch on himself using a few rats he stationed on nearby roofs as he walked anyway. Wouldn’t do him any good to get shivved just because he underestimated how much attention he was being paid.
He wove past a few sellers aggressively trying to market dried rat, mushrooms, and other foods that would quickly become less valuable after the next supply drop. A few of the shops had shifted around after he’d blown up several storefronts, but most of them seemed to be in roughly the same place. He was able to find Clay’s booth fairly easily as it was in the same place as before and he was able to sense the living plants that he had potted in and around his booth.
Clay himself stood in the middle of it, watering one of the plants carefully with a clay pitcher. Dantes focused his perceptions, and noted that the plants he was caring for seemed to want for nothing. Impressive, considering Clay didn’t have the same powers of perception as Dantes.
Clay finished with the plant he was watering, and moved to the next one. He noticed Dantes as he moved, but didn’t stop his work.
“Dantes.”
“Clay.”
“Sorry I haven’t been able to bring you more of those mushrooms since our first trade.”
Clay shrugged. “Understandable, considering you ran into trouble with the Elves almost immediately after we bargained.” He smiled. “Seems like you got the better of those knife eared bastards though.”
“I had good luck, and some decent weed to keep me calm through it.”
Clay chuckled. “That what you’re here for? A re-up?”
Dantes shook his head. “I wouldn’t be against one, but I’m mostly here for a different reason. A very particular thing I need to acquire.”
Clay paused his watering and placed his pitcher on the counter. “Go on.”
“What would you say is the largest kind of tree?”
Clay squinted at the question. “Aside from one of the world trees I presume?”
“Yes, let’s say the largest non-magical tree.”
Clay nodded, and brought his hand to his beard, stroking it thoughtfully. “That would be a Mother’s Reach, I suppose. They rise from the earth to touch the sky. There are whole forests of them in the west supposedly. Always wanted to travel to one of them. Be nice to have my head shaded by leaves rather than stone.”
Dantes raised an eyebrow. That was a very strange perspective for a dwarf to have.
“What I want is a Mother’s Reach seed.”
Clay scoffed. “Well let me just check the inventory here.” He looked across the counters, lifted the nearest clay pot and looked beneath it, then looked back at Dantes. “Don’t seem to have one on hand.”
“Could you get me one though?”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose it’s possible. There are some herbalists in Rendhold that may have some, if I spoke to the right consortium contacts… but why? What do you need them for?”
“I’m going to grow a tree to climb out of the maw.”
He laughed. “Really, what do you need it for?”
Dantes smiled. “It’s a bit strange. I just want a piece of something, something from the surface, from the Earth. I want to feel that connection again,” as he spoke what he thought was a lie, Dantes sensed some unintentional sincerity in his voice. That was something he’d wanted in the past. Now it was a genuine potential means of escape, though a last resort option considering the myriad potential dangers involved.
Stolen novel; please report.
Clay’s expression grew serious.
“I know that isn’t a reason that makes much sense down here.”
“No…no… that's the best reason. I’ll see what I can do. The cost will depend heavily on how much of a lift this is, but what kind of offer do you have to make for it?”
“I can start by giving you all the mushrooms I’ve cultivated since our last meeting. When I get those to you, and you have a better idea of the costs we can move from there. Deal?”
Clay nodded, spat in his hand, and held it out. “Deal”
Dantes spat on his own, and they shook hands in the dwarven custom, then they parted ways.
…
Dantes did a little more shopping while in the undermarket. He exchanged some fruit for something he’d heard of from Merle called whey powder. It looked and smelled vile, but Merle swore to its efficacy in increasing his size and strength, so Dantes thought it was worth a try. Merle and his closest followers maintaining their size despite the nutritional disadvantages in the Pit had always been a mystery he hadn’t been interested in solving, but now that he was working on increasing his own strength, he needed every advantage he could get. Particularly if he would be dealing with the orcs.
He noticed, through his own senses and the rat eyes he kept monitoring things in front and behind him, that he was being followed. It was three men, one human the other two different proportions of human, orc, elf, halfling, and dwarf. They were armed, but only as much as the average person in the Pit was generally, and they were approaching openly, not sneaking or being careful in their approach. Dantes loosened the rapier at his waist, and placed a hand on its hilt, summoning whatever rats and roaches were nearby to sit on standby in the darkness outside the edges of their vision, then he turned and stood in the middle of a wide corridor carved in strange runes.
“Can I help you three?” he asked, eyeing his shadows closely.
The fully human one stepped toward him, showing that his hands were empty as he did so. He was young, with a short unkempt brown beard, and broad frame. “The question is, what can we do for you?”
Dantes chuckled. “Oh?”
The other two stepped out next to him, arms folded in an attempt to project strength, but Dantes recognized youngbloods when he saw them.
“I’m Jayson, that’s Jayk, and that’s Zak. We’re the Shadow Cats. We’re a gang over on the northeast side of the Pit. Run jobs for the consortium mostly. We saw what you did to the Kings and well, we want to work with you.”
Dantes nodded. He’d seen this type of thing play out before, hells he’d been on the side that they were on now. Up and comers looking for work with a bigger fish to increase their own rep. He hadn’t realized his own reputation had reached that level yet. It was flattering, but more importantly it could be useful. Assuming that they weren’t complete idiots, though even if they were that could have a use as well.
“You got a lead, or is your entire plan to approach me and hope that I’ve got a job that needs doing?” asked Dantes.
Jayson’s mask of confidence flickered for a moment, telling Dantes everything he needed to know, but before he could begin working on a suitable reply, Dantes cut him off.
“I do have a job that needs doing. Something minor, but it’ll help me figure out what you’re capable of.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a gnome, named Pillion, one of the Collared. I want you to rough him up.”
“Why? He owes you money or something?”
Dantes shook his head. “You don’t need to know why. I just want him to receive a light beating, and I don’t want it traced back to me.”
“What’s the pay?” asked Jayk, Dantes marked him as the smart one.
“No pay for this job, but once it’s done, if I’m satisfied with it, I’ll give you something profitable to do. Consistent work, if you want it.”
They all exchanged glances. Jayk looked unhappy with the arrangement, but Zak gave Jayson a curt nod showing that he was game. “Alright, we’ll get it done.”
“We’ll see.”
They parted ways, and Dantes briefly followed them with one of the rats as he continued walking on his path back.
“No pay? You should’ve pushed for something. Now he won’t respect us, won’t see us as possible equals,” said Jayk when they thought they were out of earshot.
“You heard him, if we do this job well he’ll give us paid work after. Not like beating up a gnome is going to be tough work anyway.”
“I dunno… a gnome took my uncle’s right nut,” said Zak. “S’why he only has sons. Boys come from the left one. Point is, gnomes can be dangerous.”
“Whatever the case, we need to do this,” said Jayson. “You saw him at what was supposed to be his execution. You felt it the same as I did. He’s the next big player down here. It’s better to take the loss now and follow him to the top than worry about whatever paltry sum he thinks it’s worth paying us for beating a gnome.”
Jayk let out a long sigh. “Fine, but I ain’t fighting him from the front. I’d prefer to keep myself intact. My girl wants daughters.”
“She’s definitely left you up there man. Not like you’re ever getting out anyway,” remarked Zak.
Dantes cut off his connection to the rat and shook his head. That was about what he’d expected from a gang that had already been thrown into the pit that young. They weren’t the brightest, but at least they had intuition and ambition; sometimes that was all you needed.