43 - Slipping the Noose

Joe approached the front door and joined the short line of three, including himself. Behind the counter was a gangly-looking youth with long rabbit-like ears.

Gabbik Lagroo: Brer: Stocker/Angler 14

The jackrabbit-like clerk was clearly not enjoying himself. While he moved with lightning-like reflexes, every time he had to pause for his customer, he would look out the front door towards the seashore and sigh. The floppy hat his tall ears were poking up through was festooned with homemade fly-fishing lures.

In no time at all, Joe found himself in front of Gabbik. The speedy brer quickly tabulated everything Joe had until he came to the wad of wax shards.

“Um,” he paused, holding the clump and looking up at Joe for the first time.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve got to catch a ship and everything was so glued together I didn’t have time to pull it all apart. Any chance you can give a price for the whole blob? They were all from the discount basket, if that helps.”

“Uh,” Gabbik hesitated. “Aw, what the Hells. Boss keeps telling me to take more initiative. Let’s see. You got what, six or seven shards? All reds. Low-end Strength-skills are pretty cheap. How about two gold each? Call it fourteen gold.”

“Well,” Joe countered, for the first time able to haggle outside a D&D game. “Since I already had to spend twenty minutes digging through glued-together piles of skills,” he exaggerated. It hadn’t been more than ten. “How about one gold per skill? And I only counted six shards.”

Faster than Joe could follow, the brer spun the waxy glob, counting under his breath. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Nope. There are seven there.”

“Ok, then seven gold for the bunch.” As the young man was about to counter, Joe added. “Look, there is no one behind me in line. If we wrap this up quickly, you could step outside and get some fresh air for a minute before someone else shows up. What ya say?”

“Fine, let's call it eight shards at one gold each to make an even thirty gold ya owe me. Take it or leave it, sir.”

“I’ll take it,” Joe exclaimed, beginning to count out coins. “I hope you’re off soon and can get some fishing in before the day is done, Gabbik.”

“Me too.” the clerk replied with a nod, sliding Joe’s cash into a box under the counter.

After depositing his purchases in his bags, Joe beat a hasty exit. Now, he just had to make it to the wharves without alerting the watch of Heron’s Reef.

For the first couple of blocks, Joe just walked on as casually as possible, but as the number of town guards grew, Joe moved off the main thoroughfare. He and Kaid had worked on [Whisperstep] for mile after mile of their mobile hide-and-seek practicing. The stealth-skill now stood at twelve ranks. It was his second-highest-ranked skill, just ahead of [Identify] and just behind [Healing Touch]. Kaid worried a dozen ranks was not enough, but he admitted it would likely get past most watchmen as long as Joe could use cover. So, Joe crept down alleyways, heading for the coast and the line of tall bobbing masts.

He was so focused on his own movement that when a hand reached out and grabbed his pants leg, Joe almost yelped in surprise.

“Sorry,” Kaid hissed. “We have problems.”

“What do you mean?” he stammered.

“There are Phealtians here looking for you,” Kaid whispered, peering around the corner of the alley before turning back to Joe. “Didn’t beat the Wanted posters even after all that rafting. They must of sent a messenger spell to the nearby cities.”

“Damn it. I had a bad feeling about the ports. Now we’re stuck.”

“Not exactly. I have a couple of tricky flips we can use, but they won’t work with both of us together. So, here is where we have to split up. I’ll draw them off. You take the ship.”

“What if they catch you?”

“Please!” Kaid drawled. “Give me a little credit. I’ve been ducking the town watches and knights since before Rhiley was even born.”

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Kaid was holding a small wand, which he rapped Joe’s hand with. As he rubbed the struck spot to take away the sting, Joe saw his skin darken by several shades. His clothing was changing as well. He looked to be wearing striped knee-length shorts that were commonly worn in Heron’s Reef. His feet appeared to be in sandals, though when he wriggled his toes, he could feel the boots he was standing in. In his hand was a fishing pole that felt like a staff.

“It’s just an illusion, so don’t hand your staff to anyone. Now me.” He tapped himself with the wand, and Joe found himself looking at a perfect replica of himself. This other Joe had on his blue gambeson and carried his old staff. “Hah! First try! I wasn’t sure if I could visualize you without making you look like one of those goofy-book pictures.”

It was more than a little unnerving to see and hear yourself talking when you were not the one performing the action. Also, his voice lacked the deepness that his own ears heard: kind of like the weirdness of hearing your recorded voice.

“Take this too,” the other Joe said. A small coin flipped up into the air, though it came out of his doppelganger’s chest instead of out of his hand. Joe caught the small gold disk, which was about half the size of a typical coin. “Bite that as you leave here. It will give you an aura of triviality for about twenty minutes. People will tend to ignore you. Make sure you stay out of everyone’s way. If they are preoccupied, they will plow right into you. It wouldn’t normally fool the Phealtians, but since I am going to give them something to chase, it should be enough.

“You are heading to the Tide Dancer,” the voice continued. The fake Joe was mouthing the words, but, standing as close together as they were, Joe heard the sound coming from roughly the illusion's navel. “It’s got green sails. Solid green. Not the one with the striped green sails. The first mate is named Kyllean. He is waiting for you. Tell him your name is Buckle Hound,” the hidden gnome said with a smirk in his voice. “The price is ten gold to take you to Peregrine Harbor. That’s a day or two down the coast from here. From there you should be able to get the rest of the way out a Durkrug. How much money do you got left?”

“Just enough.”

“Here, take this then,” Kaid said as a crimson coin pouch landed in Joe’s hand. “There’s a couple more in there, just in case you need it. I’d hide it, though. The illusion is already cast, and the harbor guard I swiped it from might recognize it.”

Joe tucked the bag away, shaking his head. As he looked at the illusion of himself, it truly dawned on him that he and Kaid were actually about to part ways. “So. This really is goodbye.”

“And you better not get caught without me. I promised Rhy I’d get you safe.”

Under the scoffing tone, Joe caught a bit of huskiness in the little man’s voice. Suddenly the quick casting of the illusion took another meaning. Kaid was using it to hide in.

“You’re saving my life again, Kaid,” Joe said. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Who wouldn’t? You know, for a big guy, you ain’t half bad yourself, Joe. But now we really gotta go,” he said, emphasizing the last two words.

“Okay. Good luck.”

“I make my own luck,” Kaid bragged, having to get in the last word.

The not-Joe stepped out onto the street and looked around, then very deliberately began to run through the crowd. Shouts erupted from around the timbered plaza. Joe watched a squad of white and gold-tabarded warriors give chase.

Even though he was worried about the little man, Joe stuck to the plan. He counted to three and then bit the little disc. The moment his teeth dented the metal, it crumbled into dust. As the gold glitter fell, it dulled until it looked like lead dust. The flakes stuck to Joe and seemed to meld into his skin and clothing.

You have been affected by [Dullard’s Heed]. Your passive [Stealth] has increased by 75%.

Waiting for a break in the foot traffic, Joe stepped out of the alleyway and headed for the ships again. He did notice that he had to step around people more than normal but the area was not so crowded that it slowed him much.

The Tide Dancer was easy to spot. The vessel looked like one designed for sailing in deep waters. It had three tall masts, and its main deck was about twelve feet above the waterline. Its figurehead was a pirouetting naiad. A large man stood at the end of a steeply sloped plank, taking fares for passengers. Most of the people appeared to be rather unfortunate. They looked like refugees, carrying makeshift bundles of goods and wearing torn clothes. Many had a haunted and haggard look about them. He waited for two such families to embark before it was his turn. The sailor looked past him at first, but Joe cleared his throat loudly, catching the man’s attention.

“Yer name, please,” the man asked in a surprisingly deep voice.

Sighing, Joe replied, “Buckle Hound. You can call me Buck.”

“Ah, yes. Yer associate booked the last small room we had. Have to admit it's pretty much a closet, but we don’t got anything bigger on this run. We are overbooked as it is. It’s ten gold for the cubby. Only three gold if ya just want a spot on the deck.”

“The small room will be fine,” Joe replied, handing over the coins.

The man he assumed to be Kyllean gave the coinage a quick count before dropping it in a box and gesturing him up the gangplank. “Yer room is the one behind the starboard stern stair.” When Joe didn’t move, the man sighed and clarified. “This side of the ship and to the back. You find a small door under the stairs there.”

“Thank you,” Joe replied.

He quickly turned to the ramp, not wanting to stay out in plain sight any longer than he had to, even with the illusions going. He cast one more quick look to the shore. It was hard to tell for certain, but there seemed to be a flurry of motion on the far side of town. With a spin of his ring, Joe danced up the ramp with sure steps and onto the Tide Dancer.