I slowly opened my eyes to the cheerful sight of a fire burning in the fireplace, the faint smell of wood smoke tickling my nose. Glancing around, I could see Sebastian and Komhether sitting and talking to Kamasut. With a stretch, I stood up and walked over to a table that had a hot pot of kavaa on it.
“Good morning,” I muttered as I poured myself a cup. I glanced over at the boys I could see them smile at me as I took my first sip. Feeling myself start to come alive, I went over and sat down. Looking at the girl, I could tell that Komhether had done a miraculous job of healing her.
As I sat there drinking I could see her sneaking looks at me while my friends were trying not to laugh. “All right, what is so funny, “I said. Kamasut looked down and smiled then she pointed at my face. Reaching up I felt the cracked and dried black paint I had put on. No wonder my face felt so stiff. Groaning I stood up and said, “I will be back.”
Going outside it was foggy and damp and I felt the chill in the air. Winter was coming to the city. I would need to get some warmer clothing. Making my way down to the lake, I began to scrub at the dried paint. I had to use several handfuls of sand, but eventually, I thought I had it all off.
Entering the cabin, I could smell food cooking, some sort of spicy sausage and potatoes. I went to a chair near Kamasut, sat down, and looked at her. She looked at me and said, “I want to thank you for rescuing me, as I was in a very bad place.”
I nodded, she had been in a bad place and thinking back to what I had seen I am not sure it could have been any worse for her. I started to speak and said, “I was glad to rescue you from that psychotic bitch, but it was not just a noble urge to help your fellow citizen in need that drove me. I need some information from you.”
Looking at me Kamasut asked, “what do you need to know? I will tell you anything I know. I owe you that and more.”
“I need to know where the thieves’ guild is, I have to register with the guild, and then start my leveling quests. I became a thief almost by accident and have been just winging it since then. I have done a couple of some small B and E jobs, nothing big. I am not in this for the money, but for the skills that a thief has.”
Kamasut looked at me strangely and then smiled and said, “we all have our reasons for becoming a thief, that is one of the things you will learn. I will tell you where the thieves’ guild is but once you find it, you will have to undergo the testing. Why don’t you tell me about these B and E jobs you have done, maybe I can give you some advice.”
Grabbing another cup of kavaa, I sat down and thought for a moment. All right, I said, “it was about two weeks ago that I decided to try to level my skills, and this is what happened.”
I had been doing my shift at the pub but was feeling restless, looking around I could see most of the patrons were starting to leave for home to beat the curfew. My shift soon would be over, and that would leave me with some time to explore. That evening I had overheard a couple of people talking about the Hammerytes new warehouse complex down at the docks and I wanted a look.
Finally, I was finished the cleanup and I left the pub; the streets were empty but ever cautious I drifted in the shadows silent and unseen. I made my way down to the first tier of the city, the place where the poorer folks lived, and went towards the seaside gate. I could see two Hammeryte guards looking half-asleep near a burning bowl of hot coals.
Hugging the wall, I crept around them and went through the open gate. I could see the pathway that led down to the docks and began my descent. Once I reached the lower level, the smell of the sea was strong in the air. I could see that more people were still moving around, it made sense as ships would arrive and depart with the tides and the cargoes would need to be loaded and unloaded at all times.
I made my way over to an area that had several Inns and Pubs and found one that was still open. It had a sitting area out front with people eating and drinking, some I guessed were on a break from their work. Sitting down I told the barmaid that I would have a hot apple cider, and a plate of finger food.
Once she left, I nursed my drink and lit a smoke up. Sitting and listening I overheard several tidbits of conversation but only one caught my attention. One of the workers was complaining about the Hammerytes warehouse and how the Hammerytes refused to hire any of the local workers. The Dwarves were running the whole operation with no outside help.
I continued to sit and listen to the various complaints that comprise the lot of those who do manual work, I overheard bits of stories about bad bosses, ignorant co-workers, terrible conditions to work in and people not showing up for work on the day after they were paid. Life has a way of making itself felt even in a game I thought as I finished my finger food.
Eventually I stood and followed a group of men as they left to go back to work. I decided to make a sweep of the area near the docks and slowly began to walk towards the street named straight. It was misnamed I thought as I saw it curve to follow the layout of the docks.
Once I arrived at the maze of buildings that made up the warehouse district proper, I observed the comings and goings of all the people. I soon saw that several guards were walking on patrols in pairs. There were three pairs of guards. Each patrolled several blocks, this would work out in my favor I thought.
I flitted behind one of the patrols, sticking to the shadows. I could see that several of the buildings had open doorways with cargo moving in and out. It was busy; I did not see many people working the night shift but those I observed were all working hard at their jobs.
I finally arrived at a crossroads that had two buildings joined together with an upper walkway over the road. I could see that the Hammerytes had their own people who were guarding the two buildings. I stood and watched for over an hour. Something caught my eye across the road from the warehouse; looking over at the shadows I finally witnessed a small movement across the road. I could see that two men were standing there writing down information as they watched what was happening. Interesting, clearly someone else also wanted to know what the Hammerytes were doing.
I slowly drifted away and explored the rest of the warehouse district, tracking the movements of the guards and noting which buildings were still open. I found a small warehouse at the end of the lane; it was sitting tucked up against the mountain, in the shadows. I could tell that the building was prosperous looking with fresh paint and that the grounds surrounding it were well maintained.
I could see the entrance faced the street and while I could pick the lock and enter the building, if guards were inside, they would probably be located near the entrance. I had seen earlier that most of the warehouses had skylights in the roof; some in fact had an open area where the workers could go and enjoy their rest breaks.
I walked to the back of the building and noted the distance from the side of the mountain to the warehouse. It was about five feet, with the building backed onto an almost vertical cliff that rose for about one hundred feet. I began the task of scaling the cliff; I wanted to be at least two meters higher than the roof.
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Once I had climbed high enough I twisted and jumped, easily landing on the roof of the warehouse. I held myself immobile as I waited to see if anyone had heard the thump of my landing. Looking around I could see the skylight that revealed the interior of the building. After a several minutes, I quietly made my way over to the trap door next to the skylight.
Looking into the building showed a large space half filled with boxes, with a crane system that went across the ceiling. This system would move the heavy boxes and pallets. The building appeared empty; I could detect no sign of anyone inside. Going to the trap door, I checked it and found it was unlocked.
I guess that the idea of someone coming in from the roof had not occurred to the owner. Bad luck for him, good luck for me. I opened the trapdoor and silently began to climb down the steps stopping only to close the door behind me. Once at the bottom I saw that I was in a long corridor with two doors on the right side and three on the left.
I began to check out each room, as the doors were unlocked. I found what I was looking for in the largest room at the end of the hallway. It must have been the manager’s office; it had carpet on the floor and a small liquor cabinet full of spirits. Going through the desk drawers, I picked the lock of the one drawer that would not open.
Inside in a small bag were 25 gold pieces with a number of silver and copper coins. I decided to only take five gold coins, and leave the rest; I did not need the money. As I made my way back out through the roof I reflected that this was easier than I had thought it would be. Once on the street again I decided to call it for the night, it was getting late and I wanted to get some rest.
I walked back towards the Pub I had ate at and looked around for a nearby Inn. I had been sleeping at Inns for the last few days, as the weather was just too cold to sleep outside anymore. I found an Inn, and saw that the taproom was still open. Feeling the chill, I decided to go in for one last hot apple cider.
As I sat at the bar, I noticed an older man, also nursing a hot drink. In the game world, you do not often see older people. I was intrigued, and walked over and introduced myself. The old fellow looked at me with shrewd eyes and told me to call him Mecha.
We chatted for a while and he told me that he ran on orphanage down by the docks.
Apparently, many kids have become orphans over the years, when their dads did not return from the sea. Sadly, the mothers often cannot afford to keep the kids or they remarry and the kids tossed out from their home. It is fucking heartless to treat children that way in any world. I promised to drop by and see the orphanage, and then went to my room, it was late and I was tired.
Getting up the next day I went down and had some greasy eggs and some kind of meat product, clearly the cooking skills needed to feed dockworkers were not on par with what the rest of the cities eateries had. After fortifying myself with some hot kavaa, I left the Inn and walked out into a grey wet world.
It was raining and foggy, damp with a chill that hung on you like a wet blanket. I slowly made my way towards the orphanage following the directions that Mecha had given me. Once I arrived, I stared at the building that housed the kids.
It was a small old warehouse in need of a paint job; the small front yard was clean with a swing and some children’s toys strewn around. I walked up to the entrance and banged on the door. A young boy opened it and peered shyly at me, then asked, “how may I help you sir?”
“I am here to see Mecha, I announced. He invited me here to see what he is doing so if you could direct me to him please, I would appreciate it, and it would be really nice to go inside where it is warm.”
The youngster ducked his head down but opened the door allowing me to enter. The cold damp drizzle had started to make its way down my back and I was glad to get in somewhere warm. Once in I noted that the place was clean and that the nice smell of
baking bread was wafting down the hallway.
“This way sir,” the young boy directed me as he led me down the hall. “Master Mecha is baking bread and is in the kitchen, in here.”
I stopped and thanked the boy, and then entered the kitchen; with the smell of baking bread tantalizing to my nose. Looking up from the oven Mecha saw me and gave a wave. I waved back, sat at a table, and waited for him to finish.
Eventually he made his way over to me carrying a large chunk of bread with butter smeared on it, “here, he said, try this bread fresh from the oven it is pretty good I think.” Then handing me half of the bread he began to eat his half. “I love fresh bread, he said, it is one of the few foods that actually smell as good as it tastes straight from the oven.”
I could not agree with him more as I crammed my half into my mouth, then trying not to speak with my mouth full I said, “thank you it is very tasty, I love fresh bread to.” We ate the bread in companionable silence, enjoying the taste. Once done eating I asked to see the rest of the orphanage.
Leading me out of the kitchen Mecha began to explain how the orphanage was set up and run. “These are the boy’s rooms, with two boys to a room with the same layout for the girls on the third floor. I have my office on the second floor as well as the sleeping area for the staff. I have two women working with me and we are what run this show.”
“On the main floor, he continued, we have an open games area and a small classroom for the kids that show an interest and have the ability to learn reading and writing. Along with math and a bit of history we try to prepare the kids for the world.”
“How did you get involved in doing this,” I asked. I was interested in the back-story of this NPC; he was unique among the NPC I had discovered. Being unique usually meant secret quests or other things that most gamers would not find.
“I was once a priest for the Gods, Mecha began, but I became disillusioned at the greed and avarice I witnessed both with the Gods and among my fellow priests. Power and riches were all that they cared for. The poor people had neither power nor riches. The Gods abandoned them long ago and the priests followed the Gods.”
“I in turn left both the priesthood and the Gods to live my life in an attempt to help those that need help. It had been hard, Mecha continued, but worth it. To be able to help one child is worth it, one person can make a difference, even if only to one other person.”
I nodded; really, to care about people was a rare thing both in the game and in the world. People care about their country, their sports teams, even their entertainment. Caring for other people is not a priority for most folks.
We talked for a while longer, and I excused myself, before I left, I handed him the gold I had pilfered from the warehouse, he could use it and I did not need it. It was time to return to the upper tier of the city, I wanted to have a rest before I went work; as I was planning to return to the docks this evening.