Missteps
Chapter 71 – The Lord's Favor
It didn't take too long for Maron to return, followed closely behind by the half-orc form of the Rabble Lord.
"I hear you're in need of my help." The Lord gave Carric and Ander a large toothy grin as he pulled up a chair and sat backwards on it. "What do you need?"
"Access to tomorrow's slave market." Carric announced.
The Lord made a show of running a hand down his smooth chin. "And what business do you have there? Decide to sell that meddlesome elf?"
Carric's mouth clenched.
Ander held a hand up in front of Carric's face. "Two of our companions were taken prisoner by bugbears and we believe they're to be sold at the market." He grimaced. "Seeing as how we don't have the money to buy them, we're looking to rescue them."
The large half-orc began to chuckle as he slapped the top of his chair. "You boys are in luck. See, there are several merchants at the market who are behind in their dues to our fair city. Suriah from District Two and I were planning an excursion out there to give them all a chance to pay up."
The halfling smiled. "Mind us tagging along then?"
The Lord stopped chuckling. "Yes, I do."
Carric's eyebrows furrowed. "Then how are we in luck?"
"You do me a favor, tonight, and while I'm at the market, if I happen to see your friends, then I'll see what I can do to let them go." The Lord stuck out a hand towards the men. "We have a deal?"
The wizard eyes the hand warily. "That's not gonna leave an imprint on me, is it?" His mind flashed back to the ugly handprint that had graced Lia's neck for over a day.
The half-orc's eyes crinkled. "Maybe, you gonna let your friends be slaves over it?"
Carric reached around the halfling and shook the Lord's hand. "What's this favor?"
The Rabble Lord leaned back. "An informant of mine is dragging their feet in delivering a package. Get the package, bring it back here, and I'll free your friends. Easy-peasy."
"That's it?" Ander asked, disbelieving. He flicked his eyes over towards Kerri who looked as uncertain.
The half-orc laughed deeply as he stood up. "Lighten up, not everything has to be some life or death matter." He gestured towards a heavyset young man with a shaved head and motioned him over. "Lorne here will take you to the Night Market and make the necessary introductions." The Rabble Lord dug a palm-sized crystal out of a pouch and handed it to the youth. "Once you return here with my package, Lorne will signal me with this."
"What's the package look like?" Carric asked.
The Lord chuckled. "Last I heard it was in a basket. Good luck." He turned to look at Kerri and Maron. "To make sure that the two of you don't help them, I want you two to come with me. I need someone to remind me what these 'friends' look like." With that the Rabble Lord headed back towards a door across the room.
Kerri gave her friends a quick hug. "Good luck, I have every confidence in you."
Maron likewise nodded, before he pulled the bard away and herded her towards the door after the Rabble Lord.
Carric and Ander were left at the table with Lorne.
The wizard looked up at their guide. "Where's this Night Market?"
Lorne didn't answer, only headed towards the stairs. The two members of M.A. didn't wait and followed after him.
They traveled for about twenty minutes till they reached a small hovel. Their guide knocked twice on the door, and then waited.
A child, about nine, opened the door after a couple of minutes. "What?" The kid slowly rubbed the sleep from their eyes.
Their bald guide kneeled down. "Where's your father?"
"Out," the kid yawned.
Lorne sighed heavily before he picked up the kid and went inside. Carric and Ander followed, closing the door behind them.
Inside the dark room, Carric's elven eyes could make out a small bedroll in a corner, surrounded by the remains of a sparse meal. The fireplace was dark and cold.
Lorne set the child down in the bedroll and tucked them in, before going to the far wall and pushing open a secret door.
Ander shivered as a cold breeze came from under the door. He stalked over to the fireplace but was dismayed to see that the wood in it was already too far gone to be lit again. He turned his attention to their guide and pointed to the child. "Are we really going to leave them here alone?"
The young adult shrugged. "I'm sure their father will be back soon."
Carric gritted his teeth. "If they don't die of exposure first." He pulled a torch off the side of his pack, lit it, and threw it in the fireplace. "That'll stay lit for about an hour."
The three of them watched as the child scooted their bed roll closer to the fire.
Lorne gestured towards the open door. "Can we get going now?"
Unhappily, Carric and Ander walked away from the child and through the door.
Lorne lit an oil lantern that hung from a peg on the other side before he closed the door behind them. They'd only gone down the hallway a few meters before it dropped off sharply. A wooden ladder led down in the darkness before it intersected another hallway.
Metal rail tracks and a mine cart awaited them at the bottom. Their guide ushered them into the large cart. Inside, pedals had been constructed near the front. Lorne handed the lantern over to Carric, before stepping on the pedals.
With more than a few grunts and curses, the young adult eventually got the pedals to move, and the cart headed down the rails. Once it got going, it became easier for Lorne to pedal. Their journey was by no means quiet as the wheels squeaked against the metal railing, and the pedals themselves clanked with every movement. They didn't move very fast along the way, but it was faster than if they'd merely been walking.
By Carric's reckoning, they seemed to be doing a loop around the city. At several points along the way, the rail broke off and headed down opposite tunnels. Different symbols were above each tunnel, but it wasn't any language that either Carric or Ander were familiar with.
After about half an hour, Lorne stopped the cart, jumped out, and manually switched the tracks as they came up on another tunnel.
Traffic started to heat up down this new tunnel as other carts joined their rail, and the two railways that appeared next to it. More than once their cart was sideswiped as a new cart barreled down an adjoining track.
"Do you think Headquarters House knows this is all down here?" Ander asked after their third near-miss.
Carric grimaced. "Judging by how bad the traffic is, probably not."
Lorne chuckled. "Oh, they know, they just don't care. Under the city is the domain of The Five District Lords, while Headquarters House is all aboveground."
"What's the point of a city guard if the criminals have just as much power?" Carric asked.
"What's the point of labeling someone a criminal if they have just as much power as the city guard?" Their guide responded. "It's all about perception and manpower. You want peace in a city, you find a balance between the good and bad. In some ways, the criminal network of Marblebrooke does more to unite the cities than politics."
Carric's experiences with the Night-Light Protectorate of Osthom came to mind. In a city where the guards were too busy fighting outside the walls, they had to rely on the criminal underbelly to police itself far too often.
The rest of the ride to the Night Market was silent.
Eventually their cart came to a stop. A small contingent of gnomes descended upon them, gave Lorne a ticket, and proceeded to haul the cart off the rails and towards a parking lot of other mine carts.
The young adult tucked the ticket in a pouch as he led the way under a metal arch. "Come on, Bensin's this way."
To Ander, the term 'Night Market' seemed to be a misnomer. With all of the light sources around them, the market seemed to have been set up in the middle of the day. He also didn't see why this kind of market was in the heart of the criminal underground.
As far as the eye could see were vendors and merchants of all different types, from spices and fabrics, to weapons and furniture. Food stalls with exotic meats and vegetables enticed patrons with samples, while next door vendors offered up hard to find monster parts.
Carric seemed to be having the same doubts. "What makes this market so different from any aboveground?"
"To sell in the city proper, vendors have to pay an exorbitant import tax." Lorne explained. "That tax percentage only goes up depending on certain items." He nodded towards a fabric seller who hawked their spider-silk linens from Nydag. "Anything from another kingdom is all but banned. To have any hope of doing business in Silverbank, the sellers come here."
"Why is the tax so high if it just drives business literally underground?" The half-elf asked.
"It's probably to dissuade all but certain parties." Ander suggested.
Lorne nodded. "Certain merchants can acquire waivers from the Council of Seven that cuts the tax down to a fraction. These merchants then expand their businesses over a large number of areas and gain a monopoly that caters to the rich and powerful of Silverbank."
Ander rolled his eyes. "Those waivers probably cost a pretty penny, don't they?"
Another nod from the young adult. "They may not have their titles anymore, but the nobles of old are still just as prominent as they were before the war." He pointed towards a nearby table, where a one-legged elderly halfling sat with a swath of jewelry on the table next to him. "That's Bensin. Need me to make an introduction?"
Carric shook his head as he patted the youth on the shoulder. "We've got it from here." The ranger led the way towards the old-timer.
As the two of them approached, Bensin gave them a crooked grin. "Hello hello, can I interest you in some fine jewelry?" The old halfling picked up an emerald-set ring and held it out. "This is one of my latest acquisitions, right out of the jewelry box from a dead noblewoman."
Carric lightly pushed the ring aside. "We're not here for jewelry, the Rabble Lord sent us to pick up a package."
The crooked grin disappeared as Bensin suddenly snarled. "You tell the Rabble Lord that he ain't getting it till he pays me what he owes me." The halfling spat on the ground at Carric's feet.
The ranger sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "Listen, we don't have time to get involved with your drama. Just give us the package and we'll be on our way."
Bensin's face went red. "Drama, you think this is about drama. This is about my leg!" The halfling angrily pointed down at their stump of a left leg. "Because I didn't have the money from the Lord, I couldn't pay my gambling debts and they took my leg as collateral. Until I get my leg back, the Lord ain't getting a damn thing from me."
Ander knocked on the table to get the elder's attention. "Who took the leg?"
The elder pointed down the lane. "A weapon's merchant named Ailee."
The younger halfling nodded. "Alright then, don't go anywhere, we'll be back with your leg."
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Bensin rolled his eyes as the duo walked away.
Further down the lane, out of sight of the one-legged jewelry hawker, was quite an expansive tent set-up. Taking up the space of three normal-sized tents, the shop was manned by at least four employees, who all seemed to have at least some degree of orc blood.
In the center was a demo ring where customers could test out a variety of different weapons that the stall had for sale. There were long racks of different types of swords, arrows, bows, polearms, and staffs. Some higher quality stock were held behind glass panes or mounted on the wooden walls, items such as tridents, glaives, and jewel-encrusted hammers.
A tall half-orc woman with a long, dark braid stood in the demo circle, holding a demonstration using a glaive. The boys stood and watched as the woman swung the long, deadly weapon around their person with all the grace of a ballet dancer.
When she finished, Carric caught her attention and waved her over.
She walked over with a wide smile. "Hello, how can I help you?" The woman quickly clocked the two swords at the ranger's waist. "Looking to trade up?"
The half-elf shook his head. "Not tonight, we're actually looking for an Ailee?"
"You've found her, how can I help?" Ailee handed over the glaive to one of the other employees. "If you're not looking to buy, perhaps you have something to sell?"
Ander snapped and brought the tall woman's attention down to him. "We need Bensin's leg."
The smile didn't fall off the woman's face, but it did waver. She bent down and leaned her face closer to the halfling's. "Why in the world would you need that bastard's leg?"
Ander put his hands on his hips. "Because we need something from him, and he won't give it until he has his leg."
Ailee gave a slight chuckle before she stood up. "Unless you've got something that'll cover his debts, you ain't getting the leg."
"How much does he owe?" Carric was almost afraid of the answer.
"200 gold."
Both Carric and Ander couldn't hide the shock from their faces.
The half-orc shrugged. "What can I say, he's a bad card player who doesn't know when to stop."
Carric couldn't stop his eyes from briefly flicking over to Ander, who didn't react at the description.
The halfling sighed heavily and pinched his nose. "Since this seems to be a night for favors, is there any way we could work off the debt enough to get the leg back?"
Ailee crossed her arms and seemed to consider the offer. After a few minutes, she smiled and nodded. "Seeing as how you're already playing the part of gopher, I've got an errand for you. About three rows over there's a human named Nyz who just inherited their father's furniture business a few weeks ago. They also inherited their father's gambling debts, and they are running out of time to pay. Why don't you go on over and see if you can get either coin or collateral, about 500 gold worth out of them?"
The ranger grimaced. "You sure we can't do any sort of manual labor instead?"
Ailee made a show of running her eyes over the lithe forms of the half-elf and halfling, and then comparing them to the orc-blood musculature of her workers.
Carric held up his hands in surrender. "Forget I asked. Said his name was Nyz?"
The half-orc woman nodded, and pointed in the furniture maker's direction.
The duo set out, and after a few wrong turns finally found the furniture maker's tent. By virtue of his goods, the tent set-up was very spacious. Unlike Ailee's, it was manned by a lone human male. He wore a blue robe splattered with dark-colored stains, and his long blonde hair was barely held back in a messy bun.
The two of them had to wait to speak with him, as he was desperately trying to sell a poorly stained nightstand to an elven couple. Carric could tell that the build of the piece was actually quite good, it was just really garish to look at.
After the couple walked away with a final shake of their heads, the forloned young man shook his head, pasted a large smile on his face, and approached his new customers.
"Hi, what can I interest you in today?" He didn't wait for an answer as he drew their attention to an unstained card table. "You two look like the kind of men who like to entertain, and this table will fit into any décor." The smile on the man's face was so large, Carric was genuinely afraid his face would split in two.
"We're not here for a table." The ranger stated.
Nyz's face fell for a moment, but then he saw the weapons on Carric's waist and he perked up. "That's alright, I have much more than just tables." He grabbed Carric's hand and pulled him deeper into the showroom, finally stopping at a cherry-red weapons case. "Perhaps this is more what you had in mind?" He opened the glass-paned doors. "This can hold about four or five longswords comfortably, but with a little modification can be made to hold up to eight shortswords if needed."
Ander cleared his throat, before he reached up and gently closed the doors. "What he meant was we're not here for furniture."
The young man's brow furrowed as the smile began to fall again. "Then, why are you here?"
Carric laid a hand on one of his swords. "Ailee sent us to collect on your father's debt."
The smile fell completely as Nyz's face went pale. "I-I-I don't have the money." He stammered. "I mean, I'm trying, but I'm not the businessman my father was."
"We were sent to either retrieve 500 gold coins, or something worth that much as collateral." The half-elf took a look around him at the various furniture pieces. "Surely you've got something here worth that much."
"Oh several, but Ailee doesn't want any of it!" Nyz threw their hands up in the air before they sat down heavily in a nicely carved rocking chair. "She ambushed me at my uncle's estate sale three weeks ago."
"I thought it was your father that had died?" Ander asked.
Nyz nodded. "My father and uncle died in the same fire that destroyed my father's workshop. My uncle had more business debt than my father, so I was there to help my aunt sell as much as possible." The young man explained. "When Ailee ambushed me, I offered her any of my father's pieces, but she didn't want furniture. She'd heard that my father had an antique dagger from Skonia, and she wanted it."
The halfling's eyes went wide. "Something like that has got to be worth a whole lot more than just 500 gold."
The furniture maker nodded. "It's practically priceless, but had belonged to my grandfather and been passed down to my uncle, not my father. I told her it wasn't mine to give her, but she wouldn't hear of it."
Carric raised a hand. "Why not just sell some of this furniture and pay her back the 500 gold?"
Nyz scoffed. "You saw how good a salesman I am, besides, my father owed money to more than just Ailee. Even if I sell every piece in this stall for asking price, I still wouldn't break even."
"Where's the dagger now?" Ander asked.
"I don't know." He sighed again. "It disappeared during the estate sale. Even if I wanted to give it to her, I can't."
"Maybe your aunt sold it that day?" Carric suggested, but Nyz shook his head.
"She knows how valuable it is. We've tried to talk to everyone who came to the sale that day, to see if any of them had it, but so far nothing." He tucked his hands behind his head. "One of them is here at the market, but I haven't been able to get over and ask."
"Who is it? Maybe we can speak to them and get lucky?" The ranger offered.
Ander cleared his throat. "Carric, can I talk to you?" He jerked his head to the side.
The half-elf rolled his eyes and followed the halfling a few feet away. He knelt down so he was eye-level with his party member. "What?"
"We're here to clear a debt, not be good Samaritans!" The halfling hissed. "I say we shake this guy down for any coin he has on him, take it back to Ailee, and ask for another errand."
Carric raised an eyebrow. "I'd be real surprised if this guy had more than a few gold on him. Listen, you can go back to Ailee, but I'd like to do one good thing today."
Ander's eyes widened. "You don't think that working to free Jun and Iados from a life of slavery counts as a good thing?"
"That's not what I mean, I just meant that right now I feel like a hired thug." Carric shrugged. "Come on, it'll take us ten minutes to track this person down. Who knows, maybe we'll find the dagger."
The halfling folded their arms over their chest. "And if we do find the dagger, do we tell him? You heard him, it's a priceless, family heirloom, and not his to trade. Will we just steal it out from under him and give it to Ailee?"
"Maybe, if it gets our friends out of slavery." Carric countered.
Ander pursed his lips. "What would Elaine say if she were here?"
"We wouldn't even be down here if Elaine was here." The half-elf argued. "She never would have allowed us to be the Rabble Lord's errand dogs."
The halfling's eyebrow went up. "You sure about that? I'm not seeing that we had a whole slew of other options."
Carric's eyes flicked back and forth between the wizard's as he thought about that statement. Finally he tsk'd and hung his head. "Fine, we may still be here, but she'd still at least want us to do at least one good thing." The half-elf stood up and addressed the furniture maker. "Where's this person you wanted to talk to?"
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"This, is too good." There was almost no word to describe how large the grin was on Ander's face, as they stood in front of a large muted red vardo wagon. The words 'Unearthed Troves' were painted in gold on the small door. The wagon sat at the edge of the market, a single green paned lantern hung next to the door.
The halfling tried to push Carric closer to the door. "Well go on, knock."
The half-elf didn't move. "No one seems to be home, or they don't want to be disturbed."
"If it's you doing the knocking, then please, disturb away." A smooth voice said from behind the duo. They turned around and came face-to-face with a familiar dark-skinned man, their long dark hair hidden underneath a dark blue scarf that was wrapped around their neck and shoulders.
Carric smiled at the man. "Hello Chaxelle, long time no see."
"Probably not long enough for you." The bookseller smiled as they laid a hand on their hip. "Now, as much as I'd like to believe you sought me out purely for selfish reasons, I'm not that naïve. What brings you to my doorstep?"
"Were you at an estate sale about three weeks ago?" The ranger asked. "Would have been held by the nephew of a furniture maker."
Chaxelle thought for a minute, then nodded. "I believe so, yes. Why?"
Ander piped up. "The nephew lost an expensive dagger that day, and is looking to get it back."
A dark eyebrow perked up. "And he thinks I took it?"
Carric shook his head. "He doesn't know who took it, he's just wondering if you saw who took it."
Chaxelle began to laugh.
Carric and Ander shared confused faces.
"Did we say something funny?" Ander asked.
"In a way." The man wiped a tear from his eye. "See, thing is, I did take the dagger."
The duo's jaws dropped.
"Why?" Carric asked.
"Because, as it turned out, it was needed to open a rare, magical book that I'd also purchased that day from the aunt. Poor woman didn't understand what she had." Chaxelle shook their head. "I was able to sell the pair for a very nice price."
The half-elf's shoulder's dropped. "So you don't have it anymore."
Chaxelle shook their head. "Not for about a week now. Why did you need it so badly?"
Both Ander and Carric took turns explaining the sequence of events, starting from the bugbear attack, to the meeting with the Rabble Lord, and then the chain of favors that had gotten them to that point.
"Wow, you two have had quite a night." The bookseller said as the tale finally came to end. At one point, he'd moved to lounge on the steps of his wagon, his shirt stretching out over his chest just enough to expose a bit of skin. "So, what do you want from me?"
Carric reached up and scratched the back of his head. "Don't suppose you've got a 500 gold dagger you'd be willing to give up for a good cause?"
Ander lightly slapped his forehead as Chaxelle laughed.
"I take it that's a 'no' then?" The half-elf said dejectedly.
"Carric, what kind of businessman would I be if I just went around giving away things for free?" The bookseller gave another chuckle. "No, I won't give you a dagger, but I can trade you for one."
The halfling's eyes lit up. "What do you want?"
Chaxelle pointed at Carric. "I want a date. Not just a night of pleasure, but an actual date. I want to go to dinner, go dancing, and take a stroll under the midnight moon. I want a night of romance."
Ander ran forward and shook Chaxelle's hand. "Deal."
Carric's eyes widened as he held up his hands. "Woah woah, don't I get a say in this?"
The halfling turned to look at him. "Come on, it's just a date. You've already slept with him, how is this any worse?"
"That's not what I mean." Carric looked helplessly at Chaxelle, who only smiled.
"Don't worry Carric, I'll plan the whole evening. All you have to do is look your best." The bookseller stood up and walked towards the half-elf. "So, what do you say? We have a deal?"
The ranger raged an internal debate for another few seconds, before finally sighing in defeat. "Fine, I'll go on a date with you."
Chaxelle grinned. "Thank you, now wait right here." The bookseller practically skipped over to his vardo and disappeared inside. He was gone only a couple of minutes before he came back out with a sheathed dagger. He approached his date and handed it over. "This should be worth more than enough to cover the debt."
Carric took hold of the dagger, a bit surprised when Chaxelle didn't let go.
The dark-skinned bookseller leaned down and whispered into Carric's ear. "Meet me tomorrow night in front of the hospital." He gently kissed the half-elf's cheek, before he let go of the weapon, and backed off.
The half-elf gulped. "Ok, and thanks."
Ander grabbed the stunned ranger's sleeve and pulled him away. The duo skipped the furniture maker, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news, and instead headed straight for Ailee.
Even though it wasn't the same dagger, the weapon was still enough to interest the half-orc, and they walked away with one metal and leather-wrapped halfling leg.
As they approached the jewelry stand, Bensin cackled in laughter.
"I don't believe it," The old jewelry seller's eyes were wide as Carric handed over the leg. "Did you steal it?"
Ander scoffed. "We negotiated, now where's the package?"
Bensin nodded to under his table. Carric knelt down and lifted up the rough woolen piece of fabric that hung over the side. He spied a large woven basket tucked up near the back of the table, surrounded by a couple of other large crates. As he started to pull it out, not only was it heavier than it seemed to appear but whatever was in it made a sound. When he pulled the blanket from over the top of the contents, his breath hitched.
"What the hell is this?" Carric asked as he looked over the top of the table at the old halfling.
Bensin shrugged. "The Rabble Lord's package. All I know is that I picked it up from a dirty and bloody group three days ago. I don't ask questions, I just act as a middleman."
Ander tried to peer around Carric's shoulder. "What is it?" His eyes widened as he took in the site of a dark-red skinned baby swaddled in a thick blanket.
"Do you know where they got the baby?" Ander asked quietly. He removed part of the blanket and looked more closely at the babe.
The elder scratched underneath his chin. "Heard they took it from an ogre or something that was hiding in the woods. Why do you care? Go on and get out of here with it, thing is loud when it's awake."
Carric was about to say something but was stopped by Ander.
"Thanks for your help, we'll be sure to let the Rabble Lord know how helpful you were." The halfling seemed distracted as he bundled the baby back up, and forced the basket into Carric's arms.
Bensin scoffed and waved them off.
"You ok?" Carric asked as the two of them headed back off towards the mine carts.
"You remember the baby that got stolen from the caravan?" The halfling asked in a whispered voice.
The ranger's eyes widened. Of course he remembered, he had a stripe of white hair that'd never let him forgot. "I thought that baby got eaten?"
The wizard grimaced. "I got a look at the recipe book they'd found, and a lot of it had to do with how to make the food stretch." He gave a shuddering breath. "That baby's missing half an arm and their left leg."
Carric stopped dead in his tracks. He looked down at the sleeping baby in the small basket. "He's too small to remember any of it, right?"
Ander nodded. "Let's see if Lorne knows why the Rabble Lord wants him. If we don't like the answer, I think Jun and Iados will forgive us for going back on our word."
The ranger tightened his grip on the basket and nodded. They continued on their way and eventually ran into Lorne waiting at the main gate.
He whistled as he saw them approach with the basket. "Wow, I did not think you guys were gonna succeed." He held out a hand for the package.
Carric hesitated. "Why does the Rabble Lord want this baby?"
Lorne tilted his head. "If you must know, word got out a while ago about this baby being kidnapped on the road. Seeing as missing babies don't inspire people to travel, the Rabble Lord put the word out to recover it, dead or alive. One of our teams got back to us a week ago stating that they'd found the kid alive, and was sending it back. Happy?"
Carric still hesitated. "What are you going to do with it now?"
Lorne sighed. "Send it home to its parents. We've got eyes on them now. They're on the road to Osthom at the moment."
The two members of M.A. locked eyes, and had a silent conversation, before finally nodding and handing the basket over.
The young adult gently took the basket and perused the contents. Satisfied, he turned his back on the two of them as he inclined his head. "Well come on, let's get the cart back on the tracks and head back to the bar. I'm not allowed to activate the gem till we're back."