Viki followed the strange man with ruffled dark hair she had met back in Zor. He was draped in dark clothes with a hood and a cloak that decently obscured his physique. She, too, wore a different attire with an additional cloak that provided her with a hood.
The mysterious man was frustratingly reticent, offering nothing more than a repetitive "follow me," which irked Viki to no end. Pretending to be visitors in the capital, they walked through the main street, leaving her to wonder about their actual goal. The reassuring shape of a knife hidden in her shoe was a constant reminder that bolting was an option.
'Maybe I should have taken Raul with me,' she pondered within the confines of her mind, but she couldn't elaborate on the idea as the man abruptly darted to the side, vanishing into an alley.
"Fuck," she hissed, rushing to follow him.
The main street of Razun was lackluster compared to Blackrock, and the alley she entered was a true shithole, with garbage strewn about and a horrible stench of decay and excrement. Fortunately, the guy hadn't managed to escape. He stood by a wooden door, marked with mud, clearly waiting for her.
'Fucker,' she thought, moving toward him, skillfully navigating sharp pieces of glass and broken bottles scattered on the ground.
"In here," he instructed, pointing at the door.
"What the hell are you doing? I thought you ditched me?" she asked, almost growling at him.
"I saw guards who were about to notice us. It was safer to move before they did," he explained.
"Yeah, right," she snorted, not buying his explanation. "You go first."
The man sighed but opened the door and slid in. She peeked inside before entering. The space was dimly lit, appearing like an abandoned house of sorts. Some light spilled in from the second floor, but it was only enough to outline the corridor and parts of the rooms if she were to close the door.
The man had already moved deeper, turning right, where he vanished.
Hesitating at first, she looked back toward the main street, then back at the interior. "Fuck it," she whispered, entering and closing the door behind herself.
A part of her wished to reach for the knife in her shoe and hide it in the sleeve of her shirt, but when she cautiously emerged from behind the corner, it was too late. The guy awaited her, standing by an open door leading to some kind of basement. There was a glow coming from below, suggesting a light source, but she couldn't discern what it really was.
"We need to go underground and cross a few streets. There are tunnels connecting nearby houses. We will move using them so nobody can see us," he explained, then descended the stairs.
Gritting her teeth, she followed, and when she reached the basement floor, she noticed a torch fixed to the wall, clearly awaiting them. The flame wasn't strong, suggesting it had been burning for a while, and about to go off, but the man didn't care. He took it and began leading her further.
As Viki soon discovered, the nearby buildings were interconnected, creating an underground web spanning the entire area. Eventually, they had to emerge outside, leaving a still-burning torch behind in a proper holder to avoid causing a fire. They went up, entering yet another seemingly abandoned building, then headed down the street. It was mostly empty, but Viki noticed a few people hastily moving around without paying attention to her or the stranger guiding her.
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The next house they entered brought them to another basement, but this one was much better lit, with several candles placed on crates, especially in a prepared area. There was even a table and two chairs in the middle, with a man standing and awaiting them. He had a mane of tangled, brown hair, a bushy beard, and was quite burly.
"Welcome," he said upon noticing her. "You wished to speak, so we can speak. Please sit down," he pointed at the chair as he sat down on the other one. His gaze shifted to the man who brought Viki. "Thank you, Ik."
"My pleasure, boss," the rebel replied as he continued to walk, soon vanishing in one of the corridors leading to different basements.
Viki threw off her hood, revealing her brown, curly hair, and then she sat down, just as she was invited to. "I’m Viki," she introduced herself, "and I believe we can help each other."
She also took a good look around to make sure she remembered the layout of the surrounding space in case she had to run. She spotted several bags of grain behind the crates and barrels with unknown content. One she recognized, though, was a famous brand of wine sold in Blackrock—something she had always wanted to try, as it was usually reserved for the wealthy. The mark on the crate – a crescent moon – was something that remained in her memory.
"Durian. I would say that it is nice to meet you, but we shall see about that. You definitely earned my attention with those weapons and armor. This will do good for our cause," he informed. "Now… Why the meeting?"
"To get to know each other," a smile emerged on her lips, a well-practiced grin of confidence. "We might potentially help one another. I get you see that as well; otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking."
"Yes… We could use your resources, and we see the good work you do. The people are starving while the king feasts, drinks, and lives a life of luxury. With weapons, we could put an end to this. I know that pirates are helping you. With them, we could remove Katyan."
Viki raised her hand to stop him, which earned her a raised eyebrow. "I’m not here to talk about eliminating the king. I’m here to talk about what you can offer us in exchange for our help."
Durian watched her for a moment in silence before taking a deep breath. When he exhaled, he also crossed his arms on his chest, leaning back in the chair. "We have quite a number of men ready to fight. We might not be armed well, but the people are fed up with what is happening here, so they will fight to the bitter end, even for a single ray of hope. For years we’ve been talking about this while we kept stealing food from Katyan. We try to redistribute it to the people, but it’s not easy without risking them finding out. We do what we can. We can move things in and out of the city. We can access the warehouses of the king, even the castle, but if you want our help, you will have to bring us more weapons."
She kept nodding to his words until he went silent, a clear signal that he didn’t have more to add. "I’ll take it back and bring you the deal when we see each other next time," she said as she got up.
"That’s it? I thought we would make a deal today," Durian didn’t even try to hide his surprise. "If not for the fact that we’ve been watching you for a while now and know that you are scheming something, I would think that you came here to spy on us."
"But you know better. I’m just a messenger. The one in charge is back in Zor. I got what I came here for, so now I’m leaving, but I will return. I’ll bring you the deal you want so badly," she smiled at him.
"It’s late. It’s a bad idea to return at night. Stay here, with us. You can return tomorrow," Durian said as he got up from the chair.
"Are you trying to keep me as a hostage?" Viki raised a single eyebrow. Despite the facade, a thought to reach for the knife in her shoe flashed through her mind.
"If I wanted to grab you, I would have done it a long time ago. When you entered the underground for the first time. Now come. We will find you a good place for the night," he said as he turned around and began heading deeper into the basement.
She hesitated, thinking her options through, then sighed, before deciding to follow him.