Alright, I’ll admit it. We slept in a little. Given the security provided by people all around us and a door that we could bar, we were able to let our guard down in a way we hadn’t for quite a long time. Moving up and down the mountain, mining gold, standing guard, all of this was a recipe for sleep deprivation and exhaustion. We didn’t want to make Bowen uncomfortable, but sometime during the night Aleyda had snuggled up to me and I awoke spooning her with my arm draped over her. Bowen was already awake working on cleaning some of his gear. He didn’t say anything to me about our sleeping position, acting like it was no big deal. It probably wasn’t to him. He had seen this coming long before I had.

Since Aleyda was still sleeping, I quietly got up and looked out the window. I noticed that the sun was already high up in the sky. It was already late morning and I really needed to relieve myself. This place hadn’t even provided us with a chamber pot, so to do so I would need to leave the room and go to a public facility at the end of the hall. I didn’t want to wake Aleyda, though. She looked so innocent and so beautiful lying there snoozing away. Obviously, looks could be deceiving.

I sat there, growing increasingly fidgety, until she finally woke up maybe twenty minutes later. Then, I bolted out the room and ran down the hall. I barely made it. After doing my business and returning to the room, it was time to have a conversation about our next steps.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Bowen asked.

“I want to sell a little of the gold so we have some spending money,” I said. “The site looked pretty well guarded, even at night. I don’t think we can fight our way in and out, at least not without waking up the whole down and having several army units charging towards us in response. We are going to have to go with a more stealthy approach. Maybe with enough money, we can bribe some of the soldiers to look the other way? I’m not exactly sure how we are going to get this done, but we are going to get this done.”

“We definitely need to see what the place looks like during the day,” Aleyda said. “Maybe you can make your way in during broad daylight and do the deed.”

“That would be great if it could happen that way,” I said. “The problem is, how would I ever get away in broad daylight?”

“Well, you probably wouldn’t,” Bowen said with a little chuckle. “But sometimes sacrifices must be made for the good of the cause.”

“You can go screw yourself,” I replied, realizing that he was not actually serious. “You lot would be lost without me.”

“Sometimes I feel lost with you,” Bowen responded. “Really, most of the time.”

“Well, we aren’t learning anything sitting in here,” I said. “Let’s go see what we can see. Also, maybe we can find some warm food for a change.”

We left the room. There were only a couple of patrons in the tavern area when we passed, getting their day drinking on. I knew there was an assayer somewhere here in town. Tikter had mentioned him previously. I just had no idea where he set up shop. We wandered aimlessly for awhile but didn’t have any luck finding him. I thought it would paint a bullseye on our backs if we asked random people for directions to the guy who tested, bought and sold precious metals. That would make people very curious about what we found and what we were carrying. We didn’t need that degree of scrutiny.

Finally, we were wandering past the blacksmith where I had purchased the tools previously for the second time that morning. Maybe I could ask for directions there. The amount of money that I spent might have left him with a favorable impression of me. Then again, maybe it didn’t.

I walked in and saw him working at an anvil, pounding metal into some sort of shape. I couldn’t determine what he was making, though. Maybe it was a replacement part for one of the nautical doodads on one of the ships.

We stood quietly and watched him work until he plunged the item into a quenching barrel sending up a righteous plume of steam. Then, he turned to me.

“Ah, are you here for more tools?” he asked. “Did you already lose the ones I sold you?”

“No, they’re back at our room,” I lied. “We’re back in town to resupply. We found a little gold but not a whole lot. I was wondering if you knew where the assayer is located? We have been wandering around and can’t seem to find him.”

“He left last week,” the orc replied. “He told me business wasn’t very good here and he could make more money elsewhere.”

Well, that was fucking fantastic.

“Let me see what you have, though,” he said. “I might buy it from you.”

Even though I knew we were about to be taken, some money was better than no money. I dug into my pouch and pulled the gold out we had fished out of the stream. I hadn’t brought a whole lot of it, probably less than a thousand gold coins worth at fair market value. I didn’t think we were going to get anything close to that, though.

He took a small chunk of it and then dropped it into a stout metal container. He heated it at his forge and soon there was a small amount of molten gold merrily bubbling away.

“That’s gold alright,” he said. “Where did you find it?”

“Surprisingly, we found it in the stream by our campsite,” I said. “This was about all we could dredge up, although I am certain that there is more there.” Of course I was certain. I put more there last night.

“And where is this campsite,” he asked.

“Now, why would I tell you that?” I inquired.

“Because I will give you a much better deal on what you have to sell,” he said.

“How much better,” I asked.

“I was going to offer you five hundred gold coins for all of this,” he said. “If you tell me where you found it, I will give you seven hundred.”

“Seven fifty,” I countered.

He quickly agreed, so I gave him precise directions to our former campsite. I told him it was currently unoccupied because everyone was ranging up the mountain trying to make one last big score before we set sail for civilization. He swept the raw gold into a bag and placed it in a stout, locked chest, and returned with our payment.

“Now, why don’t you give me the chance to earn some of that money back,” he said.

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“Thanks, but we don’t need anything right now,” I replied. “When we do, though, you will be the first that we call on.”

“Fair enough,” he said.

As we were leaving, he was already giving directions to the campsite to a pair of his employees. I heard him telling them to come back with gold or not at all. He was about to be mightily disappointed. Even if they managed to acquire every flake of gold that I left in that stream, I doubted he would make his extra two hundred and fifty coins back.

We quickly returned to our room and distributed the gold equally among us. Then, we headed back out to take a look at the portal.

When we got there, casually walking past, the site was a beehive of activity. There were several orcs and one human dressed in robes directing the whole show. They must have been the mages responsible for the construction. Also present were even more guards and the workers themselves, numbering about a dozen. I instantly knew there was no way we could get this done during the day. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and I doubt they would let a stranger wander in carrying an odd cask, much less allow that person to light a fuse on fire and make their escape.

Since they were constructing the portal in a wide and cleared area in the center of town, there were businesses surrounding the work site. I had no idea why they had decided to build it here. If they had placed it behind the sturdy walls of their fort, this would be over before it started. I guess they decided having a civilian infrastructure on the island was important and that they didn’t want to have too many eyes on the layout and defenses of their fort. Given they were about to go to war, I guess I could understand that. But placing things out here in a vulnerable position, that seemed really short sighted to me.

Several of the businesses were bars and taverns. We wandered around the area like we were browsing at the shops or trying to find a place to eat, which we were in fact. On the far side of the square was a busy establishment with tables facing the work site. One of those tables was empty. I hoped they served food but I needed that table more. From it, we could watch what was going on all day long and nobody would notice.

We hurried in that direction and were greeted by one of the ugliest kobolds I had ever seen. That was saying something, as the kobold race as a whole was not not very comely.

“Are you here for lunch,” he hissed.

“That and someplace to drink away the day,” I replied.

“Well, this is the place for you,” he said. He started leading us to the back but I stopped him and asked him if we could have the table up front, slipping him a couple of gold pieces. He was suddenly overjoyed to accommodate us.

After we were seated, I ordered some of everything on the menu. We had been without hot food for so long and I was ready to stuff myself until I was insensate. There were roasts and stews, soups and warm bread. Seafood featured prominently in their offerings and although I didn’t love eating fish I was hungry enough not to care. After everything was rolled out, to the tune of almost thirty gold, we all dug in. Hunger is, indeed, the finest sauce. It was one of the best meals I could ever remember eating, even though it was also simultaneously probably one of the worst meals that I had ever eaten.

We sat there for the rest of the afternoon nursing various drinks, most of which were quite disgusting. No matter how much I studied the work site, I could not see any way I could get things done during the day. The kobold never asked us to vacate the table. I guess that given the amount of money we were spending he thought we had earned the right to sit there.

The afternoon passed and work at the site concluded. I watched as the night guards marched in and the workers quit for the evening. One of the orc mages must have been thirsty because he headed towards our establishment. Orc mage, that was not something anyone I knew had ever played in our games back home. I had spent enough time here to know that orcs were just like humans. Some had surprising amounts of intelligence and others better fit the fantasy stereotype. The orc entered the establishment and bellied up at the bar. I moved seats so I could surreptitiously watch him, making some excuse that the sun was in my eyes. He seemed intent on getting drunk. In the short time that I watched him, he had already downed two mugs of something.

I needed to make a move. I needed to engage him in conversation and study him to learn to copy his voice and mannerisms. He was my ticket past the guards. Surely, they would buy some bullshit excuse about inspecting the site or preparing for the next day’s work.

I got up and moved over to the bar. There was room on either side of him. Apparently,. Nobody wanted to accidentally offend him and get turned into a newt or something. I stepped to his left like I was going to order another round of drinks, which I did. He didn’t notice me at first, far more intent on seeing the bottom of his mug.

“Your construction project is fascinating,” I said to him in a purposefully slurred voice trying to get his attention.

Turning to me, he replied. “Yes, it is a complex piece of work that is the height of magic.”

“Anything that helps us beat those bastards from Gremmans,” I said. “This is our island and they can’t just come and boot us off of it.”

“Quite right,” he said, obviously ready to dismiss me and get back to his drinking.

“A hero like you should be rewarded,” I said. “You are doing more for us than all the soldiers put together. My friends and I sold a slave recently and came into some money. Why don’t you come drink with us. I’m buying. Even getting the chance to associate with someone as prominent as you will be something I can tell my grandchildren.”

He sat silently for a moment and I thought I had lost him. Finally, though, he looked at me again.

“You’re buying?” he asked.

“As much as you want to drink tonight,” I replied.

“I suppose that I could spare a few minutes of my time,” he allowed.

I led him back to our table and introduced him to Bowen and Aleyda, letting him know that neither could speak the language very well.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“I’m Billy Bob Thornton,” I said, spitting out the first name that came to mind, hoping that the two others wouldn’t blow my cover. “And what’s yours?”

“Mage Crothu,” he replied.

“Well, Mage Crothu, let’s order another couple of rounds while you tell us all about yourself.”

I’ll admit it. A part of me felt bad leading him on the way I was. At best, I was going to cost the orc his career. At worst, I might cost him his life.

The evening passed quickly. Crothu was actually a fairly smart guy. He was well read and getting him wound up to expound on any number of topics was quite easy, especially after he got drunk. Wow, could that guy ever drink. For every drink one of us had, which was not that many, he would put down two or three. For awhile, I despaired because it seemed like the alcohol wasn’t having much of an effect. Maybe he was using magic to deal with the alcohol? But over time, his voice started getting louder and his speech more slurred and broken. I was glad we sold the gold because otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to afford hosting him.

As the night wound down and fewer and fewer people occupied the establishment, he went from relatively sober to shit hammered drunk. Finally, he decided that he had enough.

“I need to get back to my quarters,” he said. “Tomorrow is another work day. Thank you for all the drinks, my new friends. I hope you have good luck here on the island Billy Bob. What a strange name.”

“Do you need help getting back home?” I asked.

“No, I have done this many times and it is not far,” he said. Then, he stood and went staggering out into the night.

I settled up with the proprietor and we headed back to our room. Once we were there, I used the ring to mimic Mage Crothu’s appearance.

“Does this look right?” I asked.

After adjusting a few things that the others suggested, I reverted my appearance to my own. Then, I walked over to the cask of black powder and hefted it.

“I am off to do the deed,” I said. “Staying here in town would be a mistake. When we head back to the ship, I am going to have to disguise myself somehow, or head in by myself and join you all there. I’ll meet you on the main trail where it intersects the path to our former camp.”

“Be careful Billy Bob,” Aleyda said, kissing me on the lips. “We have unfinished business.”

“I’ll do my best,” I replied.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Bowen said.