“Why did I have to buy so many books!? Damnit, if I could have just had some time to sell the ones I don’t need…” Hannah curses as she hastily packs her stuff by lantern light in her cheap room at the inn.
Indigenous Plants of the Western Kingdoms and Their Uses, need to keep this one, at least until we get past the Cantson Republic. How about this one, 101 Scary Stories to Tell by the Fire? That could be nice to keep… No, no, don’t need it, not enough space. Natalie’s Descent into Debauchery…
Hannah blushes as she looks at the red book that took a lot of courage to buy and has been a companion on a few lonely nights already. Blushing, she gingerly packs that one away, hiding it under her undergarments in her suitcase.
I-It was an expensive book. Would be a shame to lose it…
Other books don’t make the cut, regretfully getting set aside on the writing desk for the inn keeper to keep after she leaves. She only takes the essentials. Only books that would be helpful while traveling, though she does take the time to try and force one more book into her case, a fantasy novel that she is halfway through reading and would regret not finishing.
Could she fit just one more? Maybe, if she rearranges some things… Move this there, pack that in just a little tighter? It’s not like she really needs this shirt, when was the last time she even wore it? Maybe she could bring-
A sudden knock at the door causes Hannah to jump, yelping in fright. She calms down when she recognizes the voice at the door.
“Hannah, it's Sam. You ready to go?”
“Ah, just a second!”
Hannah quickly moves over to the door and lets the taller woman in. Sam is clearly on edge and scans the room in a hurry as she moves for the bed. Moving in a rush, Sam takes and closes Hannah’s suitcases before grabbing them both.
“Ah! Hold on, I wasn’t –” She starts to protest.
Sam doesn’t give her the chance, directing the girl to leave the room with a wave of her arm.
“No time. We need to leave, now.”
“Why, what happened?”
“We’re being watched. Jakub spotted some people tailing us. Professionals. If we weren’t already expecting them, we wouldn’t have noticed them at all.”
Hannah gives one last regretful look at her room where she had been living for the past three months, some of her stuff still scattered about. Yet again, she is leaving part of her life behind her…
She quickly follows Sam, heading down the hall and to the stairs that leads down towards the inn’s tavern.
“Is it that Noble girl? Is she going to try and kill us because we helped Bug?”
“Probably. You know how Nobles are.” Sam answers quickly as she checks her corners, stopping before entering the tavern.
Peeking around the corner, she curses. “Shit, one of them is here. Follow me, were going out the back.
“Where is Max and Jakub?” Hannah asks as Sam leads her back up the stairs in a hurry.
“South gate, went to see if they can hire a carriage or get us a spot escorting a caravan in the morning.”
“Why not the east gate, I thought we were-“
“They’ll be expecting us there.” Sam says quickly before kicking the door to someone’s room open and storming in.
Hannah quickly follows, trying her best to ignore the panicked couple that was in the middle of having some fun, the woman desperately covering herself in a blanket. When the guy gets up to start shouting at them, Sam just shoves him back onto the bed, ignoring him completely as she opens the window and tosses Hannah’s suitcases out.
Sam goes out next, jumping out the second story window without a care as Hannah rush forward to look outside.
“Jump down, I’ll catch you!”
“Right! Oh, uh, sorry for intruding!”
A quick apology to the couple and Hannah is then awkwardly climbing out of the window, squatting on the sill before taking a leap of faith.
Sam catches her with ease, hardly even grunting at her weight landing in her arms before setting her back on her feet.
“Grab your stuff, I need my hands free in case I need to fight.”
Quickly grabbing her two suitcases, Hannah moves to catch up with Sam who is already clearing the alleyway, following her as quick as she can.
Thankfully, Hannah’s cheap inn was located on the southwestern section of the city, in the poorer area of the merchants district. Being closer to the ports and the warehouses, it comes with the prevalent smell of fish in the air, but the prices are cheaper. With the money she makes working as a guide, she could have afforded someplace better, but she wanted to keep her money for other investments. Mainly more books...
Still, this choice ended up being a useful one as it places her closer to their destination.
Running through alleyways and avoiding homeless people sleeping in their path, Hannah and Sam make their way for the gate. A couple of shady types consider accosting them on the way, but quickly change their mind when they notice that Sam looks like she could crush their windpipes with one hand and is clearly in a hurry to get somewhere. They remain in the shadows and let the two pass by without any trouble.
While the alleys are dark, the moon is thankfully bright and full in the sky tonight, providing enough light for them to navigate without needing to bother with carrying a torch or a lantern. Not that Hannah even has a hand free to hold one, what with most of all her belongings being held in her suitcases. Sam herself only has the single bag on her back, the same one that she carries with her into the Dungeon.
The run though the city a long and winded one, with Hannah breathing heavily as she follows Sam’s back, the only time they stop being when Sam is checking corners to ensure that they aren’t about to run face first into an ambush.
But they never do. They make their way through the city and eventually near the gate, finding Jakub waiting outside a building, standing just under the lit lantern and a sign listing the building as the registration area for carriage rentals, in association with the Adventurers Guild and Merchants Guild. The building also acts as the gathering point for caravans and is where adventurers would go when looking for escort jobs heading south. Similar buildings can be found at the north and eastern gates, with one also being at the dock, for those looking to travel by sea.
As they approach, Jakub waves them over, beaconing for them to hurry. Stopping under the light of the lantern, Hannah practically drops her suitcase as she is trying to catch her breath, holding herself up by her knees and dripping with sweat.
“I hate running!” She complains, but the others two aren’t paying attention to her.
“Where’s Max?”
“Inside, trying to get us a contract. Were you two followed?”
“I don’t know, they tailed me to Hannah’s inn, but we might have lost them. Went out the back and avoided any major roads.”
“Good. If Max can get us a job, we’ll be staying here for the rest of the night and leaving first thing in the morning.”
“You can’t get the guards to open the gate?”
“No, they wouldn’t even take a bribe. Gates stay shut at night, no exceptions.”
“Damn guards, actually doing their jobs…” Sam grumbles.
“Mhm, let's get inside and wait. Max shouldn’t be too much lo-”
Jakub doesn’t finish his sentence as he suddenly looks over, reaching over to grab Hannah and pull her towards the building’s wall and behind him.
“Wha-what!?”
“Stay behind us.”
Looking past them in a hurry, Hannah finds two people walking down the road, heading towards them at a calm pace. With her enhanced eyes she is quickly able to see their faces, lit by the lantern held by the taller of the two.
“It’s the Noble girl and her maid.” Hannah tells the others in a whisper.
"Shit..."
It doesn’t take long for the two to get close enough for the others to clearly see, Catherine still wearing her Noble’s smile on her face as her maid stands respectfully beside her, holding the lantern for the two of them.
“Hello, what a strange place to be running into each other again. Might I ask what is you are doing here?” Catherine asks politely, her smile not breaking for a second.
Jakub gives a slight bow, not removing his eyes from the two for even a second. “Milady, we are just looking to get ourselves some employment. What with the Dungeon being closed and all, of course.”
“Is that so? Already looking to earn some more coin just after the payday you had in the Dungeon? What was it? Six rolls of Maneater Trapdoor Spider silk, two dozen jars of Giant Bee honey, an assortment of mid to high quality medicinal herbs, parts carved from several valuable species of monsters ranging from Bird of Paradise feathers to even parts from a tenth floor Queen Bee. A notable lack of Mana Crystals however, but you still managed to make a tidy profit, no? Why would you be looking for more work already?”
Jakub forces a smile on his face.
“Haha, well we didn’t get to keep any of the mana crystals because the Gremlin took them all. As for our need for money, would you believe that we drank it all away?”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, you should see Hannah here when she gets going. She has a real problem.”
“Uh… Uh, yeah, serious drinking problem! I should really get some help…”
Sam agrees with her, “Ya, Hannah, go get help.”
Sam moves slightly, clearly a path for Hannah to head for the door, her arm already moving slightly so that she can go for her battleaxe on her back.
Catherine drops her act, her smile falling from her face into a little frown.
“Now, now, there won’t be any of that. I want to talk to our guide here. Hannah, please be a dear and come over here. I just want to ask you some questions. I would be remorse if you were to leave before I can learn what it is you are hiding.”
Hannah stops, mid step towards the door, panicking as she debates what to do. If she runs away, she has no doubts that this girl will try to hunt her down. But if she does as she says, and she learns that Hannah and Bug are friends. She might try to use her as a way to harm Bug. Or she may even just kill her outright for it. Torture before death isn’t even off the table. Hannah has heard the dark stories that people tell about Nobles, about the fates that befall those who anger them. Even worse than death, Hannah wouldn’t even be surprised if she ends up getting sold in slavery as some Noble’s pet.
Even if slavery is illegal in most countries nowadays, Hannah isn’t so fullish as to believe that it doesn’t still happen in the shadows.
Sam speaks over her shoulder, “Hannah, go inside and get Max, now.”
“Mhm” She quickly nods and goes for the door, her luggage forgotten on the floor. If she has to choose between a life of running away, and whatever this girl has planned for her, then it is an easy enough choice. One that Sam and Jakub are clearly also making. Regardless of their personal feelings for Bug being different than Hannah’s, it doesn’t change the fact that this girl clearly sees them all as accomplices to her enemy. Their fate is tied to Hannah's now and they know it.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Sprinting for the door, adrenaline pumping through her tired legs, Hannah doesn’t even stop as the cling of metal sounds out not too far from her, Sam having moved to block a throwing knife aimed for Hannah’s leg.
Jakub is already moving before Hannah can slam the door shut behind her, daggers held in both hands as he goes for the maid who had just thrown a knife hidden in her sleeve.
The maid moves forward, stepping in front of Catherine to meet Jakub as he swings out with both daggers. Getting low, she dodges under the twin blades, rotating on one foot as she spins and her long skirt flows out around her. With a quick strike, she goes to jab him in the throat with her fingers, forcing Jakub to reel back quickly and lash out at her with one his blades.
The maid easily side steps the attack and keeps on the assault, attacking with her bare hands and forcing Jakub to backpedal away from her as she keeps herself firmly inside of his guard, throwing out strike after strike that he continues to desperately dodge by an inch, each strike aiming to disable him with one blow.
Sam roars and charges for Catherine, the girl already halfway through an incantation, a sphere of gathering water on her palm as she draws her mace from her belt.
“- and pierce my enemies. Water Spear!”
A spear of water explodes from Catherine’s hand, speeding towards Sam’s mid-section faster than an arrow.
Sam curses and uses the flat of her battle axe to block the blow, grunting as the water explodes against metal and pushes her back a good few inches. A quick look at her axe shows her that one of the heads is now dented in slightly, giving her a good idea of just how strong Catherine's magic is.
She quickly calls out to Jakub. “Can’t pierce metal! Leather is probably no good, don’t let her hit you!”
Sam doesn’t stop moving forward to charge at the girl, barreling down the street. If she can just capture the girl, she can put a stop to the fight. Killing her is out of the question though. Forget being wanted criminals, they would have the Raingardens hunting their heads for the rest of their lives.
Jakub yells for Sam to duck and she does so without question, another throwing knife passing over her head not even a second later.
“Waves on land, currents pulling on legs, become a mire and slow my enemies. Water Field!”
Catherine finishes her spell and launches a ball of water into the ground at her feet, before raising her hand up into the air like she is lifting a great weight. In response to her call, water is pulled out of thin air and the very ground until the street is suddenly flooded with water up to Sam’s thighs, the currents all pushing away from Catherine and against Sam’s legs as the giant woman tries to push forward.
Off to the side, the maid has jumped up onto a nearby fence, standing on the narrow foothold with perfect balance as she continues to throw knives at Jakub who is jumping from the back of parked carriage to carriage, daggers flashing out as he is forced to occasionally block one or two of them. Even when he throws his own back at the maid, she simply dodges them by shifting her body slightly to the side, letting them fly past her by a hair’s breadth, her movements not hampered in the slightest despite balancing on a narrow fence.
“The Guild isn’t going to be happy with you after this!” Jakub yells as Catherine is casting another spell, forcing an already soaked Sam to dodge to the side.
Catherine angrily responds. “It doesn’t matter. Besides, you were already leaving the city! The Guild Master won’t even know this happened. And even if I get caught, the worst I’ll get is a slap on the wrist! I know that you are hiding something, now tell me what it is!”
As Sam is fighting to get back up on her feet from the raging currents, Catherine rushes forward, her own water parting before her to let her move unhindered, mace held at the ready to bludgeon Sam over the head and another spell forming in her hand as she quickly incants.
Jakub wants to rush and help her, considering throwing a knife at the girl, but he can’t risk actually harming her. And besides, he is far too busy fighting for his own life right now. In the split second that he had taken his eyes off of the maid, she had already jumped up and onto the carriage, clearing a distance that even most adventurers would find impossible from nothing but a standing jump. Before he knows it, he is blocking a dagger mere inches in front of his face, the maid's long skirt still billowing in the wind and exposing her legs as she lands.
It isn’t the pure white stockings or the garter that draws his attention to the contents of her skirt though, but the excessive number of knives, daggers, and other tools that are sheaved to her thighs and the inside of her skirt. How the woman can move so quietly when she is carrying around so much metal is beyond Jakub.
A kick sends him flying back and off of the carriage, splashing in the turning waters on the street bellow just as Sam is blocking a blow from the girl’s mace and throwing herself to the side again to dodge another water spear that blasts into the street’s cobblestone.
As he is pulling himself out of the water, taking a gasping breath of air, Jakub can see the maid above him, readying to throw a couple more knives his way. Behind him a fair distance, Sam is fending off a series of blows from a mace's head against her axe as she fights to get back onto her feet again, raging currents of water constantly slamming into her from all sides and trying to knock her off balance.
“I’m used to fighting people bigger than me! After all the training Lyose gave me, fighting a brute like you is easy!” Catherine taunts as her mace slams down again and again.
“Cheating mages and your damn magic!” Sam roars back in return.
Another quickly chanted spell has Sam reeling back her guard as water blasts against her weapon, Catherine raising her mace to bring down on Sam’s head.
“ShweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEE!”
A loud, piercing whistle cuts through the air and grabs everyone's attention, forcing them to all come to a stop. Catherine mid swing, Sam prepared to return the blow with her axe despite her awkward position, ready to take the girl with her. Jakub was just about to pop a smoke bomb, one of the few he bought with his earnings, and Zenith had already halted her attack before the whistle even rang out, her eyes already on its source.
Everyone else looks over and finds a Kobold in a business suit, standing above the water on the steps leading into the building. Max and Hannah are standing behind the little furred figure, looking worried and about half ready to join the fight themselves.
Catherine curses to herself, though not out loud as that wouldn’t be very lady like of her. A Kobold is probably the worst thing she could be seeing right now.
“Might I ask that you get rid of all this water, Miss Raingarden.” The Kobold requests simply, looking as if having a battle on his doorstep is hardly worth his attention. If anything, he is more worried about wetting his suit and fur. She doesn’t even question how it is that he would already know her name. He’s a Kobold after all, and it only makes sense that he would have the names and faces of every Noble in the city memorized.
“These adventurers have information that I want. Please, hand them over to me so I can-!”
The Kobold interrupts, something that no one but high-ranking Nobility and Royalty would ever dare to do.
“I’m afraid that I cannot do that, Miss Raingarden. I have just hired these adventurers as part of my escort and as of such, they are under my employment until such time as their contract expires. I respectfully ask again that you get rid of this water.”
Catherine cuts her control over the spell, finally allowing gravity to take control and let the water flow into the sewers through the storm drains. She has to fight back the urge to slump forward as the mana expenditures for maintain such a large spell finally hits her. She can't let herself look weak.
“Please sir, I ask that you at least give me that girl! She knows-”
Again, he interrupts, wounding Catherine’s pride, but she knows that she can’t do anything about it.
“I apologize, Miss Raingarden, but as I have clearly stated, these people are now my employees, including the girl. As guards and employees of the BlueFang Trading Group, under the mother company of SilverScale and her affiliates, they are protected until such time as their contracts are finished or they are let go. If you continue to attempt in bringing harm against our hired guards, having now learned of their employment, you, as the representing party of the Raingarden estate, will be guilty of infringing upon contracts and treaties signed between your family and own partners.”
“Please-”
“I am willing to forgive you attacking my employees up to this point, as you had not been aware of their employment until just now, but if this continues, I will be forced to seek legal action.” The Kobold speaks over her final attempt to protest.
Catherine grits her teeth as she looks away from the Kobold and towards Hannah who is hiding behind his back, her grip on her mace tightening as her nails sink into its leather grip.
“I, understand…” Catherine says with a heavy heart after forcing out a breath, trying to calm her nerves.
Sam and Jakub quickly pull themselves up off the ground and move towards their companions as Catherine takes a step back and returns her mace to her belt. Without anyone seeing it happen; Zenith is already back at her place behind and slightly to the side of her master’s back.
Quickly getting her emotions under control, Catherine slaps a smile back on her face and curtsies to the Kobold.
“I apologize for my unsightly behavior, sir.”
The Kobold returns her curtsy with a bow of his head.
“It is water under the bridge, Miss Raingarden. Now, if you will excuse me, I still have much paperwork that needs to be finished before the morning. Come along, employees.”
Before the Kobold can turn to leave, Catherine quickly asks, “Please wait! Might I ask where it is that your caravan is heading?”
The Kobold returns his attention to her, “No, that is a secret.”
“Then at least tell me why it is that you hired these adventurers, please sir.”
The Kobold lets out a little sigh, which would normally be adorable if most people weren’t usually scared shitless by these little furballs.
“Hah… Very well. We have received orders from on high to abandon all operations in this city. We need the extra hands to move and protect all of our goods in a hurry, regardless of who is applying. We had slots to fill, and they fit the basic requirements for employment. That is all. Any other questions, Miss Raingarden?”
“You’re... you are leaving the city?” Catherine asks with a look of shock on her face.
“Yes, we know that the destruction of a Dungeon isn’t a normal occurrence for you humans, but we have seen it happen enough times through the years to know better than to be anywhere near it when it does happen. While staying here could be good for business in the short term, as your people have an odd tendency to send more people toward events like this, we aren’t willing to risk valuable assets to suddenly being devoured by the earth. Especially if the Undead and other potential plagues are involved. It’s simply bad for business.”
“But you have no guarantee that the Dungeon will be destroyed, our people will surely kill the Necromancer. Please, just give us time!” Catherine begs as she takes a desperate step forward.
“Miss Raingarden. Ask yourself this. Do you truly think that you humans can prevent this from happening?”
Catherine doesn’t respond. She already knows the answer and she can see that he clearly does as well. The Kobold gives her their species' best approximation of a smile, which is just him showing a mouth full of canines like a snarling dog, and then gives her another short bow.
“Have a good rest of the night, Miss Raingarden.”
Before entering the building again, the Kobold gives Sam and Jakub a look before casually waving his hand, a silver ring with a sapphire, one of several such rings on his little clawed fingers, glowing for a second before all the water is suddenly pulled off their bodies and out of their clothes and even Hannah's poor flooded suitcases. The resulting sphere of water is tossed into the garden to water the already drenched roses.
“Come along employees. We still have far too many crates that need to be loaded. I want us ready to go before the gates open in the morning.”
The last words Catherine can hear is Max profusely thanking the Kobold as they walk into the building.
“Yes sir, I swear that you won’t regret hiring us! A chance to work with such an illustrious trading company is-“
Sam closes the door as Hannah gives one last nervous look towards the Noble girl from behind the large woman’s back, cutting off the rest of the conversation from being heard. But more importantly, cutting off Catherine’s access to The Green Scarves and their guide. They are firmly beyond her grasp now and will be gone by morning.
All Catherine can do is turn and walk away as she boils in her anger and defeat, feeling exhausted from having just expended so much mana in a wasted fight. Not only had her only lead just escape her, but she just learned that the Kobolds are abandoning Silest.
The largest economic power in the entire world has just written off Silest as a lost investment. With the closure of the Dungeon and the Kobolds pulling out, Catherine can already predict how quickly Silest’s economy is going to collapse. Now, even if the Dungeon were to somehow be saved, this city is doomed to suffer a blow that will cripple it for decades…
----------------------------------------
***
An excerpt from the bestselling book, A History of the Great Kobold Empire, by Dr. Andrew Venct, on the subject of antagonizing the Kobolds, found on page 7 as prelude before Chapter 1, a warning by the author to the reader:
***
* Do not antagonize the Kobolds. *
Dear readers,
Regardless of your personal views on nonhuman races, the Kobolds undeniably stand above all others. This is not due to their individual strength or even magical might, which is typically on the lower side, but because they are some of the shrewdest and most talented of merchants, investors, and lawyers of any race in the world. Quite simply, the Kobolds control almost every facet of the world’s economy, trade, and are the cornerstone example of established law in most civilized nations. But more than this, they do not take challenges lightly. If a ship sails the seas and bares the flag of one of their companies, no pirate will risk their ire. If a caravan carries their badge, know that only the most desperate and stupid of bandits will risk robbing them.
Any action that is taken against merchants associated with the Kobolds and the SilverScale, will be met with legal action and, potentially, armed forces if deemed necessary. As the richest Business Empire in the world, they effectively hold infinite funds and will spare no expense to see any and all offences against their people and their Empire properly and thoroughly delt with.
Throughout history, the Kobolds have been personally responsible for the rise and fall of more nations than any other governing body in the world. Without their support, entire nations are doomed to fall, and with it, nations will rise to prosperity. The Kobolds hold the Silver Scale of all trade and business in their hands, and they have the power to adjust it as they see fit.
Normally, so much power being held by a single nation would be considered unacceptable by the rest of the world. For any other nation, their neighbors would bring war and ruin to tear down their walls and plunder their vaults.
This will, quite simply, never happen to the Kobolds.
One may believe that it is due to their massive wealth that they cannot fall, that they can simply throw money at any problem that comes their way. While this is mostly true, what with their ability to hire and field massive armies of mercenaries at the snap of a finger, it is not the whole story as to why their Great Empire is one of the oldest still standing nations in the world.
The real reason is that the Great Kobold Empire, or more accurately, their Empress, is the only force alive on this planet that can freely call upon the wrath of the Demons to smite their enemies. And worse yet, that of the Demon Queen. Not even the Church of the Goddess, despite its own immense power and influence, can hope to strike against the Kobolds without suffering the consequences. A lesson that was learned when the then Pope of the Church of the Goddess, in the year 2087 by the Calander of Laifer’an, had called for a holy war against the Kobolds for the sin of being nonhumans.
The entire city of Ballast, the Church’s then center of leadership, was wiped off the map the following day, leaving nothing but a crater in the ground that remains untouched to this day, the eviscerated corpse of the then Pope and his crown being the only evidence left of the site’s existence. His name has since then been wiped from history by the Church as a way of distancing themselves from his mistake, with the Kobolds being officially recognized as ‘fellow humans’ by the Church. A recognition that is only vaguely shared with the Hobbits, Dwarfs, and the Giants due to these races’ human-like appearance.
Dear readers, if you are to learn anything from reading this book, it should be this. The Kobolds' only equal in this world is the Demons, and neither are to be trifled with. Be you peasant, king, or even god, do not antagonize the Kobolds. For doing so is the same as stepping on a Demon’s tail.