“I don’t buy it.”
Skrakch folded his arms across his leather strapped chest as the Ratling stared levelly at the smug Halfling.
“Dunno what you mean, Squeakeroo!” Zach replied nonchalantly. He fumbled in the bottom of a wooden storage chest that had once been hidden under his desk. Thank fuck it was one of the only things that had survived Winnie’s rampage.
He reached into its depths and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. It was one of the more expensive brands out there and Zach had actually been saving it for when they’d finally sorted out the Dragon’s Blood recipe.
His fake Dragon’s Blood was going to sweep the market and he was going to rake it in, so it seemed the perfect reward.
“But does that even matter anymore?”
Zach shook his head and pulled the cork out of the bottle with his teeth. He really didn’t want to pull at that thread. Not now. Not with the others watching his every mood.
If he was going to deal with his suspicions around his vision, he sure as shit wasn’t going to do it under the watchful eyes of the bloody rat.
Zach spat the cork toward the floor, smirking a little as it narrowly missed the Ratling’s left foot.
“I don’t think you saw some cushy death.” Skrakch said, refusing to break eye contact. “In fact, I’d say Meekknuckle was the only one to see something positive, which is a whole other issue.”
Skrakch continued to stare Zach down, obviously looking for some kind of falter or nerves. Zach took a healthy swig of the whiskey, though it tasted like ashes on his tongue.
“You’re not gonna see me sweat, mate!”
“I mean, what the Hells?” Skrakch suddenly pivoted, as he raised his paws to the ceiling in frustration. “I had to see myself die on repeat, and Meek wants to use the Ruby again? Where’s the fairness in that-“
Skrakch cut himself off as he rubbed both hands against his face. “Listen, cards on the table. I can barely remember little flashes of what I saw, but it’s already fading.” He turned to Meekknuckle and Winifred as though he was appealing to them. “Can either of you two remember anything useful?”
Instead of paying attention, Zach simply dipped his bottle of booze back as he necked the drink, flipping his middle finger towards the waiting Ratling.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too much longer before Winifred answered Skrakch’s question, all while still holding Meekknuckle off the ground. The Goblin’s struggling had calmed down but he was still glaring daggers at Zach.
“It’s… already a bit hazy.” The brawler noted with a far-away look in her eyes. “But aye, I can remember wee snippets of it. I was outside the city walls, in the bloody desert.”
“There was something…” Winifred trailed off for a moment, before snapping back to attention and dropping Meekknuckle to the floor in a tangled heap of limbs. “We’re going tae be sent into the desert. And I end up…” The brawler began rubbing at her throat, clearly having said her piece.
“Meek know Ruby show him future. Me was happy. And village is better. So much better!” Meekknuckle crowed as he wobbled to his feet. “Me not remember details, but Meek was… Chief?”
A sudden choking noise brought the attention of the room back to Zacharias, as the Halfling spewed a mouthful of his hooch across the floor. “Bloody Hells, I didn’t realize Artifacts could lie. Or maybe Hob-nuts over here just can’t remember the more sensible bits.”
“Yeah, what stupid man see then?” Meekknuckle demanded, drawing himself up to his full height and puffing his chest out. Winifred was quick to put a hand on Meekknuckle’s shoulder, just in case the urge to hurl himself in the Halfling’s direction overtook him once more.
“Ye need to calm down,” She muttered into Meekknuckle’s ear. “He’s nae worth it.”
Zach, clearly overhearing her, offered a wan smile before going straight back to nonchalance.
“Already said it didn’t I? I died happier than you lot ever even lived.” Zach replied glibly. “How about you then Squeaks, any of your deaths stick out? I notice you’re keeping your furry trap shut while quizzing the rest of us!”
Skrakch glared over at the Halfling for a moment longer, until his shoulders suddenly began to slump. “The Ruby showed me… Fuck, it showed me a lot of Deaths.” He admitted defeatedly.
“I die if I run, I die if I hide, and I die if I… if I do fucking anything.” Skrakch started to mutter, the fur on his body beginning to spike. “I can remember getting out of the bloody city, and I still die.”
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“No matter what I do, who I kill or what I manage to pull off, I’m going to die. That’s my lot in life,” Skrakch continued, “Or so it would seem.”
The silence between the Rogues stretched out for-
“So?” Zacharias let out a cutting laugh, as a sneer stole across his visage. “That damn Rune on your wrist already told you that, you fucking fool.”
“You’re going to die, and the Ruby doesn’t change that. Hells, Winifred is going to get herself crushed like a grape by some ancient Chosen who decides she’s a bit too big for her britches.” He continued, tossing a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the brawler.
“The Goblin is fucked too, you know.” Zach continued, now slurring his words somewhat. “Even if his vision was actually something positive. Fucking think about it, the Goblins are at war with the Iskrin, right?”
“You picked a great time to suddenly be up to date on your politics,” Skrakch muttered sardonically.
“So if that useless sack of piss is the Goblin Chief, the best they have? The main defender of his shitheel of a village?” Zach continued, ignoring the Ratling. “Well then fuck me, it’s only a matter of time until someone comes along and stomps his little paradise into a million pieces and kills ‘em all to boot!”
Zacharias took a swig of his drink, as the other Rogues glared back at him. Not that it seemed to bother the Halfling as he theatrically smacked his lips. “Mmm, damn. This shit is good enough to die for.” He grinned sadistically as he realized what he’d just said. “Aha! Too soon?”
“So what,” Skrakch angrily stomped over to the Halfling, jabbing a claw into the irritating prick’s chest. “You’re trying to say you’ll outlive us all then, you cocky piece of-“
Flicking his wrist, Zach let one of his knives settle into his grasp before pressing the point tight against Skrakch’s throat.
“How about I give you a poke in the chest with somethin’ a little sharper eh?” Leaning closer to the suddenly still Ratling, Zach shot his partner a grim grin. “And I’ll have you know, I’m not saying anything of the sort, Squeaks.”
“We’re thieves, we’re murderers. Every single thing you’ve ever taken from the world has been someone else’s and you think we deserve anything better than a sudden death?”
“How many lives have you plucked short? You think they wouldn’t have panicked like this if they knew it was coming?” Zach pressed the dagger further into the Ratling’s neck, a streak of blood darkening Skrakch’s fur.
“All it takes is one lapse in judgement, one missed step and we’re all dead. Winifred alone could kill us both before we could blink, and she’s just as pathetic as the rest of us.” Zach hissed the words, his scars stretched tight against his skin. “Take this as a lesson you should have learned forever ago, Skrakch. You’re only a second away from death at any time, and three months is more than any of us deserve.”
“Or who knows,” the Thief let out a disarming laugh as he sheathed his knife with a flourish. “Maybe you’ll get your Pact, and live forever. Can’t see a specific future if you never end up croaking.”
Winifred let out a grunt, before nodding her head. “Wee Man has a point for once. Anytime you get into a fight, you should expect a chance to end up with a knife to the gut. And if the Ruby only shows certain types of final moments, who knows. Maybe there’s a world you still make it, eh?”
“Well you certainly picked a time to wax lyrical about our lot in life,” Skrakch said, shaking himself free from Zach’s hold. “It’s a shame you can’t be this effusive or coherent when you’re not getting pissed.”
“Either way,” Skrakch continued, not wanting to dwell on his various untimely demises any longer. “Now that we know what the Ruby does, what the Hells are we going to do with it?”
He looked over at Winifred who shrugged. Zacharias seemed too busy chasing the bottom of his whiskey bottle…
“If I never touch the damned thing again it’ll be too soon,” The Ratling continued. “I say we find ourselves a buyer and get rid.”
“Aye, I know someone who might be able tae help us with that,” Winnie said. “I met her at the Ball, she’d know some rich fool who’d be willing tae part with their money for it.”
“Meek want to see future again!” The Goblin piped up, as he absentmindedly picked at his ear. “Not Meek fault you all saw bad things. Meek loved future!”
“Shut up Meek,” Skrakch snarled. “We’re not keeping a valuable artifact just so you can keep seeing some stupid made up nonsense,” He turned back to Winifred. “I have a contact, the Denmother, I say I fill her in on the situation and see what she has to say. Anything she doesn’t know about these kind of artifacts isn’t worth knowing,”
“If ye think that’s best,” Winifried replied with a shrug. “I’m nae gonna be around for a wee bit,” she added as she pushed herself off the wall she was leaning against. “I’ve got me own quest tae be workin’ on,” She cracked her knuckles on her remaining hand. “Just make sure the Wee Man does nae drink himself tae death? I want my share of all this,” she added, nodding at the door leading further into the warehouse.
“I’m keeping hold off that Ruby, you all go off and do whatever,” Zach said. The Ruby was back in his gloved hand, whiskey bottle still clasped tight in the other.
“No!” Skrakch and Winifred said in unison as Meekknuckle let out a cry of frustration.
“Look at it this way,” Zach continued. “There’s no safer hiding place. No fucker will dare come in here and if they do, my workers have gone through… certain training.”
“I dinnae really want tae agree with the Wee Man twice in one day, but he’s got a point,” Winifred said, letting out a shudder as if going along with the idea actually caused a physical reaction.
“Well then, Meek, you’re staying here. Keep an eye on him,” Skrakch pointed a claw in Zach’s direction. “And no more attacking him, not unless he actually tries to screw us over, get it?”
“Fuckin’ hell Squeaks!” Zach chortled. “You really think that even if I did want to screw all of you over which to be clear, I fuckin’ don’t by the way since I’m sitting in a gold mine here, but if I DID you really think Snotbag could stop me?”
“Maybe not,” Skrakch replied calmly, a smirk twitching on his lips. “But we all know someone who can…”
At that, the warehouse wall opposite of them all suddenly started to move. Zach blinked blearily at it for a moment, looking more confused than scared, as the shifting stone wall morphed into a slightly more compact version of Ornn.
The Golem was still far too large to stand upright within the room, but his body seemed to stretch ominously as Ornn loomed over the lot of them, even dwarving Winifred in size.
“Yeah, alright, you made your fuckin’ point,” Zach muttered moodily as the Golem’s unblinking face stared directly at him.
“Fucking forgot the bloody bugger was even there…”