Chapter Twelve

Shuka was sitting in a very comfortable pile of pillows drinking a warm cup of tea. All in all, it was the highlight of her day, although it hardly made up for how shitty the rest of it was. Still, it was nice to have a quiet moment to relax.

I want this moment to last forever but any minute now Anirak is going to get back and give me a new crime to commit. I will have to go back to the inn and have a conversation with Xorvos eventually too.

Shuka took another sip of tea to distract herself from her more negative thoughts. The distraction didn’t help for long though as Anirak came climbing over the crates soon after. It seemed almost effortless for her, which annoyed Shuka a bit since it took quite a bit of effort for her.

“Hey, I see you’re helping yourself to some of my tea. No, no, don’t worry it’s fine, the tea is there for a reason.”

Shuka started to panic when the other woman mentioned the tea, but she calmed down after her assurances. As for Anirak, she just went over to her hammock and sprawled herself over it in a very relaxed manner.

At least Anirak’s not that bad. Or at least not that scary. Compared to some of the other people I saw in the Guild, she is like a blessing from god. I just hope it’s a good blessing.

“So, did you find the list from the Teleportation Relay?”

“Yup. Even gave it a read on the way back. No luck sadly, if he came to Rockmarsh in the last few days, it wasn’t through the Relay. How about you, Got the list from old Eric?”

“Err… yes but there was a bit of a problem.”

Shuka put the list onto the small table in front of her and then took another sip of her tea in an attempt to calm her nerves. It wasn’t working. Anirak reached over and picked up the document. She began to look over its contents while she spoke.

“Yeah, I heard about that. Eric even came over to visit me to tell me all about it. He also gave me the real list while he was at it in addition to a copy of the fake one he gave you. This way I can check to see if you made any modifications without you getting your hands on the actual information. Only problem is it’s a lot of extra work for me when you were supposed to make things easier.”

Just for a moment, Anirak’s cheery façade cracked a bit as she spoke, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

Shit, I think I pissed her off. And that was a fake list? I didn’t even notice.

After a few moments of reading, Anirak placed the document back on the table and went back to lounging in her hammock.

“Looks like you’re in the clear. The fake lists match up, so you are not in trouble. For now. Certainly not a good first impression to give to the Thieves Guild though.”

Shuka let out a heavy sigh of relief. There weren’t many things going her way lately so even small victories felt like big ones.

“So now that that’s out of the way, lets get back to the job. I read through both of the list’s and our target isn’t on either. This can mean two things. Either he snuck in, or he has been in Rockmarsh for a while.”

That sounds about right to me. I wonder how we are going to find this guy now… Why is she looking at me like that? Oh, shit I’m supposed to be making the plans, aren’t I?

Shuka put down her nearly empty cup of tea that she had been drinking and stammered out a response.

“Oh, uh… Yeah. I guess we need to find him then.”

The look Anirak gave her was not encouraging so Shuka tried again.

“Well if they snuck in then they are probably beyond my ability to find, so lets just assume he’s been here since the start. Um… if he lives here, then I guess he would probably have to buy food and stuff like us so we might be able to ask around at the marketplace.”

Anirak didn’t look very impressed but she also wasn’t glaring anymore so Shuka took it as a good sign.

“Your delivery is awful, and you need to work on your confidence, but at least the plan is something I can work with. Let’s get to it then.”

Oh wow, that almost sounded like a compliment. Maybe she isn’t as mad as I thought.

“Hey, before we leave, could I finish my t-”

“No.”

*

It was starting to get a little later in the day so the market wasn’t as crowded as it was the other times Shuka had visited it. That made walking through it only irritating instead of overwhelming. It was still far from a pleasant experience though.

Why did I think coming here would be a good idea? I should have just said he was hiding in a temple or something. Wait, I think I actually see a temple now. Maybe I can convince Anirak to let me search for him in there while she search’s the marketplace.

“So, uh… Do you mind if I go ask around in the temple over there while you do the marketplace?”

Anirak glanced up at the small temple Shuka was pointing to and then back at her.

“The temple huh? Go ahead, we might as well check it out while we are here.”

“Wait, what? Really?”

“What, did you think I was going to say no?”

“Uhh…”

Shuka looked away in embarrassment.

“Just go, but make sure you actually look for our guy while you’re there. I don’t know what you want to do in there but do it after your job.”

“Right, about that. What does the guy we are looking for look like? I don’t think you ever told me.”

“Don’t you think you should have asked me this a little earlier? Whatever, he is a tall, muscular human man with short black hair. His left eye is blue, and his right is green. He also has a very rough and deep voice.”

“Okay, thanks. And uh… I’m sorry for not asking earlier.”

Anirak looked a bit confused at the apology but didn’t stop Shuka as she left to go to the temple. When she got there, she realised that she had made a grave mistake. Other than the Orphanage, the only temple that there was in Rainsburg was a small building dedicated to Xyloth, the God of Magic. It was a quiet place used more for study than prayer, so when Shuka walked into this new temple, a cacophony of sound was the last thing she expected.

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Only after she was already inside did she notice the holy symbol displayed prominently on the wall. It was a hammer with its head in the shape of an anvil, the mark of Dwarfankor the God of Creation. His followers were craftsmen of all types but in a city like this that craft is blacksmithing. Inside there were half a dozen forges being worked by surly dwarfs and humans and their assistants.

How did I not hear all of this fucking noise on the way here? Did they seriously enchant the building to prevent any sound from escaping?

A priestess noticed the pained look on Shuka’s face and approached her.

“Oi, lady! Can I help you?”

The Dwarven woman almost had to yell to be heard over all of the noise. Unlike all of the blacksmiths in the building who were wearing their working clothes, she was dressed in a cleric’s robes. Although even that couldn’t hide her strong arms and calloused hands.

“Um, yeah! Could we go somewhere a bit quieter first though?”

Shuka didn’t like raising her voice but it was a necessity in this place. Luckily the priestess seemed to understand that.

“We have a silenced room we use for payer! Here, let me take you to it!”

Shuka followed her past the collection of forges holding her hands over her ears in an attempt to deafen herself to the clangs and bangs all around her. It didn’t help much but she still kept them there until she reached a plain wooden door on the other side of the room. Once she followed her guide inside, she experienced a blissful silence as all of the noise of the blacksmiths faded away to nothing.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

The room Shuka found herself in was small, barely big enough for a handful of people to be in it at the same time. There wasn’t much furniture, only a basic alter to Dwarfankor and a small table with a few chairs in the corner.

“Now why don’t you take a seat, and we can talk. My name’s Mirin, by the way.”

Mirin dragged the table out to be used and then took a seat at it in one of the small wooden chairs. Shuka didn’t want to be rude so she sat down too.

“I’m Shuka. Um… not to be rude but is the entire temple as loud as the entrance?”

“It’s a bit rude but don’t worry about it. And to answer your question, no. Dwarfankor encourages creation in all it’s forms, and smithing is just one of them. We also have rooms dedicated to other crafts like woodworking and sculpting, although they are less popular around here. Each room is enchanted to keep their noise contained to prevent complaints between crafters.”

Well, that’s good. At least if I have to ask around for this guy I’m looking for I can just go to the quieter rooms.

“So what has brought you to the temple of Dwarfankor? Not many come by just to look and you don’t look like a worshipper to me.”

“Oh, well I’m looking for a guy and I thought he might have passed through here. He is a tall man with a blue left eye and a green right eye.”

A look of recognition flashed across Mirin’s face as she heard the description.

“That sounds like Hector, he’s one of our metalworkers. Why do you want to talk to him?”

“I just want to ask him something.”

“Well, I’m sorry but I haven’t seen him all day. You will have to look for him elsewhere.”

Hmm… Korro said the three things I needed were a name, who he worked for, and what he wants to do with the lead. I already have two of the three and I only need one, so there is no reason for me to continue searching for him.

“That’s fine, you have already helped me out a lot.”

“Just doing my job.”

Uh oh. Looks like her smile is gone, did I say something wrong? Or maybe she is just suspicious of me because I am looking for her friend. Now that I think about it, the curse is probably making me pretty suspicious right now. Best not overstay my welcome.

“Anyway, thank you for your time but I have to be going now.”

“All right then, it’s been nice talking to you.”

Even I can tell she’s lying this time. Oh well, it’s not like I was planning on coming back here any time soon.

Shuka got up from her chair and prepared herself to go back into the auditory hell that is the main chamber of the Temple of Dwarfankor. She was just about to open the door back in when Mirin interrupted her.

“If you don’t want to go back through the main chamber there is a side entrance that leads straight outside.”

Shuka looked to where Mirin was pointing and saw an inconspicuous door set into the side of the wall.

“Oh. Thanks.”

*

Finding Anirak didn’t take long, her colourful clothing stood out amongst the drab greys and browns of everyone around her.

Is she buying a fish?

Anirak was indeed buying a fish. By the time Shuka reached her the transaction was already complete and Anirak was eating a fried fish on a stick.

“Hey, you’re back already. That means you either got some info or you’re slacking off.”

Anirak was cheery as always but Shuka got the distinct impression that she would not be happy if the answer was slacking off.

“Don’t worry, it’s the former. The priestess in the temple knows the guy we are looking for.”

“Oh, really? Well, what did ya find out then?”

“His name is Hector, and he is a metalworker with the Temple of Dwarfankor.”

“The temple huh? I have a few thoughts on that, but we better get somewhere a bit more private before I share them. Follow me.”

Anirak led Shuka out the marketplace and into a nearby inn. All she did was nod to the innkeeper before heading straight through the common room and into another room with a ‘staff only’ sign on it. Shuka was a little hesitant to go in as she was certainly not a part of the staff, but Anirak must have brought her here for a reason so she still entered. Inside was not the storage room she was expecting but instead a small chamber with nothing but a table and two chairs. It reminded Shuka of the prayer room in the temple, but without the alter.

“Alright, we can talk here.”

Anirak sat down in one of the chairs and Shuka followed suit. It was all eerily similar to the meeting she had with Mirin less than half an hour ago.

I guess when you’re making a room for private meetings all you really need is a table and two chairs. It’s still weird that this is the second time I’ve done this today.

“So… you said you had some thoughts on him working for the temple?”

“Yeah. So that temple is a part of the Celestial Church, and the Celestial Church is the biggest religious organisation in the Empire. Normally that would be bad, as messing with powerful people tends to be more trouble than its worth, but we actually have a pretty good relationship with them so it’s fine.”

“Wouldn’t that make it not fine? I mean what we’re doing would hurt your relationship with them wouldn’t it?”

“If we interfered with what they’re doing then sure, but we’re just snooping around and that can be excused for the sake of the alliance. Of course, all of that only applies if this Hector bought all that lead on behalf of the Church. He’s not all that high up on their hierarchy so he might have been hired by someone else.”

“Maybe he bought it for a personal project, he is a metalworker after all.”

Anirak shook her head.

“Not likely. Unless he is the best metalworker in the city, I don’t think he would have enough gold to pay for all of the lead he is buying. And besides, he is having the lead shipped of elsewhere. If it really was a personal project, then he would work on it here in Rockmarsh. At best he is collaborating with someone else, but even then, I would like to know who the other person is.”

Why am I even still here? I don’t care what he wants to use this lead for, and I only needed to get his name. And Xorvos is going to worry about me if I’m gone too long, actually he is probably already worrying. I just want to be done with all of this and go to bed.

“That’s good to know and all, but… I think I’m done here. Korro told me that I only had to get one thing and I got his name so there isn’t really a reason for me to continue other than gold. But I don’t really need that, or at least not enough to go messing with the Celestial Church.”

Anirak had such a casual and friendly demeanor that Shuka had almost forgotten that she was with the Thieves Guild. But she remembered now. Her smile disappeared and her alligator eyes narrowed. When she spoke it was cold and merciless.

“So that’s it then huh? Just do the bare minimum and then leave all of the hard work to me? All I have been doing all day is answering your inane questions and following your half assed plans and now you’re bailing on me? Fuck no. The way I see it, you still owe me for getting the list from Eric after you fucked up. Either you see this through to the end or I will be telling Korro just how shitty of a job you’ve been doing.”

Shuka was terrified. It was hardly a new experience at this point but no less terrible. She felt like a deer already caught in the jaws of a would, just waiting for it all to end. But this wolf was expecting an answer and if she didn’t give it then there would be no coming back.

“A-alright. I’ll help you. I’m s-sorry I didn’t mean to put all of the work onto you.”

Her voice was shaking but it seemed to be enough to satisfy Anirak. In an instant her face went from malice to the same casual smile Shuka had grown so used to.

“Great! As long as you understand then we can continue our conversation.”

What the fuck was that? I’ve never seen her so mad before and it came completely out of nowhere. Has she been holding it in all day? I need to be more careful around her.

Why wont this day just end already?