Chapter 7 | Rat Furnace

– Irhaal I –

 

I arrived at our base faster than expected, but every passing second was still a lost one. I had been thinking about the best course of action on the way here.

After bursting through the entry, the first thing I did was call for everyone to gather.

I put Zoralihn down and gently wiped her face. The poor child looked completely drained and shocked, but that was to be expected. I felt the same way, but there was no time to relax.

Even though time was running out, there was still enough for us to act. Brand stayed behind, so it was my responsibility to salvage this situation.

Besides, something about that group bothered me. Yes, they attacked us, but there was something else. Their faces were unknown to me, but it seemed they knew us.

Were these guys part of the group that raided our caravans from time to time? We had tried to find their hideout but with no success. Their showing up in the Red District might even mean that they were closer than expected.

Moments later, I saw my wife jumping down the stairs, already wearing her light armor. Grizzly also followed her from upstairs, skipping a few steps instead of jumping.

A quick look at my face seemed to have given her a guess at what had happened, as she silently nodded and turned her attention to Zora. Channy and a few others had dropped whatever they were doing and had gathered as well.

Only a minute later, the door broke open as Rae entered. 

"Man, I was having a great time with the chicks, you know, but word ‘s some folks had called the guards, so I came back. Were you involved? " He asked, looking around.

"They got Brand," I began, trying to explain what had happened as briefly as possible without leaving out important details.

I would have liked more available manpower, but it couldn't be helped.

Immediately after, we began to put the plan I had come up with into action.

 

– Rae I –

 

For two reasons, we agreed that Irhaal would stay at the base.

Firstly, we needed his clear intellect to assess the situation and direct our people to where they were needed at the time, and secondly, as the extent of danger was unknown, we didn't want to put two parents in a risky spot. Little Zora would never become a "real" orphan, heaven forbid, because we would look after her, but parents were still irreplaceable.

Grizzly was flustered as well, running up and down, but he and Little Zora started to calm each other down.

So here we were, four groups, desperately trying to turn this mess around. I had to admit that this event caught me off guard. Of course, I would never admit this openly. What kind of leader would do that!?

Anywho, I needed to focus.

"Rae, you are the best at finding clues in the noise, so I want you to do just that around the area where it happened. That should suffice; simply circle around west of the Iron Fountain." That's what I was going to do, as Irhaal had said to me. That would also impress the ladies, for sure.

I had three others with me who I knew were also good at picking up traces, so this should do it. 

We mingled within the crowd and checked for traces of where the bandit group might have gone. Finding any information on Brand would be even better.

While we were searching through the streets in a zig-zag pattern, I noticed that a lot of stores were damaged. There were also small trails of blood here and there, still fresh.

I decided that we should split up and follow some of these trails for one block, but only to the north, and meet at the next crossing. It was unlikely that they had moved south, due to the trails and the damaged stores.

I also asked a couple traders, and they said the thieves went east. But I decided against moving to the east, because if I were the bandit leader, I would go in the wrong direction on purpose.

Never let your enemy know where you live. It was basic stuff, really.

We repeated this search pattern for four more blocks, until we reached the borders of the Red District. Anything further was either unused space, warehouses, or parks. Had I made a mistake?

There were no more trails to follow, it was just the general direction that pointed north-west from the fountain.

I went over the things we saw in my head. What was I missing?

The blood trails stopped, but the damaged shops didn't. The damage itself was laughable. Some stores were just missing a door, or parts of the front, chairs, only minor stuff.

The whole shop wasn't burned down just to sack protection money; that's what I was saying here. And I considered it minor because if I were in their shoes, I would have done some real damage. So then, why?

Time was running out, so I decided to send one of us back to report to Irhaal, and the rest of us would look for more clues south of here.

But after just a few steps, something caught my eye out of the corner of my eye. There was a misplaced door.

"Wait!" I said to my buddy, stopping him in his tracks.

A normal, crude wooden door with green cloth attached to it. This, in and of itself, was nothing special. Spare parts, a few patched up parts, such things were always found from time to time.

But it was the tattered green piece of cloth that was attached to it. It had the same drawn pattern on it as the one from the food store we passed a couple blocks away.

A coincidence? Unlikely.

I checked the street up and down to see if someone was watching me, and stepped closer to the door.

It was just leaning against a wall. Nothing behind it. A secret passage?

I pushed against the wall and looked for scratches on the floor and other clues, but nothing. Strange.

"Let's take a closer look at this building here," I ordered my men.

The building itself was abandoned and crumbling.

I believed that it had once been a forge. We discovered that this building shared a big, open space behind it with a large, decaying furnace in the middle. But there was no one else. At least no one we wanted to find, only a couple of beggars, coughing children, and dying old men.

I took a closer look at the enormous furnace. It had sunken into the ground a little and was slanted. No hidden tunnel, sadly.

But there was something else.

Something I didn't expect at all.

The smell of fresh smoke stung my nose.

I looked closer, and sure enough, there was a tiny bit of smoke coming from somewhere.

Underground, huh?

We went around the small block of buildings again, and would you look at that? We found three hidden shafts leading somewhere.

"You guys hide yourselves somewhere near these shafts. Don't get spotted, just keep an eye out on who goes in or out. I will come back soon."

 

– Salihn I –

 

Once again, I was on my own, jumping from roof to roof or moving through the shadows of towers and buildings.

I didn't mind.

In fact, I preferred working this way.

It cleared my mind, sharpened my senses, and forced me to stay on my toes.

It also meant that I didn't have to trust my back to someone. The only exceptions were my beloved husband and my little pride and joy.

The city district was noisy. It was especially uncommon to mobilize the guards. The guards were never a good sign. Well, for us, that is. Tios was a peaceful city, after all.

While Rae was looking through the western part of the city, I was asked to look for clues in the south. Finding signs of Brand on this route had the highest likeness, but there were none.

While I was carefully moving along the rooftops, always cautious to not get spotted, I came across a small commotion that caught my attention. Guards were just exiting a battered shop and moving away while carrying someone. Small. Not Brand.

But I knew who the owner of that shop was. Although he received protection from another gang and was officially their blacksmith, he came by our place pretty often.

My husband assumed that the reason had to be my friend Lili'. I liked that idea. But it was also risky, since all groups were not exactly on friendly terms.

A truce, if anything.

And from what my husband told me earlier, I suspect that this gang and the ones who raided our caravans could very well be one and the same.

Since the timing of all this seemed too strange, I should probably check it out.

"Pardon my intrusion," I announced myself after entering through the main door and looking around.

A table was broken into splinters and there was a lot of blood on the ground.

Bazelle looked up at me from across the room. He looked mostly unharmed.

"Tell me what happened, "I asked him calmly. Depending on how he dragged this conversation out, I might have to become harsher.

"Aaah, it's you. Good. Those jerks have been breathing down my neck for weeks with the dumbest ideas, let me tell you," he started, shifting in his chair.

I was already growing impatient. But he continued.

"These dumbnuckles wer’ good customers'; they always gave me work. But they started to demand protection money, always as much as last order, or they would break me stuff."

A sound plan would look differently, that much was certain. Their plan was not to settle in this area then.

"You repeated that with them a couple of times?" I asked, just to be sure.

He looked at the floor for a few seconds and then continued, "...Anyway, today they came in to steal me money, and after I said that to piss off, they attacked me. They broke me hand, but I also messed up one of ‘em, hehe!" He grinned and showed me his hand, then pointed at the pool of blood.

"Are you going after them?"

"..." I didn't give him an answer.

"Listen, I need to repair me store, but I don't have enough money. I might lose me shop. A lil’ payback on those brick-heads would be wine for my soul, that's all I'm asking."

I nodded and asked one last question, "What about your hand?" but he waved it off.

"That's alright, I know someone."

" I see."

I exited Bazelles Smithy through the backdoor. Bazelle also didn't know where their base was, which was expected. Their irregular behavior was strange, but not important right now.

I had a clue about what to do next.

All I needed to do was interrogate that one gang member whom the guards dragged away. He had to know where their hideout was.

I made my way over to the nearest guard tower, located in the east. Enough time had passed as well, so my target should already be in the dungeon. But I would have to wait until the right moment would present itself.

From my shadowy spot between two buildings and hidden behind several chimneys, I watched the guards scurry in and out. The only way in was through the main gate. Well, for most, but not for me.

I also noticed a small hole in the wall at ground level, which should be the window to the dungeon. I will see what's inside that and then return home.

I followed behind a guard who made his way around the tower, carefully pacing my steps in unison so his stepping noise muffled mine.

The moment I stood beside the window, I stopped in my tracks and crouched down to see inside.

A candle was giving off a dim light, enough to just barely see. To the left of the room, I saw my target in bandages. They had already healed him, at least enough for him to not die today.

As I was getting up, I saw an outstretched leg on the ground, right below the window, that I had not seen at first glance. It was a very muscular leg. And the clothing looked familiar, too.

I pressed my face against the cold stone to get a better look and saw something even better: Brand.

He, too, was still alive, although he sure had seen better days. And worse too.

The guards did not waste too much energy on healing captives completely. Sure, it was in their own interest as well, but it pained me to see a friend in his own piss and blood nonetheless.

”Hold on a little longer, friend,” I said quietly enough for him to hear, and stood up. 

A quiet groan came from the hole that could be mistaken for a bear waking up from hibernation.

I made my way back to the Stag Bastion, unseen and unheard.

 

– Irhaal II –

 

The first person to return was Rae. I had expected that he would be sitting in a tavern by now, but he was reliable. Sometimes. But his return meant he had found something.

"What did you find?"

"Their shitty hideout, that's what," he said with a satisfied expression.

That was surprisingly good news, but not what I had hoped for, so I asked, "So nothing on Brand?"

"Unfortunately not."

I see. Still, we had to work with what we had. Coming alone also meant that the others were probably keeping watch.

Channy returned as well, but sadly, with no clues whatsoever.

But that was not the same as nothing, because instead of looking where someone was, you could also look where someone wasn't.

And I now knew where Brand wasn't, inside a given area. That only left two areas. If he had found shelter in the house of someone, then that person would have already shown up.

My wife showed up only about five minutes later. And she fortunately brought us the news we wanted to hear. She had found Brand, but in a bad state.

All the information I now had was better than I expected. We only had to act on it.

Let's go get Brand here as quickly and covertly as possible and then crush the enemy before they leave the city.

"And how, exactly?" asked Channy, but I already had an idea.

"Rae, remember that one time in the Shirone Kingdom?" Even as I was saying that, a brazen grin formed on Rae's face. "Aye!"

I only sent Rae and Salihn to retrieve Brand, as they were enough for the task at hand. I explained to them what to do, and the rest was up to them.

A couple of our guys would be on standby two streets away to help bring Brand back to base.

 

– Salihn II –

 

Rae and I stood in a side street near the tower. Everyone was ready and knew what to do.

With a nod from my part, the group got into position to carry Brand while Rae went on the main street. He just said, "Oh how I love this," and went into a tavern.

I went on one of the roofs and hid myself as close to the corner as possible without exposing too much of myself.

And waited.

Two minutes. Three minutes. Five minutes.

A chair suddenly came flying through the window of the tavern, directly followed by some bald guy.

As if this was the sign, several guards alarmed each other and ran towards the tavern. I also saw Rae slip out through the alley behind the tavern, making his way over to our group a couple streets away.

There was no time to waste.

I jumped down from my position and moved closer to the tower, where I drew my shortsword. I had counted five guards running towards the tavern, meaning only three to five more would be inside.

I cautiously made my way through the tower, slowly progressing toward the dungeon downstairs.

So far, not a single guard. Good.

I reached the cell that held Brand. I didn't need a key, because a missing person would be obvious enough. A destroyed door won't make a difference.

I simply cut the door on the hinges and held it as I slowly lowered it to the floor to avoid the otherwise loud thudding.

I entered the room and checked Brand's condition.

"Are you able to walk?" I whispered to him, and he nodded.

"GUARDS!"

I sighed. So much for that.

Before that scum could do any more damage, I slashed at his throat and took a moment to look at his stunned expression.

There was no visible wound on his neck since I had used one of my techniques, but the foam of blood that bubbled up from his mouth was evidence enough that his life was running out on him. He was no longer of any use anyway.

I turned around and put one arm around Brand's body and helped him up.

We just barely made it out of the tower, as I heard footsteps clattering down the tower stairs and towards the dungeon.

The moment we reached our men, the guards were on full alarm and already looking for us.

 

– Rae II –

 

Salihn, I and the others came through the gate pulling a cart in which Brand was hidden inside under cloths.

After the gate had closed behind us, we all hoisted him up together and placed him carefully on a free, robust table that Irhaal had already prepared.

"Channy, if you would be so kind."

Channy immediately drew near and began to examine Brand's body, undressing him to check his wounds.

"I can already see the two of us doing tha—uhw!" I didn't even get to finish my very witty flirtation with Channy, as a fist found its way into my side took my breath away..

"A few cuts here and there, but it should be fine. It looks like the guards used you as a punching bag and broke a rib. I'll heal the stab wound first. " Channy assessed and placed her hands on his side and began to cast the incantation.

"Oh merciful mother of gods, please heal this one’s wounds, and let him recover with a healthy body! — X-Healing!"

After Channy’s diligent healing was over and done, she slumped down onto a chair, visibly exhausted, and gave Irhaal a faint smile that should have been directed at me, but I was not a jealous man.

She gave a nod to the patiently waiting Grizzly and Zoralihn, who immediately jumped at Brand, one hugging his arm, the other licking his hand.

Weirdly enough, Little Zora was the one licking. That was a joke.

Although Little Zora had tears of joy in her eyes at the fact that Brand was alive and well, her eyes were still fixed on Channy. She must be filled with gratitude. That's it. Or just admiring her beauty. Or both. I got that.

In the course of Channy doing her part, the rest of us prepared for a counterattack on the enemy hideout. This time it was Salihn who stayed behind, as we would end this day with a happy ending. Or maybe two, hehe.

 

 

– Rae III –

 

The sun had already set when we arrived at the enemy base. 

According to our men, there hasn't been any movement, either in or out, which was good.

Irhaal did a quick sweep of the area as well, and we showed him the shafts we suspected to be entrances into the hideout.

Due to the low number of people, Irhaal decided to install two simple traps on one of the entrances that was the narrowest. Since this was one of his strengths, it only took a few minutes.

These traps would only kill two people at most, but that wasn't the point.

The point was to just clog the damn thing with corpses.

This way, we could enter two entrances simultaneously with the same amount of fighting power.

I led my group from the north-east. Irhaal took some guys to the southern entrance.

We went down a ladder. It was hard to see, and one of us slipped and skipped a couple sprouts, but was fine otherwise. We lit a lamp and proceeded with caution.

There were no traps. How negligent of them.

After slowly walking for a while, we turned a corner and saw an illuminated wall. That meant that the enemy was behind the next corner. 

Our swords were already drawn. 

I checked to see if my men were ready. They nodded.

We entered a weird open space with a high ceiling, which must have been the remaining parts of the cellar, just barely preventing the whole thing from collapsing.

There were about ten men in the middle of the room; some were eating while standing, and others were busy putting valuables in boxes and bags.

Slowly and crouched, I crept up behind one of the men who was enjoying his last supper, his attention drawn to his comrades.

I saw Irhaal and his group sneak into the room as well, and waited for his nod.

The sign came seconds later, and I quickly pierced the nape of his neck with a rapid thrust of my blade. My hand was firmly on his shoulder and fixed his body to prevent him from falling over, so the element of surprise remained on our side.

"Hey, drop that! The enemy, they found us! "someone shouted.

Well, or so I thought.

Chaos broke loose.

Our guys pressed the attack, not giving the enemy the time they needed.

It was a short massacre.

One guy didn't even try to fight; instead he just jumped up, spun around, and ran towards the only exit that wasn't blocked by us and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.

It pleased me to see that our scouting of the area was well done and that we didn't miss any other entrances. I would check the trap later.

The fight was over almost as quickly as it started.

Only one was still standing and fighting Irhaal, but since that guy was already injured, perhaps from fighting Brand earlier, I would say that this fight was all but decided.

"Tell me where the rest of you guys hide. Where is your boss? Tell us and you might live to see another day. " Irhaal told him, but all he got was a puzzled look.

"What are you babbling about? I'm the boss here, and I will not fall for your stupid trap! Die! " The dead man standing yelled and charged at Irhaal.

What a dumb attack.

Charging an Advanced-tier North God Style fighter like that only ends one way.

But in contrast to my initial judgment, the enemy leader proved to be more capable than I would have liked to admit, and the sound of metal hitting metal clanged through the cave.

Even though he was locked in a fight with Irhaal, he managed to throw two knives at the people around him in an attempt to create a diversion, but to no avail.

He wasn't the only one used to trickery, but that hardly mattered to a head that was no longer connected to his body. It was over.

We came out of a dicey situation unscathed and didn't lose a single member. I have definitely earned myself a beer or four.

But one thing still confused me: "hey Irhaal, what did the dead guy mean when he said that he was the boss? I thought this was just one of their bases. "

"Ah yes, you see, it never occurred to me, but it was all just a bluff to make them look superior, bigger, and more unpredictable than they actually were. It's not a bad idea, if you play it right. Judging by the state of this cave, I would say they only half-assed it. "

He was right: the cave was in a bad state, their gear was just as bad, and the loot was scarce. 

On closer inspection, I even saw crates that were definitely stolen from us. The smart thing would be to return the stolen items to our clients.

 The next morning, we came back with a wagon and loaded everything in.

We also discovered a makeshift wall on a building opposite their hideout with a half-loaded cart hidden behind it.

We had gained a small amount of loot and equipment, plus we had a rough understanding of their former territory.

All that was left was to keep a low profile for the following weeks, and everyone would have forgotten all about this day.