Grappling Hook

  Item Class: Uncommon, Dwarf-crafted

  Quality: Above Average

  Weight: 3

  Durability: 14

  Description: A length of rope attached to a metal hook. You toss it around and hope it sticks. I’m sure there’s an insult lying around in there somewhere.

  The hook was dark gray and made of a lightweight metal, like aluminum or something, though it seemed far sturdier.

  “Or maybe something like this,” Gunnar said with a nod.

  “You need more gear,” Em jabbed.

  “I need more money first. Hence, why I’m here.”

  “Fair enough. What sort of bonehead quest brings you to the Golden Hills, anyway?”

  Gunnar shrugged. He told her about his quest, and the trouble it was already throwing at him.

  Em chuckled. “I could have told you a Golden Hills quest might be more work than it’s worth.”

  “That’s very helpful now.”

  “Hey, don’t complain too much.” With that, Em heaved the hook up. It disappeared in the dark night above, but when Em gave the rope a tug, it held. “You first.”

  Gunnar took the rope in his hands and began to pull himself up, but as soon as he did, something shifted. The rope came tumbling back, and Gunnar fell on his ass.

  The hook clanked on the ground between them.

  “Damn, it slipped out,” Gunnar murmured as he got back to his feet.

  “Don’t beat yourself up, some just aren’t very good their first time.”

  [There’s the insult we were looking for!]

  Em smirked, picked up the hook, and gave it another heave. Gunnar pulled hard on the rope before climbing this time, and it held fast. Then, he tested it with a little weight.

  “Get it in there good?”

  Gunnar just shook his head. “You’re the worst.”

  Hand over hand, he began ascending the rope. The first couple moves were not too difficult, but his arms quickly began to tire, and his feet did not offer great grip. The rope swayed more and more as he went.

  He was glad he’d worked on his climbing skills so much. He felt stronger and more comfortable than he had even earlier today. Once he was about halfway up, he realized if he wrapped the rope once around his leg, his feet could find better purchase. He quickly made it to the top of the wall and pulled himself over.

  On the other side, the wall was only a few feet tall, with a narrow road built into the hillside. He checked the hook, which had wrapped around the trunk of a small tree. When Gunnar was satisfied it would continue to hold, he looked back over, just in time to see Em’s face pop up and over the wall.

  She had made the climb a whole lot quicker than he had. Her chimera claws probably didn’t hurt. Em wrapped the rope up and stowed it and the hook back in her Inventory.

  There were several roads branching up the sides of the hills, leading to large estates. Gunnar could make out the soft glow of lanterns across the hillsides, and at least a few guard towers along the roads. He expected these streets were patrolled by plenty of Red Cloaks, in addition to whatever guarded the estates themselves.

  After checking his MiniNav, he led the way up the road. They kept quiet as they went, hoods up, Stealth activated, and carefully avoided the rings of light around each lamppost. The line between the lit area and the darkness seemed to Gunnar as though it were a near-physical barrier, and if they were to cross it, he feared they would instantly be detected by one of the distant guard towers. It was one of the few times when it was clear that this world was fabricated. Light behaved differently IRL, not drastically so, but it was noticeable.

  Gunnar wondered if he would always notice things like that. If he spent multiple days here each time he slept in the real world, would the prison start to feel like the odd place?

  Em grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back toward the shadowy hillside. A pair of soft voices echoed from around the corner. Gunnar and Em crouched behind a small bush as two Red Cloaks came into view. One man, one woman, both Level 8s. The man held a lantern out in front of them, a circle of light radiating from it. He turned, and the light came treacherously close to where they were hiding.

  The guards whispered to one another, complaining about the cool weather and the coming winter.

  Em pressed her palm to the base of the bush, and it began to softly expand and thicken. The branches rustled a little.

  “What was that?” The man turned around and shone the lantern in their direction again, but they were shielded by the thicker branches of the bush.

  “Squirrel or something,” the female Red Cloak said.

  Gunnar and Em held their breath and kept absolutely still.

  Finally, the light passed, and the guards continued on their way, remaining white dots on his MiniNav until they passed out of sight. But he and Em waited a full minute before moving.

  “That was close,” Gunnar murmured.

  “Guards are on high alert in the Golden Hills. Higher-level Red Cloaks than you’ve probably run into in the rest of the city. But hey, that’s what you get for accepting this quest.”

  Dravingdel’s estate was another quarter mile up the road, and they reached the outskirts without event. The entire place was surrounded by a fifteen-foot wall. The area around the road was especially well lit, and there was a guardhouse outside the wrought-iron entrance gate to the sprawling manor. Gunnar and Em ducked off the road and followed the wall along the steep hillside. The thick grass made him a little nervous about snakes, though he truly didn’t know anything about the wildlife in this realm of Pantheon.

  On the back side of the estate, Gunnar and Em ascended the wall and peered at the sprawling extravagance within. Several acres of gardens and fruit trees surrounded the massive home. A great circle drive led up to two gigantic doors that reminded him of a cathedral entrance. There was a barn, a carriage house, and a greenhouse, as well as a path lined with trellises and a large paved patio with a fountain. Gunnar tried using Scan, but much as he expected, the place offered him no information.

  “This is a middle nobleman?” Gunnar murmured.

  “You should see the High City,” Em said.

  Guards bearing lanterns patrolled the interior of the estate with large black dogs. Gunnar counted eight stationed around the grounds, plus three more around the perimeter of the house. The manor itself bore three towers, with guards posted on the roof of each one.

  “Damn,” Em said softly. “You know how to pick ’em.”

  “Guessing Dravingdel doesn’t keep prisoners in the barn, eh?”

  “Not likely. You’re not thinking of trying anything tonight, are you?”

  “Tomorrow. The party is the next day. So I guess it has to be tomorrow. With a house like that, he must have some sort of holding cell in the basement.”

  “Maybe,” Em said. “I don’t like it, though.” She slipped back down the wall.

  Gunnar took one last look at the estate, then dropped down to join her. “What do you mean?”

  “Bad luck to hit a noble like this. Too much can go wrong.”

  “Well, I don’t have much choice now.”

  “You could quit the quest. You’d pay a penalty, but there’s worse things. If I’ve learned anything in this place, it’s that messing with nobles is not a great idea.”

  Gunnar shook his head. “I need to at least try. What’s the worst that could happen? If I fail, I’ll drop the quest.”

  “If you fail, you could end up in exile. Or marked for life by the Red Cloaks. I can tell you, the guilds don’t take on new recruits like that. If you fail, things could become a lot harder for you going forward.”

  Gunnar gritted his teeth. “I’m not ready to bail just yet.”

  Em nodded. “Then you’re going to need better intel.”

  29

  NIGHTHAWKS

  Em said no more, she just walked off into the night. Gunnar hesitated. He wanted to observe more about the guards’ patrol patterns.

  But in the end, he hurried after her.

  The chimera girl walked briskly through the brush, straight down the hillside, rather than returning to the road. Gunnar struggled to keep up with her, and nearly tumbled down the hill at one point.

  But they reached the outer wall of the Golden Hills after only a few minutes. Silently, Em set up her rope, this time without the hook. She tied a careful knot around the tree. “Whatever you do, don’t let the rope go slack.”

  And then, she began rappelling. Gunnar held on to the rope, keeping the pressure on once she’d reached the bottom. He followed after. When he reached the base of the wall, Em took the rope from him. She let it go slack, then gave it a sharp tug, and the rope cascaded down.

  “I’ll be in touch,” she said, gathering up the rope in a loop over her shoulder.

  “Wait, better intel. Do you have any ideas?”

  “I told you, I’ll be in touch.” Em stowed the rope in her Inventory, and it vanished from Gunnar’s sight.

  “You mind being slightly less cagey?”

  “Yes.”

  Gunnar shook his head. “Give me something here.”

  Em pulled him closer and spoke softly. “I want you to talk to someone from my guild. But I need to see if she’s even interested. So, I’ll be in touch.”

  With that, Em strode off into the darkness, leaving Gunnar alone at the base of the wall.

  He didn’t feel like waiting around for answers, so he returned to his apartment and slept. Not for terribly long, as Kohli turned up very early for their morning run. Gunnar felt less winded this time, so he supposed that meant he was improving.

  But he still hadn’t leveled up Endurance since the crypt, a harsh reminder that his development ratings were a big deal. He seemed to level up Dexterity-based skills every time he practiced. But he definitely needed to be a better runner, so he pushed himself hard the entire time and tried to focus his Mindful Breathing, syncing with the cadence of his footfalls. He was able to find a rhythm for a while, but by the time they finished their loop, his lungs were an inferno in his chest.

  It paid off though.

  [Congratulations! You’ve self-flagellated enough to reach Level 9 in Endurance! We would like to see more puking though.]

  When they returned to the Mermaid afterward, Sykes was nowhere to be found, and Kohli was especially silent.

  “Everything go all right last night?” Gunnar asked, after the quiet grew too awkward for him. He’d always hated long silences.

  “What?” Kohli shot to attention as though Gunnar had woken him from a stupor. “Er, yeah, it was fine. Really fine. I got my summons for a trial actually.”

  “Really? When? Which guild?”

  “Tonight. The Marauders. They’re not one of the major ones, but they’re pretty decent. I’d be lucky if they took me on.”

  Gunnar felt a pang of jealousy, though he was truly glad for the thief. Kohli had one job to prove himself. If it went well, he would be set with the Marauders. He’d have consistent quests and lodging and legitimate allies. All the things Gunnar needed as well. It struck him that he and Kohli could end up in rival guilds.

  But he didn’t say any of that. He congratulated him.

  “Say,” Gunnar said, “you heard much about the Nighthawks?”

  Kohli’s eyes went wide at the name. He glanced around, though the place was nearly empty. “I’d be careful about mentioning them around here.”

  Gunnar lowered his voice. “What do you know?”

  “Not much. Look, Sykes don’t take sides in guild wars. He’s a hustler who deals with the highest bidder. The Mermaid is neutral territory. All I know is when Nighthawks come around, Sykes gets nervous. They’re big time, and he don’t seem to like them.”

  Gunnar thought of what Em had said the other day. She didn’t seem to like Sykes much either. He wondered if the man had known who she belonged to.

  “Where’d you hear about them anyway?” Kohli asked.

  Gunnar thought better than to say that it was Em, and he definitely didn’t say that they might be helping him with a quest.

  He shrugged. “Around the city. Noticed people mentioning their name in whispers, and it piqued my interest.”

  Kohli eyed him for a moment, then nodded. “Well, I should go. See you at the gym this afternoon?”

  Gunnar nodded, and Kohli ran off to prepare for his task that night.

  The conversation left Gunnar feeling uneasy. He didn’t much care whether Sykes liked the Nighthawks. Once he was in a guild, he didn’t expect it would matter anyway. But something about the way Kohli reacted left a gnawing feeling in his gut. Kohli feared the Nighthawks.

  And that unnerved him.

  But that wasn’t all that was making him nervous. Hard as he had tried the past few days, he couldn’t seem to figure out what the connection was between the prison and Thailen. At first, he had assumed it had to do with the gods, but he felt less sure about that now. The gods seemed little more than a mechanism for experience in the game thus far. As best he could tell, they didn’t seem to have any actual sway in this city. The guilds seemed more likely.

  He knew he needed to go back to the prison soon and try to learn more.

  Gunnar made his way out of the Mermaid as more customers began to arrive. Outside, the square was filled with people and vendor carts and more than a few types of livestock, but what instantly drew his attention was what sat parked near the center.

  A black carriage drawn by two black horses.

  It was enclosed, with a large door on either side, elegantly carved, and though Gunnar knew nothing about woodworking, he could tell it must belong to someone very rich or very powerful. In addition to the black-clad driver, there were two cloaked figures standing guard outside. And they were staring right at Gunnar.

  He glanced behind him, but there was no one else they could be looking at. Gunnar met the gaze of one of the men, and he gestured for Gunnar to approach.

  A lump formed in his throat. He couldn’t imagine this was good.

  The guard gestured to him again.

  Gunnar tried to reassure himself that he had papers now. He was a proper citizen of Thailen, and he needed to act like he had done nothing wrong. Which was actually true for once.

  He tried to act casual, ambling his way over.

  “What can I do for you, fellas?” Gunnar asked, trying awkwardly to sound casual.

  “Our mistress wishes to speak with you,” said one guard.

  “Y-your—”

  The door popped open from within, and Em glared out at him. “Just get in, will you?”

  Gunnar was flummoxed. “This is your…”

  Em just glowered at him, and Gunnar quickly entered the carriage. The inside was dark. He tried to use Dark Sight, but it didn’t activate.

  Shit, this carriage must have some sort of protection against magic.

  As he took a seat, he realized Em was not alone.

  A woman sat in the dark on the bench opposite him. She wore a black gown with a dark hood drawn up over her head. A long slit traced midway up her right thigh, her long porcelain legs the only part of her immediately visible.

  Gunnar looked up into the dark expanse of her hood, but could not quite make out her face in the low light. She had a presence that felt somehow immediately imposing and inviting at the same time. Which unnerved him.

  Em sat down beside him, and both of them faced her. For the first time, Em’s company offered him no comfort. The door closed and the carriage started moving. Wheels clacked on the stone, and the whole thing swayed back and forth.

  “This is the young man you spoke of,” the woman said in a quiet but firm voice.

  Em nodded. “He’s the one from the crypt. Currently under the tutelage of Billy Sykes.”

  The woman offered no reaction to this information.

  “I’ve seen you before,” she said, leaning forward in her seat.

  “I doubt that,” Gunnar said. “I’ve not been around any nobles.”

  The woman scowled and drew back her hood. “Weigh your words, boy. Those who don’t appear only as fools.”

  The woman’s skin was porcelain-white, her hair as dark as her eyes. Her black clothes gave her a very different look than the first time he’d seen her. Gunnar’s senses went on high alert as recognition dawned.

  “You’re Mistress Leilani,” Gunnar said. It came out more of a whisper than he had hoped.

  “You do know her?” Em demanded.

  “There was an… incident in the streets,” Leilani said. “Outside the temple.”

  Gunnar bristled at her casual tone. “Incident? A man was murdered.”

  Leilani nodded. “Indeed. You cared about that man, did you?”

  “I didn’t know him. But no one deserves what your men did to him.”

  Leilani smiled enduringly. “My men? What did I tell you about weighing your words?”

  Gunnar glowered. “Are you saying those guards were not there clearing the way for you to go to the temple?”

  “Of course they were. As they do for all high nobles. But that does not mean that I ordered that man’s death.”

  Gunnar tensed, and Em gripped Gunnar’s shoulder.

  “What are you saying?” Gunnar demanded.

  “This city is not all that it appears,” Leilani said. “There are systems set in place far beyond my control. Those guards obey the orders of the magistrates of the city, dictated by the High Priest of Luka and the great trading masters of the Altaean Alliance. I did not kill that man in the temple square. I was a bystander the same as you. You would be wise to reserve judgment until you understand the way this city works.”

  “Well, this city is… fucked up,” Gunnar said after a moment.

  “And you’re observant,” Leilani said.

  Gunnar glared over at Em, suddenly doubting that anything she’d said had been true. She was no Nighthawk. She served the damn nobles.

 

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