Damn
it! I knew Starlight wasn’t going to stay put. Gladia came by
earlier this morning and told me that Starlight was gone. All that
was left was a note written in Feral. She brought it, and Johan had
translated it to read:
Tell Alakath I am sorry. I cannot sit by while Amaka is in danger.
I must find her and make her safe. My safety is of no concern,
especially if Amaka is in great peril. I shall track her and bring
her to Johan’s by sundown. I will return then, even if I haven’t
found her.
Skaalliit
The husky just kept apologizing as I
was reading the note. I smiled at the girl and told her that there
was nothing she could have done to stop our Feral friend. In the
short time that I’ve known her, I’ve picked up on her
determination. It literally has to be beaten out of her, as it had
been most of her life, and neither of us are willing to do that to
her.
I then asked her if she has any
ideas where Starlight may have wandered off, and she shook her head
and said she was going to ask me the same thing. I told her to just
go back to Johan’s and wait on her to return.
I told her I was likely going to be
released today, so I’d meet her at Johan’s once I’m out. She
nodded and left. Coincidentally, the doctor came in after she left
and began the discharge process with me. In just a couple of hours,
I’m heading over to Johan’s. But first, as soon as I’m
released, I’ve got a certain noble I need to pay a visit to.
So my visit to Lewis was almost
fruitless. He’s still worried about whatever info Jonah has on him
to be of much help. However, he did offer to put me in contact with a
certain “friend” of his. In fact, he had me meet this “friend”
earlier this afternoon.
It turns out, his friend is one
Jacob “Red” Bloodbourne. An interesting fellow, to say the least.
I’ve ran into him several times before. That was when I sold my
sword as a mercenary right after getting out of the Army. He was a
common target that I was asked to go against. I only tried once.
He’s a far better swordsman than I
am. He’s both stronger and faster than me, and he has armor that I
could never dream of being able to pierce with the shabby blade I
own. It was all I could afford upon leaving the army, though.
Also, over the past few years, I’ve
noticed he does a lot of business with each of Amaka’s sisters that
apprenticed with public tradesmen. A few of them disappeared after
leaving Jonah’s, but I suspect there around town somewhere, staying
hidden from the brothel owner. To my knowledge, Jonah hasn’t conned
any of them into working for him like their mother.
I suspect that the few that didn’t
find apprenticeships have ended up working for Jacob somehow. I see a
couple of them from time to time, but they run whatever errands they
do then disappear again before I can talk to them. The youngest,
Macy, I haven’t seen since she was kicked out of the brothel. I’m
confident Jacob knows where she’s at, though, since she was always
talking to him before then.
Lewis had me meet this pit in an
alleyway not far from the Noble District. When he came to meet me, I
swore he actually came out of one of the buildings. He just smirked
as he walked up to me.
“So, you’re the one Brad says
needs help locating a particular lass?” his smirk turned into a
grin as he came to a stop.
I nodded. “How are you able to
help?” He chuckled.
“Why should I? Wasn’t you trying
to kill me a few years ago?” His grin didn’t go away after
asking.
“You realize I was being paid to,
right?” I said, not directly answering his question.
“Oh, I know tiger kitty,” he
said, using the same nickname he used the first time I ran into him.
“Good thing you didn’t, eh? Carla’s girls would be in deep shit
if you did,” he guffawed.
“So you’ve been helping them as
well,” I said, a small grin creeping onto my face. He let out a
hearty laugh.
“Of course! Think you’re the
only one who gives a damn about those poor girls?” His grin grew
even wider. “Yeah, your blade’s kept them safe, but my coin has
kept them fed!” He let out a hearty laugh. “And when your blade’s
not handy, I have associates who are nearby keeping them safe as
well.”
My expression went stern before
speaking. “So, what do you know about Amaka?” He didn’t stop
grinning.
“What about her?” he asked.
“Where is she?” I asked. His
grin shrunk as he shook his head.
“Not telling you,” he said. He
held up a finger before I could speak. “I’ll show you, if,” his
voice and expression became stern, “you keep what you see and hear
a secret.” I nodded. He then waved for me to follow him, and follow
him I did.
He lead me through a maze of
decrepit buildings that served as the slums of the city. Most of
these buildings were some of the finest in the city at one point.
Before the war with the Bruumweild began to be precise.
I knew that as long as we remained
in this slum, we weren’t far from the Noble District. We traversed
this maze of collapsed interiors for what seemed like hours until we
came upon a panel that stood out like a sore thumb, as it appeared
pristine relative to its surroundings. Jacob slid the panel open, and
laying on a pile of hay under a staircase was a pink furred bunny.
One that had Amaka’s beauty mark on her left cheek.
Jacob placed a finger over his mouth
as we walked into the small hallway and slid the panel closed. I then
followed him up the stairs, under which slept the girl I care for
like a daughter. I was shocked the stairs didn’t creak under our
weight. He must have put a lot of time and money into this building.
When we got to the top of the
stairs, we proceeded down a small corridor before walking into a
reception area, the desk in which was manned by Macy, the youngest of
Amaka’s sisters. She had a confused expression when she saw me walk
up behind Jacob.
“Didn’t think you two got
along,” she said.
“Can’t fault a man trying to
earn a living,” the pit chuckled. “He learned quick enough,
though.”
“Plus, we have a few acquaintances
in common,” I added and glanced at Jacob. “Acquaintances that
believe we could help each other help them.” He nodded.
“I’m sure Brutus filled you in
the jist of my plan yesterday,” the pit said. I nodded, assuming
that Brutus was the panther who visited me. “Follow me, then. I’ll
explain further over tea.”
“May I have some?” Macy asked.
Jacob just chuckled.
“Of course. I’ll bring you a
cup. Sugar?” he replied. She nodded.
“Just one spoonful, please,” she
answered. Jacob nodded and waved for me to follow him into his
office.
He set three glasses on his desk and
poured some tea into each. He dumped a spoonful into one, and two
into another. He then handed me the spoon and took the two he had
poured sugar into with him back into his reception area.
He handed Macy the glass he poured
two into. She smiled and took a sip. I couldn’t help but chuckle as
she grimaced at the drink being sweeter than she expected. She asked
him something, but before she finished asking whatever, Jacob laughed
and took the glass from her and handed her the other. She slapped his
arm and yelled “You asshole!” before taking the cup from him,
both laughing and smiling at each other. Jacob then returned and
closed the door.
He sat down behind his desk, that
same smile on his face. “I swear that girl is like a daughter to
me,” he said.
“I understand how that is,” I
said. “I feel the same way about Amaka.”
“I figured,” Jacod replied to
that. “I saw how you looked at her when we stepped inside.” He
sipped on his tea as he continued. “Hard to believe that you’ve
basically adopted the eldest of the bunch while I’ve taken in the
youngest is pure coincidence.” I nodded.
“It is,” I said. “Seems to
have turned out for the best. Amaka’s basically been the daughter I
was robbed of.” The pits ear flicked up at that.
“Robbed?” he asked. “How?” I
sighed.
“You know I was married before,
right?” Jacob nodded. “Well, Abby was a couple weeks from being
due with our daughter when she was raped to death.”
“Jonah?” he asked. I nodded.
“Her body was found a block away
from his place,” I said, a tear forming in my eye. “The trauma
suggested it was Jonah himself, even, that had done it.”
“My Rose was also raped to death
by him,” Jacob said. “Only, she wasn’t pregnant when he or his
thugs killed her.” He sighed. “Now I get why you’re so attached
to Amaka.” I nodded. “Only, why her? Why not a good girl?”
“She is a good girl,” I said.
“Plus, once I learned of Carla’s situation, I couldn’t sit by
and let her girls suffer for it.” Jacob smiled. “I tried to steer
her down a cleaner road, but she’s too damned stubborn.”
“Well, this town may be better
served with her having developed those thieving skills,” Jacob
said, that smile on his face. “Otherwise, we’d never get any
incriminating information on Jonah and his associates.” I nodded.
“Right,” I said. “I assume
that’s what Lewis wants us to discuss.” The pit grinned and
nodded.
“I’m sending Amaka to Jonah’s
tonight to acquire a layout of the interior and some other info,”
he said. “I need someone not affiliated with my organization to be
available to save her ass should she fail. Someone like you,” he
added. “You in?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Of course,”
I said. “How will you know she failed?” I then asked.
“I’ll send Brutus for you at
sunrise tomorrow,” the pit said. “If she isn’t back by then,
he’ll have you do whatever you must to save her. If she is, then
he’ll escort you here, as I’m sure she’ll love to see you.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure to be at
the tavern, then,” I said. He nodded. “There’s someone else
who’d love to see her, if you’ll allow her to accompany me here.”
“The Feral?” he asked. I nodded,
and he shook his head. “I trust you, but I don’t know the foxy
bitch. Once we get Amaka properly situated here, she’ll be free to
go out and visit whoever she wants. I’m only allowing you to come
visit her should she make it back because I know how much you care
about her.” I nodded.
“Very well,” I said as I sipped
the last of the tea in my cup. “Anything else we need to discuss?”
“No,” Jacob said. “I do need
you to be gone before Amaka wakes up, though. Macy can show you out.”
I stood and thanked him for the tea.
He just nodded and continued to sip on his as I walked out of the
door. Macy was looking over paperwork as I stepped into the foyer.
“Mace!” Jacob yelled out. The
bunny jerked up and looked towards him. “Show him out, yeah?”
“Of course,” she said and walked
from behind the desk. She smiled at me as she walked towards the
stairs. I followed her down the stairs. I expected her to go through
the panel Jacob had lead me through, but she kept going passed it.
“I know Red would want me to show
you out through that labyrinth, but I get lost too easily,” she
quietly quipped as we turned the corner. I just chuckled and tussled
her hair, which earned me a slap and an annoyed “Hey!” Despite
the tease, her smile grew a bit.
We walked along the hallways until
we reached a door guarded by a bull, who opened the door and let us
both out. “Bye, Alakath!” Macy said as she surprised me by
pulling my head down to her level and planted a quick kiss on my
lips. “Stay safe!” I said I would as I waved at her and made my
way to Johan’s.
When I got here, I waited with
Gladia until Starlight walked in, which was a few hours past sunset.
She was clearly upset she couldn’t find Amaka. I pulled her into a
hug and told her that Amaka was safe. The girls looked at me puzzled
at how I knew that. Gladia asked as much, and I told them the gist of
what’s going on.
I hope that helps them rest easy for
tonight at least. I also hope I don’t wake them when I leave in the
morning to go to the tavern. I hate not bringing them, but I fell
it’s best that way so they don’t complicate things further than
they already are.
