Firesign 1 - Wage Slave Rebellion (15 page)

Raedren wished that were true. Then he could have taken a nap without any worries.
That would be…

Raedren shook his head violently, snapping himself awake. He dimly realized the patient had asked a question. He tried to remember what it was.

“Sorry?” asked Raedren.

“I said, are you okay?” said the man. He was clearly concerned.

“Don’t worry about it.” Raedren patted the patient’s shoulder. “I could do this in my sleep.”

And I may have to,
thought Raedren. He blinked. It took him a full five seconds, and ended with his eyes only partially open.

Raedren wobbled in his seat, slumping slowly to one side before he caught himself and straightened up. He opened his eyes wide, but in the dark examination room this did nothing but make him even more sleepy. He shook his head, and then slowly leaned forward, letting his head hang over the patient’s legs.

“Hey. Can you do me a favor?” said Raedren slowly.

The patient looked around. He was the only other one there. “Yes? What’s the favor?”

“To be honest with you, I’ve … long story short, I’m exhausted, but if I fall asleep I’m going to be in a lot of trouble,” said Raedren. What he didn’t mention was the talk he had with his boss the other day, the mention of slipping performance, and how he was afraid they might fire him. Instead, he said: “And that would be bad. So if I fall asleep again, and anyone else comes in here, I want you to kick me. I’ll make up an excuse for why you did it, just kick me until I’m awake.”

“But, what about my finger?” said the patient, holding up his four-fingered hand.

“I’ll give you a discount on your treatment,” slurred Raedren.

“Sold!” said the patient immediately.

Raedren smiled. “Thank you. Now would you mind talking about something? Anything will do. I just don’t want to pass out.”

There was a long silence. “Sorry about this, but if I’m only getting the discount if you fall asleep, I kind of hope—”

“I’ll give you the discount regardless,” said Raedren.

“So I was talking to my pal Reigus the other day,” said the patient, “and he was talking about how…”

Raedren focused on the man’s story like his financial life depended on it. Because it did.

*      *      *

Gavi looked out across the bar. It was pretty slow today, so there was little for her or the rest of the wait staff to do. There were only three of them there right now—herself, leaning against the bar, Tielyr, doing inventory on the liquor bottles, and Derana, wiping off a dirty table and chatting with the regulars.

Since Gavi started working earlier in the day her income had dropped from lack of tips, and it didn’t look like today would be any different. What she did have was time to think. Or rather, time to worry.

Gavi caught Derana as she was walking past. “Hey, Der. You have a minute?”

“Of course,” said Derana. She flashed Gavi a big, open smile. “What’s up?”

Gavi glanced over at the regulars. “Do you mind if we talk in the back?”

“Aww, you don’t have to do that,” said Scraggly. “We weren’t going to eavesdrop or anything.”

“I don’t see why not,” said the Professor, a gaunt, bald man with dark skin and burgundy robes. He took a sip from his wine. “You always do.”

“Because if I tell her that, then they’ll go somewhere I can’t hear ’em,” said Scraggly.

“Ah. Of course,” said the Professor.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to give you the chance,” said Gavi. “Anyone need anything right now?”

They all indicated that they were fine.

Gavi turned to Tielyr. “Do you mind watching the place for a few? We shouldn’t be long, but you can come get us if it gets busy.”

He nodded. “Sure. Take your time.”

They headed back.

“So, what’s wrong?” asked Derana as she sat on a liquor crate next to Gavi.

Gavi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She wasn’t sure how to go about this, so after a minute she just blurted it out.

“Am I gunna get myself killed?”

Derana took this in stride admirably. “You mean with this quest?”

Gavi nodded and hugged her legs to her chest. “I don’t know. The thing is, I still haven’t decided whether I’m going to help actually capture the kidnappers, assuming we find them. I mean if we have to then I’ll certainly fight, but do I
want
to? The other day Mazik told me that I didn’t have to fight, and that they’d give me a third of the reward no matter what after all I’ve helped so far. He said he only wanted me to do it if I wanted to. The problem is, I don’t
know
if I want to. Every day I have a different answer. It’s gotten to the point where I’m not even certain I want to find them, and I don’t think I can do my best with that kind of half-hearted enthusiasm.

“The thing is, I know that if I have to decide when we’re actually out there, I’ll probably end up doing it,” said Gavi. “I mean, how could I not, with people’s lives on the line? What if there’s somebody I could have saved, someone who will die if I don’t help? And as soon as I start thinking like that, I don’t know if there’s any way I could
not
do it. Even if I end up dying stupidly, that’s better than letting someone die because I was too scared—especially since that person could be Mazik or Raedren.

“But I don’t want to die stupidly!” said Gavi. “And what if I slow them down? What if someone ends up dying
because
I tried to help? What if it’s Mazik or Raedren?” She held out a hand, her palm up, and clenched it weakly. “I mean, I’m not that strong. Compared to those two, I’m a miserable caster. I don’t know how much I’ll even be able to do, and the second Raedren isn’t around to cast barriers on me, I could be in real trouble. And I don’t want to die.”

Gavi slumped forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she stared at the ground ahead. “I just don’t know. I feel like I have to do it, but I still don’t know if I want to.”

There was silence for a time, and then Derana pulled Gavi into a hug.

“Don’t worry, hon,” said Derana, stroking her hair as she rocked her friend back and forth. “I know you may not feel like it next to Mas Raeus and Mas Moro, but to me you’ve always been very strong. I think you’re more than capable of doing whatever you want to do. I mean, you stop fights in here all the time, right?”

“Yes, but they’re not serious,” said Gavi. “They’re usually so drunk they can hardly stand.”

“But neither are you,” said Derana. “Serious, I mean. And they’re still adventurers. If you get serious, and Mas Raeus and Mas Moro are there to help you, I’m sure you can do it.”

“But you don’t know how powerful these kidnappers are!” said Gavi, pulling away. “And neither do we. What if they’re too strong for us to handle? What if even Mazik and Raedren have trouble with them? If they have trouble, what hope do I have?”

Derana pulled her back into the hug, stifling Gavi’s objections on her chest. “Hush. I believe in you. You don’t hear about most adventurers searching all over the city for three weeks straight. You’ll be rewarded for your effort someday, I promise.”

“I’m just stubborn,” said Gavi. “That doesn’t mean I’m any
good
.”

“It’ll work out,” Derana assured her. She gave her a squeeze. “I believe in you. Seriously.”

The problem, Gavi thought as she emerged from the back room, was that while the person Derana had described sounded amazing, Gavi wasn’t sure it was her. There was no way Derana could understand the gap between her and Mazik or Raedren, and no one knew how they would stack up against the kidnappers they were trying to find.

Gavi just hoped she wasn’t going to do anything to disappoint her friend. Or make her very sad.

*      *      *

They were certainly getting better, that was for sure.

Gavi glided down the street with the practiced ease most thieves never got a chance to develop. Gone were her bulky coat and leather armor; in their place she wore simple clothes made of soft, dark fabrics that wouldn’t rub together as she moved. And she was constantly moving—she had too much city to cover to stay idle.

Dressed in dark grays and dark blues, and with her hair gathered into a small ponytail behind her, Gavi looked like a hole in the darkness with a face. Half a face—she wore a scarf over her mouth and nose, and if she pulled her hood over her head, she disappeared completely. But she preferred to keep her ears uncovered and alert for anything suspicious.

Gavi crept up to a corner and scanned the streets around her, her eyes glowing with the least mana possible to still get the spell’s effect. There was no one. She pulled back into the alley.

The building beside her intrigued Gavi. In addition to keeping an eye out for kidnappings in progress, it was Gavi’s job to pinpoint potential travel routes, danger areas, and hiding places. It was for the latter reason that this building had attracted her attention.

Gavi looked it over. Compared to the buildings around it, this one was noticeably more dilapidated, and the sign she glimpsed hanging from the front door had said it was for sale, alongside the other sign that said the business here was bankrupt and gone.

Gavi decided to give it a closer look. She padded around the perimeter, looking for a way in.

A window in the back allowed her entrance. While breaking and entering was not strictly legal, the three of them had decided that if they could gain entrance to a place without causing too much damage, it was worth it for a chance to find the kidnappers, no matter how small. This window opened with only a little push. Privacy concerns aside, it was an easy choice.

Inside the building was dusty, and filled with boxes. Slinking through the darkness with nothing but the magick in her eyes to see by, Gavi poked through a few boxes. They were filled with old dolls and figurines, all of which hadn’t been touched in a long time.

Further searching revealed no basement and no signs of recent activity, save for around the front door and the desk nearby. It looked like Gavi was the first person to have been inside in a while.

Gavi slunk back into the storeroom. Once she obscured any sign of her entrance and made sure the window was still open, she clasped her hands together, two fingers pointing up, and rested them against her lips. Then she prayed.

“
Aa Stýlori, jish sže tak mluvoril áníh mi jan kdór, watohl kom žebych renaid a Raedren de wín slojuí,
” whispered Gavi, in the ancient language in which people first prayed to Stýlori, the God of Communication. It wasn’t a good rendition, but Stýlori wasn’t a stickler for pronunciation.

Gavi felt foreign magick tingling in her right hand. She raised a finger to her ear, making sure the rest of her hand was close to her mouth, and then spoke. “I just cleared the building at 4427 West Foulren. It doesn’t look like anyone has been here for a while.”

“
4427 West Foulren, got it,
” said Raedren’s voice inside her head
³³
.

“How are you doing?” asked Gavi aloud.

Three blocks away, Raedren sat on the roof of a deli, swathed in a coarse brown cloak and folding up a map. He shivered as he shoved the map underneath the bag beside him.

“I’m doing fine,” said Raedren as his gaze swept across the area, his irises glowing with the darker green of his mana
³⁴
. He did this every few seconds, and every few minutes he moved to a new position or vantage point so he could see other parts of the area. Raedren’s job was to be their mission control, tracking Mazik and Gavi’s findings while keeping a constant watch on their operating area.

“I haven’t seen many guards, and not a single other adventurer, so looking good,” said Raedren as his head constantly swiveled. He was wearing nearly the same thing as Gavi, save for the thick cloak, a much thicker scarf, and proper boots to make climbing onto rooftops a more pleasant proposition. Next to him was a bag with all of their provisions and extra gear, including maps and notes.

Raedren left the bag where it was and scuttled to another part of the building. If Gavi moved like a thief, Raedren moved like a frightened victim, kicking up too much noise with his boots and rough footsteps. Up on the rooftops, it didn’t much matter. Raedren resumed his vigil.

Gavi slunk out of the building, quietly closing the window behind her. “Great. Anything from Mazik?”

“
He checked in a few minutes ago. He’s still tailing people for practice. He’s found a lot of potential ambush spots though.
”

“Hmm, okay.” While she was listening Gavi moved toward the edges of the operating area. “Well, I’ll tell you if I find anything similar. Is Mazik still on the west side? I’m heading east now.”

“He is.”

“All right, thanks,” said Gavi as she examined a building. She decided to pass on it and moved on. “I’ll call you if I find anything.”

It wasn’t even fifteen minutes before Gavi did exactly that.

Gavi’s head jerked to the side as she detected movement. Pulling closer to the wall, Gavi let more mana flow into her eyes.

There, not even two blocks away, were five figures. The first four were wrapped in black robes, their forms blurred by obfuscating magick, while the fifth was stuffed inside a heavy burlap sack slung over the middlemost figure’s shoulder.

Black robes
, thought Gavi. She stiffened.

Acting completely on instinct, and her eyes never leaving the robed figures, Gavi raised a finger to her mouth and spit out the words to Stýlori’s prayer as quickly as she could.

“I-I think I found them!”

*      *      *

Mazik and Raedren sprinted through empty streets, running to catch up.

“How’s she doing?” asked Mazik.

“She’s keeping up,” said Raedren.

Gavi was indeed keeping up, but it wasn’t easy. Between not losing the kidnappers, making sure they didn’t see her, and constantly updating Raedren on her location, Gavi was pouring all of her not-so-considerable experience into the task, and was barely managing. So far.

“Update,”
said Raedren.