B2 Chapter 223: Growing Problems, Finale

The common folk were getting desperate, Kaius realised.

It wasn’t so much their looks. Most seemed well enough fed, and as clean as anyone could expect to stay in a city.

No—it was the pervasive tension that seemed to seep from their very pores, suspicion and anxiety hanging over the city streets like a contagious miasma.

Where before people had gone about their business with single minded focus, weaving their way through the crowds and brushing shoulders, now people were slow.

Furtive, as they watched those closest to them out of the corner of their eyes—scanning their surroundings just a little too frequently.

As visibly travelled as they were, with a ‘warbeast’ at their sides, he and Ianmus got by far the most looks.

Equal parts envy, suspicion, and occasionally an unnerving level of concern.

It had to be what was sending Explorer’s Toolkit haywire. Muted and dampened as it was by his presence in a settlement, it was hard to get a clear reading.

Just potential danger, somewhere, an a feeling of being watched.

He just hoped it wasn’t a portent of budding unrest, and uneasy populace one bad day from a riot.

Kaius shook his head, hoping to clear the discomfort—they’d be in the Delver’s district soon. That, at least, had proven a surprising bastion of normalcy in the city. Afterall, it was a wealthy area, and its inhabitants by and large could look after themselves.

…

Kaius walked down the wide staircase of the Dusty Stables, Ianmus and Porkchop close at his heels. He enjoyed the little animal motif that had been engraved into the skirting boards—a little bit of whimsical fun that he’d grown to appreciate about Hensch’s taste in decor.

After entering the city, they’d made full haste to the inn, eager to get their rooms secured and wash off the trail dust—Hensch had been as helpful as ever, simply passing over the keys and reopening their account. Kaius would have been happy to pay up there and then, but the innkeeper had insisted that it was easier to do it this way when they would, in all likelihood, be coming and going unpredictably.

That first wash in the Stable’s heated baths was heaven. Kaius might have been a man of the wilds, but hot water was one of the few luxuries that he could admit were worth the discomfort of the crowds.

If only artifacts that produced enough hot water to wash with weren’t so bloody expensive if they were anything approaching a portable size. Though, his other option was a larger spatial storage, something that would be a little bit more difficult to acquire than what amounted to an expensive luxury trinket.

As nice as it was to be clean, none of them had dawdled—meeting in Kaius’s and Porkchop’s shared room with damp hair and clean gear. Their conversation with Rieker and Ro loomed—two of them, in actual fact.

Kaius felt like he wouldn’t be able to relax until it was done. The inevitable dressing down and planning for their next mission was one thing, but now that they had decided the course of seeking Rieker’s help with Porkchop’s Aspect, and on sharing their knowledge of Honours, the anticipation was gnawing at the back of his neck like a gnat.

The sooner they could be done with it, the better.

A board flexed as he stepped down onto the main floor of the Inn. A couple of delving teams—scattered across the common room—looked up, before giving him a nod and turning back to their conversations.

Hensch, on the other hand, hurried out from behind his counter. He smiled at them, carrying three packages wrapped in brown paper.

“Kaius! I was about to come up.” he said, juggling the packages until they were piled in one hand—freeing him up for a handshake.

Yong, his bonded beast, looked up from their bed at the bar’s entrance, peering curiously at what had gotten their companion to move. The cat let out a friendly chirp as he saw Porkchop looming in the corner of the room, before they resettled themselves and returned to napping.

“Hensch—thanks again for working with us quickly, we needed that clean. We’ve got business at the guild, but I imagine we’ll be back for dinner—maybe you can tell me more of that story of how you found Yong in the southern jungles, eh?”

“Of course, my friend! We hadn’t even gotten to the best part before you last left!” the innkeep replied. “But listen, I know you missed lunch, and I doubt you got the chance to eat much if you’ve been on the road since this morning. I made you a few sandwiches. I was going to bring them up, but I suppose you could always eat them on the way to the guild.”

Kaius grinned, nodding to the man as he took the waxy paper packages—a quick peek inside showing thick slabs of bread filled with some leftover roast, cheese, and leafy greens.

For what felt like the thousandth time, Kaius was glad he’d decided to take Ro’s suggestion on lodgings to heart. Hensch had proven himself to be a wonderful host—making their stays easy enough that he was of half a mind to think he was almost as good as Hurrin. Though, he did think that the beer in Three Fields was better.

“Seriously, Hensch, you didn’t need to do that. We could have gotten some food on the way.” Kaius said, shaking his head.

“Bah,” Hensch waved him off. “Nonsense—you’re some of my best customers, and Porkchop is awfully patient with Yong. Only the gods know what fresh hell you lot are getting up to outside of those walls, keeping soft men like me from ending up in some beast’s belly. A few left overs is the least I could do.”

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Accepting the praise with grace, Kaius nodded his head to the man. Hensch had proven himself steadfast in his welcome, and it was impossible not to like him.

Still, as much as it would have been nice to stay and chat, they did have places to be.

Giving the innkeep some final passing thanks, they left the inn—digging into their lunch as they went. However, Kaius did get more than one odd look as he tore chunks out of Porkchop’s meal to toss it to him.

….

After waiting patiently for a quarter hour, Kaius made his way to the front of the line that snaked its way through the guild’s common room. If he’d thought the place had been busy when they’d first arrived in Deadacre, now it was positively overflowing. The place had gotten so busy that he’d had to leave Porkchop and Ianmus at a table—the line would have been unmanageable if people had been sending up their full teams.

The air of celebration had fled too, leaving only focused eyes and hushed discussions as delving teams buzzed back and forth, turning in missions and picking up new ones.

As the man in front of him—wearing an interesting set of dark leather armour that seemed to shift and writhe in the light—left the counter, Kaius realised that the receptionist was the same well-built man that he’d seen working the desk a few times before.