Chương 67: Arc 2 - Chapter 9

"I can't believe we agreed to this," Lynn groused.

"You took advantage of us in our intoxicated state," Veronica lamented insincerely. It had been hours since he enlisted their help and made their way here, the day was just dawning and they'd had plenty of time to sober up. He hadn't been idle though while they regained their wits, he had been bribing and talking to those who might have a good idea of Nic's routine.

It cost him the rest of his triads, but the information was integral for his plan's success, as he didn't want the powerful thug anywhere near the Sunken Spire lest they be discovered and have to fight their way out. Something he knew wouldn't turn out well for him and his crew. Fritz rolled his eyes, and said, "It'll be fine. When have my plans ever gone wrong? Bert don't speak."

"Could we have at least brought an umbrella?" Veronica asked wiping the pouring rain from her eyes.

"An umbrella would give you away, and you've got your raincoats," Fritz hissed down to the 'cart crew', which consisted of Bert, Lynn and Veronica all hidden behind the alley's corner. Fritz himself was perched on a roof, watching for Nic to leave the tunnels that led down to the Sunken Spire and the stashed Treasures. He had it from multiple sources that Nic always got a hot breakfast just after dawn, so Fritz decided that was the best time to strike if they wanted to avoid him.

Much to his surprise a storm hawk swooped down and landed right on the ledge next to Fritz and looked him over with an inquisitive eye. It seemed to be the very storm hawk he'd seen two nights ago when they had been let out of the tunnels. Maybe it had a nest near here? Fritz wondered.

"Why hello, aren't you a pretty thing?" Fritz said once his shock had worn off. The hawk tilted its head a let out a small squawk, and Fritz called down to Bert, "Throw me a fish." Bert raised an eyebrow but shrugged and complied, reaching into the bucket he held and tossing up a mackerel that Fritz snatched deftly out of the air. Fritz offered the fish to the storm hawk and it ruffled its blue-black wings and shuffled closer on its razor-sharp, silver talons.

With a startling speed, it pecked the mackerel right out of his grip and swallowed it down in a few short seconds. It let out a slightly louder squawk as if demanding more and shuffled even closer.

"You're a greedy one aren't you?" Fritz said as it got within arms reach.

"Who are you chattering to up there?" Veronica hissed.

"A hungry hawk," Fritz explained.

"You should get rid of it," Bert suggested seriously.

"No witnesses."

"No witnesses? It's only a curious little hawk, I'm going to name him-eeoouch!" Fritz cried as the hawk pecked at his hand, splitting a two-inch long gouge down his flesh with its appallingly sharp silver beak.

"Bastard!"

"That's a terrible name!" Veronica said.

"I like it," Bert replied.

"Shut up, the lot of you," Lynn growled.

"I think I see something." Pulling his attention away from the hawk and back to the alley Fritz could see that Lynn was right, a figure with its back to them and in an oil coat was walking away from the entrance to the tunnels. Again the hawk distracted him with a squawk and a threatening lunge which he dodged by stepping away from the roof's ledge. Missing Fritz by a hair its beak sparked against the stone leaving a fine furrow in its wake.

The hawk swivelled its head and turned a baleful lightning-blue eye on him.

"Piss off, Bastard!" Fritz whisper-yelled at the bird as he cradled his bleeding hand to his chest. It puffed out its breast and was seemingly about to let out a powerful screech. Worried the hawk's cry would alert the oilcoat he was mostly certain was Nic, Fritz grabbed his almost empty triad purse and opened it wide. He called on his Dusksong to imbue his hands and pouch with Gloom Strike.

It was difficult to spread the shifting shadowy energies over the purse as it obviously wasn't what the Ability was intended for, but his Control and some strange effect of his mana allowed him to wreath it with some small amount of wisping, whispering shade. The hawk's eye followed his hands easily, seemingly unaffected by the obscuring shadows and it lunged towards Fritz attempting to pierce him again with its razor-sharp beak.

He was ready though and through the efforts and power of his Grace was able to redirect the hawks pecking head into the open mouth of the purse. He pulled on the purse strings hard, cutting off the evil bird's shriek of rage as it plunged into blinding blackness. With a twist, he tied the pouch fast around the hawk's neck then stepped back away from the glittering flash of an arcing talon.

The sudden swipe would have sliced his belly open and spilled his guts over the rooftop if he hadn't already felt the cut coming and acted on his Danger Sense's warning. The hawk ducked its still-covered head and Fritz could see it was about to cut itself free of the bag so he rushed the creature and struck out with a pushing kick. His boot met the hawk's surprisingly solid breast with a thud and knocked it off the ledge. It let out a muffled squawk as it fell into the cart below.

Luckily his crew were not amateurs and didn't scream or yell about the sudden appearance of a falling, flailing hawk. Lynn was on the bird in an instant, her stony fists sparking as they were struck by the talons. She gripped the hawk's legs holding them still with some obvious effort while Bert wrapped his hands around its beak which had cut through Fritz's cloth pouch. It tried to screech but only a soft whistle escaped as Bert's hands began to drip with blood.

With the bastard bird caught Fritz quickly turned his attention back to the man in the oilcoat, praying they hadn't noticed the sound of their scuffle over the rain's eternal drumming. They were lucky, the man reached the end of the alley and turned the corner, leaving them unnoticed at the opposite end. With a sigh Fritz scrabbled down from his vantage point and joined his current crew around the cart and the still-struggling storm hawk.

"What do we do?" Lynn asked.

"It's really strong for a bloody bird."

"I can break its neck," Bert suggested with a grimace. Something about that course of action irked Fritz and gave him a feeling of foreboding he couldn't explain. His stomach fell at the very thought of them harming the hawk any further.

"Hold onto it until we have our cart in the tunnels, then let it go," Fritz ordered.

"Bastard's cutting up my palms," Bert groused.

"Maybe it wasn't such a terrible name after all," Veronica mused as she watched Bert and Lynn wrestle the bird until it eventually went limp from exhaustion.

"I'm going to go open the door," Fritz said.

"Wait here until I give the signal. Wrap the Bastard up if you can, just in case it's biding its time."

"It's a bloody bird, it can't be that smart," Lynn said. Fritz ignored the comment and rapidly snuck to the large heavy door to the tunnels. Pulling his metal bone lock picks free he slotted them into the lock. He winced as the back of his hand stung from his movements, but soon heard the telling clunk of the lock. Next, he tried the handle and exhaled with relief as the wood swung inward. He was extremely grateful that the door hadn't been barred. Finally a lucky break.

Fritz gave the signal and his crew and the cart came lumbering forward and into the tunnel proper within the minute. He was about to give the order to release the hawk but changed his mind, as a sudden uneasy feeling flared his caution.

"We're keeping the bird, keep it quiet Bert," Fritz commanded quietly so his voice wouldn't echo.

"What? Why?" Bert whispered back.

"Bad feeling," Fritz said.

"Bad feeling?" Lynn asked incredulously.

"It'll make a lot of noise and maybe bring Nic back," Fritz said rationalising what was likely just paranoia. Lynn and Veronica looked sceptical but Bert nodded with unshakeable trust so they went along with his absurd demand binding the bird more thoroughly with some twine and canvas covering around its body and beak. They tied the stiff hawk up until it resembled an overly enthusiastically, haphazardly wrapped birthday present.

Though Fritz wasn't able to see the hawk's eyes he knew it was glaring with great maleficence. Fritz closed the heavy door behind them and Veronica said, "It's too dark, can't see a thing."

"Hold on to the cart, I'll scout ahead. It'll be fine, just like old times," Fritz said reassuringly. Veronica shivered, "That's not the comfort you think it is, Fritz." But composing herself she lay one hand on Lynn's arm and one hand on the wooden cart and grasped them both tightly.

"Let's go then," Fritz intoned, leading the way into the black, winding, damp and dripping tunnels. While the tunnels looked identical to most laymen Fritz was barely having any trouble at all, not even a little bit. Okay, I might be a little lost, he internally admitted after nearly ten minutes of trying to find their way. Still, he forged on, heading towards where he thought he heard the sounds of the sloshing lake. He almost cried in relief when he finally found an intersection he remembered clearly.

Giddily he skulked forward and could definitely hear the waves that surrounded the Sunken Spire, within minutes Fritz motioned for them to stop the cart, as its grinding wheels would give them away instantly if there were a lookout on the cliff by the lake, which he knew there would be. As Fritz snuck down the tunnel he saw the unmistakable gleam of blue-green reflecting on the wet stone brick. He crept towards the eerie light as quietly as he could manage, which with his Grace was quite quiet indeed.

He reached the opening of the domed cavern and peered within. There, just as he remembered, was the Spire and the lake, and sitting only ten yards away was a man in an oilcoat with a bitterly familiar mop of dark, lank hair. Fritz grinned grimly, it seemed he'd have his Treasure and his revenge all in one fell swoop. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. An idea occurred to him, so he unlaced his boots then removed them quietly.

He would need to be as silent as possible so the clunky boots had to go. He kept the thick laces in his hands and left the boots by the entrance, then he began his approach, slowly and steadily creeping towards Kev's defenceless back. Though the stone was cold and slick he didn't slip or stumble. Something splashed within the water and Kev turned to watch it, Fritz froze hoping he wouldn't be spotted from the corner of the thug's bored eye.

Kev scratched his head and grumbled, "Why do I got to stand here, not my fault there was no Treasure." Fritz looked around just to make sure the man was complaining to the empty air and when he was certain there was no one else save him he resumed his stalking. His eyes were drawn to the boots the man was wearing. Fritz's boots. A cold fury boiled in his chest. Within nine heartbeats he stood behind Kev, could see the white flakes in his greasy, hair and felt the cold churning and burning within his chest.

Resonating, resounding with his Dusksong. One more step and Fritz whispered into the man's ear, "Your shoelaces are untied." Before Kev could spin Fritz looped his bootlaces around the man's neck, like a garrote, and heaved on them, pulling them taut. Kev choked, spat and grasped at the laces. When his fingers found no gaps he changed tactics, pushing backwards into Fritz's chest then attempting to haul him off his feet with his far superior strength.

It might have worked if Fritz hadn't thrown off the man's balance with a perfectly placed Stone Pit below one foot and a precisely aimed shadowed kick to the back of his knee. Staggering Kev fell awkwardly, painfully to his knees and began scrabbling again at the laces squeezing his throat. Fritz pulled back harder, pushing his own knee into the small of the thug's back. Fritz's heart thrummed in his chest beating along to some cheerful chime somewhere near his centre as he denied the man even one breath.

One of the laces snapped from the terrible strain but Fritz redoubled his grip and strength on the unbroken strand, he didn't want to think what would happen if Kev got free. The last lace held as Kev's struggles became sluggish, slow and eventually stopped. His arms dropped limply to his sides and his head nodded forward. Fritz held on tight, his heart still pounding, and his mind wary of any trick. Caution saved him again as Kev stiffened and fought one last time, straining, flailing.

His skin changed to the colour of stone and he scratched at his neck with grey hands. His strength was immense and Fritz was afraid that lace would break, that the Stone Skin would allow Kev to catch a breath and cursed himself for not just going for his dagger and cutting the man's throat when he had the chance instead. Fritz fought with every ounce of his being, his eyes went wide as the lace bulged and Kev gasped in a tiny gulp of air. Fritz aimed another Stone Pit.

Not on the floor this time but instead on the thug's neck, pushing with all his Control to soften the man's skin around his throat. It seemed to work, the lace pulled tighter even as the Ability pushed back against his will. He cast the spell again, feeling his Stamina drain away and his vision going dark around the edges like it was him being suffocated not the other way around. Then, finally, after what seemed like an hour of fierce fighting Kev stopped moving and mercifully, sagged then slid into oblivion.

Struggling to stay standing himself Fritz lost track of time and after what could have been a moment or a minute he found himself panting, his arms aching and a grim pleasure pulsing in his centre as he held up the limp body. He tried to let go of the lace but his hands refused as they trembled and were seemingly too stiff to unclench. Fritz let out a sigh, relaxed his overly tense body and suddenly fell on his backside. All his furious, frantic energy fleeing him.

The body collapsed with him and Kev's head fell into Fritz's lap and stared bulging, bloodshot but completely lifeless eyes up at him. His ugly face wasn't much better in death and Fritz didn't want to see it or the terrible bruises splotched around the neck. Whatever feeling of triumph died as he looked at the dead man. His cold spite melting away in moments as he considered what he'd just done. Fritz shook his head, "It was you or me, one of us had to go.

And it was never going to be me," he told the corpse as he rolled the body off of himself.

"Well said," Veronica intoned, announcing herself as she stood in the entrance. Her eyes were warm and had a certain hardness to them when staring at him but when she gazed upon the dead body they went as cold as ice. Just as they had done in the Spire. Seeing her expression again almost made Fritz regret bringing her along.

"Why did you come?" Fritz rasped, stilling his unconsciously trembling hands.

"You took too long and Bert was worried," She said.

"But it seems you've got things under control." Fritz coughed, clearing his throat. S omething Kev was never going to do again.

"Ah, yes. Sorry you had to see this," Fritz said motioning to the body and feeling a bit sick at the sight himself.

"Seen worse. Done worse," Veronica said dismissively.

"Shall I get the others?"

"Yes, please, if you wouldn't mind," Fritz said with a polite smile that hopefully covered his weariness and nausea. She turned without another word and retreated down the passage. Fritz was left alone with only the corpse as company. With a resigned sigh he began to loot the body, nothing could go to waste, that and those boots were his. Rightful spoils both from the Spire and his successful revenge. He pulled the boots off the corpse and they came away with a whisper. Fritz slid them onto his own feet.

He grimaced, they were still warm. A bitter taste filled his mouth but he swallowed it down and looked away from the body's bloodshot stare. Standing with only a small wobble, Fritz made his way to where he knew the hidden hole in the cliff to be and, pulling out the obscuring rags, found their second stash of Treasures. He retrieved his bone dagger, barrier ring, pouch of gold and Bert's amulet.

Fritz smiled, some of the bitter taste fading, he Activated the amulet and felt warmth suffuse him and the aches in his muscles receded as the imbued Second Wind took effect. With a sigh, he stood and tucked the dagger into his belt, put the ring on his finger and waited as the clunking of wheels clattered closer. The cart rolled in and Bert and Lynn angled it into the centre of the rock cliff.

When they had stopped Fritz threw the Amulet of Repose to Bert who caught it with a grin and rapidly returned the brass chain to its home around his broad shoulders. Lynn looked around and spotted the body, "You killed him?" she asked with a small frown.

"I did. He deserved it," Fritz stated trying to make the words sound true to his own ears. Lynn shrugged and Bert said, "More bait can't hurt, too bad it's not live." Somewhat appalled but also somewhat comforted by his friend's callousness, Fritz began setting up the ropes.

"So Veronica, still up for the swim?" Fritz asked.

"Sure thing," She said taking off her coat and dress, then unclasping and removing her sandle-like shoes leaving her standing unabashed in a short grey shirt that bared her midriff and dark trousers with the leggings up to her thighs cut away showing off a scandalous amount of calf.

"Still don't know why Vee should have to do it," Lynn said as she eyed Veronica's pale body appreciably.

"You two have more Attributes."

"We'll just sink. We have Traits that make us too heavy," Fritz said.

"And you said you don't want to do it, Lynn. Unless you've changed your mind?" Veronica said, tying her hair back then placing a hand on her hip. Lynn shook her head.

"No, you're the better swimmer."

"That and her Grace will help her move better," Fritz added, not knowing exactly where to look but deciding to keep his gaze above her shoulders.

"Don't forget my Dancer's Steps boon, and Aesthetics Attribute," She said with a wink. Fritz coughed.

"Your Path did seem to come with some interesting… effects," He agreed.

"Damn right!" Bert said.

"Vee's a real beauty." Lynn nodded in agreement. They were right of course, the Aesthetics Advanced Attribute was said to make you able to sculpt or guide your face and form into something more pleasing, and Veronica had always been pretty. Now it was like most of her small imperfections had been sanded and smoothed away, leaving her distractingly gorgeous and she knew it. Fritz turned away, focused on getting everything ready.

While Bert reiterated that there was the water-breathing sludge in the rowboat that floated by the Spire and Lynn fussed over Veronica's safety.

"Yes, Yes I've got it, it's sweet that you both worry so much, but I can handle a little cold," Veronica said with a slight smile." I'll be but a moment." Fritz, Lynn and Bert watched her approach the lake with a confident, graceful stride. Then she gradually broke into to run and activated her Dancer's Steps. Her movements subtly changed, becoming more refined as her feet seemed to glide over the stone, barely touching its smooth surface.

She reached the cliff's edge and leapt into the air like a bird taking to flight before descending and diving in a sublime arc and making barely a splash as she plunged below the gleaming waves. Veronica was out of sight for almost a minute and Fritz was afraid that maybe the freezing water had caught her in its icy grasp and drowned her. It was only when he began to wring his hands that he saw her head pop out among the waves far away.

He let out a sigh and pointed her out to the others watching anxiously as she swam that last of the distance and pulled herself nimbly into the boat. Once Veronica had returned with the boat, Fritz jumped in with the bucket while Bert threw Kev's body into the centre of the vessel. The end of the anchor rope was thrown in as well as the grappling hook Fritz had bought the day before sturdily knotted to it. The rest of the rope stayed behind as did Bert and Lynn as their muscle was going to be needed to pull.

Fritz and Veronica each took an oar and rowed back out to the Spire, trailing a line of thick, anchor rope that led back to the cliffs. When they arrived at the Spire and they had stopped moving Fritz opened the bucket, taking a few of the mackerel and impaling them on the grappling hook. He hacked apart the rest with his dagger, turning them into the bloody, oily chum he needed. Covering his nose and pouring the bucket's stinking contents into the water he waited and watched for any signs of aquatic activity.

Bits of fish floated on the surface and some sank, and Fritz could tell that far below denizens of the depths stirred hungrily. Small and sparse, dark shapes glinted. They darted under the roiling water, but Fritz didn't drop his grappling hook into the lake yet, not when his target hadn't appeared. This area around the Spire was its territory, or so he'd hoped, and it should make an appearance... any time now.

While drumming his fingers on the rowboat's railing and intently staring at the water, he was startled by a cry from Veronica, who was pointing near the lake's surface on the other side of the boat.

"I think I see it, is that it!?" She shouted. Fritz squinted and saw what she had spotted, there jutting out of the waves like a dull grey fang was a fin as tall as him and almost as wide. It rushed towards the boat and bait, splitting the water like a sword. He gulped, maybe his plan wasn't such a great one after all, maybe he was an absolute moron and was about to get them killed. It all sounded fine, if ridiculous, back then while scheming and plotting in safety, but now, in the moment, it felt more like lunacy.

Idiot, no use backing out now! He screamed internally as he marshalled his Control and threw the baited hook in front of the fin's path. The fin cut past both the hook and the boat, diving into the depths and scattering the other monstrous, metallic fish. Its lurking shadow circled beneath the boat and suddenly the hook's rope was pulled deeper by some terrible strength.

It was now or never, holding onto the line Fritz swallowed down the foul slime of a water-breathing potion, took a huge breath and placed his dagger between his teeth like some kind of pirate. Then he dove. It was freezing but he was prepared for the cold, he wasn't, however, prepared for the speed he was moving through the water. He held to the rope desperately and could clearly see it trailing from the great armoured shark's mouth as he was dragged along.

It seemed the metal of the grappling hook was well and truly lodged tight between its shiny, razor teeth and thick pale gums. Fritz was exalted that the great grey-plated fish had taken the bait on the first try and had not cut apart the rope with its deadly bite. But he was still struggling to keep his grip as the rope tried to twist out of his hands.

Fritz clenched his fists tighter and dragged himself up the rope, it felt like climbing a mountainside but he continued on until he was right by the shark's swaying tail. It came at him and almost cut right through a leg but he was able to activate his barrier ring in time saving his limb from the axe-like blade as the bubble like field shunted the unintentional attack away. Fritz hastily climbed further and was yanked sideways as the shark sharply turned.

He held on for dear life, his arms ached and trembled, luckily the numbing cold took away some of the pain but not for long as the potion's heat poured from his lungs and soaked his body in warmth. Biting down hard on his blade he crawled further up the rope until he was beside one huge fin that stuck out like an iron rudder. Through stinging eyes, he could see the seam in the monster's dull plating, right between the fin and body.

Wrapping his arm and leg around the anchoring rope he used his good hand to take his dagger from his mouth and waited for an opportunity to strike. That moment came quickly as the shark turned again and Fritz was pulled close to its armoured side. Activating his dagger's cold curse and his own Gloom Strike, he plunged the silently shrieking blade below the fin, into the seam and pulled it through the tough flesh.

A cloud of red billowed out from where he cut and only increased when he slid the blade down and out from between the plates. He wondered if it was enough to kill the monster, but didn't get much time to think as the shark spun on him, staring Fritz down with an unfeeling pale eye. He felt the terrible premonition of his arm being torn to pieces by hundreds of cold knives. So he let go of the rope and kicked at the water, dodging the oncoming bite by a hair's breadth.

The shark's bulk glided past but not before Fritz wreathed his dagger in its curse again and pulled more cruel power from his Dusksong for another Gloom Strike. He stabbed down into the seam that ran almost the entire shark's body and held on as he sliced it, opening it to the salty lake. If the other plume of blood from the cut fin was a cloud then this was a storm. The red engulfed him and Fritz had to rely on only his Danger Sense and barrier ring to fight, twice the shark came back for him, twice he dodged.

There was no third time. After a minute of stillness, Fritz swam out from the obscuring fog of blood and followed the clear trail left by the wounded shark. There the plated beast was, floating below the waves, but not sinking despite its great weight. He wanted to yell and dance with joy, as the plan had almost come to full fruition, his greatest hurdle cleared and cleared with great gallantry.

But he still had to hold his breath for the potion to keep working so he flailed a little in the water as if dancing, but probably looking more like he was drowning. Lucky no one can see me then. It was then he noticed that the shark was getting further and further away, the hook and rope in its mouth gradually pulling it towards the cliff. Slowly sinking, Fritz fell to the bottom of the lake and began the trek to the cliffs, he had plenty of time left on the potion and could follow in the shark's shadow.

Cloak of Dusk seemed to work even in the water, the other fish and squid ignored him completely in the dark. Eventually, he reached the cliffs and found the thick netting they had thrown in, with a couple of jiggles of the net they began to haul him up. He mused that this must've been what fish felt like as he was pulled back into the brightness and unceremoniously dumped on the stone ground.

Fritz looked around as he got free of the coarse netting and stood, Bert and Lynn were there and got back to heaving on the shark rope, and Veronica was rowing the boat to the stony edge.

"Just as planned?" Bert asked.

"Perfectly," Fritz said jovially.

"Even better than perfectly, the shark floats somewhat so we won't have to haul it up so far. That and my feet are still wonderfully dry. I love these boots."

"We noticed," Lynn said offering Veronica a hand out of the boat which she took gratefully and turned into something of a twirl that landed her in Lynn's strong arms. They laughed and Lynn squeezed the woman who squeezed her back and gave her a peck on the lips.

"Hey, what about me?" Bert cried as he watched them.

"You'll get yours," Veronica said with a laugh.

"It's first come first serve," Lynn said with a wicked smile.

"You'll have to be quicker."

"I don't think I've ever been asked to be quicker," Bert replied easily with an equally wicked grin. Fritz coughed, interrupting... whatever the three were doing.

"Shark, net, Treasure," He explained succinctly, not willing to be pulled into their flirting. They all took a place along the thick rope and pulled until the shark's belly-up body floated next to the cliff face. Next was the netting they had tied themselves with the thicker than normal rope, Veronica dived in again to help secure it properly and had to drink another of the disgusting potions, disregarding both Lynn's and Bert's offers to warm her up with their body heat.

"I hope it holds," Veronica said as they heaved on the net, pulling the absolutely enormous shark onto land. It had to be at least thirty feet long and it was almost twice as tall as Fritz. He could have fit easily within its massive jaws and was unsure how he could ever have slain such a behemoth, even though he had. Maybe it was 'The Observations' at work, this was just the kind of large, lumbering foe it was made for fighting. He shook his head and hauled with the rest of his crew.

Without Bert's Momentum, Lynn's Overwhelm Ability and the Amulet of Reposes restorative power the metallic shark would have been impossible to move onto the cliff without pulleys winches and other mechanisms to help. But eventually, with great effort, sweating and grunting they managed to heave it over and onto the ledge. Finally the majority of the monster's bulk lay on smooth, stony ground.

"Now," Lynn said panting, "Where's the Treasure?"

"You're looking at it."