Chương 167: 81. You've Brought Me Trouble

Sweat pours off my brow as I run all but aimlessly through the streets of Stebaari. My chest still hurts, despite the healing, causing painful twinges if I breathe too deeply or move my arm the wrong way. I know exactly why, too—it's the same mistake I made after being peppered by stone shrapnel back at the convergence point. The wound is closed, but the bullet is still in me. I don't look forward to learning the surgical standards of this world, but that's a problem for later.

First things first—surviving until tomorrow. In a morbid way, it's almost nostalgic to be in survival mode. Though it's odd to feel nostalgic for something that happened so recently.

"Feels like I've lived two years in as many months," I grumble. Focus, I remind myself. The streets are mostly empty, either evacuated by the throng of people fleeing the forum or otherwise sensible enough to close their doors and windows until whatever is happening blows over. Not completely empty, though.

"Miss!" a worried serpentfolk calls out, slithering over.

"Are you alright? We heard the sound of fighting and then shouting for everyone to stay inside." Shouting that they apparently ignored.

"Inquisitors... fighting... riot," I wheeze between gasping breaths.

"After us." The serpentfolk stranger blinks.

"Which side?" I give the friendly passer by a pained smile that probably looks more like a grimace.

"Both." They cock their head at me for a moment, then lift themselves up on their tiny hind legs and stretch up to their full height—almost twice my own. Their tongue flicks out to taste the air and they narrow their eyes.

"I see. You are Miss Maev, are you not?" they ask as they lower themself back down to my eye level.

"Unfortunately," I confirm. The serpentfolk nods once.

"Follow me." I don't have it in me to argue, and there's bound to be inquisitors on my heel, even slowed down by the rebels, so I chase after the shockingly fast snake person. They slither between a pair of sandstone buildings—less of an alleyway and more of a narrow gap. Even I have to turn sideways to shimmy through, but the broad-shouldered serpentfolk has a surprisingly flexible bone structure and just squishes their way through.

With their unique body shape, they effortlessly slither through the narrow gap, even ducking beneath a chest-high outcropping that stops me cold.

"Agh, ssprshi," the stranger curses.

"I forgot about this part. Pardon me, miss..." Before I can ask what for, their tail curls around my ankles and drags me underneath. I hit the ground pretty hard and gasp from the pain in my chest, but a moment later they pull me back up to my feet, winded but otherwise okay.

"Ow," I groan.

"Many apologies, miss," the serpentfolk calls back.

"But I do not believe we have time for me to be more gentle." I bite back the complaints welling up in my chest as we emerge on the other side of the buildings, instead asking the question nagging at the back of my mind.

"Why are you helping us?" They gesture for me to follow behind them, continuing down the street towards yet another gap.

"Sszlaw speaks of what you did for us," they reply as I follow closely alongside them.

"The People remember our friends. Now come—it's well that you are small enough to fit through the slitherways. Er, mostly."

"I'm surprised you fit through them," I mutter. The stranger grins and flexes their bulky upper-arms.

"That is why we will not be followed! Fa'aun think we are too large to fit through small spaces. They have not lived in the jungles of our home."

"Have you?" I ask as we shimmy into another gap.

"Er, no, but one hears tales, yes?" they concede.

"Right. Warn me if we go through another gap, okay?" I request, before adding.

"Also, where are we going?" They make an odd hissing sound that I don't know how to interpret.

"Worry not, I will not make that error again. We make for the serpent quarter. You will be safe among the People."

"They'll come looking for me," I warn.

"It will put your people in danger."

"That is for older and wiser folk to consider," they dismiss me.

"One does not leave a friend in need."

"You don't even know why the inquisitors are after us," I point out.

"No. But I know that my mate survived their illness," they counter.

"Perhaps they would have without you, but you helped. That is enough." I don't know how to respond to that. We make it the rest of the way there in relative silence, without any sign of our pursuers. In fact, once we get far enough away, there's little sign at all that a riot is happening elsewhere in the city. The serpentfolk slither by, politely greeting me as they pass but otherwise leaving us be.

The peaceful atmosphere isn't as comforting as I'd like, though that might be for the best—the fact that I'm so on edge might be all that's keeping me awake. That and the tearing pain of the bullet in my chest every time I move.

"Now what?" I ask.

"Hm, we are not a true tribe, but the community here has its elders," the snake person whose name I'm starting to regret not getting says.

"Let us see what they have to say." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. They lead me to a house that looks no different from any of the others around it. Like most of the city, the construction here is mostly sandstone bricks, but the serpentfolk like to decorate their structures with creeping vines and hanging plants. Reminiscent of home, maybe? Or is that racist to think? Either way, they lead me inside without even knocking to announce themselves.

The house doesn't even have a real door, I realize, so much as a colorful curtain to keep out the sand and dust. The interior antechamber has a filthy shag rug, the purpose of which is made immediately evident when my guide does an extra wriggle to scrub the street dust from their scales as we enter. I wipe my shoes to follow suit and follow them in. We cross through another curtain into a large room, where we're met by the largest serpentfolk I've seen.

They lounge on a pile of scattered cushions and the many coils of their own body. Rather than being bulky or muscular, the lithe serpentfolk is just long, their coiled body wrapping around and around itself in the illusion of a never-ending spiral. Most of the snake people have green, brown-yellow, or black scales, but this person's scales are a very pale yellow—almost white or gray in places. Their bright yellow eyes and vertically slit pupils fixate on me as we enter and their tongue flicks out to taste the air.

"You've brought me trouble, young hatchling," the elder hisses.

"This one tastes of blood and desperation." My guide dips their head.

"Forgiveness, Elder Kassha, but Maev is a friend of the People. I did as I have been raised."

"So you did," the elder replies. Their upper body lifts itself from their coils and drifts over to me without even touching the ground. Kassha brings their face uncomfortably close to mine and cocks their head.

"I recognize what you have done for us, friend. But we cannot shelter you." I nod in acknowledgement.

"I wouldn't ask it of you, but the inquisition—""I am aware of what happens in the city," they cut me off.

"The People have kept our scales clean of it. Since taking control of the inquisition, Lady Shaa has barely tolerated our presence. We cannot be seen getting our claws dirty."

"Lady Shaa is dead," I reply quietly.

"Do you think this is an improvement?" she asks sardonically.

"You've met the one who will replace her as matriarch." Oh no, Mira. I wince at the thought of it. That is going to be a nightmare.

"I'm sorry. Thank you for helping us escape," I say with a bow.

"I'll leave right away."

"Mm, I did not say we cannot help you," the elder muses.

"The Goddess' path has led you here. It seems I am meant to show you the path forward." They back off, then their tail extends to push aside a curtain at the back of the room beside them, leading to a slightly treacherous looking ramp sloping down into the darkness.

"Young Msshi will guide you through the tunnels to the harbor district," Kassha instructs.

"I believe that is where your path must lead." I blink.

"Jira, of course. Wait—how did you know?" The elder chuckles.

"The captain is another friend of the People—and a personal one as well. She is among the few who continue to bring us supplies from home, despite the embargo. She offers us a fair price, where the Fa'aun nobility must pay a truly unreasonable premium." My guide, Msshi, chuckles.

"Even more than what we charge."

"Don't be indiscreet, Msshi," the elder chides. I glance between the two of them, putting the pieces together. The Blessed Lands refuse to trade with the Empire after their last war, but Jira uses her connections to bring goods back down the river. She then sells those goods at unfair premiums to make up for smuggling them past the embargo—except to the serpentfolk, who then conveniently get to sell those very same goods at a slightly less unreasonable premium.

Some nobles pay the extra just to avoid dealing with serpentfolk, others bite the bullet, and both are purchasing from the same source. Jira and the serpentfolk probably split the profits, maintaining the illusion of competition and probably making a killing on inflated premiums. Given that they have an entire tunnel network set up, it's probably not the only smuggling that the serpentfolk are involved in. I frown slightly at that thought.

"Elder Kassha, have you moved alchemical arms through those tunnels recently?" I ask. The elder gives me a long look, then sighs.

"Me? No. But the People are not a monolith. I can advise, but not control. There are other elders, and always hatchlings who think they know better."

"That's a yes, but she can't afford to admit it," Allie helpfully provides.

"She's worried what will happen if it gets out that there were serpentfolk involved in smuggling arms for the rebels."

"[I'm more worried about the fact that the inquisition was probably behind that smuggling]," I reply in our own language.

"[Doesn't that mean they already know? And more importantly, that they know about the tunnels?]""Let's be careful," Eva suggests.

"Thank you for your help, Elder," I say, bowing once more.

"We should be going." The guide makes for the tunnels as Kassha dismisses us, but I hesitate before following. Should I tell them?

"Uh, if any serpentfolk were involved in smuggling alchemical arms," I mutter quietly.

"The inquisition already knows." The elder turns to meet my gaze and slumps wearily back into the pile of their own coils.

"I am aware." Ah. I nod in farewell and hurry after the guide.

"Follow closely," they warn.

"These tunnels are a labyrinth that only the People know how to traverse."

"How did you build all this?" I ask in wonder. The tunnels are quite sturdy, reinforced with brickwork and paved better than half of the city's roads.

"Very carefully," the guide replies with a chuckle.

"These are meant to be sewers, but the Fa'aun have yet to do their part in connecting them to the surface—except in a few districts, such as the Goa." Huh. I've heard of sewers being used as tunnels for smuggling, but I never considered going the other way—turning smuggling tunnels into sewers. It's a clever way to justify their existence, and a pity that the nobility in charge are wasting perfectly good infrastructure. I lose track of time as Msshi guides us through the winding tunnels.

My skills have long since worn off, and I feel like I might pass out at any second, but the sound of voices ahead snap me back to attention right away.

"Are there supposed to be other people down here?" I ask nervously.

"Only the People," he replies, as unnerved as I am.

"Those are Fa'aun voices." It sounds like someone shouting orders, but the echoing tunnels distort their voices too much for me to make out. I keep one hand on my knife and the other clenched tightly around our rock as we slowly advance. A high pitched squeak from a nearby offshoot nearly startles me out of my skin as I draw my blade and whirl around, coming face to face with...

"Fargo's pet?" I ask incredulously. The cat-ferret creature chitters indignantly and starts pummeling my shins.

"Taaka!" Maggie cheers.

"Hey girl! What are you doing here?" Somehow, the ferret seems to hear her and perks up at her voice, then tugs at our skirts, as if pulling us down the tunnel it just came from.

"That's the wrong way," our guide warns us.

"The exit to the public harbor is this way. That leads to Gaa's district and their private harbors, but there are no entrances there." Taaka's tugging grows more insistent, and I glance back down the tunnel we were already heading towards, where the voices are coming from. Ultimately, it's not a very difficult decision.

"Follow that ferret!" Maggie orders.