It was past noon, past lunchtime, and the tavern was pretty much empty. There were a few customers, mostly dock workers and teamsters, waiting for their next assignment or the next arriving airship. None of them seemed interested in the conversation. Hall wondered if any of them were working for the Door Knockers or even the Silver Blades.

  He hated that the map wasn’t showing who was good, for now, and who was potentially aggressive. There was no way, beyond observation, to know the allegiance of the tavern patrons.

  “What do you know about the Guild war?” Hall asked as they all sat down.

  He had kept his voice low, but she still looked around anxiously, eyes darting around the nearly empty tavern. She leaned in closer.

  “How do you know about that?” she asked.

  Hall waved away the question, just stared.

  “Look, I had no idea what was happening when Berim recruited me outside Grayhold. At that point, I had gotten the email about the Glitch and tried to log off but couldn’t. I was close to panic when I encountered him,” she explained. “I was new to these kinds of games. Like I said, my girlfriend got me to play. She was always the gamer. So, when I met Berim and got a quest, I followed him. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  She looked from one to the other. Hall wasn’t sure if she was looking for sympathy or understanding.

  “I did a couple jobs here and there along the way. Got lots of Skill Gains, a couple of Levels. Things looked good. I could forget that I was trapped here. But what I hadn’t realized was that I was getting in deeper with Berim.”

  She paused as a barmaid came by, carrying her food and new drink. Caryn smiled in thanks as it was set down. The barmaid looked at the others. They all shook their heads no. Annoyed, the barmaid stalked off.

  Caryn took a drink from the mug, staring at the food, pushing it around with a fork.

  “I guess I did,” she admitted, still not looking up. “But did it matter? I hadn’t seen any other Players; as far as I knew there were no others. What else was I supposed to do?”

  Hall nodded. He understood. Roxhard, Sabine, and himself had all ported into Grayhold by use of their old Town Stones. He had assumed it was that way for all the Players now trapped in the game. But there had to be some playing through the Glitch and never ported. But the more he thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense. The message from Electronic Storm said it had been two years since the Glitch, and they were reactivated. Wouldn’t Caryn have been reinserted as well?

  A question for another time. They were here for a purpose.

  “The Guild war,” he prompted.

  She glanced up at him and sighed.

  “We landed in Auld and hitched a ride on a caravan here. Turns out the caravan was owned by the Door Knockers. I was inducted into the Guild as a recruit and settled into my life.”

  Hall thought about the timeline. If she and Berim had come straight to Silver Peak Keep, they would have gotten here about the same time as Hall and the others had found the treasure in the mountains in northern Cumberland. And that had been weeks ago, a month or more.

  “Soon after the Silver Blades started moving in on Knocker territory,” she continued. “It’s been pretty quiet, both sides keeping it that way for now. But how did you know about it?” she asked again. “Why are you getting involved?”

  “Not by choice,” Sabine muttered.

  Caryn looked at her strangely, turning back to Hall.

  “We’ve basically been hired by the PeakGuards to stop the Guild war,” Hall explained. He had thought about not telling her, making something up, but why bother? It wouldn’t hurt for anyone to know. Might help them in the long run if they could work with the Door Knockers.

  Work with a thief’s Guild? Why not?

  “Why you?” she asked.

  “We’re not connected to the politics of Silver Peak Keep,” Hall explained. “And we’re expendable.”

  “Why not just leave?”

  “Can’t burn bridges in the city,” Hall replied and explained about Skara Brae and how Silver Peak Keep was the nearest city and would be the place they would need to trade with.

  “Makes sense,” Caryn said. She leaned back, watching each of them before sighing. “Okay, come with me.”

  They followed her through the warren of streets that created the maze of Peakdock. Some were wide enough for a wagon, most would be classified as alleys in the city up on the plateau. They had to walk single file through those. Angus trotted along between Hall and Leigh, near the front of the line. Pike was flying just above the rooftops, able to see between the homes and watch for ambushes.

  Hall didn’t trust Caryn. Not yet. He knew she was taking the long way, a winding route that would lead them lost and unable to find their way back again. A sound safety precaution. Hall didn’t fault her for that.

  He wondered how loyal to the Door Knockers she was. From the way she acted, what she said, he didn’t think she was invested in the Guild. They had helped her and it seemed that Caryn was working with them out of a sense of debt.

  But even if she wasn’t fully a member, Hall knew she would most likely side with the thieves if it came down to it. Not that he thought it would. He wanted the Door Knockers as allies, not enemies.

  He was going to make plenty of those over time that could threaten Skara Brae. Starting with the Silver Blades.

  Caryn stopped at the back door to an unassuming home. Two stories, all wood including the shingles. The upper floor hung out over the alley a foot or two, and Hall had to step back and really crane his head up to try to look in the second-floor windows. He saw nothing, but he could feel the itch at the back of his head that meant he was being watched.

  She tapped a pattern on the door. A series of loud and soft knocks, quick taps and long pauses. It was random, designed to be hard to remember on a single listen. Hall didn’t even bother trying. Finishing the coded knock, Caryn stepped back and waited. She appeared a little nervous, not looking back.

  Anxious, she had pushed them quickly through the maze of buildings and streets, wanting to arrive at the destination before she could change her mind. She glanced back at them often, smiling nervously. It didn’t do anything to set Hall at ease.

  Now she didn’t even look at them, just stared at the door.

  The minute stretched to two, then three. Caryn reached for the door as if to knock again and stopped, hand dropping to her side. She waited, impatient, nervous. Hall looked back at the others, giving a slight nod. No weapons were drawn, but some hands hovered closer to hilts and handles, and others moved to the sides to be freer to move in the motions of spell casting.

  They waited like coiled springs, ready to move.

  Finally, the door opened and a figure stepped out of the shadowed interior. He was short, an inch or two shorter than Caryn, and wide. Taking up the whole doorway, he looked strong. Thick arms, broad shoulders. Bald with a black tattoo swirling around his right eye and along his skull, he stared at them without a bit of friendliness. He wore leather pants, bracers, and a sleeveless leather tunic. More tattoos swirled up and down his muscled arms. Two maces were hanging from his belt, one head smooth and the other covered in knobs.

  The perfect doorman.

  “Who are they?” he asked looking past Caryn.

  Skill gain!

  Identify Rank One +.1

  Ulysses (Blue)

  “Friends,” she replied. “We need to see Berim. They want to help with our problem.”

  “We dun’t have a problem,” the man, Ulysses, said and spit on the ground.

  He studied Hall and the others, Caryn sheepishly stepping aside. The doorman’s eyes roamed over all of them, appraising them as he would an animal at market. The eyes widened a bit when they settled on Jackoby, showed surprise at the sight of Angus, but otherwise showed no concern or curiosity at the mixed group.

  “Ain’t a damned tavern,” he told Caryn, eyes never leaving the group, hands crossed over his chest, but Hall knew Ulysses could grab the maces quickly if he wanted to. “Turn around and take ‘em back where ya found ‘em.”

  “But—” Caryn started to say but Hall stopped her.

  He wanted to take a step forward, move around Caryn to better see the doorman but he knew that wouldn’t go over well. Try as hard as he could, he couldn’t see the archers he knew had to be in windows around them.

  “We are here to help with the other Guild,” Hall said, choosing his words carefully, hoping that showing discretion would help.

  “Ha,” Ulysses barked. “The Witch was recently a guest of the PeakGuard,” he said and pointed at Sabine. “Ya lot were last seen goin’ inta the Constable’s Office. So, what kind of deal did you strike with ol’ Constable Morjack? Huh?”

  Hall glanced at the others, surprised. The Door Knockers were incredibly well informed, seemingly having eyes everywhere. Or was it just one place? Hall had a suspicion he knew who had told the Door Knockers and decided to play that hunch.

  “Since you know all that,” he began and did take a step to the side to be clear of Caryn and in line with Ulysses. He felt the others tense as he did so. No one made a move to attack and Ulysses did not react, which told Hall all he needed to know. “I wonder what else Sergeant Brient told you.”

  Ulysses’ features did not change as he stared at Hall. Then he laughed, big and loud.

  “I like you,” he said to Hall, still laughing. “Got some big ones, ya do.”

  The laughter stopped and a hard glare came to Ulysses’ eyes, his face set in stone. It was a look that told Hall to not mess with the man, to do what he said.

  “We’ve ben expecting ya,” Ulysses said and Hall couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or not.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The inside of the building was not what Hall had expected. The house had been small, the walls only thirty feet long. The inside was dark, lit by candles placed at odd intervals around the open space. Just a single room, no walls, the windows all boarded up. There was another door directly across that exited out onto one of the wider streets.

  Hall could see four men in the room, spaced out between the candles, drawn weapons reflecting the weak, flickering flames. There was a mix of swords and daggers. All of them dressed in dark clothing.

  Skill Gain!

  Identify Rank One +.2

  Door Knocker Enforcer (White)

  Door Knocker Enforcer (White)

  Door Knocker Enforcer (White)

  Door Knocker Captain (Blue)

  He thought they could handle the group, including Ulysses, but it would be a tough fight. Caryn would tip the odds in favor of the Door Knockers. In the confined space of the building, as open as it was, the impact of Angus would be minimal and Pike had been told to wait outside. The dragonhawk had protested but settled to wait on a neighboring roof. So many combatants in the space would also limit Hall’s abilities as well as the two-handed attacks of Roxhard. Casting would be difficult without taking out friendly targets.

  All this passed quickly through Hall’s mind in a matter of seconds as he looked around the dark space. Featureless, at least what was revealed by the weak light. There didn’t appear to be any chairs or tables. Not even a staircase to the upper story.

  Where were they to go? he wondered.

  In answer, Ulysses walked to the middle of the room. He looked back at Hall and scowled, clearly unhappy. Leaning down, still looking at Hall, his thick knuckles rapped on the floor in another coded knocking pattern. This one different from the entrance door.

  He waited a couple seconds, knocked again, and then stepped back.

  Hall heard a light thud, and then a crack of light appeared in the floor. A rectangle shape, the crack grew thicker as a panel was lifted up. Four planks held together from the bottom with brackets for handles. Two pairs of hands pushed the panel up, and two of the men along the wall rushed forward to grab it.

  A stair down was revealed. Well lit, bright, and welcoming.

  “Come on,” Ulysses said as he walked down the stairs.

  Hall followed, pausing at the top.

  The stairs ran straight, made of stone with stone sides. Square blocks fitted tight together made up the walls, the stairwell barely wide enough for Ulysses to walk down. It was going to be a tight fit for Jackoby and Roxhard.

  Hall glanced at Angus.

  “He going to be okay?” he asked Leigh.

  “Should be,” she replied, unsure.

  Nodding, Hall started down. There was nothing they could do. Either Angus would make it down the stairs or he wouldn’t. The only other option would be to leave the cow at the top of the stairs, and no one wanted that. Everything seemed okay with the Door Knockers. For now. And they did seem to be invited. But accidents could happen.

  Angus came with them.

  They moved down the straight run of stairs, walls to either side. It emptied out into another large room, this one made of stone. Walls, floor, and ceiling were all stone blocks. Light came from torches set in brackets along the wall. Fifteen feet or so to a side. Empty, with only one opening directly across.

  Ulysses waiting in the middle of the room until the last of the group was down, waiting as they spread out into the space.

  “I would ask ya ta leave yer weapons here but doubt that would be happening so why bother,” he said with a shrug and a smirk.

  Hall didn’t even bother replying.

  Ulysses laughed and started walking toward the other opening, an arch set into the wall. The tunnel beyond was lit, torches spaced evenly, and Hall could see that it ran for a good hundred feet or so. The ceiling was arched, the walls and floor smooth, but unlike the previous room, only part of the walls and floor were stone blocks. The rest was finished off dirt and soil. Not rough, but smoothed and worked. Tightly packed. Some roots were visible, snaking across the ground. But nothing that was a tripping hazard.

  They followed Ulysses, single file and spaced apart, down the tunnel. The Door Knocker didn’t show any concern or worry, which made Hall start to worry. It was all too casual. Even if they had been expected, he would have thought there would be guards stationed along the route. He was sure there was some kind of hidden security but thought some would be obvious and visible. A show of force. But there was nothing.

  The Guild was too calm.

  Hall stepped out of the tunnel, not that far behind Ulysses and Caryn, and into another room. A round one this time, with multiple tunnels branching off. And another empty room. Ulysses stopped in the middle and turned, looking at them. Caryn didn’t move away from the group, which helped Hall’s nervousness. If she had moved, he would have expected an attack. Instead, he expected to be kept waiting for a long time.

  He was wrong.

  The sound of footsteps, boots against the stone floor, came from one of the side tunnels. It echoed through the round space, the sound carrying. Hall turned and watched Berim step out of the tunnel and walk over to stand next to Ulysses. The dark-skinned man looked them over, studying them as he had the Inn the previous day.

  “Why did you bring them here?” he asked, looking at Caryn, ignoring the others. His tone held reproach and disappointment.

  “You already know,” Hall answered, wanting to have some control over the conversation and encounter. “How long has Sergeant Brient been in your pocket?”

  Berim was silent for a minute. If he was annoyed at Hall for interrupting, the man didn’t show it.

  “He’s not,” Berim finally answered. “At least, not usually. Brient is probably the most honorable and honest man in the PeakGuard.”

  “Then why does he want us to help you?” Leigh asked.

  “You have a village, do you not?” he said to Hall, not directly answering Leigh or waiting for an answer of his own. “One thing you will learn, maybe the most important thing, is that a good leader knows that compromises need to be made sometimes. In the case of the good Sergeant, he knows that a guild war is very bad for the city, and that out of the two guilds, the Door Knockers are good for the city.”

  “How can any thief be good for the city?” Roxhard asked.

  Berim looked at the Dwarf and shrugged.

  “You must be young,” he said. “Every city of any size will have crime. There will always be crime. Which would be better? Disorganized anarchy, where any two-bit cutthroat feels like they can steal anything from anyone? Or organized with rules that need to be obeyed? Organized where some things are not allowed?”

  Hall nodded. He understood what Berim meant even if Roxhard didn’t. The world, any world, was not black or white. There were shades of gray, and sometimes it was better to work with the enemy you knew than the one you didn’t.

  “Brient’s hands are tied,” Hall said. “He knows the stability in the underworld that the Knockers bring but he can’t openly aid the Guild.”

  Berim nodded.

  “Hold on,” Caryn said, stepping in front of Hall and taking a step toward Berim. “If you knew they were going to help you, why the hard time about bringing them here?” The Duelist was angry.

  “Appearance,” Hall answered, eyes never leaving Berim. Caryn looked back at him. “The Knockers can’t appear as if they need outside help to deal with the Blades. That would make them look weak and make others start to question their power.”

  “Just so,” Berim said and looked to Caryn. His eyes flashed anger. “It was also not your place to bring them here,” he said and waved his hands to indicate the room they were in. “You forced our hand by doing so publicly.”

  Caryn chewed on her bottom lip, nervous and a little ashamed. Hall felt sorry for her. She was working in a world she knew nothing about, not really, and one where she didn’t seem to belong. He wondered what her overall experience and life had been like before Sky Realms Online. She had been playing only for a couple hours, but outside the game? What had she been doing? This encounter, the situation the Knockers found themselves in, was not unique or even new.

  “I assume you’re going to point us at the Silver Blades and then disappear,” Hall said, diverting Berim’s attention away from Caryn. The young woman had been shrinking under the man’s unrelenting glare.

 

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