Breaking Step, Draft 1, CH 32 (Patreon)

The commotion disrupted Market Place more than Tibs had intended. When he set the Rho thief on stealing from one of the bazaar’s booths and then discreetly tipped off the guards, he’d expected him to be caught quickly, and for Brogan to be brought in. Instead, the girl was giving them quite the run around. She might even give them the slip completely, and Tibs couldn’t have that.

A small patch of ice under her foot and down she went. Before she was on her feet, the guards were on her, and dragging her away.

Tibs followed at a distance and covered with a layer of darkness to ensure he wouldn’t be noticed, waiting for the guard lieutenant to join them. Tibs had followed him multiple times as he went to the criminal, instead of waiting for them to reach the guild. Brogan preferred dealing with problems as soon as possible to expedite the punishment.

Once they entered the building, Tibs had to accept that as he’d feared, an attempt at robbery wouldn’t be enough to draw the man out.

* * * * *

The house was on fire, and it was chaos.

The arsonist Tibs had paid had done as instructed and hadn’t asked questions. Tibs had passed himself off as a servant, ordered to find the man by his master. He has the name of one of the lower nobles who’d used this tactic before, as part of clearing the houses where the wall was going up, but the arsonist only cared for the target and any instructions he had to follow.

The only instruction was the time, since he needed for Brogan to be on duty, and he knew the house’s inhabitants were all out, working at the tavern.

The arsonist was caught quickly, impeded by the quick response of both the guards, who again, had been made aware of what was about to happen, and the townsfolk who were already forming a bucket chain to control the fire. As he followed the guard, he sensed a runner with Water heading in their direction, so the fire wouldn’t cause anymore damage.

Brogan met the guards halfway from the guild, and Tibs moved closer, only for the crowd they attracted to get in his way. He slipped through them easily, already suffused with water, but the delay meant that by the time he reached Brogan, he was already questioning the arsonist, with the guards in formation around them, to keep the crowd from approaching.

Tibs waited until they were done and on the move again, but the crowd moved with them, forcing the guards to remain between his target and him.

He let them go.

He needed to rethink his approach.

* * * * *

Tibs found her on the fighter’s training field, watching Omega and Upsilon fighters trained. None of the more experienced Runners dared take her on, and the younger ones knew they were outmatched just looking at her and all the metal attacked to her armor.

There was more of it than Tibs expected. As well as the bars attached to the outside, there were sheets of metal under the leather, and it wasn’t only the color of the metals that were different. Some bars and sheets had a more of the essence in them than others.

“Light Fingers!” she called when she saw him. “What’s bringing you here? That team leader of yours here and I missed him? He owes me a fight.”

“I didn’t know that. Last I saw him, he and Mez were heading to the shops. I have a proposition for you.”

“You’re too young.”

“It isn’t for me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re propositioning me on behalf of someone else?” she smirked. “I don’t know that I’m interested in someone who has to go through you to get me to go with them.”

“I want you to seduce someone.”

“I’m not someone who seduces. I punch, and if I’m impressed I f—”

“But you sell your services, right?”

“Yes, but not usually those services.” She studied him. “Just out of curiosity, how much were you thinking it would take to get me to do that?”

Tibs flashed the gold coin and sent it away.

She stared.

“Why?” she asked.

“Does that matter?”

She studied him again, this time harder and longer. “I guess not. Not for that kind of money. Now I’m worried about who you think would take that much to convince me to seduce.”

* * * * *

“Him.” Tibs pointed to Brogan as he left the guild for the day.

She looked at Tibs. “Okay, who is he? Because he’s good looking enough, I might bed him without a fight.”

“He’s one of the guards.”

“If this is about putting him in a compromising position to exhort something, I don’t know that you’re paying me enough. Those kind of things always turn ugly.”

“I just needed him distracted for a few hours.”

“Hours.” She smirked. “Just how do you think this works?”

“You have fun for that time.”

She snorted. “You realize that a man’s not going to last for hours. Not without herbs and stuff.”

“Jackal and Kroseph do.”

“Those two have more to enjoy than I’ll have with this guy. At least tell me he doesn’t have a special someone.”

“He doesn’t. He likes women. He doesn’t seem to care for how they look. He’s been with some skinny, some thick, tall and short. He sounds like they always have fun.”

“Sounds. So you haven’t watched him have his fun.”

“I have enough of Jackal telling me the kind of fun he and Kroseph get to. I’m not interested in watching it. I listened in to be certain that’s what was happening.”

“Right, you wouldn’t want to go through all this, only to realize he just enjoys reading to the ladies.”

“Exactly.”

She looked at him again.

“Okay, have that gold ready, because in a few hours I’m going to be back—” Tibs caught her arm as she moved away.

“Not now. Tomorrow, when he has his midday meal, and in a room at the tavern, he eats at, and you’ll need to get him out of his clothes.”

Tibs had already paid one of the servers to get him a double of the key to them.

“You’re paying for the room,” she said.

* * * * *

Tibs watched Cross speak with Brogan. She’d acted surprised to see him, and he’d been impressed by her, standing and offering her the seat opposite his. She was now seated next to him, leaning close and speaking in his ear. Whatever she said, he approved of. They stood, headed to the bar, where she spoke with the woman on the other side, then took the key and they headed up the stairs.

Tibs nodded to the server, and as soon as she was behind the bar, he headed for the stairs. They crossed path a few steps from it and he took the key. Walking through the corridor, he listened for Cross’s voice, then unlocked the room next to it to wait.

He didn’t have to wait long for the voice to turn to grunts and moans.

Tibs silently unlocked and cracked the door open. The sound of passion became louder. Cross was seated on the man’s hips and gyrating. She noticed him as Tibs looked away, and bend over to kiss Brogan.

Tibs stayed low and hurried to the pile of clothes, taking the magical medallion from it and gently closing the door on leaving, locking it again.

* * * * *

Tibs walked along the mountain, away from runner and merchants in the valley before the stairs. He didn’t know how far in this direction Sto’s influence stretched, but he was a ways from where he’d talked with him last.

“Hi Tibs,” Sto said. “I’m glad you came by. I was hoping you’d—”

“I need you to make me a copy of this.” He summoned the medallion to his palm.

“You need me to make you a copy,” Sto repeated slowly.

“You can do it, right? This isn’t more complicated than the armor you made me.”

“That’s not the issue,” Sto said. “Don’t you realize how you’re acting? This isn’t the Tibs I know.”

“Sto, I don’t have a lot of time. I need to put this back before Cross is done with him.”

“Tibs, friends don’t just—”

“Sto, can you do it?”

“No, he can’t,” Ganny stated.

“Ganny, not now,” Sto said.

“Come on, you aren’t going to let him treat you like that, are you?”

“Ganny, it’s my decision.”

“You know you’re not supposed to—”

“Really, Ganny? Aren’t we past what we are and aren’t supposed to do? Considering what we pulled, I’d think that if those Them of yours were real, they’d have showed up at this point.”

Ganny’s grumbling became fainter.

“I will do it, Tibs,” Sto said, “because friends help each other.”

“Good, I—”

“But, I’d appreciate it if, in return, you let the ice go when you do your next run.”

“No.”

“Tibs, it isn’t—”

“No. I’m not putting you or anyone at risk. If that means you aren’t going to help, tell me now, because I still need to make sure he doesn’t realize It’s gone.”

“Put it down and step away a dozen paces. I said I’d help you. I wish you realized what you’re doing to yourself,” Sto said as Tibs walked away. “How the way you’re acting isn’t like you at all.”

“I’m only doing what I have to, so those who let our town get hurt pay.”

“You’re not doing it for the town, Tibs.”

“Yes, I am.” He filled the cracks.

“At least be honest about why you’re doing it.”

“I’m protecting everyone. Once the guild’s gone, those of might want to hurt us are going to see were too strong. No one’s taken down the guild before. That’s why I’m doing it.”

“It’s done. They’re both where you left it.”

Tibs picked them up and sensed from any difference. “What do they do?”

“No idea. I haven’t seen a weave like this before. I’m going to have to play with it to workout what I can do with it.”

“I guess having something new to use against us is payment enough, then.” Tibs headed back.

“I told you Tibs, I did this because friends help each other.”

“If that was true, you wouldn’t be trying to get me to let go of the ice.”

* * * * *

The server nodded to the stairs, confirming Cross and Brogan were still in the room.

Tibs paused by the door as the man cursed loudly. “Where the fuck did you learn that?”

“Why? You want me to do it again?”

“I don’t think I can—” the rest was a string of curses.

He unlocked the door and cracked it only enough to see the bed. Brogan was on his side, his back to it. The top of Cross’s head was between his legs, and whatever she was doing had Brogan tensing and cursing louder. Tibs hurried to the clothes, slipped a medallion back in the inside pocket, then exited.

He returned the key to the server, then headed to the inn for a meal. If the guild didn’t explode with activity at the realization, the medallion was a dungeon made item now tomorrow, he’d go in to see how things changed.

* * * * *

With the medallion in his coin pouch, the guild halls were simple to navigate. If he crossed it from one end to the other, it was the same nine-times one-hundred and one and eight paces that he did it on the ground floor, the first, second, third, or fourth. Or any other corridors that did the whole length. On the narrow side, the building was three paces short of the half.

It only worked if it was in his normal coin pouch. If he sent the medallion to the secret pouch, Tibs couldn’t figure out how to return to the entrance from where he was. He’d have to ask Sto why that was.

He located the door Serba had described, but before he could investigate it, one of the guards noticed him and Tibs hurried off.

Still, he’d made progress. He could move around only impeded by doors and people, and those he could figure out how to deal with.