Some time later, after Starla and I had crafted a few more healing runes, Bella interrupted. Gwydion, Ears wants a word with you. He is waiting at your door.

  “Please excuse me for a moment,” I said to Starla as I stood and opened the door.

  “Patron. I think someone needs your help.” Ears said to me without looking at me directly.

  “Do you want to come in, Ears?” I asked.

  He shuffled his feet. “It needs to happen, soon.”

  “Who is it that needs help?” I asked.

  “A friend of mine who had been hiding in the tunnels. He has been kidnapped by pirates.”

  Starla was listening carefully, and I could see she was interested.

  “Is he an adult or an irregular like you?” I asked.

  “He is not like me, but he is not an adult.”

  “Is he human?” Starla asked from where she was sitting.

  He looked over at her and stood a little taller. “No, he isn’t. Does that matter?”

  “Not especially,” I answered for us both. “Do you know how to get to where he is now?”

  He shuffled his feet again. “Not specifically. It is more of a feeling, but a true one. I can take you to where I saw him last if that would help.”

  I looked over at Starla. “You game for a little side adventure?”

  “All in a good cause.” She agreed as she stood.

  Bella, please ask Biff to join us downstairs. We will be heading into the Undercity, it appears.

  He is on his way. She replied and seemed distracted.

  I grabbed my backpack, made sure what I needed was on me, and we went downstairs.

  Biff chose two Watch guards and two brawlers to accompany us. Starla really stood out in her orange robes as we walked through the southern stretch of Market Street just west of the harbor and warehouse districts. The street goes almost to Wall, but breaks up around some large and a slew of smaller warehouses.

  Although, in fairness, my yellow robes were not exactly camouflaged.

  Ears had us dodging in and around buildings. I could see how he could very quickly lose pursuers if they were trying to track him. We lost him a couple of times, and he wasn’t trying to do that. We eventually turned east and stopped just short of Wharf Street.

  Biff said, “Ears, we could have come down Vertical and drawn less attention than dodging through all these warehouses and shops. Where are we going?”

  He looked up at the giant known as Biff and said, “Blunky’s. There is a way into Undercity from there that the smugglers use, and it is the nearest safe way down to where we are going.”

  Biff stood up and looked around. His manner changed subtly, becoming even more cautious. “Okay.” He began. “Watch will remain here and keep an eye out at the front of the shop. What you see and hear is part of Special Services and does not get reported without the Commander’s approval. Is that clear?”

  The two Watch guards nodded their understanding.

  Biff moved closer to me. “I wish I knew where we were headed. I would have just brought the Brawlers with us. The Watch is in danger here if what is about to happen, happens.” He said.

  “What is going on?” I asked.

  Biff dropped low. “Who are we here to rescue, Ears?”

  “My friend, Sliver.” He said just as quietly.

  “I don’t know him,” Biff said as he stood up. He looked around again and said, “Change of plans. Watch, return to the shoppe, and double up your numbers. Go to Warehouse and Wharf and watch for trouble around here. But watch yourselves. You know what this area gets like near dark.”

  They nodded again.

  “Send the doorman and one more brawler to Vertical and Wharf. They are to hang out and look obvious. They are there for a reason. Nobody will question them. Tell them to also keep an eye out around Blunky’s, but not to be obvious about that part. Repeat your orders.”

  They did, and he was satisfied. He dismissed them, and they wandered off like two Watch guards on patrol.

  “Will I stand out too much?” Starla asked.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “No more than the bright yellow robes of the Patron.” But he sighed. “Not the way I would have arranged this. No matter.”

  Biff lowered himself again. “Where’s the entrance in Blunky’s?”

  Ears said, “Back left corner behind the barrels. There will be one guard on duty behind the counter. He can signal below with a kickbell if there is trouble. We won’t want to let them know we are there.”

  “How far once we descend?” Biff asked.

  “Fifteen minutes if traffic is light.” He shrugged. “Longer if it isn’t. We won’t want to be seen.”

  I saw an odd pair walking toward our destination.

  “How will we get in, Gwyd?” Biff asked quietly.

  I nodded toward the store. “We follow their lead. They already have a plan.” I said, indicating where two golden cognitos were walking straight for Blunky’s Wares & Such: hardware and tools for trades and service.

  “Lyra?” Biff exclaimed. “What is she and a sage doing in a place like Blunky’s? It is a front for smuggling and worse.”

  I had not spoken with the sage that walked beside Lyra, but I had seen him a couple of times around the Deathlight. His name was Thorne, and he was a golden cognito. Strange, because sages had been excluded from options.

  “We give them ninety seconds and then just walk in.” I directed.

  Biff said, “The two workers outside are smugglers. They are doing more skulking and less work than a brawler or a mercenary would if told to remain undercover. They are low-level muscle.” Biff turned to Blake and Jake, the other brawlers with us. They were twins, and I could never tell them apart. “Stay outside when we enter.”

  They nodded.

  I gauged it would take us around ninety seconds to reach the store once Lyra and Thorne entered if we kept a direct but unconcerned pace.

  “Get ready,” Biff whispered. He had done the same calculations. Probably before I did, in fact.

  “Walk. Steady and straight. Eyes front and avoid looking at the smugglers.” He said as we stood and walked toward the building.

  Three brawlers, an enchanter, and a blind rune lord were going to attract attention as we marched around the side of Blunky’s.

  The two smugglers stopped what they were doing, and their hands drifted to their knives.

  Starla and I walked on as if we were unconcerned. Biff eyed them both hard and muttered, “Stay,” to the twins.

  Neither smuggler made a move. They knew an alpha when they saw one, and it actually put them at ease.

  Biff, Starla, and I walked up the flight of three steps as the twins took a position on either side just outside the main entrance.

  As I led us to the open door, I heard Lyra say, “He won’t remember anything that happens for the next three minutes.”

  “Where did you say the entrance is?” Thorne asked from deeper in the store.

  “I didn’t, but it is-” Lyra began.

  “Back left behind some barrels,” I called out as I walked into the darkened interior.

  Lyra spun, but her hand went from resting on her sword hilt to stroking her chin. “Well, well. Enchanting to meet you here. And who did you bring along?” Lyra said in a playful voice.

  She smiled. “Biff the Brawler and-” She stopped short, both realizing Starla was another golden cognito and also that she had glowing, sightless eyes.

  Starla was used to the effect. “Well met, bard Lyra. The Patron has spoken of you.”

  Lyra stared with an open mouth for another moment, and then her smile snapped back on and she said, “I’ve never seen you before, have I, dear?”

  Maybe it was Lyra’s way of covering for her surprise, but I thought the jibe was ill-timed.

  “Found it!” Thorne called from the back of the room. “It is not hidden so much as it was concealed.” He remarked.

  “There’s a difference?” Biff asked with a smirk.

  “We need to go down and take the narrower passage directly at the bottom of the stairs.” Ears said.

  Lyra jumped. She had not seen the smallest Irregular or heard him approach.

  “Guess you had not seen him, either.” Starla said with the slightest of smiles.

  Lyra glared at her and then laughed. “I like her,” Lyra announced to the room.

  “Let’s head down before whatever whammy you gave old Blunky wears off.”

  “That’s not Blunky,” Biff remarked. “Blunky has been gone for a couple of centuries. He is just Flunky #1 to be named later.”

  Lyra laughed. “Yes, he did go under pretty quickly. The charm will last another couple of minutes, and then it will be as if we never passed by. He’d swear to it.”

  “Good enough for me,” I replied as I joined Thorne behind the barrels.

  Thorne was waiting at the top of a wide staircase that went directly down through the floor and into the Undercity, perhaps twenty-five or thirty feet further.

  “I meant to stop by and check out your shoppe. I appreciated your help getting my uncle to safety during the Deathlight. I’ve just been busy working on a project, and then I got teleported to a Waypoint and things got busier.” Thorne remarked.

  “That happens around here.” I agreed.

  The others arrived, and Biff said, “Let Ears go first, and I will follow. If it is clea,r the rest of you can join us quickly and quietly.”

  Nobody argued.

  Ears went down the stairs without making them creak. Biff made every one of the stairs creak under his weight. I figured when it was our time, we’d be at least as quiet as Biff, so I was not too worried.”

  A few moments later, we could hear Biff and Ears whispering. Finally, Biff called up quietly, “Follow.”

  We did. Lyra brought up the back, I went down next, and Thorne was between me and the bard. When we reached the bottom, we could see Ears leading Biff down the narrower corridor. But given the twenty-foot diameter of the corridor we were in, the fifteen-foot width of the side tunnel was still larger than I had expected. I had visions of the sewers we had entered to save Wilma that ranged from ten feet in diameter on the largest end to much smaller thereafter.

  We didn’t have far to go. The very first side chamber on the right was around twelve feet high and triple that wide and long. It had one massive crate in the center, a dozen smaller crates stacked nearby, and a dozen men grouped together and talking.

  The tallest of the other men, dressed in purples, blacks, and browns, seemed to be in charge. He was saying, “I want this big crate moved to the ship, now. We need to clear all this up before evening.”

  “But boss,” one of the men complained. “We won’t hardly be inconspicuous with nine of us carrying that big awful box, and the docks will be full. If we wait til after midnight, we could bribe our way to the ship as normal, no worries.”

  The tall man just stared at the speaker. “You done now, saying your piece, Rivers?”

  The man took a step back. “Sorry, cap’n. I was just trying to help. We’ll do this your way, a ‘course.”

  The captain just nodded. “That’s what I thought. You be extra careful with the crates, they are fragile like, and I don’t want nothin broken.” He paused menacingly, “Or other things get broken. Do I make myself clear?”

  A dozen voices rang out in reply with, “Aye, cap’n,” or “Yes, captain!”

  The captain stood up and straightened his immaculate tailcoat. “Good, then I’ll be-”

  “Going with me.” A gravelly voice declared from behind the stacked crates.

  And yet another golden cognito walked into view. This man was dressed in browns and blacks, wore leather armor, and it was all well-worn and aged. He wore no sword or dagger and had no visible weapon on him. The only item of note was a silver ring on his right hand. Everything else about him appeared common and nondescript. Just the ring and his distinctive voice stood out.

  “Shame.” The smuggler captain called out. And indeed, it was the golden cognito’s name.

  “I couldn’t pass on an opening like that. Besides, your boys don’t want a repeat of last time, I’m sure. I take you, and they split whatever loot you have hidden here among themselves. A bigger share than they would get, ordinarily. Unless, of course…”

  “Unless, what?” The Captain snarled.

  “Unless, Captain Zack, the folks behind you have different ideas about that fancy crate of yours.”