Two of Knaves Chpt 96-97

Hello, knaves! Double update today. Unfortunately, 2oK has taken the brunt of the effects of the chaos over the past few weeks, including travel and surgery and various other goings on. I appreciate everyone being patient. I'm working to rebuild the backlog for the story (adequate lead-up is important to being able to foreshadow in a story about prophecy), and preparing for the transition into writing full time where I'll be able to dedicate more time to Two of Knaves updates.

Once I'm full-time, my goal will be writing two chapters per day, 6 days a week, spread across my various work. That should give plenty of leeway to cover Goblins, Knaves, and War Horses.

Also, readers of Oathbreakers Anonymous may recognize the initials in chapter 97. And yes, it was exactly who you think it was.

Enjoy the chapters!

Chapter 96 – Praise Lucita

Having smoothed things over with Annalisa went a long way toward calming my nerves, even if it didn’t solve all our problems. Over the next week, we continued to shore up the shrine of Lucita, and I’d made sure my partner didn’t end up an adherent through debt.

I followed through with my plans over the next week and purchased minor shares of several businesses throughout the downs and the lower city. Such things could only be done with a significant lump sum, and the flourishes were in and out probably even faster than Annalisa managed at the tables. I was already providing protection to quite a few of those docks and businesses, but ownership is a different matter entirely. I didn’t want to be just a gang leader.

With recruiting going up came new problems, as well. Low-rank adventurers not already on the take were starting to notice the Pack of Knaves on the bounty boards. Some of our people had even been swept up. Pit talent was leveraged to protect more of our operations, which included the Mop, three other brothels, two gaming dens, and a smuggler’s wharf with a customs officer who was a patron at aforementioned brothels and gaming dens.

Despite being pulled in so many different directions, I found my increased sensitivity to the suit of storms had widened my clarity and made me better able to make sense of the chaos of the lower city. The whole careful balancing act hinged on my scheming and Annalisa’s partnership. But calms can only last so long, and you can only prepare so much for the storm to come.

I went to the shrine early in the evening to check on the new warding. While the church had mostly focused on anti-divination wards to detect and deter cheating (a cardinal sin under Lucitian doctrine), Alondalis had helped me bolster the actual defensive measures present in and around the shrine to something even better than those we had at the Mop and scattered around Barrowdown. The Seekers Guild had already gotten a taste of how effective those measures could be, and they’d yet to come sniffing around the lower city again. I wasn’t looking forward to their next attempt.

I found the elf in the northeast corner, examining a set of carvings he’d made on one of the outside wall under the careful eye of a shrine paladin.

“Looks like your arm is mended up,” I said. “Barthan take a look at it for you?”

Alondalis stretched the arm that had been in a sling when last I’d seen him. “Indeed he did. Curious fellow. I’ve never seen a mender cast curative charms with one hand.”

“What happened to his other hand?” I asked.

“It was holding a flush, I believe,” said Alondalis, tapping his cheek. “Human card games change to rapidly for me to keep up with the rules. I myself was eliminated from the table quite quickly.”

I groaned. All my agents were going to end up wearing Lucita’s colors. I pulled out my black pine deck and drew the three of towers, examining the handiwork around the exterior of the shrine. I could appreciate the elf’s careful hand for carving that suggested a practiced hand belonging to an experienced mage.

“Sorry we couldn’t bring up any fertilizer for you,” I said, off-hand.

“It’s of no consequence,” said Alondalis. “From what you’ve described, the creature you encountered was likely to be a Voledon Exterminatus. Its fecal matter is much too acidic and low in phosphorus to make good growing beds. In fact, it likely would have eaten through those bags I provided you. Had I known one had taken up residence there, I would not have recommended a visit.”

“Well, it worked out,” I said, thinking about the sealed letters of credit I’d handed over in the past few days. That sudden influx of flourishes had been like a second wind to my efforts. At least I managed to sell one book before Daggertongue torched the others.

“Indeed. Did you succeed on your other endeavor of finding valuable magic items?”

“Possibly,” I said, switching to look at the awareness wards scratched onto the next building on the block. The towers in my deck hummed with satisfaction at such thorough defenses. When the sharks came for Lenise again, they’d have to come in force or get completely rebuffed. Still, the fact they wanted her so bad remained murky to me and the Wills had been confusing when I sought illumination. Could it just be that she was a vulnerable scion of a hated rival? Something told me there was more to it. I just had to wait until Lady Pelladine finished her translation and provided me with a copy. “We found a couple trinkets before we got side-tracked and had to escape from a pair of adventurers who recognized us. I should be hearing back on a pair of appraisals any day now.”

“I shall light a candle in the shrine for your odds,” said Alondalis, tapping his scribe along a rune.

Hopefully we wouldn’t be digging through shit again any time soon. I’d promised Annalisa that if we did another delve, it would be focused on extracting items from monsters before they passed them. And in truth, we’d gained a tangible strength increase thanks to finding the elven library. Though, if Daggertongue was being forthcoming, it sounded like we shouldn’t have been able to. He hinted at that whole place having some sort of magic seal on it until we managed to break through.

At the time, when we’d broken through to the Plane of Ice, I’d thought it was because I’d tackled an exhausted Annalisa through a partly-formed portal. I’d dragged her across the threshold, freezing and knowing something was watching us. But maybe she struggled with that portal because of wards against intrusion that the Golds had set on the library long ago.

The four of knaves hummed in my pocket with subtle heat.

“Appreciate it,” I said, excusing myself. Once I found some privacy a few streets down, I pulled out my deck. “What is it, Mithra?”

“Hello to you, too, Darcent,” she sent, along with a twinge of annoyance. “There’s a dwarf here at the Mop looking for you. Nice boots on. Got a package with him.”

“Most people going to the Mop have a package with them,” I said. She sent a brief hint of amusement. She was becoming apt at using the card to speak to me through her deviltongue, even over long distances. She was even better at it than Annalisa, and I’d made a few more duplicates so that I could run messages to some of her other contacts in the lower and middle city from time to time.

“Cute, but this one’s looking for you, and I don’t think he’s into my type,”

“Plane-touched?”

“Women,”

I paused. Mithra generally had a keen intuition when it came to people—though it didn’t take much in that regard. If they didn’t find her attractive, chances are they wouldn’t find any woman attractive. Still, I only knew one dwarf in fancy boots.

“That’d be Hawkley, then. I’m on my way.”

“See you soon, lover,”

I didn’t bother to correct her as I severed the bond. She’d been extra friendly after the purse laden with silver that I’d handed her along with a substantial bonus for her to skim. She said now I was what she called, in the business, a minor leviathan. Someone with just enough money to go broke trying to prove they weren’t. A particularly juicy target for a working woman, with a bottomless purse until their last silver turned out.

Chapter 97 – Badges and Badgers

Hawkley had come back with the most enigmatic trinket that had come with us from the Undercity: the mysterious broach. He handed it to me with some reverence. “Be careful with this one, young master. No one will touch it. It’s a badge of summoning, but what it summons? That bits up for debate.”

I tilted my head. “I thought it was a brooch. That’s what Annalisa said, anyway.”

“Did ye hear what I said? Lad! This could summon a mouse, or it could summon a god of the depths! There’s no telling.”

I looked over. “Sorry, I understand. It’s just… she was so certain.”

“Not to be rude, Darcent, but your friend’s idea of fashion is… novel. She wouldn’t know a matching vest and trousers if they stepped into the fighting pits with her. I wouldn’t take what she says as gospel when it comes to accessorizing.”

I took the badge-not-brooch and looked at it. “Thanks Hawkley. Have a drink before you head back up hill. On the house.”

He tipped his hat and made his way to the bar. Meanwhile, I pulled out the four of knaves and reached out for Annalisa, telling her to meet me on the edge of the unsheathing.

I made my way east, spotting my partner coming down from the tailors of the middle city. She’d gotten herself a new waistcoat, which looked sharp enough to make me doubt Hawkley’s words. I showed her the badge.

Annalisa’s eyes lit up. “Hey! You got it back! Did you find out what it does?”

“I did,” I said. “That’s why we’re testing it at the unsheathing.”

She took the badge and held it up to the light. “Does it protect against the glow-steel sickness?”

“No. It summons a creature. And since Hawkley didn’t know which one, I didn’t want to be in a populated area when I tested it.”

“Smart! That’s why I let you do the planning.” She thumped one fist into her other palm. “And I’m along in case it’s something we need to stuff back through the brooch, right?”

I didn’t think it worked that way, but technically she was the portal mage, so I didn’t say anything.

We crossed over into the outer parts of the unsheathing. I pulled out the two of towers and fortified us both. Hopefully that would also ward off any effects of the lingering glowsteel miasma. “Hawkley said it was actually a badge.”

“Hawkley should stick to selling bits of wood and wands.”

The unsheathings aren’t exactly crowded, but they aren’t exactly empty, either. Monsters tend to find their way up from the undercity where the roads and sewers haven’t been repaired in a few generations. Not to mention the unfortunate pets that wander it and mutate, and the people who do the same. There’s also half-orcs in unsheathings, but really only one I was worried about. I found an appropriate building and scrawled wards on the four corners to dissuade any attention from passers by both human and otherwise. Then, I ducked inside and fanned out my deck behind me, ready to summon whatever spell the situation required.

Annalisa began to warm up with a series of kicks and punches, throwing little “ha-ha” noises in as she threw each one. Dragons above, she was getting fast. I could barely follow her movements, and her fists could crack bone or brick. Someday I’d have to ask her why she did that little huff with each punch, and why sometimes it was a “ha” sound, and sometimes a sibilant “shh” noise. But for now, I focused on preparing the summoning. Part of me whispered that this was a bad idea. The much larger part of me that I listened to more often was extremely curious.

I put the badge on the ground and stepped away, then siphoned power into it. I’m not great with magic outside the deck of wills, but you don’t need much to activate most magic items. Anna stopped her shadowboxing to watch, barely breathing hard.

The badge rattled on the ground. It vibrated, then began to spin. A ringing filled the air, loud enough to hurt my ears. It sounded like one of those bells you call a clerk with when no one is at the counter, but it was like someone was hitting it over and over, with a hammer. Annalisa covered her ears.

I cut the siphon of power, but the badge already had everything it needed, apparently. I almost called the two of storms to undo the summoning, but with a pop, a portal opened up, and deposited a writhing mass of cloth and limbs splayed out in all—wait, it was just a guy.

The two of knaves came to my hand, and I charged it, just in case. Anna had frost glowing on her fists and horns.

This guy, this… extremely average-looking person, scrabbled around on the floor until he found something. A weapon? No. Just a pair of spectacles. He put them on and stared up at us in alarm.

“Good Dragons above! Where am I? Who are you?”

Anna raised her fists. “Careful, Darcent! He could be a mage! Don’t let him cast a spell!”

“My name isn’t Darcent! And clearly he’s a mage because he’s just sent me through a portal!” the man protested. He ran a hand over his head to smooth down his thinning hair. He looked pale.

I sighed and leaned down. “I’m Darcent. She was talking to me. Who are you?” I took a handful of his robes in my hand. They were fine cut—but not too fine. Well off, but not noble.

“I beg your pardon!” he said, snatching them back. “Shouldn’t you know? You brought me here, after all.”

I offered him a shrug. “I’ve at least told you my name. And I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Ah. True.” He adjusted his glasses. “Fineous, they call me. Yes.”

He stuck out his hand and I took it, catching the inkstains on his fingertips. I nodded behind him. “My partner over there is Annalisa.”

Fineous straightened his spectacles. “Annalisa of Dunnemarsh? The prize fighter?” He turned back. “But then that would make you…”

“The Barrow Knave,” I finished.

“Oh, crumbs. What do you want with me?”

“That’s a fair question. Depends on what you can do for us, I suppose. What are you? Wizard? Seeker?”

Fineous deflated. “Nothing so romantic, I’m afraid. I’m a clerk. I work at the city badging office. I issue passes to city properties and inventory customs inspection stamps.”

Badging office? I reached down and collected the badge from the ground. “Do you recognize this?”

His eyes lit up. “That’s my badge! I can’t believe you’ve found it! I paid a huckster penny mage to enchant that badge to always return to me, but the fraud absconded with my silver and I lost this badge down a sewer drain the very next day. Turn it over! The scoundrel even etched his initials on the back, that’s how you can tell it’s mine.”

I could sense the chaotic magics swirling in the badge, much more than the work of a simple penny mage. As Fineous suggested, I flipped it over and read the simple, scratched initials at the bottom corner: K.D.

Curious. What had happened here? I collected my deck and slid the two of knaves back in, trading it out for the three of storms. I sent my will into my newest card, and the inner workings of the spell linking the badge to the badging officer unfolded in my mind’s eye. Once I realized what I was looking at, I began to laugh. “Oh. I see what happened. A huckster perhaps, but not a powerless one.” I scratched my chin. “Actually, I think he must have been a rather strong practitioner to cast this spell. But he was also sloppy and got it wrong.”

“How do you mean?” asked Fineous.

I tapped the badge against his robe. “The enchantment doesn’t return the badge to you. It summons the badger to wherever this badge is.”

“Amazing!” said Annalisa.

“Not amazing!” crooned Fineous. “I want my money back!”

“I have to agree with Fineous,” I said, blunting Annalisa’s enthusiasm. “Imagine if we’d gotten desperate enough to use it in the undercity.”

The clerk paled even further, biting the tip of his thumb and hem-hawing. “Ooh, this is horrid. Can I at least have my badge?” He held out his hand. I quickly pulled the badge away.

“Slow down there, Fin. You said you issue passes to city properties?”

“Yes, but I would never—”

“Before you answer, bear in mind we can use this to summon you anywhere.” I narrowed my eyes. “anywhere.”

He gulped and looked between myself and the badge. “Where, pray tell, are you intending to go?”