Missteps Book Two

Chapter 15 – Decisions in the Sunlight

Kerri yawned as she strolled through the wide aisles of the slave market. She shifted the heavy bag across her back as she tried not to pay too much attention to the barking of the various vendors.

The air was rank with the smell of unwashed bodies, and filled with the sounds of vendors as they hawked their wares. Already she'd been approached with offers to purchase five children ranging from three to seven years of age, two orcs (one of whom was missing an arm), and a very old dwarf who'd spit at her. A woman had even tried to convince her to sell herself to the vendor. The bard scoffed at the memory.

She passed by one of the Rabble Lord's men (who was pretending to be interested in a shackled human female). The two of them briefly met each other's eyes, and the man slowly shook his head before he went back to his conversation.

This is ridiculous. Kerri thought to herself as she continued her stroll through the aisles. Ander and Carric should have been finished with the errand hours ago.

Once again she shifted the heavy bag, trying to find some relief for her shoulders.

As she rounded a corner, she spied a long stone bench. One side of the bench was already occupied, but there was plenty of room still. The bard wasted no time in claiming the spot for herself, gently placing the bag underneath her new seat. As she settled herself, she yawned again.

"Surely you can't be that tired, the day's barely started." The woman on the end said playfully. Kerri turned to look at her, and for the first time noticed that the woman's eyes were hidden behind a thick piece of purple fabric. With practiced ease, the woman shuffled a large deck of rectangular cards, while at her feet an owlbear cub was curled up, seemingly asleep.

The half-elf shook their head. "I'm what you'd call a night owl, I'm usually in bed at this time."

The woman grinned, the cards moving with ease through her hands. "Pray tell what brings you to the market then?"

"Work," Kerri answered. She leaned in closer, trying to see more of the cards. They seemed to be tarot cards. "What about you?"

"Buying," The blindfolded woman paused and pointed just up the way, at a very tall cyclops who was speaking with a pair of human twins (one female and one male judging by their dress). The more feminine twin held the chains of scarred orc.

Kerri's eyebrow lifted. "Quite a menagerie you seem to be collecting."

The woman laughed. "That's what my brother says." She gathered the cards into a single deck, and set them down on the stone bench between the two of them. "You look like you're in need of a distraction, something to pass the time. May I offer a reading?"

The bard pulled up a leg up under her as she twisted sideways in her seat. "Is it gonna cost me?"

"Only your time." The fortune teller fanned the cards. "We'll do a simple three-card reading; past, present, and future." She held out a hand. "Choose a card to represent your past."

Kerri let her hand linger over the cards, before pulling one from the middle. She placed it, face down, in the woman's hand. Under the woman's direction, she then chose two more cards and handed them over.

With one hand the woman gathered the unchosen cards into a single deck and set them to the side. She placed the chosen cards down in front of her.

"Now, let us see what the cards have to say about your past." With a flourish the woman flipped the card over.

A man with a laurel wreath round his head sat straight atop a pure white horse. The man himself was young, his face showing not a single wrinkle. He held a long stave in his hand, topped with a similar wreath. All around him, a cheering crowd held up five other staves, for a total of six. However, the scene of the Six of Wands was reversed.

"Hmm, your past has not been kind." The woman mused as traced the image of the man. "Even as you basked in the glory of victory, you were unhappy. You were unfulfilled as you felt the weight of a goal you couldn't quite grasp slip ever farther away. In what should have been the start of a golden time, you instead fell from that grace."

Kerri's breath hitched as images of her past in Liratha sprang to mind. The happiness she had with Maron as they worked for the Thieves' Guild, and the life they could have lived as royalty. Unbidden, her hand moved up to her Marked shoulder.

The woman's hand moved onto the next card, the present.

A woman with long hair stood between two stone pillars. Her face was impassive as she stared out at whoever summoned her. In one hand she held a razor-sharp sword, and in her other a set of scales. Like the card before, Justice was also reversed.

"Hmm, it seems like the troubles of the past still haunt you." The fortune teller's finger traced the blade of the sword. "You can't move without a small part criticizing yourself, wondering if what you're doing is the right thing. You're in such a state of turmoil and second-guessing that you're at a standstill in life."

The woman's words held Kerri like a vice. The hand that had reached up to the Mark, now clenched the shoulder with white-tipped fingers. The bard dare not speak, but that didn't seem to faze the woman in front of her.

The blindfolded woman moved her finger from the blade to the scale. "You can't continue like this. Sooner or later, the scales will tip, and that is what truly terrifies you; the idea that you'll be forced to live with the consequences, whatever they may be."

The woman's hand moved over to the third card.

She titled her face up towards the bard. "This card, holds a clue to your future. No one, not even the gods, can ever truly tell what the future holds, for every decision you and others make impacts it in ways no one can predict. All this card holds, is a clue for the future you wish for yourself. Do you still wish to see it?"

In a voice that was barely above a whisper, Kerri said yes.

The card that was revealed, was upright. It held the image of a lone figure. The wind blew their hair as they looked out over a great expanse of water. Three tall staves were planted firmly in the ground around them, showing the resolution of the Three of Wands.

"A chance to grow will soon come your way. This opportunity will take you out of your comfort zone, and it will scare you. Taking this path will require faith and trust, in yourself and the path, to lead you towards the future you seek." The woman handed the card to Kerri. "The path that is opened to you, may not be one you're expecting, but don't discount it out of hand."

The owlbear cub at the woman's feet stirred to consciousness as the cyclops approached them, the chained orc trailing behind them.

"Lady Sabriah," The cyclops stated when they stopped a few paces away.

"Did you get a good deal?" The woman asked as she gathered her cards and placed them in a leather case attached to her waist.

The cyclops raked its eye over the sour-faced orc. "As good as I could get."

Lady Sabriah stood, the cub at her feet now fully awake. She turned back to Kerri. "I wish you the best of luck, my dear. You've been dealt a rather difficult set of cards, and that," she pointed towards the card in Kerri's hand. "will not be any different." With a final, sad smile, the blindfolded woman turned and left with her entourage and new purchase.

The half-elf sat on the bench in silence for several minutes, just staring down at the card in her hand.

Was this confirmation that going back to Liratha was the right path? Did she make a mistake in leaving M.A.?

All the doubts that had plagued her ever since she'd walked away in Aleton began to swim in her head. She brought her knee up and laid her forehead on it, eyes squeezed shut as she willed her mind to quiet down.

So engrossed was she, that when a heavy hand clamped down on her shoulder, she visible jumped. Only the hand of the man she'd shared a look with before stopped her from falling off the bench.

The man didn't comment on the wide-eyed look on the bard's face as he hauled her to her feet. He reached below and dragged out the bag. "It's go time," He said gruffly as he shoved it into her arms.

Kerri steeled her face and nodded. She looped her arm through a strap and held it in front of her so that she had easy access to the bag.

From within the bag, she pulled out a long brownish-black stick with a white wick at the top. As she began to saunter off down the aisle, she touched the tip of her finger to the wick, and it began to smoke. The bard twirled the sparking stick like a baton before she threw it straight up.

With a deafening booming sound, the stick exploded in the air. Black specks rained down onto the newly panicked individuals.

The half-elf continued on her route, throwing up another stick into the air every couple of minutes as she made a circuit of the market.

All around her was mayhem. She watched as the same twins from before scrambled to flee, a chain gang of two gnomes and two human teenagers stretched out between the two of them. A dwarf yelled out dwarven obscenities towards his captor, as he himself strained against the chains that kept him attached to a pole. Further down, a half-elf waved a sword at anyone who dared come close to their assortment of boxed-up children.

The only ones not affected by this manic were the forces brought by the Rabble Lord.

By the time Kerri had finished her circuit and emptied her bag of dynamite, all the inhabitants of the slave market had been gathered in the center near the auction platform.

"You were late." Maron teased the half-elf as she settled herself on the raised platform he leaned against on the outskirts of the large auction area.

Kerri waved him off. She smiled at the violet akudaem next to him. "How are you doing?"

"Better than those guys." The akudaem didn't return the smile as he nodded toward the scene that played out in front of them.

The market inhabitants had been divided into two groups as they were gathered in front of the auction platform. Both groups were surrounded by the weapon-wielding members of the Thieves' Guild.

One group held the vendors and masters.

The other group consisted of the captured slaves.

Atop the platform stood the imposing half-orc figure of the Rabble Lord. Next to him, stood Suriah, the Lord of District Two.

Suriah was a lanky man, with black hair that ended just past their chin. His outfit was dark, with leather pants, and a long-sleeve tunic that peeked out from under a tight-fitting waistcoat. Though he wore no visible weapons, waves of hostility came off of him as he fixed his gaze on the slave traders in front of him.

The Rabble Lord clapped his hands together in front of him, the smack of his palms resonating out louder than the dynamite.

"Now that we're all gathered here, I believe it's time we got started." The half-orc gestured off to the side, and a few of his men brought a large brazier onto the stage behind him. He continued as they lit a large fire within it.

"First, so that there is no confusion, we did not crash your party here because we have an issue with slavery. That is a matter for Headquarters House." The Rabble Lord waited for the jeers of his men at the name to die down. "No, we are here because you didn't go through the proper channels." The Lord gestured again, and this time his men dragged out two individuals: a human male with red hair, and an elven female with blonde hair. Both were tied up, their arms pinned painfully back. The duo were tossed onto the wooden platform in front of the Lord.

"As many of you recognize, these two are the market organizers. Now, we've done business together before, and I always thought that we had a very good understanding of how things are done." The Lord reached down and hauled the man up to his knees by his hair. "I thought I'd made it very clear to them, that nothing gets moved in, out, or around Silverbank without going through me." He tsk'd.

"You mean without you getting your cut." The man spat out.

Without batting an eye, the Rabble Lord slammed the man's head down into the wood as he took a knee.

The woman cursed at the Lord and tried to scramble towards him, but was held in place by one of the Lord's burly men.

The Rabble Lord continued, still keeping the redhead's face planted on the platform with his knee. "I don't know what assurances these two idiots gave you, but because of them, all of you who did business here will now be punished." He grinned out towards the group of twenty or so captured vendors. "You're all going to go for a little swim."

At that, the group of vendors and slave masters were swarmed by their captors, and quickly each and every one of them had their hands and feet bound by lengths of rope. After, they were herded out towards one of the docks.

The Rabble Lord stood up. The redhead was brought to his feet by another of the Lord's men. He and the elven female were also quickly tied and hauled off the platform.

Off to the side, Kerri, Maron, and Iados kept their mouths closed as they watched the spectacle. They knew that nothing they said would influence the Rabble Lord's punishment.

Once the last of the slave masters had been cleared out of the area, the Rabble Lord took a step back and allowed Suriah to step forward.

The tall, thin man kept his hands clasped behind his back as he raked his dark eyes over the group in front of him.

The thing that really broke Kerri's heart about the group of slaves, was that of the nearly fifty or so individuals, over half of them were children.

Suriah snapped, and one of his own men also dressed darkly, stepped out of the shadows. He handed over a large sheaf of papers before he melded back into the darkness.

When the District Lord did speak, it wasn't a large booming voice like that of his counterpart. His voice was level, monotone, but somehow still cut a person to the bone. "These are your slave contracts."

"How do we know that?" A woman yelled out from the crowd.

"Better yet, what are you going to do with them?" Another voice, this one deeper, yelled out.

Suriah took a step forward. "I literally hold your future in my hands," He shook the sheaf of papers out towards the crowd. "You just saw my colleague drag away the people who chained you and penned you up like cattle. With your own eyes, you witnessed the kind of power we wield over our own men, men who are throwing your captors into the depths of Lake Valwynne as we speak. You see all of this, and yet you hold nothing but suspicion for us, your rescuers."

Suriah snapped again, and this time his men melded out of the shadows and took hold of the two people who had questioned him. They barely had time to squeak before they were gone, disappearing into the shadows.

The rest of the group fell silent.

"Now, as I was about to say," The District Lord continued. "These are your slave contracts." He turned his back on the group and approached the flaming brazier. Without any flourish, the lanky man simply dropped the pile of papers into its center. "Slave contracts are nothing but a way for the weak-minded to take control of others."

He turned and approached the group. "Now, you have no more excuses for not taking control of your life." He snapped his fingers twice.

This time, a group of men and women dressed in the white and gold attire of Vowil entered the clearing. They gathered up every child under the age of sixteen and quickly ushered them out of the room and towards the docks.

Suriah clasped his hands behind his back once again and faced the new group of about twenty adults. "Now, I did lie before. The Rabble Lord's men have not yet begun to throw your captors into the lake. Before they do, I wanted to give you all an opportunity. An opportunity to take out your rage at what has been done to you on those that harmed you. Simply raise your hand, and we will supply you with you a blade, and a target."

Iados wasn't surprised to see that the silver-skinned Bidrek was one of the first to raise their hands. In all, about half raised their hands. The half that didn't were escorted toward the docks.

True to his word, Suriah put a blade into each of their hands, a simple dagger.

A handful of the vendors were dragged back before the platform. One was singled out, and held by two of the Rabble Lord's men, his hands and feet still bound.

"So, who wants to go first?" Suriah asked.

Bidrek stepped forward and faced the Lord on the platform. "I want the one who tried to sell me."

The lanky man shook his head. "I promised only a target, I didn't say you get to pick your target."

The dragonborn narrowed his eyes as a bit of smoke trailed out of his nostrils. "What if I refuse to take this opportunity?"

The Rabble Lord stepped forward, his arms crossed over his chest. "Nothing, you're allowed to join the others on the boat to freedom. This is not a requirement, it is merely a chance to take some form of revenge."

Bidrek snarled and hurled the dagger into the ground, the metal tip of the blade sinking into the soft dirt. "I will not harm one who hasn't harmed me." With a final flare of his nostrils, the Zhonnic candidate stalked out of the clearing and out towards the docks.

A few other newly freed slaves followed Bidrek's lead and followed him, their blades left behind.

That left three standing there with their daggers.

The dwarf that Kerri recognized as having been left chained to a pole, stepped forward. He began to chant something in dwarven, before he yelled loudly, raised his dagger above his head, and run full tilt toward the prisoner. With no hesitation, the dwarf slammed the blade into the former slave master's thigh all the way to the hilt. The dwarf backed up and left the blade in the thigh. With what Kerri assumed was another dwarven curse, the newly freed slave left towards the dock.

No one stopped him.

The Rabble Lord gestured, and a new prisoner was brought forward.

This time, a human female with dirty brown hair stepped forward. She tightened her grip on her blade, and like the dwarf, took a running start. However, she didn't go for the offered target, instead, she swerved at the last moment and tackled one of the other human men.

Like a woman possessed, she stabbed the man over and over again in the chest. Even after it was clear he was dead, she still stabbed.

No one made a move to stop her.

Iados saw one of the Rabble Lord's move as if to stop her, but was held back by his comrades.

Finally, the woman, who was now sobbing uncontrollably, ran out of steam. The Rabble Lord called over one of his men, whispered something to him, and sent him off. A few moments later, one of the women dressed in the colors of Vowil was brought into the clearing.

She cautiously approached the woman, who flung herself into the woman's arms. The holy woman handed the knife over to one of the men around her, then escorted the woman away from the scene.

It was very clear to the trio standing at the side, that the woman's strikes hadn't been limited to just the man's chest, as she'd also done damage down south.

The man's body was hauled off towards the docks.

Suriah stepped off the platform, hands behind his back, and walked towards the last former slave. "Tell me, do you see your captor here in the group?" He asked.

The former slave, a middle-aged male gnome who was missing three digits on his left hand, shook his head. He seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face.

The District Lord nodded and took a step back. "The floor is yours." His eyes were trained intently on the small body.

The gnome stalked forward till he was only a few paces in front of the prisoner, the top of his head barely coming up to the man's waist.

"Kneel," The gnome sneered up at the man. The men holding him looked over at the Rabble Lord, who nodded.

With some difficulty, the men forced the prisoner's knees to bend and he hit the ground with a heavy thud.

The gnome stepped forward until he was right in front of the prisoner. He raised the blade and held it against the bound man's neck.

"This is for every soul you ever condemned with one of those fucking contracts." The small man growled before he sliced through the man's neck. Blood sprayed out, coating the gnome. The prisoner gave a strangled cry before his body went limp. When the men let go, he fell back like a rag doll.

Suriah walked up beside the body, knelt down, and inspected the wound. "Tell me, at which point did you decide that you were going to kill someone?"

The gnome wiped the blade off on his pants. "I swore to get revenge the moment my contract was up. If I couldn't get revenge for myself, then I'd get it for someone else."

For a moment, Kerri could have sworn she saw the tiniest hint of a smile on Suriah's face.

The District Lord stood up. "If you're interested, I believe I could make use of a person like you." One of the shadowed men appeared at the dwarf's side, and gently guided him toward the docks as they talked softly.

Iados stretched as he took a step forward from their perch. "Looks like the show's over." He turned over to Kerri. "You going to come see Elaine?"

The bard nodded as the three of them followed the rest of the Rabble Lord's men out towards the docks. Maron led the way toward the boat that they'd taken out to the island.

For the first time, Iados truly got a look at the island. The large man-made island was just large enough to hold the large open-air structure in the middle of the lake. The morning haze had already burned off, but he still couldn't see the mainland.

He watched as a large boat full of the vendors shoved off. He could hear the pleading of the prisoners.

"He's really going to kill them, just like that?" The akudaem asked Maron softly as the two of them watched the boat sail away.

The former prince scowled. "I saw the knots that were used on them, with the right amount of force they'll come undone pretty easily. The Rabble Lord did say it was a punishment, not a death sentence."

Iados looked down at the cloudy water. "What about the ones who can't swim, or who can't break their bonds?"

"Then they'll feel like what it means to be helpless." The scowl on Maron's face deepened as his hands curled into fists on the railing in front of him.

Wordlessly Kerri reached over and covered one of his fists with her hand. The truth about his family's role in the slave trade of Liratha rang in her head.

No more words were said between the three of them as their boat left the dock and headed back towards the mainland, followed by the vessel full of the newly freed.

Once back on solid ground, they were met by a group of Suriah's men. They loaded the former slaves into the back of three wagons they had brought and then departed towards the city gates.

The Rabble Lord's men headed in a different direction, uncovering a hidden entrance to the sewer system and going back to town that way. Iados went with them, not wanting to risk another unfortunate run-in with the city guard without his paperwork. Besides, once he grouped back up with Carric and Ander they could search for Jun and the people who'd bought him together.

The way through the sewers was a miserable way to travel. The only light was from the smattering of torches held by the members of the Thieves Guild. The stone walls ensured that the cold never went away, and the thawing snow of the city above kept the icy water flowing at a brisk pace. More than once someone slipped off the damp sidewalks and got a rude awakening.

Kerri cursed as she felt her foot slide out from under her. Out of the corner of her, eye she saw both Iados and Maron reach out for her, but both of them were too slow. Her backside made contact with the hard stone, but that was overshadowed by the freezing water that overwhelmed her nerve endings.

Maron grabbed her arm and yanked her as gently as possible out of the water.

"Wipe that grin off your face." Kerri ordered through chattering teeth. She tried to put weight on her ankle and winced.

The action didn't go unnoticed by the former prince. He handed over his torch to Iados, and swiftly picked her up before heading a bit down an adjacent tunnel where the ground was noticeably drier. The end of the tunnel was blocked off by a cave-in.

Kerri only grumbled a bit as he set her down and went about inspecting her ankle.

Iados trailed a bit behind them, keeping an eye on the ever-moving crowd of Thieves' Guild members, none of who seemed interested in their plight. "How is she?"

Maron removed Kerri's boot and gently prodded the area. "Seems to just be a bit bruised."

"That and my ego." The bard reached out and snatched her boot back. "I'll be just fin-" Her voice trailed off as a design on the opposite wall caught her eye. She scrambled to her feet and gently limped over. With an almost reverent touch, she lightly traced the sun, stars, and moon that had been carved into the wall. Her fingers glided over the polished stone, completely unlike the rough stone that was present throughout the rest of the sewer system.

"You ok over there?" Maron asked with a raised eyebrow as he watched Kerri's eyes comb over the entirety of the wall.

She turned to look at him with wide eyes. "Do you have any idea what this is?" She hobbled over to the tunnel entrance and pointed out the archway.

The thief shook his head. He could see the last of the Rabble Lord's guards make their way past them, leaving the trio behind.

Kerri's face was lit up as she faced him. "It's Uthain!"

The eyebrow dropped in shock. "You don't mean that old bard from your dad's stories."

The half-elf nodded vigorously.

"Who's Uthain?" Iados asked.

"An ancient bard," Maron explained. "According to the old stories, he hid a treasure hall beneath Silverbank."

"And we found it!" The young bard slipped her boot back on her foot. "Carric had said that he'd found this place before, but I never imagined that I'd find it too!"

The akudaem clapped his hands. "Cool, what do you say we go grab Carric and Ander, find Jun, and then we'll all come back here and find this treasure."

Kerri turned to Iados with a look of horror. "No, no, we can't leave. If we leave, then we'll never find this place again. It's enchanted, somehow, and once you've found it you can never find it again." She turned to Maron. "Tell him!"

The former prince nodded. "It's true, according to the stories, even if you set out to find it, you will never find it."

The bard nodded. "We have to take this chance now, we can't come back."

This time it was Iados who shook their head. "We don't have time for this, we have to get back to Carric and Ander, and then go find Jun. Or do you want him to be sold into slavery?"

Kerri bit her lip, as she looked between the cave-in and Iados. She knew he had a point, but this was literally the only time she'd have this chance.

Maron could see the battle that waged within Kerri. He couldn't count the number of times he'd heard the stories of Uthain be told around a friendly fire, or be re-enacted on a stage back home. He knew that to Kerri this wasn't just a chance to uncover a great mystery, this was a chance to chase down her family history. She'd grown up hearing that the blood of Uthain ran in her veins from her father.

It seemed only fitting that she be the one see Uthain's greatest tale to the end.

"Iados, you don't really need the two of us to locate Jun." The former prince admitted as he turned to the akudaem. "You just said you've got Ander and Carric to help you, and if you catch the Rabble Lord while he's still in a good mood, he may have some help to give as well."

The akudaem's eyes narrowed. "You're choosing treasure over Jun?"

Maron shrugged. "I guess we are."

Kerri walked over and stood next to Iados. "Please understand, this is something I have to do."

Iados seethed for a few more seconds before he let out a deep breath and hung his head. "Fine, you go do what you have to do."

The young bard's face broke out in a smile and she hugged him.

The former pirate returned the tight hug. "The minute you find this treasure, you leave and get your butt over to the hospital, got it?" He whispered in her ear.

Kerri broke the hug and nodded. "You tell Elaine not to leave town till I get there."

"I'll tell her," Iados gave her one final smile before he turned to look over at Maron. "If anything happens to her, you'll get the blame from every member of M.A."

Maron nodded. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe."

With a final nod of understanding between them, Iados handed the torch over to Maron, before he left the tunnel and jogged to catch up with the Rabble Lord.

As the sound of Iados's footfalls disappeared, a new sound caught the attention of the duo. Turning around, they watched as the stones in the cave-in tumbled out of the way, leaving a clear path to the other side.

With a gentle smile, Kerri approached the tunnel. "Well Maron, let's go see where the Ancients sleep."

Maron shoved his way to the front, the torch brandished in front of him. "Tell me, how much of that old song do you remember?"

"All of it." It was impossible for the young bard to keep the excitement out of her voice. Her hand reached down into her pocket, feeling the tarot card that represented her future. With no hesitation, she headed down the path.