Sethin chuckled to himself as he heard the dwarf and the man struggling through the back rooms of the amphitheater. He had been clever to listen in on his boss's conversation about the meeting place he was heading to once they had sacked the city and arrived in Lone Peak.
He hadn't thought his captors would actually be so stupid as to leave him unattended and not chained to the wall of the ship. That was the problem with good people. They were too trusting.
Now he sat behind a false wall, grim satisfaction on his face as he heard them give up and head for one of the other rooms. They didn't know about the secret passageway. He'd be safe.
Apparently, the nobles of Lone Peak didn't trust the people to be forgiving when it came to changes in laws or increases in taxes. When important meetings like that took place in the stadium and things got out of hand, the nobles would pretend to spend time in the back room while the crowd settled down, when in reality they were heading back to the safety of their precious castle while their guards put their lives on the line for them outside.
Clever of them.
Now that he was back in the stone passageway, Sethin was doing his best to remember what the boss had said about the tunnels that led underneath it and where the meeting place would be for their contact.
Lucky Sethin had arrived just on the right day to meet up and relay the information: the city was torched, the instructions were followed, and only one ship found out they were there.
He'd leave out the part about the people on the ship taking him prisoner and bringing him to Lone Peak by happenstance.
That wasn't necessary information.
Then there was making up some excuse about why he, Sethin, was delivering the message and not the boss himself. Oh well. The boss often sent others to do his dirty work for him while he slinked away unharmed and out of danger.
How was this any different?
Feeling his way through the stone passage, Sethin was sure he had heard something about torches or lamps to help light the way. Then he felt it: a short metal rod held in place on the wall. He removed it, then touched the end with his bare hand. A soft orange glow came from the piece of rimstone, no bigger than his thumb, and lit the immediate portion of the passage.
A little crude, but it would do.
What Sethin lacked in creativity or general intelligence, he made up for it with his exceptional memory.
He'd always been able to remember full conversations down to the smallest detail. If he had more readily applied himself as a youth, he may not have ended up a pirate.
But commonsense wasn't Sethin's greatest asset.
He wasn't sure who the boss was talking with the day he had gone to ask about his share of a job. Something had stopped him from knocking on the door at the inn they were staying at, and he had been forever grateful he had paused.
"Worth more than the last three jobs put together," the voice had said. "And then some."
Sethin had obviously come in on the boss getting a new job from someone. A very well paying job at that.
"I don't know," came his boss' voice. "Sounds like a pretty risky endeavor. What if I don't want to risk my crew?"
The other laughed at him.
"Even I know you don't care a thing about your crew," the other voice said.
Sethin knew this.
Everyone knew this.
The boss cared about money. His crew was expendable. And money could buy him another one if he used up the one he had right now.
Still, the boss paid well. That's why Sethin had sought him out. And it was his own greed of money now that propelled him forward. The boss finally gave in and was given directions about what their crew was supposed to do. Their job now complete, Sethin was remembering the very last part of the conversation. The payoff and the meeting location.
Left. Right. Left again. Straight.
It was a small wonder no one got lost down in these mazes. Then again, if somebody ever walked up on a dead body down here, they could just put them on a shelf with all the others, Sethin thought.
Sethin had never been in a catacomb before. But he knew enough about them to understand the idea. The bodies of former nobles and rulers of Darrion lined the walls as he walked. He took a rag from his pocket to cover his mouth and keep from gagging. The stench was horrible.
At last Sethin came to the door he knew would unlock if he pressed the third stone up and to the left of the dark gray one that didn't match the other tiles in the wall.
When he put pressure on the stone, he heard a small click and pushed open the door. Inside was a chapel of sorts.
Dark stone walls were bare. The ceiling was the same. No decorations could be found in the room except towards the front.
Plain wooden pews or benches stood on the left or right of an aisle that went down to an altar. Some unforgotten deity was once given honor here. The statue of it was the only thing worth mentioning in the small chamber, and even it sat on a plain stone stand. Small pieces of rimstone embedded into the walls, similar to the one in Sethin's hand, lit the chamber.
A figure in a dark robe stood up at the sound of the door opening and faced Sethin. Whoever it was had a hood down, covering their face.
"You are not who I was expecting," came the voice from the hood. Male, Sethin thought. But couldn't tell anything else about it.
"Yeah?" he answered, knowing he had to play this off well if he was to walk away with a hefty payday. "The boss is the one who sent me. So you were expecting me after all."
For a moment the hooded figure just stood still. Sethin could feel him staring, even though he couldn't make out a face in the dim light.
He also knew better than to ask the hooded figure to show himself. Being a pirate, he had learned to put up with the practices of secrecy.
"The city?" the hooded figure asked.
"Burned to the ground and left like you wanted," Sethin replied. He knew he was being tested for information. And only he and the boss had heard the explicit instructions.
"We left the loot and made sure it looked like they destroyed the place. The messengers fled with the news before the fires had burned out. "
Sethin could tell the hooded figure was nodding and understanding.
He was also making a note of the lack of treasure chests or bags of gold. This better not be some wild goose chase for this pay off or Sethin would be put out.
"One of my sources says that your ships were attacked. Who was the aggressor?"
This was something Sethin had not anticipated. How could this hooded figure know they had been attacked?
Time to play it safe.
"Yeah, we were attacked," he answered truthfully. But then his truthfulness waivered.
"Didn't leave any of them alive. Probably just a stray merchant ship in the wrong place at the wrong time," he invented.
He knew full well the people who had captured him were not ordinary merchants. But letting the robed figure know about a dangerous group who had been able to kill everyone on board his vessel and capture them seemed unwise. Especially if he was going to get his payday.
"You and your crew sunk their vessel and killed them all?" the hooded figure asked.
"Yeah," Sethin replied getting both annoyed and frustrated. He told the man what he needed to know. Why wasn't he paying up?
It was at that moment he sensed two others walking behind him. They were dressed identically to the man at the front of the small chapel. The only difference was that these two both carried short swords.
"Hey!" Sethin began. "What is this!?"
"I would ask you the same thing," the masked figure answered. "A ship did encounter your small fleet. It was burned as one of your vessels sailed away. But, if my information is correct, it was under the guidance of a new crew. It sits now in the docks and you are the only one from the original crew left"
Sethin had not counted on the masked figure knowing about that.
"I know that what you say about the city is true," the man said. "My spies have informed me that the job was completed."
Sethin felt both of his arms being grabbed by the two around him. He struggled to break free when one of them put a sword to his neck. He stood defiantly still.
"They also told me that four ships came to the city that day. Only three left and one of them did not belong to your boss." The robed man was now just two steps away from Sethin. He knew he couldn't fight his way out of this. He would have to keep talking.
"The group that killed my mates and stole our ship isn't from Darrion. They aren't even from this continent. They kept talking about Ruyn. Ones a cat like creature, one is a dwarf, another is a half man, a short folk. "
Sethin was doing the only thing he knew that might possibly save his life: giving some information but not all.
"I know their captain, and where they are staying. I can direct them back to you. I can show you who their boss is."
For a moment the four of them stood still. Sethin looked nervously from side to side and then back again at the masked man in front of them.
"Let me go and I can help you find him," he bargained.
The robed figure scuffed and turned away.
"You are so willing to change alliances, to tell me you are loyal to me most. Who's to say if someone with more money or power couldn't sway you to their side?"
The hooded figure stood in front of the deity.
"My followers are loyal beyond death."
Turning back around, he removed his hood to reveal a golden mask. The features of a man were molded onto it, but they were perfectly symmetrical. Not a flaw at all.
"These filthy humans at one time worshiped death. I seek to free those who are worthy from death."
He took three steps until he was nose to nose with Sethin.
Sethin looked squarely into the face of the mask.
"I can help you," he bargained once more, almost pleadingly.
A soft laugh came from within the mask.
"You have nothing to offer me."
The masked man turned and put up his hood up once more before bowing to the deity.
"You are unworthy."
Those were the last three words Sethin ever heard.