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Glenn followed Kirby through the unfamiliar streets. Dust lined the gnome’s nostrils, dampening some of the odor of stale sweat and animal waste. Whoever ran Riven Rock wasn’t as attentive to the latter as the duke was in Three Hills City. Of course, the absence of moisture in the air helped mitigate the effect. It was a lot better than the squalor of the shantytown surrounding the more established part of the city.
Fortunately they only had to keep to major roads to find the raw materials broker’s warehouse, and only made one wrong turn along the way.
Glenn did his best to look like he belonged, instead of a tourist. He observed signs and shop fronts, trying to burn them into his memory, all the while doing his best to avoid eye contact with anyone. That included hired guards and street sellers peddling their wares. Eye contact, Kirby said, would make him memorable, instead of just part of the crowd. And they didn’t want to be memorable. Being a gnome and a half-goblin among mainly humans was bad enough.
They reached a trio of brick warehouses just as Blizz, Ron and the other driver were pulling the heavily-laden wagons into the warehouse on the far right. Outside, a middle-aged man with thick arms and a beer gut counted out gold and silver, before dropping it into a large pouch and handing it to Nickson. Derek and Yonn watched.
“Come on,” Kirby urged. “We’ll duck around the corner and see what happens.”
Glenn trotted to keep up with the half-goblin thief until they came alongside a two-wheeled cart pulled by a mule. They kept pace with it, keeping the creaky contraption between them and Derek, Nickson and Yonn as they passed by.
“Here,” Nickson said. Glenn heard the sound of coins clink. “Take this back to Krogman’s, and I’ll meet you at the Sulfur Ash Inn.”
“Where you going?” Derek asked. His voice sounded gruff and slightly suspicious.
“There’s a place I can post that we’re interested in hiring a few guards for the return trip. If I do it tonight, word’ll get around and we’ll have a better chance of getting some that are competent.”
That’s all Glenn’s gnome ears could make out before they were out of earshot. A few seconds later he followed Kirby, ducking around the corner.
While Kirby did his best to casually peer around the warehouse’s corner, Glenn stood next to him. “Did you hear what the guard captain said?”
“Total BS,” Kirby hissed. “Back off, he’s coming this way.”
The pair turned and strode away, the half-goblin more calmly than the gnome. Ahead a pair of laborers lifted empty wooden crates from a stack onto a flatbed wagon. The sturdy horse team snorted as the thief and healer stepped in front of them. They remained there until the guard captain crossed the intersection.
“Come on,” Kirby whispered. “Stay way behind me, but don’t lose sight. If we get separated, I’ll meet you back at Krogman’s.” Without waiting for acknowledgement Kirby scurried back toward the intersection and stepped around the corner. As soon as the half-goblin thief was out of sight, Glenn hurried to follow.