Firesign 1 - Wage Slave Rebellion Read online

  “Wow. This is really useful,” said Mazik as he leaned over to see.

  “Not as useful as you’re thinking,” said Taronn. “These will be good for tonight, maybe a few days, but after that they’ll change. Unless you can figure out a way to get reliable updates, this will become outdated fast. That’s not why I got it for you, though,” said Taronn as he took a sip of his tea. “I got it so you could see the kinds of places they’re patrolling and use that to pick areas to target or avoid. I wrote down a few ideas of my own in the bottom corner.

  “Along the same lines, you should try to figure out where other adventurers are concentrating their efforts, and go somewhere else,” said Taronn. “Focus on the places with less competition. That way if you do find them, you’ll have a chance of actually collecting the reward.”

  “So your strategy is to focus more on making sure we can actually collect on the quest than making sure we find them,” said Mazik. “I like it.”

  Taronn finally smiled. It was toothy and not very kind. “I thought you might. It may also be the best way to find them, though. After all, there’s no reason for them to risk hunting in crowded areas when all the other ones will do.”

  “Especially when there’s so much city to cover,” said Mazik. “Anything else we should keep in mind?”

  “You should avoid any place that’s too wide open,” said Taronn. “These guys seem too smart for that. They’ll depend on alleyways and other dark places to augment their invisibility magick.” Taronn pulled a list out of his pocket and examined it, then shrugged. “That’s about it. Not enough information to narrow it down any more than that.”

  “Actually, you’ve been a big help,” said Gavi. “Like Mazik said earlier, if they were easy to find, someone would have caught them already.”

  Mazik nodded. He had been looking at the large map. “By the way, can you leave this out for a few days? I’d like to come by and copy the rest of the information from it.”

  “Yes, we’ll leave it right here,” said Kalenia.

  Taronn grunted. “Now it’s time to talk about our payment.”

  “You’ve got my hearty thanks and everlasting respect!” said Mazik quickly. “And any love I have left after K’s portion.” He glanced over at Kalenia. “Which is all of it. So no love. Just the other two things.”

  “Great, but we don’t want any of that,” said Taronn. He glanced at Xer, who clasped her hands together and nodded. Suddenly, even that seemed menacing.

  “…please, be gentle,” said Mazik lamely.

  Taronn burst out laughing. He walked around the table until he was staring up at Mazik.

  “Don’t worry. We both owed your girlfriend a couple of favors, so that took care of most of it,” said Taronn. “Just take us out to lunch and we’re even. Somewhere nice, though,” he said, suddenly stern.

  “I don’t know … but I guess I must!” said Mazik, giving in quickly. “How does tomorrow sound? We’ve got to get back to work soon, but we should have plenty of time when we don’t spend half of it in deliberations.”

  “Works for me,” said Taronn.

  “That sounds great!” said Xer with a gentle smile.

  “Of course, that includes you as well, darling,” said Mazik, shooting Kalenia a wink. “As thanks for everything.”

  “Thank you. That sounds lovely,” said Kalenia.

  “And we’re welcome to come too, we just have to pay for ourselves, right?” said Raedren.

  “Correct! How did you guess?” said Mazik.

  “Pattern recognition,” said Raedren dryly.

  “Known me for more than fifteen minutes, gotcha,” said Mazik. He pushed his stool back and stood up. “Now, I think it’s probably time for us to get out of here. Jobs to get back to and all that.”

  There was a chorus of farewells, and then Mazik, Gavi, and Raedren departed.

  “So, what’s the plan now?” asked Raedren as they ran down the stairs.

  “I’ll try to talk to as many people as I can, especially people at the guilds,” said Mazik. “Might be able to glean some more information from the city guard too, though I’ll wait until I talk to some coworkers tonight or tomorrow. Gavs, you see what guesses you can make from that map. Rae, I guess you can take care of copying everything from the big map inside, and then help Gavs when you have time.”

  “When do you want to actually start searching?” asked Gavi. “Because I still need to switch to this Trueseer god before I can be much help.”

  “Try to get it done as fast as you can,” said Mazik as they hopped down the last few steps and headed for the front door. “I want to be tromping around shady streets looking for trouble no later than … let’s say the day after tomorrow.”

  “Isn’t that what you already do for a living?” asked Gavi. “I wonder if you’ll even notice the difference.”

  “I will if we find them,” said Mazik. “Unfortunately, I don’t usually get to beat the living daylights out of customers, no matter how much they deserve it.”

  *

  By the time Gavi arrived at Mazik and Raedren’s apartment two days later, it was already late into the evening, well past a sensible person’s dinnertime and fast approaching the time for bed. For the three fledgling adventurers, this meant it was almost time to get to work.

  Gavi knocked on the door and stepped back.

  “It’s open,” came Mazik’s muffled response.

  Before Gavi could enter, the door opened, and Raedren waved her in. “Come in.”

  “Thank you,” said Gavi as she stepped inside.

  “Make yourself at home,” said Raedren. “I already laid out the map in the living room.”

  Gavi walked into the tiny living room. Dropping her bag and sword, she sat down in front of the map began tracing her finger across Houk’s streets. There were fresh markings she didn’t recognize. “Did you get more information today?”

  “Maz will tell you all about that when he gets out,” said Raedren. “I’m sure he wouldn’t want me to ruin the surprise.”

  As if on cue, the door to Mazik’s room flew open. There was the rustle of fabric and the thud of heavy boots, followed by expectant silence.

  “So? How do I look?” asked Mazik, his voice so full of itself it threatened to burst out of his chest like water from an overstressed aquarium. Gavi looked up.

  It was traditional for casters to wear robes29. They were a status symbol—to wear robes was to say you were powerful enough to deserve to wear robes, and were therefore worthy of respect. It said you didn’t care that robes were inconvenient and hard to move in, because you were just that damn good.

  Mazik was wearing robes of a sort, but they were different from the baggy, long-sleeved, encrusted-with-gems-and-embroidered-with-sequins robes that many older casters favored. They didn’t even really look like robes; they were more like a jacket that had gotten carried away with itself. They were tight around his arms and chest, but hung loose from his waist before stopping at the top of his boots. He was wearing them open, revealing a pair of dark blue pants and a black undershirt, as well as a sheathed sword thrust through his belt. Combined with the dull gray cloth of the robes, he looked like a morally ambiguous anti-hero. All that was missing were a couple of pistols and a pair of sunglasses, which he surely would have included had they been invented yet.

  Gavi looked him over. “You look like you’re trying way too hard.”

  “Hey, it didn’t cost that much!” said Mazik sullenly. He fiddled with a button. “I got it used. That’s why it’s kind of beat-up,” he added petulantly.

  “Absolutely not what I was talking about,” said Gavi. “You do know we’re supposed to be sneaking around, right? That’s really conspicuous. It practically screams ‘adventurer.’”

  “What’s the fun in being an adventurer if no one knows you’re one?” asked Mazik, pouting.

  “Actually deserving to be called one?” said Gavi.

  “…okay, granted,” said Mazik, his petulant exp
ression retreating in favor of a smile. He shrugged the robes off and tossed them onto the chair next to him. “Better?”

  “Much,” said Gavi, turning back to the map.

  “Of course, now I have practically no armor on…” said Mazik, not ready to let it go.

  “Like you’ll need it,” said Gavi, not looking up. “You can cast barriers, and you’ll probably just whine until Raedren does it for you anyway.”

  “It’s true,” said Raedren. He emerged from the kitchen with three plates of food.

  “I’m always getting ganged up on!” wailed Mazik, though there wasn’t much feeling in it. He sat down, and the three of them began to eat.

  Gavi tapped the map. “Back to business. I noticed there are new marks. Explain.”

  Mazik swallowed his current bite. “Those are the guard patrol routes for the rest of the city.”

  “How’d you get those so quickly? And more importantly, how did you get them at all?”

  “Stealth, guile, rugged good looks, and an excellent way with people.” Mazik puffed out his chest.

  Gavi stared at him. “Care to try that again, but without the lying?”

  Mazik deflated. “Dispensing with the lying doesn’t seem appropriate, since that’s how I got them. I lied. A lot. I told a huge, amazing, ridiculous amount of lies, and then I got the fuck out of there before anyone caught on.”

  “So you got these from a guardhouse?” asked Gavi.

  “I did visit some guardhouses, yes.”

  “That was a peculiar way to say that,” said Gavi.

  “That’s because he got shot down at every guardhouse he went to,” said Raedren.

  Mazik gave his roommate a wounded look. Raedren kept eating, paying him no mind.

  “Okay, so I got these from an adventurer friend of mine,” said Mazik. “Friend-slash-customer. He gave me some advice before, so I thought he might be willing to help. Turns out the big guilds have some useful resources.” He popped a slice of fried potato in his mouth and chewed. “By the way, I wasn’t lying about the lying. It just didn’t work.”

  “So many layers of deception, I don’t think I can keep up,” said Gavi, rolling her eyes.

  “It’s probably better not to try,” said Raedren.

  “Look, I even got him to mark some of the areas where other adventurers are focusing their searches,” said Mazik, tapping the map.

  “Sounds like we got lucky there,” said Gavi.

  “I prefer to think of it as—” Mazik paused. “Yeah, luck works.”

  Gavi smiled. “Either way, now we know where the city guard is going to be patrolling, at least for a day or two. That’s pretty good!” She sat up and clapped her hands. “We might really be able to do this!”

  “Optimistic Gavi weirds me out,” said Mazik.

  “It’s new to me,” said Raedren.

  “Oh look, now I’m getting ganged up on,” said Gavi.

  “Hah!” said Mazik, pointing. “Feel my pain!”

  “Oh my. It hurts. It hurts so much,” said Gavi.

  “Now you know,” said Mazik, choosing to take her words seriously. “Okay, enough of the comedy routine. Do any of these—”

  “Wait, that was supposed to be funny?” said Raedren.

  “—change your choices on where we should search tonight?” finished Mazik.

  Gavi pulled a notepad out of the pack she brought with her. She looked back and forth between the notepad and the map. After a minute, she tapped one of the freshly marked places. “I had this area down on my list. Can we trust your friend’s information?”

  “For the guard routes, definitely probably,” said Mazik. “For the adventurer areas like that one, proooobably, though he is an adventurer, so I wouldn’t put it past him to add in a few extra so he can keep the best places for himself. It’s not super likely, knowing him, but I wouldn’t discount it either. I know that’s what I’d do.”

  “Yes, but you’re a ruthless bastard,” said Raedren.

  “Awwww, thank you!” said Mazik, clasping his hands over his heart.

  “We definitely need to get more information on where other adventurers are searching then,” said Gavi. “That way we can double-check what your friend told you and see if there’s any agreement.”

  “I’ll work on that tomorrow,” said Mazik. “So, where are we searching tonight?”

  “Hold on. Let me see here….”

  Gavi examined her notes. In truth, she was stalling for time. She had been dreading this part. There were too many places to search in a city the size of Houk, and even with all the information they had there were still huge blank spots all over the map. With only perhaps a quarter of the city ruled out, the only thing she could do now was guess.

  “Let’s start with these three areas,” said Gavi finally. She pulled a few coins out of her pocket and placed them on the map to mark her choices. “They look like good ones to start with, and they’re close enough together that we should be able to hit all three of them tonight.”

  “Works for me,” said Mazik. “Speaking of searching, you all set up with that new god?”

  Gavi’s eyes flashed green. “I’m good to go.”

  “Oh, this god doesn’t require an incantation?” asked Raedren.

  “It does, I just did it earlier,” said Gavi. “I’ve actually had the magick running at a low level since I got here. That way I can just pump in more mana to get the effect whenever I need it.”

  “Ah, nice. Makes sense,” said Raedren. “So other than being on the lookout for the kidnappers themselves, we’re looking for places they might be hiding and what else?”

  “Good kidnapping spots,” said Gavi. “Wait, that came out wrong. What I mean is we need to look for spots where kidnappings seem likely. That way we can narrow down our list.”

  “And be on the lookout for guards and other adventurers too,” said Mazik. “That way we can deemphasize any places where we run into too many of them.”

  “Right,” said Gavi.

  “Got it,” said Raedren as he finished his meal. He stood up and began collecting plates.

  Mazik looked at the areas Gavi had selected. Together they didn’t even cover a twentieth of the city, but there was still a lot of area between them. “These look good. We’ll have to make sure to stay pretty close to each other though, so you guys can come help me when I find them.”

  “If,” said Gavi. “If any of us find them.”

  “When,” said Mazik with a sparkling smile. “I believe in us.”

  Gavi snorted. “Why do I suddenly feel like, if any of us is actually going to find them, it’s going to be me?”

  “Ohoho, big talk from someone who couldn’t enhance her vision two days ago!” said Mazik. “You want to make that a bet?”

  Gavi hesitated for only a split-second. “You’re on! What are we wagering?”

  “Hmmm…” said Mazik, tapping his chin. Then his grin grew to truly worrying proportions. “How about this: both of the losers have to do any one thing the winner wants. One absolute command that they can’t refuse no matter what.”

  “I guess I’m automatically included in this, aren’t I?” said Raedren.

  “Of course you are,” said Mazik. “It wouldn’t be as much fun if I didn’t get to order both of you around.”

  “Yes, because that’s how it’s going to work,” said Raedren.

  Gavi thought about all the ways this could go badly for her. “Fine!” she said finally. “But nothing perverted or illegal.”

  “Hey, I’m not that kind of guy!” protested Mazik. “While I have a girlfriend.”

  “Of course you’re not,” said Gavi dryly. She stood up and stretched. “Anyway, is there anything else we need to discuss before we head out? It’s getting late.”

  “Let me grab a few things first,” said Raedren, and he retreated to his room.

  Gavi ambled toward the door, rubbing her shoulder as she stretched.

  “By the way, been meaning to ask you,” said Ma
zik as he settled back on the couch. “Is that what you’re planning to take with you?”

  Gavi turned back and cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

  Mazik pointed. “Your sword.”

  “Oh,” said Gavi. She picked it up. It was an old military saber, beaten and scratched from heavy use. It was her father’s weapon, from his time in the Houkian military, and he considered it something of a good-luck charm after he carried it through two wars and never once got killed. Gavi wouldn’t mind some of that luck.

  “I was planning to. What’s wrong with it?” asked Gavi.

  “It looks like its seen better days,” said Mazik. He handed her his sword. “Here. You can use this.”

  “But won’t you need it?” asked Gavi.

  Mazik looked at her like she just said something colossally stupid. “C’mon, Gavs. You remember what my day job is, right?” He showed her the inside of his robes, revealing two knives hanging from straps sewn into the material. That was just the right side; Gavi was sure there were more on the other. “I think I’ll be fine.”

  “Oh,” said Gavi. “Right.” She accepted the weapon and bowed. “Thank you.”

  Gavi tugged Mazik’s sword out of its sheath and examined it. The blade was shiny and, more importantly, very sharp. It looked like a good sword.

  “You don’t need to be so polite where your continued existence is concerned,” said Mazik, patting her on the head and mussing her hair. “That’s one thing you can be selfish about.”

  “That was corny,” said Gavi, cracking the barest of smiles as she swatted at his hand.

  Mazik grinned. “Maybe, but it’s true.”

  Raedren walked in. He was dressed in warm clothing similar to Gavi’s, minus her leather sparring armor. “Ready to go.”

  “Excellent,” said Mazik. He swapped out his robes for a far less impressive jacket, which he transferred his knives into. Once that was done, he turned to the others. “We all good to go?”

  There were no objections. They were ready.

  “Great. In that case”—and here Mazik’s boot thudded against the table, one foot perched atop it as he pointed at the door with all the drama of a conquering explorer signaling the charge—“let’s go nab us some kidnappers!”