Tuesday, November 21, 2017

An Unlikely Party 21: Trusting In Love

          Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Walker lightly tapped his glass on the counter repeatedly while staring blankly off across the Ladies’ Door. It was the middle of the day, so the place was fairly empty. Callie and Rede had left earlier to go explore town, while Shade and Gorgos went out to sell some potions. There were two other people sitting at the bar talking together on the opposite side from where Walker was, and a few of the dancers were chatting on the stage. “Need something else?” The bartender asked Walker.
          Walker jumped slightly, caught off guard, and turned to the bartender ceasing to tap his glass against the bar. The guy was young and strong, Walker was quickly able to recognize him as the ‘tender Para had asked to take over when they first arrived, Jack. Walker eyed him over and shook his head, his drink was still half full, “You Para’s second?”
          Jack shrugged and leaned on the bar, “She don’t have an official one yet.” He smirked and smiled, “In her defense though, she’s not going to need one for a long time.”
          “But…?” Walker asked him.
          “She seems to put more responsibility on me than the other’s here.” Jack admitted, “Especially when she’s focused on her other work, then it’s usually up to me to hold down the bar.”
          “She’s driven.” Walker sighed, “Haven’t seen a drive like that for a long time.”
          Jack chuckled, “Damn right she is. If she wants something, she gets it. She plays real nice though to everyone. Don’t wanna make any enemies.” He smirked, “Between you and me though, I’m pretty sure she could silence anyone if they tried anything.”
          “I’m sure she could.” Walker agreed. He stared down into his drink swirling it, “Probably the only reason you haven’t tried anything.” Jack’s eyes opened up wide in shock and Walker cracked a slight smile from the corner of his lips, “Best to keep it that way.”
          Jack was about to open his mouth to respond when the front doors flew wide open, “Hey, Jack!” Para shouted across the whole establishment, “Need you to go grab a case of the sapphire wine!” She pushed a handcart full of crates of liquor through the door, “I just remembered we were running low on it. Sorry!”
          “Until next time.” Walker said as Jack pushed himself off of the bar.

Monday, November 13, 2017

An Unlikely Party 20: Shadows

          The hidden room was much larger than any of them had expected it to be. It could comfortably house all five of them. The room expanded out and was easily was the size of the ‘cellar’ above it. There were already a handful of chairs down in the room, along with a large table, but they would not have fit through the small hole leading into Para’s room, meaning either they were built down here, or there was another way in. Walker had taken a quick glance around and found nothing that looked obviously like a hidden passageway. It was evident that Para had taken down a handful of wooden walls that would have split up the room. The more Walker thought about it, the more he was convinced there had to be another way into it…and that it had to have been used for smuggling people.
          Walker quickly pulled out the folder containing the notes about the mimic stronghold and spread the papers out on the table. Most of the papers were maps that were marked differently. “Hey, Shade, mind going back into Para’s room and finding me some tacks and pencils, preferably different colored ones.”
          “Can do.” Shade said before he started to climb back up the ladder.
          “Gorgos…” Walker turned to look at her, “I want you to lightly knock on the walls surrounding the room. If anywhere sounds…different than the rest, tell me.”
          “Task weird, but easy.” She shrugged at him and started tapping along the walls listening carefully.
          Walker quietly mumbled to himself as he studied the papers before him. The mimic’s castle was tightly locked down. He grumbled to himself and shook his head while Shade descended back down into the room, “Found this here basket that-“ She froze as she saw Gorgos tapping along the walls, “What are you doing Gorgos?!”
          “Walker asked.” Gorgos responded.
          “There used to be another way into this place.” Walker told Shade, “I’m having Gorgos hear if any of the walls seem off.”
          “How do you know that?” She responded.
          “I’m confident this used to be used for smuggling.” Walker told her, “No one, not even a shitty smuggler, would bring all of their product right through their own tavern. There once was another way out.”
          Shade shook her head at Walker and sighed, “I thought you said this used to be filled with gold.” She said while handing over the basket full of pencils, tacks, and yarn.

Monday, November 6, 2017

An Unlikely Party 19: Esteemed Guests

          Para smiled proudly as she quickly wiped up the shiny new countertop. The place was busier than it ever had been under Pascal’s ownership. It took the regulars some time to accept that he would have tried to do something so blasphemous, but once Para started upgrading the whole place, stripper section included, no one was complaining. Everything in her establishment was brand new, alongside the multiple bartenders, cooks, strippers, bouncers, and every type of job that she had to hire on to keep up with the demand.
          Her eyes suddenly shot up across the floor as she heard a familiar voice cut through the chatter, “Love what you’ve done with the place, Para! Looks like you’ve really upped the game around here.” Para smiled widely as a familiar gnome, orc, elf, and a pair of humans sat down at the bar in front of her. “A round of creampies for me and my friends; If you don’t mind?” Walker asked her with a smile while tossing a small pouch of gold onto the counter.
          “Walker!” Para shouted excitedly at him while sliding the pouch of gold back, “You and your friends drink and stay here for free!”
          “You sure, sweetheart?”
          “Sure as I’ll ever be! You’ve earned it.” She smiled at him while quickly grabbing everything she needed to make their drinks.
          “Consider it a tip then,” Walker told her, “I like you too much to let you serve me for free.”
          She shook her head at him and chuckled, “Just this once.” She grabbed the pouch and tossed it under the counter.
          “This place has never looked so busy, or so good. Looks like you know how to run this place after all.” He told her.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

An Unlikely Party 19: Preview

          Para smiled proudly as she quickly wiped up the shiny new countertop. The place was busier than it ever had been under Pascal’s ownership. It took the regulars some time to accept that he would have tried to do something so blasphemous, but once Para started upgrading the whole place, stripper section included, no one was complaining. Everything in her establishment was brand new, alongside the multiple bartenders, cooks, strippers, bouncers, and every type of job that she had to hire on to keep up with the demand.

          Her eyes suddenly shot up across the floor as she heard a familiar voice cut through the chatter, “Love what you’ve done with the place, Para! Looks like you’ve really upped the game around here.” Para smiled widely as a familiar gnome, orc, elf, and a pair of humans sat down at the bar in front of her. “A round of creampies for me and my friends; If you don’t mind?” Walker asked her with a smile while tossing a small pouch of gold onto the counter.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

An Unlikely Party 18: Loyalties

          Walker quickly resumed his aggressive stance on the mimic, “I’ll make you a deal, Biyeck. We sit down like civilized people and I’ll give you five minutes to explain in detail what you mean. If I for one second sense it’s a lie…I will kill you as slowly and as painfully as I can.” He narrowed his eyes at Biyeck, “You know that I know mimic biology…so deal?”
          Biyeck sighed at him, “I’ll tell you truth…all of it, but you’re not going to like it one bit.”
          “A painful truth is better than a comforting lie.”
          Biyeck smiled at him and nodded, “We have a deal then.” Walker flipped his dagger away and stepped back from the mimic. Biyeck looked past him at the four others who stared down in shock, “Those your friends…or do we need to kill ‘em?”
          Walker chuckled as he held out a hand for Biyeck, “They’re friends. Only ones I got to speak of at least. The male human’s a bit of dick, but they ain’t so bad.”
Biyeck took Walker’s hand and pulled himself up, “Male human’s are normally dicks.”
          Walker shook his head, “For gods’ sake man…turn into your disguise, I don’t think these kids can handle talking to a mimic.”
          Biyeck slowly started to twist and form into a short, red haired, gnome, “In their defense, you’re the only one I’ve known to be able to.”
          Walker shrugged at him, “We’re all just living and breathing creatures. If the Naga weren’t such assholes I would love to befriend a few of them.”
          “WHAT THE FUCK, WALKER?!” Rede finally screamed at him.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

An Unlikely Party 17: Dusting Off Memories

          “Walker,” Rede looked down at him as they relaxed in Garet’s office. Since he needed to find a new home, he told Walker that they could use it permanently. “What in the actual fuck?”
          Walker chuckled, “Spies make the best allies as a crime lord. Garet gave me vital information I needed, and in exchange I gave him vital information he needed as well.” He sighed heavily, “They were good days…”
          “What happened?” Callie asked him.
          “I was betrayed.” Walker told her flatly, “My partner…” He closed his eyes and bit his lip tightly, “Let’s just find out what this old friend has to say.” He shook his head, “I’ll warn you all in advance…I’ll probably kill them, friend or not.”
          “Why?” Callie looked at him confused.
          “Because the only people who ever called me friend…” Walker paused, “They all left me for dead.”
          “Wouldn’t a crime lord normally see such a betrayal coming?” Rede asked.
          Walker smirked, “It’s a lot more…complicated than that.”
          “Stop questioning his methods,” Shade spoke up finally, “We don’t know the details. Just like you didn’t know the details of my life…don’t judge until you know the whole story.”
          “It’s alright, Shade,” Walker glanced over at her, “They’re in their right. I mean let’s be honest here. Details or not, I WAS a world renown criminal. Maybe I should have known better.” He pushed himself off of the wall and stretched out cracking his back, “Stay close to me. If things haven’t changed that much…then these streets will be full of corrupt guards, petty criminals, gangs, mafia members…it was a bloody mess.”
          “Thought your criminal activities were to help the poor?” Callie asked him.
          “They were.” Walker shook his head, “These people, they aren’t poor, or as poor as many others, just greedy. Those that are truly poor? They’re the ones working day in day out on the docks. They’re the ones helping out each other because they know how hard it is to make it by day by day. They’re the ones that’ll skip meals so their kids can be full and when they’ve reached so low that they can’t keep going on? That’s when they contacted someone like me.” He paused, “I might not be here anymore, but I left a lasting impact on this city. There are others like me, trying to help the helpless.” He looked back at them all, “There’s good in this city, ranging from the lowest ghetto to the wealthiest noble.”
          “You miss it.” Shade reflected.
          Walker frowned and turned away, back towards the door, “I miss a lot of things, Shade…I miss a lot of things” Without waiting for a response Walker pushed the door open and walked out into the alleyways of Port Phishk. The alleyways, while not crowded, were very narrow, two could walk side by side, no more. They were also disgusting. Trash was scattered all over, sometimes even sewage was tossed on these backstreets.
          Walker quickly led them to the main streets. It was midday, the busiest time. The streets were crowded with merchant stands that always had a handful of people trying to shop, pubic speakers that spoke on anything and everything, ranging from all viewpoints. Newspaper boys  ran from person to person trying to sell the news. The mass of people would slowly have to part just to allow for carriages to pass through. Walker looked back at his comrades and grabbed Callie’s hand, who was right behind him, “Everyone grab hands and hold on tightly. It’s easy to lose someone in this crowd if you don’t know what you’re doing…and none of you do.”
          “This is chaos!” Rede exclaimed as he grabbed the hands of those behind and in front of him.
Walker chuckled, “This…this is trade.”
          “But you can’t tell what’s going on at all!” Rede looked at him confused.
          “You learn the hang of it sooner or later.” Walker smiled and led them out into the crowd. He was used to these streets, but no one else in his party was. He could feel them often being pushed and shoved around by others while they slowly made their way through the massive crowd.
          As he led them, a young paper boy ran up and started walking along side Walker, “Phishk Paper Daily, sir! Only two gold coin for today’s issue!”
           “Didn’t you close down five years ago?” Walker asked the boy confused, “Thought the Current Times took over!”
          The boy nodded at him quickly, “I’ll be right back.” He said swiftly before disappearing back into the crowd.
          “What was that about?” Callie asked him.
          “You’ll see.” Walker smiled and continued to lead them across the horde.
          Within seconds the boy came running back holding a new roll of paper, “Ten coins.” He told Walker.
          “And five for the messenger.” Walker responded pulling fifteen coins out of his pocket.
          “Thank you kindly, good sir!” The boy took the coins excitedly.
          “Keep fighting the good fight , kid.” Walker smiled at him and nodded before the kid ran back off to sell newspapers.
          “What’s that?” Callie asked him.
          “The only newspaper worth reading in this city.” Walker responded. “You see that church off farther down the road?”
          “Yes.” Callie responded.
          “Lead the others to the alleyway on the left side of it.” Walker told her, “I’m going to do some light reading. I’ll meet you there.”
          Before she could respond Walker took off and disappeared in the crowd, “Shit!” She cursed under her breath. No one else had noticed Walker leaving them due to just how crowded it was. Shaking her head, she slowly led the party over to the church.
          The crowd thinned out completely as they entered into the alleyway Walker spoke of. Unfortunately that meant everyone could now see he was no longer with them. “What happened to Walker?!” Rede shouted at her.
          Callie shrugged, “He said he was going to do some light reading and meet us here.”
          “What?!” Rede looked at her baffled, “And you just let him run away?”
          “I didn’t have much of a choice.” Callie took a deep breath, “I’m sure he’ll-“
          “Keep his word.” Walker finished as he walked out from the other side of the alleyway, “Sorry guys, just had to catch up on the happenings in this city.”
          Callie noticed the paper he had bought was gone, “Where’d the paper go?”
          “Where it belongs.” Walker smiled at her.
          “What are we doing beside a cathedral?” Rede asked him, “I thought we were going to your home!”
          “We are.” Walker responded, “ But you all would attract way too much attention walking through the front door.”
          “So we head to a church?” Callie looked at him confused.
          “Secret entrance.” Shade told them. “That’s the only logical explanation.”
          Walker smiled at her, “Quite right indeed.” He walked over to the cathedral’s wall and pulled out a small square stone from his pocket. He placed it in the hands of one of the many statues on the walls, and immediately a thin doorway cracked open. Walker nodded at Callie, “Lead the way, dear.” Callie shrugged and led the way through the door. Everyone had to turn sideways to squeeze through the crack in the wall, but it quickly widened out for them to comfortably walk in single file, even Gorgos. After Gorgos went through, Walker grabbed the stone out of the angel statue’s hands and quickly slipped in after them before the crack closed back up.
          Everything became pitch black when the crack closed up behind them. Callie couldn’t even see her hands in front of her face. Suddenly with the strike of a match, Walker lit up a torch that had been resting on the inside of the cathedral’s wall. The flickering light lit up the passageway fairly well, “Just follow the pathway until it opens up into a massive room, Callie.” Walker told her.
          “You made this?” Rede asked him.
          “Sort of.” Walker responded.
          “What do you mean by sort of?!”
          Walker chuckled, “Some things are easier left unexplained. Let’s go.” Callie led them down the small tunnel for nearly a quarter of an hour before the tunnel finally opened up into the large room Walker spoke of. The room was full with dusty tables, maps, and papers. Walker took a deep breath and walked over to the main table. “Just like I left it…” He mused to himself.
          “This was your home?” Rede asked him.
          Walker smirked, “No. This was my base of operations.” He walked over to one of the many tunnels that led out of the room, “This leads to my home.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Let’s see who was ballsy enough to summon me.” He didn’t wait to see if they were even going to follow him before taking off down the pathway. This one was much shorter than the last. It ended abruptly with a ladder that led up to a closed hatch.
          The hatch creaked open and dust poured down onto him as he pulled himself up and onto the wooden floor of his home. As everyone else came through the hatch, they all gasped seeing what Walker’s home looked like. It was made of wood, poorly put together, and creaked with every step they took. Some of the nails weren’t even put in all the way, sticking out of the floors and walls. Walking out of the backroom they could look out the dirty windows to see other houses built just as poorly, looking as if a strong breeze would cause them to crumble. The roads outside were made of dirt and dust. Rede turned around to look at Walker and apologize for assuming he had lived in a castle, but Walker wasn’t there. 
          Suddenly dust fell down from the wooden boards above them as they heard a loud ruckus coming from upstairs followed by Walker screaming, “YOU MOTHERFUCKER!” They all quickly climbed up the ladder that led upstairs and stared in shock as walker had a mimic pinned to the far wall with a dagger at its neck, “Give me ONE good fucking reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now!”
          The mimic didn’t look like it was afraid of him or trying to put up a fight at all. It relaxed against the wall even with the tip of Walker’s dagger pushing against its neck. It swallowed and looked at Walker with…sympathy, “Night didn’t betray you, Walker. The Mimic council betrayed her. She’s in our prison, has been ever since that day.”
          “Why should I believe you?!” Walker screamed at it pressing the dagger even harder against its neck. Green ooze-like blood started to drip out.
          A tear formed in the mimic’s eye, “Jelia’s dying wish was for you to know the truth.” Walker’s aggressive attitude suddenly dropped and he relaxed looking at the mimic in shock. The mimic nodded sorrowfully at him, “I lost my love, but you can still save yours.”





Monday, August 14, 2017

An Unlikely Party 16: An Old...'Friend'

          Shade came walking back into the room smiling a few hours after he had left. Closing the door herself she clapped her hands, “Made more than enough for the weeklong dosage that’ll heal him back up.” He told Latiya, “Queen Mother will make sure that he receives it.”
          “Are you not staying any longer?” Latiya asked him, sounding disappointed.
          Shade smiled at her warmly, “You know I’m not wanted here by anyone else. Plus, Walker had something he needed to go do. Coming all the way home will dramatically increase the time until we can get to where we were headed.”
          Latiya looked back and forth between Shade and his friends. Finally she spoke up, “Well, I’m glad you’ve at least found some people to call home, I’m just sorry it’s not here.”
Shade shrugged, “Faris makes a fine and just King, probably better than I would have. I hated those lessons.”
          “He took it to heart because he wanted to make you proud.” Latiya told him, “He never wanted it, he simply did it because he wanted to be as good as he thought you would have been.”
          Shade smiled, “Well, he sure has made me proud. I’d even go as far to say he’s done a better job than father, but if we’re praising family members, we certainly can’t forget about the rebellious Princess here.” He chuckled and gestured to his sister.
          She waved her hand dismissively, “Pff! Royal blood got me nowhere.”
          “But I’m sure you use it to tease your rangers.”
          Latiya blushed slightly and chuckled, “I might.”