Dungeon Runner

Stepping Up, Chapter 50

Tibs walked along Merchant Row, observing the merchants, the customers, the men and women dressed in green and black who might or might not be Harry's people. Tibs couldn't tell anymore unless he saw them doing something that Harry didn't allow. Here, they were keeping merchants from assaulting one another or listening to complaints.

Another thing he was doing was trying to ignore the fighter who was trailing him. The man wasn't very good at it.

As many nights as Tibs spent patrolling the row, he wasn't able to stop all the acts of sabotage, and it led to these arguments, as one merchant accused another of being responsible.

Tibs noted the man and woman, dressed in green and black, hassling the leathersmith. He stayed far enough they wouldn't notice him, since the guards and the people working for Sebastian knew him. Every few nights, when he found the time to train, another thief tried to get him discovered. He'd won those encounters, and even got a couple of them caught in his stead, but he wasn't sure how far Sebastian would push this. Jackal was certain his father wasn't going to stop until he was crawling to him, asking for forgiveness.

He couldn't hear what the might-be guards said, but he could read the promise of violence on their bodies. They were demanding some form of payment for the protection that should come simply by the shop being on the row, and the guild protecting the town.

Tibs would find them later and... he had no idea. He wanted to make them pay, but he didn't know how to go about it. If they were guards, Harry would take it as Tibs causing him problems, and even if the guard leader would know Tibs wasn't lying, would the two guards have the protection that meant Harry wouldn't be able to tell they were lying?

His attempt at explaining that to Harry had gone so well the last time, with his lieutenant boldface lying to Harry about not having anything magical on her while Tibs could see the essence weave. But he couldn't point it out without having to explain how he saw it and...

He wanted to scream in frustration.

Instead, he stopped, spun, and glared at the fighter.

The man stopped as if it had been his intent.

Tibs didn't recognize him, but he had to be one of the new Runners. He was older, mean-looking, and wore a shirt of dirty gray-green rags. The pants were new, so he had been through the dungeon once. His essence was slightly denser than the townsfolk, but didn't have a tint. There were a lot of secrets in this man.

"Well?" Tibs demanded.

People instinctively walked away from them, wary of the possibility of a fight, and it let Tibs spot the guard watching them. Was he looking to keep the fight from happening, or make sure it ended badly for Tibs? He hoped it was the former. He wanted there to be some guards he knew for certain were Harry's people.

"We need to talk." The man's voice was deep and with a growl that made Tibs think it was how Bigger Brute should talk.

"Then talk."

"Not here." The man didn't look around. His brown eyes didn't even flick to show if it was the guard he was concerned about or someone else.

Tibs didn't have the time. He had too much to do. "You want a dark alley or a tavern?" But if he didn't deal with him, the fighter might act when Tibs needed it even less.

The man looked at him suspiciously. Tibs's reaction wasn't what he'd expected. Tibs could fill a few taverns with the number of people who were surprised when he didn't act intimidated by them.

"Tavern."

At least this wasn't about stabbing him, then.

The man nodded to the tavern between the cookware shop and cobbler. Tibs waited until the man headed in that direction to move and stayed out of reach. The fighter didn't have a weapon, but Jackal was proof that for some of them, fists were weapons enough.