Dungeon Runner (Book 1 and 2)

Stepping Up, Chapter 89

"You," Don snarled, "are doing this on purpose."

Tibs sighed as he looked up from yet more papers he had to read, more numbers he needed to calculate. He'd needed to focus, so he'd turned off his sense. He suspected the tailor wasn't paying what he owed, but he had to go through all the justifications for the number of coins he'd sent. There were a lot of numbers and words that claimed to explain everything.

"What am I doing?" he asked, not adding the 'this time'.

"The Lake Path neighborhood!"

Tibs closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He quickly suffused himself with Purity to deal with the forming headache. He couldn't handle Don while nursing it. Channeling Water again, he looked at the Corruption sorcerer.

"What about it?"

"I spent a week speaking with them, convincing them to let the guild patrol and days later you go and have your people patrolling those streets."

Tibs put the satchel on the table and looked through the papers in them. Yet more papers. Just the night before, he'd had a dream where he was drowning in them. He found the report he was looking for and handed it to the sorcerer.

"I gave them the time to catch those thieves," Tibs said as Don read, his expression darkening. "They aren't rogues. They're from a city called Tamariel. They robbed six houses, right under Harry's guards' noses."

"Then, do you have to be fucking blatant about it?" Don threw the page at Tibs, which went fluttering to the side. Don's exasperation as something not going his way amused Tibs, but he didn't show it. Now was not the time to make the sorcerer angrier. "You're rogues. I spent the day having to explain why it was your people there instead of the guild's."

Tibs studied Don. The problem they were in was that they both wanted the same thing. For the town to be safe. But Don had made himself the Hero of Kragle Rock, and Tirania had played on his ego to make him the mouthpiece to the guild. Don knew the guild didn't care about the town, but if he turned against them, his status would suffer. And Don was nothing without his status.

"Have you gotten Harry to get better guards? Some that know how to catch thieves?"

"He's trying," Don said through clenched teeth. "But unlike you, who can just do whatever he wants; he has procedures he must follow. He must justify the expenses he incurs. He can't just get experts from the capital to come and help him until the guild is aware there's a problem. And because you're always swooping in and stopping those crooks, they never find out."

"So you want me to let the people of our town suffer until the guild sees the suffering?"

"That's not what I said," Don snapped.

But it was what he'd meant, even if Don wasn't willing to admit it. What could Tibs give the sorcerer that would both appease him and not endanger their town? It had to be something real, which meant the danger to the townsfolk would be real if the guards couldn't handle it.

"I've heard rumors of a gang setting up somewhere in the Dungeon Side neighborhood. I can give you the likely locations, based on what we're gathered. If you can get the guards to clear them out, that'll go some ways to appeasing your... supporters." His ego was what he felt like saying.

Don narrowed his eyes. "If you think you can play me, Tibs."

"Don, I'm not the one playing games." Not the right thing to say, the darkening expression told Tibs. "I'm offering you something to help you. You don't want to use it. Tell me and I'll keep my people on it."

The sorcerer ground his teeth. "What do you have?"

* * * * *

Tibs entered the seconds-story window from the darker side of the house.