In hiding

You know all those smoking buildings in Highport? We managed to add to it.

The Temple of Highport is sacked and Highport is in Chaos. We got sidetracked big time, but I honestly think it was for the better. I think we may have put a severe cramp in the Slavelords' lifestyles.

Right now, we are on our way deeper into the mountains. We're tracking these Slavelords to their source. After the information we've gathered at the temple, we're starting to think maybe these Slavelords have something in common with the invaders to the east.

At some point, I think I'm going to have to summarize everything that's happened up to this point. I mean from my sudden appearance outside of Hommlet to the here and now. For now, though, I'll continue from where I left off.

---------------------------------------------

We just stared at each other for a while. To be honest, I felt a little disappointed. My first drow and he was albino. I wanted to see what the pitch black skin looked like in real life.

"Drow, huh?" I said. "Did you leave because...?" I gestured at my face.

"Yes," he said. "It happens more often than my people care to admit. My mother did not worship...the Spider Queen. Shar cared little for how drow looked."

I noticed how he didn't say the Spider Queen's name: Lolth.

"What'd other drow think of you worshiping Shar?" Anna asked.

"They didn't," Emril said (I still laugh at the thought of the name). "My family hid within the city."

"The Vault?" Marc asked. "Is that where you lived."

Emril nodded. "That is what surfacers call it, yes. It is one of many."

"A vault?" I asked. "What kind of vault."

"I have heard of it," Audry said. "It is a legendary place."

"It is no legend, lady," Emril said. "I should know."

"Yeah, but what is it?" I asked.

"A city," Emril said. "We drow refer to them as vaults."

"So where is this city?" I asked.

Anna pointed at the ground. "Far, far underground."

"It is what you humans call a cavern," Emril said. "Go far enough beneath the ground and there is a vast network of caves, some large enough to hold entire cities."

"Like the Vault," Marc said. "This is all very interesting, but there are more pressing issues. Such as, where is the girl?"

"Indeed," Saul said. "I assume with these others?"

"Yes," Emril said. "But we must be cautious. They are looking for us."

"Who?" Audry said. "The Slavelords?"

"The temple guards," Emril said. "They want to know where their cargo is going, and I fear it is only a matter of time before they find out."

---------------------------------------

The smell of burning wood was everywhere. There was so much of the city that had been destroyed. If this were a human city it would take years to repair everything, even with the use of magic. This once human city is now under the control of orc tribes. Even with the Slavelords commanding them, it'd be unlikely that the orcs would ever completely rebuild the city.

We followed Emril through the burned out sections of the city. He knew every part of it. We must have dodged five patrols on the way. After two hours of moving from hiding spot to hiding spot, we finally arrived.

The building in question was still largely intact. Some floors had collapsed, but the basic structure was still intact. Every window and door had been bricked up or covered in stone. Some of the stone looked too perfect to have been fashioned by human hands. Given that dwarves probably wouldn't have helped them, it meant that the stone was created by magic.

"How do we get in?" Audry asked.

"There." Emril pointed to a pile of debris. It looked like a pile of trash. Emril reached underneath it and lifted. The "trash" was and elaborately designed sculpture of debris designed to look like a pile of junk, but was really one piece. The six foot diameter sculpture must have weighed a few hundred pounds. Emril lifted one side of it with one hand.

"A counter balance," he said. "Designed by one of us."

"Us," Anna said. "So how many of 'us' are there anyway?"

"You will see," Emril said. Beneath the debris sculpture was a hole. He gestured for us to follow.

I took a quick look around and went down after him. The others followed. The hole had a set of rungs in the side made of various pieces of junk. They creaked as I followed Emril down into darkness.

After some fifteen feet the ladder ended. The only light was that from above. Emril pulled me aside so everyone else could enter safely. "Oh my," I heard Anna say, but not being blessed with heat-sensing vision I couldn't see what she saw.

"You can say that again," Saul said. I wished someone would light a torch or something so I could join in on the sentiment. Finally, a light appeared from one of Marc's continual light pebbles. He held it high. "Oh my is right."

And, yeah, I had to agree.

The subterranean room extended well beyond the fifty foot range of the light. It looked like it might have been a basement storeroom at one point. But that's not what caught my eye. From wall to wall I saw nothing but people. Men, women...they all had two things in common--a set of big eyes and pointed ears.

"Please put out the light," Emril said. "It is unlikely anyone above will see it in broad daylight, but we don't wish to take the chance." The elves parted as Emril approached. "Follow me, please."

Marc put out the light. Everything went into pitch black again. "You know, some of us are blind as a bat right now."

"I'll be your eyes," Anna said. I felt her hand on mine. She put my hand on her shoulder and moved forward. I stayed close behind.

"Bats are not blind, by the way," she said as we moved forward.

"It's just an expression," I said. "And how do you know?"

"I'm more than a pretty face," Anna said.

"Yet another expression," Saul said. I heard a distinct slap on his arm followed by a yelp.

----------------------

We went to a staircase leading down. Out boots clunked loudly on the wooden stairs as they spiraled down, but not for long. Suddenly, the wooden sound was replaced with the sound of hard leather boots on rock. The stairs continued on.

To my credit, I only stumbled once. Anna caught me and mumbled something about being big and clumsy. Yeah, so all of us aren't graceful like gazelles.

A light appeared ahead. As we spiraled down it grew brighter and brighter. I could see the walls around me. The "stairs" were cut into the surrounding rock. The light from ahead came into view. A light of some kind sat in an empty torch scone. It looked like one of Marc's continual light spells.

We moved down for maybe about ten minutes or so, which mean we moved pretty far down.

Finally, the stairs ended. We went through a small opening and into a large cavern. Lighting was sparse, consisting of a combination of torches and magical light. I saw pin points off in the distance. The floor was mostly even, with some stalagmites here and there. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, sometimes connecting with stalagmites on the ground to form columns. The walls were smooth in place, rough in others. It looked like people had smoothed out areas for their own use as opposed to an overall attempt to make the natural cavern more livable. And it looked like this had been done over a long period of time.

When we entered we heard whispering. It sounded like an auditorium just before a play started. As we entered, the whispering quieted down. All around us, all along the walls and surrounding stalagmites and columns, were makeshift camps. People of all races stood and watched us. Mostly they were human, but there were elves, dwarves, and halflings there as well. I even saw a couple of gnomes.

"Escaped slaves," Marc said.

"How many slaves are here?" Audry said.

"Many," Emril said. "This cavern was discovered during the Orc invasion and used as a refuge. When the orcs took the city, it became a refuge for escaped slaves. There was another such cavern, but it was collapsed by orcs when they discovered it." His voice cracked when he said this.

"Dear Gods," Audry said. "There were slaves there?"

Emril merely nodded. I thought of the size of this cavern. If the other was of a similar size then quite a few must of died.

The area felt chilly, but I felt no breeze. Surprisingly, the place didn't smell. I would expect with this many people--it looked like hundreds of them--it would start to smell pretty bad. Considering it didn't, that meant they had a means to dispose of their waste and to wash themselves.

I looked up, trying to make out the ceiling more. From what I could tell, there were sentries stationed at various points. I pointed it out to the others.

"They are too obvious," Saul said. "If the orcs came here they would see."

"Is there another way out?" Audry asked. "Do you have plans to escape if need be?"

Emril merely sighed. "Most of us are laborers or merchants. We don't have any soldiers or warriors among us."

"Hard to enslave someone who can fight back," Saul said.

"Indeed." Emril led us down a set of wooden stairs to a lower section of the cavern. The "stairs" appeared to have been cobbled together from junk, but it seemed stable enough. As we descended I heard a rushing sound, like applause heard at a great distance. At the bottom of the stairs we dodged around a set of stalagmites. Among them were several young men and women tending a garden of mushrooms. They looked at us, startled. They relaxed when they saw Emril.

As we passed the garden, the applause sound grew louder and more distinct. It wasn't applause, I realized, but water.

"An underground river," Marc said. "I assume you have more gardens."

"Certainly," Emril said. "We manage to steal supplies from time to time, but Orcs have...interesting appetites. We also manage to do some hunting and gathering in the wilderness at night." He seemed to beam with pride. "I've been told I'm a very fine cook, at that."

A smiled. Yeah, with a name like that I figured as much.

The roaring water got louder. Off to the side of the main cave was a smaller cave. Inside of it, lit by magical light, was a waterfall. People played in the pool at the base of the waterfall. The magical lighting (which looks vaguely like fluorescent lighting) made it look like an indoor swimming pool. Or a public bath, which explained why no one smelled bad.

"How many exits out of this area?" Saul asked. He almost had to yell to be heard.

"Three," Emril said. "Including the one we came through."

"Are they guarded?" I asked.

"We have people watching," Emril said. "And we have an alarm system consisting of bells."

"Armed guards?" Saul asked.

"We are not warriors," Emril said. "We'd just as likely as stab ourselves in the foot as stab the enemy."

Audry frowned, looking at the numerous people who had gathered around us. "Emril, I am immensely pleased that there is a place to go for escaped slaves." I couldn't hear her sigh over the roaring waterfall, but I could see it in her face. "However, I fear that all of this will come crashing down. It is only a matter of time."

Emril looked at each of us. We all agreed with Audry. As wonderful as this place was, it couldn't last.

"We have little choice," Emril said.

"You have many choices," Marc said. "Why not leave altogether? You said you hunt outside the city. That means you have a way to escape."

"Where would we go?" Emril said. "Who would take us in?"

When he said "we" I think he meant himself. He was an albino drow, but I think he could have passed for an elf easily. I looked at him as he stared at us helplessly.

"You're a good man, Emril," I said, "but you are making excuses. These people came from somewhere and had lives before they were slaves. You said it yourself. They are merchants, laborers, and what not. They could go back home and make a living if they wanted."

"But they stay here," Saul said. "For the love of the Gods, why? You risk capture once more?"

Emril only stared at us. I could see what he wished to say. Kantos echoed it for me.

Their minds are broken.

Thankfully, my sword spoke in my mind instead of out loud. I didn't need to explain him to everyone here (it gets old, frankly--yeah, my sword talks, but not often). But he was right. Slavery broke these people.

"You're so used to being slaves you don't know what else to be, do you?" Anna said. Anna is a girl who is normally full of joy, but right now she looked as if her heart would break. "I see it in their faces," Anna said. "They've abused so much they don't know what to do with themselves any longer."

"What do you know about it," Emril said.

"A lot," Anna said. She stood right in front of Emril, looking him in the eye. "I was a whore in Mitrik. There was a time if you gave me enough gold I would be your toy."

That surprised me. I knew she was a thief for a while, but a prostitute?

"I took some abuse for a while," she said. "I took it because I didn't know what else to do. I had been abused by people for so long I thought it was my lot in life. It was a long time before I realized I could have pulled myself out of it on my own."

We just stared at her. I knew that she worked for the thieves' guild in Greyhawk City for a while, but she never went into details.

"I've been there," she said. "I was free to do what I wanted but I chose to enslave myself, first as a whore and then as a no good thief." She pointed at Emril. "You were made a slave against your will, but now you are free. Yet you stay very close to your former masters, like a child clinging to her mother's apron."

Audry put a hand on Anna's shoulder. "Emril, you have to understand that the longer you stay here the greater the chance you will get caught."

Emril continued to stare at Anna. "It's not like that."

"You can say that if it makes you feel better," Anna said. She nodded toward Audry. "You should listen to her. You will get caught. It's just a matter of time."

We moved away from the waterfall to a deeper part of the cave. Many of the elves we traveled here with had dispersed among the other ex-slaves, no doubt filling them in on the skinny of who and what we were. We were alone now in the cave, but being that it was a cave I'm sure anyone could hear what we were saying.

Finally, Marc broke the silence. "Let's assume everyone actually does decide to leave. How do we get all of these people away from the city without the Highport militia finding out?"

"There are about three hundred slaves here at last count," Emril said. "It is a long way to walk north to civilization. We would have to travel by sea."

"Not necessarily," I said. "For the sake of argument, let's say we shipped these three hundred people out by boat. How many would we need?"

Saul shrugged. "Depended on the ship. Four to eight ships, I would think. That's assuming we could get provisions and a reliable crew. I wouldn't count on the latter in these parts."

"We can't go by ship, then," Anna said. "Not enough horses, so it looks like we're walking."

"Hundreds of people milling around in the forest," Saul said. "You'd spot them easy."

"I could try casting some illusion spells," Marc said. "They'd work in the short term."

"We need something long term," Saul said. "We've got to get these people leagues away before anyone in town notices there's a problem. Leaving at night with illusion spells would help, but patrols would spot such a large crowd from far away."

Marc nodded reluctantly. "Even if we could eliminate said patrols, they would eventually be missed. No doubt wizards would be sent to divine as to a cause and then we would be discovered."

"We need a week's start at least," Anna said. "Two would be better. We need a miracle."

"Or a diversion." Audry rubbed her chin, staring at the ground. "We need more information, but I have an idea."

There was no way Audry was just going to leave these people. Yeah, they should have taken off when they had the chance. I couldn't completely blame them. They were scared and were afraid they'd be captured. They made a bad choice. Regardless, Audry wouldn't leave them there. And to be honest, I didn't want to leave them there either.

So we sat and talked with Emril. He gave us details about how the slaves were processed and where. As we talked, a plan started to form. It was a damn near impossible plan, one that required a set of brass big ones to pull off. I felt like we were the A-Team or something.

The more we talked, the more insane it got. But no matter how crazy our plan sounded, we had to go through with it. We couldn't leave these people to the tender mercies of the Slavelords.

I pitty the fool who stands in our way.

From the shadows

"So, what exactly did you tell her?" I asked.

We looked around the basement of the burned out building, making sure she wasn't hiding somewhere. Nothing. We couldn't even find evidence that she had been there.

"We just said we're here to help," Anna said. "I don't think we even mentioned our names."

"We didn't," Saul said. "We were careful. We thought that she might be working for the Slavelords and they set that up to catch us."

"One would think that she would at least wait until she had more information before running to the authorities," Marc said. "She doesn't even have names."

"But she has descriptions," Audry said. "In a city like this, anyone who would go out of their way to help a slave in distress is subject to suspicion."

"I think we're over analyzing," I said. "She might have gotten recaptured."

"If so," Marc said, "then she will likely reveal everything about how she escaped."

"What do you think they'll do to her?" Anna asked.

That was one thing I didn't want to think about. Having been tortured to the point of losing my mind, I had a basic idea. Far worse could be done to a teenage girl.

"Do we look for her?" I asked.

"Where?" Saul said. "We don't even know what happened."

"I do," a voice said.

I had Kantos out his sheath in a second, holding the weapon at the individual who had somehow climbed down into the basement without any of us hearing him. The "man" was really an elf. He stood around five foot and had long, unkempt hair. He held up his hands in surrender, locking his eyes with mine.

"I mean you know harm," he said.

"Good for you," I said. Kantos hummed in my hand, ready to fight. My sword, Kantos, was not an ordinary sword.

"Put it down, John," Audry said. "He is fine."

Paladins have a way of knowing your intentions. If she said he was cool, then he was cool.

"Indeed," Kantos said. My sword talks, but rarely. "I would not wish to be responsible for this one's death. Look at his wrists."

The elf stared at me sword, not believing that what he heard came from a sword of all things. He reached up to touch the blade, and as he did I saw the scars on his wrists. They were the same scars I had on my wrists, but far more severe. The elf served on a slave barge, probably for a long time.

I lowered my sword. "Sorry. We're a bit on edge."

"I understand," he said. "Forgive me, I did not wish to startle you, but after you've been sneaking around as long as I have it becomes a habit."

"You've had a lot of practice, apparently," Marc said.

"I was not always a slave," he said. "My name is Emril."

I suppressed a smile. That and the desire to yell out Bam!

"Yes, he's had a lot of practice," Anna said. "But he's too good. He's been trained."

Emril nodded. "I was a burglar in Nyrond. I was captured after stealing from the wrong merchant. It turned out this merchant's business in dealing in jewelry was merely a front. He dealt in people."

"Then you found yourself on a barge," I said, pointing at his wrists. I finally sheathed Kantos. "I'd love to hear the story, but right now I'd like to know where the young lady went."

"She is with us," Emril said.

"Us?" Saul said.

"Escaped slaves," Emril said. "We had been looking for Lady Elsia for sometime."

"Lady?" Audry said. "She is royalty?"

Emril nodded. "A princess from Nyrond."

"Oh my," Audry said. "It seems the Slavelords care little for whom they enslave."

"They do not," Emril said. "Yet, some of us have found our freedom."

"How many?" Saul asked.

"Many," Emril said, and his tone suggested he didn't care to elaborate. "I escaped six months ago, and I've been helping others escape."

"Why stick around?" Anna asked. "Why didn't you leave when you could?"

"I wish to help others escape," he said. "I know that it might mean I will be recaptured, but...but I must help those who cannot help themselves. It is Eilistraee's will."

"Eilistraee?" Marc said. "Her followers are some what rare."

"On the surface of this world, yes," Emril said. He stepped forward. Only then did I get a good look at his eyes. They shone a brilliant pink. His skin was deathly pale. I didn't earlier because of the dirt covering him.

"I was born as such," he said, gesturing at his face. "Pale of skin and eye. My people's skin is much darker."

Everyone got very uncomfortable at that point, even though both Audry and Kantos vouched for him. Our reaction didn't disturb him. He seemed to expect it.

"Yes, it is true. I am drow."

City of slaves

Highport...you'll not find a more wretched hive of scum that refuse to say a fricking word! Seriously, you'd think in a town full of scumbags at least one or two of them would sing like a bird, once you check their hearing with the rattle of some jink. Our gold's the same as anyone else's.

(That's the cool thing about gold as money. No matter which government stamps it, it's generally accepted, 'cause it's gold. Well, with some exceptions.)

This disturbs me, greatly. If so few people are talking, then that means the Slavelords have a solid grip on the city.

First, let's start from the beginning.

We stormed the gates a few days ago. That means we sneaked in just before dawn and climbed over the wall. There were few guards, and the ones that were there were snoozing (orcs snore like you can't imagine). Highport, it turns out, never fully recovered from battles with orc tribes back in the day. About half the city is composed of burned out husks of buildings. Orcs and humanoids are not exactly known for being industrious, so they haven't made that much of an effort to rebuild the city, and what they have rebuilt would make any 21st century building inspector laugh himself silly. My God, I'm afraid to stand next to any of these bloody things. If one of them tips over, it'll be like dominoes for blocks and blocks.

We found a place to hole up somewhere not to far from the populated areas. It was a basement of what looked like a burned out tavern. From here, we could wander down an alley and out into the street without being too obvious. We had to hide ourselves in an abandoned basement. It seems that many of the ruined parts of the cities are also the homes of escaped slaves. The local militia (orcs led by humans) scour the area looking for escaped slaves, and enslaving anyone who just plain shouldn't be there in the first place. We barely evaded a couple of these patrols.

"We can't stay here too long," Audry said.

"You know," Anna said. "Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight."

She grabbed some of our community gold and disappeared into the city as planned. She would return shortly, though we wondered if she would actually buy clothes or steal them. Whatever we bought in this city is probably stolen from elsewhere at any rate.

We waited as patiently as we could. Audry and I played our usual game.

"A new game?" I said.

"By all means," Audry said.

"Can you handle it?"

"Do you think I can't?"

"Evidently you can."

"Fortunately for me." She smiled. "Good game so far?"

"Hey, I'm supposed to do that one."

"I jumped ahead, I'm afraid," Audry said.

I grinned. "Just knife me in the back, why don't you."

"Knifing you would be bad form."

For a second I thought I had her. "Lovely choice, that one."

"My skills are improving," she said.

"Not as much as mine."

"Oh, really?"

"Please, I taught you this game."

She gave a short laugh. "Quiet yourself, that does not mean you are the best at it."

"Really helps though."

"So you think you can win?"

"'Tis only a matter of time." I smiled.

"Unreal," Marc said.

"Very sure of yourself, aren't you?" Audry said, picking up where Marc left off.

I shrugged. "What do you expect?"

"Expect? You're stealing from me now."

That didn't count, but I realized I couldn't come up with anything better so I let it slide. And she took my turn again! "Zoos exist in your world, don't they?"

"You both belong in one," Saul said.

"Exactly," Marc said.

"Why would you say that?" Audry asked.

"Very strange, going backwards," I said.

"Unless you changed the rules."

"That wasn't one of the rules, to my knowledge," I said.

"Saul started it," Audry said.

A voice from above startled me. "Still playing that silly game?"

We looked up. Anna climbed down into the building basement. She carried a large leather sack over her shoulder.

"We already did that one," I said. "The next one is--"

"I know," Anna said. "Look, I got our disguises."

"Ah, good," Marc said. "Perhaps we can get down to business."

------------------

We got dressed. The clothes were actually pretty nice. Say what you will about Anna, she does have a sense of style.

Saul and I both had matching tunics. We were to play the muscle, guards for Marc and Audry who would masquerade as husband and wife. That left Anna. For a while, we thought have having her play a slave. We then decided she would simply play the role of servant, a sort of lady in waiting for Audry. The reason was because most people who own slaves in this town don't take the best care of them. Anna, frankly, just looked too good to be a slave.

Audry looked incredible. She a long flowing dress that made screamed nobility. She wore earings and gobs of jewelry (some of which was left over from previous adventurers). Marc looked like an upper class stud. He did not at all look like a wizard, which was the point.

Anna dressed in the most plain clothes you can think of. "I ran them through some dirt," she said. She rubbed them across a stone in the basement floor, trying to make them look as worn as possible. "May need some time here."

We spent the rest of the day refining our costumes. The next morning, we climbed out of our basement just before dawn and dressed. We wandered in between buildings and easily wandered out into the street. We easily mingled with the early morning crowds.

The town is dirty. Trash littered every corner and swept around our feet. The stench of human waste and filth was inescapable. Guards consisted of mostly orcs with human commanders. The orcs generally left everyone alone, though they would harass slaves from time to time. One group of orcs started to pull a female elf into an alley. The human guard barked orders at them. The orcs growled, but they obeyed, letting the woman go.

"You see that?" I whispered to Saul.

He nodded. "But I don't think they did it for her benefit. Did you see her wrists? She had bindings on. She probably belonged to someone."

"No way to tell if she belonged to someone important or not," I said. "Rape the wrong slave and you tick off the wrong people."

"I hate this place," Anna said. She stayed behind Audry as we walked down the street. "When can we leave?"

"When we get we came after," Audry said. "However long it takes."

Crowds in Highport are a mixture of extremes. Very poor wander around with the very rich. The very rich, being wary of the very poor, have guards. That doesn't stop the very poor from trying to take from the very rich, of course. That's why everyone who can afford them has armed guards.

Usually the guards give the thieves a warning to steer clear. If the thief doesn't take the hint, they get clobbered. In an hour we had maybe ten try the same thing. I'm not a big fan of bottom feeders, but in a place like this you can't help but feel sorry for these people. This place is the 667th layer of the Abyss. You screw who you have to.

Audry started to give someone a coin, but Saul stopped her. I nodded reluctantly. If you give one a coin then they will come from everywhere. This wasn't Mitrik or Greyhawk City. Here, people who aren't bad get weeded out quick. Beggars in these parts might be legit people down on their luck, but they are more likely con artists looking for a sap.

Damn, I can't wait to leave this godforsaken town.

We spent most of the first day wandering town. We threw some money around, buying some frivilous stuff, but we essentially wanted to get a feel for the place. At the end of the day we spent the night in a tavern. The sign had fallen or been stolen long ago. Whatever it had previously been called, it was now just called "the Highport tavern." Good name, as there was no other tavern in town (none that were standing, anyway).

We got the biggest room available, which had an adjoining room for Audry's "servant." Saul and I got our own room, Audry and Marc shared a common room, and Anna got the servant's room. Once it became clear that Saul and I were not about to let anyone hassle our "employers" (Marc and Audry) or fool around with the servant girl (Anna), they generally left us alone.

At night that Anna and Saul went to work. They both went out into the streets, dressed as general low lives and miscreants (something they used to do in Greyhawk City back in the day). You want to know the 411 about the bad side of town, you go to the streets. Unfortunately, Highport is nothing but a bad side. The good side of town somewhere in the burned out part of town were no one goes. Asking about the bad and the ugly of this town is like asking someone if they've memorized the phone book. Still, it's an angle we have to try.

I went into the tavern downstairs and bought drinks for people (getting people drunk is one way to loosen lips). Audry and Marc had to stay in their rooms for appearances sake, though Marc did a little eavesdropping (something called a Wizard's Eye that allows him to see and hear others at a distance).

During the day, Marc and Audry would inquire with the innkeeper and with shop owners around town as to where the best place would be to acquire "servants" (that's a euphemism for slaves).

"Laborers," Marc said. "We have specific needs and need specific people."

Most people just shrugged and asked us to go to the auctions.

We attended auctions all around town, hoping to see anyone we knew from the party (possibly even Dame Gold herself). A lot of slaves go through this town. We wanted to buy them all, but we couldn't afford it. And that itself would look suspicious.

It's a rotten deal if you ask me. You know if you help these people you'll expose yourself to the Slavelords. They will in turn enslave you and re-enslave all the people you just freed. Damn.

This went on for days. Not once did we see anyone we knew at auctions. Not once did anyone get drunk enough in the tavern to spill the beans about slavers and slaves. And not once did anyone in the street talk about the Slavelords.

Basically, we were stuck. This cover of a rich couple looking for cheap labor wasn't going to last long. The longer we did this, the greater the chance someone would recognize us.

Then about five days into our gig, we caught a break.

Anna and Saul were out doing their nightly scouring of the city. No one talked to them that night either (they said this is normal, it can take weeks or longer before you get on the good side of the under side of a city). While on their way back to the tavern, they saw her.

"Who was she?" I asked.

"Escaped slave, I assume," Saul said. "She ran like hell. She didn't have any shoes on and her clothes were torn."

A group of some five orcs lead by a human chased her through the street. Those who didn't get out of their way were tossed aside. One guy was stabbed with a short sword. They wanted this girl bad.

"So we stepped in," Anna said.

They caught her as she turned down an alley. They managed to hide her from the guards and/or slavers chasing her. "Find her!" the human yelled. "Find her or all of you will take her place!"

"I take it they didn't find her," Audry asked.

Saul nodded. "I wonder if we'll see them on the auction tomorrow."

The girl was frantic, not knowing who to trust. Anna made the point that she didn't have to trust them and could always turn herself over to the tender mercies of the orcs chasing her.

The girl, a human of maybe sixteen years, quickly grasped Anna's logic. Saul and Anna took her into the burned out ruins of the city. They stashed her in the basement of the burned out building we holed up in for a little while. They left her some food and told her not to go wandering.

"For her sake, I hope she stays put," Marc said. "We should question her tomorrow."

"We should have done something like this sooner," I said. "The slaves probably go through some central area for processing. Any one of them would probably know who it is."

"I suppose we could have just bought a slave," Saul said. "But then what? We wouldn't have anywhere to put them? And if we let them go it would raise suspicions."

I shrugged. That was a good point.

The next morning we left before the sun came up. We kept to our costumes, keeping our gear in the portable hole that we kept with us at all times (anything not nailed down has a tendency to grow legs and wander away, never to be seen again). We kept large cloaks on to help disguise us to some degree. We made our way into the burned out section of town just as the sun came up. We dodged a couple of patrols and then entered the abandoned building. We watched from within for several minutes to see if we were followed and then we proceeded to the basement.

It was empty.

"Oh boy," Saul said. It was the best anyone could come up with.

More later.

The low down on Highport

We made it to Highport. It wasn't easy, but it could have turned out really bad.

After one day of quiet traveling, we encountered patrol after patrol. Groups of orcs led by humans wandered the roads.

"Unusual," Marc said. "Orcs would not be willingly led by a mere human."

"Me neither," Anna said, winking at me.

We watched the first patrol from the woods. They moved in formation, but they didn't appear to be looking for anything in particular (but who can really tell, it's just a patrol). You'd think they'd keep an eye out on the surrounding woods if they were expecting trouble. The fact that they haven't probably means these are just random patrols.

Or so I hope.

We continued our trek through the woods, and we encountered five more patrols. All of them consisting of orcs and led by one or more humans.

Highport is right along the coast, some five miles from the tree line. The ground in between the trees to the city is flat. Approaching across country during the day would be bad news, unless we blend in with the numerous caravans going back and forth. The problem is we don't know these people and Highport being the "wretched hive of scum and villainy" that it is we can't risk trusting those people. Night is the best bet.

"After midnight would be the best," Saul said. "Anna and I will probably see the orcs before they see us."

"And when we get into the city, then what?" Audry asked. "We don't know where to go or who to talk to."

"Or who to trust," I said.

"We trust no one," Saul said.

"Same as always," Anna said. "We need to look the part. You two," she pointed at Saul and I, "are the muscle."

"I'll be the merchant, I suppose," Marc said.

"And we'll be, what?" Audry asked. "Not slaves."

"No, no," Anna said. "Someone'll try to buy us and then get curious when we're not for sale."

"Audry, I guess you'll be Marc's wife," I said.

Audry raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"Don't be like that, dear," Marc said. "What would the kids think?"

"More importantly," Saul said, "what would everyone else think." He looked at me. "They make a cute couple."

"Very well," Audry said, exasperated. "And Anna?"

"The servant, of course," Marc said. "Every well-to-do merchant needs one."

Anna opened her mouth to retort, but stopped herself. "Okay, you're right. I'm the comely servant."

"Who said anything about comely?" Saul said. He laughed as Anna punched him in the arm.

So that's the plan. For a moment I wondered how well it would work, but the more I think about it the more plausible it seems. On Earth there'd be cameras to worry about, not to mention computer records of purchases and so forth. There's none of that here. They can watch the main gates (which is why we are sneaking in), but once inside it'll be hard to spot us.

Getting the disguises is another matter. One of us will have to dress up and go out to pick up the appropriate costumes while the rest of us hide somewhere. Well, all plans have their wrinkles.

For now, I'm going to try and get some rest. It could be a long day, if we're lucky. If it's a short one than it means we screwed up big time.