Qing's Quest book 2, Chapter 30: Hands off

Qing’s shoulder slammed onto the floor, and he slid to a halt. His light pushed back the darkness, joining orbs of light that illuminated shelves lined with curiosities that glinted and shimmered, and crates. Each shelf was meticulously labeled with a name, a date, and a number. While the dates made no sense to Qing, the numbers looked to be the value of the item. 

It’s an underground stash. A mix of a vault, a warehouse, and…a smuggler’s den?

If the kirathaane was the heart of Jorik’s operation, this was its belly. A hushed silence fell, broken only by their muted breaths and the sounds from above. The rich scent of earth mixed with the mustiness of old books, and a mix of spices that could only come from a stockpile, and the air felt clammy on his skin. The last time he’d felt such air was beneath Giza and Petra’s store, where the butchers had kept their store full of meat.

Morgana picked herself up from the floor. Her tight leathers had protected her skin from the fall. Knut and Ghida knelt next to the ramp, staring up at a barely visible square outlined in the roof, where the ramp had disappeared. 

Muted footsteps sounded from above. Dozens. Then cracks, as the ends of spears were driven into the floor.

“Gentlemen,” Jorik said, his voice drifting down from above. “How may I help you? A cold beverage on this most hot of days?”

“Where is she?” a rough voice asked. 

“Who?”

“Princess Ghida.”

“How would I know?”

“There is no hiding, jester,” the man said with a snarl. “The mages know the direction of the portal and we saw blue flickering on your roof. Spit it out or face the consequences.”

“Consequences? For helping our royal family?”

“Princess Ghida is no longer protected. King Sharyar has signed the documents outlawing her for crimes against the crown. Anyone harboring or helping her is to be gathered and fed to the Nethermaw.”

Ghida gasped, and latched onto Qing’s arm.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you are talking about, Shogan” Jorik said. “If she was here, I would tell you, but she is not, so I won’t.”

A slap sounded so loud it filtered down to them hiding in the basement. 

“I never liked you,” Shogan said in his rough voice. “You always thought of yourself as above the law. So sly. Skirting along the line, but never quite stepping over. But this time…This time I got you. When you try to stand in Wazir’s way, you’ll find levity is a poor shield against true might. Last chance. Where is the princess?”

“Not here,” Jorik said, voice thick with anger. 

“Excellent,” Shogan replied. “I never figured out how you could juggle your own hand. Well, after today, you’ll be twice as impressive.”

Knut’s face went white, and his knuckles were tight around the bow. Morgana held both his arms, restraining him. 

Jorik screamed in pain, and nausea bloomed in Qing’s chest. 

“Take him away,” Shogan said.

As Jorik’s cries faded, Ghida shoved her face into Qing’s shoulder, and her nail dug at his armour. Her body lightly shaking as she struggled to keep her tears silent. 

“Tear the place apart,” the rough voice commanded.

I can’t fight. I don’t know how many there are, and they will take Knut, Morgana, and Ghida.

Qing patted Ghida on the back, feeling impotent and useless as bottles smashed. Dripping filled the air as liquids filtered through the cracks of the floor, falling around them. They sat quiet.

“The portal is on the roof,” another voice said.  

“Go get the mage,” Shogan said. “They must have left tracks.”

At that, Qing gently extracted himself from Ghida and snuck over to Knut. The man shook in anger. “We can’t wait around,” Qing said. “There has to be an exit.” 

“Shouldn’t we wait and plan with Jorik?” Ghida said. “They won’t kill him. They can’t. And he’d never give us up. I swear.”

“We can’t take that risk,” Qing said. “Who knows how long they will interrogate him? And what if they find the entrance by themselves? The best thing we can do for Jorik is disappear.”

Morgana shrugged. “We should find the exit, in case they find the ramp. God knows how many of them there are.”

“And then what?” Ghida said. “Say we find an exit. What would you have us do?” 

“We complete my quest,” Qing said. “We need that book. If we can find out how Rufus plans to free the devil, we can stop him. And completing the quest will strengthen me for facing Wazir.”

“That is fine and all, but where the hell do we find it? It could be anywhere,” Morgana said, hissing.

“It only makes sense that it be in the city,” Qing said. “If not, there quest should have pointed out a closer location.” 

“Well, it could still be anywhere in the city then, couldn’t it?” Knut said. His tone was more desperate than Qing had ever heard. Knut had always been positive, upbeat, even in the face of an undead assault. But now he sounded defeated.

“Not anywhere,” Ghida said. “Wazir banned books among the people five years ago, so unless it lays hidden in some obscure basement…” she looked around but then shook her head. “No. There’s only one place I’d expect to find any book of value. The Grand Library.”

“Fine. Let’s wait for night and break in,” Morgana said.

“You’ll never find it at night,” Ghida said.

“Why not? How many books can there be?” Morgana said. “Qing can read, you know.”

“There are more books in that library than any single person could read in a lifetime. No. We have to go while the librarians are there to find it for us. And before any of you even suggest it, I am not staying behind. I know that library like the back of my hand,” she glared at them, waiting for any challenge. None came. 

Knut stared at the floor, Morgana looked away, and Qing nodded. 

If the princess wants to risk her life to help us, who am I to say no?

Morgana flinched as a loud crash sounded from above. “Great. We have a plan to find an old book. Then what?”

“I have friends in the library,” Ghida said. “Close friends. They will help us find a place to hide, and we can plan from there. Get messages to my friends in the palace. Find out how where Rufus is, and where Wazir will be.”

“That’s fine and all,” Knut said. “But it won’t help us a damn bit unless we get out of here.”

“Well, actually,” Morgana said, “I just realized I’ve been here before.”

“What?” Ghida said, a bit too loud, and she clamped both hands across her own mouth, eyes going wide.

They all froze. 

Did they hear?

The destruction from above continued unabated.

“I recognize that gargoyle,” Morgana said, barely audible, pointing to the back of the cellar. “Inside, there is a handle. Twist that, and a staircase opens, leading to the sewer. From there, we find our way to the harbor.”

“How do you know that?” Qing asked, opening his map. It still only showed him the room he was in. Nothing above, nor any hidden corridors. 

Morgana’s eyes flickered to Ghida, and she took a deeper breath. “My father… he used to work with Jorik, smuggling. Mostly bringing goods out of the city, but sometimes back in. It’s been over a decade since I was here, or I’d recognise it earlier. Much has changed. But not that gargoyle.” She pulled her leather armour to the side, revealing her neck. “Learning of that gargoyle nearly cost me my life.”

“How old were you?” Qing asked, but Knut interrupted. 

“As interesting as this is, we should be away while we can. Qing was right in one thing. If they find us here, it will cost Jorik his life. From the sound of it, he has paid enough for my friendship already.”

As they snuck through the room, Qing peered closer at the items stored on the shelves. But when he did moved towards a silver helmet covered in glyphs, Knut hissed at him. “Do not touch. They are protected. Try to steal and you’ll either lock us in here to starve to death or wait for Jorik’s return, open the ramp, or set off an alarm. Either way you’ll set the palace guards on us.”

Qing looked forlorn at the items just sitting there. “Maybe we can disable it?”

“Don’t,” Knut said. “It’s not worth it. No item is worth our lives, nor that of Jorik. Let us be away while we still can.”

“But what if the power of these are what tips a battle in—”

“Keep your goddamned hands to yourself,” Knut said, snarling. “Haven’t you done enough damage for one day?”

“I…” Qing retracted his hand and closed his mouth, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

Morgana’s hand shook as it hovered by the mouth of the gargoyle.

“What’s wrong?” Ghida asked.

“The last time I stuck my hand in here, my father nearly killed me.”

“That’s horrendous,” Ghida said. “Why? Who is your father?”

“Nobody of importance,” Morgana said. “Just…” She sighed. 

“Let me then,” the princess said, shouldering by Morgana and shoving her hand inside the gargoyle. Metal scraped on stone, followed by a click.

Ghida looked at Morgana, who nodded. “That’s how—”

A loud blaring filled the room, as if someone had dropped twenty squeeling pigs into scorching hot sand. They clapped their hands over their ears, grimacing.

“That wasn’t there last time!” Morgana shouted, barely audible over the alarm. 

The room shook, and every so slowly, the ramp to the kirathaane descended. 

Damn. We’ll have to—

Ghida dropped, screaming, as the floor disappeared underneath her. Morgana grabbed her hand, saving her from rolling down the spiralling staircase that had appeared, disappearing into darkness. 

A horrendous stench of human waste flooded up, and Ghida gagged, whipping her face away. 

“What is that?” she asked.

“Remnants of your people!” Morgana replied. 

“Go!” Qing said. “I’ll hold them off a moment.”

Knut met his eyes and nodded.

As the trio descended the stairs, Qing walked back into the room, hefting his axe. 

A soldier lay flat on the ramp, crossbow aimed through the opening. 

He fired.

Quick Reflexes proc’ed, and Qing sidestepped, calling on the heat of the air, sending the soldier a Firebolt in reply. He died, screaming. 

Knut was right about the alarm, but since its blaring anyway…

Axe smashing through the glass case, Qing snapped up the silver helmet, and sprinted towards the staircase.

Item: [Silvershade Helm, Level 30, Epic]

Crafted from silver grown in the moonlit groves outside Sylvanwatch, the Silvershade Helm was designed for a master archer. Its light weight makes it feel like a cap, yet it provides the protection of a full helmet. The black and yellow engravings increased attack speed, and allows the wearer to see things at a distance more clearly. Adorned with the legendary Silver Stag, the ultimate hunter’s trophy.

+350 Defense

+15% Attack Speed

Eagle Eye: Once per hour, the wearer may zoom in on distant targets for a brief period, enhancing shot accuracy.

(Helmet)

With a glance behind, he dropped to a slide, a crossbow bolt flashing above him, ricocheting off the far wall. He blinked and pulled on the charge of the air, and Chain Lightning ripped through the air, hitting the second crossbowman before continuing into the room above. 

Sliding into the staircase, he barely touched the steps as he descended, grinning.