The news spread through the city like wildfire as Berhe group back down toward the Uy, leaving the mostly full cart parked at the side of the street for ter. The ior was located outside the walls anyway, and it was safe to assume that the gates would be locked down for a while at least.
Besides, this was an emergency.
As they passed through the Lower Distrid into the Crafter’s District, liarted to form at shops. More and more people hurried along the street carrying sacks of food, jugs of oil and dried meat. One, Bernt guessed it must be a carpenter, passed by hauling a bizarrely rge box of nails and a suspicious expression on his face, as though he was afraid someone was going to try to steal it from him.
The city had been through a lot over the past few months with two kobold incursions, including ohat had spilled out into the streets and gotten more than a few civilians and guards killed. But those attacks had been sudden, and they’d been over a with in a matter of hours, at least as far as the public was ed. While the Duergar weren’t a secret, they were out of sight and mostly out of mind, just as the dragon before them had been. A problem for the military or the Adventurers’ Guild to worry about, down in the Depths where nht-minded person would go anyhow.
Now, though, the situation had ged. The enemy was moving out onto the surface, cutting the roads. Sure, the river was still open, but it wouldn’t be enough. A city needed a lot of supplies, and Halfbridge depended on more than just river trade to keep its people fed and its industries running. There was another major road that led northward from the city toward Loamfurth, but Bernt doubted it would be ier dition than the southern highway.
By the time they reached the Uy Gate, uniformed soldiers were streaming in and out, headiween the castle and their own positions iunnels. Some were clearly messengers, but there were also a few short ns of fifty or so soldiers that streamed by, out into the city. Most likely, they were going to reinforce the guards on the walls.
The Uy, ohey reached it, seemed calm by parison. The market area wasn’t overrun, though it retty lively for a pce that had been practically uninhabited a week earlier, and people were still moving at a mostly-normal pace. Still, Bernt could see that there were muards out than there should have been.
trating on his familiar bond, he realized through a few vague glimpses and impressions that Jori was still up on the surfa the city. She was cutting through small alleys, trying to get Gnugg and Trip somewhere safe – probably the orphanage. He hoped she would keep a low profile. Sure, she’d publicly averted a disaster iy just st week, but he could imagihere would be a lot of people out ireets soon looking for someoo bme for all this. Someone like Jori, or her little kobold for that matter, should be keeping their heads down, at least for the moment.
“Kind of quiet, down here.” Torvald remarked, looking around. “Do you think they didn’t get the news yet?”
“Not sure.” Bernt said, looking around and thinking through it as he talked. “I think it’s just not as densely poputed here yet. Besides, people on the surface were buying up food and supplies, and I’d bet the prices just went up. The Uy isly a rieighborhood. I mean, maybe the new Underworks, but I’d bet most people who are shopping up on the surface.”
“I guess…” Torvald said, looking around unfortably. Bernt wasn’t sure why he was so bothered about it, but by then they were entering the training yard and the versation died.
Underkeepers who’d been off-duty or out on non-guard reted duties were gearing up and mustering under Ed’s stern gaze to be sorted into patrol groups, each heading out of the doors as soon as they were assigned.
Josie, who already had everything she needed, went right over to be assigo a patrol while Bernt and Torvald hurried to the armory to get their equipment – Bernt’s staff and Torvald’s sword a.
By the time they got back, Josie was already gone, assigo one of the departing patrols. Of those who remained, most were regur spear-wielding guards, but there were also a handful of more specialized-looking fighters who were armed with swords, staves, knives or axes.
“Bernt, how’s the hand?” Ed asked by way of greeting. “ you fight?”
“It’s fine,” Bernt said, holding it up as if to illustrate. It wasn’t pletely fine, but he could cast a fireball without any pain. He wouldn't run into any problems as long as he didn’t overdo it. He would just have to pace himself.
“Alright, good. I’ll put you and Torvald there on a patrol together to supplim there.” He poioward a serious-looking dwarf who wore an axe on one hip, and a simple wooden baton oher. He was another former city guard, one of just three, including Palina, that Ed had ma into the Underkeepers.
The dwarf o them, eyei critically as Ed tinued. “Do what he tells you and stay out of trouble. Don’t throw any fire around unless you run into an enemy incursion. Do not go around burning our own people, no matter what they're doing. We’re going out there to reinforce a sense of order and to make sure we’re around in case the duergar are pnning to bust through our walls today. Surprises have a way of showing up all at once, and I don’t want to get caught unaware.”
–----------
Bernt's patrol marched down a quiet, oddly empty street in the dwarven quarter of the Uy. There had been a few tussles during the first few hours, and more than one person had e out pining of looters breaking into homes and businesses. It wasn't nearly as quiet in the Uy as it had first seemed.
Twi the past few hours, they’d run into small bands of looters trying to break into shops, and had to fight. They held back, trying to avoid any killing, which mea was mostly useless as a direbatant. He used his burning glue trip on two of them, but it hardly made a difference. While those two were very inveniehe others didn’t even notice. Fire just wasn’t well suited to this kind of work, and Ed had told him not to start throwing any real fire magic around.
Glim didn’t see it that way though. The dwarf, who’d waded into the fray using only his baton, pulled him aside afterward and told him in no uain terms to find a way to make himself useful.
“Did I draw my axe? No, I did not. There is a time and a pce for killing, and chastising foolish unarmed looters is not it. But that doesn't mean I went and sat on my hands. Your fire is the same as my axe. Use it appropriately, or use something else, but don’t just stand around looking pretty in your fancy robe there.”
Chagrined, Bernt sidered the task more carefully. He o be more creative. This – both the erol and his presen it as a mage – was about sending a message. It was just unication, really. Did he actually o burn anyone for that?
No, he decided. He didn't. When they ran into anroup that was trying to kick down the door of what looked like a new smithy, he didn’t fight. Instead, he backed up a few steps and cast a few torch spells over the group, funneling a little extra mana into eae so they'd be extra bright. It wasn’t harmful, but it was fshy. The fight ended quickly after that.
Eveaciturn Glim seemed satisfied that he was making himself properly useful.
But the one member of their group who really shoo everyone's surprise, was Torvald. The young man – he wasn’t actually much youha – was a ferocious fighter. He responded quickly when a knot of men approached them with improvised ons – humans, who'd e down from the surface for some reason. One opened his mouth to talk, gring balefully and brandishing a heavy stick, but the acolyte was faster. A quick dash, a punch, an elbow and a grappling throw left two men on the ground and the remainder scattered, bag away in surprise. Later, with the first group of looters, he slipped through the unruly group like a snake, yanking one off his feet toward the guards as he propelled himself into the looters’ midst. It seemed like an insanely dangerous mao Bernt, but their oppos were untrained and didn't take advantage of the young man's exposed position, being easy targets for the uards.
Hours ter, things finally began to calm down. Nobody had died as far as Bernt knew. At least not as far as they’d heard. This quarter was far better developed than the goblin quarter – most of the occupied homes and shops already had brand new doors and windoroper metal locks. Those who thought they could take advantage of any spreading chaos to enrich themselves were disappointed, for the most part. There simply wasn’t that much chaos to speak of, not enough to give looters enough cover to break down doors a away .
They were approag the end of their shift when something strange happened. A shout echoed faintly dowunnel, followed by another and another. At Glim’s signal, the patrol picked up speed and moved to iigate.
As they approached the building, though, the dwarf whipped his head around from left tht across the street.
“ons out!” he barked, and pulled his axe from his belt. Those who weren’t carrying spears plied, a pulled out his wand alongside the staff. More quietly, the dwarf tinued. “There’s a lookout across the street – they know we’re here.”
Bernt looked around. The patrol was standing in front of a reagent shop – the kind of pce alchemists and enters and probably warlocks went to get magical herbs, monster parts, and whatever else they needed for their work. The door stood open, but it didn’t look like anyone had broken the lock. Through the gap, Bernt could see that someone had made a mess inside.
It seemed quiet. There were a few gawkers peeking out of windoedestrians hurrying by, anxiously eyeing them and their drawn ons.
He didn’t see anyone who he would have pegged as a lookout.
“Who’s they?” Anuard, a goblin by the name of Hixle asked.
“Thieves’ Guild.” Glim grunted, still sing the street warily. “There was a human street ur sitting up against the wall there a sed ago. Halfbridge doesn’t get a lot of urs – we’ve got an orphanage. And there’s no reason they’d be hanging around this street. No food here.”
That sounded a little thin to Bernt. Not every homeless child went to the orphahose who were old enough to get by on their own, and who didn’t want to be there sometimes left or never went there in the first pce. Bernt didn’t really uand why they chafed at life in the orphanage so much, but it wasn’t that rare.
Of course, that was the moment when one of the anxious passersby looked up, frightened gaze log o’s. On seeing him, his expression rexed for a moment and he winked before hurrying past. Nobody else noticed.
Bernt blinked, unsure what he should do. That had been Oren.
Bernt was dumbfounded for a sed. Should he say something? Oren was a thief, and probably involved here. Why hide himself in the crowd otherwise, or wink at him?
But Oren was a friend – part of his adventuring party. It wasn’t really a secret that thieves that worked as adventurers were probably also criminals. Oher hand, the w usually didn’t pursue adveoo closely. Shamelessly btant illegal activity and any violent crime against people of any importance would be dealt with, of course, but Bernt was fairly sure that the guards themselves didn’t have much to do with that.
Adventurers were extraordinarily dangerous people, even at retively low ranks. Someone like Oren, who had risen to rank 4, couldn’t just be casually arrested – it would take a lot of guards, or ones who were former advehemselves. Guards were well suited to managing regur citizens, and even the occasional monster ry mob, but they weren’t meant to fight people like Oren without taking losses. The city could fight one of the guilds, maybe, but not while also managing their other responsibilities.
“Alright, I’m going ih Torvald there.” Glim said obliviously. “The rest of you stay outside. Bernt, I want you watg the pedestrians and the gawkers. If they clump up or start to make any threatening moves, assume that they’re dangerous and call out for me.”
Deg not to start something they might not be able to finish, and still unsure whether he even wao start it at all, Ber his mouth shut and followed dires. He could always report to Ed about it ter.
