Dragon S Layers Ch 12 Cashing Out

It was in the ash crusted stone cellar, with air as dank and thick as a steam bath that Sarah really started to question what she was going to do. What did she owe to these people that she could somehow ignore what kind of hell she would be leading them into? She'd get them out of the city and part ways. That was best; best for all them, really.

Tessarie was pacing a circle at the far north corner of the room, hands balling up several inches of her too big-to-fit dress. She was careful to avoid the cobwebs and ligaments of cloth dangling from the low ceiling but every time she passed by the support beam Sarah was sure her ear would touch it. Her routine hadn't changed in several hours except to glance at Sarah as though she had any answers.

She wasn't the only one, either.

Keiter was sitting cross legged on the side of a scorched barrel with his back against the stone wall and his eyes half closed. Kobolds couldn't cry, but everything in his slumped posture said the tears were leaking from his soul. It wasn't every day you got a visit from your goddess and then lost your entire flock. As far as dealing with pain went, he was handling it better than anyone could have expected.

Sarah closed her eyes with a long drawn sigh. She wasn't a leader. She didn't even particularly like dealing with people. But, she wasn't going to get out of this city without some help, either. At that thought she quietly approached Tessarie, slipping by the paladin who'd somehow managed to fall asleep sitting on the lip of the stairs. She laid her hand on the elf's shoulder when the girl didn't acknowledge her.

"Shh," Sarah put a finger to her lips. "I have an idea."

"I. . . need to get out of here." Her upper lip twitched when she stole a glance around Sarah.

"I know, sweetheart." She glanced back. Was it the kid who made her nervous or just the surroundings? "We're going right now," Sarah took her shoulders gently. "Look for anything you think we can use--"

"Sarah."

"Hm?"

"When-- If we get out of here, would you tell me about my brother?"

Sarah composed her face into a mask, forced herself to smile and leaned in. She wrapped her arms around the small framed elf and pulled her close. "We'll have time for that

when

we're somewhere safe."

"J- Just," the young elf whispered into Sarah's shoulder as she stood limp in her arms. "He sent you, didn't he? Please, tell me?"

"He. . ." There was always that moment of hesitation with situations like this, not just because it would be hard to confirm any facts but because when she eventually

did

find out Sarah was lying, there was little chance she could smooth over any damage that was done. Sarah looked down at the girl's back. What did she owe this girl, though? She'd already given her her freedom.

"D- Didn't he?" The elf's voice cracked. "Y- You're an agent of the Vale, aren't you?" Suddenly she pulled back to look up at Sarah. There was only fear in those eyes. Tears brimmed in the corners, threatening to spill.

She knew better. She shouldn't. But her maternal instincts warred with her gut reaction. She could protect this child from experiencing pain in all its forms. She had to. . . "He. . ." She forced herself to smile. "I'm here to keep you safe, sweetheart. I need your help to do it, though. Can I count on you?"

"B- But

did

he send you?"

"Of course, dear."

The girl slumped into her with a relieved sigh. In moments she had her slender arms wrapped around Sarah's lower back, sobbing into her shoulder. "I'm sorry I left. I was wrong, I should've let the Elders strip me of my powers-- I was wrong--"

"Shhh," Sarah cupped the back of her head. "You weren't wrong. No, no, no." She closed her eyes, already dreading the answer to the question on her lips. "Who gave you your pact?"

"P- Pact?"

"Yes, who did you pledge yourself to?"

"I--" She pulled back to meet Sarah's gaze. "I don't have a Pact. I was born with these. . . powers."

Sarah furrowed her brow. "I see," her hands slid lower to Tessarie's waist. She smiled the warmest grin she could muster. "Then you've done nothing wrong. For sooth, those who'd try to strip you of your powers are as myopic as you are beautiful-- and that says a great deal."

"S- So I wasn't. . . I'm not a bad--" Sarah stopped her with a kiss. Her tension melted into Sarah's strong grip and slowly, oh so slowly, she opened herself to the half-elf, gently inviting an advance that wouldn't come.

Sarah held her like that for several shared breaths until she was sure the girl was relaxed as could be. They needed focus and Sarah's mind was already several miles away-- they needed money, they needed to get to her house so she could get her supplies, they needed a travel pass for the south gate, and they needed to get out of the city before dawn. She couldn't let those around her break down.

In the back of her mind, she knew she

should

have stuck to her plans and left them to fend for themselves. Deep down, however, she knew they'd never make it without her. And, more importantly, she wouldn't make it far without at least two of them.

The elf's slender hands came up around Sarah's shoulders and a warm, soft tongue flicked her own. Tessarie pulled her close and sighed a sultry breath into Sarah's mouth silently promising that she could be what Sarah needed if she was given a chance. All she wanted was that chance.

Sarah, unfortunately, knew better. She broke the kiss with a forced smile. When the girl looked about ready to pout, Sarah brushed her lips with her tongue. "We'll have time for this later."

"O- Okay."

"That's a good girl."

Tessarie swallowed and blushed. "Like Felicia?"

"Mmm. . ." Sarah smiled a little, sliding her hands down to cup the elf's tight little butt. She kissed her forehead when the girl lowered her gaze. "Would you like to be like her?"

"N-- NobutIthinkyouwould?"

That caught her off guard. She actually considered it for a moment, "I just might. . ." She smiled warmly. It was genuine this time, "Perhaps we can speak of it when Keiter is more himself."

"W- What about him?" She nodded towards the human.

"He's staying here."

"Sarah?"

"Shh." Sarah looped her arm around the girl's shoulders and guided her towards the middle of the room. "Find anything of use and let's get out of here. Be quiet and quick, hm?"

"O- Okay."

As she approached Keiter, the kobold looked up at her with his bright yellow eyes. He preempted her when she tried to open her mouth. "He's not a bad man. He means well."

"I don't care. He's a paladin."

"And I was a monster--"

Sarah held up her hand. "Don't," when he looked about ready to reply, she knelt down in front of him and touched his knee. "I saw something in you. I'd do it again a thousand times-- but

Paladins

don't

change.

They're mindless swords for their gods with no sense of reality."

"And

we're

just mindless creatures of destruction."

"You are irritatingly persistent, you know that? He's not coming."

"Then neither am I."

"W-" she blinked. Was he

insane

? "

What?

"

He looked down his muzzle at her, head cant just slightly to the side in an expression of confusion. "We'll need allies." He said as though that answered everything.

"This-- We're--" Sarah clenched her jaw briefly. "You--"

"You know I'm right." He whispered.

"This isn't like Silverdunth," she shot back. "I can't

hide

you if we have a paladin with us. I can't

protect

you if we're playing by his rules."

Keiter leaned forward and scooped up her hand in both of his. He clasped it as gently as one would a kitten, kissed the back of it and bared his teeth in a small, defeated smile. "You have seen much, my friend, but never forget that you can't run from all your problems. If I am to die, I--"

"Won't do it because some loudmouthed--"

"He has proven himself fair and just, even against the city guard and the Knights. He tried to stop them."

Sarah stared at him.

He nodded solemnly to her silent question. "I trust him."

"Nnngghhh. . ."

"We can do this, my friend. She would not have given us a task that couldn't be accomplished--"

"Don't--" Sarah pressed her finger to his lips. "Even the gods fear dragons, do you know why?"

His hands clenched around hers reassuringly. "We're in the company of one of the sharpest minds in the world, we'll think of something."

"B--"

"But first, we need to get out of here."

"Y- You're just as crazy as he is--"

"I've never asked of you." Keiter lowered his gaze. "I have no right to, but She asked me to. To keep you safe and find this monster and slay it." His eyes flicked towards her briefly. "I love you, my friend, but She must come first. You know this."

Sarah clenched her jaw tightly. Only then did she notice her hand was trembling. "A

dragon

, Keiter! I can hide us, I can--"

"No more running, Sarah."

"Shhhhhiii--" She stood up, hands balling into fists as she surveyed the dingy cellar. "You--" she pointed at him. "You can't do this to me! I

saved you

!"

Keiter slid off the barrel and spread his hands in a show of resignation, "She--"

"No. No, no, no. You can't-- Have our years meant

nothing

to you?"

Tessarie looked up from her scavenging and though Sarah couldn't be sure, she thought she heard the paladin shift behind her. She didn't care by now, the rage was already boiling to the surface. Betrayal cut through her as she stabbed his little chest with her trembling finger. "You don't have the right to kill me! I don't want to die, I'm not

ready

."

"She said we would be fine if we were--"

"She's

divine

! She has no concept of mortal f--"

"She wasn't always." He said patiently. "Ease, my friend. Be at ease. This. . ." His gaze shifted towards the stairs behind Sarah. "We'll be fine." He looked up at her and spread his hands once more. "I can't ask you to come, I can tell you its worth coming."

"T- To do what, get eaten? If we're

really

lucky?"

"Sarah," A strong masculine voice behind her set the hair on her neck on end. "If what you say is true--"

She spun on her heel. "Dear boy, when I want to hear your opinions, I will ask for them. In the meantime--"

"I--"

"Am interrupting an adult conversation the likes of which you are both ill-prepared and doubly ill-informed to enter!" She saw the flicker of anger spark in his eyes, but instead of getting defensive or acting out, he simply shifted his weight back to the balls of his feet and crossed his arms. "That's more--"

"Then tell me what it is you're after."

"A dragon." Keiter supplied. He ignored Sarah's glare and stepped up beside her. "My goddess has asked that we slay a dragon."

Tessarie piped up. "I thought we were trying to get out of the--"

At once all three of them were talking, or trying to, over one another. Sarah stepped out of the middle of it and grabbed the nearest thing she could find-- a jar of pickled sausages. She winged it at the far wall.

By the time it crashed against the stone, she was already in mid-breath. "This is what we're going to do, I won't repeat myself, so listen closely; we recover as much of

my

money as possible and then we get to my home, secure our documents and transportation and we leave. Once we're out of the city, we'll discuss our next move." She didn't wait to see if anyone agreed. By the time she noticed they were following, she was half way into the alley with a jar of pickled sausages under her arm.

Bollocks to it.

* * * *

Nightfall was always strange in the city. The crystal glow-lamps cast a pervasive sapphire hue over the rain-slicked cobbles, highlighting shadows that even Sarah's night vision couldn't quite discern. In one angle the shadows may have been a humanoid in black leathers and a mask, in another it was a roaring dragon waiting to press down and crush her.

In the hour since leaving the pub she and Keiter had recovered six of her caches without attracting so much as a raised eyebrow from the guard patrols that were making the rounds on the main streets. It was humiliating to be wrapped in stitched together burlap bags, but with a few carefully placed sticks and some straw, they had managed to make themselves look bulkier than they really were. Add in a little hobble and they easily passed for one of any number of scavengers that worked the night, trying to carve out a meal from the refuse of the day.

Two of her caches had been found but she had still managed to recover close to ten thousand coins. They clicked and clacked under her burlap as she hobbled over to the gnarled oak in the middle of Lexum park. Once there, she set about digging out a hollow in the dirt between the larger roots while Keiter kept an eye out.

"We'll get out of here and then we--" Keiter started.

"Save it." She hauled a familiar linen wrapped box out of the mud and checked the wire trap wrapped around the lock. It hadn't been triggered. "We'll sort this out, just not--"

"My friend, run as you will but you'll never get far enough ahead of your problems."

Sarah tucked the box under her arm and stood. "Since when did you become such a philosopher, anyway?" As they hobbled over into the shadow of a nearby alley she glanced back at him. "I'm not running." She whispered. "Self preservation is not a uniquely human trait."

"You're not uniquely human."

"I'm beginning to regret having taught you the difference."

"You talk like you were the only one to do so." Keiter took the lead, following a prescribed path through the tight confines of the alley. When they got to the lip of it, they stopped only long enough to ensure they weren't followed before crossing into the opposite alley.

"Since when'd you get so cheeky?"

"I learned from the best."

"Hmph," Sarah let the silence between them linger while they made their way to the lower east side, circumventing the majority of the major streets and patrols. Yet, something. . . Every time they would turn a corner, that little prickle of warning would flair up in the back of her mind. She'd look and naturally, there'd be nothing there. But still--

Someone was following them.

"Stop," she whispered.

"What? We're--"

"Shh. Silverdunth," Sarah scanned the alley they had come through. The word was as much a warning as it was a curse that they both understood. He took up a position near the thicker shadows in order to get a good vantage of the street. For her part in it, Sarah knelt down beside him and tried to blend in amongst the shadows.

Nestled in the dark she felt sweat beading up between her shoulders. The gold was heavy, stifling and it wasn't just the cool wind that made her shiver. They'd come too far to die like this. Not in an alley. Not unarmed.

"Nothing," the kobold breathed the word.

Sarah eyed the roof line for a long moment, hoping to catch a glimpse of something. She was tired, bloodied and frightened, but she hadn't lost all her faculties, had she?

Nothing moved.

Maybe she had.

She frowned and picked herself up with a groan. "Come on."

* * * *

It took them another 20 minutes of prowling alleys to make a wide enough circle around their destination before she felt confident they weren't being followed. By the time they were closing in on the two story wood and brick structure, she had stopped looking back every ten seconds.

No one was out to get them, they'd been careful enough not to draw attention and, more importantly still, they didn't

look

like anyone worth following. They hadn't since the pub.

They were fine, she promised herself.

Tessarie opened the frosted glass door when they were only five steps away, letting them slide past and giving a quick glance to make sure they weren't followed.

It was surprising how little the place had changed. When she had first come to the city the entire place was a banker's home converted into multi-function commercial space. She had been answering an employment ad for a record keeper for a private detective, but upon meeting Thadeus and seeing the building itself, she'd fallen in love with its arched skylight and the wide spiral staircase that lead to an exposed second floor hosting the various offices. She had bought it while Thadeus was sick one summer and now owned it; another thing she would have to get rid of.

She had known this was too good to last. You didn't rip off a dragon and not expect some kind of long term problems. It wasn't until she got to her office that it really sunk in, though. She'd never be free of the cycle of starting over and having to move. She'd run out of money long before that happened.

The extra key was where she had expected it to be; right behind the finger width section of loose trim beside the door. The spring trap she'd installed on the lock was also in place. A good sign; There hadn't been any visitors.

Sarah clicked the lock back until she felt the trap give, eased the door inward and peeked. Thadeus's desk was pushed up against the wall and in through the slatted window streetlight feebly tried to illuminate the room. Crates of books and loose paper littered the floor, rotting together under a thick blanket of dust. A cot beside the largest window in the room had been folded up and bound with twine.

"Clear," she whispered.

Barely ten seconds in the door and she upended a crate of books, spilled them across the floor and grabbed her burlap clothes. As the others took the time to poke their heads in and look around she dumped the bags of gold she'd pilfered from her caches into the crate. Each of them slammed down with a satisfying

chunk

.

She could do this.

She just needed to keep calm. "There are facilities here if you need to use the bathroom," she said between dumping her clothes and popping over the edge of the desk to grab a flintlock from under the drawer. "Be forewarned, I've some bathing to do, so please be quick. . ."

Tessarie bit into her lower lip. "W- Which way?"

"Down the hall between the bookcases. First door on the left."

"Thanks."

Keiter offloaded his own gold into the crate as the human poked his head back out the door. Sarah was in survival mode, barely paying attention, but she did notice he had a shapely back. Strong shoulders and that kind of waist that accented his strengths. It was a crying shame he was what he was. . .

Not like it would matter, he was a follower of a different god away.

"Right," Sarah set the box of coin down on the desk and stripped out of her rags. "Don't touch this," she said to no one in particular, "I may have need of your fingers later." With that she also set the jar of pickled sausages down and started counting through the coin.

By the time Tessarie and the paladin had gone to the bathroom Sarah had divided up the coin into three equal shares which she passed around to Tessarie and Keiter, keeping one for herself. The elf gave her a strange look as she handed over the coin. "Sarah?" She leaned in. "What's that, erm, thing in your bathroom?"

"Hm? Oh," she smiled. "I call that an indoor rainmaker. It's like bathing in a waterfall."

She blinked. "Really?"

"Mhmm. It's quicker, too. Speaking of which, I think I have some clothes that might fit you."

"O- Oh?" She brightened.

"Come along," She took the girl's hand and lead her to the closet in the rear of the office. Perhaps the only room in the entire building that hadn't been repurposed, the closet was spacious enough to hold the sets of clothes she'd collected over her time in the city from both visitors and her own purchases. It also held her favorite feature of the entire building.

"Wow, is--" Tessarie cleared her throat. "Um. . . that's. . . a shrine to Isira, isn't it?" The elf motioned to the marble carving built into the left alcove. And then, meekly, to the shelves that lined either side.