"Narfall, my man," the human, Drake greeted the commando as they met in a dark corridor of Chaor's castle. The blonde outsider spoke in that polite tone as always, dressed better than most humans in a tan trench coat over a white dress shirt and black pants, with matching boots.
Speaking of whom, most humans weren't allowed so much as near Chaor's home. The reasons were obvious. A few had become exceptions to the rule, though. Kazdan, the scrawny boy who accompanied Narfall's team on the Arsenal raid, was allowed inside sometimes. Apparently, he and Chaor were acquainted, however, that happened. Another boy, whom he didn't know by name, but his carmine hair, had been let in once a few times before. Why nobody seemed to know.
And Drake. Oh, Drake. Until encountering this player, Narfall thought humans only came to Perim for scans, and to ask creatures mundane or personal questions. Then this one came along, approaching him one of these very halls. Narfall would have power pulsed the code out of him had he not opened his trench coat to reveal, well, anything he could think of, lining pockets on the inside.
The human would risk the desolate, perilous outlands of the UnderWorld to collect lost imports bound for the city. It wasn't uncommon, for the terrain was dangerous, even for a seasoned warrior like himself. The creatures delivering said imports weren't even from the tribe, and oftentimes encountered some kind of trouble. Agitos estimated about fifteen percent of incoming shipments were lost or destroyed during the trip through the outlands. Those that weren't destroyed were probably taken by feral creatures or people like Drake.
"I sell what I find here in the city, for the appropriate price," Drake explained during that first encounter, seeming to feel genius about it.
"What's the catch?" Narfall asked, knowing there was certainly more to it.
"Catch? Uh, no tax?" Drake answered.
Naturally, it was suspicious. But the human knew which creatures to see, those who would benefit most from his services—soldiers like Narfall trapped in long, boring patrols around locations while not in battle, often hungry until their duty was done. He and Chargola chased a Gothos spy off the grounds when they were headed for breakfast. Van Bloot's forces had reemerged and were now propping up across the UnderWorld yet again, despite their recent losses. They drove off the spy, but it left Narfall with an empty stomach—and the end of his shift was a ways off.
"Charg mentioned an intruder earlier," Drake inquired during some small talk. "You allowed to say who?"
"Gothos spy," Narfall explained simply. Drake was nosy like most humans, but he hardly pressed for more. He gave a curious hum over it and stopped there.
"So, what will it be this time?" Drake asked, getting to business.
"What do you have for food?" asked Narfall. At that moment, he felt his stomach contract and clench.
"Lucky you," said Drake, opening the left half of his coat, revealing several stuffed pockets of wrapped foods, "I just restocked on the meats, and my sources tell me there's about to be a shortage."
Sadly, that was common in the UnderWorld. Meats were almost always imported, and they were competing with other buyers frequently.
After picking about five different types of meat from Drake's selection, Narfall handed over his payments. At first, Narfall assumed Drake wanted scans. To his surprise, and not his surprise, Drake instead wanted UnderWorld coin. He didn't question it at the time, and now, Narfall. wondered. "What do you use that money for, anyway?" he asked, or more properly demanded.
"Mostly sundries, theater tickets, stuff for the job," Drake answered while stashing Narfall's pay somewhere within that huge coat. He didn't appear bothered or nervous over the question. Probably got it a lot, Narfall thought, or he was a convincing actor. "Since I know you'll ask, yes, I have bought BattleGear. For self-defense."
"Yeah, you need it," Narfall remarked. He hardly found that suspicious. Humans were vulnerable down here without connections or wisdom. Dozens of players had been caught and thrown into the Pits. Dardemus didn't imprison them for long, though, not lately. That OverWorlder he befriended during the Invasion appeared to be changing the once-merciless warden into something... friendlier. The very thought was jarring to Narfall.
Now that he was questioning the human, Narfall realized a perfect opportunity for information. He scolded himself for not thinking it already. "You know anything about an increase in Gothos activity?"
"Huh, I was about to say," Drake said, cracking a wider grin across that always grinning face. It reminded him of the snobbish OverWorlders that Narfall met during his stay in Kiru City for the Tribal Alliance. As if he wasn't irritating enough. "I like to keep out of the Chaor-Van Bloot war, but Bloot's forces have been getting out of hand lately. And him working for Aa'une—"
"Get to the point, I need to get back to patrol," Narfall broke in, mouth half full with chewed meats.
"Right," Drake understood. "You've probably heard of the Battle of Dranakis Threshold," he continued, receiving a nod from Narfall. "Well, Bloot's rebellion is bleeding out from their losses. They're desperate now and they're trying to regain a foothold in the UnderWorld again."
"Not at Gothos Tower, that's for sure," Narfall said. The former rebel stronghold had been seized during the UnderWorlders' reclamation of their home from the M'arrillians. At long last, Van Bloot and his soldiers were finally forced out. Chaor's security there was some of the tightest in the UnderWorld. Even with their base lost, Bloot's forces were apparently still lingering the UnderWorld. Where nobody was sure. "Do you know where they're set up now?"
"Nope, sorry," Drake answered, now clicking away on his UnderWorld red scanner. He seemed to contemplate for a moment, his gaze hardening. "But I know someone who might. She's hard to reach, though."
"If she can help kick those traitors out for good, it doesn't matter," Narfall stated, lifting a handful of more meats.
"Right. Just," Drake's smile turned sly, "don't say I told you. Not good to get on her bad side."
How Drake put that gave Narfall an idea of who he referred to. "Hold on. You don't mean?"
A small snicker from Drake only confirmed it.
Narfall groaned. Of all the humans who lurked the UnderWorld, it had to be her.