Down in the mud
"You want us to do what?" Trym asks horrified as he tries to wrap his head around the last few turns of conversation but falling short.
Matthias sighs as he mentally prepares to repeat his plan and maybe add some more detail; he realizes he might have omitted a few steps in his plan in his initial excitement to share his idea. "As I said, the guards have lights all around the wall making it almost impossible to stay hidden if you attempt to climb over unless you can do it without any gear and in just a few seconds." Trym nods impatiently and gestures for him to continue. "But the river is dark and so are most of the areas close to the river, besides the docks, but if we just avoid those, we should be almost invisible."
"Do you have any idea of how cold the water is?" Gorm interrupts brusquely before Matthias can finish his thought. "If we don't get dry and warm within minutes after getting in, we will freeze to death, and how do suggest doing that hiding in some dark alleyway?" He spits angrily and stares challengingly at Matthias.
Matthias sighs heavily. The urge to punch Gorm in the face is firmly back; apparently, he is only capable of keeping his awful attitude in check for a few hours at most. "I'm not suggesting we swim up the river," He snipes back, unable to keep back the annoyance from his voice. "I was about to mention that the slum down there is full of people, do you really believe that there are no smugglers that have managed to find a route in that the guards do not know about, it just think it is likely it might be close to the river where the city is the darkest?" He leaves the words hanging for a few moments, watching as realization dawns upon most of the group.
Tino is the first on to speak up. "You are right; people can't survive on the outside in conditions like that with no access to the city somehow. People are resourceful, especially when desperate. And people stuck outside the city walls are definitely desperate." His face goes through several different expressions as he thoroughly considers their opportunities and then finally settles on an almost manic grin as he finishes his sentence. His entire face seems to light up with hope and determination.
Matthias almost grins back; he knows for sure he has at least one ally in his plan, now he just needs to convince the rest of them.
Berwald looks a bit more thoughtful, but Matthias notices the moment the smith makes up his mind. During their conversation, he glances towards the city several times, narrowing his eyes in thought, but then he looks at Tino when the hunter speaks up in excitement about their plan, his entire face softens. "If you think this will work and that it is our best chance," he says carefully, "I will follow you."
Matthias could give the man a hug. He sees his old friend from Griven again in this Berwald, the man that makes up his mind in silence, but when he makes his choice, he stands firmly by it, and nothing can make him change his mind. There is also such a confidence in his stance that it will make most people consider a second time before they choose to argue against him. Matthias puts a hand on Berwald's shoulder and squeezes firmly before he lets go and gives a nod of thanks. "I believe it is, but I don't think all of us should go. Someone should stay on the outside so they can report back to the army once they arrive."
Trym looks mournfully down towards the city, rubbing at his arm subconsciously: over the course of the past week, the wound scabbed over nicely despite all their fear of possible infection, but it still bothers him on occasion and Matthias often catches him wincing when he is careless or lifts heavy items. "I hate to say this now that I've come this far, but I don't think I should be one of the people going in, with my arm I'm a liability."
"I don't think you should be left out here on your own," Matthias adds thoughtfully.
"I suggest Gorm stays behind as well!" Vilje interrupts quickly and stares challengingly at the older man, daring him to protest. "You are the one with no belief in any of our plans and never come up with any good ones on your own." Gorm is visibly grinding his teeth together and his hands clench into fists by his side. Vilje ignores him completely. She keeps going and points an accusing finger at his face. "The rest of us want to do this and we believe in the plan! And don't you dare try to ignore me or make me less important just because I'm a girl!"
The group is stunned silent, watching as Vilje gets her temper back under control and Gorm fumbles unsuccessfully for words. Matthias is struggling to hold back a smirk, thoroughly pleased watching Gorm verbally getting his ass kicked, and then he notices that Trym standing behind Gorm, struggling to contain his own laughter behind his hand.
"She does have a point," Matthias eventually says and Gorm immediately turns to glare at him, his face is red, from both fury and embarrassment Matthias suspects.
"Fine!" he snarls. "But if this whole plan goes to shit, know that you are the one to blame." He then storms off further into the trees and disappears.
"Don't worry about him," Trym says calmly. "He'll calm down eventually and I'll talk to him. For now, you four had better prepare yourselves. If you thought getting here was hard, then you have a harsh reality to face later. In there you can't really trust anybody but each other; we don't know where the loyalty of those people lie."
Tino clears his throat gently; he looks a little shaky after the facedown between Vilje and Gorm and has stepped back so his back presses against Berwald's side. "What do we even have left to trade with? I doubt people down there want to help us just out of the goodness of their heart, and there is always the risk they might turn us in for a reward."
Trym scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Well, it is hard to say what they want more, money or the freedom they gain if we win the war. If a smuggler turns us in, the soldiers might just want their head just as much as they want ours, but we'll see what we can scrape together. Money is usually the easiest motivator."
Matthias instinctively pats down his pockets to see what he got on his person and turns up with a few copper and silver pieces. The others do the same and they have a collection worth maybe a few gold pieces. Matthias glances around their camp to take stock of what they have. "We do have the horses," He suggests carefully and predictably, both Tino and Vilje looks heartbroken. "Other than those, most of our stuff we need to survive. I'd rather not go in there without a weapon or a few food rations."
"I sure wish we stole more gear from those soldiers now," Trym sighs. "But I agree, the horses are the most valuable bartering chip we have, don't know what 'slummers' might need them for, but I don't care if they can buy our way in. We should keep one for ourselves though just in case we need a quick messenger or retreat. We can look though our gear, but I doubt we will find much of trading value"
There are a few solemn nods as they all quietly agree with the plan, Trym then leaves them alone, heads into the forest in the same direction as Gorm and makes some vague excuses before he too disappears between the trees.
Tino and Berwald turn their attention elsewhere. Vilje is about to leave as well, but Matthias stops her with a gentle hand on her arm. "You did great," he says quietly so the others cannot overhear it. "Gorm has been angry at everything and horrible to deal with for all of us, standing up to him like that was amazing. I might have just punched him to make him shut up."
There is a faint dusting of red spreading across her cheeks, and she ducks her head with a quiet thanks as she rushes away, clearly embarrassed. Matthias decides to leave her alone and goes back to his bag so he can empty it out on the ground and go through his meagre belonging and see if there is something of value hidden somewhere in it that he has forgotten about.
In the bottom of his pack lies the stack of papers describing different supernatural creatures. They look crumpled after all these weeks and some of the pages are even starting to tear, but he does not want to throw them away even if he cannot read them. He likes knowing that if the wife's tales are true, there is a way to stop Lukas should he need it. He stares at the page of forest creatures and the painted flower on the next page mocks him. How is he even going to find that damned fox glove, and if he does, how is he going to know if and how it will work. He does not want to hurt Lukas horribly on accident, just slow him down enough to figure out something else. He angrily shows the book back down to the bottom of the bag, it is not going to have any value to anyone else.
He picks through his other items, mostly clothing that have seen better days by now, torn, and full of holes from rough days on the road. He finds a rusty knife in a side pocket, barely worth its metal and shows it back in place. He has a water bottle, a few of the food rations and the wanted posters. He decides to keep the one of himself as a reminder to himself that this is all for good reason, but tosses the others in the fire and watches as they crumble into ash and disappear. He sees the pouch of dream tea and wonders if he should just toss it into the fire as well; it has certainly caused enough problems, even though he has no desire to risk drinking it again, he decides to keep it. There is also the remainder of the blue feather, it looks a bit sad with the tip cut off, but Matthias still tucks it into his chest pocket for safekeeping.
Berwald empties out their common bags in the middle of their camp and together they search through them. They have a few thicker furs they decide they can give up if they must since it is warmer closer to the capitol, but nothing of true value.
The group is in the middle of arguing how many furs to give up, when Trym returns from the forest. He looks tired and sighs heavily when he sees them. There is a decently sized pouch in his hand, and it clinks gently as he moves. Matthias' mouth falls open, but he has no time to say anything before Trym silences them with a gesture.
"Don't even ask," Trym exhales. "I was just as surprised when he gave it to me, I didn't know he had money tucked away and especially not this much. If you get into the city, you're going to need the money for something, stealing will only get you noticed, so Gorm wanted you guys to have this. He will return after you leave, he is rather embarrassed and Vilje really hurt his pride." He smiles sadly at them, lingering a little longer on Vilje who blushes at the reminder of her earlier outburst. "Don't worry though; he will get over it eventually."
Trym hands the bag to Matthias and then they wait around for nighttime to arrive. Matthias feels as if the hours pass by at a snail's pace. They have nothing better to do but watch and discuss in agonizing detail how to best deal with the slum dwellers and find the right person to trust like a place like that.
Night eventually falls. They let their fire die down as the first light from the city begin to shine. They gear up with their reduced packs under Trym's anxious observation. "Keep you weapons close, just in case," he cautions. "These people are not likely to trust outsiders and don't show them any weakness, they will tear you to pieces if you do. If they ask to see the horses immediately then you can tell them, you are not stupid enough to bring something of value to them without a deal in place first."
They pull down their hoods down over their heads and move slowly though the darkness. The moon is up but only in a narrow sliver that provides little light and therefore a lot more cover. They move slowly and quietly, dreading the sound of warning horns if the soldiers notice them, but nothing happens. They move along the road to keep away from the men patrolling along the unharvested fields to make sure there are no thieves going after the farmers' crops and livestock and keep a careful eye out for other travelers even though none should be out at this hour.
They smell the slums before they see it. The stench of rot, dirt and smoke is heavy on the air, Matthias almost gags as the smell first assaults his senses, his nose stings, and he must blink back the tears that almost blind him. When they step off the road to move away from the main entrance and towards the slums, the ground turns muddy, and they quickly sink down to their ankles in cold mud that soaks their boots.
The buildings in the slums looked bad from a distance, but up close, they are even worse. The houses seems to consist of scrap wood that is dark from rot and close to falling apart. There are no windows and large cracks in most of the walls and even a few doors hanging askew. Evening fog has crept between the houses making it appear even more ghostly and unpleasant.
They move further into the town as quiet as they can, wary of the torchlight from the wall that they can finally see proper. The streets seem empty for the most part, they walk past a man sleeping directly in the mud, tucked close into a house wall, at least Matthias hopes he is sleeping. The group cast a few glances amongst each other before they move on; he is not likely to know anything they need.
It does not take long before somebody takes notice of their presence.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Newcomers?" a raspy voice whispers dangerously from the darkness. The accent is heavy, a lot heavier than the outskirt town accents and the words almost blur into each other, making them harder to catch. "You are always so easy to spot on my streets, looking like lost little lambs, waiting for the wolves to show up, and now they have."
Matthias and the group quickly reorganize themselves back-to-back, trying to locate the threat and then a dark clad person steps out from the shadows. He smirks at them, twirls a dagger around his fingers and his eyes glint cruelly from underneath his hood when he lifts his head up enough for them to see his face.
Tino acts quicker than lighting, drawing his bow and firing off a shot that land just beside the stranger's, the feather brushing his face as it passes and the sound echoes in the narrow alleyway. "You will find we are more than just lambs," he hisses sharply and notches another arrow. Apparently, he took Trym's words about not showing weakness to heart. "That was a warning shot; the next one goes between your eyes."
The stranger barely reacts; he tosses back his hood and eyes them sharply, tilting his head in thought as if though nothing happened. "Clearly not," he says silkily smooth and strokes the fletching on the arrow before he pulls it out and stares at the group that now has their weapons out and glaring at him. "You are brave, I'll give you that, but also foolish. You clearly have no idea how this place works." He walks around them in a circle, with confidence and an aura of authority, smirking as they follow his every move. "If you were a little more observant you might have noticed that I am not alone." He leans closer, grins and when the group looks up, several dark clad figures have stepped out from dark corners all around them and they find themselves surrounded.
Matthias feels a chill run down his spine from the hateful glares of the slum-dwellers. They are all lean after long times short on food and their clothes hang loosely on their frames and most of them are holding smaller weapons ready for action. They look hungry and dangerous; eyeing them up and down and possibly counting all the items they can take for themselves if they kill them, and just waiting for a commando from their leader.
Matthias decides to take a risk, he steps forward toward the first stranger, fingers twitching on the handle of his axe as he faces him down. The bandits quickly shuffle around to cover their leader better, but the man himself just eyes Matthias curiously. "We are not afraid of you;" he says confidently. "Not of you and your men, not when we have faced down hundreds of armed soldiers, all trained in combat. People like you live of fear, but you will not get that from us."
Tino hisses though his teeth behind Matthias, letting him know that he does not approve they let these people know they are rebels, but Matthias is willing to take that chance. These people seem like criminals and that will make it a lot harder for them to turn them in to the authorities without the soldiers arresting them in the process as well.
"Interesting;" the leader says slyly as he smirks and tilts his head at them. Matthias mentally compares the man to an eel, slippery, smooth, and quite possibly poisonous. "I like you," the man continues. "You have balls. It is rare to see that now a day. So, what brings you to my kingdom?" His greedy little eyes narrow and he licks his lips. "People usually don't end up here unless they are desperate, talk well and I might consider making a deal with you. On the other hand, if I don't like what you are saying, I will just let my guys just kill you and I take what I want afterwards. The guards don't care one way or another, they are usually happy when what they consider pests down here die. It leaves less people begging by the gates for them to deal with."
Matthias wishes he knew how many more were hiding in the nooks and crannies of this muddy hellhole, the ones that have stepped into the street might just be a fraction of the real number. They should in theory be able to fight these guys, but people with nothing to lose fight dirty and are remarkably lethal and this might be one of the few people that should have the information they need.
"We might be able to help each other out," Matthias says diplomatically. If this is your kingdom as you call it," he gestures to the ramshackle houses surrounding them, "then you should know every part of this place."
"And what could you possibly provide a king in return," the stranger says cruelly and leans forward "that I cannot take for myself?"
"We didn't bring the valuable we have with us here, knowing someone like you might want to take them," Matthias lies easily thinking of the horses and smirks back at the man to steal some of the advantage from this bandit leader. The pouch of money from Gorm feels heavy underneath his shirt. "We figurer the leader of this place might be just as friendly as the town itself."
The smile on the stranger changes and to Matthias' surprise it is not angry, but almost impressed. "Ballsy indeed" he laughs and does a slow clap. He makes a sharp gesture with his head, the bandits surrounding them lower their weapons slightly and takes three steps back simultaneously in a practiced move, and Matthias wonders just how many times they have done this before. "Maybe you could fit in in a place like this after all, why don't we take this conversation somewhere a little more pleasant?"
Mathias nods and forces himself to loosen the grip around the handle of his axe. The stranger nods and stares at the rest of the group expectantly. Matthias looks to them and nods as well and they reluctantly lowers their weapons.
The other criminals disappear back into the shadows and out of view, but Matthias can practically feel their gazes and is convinced they are being followed and quite possibly in the sights of a few hidden archers. Their leader turns his back carelessly to the group, clearly not intimidated by their presence and lead hem through the narrow streets.
He leads them to a hovel that is just a little bit larger than most of the others and there are fewer holes in the wall. He opens the door for them and makes a mocking bow as he lets them walk in first. There is a distrustful guard in the corner, arms crossed to show off bulging arms. If he ate properly, he would probably be the size of a small horse, but the belt around his waist shows that somebody put extra holes in the e belt, allowing it to fit a slimmer figure than originally intended for the owner.
"Have a seat," the stranger says, gesturing towards a ramshackle table with a few mismatching chairs and even a few crates in place of chairs. "Most of the chairs should hold weight, but I make no promises. I would offer refreshments as is common in civil discussions, but let's be real, nobody is civil down here, and neither to we have any refreshments. Here in Mud town, not even the river is fresh considering al the waste the higher society dumps in it as it exits the capitol."
He settles down on a larger chair at the furthest side of the table and leans back to put his feet on the table as he speaks, dumping a few layers of mud directly on the table, but seemingly not caring. Now in the soft light from e few lanterns, they can take closer look at his appearance. He is lean under several layers of ragged clothing that made him appear larger out in the darkness. He has a long, wispy mustache, almost like whiskers and patched salt and pepper stubble. He throws his hood back again and reveals long, thin hair tied tight in his neck in a thin ratty tail. "Now, let me make a formal introduction. My name is Ove Kolbekk, but down here in Mud town, they call me the Rat king. It is not very creative, but fitting considering people down here live like rats and I am their king. I rule down here, my word is laws. Now make your case to my court, you have my interest for now, but that is easily lost."
He does really look like a rat too, Matthias thinks. He decides to take the chair direct opposite of the table, a seat of power. The so-called Rat king smirks at him, fully aware of the statement in his choice of seating. The rest of the group hesitantly takes up seats on the long sides, waiting for Matthias to take the lead. "We want your help in getting into the city without being spotted by the guards."
"Straight to the point huh," the Rat king puts his feet back on the ground and lean forward across the table, pretending to think. "Say I am able to give you what you want," he says with a greedy grin spreading across his face. "What could you possibly provide me in return that I might want, you refused to tell me before?"
"We have horses," Tino interrupts, nerves getting the better of him in the tense atmosphere as they all try to figure out who has the most power.
The Rat king smacks his tongue at them. "That was disappointing, what could I possibly do with horses in a place like this?" he says cruelly and bores his stares into Tino who seems to shrink under the attention, regretting his every word. "They are no good in the mud and we don't have food for them. And I was so hoping this would go somewhere interesting."
"You don't need horses," Matthias says calmly, trying not to let his nerves show, even though his heart is beating like mad, and the Rat king is fully aware that he has the upper hand in the situation. "But you do need food and quite desperately I assume." He continues. "Horses would provide food for a lot of people, and what type of meat they eat I assume doesn't matter in this situation."
The rat king snorts loudly, but Matthias can see he is considering the offer. Even the guard in the corner seems interested in the conversation now.
"We might even be willing to give you two horses if you let us know how to get in and out of the capitol safely," Matthias adds and smirks as he cast a glance at the hungry guard to let the Rat king know that he knows they have an interest in the offer.
"You are right," The rat king eventually agrees after a long moment pause even if a little grudgingly. "We do have a lot of hungry people around this place, and it is my job to keep the people I care about fed. Here is the thing," he pauses to make them all hold their breaths for a few moments. "I might we willing to consider you offer, but I want something else in payment."
Matthias almost panics but tries to keep his face neutral. There is a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. "We don't have anything else," He mutters firmly. "We have two horses and some thick furs, it will feed many of you people, keep a few of them warmer and all it costs you is a little bit of time to show us the way. It should be more than enough to pay for passage into the city."
"That is not how to run negotiations," the rat king reprimands with an evil grin, showing of a row of yellowed teeth. "If you want our talk to continue, this is when you say: 'What were you thinking of?' and preferably you add a little 'my lord' to show your respect to my title, that way we can both explore this possible deal a little further instead of cutting it short. I just want some small favors and I want to make sure that my ass is covered should you idiots get yourselves caught. I don't want the king's fury to rain down on my people because a few outsiders managed to crawl their way inside his walls."
Matthias bites his tongue to prevent himself from retorting back in annoyance that they are not dumb enough to tell the soldiers anything, instead considered the rat king's words, and decides to repeat them. "What did you have in mind?" he asks carefully and adds a spiteful little "my lord" with all the snark he can muster. The Rat king said nothing about his tone, and he has no desire to show him any respect when he clearly wants it only to make them uncomfortable.
The rat king claps loudly, Tino visibly startles at the sound, and his hands are clutching on to the seat of his chair to keep himself from running. Vilje is also beginning to look uncomfortable in her seat and she keeps eying the door and the guard. "That is what I wanted to hear," he yells sharply and Matthias is beginning to question the man's sanity. "We have secret ways into the city; we can get you in easy." I want the horses, both of them, keep your furs, but I want something more from you. I'll be nice and leave your friends out of the deal, but I want you to do me a few favors, well it is more of a job option. If I am right, then you people are part of the rebel army marching their way to our beloved capitol."
The group's silence is enough to confirm his suspicions.
"The people of Mud town are not going to receive any help from the city in case of an attack. I might find use of you rebels when that army makes it here, because I believe it will."
"The rebels will take you in," Vilje snaps, unable to keep quiet any longer.
The rat king snorts in amusement at her. "Of course they will, girl. But we have children and women, cripples, beggars, not fighters the people down here are trained to stab you in the back, not fight in an open field. And if we suddenly flee the city, they might just slaughter us all to be rid of us before we get a chance to join your army."
Vilje is about to interrupt him, but the rat king, lifts a hand to shut her up. Her mouth snaps shut with a clack, and she glares instead.
"As I was about to say before I got so rudely interrupted," he castes a glance at Vilje who looks down firmly chastised. "I could need a resourceful rebel in my crew, a man on the inside of the walls under my command. I am willing to make an offer," the rat king says smoothly. "Two horses, a favor in the future and in trade I give you access to the city." He leans further in on the table, his eyes glint viciously, and Matthias does not trust him for a second.
"I'll accept the deal," Matthias replies thoughtfully, "with the adjustment that we get free reign both in and out of the city, not just a one way trip. I'll take the job offer as you call it as well, but I will not do something that harms my people or is outright suicide, I still want to live." Tino looks like he wants to interrupt as well and he keeps throwing glances around the table to see if the other two makes any move to protest, but he bites his tongue when he does not see them move.
"Clever boy," the Rat king compliments. "Noticed my little trap there did you. I am glad, I do not want a fool within my ranks, but fear not, I have more use of you alive. So do we have a deal?"
"Will you tell me what this job entails?" Matthias asks suspiciously, but already knows the answers.
As expected, the Rat king makes tsk sound and shakes his head with and amused glint in his eyes. "Where would be the fun in that? But don't worry boy, it will be nothing more than you can handle. You can always say no and find your own way in, but take it from one who knows, you'll not find one without my help.
Matthias sets his jaws firmly and consider their options. He would rather not be in debt to this parasite, but as so-called king of the Mud town he will know it if they try to find another way into the city and surely punish them for it. It is also worrisome how fast the slummers were able to surround them without them noticing. They could have killed them easily, so Matthias sees few other options but to place his trust with the Rat king for now.
"Matt," Tino protests weakly, his eyes are huge. "You can't really be thinking about saying yes."
"Are you sure about this?" Berwald says carefully, but Matthias can sense no judgment from him.
Matthias stands up and holds out his hand. "You have a deal!"
"Perfect," The Rat king's shots up from his seat, spits in his hands and grabs Matthias' before he even has the time to flinch away. His handshake is firm despite the bony fingers, it is cold and damp like the air in the slums, and it feels heavy like a chain sealing his fate. "Now what say you, we take a little walk?"