“More Ale!” Charlie called over the room’s conversation.
Tibs had intended this to be a time to go over how the job had gone, but the others had taken charge and they were now in a tavern in a better part of the city with good food in their plate and far too much ale going around. Uzoma didn’t drink as much, but what he had was stronger than ale.
“I thought the point was to avoid drawing the guild’s attention,” Tibs pointed out.
“Like they’ll bother paying attention to something like that,” Charlie replied. “It went off flawlessly. There’s no way anyone will realize where it happened. So, I’m going to spend my share enjoying good food and good ale with my friends.”
“If you were serious about enjoying what you drink,” Uzoma said, smirking, “you wouldn’t be drinking ale.”
“For each one of those.” Charlie pointed to the small glass in the archer’s hands. “I get four of these.” He brought the tankard to his lips and downed its content. Then slammed it on the table with a satisfied sigh.
“We all have our ways of celebrating success,” Cynta said. Tibs moved his hand before she placed hers on it. The smile she gave him said that whatever he was playing at, she was enjoying it.
They needed to talk about this, but now was not the time.
“So,” the thug said once he had a refilled tankard. “What is your story, Thibaud?”
“I told you,” he replied, sipping his tankard, “revenge.”
“But what drove you to that?”
Tibs wanted to tell the man it didn’t matter. They’d get rich off this. But the bards were right about one thing. A good story could motivate others to work harder toward a goal.
“Death,” Tibs said, remembering how Mama’s body felts, cooling against his skin. The laughter of the man. How dangerous the Street felt without her to protect him. How immense the buildings, walls so high he couldn’t imagine anything beyond them. “That noble caused my mother’s death.”
He wasn’t fast enough, and Cynta took his hand. “I am so sorry.”
He yanked it out. “I’m fine.” Some of his discomfort at her touch made his voice harsher than he’d intended.
“I’ve been that kind of fine,” Uzoma said. “It didn’t go well for me.”
Tibs shrugged and forced himself calmer. “I will be fine. Once she has payed.”
“Why couldn’t you make her pay then? In your city?” Charlie asked.
Tibs snorted. “I couldn’t do it there.” His city was nothing more than impressions of buildings as he was dragged into a cell, then to the transportation platform. He hadn’t been able to recall one detail that hinted as to which city within the Pursatian Kingdom was the one he’d lived in. He wasn’t certain he’d even know his Street anymore if he walked through it.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Charlie said softly. “It must have been hard seeing that happen and not being able to do anything about it.”
Tibs shook the guard’s laughter out of his ears as he forced the anger down. “They’ll pay,” Tibs whispered. One day, they would all pay.
“And I’m going to help you,” the thug said. “We all will, right?”
“Considering I’m going to get enough money to never worry about it in the process?” Uzoma said, raising his glass. “You can be sure of that.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“We’ll help you avenge her,” Cynta said, raising her tankard, and Charlie added his.
“Thank you.” Tibs raised his and fought to keep his emotions in check. They weren’t his friends, just the team he’d put together to accomplish his goal. “How about we enjoy this food instead?”
“Oh, yes,” Charlie replied, then ate with gusto.
* * * * *
The arm slipping into his caught Tibs by surprise, and Cynta spoke before he moved away. “I’m serious about helping you.” She leaned against him. “Whatever you need, I’m here for you.” That there was no light on the words made this too much.
He moved his arm out as gently as he could, which, by her expression, wasn’t all that gently. “We need to talk about this.” He took her arm and led her to an alley.
He stopped once he sensed no one nearby. “I’m not interested.”
“I don’t understand.” Light wrapped the words.
“I’m not interested in being your guy, special or otherwise.”
“I’m not—” the brightness of the words made him look at her incredulously. “Alright, but it’s just for the job.”
“No, it’s not. You don’t have to look at me the way you do if it’s just for the job. I can play at being your man once we’re there. But I’m not interested in it the rest of the time.”
“Oh.” Her disappointment was replaced by a smile, and she stepped forward. “But that doesn’t mean you have to spend your nights alone.”
Tibs caught her hand before it reached his chest. “I don’t want that.”
“Oh.” Her smile was knowing now. “You like guys.”
“I don’t like anyone,” he said in exasperation.
“How can you not like lying in bed with someone?”
Why did he have to always go through this? “I don’t know.”
“Maybe you haven’t found the right—”
“Just stop. I don’t want to find anyone. Whatever you feel at the idea of being with someone, I don’t feel it. I never have.”
“But—”
“No.”
“But maybe—”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange.”
Tibs shrugged. “Get with Charlie or Uzoma; have a good time. You aren’t going to get that with me.”
“I’d rather be with you.”
“Cynta, I just—”
“No, not that. You’re comfortable to be around. I don’t have to be anyone when it’s just us.” She shrugged. “It’s like when we were at the theater. You didn’t look at me strangely when I told Herns to call me Cynta, or when it was clear I use to be one of them.”
“I already knew Cynta wasn’t your name. Just like you know Thibaud isn’t mine. And why would I care you were part of a theater? At least you aren’t a bard.”
She chuckled. “You’d be surprised how theater folks get treated in this city. If you aren’t with a real theater, you’re not much better than the thieves and thugs.”
“And your theater isn’t a real one?”
“They can’t afford the permits. A certain patron of a certain theater has made sure the cost for them increased to the point that only those with the right connections manage to afford them.”
“Is that where your cut will go? To help them get the permits?”
She hesitated. “I want to help them, but I don’t know if it’s going to be enough. I also don’t want to tie myself to the city. The permits have to be renewed every season. If I become their patron, I have to be here to do that and… I’d like to see the rest of the world at some point.”
“Just arrange to have a Money Holder deal with it.”
“How would one of those help the theater?”
“Don’t you know what they do?”
“They hold people’s money,” she replied. “It’s in their title.”
Tibs chuckled. “They do so much more than that. Come on. Let’s find a quiet tavern and I’ll explain.”
* * * * *
She looked at him suspiciously. “How do you know so much about Money Holders?”
He smiled. “I’ve had enough to make use of them, a time or two.” There were people he’d aimed to help where it couldn’t be done with just giving them all the coins they’d ever need. There were mistakes he’d made that hadn’t been that simple to fix. So he’d had to arrange for Money Holders to hand over the needed amount over the amount of time Tibs had set. In each case, for their entire lives is what he’d wanted, but unless he returned to those cities to refill the purses.
“And they’re going to see to it the money they hold grows?”
“The good ones. One of them explained it once, and I got a headache from it. But it amount to them knowing how the market functions. They use the money to help it in a way that returns them more money. They take a fee from that, and the rest goes back into your purse. With the right holder, and a light drain on the purse, they can stretch it for years.”
“Why don’t they just leave with the money I give them?”
“That’s part of the work put into finding a good one. Asking around the others This city had merchant offices, those will probably have records of penalties.”
“And I can just go up to them and ask for those?”
“You? Probably not. But a merchant looking to help a theater in the city should be able to convince them to help. And once it’s done, you would be able to leave, if you want, without having to worry about what happened to them.”
Her expression turned speculative. “That’s how that noble you’re after caused your mother’s death, isn’t it? They took everything you had. That’s how you know so much about Money Holders.”
Tibs shrugged and sipped his ale. This was a detail that served him better by being speculation, rather than concretely part of the lie he’d built.
Bottom Rung is available on KU:
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Stepping Wild, on Ream Stories where the story is multiple chapters ahead even at the lowest tier, and the support helps ensure I can work with a minimum of real-life interruption.
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