“Mr. Rann, I —”
“Are you fucking deaf? I said: Piss off! We’ve nothing to discuss.”
“Y-yes, we have. I’m here for business. But let me first say how sorry I am —”
A flat hand went down on the counter in front of him, and Kraghtol twitched. He could have easily taken Calder in a fight, but there was still something about the man that scared the half-orc. There were some fresh scars on the hand, fitting the injuries from the shattered bottle when they last saw each other.
“Cut the crap. I don’t care about sorry. And I’m not doing business with you.”
Seeing no other option, Kraghtol put one of the gold coins on the counter.
“Please, I need your help.”
That alone was probably a mistake, but Kraghtol didn’t see a better alternative. Without hesitation, Calder swiped the coin meant as part of the payment.
“You’ve got one minute.”
Kraghtol took a deep breath.
“Okay. I’m in trouble with the orderkeepers and —”
“Ha,” Calder remarked dryly.
“— and I need to leave the city, fast. Today. With no one knowing where to and how. Do you know a way?”
He put another gold coin on the counter, but this time kept his finger on it. The greedy look in Calder’s eyes was hard to miss.
“Sure. Got my ways of making someone disappear. But that’ll cost you.”
“How much?”
The question came out weaker than intended, and Kraghtol cursed himself for being such a bad negotiator.
“Three of those. And another two to reimburse for bribes I needed to pay to make the bloodjackets forget about my business again.”
Kraghtol sucked in air. Five gold coins! That was usury, plain and simple, but he didn’t have a choice and he was not here to haggle. Without another word, he put the rest of the coins he got from Valir on the counter. He knew fairly well he was putting too much trust in the shady tavern owner, who took the coins without hesitation.
“You’re in luck.”
Kraghtol didn’t like the shark-like grin one bit.
“Winterstone trades with Bronzebreak mainly by carriage and by ship, but most wares from here to the mountains go into the carriage, since it’s faster. That means the ships running upstream are mostly empty and don’t get inspected much. If you want to move commodities to the dwarves without the guild officials noticing, a discreet ship captain is priceless. The only trouble is…”
The grin intensified.
“… they rarely transport people in the cargo space because it’s fucking uncomfortable. And if you want to stay low, you better stay right there for the whole three-week journey.”
That was less bad than expected. Three uncomfortable weeks clearly beat all alternatives available to him.
“I can live with that. When can I go?”
“That’s why you’re in luck. Next ship leaves in about three hours. I can get you on it if you show up at the docks on time. Name of the ship is Copperfin.”
Kraghtol exhaled.
“Are we… good then?”
“Good?” Calder snorted. “You’re still a bumkin. But you paid me, so that’s fair business. That’s it. Now, piss off.”
