Lore/Story Maex Raid

We left the Maex square and went through the dim underpass. I was boiling in the heavy armor the dwarves got me, and the Crust Crusher on my back felt unnatural, way too heavy compared to my regular weapon of choice. Paeta next to me carried a large vase in her hands and looked a bit uncomfortable in regular human clothing, but hopefully they'll attribute it to the ever-present heat as well. If someone looked at us closely, I doubted we'd get through. With a bit of luck it'll be just convincing enough for them to not recognize us. At least until we get to the cold-sleeping Doguns.
We arrived to a large dusty room filled with shelves of pottery and clay. On one side was a burning forge, some pots besides it waiting to be fired. Next to it was a counter and behind it an older dwarf in traditional chainmail armor. "Welcome to my shop, humans! How may I help you?" he asked as soon as he noticed us.
"I got interested in pottery recently," I replied, motioning Paeta to show him the vase, "but I am afraid my attempts so far were less than ideal. Then I heard about your great pottery classes and thought I'd give them a shot."
The shopkeeper inspected the ceramic and returned it to the shaman. "I see. I believe you could use some practice. Is your acquaintance here for classes as well?"
I shook my head. "No, she is here to make sure my goods make it home in one piece."
He nodded and pressed a button under the counter. A piece of wall behind him opened, revealing a dimly lit tunnel. "Luckily for you, there's a lecture going on right now, and we got an open slot. Go through the door, you can't miss it. Happy learning!"
"Thanks!" We walked around the dwarf into the passage. It was dark, the only source of light being magma in the cracks in the floor barred by metal grating. As much as I was fascinated by it, i tried not to think what would happen if the mesh collapsed under me or something damaged the floor's stability. Like a *bomb*.

Luckily, it was only a few blocks, and soon we appeared in a small cavern cramped with colorful stalls. Just like the Hero said, of course. Paeta put the pot on a convenient shelf on the wall at the entrance and subconsciously touched the relik hanging on her belt. On our left was a stall made of stone, apparently a regular, decorated with weapons and skulls. A sign "Murder-for-hire" hung next to it. Another hanging thing next to it was a severely withered body, possibly of a dwarf. I hoped. Below it was a shop that resembled a butchery, weren't it for several humanoid body parts laying around. I didn't see the name, but didn't think I needed it. The thought alone made my stomach twitch, but I resisted the urge to throw up and continued looking. There was a somewhat overgrown shop full of potted plants and some brewing stands. Directly opposite to us was a plain grey stall, empty save for two "statues" at the wall. Our goal, I assumed. On the other side was a shop full of large eggs, likely the phoenix poachers my dwarf friends told me about. Besides it was a smaller stall filled to the brim with miscellaneous items, trinkets, armor or weapons. Another clear one. Closest to us was a shop of an elf decorated with bright purple cloth and lamps constantly changing colors. On the counter lied several vials and powder pouches. The sign "Hallucinogens" was more than telling. All in all, it seemed like a regular black market.
And thanks to incredible luck, we were the sole buyers. Or maybe it's just too hidden to be popular, I thought. Either way, it made things much easier.

The elf woman noticed my glance and waved at us. We came to it and I looked closer at the stall. On the wooden desk serving as a counter were all kinds of powders and vials, labeled with names like "Sweetest Dreams", "Brought Fantasy" or "Visions of the Ancients". The shelves behind had bubbling brewing stands giving of a slightly nauseating aroma and some books. One of them had "Tax Evasion for Dummies, by Ta Xevade" on its back. Interesting combination, I thought. Between all those stood a tall smiling elf in their traditional light dress. She seemed young, though most of them did, so she could''ve as well be a couple of centuries old. "Woah there, would ya be interested in buying my totally gnar happy-juice?" she asked, pointing to several potions. "Or this super-relaxing homebrew? Ya look like ya could use some," she added, looking at me more closely. I mean, she wasn't wrong, but I had no intentions of buying any of that stuff. On the other hand, in the corner of my eye I saw Paeta's face brighten.
"Not interested," I said, putting a slight emphasis on the second word to remind my companion, "I am just looking for some sculptures."
The elf's face saddened. "No need to be so harsh, brother, it's totally chill. They're on the other side of the cave," she nodded towards the grey stall, "but they have no chill, they're all rude and grumpy. You're better staying here."
"We will manage, thanks." I nodded to Paeta. "Let's go."

We didn't make five steps before the next shopkeeper called at us. He was a bit taller than most dwarves, dressed in heavy armor that emanated magic so strongly even I noticed it. Paeta, who was much more sensitive to this, seemed to be taken aback. The counter was full of trinkets, from jewelry to crystal balls and weirder stuff, all without a label. On the shelves behind was the most diverse collection of armor and weapons since the veteran reunion a decade ago. No, since some gathering of the new recruits a few months ago, that was definitely more varied. And all of that was magic, I guessed. And probably horribly cursed, considering the place he was selling them at.
"Hello, hello, sir!" the dwarf said, "I ave noticed ze Crust Crusher. A fine veapon for sure, but perhaps you vould be interested in a somevat faster one?" Before I could decline he rummaged below the counter and produces a beautifully made longbow from deep brown wood with bright ornaments all around it forming swirls and lines rushing from the center to the tips where the string was attached. My eyes slightly widened and his next words only said aloud what I'd known. "Behold, Ze Reinmeiker!" He handed me the bow and I took it with utmost care.
"Is this an original?" I asked, inspecting it closely. It looked old, the grip was slightly deformed from being grabbed again and again, but it was in otherwise pristine condition, besides two or three deeper scratches.
"Of course!" he replied, his voice sounded almost insulted. Fair enough, a merchant like this isn't going to be selling *imitations*, it just isn't professional. "Proven in combat, just as lethal as zirty years ago."
Only thirty? It felt much longer, but it made sense, I wouldn't get my hands on one much younger. It was one Portal of a surprise that it got here. They were exceptional weapons back then, though quite rare due to their tendency to lose power quickly as well as being somewhat fragile. They used to be the fastest bows on the battlefield by far, and I doubted anything could compare even today. That's what they owed their names to, even the largest and heaviest arrows could be shot quicker than the guys using Tracers. The corrupteds fell faster than the frontliners could get to them. They were so mad... And when a bunch of us got together, the sky darkened, true to the weapon's name... alas, as expected, its enchantments began to fade and eventually I was forced to switch to my now-beloved Cluster.
"I zee I piqued your interest," the shopkeeper said, "perhaps you would like to try it? I assure you it is completely free of curses!"
I realized I'd been staring at it for a while. Free of curses? That was reassuring. And a little surprising. "There isn't much room," I said, ignoring Paeta's stare. Feeling a faint trembling under my feet, I slightly shook my head. Though I wasn't gonna delay it, I couldn't just say no. Not after I apparently brightened up like a full moon. And not until I shot from it at least once.
"Do you zee zat target next to the assassin's stall? Just shoot zere, ze merchants are used to it."
I doubted it, but I grabbed the bow, its grip almost perfectly matching my hand, took an uncomfortably heavy arrow from my quiver and shot it, barely aiming. No resistance, just like I remembered it, and the projectile swiftly hit the center of the target. I fired six more in rapid succession. Incredible, as if it was brand new. Whoever refurbished it did an amazing job. As I went to recover my arrows the elf clapped, and the hitman nodded at me acknowledgingly. I slightly smiled. You haven't seen *anything*. Suddenly, I realized something. I knew that bow, the grip, the scratches. It was *my* bow. It disappeared one day from the case I'd made for it, and I never managed to find it again. And not due to lack of effort.
When I returned I heard the dwarf asking Paeta whether she'd like to purchase something, but she refused. "Vould you like to buy it?" the shopkeeper said, turning to me. "I zee you are an experienced user."
"How much?"
"A stack of liquid emeralds, a special price for you."
Admittedly, I was taken aback quite a bit. That was a *lot*, even considering its power and age. "You see, I didn't bring extra money in case I'd find something interesting," I said. "But put it aside for me and I'll be back soon, along with some extra for your safekeeping."
The dwarf thought about it for a second, then nodded. "Pleasure doing business with you."
As we left the stall, I kept hearing constant curses through my feet. "First of all, I wanted to end it as quicky as you," I said silently to Paeta. "Second, don't call me a hypocrite. There was more to it than fun."
She puffed a little, but said nothing.

We passed by the egg poacher, who glared at us with distrust. For a moment I wondered why, but soon we got to our goal - the warmth-thieves. I forced myself to hide the roaring disgust and replaced it with indifference. My friend next to me looked pissed, but luckily she managed to make it seem just like an annoyed bodyguard. For a second I wondered which one of us was more furious now, old bitter veteran who fought by the Doguns' side or an impulsive youngling who was almost one of them. Either way, it was a very close race. I snapped back as one of the two dwarfs greeted me. "Looking for some sculptures? We got only the finest ones in out store." He was heavily armored, though to me it seemed more of a padding than an actual protection, with mandatory salamander hide on top. Wouldn't want to tread through magma and fire without it, I thought. On his belt hung a battle axe and a water wand. The latter's use was more than obvious. His companion was dressed similarly, except having a sword as his weapon of choice.
"I am, in fact. My home needs some... decoration." The words were turning to ice in my mouth, but it was the better way. "Fancy ones."
The shopkeeper took a step aside and motioned towards the two cold-sleeping Doguns on display. "Such as these?"
I looked at them closely. Cold. Or so little remaining warmth it didn't make a difference. "Not attractive enough," I forced myself to say.
He seemed to think for a second. "If you'd come with me for a second?" he said, going to a piece of cloth hanging on the wall, putting it aside and revealing passage. Before going in, I made a slight gesture with my hand, which was quickly followed by a barely noticeable trembling under my feet. Things will go down soon.

The cavern on the other side was larger than the main one and was filled with "statues", tended to by several dwarves similarly to our guide. It was slightly curved and on it end was another tunnel, watched by two guards. I had no idea how Paeta managed to stay calm, but I didn't give myself away only thanks to the years of war in Wynn. We'd expected to find a lot of Doguns, but *that* many? Then I noticed one of them was moving, slowly, so slowly, their shell visibly cold and slightly screeching with every move. Sidio, what have they done to you...
"Surprised, I see," said the shopkeeper, following my gaze. "If you douse them just enough, they can still move. Barely, but it is very entertaining. And the best thing, they are in an absolutely *exquisite* agony, even worse than when dousing them fully." That was true. Leaving them still barely conscious is one of the worst things that could happen to them. A curse so bad it had made its way into their folklore several times. "They'll do *anything* for the tiniest bit of heat, making them completely subservient," he added with a slight smile.
"It must be a very fine balance to maintain," I said, trying to not think about it too much. "Otherwise they'll get too strong to control."
"It is," he replied. "Turn around, pebble!" Sidio slowly turned around, revealing a contraption on their back. "This machine constantly maintains the exact temperature in their bodies. As you can notice, with proper joint shaping the are unable to reach it, making it fully safe to use. And in case of tampering, it will fully douse their core, destroying them." I nodded, unwilling to speak. "We sell them separately, if you want a reliable way to keep them in their place."
"Not... needed," I managed to say.
A few seconds later the earth started rumbling and we heard shouting from the main cavern. Took them long enough.

I punched the merchant in the face and in the split second of his fall got the bow from my back and loaded it. As the dwarf moved on the ground, I kicked him in the head, rendering him unconscious. Take that, bastard, I thought with a bit too much satisfaction. Serves him well. The other shopkeeper reached for his sword, but an arrow pointing his way stopped him in his tracks. Meanwhile Paeta, who had moved further into the cavern while I was talking, had her totem up and blocked the other exit with several viny tendrils coming from it. Two more were around the necks of the warmth-thieves, lifting them slightly above ground. "On the ground," I said to the one in front of me. "and put your weapons away." He hesitated for a second, but the tip of my arrow convinced him. Smart dwarf. He slowly drew his sword and threw it away, as well as the wand and laid on the ground. I didn't have any ropes or shackles on me, so I said "He medo rutrygoh taku!" The ground around him shifted and warped around his limbs. It worked, perfect.
I looked around. The rest of the warmth-thieves were in different stages of attacking. Some were foolishly aiming for the exit, while the rest were split between me and Paeta. One of them had a wand in his hand, coming towards the cold-sleeping Doguns. Not a chance. I quickly aimed and an arrow pierced his forearm, splattering blood around, and throwing him off balance. I'd forgotten I had a heavy bow. Well, he isn't gonna be using that arm anytime soon, too bad. "The next dwarf to move will die," I announced loudly, loading another one and shooting the nearest warmth-thief's leg. My friend was holding three more of them now. "And whoever tries to douse a Dogun will test how long can a salamander skin remain submerged in lava." They hesitated. Another one tried to swing at me with his axe, only to be met with an arrow in his ankle. "Last warning." Finally, one by one they got it and stopped in their tracks. That was easy. Now to manage the rest. "Good. Paeta, restrain them." She nodded. More tendrils shot off of her totem, knocking swords and wands out of their hands. Then, with a silent incantation the earth and walls around them moved and grappled them.
"What now?" Paeta asked.
I heard a scream from the market. "Watch them and make sure they don't bleed out. I'll check up on the rest of the team."
She grunted, but then turned towards the captives. "Fine."
"Remember, they are prisoners now," I said, leaving the cavern.

Most of the merchants were still behind their counters, their arms above their heads and a weapon pointed at them. The poacher glared at me even more than when we'd entered. I think I know why now, I said to myself. I noticed the dwarf who let us in was standing by the entrance, hands tied behind his back. Then there was the assassin and butcher, who were lying in the middle, unconscious. And partially sunk into the ground. Their stalls were the only ones that looked a bit desolate, probably because they jumped over the counter to meet the raiders. I turned away from a piece of meat fallen on the ground. The rest looked undamaged.
"Did everything... go well?" Arzul asked me.
I nodded. "We secured things and no one has gone cold. These two guys gave you trouble?"
"They heard us coming," Barden said, "and decided to wait for us."
"It was... lucky... I and Ghipo... were first," Arzul added. "No one... got... cold..."
"Yeah, you should've seen their faces when their weapons sparked against the Doguns' shells," Kracken said with a chuckle. "The rest didn't resist after that."
Just as I thought. Two of the Doguns split off and began tending to their cold-sleeping friends. Right. "Gather them at the center, so we can focus on the mission."
Barden nodded. And motioned to the guards. The merchants slowly left their stalls and had their hands tied before being sat down. Reatin shifted the earth a little and it wrapped around the captive's ankles. "Should be... sufficient..."
One last thing. "Before you see the Doguns, I'd like to remind y'all the reason I and Paeta were invited to this in the first place. No. Cold." It wasn't exactly subtle, but Barden told me the Dogun's reaction to hearing about this. It wasn't one you would expect from them.
"Trap?" Arzul turned towards me.
I gazed at his brightening core silently. "Just remember it," I said before walking to the cold-thieves' stall.

I lead them through the passage, leaving only a few to watch the sellers. Paeta was ducking next to a dwarf, tending to his leg. As soon as others entered the room, I could feel the earth rumbling beneath me. No words, just enraged screaming. I haven't heard them like this for a long time, and it was just as scary as before. The young shaman looked towards us, then at me specifically. I shrugged, not knowing what to say either. "Most of them are still warm, though barely," she told the Doguns after a minute of silence.
"The warmth-thieves made devices to keep them subjugated," I said. "They added a mechanism against tampering, we need to find a way to disable that before we can help them."
Michai came to one of dwarves and I could see the fear in his eyes. "They designed... it. They will... tell... us how to... get rid... of it."
The criminal just stared at them, incapable of speaking.
The Dogun grew brighter. "*Talk.*"
I caught Barden's glance and decided to intervene. "Michai, you and the others look at the cold-sleeping Doguns, we'll take care of this." They hesitated. "We will take care of this," I repeated with a bit more emphasis. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. Just let us talk to him." I felt slight trembling of disgust, but they turned away. The rest of the Doguns followed them to their immobile friends. I motioned to the dwarves to come to me. "Collect the warmth-thieves and bring them to Paeta, we don't want them all around the cavern. I'll speak to this guy, I'll see how much he knows." They nodded.
"I've never seen them so angry," Kracken said silently. "Except... right before the ritual..." The rest nodded uncomfortably.
Yeah. That shitshow. That day *literally* couldn't get any worse. One more thing to thank the Hero for, I thought for myself, with less sarcasm than usual. "I know," I said. "But you can't really blame them. And the sooner this is done, the better. So let's get this over with."
The others left and I turned back to the captive. "You heard them," I said, looking into his eyes, "you are in big trouble. The Doguns reek of revenge. *Revenge!* Congratulations, your chances of survival just shrunk. Did you think of this when you joined?" A part of me said this was a bit too much, the other continued ignored it. You saw what they'd done. His eyes widened even more, his face pale. "But luckily for you, I'm not a Dogun and I've had my share of violence in my life. So, if you have something to tell me, you might get off relatively well. Do you understand?"
He nodded, ever so slightly.
"Fine. First of all, what's your name?"
"M-masva."
"Masva, did you design the mechanism?" In the corner of my vision I saw the dwarves digging the rest of the gang from the earth's embrace. Why didn't they just shift the earth, I didn't know.
"N-no! I-I just loo-looked after th-the captives. M-made sure they be-behave." Liar. He was with him at the stall, he was surely involved more than just "looking over them". I let it slide, it wasn't the thing I was after.
"I see. Who did, then?"
"Zavar. The o-one who b-brought you here. He-he's the leader." The one I kicked in the face. I didn't feel sorry for him anymore. Not that I really did before that, honestly.
"Do you know how the device works?"
"N-no. We just, just stuck them in the cap-captured D-D-Doguns. Th-that's all w-we had to know."
I got a bit closer to him. "If you just happened forget something momentarily, or if you think you said something wrong, now it is the best time to say so. The Doguns are surprisingly impatient today."
He just wildly shook his head. "I know nothing! Nothing!"
I sighed. So much for getting it the first time. "Fine." I did believe him, his face was way too clear about it. The rest of the group managed to dig out the prisoners and gathered then at the other side of the cave, apparently unsure what to do. I got up and walked over to them.
"How did it go?" Kracken said.
Barden was tinkering with one of the devices, which he picked somewhere up.
I shrugged. "Claims he knows nothing. How does the device look?"
"No idea," he shrugged in return. "It was three minutes, Trap. What did you expect?"
"Sorry, sorry. Someone please dig the dwarf up. I'll talk with another one." I looked at the bunch sitting at our feet, staring at us. "Paeta, how about you take one as well? Your youth might be more convincing."
She smiled at me. It almost made me reconsider my request. "But of course. Let's go, idiot," she picked a random dwarfs and made him get up and walk away. I chose the one who unwisely tried to douse one of the Doguns and now had a bandage around his forearm. I ignored his hateful glare and roughly put him on his feet. I pushed him to a quieter spot, not too far from the Doguns tending to their cold-sleeping friends.

"Name."
He stared at me silently.
"I said, *name*." This was not a good start and I knew it was not gonna get better. I got to try, at least.
"Screw off."
I sighed. Fine. "You see," I said, slowly drawing closer to his face, "you are surrounded by people who want to kill you. No, more than kill you. Do you realize it?" His expression didn't change. It would, soon. "Doguns are mad like never before and trust me, I'd been with them through a *lot*. Their dwarf friends are enraged as well *and* scared of them. My shaman friend here is furious and incredibly *empathetic*to their struggle." I was right in his face now. "I am the only one cynical enough to not want your guts roasted right here and now. Doesn't mean I *can't do it though*." I backed off a little and waited a few seconds before I heard a scream nearby. "*MY LEG!*" Finally, the dwarf's expression twitched. "That's a good idea, don't you think? No one will accuse me of ruining your life if you still have a working arm."
"Zesteck," he spat out.
"Now we're getting somewhere! Maybe we'll even be friends one day!" I said. "What's your role in all of this?"
"Hired sword." I raised my eyebrow. "Just make sure nothing killed 'em while they're getting the statues." I resisted the urge to smack him.
"You tried to douse a Dogun. Truly a thing 'just a hired sword' would do. Try again."
I looked him in the eyes. He turned away first. "I helped them move the statues." I was more inclined to believe that.
"Tell me about the things on the Doguns' backs."
Zesteck hesitated, but another conveniently timed scream convinced him. "They cool 'em so they don't resist. Or move."
"Tell me something I don't know." It occurred to me that he didn't hear what Zavar told me, but I didn't care.
"You can't take it off them."
"Why."
"The leader made it so." Didn't even say the name, what a hero. I was getting tired of this. I swear, if this was another dead end...
"Elaborate."
He shrugged. "Dunno. Didn't look at it much." I doubted I could get more from him. Maybe if I poked in a foot of his, but despite what I said I wasn't really the guy to beat someone up, more so a prisoner. Lucky him. Hopefully Paeta will have something. Though, a dark thought crept into my mind, why would they allow detachment? Who in their right mind would free a captive Dogun? Besides their friends, of course. And if they are cold, who cares that it activates? "Thanks for being helpful," I said, not quite happily. I grabbed Zesteck by the arm and took him back to the group.

Barden was still tinkering with the thing, unsurprisingly. Kracken and Dast were watching him, making a remark here and there. The rest either guarded the captives or stared at Paeta, who was towering in front of a crouching dwarf, half consumed by the ground, half ensnared by the totem's viny tendrils. I wondered whether to let her continue or step in. His face was bloody, and the sleeve on his right arm had a large hole in it and was soaked in blood. I assumed at least one of his legs looked similarly, judging by the scream. He was pitiful, even knowing what he'd done. I wondered how many of the Coalition members regretted having her here. The very reason for it was *literally* to prevent this. The young shaman caught my stare and slightly nodded, before resuming talking to the prisoner. Barden looked up to me, but I just shook my head. Too late. And the leader was still unconscious, for the better or worse.

It took a few more minutes filled with the occasional squeals of the interrogated prisoner before Paeta decided it was enough and let him get up. With substantial difficulty, I remarked in my head. "I hope you at least got something useful out of him," I said when they got to us. Just as I thought, the dwarf's left leg was more than bloody. I took out my knife, cut through the salamander skin on his sleeves, produced several strips of cloth from underneath and bandaged the leg.
"Plenty," she replied. "For example that Zavar, despite his apparently infinite wisdom, has in fact kept a safeguard in the countertampering mechanism, for some reason." The group visibly cheered up. "There should be a pin on its side somewhere. If you take it out the whole thing stops working. I guess he ignored it 'cause Doguns aren't as nimble." Everyone looked at Barden, who turned it around for a few seconds and then slowly pulled out something. Nothing happened.
"Perfect," he said. I finished bandaging the captive and put him to the rest. Barden and Paeta walked over to Sidio, who was tended to by Arzul and two other Doguns. "Do you... know... how to get... rid of it?" I heard them say.
"Yup! Shouldn't be a problem!" Paeta replied, throwing a quick glance towards the captive dwarves.
"Are you... sure?"
"As sure as we get."
Barden got behind the cold Dogun and tinkered with the device for a few seconds, before producing a click and pulled it out. The shaft of the thing was coated with vydepa in various stages of hardening. Sidio moved. Slightly, with difficulty, but moved. Everyone cheered, the Doguns present visibly brightened. Now just to free the rest.

Barden returned to us, picking up another of those things along the way, and showed the group how to do it. They split up, while I remained at the prisoners to keep an eye of them, loaded bow in hand. Let them be the heroes, I thought, my part is done. Our human friends cleared the path for our brave unit to save the poor cold-sleeping Doguns. That's what the king will say, probably. Not that I cared much, what had to be done was done, that's what mattered. And it wasn't even *that* bad in the end, little bloodshed and everyone lives. At least on the enemy side, I knew at least few of the Doguns were almost surely cold. I returned the prisoners' stare with indifference and every now and then glimpsed at the dwarves and Doguns tending to their people. Some of them, probably the most recently captured ones, slowly moved around, warmth gradually returning to their cores. Others were covered by magma in an effort to warm them. With some luck, they will recover. And what will be of the prisoners? Depends on whether the Doguns manage to calm down, I thought. I was pretty sure that if we didn't force them to focus on their friends, things would be nowhere near as smooth. What Paeta did was more than enough, though effective in the end. In the better case, they'll be imprisoned in Molten Core for life. If the king decides to make an example of them to please the chieftain, public execution. And if the Doguns get their hands on them... things could go either way, including actually testing how long salamander skin lasts in magma. I slightly shivered at that thought.

After a while Kracken came to me. "We're done," he said. "We got the things out of all of them."
I nodded. "How many are cold?"
His happy face dimmed. "Five. Out of almost forty. And one device malfunctioned as we disabled it."
I heard that. Not unexpected, though sad. It'll be [[Ochuvnqitiz]] again, not long after we returned Ceru. I sighed. "We did what we could. How did they take it?"
He nodded. "They are Doguns. Wrath is the path of cold."
Of course. "That's good to hear. Can you please send Paeta to take it over from me? I have a thing I'd like to do before we're done here."
"Sure thing, Trap. What do you need to do?"
I shrugged. "Just have a talk with one of the shopkeepers."
"Alright." He walked away and a minute later returned with the shaman.
"Just watch them for a few minutes, I'll be right back," I said to her, putting the bow on my back.
"Wanna throw up in some dark corner?"
I glared at her. "Years of war didn't make me do it, this isn't even close." And if it was, I'd have done it sooner.
She returned the stare just as mercilessly. "I'm not gonna apologize."
I sighed. I know, I know. "I wasn't going to ask."
As I turned, I heard behind me "If it hadn't worked, would you?"
I shrugged. "It worked," I said, going towards the passage to the main cavern. I heard Paeta say "What are *you* of all people staring at?"

Two Doguns and a dwarf remained as the sole guards of the marketplace. The merchants were still sitting on the ground, hands tied behind their backs, except the hitman, who had them entombed in the ground. "Someone was giving you troubles," I remarked, looking at him.
"He tried... he didn't... learn," one of the Doguns said.
I chuckled. Of course. "Did someone tell you how things went?"
The other one flickered. "Uquint... stopped by. You did... a good... job."
I nodded. "Thanks. Would you mind if I borrowed one of them for a minute?"
"Of course not. Just be careful."
"I will, don't worry."
I went to the artifact seller, made him get up and went with him to his stall. "I think you know where this is going," I said, rummaging through the gear, watching him in the corner of my eye. But he was smart and just waited patiently, instead of trying anything. Luckily it didn't take too long before I found what I was looking for. "You see," I said slowly. "I am more than an 'experienced user', as you called me. I was *the* user of this bow." His expression changed from silent curiosity to somewhat startled. "Don't worry. I mean, I *will* take back my bow, but I don't really have anything against you." He calmed considerably. "Just a question though. Where did you get it? And please, skip the 'I found it' and 'I won't betray my supplier'. I am glad even people like you know honor, and I don't really care that much about your shady deals." He hesitated. "Let's sweeten the deal. If you give me the right information, I might pull a few strings so you don't end up in the darkest hole in Rodoroc." Though that one was already reserved for someone else.
"All you want to is know who stole Ze Reinmeiker," he said slowly.
"Yes."
"Very vell. Zere is a villager called Davax in Letvus market," he lowered his voice. "He is distrustful towards outsiders, but if you tell him I sent you he might talk to you."
"How do I get there?"
"Go to ze Blackbird Inn and say 'I'm not zirsty, I always carry a bottle.'"
"Thanks." This was a solid lead. And if it turns out to be false, I can always return.
I took him back to the rest and went to the main group.

They were gathered at the prisoners, debating something. "You are done?" I asked as I got to them.
"As much as... we will get," Arzul replied. "Our people... are freed... but this place is... cold."
*We will take them to Ungike ha Ievem.* I heard Michai through the ground. I raised an eyebrow at them and they nodded towards the prisoners. Of course.
"Is it that bad?" I assumed a proper magma lake would be enough. I glanced at Sidio, still barely moving. It did make sense though.
Michai flickered in agreement.
"I see."
"Right now we are debating what to do with the captives," said Barden.
"I say we take them with us," added Paeta. "They broke our laws, they're ours." Paeta, the Doguns never had a law like this, I said to myself, they didn't even know this *could happen*. And the dwarves didn't seem to happy either, the prisoners looked terrified. I didn't blame them. Not to mention this place was still under the king's influence, if not under direct control.
"We'll take them to Rodoroc," I said firmly. "There they'll be imprisoned and we'll decide what to do with them later. Once you stop bursting like a geyser."
"You are... letting them off... too... easily," said one of the Doguns, bright with anger.
"I am just making sure you aren't making a mistake you'll regret later. Arzul, can you transport the cold Doguns? Or do you need a few dwarves to help you." Not that the question was needed, but it won't hurt.
"We could use... a little help." Great, they understood.
"If you don't mind, I'd take Reatin and Ghipo with us. One of the merchants could cause troubles and I'd like to avoid unnecessary injuries."
They slowly nodded. The earth rumbled slightly and the Doguns, along with three of the dwarves split off. "And you, get up. We should get going too," I said to the prisoners. "Come on," I repeated when they didn't want to move. "Or I'll make Paeta do it for you." They immediately jumped to their feet. The dwarf folklore will have a new boogeyman after today, I thought. One of them limped, unsurprisingly after I shot him, so Uquint pried off a short pole for him to use as a crutch. Paeta went through the passage first along with the dwarves, while I stayed behind, bow ready to shoot.

"Are we going?" asked one of the Doguns watching the other captives.
"Yes, we're done here," replied Barden. "The rest of the group is taking the cold-sleeping Doguns to a warmer place."
"Good."
"Get up," Paeta said to the prisoners. They must've caught the others' look, because they didn't hesitate. Or maybe Uquint told them about her.
"Reatin, Ghipo, please watch the hitman. You'll do a better job than us." They flickered. "And I'd like to tell the rest of y'all that I'll be watching you all from behind," I said to the prisoners, "with The Rainmaker, which some of you have seen me use. To motivate you a bit further, my friend Paeta will look over you as well. And of course, a regiment of dwarfs. Understood?" Some of them nodded a bit faster than they had to. "Good. Now let's finally leave this place."
We got moving, the Coalition dwarves in front, followed by the two Doguns with the assassin, the merchants and me with Paeta closing the procession. When we left the cavern, Ghipo moved the earth, blocking the entrance to the market. Good idea I thought, hopefully the other group will do so as well.

Well, this wasn't as bad as I'd feared, I said to myself. In fact, I doubted it could've gone much better. Who could've been saved was saved, none of the warmth-thieves or merchants died and we prevented the Doguns collapsing the place on our heads. Not to mention we got our hands on several other dangerous individuals. And I got my old bow back, as well as a clue to pursue. All in all, it was a good day for all of us.


credits:
@culpitisn'taword - proofreading
@Luminary - inspiration

PS:
Apologies for improper setup. After rewriting the main part, it has grown so much I was simply too tired to do the rest. You already know Trap, and I hope you can get to know the rest.

 

i procrastinated so hard on proofreading this

 

:(

 

legendary.