13 The Sultan

The Sylky Way tavern was an underground safe haven for the criminals, lowlifes, and the cult extremists of Zarcum, although the Sect didn't know this yet. The owner of the establishment, known only as The Sultan, was the man the Sect now stood in front of. They stood there awkwardly. He slowly eyed them individually. Garrok watched his two bodyguards trying to get a beat on them. They were stoic, well-practiced, and trained - he got nothing.

When he finished he spoke, his silky accent flowed smoothly, "I am The Sultan and the owner of this fine establishment." He sat back in his chair, the only one sitting in the room. A power move. "My associate informs me that you arrived in town yesterday. Looking at you now I find your..." he made a circle gesture with his hand. "Group to be intriguing, a mismatch of beings from all sorts of interesting pasts."

"What do you know of our pasts?" Garrok stepped forward.

He chuckled, "I have knowledge on anyone of interest that enters this city, and when four strangers arrive with John Kris in chains and are greeted by an ambassador...well they aren't strangers for long. If you would like, I can go into detail?" His eyes had a glean to them. Garrok relaxed and allowed The Sultan to continue. "As I was saying, I want to do business with you. I believe we can help each other, mutually benefit. Currently, I have a need for a group of capable people such as yourselves. There are a few...things I need dealing with if you are interested?"

"What kind of things?" Erigos asked.

"Nothing you haven't done before." He replied. "You all seem like... decent people or are trying to be. If you don't want to work for me I will understand. That being said…" He leaned forward. "I am willing to pay you all ten gold per day while on a job for me and two gold just to be...available. You will be free to do whatever it is you do when not actively working for me." He addressed a gnome just off to the side, "Carson?" The gnome nodded towards him while jotting the numbers down in his ledger. He turned back to the Sect. "Fair?"

"What do we benefit from this arrangement?" Garrok asked.

"You mean besides payment?" The Sultan ponder the question a moment. "...Information."

"May we have a moment to discuss?" Erigos requested.

"Please, talk amongst yourselves."

They all huddled together in the middle of the room.

"Should we work for a criminal?" Garrok whispered.

"We don't really know that what he does is illegal," Rothox answered, looking past Garrok at the Sultan who was pretending not to listen, although Rothox couldn't tell if he actually was.

"He's called The Sultan and owns a place that is underground, it doesn't exactly scream legal."

Erigos spoke up, "We were told to keep our ear to the ground and learn things and he said he would give us information if we helped him."

"That is a good point, plus he pays really well." Garrok was starting to accept the idea. "Alright, let's do it but let's keep the law-breaking to a minimum, no killing innocents or obviously breaking the law."

"He does seem like someone we might want as a friend, rather than an enemy," Alissa added.

They ended the huddle and Garrok spoke for the group, "We have some reservations."

"Hmm...and what might they be?"

"We will not intentionally break the law and we will not murder anyone for you."

He laughed, "I'm no criminal. I'm merely a businessman...that prefers to work outside the boundaries of the Empire. However, your concerns are noted."

It was the 'outside the boundaries' that worried Garrok. "Then we accept your offer."

"Wonderful." The gnome, Carson, ran over and handed them each a scroll with a contract of employment. "This is merely a formality, I like to keep records on my employees."

Once they had all signed The Sultan continued, "Your first job is to investigate an area of the city where I have had a few men go missing."

"What area?" Garrok watched Carson roll the contracts individually before stashing them in a sachel on his person.

"The other entrance to this establishment leads into a set of tunnels that run under the city. My men use a few of these tunnels to travel quickly (and discreetly) around the city and it makes access to the upper districts easier. The men that have gone missing were in the tunnels that run under The Cratortop District. Find them or their bodies and find whatever caused them to disappear. This is your initiation job." His eyes narrowed, "Don't disappoint me."

"Consider it done," Rothox replied with confidence.

"Good. Molta will show you the entrance and accompany you, as insurance." The red-skinned man stepped forward from the shadows. The two nasty-looking scimitars at his side caught the light.

Molta led them through the tavern, passed a large brazier at the edge of the room. Another guard stood blocking the entrance. He nodded at Molta and pulled a cord that slid a section of the wall away revealing a short tunnel. Following their guide through the short tunnel they arrived in a much larger tunnel. An old sewer of the city. A final guard stood in this tunnel, watching the door from the outside. The stone door crashed shut, the only reminder of its existence, besides the hulking half-orc guard, was a faint cutline in the sewer wall. Only noticeable by those with previous knowledge.

Wordlessly, Molta set off down the dark tunnel. After thirty minutes of walking along the winding path, the tunnels got hotter and sweat started to form on a few of their brows. Molta showed no signs that the heat was affecting him, neither did Rothox.

"We must be nearing the volcano," Erigos wiped the sweat before it reached his eyes.

They continued walking until Molta stopped and knelt to the ground. Silently he stood and stepped aside hands-on his hilts.

"What is it?" Rothox asked him. He didn't reply. Rothox looked at the ground Molta had just inspected. Bending down he ran his fingers over a discoloration in the stone. He sniffed it and quickly tasted whatever the substance was before spitting it out. "Blood."

A loud blood-curdling scream came from further down the tunnel. Everyone covered their ears. From the darkness, two creatures rushed them.

In a flash, Molta's hair became fire as he grabbed his scimitars from their sheaths. The first creature attacked Rothox. They were fast and strong as the first one picked him up and tossed him against the stone wall. Alissa let out a cry and fired a bolt of fire out of her hand. The creature was too quick and it dogged it. However, it wasn't quick enough to dodge the large axe that bit into its side. Garrok wrenched his axe back and went to slam again. The second creature that hadn't attacked yet had crawled onto the ceiling of the tunnel and with a screech dropped down on top of Garrok. Its sharp claws dug into his back and head. He resisted the urge to yell out.

Seeing Garrok being assaulted by these two creatures Erigos called upon his divine power, rushed the nearest creature, and slammed his sword into it. A flash of light from his sword blinded them all for a split second. The creature was still alive, it snarled at Erigos. Two large fangs protruded from its open mouth. Rothox pulled himself up, noticed the one attacking Garrok's head, he flicked a dagger around and hurled it. It found the gut of the creature. It didn't seem phased, the dagger stuck in its pale flesh.

With his swords on fire, Molta twirled them into his first attack. The first sword missed the humanoid enemy but his second severed an arm. The creature let out a howl of pain. Using its good arm it attacked Molta. He ducked underneath the sharp claws. Alissa tried another blast of fire directed at the now one-armed creature. The bolt impacted, engulfing the creature in flames. It was somehow still standing, as the fire on its body went out. Whatever clothes it had been wearing had burned away leaving it naked. Its entire body was pale. Garrok grabbed the one on his back and tossed it against the wall. It flipped, like a cat, and caught itself on the stone. Hissing at him it pushed off the stone, claws extended. Erigos intercepted with his shield. He knocked it prone. He swung his sword down, but the creature caught the blade with one hand. It was strong. The metal began to dig into its hand. It snarled and attacked him, shoving the sword aside. Erigos held on leaving himself exposed. He managed to block the first claw strike but the second scraped over a gap in his armor catching his skin. Erigos shouldered the creature back and clutched at the fresh wound.

Rothox had a few more daggers left. He rushed the one-armed creature. Slicing across its bowels with his first attack, following quickly with the second into the side of the skull, down to the hilt. The creature let out a gurgle, eyes rolled back then fell forwards lifeless.

Seeing its companion die the second creature let out a vicious hiss and leaped onto the ceiling. It began to crawl into the darkness, fleeing. Alissa waved her hands and an icy dagger formed in her palm. She let it fly with magical precision. It found flesh and the dagger exploded into a thousand tiny icy shards. The fleeing creature was torn to pieces from the explosion. The sound of metal clanged to the ground as Rothox's dagger fell out of the no longer existent creature.

"What were those things?" Garrok asked, catching his breath.

Erigos wiped the blood from his face, "Vampires."