26. The Golden Girl (2)

Novum went back to the inn and grabbed something to eat and had a drink as well. Actually he had two, the first one he drank and the second one he spilled a little so that he would smell like he drank a lot. That way when he stumbled towards the warehouse no one would pay any attention to him, or they would let him get way to close and then he could strike. With a full belly and a good drink he headed out of the inn and towards the marketplace. As he got closer he stumbled around as he walked and everyone simply ignored him.

When he reached the area of the marketplace where the animals were bought and sold he headed to the back. He was not sure which ones it was until he was right on top of them and a man came out of nowhere. "Easy there big guy. This area is private property. Turn around and head the other way."

Novum intentionally slurred his words a little. "Its okay. Its fine. Shortcut."

The man reached out and grabbed his arm. "Big guy this is private property. You need to turn around so that I don't have to hurt you." The man had let Novum get to close. He grabbed the man and jerked him towards him at the same time he threw is head forward. The blow immediately knocked the man silly. Novum carefully lowered him to the ground.

"Sorry about the headache you are going to have." Novum lowered him to the ground and headed for the building. There were no windows at low enough level that he could see and the door was locked. Novum was not really in a waiting mood and exerted all his strength and kicked the door open. He felt a tingle all over his body and knew that more guards would be here soon. He did not hesitate and ran into the building and looked around. As he ran through the warehouse looked just like any other. There was nothing but rows and rows of boxes on each side.

Novum was about to give up and dart to the second floor to find a window to climb out of when suddenly the warehouse changed. He ran through a magic curtain and found out what part of the warehouse really looked like. They were not boxes but cages that were lining the walls on both sides. Creature and people of all races and sizes were in the cages. His blood was boiling but he knew that he needed to be smart about it. Turning them all lose right now would not be good for anyone since the guards were already on the way. He would have to wait and get them out once things calmed down.

As he ran through the building he looked left and right and saw nothing that looked like a high priority prisoner. He was so mad by the time that he did not stop until he was at the end of the building and he ripped a board off the wall and managed to squeeze thought it to get out. He saw some guards running up the other side of the building and realized that the response would be a lot quicker than he would have thought. Now he had to figure out the best way to get all of these people out of here.

Now came one of the biggest decisions of his life. He could go and continue looking for the girl or her could report the prisoners. He was worried that if he did not do something with them now then they would be moved before morning. He stumbled back down the way he came and got close enough to the guards to hear what they were saying.

"He said a drunk came stumbling up and and when he tired to turn him around he headbutted him in the face. We figure that he was trying to see what he could loot but when he kicked the door open he might have recognized the power of the spell releasing. Or he ran in and saw that everything was in huge crates and ran off since he couldn't carry anything."

"What did the boss say?"

"He said to double the guards and reset the door. He did not think that it was worth the risk to move them early."

Novum heard all that he needed to hear and knew that he still had a day or two to get them released. Now he could focus on finding the girl. He just needed to figure out where the girl was being held. He decided to wait around for a few more minutes to see if he could learn anything else.

"Is the boss planning on hiring anyone else or is he going to pull a few of the guys from the stable? This double duty is spreading us pretty thin."

Novum heard a slap. "Shut you damn mouth. No one and I mean no one is supposed to even hear about that. If anyone but me heard that I would be buying you out in a field somewhere. Learn you damn place."

Did I ever make things this easy when my guys were playing? You know a few times and a couple of good rolls could make amazing things happen and really screw with my plans. Might as well go with it and see what I can figure out. Now he had to figure out where the Earl lived. The private guards had given him an idea. He headed back towards the inn and stayed on the lookout for a city guard. He was almost to the inn when he saw a pair coming down the street towards him.

"Good evening gentleman. I have a slight problem that I am hoping you can help me with. I have a cousin that is a guard for the Earl and he told me that he could get me a job there and I am supposed to be there in the morning but I do not know where the Earl's manor is. Could you please provide me with directions?"

"The Earl. Yeah if you follow this road to almost the wall and then turn right on the second to last street that will lead to his manor. But if you are looking for work I think you would be better off with the city than working for that guy. No offense to your cousin but I think the Earl's guards as more thug than guard. But good luck kid."

"I will take what you said into consideration. I will head there first thing in the morning." Novum gave them a bow of his head and went to his inn. Another ale to make sure the guards were out of the area and then he headed for the Earl's manor. The guards directions did not take into account how big the city really was and by the time he reached the area of the city that the Earl managed the night was half way gone.

Since he could not go though the main gate he kept one street over until he found an area that was out of site of everything and appeared to still lead to the Earl's property. He found a rubbish pile and carefully climbed up enough that he could see over the wall. The main house was on his left with a few torches out front but when he looked he spotted what appeared to be a single torch way out in the distance. Knowing that he might actually trap himself inside the walls Novum went ahead and jumped over. He figured that if push came to shove he could fight surprise the gate guards and sprint past them.

Novum stayed close to the wall and moved deeper and deeper into the property of people who clearly kept slaves. He was not sure what he was thinking but it was to late to turn back now. Just before he got close enough to get a clear view he found another rubbish pile of this side of the wall and knew that he had found a way out if he had to have it. With that in mind he started moving away from the wall and towards the light in the darkness. He moved closer and closer until he could see two men outside of a door and all other entrances and exits boarded up.

Novum stayed further away from the stable than he liked but he was not confident in his ability to stay out of sight or quiet. He finally found a clear path right up to the building out of sight of the guards. He still did not put on his armor as it would be louder than moving in clothes. He was a little nervous without it on but he knew how loud it could be. He made it all the way to the building and paused to listen and see if they heard him. When there was no reaction he concentrated and bought out his armor and then two quiet snaps his shield and sword were in their hands.

As quiet as he could he crept towards the corner of the stable. He was about to reach the corner when he kicked over a rake that he did not see. He froze for half a second and then took two steps back. "That damn raccoon knocking stuff over again. I will go run him off."

Novum willed his sword away and got ready as soon as the man stepped around the corner. He reached out and grabbed him with his empty hand and slammed his shield into his face. The man went limp and Novum pulled him on around a sat him on the ground. "What the hell man, is that raccoon kicking your ass this time?" After a few seconds. "Hey man quit messing around. Get back out here is it creepy."

Novum just held his spot. The man was nervous enough and after another few seconds he would come around the corner to slap the crap out of his friend. All Novum had to do was wait a few more moments. He heard the man moving. As soon as he looked around the corner Novum hit him in face with his shield also. Novum could not help but talk out loud. "Seriously how big was that raccoon that it sounded like someone hitting a shield. Might need to avoid that thing like the plague."

Novum checked around the corner again making sure that there was not a third guard that he missed. When the way was clear he moved over to the door and opened it with ease. He was surprised when there was nothing in the room that he was in. He grabbed the torch and walked around several times. The area was not that big and he was sure that if there was someone there he would have seen them. He did not understand while there would be guards on an empty building.

Novum was about to leave when he remembered something that the magistrate had said. He said in or under those building. That meant that some of these buildings had tunnels and rooms underneath them. Now all he had to do was find the entrance. Now that he knew that he was looking for a hatch in the floor he could focus on a smaller area. It did not take him long to spot a small knot in the floor that looked more warn that it should have.

Novum put his finger into the hole and pulled. The hatch opened with ease and a ladder was on the wall but only the top little bit was visible. Novum crouched down and put reached down into the hole. After just a few inches his hand seemed to disappear. He realized that it was a magic barrier to prevent any light from escaping at night so no one knew where to look.

Novum put the torch back and on the wall and climbed the ladder down into the darkness.