The Thief King

43 | Blood in the Flames

The Dancer was known for its vehemently drunk customers. It was not considered a successful evening at the establishment, without at least two brawls, one bar fight, a lovers’ quarrel and numerous untimely forced exits. The floor was always covered in spilt ale and broken glass and the girls that worked there were too lazy and fed-up to attempt making it otherwise. The liquor was cheap and the music loud and it was for that reason, Shogan offered it up as a sacrifice.

“I see little to no profit from the dunghill and have been meaning to exterminate its disease ridden contents as soon as it was profitable to do so,” he had said and then closed the discussion by admitting that the time was now profitable.

Sitting in the tavern and watching the few lost souls that filled it, Kole saw just how true Shogan’s opinion of the place was. He had never questioned its stench and filth before, not caring about where he received his liquor, just how. But now sitting, waiting in a feigned inebriated state, he found his skin crawling at his surroundings. One look at Chase, told him however uncomfortable he felt in the tavern, his friend felt it tenfold. It was very rare he would willingly agree to walk into The Dancer sober, unfortunately, they could not afford any mishaps. They had to be entirely present for the plan to work.

“Where is he?” Chase hissed, bringing an almost empty tankard to his lips just to put it down again. “Dawn should be close.”

Kole crinkled his nose. “I don’t know, but I for one think we are not acting drunk enough.” Kole stood and pretended to sway as he walked to the bar. “Barkeep!” he shouted. Eyes turned to him accusingly. “Another round!”

“Don’t ye think ye had enough?” the man sneered, continuing to polish the mug in his hand. “Ye can barely walk straight.”

“I don’t need to walk straight,” Kole grinned. “Just be able to walk.”

The barkeep rolled his eyes and filled three more tankards. He handed them to Kole albeit reluctantly. Kole gathered them and stiffened his fingers to lift all three at once. He looked up and winked at the man who seemed less than impressed at the mundane performance of a drunkard.

Kole swayed his way back to the table, spilling half the contents before he sat down. “Cheer.” he ordered. Chase and Misty both applauded the new drinks, stamping their hands on the table and slurring gratitudes.

“Ye did a mighty job ridding us of half the piss already,” Misty grinned.

Up until now, they had emptied their tankards by either spilling it or absorbing it in strips of cloth that were hidden in the corner. Misty used the unique technique of pretending to need some air, sticking her head out the window and spitting out the contents.

Kole grinned at her. He had little idea of how the night would play out. Shogan’s men would arrive and cause enough of a scene to force the other occupants out. From there, they would start a fire and exit through the sewage tunnels underneath the building, while everything went up in flames. Each of them had a fire lighter stashed in one of their pockets, ready if the other was not.

“Kole, you certain the roach is going to hold up his end?” Chase asked.

“Fairly,” Kole shrugged.

“But you did see him gathering his men?”

Kole stared at his drink, tempted to sip at its contents. “I saw him give an order of a sort.”

He saw Chase shift in his seat. “You telling me you did not follow through?”

Kole jutted his jaw, running his tongue against the back of his teeth.

“Kole?” Chase insisted.

“I went to say goodbye.”

Chase slammed his fist on the table, quickly turning to make sure it did not attract unwanted attention. A few had turned to investigate, but without raised voices and more slams, their interest returned to other things.