Breaking Step (Dungeon Runner 3)

Breaking Step, Chapter 29

Tibs paused as soon as he was through the broken window and extended his sense until it covered the entire house.

It was at the edge of the part of Kragle Rock the townsfolk had started referring to as the poor neighborhood, some called it Broken Place. Whatever others called it, Tibs knew the Street when he looked down on it. What he couldn't understand was how his town had acquired it.

But that was something to be dealt with later.

Like so many things he needed to handle.

While not within the confines of the Street, the house was still neglected. It made for a good location for one of the guards to want to meet in secret, or for them to set a trap for him.

He only sensed one person, two floors below, on the ground floor, along with three dogs lounging at her feet.

He relaxed slightly and headed for the partially opened door. He thought he could trust Serba, but she was a Wells. Jackal had made a point of reminding Harry that Wells either led or followed. Tibs wasn't sure if being the head of her pack of dogs made her a leader. Or whose orders she followed if it didn't.

He moved cautiously along the hall to the stairs, alert for anything odd within his sense, or sounds out of place. He knew enough about essence not to believe darkness was the only element that allowed someone to remain undetected. From what he'd seen, every element could do its version of what any other elements did, if the user was strong and knowledgeable enough.

The guild certainly was both.

Halfway down the stairs to the ground floor, a dog growled and Serba stood. Next time she asked for a secret meeting, Tibs wasn't trusting to his skills to remain hidden. He had darkness, so he should use it.

Serba had a hand on her sword when Tibs stepped into the lamp's light. It was well made; he sensed reflexively, better made than what the other guards carried. Keeping alert for blades destined for his back had made him notice the differences in the way the essence aligned in the metal that told of its quality. This was so well aligned that Tibs had to pay close attention to sense it wasn't the work of active essence, but something of how high its quality was.

"You just can't help sneaking around, can you?" she said, moving her hand off the pommel.

"I have to be careful when your commander considers me a troublemaker."

"You saying you aren't?" she said with a snort, sitting. He joined her at the table, and Thump nuzzled his leg as soon as he sat.

"I'm doing what I have to, so the town's safe." He broke the jerky into smaller pieces and dropped them on the floor. A second dog, lean and golden furred, joined Thump, while she kept a hand on the third, the large black one he'd seen her with recently. "Why did you want to meet?"

"I thought you'd want to know where your stuff's kept. The equipment that was confiscated a few weeks ago," she added at his frown.

Getting that back would be good. It would let him equip the new teams until his first batch arrived. "Where are they?"

"The floor below the cells."

He frowned. "I didn't know there was a floor under them."

"Neither did I until I was part of the team that raided a supply of Rest Weed a few days ago. We had to bring that there directly instead of to the usual processing team. When you reach the bottom of the stairs leading to the cells, it's that door on the left before the guards."

"There isn't a door on the left," Tibs stated. "Just a corridor on the right that leads to the room they keep the equipment they take off us for our stay."