She glanced at the expensive ale in front of her, she didn't ask how he could afford it.
"It sounds like we have a deal," she said reaching her arm out. "What's your name?"
"I gave up my real name years ago. Please, call me Tailfin."
Tailfin. Sounds just like someone who would work up such a scheme. She downed the remains of her ale, and after nodding to her new business partner, she left for home, delighted at her new attempt at escape.
When the panners all fell ill a week later, Talyreina arrived at the pans insisting she was still okay to work. Despite the unknown risk, they were happy for her to head out. Strangely, even with the perfect conditions, hardly any water had made it back to Rhytheport, and the stores were all but empty. Talyreina, of course, knew exactly where the water was, but she and Tailfin weren't quite ready to sell. She would collect another day's worth, and wait a little longer while the residents began to dehydrate. That should drive the price up nicely.
She enjoyed the sun for the first time in a while, wondering whether it was her last day in the pans. Her feet sank into the cool sand, though the tides were already coming in later in the day. Soon, high tide would be in the afternoon, and water production would all but fail. The townsfolk knew that too, and she could almost feel their last coins in her pockets.
"Evening, Tally," said the man in the gatehouse.
"Good evening to you, Maz," she said as she handed him the tools to store for the night.
"Too many plates are rusted through," she said. "Can hardly get a drop at the moment. Doesn't help that I am the only one here either."
Maz look very worried. He knew what it meant. Rhytheport was dry.
"I'll be back tomorrow, I promise. I will do my best. I know how much the town needs it."
Talyreina skipped away, leaving Maz nodding solemnly. He couldn't do anything more. She headed back to the edge of town to meet Tailfin. The water had been stored in his so-called warehouse – an old abandoned building, crumbling and lacking a roof – where he had been sleeping under the stars since he had been wrecked in Rhytheport.
She wasn't even half way there when a nervous thought turned into certainty. She began running, cursing to herself. Tailfin had moved faster than she had, she knew it. She felt it.
She burst in through the broken doorway to find exactly what she had been expecting. A ruin, walls crumbing, roof long gone, with an empty floor, no water, and no Tailfin. The godsdamned bastard.
Furious, she bolted into town, searching for any sign of the slimy creep. Within moments, the residents turned on her, chased her down, and grabbed her. She was taken by surprise, but it didn't take long to catch up. He had sold her out, easing his own flight.
"What the hell is going on?" she yelled.
A particularly aggressive looking woman was inches away from her face, with arms gripping hard on each shoulder. Her scowl was only outdone by her savage tone.
"You were stockpiling water, watching the rest of us suffer! Did you really think you would get away with it?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The foreigner found your stash. Don't deny it!"
"What? The foreigner? I was working all day desperately trying to get every drop of water I could, and you believe some foreigner about me hiding water? Where is he anyway?"
The woman faltered. Didn't loosen her grip though.
"He's... well, he was trying to get a boat..."
YOU ARE READING
The Disjointed Tales Of Renryre Island
FantasyEver since the mainland vanished overnight, along with almost the entire city watch, gangsters have ruled the bustling cobblestone streets of the once proud towns of Renryre Island. Now, a new quest begins; the search for the mainland is revived. It...
04-2: A Little Too Much Salt [continued]
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