Well, at least the women working here had some kind of protection. Not that he was interested in being introduced to Hank. Having to kill the bouncer would make things more difficult. “What if I paid you for the night, but all I wanted was a little information?”
Liz poured herself a drink. “Information costs more than sex.”
Tim leaned back, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. At least she was open to the idea of being bribed. Now he just had to find out what she wanted. “And the cost?”
“You haven’t told me what you want yet.” She walked toward Tim and stopped in front of him, then trailed a finger down his chest. “It’ll stay between us, I swear.”
Tim grabbed her wrist, moving her hand gently away from him before getting up from the chair to create some space between them. “I need to know which room Steven Silvester is in.”
Liz finished her drink with a practiced flip of the wrist before returning to the bar. She poured herself another measure of the amber liquid and gulped it before setting the glass down with a trembling hand. “What business do you have with him?”
Tim noted the hardened expression in her eyes, but there was something else. A hint of fear or maybe loathing. There was always the chance Liz was afraid of what would happen to her if anyone found out she had squealed.
But if she was scared of him, revealing his plan might get her to open up. “I plan on personally introducing him to the goddess.” He watched her face, hoping he’d made the right choice.
“Good. He fucking deserves it. You should have seen Jolene last week. Bastard covered her in bruises from head to toe. What kind of sick fuck does that?” Liz started to pour herself another drink.
“So, you’ll help me?”
Liz took a small sip before setting her glass down. “I will, but I need your help with something as well.”
Tim felt like time was slipping through his fingers. He still had to get back to the inn and take their new tank for a test run before he could go to bed. Then it was off to work. At least while he was at Ironbeard’s, he had plenty of time to think. By the time he left work tomorrow, he’d have some kind of plan in place.
“What do you want?” Tim watched her, hoping whatever she asked for was reasonable.
“Oh, honey, you really do need to learn how to negotiate.” She smiled. “I want out. Out of this hellhole.”
“So, you don’t like working here?” Tim was kind of surprised. You would have thought the NPCs in the game would love the jobs they’d been assigned. It wouldn’t have mimicked life perfectly, but he’d never played a game where the NPCs hated going to work.
“Would you? All those ugly fat fuckers pawing over me for a few lousy coins. I can’t stand it anymore, but I signed a contract.” Liz frowned at the floorboards. “And they make sure you never earn enough to buy yourself out of it.”
Tim felt for her. No one should be forced into this kind of job. If you liked it, awesome. If you didn’t, no one should be able to force you into a sexual encounter. “And when you’re free? What will you do then?”
She looked around the room, taking in each inch like it would be the last time she ever saw it. “I’ll figure something out.”
Tim noted the look of determination on her face. This was someone willing to do anything to get out of their current situation. Liz was motivated and would work twice as hard, knowing her only other option was to come back here.
Tim wanted to help her, but the cost couldn’t be too high. “And your contract?”
She bit her lip, looking into his eyes with a vulnerability he hadn’t seen before. “Ten gold.” Her resolve hardened. “The price for the room number is ten gold.”
He had the money, of course, but it was a devil’s ransom for a room number. There was so much he could do with ten gold, yet it seemed a small price to pay to get Liz out of a life she hated. When you saved someone’s life, you also had an obligation to protect it.
Sending Liz to the streets as a homeless beggar didn’t seem like much of a reward. If she couldn’t find a job or housing, she’d probably end up back in the same exact spot. Maybe there was something more he could do.
“My friend Ernie run’s an inn. I might be able to get you a job there.”
“I won’t go back to doing the same kind of work.” Liz looked like she was on the verge of tears.
Tim reached out to comfort her but stopped. The last thing Liz probably wanted was another man she didn’t know pawing at her. “It’s not that kind of place. ShadowLily would never allow it.”
He flashed his best aw-shucks smile. “I was thinking more along the lines of waiting tables or cleaning. It’s not easy work, but it’s honest, and no one would ever touch you there.”
“Sounds too good to be true.” Liz frowned at him. “Like I show up for a job and next thing you know, I’m being shipped across the ocean to some asshole who likes women who look a little different.”
By the goddess, maybe this game was a little too realistic.
But you had to have villains to have heroes. Otherwise, they’d all just be running around patting each other on the back and singing Kum-by-fucking-ya. Tim reached inside of his coin purse and thought about the amount he wanted to take out. Ten gold coins appeared in his hand as he pulled it free. He put the coins in Liz’s outstretched palm. “This is your freedom. If you want the job, come to The Blue Dagger Inn. No strings attached.”
Liz looked at the coins in her hand and back up at Tim. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, but there was a smile trying to fight its way free. She pulled him into a ferocious hug. “Thank you.”
Tim hugged her back, happy he could do his part to pull one woman out of a lifestyle she detested. “You’re welcome.” He hugged her until he felt the shaking stop, then shifted so he could look at her. “The room number?”
“I’ll take you there myself. It will look less suspicious that way.” She started running around the room, stuffing items into a bag. “Let me just get my stuff together first. I want to get out of here before all hell breaks loose.”
Liz finished packing and put the two overstuffed bags by the door. “Let’s go.” She grabbed Tim’s hand and led him down the hallway.
Another one of the girls passed them, and Liz turned to Tim. “See, I told you all the hallways look the same.”
The woman snorted as she continued down the hall, clearly not impressed with her co-worker. As soon as the woman turned the corner behind them, Liz grabbed his hand and pulled him into a run. “Claudia can’t be trusted so you’re going to have to hurry.”
Liz stopped in front of a large wooden door, the kind that normally led to a suite of rooms. Did you ever notice that as houses or hotel rooms got fancier, so did the doors?
Pulling a key from some hidden pocket of her skin-tight garments, Liz slid it in the lock. “Give me at least five minutes to get out of here before you do anything rash.”
Tim grinned at her. “I’ll do my best, but no promises.”
Liz walked down the hallway. “Then I’ll see you when I see you.”
Tim took a deep breath and turned the key.
The door didn’t creak as he slowly pushed it open. Glancing inside didn’t reveal anyone standing in the entryway. Tim pulled out the key and slipped into the room. He closed the door behind him before switching back to his assassin’s garb for the dexterity bonuses.
A rush of adrenaline filled his system. With each step, his heart hammered a little harder. Was this why serial killers did it? For the thrill? Not that he was thrilled, exactly. The feeling was more like being terrified to the point of having a heart attack. Each step could give him away, and he’d be in another fight for his life.
Tim forced his breathing to slow, and his heart rate started to improve. Maybe breathing was the key? He heard a woman’s giggle followed by a man’s grunt to his left. Unless there was more than one couple up here, he knew where to go now. The woman’s laughter sounded again, pulling him deeper into the
suite.
The double doors to the bedchamber loomed in front of him. He could hear the man and the woman now. They weren’t saying anything important. Every now and then, she’d squeal as if Steven Sylvester was tickling her or pinching her. The only choice he had to make now was if he wanted to wait until they were fully engaged before entering the room.
I’ve seen enough old-man ass tonight to last me a lifetime.
Kicking the doors open with a flourish would certainly be dramatic, but seeing another naked man tonight wasn’t on his list of things to do. Plus, he didn’t have one of those handy darts Gaston had used earlier, so he’d literally be killing him during sex.
I guess it wouldn’t be worse than stabbing a man while he was unconscious. Tim shrugged. Assassins didn’t get paid for observing the niceties; they got paid for killing.
He turned the handle slowly, and there was a small click as the lock opened. The conversation didn’t stop. If anything, the proceedings in the room beyond seemed to be growing in intensity. If he waited much longer, his only choice would be to kill them while they tried to perfect the horizontal mambo.
Pushing the door open, Tim stepped into the room. The couple on the bed didn’t notice him, so he took the time to close the door and lock it. The two people on the bed dove under the sheets, and the woman started to giggle again.
“I’m going to get you,” Steven growled.
“No, I am too pure for the likes of you.”
Tim was almost tempted to hear where this was going, but he didn’t have all night. “Mind hurrying this up a bit? Some of us have other places to be.”
The sheet flew back and Steven roared, “How dare you! This is my private suite.”
“Mr. Sylvester, I presume?” Tim pulled his daggers free.
Steven cowered back, finally realizing Tim wasn’t some overeager townie here to rob him. “We can work this out. Whatever you’re being paid, I can double it.”
“Sorry, but it seems your usefulness to the goddess has been greatly overrated. Please give her my regards when you see her.” Tim pulled his arm back, not sure how the heavier dagger would fly compared to one of his knives. A little more strength should be all he needed.
The blade of the dagger glittered in the flickering candlelight. Tim flexed his arm, and the blade leapt across the room in a flash. He watched the dagger fly in a deadly arc before sinking to the hilt in the center of Steven Sylvester’s chest.
I guess practice does make perfect.
The woman screamed, but an icy glance from Tim cut her off. He moved forward with purpose and pulled the dagger free. Steven Sylvester’s body slumped, and he noticed a familiar icon in the bottom right-hand corner of his vision. The quest had updated to reflect that he’d killed the right man.
He wiped the bloody dagger on the sheets before replacing the weapon in its sheath. Without a word to the woman, he left the room. Once he was outside the closed double doors, Tim let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
This wasn’t exactly what he expected to be doing in the game. Sure, sometimes in games, there were bandits and bad humans you had to fight, but normally that stuff came after you spent a few days killing your way up the food chain. Hopefully, once order was returned to the temple, he could finally start slaughtering monsters instead of people.
Not that some people weren’t monstrous enough to deserve his special brand of attention.
The NPCs in this game felt so much like living breathing people that Tim was having a hard time remembering he was in a game. Maybe that was the trick? All he had to do was remember the men he was killing were bits of code designed for that very purpose.
If Tim could start making the distinction between how he’d deal with problems outside of the game and how he would do it if he was behind his keyboard, then maybe it wouldn’t feel like murder. It wasn’t like he could level by walking around and hugging everyone.
Not unless he was trying to level up his creep factor.
Tim hurried out of the suite and down the stairs. As he ran, he switched from his assassin’s garb back into his shirt and pants. The inventory in this game was so fucking awesome. He didn’t even have to pause in his rush. One second he was dressed in black, and the next he could have been any of the men downstairs. The system worked so well that it might have been magic.
Tim motioned for Gaston to join him. The burly assassin set down his half-empty beer, tossed a few coins on the table, and headed for the front door. At least the first part of his night had been a smashing success.
Now it was time to see how bad a bargain he’d struck with Malvonis.
Chapter Forty-One
“Hey, you’re the cute guy from Ironbeard’s shop,” Cassie said, looking at Tim from across the room.
ShadowLily laughed. “Cassie, this is Tim. Tim this is my friend Cassie, the tank.”
“Doesn’t look like much.” Gaston snorted, turned toward Tim, and asked, “You sure about this?”
Tim looked at Gaston then back to Cassie. The assassin was right; she didn’t look like much, but Tim knew that didn’t mean a damn thing in games. It was all about your stats and your personal ability. ShadowLily wouldn’t have recommended Cassie if she didn’t think the girl was up for the job. So, was he sure?
Sure, as a man riding in a boat patched with duct tape.
But in his short time on this planet, Tim had learned one constant: the things he didn’t know vastly outnumbered those he did. That was why you had to be able to rely on other people.
But the world also turned on a much simpler phrase: “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
They didn’t know any other tanks, and recruiting someone this early in the game was hard to do. Half the people you ended up playing with wouldn’t stick around. Another twenty percent were probably just flat-out terrible at the game. The only real way to know how someone could perform in an intense group setting was to bring them along and see how things went.
Tim winked at Gaston. “What’s the worst that could happen?” Taking his seat at the table, Tim smiled warmly at their group’s newest acquisition. “Happy to have you, Cassie.”
“What did I just get myself into?” She looked at Tim and ShadowLily before frowning at Gaston.
“We’ve got a kobold problem,” Tim said. “And we need your help getting past them.”
Cassie stood up, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m sure we all have other stuff going on tomorrow. Let’s do this.” She pointed at Gaston. “Just tell Muscles over there to stay behind me.”
Gaston flexed one of his massive biceps. “It was nice of her to recognize them, don’t you think?”
Tim stood up. “I think you’d better stay behind her.”
“Hide behind the lady and stab things.” Gaston thought about it. “Doesn’t feel right, but I’m not opposed to it.”
“For this to work, we all have to do our part.” Tim switched into his healing gear. “I’m going to focus on healing unless we don’t need it, then I’ll try to DPS where I can.”
It felt weird being back in his healing ensemble after spending so much time in his new leather outfit, but the gentle breeze up his robes was rather refreshing. Plus, he’d finally get to try out his new staff.
“You got a pocket healer.” Cassie grinned at ShadowLily. “This is going to be a cakewalk.”
The half-elf looked at her friend with apprehension. Cassie had a penchant for getting overexcited. “Let’s just take things slow and see how it goes.”
Tim pointed at ShadowLily and touched his nose. “I like her idea.”
“Bunch of babies,” Cassie whined.
Gaston coughed into his hand. “I’m with Tiny. Might as well see what she’s got.”
Cassie looked like she was about to jump across the table and smash Gaston across the face. He just glanced at her with a knowing smirk, clearly enjoying the attention. Someone had to take control of the group or things were going to spiral out of control. It might as well be Tim si
nce he had the most on the line.
He held up a hand and waited until everyone looked at him. “This is how things are going to happen tonight. We are going to head into the tunnels and take things slow. Gaston will use his stealth to scout ahead, and we’ll take on the groups we think we can handle.”
When he scanned his team’s faces, none of them looked particularly happy. “Part of becoming a group is learning how to play together. It takes time. We start slow, and after we gain confidence in each other and our abilities, we’ll be able to tackle harder content.”
“But we’ve only got a week,” Ernie said, entering the room with a tray full of beer. “So don’t go too slow.”
Each of them grabbed a beer from the tray. Tim took a thoughtful sip. “I feel like we need a name for our group.”
“Normally, you don’t earn a name until you’ve accomplished something.” Ernie admonished Tim. He pulled a couple of vials from his pockets and handed them to the two thieves. “Little something for your blades.”
“Okay, the name can wait.” Tim held his beer over the center of the table. “To tonight’s success!”
Five glasses clinked together, and everyone took a sip. It was a proper toast before heading off to battle. Tim was ready to see what they could do.
Ernie moved to the black door at the end of the room. “Just knock three times when you want me to let you back in.” He swung the giant iron door open.
Tim peered inside. “Of course, there are stairs.”
“How else would we get to caverns below the city?” Gaston clapped him on the back. “We shouldn’t have to worry about much until we’re farther in, but I’ll scout ahead.”
Tim turned back to the two women. “Cassie, lead the way.”
“At least one man’s not afraid to hide behind me.” She flashed a quick smile at Tim as she moved past him and down the stairs.
ShadowLily gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “It’ll be fine. I’ve seen her in action.”
“Right behind you,” Tim said before turning back to Ernie. “Expect us in an hour or so. This is just a test run.”
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