“Everyone else being…?” Vincent fell quite and hung his head. It was at that moment Emilia realized who he was talking about. “Right, um, sorry.” She muttered.
Vincent smirked. “Don’t worry about it. You sorta get use to it after awhile. Although you apologizing for the third time is starting to creep me out. You keep saying sorry and I’m gonna start thinking you’ve gotten soft.”
Emilia laughed at the very idea. “You wish!”
They arrived at Slavers Bay just a little after midday. Eve was right. This place is horrible. Vincent heard rumors about Slavers Bay, but hearing and seeing are two different things.
Children were dragged before them. Their feet were covered in blisters, each of them had the brand of the goblin king branded on their necks. Whip scars, fresh and old, were present on their backs.
Their eyes were completely deprived of any sort of light and emotion. These children have had all hope beaten out of them. It took Vincent all this willpower to not draw his sword and cut down every slaver and slave master he saw.
Going further inside didn’t help either. The floor was paved with stone, blood, piss, shit, tears, and more blood. People were carted in wagons, sold as property, and forced to do the slave masters bidding. Vincent thought he knew true fear every night as he lay himself to sleep, but to hear a little girl scream out in terror as some fat duke strips off all her clothes and forces himself on top of her while the mother can do nothing but watch——thats true terror. That feeling of helplessness as you watch your child getting raped.
To rub salt in the wounds, the people who watched were placing bets to see how long the duke would last.
Vincent bit down hard on his lip. He could taste the blood pooling inside his mouth. As he reached for his sword, Emilia pulled him out of the crowd and into an abandoned house.
“Are you insane?!” she yelled.
Vincent looked at her with great confusion. “Are you?! How can you just sit there and watch that and somehow manage to keep you composure?! How are you the calm one in this situation?!”
“Look around you, Vincent! Tell me what you see.”
So Vincent did. The building they were in, thought to be abandoned, wasn’t. All around him he saw women of all age groups. They wore torn and ragged clothes. They were covered in so much dirt you would think they had just come out a coal mine.
Vincent felt a tug on his shirt. He turned around and saw a little girl. She smiled at him, held out her hand and said, “you can have me for only one copper.”
Vincent quickly left the building after hearing that. The world was spinning underneath his feet as he vomited in the corner. He wiped the vomit off his lips and turned to Emilia. “What the hell was that?!” he demanded.
“Its call a copper house.” She said. “All the unsold slaves get sold to the Goblin King for one-fourth the asking price. Then, depending on their sexual appearance they get put into houses. This is a copper house. They also have silver, gold, and platinum, but the platinum ones are for high-end customers.”
“I don’t care about that!” he yelled. “Why is there a little girl in there, smiling at me, and offering me sex?!”
“Cause this is all she has known, Vincent! She looks no older than four. Chances are she was born into this life. Probably taken away from her mother the moment she could walk and talk and thrown into this hell hole.”
Vincent felt noxious again. “Oh, I’m gonna be sick again.” He muttered. “My sisters were here, might still be here, and I…oh what have I done…”
Vincent mind kept racing. He kept imagining the horrors his sisters might have gone through when they were here and perhaps are still going through. Vincent fell to his knees and vomited once again.
“This place is hell.” He weakly said. “What sort of madman allows…my father…that’s exactly the type of mad man that allows for this to happen.”
“And Rodrick,” Emilia added as she helped Vincent to his feet. “Can you see now why my father wished to dismantle Slavers Bay? This place is a nightmare for those who are ripped from their homes and families and are forced to…be like that girl. No one should be forced to do that. No one.”
“So how are we going to do it?” Vincent asked. “How are only the two of us going to take down this entire bay?”
“Won’t be easy. The goblin king has enough gold and men to rival any kingdom. You see that palace, built into the mountain in the distance? That’s where the goblin king is held up. Even if we kill him, someone else will take his place. That is unless we take everything from him. Making the title of goblin king hollow in name.”
Vincent could almost see the gears turning in Emilia’s head. “Emilia, are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
Emilia chuckled. “Oh, yes I am Vincent. We are going to plan a heist.”
Chapter 14
Emilia rented out a room for the week with what little gold she had left. It wasn’t much in the sense of space but it would have to do. There was only one bed, a bear rug on the floor, and a window that looked at the ships in the harbor.
Vincent, believe it or not, knew a few things about espionage. While Emilia was getting herself situated in her new room, Vincent went downstairs to the inn and sat the bar. Sitting next to him was a gnome wearing a red tunic vest and short frizzy black hair. He seemed to be dead and reeked of alcohol.
“Is he dead?” Vincent asked the bartender.
“Nope. He’s been here since last night. Damn Biff doesn’t know when enough is enough. He knows that gnomes can’t hold their liquor but that didn’t stop him. He threw coins around here last night like it was his last day to live or something. But enough about this loser, what will you have?”
“Give me your cheapest bottle of spirit.”
“You got it.”
The bartender returned moments later with a green bottle, unlabeled, and a mug. As he uncorked the bottle, the gnome, Biff, kicked off his chair and fell to the floor.
“You better not have damaged my floor, Biff!” The bartender yelled.
“Well, who told you to put your floor where I was falling? If anything you owe me compensation for the emotional damage this has caused me.” Biff staggered to his feet, tightly clenching his forehead.
“Don’t play with me, Biff. The amount of coin you owe me on your tab is so high I am in my right to strap you in irons and sell you at the market.”
“Come now, my friend. With all the money I spend in this place, you would think that you can stop with the pointless threats.”
The bartender scoffed. “Whatever. Just pack up your stuff and get out. You’ve already given me a headache.”
The bartender left to go deal with other customers. Biff all the while picked up his chair and climbed back up into his seat. He grabbed the mug that sat in front of him and took a swig of whatever was left in it.
“Ah, that the stuff.” He said. “Black cherry spirit mixed with goat piss. That’ll put some hair on your chest.”
Vincent laughed. “Surely you jest.”
“Perhaps. Then again perhaps not. All I know is that burn like hell, taste like shit, is as thick as oil, with a cherry aftertaste. This brew is not for the faint-hearted.
Anyway, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Biff, master of secrets.”
“My friends call me Vinny. Pleasure to meet you. So, why do they call you the master of secrets?”
“It's my trade. I buy and sell secrets. Sometimes to the highest bidder and sometimes to more than one person. Granted the secret does lose its value after being told more than once but I do make double profits simply on the word of mouth.”
“And these people actually believe you? What if you told them a lie and they would come after you.”
“Impossible!” Biff yelled. “All my secrets are confirmed to be 100% accurate!”
Vincent looked at him curiously. “Is that so?” he muttered. “Tell me something, you ever considered a trade? One secret for another?”
> “It would depend on the value and what you would want.”
Vincent leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “I want to know how to break into the goblin king’s vault.”
Biff’s face turned pale. “You do realize what you’re asking, right? The price I can charge for such a secret is worth tens of thousands of pounds of gold. I’m not saying this secret ain’t for sale. I’m saying you better have one hell of secret to trade.”
Vincent pulled out the letter from Rodrick authorizing the selling of slaves. “King Rodrick seems to be more like the mad king then he lets on. Have a look at this letter.”
Biff eyes widen as he read the letter. “Authentic Avia stationary, the smell of lilacs on the ink, I’ve seen Rodrick’s signature enough times to know that this is, in fact, authentic. It even has the royal seal. Hm. If this was a forgery then this is a damn good one, but this letter does prove some rumors I’ve heard in my travels.”
“So, is that good enough of a secret for you?”
“Sadly no. It’s worth a lot but the gold inside the goblin king's vault far out weights this.”
“Very well. What if I told you I know where the fallen prince is at?”
Biff laughed. “Your funny, Vinny. I’ll give you that. Everyone knows where Vincent Valentine is. He’s been locked up in that same cell for ten years.”
“Not anymore. He escaped.”
“And why should I believe you?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t expect you to take my word alone. A man such as yourself must have some contacts within Avia’s military. Surely one of them could confirm it for you.”
“I shall not confirm nor deny that statement. However, I shall return after making some…inquiries.”
After about an hour and a half, Biff returned back to the inn white a ghost.
“Are you alright?” Vincent asked.
“Aye. I’m fine. You know something, Vinny. Not many people in this world can say that they know something I don’t. However, in this case, you can. So, tell me, just where is the dear fallen prince?”
“Not so fast there, Biff. You obviously know that I’m not lying about the prince’s escape. So you have to tell me, is knowing his were about worth knowing how to break into the goblin king’s vault?”
Biff pursed his lips. “Aye. That it is.”
“Good. So you tell me and I shall tell you.”
Biff sighed. “Very well. Now, you obviously must know that this won’t be easy. That vault is guarded by hundreds of men and Golem sentries. That’s even assuming you make it to the top. The entire castle itself has guards on every corner and doorway. But, if by some luck you make it to the top you’re gonna wanna go find the goblin king’s favorite little plaything, he calls her. Her name is Gorra. She’s an orc. The goblin king never keeps the key to his vault on himself. He always has her holding.
I have no idea if she’ll give it to you willingly or not. You can find her sleeping in the goblin king’s bedroom. She’s always…pleasuring him.”
“That is a lot to consider. Thank you, Biff.”
Vincent got up and began to talk back upstairs. “Hang on!” Biff called out. “I told you what you wanted to know. Now tell me what I want to know. Where is the fallen prince?”
Vincent turned around and smiled at him. “You’re looking at him.”
Biff froze and began to mutter to himself. “White hair and a bandage right arm…son of a bitch…”
Vincent went back upstairs. “Hey, Emilia I have the…what the fuck happened in here?”
All around the room were carving. The bed was turned over, the table was on the floor, and somehow Emilia managed to carve on the ceiling. “So, you’ve been busy.”
“Yeah. I had a lot of time to work things out.”
Vincent looked closely at the carving. They weren’t just random scratches but in fact blueprints. “What are these plans too?” he asked.
“Our break in. See, this one has us climbing the side of the mountain, while this one has us dressing up like the staff in the castle.”
“Okay let me stop you right there.” Vincent interrupted. “Both plans are idiotic. The mountain is steep and it rained just three days ago which will make the climb far more dangerous. Granted it probably is our best option. The other is not a definite no. All the staff in there are probably slaves. We are far too clean to pass off as that.”
“True. We can find a major flaw in any one of these plans. Climbing the mountain does seem our best bet. Anyway, how did your meeting go?”
“Went well. You were right about that gnome. He knows a lot. I have some information you’re gonna wanna hear.”
Vincent spent the next half an hour telling Emilia the information Biff told her.
“An orc?” she asked. “This far south of the dividing line? Interesting.”
“Yeah, that part interest me too. Orcs don’t normally come this far south. And when they do it’s normally to rape and pillage villages. Not to mention it’s a woman. Seeing as female orcs aren’t allowed in raid parties, I found her presence here very curious.”
“It doesn’t matter why she’s here, Vincent. All that matters is that she has the key to the vault. Without the goblin king’s massive wealth he won’t be able to maintain the bay once all the slaves are free.”
“Which you haven’t explained. How are we going to get so many people out of here?”
“I…actually haven’t thought that far ahead. But I’ll think of something.”
Vincent groaned. “Well, while you think of that, I’m going to bed.”
Vincent moved the bed back to where it was. He took off his boots and shirt just keeping on his britches. As he was preparing to lay himself down, Emilia rose to her feet. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
“I’m going to sleep. What does it look like I’m doing?”
“In the bed?”
“Yes, Emilia. That’s what beds are for.”
“And where do you expect me to sleep?”
“Presumably in the bed with me.”
“Oh you would so like that, wouldn’t you?”
Vincent groaned. “Emilia, I do not have the strength to deal with your nonsense and insecurities. If you don’t wanna sleep in the bed with me then fine, you can sleep on the floor, but I am not moving!”
Emilia was left with little choice. Vincent rolled over in the bed so that he was facing the wall. She began to unfasten her armor and place it on the chair. She was now in nothing but her undershirt and knickers. She slowly got into bed and placed her back against Vincent back.
“You better not try anything.” She said.
Vincent didn’t hear her. He was sound asleep.
Chapter 15
The next morning, Vincent, shockingly enough, slept soundly. Normally he wakes up two or three times a night in a cold sweat, but for some reason, he slept right through the night.
He felt something heavy on his chest. Looking down, he saw Emilia resting her head on his chest. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and she was drooling on him. He poked her in the face to try and wake her. “Hey. Emilia. Time to wake up.”
Emilia groaned. “Not tonight, Vincent. The kids might see us.”
Vincent raised a brow. “What in the world are you dreaming about?” he muttered.
It didn’t take long after that for Emilia to wake up. She looked up at Vincent——a dry streak of drool was present on her face. Her eyes widen and she screamed. The entire inn heard that.
Emilia pushed Vincent out of bed. “Just what do you think you are doing?!” she yelled. “You touched me while I was asleep, didn’t you? Admit to your crimes and your punishment shall be long and painful!”
Vincent got to his feet. “You need to work on your interrogation technique. That was horrible. And for the record, I didn’t touch you. You were the one who snuggle up to me.”
“I did no such thing!” she yelled.
“Really? Then explain the dry puddle of drool on
my chest. Or better yet, how about you explain that candid sex dream you were having just a moment ago.”
That was when Emilia pulled out a knife. Her face was red as a tomato. “You have to the count of five to leave before I find a mirror, some spirit, and needle and thread so that I can literally castrate you!”
Vincent shiver. “Wait. What was the mirror for?”
“So you can you watch!”
Vincent wasted no time in grabbing his clothes and sword. As the door closed behind him, a blade of the dagger impacted the wall sticking out of the door. “Of course, this would happen first thing in the morning.”
Vincent got dressed and waited for Emilia outside. It was about midday before Emilia left the inn. She caught Vincent gaze and immediately scowled.
“You ready to do this?” he asked.
“I am not speaking to you until you apologize,” Emilia said.
“Apologize? I didn’t do anything.”
“Right. So you expect me to believe that I put my head on your chest and wrapped my arms around you.”
“…yes! What other explanation is there?”
“That you purposely put my head on your chest and interlocked my arms around your neck.”
“That one somehow seems more realistic to you?”
“Look, whatever. We have an important mission to do and I willing to drop this argument until later. Right now we have a castle to rob.”
“You ever thought you would say those words in your lifetime?”
“Honestly? No.”
It was about an hour walk from Slavers Bay to the Goblin King’s mountain. The castle was just a very steep climb up. “Hang on once second,” Emilia said. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a long piece of rope. “Tie this around your waist. If one of us falls, hopefully, you or me will be able to hold on tight.”
“That’s actually pretty smart.”
“I have my moments.”
After securely fastening both ends of the rope to their waist, Vincent and Emilia began their climb.
The Blackest Knight Page 9