City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

and he remembered times with his daddy, when things were better, and he got to eat every day, and maybe it hadn’t been real, when he saw something move.

It was slow at first, but the water moved. It moved like the river did when the giant crabs came up, and he licked his lips as he got to his feet, looking back to the spot where the shiny had disappeared, before looking back at the water that moved.

He concentrated, trying to decide if he should watch the place where the shiny disappeared, or follow what might be a giant crab, until his stomach rumbled. It had a very definite opinion on which one he should follow, so he did as it bade him. He clambered along the edge of the water, jumping from rock to rock, until he could reach up and pull himself up onto the path that ran alongside the water properly again. He lumbered along; eyes glued on the faint trail in the water.

Durg huffed and puffed as he went. It wasn’t that fast in the water, but the paths went this way and that, and the giant rock crab, as that was what he’d decided it must be, was crossing the river to the other side.

Eventually, he was forced to take a path that led away from the water, heading back on himself to go up a level onto the bridge, and by the time he reached a place where he could see the water clearly again, he’d lost it.

He stood there, huffing and puffing, his massive paws clamped on his knees as he shook. Drool dangled in thick ropes from his mouth as he tried to get his breath back. He ignored the little humans that ran past, shrugging off the filth they threw at him as he always did. It made little difference to him, as the rain would wash it away eventually.

Durg stared out across the water for long seconds, his hearts dropping as he realized he’d lost both the meal and the shiny now, but just as he was about to turn back and run to the sea again, in case someone else had not found the shiny, a movement in the water caught his eye.

There was something there.

It wasn’t that far from where he’d lost sight of the giant crab, but now there were more of them, lots more, or a really, really big, long crab, as the water moved and moved in a line.

Durg started to get really excited. If there was a single really, really big crab, he might be able to take some back to the mountains! Maybe, if he found enough food, he’d be able to carry it with him and it would feed him all the way back to where the clan lived!

Durg shuffled from foot to foot, clapping his big clumsy paws in happiness as he thought of getting back to the mountains. He’d been brought here with his daddy when he was very small. He didn’t know why, but the humans that owned them had eventually kicked him out into the street, hitting him until he ran away after his daddy had gone to sleep and didn’t wake up again.

Maybe if he went back to the mountains, his daddy would have gone there? He might have just been really deep asleep, and he went home once he woke up, if the humans didn’t want them anymore?

Durg hoped so, and as the water started moving again, heading in a line to the shore on the other side, he took off lumbering across the bridge, the rain washing his hide clean as he went.

***

“Right, let’s go…” whispered Grey, getting ready.

“I thought we were supposed to go at the signal?!” hissed Felis, and his brother just scowled at him.

“I told you, the plan means we gotta go when the signal goes, but iff'n it kicks off early, we gotta move then!” Grey said, shaking his head at his younger, and obviously much stupider brother. He’d risked everything getting him into the Thieves’ Guild, and this job would be their last if word got out they’d taken it. Damn that Mal, and damn his cards! This would never have happened if his damn Luck potion hadn’t gone bad…

“Just get out there; you know how to do it!” Grey snapped at Felis, before sprinting across the poorly lit section of the square to jump at the Airship wall.

He activated his favorite ability, ‘Lizards Grip’, and felt the stone accept his fingertips like it was made for it. He scrambled upwards, feet occasionally slipping on the slick surface, but in seconds, he was peering over the parapet, checking for guards.

“Good enough,” he muttered, slipping over and tossing the rope over the side for Felis. He grunted at the strain as his brother started climbing, and braced himself against the low crenellations, but a few seconds later, the pair had crested the walkway, and they sprinted down the nearby steps. Diving back into the shadows, they caught their breath and watched as a guard meandered past slowly, clearly bored, as he kicked a stone along the floor.

“Once he’s gone, you hit the first ship to the left, and I’ll do the right.” Grey said, and Felis nodded, grinning at each other as they both felt the familiar thrill of danger. If they were caught here, doing this, of all things, they’d be dead, no questions asked. But if they managed it, Mal had promised a new life for the pair of them, a whole new start, and one without having to bump into Megan every day. That alone was worth it to the permanently competing brothers.

“Go!” Grey said, scurrying forward, rushing from cover to cover as he cleared the inner ring of guard huts, before coming out onto the airfield itself.

There were dozens of ships docked there, some in bits, others getting stocked up, while still others were being repaired or built. Everywhere they looked, dozens upon dozens of people scurried