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

of how much I’d been talking, raving almost. I was shit at speeches, I knew I was, so why the hell did I have to convince people of shit all the time? Why couldn’t I just drink and fuck and fight? Those, I understood.

“We will… and we’ll sort rooms for you and your people for the day. We can talk tonight,” Soween spoke up suddenly, and I caught the look Mal gave her. He was surprised.

“Thank you,” I said, nodding. “I’d kill for some sleep right now, then I’ve got some goods I need to sell. You interested, or shall I go to the merchants?”

“What kind of goods?” Mal asked sharply, and I grinned at him. There was still something in the smuggler’s cargo that he wanted, at least.

“Mostly shit I looted along the way. We’ll keep the stuff I looted from the Drow for now, just in case you want to make a deal later. The rest, the weapons and such, I’ll need to trade, as I need to get some gear while I’m in the city.”

“What of the smuggler’s goods, which are the rightful property of the guild?” Mal snapped, looking at me suspiciously.

“I’ve got most of that, but you’d have lost all of it to the Drow if not for me. Since I am already offering you rightful ownership of the Smuggler’s Path, I think we can come to some sort of agreement?” I said, grateful for the fact that no one could get any of it out of Fenris without my knowledge or consent.

“Hmmm. Well, Josh will show you to the guest quarters. Me and Soween got to have a chat now, see if there’s any part of this we want in on.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Mal, for the conversation, and the beer.” I said, standing and reaching over. He gripped my wrist, and I felt him squeeze hard. I squeezed right back. We held the grasp wordlessly for a few seconds, both of us squeezing harder, until I said in a tired voice. “Seriously, dude, if it’s dick measuring you’re going for here, I’d better warn you. My nickname’s ‘Tripod,’ and it’s not because I’m surprisingly fucking stable, okay?”

Mal snorted and let go of my arm, shaking his head. I grinned at him and followed Josh out of the door, Yen and Barrett following along silently.

We passed down a flight of stairs, across a few corridors, and then down another flight, descending deeper underground. A few minutes later, I was led out into a small corridor with rooms on either side, the first two of which housed Lydia and Jian.

“I’ll leave you here, then. There’s, uh, water in the jugs and… you know…” Josh said, looking a bit uncertain when Lydia and Jian appeared, still fully armed and armored. I had noticed that he couldn’t keep his eyes off Oracle as we walked. He’d barely said anything, just stared at her, until we’d reached the guest rooms.

“That’s great, thanks, Josh,” I said, waving him off as I walked forward.

“How was it?” Lydia asked once Josh had left and we’d checked out the little suite of rooms, comprised of a large common area surrounded by numerous doors, each of which led to bedrooms.

Most of them held either two or four beds. The largest, at the furthest end, also contained a small private garden, which the others had generously set aside for me. I let out a grateful sigh as I relaxed into a chair in the sitting area, Lydia checking to ensure the doors and windows were all sealed tightly.

“It went about as well as we could expect,” I said, giving a little shrug. “I need some sleep, then we can start going out into the city. Maybe do it in two groups, so it’s safer?” I suggested, and Lydia nodded.

“Jian and I are on watch now. We’ll be wakin' the next watch in a few hours. Get some sleep, and don’ worry about the details. You’ve been fightin' and runnin' fer the last couple o' days straight.”

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, and felt myself sway slightly. The fact that, as soon as we’d left Mal’s office, we’d been breathing the smoke in again, didn’t help the exhausted feeling, and I nodded to her, forcing my eyes open and standing up.

“Thank you,” I said, reaching out and putting a hand on Lydia and Yen’s shoulders and squeezing, looking at Barrett to make sure he knew I was including him. “Thank you all. I couldn’t have done this without you. Get some rest as soon as you can. Once people are starting to feel a little more like themselves again, split the group into two. Let people go out and find their relatives, if they can be quiet and subtle. No fucking parties. Stay hidden. If they can’t do that, keep them on lockdown for now. Get some rest, though. I get the feeling this will be our only chance for a while.”

The others nodded and filed out. Lydia closed the door behind her as Oracle flew down from my shoulder. My companion gracefully sat on the edge of the bed to watch me as I pulled my armor off. Walking into the bathroom, it was a damn pleasant surprise to find an actual toilet, as well as a sunken bath, and I made full use of the facilities while Oracle gave me a few minutes of privacy. When I checked the bath, it was cold, but even that wasn’t going to stop me; not when it was my first chance at a proper bath in what seemed like forever!

Oracle flew inside, and I smiled at her tiredly, then stripped off, dumping my clothes and gear on the floor and wading into the water.

The bath had steps on one side that I walked down, shivering when my undercarriage met the cold water, but I wasn’t stopping. Not when I had the chance to be clean again, rather than making do with a goddamn sponge bath!

I