Pages to Fill [Legends & Lattes -0.5] by Travis Baldree

Author:Travis Baldree [Baldree, Travis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

***

Crossing the border between Azimuth proper and the district known as the Spires was surreal. The scale of the buildings abruptly changed, and as Viv glanced back over her shoulder, it all seemed a trick done with mirrors. The street wasn’t any wider, but seeing doorframes higher than eye-level made her feel like a cramped muscle had suddenly unknotted.

The Spires only occupied three sections of ring-road and relatively little of Azimuth as a whole. Still, due to the curving streets, once you walked a bit and the smaller buildings were out of view, it was easy to imagine you were in any other city in the Territory, albeit one with more gnomes than usual.

Now that they were closing in, the risk they’d be spotted and their target would bolt was much greater. Given the circumstances, there wasn’t much they could do about that except hope that fortune favored them. Viv did her best not to draw attention to herself, but she’d seen maybe four orcs during their entire stay in Azimuth. The streets here were much less busy than elsewhere, and it was hard not to stand out like a pig on a poultry farm.

Leyton’s name, some polite questions, and a few coppers pointed them in the direction of the right workshop, and Gallina and Viv found themselves in a surprisingly clean alley, at the foot of a set of iron stairs.

“Looks like a clockmaker’s sign to me. Kind of out of the way, but this must be the place,” murmured Viv. Beyond the railing of a narrow upper porch, a red door was visible, upon which a set of thin metal gears and two clock hands had been artistically mounted.

She waited while a pair of dwarves hauling toolboxes passed them and turned the corner onto the main thoroughfare. Then the alley fell silent and empty, but for the two of them.

“Check nobody’s home, then try the door?” asked Viv.

“I mean, she’s a thief. It’s gonna be locked,” replied Gallina.

“Well, when I say ‘try,’ I mean…” Viv made some vague lockpicking motions with both hands.

Gallina snorted. “Wait down here, ya big lump. Try to look small.”

The gnome mounted the stairs and peered through a narrow window to the side of the door.

“Nobody there,” she called down in a loud whisper. “Not unless they like the dark. Shutters on the other side are all closed.” Then she withdrew a tiny wrench and pick and addressed the handle and its mechanism.

Viv was surprised when, a few moments later, Gallina descended, tucking her tools back into a pouch.

“Trouble?”

“Nah, I unlocked it. But look. They’re not home. Somebody needs to search the place and wait in case Bodkin comes back. The other should check around the neighborhood and ask a few more questions. I don’t wanna judge you based on height or anythin’, but if one of us is gonna blend in…”

“Yeah, yeah. Duly noted. Be careful, all right? And if you come back to the door, knock twice on the window first. I don’t want to bruise you when you come in.

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