[Mkguild] Round Robin Continuation: Indy

[Indagare]

Trey watched the man as he seemed to casually examine the various walls.
There didn’t seem to be anything particularly interesting about it, but
Trey was sure he was looking for something.

‘Could he be looking for me?’ The hole he’d gone into was one of a network
that led through buildings. He knew the paths well and could watch from
points without being seen. Having never known anything but the Keep, Trey
had no reason not to think the man wasn’t looking for him.

‘What would the brave Matthias do?’ Among rats and mice, Matthias was a
legendary hero whose exploits seemed to grow in the telling. It was pretty
obvious the man was looking for *something*. Trey had no idea if he could
actually win a fight against the stranger, and he wasn’t about to try.

“What is it you want?”

Reed looked up. It seems as though the very stones had spoken! Or had it
been that rat? *Could* the rat speak? He wasn’t sure what the limits were
on the Curses–if there were any at all!

“My employer is looking for new buyers for his wares. He has a great many
carpets he needs to sell and is determined not to leave until he secures a
buyer or we have no choice.” It was the truth, and whatever he was dealing
with didn’t need to know about the planned mutiny.

Trey considered what he said. It matched what he’d overheard earlier,
except the part about betrayal, but if he’d been planning to betray
someone, he wouldn’t mention it either. “This isn’t a spot where you’re
likely to find any buyers. You’re looking for something else.”

There were holes enough in the walls, but by now the rat could be in any
one of them, watching him. If it were the rat and the actual Keep wasn’t
talking. Or someone invisible. Or a ghost. Reed shook his head. Too many
variables. “I’d prefer to see who I’m talking to.”

“I don’t trust you.”

It was said in such a sincere way that he chuckled, despite himself.
“Alright, that’s fair. We don’t know one another, after all. I don’t care
to be watched, but I don’t suppose I can convince you I’m on a legitimate
errand.”

‘What to do?’ Trey knew that, technically, the man was telling the truth,
even though he had ill intentions in the future. ‘He hasn’t committed a
crime, yet, and if I can help him he and his comrades won’t. It’s better to
stop a crime before it happens than punish it after.’ “If I could find
someone to buy the carpets, where could I reach you?”

“We’re staying at the Jollie Collie. If you leave a message there, I or my
companions will get it.”

“Very well, I’ll see what I can do!” Trey scampered off along the tunnels
and headed towards the town. He had no idea where, or if, he could find a
buyer for the merchant. And if he couldn’t soon, he needed to alert someone
to the plot. ‘I hope I can stop it somehow.’

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