Sealed Deals

[Therak]

Here's the next part of Theraks merry adventures!



”You know we're not supposed to actually meet...”
The human was sitting on his wooden chair, looking at Therak with a tired expression.
”I need help with this, Jacob. So I'm calling in a favour. You owe me, and you know it.”
Therak was leaning against the wall, just inside the door to the tiny, untidy room at the inn. His arms folded across his chest, cloak wrapped around him, hood down, allowing the human to see his expression.
”Careful, you're dealing from a position of weakness. You need his help, and he knows it. Don't let him push you too far”
”I don't owe you nearly enough for this... Smuggling you to the new continent, on an alliance ship is not exactly something I can --”
”Kodo-dung! And you know it as well as I do. Aye, you will have to bump this up the ladder, but they are well aware of our deal. You owe me a couple of promotions, at least. Not to mention who passed along information on that cult... Or what about that shipment of illegal substances I tipped you off about? I need to get back there, and right now, I can't take a Horde ship, leaving only one option, no?”
”He hasn't said ”No.” yet. He'll agree. Just trying to get as much from you as possible. Don't let him push you. He won't risk losing the information you provide.”
Therak's voice remained level, calm and composed. There was no need to raise yet. It was the ever present dance around the topic, it could go on for hours.
”Look, it's not that easy. We're at war. Not just a skirmish here and there, but major battles. And after Theramore, working with an orc isn't exactly popular. There's voices calling for cutting all ties with you, or eliminating you outright.”
Jacob pushed his chair back, leaning to pick up a jug from the floor, putting it on the table. Before leaning forward to pick a mug from the table, smelling it before putting it upright, filling it up from the jug.
”Which they could try, they would probably succeed if they put enough resources into it, but if they were going to. They'd have done it already. Better the one they know, then an unknown. I know how you work, that's why you're dealing with me, rather then some other individual.”
Therak sighed, putting his hands on the table, leaning forward.
”I'll owe you one, it could be explained easily enough. You get my gear to somewhere I can find it. I travel as a prisoner, conveniently before we get into harbor, I'll break loose, dive into the water. And never be seen again. Most of your kind can't see the difference between orcs anyway.”
Jacob took a deep swig from the mug and leaned back and scratched his beard.
”You'll owe me eh? And what if I ask something bigger of you? Perhaps something that'd... directly aid us?”
The orc growled, pushing the table hard into the stomach of the human.
”Then, your employers would find themselves short several key agents. And your children would end up fatherless. You know my limits. Do. Not. Push. Them.”
The table had neatly pinned Jacob to the wall, leaving the human pale, gasping for every breath. Not until he nodded, did Therak let him push the table back to breathe.
”I'll arrange something... It might take a few days...”
”So far so good. He might try to break the deal, better leave instructions in case he does. There's prices to pay, and I doubt I'll like what they'll ask... But my hands are tied this time.”
Therak left the Booty Bay inn behind him, walking back to the small house he was staying at. Preparing the set of letters he'd have to get delivered.

The sun was at the height of its journey across the sky, turning the area below the deck of the Lion's Courage into an oven. The heat was making the stink of unwashed bodies, and from the small bucket in Therak's cage, almost unbearable. Almost.
By his count, it was a day left at the most. He was hungry, thirsty and sore from all the crew's spite. A punch here, a prod there. He'd had little enough sleep, but he knew it was soon time.
”Just a little more, tonight. That's all. Tonight, they'll give me the sign. And I'll get ready, leave shortly before dawn. Then I just need to catch up with the tribe. It shouldn't be impossible. Morgeth will have managed to keep things together... There might be one or two with ambition. That might cause trouble. But overall, she'll have support. Or at least enough unknown to keep from open rebellion. And she should be able to keep the Kor'kron off her back... for now.”

It was an hour before dawn, when Therak finally got the sign. And when one of the crew came by him with a ladle of water. Things began to happen.
”Grab his wrist, slam him into the cage, strike at the throat, but not hard enough to kill. He can't call for help. Twist him, and choke him out. Use his dagger to break the lock open. Stop, listen if anyone heard something.”
A few moments later, the sailor was neatly tucked up behind the door, hog-tied and gagged to prevent him from calling for help.
”Get up, dive into the water and get out. No killing, or it'll be screwing the deal over.”
Carefully, to not make a sound, Therak snuck past the sailors sleeping in the hold. His legs hurt from being stuck in the cramped cage for days, and with the ship moving beneath his feet, it was harder then it should have been. The ship swayed and he almost fell over, catching himself at the last moment by grabbing one of the hammocks.
The thud as the sailor hit the deck was loud enough to wake the dead, at least in Therak's mind.

Ervin had been dreaming of his girl back home, and so was in a less then good mood when their intimate encounter was rudely interrupted as someone grabbed his hammock and turned it so he fell out. His face cracked against the deck, splitting his lip and leaving him dizzy and confused.
”Fuck you! That's not funny you filthy buggers! I'll beat your damn grinning faces in with a boot!”
He was shouting as he got to his feet, not noticing the orc behind him, diving behind the barrels of freshwater. So he did what anyone would do in his position. Decided that since he couldn't see anyone up and about, someone must be pretending to sleep. He flipped Nate out of his hammock instead, leaving another sailor angry and looking for a fight.
The first fist flew, leaving Ervin reeling, stumbling back into a third hammock. Within seconds, half a dozen sailors were involved in a fight below deck. And when the first mate came wading in with his cudgel, all attention was at the melee.
Therak took this opportunity to run, knocking aside the three sailors between him and the staircase up. His bare feet hitting the deck with the speed of drumsticks hitting the drum during a crescendo. Leaping up, putting one foot on the railing.
The last the sailors saw of the captive orc, was his naked, green arse in the air before he hit the water head first. They spent half an hour searching for the prisoner in the water before they gave up, deciding he must have drowned.

For the second time in far too short time, Therak crawled up on the shore. This time he was shivering, it was cold and he was soaked through. By all appearances, he'd found his way to Kun-Lai.
”Cold, need to get moving, get blood flowing. Or I'll freeze to death. I should be able to find my things easily enough, but by then. I need to be dry.”
Jumping up and down a few times, flapping his arms to get the blood flowing. He set off at a jog along the beach, to find his armour and weapons.

And hour later he could finally begin to drag on his things, finally feeling warm again.
Dry, warm, armed and in a much better mood, Therak set off trying to find his way back to Honeydew Village, and the tribe.

((Therak will be back in a couple of days))

[Grogok]

Really nicely written Therak...where do i find the part(s) before this one of the "merry" adventures?

[Therak]

It's the "Mission ImKozible" one that's the first part

[Grogok]

Got ya thanks...Can't wait to read it

[Vilirok]

Did you take the way you do the fight scene from the Sherlock Holmes movies? At any rate, this and Mission ImKozible were both great reads. Keep 'em coming!

[Therak]

I didn't take it that way conciously. I have an old story somewhere with a fight written like that before I ever saw the sherlock holmes movie.

[Vilirok]

Applause to you then! I love that kind of 'freeze-in-time'-type writing, makes it so much more interesting. Keep it up!

[Therak]

It's more what's going on in his brain. His thoughts. It's not a description of the event, but how he plans it.

[Vilirok]

Yes, but then you don't really describe the fight after his thoughts so it kind of lets you assume that he's doing that same thing. (Unless it says otherwise at a point) At any rate, it's more down to individual interpretation on this one, it's good whichever way you look at it though!