Chapter 95: Cheesey Deals

Chapter 95: Cheesey Deals

Milo Chapter 95

Gert made a gesture for her guards to be wary but not attack. It had been alarming to have someone leap from a roof to start negotiations, but she understood the need for some people to make flamboyant gestures. This was after all Shadowport, home to thieves and smugglers, pirates and princes.

And he'd said his name was Milo. She couldn't get a good look at him with the cowl over his face, but the description fit. There were some strange stories circulating about him. Not the least of which were showing up with a bunch of engineers and a troll to beat a world boss. His follow up was stealing an airship for Squint and rescuing two hundred people from slavery.

On second thought, a leaping dismount from a couple of stories up wasn't really flamboyant for this guy at all. Just business.

Gert tried to act nonchalant, as if she was used to people showing up this way. "What do you have to sell?"

Milo pointed to the warehouse. "Nothing to sell for gold. I don't need money. I need food. You have cheese? Maybe some apples? A hundred bags of flour? I'd like to go shopping."

Gert made a dismissive gesture. "What part of 'Come back in two days.' don't you understand?"

Milo seemed to ponder that question, taking it seriously. "None of it, to be honest. You seem to want to increase profits by waiting for demand to raise prices. Why wait two days? I've got the money now. Just charge me what you would charge in two days. That's better for you. After all, who knows when a ship full of food comes sailing in and ruins your market?"

Gert waved him forward. "Fine. Come take a look and point to what you need. But if you're wasting my time, I'm waiting three days and people can thank you for empty bellies."

Inside was a full warehouse. Barrels of salted fish and pork were stacked high against the walls. Double baked biscuit for the ships was in sealed crates. Hard sausage, cooked and smoked hard to last for months. There was wine, beer, and alcohol of all sorts. Smoked meats hung from the ceiling as whole carcasses wrapped in burlap along with stacks of ham and slabs of pork bacon. And in one corner, a pile of large wheels of cheese sealed in red wax. A few other kinds were there as well, but it seemed cheddar was back on the menu for a long time. Milo tallied the number of boxes, barrels, tubs, and hanging carcasses. It would feed a lot of people.

"Ok, I’ve seen what I need to see. Let's go back out. If I'm doing a deal, I want witnesses." Milo was acutely aware of the number of guards in the warehouse versus the number of Milos.

Gert scowled. "You think I'd cheat you?"

Milo replied blandly. "I don't know you at all, and you don't know me, so let’s not get into judgement here. Having a few witnesses for the transaction protects you as well as me. After all, I can hardly complain later about a deal I made in front of two-hundred people. People are on edge, and hungry people tell wild stories. I want a simple transaction with no hassles, and so do you." Gert grunted, and they went back outside to the front of the warehouse. The guards inside immediately checked the doors and windows, even the roof, taking no chances this was a distraction for heist.

Brother Ignatius looked at her. "Gert, on my oath as a Priest, I tell you that this is a good man who would not cheat you."

Gert looked from the priest to Milo. "And what about him, what does he swear by?"

Good question. Milo wasn't sure about that. His oath as an engineer? He looked over where the children were sitting, playing with a dog.

Milo placed the scepter back in Gert's hand but held onto the haft. "I’ll swear upon the Goddess of Travelers and ask her to throw me to the eels if I’m trying to cheat you."

Gert started to speak, but stopped. A woman was walking towards her, passing through the crowd. No one was reacting to her, not Milo, Ignatius, or her guards. It was like only Gert and the woman existed, everything else seemed unreal. "Take it. I guarantee what it is, and will give you a blessing on your journey to return it. There will be a boat at the docks willing to make the trip. Pay the fisherman’s fee and you will arrive at the temple of Mithras safely."

Gert's eyes widened slightly, then she said to Milo. "You have a deal." They shook hands.

Milo reached into his sleeve where he had 'burrowed' a couple of apples, tossing them to the boy and his sister.

From the direction of the docks, a commotion was heard. Several people were pointing out to sea where two ships had just turned into the bay and were running under full sail, the smaller in front, but by so little that it almost seemed to be towing the huge ship behind it.

Gert looked at the smaller ship...and knew. "Thomas, Val? You've been with me the longest. Want to take a little trip? Grab a couple of packs with our clothes and some sausage. We need to meet that little sloop with the grey sail that's coming in to port."

She turned to Milo. "The rest of them are good guys. They've been paid ahead for a fortnight. Ignatius knows some of them. You'd do good to treat them well. Best of luck to you. I'm going to go lay on a beach with two good looking guys and drink wine for a year."

Milo wasn't sure why anyone would want to be so out in the open. Sand, water, and sky? Nope, he preferred his tunnels and caverns. Which he was going to get back to before anything eles happened.

He had just filled his pack with cheese and bread, when he heard a commotion from the docks. The small sloop with the grey sail had just made it to port. He saw Gert boarding with her two companions. Further out in the bay, a much larger ship struggled as the wind that had filled its sail died away. It was a strange thing, made of rusty metal, belching out steam and smoke as a paddle wheel pushed it to port.

Behind the ship, a huge drakonic head broke the surface and screamed in outrage as its prey fled for land. It looked like even odds whether the ship would make port before the huge dragonsnake caught it. A smell came to Milo: Eel. He really hated eels, this one probably needed to be taught a lesson. He tossed his pack into a shadowy spot on a nearby roof, and started running across the buildings towards the docks. From a nearby bar, Captain Pike exploded out the door, harpoon in hand and headed in the same direction.