Chapter 3: Night on the Town

Raze couldn't say he slept well.

But he did sleep, and that was enough for him.

Wiping sleep from his eyes, he stood up, making sure to pick up his grog-skin, and checking the floor repeatedly for loose Grits, or anything he may have left.

As he passed the counter, he once again heard that lazy voice:

"Checkin' out? make sure to leave the plate and grog-skin in your room, and be sure to come again and all that."

Almost stumbling over, Raze looked over with a mixture of shock and anger.

"Leave the skin?! I paid for this thing! Or what, was i served the highest grade grog this side of the fuckin' Union?!"

"This town ain't with the Vermal Union buddy, but we gave you the best, the only liquor we have here. So quit bein' a prick and hand it over."

"We're not in Union borders?? Then where the fuck am i?" 

Looking at him strangely, the innkeeper sneered:

"Another one eh? Well fine, you're in the great city of Rot!"

"Rot? Never heard of it!"

"And who's heard of you big man? And for ya information we're fucking far from any Union city, closer to Council territory then those warmongering pricks. Now, I said it once, and i'll say it again, give back the skin."

"Fucking hell... Fine!"

Pulling the alcohol out of his pocket, he quickly unsealed it and began to down it, ensuring that the innkeeper watched.

"I paid for it, so its all mine, down to the last damned drop!"

Unimpressed, the inkeeper stared at him.

Feeling quite proud of himself, Raze strode out of the bar, the taste of liquor lingering on his tongue as he considered his next steps.

Looking up, he saw that he had slept for nearly a full day, the setting suns once again on the horizon, with night being an hour or two away.

'Hmm.. Like I planned yesterday, I should get some water first. Next, I'll see about getting some traveling food, and some other stuff. Hope i have enough money for that.'

Looking around, Raze saw the name of what seemed to be a supply shop: "Oasis outfitters" and he walked in through the open door.

Looking around, he saw that the place, much like the bar he was in before, was practically deserted, save for a person behind what looked to be another ramshackle counter.

'Not much design sense huh?'

He approached the counter.

"You sell water?"

"Yeah, you'll be wanting it stored right? buy a container and get it filled free!"

Unlike the innkeeper, the store owner seemed to have energy in his voice as he gave his sales pitch.

'I'll probably be needing a bit more water storage than what i've got now... guess i'll buy one and try my luck at gettin' both filled.'

"What kinda containers you got here? Any like these?"

He showed the empty tube he took from Murk to the shop owner.

"Hmm..? Oh! One of those metal things right? Nah, we dont sell 'em over here, not enough scrap or ores to justify makin them. We do sell leather ones though! Specially treated, i guarantee you that they wont leak, provided they aren't pierced of course."

"If i buy one of these, would you do me a favour and fill both of them up? i wont haggle the price or bother you. Lets see... This one should be good!"

Seeing Raze picking out quite a large leather waterskin, a smile formed on the shopkeepers face. After thinking for a few moments, he decided.

"Fill both of 'em up? sure! the bottle will cost 'ya 8 Grits. You wait here, i'll go into the back and fill these with water for you and then we'll settle payments"

Raze briefly looked around the shop, glancing for anything that wouldn't be missed, only to spot a guard standing in a corner he hadn't looked in, before deciding to keep his eyes, and fingers to himself.

It wasn't long before the shopkeeper returned, water containers in each hand. He handed them to Raze.

"There you go! That'll be 8 grits all in all."

Raze handed them over without fanfare this time.

Just as Raze was turning to leave, the shopkeeper spoke once again:

"If you're interested in those metal things, I heard that some smiths or whatever are making them over in Union territory, no-ones quite sure why they're doing that, but if you ask me, they have more metal than sense!"

'No-one did ask you.'

Raze didn't waste his energy on voicing a response, instead opting to leave, and carry on with his shopping. Going through his pockets, he re-counted the money he had on him. 

'42 left, should be enough to get some medical supplies and fo-'

"Fuck."

Raze faintly murmured a curse.

'I could've bought food from Oasis Outfitters, nice going.'

Picking up food and medical supplies was an easy enough affair, and spending 25 of the grits he had left on a few rolls of bandages, and roughly 3 days worth of food, he was left with 17 grits remaining.

'Should probably pick up a bag too. But will i be able to afford one with the money i've got?'

Bags were expensive normally, and in a town where shitty grog cost a small fortune, he knew he couldn't get one with the change he had. Once again, it came down to money.

Raze's mind quickly thought up a plan. Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, Raze remembered a petty grudge, and someone he knew would have some decent money.

'Bastard inkeeper. Take my Grog why dont'cha? i'll take all you fucking have.'

He went back to the Rusty Nail this time, trying to make mental notes of nearby buildings, potential exits and ways to get in.

Raze was quick to spot that one of the outwards-facing wooden shutters was half rotted, evidently the owner couldnt afford, or didn't bother replacing them, as such it would likely fall apart with a single smack of his club.

Oblivious, the innkeeper approached to take his order:

"You again eh? well, what'll it be?"

"Nothing right now. Give me some time to think about what i want yeah?"

Losing interest, the innkeeper walked away, mumbling a faint curse about cheapskates.

'Say what you want, prick, cos' soon i'll be the one laughing.'

Looking around the bar, Raze noted that there were no other patrons, with the people he had seen the day before likely having left town by now.

'Less chance of getting caught, works for me.'

After recognizing a way to get in and out, Raze left, spending the next few hours wandering the sparse back-streets and alleys, attempting to familiarize himself with alternate routes to escape the city.

He eventually made his way back, standing not so far from the Rusty Nail.

Raze glanced around at the nearby scenery. 

Empty.

There was nothing. No people were out on the street, and all the shops had closed for the night. An eerie glow lit the moonless sky, the street shimmering faintly under the cold light of the cosmos.

'Have to wonder though, why has no-one else tried to rob this clown? Or have they just not done as good a job as i'm gonna do? Ahh whatever, no-one ever got anywhere just by thinkin' bout it!'

Deciding to leave the thinking to the thinking for later, Raze decided to begin.

Approaching the rotting shutter, he pulled out the club he had tied to his back , and swung down with some force.

Instead of shattering or breaking off, the rotting wood bulged inwards, its structure massively weakened with a single blow.

Flipping the club, so the head of the weapon was in his grip, and the handle was facing outwards, he stabbed at the weakened part of the shutter, making a decent sized hole, which he then began to rapidly widen.

After making the puncture a sufficent size, he shoved both his hands inside, and ripped the shutter off its hinges with some effort.

Being sure to drag the shutter outwards, it fell onto the sand, making practically no sound. Raze was confident he hadn't been noticed so far.

Climbing inside, Raze looked around at the deserted inn, he saw the practically pitch-dark bar area, and the corridor on the left, the faint sound of snoring coming from one of the rooms.

'So he lives here? Fuck. Should've expected that. Can't back out now though, gotta be careful.'

Trying his best to muffle his steps, Raze approached the counter where he was served the day before. Circling around it, he dropped to a squat, where he examined the drawers where he hoped there may be some money.

There was none.

'Haa... Fuck. Now, if i was a shiny little purse, where would i be...?'

Raze thought for a moment, before the one place he didn't want the money to be popped into his head.

'Guess we're goin' loud eh? Can't stay in this town after im done then.'

Raze stood up once more, creeping down the corridor.