Chapter 83: Living With Tamina’s Community

POV Eliza

As soon as we were both outside the door, Tamina looked at me expectantly.

“Tell me, Eliza, what else did you discuss with the master?” <Tamina>

“Nothing special, really. Just that I'm going to live here with you for the next time.” <Eliza>

“For real? Great, that's good news. Then I can show my gratitude to you.” <Tamina>

“You can show me around now and introduce me to the others. I'm curious to see what life is like with you.” <Eliza>

"I'll do that straight away. Follow me.” <Tamina>

Phew, I've successfully distracted Tamina so that she doesn't ask any more questions. I had to figure out for myself how to make the most of Master Freyna's offer.

Over the next few hours, I got to know the place and the people who lived down here. The sewers were divided into several large underground areas, each of which belonged to a different group. Most of them were different criminal gangs such as thieves, smugglers or spies. Our area comprised a dozen or so rooms. These included a kitchen, a dining room, various dormitories and storage rooms. There were also two offices and three rooms that I wasn't told about because they were secret. But it was clear to me that there must be secret rooms here, like a treasure chamber or something similar. The way here was a clear indication of this. I also had the feeling that there must be some kind of ritual room where Luna was worshipped. Both Elem and Tamina seemed to be staunch devotees and Tamina spoke of an offering.

My sleeping chamber comprised two beds next to a table, two chairs and two cupboards. I settled into one of the cupboards and realized that the second one was empty. I didn't seem to have a roommate, which I was quite happy about. I didn't know anyone here well enough to want to share a room with him or her.

In the evening, I got to know the other members during dinner. Master Freyna was the head of the community, Elem was a former guardsman and guarded the door to our lair. Tamina was one of five beastfolk who lived here. The youngest was 12 and the oldest was 50. There were also six other people between 16 and 45. Most of them belonged to the core of the community and pursued a wide variety of activities. But all of them could either fight or were adept at stealth and information gathering. I learned that they had two main activities. Firstly, they freed beastfolk who were being held as slaves and took them out of the city. Or they traded information on what activities the soldiers would be engaged in in the near future. Of particular interest was whether and when they turned against known settlements of refugees or planned crusades against non-humans. They had outside contacts for this purpose. Apart from that, they were also supported by some people from the town, such as the innkeeper of the inn I was supposed to turn to if I needed help in the capital.

Everyone ate dinner together like a big family. Before the meal, a prayer was said to Luna, which I couldn't join because I didn't know it. But I joined in the final blessing and folded my hands like the others. During the meal, the others were told the story of how I had saved Tamina and was now invited here as thanks. Tamina was bright red in the face during the story and was also teased by several people. I was warmly welcomed by everyone and immediately felt at home. I was really lucky to have met such lovely people.

Afterwards, Master Freyna summoned me to her office for the next morning, as did one of the humans, Winn. He was a man in his late 20s and one of the ones who looked around the city and watched out for rumors. Over the next few days, he was to show me around the city during his daily business and show me the most important things. During the day and into the afternoon, I got to know the outer city and helped Winn with his activities. He walked around, talked to all kinds of people, listened to their problems, occasionally had a drink with them and gave good advice. He even made money from it, because he recognized from the conversations what the other person was lacking. This could be permanent staff, short-term workers or even materials. For a small commission, he took care of it and provided what was needed. He used his contacts and his knowledge of the city and its people.

From the afternoon onwards, I learned to improve my skills, as promised. One of the storerooms also served as a training center. There were wooden dummies for fighting, targets for practising shooting and throwing weapons, ropes and a course on the wall for climbing, various boxes for practising opening locks, etc. In the evening, we went into town after putting on a disguise. There was always an objective here, where acting and disguise were practiced. At night we practiced stealth. Overall, the community here was very well equipped. For me, it was primarily about improving certain skills and I received individual lessons from Master Freya every other day after dinner.

On the fourth night, it was the middle night of the full moon, I woke up in the middle of the night. I woke up with the feeling that a voice was calling me.

'E...l...i...z...a...'