- Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:

Starting right up where we left off.

Right, first things first. I easily locate the guard from before, Reggual, sitting at the foot of a wagon, and sneak past him without a hitch. He's got my pony right at his side, too. That's a pain. Guess I won't be able to sneak off with it unless he decides to tie it up somewhere in the next four hundred seconds. Oh well. 

 

Next, where should I put this necklace? On the way by one of the wagons, I snag two identical velvet bags and put some stones in one and the necklace in another. That'll help me out if it comes down to a game of trust. Then I climb up onto a tall spire of a rock and place the necklace bag on top. I bury the other bag in the sand at the base. There. Oh wait, how long has it been? I need to hurry back now. 

 

I rush back to the tent, and as I approach I can hear her soft counting slowly becoming audible. When she comes into sight I'm surprised to see that she's re-positioned herself, now laying on her back with her butt at the base of the pole, and her feet stretched straight upwards. I admire the width of her hips as she looks over at me.

 

"Oh, already?" She speaks, glancing up at me. "You're early; you still had a hundred or so to go. Well, turn out your pockets."

 

"Don't worry, there's nothing to find," I say as I show her my empty backpack. "The necklace is hidden and you're never going to find it without relying on me. I'm off now to find those keys. Any leads for me?"

 

"There's a man called Droki, he's kinda the leader here. He's got the keys, probably on his person. Otherwise, I'd check his wagons; they're the three lined up at the east side of camp." 

 

"Got it." I have no intention of letting things go the way she plans, but for right now I need to pretend I do. I turn and run out of the tent again, hearing her begin to count as I go.

 

This "Droki" must be the richest man in the camp, because his wagons are packed with loot. The Reggual guy is standing guard right outside the entrance, but the oaf's already half asleep and easy to slip past. I come up from behind him and swing up into the wagon no problem. There's a man sleeping on a padded mat, with a cover over his eyes to block the sunlight; what an idiot. That's probably him, I reckon. Well, there's a key on his belt; it could be the right one. It's well tied with a knot, so I circumvent that by just taking the belt off him. Easy.

 

Is just this key enough? She's got locks on both arms and legs, so there may be as many as four keys, if this guy's clever. The woman used the plural, but maybe she doesn't know how many there are. Anyway, I gotta get back to her around now. Whether or not I'm going to have to risk coming back here to find more keys, my time'll be up before much longer if I don't go back now. 

 

When I peak out from around the edge of the tent, she's twirling her hair in one hand, now upright and sitting cross-legged. For whatever reason, she has brought her hair around to flow over each of her shoulders, covering her previously exposed breasts. I don't know why; she was perfectly fine showing them off before. I race back to the tent with just ten seconds to spare.

 

"Oh, I see you got the first key. Pass it to me and go fetch the others." She smirks.

 

I am slightly suspicious, but act casual as I walk towards her. "Where are the others? How many are there?"

 

"Oh, probably in various places. There's four, one for each lock. Now hand it over, and get the rest of them."

 

"Fine," I say and throw it towards her just as a thought occurs to me. I catch the trailing end of the belt just before her grinning face can reach it, and pull the key to my chest. Something's not right here.

 

"You're cheating," I tell her, dancing away from her reach. "You only need one key after all. Which means you know where I hid the ruby." 

 

"I can assure you that each lock uses a separate key. They don't want me escaping, after all," She shoots back, her unwavering smile yet on her lips.

 

"No," a grin breaks out on my face, my confidence in my guess growing. "Four locks with separate keys don't make for stronger chains. They're worried about you breaking out, not finding the keys, or should I say KEY. Also, it costs a fortune to make four unique locks, especially of that size. No, you're trying to trick me, and now I need something else to sweeten my deal if you want me to let you out." 

 

She takes a slightly more serious tone this time, almost forceful.

 

"Good guess, but you're wrong. There actually is a key for each lock. Now give me that one and go get the others."

 

"No," I say, my conviction becoming yet stronger. "If you want, I can take this one with me as I look for the others, but I risk losing all of them if I get caught while doing that. Shall I go do that, or do you want to admit you're lying?"

 

Her face twists with frustration; I know that I've got her. Man, my head is sure bright when my balls are empty, I think as I congratulate my own brilliance. She doesn't respond to my question, though; instead, she simply says a number.

 

"Ten."

 

"Oh, good idea," I laugh back at her. "Well then, ten golden coins it is. Or better yet, maybe I'll just take your necklace for myself."

 

"Nine."

 

My laugh falters as I realize what she's doing. At zero, she'll call the guards on me, and we'll both lose. In other words, she's threatening me.

 

"Eight."

 

She's bluffing. She wouldn't actually ruin everything like this, right?

 

"Seven."

 

She's bluffing.

 

"You're bluffing," I say, almost as much to convince myself as to convince her.

 

"Six."

 

She has to be.

 

"Five."

 

"Nobody wins this way," I laugh out nervously. "I know you're not going to call them for real at zero."

 

"Four."

 

She only glares at me, and I see nothing but danger in those eyes.

 

"Three. Two."

 

"I'm not falling for it. When you're done with your little tantrum, let's talk like adults."

 

"One."

 

A second of silence passes. Just long enough for me to breathe a sigh of relief.

 

"See? You're not going to do it. Now let's negotiate this-"

 

"Reggual!!! There's a man stealing the goods!!!" She screams.

 

"Are you out of your mind?!?!" I cry. "Now we're both done for! I'm dead!"

 

"Not yet. Give me the key and I'll protect you. I can fight them if I'm free," she smiles at me, and I realize I've been had.

 

"No way!" My mouth remains defiant even though my mind is panicking. "You know where the necklace is, I've got no reason to trust you!"

 

"Times up. You're going to have to."

 

She's right. There's nothing I can do now but pray she's actually going to protect me, and give her the key. Still, I hesitate for a second. Do I really want to let this woman free right now? She is clearly chained up for a reason.

 

I hear footsteps coming at us, and not just one set. Oh hell, what do I care why she's locked up? I only care about me, and right now she's the only slim chance I have at staying alive. In the second that I have before the guards arrive, I throw her the key and dive behind her. She lifts up her butt and this time I gladly dive under, taking this opportunity to hide while I still can.

 

"Thanks a billion, honey," is the last thing I hear before she covers me again in soft butt flesh, her words dripping with sadistic contempt.

 

You must login (register) to review.