GLINT's Arc

Chapter 6 of 10

Wrencher turned and swung his wrench forward like a crutch. "Come. Boss wants to see the goblin who dropped the rot-grabber." Glint followed him into the dark pipe runs. Kobolds hauled dripping slabs of meat behind them. The tunnels narrowed, then opened wide. Glint kept the letter pressed tight under his arm. "Never seen your kind this far south," Wrencher said. His clever eyes slid sideways. "Goblins live north. Firefinger Mountains. What brings you crawling under Scraptown?" Glint grinned with his jagged teeth. "Looking for work." He did not say Academy. He did not say graduate. Wrencher grunted and let it drop. Something splashed past Glint's bare foot. He looked down. A green translucent thing scuttled over the sludge, its body like soft jelly, eye-stalks waving. It hissed and darted into a crack. "Slime rat," Wrencher said. "Harmless. The upstream poison makes them. Been getting worse." He tapped a rusted pipe. "Somebody rerouted my main feed. Fouled my tunnels. Boss means to find out who." They reached the warren. The cavern was huge, lit by glowing sludge and salvaged lamps. Kobolds crowded every ledge. They hung the meat on hooks and chattered. Then Glint stopped cold. High above hung an iron cage. Inside crouched a gnome. Grease smeared his haggard face. Dirty hair stuck out at odd angles. He gripped the bars and glared down at the whole cavern like he wanted to burn it.