[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the Dunhill Chronicles.
[SPEAKER_00]: The queer tales of Cole McDowell last aired in McDowell family line as he makes his way through the City of Dunhill, the crown jewel of the Britannia Empire.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the concluding chapter of the Red Hook of Dunhill, in which Cole confronts the city's most notorious gang.
[SPEAKER_00]: Those of you have been really paying attention.
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll note that Chan's accent is a bit floating.
[SPEAKER_00]: It isn't consistent.
[SPEAKER_00]: Pardon.
[SPEAKER_00]: I haven't really figured that one out yet.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I hope you can look past that and enjoy the story.
[SPEAKER_00]: I wish I had time to return to McDowell Manor to properly stock myself on what promised to be an assault in the Red Hook Stronghold.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, it sounded as if I had little time to find Chand.
[SPEAKER_00]: on sheathing my rapier, I took a file from my belt and poured its liquid down the scabbard.
[SPEAKER_00]: A contact poison, sheathing my blade coated it, guaranteeing its slightest scratch would mean death.
[SPEAKER_00]: After doing this, I undertook the rather more complicated process of loading my calthoth repeater from the cartridge box on my belt.
[SPEAKER_00]: Doing so reminded me of showing the process to chand in serpent and ren, and that brief moment of mutual interest.
[SPEAKER_00]: Finding the open wicket was the easiest part of the night's journey.
[SPEAKER_00]: A quick coin to a street walker and they pointed me in the ins direction.
[SPEAKER_00]: Regardless of what waited for me inside, the outside appeared to be a thriving public house.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's brick facade painted white and lit with torches.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was three stories with bay windows lit with an orange glow.
[SPEAKER_00]: Through which guests could be seen crowdsing.
[SPEAKER_00]: From a mounting pole, hung a welcome sign displaying a small open door within a large city gate.
[SPEAKER_00]: The green front door was open, drinking men spilling out onto the street.
[SPEAKER_00]: I walked past these and headed towards the back.
[SPEAKER_00]: The place was bustling, made taking orders, tables of boisterous patrons vying for their attention while musicians played from a mezzanine.
[SPEAKER_00]: Through the beer hall, the inn opened into a gambling den, patrons tossing dice and playing cards while sippery and ladies encourage them to reckless betting.
[SPEAKER_00]: Between the smoke, drink, and excitement, no one paid me much mind.
[SPEAKER_00]: I walked the ins interior perimeter until I saw one hallway, unlit, under a stairwell.
[SPEAKER_00]: Quickly dodging down its dark length, I followed it until it came to a solid metal door.
[SPEAKER_00]: Its hinges on the other side, no handle.
[SPEAKER_00]: A small horizontal slot was set within it at eye level.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even this casual evaluation of the door told me I would not force my way in.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead, I took one of the number of files from another case on my belt and knocked on the door.
[SPEAKER_00]: As I suspected, the horizontal slot rasped open, revealing the eyes of a pale face stranger on the other side.
[SPEAKER_00]: His blood shut eyes quickly shifted across my person.
[SPEAKER_00]: He then bluntly asked,
[SPEAKER_00]: Who the hell you fancy boy?
[SPEAKER_00]: I smiled as best I could, and the malformed expression on my face becoming a fateful question.
[SPEAKER_00]: Red Hook?
[SPEAKER_00]: What do you, simple?
[SPEAKER_00]: Away with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: The man spit at me through the gate.
[SPEAKER_00]: A quick side step avoided the rude projectile.
[SPEAKER_00]: I returned the compliment by quickly putting my hand through this slot, crushing the vial between my gloved fingers in the metal on its other side.
[SPEAKER_00]: Exposed to oxygen, the vial spread its poison in the dyroman's face, within a second he began to cough, orcely, what in God's name?
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't let him finish, but explained, used been exposed to a lethal toxin.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is fast acting, and you'll be dead within minutes.
[SPEAKER_00]: Only I possess the antidote.
[SPEAKER_00]: I paused to watch the man, racked with coughs to make sure he understood.
[SPEAKER_00]: Try to raise the alarm and I leave.
[SPEAKER_00]: Try to fight me and I leave.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do anything but open this door now and I leave.
[SPEAKER_00]: You die.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you understand?
[SPEAKER_00]: The door man only took his eyes away from me when the racking cough forced him.
[SPEAKER_00]: He came back up with tears and his eyes and drool on his lips.
[SPEAKER_00]: You idiot,
[SPEAKER_00]: And you'll die if I don't.
[SPEAKER_00]: It only took a few more painful costs for the coward to see my way.
[SPEAKER_00]: As I heard a series of lockspings undone from the other side of the door, I took the urchins dirt from my cloak.
[SPEAKER_00]: The door opened to revealing the doorman standing in a red coiff, one hand on the portal, the other extended out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give me the remedy!
[SPEAKER_00]: I replied, certainly, and stabbed him with the dark where the shoulder meets the neck.
[SPEAKER_00]: He collapsed under the force of the attack, spouting blood as he went down, splashing crimson onto my glove, a shame, really.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was my favorite pair.
[SPEAKER_00]: Leaving the dagger embedded in his neck, I drew my flint lock and rapier.
[SPEAKER_00]: Beyond the door was only a small stone anti-chamber with a single hall carved from crudes stone, and lined with candles sitting at top human and animal skulls.
[SPEAKER_00]: With a foot, I close the door behind me, and then made my way in and macabre headquarters of the Red Hook mob.
[SPEAKER_00]: Before I move to steps, I heard the chirping of a mockingbird.
[SPEAKER_00]: I knew little of it ornithology, but knew that species wasn't subterranean.
[SPEAKER_00]: I realized this was a subtle alarm, letting the Red Hooks know and intruder was present without having to reveal themselves.
[SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps this den of thieves was more than the gang of brute, so I assumed them to be.
[SPEAKER_00]: This hypothesis was immediately called into question by a huge man, broad shoulder, big belly, and hairy, striving down the narrow hall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He carried a short thick, cudgel, perfect for the halls and closed space.
[SPEAKER_00]: From behind his beard, he bellowed,
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of listening to the brute's words though I watched him walk down the hallway, I noted his feet touched on no less than three areas that depressed as he walked across them.
[SPEAKER_00]: I watched him do this until he was nearly close enough to engage in melee.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's when I shot him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I wasn't about to spar with his Bahamas, poison blade or no, and even with the power of the Cowhoth's shot, he's still staggered a few more paces towards me.
[SPEAKER_00]: His footing fell off its well-choes and path as he collapsed, resulting in a dozen darts shooting from the walls and embedding in his corpse.
[SPEAKER_00]: The brute's thick body hit the floor and I used it as a launch point.
[SPEAKER_00]: Pushing myself to a wall and off the next, my soft-sold boots gripping is at bounce between them, avoiding the floor entirely.
[SPEAKER_00]: As they came close to the T-section at the end, two smaller thugs moved to follow their ogre, startling back as I landed between them.
[SPEAKER_00]: I fired another ball into one and sliced the other's cheek with a rapier.
[SPEAKER_00]: One fell instantly, and the other gurgled outwards I couldn't hear over the pistols report as he died from the poison.
[SPEAKER_00]: I quickly looked down each direction of the T intersection.
[SPEAKER_00]: One was led with the skull-topped candles that stretched into the distance, the other empty and dark as done hills catacombs.
[SPEAKER_00]: Complete with shells and set into walls filled with piles of bones.
[SPEAKER_00]: I picked up a small sword from one of the down thugs and slid it down the lit hallway, skittering it so it bounced between one walled and next.
[SPEAKER_00]: True to my suspicions, it chipped across an invisible scene causing the flames of the candles to leap impossibly high and gout the hallway with fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: I decided not to go that way.
[SPEAKER_00]: I moved as quickly as quiet would allow down the darkened path, the empty eye sockets of the city's martyrs following me.
[SPEAKER_00]: With the distant glow of the candles beginning to fade, I heard the hulls of animals, somehow both tortured and vicious.
[SPEAKER_00]: In the narrow passage I at least knew which direction any guard animals would come from, and reached into the quickly diminishing supply of my file box.
[SPEAKER_00]: Two vicious creatures came bounding down the hall, long and lean with mouths that appear to be nothing but teeth.
[SPEAKER_00]: They moved faster than any of the red hoax.
[SPEAKER_00]: I protected my face with my cloak as I hurled the file of easeric vapor at them, mirriards before they would have set upon me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Running through the cloud, both animals were worked up into such a ladder that they breathed it in deep, slowed, and then stumbled to a halt inches from me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I carry knockout gas.
[SPEAKER_00]: Out of the dozen or so vials, I carry on me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought the mercy of one in capacitating agent might be useful.
[SPEAKER_00]: As I waited for the vapor to dissipate, a man carrying chains with collars on the end came running down the hallway at me, wailing in pain in vengeance.
[SPEAKER_00]: He swung the heavy
[SPEAKER_00]: I stepped forward to bring myself inside that arc before it could connect and punch the handler with the basket hilt of my rapier.
[SPEAKER_00]: He collapsed, sputtering blood and teeth, cursing me for her murdering his babies, crouching down before him, I tapped him with the hilt.
[SPEAKER_00]: They'll live, I shirt him, and so will you.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you tell me where the red hook, keep their prisoners.
[SPEAKER_00]: I kept a steeled grip on my nerves as I heard the dog snore and stir behind me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Their movement showed the truth of my words, the Red Hook, who pointed out the way when the Kauhoth's muscle came level with his nose.
[SPEAKER_00]: The war in of catacombs I moved down echoed with a redding of unseen red hooks, assembling to deal with my sudden threat.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unsurprisingly, the doghandler's directions were incomplete or lies, but I found a long haul with closed doors on either side, the Judas Hatch and each giving me hope this is where the prisoners were kept.
[SPEAKER_00]: I moved from one door to the next, pulling up in each Judas Hatch, looking through the embedded bars and calling for chand.
[SPEAKER_00]: A few rooms appeared empty while others held hordes of debtors, others emaciated ghouls hunched into coroners chewing on bones.
[SPEAKER_00]: After passing through this parade of man's and humanity's man,
[SPEAKER_00]: I stared into a room to see Chand, stripped the waste, his bare flesh lashed and his hands tied to a chain that hung from the ceiling.
[SPEAKER_00]: The pale fat man, Peyton, stood next to him, still wearing his brown derby, otherwise stripped to an undershirt soaked through with his own sweat.
[SPEAKER_00]: He set down the scourge he had been using to reach for a red hot brand.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm no lockpick, so I shot the door.
[SPEAKER_00]: The shock of metal colliding with metal adding to the repeater's report.
[SPEAKER_00]: The latch destroyed, I kicked the door in.
[SPEAKER_00]: I would have liked to enjoy patent-stunned expression, but I took what satisfaction I couldn't running him through with my sword.
[SPEAKER_00]: I sheathed my blade, freeing a hand to wrestle a chance from the ceiling.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was taller than me, and at first, as limp as a chanemen's noodle.
[SPEAKER_00]: both of which made it impossible to lift him from the iron hook by which he hung.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, after a small eternity of fruitless wrestling, Chan's eyes fluttered and he looked down at me with a donning recognition.
[SPEAKER_00]: Though they had trouble wake, the words were weak, but held an odd funness.
[SPEAKER_00]: My hat fell off as I struggled to lift him from the hook, which may have been the only reason I heard him when he whispered, behind you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I quickly turned to see an axe-wielding red hook into the room.
[SPEAKER_00]: I lifted my flint lock, shot him dead, and returned to struggling with my rescue.
[SPEAKER_00]: I instructed the waking chant to lift his bindings from the hook, which he managed when
[SPEAKER_00]: His unsuspended body fell across my shoulder, nearly collapsing both of us to the ground.
[SPEAKER_00]: I managed instead to sit him down against a nearby barrel that had numerous torture tools laid out on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: As I freed chance rests, he smiled at me in the way of the doomed.
[SPEAKER_00]: You made a lot of noise, though be heard at any moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then we'd best hurry.
[SPEAKER_00]: I might have talked my way out of this if you hadn't stumbled in here.
[SPEAKER_00]: He smiled at a confidence that was mystifying to me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think you're overestimating your charms, I told him as I ended his hands.
[SPEAKER_00]: He shrugged, conceding the point as I put his arm over my shoulder to lift him up.
[SPEAKER_00]: As we hobbled past the corpse at the room's exit, Chan said, I know that chap.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was alright.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not anymore, I growled as we exit it, getting no more than a few yards down the hall before more Red Hook's brandishing weapons charged at us.
[SPEAKER_00]: I fired until the Kalhoth was empty, was then forced to drop Chan in order to defend us with my rapier, killing each man as their numbers set upon us.
[SPEAKER_00]: While the funnel of the hall allowed the Red Hooks only to attack us a few at a time, I doubted my ability to make our escape with just my sword.
[SPEAKER_00]: With thugs laying dead from the wounds and poisons I inflicted on them, I turned to Chand who had a propped himself up against the wall, and was rubbing feeling back into his wrists and long fingers.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pushed the repeater in the cartridge box into his hands,
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you remember this?
[SPEAKER_00]: How I showed you to load it?
[SPEAKER_00]: His expression was momentarily befuddled by the repeaters' configuration in the question, but then, thank the dark gods of Dun Hell he nodded.
[SPEAKER_00]: I turned with my blade back to defend our position.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could hear more men and yells echo through the maze as they searched for us.
[SPEAKER_00]: At intervals, I would see some run past until one saw my shadow standing over the newly-made corpses of their Confederates.
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope that the criminals here were cowardly and superstitious lot, as Dash is the head man yelled and let his contingent down the hall, wielding hatchets, cleavers, knives, and other preferred tools for murder.
[SPEAKER_00]: Their martial skills were clearly honed on the unsuspecting citizens of Dunhill, though, as I was able to deal with them in three quick thrusts and a lunge.
[SPEAKER_00]: Still, I was running out of breath when more bullies poured into the narrow hall.
[SPEAKER_00]: Greatful is that it ever been for anything, I heard Chan say, it's ready.
[SPEAKER_00]: I snatched the repeater from his profiting hands, the three red hooks charging the hall stopped as I aimed a pistol at them.
[SPEAKER_00]: With a satisfaction I was grateful that my kindly departed parents would never see on my face I pulled the trigger.
[SPEAKER_00]: There was a click, a spark, then nothing.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was the Red Hook's turn to laugh as they recognize them as fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: I cursed and tossed the Flintlock back to Chand with a quick order of try again.
[SPEAKER_00]: Muscle's burning one murder or nearly broke my guard before I stabbed him in the heart.
[SPEAKER_00]: With the increased noise and trail of bodies littering the hall, more Red Hook's noticed our location, but gathered at the end of the dungeon's hallway rather than charge down and face the same fate as there are accomplices.
[SPEAKER_00]: My panted heavily, feeling sweat soak every inch of me as I stood guard.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hearing what I assumed were right-hooks preparing for another charge, I said, every one of your thief brothers has assured me that I would die down here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fumbling with the repeater, Chan said, is that so?
[SPEAKER_00]: Indeed.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you don't recall my loading instructions, properly, you'll prove them right.
[SPEAKER_00]: To his credit, my barbed and not paused Chan's tinkering.
[SPEAKER_00]: He only replied, an epoch later with,
[SPEAKER_00]: He tossed the flint lot back to me.
[SPEAKER_00]: He did this as a red hook appeared at the mouth of the hall, a bottle of whale oil in hand, a burning rag stuffed into its spout.
[SPEAKER_00]: While a lesser man might have prayed, I poured my concentration into aiming at the cleverly improvised bomb.
[SPEAKER_00]: If there are gods, they smiled on chandan eyes, I fired the repeater, bursting the burning vessel, spreading its flaming contents onto the grenadier end by the sound of the screams, several near by thugs.
[SPEAKER_00]: A hall filled with new light, the smell of burning flesh, and screams.
[SPEAKER_00]: Using this confusion I handed the call-hoth back to Chan telling him, shoot anything that isn't us.
[SPEAKER_00]: With those instructions I picked him up with one arm, my poison blade, and the other.
[SPEAKER_00]: I hauled both of us, Chan holding the flint lock high to keep its powder from the heat as we made our way through the crooked flames.
[SPEAKER_00]: On the other side, confusion rained.
[SPEAKER_00]: Several red hooks fled while others attempted to distinguish their burning comrades.
[SPEAKER_00]: The few that tried to stand against us were greeted with shots from chand, breaking their ranks and making them easy prey for my blade.
[SPEAKER_00]: This set the thieves warned buzzing like an angry wasp nest, the halls continuing to fill with smoke.
[SPEAKER_00]: With confusion and speed on our side, I moved as quickly as I could, giving chand the opportunity to whisper in my ear, head to the roof,
[SPEAKER_00]: utterly dumbfounded by this I had no reply, which chained clearly saw as he provided more basic left or right instructions.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever the red hooks were doing, the staircase we came to was unguarded.
[SPEAKER_00]: I began to climb at pulling chained up as he pushed with weakened feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: After a number of flights the rough stone of the walls was replaced with wooden boards through which the body sounds of the open wicked could be heard.
[SPEAKER_00]: The stairs opened in the rafters of the tavern, revealing a garret with its joist partially uncovered, providing a space to view down into the gambling hall.
[SPEAKER_00]: Used by Redhokk cheats to spy on playing car players no doubt, we could hear the Mary sounds from below.
[SPEAKER_00]: These were transformed into the rough hands of the Redhokk's who pushed her way into the crowd, searching for Chanda Nai as they secured the ground floor exits.
[SPEAKER_00]: Seeing our escape routes being cut off, I ask Chen, what are we doing up here, Chand?
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be thick, you replied, not into a dormer window that would at least take us outside.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have a plan, take us to the roof.
[SPEAKER_00]: Feeling this would only trap us in a more precarious position, I ignored those instincts to trust my companion.
[SPEAKER_00]: I sheathed my rapier, then took out another file from its box and rolled it down into the gambling hall.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was nothing more than a smoke bomb, but with the Red Hook's manhandling patrons and the Miasma's sudden appearance, the panic from the ketocomm spread into the rooms below.
[SPEAKER_00]: To add to this, I back handed a hooded lamp onto the floor.
[SPEAKER_00]: To add to this, I back handed a hooded lamp onto the floor, starting a promising fire in the Garrett.
[SPEAKER_00]: I kicked up in the normal window and hauled chand out.
[SPEAKER_00]: As the fire and the rafters spread, I spotted why chand had brought us here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some end-pricing thief had laid planks from the roof of the open wicket to the neighboring buildings.
[SPEAKER_00]: We balanced carefully across one, or on the other side I kicked it down into the alley below.
[SPEAKER_00]: From the new rooftop there was another such plank, then another, leading across Dunhill's grey dust skyline.
[SPEAKER_00]: When we had scrambled across enough of these, I lay a chand against the chimney to see if I could spy how we might descend to the streets.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was doing this when I heard him say in a quiet whisper, why did you do this?
[SPEAKER_00]: I peered off the building's edge, considering that we would most likely have to break into another building to make our way down.
[SPEAKER_00]: because they were going to kill you.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I pivoted away from the roof's edge to stare at Chand.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, you were redhooked friends and took a couple of killers to serpent and run for me.
[SPEAKER_00]: After that I spoke with some of your fellow urchins.
[SPEAKER_00]: They made it clear to me you were going to die and die horribly here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Chan shook his head.
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you think they knew where to find you?
[SPEAKER_00]: I shrugged because you told them I would gas.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blame the entire incident with that child beating jinn hound on me so they wouldn't punish you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I looked at the bruises and cuts that decorated his flesh.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sorry, that didn't work out.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I gave you up and you came to rescue me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I turned back to the street for some reason unable to meet Chan's gaze.
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't know, I assumed you told them the truth.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can hardly blame you for that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Your only sin was having a meal with me after my robbery.
[SPEAKER_00]: I reached up and realized I lost my hat somewhere along the way.
[SPEAKER_00]: Suddenly, quite tired, I said next to Chan and our backs against the chimney.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't understand.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why rescue me?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why even forgive me?"
[SPEAKER_00]: Watching Dunhill's let in the sky begin to lighten, I consider putting my head on his shoulder.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, this seemed too intimate a gesture in his weakened state, and I'm worried I might be taking advantage of him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead, I said, because I like you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I smile as I realize the red and orange is coloring Dunnell's clouds weren't from daybreak, but from the open-wicked spreading fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: Black coat scrambled in the streets towards the blaze.
[SPEAKER_00]: I, how lip and arm indicating the arson's glow, and I think we might do great things together.