Wait!
The stone slid back out again. Yes?
The news of Requbars impending demise had suddenly made less keen on my hideaway holiday ho. It was fine for a visit, but I wouldnt want to be buried alive here. I wasnt looking for that kind of long term commitnt.
Not that I entirely believed his claims, either. n are always showing off in front of each other, exaggerating to make themselves look cool. The number of won theyve slept with, the amount of money they earn, their intention to destroy an entire city and murder thousands of peoplejust boys being boys.
You seem like you know this city. I was wondering if you could fill in about how things are in Requabar. Ive only just arrived here myself. Im Colin, by the way. There was a ti when introducing myself to soone would have set my teeth on edge and broken out in a cold sweat. How far had I co that I was now able to hold a perfectly normal conversation with a homicidal maniac.
Only just arrived and already banged up in the highest security cell in the city? He chuckled to himself. Well, well. You must have done sothing pretty bad to catch their attention so quick.
I didnt do anything. I sounded a little defensive. They think Im sobody Im not. Now I sounded evasive.
Well whoever this other chap is, I hope hes out there making a nuisance of himself. He chuckled so more. For soone about to commit mass murder, he was in a very good mood. The nas Schneed. Baker by trade, now a full-ti advocator for ns rights Even though we were separated by a wall and all I could see was his mouth and occasionally an eye, I could sense him puffing out his chest with pride. Not that Im saying won dont deserve so rights, too. Just that we should have more than them. Only fair.
I didnt see how that was fair, but I wasnt going to argue with him. I might even vote for him if he went up for election.
So is it all won thatre the problem?
No, so of them are quite nice, said Schneed very gallantly. Its the ones in the palace that cause all the bad feelings. Theyre the ones who have to be stopped. Of course, no woman can be truly trusted, but the Queens the one whos making life miserable for us. Do this, do that, nag, nag, nag. And when its sothing we want to do, oh no, that can wait. I an, its only fair we should get to make so of the decisions. Just the little ones. But no, she refuses to listen. Thats why we have to resort to extre asure. If you push a man into a corner, hes going to co out fighting.
There was a blur of movent in front of the hole and so hard breathing. It was hard to tell, but I think he was doing so shadow boxing.
What did they put you in here for? I asked him. If you dont mind asking.
No, no, I dont mind. Im what you call a freedom fighter. Or a terrorist, if youre on the other side of it. Not a pleasant thing, hurting people just to make a point, but what can you do? Cant say Id recomnd it other than as a last resort, but when you run out of options, its the innocent who have to suffer. Sad but thats just the way it is.
I couldnt really see the logic of what he was saying, but he was so genial in the way he justified murder and mayhem it was hard to take issue with him. He was a surprisingly jolly terrorist.
So thats what youre rebelling against? The won being in charge?
Oh no, not just that. Well, its a big part of it, of course, but it doesnt really matter whos in chargewhoever it is, theyre bound to turn mad from the power. Mistreat the people, embezzle money from the treasury, make a few people they dont like disappear. Who wouldnt if they had the chance? But, you know, spread it around. Mistreat everyone equally, thats all. Dont just pick on one group. That kind of prejudice isnt right, is it, Marv?
There was a grunt from behind him that sounded like it agreed with him.
No, its the whole atmosphere of tyranny and oppression. Ooh, do I not like tyranny and oppression. Ooh, I do not. Having said that, theres a lot to thank the Queen for. Have you had ti to look around Requbar? Lovely city. When the flowers are in bloom, nothing compares.
Yes, I saw a bit of it before they threw in here. Very pretty.
Oh, co now, its more than pretty. I may not agree with the way Her Majesty tramples our rights and freedoms, and keeping people in line using fear and intimidation is no way to run a healthy society, but I have to admit, she does know how to make the place look nice. Its blooming gorgeous. Haha. Not unlike the Queen herself. What a looker. Ooh. I wouldnt chuck her out of bed for farting, know what I an? Haha. I an, obviously shes a despicable tyrant and we plan to put a stop to her reign of terror, goes without saying, but she does have one of those smiles that can light up a room. Such a sha it has to end this way. A regretful sigh slipped through the hole in the wall.
I was dizzy from all the flip-flopping. It was hard to tell why he was so set on bringing the Queens rule to an end. He seed like her number one fan.
And hows it been going? I asked. With all the death and destruction, I an? The city had looked in perfect order with not much in the way of anarchy from what Id seen, other than one dead dog.
Thats the thing, you see. Every ti were on the verge of instigating an atrocity thatll bring the city to its knees, the Queens Guards swoop in and arrest us all. How they always know is a complete mystery. I suspect magicthey do say the Queen has the gift.
This caught my attention. If the Queen could do magic, did that an she was a Visitor?
Made so infernal bargain for her soul in return for the gift of foresight, and the power to keep the streets free of litter, I shouldnt wonder. Have you been to Fengarad? Oh, the filth absolutely disgusting, it is. I have to say, torture chambers or not, strictly on a hygiene level, you cant fault Her Majesty. If she did make so dark deal with a nefarious supernatural entity, I can only comnd her negotiating skills.
Hard to tell if he was aiming to remove the Queen from power or get an autograph and a selfie with her.
But wont they just stop you again this ti?
Oh, not this ti, said Schneed. This ti itll be different. Weve got a new leader. A real visionary. Hes got us working around the clock on a plan that cant fail. Complete annihilation, one hundred percent guaranteed. Just you wait and see.
He certainly sounded confident.
And is just the three of you, in the rebellion? You, Marv and the leader.
Oh. Haha. No, no. Hundreds strong we are. She may be able to catch us before we have the chance to do any real damageall credit to her, shes a sharp onebut she hasnt been able to smash the organisation like shes been trying to. You see, we have a little secret. His voice dropped down to a whisper. Theyve locked up so many tis weve got this whole place mapped out and full of escape routes.
I made my way closer to the wall as his voice got lower. Youve been here before?
Sure, plenty of tis. Most of us have been locked up in here one ti or another. And we always get out.
This didnt make much sense to . You always escape and they always put you back in here? Isnt that a bit dumb.
I know, but thats the thing about wonthey may have the muscle and the fighting skills, and sure, their threshold for pain is way beyond anything we could withstand, but up here there was a pause which I assud was for him to tap his head not the smartest. They have no idea how we do it.
Sohow I doubted the jailers would keep putting them in the sa cells if there was an easy way out. Even if they didnt know how they were doing it, no one would keep making the sa mistake over and over. Not unless they had an ulterior motive.
Are you saying you found a way to leave your cell and make it back into the city without them ever being able to figure out how you did it?
Thats right.
And how do you do it? I didnt expect him to tell but thought Id ask anyway.
Well, I think I can trust you, even though you dont have much of a beard. Youre still one of us. Heres the thing. We spent so much ti in here over the years, we slowly took the place apart. Look.
He began removing stones from the wall one by one. They slipped out like he was taking apart a puzzle, each piece perfectly made to fit with the others. Before long there was a large hole in the wall.
See? Its that simple. And then we put it all back together. You wouldnt even know it was possible. Solid as a rock. He banged the side of the opening with his fist. Nothing moved.
I banged it on my side. It did feel completely stable. Impressive.
He smiled at . Now that I could see his face clearly he looked even less like a terrorist. He had a large round face, a trim white beard and a heavy walrus moustache. There was nothing very terrifying about him.
Of course, he continued, no point being able to take the walls apart if youve got nowhere to go, which is the other mistake the little darlings made putting us in here. He raised his eyebrows and paused.
Which is? I asked, taking the bait.
Were so deep down, were right close to the rat tunnels. You go through this wall back here and youre into a network of tunnels the like of which, ooh, like a maze it is, couldnt find your way out even if you had a map.
Then wouldnt you just get lost in there?
Oh, we know it well enough to get to our base. Weve got a super secret hiding place theyve been trying to find for years. Never even ca close.
He seed very open about telling all this. I would have thought if he wanted to keep his rebel base super secret, telling a complete stranger about it probably wasnt such a good idea.
Take down the wall, pop through the other side, put the wall back. Gone. He grinned at . Its that easy. Aint that right, Marv? He moved aside to address his buddy who was sitting against the far wall.
Which was when I realised sothing wasnt quite right. Marv, for a start, was very clearly a woman.
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