Book 3 Chapter 28: We Are Very Dangerous
Dantes sat and ate with one hand while he rocked a sleeping Jacque in the other. He speared a piece of fish and carefully brought it to his mouth. It was just them in the booth. There were plenty of people who could’ve sat with them of course. The kitchen and bar had only Dantes, his men, and Vera and her girls to serve. The girls themselves had no clients. The Vixen was basically empty. The only reason most people even showed up was out of a sense of loyalty, or because they knew Dantes could help them to manage the sickness for either themselves or their loved ones. It amounted to the same result.
The entirety of Rendhold was isolating themselves. Trying to stop the spread of a disease that resisted all efforts to eradicate it. All the walls and gates had been sealed in the hopes that it would slow the sickness. Those outside the outer gate were still suffering the worst effects it, with the Father’s priests no longer even bringing their carts as they would fill before they’d gone a quarter mile, and then they’d just have to turn around.
Dantes had managed to find places for the majority of his own new kobold gangsters from outside the walls to stay, but most had elected to stay with their families and those they knew. Their ties to one another were strong.
Midtown was holding strong. Even though he himself had not been able to directly keep everyone healed, the planting of food and herbs meant that most people were still fed and able to get at least some relief for themselves. He made sure that they knew where that came from.
Uptown was doing about as well as midtown, which is to say that it was limping along, but still surviving thanks to their patronage to the temple whose attention had become focused entirely on Uptown and a few parts of the Guild District that they needed to keep running.
He had to start considering drastic measures. Burning down the buildings in the docks one by one until he found Serpica. He’d lose so much of his work, but there was no point in ruling over a dead city.
Jacque cooed on his shoulder and Dantes started to rock him again, giving him a small kiss on the top of his head as he did so to soothe him.
Just as Jacque was falling back asleep, the cry of an eagle came from nowhere, as loud as thunder in a typhoon.
Jacque started to fuss, and Dantes stood up. He recognized that cry.