'Nice name. Ya on your own, part of a pack, or from the main settlement?'

He flinches at the word pack. “I am on my own, unfortunately..”

'Well, if you're fit and able to pull ya weight, you'd probably be welcome in my pack, Clan Threeclaw. We don't go picking fights much, mainly scavenging, but we stick together because safety in numbers and all that. Less likely to get ya throat slit if there's three mates of yours on watch'

He nods slowly. “I can scavenge fairly well, and I’m decent in a fight.”

'Sounds pretty sweet. And before ya ask, we're not all cannibals, like some of the packs down here. Yeah, there are a couple of us who, how shall I put it, don't like to waste fresh meat, but it's not mandatory. I don't eat that stuff'

“I don’t mind. As long as it isn’t me being eaten. What needs to be done to survive is none of my concern.” Khassan stands and brushes himself off. “Where are you based at?”

'Good good. We got ourselves a nice little den not too far out from here, in the opposite direction to the main settlement down here. Ya wanna see?'

“Of course.” Khassan holds his torch out, staying close to the light like his life depends on it.

'This way'

Slinker scuttles off through the drains, into a large sewer tunnel, and swims into a half-flooded pipe. 'Ya can swim, right?'

Khassan looks a bit disgusted but nods. “I can.” He follows Slinker into the water.

'Hey, what's that wrinkly face for? Thought you'd be used to this by now.'

After a while of half-crawling, half-swimming through the pipes, they emerge into a decently-sized chamber. Several chutes lead upwards from the walls. There are a bunch of hammocks and what seem like nests made of rags on the floor, and a small, unlit campfire underneath one of the chutes

“I try to stick to the dryer parts. The stench is overwhelming in the waters.. and there are plenty of things that could be hiding in them.” Khassan blinks as he looks around the room. “This looks.. really nice.”

'The drier parts are where most of the other people are, the raider packs are less inclined to go swimming in crutt for a couple of scraps when there are easier places to rob. Yeah, the critters can be a problem, but I'd wager that cut-throats and robbers are a bigger problem, and we get to avoid most of them. Why ya think this place is nice?'

“Well, it’s safe, easily guarded, has a good arrangement of places to sleep in a way to easily alert and escape danger by scattering if needed, and… it feels like a home.”

'Ya know what those chutes are, right?'

Slinker seems to laugh

“Well I assumed tunnels…”

Slinker gives out a hollow laugh. 'Toilet chutes. Ya standing in a cesspit'

Khassan smiles. “Means no one will come looking here. Even better.”

'I like the way ya think. You'll fit in no problem with us. And yeah, it is a nice homely kinda place. The rest of the guys are out getting us supplies, they'll be back soon. Ya got a bedroll, or do ya want a hammock or nest?'

Quote from 10_30inDutch >>

*Hey EJO, what was the inspiration behind this tavern? It's pretty cool, we don't have much gothic usually here*

 *Believe it or not, I made it up on the spot with a spot of help from ChatGPT*

Quote from Jylek_whiteshield >>

(Okey)

"Little one where did you come from" i try to keep my rage at peoples uncaring from showing.

 *She's a teenager*

"I... can't remember..."