(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

Chapter 27
It's almost embarrassing to write this.
I had gotten so used to describing the foul, writhing stench of my
surroundings at the beginning of each entry that now I had to pause and
readjust myself. Down here in the cooler recesses below the Hive, the walls
were dry and hard-packed. The air was stale, if not musty. Only the slightest
whiff of garbage was in the air. I could have walked into a fresh, clean glade
for all I knew.
As the door of patchwork wood creaked shut behind me, a dozen pairs of
eyes snapped up to look at the new intruder. Collectors. Gutter-rats and
alley-kin. These weren't much like their foolhardy bretheren on the surface.
No, there was a shiftiness in their eyes, distrusting of outsiders and careful
with their knives. These berks wouldn't think twice about sliding a dagger
between my ribs, but they'd take care to do it out of sight.
A ragged, middle-aged collector approached as I walked in. "I..." He quickly
looked us over and then sneered. "...don't know you."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't believe I've made your acquaintance,
either."
The collector continued to glare at me, standing directly in my path. Trying
to walk around him might not be the best solution.
"I'm looking for a man named Pharod."
"What yer lookin' for is no concern of mine, berk." He spat. "What is
concern'n me is that yer still breathin' in my presence."
Part of me considered threatening to crack his skull, but I thought better of
it. If I were really going to show my strengths I'd shower him in flaming
sparks, but then again that would probably be a little too loud.
I stared him down. "Collecting bodies before they're dead sounds like a
quick way to meet the Lady."
It seemed to knock some sense into the collector, as he turned away from
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