Free How To Avoid Death On A Daily Basis: Book Two by V. Moody

shouting, dogs barking, carts trundling across cobblestone. We all had to take a moment to get used to it.
     
    Everywhere I looked there were buildings squeezed together and leaning against each other in haphazard fashion. Narrow, tall and wonky.
     
    “If you’ll follow me,” said Laffi, “it isn’t too far to the Municipal Directory.”
     
    He led us through narrow streets, weaving between the crowds of people who all seemed to be going in the opposite direction to us. We had to bump and jostle our way through them to keep up with Laffi, who seemed to have an uncanny knack for sliding through the gaps without slowing.
     
    Everything was so tight and cramped, it was impossible to get a view of anything other than our immediate surroundings. Not that we had much time to look around, we were too busy trying to keep Laffi in our sights.
     
    After about ten minutes, we exited the dark alleyways and found ourselves in a plaza. There were buildings on each side, the most impressive of which had a white marble facade with columns across the front. It looked like a museum or art gallery, but it was in fact our destination, the Municipal Directory.
     
    I’d thought the narrow streets had been crowded, but they were positively deserted compared to the interior of the Directory. It was like a train station during rush hour. We lost Laffi within seconds of entering the place.
     
    We stood in the middle of a sea of people, trying to figure out where we were supposed to be going. There were windows along each wall, with people queuing up to speak to the person on the other side. What they were queuing up for, I had no idea.
     
    We were just about to join a random line when Laffi reappeared.
     
    “Ah, there you are. I’ve spoken to the management, and they’ve arranged a private office for you. This way.”
     
    He was about to vanish again so I grabbed the back of his jacket, nearly yanking him of his feet. The others followed my lead and all grabbed some part of his clothing.
     
    “Keep going,” I said to him, as though it was perfectly normal to have five people clinging to you as you tried to walk.
     
    We moved very slowly, but together, through the crowd. Up to this point we had been ignored or simply barged aside, but now people stopped to stare as we shuffled across to the far end of the room, where a small, smartly dressed but slightly greasy-looking man stood by a door.
     
    Once we got to the door, we let go of Laffi and entered a room with some chairs and a table. We immediately sat down without being asked, which was probably a bit rude, but we were all too exhausted to care.
     
    “This is Master Niven,” said Lafffi. “He’ll take good care of you and answer whatever questions you might have. I leave you in his capable hands.” He snapped his heels together, turned and was gone.
     
    “Corporal Laffi has informed me you have some money you wish to claim,” said Master Niven. “May I see the order?”
     
    Maurice passed him the chit Grayson had given us. Niven read it once and then put in in his pocket. “That’s fine. Would you like it in cash or do you want to open an account?”
     
    “Is this like a bank?” I asked him.
     
    “Yes, in a manner of speaking. A bank, a depository, an exchange. Goods, services, jobs of various kinds—we provide it all. Visitors like yourselves find it convenient to have somewhere to leave their valuables rather than carry them around with them.”
     
    “So, it’s safe to leave our stuff with you?” If people left all their valuables here, it seemed like the ideal place for thieves to target.
     
    “I assure you, our security is second to none. We did have an attempted robbery about six months ago, but all of the miscreants were apprehended, every last chob was accounted for, and the guards on duty were all executed.”
     
    “You executed the guards?” said Claire, a little shocked.
     
    “The criminals were also executed, of course, along with their