A Meeting Down Below

Griffin slapped his glass down on the table and fought the urge to belch loudly. He was not used to drinking beer, but he'd felt inclined to drink the pint that Gustav, the chef, had ordered for him before he arrived. And after that it would have been rude not to have the second pint. Those, in combination with the Jack Daniels he'd consumed at the Opera House earlier were making him feel a bit tipsy. He was glad that Gustav had suggested The Grotto as a meeting place though. Griffin had only been here once before and that had been after hours of prior drinking with Rex and Todd, so the memory wasn't exactly clear. At this point he was now more interested in watching the flights of the beautiful Glowmoths at the top of The Grand Cavern than he was in listening to Gustav whinge on about his domestic life with the Bumbridges.

Granted, it was a bit of a shock at first when Gustav confessed to being chef for Lord Bumbridge himself, but now that he'd got used to the idea, Griffin figured what the fuck, a job's a job. Gustav was a strange man who clearly had an agenda, but Griffin couldn't quite figure out what it was. The Alsatian had listened enthusiastically as Griffin had told him the entire twisted story of his "dreams" and the alien place he visited in them. Unlike most people who heard the story, Gustav seemed to devour every word and took copious notes in a small notebook. But now that Griffin had finished his story, he had no interest in hearing about the cook's life. Was that selfish or was he just getting pissed? He languidly watched the milling crowd on The Grand Terrace above, slightly wishing he were among them.

Gustav was now talking about introducing him to some bloke named Parks, but Griffin wasn't really listening. Instead he was thinking of popping into Steam Burger for a Double Egg Chilli Cheese on a poppy seed bun. There was one not 5 minutes walk from here in Nofaith. Afterwards he could go hang out at The Subterranean offices, visit with Ollie Pace and possibly even have a nap on the lunch room sofa. Yes, a nap would be an excellent idea if he was going to be fresh for the Hugo Sex Kitchen show tonight at the The Other Forum, which was also conveniently nearby.

Yes a plan for the entire evening was taking shape in Griffin's somewhat cloudy mind, when suddenly a few of Gustav's words cut through the fog. "Well, speak of the devil," said the chef, pointing at a passing water taxi. Griffin turned to look and immediately recognised the figure of Lord Bumbridge himself sitting in the taxi. This was an uncommon, if even absurd sight, as Bumbridge was notoriously and vocally not fond of the tunnels. Gustav seemed genuinely shocked and began muttering about how he'd never known Bumbridge to even once be down here in the 7 years he'd been working for him. Griffin figured he'd probably been to some expensive shop in Midas, because that's where rich people tend to go when they venture below ground. In any case it looked, from the tunnel the taxi was taking, as though Lord B was heading back to The Pants and home.

Gustav agreed with this assessment, and anxious to arrive home before his employer, he clasped Griffins hand, promised to be in touch soon and took off down the quay at a run. Griffin stared after him for a moment before standing up to go. Instantly a dogcat hopped up on the table to check for any leftovers. He stared at the animal for a few seconds, admiring its audacity, before turning and walking up the quay towards Calverley Passage, his mouth starting to water for that Steam Burger.