by Eric Ugland
He pointed to the massive door where people were actively entering and exiting, and had the look on his face like I was a bit of a dumbass.
"Is there one that leads to the, uh, gardens and stuff?"
"Going to have a moonlit walk by yourself in the maze?" he asked.
"Maybe."
Claude frowned, but he did give me directions.
Once outside, through an exit that didn't have a host of other people milling about, and certainly no carriages jockeying to pick up their owners, I got my cloak out, and pulled it over myself. Time to be sneaky.
Which wasn't exactly true, because I did have the medal which meant I could wander about the grounds freely.
I angled to the northeast, and started walking.
The grounds were massive. And reasonably well lit, provided you stayed on the path. There were Legionnaires about, likely the only ones remaining in Glaton. They formed the palace guard, but as soon as they saw the glint of the metal of my medal, they let me go without even a token inquiry. I had to take a few detours around buildings. Some of which were clearly residences. Definitely one was a barracks of sorts. There was a big stable and riding yard. Lots of fountains, gardens, leisure spots. There was even just a wide open lawn with a singular large tree and a small building full of picnic supplies. It was certainly nice to be royalty.
Finally, though, I came to a set of walls. Big, tough military-style castle walls that were made of thick stone and looked imposing. These weren't the same walls that went around the rest of the Imperial Palace or its grounds. This was a fortress. One that was likely built as a last-stand for the Imperial Family.
Being that there were no guards on the walls or at the large open doors leading into the place, I just walked in. And while it struck me as odd, I’d been told the place was an impenetrable fortress and that the gates were closed, I also didn’t want to question my good luck too hard.
It’s not like I was waltzing out in the open. I more sidled along the edges, staying in the shadows and pausing every so often to make sure no one saw me. I didn't see anyone, which wasn't necessarily a sign that I remained unseen, but no alarms got raised. Going through the archway, I saw another set of heavy stone doors on the other end. This was a killbox. If anyone broke down the outside doors, they'd pay a heavy price just walking into the fortress.
The inside of the fortress was no different than outside: militaristic and functional. Everything was made of the same thick stone, and there were plenty of defensive positions. A keep rose up in the center of the fortress, going sixty or seventy feet up. At the top were tall crenellations, providing plenty of shooting spots. The keep was dotted with murder holes, but few actual windows. There was a singular door at the bottom providing entrance to the keep. Smaller structures were built up against the walls, like a smithy, where a forge fire still glowed, despite the hour.
I needed to find the stables. Since Godfrey told me the stables were along the north wall, and I saw bits of hay and straw on the ground leading generally northward, I figured that was as good a place to head as any.
I followed the base of the wall and stayed as much in the shadow as I could, heading north. I finally saw signs of life, as two men walked from the wall towards the keep. They weren't wearing armor, but they moved like men who fought constantly. Heavily muscled, lots of scars, and just a mean, competent aura about them. Thingmen. There was definitely a different air to them than any of the Legionnaires I'd met. They felt more like killers than defenders.
I couldn't hear what the men were talking about, but something was bothering them, and they were arguing. As soon as they turned the corner, I was moving again. I made the corner of the fortress, and looked up to see a tall round tower.
There were men and women coming out of the tower, heading towards the keep.
I ducked back into the shadows as much as I could, flattening myself out and willing myself to be invisible.
The men and women passed by incredibly close, and I heard more than one person muttering about the shift change. Wondering what was happening, who had left, that sort of a thing. Something was going on, I just had no idea what.
As soon as they’d all moved past, I leaned out to check around. On the far side, from the other tower, I saw more soldiers heading towards the keep. It seemed like there might be a meeting happening. However, in the middle of the back wall, I saw my destination. The big double doors were definitely the mark of a barn. Or a stable.
I moved quickly through the shadows until I got to the doors. They were huge, easily twenty feet tall. Above them was an opening leading into the hay loft. A rope attached to a pulley hung down to the ground, with one end laying next to the other. I didn't see any other easy entrances into the place, so I decided the bale pulley was the answer. I gave the rope a quick tug, to see how loud the pulley would squeak.
Quiet as can be.
At least the Thingmen kept their gear well maintained.
Quickly, I yanked on the rope until the hook on the other end got caught in the pulley up top. Then, I just climbed up the rope. Which was not as easy as it sounds. Every pull up, I had to make sure I didn't slip. My hands were aching by the time I got to the top, but I got a notification:
Cool Beans, you’ve leveled up the skill Climbing. You’ll find newer, smaller handholds and footholds, and they will be easier to grab onto!
So that was nice. Sort of.
The hay loft was, as expected, full of hay. There was a bit of room between the top of the pile and the ceiling, and I managed to squeeze through there for a few yards until the pile started coming back down, leading to an open space on the floor of the hayloft around a smaller door.
I opened the door just a little, and saw a walkway. One side of the walkway looked down into the stable itself, while the other had regular looking doors at even intervals. There were lights on in the stables, and I suppose the designer of the place assumed that'd be enough to light the walkway as well. But it was dark. I couldn't see into the individual stalls below, but I could see plenty of stall doors, as well as stations that made me think I was looking at horse storage. And yet, it's not like Godfrey said his brother worked with horses. He was a BeastMaster. And so I was insanely curious what creatures might be behind the doors below.
I tiptoed down the hallway to the first door and peeked through the keyhole. A bedroom. Not large, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it seemed homey enough. There was a bed along one side of the wall, a dresser on the other, and a small window opposite the door over a little writing desk.
A man was in the bed, sleeping, and, from the sound of it, maybe had a cold. He was loud. Thing was, I couldn't really see him, and there was no nameplate on the door. It could be Hamilton.
I grabbed my lockpick tools, and went to work.
Click. Almost instant. That brought a pretty big smile to my face.
I crawled into the room, moving slow and quiet, then got close to the man.
Skinny. Giant hooked nose.
Godfrey had said when I saw Hamilton, I'd know. This guy didn't make me think of Godfrey at all. Probably not Hamilton.
Back out to the hallway and onto the next door.
Same procedure with a similar outcome.
Repeat three more times.
At room six, there was just a hint of light coming out of the keyhole. A man sat at the desk, a candle next to him. It looked a bit like he was writing.
He heard something, or sensed me in some fashion, because he turned and looked back at the door.
I scooted back, a bit shocked at what I saw.
It was Godfrey. Or, you know, a dude who looked exactly like Godfrey.
Very slowly, I inched back to the door, and peeked inside.
Godfrey-not-Godfrey was shaking his head, and then bent back over his writing.
I tried his door.
It wasn't locked.
So I pushed it open, again, slowly and silently, wishing I had a spell to make things totally quiet. Th
en I stepped inside the room, and very carefully closed the door behind me.
It clicked closed, and the man whirled around, a dagger in his hand. His eyes went wide at seeing me, and he pushed his chair out of the way as he got to his feet and somehow grabbed a sword at the same time. Suddenly there was a blade at my neck.
I brought my hands up so he could see I held no weapons.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Hamilton?" I asked. "Is your name Hamilton?"
He looked confused and concerned, but he didn't thrust the sword through my neck, so, minor victory there.
"Do I know you?" he asked.
"I'm a friend of Godfrey’s,” I said. “Your brother sent me."
He waited a moment, then tossed his sword on his bed. It bounced once, and I grimaced. Looked like a hard mattress. Hamilton sat down at his desk, and shook his head.
"Godfrey," he said softly. "Doesn't give up, does he?”
He pointed at the desk, and I saw a letter there. I leaned over and read a little of what Hamilton had written. It was to his brother, and was explaining the difficult situation he faced, where he wasn’t sure he wanted to remain with the Thingmen, but that the leadership of the group decided that the Thingmen needed to remain together until they’d exacted vengeance on whomever had killed the Emperor. And it was something being enforced, the gates were being kept closed and locked. He hoped Godfrey would understand, and then it was blank because I’d come in. There was a small bin next to the desk, and it was full of rejected letters.
“No, in my experience Godfrey seems to excel in being stubborn,” I said, taking the chance to sit down on the bed.
"I'm assuming you're here to get me to leave."
"That's right."
"Does he even understand what it is I do? What this means?"
"He probably does," I said. "He seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders, like he probably understands a lot more than anyone gives him credit for.”
"Do you know what I do here?"
"No clue. I don't know what the Thingmen are, either, if I’m being honest.”
"It's not a thing that can easily be left behind—“
"A thing. Heh."
"Shut up."
"Look, man, you were a Thingman, right?"
"I am a—”
"No, were. At least as far as I thought, you pledged your loyalty, sword, and service to someone, right?"
"Yeah, the Emperor."
“Exactly. So we’re on the same page. But where's the Emperor now?”
He looked out the window, at the night beyond. He didn't have an answer.
"Godfrey doesn't know what's going on because you guys aren't supposed to be here anymore," I said. "According to everyone, y'all are supposed to be boozin' it up and living life down by the ports, if you know what I mean."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Engaging in sexual intercourse with willing ladies and gents for monies."
"Ah. Those ports."
"This is supposed to be party time, right?"
He nodded once, then shook his head. "No, not this time."
"Why?"
"Because it wasn't right."
"What wasn't? The Emperor's death?"
"He was killed."
I opened and closed my mouth. Did I tell him truth and mention I'd been there that night?
"Hamilton," I said, "do you want to be here?"
He snapped his gaze onto me.
"What kind of question is that? I have a duty—“
"You had a duty. You fulfilled it. Now you have the chance to leave, to go live a life. And your brother is asking if you'll join him. And your sister. And I don’t know about the rest of the men and women in this fortress, I don’t know about those who wear your uniform, but the little I’ve heard, I don’t think you’re really like them. Are you?”
He frowned, but he didn’t say no.
“You’re a BeastMaster, right?”
He nodded.
“You came here to work with animals. To make the Thingmen better with your skills. And I ask you, if they decide the right thing to do is seek vengeance, what is it you will do with your skill set?”
He turned and looked out the window, then finally asked: "You have no idea about anything of our family, do you?"
“No,” I said. “But I do know that if I had any of my family left, I'd do anything I could to spend more time with them."
Now that wasn't exactly true, by which I mean it was basically a lie because my family was awful. But it sounded like what someone who loved their family might want to hear.
He looked at me, and nodded a few times, like he was actually ingesting my words and doing some heavy thinking.
"It would be nice to see my nieces and nephews," he mused.
"They're fun kids," I said, even though I'd only met them once.
"But what would I do out there?"
"What do you do in here?"
"I am a BeastMaster."
“I know that’s your Choice, I don’t exactly know what that actually entails.”
“I tame and train wild creatures. Any creature.”
“I mean, that sounds like a useful skill, I’m sure there's work for BeastMasters out there."
"Maybe, but not in the city. Not in any way where I'd be able to afford to live near enough to actually see my brother or sister. Or anyone. I'd have to go out into the wilds. Or a city like Torkminton."
“Tell you what? You come with me, and I’ll set you up with a place to live and a job as a BeastMaster. and if you don’t like it, I’ll buy a damn ticket to Torkminton, okay?”
"No offense, little elf boy, but you sound overly generous and a liar."
"Guilty on both counts," I said, "but only one right now. Godfrey and his family live in one of my buildings. As does your sister."
"You're the landlord?"
"I am."
"What's the business? Where you need a BeastMaster?"
"A thieves’ guild."
He blinked a few times. Then he started laughing. It was small at first, then louder and louder until it was a true belly laugh and tears started leaking out of his eyes.
"Didn't think it was that funny," I said.
"The absurdity of it all," he managed to squeeze out between breaths.
"You might have me there."
Someone thumped on the wall, and Hamilton got himself under control again. He shook his head.
“’Tis a strange thing, elfboy," he finally said. “But I been wallowing here since the Emperor died. We all have been. Last bit of hope left with the commander. He said there was one last mission for the Emperor: to save his daughter. That we were to hold the fortress until he returned with the princess. Left this morning, he did. I volunteered for the mission. Hells, we all did. But I wasn't chosen. Straight warriors only. The upper echelon of fighters going off to battle. And those of us here are stuck to hold the fort. But I been thinking about who I am and why I'm here. About duty and honor. I swore to serve the Emperor. To keep him and his safe and protected. To bring honor on his name and on his throne. I didn't swear to keep this building safe."
"Your family needs you," I said. "I don't know how much you guys hear about what's going on out in the rest of the city, but kids are disappearing left and right. Godfrey is trying to make sure your niece and nephew stay safe. As is Matthew. As am I. But we can always use more help. Especially someone who's an elite warrior like you."
"Maybe it's time, then. Maybe it's time to protect my family."
“So you’ll come with me?"
He paused, then nodded once.
"I served out my oath," he said. "I will come with you. Serve my family. Maybe punch my brother in the face for sending you instead of coming himself."
"To be fair," I said with a smile, "your brother doesn't have the right skillset for this."
He stood up from his desk, and slid a chest out from under his bed, right between my legs.
"Ha," he said, opening
the chest and pulling clothes out.
"And as long as we're making big decisions, you want to join my guild?"
"A thieves’ guild?" he asked, packing his belongings in a small sack.
"I mean, that's what it started as, but it's going to be more like just a guild of good people. And not to sway you, but your brother is joining."
Hamilton stopped. "Joining? As in he hasn't yet?"
"No. He made me getting you out a contingent to joining."
"Hells, I'll join right now, just to beat Godfrey to it."
You have been offered a quest:
Rebuild the Guild X - Hamilton Hayes
Initiate Hamilton prior to initiating Godfrey.
Reward for success: Hamilton will join the guild
Penalty for failure (or refusal): potentially the death of the guild
Yes/No
"Hamilton," I said, "I think I'm going to like you."
Hamilton puttered around his little room, packing his things. He didn't have much, just a few odds and ends, a bit of clothing, four books. And then he was ready to go.
"You leave the rope in place?" he asked.
“The one from the hayloft?”
“No, the one you used to climb the wall."
"I just went through the gates."
"The gates? They're closed."
"Um, they're open now," I said.
"What?"
"I walked in through open gates. I was ready to climb the wall, but I didn’t have to.”
He looked confused, then blew out his candle, and opened the window. He leaned out and looked around.
"People in the yard," he said. "Something’s happening.”
I headed over to the door, thinking I’d hop outside and take a peek myself, but I heard footsteps on the wooden walkway outside. I held up a hand to Hamilton, and pointed to the door. Then I looked through the keyhole.
There was a man with a sword out. He walked by, and another man came along. And another and another. I lost count, but after a moment, there were two men standing out front of the door, one with a big warhammer, and the other with a sword.
I crawled back over to Hamilton, who was leaning against the wall so he could look out the window from an angle, theoretically remaining unseen. I stood up so I was on the other side of the window, and got a look myself. Lots of people wearing armor and holding weapons. I couldn’t make out any emblem or color. I got Hamilton's attention, and pointed at the door. Then I held up two fingers, and mimed pulling a sword.