Soldiers of Avarice

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “I agree to your terms, on one condition. I wish I had been able to keep this to myself, but I haven’t been able to come up with a solution. In a house just down the street, a woman by the name of Merin resides on a temporary basis. She has in her possession a sensitive document, with which she is attempting to blackmail me for the sum of no less than five gold sovereigns.”

  Aiden’s eyes widened in surprise — it was a small fortune by anyone’s measure.

  “I’ve tried reasoning with this individual, but she simply won’t cooperate,” Olaf continued. “I’m not one to employ strong-arm tactics myself, but if you were to ... persuade her to see reason and return the document, I would be able to open the town gates without fear that she would flee.”

  “Wait a moment,” Pacian interjected in simmering rage. “Are you saying part of the reason you’ve kept the town locked up is because you were afraid this woman would run off with your papers?”

  “It shames me to say it, but yes,” Olaf confessed, his head bowed in contrition.

  “You selfish bastard,” Colt growled, though Nellise was quick to put her hand on his shoulder to calm him.

  “If she were to make a run for it, wouldn’t the guards stop her?” Nellise inquired.

  “I haven’t informed the guards of her perfidy,” Olaf explained. “I cannot risk this personal information getting out. My reputation would be ruined.”

  “Right; let me see if I have this straight,” Pacian growled. “You’ve been up to some properly shady business, and this woman found out about it, and now she’s looking to cash in. You can’t tell the guards to go and get her in case this information finds its way into their hands and they clap you in irons, and you can’t let her leave because she’ll tell others when she does.”

  “That’s about the size of it, yes,” Olaf muttered.

  “Exactly how stupid are you, mate?” Pacian exclaimed.

  Aiden cut him off. “So, to fix this, we convince her to hand over the document, then you can open the gates without caring if she leaves?” he asked.

  “Correct,” Olaf confirmed.

  “Consider it done,” Aiden answered.

  “You’re paying us, right?” Pacian said, with his usual lack of subtlety.

  “Of course,” Olaf assured him. “I’ll make it worth your while, but please, be discreet.”

  “Do you expect trouble from this person?” Nellise inquired. “I doubt she will simply hand over something quite so valuable simply because we ask her to.”

  “I can be very persuasive,” Pacian offered, smiling coldly.

  “Violence shouldn’t be necessary,” Olaf replied, dismissing the thought with a wave of his hand. “By all means, talk with her, but do not underestimate her. If she still refuses, feel free to use whatever means you deem necessary to change her mind.”

  “A discreet inquiry it is, then,” Aiden agreed, unconsciously touching his empty coin pouch as he spoke.

  “I cannot sufficiently explain to you my relief,” Olaf sighed. “Merin resides in a small house on the eastern edge of town, right next to the smithy. The house has a red roof; you can’t miss it.”

  “Okay, we’ll take care of it,” Aiden agreed, motioning the others to the door. Without another word, the men donned their longcoats as they headed out, but before Aiden could speak with them, they were confronted by ten angry locals who were waiting outside.

  “We saw you go in,” said Jim Clifton, with barely controlled anger. “Tell us you’ve made that fool see reason.”

  “We’ve made some progress,” Nellise assured the angry mob, “and I’m confident we’ll have the gates open soon.”

  “Good, or we’ll hang the bugger from the top of the flagpole,” another man called from the back of the group, to fierce agreement from his comrades.

  “Just be patient a little longer and we’ll get this sorted,” Nellise implored them. Her charm had the effect of calming them enough to disperse, though angry mutterings were still heard as they stomped away through the mud.

  “Well done,” Aiden muttered. “Olaf has made a real mess of this.”

  “So, we’re doing his dirty work now,” Pacian added wryly.

  “Who the hell asked you?” Colt growled.

  “He makes a valid point,” Aiden retorted. “Just the fact he didn’t want to bring the local guards in on this suggests he’s concealing something damning.”

  “It’s more than I’ve been able to get out of him all week,” Nellise remarked. “Others have come here and tried to talk reason to the man, to no avail. I’m curious where this leads.”

  “Let’s just be cautious, shall we?” Aiden suggested. “Pace, do you have your knife?”

  “Always,” he replied, reaching inside his longcoat to rest his hand upon the kitchen utensil turned weapon.

  Satisfied they had a way forward, they walked along the street to the sturdy red-roofed cottage next to the town smithy, where a solid-looking oaken door with metal bracing around the edge practically screamed go away. With a strong desire to get this over and done with, Aiden knocked and waited for a response.

  “Who is it?” came the muffled voice of a woman from the other side of the door.

  “Merin? Good morning. My name is Aiden, and I need to speak with you.”

  “I’m not interested in anything you have to say,” she replied after a moment’s hesitation. Aiden glanced at Nellise, who shrugged in silent reply.

  “It really is quite urgent that I speak with you, ma’am,” Aiden tried again, this time more forcefully. “Please open up immediately.”

  “No, I’m not going to do that,” Merin answered firmly. “Go and bother someone else!”

  Aiden was on the verge of yelling at her, but Pacian put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, gesturing to himself with his other hand.

  “Very well,” Aiden said, forcing a note of defeat into his voice. “Perhaps I can meet with you later, as I have other business to attend to. Good day.” He motioned for Nellise and Colt to follow him as he walked away from the door and stood nearby to watch what came next.

  “What was the point of that?” Colt inquired quietly.

  “We have other methods at our disposal,” Aiden answered, nodding to where Pacian was attempting to pick the lock with a hairpin and screwdriver. Colt grunted in understanding and huddled into his cloak for warmth while Pacian quietly applied his improvised tools to the lock.

  Aiden glanced around casually to make sure he wasn’t drawing too much attention, but he needn’t have worried — the townsfolk were too mired in their daily lives to bother with one man appearing to have trouble opening a door.

  A few moments later, Pacian turned the handle on the door and opened it a crack, peeking through the narrow space and signaling the rest of them to come closer. Checking to make sure everyone was ready, Aiden nodded to Pacian, who opened the door carefully and stepped inside.

  Despite being only a modestly-sized cottage, the home was comfortably furnished. It was warm and dry, and the aroma of freshly-cooked food hung in the air. Several pieces of art hung on the walls leading to the rest of the cottage as Aiden quietly led the others around a corner into the dining room.

  A woman in an elegant dress sat at a dining table with a bowl of soup before her. Her head slowly turned to regard them, revealing her sharp features and dangerous eyes.

  Across from her sat a wiry man in plain clothing, with a bent nose that had been broken at some point in the past. Aiden knew right away this was trouble, and was immediately angry at Olaf for failing to mention that Merin would have company.

  “Breaking into my house, hmm?” she observed coldly. It was the same voice that had spoken through the door. “That’s very bold of you. I’m actually surprised you made it past my door — I should probably have invested in a better lock.”

  “You are Merin, yes?” Nellise inquired. “We have come from the mayor’s office to talk.”

  “Is that why you were so insistent?” she inqu
ired rhetorically, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised; Olaf was bound to send someone over sooner or later. Four people seems to be overkill for a talk, though. Did he tell you to toss me about or rough me up, as is custom in these situations?”

  “Not at all,” Nellise assured her, maintaining her calm demeanor. “We have simply been instructed to have a chat with you. Tell me, why are you blackmailing the mayor?”

  “Because it’s good money, my dear,” Merin grinned, with a measure of condescension. “The man’s not exactly a saint, either.

  “I won’t go into detail about the work I’ve had to put up with around here over the last few months; just be satisfied that I’m moving on, and Olaf’s indiscretions are going to pay my way. Don’t be too concerned for him — he knew what he was getting into when all this started.”

  “Why did he get involved, if you don’t mind my asking?” Nellise inquired, with a glance at Aiden.

  “I don’t pretend to know his mind, but I’d wager he looked north to the merchant princes of Culdeny and wanted more. Now things have gone pear-shaped, I’m certain he wants this to all go away, and I’m happy to make that happen. For a price.”

  “Look, regardless of what he’s done, we have made an arrangement with him,” Aiden interrupted. “You have a document of importance to him — hand it over.”

  “Hand it over?” she balked. “Unless Olaf had the sense to conscript or deputize you, you don’t have any authority here, sweetie.” She winked.

  Aiden was suddenly shoved aside by Colt, who towered over the woman.

  “If you don’t hand over the stuff,” he snarled impatiently, “I’ll smash your annoying face in. If you’re innocent, you’ll just call for the guards, right? I’m sure they’d be interested in doing a quick search while they’re here.”

  Merin’s smile faded, and her associate’s hand slid over to rest on the handle of a sharp knife. “Okay, look, I don’t want any trouble,” she said, to both Colt and her friend. “Just take the document and go. Look in the drawers behind you, just ... don’t hurt us.”

  “That’s more like it,” Colt growled, nodding to Pacian, who immediately crossed to the drawers.

  Aiden frowned, looking down at Merin cautiously. Certainly, Colt was an intimidating presence, but she’d seemed to give in a little too easily after her earlier defiance.

  Pacian reached out and attempted to open the top drawer, but found that it was locked. At this moment, Merin dropped all pretense of being scared and called out “Now!”

  The man with the broken nose grabbed his knife and with one smooth action, hurled it in the direction of Colt’s head. Reacting instinctively, Aiden lunged and pushed the big man out of the way, sending Colt sprawling on the floor.

  Merin glared at Aiden, now standing right in front of her. Holding out her hands, her fingers wide, she whispered some strange words.

  Before he could figure out what was going on, a bolt of electrical energy crackled from her fingertips and hit Aiden’s left arm, sending him reeling backwards as he clasped his burned limb in agony. His backpedalling crashed him into a surprised Nellise, sending them both tumbling to the floor.

  Pacian drew his carving knife and lunged at Merin’s accomplice, bowling both of them over and sending the bowls of soup on the table flying through the air to shatter on the wall behind them.

  While the two wiry men struggled, Colt regained his footing and drew his massive sword, taking a swing at Merin, who ducked the clumsy attack and pulled a dagger out of her right boot. All signs of her earlier levity had vanished, and she now moved with practiced speed and skill, sidestepping the oversized blade, which was simply too big for the small room in which they fought.

  Knives flashed in the firelight as Pacian and his opponent sought an advantage. Pacian had always been light on his feet, but the wiry man was quicker still, and managed to gash Pacian’s arm when he didn’t move fast enough.

  Seeing his friend in desperate need of help, Aiden quickly looked around for something that he could use as a weapon. Spying nothing but cutlery, he reached out for a bowl and flung it at the back of the man’s head. The bowl shattered when it struck, dazing him for a moment and giving Pacian just enough time to step in and viciously stab him in the gut.

  Colt was having far less luck against Merin. Having just witnessed the demise of her associate, she landed a series of quick slashes on Colt’s leg, distracting him enough to dash past him and make for the door.

  Her escape came to an abrupt end as Pacian whirled around and threw his knife towards her retreating figure, sinking it right into her back. She gazed at Aiden with empty eyes as spreading blood stained the front of her dress, and then slumped to the floor, dead.

  The silence was broken only by the heavy breathing of those still alive as the realization of what had just occurred sank in.

  Pacian strolled over and removed his bloody knife from Merin’s back, absently wiping it on his tunic. A stunned Nellise had one hand over her mouth, clearly appalled by what had just taken place before her very eyes.

  “What have we done?” she whispered, rushing forward to check the prone forms for signs of life.

  “We defended ourselves against a pair of crooks intending to do bodily harm.” Pacian shrugged, unconcerned. “Better them than us.”

  “We weren’t supposed to kill them,” Aiden exclaimed in a hushed voice.

  Colt went to the window and peered out through the curtains. “I don’t think anyone heard the fight,” he muttered. “We can keep this quiet.”

  “Keep it quiet?” Nellise repeated incredulously. “They’re both dead. We are complicit in the deaths of two people.”

  “They started it,” Pacian pointed out. “We just happened to end it.” He sifted through the bloody remains for anything of value, his expression devoid of feeling. Aiden looked over Merin’s prone form, lamenting that this was not the first dead person he had ever seen.

  “We must have had them backed into a corner,” Aiden surmised, mostly to convince himself. He hissed in pain as he tried to move his arm.

  “Are you all right?” Nellise asked.

  “I’m alive,” he replied, wincing at the burns on his arm. “I wasn’t expecting her to shoot lightning, exactly, but I’ll live. You’d think Olaf would have mentioned she could use magic.”

  “Hold still for a few minutes,” Nellise instructed absently, fidgeting her shaking hands around in a small leather pouch until she produced a crystal. “Just clear your mind, and I’ll take care of that arm.”

  “I don’t know who her chum was,” Pacian observed, gesturing down at the wiry man, “but he wasn’t short on coin. His clothing isn’t anything special, and there was nothing else of interest on him. Maybe he was a special friend?”

  “Could be,” Aiden muttered. “I guess we’ll never know. Perhaps we should find out exactly what they were willing to die for.”

  “Stop squirming,” Nellise chided him, continuing to work on his arm.

  “Sorry. Pace, see if you can get that drawer open. I want to have a look at that document she was bribing the mayor with.”

  “Sure,” Pacian agreed, then noticed Aiden’s diminishing wound. “Hey, your arm is looking better. What is she doing?”

  “Channelling divine energy to heal him,” Nellise whispered, sounding more relaxed. Aiden looked at her with growing respect; of all the members of the Church of Aielund, only a few were gifted with healing talents such as this.

  “Merin may have been a crook, but she didn’t strike me as being stupid,” Colt mused, his voice still sounding dry from his hangover. “If her friend had managed to put that blade in my head, it would have left your friend with the knife to do all the fighting.

  “The more I think about it, the more I realize that if you hadn’t reacted so quickly, we’d have been in some serious trouble. Thanks for that, by the way,” he added. “I prefer my skull intact.”

  “Yeah, who wouldn’t,” Aide
n muttered, feeling mostly recovered from his injury. Looking down at his arm, he was amazed to see it was completely healed. “That’s incredible,” he remarked as he looked back up at Nellise. For the first time, in decent light, Aiden could see her eyes were actually gold in color.

  “You’re welcome,” she said with a strained smile.

  “What should we do about the bodies? We can’t just leave them here,” Aiden remarked, grimacing at the sight of the blood pooling on the floor beneath their prone forms. He noticed Nellise avoided looking directly at them.

  “We’ll let the mayor know what happened and let him take care of it,” Colt replied gruffly. “It’s his mess we’re trying to clean up here.”

  “This whole business is wrong,” Aiden breathed, hiding his discomfort.

  Pacian suddenly made a triumphant sound as he pulled open the drawer, attracting everyone’s attention. A few moments of rifling around produced a series of papers, which he handed to Aiden. He flipped through them, scanning for any mention of shady dealings

  “You see anything weird?” Colt asked Aiden impatiently.

  “Trading details, payments for services rendered here and there, some notes about people to contact … nothing unusual.” He trailed off as he found something of relevance. “Merin’s name is in here, and so is Olaf’s. It looks like he was partnered in a deal with her and a few other people. She’s listed as an expeditor, whatever that is.

  “Wait … there’s a signed paper here from the mayor to Merin, to have her hire some local thugs up in Culdeny to put pressure on local businesses to accept bad deals.”

  The others looked incredulously at Aiden as he continued reading. “Most of these transactions are to or from a business called the North Shore Trading Company, based in Culdeny. I’m no expert on trade, but it seems from some of these numbers that they were forcing people to sell to them cheaper than normal, and then reselling at greatly inflated prices. Unbelievable.”