by Andrew Lynch
‘All right, no need to worry, I'll explain when everyone’s here. I can’t blame you for forgetting, I suppose. We were all drunk on Moxar’s high, if not alcohol.’
‘You forgot me.’ Jess said. ‘I will help disseminate the information. That is where I will do best.’
‘Umm,’ Lucian hesitated, not wanting her to have any responsibilities involving social interaction. But she’d resent the idea of doing the heavy lifting on the barrells. ‘Good to see you’re back to your awakened self. We need your sharp Elven eyes on lookout. We want to be out of here before Moxar turns up.’
Jess seemed annoyed. ‘Fine.’ She pushed her way through the crowd, her staff clacking with every step. Possibly to do as she’d been told.
It was then that Darrius walked back down the stairs and joined them at the booth.
‘Mission accomplished, sir,’ he said.
‘Good job, Darrius, good job. That was a needed service, and you were the only one capable,’ Lucian said, hoping the praise would lift Darrius’ spirits, although he didn’t seem to need it. He appeared cheerful as ever.
‘I could have done it.’ Khleb sulked.
‘Rather not think about it, sir.’ Darrus said.
Lucian went through the plan again now that Darrius was back. ‘And let’s get to work on unloading our replacement barrels as quickly as possible.’
Lucian and Darrius returned to the inn, slightly sweatier than before and feeling their lack of sleep, but able to see the end of their day ahead.
‘Okay, remember the information, Darrius?’ Lucian asked.
‘Certainly. Let’s get to work shall we, sir?’
‘All right, you start working your way into conversations, and I'll open the back door for Khleb and Gar.’
‘Yes, a shame that Khleb isn’t much for lockpicking,’ Darrius said.
‘Well, the deadbolt didn’t help.’ As Lucian said this he noticed the door to the kitchen. Guarded. ‘Oh damn! That barmaid is back.’
Darrius ducked. ‘Where?!’
‘By the kitchen door.’ Lucian didn’t really want to ask, but as Darrius was now trying to use him as a shield... ‘So, how did things go between the two of you?’
‘Well, sir, there was a slight hiccup.’ Darrius slunk over to crouch behind a booth wall. ‘I didn’t think it would come up, so didn’t want to bother you with such minor details.’
‘Appreciated, certainly, but perhaps now is the time?’ Lucian prodded.
‘As you know, sir, my task was to retrieve the letter and buy us time to disseminate the information.’ Darrius coughed awkwardly. ‘I had forgotten about the barrel plan, and the amount of waiting required, so may have misjudged how much time we needed.’
‘And?’
‘I left her tied to the bed in her underwear, sir.’
Lucian took a moment to ponder. ‘So... my initial thought of using you to remove her again may not be the best plan?’
‘Has its flaws, sir.’
‘No matter, I hadn’t wanted to put you in that position again anyway.’
‘Not an imposition, sir, kind of fun actually,’ Darrius said with a cheeky grin.
‘But Gar said—'
‘I know my job here, sir, and am willing to follow through. When the luck is on my side, that is. Perhaps it’s time to use the other fifty percent of my luck?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I'll handle the bar wench. It does seem to be my speciality of late.’
‘Okay, change of plans it is. I'll get Jess. Wait here.’ Lucian turned around and left the inn. Jess should have been at the outskirts of the village on horseback, ready to make a swift return if she spotted Moxar. However, she was leaning against the wall and seemed startled when she realised it was Lucian who had come out of the inn.
‘Jess?!’ Lucian was more confused than surprised. He pointed towards the edge of the forest. ‘Why aren’t you over there?’
‘You forget. I’m a magus, I don’t need to be there to keep watch.’ Jess said. Lucian remembered that Jess could in fact use magic when not in the heat of battle. She’d lit a lot of campfires during their travels.
‘I hadn’t forgotten. You do make a point of reminding everyone that you’re better than them.’
Jess shrugged, conceding the point. ‘You need my help.’
‘Yes. How did you know?’
‘Perhaps, Lucian, it is because I am a magus.’ She made her hands glow very slightly. ‘Or perhaps it is because I realised that the barmaid’s job frequently took her to the kitchen door, and I overheard Darrius telling Gar the story of how their meeting went.’
‘Oh... well, magic or deduction, let’s get to work. Clearly I'll have to pay more attention next time,’ Lucian admitted. He should have noticed the barmaid’s movements. He was out of practice after his commerce break. A bit embarrassing considering it was his job to notice these kinds of small things. If he was being watched, he’d really have to sharpen up!
‘Yes. A mystery that an observational master like yourself did not notice.’ Jess became more conciliatory as they both entered the inn. ‘Do not worry, you were facing the wrong way to see the barmaid, and you did not overhear Darrius.’
‘I guess,’ Lucian said, feeling disheartened but pushing it from his mind.
Standing inside, he gave Darrius a thumbs up.
Darrius stood and straightened himself out. He took a deep breath and set his eyes on his target. Almost as if he had a magic of his own, the barmaid looked his way after a few seconds. A look of embarrassment crossed her face, quickly turning to anger. She hiked up her apron and started running towards Darrius.
Darrius turned and told Lucian, ‘This is the other fifty percent. Must dash!’ And with that Darrius sprinted out the door, followed shortly by an irate barmaid.
‘Right. Jess, start telling people what to say,’ Lucian ordered, before remembering this was Jess he was talking to. ‘By which I mean, please approach the groups politely, gain their trust, and then let slip the information. I'll handle the back door, then be out to help you.’
Jess wandered off and stood awkwardly near a table. She looked like a fish out of water. She was trying to act the way she thought drunk humans acted.
He didn’t have time to worry about that now and headed to the door behind the bar. So far they’d only managed to unload the barrels. It had taken longer than expected because the back alley had been too small for the cart. Which made no sense for a delivery entrance!
No one had scouted the path to the back door. So anything could be beyond this kitchen door. Maybe even a kitchen.
He casually bent down, trying not to attract unwanted attention. He was sure that patrons in this village would be all too eager to be nosy about something. It was hard to look casual when peering through a keyhole, but he pulled it off with aplomb. A pointless endeavour as something, most likely a key, was blocking the hole.
He pushed the door open gently and peered in. Sure enough, it was the kitchen. There were two ways to get through somewhere you were not supposed to be - one was to fake confidence and act like you were supposed to be there, the other was to mimic a ghost and never be seen.
He closed the door behind him and looked around. The decor remained the same as the rest of the inn, with one large oven against the wall, and several chopping blocks scattered around tables haphazardly. There were two doors set into the wall closest to him, one within arm’s reach, the other on the far side of the room. Both led back in the direction of the bar, so Lucian hoped one would be the cellar. This back room hadn’t been quite as fortunate when it came to sunlight distribution. It relied mainly on the fire of the oven for light, although that was dim right now so a few spare candles were supplementing it.
There was also a man sitting on a chair, very obviously sleeping. Presumably the chef. That was why Lucian always surveyed the scene before deciding if he should use bravado or stealth to get through somewhere. If he had used bravado, the noise of his entry w
ould have woken the chef for sure. Fortunately his penchant for caution had served him well.
Things were starting to look up for his future career as a dashing, cunning, skilled Hero of legend. But he knocked a cooking pan off a shelf.
The clang made him jump, and he used this to dive behind the nearest counter. There was a startled stirring from the chef, muttering to himself and gasping as he awoke. Lucian didn’t dare to look up, waiting for the chef to jump into action. Nothing for a second, but then the chef grumbled and got up. He heard the heavy shuffle of tired feet heading his way. He disciplined his body to move with total silence and got to his feet, staying crouched behind one of the tables.
He focused on the sound of the steps, and the heavy breathing from the chef. He timed his movement just right, slipping around the table just as the chef passed him, even remembering to hold his cloak as he moved.
For a moment he felt that he should have become a thief with skills like that, but then thought maybe things wouldn’t quite pan out.
He heard the cooking pan scrape against wood as the chef picked it up and racked it. The feet shuffled again and a door opened, letting in the blaring noise of drunken talk, and sadly, the high pitched screech of an Elf giving commands. He used the opportunity to move quickly towards the other end of the room as the chef shouted, ‘Is it worth firing up the oven?’
The door closed and the chef returned to his seat, in the practiced fashion of someone who had been performing this routine for years. Lucian heard the rhythmic breathing of sleep return after only a few minutes.
Lucian had managed to position himself next to the far door. He checked the keyhole and saw nothing of interest. He glanced around to make sure the chef wouldn’t look his way if awoken. It was safe. Now that he had a moment to compose himself, he realised that there was almost no food on the shelves. Putting that peculiarity to the side, he opened the door.
With a stroke of luck that, quite frankly, Lucian wasn’t used to, the delivery door was on his immediate right. And in front of him was the staircase leading down to the cellar that held the spare barrels. He slid the bolt back, and pushed the door open.
Khleb and Gar were sitting on the barrels playing dicey cardy to kill time.
‘It’s all yours guys, but keep it down. The chef is just through here,’ Lucian warned.
They ignored him.
‘Guys?’
‘Hold,’ Gar replied.
‘We'll get to it after this game, boss,’ Khleb said absently.
‘We're in the middle of a job. Get it done!’ Lucian shouted as loudly as he felt he could without waking the chef.
He didn’t wait for their response. He turned and made his way back through the kitchen, and into the main room. He hadn’t known how Jess was going to handle her task, but he supposed, in hindsight, he shouldn’t have expected anything different. She approached it exactly as someone with her social skills would.
Most patrons were still in their booths, but any free stools and seats had been neatly lined up, and tables pushed to the sides of the room. There was an excited buzz going through the crowd. Jess stood at the far end with everyone’s undivided attention upon her.
As Lucian entered, not quite knowing what to make of the situation, Jess clapped her hands together and said, ‘All right, everyone knows their roles. Most importantly, act natural!’
There were a few cheers, and some polite claps, before the crowd set the furniture back in its place.
Lucian approached Jess, dodging the bustling patrons. ‘I was barely gone ten minutes. What happened?’
‘I did as you asked, and tried to “infiltrate” them, but it was taking too long.’
‘Aren’t Elves renowned for their patience?’
‘Regardless,’ Jess continued impatiently, ‘I knew we were on a time limit, and so I got the job done.’
‘But... what did you tell them? And how?’ Lucian asked, still a bit baffled.
‘The how is easy, Lucian. I am fully aware of how you apes view my appearance, so I simply leveraged my assets.’
‘Do you mean...’
‘Do not be crude, Lucian. Males of your species are easily controlled when they are approached by a pretty girl, and when that girl turns out to be a woman giving commands, they fall in line like scolded children.’
‘That... sounds accurate,’ Lucian conceded.
‘After rounding them up, I told them the legendary Moxar was coming through but he needed help. He needed to know the location of a cave, and that wherever he sat he should overhear this information. Simple.’
‘But they can’t know that the information is a plant!’ Lucian said, concerned that Jess had just told an entire village that Moxar was a fake.
‘Be calm. It was a simple enough story. They think that the information is being passed on by a rival of his from a past Quest. This imaginary past villain wanted to make amends to Moxar for past misdeeds, but didn’t want Moxar to know. An act of kindness. Who could say no to helping someone trying to do the right thing?.
‘That’s... quick thinking.’ Lucian had to admit the story seemed solid, although he wondered if the unseen watchers would see it that way. Realising he’d paused too long, he tried to cover his far away look with a nonchalant, ‘Not sure it fits in with Company guidelines on interacting with the public, but who’s going to find out?’
‘Besides,’ Jess said, ignoring Lucian’s tangent. ‘When they realised they could be mentioned in the next great Moxar tale, they jumped at the chance to do anything they could to bring some attention to their little village. They blathered on about some grain shortage.’
‘There’s the Jess I know! Well, it looks like they could use the mention if they're still here by the time the legend is released. From the looks of this inn’s supplies, I somehow doubt it.’
‘I care very little.’
‘Right, that’s fair.’
‘Shall we collect the others and rest?’
‘We need to get moving on to the cave as soon as possible, actually. It will take a week to get there. And we need to stay ahead of Moxar for now - our crossover point and swapping to clean up crew isn’t until... well, it’s another night on the road, I’m afraid.’ Lucian grinned, knowing Jess would like what he was about to say. ‘Besides, Khleb and Gar are in the middle of swapping the barrels over. Normally I'd help, but we'll let them finish the job on their own.’
‘Why?’
‘Partly because I spent a long time planning how to keep an entire inn sober. Feeling drunk from the social conditioning, yes, but actually stone cold sober allowing them to remember all the information we gave them. I was proud of that plan. And partly because they decided to finish a round of dicey cardy before following my orders.’
Jess considered this for a moment before smiling at Lucian. ‘I approve.’
Chapter 7
Back at the Lodge...
It had been an hour since Lord Orson had spoken to Lucian, and he was having trouble focusing on the planning at hand. As a master tactician, he knew that the months ahead all relied on what they decided now - the planning before they set off for the first stop.
‘So we’ll swap the barrels to non alcoholic beer. And they’ll be able to remember everything we tell them,’ Lucian finished.
‘I don’t think beer affects the mind that much, sir,’ Darrius said.
‘Good. Then you’ll all remember this plan when we reach Moatslocke. Once we've planted the information we'll rest for the night,’ Lucian said.
‘Could use some rest now, boss,’ Khleb pointed out between sips of his beer.
The lodge was heating up and becoming dangerously close to cozy. Lucian considered moving to a table further away from the comforting warmth of the fire.
‘We need to get to the cave ahead of Moxar. It should take us a week of hard travel,’ Lucian said, tracing his finger across a small portion of the map laid out in front of them.
‘We're all familiar with the road sweep?’ L
ucian asked.
‘Yeah,’ Gar grunted.
‘All right. We discuss everything before anyone acts - you never know what we might meet. If it happens that is, there’s no guarantee.’
‘When was the last time you didn’t have to do a sweep?’ Khleb asked skeptically.
‘Ha! Fair point.’
* * * *
Lucian jolted awake.
He sat bolt upright and reached for his axe, forever at his side. He panicked when he couldn’t find it, then realised it was at his other side.
They were almost at the cave and would be able to use it as shelter tomorrow, but for now they were in tents. Cold tents, their surroundings covered in snow. Lucian didn’t know why he had woken up. All was quiet.
Darrius broke that silence. ‘Something’s out here!’
Lucian scrambled to his feet and wrapped himself in one of the furs they were using to keep themselves warm . He had no time to put on his leather armour. Boots were a must, along with the fur, his axe, and his bow.
As he burst outside, cold air slapped his face and stung his lungs. Darrius hadn’t slacked during his watch and the perimeter torches were all burning strong. A ring of eight, twenty metres out from the tents. Khleb had been first out of his tent and had joined Darrius already. In a similar state of undress to Lucian, furs flapping everywhere, Gar appeared from his tent, battered sword and gleaming shield in hand. He jogged to the centre of the camp where Darrius and Khleb were trying to see what was coming.
‘I don’t see or hear anything,’ Lucian said. Despite being on the other side of the tents he had no trouble being heard in the silence of night.
‘Paws treading snow,’ Darrius said. ‘I wouldn’t have heard it, but there was a howl earlier in the night that put me on edge. Made it much easier to stay awake.’
Lucian wrapped the belt around his furs to stop excessive flapping and to holster his axe. He had staked twelve arrows into the ground outside his tent as he did every night. No point messing around with a quiver when half asleep, and any attack would always be a siege. He’d be standing his ground.