“Granddad, if Adrian’s sword was could do those horrible things, what about your gun?
“What about it?”
“I don’t know. I guess…I mean…have there been any problems with you using it?”
The old man smiled.
“I know what you’re asking, and the answer is no. Unless I’ve done it myself, no problems.”
“Good,” the young man replied, and took his leave.
As usual, Lilly came into the room after their grandson was gone.
“That’s a tough story to hear. How did he take it?”
“Like I would expect. Full of blame and doubt at first, but letting it pass him by. It’s ancient history to him.”
“But not to you,” she said softly.
“No, not to me.”
She moved over near him and put her arms around his neck.
“You’re a good man, Duke Grandfather, and Adrian would say the same if he could.”
The next evening came, and with it came the young man, and another trip to the trophy room.
The young man looked around. “Tonight…let’s see…oh! How about this?”
He held up a piece of bone, old and yellowed with age.
“I can’t imagine why you have what looks like a piece of someone’s leg in your trophy room, but it looks like it’s been here a long time!”
“You’ve got to be careful touching things in here!” Duke said. “Luckily, that thing is long dead…again. And it looked old before I got it. Let’s go back down. You get me my ale, and I’ll see what I can remember about that old bone.”
LILLY
There’s a special place in hell, or at least there should be, for those that disturb you when you’re trying to sleep. Why is it that people expect you to get up at an ungodly hour just because they have? Since when did it become a law, that after a certain age, you have to get up before noon?
So it was with ill humor that I rousted myself from my comfortable bed to the sounds of the hammering on my front door. I stomped to it, ripped it open and growled, “What?” in my best imitation of a dragon with a thorn in its paw. I’m sure my breath backed up that imitation, after a night of drinking with my friend, Jessup.
The light flared in, sending sharp needles of pain throughout my head and I squinted against it, unable to see.
“Let’s go, Grandfather,” a voice said. “We’ve got things to do.”
I knew the voice, but hadn’t really expected to ever hear it again. I rubbed my eyes, shaded them with my hand and looked at the attractive, blonde woman, dressed in red robes, standing on my door step.
“Lilly? What…”
I didn’t get any further before she barged in past me.
“God, Grandfather, you smell like the ass end of a troll. Come on. Clean yourself up, the days not getting any younger.”
The day felt plenty young to me still, as evidenced by the fact that I had no idea what was going on.
“I’m…confused…” I stuttered.
“Color me surprised,” Lilly said, looking around. “Seems to me that you probably live half your life that way. Where’s the kitchen? I’ll make coffee while you scrape the fuzz off.”
I pointed and she walked in like she owned the place.
“See you in five,” she said over her shoulder.
I did scrape the fuzz off, as she put it, both from body and mind. Between cleaning myself up and the smell of the coffee from the kitchen, I was starting to come around, despite the early hour. I looked out of the window and saw people out there walking with a purpose, like they were heading for jobs or something. I shuddered, and averted my eyes. Some things I can’t bear to look at.
Lilly had the coffee ready by the time I reached the kitchen. She poured a big mug of it for me, and left it black, the way I like it. Well, honestly, I like it with a healthy dose of sugar and maybe some milk, but most of the time I kind of need it to be black to do its job. Not that it’s any more powerful, but forcing down the bitterness of it helps me concentrate.
I sat down at the table with the cup cradled between my hands and regarded my visitor. I was still in awe to be frank. Lilly was a necromancer who worked for the Watch. The necromancers were the heavy hitters that they pulled out to combat real serious crimes, or when a watchman is killed. They don’t play around, and from what I’ve heard, they can do terrible things to you until you die, and then really ratchet up the unpleasantness.
I worked with Lilly a short time back, and we got along well. We even went for a drink or three after it was over, while she tried to explain to me what had happened. All that being said, I never expected to see her again. Necromancers, and other wizard types, simply didn’t pal around with a Nuisance Man like myself.
“What are you doing here, Lilly?” I asked, after I took a sip of the coffee. You can add that to her list of talents, by the way. The woman could make a mean cup of coffee.
“I need your help,” she said, sipping at her own cup. Not being used to having visitors, I was really hoping that she at least rinsed it out first.
“With what?”
“It’s secret. You’ll see when we get there.”
I grunted at that. There were some things that you didn’t push, and when someone like Lilly said they needed your help with a secret project, that was one of them.
A short time later we finished our coffee and were walking down the street. Lilly didn’t say much, and strolled along casually, appearing to enjoy the morning. As far as mornings went, it was a nice one. Not a cloud in the sky, pleasant temperature, and strolling along with an attractive woman is not a bad way to start the day. The fact that said woman could cause my head to ignite with a few words and wave of her hand was beside the point.
Finally, my curiosity started to get the better of me.
“Not that I’m minding the stroll here Lilly, but what exactly are we doing?”
“You’ll see,” she said.
We walked on, which can be a real experience in Capital City, even for someone born and bred here such as myself. Over the last several years, the city has gone from being exclusively human, to housing races from all over the world. You could now see dwarves, orcs, goblins, ogres, gnolls, kobolds and just about anything else walking our fair streets. Most of them were honest, hard-working, good-hearted folk trying to get by. It makes for interesting viewing, even when you don’t know where you’re going.
Lilly finally stopped. I looked around, but didn’t see anything that would even remotely be considered a problem, and certainly not one that would require a necromancer to feel the need for help.
“Well, here we are,” she said.
I was still confused.
“Here we are, where?”
In answer, Lilly pointed to a banner strung across the end of wide alleyway reading, “Crown Street Bazaar”.
It was a street market, one of the many that were popping up across the city in various places. All sorts of things were on sale, from food stuffs to hand made furniture and clothing. People set up tables, and representatives of about every race you could think of peddled their wares. It was all very forward thinking, and I’d rather have my eyeballs removed with a dull hatpin than spend a day at one, but it was the type of place that could breed all sorts of mischief.
“What’s the problem?” I said.
“Nothing,” Lilly said, looking down the row of vendors intently.
“Then why am I here?”
“In case I need you to carry something,” she said. “Come on.”
I ended up spending a good part of the day at a street market. I’ve had worse times. The variety of items on display seemed never ending, and I’m pretty sure that Lilly looked at all of them. While there wasn’t much that interested me, there were a few items here and there, and if nothing else, the food was good.
Later in the afternoon, we left the market and walked back to my house.
“Thanks Grandfather,” Lilly said when we arrived. “That was fun.”
>
Despite her earlier comment, she really didn’t purchase much, so the only thing I was carrying was a small bag, which I turned over to her now.
“Yeah,” I said, “it was. Although I’m still a little confused.”
“Don’t be dense,” she said, starting to move away. “See you around.”
With that, she was walking away down the street, leaving me standing there to watch her. Watching Lilly walk away wasn’t a bad thing. She had a nice walk.
The next day I arose at a healthier hour and took stock of my current situation. I had a little money set aside, and would be good for another couple of days. Unless I spent an unusual sum that was, at somewhere like a nice restaurant perhaps. Not that I had reason to go to one of those, mind you, but something like that. I had plenty to join Jessup in the tavern nearby that evening, which was really the important thing.
Which is why I was a little surprised when I found myself in the watchhouse about an hour later, looking over the Nuisance Board. There were several nuisances to choose from, including some pretty easy low-level targets and a couple of higher, more difficult ones. The easier ones meant I didn’t have to work as hard, but the money wasn’t great, so I chose one of the tougher assignments.
This one was a minotaur, and promised to be a challenge, even for me. Minotaurs are scary. They are excellent warriors and have been used for a long time as mercenaries in a number of different armies. Their whole culture is based around that, and they learn how to fight and handle weapons from the time they can walk. Males and females both are born and bred to fight and wage war, and they’re very good at it. They also tend to hold themselves to a strict code of honor, and because of that, are rarely seen on the Board.
This one was accused of inciting treason, of all things, which was a new one for me.
“Hey, Sarge,” I said, taking the notice down and bringing it over to him.
“What do you need, lover boy?” Sarge said, not even looking up.
That gave me pause. Sarge has called me any number of things over the years that I’ve known him, but lover boy was a new one.
“Lover boy? What’s that supposed to mean?”
He chuckled and looked up from the newssheet he was reading.
“Nothing, Duke. Just busting your chops. What do you need?”
I looked sideways at him at first, then decided I’d let it go. Sarge was a smart-ass, so there wasn’t much sense in trying to figure him out.
“What’s the story with the minotaur?”
“Oh, that one’s the real deal. Put on there by no less than the Duke of Troysberg himself. You know, a real Duke, not someone with a stupid name.”
“Yeah, I get it. Ha ha. If this guy really is inciting treason, why doesn’t the Watch go after him? Or the Palace Guard?”
Sarge bristled a little at that, and I felt a little revenged for the lover boy and stupid name comments. There was a long-standing rivalry between the Watch and the Palace Guard. The Watch’s mandate was to keep peace and solve crimes in the city itself. That ended at the palace gates. Inside there, the Guard had final say, and they didn’t like to tell the Watch everything they knew. That made the Watch’s job that much more difficult when a little palace in-fighting spilled out into the streets or a brothel. On their end of things, the Guard liked to insinuate that the Watch was full of those not good enough to become Guard.
They may actually have of a point there. The Palace Guard is directly responsible for the health and well-being of His Royal Majesty, and his family. If anything was to happen to one of them, heads would roll. Our king was very highly regarded by those of us who lived down the hill, but there was always the chance of some nut making a run at him. Given that, those guys needed to know what they were doing.
“Cute,” Sarge replied. “Your answer is that he’s not technically doing anything illegal. He hasn’t called for the King’s head, which we could consider a threat and put him in the Lock-ups for. But he is making enough noise that he’s drawn attention to himself, which is why the Duke wants him gone. Good money in it though. You don’t even have to go up the hill to get paid. He gave us the funds. 200 gold rubles.”
I whistled at that. 200 gold rubles was a lot of money, and would keep me in ale and mutton for a good long time. It would even let me dine at a fancy restaurant if I so chose. Not that I had any plans to do so, but still, the option would be nice.
“Okay,” I said to Sarge, “I’ll take it.”
“Kind of thought you might,” he said, smirking. “Girlfriends are expensive.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing!” he said, and burst out laughing. “Nothing at all, Duke. Good luck with the minotaur.”
I walked out of the watchhouse scowling and shaking my head. I knew what he was talking about, of course. I just didn’t see how word got out that Lilly and I walked around a street market together. I hoped she wasn’t getting the same treatment.
The minotaur was tough, I’m not going to lie, and not only because he was an expertly trained warrior. There was something wrong with him, something in his head. You could see it when you looked at him. His eyes were wild and darted around, looking for enemies in every corner and shadow. Usually, a minotaur’s gaze is rock steady, and they’re not afraid of enemies in the corner, they welcome them. I tried to talk to him, but it was no use, and soon enough he charged me, which is another terrifying thing that they do. I remembered to set the gun to “minotaur”, and put him down easily enough, but there was no sense of pride in this one. I was sad about it, to tell you the truth.
But not so sad that I wasn’t going to collect the money.
I went back to the watchhouse to see Sarge and get paid. He turned over the money, with his congratulations on a job well done. He may be slowly coming around to the view that someone should be actually guilty to be removed, maybe, but to him, there was really nothing wrong with the old ways.
“Hey,” I said after I put the money securely away in my pouch. “I’ve got…uh…business downstairs. You know, about a ghost.”
Horrified, I could feel a burning sensation in my cheeks, and realized that I was blushing.
“Sure you do,” Sarge said, grinning at me again. “Go ahead, you know where they are.”
I proceeded down the hallway behind Sarge’s counter, where I went for the first time only a short while ago, and down the long stairway that ended in a heavily strapped wooden door. I pounded on it, and waited.
A few moments later, the door opened, apparently by itself, to reveal a hooded figure.
“Yeah, uh, hi,’ I stuttered. “I need to see Lilly. Tell her it’s Duke…er….Grandfather…”
I trailed off. This wasn’t going quite the way that I envisioned it. But why should I care what Sarge, Mr. Mysterious Cloaked Figure Man, or anyone else cared? It was none of their business!
I kept telling myself that while the figure moved away, leading me to Lilly’s office. I’m not sure that it’s possible to read amusement in a totally hidden figure, but it certainly seemed to be.
“Duke!” Lilly exclaimed when I entered. “What the hell are you doing here?”
I looked around, a little uncomfortable. The hooded figure that guided me here was still standing in the doorway.
Lilly looked around me.
“You can go, Jared!”
The figure moved away, and Lilly turned back to me.
“Spill,” she said. “What do you want Grandfather?”
My tongue felt heavy in my mouth suddenly, and my throat was dry as the Granveld Desert. I’m sure it was the stale air down there in the basement.
“I was thinking that…” I began, then stopped with my mouth hanging open.
Lilly really was very pretty. I guess I noticed that before, but for some reason, it really struck me at that moment. What I was doing, or trying to do, also struck me. I was actually about to ask a necromancer out on a date. Me, Duke Grandfather, humble Nuisance Man, was going to ask out Li
lly, unknown last name, Necromancer. There must be something wrong here.
“What’s wrong with you?” Lilly said, when nothing further came out of my gaping mouth.
“Nothing,” I quickly replied, feeling that slow flush creep up from my collar again. “It’s just that, well, I was wondering if maybe you’d like to get dinner. At Pierre’s maybe?”
Lilly looked at me with amusement on her face.
“Gee, Grandfather. That looked painful.”
Now the flush was fully settled in and I could feel the burn in my cheeks. It was enough that I started to sweat. Stupid basement air.
“Well, I thought maybe…”
“Wow,” she said. “I can’t stand to see you suffer any more. Sure. I’d love to go to dinner with you. It doesn’t have to be Pierre’s either. That place is expensive!”
I smiled, the flush starting to fall back down to my heart where it belonged.
“That’s great. But no…Pierre’s. I’d like to go there…with you.”
We stood smiling at each other for a minute.
“Good grief, Grandfather,” she finally said, “get out of here! I’ve got work to do.”
The trip back up the stairs was much easier than the one coming down. That happens when you float up them. Hell, I even ignored Sarge’s sarcastic comments on my way out the door.
Later that night, we sat at Pierre’s, an upscale restaurant, in one of the up and coming neighborhoods. It was an equal opportunity eatery, and there were several non-human couples and groups there. I sat with Lilly and looked around, and came to even more of a realization that there really weren’t that great of differences between us after all.
As for Lilly, well, what can I say? We had a great time. We ate good food and I pretended to know what the waiter was talking about when he described the various wines that they offered. That was put to rest when Lilly interrupted him and asked what they had for ale. The waiter appeared nonplussed, but soon returned with two mugs of very good, cold ale. We laughed as we toasted each other.
Duke Grandfather- The Whole Story Page 9