The Thief's Gamble

by Juliet E. McKenna

  Allin stared at him. 'Are you going to have to do what he wants? Do you think he'll keep his word?'

  'I can't do it, in any case,' Casuel replied miserably. 'I mean, even if I could come up with something to scare Lord Sovel into agreement, once the Council got to hear of it - and they would — I'd be in more trouble than you can imagine!'

  Allin began to rattle the shutters. 'Help! Help!' she yelled in desperation but the only answer was laughter from outside the door.

  'Shut up, you silly girl!'

  'Then do something yourself!' Allin turned and the branch of candles on the table flared head-high, as her anger reached the flames.

  They both stared open-mouthed as the magical fire consumed the candles, leaving a puddle of wax ruining the finish of Lord Armile's table.

  'Do calm down, my dear,' Casuel said shakily, suddenly grateful the hearth was unlit.

  Allin's knees buckled and she dropped on to the window seat, her face ashen.

  Casuel made as if to speak but snapped his mouth shut. Too late, Allin had noticed.

  'What is it? Have you thought of something?'

  'No, I mean, not really. It doesn't matter.' Casuel cringed at the thought of following up the notion that had just come to him. The humiliation did not bear thinking about.

  'You have, you've got an idea.' Allin rose to her feet. 'What is it?'

  Casuel hesitated; humiliation had to be preferable to disgrace, didn't it? 'Well, if you can conjure me a flame, and we can find something shiny, I could scry for help.'

  Allin turned to the table and shoved crocks and plates aside wildly. She grabbed for a platter a breath too late and it crashed to the floor. She froze and they both held their breath but no one opened the door.

  'Here.' Allin rubbed the sauce from a silver dish-cover. 'How about this?'

  'Bring it here and find a candle.' Casuel drew a deep breath. 'Hold it up, that's right. Now, concentrate on the wick, very gently now. Focus your mind and bring a little fire.'

  They stared at the candle, which remained obstinately unlit.

  'Concentrate!' Casuel urged in frustration.

  'I am!' Allin pursed her lips and bent closer. A sudden gout of flame leaped up and Casuel coughed on the stink of burned hair as one of her ringlets vanished into smoke.

  'Hold it, hold it, that's right. Bring it down, calm down, you're doing very well,' Casuel gabbled hastily.

  Allin managed a tremulous smile and the candle flame took on more normal proportions.

  Casuel gripped his shaking hands together and focused his talents on the reflection. A surge of power startled him until he remembered the mass of iron around his wrists. Who should he try to contact? He searched his memory desperately for any wizards in the area. A sinking feeling came over him. With the range he could manage now, Usara was the obvious person to contact, wasn't he? Well, at least he might have some chance of keeping this sorry business quiet if he made a clean breast of it to a Council member straight away.

  The dish-cover filled with a brilliant amber light and an image snapped into view. Casuel took a deep, reluctant breath.

  'Usara!'

  The sandy-haired mage looked up from his crucibles and gazed around curiously. ''Casuel?

  Allin stared. 'Can't he see us?'

  Casuel ignored her. 'Usara, please, I need your help.'

  The wizard rolled up his tattered sleeves and gestured, the radiance of the spell darkened and the air crackled with power. Now he was looking straight at them.

  ''Where are you?''

  'Being held by Lord Armile of Friern, who wants me to use magic in his service,' Casuel said baldly.

  ''How did this happen?'

  'I'll explain later.' Casuel cringed; only if he couldn't find a way to avoid it. 'Please, if it were just me, I'd face him out, but I have a girl with me, a mage-born I was bringing to Hadrumal. I think she's in some peril.'

  Usara spared Allin a glance. ' This Lord Armile has actually imprisoned you?'

  'Well, sort of,' Casuel began.

  'I think we'd better make him think twice about this sort of trick,' Usara said grimly. His face peered out from the image. ''Get ready to run?

  'What—'

  Casuel's question was lost in a shattering crash as the window wall exploded outwards in a cascade of masonry and glass.

  'Come on!' Casuel's order was unnecessary; hampered by his fetters, he scrambled over the rubble after Allin, who had gathered her skirts above her knees and was running like a hare started by hounds. She halted, hesitating, rubbing her eyes as the darkness confused her. Shouts rang out from the house and from buildings ahead, doors slamming and dogs barking.

  'This way.' Casuel flung a bolt of desperate amber energy against a garden gate. They ran for the jagged hole and plunged into a tangle of shrubs.

  'Wait, let me get these off,' Casuel cursed but the manacles slid open after a few moments. He gripped Allin's shoulder as she stood, shaking, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

  'Pull yourself together.' He wove a faint blue aura. 'I can get us out of here unseen if you keep quiet.'

  She nodded in mute terror.

  'We'll return to Market Harrall, get our things and take the first coach out.' Casuel forced more confidence than he felt into his tone. 'Once we're out of the district, we can head back to Hadrumal.'

  Where he was going to have some explaining to do, he thought dismally, as they picked their way through the soaking vegetation. This was all Shivvalan's fault.

  Inglis, 6th of Aft-Autumn

  The rest of our journey was uneventful and both moons were waxing to a double full when we finally crested a line of hills to look down the sinuous length of the river Dalas as it met the ocean. Sprawled around the mouth was the city of Inglis, the only civilisation for leagues in any direction. I drew in a deep breath of satisfaction and said farewell to the endless grasslands.

  'This looks like my kind of town, Geris. Things are going to happen here, I can feel it in the bones.'

  He smiled back at me. We took the high road along the river down into the city. It was hard not to gape like a Caladhrian fresh off the farm at the huge rafts of logs being poled down the stream and the wide hulks of the riverboats coming down from the forests and mountains of Gidesta. We could hear the sounds of singing, drinking and in one case fighting coming across the water; my fingers still itched with regret at not having a chance at one of the famous games on board. I suppose Darni had a point when he said the boats were trouble, but it was not as if our journey through the plains had been all wildflowers, was it? Yells from a boat tying up made the horses shy as a man was thrown bodily over the rail. We left him cursing as he tried to climb the crumbling logs of the wharf. There were shipyards along each bank above the scour of the tide race, echoes of sawing and hammering rang back from the hills which ran down towards the ocean. I could smell fresh-cut wood and pitch and, hovering above it all, a wild salt freshness. I listened hard and could just make out the low murmur of waves below the din of the city.

  Of course I had seen the sea before; I've been to Relshaz a couple of times as well as spending time on the Spice Coast between Peorle and Grennet, but the sheltered waters of the Caladhrian Gulf are a far cry from the open ocean. I was standing in my stirrups as we wove our way towards the eastward docks where the tall masts of the Dalasorian clippers swayed against the early morning sun. The road took us along the docks and we paused while Darni and Shiv discussed what to do next. I did not bother listening; I was staring at the surf breaking against the rocks of the headland, the massive bulk of the sea defences, the sun glinting on the calmer waters of the estuary and the sleek lines of the ocean-going ships. They looked like racing hounds set against spit dogs when I thought of the lumbering galleys that trade between the Sea of Lescar and Aldabreshi. No wonder the Tormalins forbid the Dalasorians passage round the Cape of Winds; let loose in the southern waters, these could hunt down anything they chose.

  A foul smell and the rattle o
f chains broke my thrall as the wind shifted. I coughed and turned to see a row of gibbets decorating the dock. Bodies in varying stages of decay swayed in the breeze, cages frustrating birds looking for a meal.

  'What do you know about Inglis then?' I moved next to Geris, who was staring around like a farmwife at her first fair. 'Who runs the city?'

  Geris shook his head. 'I'm not sure; I've never been this far north. Darni will know.'

  He looked back at the sound of his name. 'What did you say?'

  I repeated my question.

  'Later. We'll get settled first and then sit down to do some proper planning. I've got some contacts here.'

  'I need to know what I'm up against if I'm to do that job we were discussing,' I warned him.

  'Oh, the merchant is called—' Geris' words were drowned as I shoved Russet into his horses and scowled at him to shut up.

  'Not in the street and not so loud,' I hissed. He blushed and I resisted the impulse to reassure him; he had to learn some discretion or we could all end up rattling for the seabirds' amusement; Inglis had that sort of atmosphere.

  Shiv led us through the busy streets into the heart of the city. The buildings were of good white stone and the main streets were well cobbled with water running through to sluice the gutters. As we rode I saw most of the buildings were very similar in design and age; there were few haphazard roof-lines or awkward street corners. This place positively reeked planning, order and money and I wondered again who exactly was in charge.

  'Piss off!' Darni raised his whip as we entered a wide square and beggars started towards us from their seats round an elegant fountain.

  I threw a few pennies to one man scrambling forward on legs twisted under him by childhood disease; you can't fake that. I regretted my generosity as others headed towards me.

  'Spare copper?' A thin man waved uncoordinated hands at Geris' reins and I saw he had the vacant green-tinged eyes of a tahn addict. I kicked him in the back and raised my dagger, glad I was wearing gloves when I saw the mucus oozing down his face.

  'Get lost before I cut you.' He was not so lost that he did not get the message, and he stumbled off.

  'He didn't touch you?' Shiv called, concerned.

  I shook my head. 'Don't worry.' Having spent three days emptying my guts down to the blood after once lifting a tahn addict's purse, I won't make the mistake of getting that muck on me again.

  The Archmage's coin got us clean and airy rooms in a respectable inn. As I relaxed in a steaming tub, I decided I could get used to travelling like this. Drianon, it was good to get that chainmail off; my shoulders were killing me! A knock on the door saved me from drifting off to sleep in the scented water.

  'Who is it?'

  'Darni's got us a parlour on the first floor.' Shiv stuck his head round the door. 'He's gone out to find the contacts he was talking about, so you needn't hurry. Come down when you're ready.'

  I dragged myself reluctantly out of the tub and dressed in clean clothes, my mood brightening with the realisation that this style of inn would have a laundrymaid. Sluicing linen in rivers is better than nothing, but you still end up smelling like a frog. I frowned over my stained clothes from the Eldritch ring; I'd done my best but you could still tell it was blood. A laundrymaid would probably have better luck, but handing these clothes over would cause talk, so I decided I'd have to dump them. That did not please me; the jerkin I'd ruined was one of my favourites. Elk-skin, it would not be easy to replace. A thought struck me and I hurried to Geris' room.

  'There are bound to be some good spice merchants here, aren't there?' He smiled as I entered. He was sorting his collection of little polished boxes and canisters and I could see he would not be satisfied until Inglis added something new to his range of tisanes. Our campfires were enlivened most evenings by Geris blending and sipping and fussing over the temperature of his kettle. He shared the results round very generously, but none of the rest of us shared his capacity for excitement over a cup of oddly scented hot water.

  'I need more coppersalt,' he frowned. 'It'll be expensive up here, don't you think? I'll just get a Crown-weight, that shouldn't cost too much.'

  I considered pointing out that, even at Vanam prices, that much coppersalt would cost my mother most of a quarter's wages but there did not seem to be much point. Still, a trip to a herbalist might be worthwhile to see if Inglis offered any interesting'spices' for my darts. I remembered what I had come for.

  'Don't send your clothes from the fight to the laundrymaid; we don't want anyone to take any special notice of us here.

  'Oh, I burned them one night while I was on watch,' Geris said easily. 'Do you think I'll be able to get fresh ale-leaves here?'

  He'd burned them just like that, just like so much rubbish. A brushed silk shirt, broadcloth tunic and tailored breeches. What it must be to have the habits of permanent wealth.

  'Come on, let's find Darni's parlour.'

  'Just let me work out what I need to buy.' Geris continued sorting through his paraphernalia while I propped up the door post.

  It could have been worse; we could have been in Relshaz where tisane mania is running riot. Apparently you can make a fortune there with a sufficiently startling box of herbs. Even a couple of incidental poisonings do not seem to have dampened the enthusiasm. Having said that, I was once in a high-stakes game with one of the more prominent victims and you'll never convince me his death was accidental.

  'I'll take you to my favourite merchants when we get back to Vanam.' Geris took my arm as we went down the stairs. 'There's one just off the Iron Bridge who's brilliant; my mother gets all her herbs there too. You'll like her.'

  He chattered on happily enough but I could see I was going to have to find a way of letting him down gently. Geris had the kind of nest-building urge you rarely see outside a hen-house. We were just too different, in too many ways. We'd passed the Equinox in a cattle-camp, one of our stops to trade for fodder and remounts, and Geris had made us all get out of bed to listen to the Horn-chain being sounded across the frosty grasslands. He'd stood there, reading out bits from his unnecessarily detailed Almanac, burbling on about the ancient origins of the rite and sun-cycle traditions. As far as I was concerned, it was just a handy way of learning how far-off other camps were and in what general direction, and I could have heard it just as well from the warmth of my blankets. I may be laying my hair on Drianon's altar one of these days but I knew it was certainly not Geris who would be doing the cutting. Still, plenty of time to worry about that later, I told myself.

  'It's the last one on the right.' Shiv came up behind us and we opened the door to find Darni and a strange youth sitting in an elegant withdrawing-room, tastefully decorated in green brocade.

  'This is Fremin Altaniss.' Darni waved a hand at the youth, who looked at us all uncertainly and opened his mouth.

  'Wait.' I turned to Shiv. 'This strikes me as the wrong town to get overheard in. Can you do anything about that?'

  'Surely.' He sketched some runes in the air with brilliant blue flashes, then sparks flew round the windows and walls, which glowed briefly.

  'Now then.' I sat myself at the head of the table. 'Good morning, Fremin, and who exactly are you?'

  'He's an agent assigned to watch over the merchant we're interested in.'

  'Can he speak for himself, Darni?'

  'He reports to me.'

  The poor lad was looking like a mouse between two cats but I was not about to back down.

  'Darni, when it comes to chopping people into bloody chunks, you are the best I've seen, no question. But believe me, I'm the best you're likely to see relieving people of their property. I need to know certain things which I don't think you'll appreciate, so I can ask you and you can ask him if that makes you happy but I really think it would be simpler if I did the asking myself.'

  Shiv opened his mouth and then shut it as we all waited for Darni to make up his mind. The silence was made even more tense by the lack of outside noises.

/>   'Go ahead.' He nodded, unsmiling, at Fremin, who decided he could breathe again.

  'So, how well do you know Inglis, how long have you been here?'

  'I followed Yeniya, that's the merchant, from Relshaz. We've been here since just before the end of Aft-Summer.'

  'Ever been to Inglis before?'

  He shook his head and I stifled a sigh. This job was going to be hard enough and I had hoped for better local sources.

  'So what can you tell me about the city? Who thinks they run it and who really runs it?'

  'The merchants' guilds run everything,' he said confidently. 'They really are in charge; different guilds do different things but their leaders organise it all between themselves.'

  'Any sort of council or electors to give the people a voice?'

  'No. Anyone who lives here permanently has to be a member of one of the guilds so I suppose they can get their concerns aired through their mastercraftsman.' He looked a little dubious.

  'How does that work?'

  'I'm not really sure; each guild has its own systems.'

  I frowned. 'How tight is their control? There must be some people who want to strike out for themselves.'

  Fremin shook his head again; I had a sinking feeling that he was going to do that a lot. 'Anyone who doesn't join is driven out. Anyway, there are benefits to belonging, free freight for goods to the south being the most important one. The guilds take care of running the city too.'

  'There must be some who don't want to pay up,' I objected. 'Guild dues cost money and that means less profit.'

  'No, it's all part of the set-up; the guilds don't take coin from their members. They pay their dues in services - street-cleaning, fire-watching and the like.'

  Someone had thought this all through very thoroughly. An idea struck me.

  'How efficient is the fire-watching? What's the attitude to fire-raising, come to that?'

  'Livak!' Geris was outraged as he saw where I was heading.