Together, the two of them headed out of Herad’s compound and toward the market. As usual, the city was bustling with life, and the streets were full of people. Merchants were calling out to customers from their colorful stalls, and their wares were piled up in front of them. Saeter went over to one, and after a brief exchange with its owner, he walked away with several delicious-smelling meat pies. He handed them to Blacknail and then grimaced in disgust as the hobgoblin inhaled them down within seconds.
“Thanks, master,” Blacknail told him right before burping.
“Slow down, you don’t need to eat so quickly, or while I’m looking. Anyway, now it’s time for you to buy some stuff, so we’re going to wander around until you find something you like,” the old scout replied.
Blacknail sighed and tried to think up some excuse to keep his coins. He couldn’t think of anything though, so he reluctantly nodded his assent. He still thought it would be much smarter to just take something no one else was using…
“Where’s the cheese?” he asked Saeter.
Several minutes later, after some bargaining with a confused and more-than-slightly-frightened shopkeeper, the two of them headed back to base. As he walked, Blacknail was twitching with anticipation and hugging a huge wheel of stinking cheese to his chest while trying to resist the powerful urge to immediately bite into it. He wanted to taste it so bad!
“You’re so tasty and delicious. I will hide you away in my room and eat you for days,” Blacknail told the cheese. This caused Saeter to give him a concerned look.
“You’re not taking that back to your room. It would stink up the entire floor,” Saeter told him.
Blacknail wasn’t sure why that was something people would complain about. The cheese smelled great to him, almost like meat that had spoiled only the tiniest bit. The hobgoblin licked his lips in anticipation, but he had to tear his gaze away from the tasty treat he was holding in order to see where he was going. As he was looking around, his eyes wandered across a nearby stall and the false faces it was selling.
The merchant that was running the small shop didn’t seem to be doing a lot of business, but the occasional person stopped to take a look at his wares. His booth was covered in wooden carvings, including several of the masks that had caught the hobgoblin’s attention. Most intriguingly, like Blacknail did, the shopkeeper wore a long, hooded cloak that concealed his features. The merchant wasn’t a hobgoblin though, because he was large, even for a human. Blacknail also would have noticed the smell of another hobgoblin immediately if there was one so close by, and the idea of a hobgoblin selling wooden carvings was silly.
However, Blacknail really liked the look of some of the work, so he wandered over. Most the little statues were of animals, but a few were of people going about their everyday business. Blacknail didn’t see one of someone being mugged though, which was a pretty common part of life in Daggerpoint.
The cloaked man looked up as Blacknail approached yet remained silent as the hobgoblin examined his wares. Blacknail was most interested in the masks; he liked how fierce they looked. One was of a snarling wolf, and another beaked mask bore the image of a tyrant turtle. The turtle one was so lifelike, Blacknail hesitated to pick it up; he was afraid it would bite him. Saeter walked up beside him and examined one of the small figures. It was a perfectly crafted statue of a harpy in flight. He stared at it for a few seconds before saying anything.
“This doesn’t look like normal wood to me,” he whispered as he turned to look at the seller.
“You are a craftsman yourself, then?” the other man asked.
The merchant’s voice was smooth and clear, so much so that its uniqueness drew Blacknail’s attention. He couldn’t make out any of the man’s features though. His clothing concealed everything. Blacknail tried sniffing the air for his scent, but could only smell the wooden figurines. They reminded him of something…
“I dabble in wood carving sometimes, yes. Nothing like this though,” Saeter told the man respectfully.
Blacknail’s master was gazing at the merchant inquisitively and seemed off guard. His posture was tight and his eyes were slightly wide, as if something had startled him.
“Indeed, you obviously know something of my work. I hadn’t expected to find anyone here with such knowledge,” the cloaked man replied slowly.
Blacknail shuffled over a bit and bent down to examine another figurine. Then, when he thought no one was looking, he tried to look up into the man’s hood. He ended up disappointed though, because all he managed to glimpse were the edges of a wooden mask, like the ones on sale.
The merchant turned to Blacknail, and the hobgoblin quickly looked away. If the man was going to conceal his face, Blacknail sure wasn’t going to let him see his! Wearing clothing like that was kind of rude.
“And you travel in very interesting company, forest walker,” the large, robed shopkeeper observed aloud. Saeter stiffened but nodded reluctantly.
“I want a mask too. I like the turtle.” Blacknail waved a hand in front of the merchant’s face. This man sure was slow. The other shopkeeper had practically shoved his goods into Blacknail’s hands.
Saeter winced at the hobgoblin’s behavior and reached over to grab his shoulder. He was interrupted when the shopkeeper stood up.
“Then you shall have one, but not of a turtle. I have something more fitting for you,” he replied and reached under his stall.
A second later, the shopkeeper pulled out several items. First, he handed Blacknail a new mask that was different from the ones on display and then he set two long poles on the stand in front of him. Blacknail stared at the mask for a second. He wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. It most resembled a smiling human, but the proportions were all wrong. He liked it though. It was intimidating in its own way, and the mask looked like it was having fun.
“What’s it supposed to be?” he asked.
“The spirit of hunger.” The man turned to Saeter and handed him the two poles. Saeter’s eyes widened in surprise when he got a good look at them.
“These are bowstaves. I didn’t think you made those,” he replied in shock.
“Ignorance is the root of knowledge. Everything grows, or it dies. Remember that,” the cloaked merchant replied.
Saeter nodded and reached into his money pouch to withdraw a gold coin, which he handed to the man. The man took it and nodded in thanks before sitting back down and turning away from both his customers to watch his surroundings. It was clearly a dismissal, and Blacknail found it more than a little rude. No wonder the man had so few customers; he was kind of a jerk.
Blacknail wasn’t sure if he wanted this mask; he liked it, but the turtle was also pretty frightening. He reached over to pick the turtle mask up again, but Saeter grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
“Hey, I’m not done buying stuff!” Blacknail exclaimed.
“You’re done now; we need to get back,” Saeter told him and dragged the hobgoblin down the street.
Blacknail frowned in annoyance, but he followed his master. It didn’t take them long to get back to Herad’s base. Blacknail got more than a few stares from the other bandits as he carried his massive wheel of cheese inside.
“Just put the cheese in that cupboard,” Saeter told the hobgoblin as they entered the main building.
“What if someone steals it? I need to hide-ss it somewhere close where no one will look. I need to watch-ss over it always, it’s mine!” Blacknail argued in concern as he hugged it close.
“No one is going to steal it. It’s a huge lump of foul-smelling cheese!”
“Exactly!” Blacknail exclaimed as he gave one of the bandits walking past them a suspicious glare. There was no way he was going to leave his precious treat where other people could steal it. Humans were all thieves…
Just then, Khita appeared from around the corner and saw them. “Herad’s looking for you two, and I wouldn’t keep her waiting.”
“Oh, why?” Saeter asked curiously, while Blackn
ail tried to hide behind the huge snack he was carrying.
The hobgoblin wanted to meet with Herad right now about as much as he wanted to try and swallow his sword. He shivered shamefully at the very thought of talking to her again. He still hadn’t completely gotten over the humiliation of their last meeting.
“I think she wants to train with Blacknail again. I can’t believe he’s being taught by Herad personally. I’m just so jealous of him! I bet she’s a much better teacher than Vorscha. All she does is tell me to do drills,” Khita complained bitterly.
Blacknail glared maliciously at Khita. She was such a foolish human. Blacknail would gladly let her take his place. There was no way he could face Herad right now. The very thought made him queasy and gassy.
“Well—”
Saeter was interrupted by a wet thud as a large wheel of cheese hit the floor. He whirled around just in time to catch Blacknail before the hobgoblin could make a run for it.
“You’ll be fine, except for all the bruises,” he told Blacknail reassuringly.
The hobgoblin didn’t believe him. He whined as he tried to pull away, but Saeter kept a solid grip on him. Briefly, Blacknail considered cutting his own arm off so he could escape.
“The boss is up in her room,” Khita told them as she stared in confusion at Blacknail’s response.
“Right.” Saeter grunted. He then dragged the whimpering hobgoblin up the stairs and to Herad’s chamber.
“Now, don’t be a bloody coward!” Saeter hissed as he shoved Blacknail through her door.
Herad looked up from her desk as the two of them entered. Blacknail smiled nervously as he fought down his panic, and Saeter gave her a respectful nod.
“Ah, I was just looking for you two,” she said as she looked back down and scribbled something across a piece of paper in front of her.
“Well, here we are. What do you need?” Saeter responded.
“Galive has become a thorn in my side. He’s taken over a lot of Fang’s gang and is obviously under Zelena’s thumb. All those men make him the biggest threat to me right now, and I would prefer not to have to fight him directly,” Herad explained.
“What would you like us to do about it?” Saeter asked.
“I need him dead,” Herad said before dropping her pen and looking up at them.
“Sure.” Blacknail grinned happily at Herad, and his earlier queasiness disappeared. This was much better than another round of training. He’d rather fight the entire city than go through that again.
“He’s not ready,” Saeter responded sternly.
“Oh relax, Saeter. You’re like an old mother hen fussing over its big ugly green chick. The hobgoblin can take care of himself. It’s not like I’m throwing him away without preparation. I wouldn’t risk such a useful asset if I didn’t think he could succeed,” Herad said as she threw him a dangerous grin.
“You’re asking him to try and fight a Vessel with a small army of killers at his disposal,” Saeter told her.
“No, I’m not asking. Now let’s go over the details.”
Blacknail sighed and took a step away from Saeter. His master really needed to stop trying to argue with the chieftain. That never worked.
“Now, I can’t have my favorite assassin going out unprepared or anyone learning his true identity. So I had some gear prepared for you,” Herad explained as she gave the hobgoblin a comradely smile.
Blacknail straightened up proudly at Herad’s words. So he was her favorite after all! He felt all giddy inside. He’d show her that he deserved such an honor.
Herad picked up a small sack from her desk and handed it to Saeter. The old scout reached inside and withdrew a glass vial of Elixir, which he then passed to the hobgoblin. Next, he pulled out a large roll of bandages.
“To hide his skin, it’s rather distinctive. His cloak has worked so far but there is no point in taking a risk,” Herad explained as Saeter gave it a dubious look.
“If you’re worried about people figuring out he’s a hobgoblin, then I guess he could use the mask he just got as well,” Saeter remarked.
Blacknail thought that was a great idea. He reached into his cloak and held the wooden mask up in front of his face. Herad stared at its stretched features and the intricate patterns of lines that decorated it.
“That’s an interesting mask. Where did you get it?” she asked curiously.
“I bought-ss it, with money,” Blacknail replied cheerfully.
Saeter hesitated before responding. He looked like he couldn’t decide what to say. “From a stall at the market.”
Herad eyed him doubtfully. She obviously sensed his reluctance but chose not to pry, so she turned away from the old scout and looked at Blacknail instead. “Now he looks like a real assassin, and one worthy of being in my service,” Herad observed aloud with a vicious grin.
“He’s still not ready,” Saeter muttered.
“Well, one of you is going to do it. So decide amongst yourselves, because I don’t really care. Now get out of here, and I don’t want to see either of you until the job is done,” Herad told them with an annoyed scowl.
Saeter immediately marched out of the room. Blacknail followed him.
“I want to do it, you can stay-ss here,” Blacknail told his master as they walked through the hallway.
“We’re both going to do it. I’m not letting you mess this up!” Saeter ground his teeth in frustration.
That sounded like even more fun than going alone! With both of them working together, and his new but foul-tasting Elixir, this job was going to be too easy! Blacknail grinned in anticipation, and his smile matched that of the mask exactly.
Chapter 19
Blacknail and Saeter stood across the street from their target and observed the people coming and going. Both of them had their hoods up and were taking shelter from the afternoon sun within the shadows of a nearby building. A huge, rectangular stone building stood before them. Its walls were straight and decorated with intricate carvings of people and animals. Stone pillars several times taller than a man lined the front of the building. They supported a wide, peaked roof, which extended past the walls. At one point, it looked like there had been statues between the pillars as well, but all that remained of them now were ruins and rubble.
Saeter’s arms were crossed in front of him, and he scowled in disgust as he looked it over. “A few years ago, Galive appointed himself a priest of Cor-Dius. I’ve met few people in my life less priest-like than him, even by the shadow god’s lax standards. It’s hard to argue against a man with a small army though. Anyway, every priest needs a temple, so Galive commandeered this one. He’ll be in there somewhere, all we have to do is find him.”
Blacknail nodded sagely as he considered Saeter’s words. Before leaving Herad’s lair, the hobgoblin had donned his new and improved disguise. Under his usual hood, his face was covered by the wooden mask and his skin was wrapped in bandages that concealed its color.
“What’s a priest?” he asked a few seconds later with obvious confusion. Whenever the hobgoblin thought he’d learned all the humans’ words, they came up with new ones. Saeter let out a frustrated sigh before responding.
“Someone who thinks they can talk to the gods,” Saeter explained
“Everyone can talk to spirits. You do all the time, like after you had that fight with Red Dog, and you asked them to make a spine toad crawl up his butt,” Blacknail pointed out.
“Um, sort of. The thing is, priests think the spirits talk back to them,” Saeter replied with a smile.
“Do they?”
“No, I’ve yet to meet anyone who has heard the voice of a god. If the gods communicate with us, then it’s through the world around us. Perhaps the rustling of leaves in the wind are their whispers,” Saeter replied seriously and looked up at the clear blue sky.
“So, that means you do think the gods talk to people?” Blacknail asked uncertainly. Saeter turned toward him and gave him an annoyed glare.
“Shut up, yo
u’re just a hobgoblin. What do you know?” the old scout growled irritably as he absentmindedly tried to swat Blacknail across the side of his head. The hobgoblin saw it coming and easily ducked out of the way. What had he said to annoy his master? Humans could be so confusing sometimes.
“I’m morbidly curious about what your plan for getting to Galive is,” Saeter asked a few seconds later.
“I have a great plan, and it’s a very nice and tricky one! I’m going to sneak inside his home, wait until no one else is around, and then stab him-ss a whole bunch of times. Maybe I’ll wait-ss until he’s asleep. Humans are stupid and like to sleep in the same place at the same time every day.”
“That’s pretty much what I thought.” Saeter grunted disdainfully.
“It’s a perfect plan!” Blacknail responded. What was wrong with his plan?
“Sure, it is, let’s just work on the details a little,” Saeter told him sarcastically. “For instance, how do you plan to get in? Also, do you even know what Galive looks like?”
Blacknail looked back across the street at the bandit’s lair. It was a large, sprawling structure with plenty of places to hide. A small stone wall circled around what had once been the temple’s grounds. Blacknail wouldn’t have any problem scaling it, but doing so would make him very visible to any watchers. The center portion that used to be a temple was stone, but a large wooden addition had been constructed beside it. Only a few parts of it had a second floor, and as a result, most the windows were small and barred.
It certainly looked to be a larger challenge than Fang’s lair had been, and then he’d known where to go. Blacknail had sort of assumed it would be obvious which human was Galive and which room belonged to him. It usually wasn’t that hard to figure out. Couldn’t he just go after the loudest person with the fanciest room?
“I’ll go-ss in a window,” Blacknail told Saeter hesitantly.
Saeter snorted in disbelief and eyed the hobgoblin critically. “Even if you managed that, how would you find Galive? You have no idea where his room is.”
“It worked last time,” Blacknail whined.
City of Daggers (The Iron Teeth Book 2) Page 18