“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Wren said as he turned ever so slightly in his chair. He wiggled the big toe on his left foot until he found the ring he had worked into the boot. He pulled it and a sharp needle extended out the front.
Mr. Horsby pulled a miniature crossbow up and aimed it at Wren. “I thought I was coming to defend the house against a card shark, but now I can see that it was never about the cards. Keep your hands where I can see them.”
“Certainly,” Wren replied as he fanned his fingers out. “You have to admit though, the cigar was a nice touch.”
Mr. Horsby laughed. “Let me guess, you filled it with foxweed.”
Wren nodded. “I see you know your toxins.”
“It will get the job done, but it’s a bit obvious. For one, you never put the cigar into your mouth. Second, the smoke rises up, thereby only affecting those standing around us. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”
Wren snapped his left leg out under the table and caught Mr. Horsby along the inner thigh of his left leg with the needle, then he pushed back from the table and performed a backward somersault for good measure as Mr. Horsby fired his weapon. Wren jumped up to his feet just as Mr. Horsby stood from his chair. Mr. Horsby jerked toward the table and grunted then, and Wren knew that the fight was over.
“The cigar wasn’t meant for you,” Wren explained. “It was to get the ladies out safely. The dealer could have been dealt with in numerous methods, but one less body will make this easier to explain for the real Earl.”
Mr. Horsby grunted again, his hand trembling against its inability to lift the crossbow once more.
“You can sit down,” Wren said. “You have been hit with a special concoction of mine. It’s a rare form of hemlock that acts extremely quickly if ingested, and much faster still if introduced directly into your blood. There are so many large veins in the thigh, it really is no wonder that it’s working so well.” Wren walked toward Mr. Horsby and pushed on the man’s shoulders, forcing him back into his chair. “The thing is, Mr. Horsby, I know that you have made several trips to the south. In fact, I am aware of your most recent trip. You strayed from your usual business of selling information and instead decided to murder a man and his family a couple miles outside of Dorshir. Now, the war itself is a nasty business, that is true enough, but to kill a woman and her three children, that’s unforgiveable. The man wasn’t even an honorable target. From what I understand, they offered you shelter on your last visit. Even if you weren’t a spy selling secrets, the fact that you are a murderer would have been enough for me.” Wren reached down and took Mr. Horsby’s crossbow and set it on the table.
“I also know that it was you who betrayed the soldiers who had been planning an assault on Freyr. You gave away their position, numbers, and even helped organize the counter offensive that resulted in over three hundred deaths, and that’s to say nothing of the medical supplies you poisoned, or the food shipments you helped intercept and send southward. It really shouldn’t come as any surprise that someone would hunt you down one day, but I want you to understand exactly who I am before you slip away from this existence and into the next.”
Mr. Horsby’s eyes stared blankly ahead, but Wren knew the man was still conscious. Hemlock was a terribly malicious poison that paralyzed the muscles of the body and left the victim awake while they asphyxiated.
Wren moved to position himself directly in front of Mr. Horsby and smiled. “I want you to take a long look at my eyes,” he said. “You may not know who I am, for I have altered my appearance, but if I show you something, I bet you will understand.” Wren reached into a pocket and pulled out a small brown feather with white spots. He held it in front of Horsby and sneered as the man grunted. “See, I knew you would recognize this. I have a bit of a reputation in these parts.” Wren slipped the feather into Mr. Horsby’s mouth and then patted the man on the cheek. “It won’t be long now. I’ll lock the door on my way out. I wouldn’t want anyone to barge in on your final moments. Besides, I saw a few pretty young ladies downstairs that looked dreadfully bored. I’ll give them a dance or two before I go. Thanks for the game, Mr. Horsby. This has been a most memorable night.”
True to his word, he sealed the door and then spent the next hour dancing with several young women before exiting the manor and climbing back into the carriage. He waited until they were driving through the forested hills west of Lubbok and then removed his prosthetic nose and the red overcoat. He cracked the door open and looked up toward the driver, but couldn’t see him for the bulk of the carriage itself. He pushed the door open wider and then climbed out onto the step so he could close the carriage door once more. As the horses went left around a bend, Wren leapt off into a patch of tall grasses and waited until he could no longer hear the clippity-clop of the horses’ hooves before making his way four miles south. Awaiting him for a job well done was a rather large payment of gold, and a list of ingredients that he had asked for. After gathering his due for assassinating the wretched spy, Wren would go farther south and catch a ferry along the Serpent Tongue River so he could reach his next destination much quicker.
He almost laughed aloud as he thought of the poor Earl of Grampton. He had to wonder whether the Earl would wake first, or would the carriage driver realize he was missing? In any case, by the time either of them knew what was going on, he would be on a boat and headed for Astyr.
Chapter 5
Liden’s great plans for going up to Astyr by sea didn’t take into consideration the fact that he had never been on a ship, and spent the entire first night throwing up over the side. Fortunately, Hunlok and Knell were able to work stoking the fires for the kitchen and keeping the deck cleaned enough to keep the captain satisfied enough to basically ignore the fact that Liden hadn’t lifted a finger for the entire trip.
“Yur still green,” commented Kaves, the large, bare-chested man from the docks, as he passed Liden. He laughed and slapped Liden on the back, which made him suddenly feel like he was going to heave up his stomach again.
“I think it’s gotten better,” he responded weakly, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.
“Ye still look like death t’ me.” Kaves sat down next to Liden and pointed out at the shore. “It’s not much farther now,” he commented. “Nuther twenty knots ‘n we’ll be headed up the Serpent Tongue River to Astyr. Be there by high tide.”
“That’s good news. No offense, but I’ll be happy to get off this ship.”
“Aye, none taken. Life at sea isn’t for everyone. You’d likely grow some sea legs in time, but no tellin’ how long that’d take.”
Wanting to change the subject away from his sickness, Liden looked over at Debir. “What have you two been working out?”
“He’s sharp that ‘un. Figured out how to use those pulleys without straining the mast. He claims that with some work he could have a system where the crates being unloaded could be used to haul up the ones we’re taking away. Asked him to stay on with us, we did.”
Liden was not surprised that they saw Debir’s value as part of their crew, but he knew Debir couldn’t accept the offer and risk going back to Ryr. “What did he say?”
“Told us he’d not be leaving his friends.” Liden nodded knowingly. “You lot are good kids,” he remarked. “I hope ye won’t be gettin’ into much trouble.”
This was the first time any member of the crew had really talked with Liden about their plans, and he didn’t know how much to reveal. He felt like he needed to be at least a little vague since they were sneaking away and all. “Not planning on getting into any trouble if we can help it,” he finally settled on as a response.
“Hmm,” Kaves replied, scratching his beard as if he knew Liden wasn’t telling him everything. “In border cities thar’s always some scrappin’. Northerners comin’ in with their strange ways! Sometimes trouble finds a way of findin’ you no matter wat ya do.”
“I know that feeling,” Liden agreed quickly. “Luck rarely leads me on s
mooth paths.”
“Yours is better than some.” He rose to his feet and patted Liden on the back again, making his stomach do a backflip. “Least yer not ridin’ in the brig with that litl’ bit we caught last night. Funny that ‘un. All twiggy legs, and attitude. Mustn’t be fifteen.”
“That’s strange,” Liden responded, trying to hide his shock. He had a feeling he knew exactly who the young stowaway was. “We’ll definitely keep out of trouble.”
“See that ya do,” Kaves left the way he came, walking slowly across the ship to where Debir was working. Every couple of minutes Kaves looked up from the pulley system and made eye contact with Liden. Either the man was checking on Liden to make sure he was feeling better, or he was watching to see how he would react to this new knowledge.
It was a good thing that his stomach was doing a full dance number, because Liden’s first reaction was to run to find Knell and tell her his suspicions. Instead he sat still at the side of the ship for a good half hour feeling too sick to move until Hunlok walked past with a large bucket that he threw overboard.
“How’s the stomach?” Hunlok asked.
“Swirling,” he responded. “Just like my head right now.” Liden took a quick glance over to make sure he wasn’t being watched, then he quickly added in a whisper. “Can you go tell Knell something for me?”
“Sure thing. Or I could just get her to come here and you can tell her yourself.” He cupped his hands as if to call out to Knell.
“Shh!” Liden reached up and grabbed Hunlok’s arm. “It’s a sensitive matter.”
“Oh,” Hunlok winked. “You’re finally going to tell her how you feel?”
Liden looked up at his friend, completely confused. What could he have possibly meant by that? “How I feel? What are you talking about? I feel sick, that’s how I feel.” He waved his hand, trying to swipe the idea away. “Never mind that. I think Sarta is in the brig. Can you tell Knell?”
Hunlok’s jaw dropped and he stared at Liden. “Are you sure?”
“Not entirely, but there’s a young girl who snuck onto the ship back in Ryr.” He looked across the ship and saw that Kaves was now watching his conversation with Hunlok. “Oh no,” he shook his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m pretty sure Kaves suspects that we know about the kid down below and he just looked over here.”
Hunlok scratched his head. “I’m confused.”
“It’s quite simple,” he bit off his words and took a slow calming breath. “Kaves told me about a girl in the brig whose description matches Sarta. I tried to act like I didn’t know who it could be, but I could tell he didn’t really believe me. So I wanted you to tell Knell to go look into it, but now he’s looked over here so he knows that I know that he knows you are here, which means he probably knows that I know that he’s suspicious of what he thinks I know, which I do know, but he doesn’t know for sure that I know.”
“Right, that sounds very simple.” Hunlok shook his head. “I’m going to go back to scrubbing the deck. I think you’re dehydrated.”
Liden reached out to Hunlok, but thought better of it. Perhaps having the other boy not go immediately back to Knell now would actually be better. He massaged his temples a little. Hunlok was right; this was complicated. He needed to take care of it quickly. Liden struggled to stand up, steadying himself on the side of the ship until he was safely on his feet. Despite the party his stomach was throwing, there wasn’t much left for him to bring back up at this point. He tried to steady himself as the ship rocked, then he took some steps forward, crossing over to where Debir and Kaves were talking.
“Findin’ yur sea legs are ye?”
Liden tried to smile, but felt like he was going to fall over. “Thought I’d try this side of the ship for a time.”
“Liden,” Debir greeted when he came close. “I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to run something by you.” He subtly looked out of the corner of his eye at Kaves. Liden thought the action might mean something important, but it could have also just been nothing. At this point, Liden’s mind was going crazy with layers of who knew or suspected what. He would make the worst kind of spy. “I was thinking about the things in the office back in Ryr.”
He nodded, but was a little confused. “Yes, there are lots of files, reports, some funds in a strong box, some desks, writing materials, some old equipment out back, and usually a bunch of old soldiers going in and out.” He shook his head back and forth, not knowing where Debir was going with it. “That place makes me want to fall asleep just thinking about it.”
“Exactly,” Debir replied with a nod. “Lots of files, and a little bit of funds. I think if someone went to that office, they’d be much more interested in the files than the funds.”
“Of course they would,” Liden responded. He leaned over the edge of the ship, expecting to be sick over the side, but nothing came up. “It wasn’t like it was a bank.” When he said that an idea struck him and he made eye contact with Debir.
His friend stared straight at him, holding his gaze as he nodded his head up and down slowly and deliberately. Liden started to piece together what his friend was trying to tell him. The people who robbed the office were not there for the money, but for some file or paperwork. Something that was of value to them. What could it possibly be? The office had military paperwork of all kinds, but Liden found it all so boring, he never really thought about what was there. What was clear was that Debir was communicating in some kind of code so Kaves would not know what they were talking about. Liden would need to work out some more of the details during their trip, or if they actually got Kaves away from them long enough, they might be able to speak more freely about what Debir was puzzling out.
“So, what brought you over to this side of the ship?” Debir asked now that he had broken eye contact.
It took Liden a second to refocus on why he had come over. He wanted to do something to throw Kaves off the trail and felt like he had a plan, even though in his mind he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what part of who knowing what this plan would address. “Not much,” he tried to act casual. “Just thought this side of the ship seemed cleaner. Hey Kaves, did you tell Debir about the stow away?”
“Aye, we were just talkin’ ‘bout that.”
“Isn’t that odd that someone from Ryr snuck on the ship?” Liden said, turning to Debir. “Whoever it is, I’m glad she got caught. What a dumb thing to do!” He then leaned forward, thinking he would throw up, but instead he dry heaved for a second before recovering himself. “It reminds me of the time when that kid from town tried to pick the pocket of the governor’s cousin. Some people have no brains in their heads at all. What was her name again?”
“I think that was Sarta,” Debir responded. “Yeah, she got slammed pretty good for that one.”
“I know,” Liden bent over to exaggerate his laugh in an effort to stop Debir from telling any more of the story, or their connection to Sarta. “What a fool!”
“Almost as foolish as trying to steal from Powell,” Debir added with a playful laugh and a slap on Liden’s back. Liden laughed in return and smiled, trying hard not to scowl at his friend who always reminded him of the time he took the soldier’s uniform as a disguise and got caught about a block from the man’s house.
“Powell?” Kaves cut into the conversation. “I know ‘im. Good man. Some bloke tried to filch from ‘im? I feel sorry for that bloke, likely lost ‘is hand I’d wager.”
“Yeah, that guy makes Sarta look like a genius!” Debir added, shooting a playful glance at Liden. “He’s got rocks for brains.” Kaves started to grin, and Liden knew the conversation was going in a good, distracting direction. Unfortunately it was at his expense, but Kaves didn’t know that.
Liden slumped down, taking a seat by the edge of the ship. “Thanks for telling us about that girl, Kaves,” he said with a grin. “Sure helped cheer up my day to have a good laugh. I’ll be spreading that one around for a while.” He slumped his head t
o the side and closed his eyes for a second, then opened them suddenly and looked up as if he had just woken up. “What’s that?”
“Liden, Are you okay?” Debir dropped down to one knee at his friend’s side.
“I’m fine, just a little tired, that’s all,” he responded, reaching out to push Debir away, but his hands fell down at his side before he touched his friend. He hoped his friend was catching on to his rouse of pretending to be more sick than he actually felt. It didn’t take much effort since he was feeling like a herd of wild antelope had run him over before turning about as if realizing they had left something behind and running back over him again.
“I think you need to get some rest. I’m taking you below deck and finding a cot.”
“If’n he be sick, he needs to take a bucket or stay on deck. Don’t want to spread sickness to the others. An it be easier to clean if’n he sicks overboard.”
“I’ve got nothing left in me to come out. I think sleep might be a good idea.” Liden croaked out the words, then reached out to Debir.
“Take this with ye,” Kaves handed him a bucket and stepped back from him as if afraid of some projectile vomit.
Debir escorted Liden down the narrow stairs into the hull of the ship, out of sight of the other crewmen before he spun him around. “Sarta’s on the ship?”
“Sounds like it,” Liden responded. “What was all that about the office? Was someone going in there to steal some files?”
“I don’t know yet, but we can talk about that later. First we need to get Sarta. What’s the plan?”
Liden leaned heavily on the wall against the rocking of the ship. “We need to find Knell and let her know what we’ve found. Kaves told me we’re only a couple of hours from the mouth of the Serpent Tongue River that will lead up to Astyr, so we have time. All we need to do is find the prisoner, make sure it’s Sarta, find out who has the key to the brig, get the key from that person, sneak Sarta up onto the deck, collect our supplies and jump off the ship.”
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