Crypt of the Shadowking h-6

by Mark Anthony

  "Sounds enchanting," Mari muttered. "So how many daggers are we going to get stuck in our backs?"

  "You worry too much, Harper. Cormik and I have been friends for years. If you really want to learn something about the Zhentarim operations in the city, there's no one better to talk to. If Cormik doesn't know about it, it isn't happening." If he's still alive, that is, Caledan added to himself. Cormik's line of business was not without its risks.

  Mari shot him a skeptical look but said nothing the rest of the way. Finally they turned onto the murky, refuse-lined Street of Lanterns. They halted before a dark storefront. The building looked as though it had been abandoned for years, but Caledan knew better. The place was a discreet gambling establishment called the Prince and Pauper.

  "Just follow my lead," Caledan said jauntily. Before she could reply, he opened the door and stepped through. Mari followed on his heels.

  Inside was a large room. The light of a few torches was mostly lost in the haze of smoke they gave off. The Prince and Pauper was crowded. It appeared this was one establishment that had lost little of its trade since Cutter had become lord of the city. True to the place's name, nobles in fine but threadbare clothes, opulently attired merchants, and every manner of rabble crowded about the gambling tables, shouting, laughing, or crying as best suited their luck.

  Caledan ignored the gamblers. He spotted a heavy velvet curtain in the back wall and began wending his way through the crowd toward it. Mari followed, a look of disapproval on her face. Caledan reached the curtain and flipped it back. He and the Harper stepped into the quiet hallway beyond.

  "Stop right there," a huge, bull-necked man clad in crimson leather rumbled. "I don't know you two, do I?" He stood blocking the hallway with a companion who was similarly dressed and likewise massive. Both wore short swords at their hips, and there was no doubt that they knew quite well how to use them.

  "Name's Caledan. I'm a friend of Cormik's. And this here's my lady, if you know what I mean." Mari opened her mouth in protest, but Caledan elbowed her hard in the side. She threw him a venomous look but held her tongue.

  "A friend of the Master, eh?" The big man leered down at Caledan. "Well, you'd better hope to the gods that you are. Follow me." The huge man led Caledan and Mari to a small but plush room.

  "The Master will see you when he has a minute," he said with an unpleasant grin. "He's a busy man, you know." He left the room, shutting the small door behind him. Caledan didn't have to try the latch to know that it was locked.

  Mari crossed her arms, pacing the small room in agitation. "Now what?" she demanded.

  "Just wait, Harper. Just wait"

  Scant minutes later a key rattled in the lock, and the door opened. A man, who might have appeared nondescript if not for his ostentatious clothes and black velvet eye patch, stepped through, followed by the two muscular bodyguards. "Well, well," the man said in an oily voice as he examined the prisoners with a critical eye. "So Jad was right. It truly is Caledan the Harper."

  "Cormik," Caledan said, smiling broadly. "I knew you'd remember me. I have a favor to ask of you."

  "Oh, I remember you quite well, Caledan," Cormik replied. He approached slowly, moving, despite his large girth, with the predatory grace of a cat. "In fact, after that last time we met, I remember that I wanted you dead."

  Caledan laughed, as if he had just heard a good joke. "I would have thought you had forgotten that little misunderstanding by now, Cormik."

  Cormik returned the laughter. "What a curious notion, Caledan. Gentlemen." He made a brief motion with his hand. Before either Caledan or Mari could move, each was grabbed by one of the bodyguards, and their arms were tightly pinned behind their backs. Both Caledan and Man struggled, to no avail, while Cormik's laughter filled the room.

  It appeared that they were prisoners.

  Four

  "I thought you said the man adored you."

  Cormik's hulking bodyguards had chained the two of them to a cold stone wall in a dim, squalid little chamber beneath the Prince and Pauper.

  "Everyone's entitled to a few mistakes," Caledan muttered. His hands were chained over his head; his shoulders were throbbing painfully. His joints were getting far too rusty for this kind of abuse, and his brain must be getting rusty as well. He should not have assumed that Cormik would have forgotten their little "misunderstanding" of seven years ago. The proprietor of the Prince and Pauper was well known to have a long, keen memory. One had to in his business.

  "So what did you do, scoundrel, that he still holds a grudge against you after all these years?"

  "I saved him from being murdered by one of his patrons, that's what," Caledan replied angrily. "A nobleman named Maderon owed Cormik a king's ransom in gambling debts, and he was going to have Cormik killed rather than pay up. I did Cormik the favor of doing away with Maderon first, though I had my own reasons. All Cormik knew was that I had slit the throat of his richest patron. Cormik's an intelligent man, but he has me figured all wrong."

  "What do you think he's going to do with us?" she asked.

  "Kill us," Caledan replied flatly.

  They were interrupted by the sound of the lock once again being turned. The iron-banded door flew open, and Caledan squinted as brilliant, golden light flooded the small prison chamber. After a moment his eyes adjusted, and he saw Cormik standing before him wearing an unsavory grin. He was flanked by his two bodyguards, as well as by a lanky young man with black hair and eyes.

  "I trust my retainers treated you well in my absence?" Cormik asked.

  "But of course." Caledan rattled his chains, smiling facetiously. "You're too good to your guests, Cormik."

  Cormik bowed his head in acknowledgment, his one eye glittering. "Nothing is too good for an old… friend."

  Caledan took a deep breath. "Cormik, if you'd just let me explain-"

  "Silence!" the man snapped. The bodyguards took a step forward, hands on the hilts of their short swords. Cormik held up a neatly manicured, ring-covered hand. "No, I shall deal with him in my own manner." The hand dropped casually down to the hilt of a stiletto at his belt. The knife was a delicate, beautifully crafted thing with pale opals set into the hilt. "You may leave me, gentlemen. Dario and I will attend to business here." The two bodyguards lumbered out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

  "Cormik," Caledan tried again, forcing an expansive smile, "if you would just give me a chance to tell my side of the story, I'm sure-"

  "Spare me your lies, Caledan. I haven't the time, and frankly neither do you or your friend here." He smoothly slipped the jeweled stiletto out of its sheath. "Be so good as to help me with this, Dario."

  The dark-haired young man grasped Caledan's shackled wrist firmly. Caledan's eyes widened. Mari stared at the scene in horror.

  "Cormik, please. К you'd just-"

  "That's the trouble with Harpers, Dario. They never stop talking, even when you desperately wish they would." Cormik poised the blade inches from Caledan's wrist. 'That's good, Dario, hold it steady."

  Caledan clenched his jaw. He was determined not to beg. Then he watched in amazement as Cormik deftly turned the knife, pressing one of the polished opals. There was a small click, and a thin piece of metal popped out of the end of the hilt. It was a key.

  Caledan's jaw went slack. He stared as the man he'd just thought was going to kill him removed the shackle instead. Quickly Cormik unlocked the rest of the chains, and in moments Caledan stood free, absently rubbing his sore wrists. Cormik released Mari next, chuckling. Then he slipped the dagger into his belt once again.

  "You old wolf, it's good to see you," Cormik exclaimed. He grasped Caledan's hand firmly between his own beefy palms and squeezed it warmly.

  A smile slowly crept across Caledan's face.

  Cormik's eyes glittered. "Come drink a cup of wine with me while I explain." His gaze turned to Mari, and a sly smile crept across his lips. "And perhaps you'll introduce me to your charming companion."

  A few minu
tes later found them in a richly appointed chamber hung with expensive Sembian tapestries. Cormik bade them sit down while Dario poured them each a goblet of deep red wine from a crystal decanter.

  Caledan swirled the ruby-colored liquid a bit suspiciously. "Nothing unpleasant at the bottom, I trust?"

  "Not unless my good Dario put it there. However, I may simply be an old fool, but I believe the lad's loyal to me."

  "One of his many delusions," the young man said with such perfect seriousness that Caledan was almost taken aback. Then he saw the mischief dancing in the young man's dark eyes.

  The wine proved to be cool and delicious, and Caledan took the liberty of refilling his goblet as Cormik talked.

  "I hope you'll forgive my rude treatment," he said, his attention directed more toward Mari than Caledan. "I'm afraid it was necessary to protect myself, and both of you as well. I couldn't let it look as if I was consorting with Harpers. It's a well-known fact that Cutter-or should I say Ravendas? — is not overly fond of Harpers. Except for dead ones, of course."

  Tm afraid you're mistaken," Mari said with an expression of disarming innocence, "but I'm not a-"

  "Don't be coy, Harper Al'maren," Cormik said with a low chuckle. "I'm afraid neither you nor Caledan has been terribly inconspicuous these past few days. I've intercepted reports concerning both of you that were bound for the city lord's tower, and I'm certain Ravendas knows of your presence."

  "I agree," Caledan said grimly. "I had the misfortune of being too close to the Harper yesterday when a wizard probably Zhentarim, loosed a trio of magical hounds after her. We came very close to being incinerated and eaten."

  "Actually, Caledan," Cormik said gravely, "I don't think that attack was directed at Harper Al'maren."

  A startled look crossed Mari's face. Caledan frowned. "And what tells you that?"

  "This." Cormik drew a piece of parchment out of a pocket of his voluminous embroidered silk tunic and laid it on the table. "It was posted down in the New City, in the free market, along with dozens of others like it. It's a notice offering a reward for any information concerning your whereabouts, Caledan. And the reward is not an inconsiderable sum. Surely you didn't think your duel with Cutter's captain went unnoticed the other night."

  Caledan grunted.

  Mari took the parchment and studied it carefully. She looked up and regarded Caledan with concerned eyes. "What would Ravendas want with you, Caledan? You've said it yourself. You're not a Harper anymore, and no threat to her."

  Caledan shook his head. "I can't read her mind, Harper."

  "Well," Cormik went on, "I hope you can see that I was simply protecting myself by treating you openly like enemies. Since Cutter took over the city a year or so ago, mine is one of the few businesses that's avoided any trouble. And it's not because I've been pandering to Cutter or that new lord steward, ah, what's his name?" Cormik looked to Dario, then snapped his fingers before the young man could answer. "Snake, that's it. Odd name. Odd fellow. He gives me the chills just to look at him."

  Cormik sipped his wine. "Luckily, that old 'misunderstanding' of ours was public enough that folks won't think it odd if I still consider you an enemy, Caledan."

  Caledan nodded. "But you're not still angry over all that, are you, Cormik?"

  Cormik gave a rumbling laugh. "I know very well-and always have-that Maderon meant to kill me. He simply owed me too much money to let me live. I had everything planned and taken care of. And then you had to meddle in my affairs. How like a Harper."

  "What does it matter who killed him?" Caledan asked with a shrug. "Dead is dead."

  "Quite," Cormik said dryly, sipping his wine. "Except that I had devised a little scheme to relieve him of the rest of his fortune before I relieved him of his ability to go on breathing. You cost me quite a bit, you know. And don't try to tell me you only did it to protect me. It would be very touching, but it would also be untruthful. You had your own reasons for doing away with Maderon. I know that, even if I don't know what those reasons were."

  "Believe me, it's a tale you don't want to hear." Caledan sighed, fidgeting absently with the braided copper bracelet on his left wrist.

  "Fair enough," Cormik said, then he changed the subject. "Perhaps now you can tell me what brought you to my doorstep this time. I'd like to think it was because you've missed me, but I suppose that would be another one of my 'delusions.'" He looked at Dario pointedly. Cormik motioned his apprentice over, and whispered something into Dario's ear. After a moment the young man nodded.

  "It was nice to meet you," he said, smiling as he bowed to Caledan and Man. Then he exited the chamber by way of a secret passage concealed behind a bookcase.

  "Very well, Cormik," Mari said after Dario had gone. "We came because we need information about Ravendas and the Zhentarim."

  Caledan rolled his eyes. There went their chances of getting anything out of Cormik for free. The Harper was going to have to learn how to be more clever when bargaining with someone like Cormik.

  "All right, Cormik," Caledan grumbled, "how much is it going to cost us?"

  "For you, Caledan, the standard fee." Cormik's gaze swept over Mari. "But for the enchanting Harper, there's no charge."

  "Why, thank you," she said huskily, treating Caledan to a look that was insufferably smug.

  They spent the next hour listening to Cormik describe the steady decay of the city since Ravendas had ensconced herself in the tower. "Things are dire enough as it is, and I'm afraid they're only getting worse by the day," Cormik said grimly. "The stalls in the free market are practically bare. Half the folk in the city are bordering on starvation. Almost everything that comes to Iriaebor by ship goes out again in caravans to the east. And there isn't a business that's not under her control. She keeps the Council of Lords in her pocket and has the Merchants' Circle dangling by their purse strings. The terms of her trade agreements are anything but profitable, but inexplicable things keep happening to the ships and caravans of merchants who don't sign on.

  "There's only one rule in Iriaebor these days. Serve Cutter or perish." Cormik sighed. "None of it is good for business. And it gets even worse when your customers keep disappearing daily."

  "Disappearing?" Caledan asked. He felt his hair prickling on the back of his neck.

  Cormik nodded. "Every day dozens of cityfolk leave their homes in the morning and don't come back at night. Men and women, even children. Anyone out on the streets, especially at night, seems to be fair game. The Zhentarim are kidnapping them and spiriting them away to the dungeons below the tower. Why, I'm not entirely certain. There are rumors that Ravendas is pressing them into work gangs and forcing them to toil on a series of excavations deep in the heart of the Tor itself. However, if that's really the case, I have no idea what she thinks she'll find by digging beneath the tower."

  "Gold?" Caledan ventured.

  Cormik shrugged. "Maybe."

  Mari stood up and began pacing on the thick carpets strewn across the floor. "This can't go on," she said, striking her palm with a fist. "Why have the people of Iriaebor put up with this for so long? There can't be more than a few hundred Zhents in the city, but there are tens of thousands of citizens. Why don't the people of Iriaebor rise up against Ravendas?"

  Cormik shook his head ruefully. "I wish it were that simple, Harper. At first a few people-merchants, guild masters, and lords of the council-did stand up to Ravendas. It didn't take long before every one of them was swinging by the neck from a gibbet Ravendas makes an example out of anyone who opposes her.

  "Of course, there are still a few bands of folk who are trying to work against Ravendas," Cormik went on, his tone purposeful. "I hear reports about them from time to time. They meet in secret here and there about the city, in basements and abandoned towers. But there are only a few of these groups, and they're small. They need weapons, hiding places, a way to transport messages and supplies, and more recruits. These things cost money. Lots of it"

  Caledan stood up, a roguish expr
ession on his face. "All right, Cormik. Use your scouts to start making contact with a few of these resistance bands. The Harper and I will get you the gold you need to arm and organize them."

  "That sounds well and fine, Caldorien," Mari said in a scathing voice. "But how do you propose we get this gold? Shall we just go begging at Ravendas's money house?"

  Caledan snapped his fingers. "That's not a bad idea, Harper."

  "Careful, Caledan," Cormik said seriously. "You'd do well if you didn't underestimate Ravendas. Or the Harper here. Get the gold if you can, and I'll do my part. But try not to get yourself killed in the process."

  Caledan was about to reply when a light knock came at the hidden entrance behind the bookcase. The shelves swung to one side, and Dario stepped through. Caledan gaped at the young man. He was dressed identically to Caledan, in black leather breeches and jerkin over a white shirt.

  "Ah, I see you're ready," Cormik said, smiling.

  "What's going on?" Caledan asked suspiciously.

  "You're going on a little trip, Caledan. You see, in my eminent mercifulness, I decided not to run you through on the sole condition that you leave Iriaebor-and don't come back. That should keep up my appearances."

  "But I'm not leaving Iriaebor," Caledan said angrily, clenching his big-knuckled hand into a fist.

  Cormik groaned. "Must you be so dense, Caledan? That's where Dario comes in." He eyed the young man critically. "You're not a bad match for size, Dario. Of course, you're not nearly as ugly as Caledan is, but that would be almost impossible, wouldn't it?"

  Mari laughed with amusement.

  "I'll pull my hood up," Dario said with a wink at Caledan. "Assuming you'll allow me to borrow your cloak to complete the disguise, of course."

  "Here, take it," Caledan growled petulantly, handing Dario his patched, midnight-blue cloak. The young man donned the cloak and pulled the hood over his head.

  "Perfect," Cormik pronounced. "Are you ready to ride? Excellent. Have Jad and Kevrek throw you out-not too roughly. Just enough to let my patrons see how much I still despise Caledan the Harper. There's a gray mare similar to Caledan's tied out front. Make certain the guards see you riding out of town. I want all who might be interested to believe Caledan Caldorien is gone for good."