by Louis Emery
“After the council taking place in a few days. King Lionel and Lord Yorkhearst already know of this plan, but I’d like all members of the council to be updated.”
“Absolutely, your grace,” Orbist said. “Should a small party such as ours be safe traversing the Winglands?”
“Better smaller than large. Some of the kingdoms you will pass through are allies, but there are Ballardian and Crowley spies that prowl their corners. The less attention garnered, the better. The wilderness you will cross along the way is more accepting of fewer numbers. The more people, the more you will be held back.”
“I see.”
King Greenvale addressed Ethlin. “How are your meditations, my child?”
“Good, your grace,” Ethlin replied. “Thanks to the Mage-Council’s assistance, I’m able to focus more clearly, and my nightmares have been fewer as of late.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear, milady,” the king said, then gestured to Malcolm. “You two have already met. As I’m sure you’ve heard, Ser Malcolm will be accompanying you. He is tasked to keep you safe at all times.”
“I am grateful for your service,” she said to Malcolm. “King Greenvale has looked after me here and my guardian, Priestess Patrycias, back at the temple. I’m ready to do what I can for the kingdom that has been so kind to me.”
“You stick close to me,” Malcolm said, meeting her bright eyes and noticing that her face had gone pale since the last time they spoke, “and I will stand in the way of anyone who affronts you.”
Ethlin gave him a knowing nod.
“Well,” the king said, “you must all be getting hungry. Join us for dinner in the royal hall with the rest of the council members. I want you all to enjoy these last few days in Em Regis, for the future fate of Backlanders is in your hands.”
26
It took Sho two days to find Inlet Street. The day before, she’d got lost in the borough known as Southside Docks, a labyrinthine hive of streets with tenements and shops adjacent to the docks of Quinlander Bay. She used a map given to her by Bailiff Willoughby at the behest of Lord Sheriff Scargood. Sho knew the northern part of the city, but its surroundings were all but foreign to her, and the two watchmen could tell when they briefed her about the case weeks back.
“You’ll be needing this,” Willoughby had said when he’d handed her the map, his rugged face frowning at the inconvenience of dealing with an outside party. “The Lord Sheriff wanted me to give it to you.”
“Thoughtful of him,” Sho said.
“Try not to get lost out there.” Willoughby folded his arms and leaned against the walls of the Watch Hall. “You may have sorcery, but this city has treachery. In parts, even the urchins will cut your throat for some silver coins. Take you by surprise and leave you bleeding on the cobbles to wither away.”
“You forget I’ve just come from Em Regis,” Sho said, an eyebrow raised.
At this Willoughby stared at her, chuckled and walked back to his room, which sat next to the Lord Sheriff’s. Two peas in a pod, Sho remembered thinking.
When the map didn’t help, she made her way to the docks which lined the end of several Southside streets. By chance she’d heard her name called out and saw Abera running up to her. Her plans changed when her assistant informed her that another lord had noticed a figure following him the evening prior. Abera had heard from the Watch, and Sho dropped what she was doing to question the lord, who’d said he didn’t get a look on the person’s face, only that it was covered in cloth and that they wore a large cloak to hide their build, which seemed stronger than average. Two garrison soldiers were assigned to guard the man, while the Lord Sheriff and Sho continued their inquiries, separately with little cooperation it seemed.
Today Sho successfully found Penny Kameera’s home, but discovered she was away working for the Company. She decided to come back at dusk, and when she reached for the rusted knocker, the door flew open and a beautiful woman appeared. Dressed in fashionable traveling skirts in the capitol style and hair in rich red curls, Penny looked at Sho with piercing green eyes.
Before Sho could speak, Penny said, “Well, this is irregular. A fellow spellcaster.”
Sho knew the woman must have sensed her while on her doorstep. Practitioners could sense each other when close, usually no farther than eight feet. “That’s right,” Sho said. “If you’re not too busy, Lady Kameera, I’d like to speak with you.”
The woman sighed and rubbed her check, stifling a yawn. “Actually, it’s been a tiresome day, so if you don’t mind, perhaps you can send a missive of appropriate appointment times.” Penny slowly began closing the door.
“I had come earlier, milady, but you were gone…” Sho said louder, sticking her head closer to the thinning gap of the door. “Please, Lady Kameera, Penny—do you mind if I call you that? It is urgent business. People’s lives are in jeopardy.’’ The gap grew wider.
“I know who you are, Asker Riesley, is it? You’re looking into the case concerning the murders of loyal lords.”
“How do you know?”
Penny laughed. “Oh come now, Lady Riesley, do you really think I’d be out of the loop. Thungerd—another colleague of ours, a friend of sorts—told me. I had to borrow some books from his library, and he said he heard the capitol sent a sorceress asker to filter out the bad guys in these ghastly states of affairs.”
“I see.” Sho said, waiting awkwardly as a cart trundled by.
“Oh, come in,” Penny said in a conciliatory tone. “I know it’s your duty, and I don’t like to impede a fellow lady, of the Order no less, in her work. We have to watch out for each other, lest the men in power get further ideas that we should lower our station as their bootlicks.”
Penny opened the door, and Sho entered a hallway with walls lined with impressive paintings of top quality. She was led down the hall and passed renderings of landscapes, sailing ships, and family vignettes—as well as knighting ceremonies, joust tourneys, and dragons over distant mountains.
“These are lovely,” Sho said.
“Pieces from the east, Sydonya and Phozanti,” Penny said, turning. “All over really. My employer does business with an art dealer, and I get discounts on works by sundry artists serving palatial courts in kingdoms afar.” She flourished her arm with a wave. “Let’s sit in the lounge room.”
They walked past what seemed to be Penny’s bedroom, and an item of clothing caught Sho’s eye. The small hat sat on a sideboard amidst other clothes next to the room’s door. She’d seen it before. Careful Penny wouldn’t notice, Sho grabbed the hat, trying not to knock down the other items, and stuffed it in the pouch-bag she had slung over her left shoulder.
Entering the lounge, Sho sat across from Penny in a comfortable chair. Everything about the place gave the impression of comfort. Unlike the cluttered tenements that skirted Inlet Street, the abodes in the vicinity brandished opulence and extravagance, a stark contrast to the nearby squalor. Undoubtedly, the row of buildings served as the residences of Quinlander’s successful merchants, shipwrights, and chandlers. Not to mention, officers working for the Monterim Trading Company.
“I take it you’ve spoken with either Thungerd, Bastion, or Jaster.” Penny said, steepling her fingers as she leaned back in her chair.
Noticing Sho’s look of surprise, the woman continued. “Not too many people know where I live. I make it a habit of mine to know who they are. Usually, I don’t give my address to anyone, except other practitioners.”
“Oh,” Sho said. “Actually I spoke with Bastion and Jaster together just two days ago.”
Penny smirked. “That’s interesting. And did they treat you fairly? They’re not known for their kindness toward women.”
“On the contrary. They were both courteous and cooperative.”
“Good then,” Penny smiled. “Who would think—gentlemen behaving like gentlemen. A curious thing in this late century.” She chuckled to herself. “Though I wouldn’t call Jaster the paradigm of chivalry. He and I don�
��t like each other much. It’s a good thing I don’t see him very often.”
“I spoke with them because I’ve discovered the murderer is using spells.”
“So did you arrest them? Please tell me you arrested them.” Penny sat forward, a mischievous look on her face.
Sho smirked. “No, no. Nothing like that. I just wanted to ask them what they knew of the case, and if they had meetings with any newly-arrived or visiting spellcasters recently.”
“Ah,” Penny nodded, disappointed. “That makes sense.” She reclined back in her chair. “And I am the next one on your list. Have you seen ole Thungerd yet?”
Sho shook her head.
“When you see him, tell him I’m very much enjoying Incantations of Obscure Elements.”
“Okay… I will do that.”
“I’m sure you’re unfamiliar with such a text, Lady Riesley, your work being in a different field. You may know I work for powerful people with interests on the high seas, and though I don’t like to talk about my job to strangers, I can tell you that the spells from that book, depending on the power of the caster, can make a cargo ship become nearly invisible, making it easy for goods to slip through patrols of rebel vessels or pirates. Unfortunately the spells only last but a few hours, yet they can be useful.”
Sho casually crossed her legs. “If you don’t mind my asking, what percentage of contracts does your employer take from re-established Quinlander lordships? From the Backlands?”
Penny shot Sho a look. “It just so happens more than half our contracts are now with the local nobility, the duke, King Greenvale, and his garrison. So you can see why I’d have no interest in killing loyal lords—it’d be bad for business. And in regard to what you asked the gentlemen, Bastion and Jaster, the only other casters I keep in touch with via letters, besides them and Thungerd, lives halfway across the world in Dastoria.”
Sho sat straighter in her chair. “Is it possible the Monterim Trading Company hires other sorcerers in secret to travel on their ships? In other words, do you think there may be casters that come and stay for a short while only to leave for the next assignment?”
“I shouldn’t be saying this,” Penny said, slowly folding her hands, “but I’m fairly high up in the Company’s standings, and the board of advisors doesn’t want people privy to that. I can tell you this—no caster steps on those docks without my knowing about it.”
“You’re sure of this?”
Penny flashed Sho a grave look. “I don’t keep my job by being unsure. I protect the Company’s assets, and in order to do that I have to know what goes on in one of its most profitable ports, who’s coming and who’s going and what stands in between.”
“I understand,” Sho said.
Penny’s severity shifted to amiability. “So… does this mean I’m not under arrest? I do hope I’ve avoided the gibbet.”
Gabriel Orlute’s office sat in a warehouse next to the Customs House on Broad Street—the same street where Sho rented four miles on the opposite end. She ignored the calls from carriage-for-hire drivers. She preferred to walk from the tavern where she’d met Abera to share information, Abera’s being the cross-checking of Bastion’s and Jaster’s daily habits and activities, most of which were work and Ryerson Hall, and Sho filling in her assistant on the meeting with Penny.
During her walk, Sho ruminated on her perfidious informant. Orlute had always seemed reliable, but now he was protecting the ones he was bedding. A smuggler and the competition. That was like a rebel sleeping with a loyalist. Who has relations with the one that stabs you in the back? In Sho’s mind that’s what Penny was doing. Smugglers stole the Company’s customers all the time, making Penny’s job more difficult whilst making her look less competent. Perhaps, opposites attract more often than on occasion, Sho thought.
The warehouse stood twenty feet high and covered a whole block. Orlute rented his space along with a variety of other masquerading merchants. When Sho stepped inside, the hustle and bustle of laborers and carters moving crates, barrels, and timber made it all seem unblemished and respectable.
Since the retaking of the city by the Backlands, Orlute had to stave off his dealings with a faction of the Batter Brothers, a rebel gang that originated in Kontera but had satellite offices in Quinlander. Staunch dissenters with an aptitude for inflicting violence, evidently Orlute thought it unsafe to keep doing business with them. So, it seemed, Orlute had to make his coin peddling legally.
She walked past a series of rooms and approached Orlute’s on the end. His voice rang out from behind the doorway. Good, he hadn’t skipped town.
A clerk exited the room angrily, and Orlute went to slam the door but stopped in his tracks on seeing her. His face flashed a series of looks, from surprise to fear to cordiality.
“Sho,” his mouth worded, fumbling, “what are… how can I help you? I’d spoken to Abera. Did she relay the information?”
“She did. May we speak inside?” Sho gestured to his room.
“Can it wait? I’m terribly busy today. I’ve got many shipments coming in and—”
“No, it can’t wait.”
Orlute’s eyes narrowed at her, then relaxed. “Alright. Please come in.”
Sho sat in a rickety chair, setting the small pouch-bag she carried on the floor. After shutting the door, Orlute took a seat behind a large oak desk, lined with parchments of manifests and ledgers. From the looks of things, the man turned legitimate and possessed a profitable business.
“So,” Orlute said, slapping the table lightly with his palm, “what can I give you?”
“Penelope Kameera. Heard of her?”
His eyes squinted and his gaze went up in thought. “The name sounds familiar, but I’m afraid many names sound familiar after a time in this city.”
“Monterim Trading Company,” Sho said.
“She does work for the Company?” His eyebrows lifted. “Hmm. That’s a problem—I’m not overly familiar with people they employ, as their operations are often shrouded in secrecy.”
“Really?” Sho clenched her fists, sitting straighter. “So you know nothing of her. Nothing at all?”
“I might have heard her name around the docks… but, I…”
Sho reached into her pouch-bag and tossed the small velvet hat on the table.
Orlute’s face turned pale. His mouth moved up and down, no words coming out, until, “Where’d you get this?”
Sho slammed her hand on the table. “Sleeping with a sorcerer and you didn’t bother to tell me?”
“I… ah…” Orlute’s lips quivered.
“You knew my orders came from the capitol. You knew the importance of my case. And yet, you still weren’t truthful with me.”
“It’s not that. She’s… Penny has nothing to do with it I assure you.”
“If she’s a sorcerer then she’s a suspect. There aren’t many around here, so it’s imperative I know all of them.
“She’s not a suspect,” Orlute pleaded. “She’s an ardent loyalist. The work she does for the Company—it directly benefits the Duke and the King.”
“Why are you protecting her? And why didn’t you make any mention?”
“I love her…” he mumbled.
“You…” Sho’s brow furrowed, “in love? Now that’s a first.” She reached back into her pouch-bag and pulled out a document. She placed it on the desk. “This is a warrant I signed this morning, and unless you give me more, I will make sure you’re arrested and your assets,” she gestured to the warehouse, “confiscated.”
Orlute looked at her, puzzlement showing, then replaced with shock. His gaze fell. “I’m sorry, Sho. I know things, and I can give you something. Please… please. Things are going so well now that the rebels have left. I have information that will prove of value.”
Sho replaced the warrant to her bag. “Let’s hear it.”
“As I’m sure you noticed,” Orlute began, “Penny is a tenacious woman. I know firsthand as I’ve been with her a year, and before th
at we worked in the same circles. She works as an enforcer for the Company, using her spells in their service.” He leaned forward, glancing out his office window to make sure no one was nearby. “The people she works for don’t always play by the rules, and that’s how her and I originally met.”
“What dealings does the Company have with smugglers?” Sho asked.
“Same things everyone else does—avoid tariffs, delays with customs, rebels, rogues, pirates. All that.”
“I heard she blew up rival ships supplying the King’s troops, killing innocents.”
Anger flashed on Orlute’s face. “Who told you that?”
“A certain someone.”
Orlute squinted and realizing he’d get nothing from her, continued. “That’s not… entirely correct. On the surface it appeared those ships were in service to the garrison, but those merchants were working with an intermediary run by the Batter Brothers. The merchants, the crew and everyone else aboard knew a rebel gang was funneling the cargo to the enemy. This same gang that killed Company employees and stole from its ships, impeding its contracts with the Backland garrison. And once Penny found out, she dealt with it.”
Sho leaned back in her chair, the old wood complaining. She rubbed her eyes. Stories were changing and she was frustrated she hadn’t progressed beyond scattered puzzle pieces with two sides. “What can you tell me about Penny’s caster colleagues? The other sorcerers?”
“You’re probably aware Bastion works for the Duke—Lord Staverly—mostly as bodyguard and economic advisor, so I doubt he’s much of a suspect for you. But I can tell you that he and his friend, the other sorcerer Jaster, are quite the jesters with women.”
“What do you mean?” Sho said.
“Bastion’s got two mistresses—and he has two little daughters and a beautiful wife. You’d think he’d contain himself. And Jaster, well, he’s married too, but that doesn’t stop him frequenting flesh-peddlers.” Orlute looked out his office window, slightly shaking his head. A man of high standards, Sho joked to herself. “Oh,” Orlute broke his pause, “the practitioner Penny is closest with is Thungerd. I know she borrows books from him on occasion. The old man has quite the library of spells. He’s retired and his mind a bit muddled. But he’s a friend of Penny’s and they get on. Jaster also borrows books from Thungerd. Penny doesn’t like him. I’ve met him once, and he comes off as ostentatious and rude. But I doubt he practices much sorcery.”