by Tom Liberman
“Killed?” asked Rhia. “I thought you said there was an accident.”
“I think Pillswar killed him to get at Marianna’s mother, to have a legitimate business to operate, but that was before I really knew anything about it. I’m only going on what Lofo told me.”
“That’s even worse,” said Rhia her hand gripping the pommel of her sword more tightly. “We can’t allow someone like that to get away with it. We’ll wait until all the lights are out and then sneak in this cellar. It’s locked I’d guess?”
“I’m good with locks and I’ve practiced a couple of times on it,” said Mike, pulling a little metallic thing out of her pocket. “I can open it quickly enough. I’ve been inside a couple of times pretending to buy pies and cider but there’s an upstairs where everyone lives I think. Downstairs is just the cellar and apple processing equipment, I think? We’ll have to sneak up to her room and hope we catch them beating her or something.”
“Or something,” said Rhia under her breath.
If Mike heard this last missive she did not give any indication of such and stood up, “It’ll be a long time yet before it’s late enough to sneak in, I’m going to get some food and drink. Wait here and don’t make too much noise!”
Rhia nodded her head and leaned back against a brick chimney that was nearby. She traveled with the circus for many months across the plains between Sea’cra and Tanelorn and was used to long hours of boredom. Having stayed up all night she was tired and was soon asleep.
“Wake up, Rhia,” said the girl shaking the half-breed. “I brought something to eat. How can you sleep like that? It’s a brick wall.”
Rhia lifted her arms over her head and yawned, “If you’re going to get into the adventuring game you need to learn to sleep just about anywhere. I suppose you had a feather bed back at that … what did you call it … villa?”
A frown blossomed on Mike’s face and her brilliant green eyes seemed to cloud over like a fast moving storm, “I can sleep anywhere you can, and even worse places too, just try me!”
Rhia laughed, “You don’t have to take everything so personally.”
“It was personal,” said Mike crossing her arms across her chest. “Just because I grew up with a lot of things doesn’t mean I can’t do anything better than you!”
Rhia shook her head, “If you say so,” she said with a laugh. “What did you bring to eat?”
Mike looked into the little sack and frowned, “Just some meats, cheeses, and bread from a place I know around the corner,” and she opened the bag and presented it to Rhia. It was filled with the most delicious looking repast Rhia had seen since her arrival in Tanelorn. It was clearly a costly bag of food the girl had brought them.
“Looks good,” she said and they began to lay out the food on paper napkins that came in the bag. Soon enough they were both gorged although Rhia ate the dragon’s share of the food. “You’re sure you don’t want this last piece?” asked Rhia pointing at a succulent looking piece of smoked pork and secretly hoping the girl said no.
“You’re twice my size,” said Mike with a grin. “You have it.”
“I don’t know about twice,” said Rhia looking at her stomach. “I’m over just over six feet tall though, that’s taller than most men. I bet you’re not much more than five feet?”
“I’m more,” said Mike and didn’t seem like she wanted to elaborate on exactly how much she topped that number. “We’ve still got time before it’s late enough for them all to have gone to bed. Do you have any more of those stories?”
Rhia nodded her head and smiled, “I have many such stories but I’d like to hear one from you, if you know any.”
“Fair’s fair, I guess,” said Mike wrinkling her forehead although even that did not diminish her beauty. “What do you want to hear about? But nothing about my parents or my family. That’s my business and none of yours.”
Rhia shook her head and pursed her lips, “I think maybe you’re too hard on them but you’re right, that’s not my business. Sorus Brewer. What do you know about him?”
“You mean Sorus Nightwalk?”
“Yes, of course,” said Rhia shaking her head. “I was just a girl when he was knighted. I remember him differently. He’s very handsome now.”
“You knew him before?”
“We grew up in the same village. He had a crush on my sister but she wasn’t interested. I’m surprised he didn’t recognize me back there at the ceremony when Adusko smashed my face.”
Mike nodded her head and her body gave a subtle tremble at the memory, “I see. Well, I don’t know that much. He and Jon Gray are best friends and that means he’s popular too.”
“How long has they been back?”
Mike nodded her head, “Not that long ago I don’t think. He’s been living here for a little less than a year, that’s when he came back with Jon I think.”
“They’ve only been back for a year?” asked Rhia her eyes wide and her mouth hanging slightly open.
“Yeah, I think that’s about right. I remember when Jon got back there was a lot of talk. He’d been gone so long.”
“They left Elekargul more than ten years ago,” said Rhia with her hand on her chin. She shook her head, “I bet they’ve got quite a few stories to tell!”
Mike nodded her head and leaned back against the brick wall although she couldn’t easily find a comfortable position. She shifted first to the left and then to the right but Rhia pretended not to notice. “Yeah, I guess they would. They brought back a bunch of stuff with them from what I’ve heard. I guess the Gray Lord had them looking for things. Supposedly the Gray Lord has all sorts of relics from the Old Empire in the basement of his house. I’ve even heard that Valary Gray has one of those old portals down there that he fixed.”
“They could have traveled almost the whole world in that time,” said Rhia imagining the sorts of heroic deeds the duo might have accomplished, the things they might have seen.
“I want to travel like that,” said Mike looking up at the clouds that floated lazily by. “I’m … I’m envious of you. You traveled with the circus, right?”
Rhia nodded her head and a soft smile came to her face. “Yes, I traveled on my own from Elekargul all the way to Doria but then I had to go overland. I didn’t realize how big the world was or how long the journey. If I hadn’t run into the circus early on I’d likely have been killed somewhere along the way. I know how to use a sword but it’s a terribly dangerous world out there. There are bad people. I didn’t realize it living in Elekargul. People are content there, happy with their government, happy with their lives. I didn’t know about all the anger that exists, all the rage, so many people wanting to kill each other for no good reason.”
“I grew up here but I know all about that sort of thing,” said Mike her eyes softening. “The gnolls live to the north of us and they are always fighting and killing each other and anyone else. My mom’s people are always fighting as well, especially the Five Nations.”
“The orcs, you mean?” asked Rhia turning to look at the girl.
“Yeah, the Five Nations. I guess you never heard about them until you got here, huh?”
Rhia shook her head, “I’ve learned a little about them but not much. I know there’s Tanelorn and to the south are the dragonkin, to the north are the gnolls, the east are the orcs and to the west is the Rock King or whatever they call him. I didn’t know about elves though.”
“Yep, that’s all exactly right,” said Mike nodding her head. “The elves live in a big forest to the northwest of there, right up against the gnolls, and the orcs travel up there all the time also. They are always fighting each other over something. My grandfather was king I guess, and he told me about it a few times when I visited with my mom. There’s an enclave of dwarves also but my father’s not from there. He was born free, here in Tanelorn.”
“I’ve heard of them,” said Rhia remembering a dwarf she met at the little inn at which she lodged. “They live to the west, not far
from the Rock Lord, right?”
“That’s right,” said Mike her gaze turning to Rhia. “They are always fighting with Rock Beasts.”
“Have you ever seen the Rock Lord’s lands? I’ve heard they’re awful.”
Mike shook her head, “No, my father never took us there but I’ve heard all the stories. I don’t know why we don’t just wipe them out. The Gray Druids kill rock beasts easy enough and I know they hate them. Valary Gray has wanted to destroy them for a long time but the Gray Lord won’t let him.”
“Doesn’t the Gray Lord have a vow about attacking other countries or something?”
“Yeah,” said Mike shaking her head. “So we just sit around waiting to be attacked. The gnolls do it all the time, they’re crazy. They live in little family groups of sometimes as few as a dozen and all the way up to a thousand. The whole family, or at least all the men, will raid Tanelorn. They all get killed of course but they can do some damage before they die. That’s why there are little villas like mine all over the country. People can come and live inside for a while when invaders come. The dragonkin attack sometimes too but not as often and they are more organized. The Rock Beasts haven’t attacked in a long time, I don’t think. Since I was little.”
“What about the Five Nations?” asked Rhia.
“We’re pretty much at peace with them nowadays. They have a lot of Gray Knights. There hasn’t been a fight with them in a long time. The biggest of the Five Nations is the Blackrose Nation and the son of the king of that place is a Gray Knight. Scar Blackrose.”
“I’ve heard of him, Scar Blackrose. He’s a friend of Jane Gray, right?”
Mike nodded her head, “That’s right. They run the army together, pretty much.”
“Do you think it will ever be night?” said Rhia looking at the clouds above them. The sun was obviously still high in the sky although it was hard to tell exactly how late it was.
“Eventually,” said Mike looking down at the house below them. “But it’s going to be hours yet. They might be all asleep now. They were up all night now that I think about it. We could break in now. I haven’t seen anyone moving about in a long time.”
Rhia nodded her head and yawned. “I got a bit of sleep there but you must be tired still.”
Mike shook her head, “I’m fine. I’m used to staying up late.”
“You’ll be tired soon,” said Rhia shaking her own head. “I’ve stayed up all night a few times and it catches up to you fast. I think we should go down right now. The streets are totally deserted. I guess it’s always this way after a Gray Knight ceremony?”
Mike nodded her head, “Yeah, this is only the second one I’ve been to. My brother was supposed to be made a Gray Knight last year but he got drunk and missed the swearing in ceremony. He’s such an idiot.”
“Really?” asked Rhia with a snort of laughter remembering the handsome young dwarf boy with the wild haircut.
“Yep,” said Mike rolling her eyes back into her head. “He’s so stupid but he’s not the first idiot to do it. They stay up all night drinking and partying and then have the ceremony when the sun rises. So you can imagine more than one fool had too much to drink and slept through the ceremony.”
Rhia shook her head, “What happens if they miss the ceremony? Do they have to wait to be invited again or can they just come to the next one?”
“They have to be invited again,” said Mike. “It’s not that hard if you know someone who is a Gray Knight; they can invite you.”
“I thought you only got invited if you did something heroic,” said Rhia. “That’s the way it is in Elekargul. You can only be a knight if you do something brave and then another knight can make you one right on the spot. There’s no ceremony or anything. Just one knight says so and you are, that’s it.”
“It’s kind of like that here,” said Mike her arms stretched above her head as she yawned. “But someone has to invite you to be a Gray Knight, then you have to do the ceremony. You can get invited for a lot of reasons though. A lot of times it’s your brother or father or uncle or whatever.”
“Girls can be knights too, right?” asked Rhia.
“Of course,” said Mike firmly. “We have a lot of girl knights and Jane Gray is captain of the whole army. She’s the best soldier of her generation, or so they say.”
“Good,” said Rhia nodding her head. “I’m going to be a Gray Knight if it’s the last thing I do.”
Mike looked at the girl for a while and then finally bobbed her head, “Yeah, I can see that’s what you want most in the world. It’s good to have goals. I want to be free from my family, mostly my mother. That’s what I’ve always wanted, if I make enough money or become a Gray Knight or whatever, that means I’ll be free.”
Rhia took her time examining the girl and then put out her hand, “We can help each other. I see that. I’m a stranger. Your family can’t influence me the way they might someone else.”
Mike narrowed her eyes and took hold of the extended hand and gave it a firm shake, “That’s all true. We can help each other.”
“So let’s get to work,” said Rhia looking down at the yard by the house where only a little red-breasted bird hopped to-and-fro apparently trying to find worms in the ground.
“Let’s get to work,” repeated Mike. “We’ll go back down the trellises and come around from the back. The cellar door is closest from around that way. You keep lookout while I open the lock. Then follow me down. Just try to be as quiet as possible. Even if they’re all asleep they’ll wake up if you make too much noise.”
Rhia nodded her head and followed as Mike led the way back over the rooftops and down to the ground. Soon she was standing at the corner of a large brick building with her back to the wall trying to appear as casual as possible while Mike nimbly moved toward where the locked cellar door stood at the side of the building. The girl leaned over the lock and fiddled with it for a moment.
Rhia looked up the street but saw no people and only a stray goat cropping at the ground around a small fountain hoping to get at the few blades of grass there. The fountain depicted a young man and woman holding hands while skipping and water came from between them in a pair of jets that ricocheted off their legs and sprayed artfully around them. Rhia tore her eyes away from the display and saw Mike swinging open the cellar door. The girl then motioned with her hand and Rhia nodded to acknowledge that she saw the movement.
Rhia put her hands in her pockets and tried to casually stroll over to the cellar and it felt like it took her hours to cover the distance. She looked back as she arrived to see if anyone was watching and then ducked inside. She clambered down the steps into the darkness below, taking time to quietly close the cellar door behind her.
“Mike?” she whispered unable to see anything in the darkness after having been out in the bright sunshine a moment before. “Are you here?”
“Of course I’m here,” said Mike in a low voice. “Where else would I be?”
“I don’t know,” said Rhia smiling and realizing the silliness of the question. “I’m not used to sneaking.”
“Obviously,” said Mike and her tone made it clear she was exasperated.
“Now’s not the time to point out my shortcomings, it’s dark in here. Can you see anything?”
“Wait a second,” said Mike, there was a pause, and then a sharp clicking sound. A moment later a pale yellow light began to emanate from nearby and soon Rhia could that it was Mike holding a glowstone. “There we go,” said the girl with a grin. In the dim light her girlish features showed even more starkly. “Come along.”
Rhia looked around the cellar as the light grew slightly in intensity and then seemed to level off. There were large shelves against the far wall with small barrels resting on them. Nearby stood two large crates of apples and the smell of them filled the cellar. There were another few crates nearby but these were empty.
“The stairs up are over here I’m pretty sure,” said Mike moving forward. “Try to be quiet.”
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Rhia followed Mike and the hard floor of the cellar gave off no sound as she took gentle steps.
“Yep, here they are,” said Mike pointing to a set of wooden stairs that wound their way up to the main portion of the house. “You stay here,” she said firmly.
“Do you have another of those stones?” asked Rhia looking at the glowstone. She had one once but lost it a long time ago. Her uncle had given it to her for the journey.
Mike shook her head, “Here, you take this one. It’ll be light upstairs. There are windows open. Don’t do anything silly,” she finished and handed over the stone. “Tap it once against something hard to turn it off. Once again to turn it on.”
“Got it,” said Rhia taking the stone and turning to examine the rest of the cellar while Mike slowly crept up the stairs. The girl was so light on her feet that the old slats didn’t give off so much as a creak.
Rhia tossed the stone up in the air, caught it easily, and then began to look around. The cellar was large with the stairs apparently near the center. She could see light creeping in through the slats of the cellar door across the room and decided to explore in the opposite direction. The first thing she spotted was a good-sized press apparently used to crush the apples to make cider. It looked rather dilapidated although obviously still used regularly. Whoever had last used it hadn’t properly cleaned it as little pieces of apple skin still clung to the sides.
Past that were more barrels and to the right of them a wooden door with a slat across it to keep it shut. “That’s odd,” said Rhia moving over to examine it. “Who would want to lock something in down here? Then a terrible thought occurred to her. “No, they wouldn’t.”
She walked over to the door, carefully lifted the slat from the little catches on either side of the door, and placed it against a nearby wall. There was a dim light coming from the room behind and Rhia paused to listen. A strange, rhythmic sort of sound came from beyond although the girl could not for the life of her figure out what would make such a noise. She turned the handle slowly and pushed open the door with her heart suddenly beating loudly in her chest while she held her breath.