by Sam Ferguson
“If you do, you will never find the women. My men are under strict orders to kill them and ditch the bodies if I do not return by sundown.” The stranger stood and set his sword upon the table. His eyes glanced around the room. Kai knew the stranger was sizing up the bouncer and checking for others in the tavern that would align against him. “However, I would prefer to complete our business. Take me to your boss and we can end this.”
Kai’s fingers tightened around his sword handle for a moment, then he released his grip and nodded. “Very well,” Kai relented. “You come with me right now, and we will settle this.”
The stranger nodded.
Kai turned to lead the way and then paused, turning his head over his shoulder. “You should know that my employer will not pay for damaged merchandise, nor will he tolerate your existence should he find you tampered with the shipment.”
The stranger bristled. “I know how it works,” he said. “The merchandise is unspoiled, and will stay that way as long as I deliver my message.”
Kai nodded and led the way to the door.
The two of them walked in silence through the streets. It was all Kai could do to keep his thoughts focused on the larger goal and not slit the man’s throat and ditch his body. Half of him thought he could find his sister before sundown, but the rational half knew better. There was no way for him to know where they might be holding them. It could be any house within the city, or a small camp without the walls in the greater plains near the desert. Even with Pinhead and Redbeard he would not be able to find his sister in time. However, he was sure the three of them could tease the location out of this scoundrel once he led him back to his hideout.
“Is your operation still as large as it used to be?” the stranger inquired.
Kai glanced toward the man but said nothing.
The stranger shrugged. “I just want to know whether you have faced any trouble lately. I heard the group in Rasselin was wiped out by the Rangers, and we only barely escaped by the skin of our teeth in Kobhir.”
Again, Kai remained silent.
“Perhaps these two women are cursed,” the stranger commented.
Kai bit his tongue and looked away to conceal the rage in his heart. After a few moments he decided he could use this moment to ask about this group in Kobhir. Perhaps he would have to go there after he was finished in Blundfish. “How did you run into trouble in Kobhir?” he asked.
The stranger clammed up.
“Were you seen by the guards?” Kai pressed.
The stranger shook his head. “I am only supposed to tell your boss,” he said.
“Sounds like it must have been bad,” Kai said.
The stranger nodded. “We were hit by a group of merchant guards. Not sure how they found us exactly, but we suffered heavy casualties.”
“Is the group still operational?” Kai inquired.
The stranger stopped abruptly and turned on Kai. “Where are we going?” he asked.
Kai pointed to his shack, still about fifty yards away. “There,” he said.
The stranger took a half pace backward. “Who are you?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” Kai asked, his hand inching toward his sword.
“Tell me your boss’s name,” the stranger commanded.
“Gurn,” Kai said quickly, not wanting to lose his lead. “He and Gildar are Galion’s brothers,” Kai added.
The stranger seemed unconvinced. He glanced from Kai to the shack and back to Kai. “No,” he said finally. “You are an imposter.” His hand hovered over his sword. “Who are you?”
Kai snapped. His sword came out and he sliced down, aiming for the man’s leg. The stranger reacted just as quickly, bringing his sword out and blocking Kai’s blow while lashing out with a kick to Kai’s ribs. Kai winced and sidestepped to put the man’s back to the shack. Kai feinted a thrust and then pulled back to launch a downward slice at the man’s sword arm. The stranger moved to block the thrust and then jumped back instead of getting pulled into the trap before Kai’s sword could reach him. He countered with a series of short swings and chops at Kai’s midsection. Kai blocked and parried with his own counterattack, but the man dodged to the left. Kai grinned when he saw the shack door open. Pinhead and Redbeard were rushing toward them as fast as their stubby legs could carry them.
The stranger lunged forward with a thrust aimed for Kai’s left hip. Kai sucked in his stomach and pivoted on his back foot, allowing the sword to slide by harmlessly. He came in hard with an elbow to the stranger’s face and flipped his sword upside down for a quick stab to the man’s leg, but the stranger countered by releasing his own sword and grabbing Kai’s sword arm at the wrist. A quick knee slammed into Kai’s gut, doubling him over and allowing the stranger to extend Kai’s sword arm and keep Kai’s sword out of the way. A savage fist landed hard on Kai’s head, but Kai responded with a shot to the stranger’s groin. Then he wrapped his arm under the man’s groin and hoisted him from the ground. Kai released his sword and took several blows to the face as he staggered backwards with the stranger struggling to stay upright as Kai arched his back to suplex the stranger over his left shoulder.
They went down hard, each man recoiling from the ground and rolling away from the other. They barely managed to get back to their feet when Pinhead and Redbeard slammed into Kai, each one pinning one of Kai’s arms to the ground.
“What in Hammenfein’s name are you idiots doing?” Kai screamed. “Get him, he has my sister!”
“Hush now!” Pinhead yelled back. “You want the whole world to see us and blow our cover?”
Kai kicked ferociously, but the stranger just stood there with his brows scrunched and mouth agape. “Redbeard?” the stranger said incredulously. “You know this guy?”
Redbeard nodded and wrapped his vice-like grip around Kai’s arm until Kai stopped squirming. “Kai, meet Kelden. Kelden, meet Kai.”
Pinhead was quick to chime in. “Kelden is a merchant guard, from Kobhir. He can help us.”
Kai growled and shook the dwarves loose. “You said you have my sister, where is she?” Redbeard and Pinhead shot each other perplexed looks and then looked up to Kelden.
“Your sister?” Kelden repeated.
Redbeard stepped in, separating the two humans with his stout arms. “It’s a long story, but his sister was kidnapped by a group of thugs in Rasselin and we helped him get her back.”
“Where is she you bloody louse?” Kai growled.
“You are Sebina’s brother,” Kelden said as he put it together. He quickly put his hands up in a non-threatening gesture. “She is in Kobhir, safe with a lady named Agnes. She and Jenedina are both fine.”
The anger left Kai and he relaxed visibly. “Then why did you say you had her?”
Kelden shook his head. “I came to finish off the others that were working with the group.”
Kai nodded and took it all in. “You came by yourself, with just a sword?”
Kelden smirked and lifted his tunic. Tucked into his trousers were a series of daggers. “Not just a sword.”
Redbeard put his arms down and pointed to the shack. “How about we finish getting acquainted inside, before someone sees us?”
“Good idea,” Kai said. Then he looked back to Kelden. “You swear she is safe?”
“I swear. A couple of my men are a little worse for the wear, but both of the women are fine and the organization in Kobhir is destroyed.”
Pinhead retrieved the two swords from the ground and started for the shack. Redbeard followed suit and motioned for the others to join. “Come on, let’s move.”
The four of them hustled into the shack and quickly joined around a small, wobbly table. Pinhead set a small carafe of slightly opaque water on the table. “Sorry, the well out back has a bit of clay leeching into it.”
“What, no ale?” Kelden remarked. “Are you sure you are the real Pinhead and Redbeard?” he jested.
Pinhead frowned and jabbed a thumb at Kai. “He won’t let us go o
ut for ale.”
Kelden laughed. “Ah, so that’s why you were smiling when you tackled him.”
Pinhead smirked, but Kai was not amused, he remained stone-faced and arched an eye brow at Pinhead. Redbeard came up beside Kai and ribbed Kai with his elbow. “Lighten up already, we’re all friends here,” he said in a fatherly tone. “Besides,” Redbeard said addressing Kelden. “We tackled him because we knew you would see us and back off until things were explained. If we had tackled you, this raging bull would have taken your life before we could say a word.”
“Well,” Kelden started to respond as he took a bit of murky water straight from the carafe. “I’ll drink to that.”
Pinhead grinned wide and slapped Kai on the shoulder. “Don’t worry Kai. You see, Redbeard here almost killed Kelden’s grandfather a few decades ago, and Kelden and Redbeard get along fine.”
“I want to know what happened to my sister,” Kai said coldly as he shook Pinhead off of him. Kelden set the carafe down and the smile disappeared as he swallowed.
“You’re a Ranger, so I don’t need to go into all of the details. Suffice it to say that an informant tipped us off that a group was going to recapture Sebina and Jenedina. The man who ran the organization in Kobhir was named Galion. His lieutenant, Vermut, was bent on taking your sister and her friend back and completing the order that originated here. My men put all of them down before they could take the women.”
“Sebina and Jenedina were unharmed?”
Kelden nodded. “They are a bit shaken up about it, as you can imagine, but they are entirely safe.” Kelden shifted his gaze to the table and his focus drifted to a distant point. “However, we were unable to get any solid leads about the identities of Galion’s contacts in Blundfish. We only knew that the women were to be transported here and sold. With my men convalescing I decided the best tactic would be to come here pretending to have the women, and kill whoever offered to buy them.”
“So, you had no idea who you were looking for?” Kai surmised.
Kelden shook his head. “Honestly, I got lucky. I hit Honan’s tavern first. It was in the right part of town, had the right kind of crowd inside, and just felt like a good place to start. So, I asked the barkeep if he knew of anyone who was expecting a special shipment from Kobhir. I slid him enough gold to make him gush, of course, and then he offered you up.”
Kai nodded. “I was paying him to inform me if anyone came in that might have any ‘special’ merchandise.”
“So you don’t have any leads either?”
“Oh we have leads,” Pinhead put in quickly. Kai shot him a deadly look and Pinhead was quick to find an excuse to retie his boots.
“I have some leads, but I don’t know where Gurn hides. I am undercover working for one of his underlings. I paid Raife just in case someone came in who could lead me to the top faster so I could cut off the dragon’s head, as it were.”
Kelden folded his arms. “Well, I see we are on the same page then.”
Kai narrowed his eyes. “You don’t want to arrest him?” he asked.
“No, but I assume that won’t be a problem for you?”
Kai shook his head.
“So, you said the man’s name was Gurn, is that right?” Kelden asked.
“That’s what my source says,” Kai responded.
“By source I assume you are talking about the underling you have embedded yourself with?”
Kai nodded and poured a bit of water into a small clay goblet. “Exactly. He says if I do a few jobs for him he will eventually introduce me to him.”
“That could take a while.”
“What if you poke around Boots’ place while Kai works his angle?” Redbeard put in.
“Who is Boots?” Kelden asked.
“The underling,” Kai replied. “I don’t know if this is a good idea though.” He turned to Redbeard. “What if he gets caught?”
Redbeard shrugged. “Then it is someone with ties to Kobhir and the merchant guard, and you can still work your angle so long as you maintain your cover. Besides, we could go with him to make sure he doesn’t get caught.”
Kai shook his head. “I have Rangers that will be coming after me. If we spook Gurn now, I may not get another chance at him.”
“Why are Rangers coming after you?” Kelden asked.
“They think he killed Governor Gandle,” Redbeard blurted.
Kelden nodded his head. “Well sitting here is not getting anything done. I suggest you let me shadow you. How many men does Boots control?”
“No, if you are seen following me it will raise suspicion.” Kai stood from the table and drained his goblet. “Perhaps it’s best if you just go back to Kobhir and let me handle this.”
Kelden scoffed and stood up and jabbed his index finger into the table. “You can lick the bottom of my boot,” he said sharply. “My men bled for your sister, and this organization presents a threat to Queen Dalynn. If you stand in my way I will remove you as well.”
Redbeard and Pinhead stiffened in their chairs and shot quick glances to each other.
“Sebina is my sister,” Kai replied. “I will handle this.”
“Then what?” Kelden asked. “You will stay on the run for the rest of your life while the Rangers hunt you down for Gandle’s murder?” Kelden pointed a finger at Redbeard. “Did this man kill Governor Gandle?”
Redbeard stammered a bit before shaking his head. “No, I don’t believe he did.”
“Of course I didn’t,” Kai shouted. “I was on my way to uncover leads at Gandle’s manor when the assassin escaped moments before I arrived.”
“Can anyone confirm this?” Kelden asked.
Kai looked to the floor. “Captain Lador could, except he was also killed.”
Kelden folded his arms. “The Rangers will not stop hunting you,” Kelden said.
“I know that, that’s why I don’t want to miss this opportunity to kill Gurn,” Kai shot back.
Kelden nodded. “Listen to me,” Kelden started. “Redbeard’s word is good enough for me, and I can get you a pardon.”
“How can you do that?” Kai asked.
“I am more than a merchant guard,” Kelden replied. “I have been assigned by Queen Dalynn to head a secret unit that investigates and terminates threats that pose an especial danger to the queen or to the kingdom. Join me, and I will ask her to clear your name. The Rangers will then be required to drop their vendetta against you.”
“Rangers are not so easily swayed,” Kai replied somberly. “They will find a way to strike.”
“Then, perhaps I can send you somewhere they wouldn’t think to look,” Kelden said with a shrug. Kai regarded him curiously. “I have something I need checked out in the Elven Isles. A certain artifact came to light recently, and I want to do some research into its origins.”
“Does joining the unit come with any sort of guaranteed salary?” Kai asked.
“Does that mean you’re in?”
Pinhead raised his hand. “Just out of curiosity, let’s say Kai is in –does that mean we have a plan for Boots?”
Kelden smiled. “I do. When is the next time you are going to meet with him?”
“I need to meet him today for lunch, at noon. He said he had a protection job he wants me to do.”
“Alright, so go and do this job, but give me Boots’ location. Redbeard, Pinhead and I will attack Boots later this afternoon, say around five o’clock. While you are out on your job, we’ll take down Boots’ men and then interrogate Boots for Gurn’s location. You plan on ditching your client and rejoin us at Boots’ place around six or six thirty. Then, we all march on Gurn and finish it tonight.”
“What about the city guard?” Kai asked. “I don’t suppose they will recognize your authority as part of a secret group?”
“No, they won’t,” Kelden admitted. “But they will honor this.” He reached down into his boot and removed a tightly rolled parchment. “It’s a warrant from Queen Dalynn, authorizing me to conduct an investiga
tion into recent kidnappings and murders. It mentions the two organizations in Rasselin and Kobhir as well. But, honestly I would prefer not to speak with the guards at all.”
“Why not?” Kai asked.
Kelden hesitated.
“Spit it out, lad,” Redbeard urged.
“My information leads me to believe that one or more Rangers may possibly have been involved with Gildar and Galion,” Kelden stated.
Kai was silent for a long while. He clenched his jaw and turned away to slam his fist into the wall.
“It isn’t conclusive,” Kelden offered.
“But it makes sense,” Kai growled. “How else would anyone have targeted my sister so quickly after she was transferred to Kobhir?”
“Do you know anyone in particular we could investigate?” Kelden asked.
Kai shook his head and punched the wall again. “No. The whole Ranger unit went with her. It could have been any one of them.” Kelden stepped forward and got close to Kai. Kai turned around and looked him in the eye. “Will you help me find out which one it was?”
Kelden nodded. “First, we take down Gurn. Then, you go to the Elven Isles for me and I will root out the crooked Ranger.” Kelden extended his hand to seal the deal.
“Alright,” Kai said. “I’m in.” He reached out and shook Kelden’s hand.
*****
“Ah, Brass, just the man I was waiting to see,” Boots said with a warm smile. He slicked his greasy hair back and lit a cigar as he pointed to a soft, red leather chair for Kai. “I already told you that a long time client desires a bodyguard as he goes through his business deals later today. I myself was going to take this job, but I feel comfortable that you can handle it. You have proven yourself to be every bit as capable as you claimed.” Boots clinched his cigar between two fingers and pointed at Kai with a wink. “You are going to move up to better places, I can see that for sure.” Boots put the cigar back in his mouth and inhaled deeply. He puffed the smoke out in a series of gray circles that ascended to the wood-paneled ceiling. “As a precaution however, Horkin will shadow you to ensure that this client is not lost.”