by Jamie Davis
THEY RETURNED to the harbor district without incident, a fact for which Hal was happy. The laundry wagon worked like a charm. The guards at the two checkpoints they passed waived them through without a search, paying more attention to the people passing by on foot.
Hal decided to take the Duchess and the girls into the secret passage by the docks. A woman and two small girls in their nightclothes would draw attention if they walked right into the Chum Bucket and up to Griff.
Pulling the wagon up to the stairs down to the base of the stone seawall, Hal got down and walked to the rear of the wagon. He opened the wagon's door and whispered for the Duchess.
"Ma'am, you and your daughters can come out now. We have you at a place where you can hide until we find more permanent accommodations."
The lid of the hamper popped open, and the Duchess stood up and lifted her daughters out to the floor of the wagon. Hal and Kay helped them all down to the street.
The Duchess looked around. "Are we to take a ship somewhere?"
"No, ma'am, we have a secret place to hide you and the entrance is here at the harbor, that's all," Hal said. "Kay will take you down those steps and show you inside while I take the wagon back. I'll meet you later when I return. Get some sleep. I hope to have some suitable clothes for you when I next see you."
"Thank you, sir. What shall I call you? You never told me your name."
"I'm Hal, ma'am. Hal Dix."
"Well, thank you, Hal Dix. I shall make sure my husband offers you a great reward for your service to us tonight."
"I'll take you up on that later, ma'am. Now go with Kay, and I'll see you soon."
Kay took her three charges in hand and led them down to the base of the seawall. Hal waited until they were out of sight and then climbed back up to the wagon's seat and started the horse down the docks towards the stable he’d rented to store the wagon and board the horse.
------
IT TOOK ALL NIGHT, working with Griff and the barmaids at the Chum Bucket to find a suitable place to stash the Duchess and her girls. Hal was exhausted when he walked down the stairs to the tavern's basement with a large bundle and started down the long passage to the smuggler's hideout.
They'd gotten the Duchess commoner's clothes for herself and her daughters. She balked at first.
"Ma'am, you can't appear to be a noblewoman and expect to hide out here in the harbor district. You must blend in if you expect to remain free."
"But these clothes..." she said, holding up the old dress she was to wear.
"Are the best clothes poor people could spare," Hal said. "Most of your subjects don't have more than one set of clothes, to begin with. If they do, they don't want to part with them. Be thankful and gracious. Your hosts know who you are, but are people of little means. You must accept a humbler lifestyle until we can reunite you with your husband."
"When will that be, if I may ask?"
"We plan to go see him tonight after we get some rest. Kay and I will have to sneak into the palace if we can, so his part in this will not be exposed. I don't suppose you know of any secret entrance we could use to get inside without being seen?"
Hal was surprised when the Duchess blushed and nodded.
"Really? I was just kidding."
"It is called the courtesan's gate," the Duchess said. "My husband never used it, of course, but his father did on numerous occasions, if rumors are to be believed. I can tell you where to find the entrance. It may be guarded, but it leads directly to our bedchambers."
Hours later, the Duchess and her daughters were settled with their foster family, a fisherman and his wife who had no children. They would pretend the Duchess was a cousin visiting from down the coast.
They were settled, and Hal trudged back down to the hideout. He wanted only to get settled for some much-needed sleep. He was surprised to see the lamp was still lit in their smuggler’s room. Kay was still up and flipping through a stack of papers.
"Oh, good, you're back," Kay said. "I've found some information here among the merchant's papers we took that might decide our next target among the Wardens."
"Really, what did you find?" Hal asked.
"It appears that the Warden of the caravan district is tied up in some sort of child trafficking ring and uses the merchant we just hit to sell child slaves to factors in other cities via his shipping operation. It seems some people have some pretty nasty appetites."
"That's an ugly racket," Hal said. "I don't feel so bad about burning that bastard's home down now."
"There's a shipment of children being sent out in two days according to this communication," Kay said, holding up a slip of paper.
"We can hope that the merchant died in the blaze when we burned his house. If he did, maybe the deal will fall through,” Hal suggested.
Kay shook her head. "I don't think that's going to happen. From everything I've read, it's already been arranged."
"That means we have to hit the Caravans Warden within two days to stop the shipment."
"Yep," Kay agreed. "By the way, how did it go getting the Duchess settled in her new home?"
"It will take a little time for them to settle in to a more austere lifestyle but they'll be well cared for by the fisherman and his wife," Hal said. "I also discovered a back way into the palace from her, so that's a positive."
"Really, we can bypass the regular guards?"
"Most of them at least," Hal said. "I think we owe it to the Duke to inform him we rescued his wife and daughters."
"Me, too," Kay said. "I was concerned about how we’d get in to see him, but it appears you've solved that problem."
"I did, at least for now," Hal said, laying down on his sleeping pallet. "I'm getting some sleep. Wake me in time for dinner."
"I'll do that," Kay said. She went back to reading through the various documents they'd accumulated. Hal closed his eyes.
When Hal opened his eyes again, it was to see the scowling face of Griff leaning over him, not Kay. Hal shifted to the side and sat up.
"What are you doing here? Where's Kay?"
"He's up getting something to eat. He told me you were fixing on meeting with the Duke. I came down to see if you'd take him a message from myself and the smuggler's guild."
"I can do that, Griff. What is it?"
"It's for his ears only, Hal. You have to promise me you'll tell no one about it, especially if you're captured."
"I don't plan on getting captured, but sure, I promise."
"Tell him we have reason to believe one of his closest advisors is working for the Wardens," Griff said. "We don't know who, but there are rumors that someone in the palace is working directly for the Wardens. I think this is the mysterious Palace Warden. No one knows who he or she is, but someone is running things there while the Duke sits as a figurehead. He should trust no one until we finish overthrowing the Wardens."
"Don't you mean until Kay and I finish overthrowing the Wardens?" Hal said.
"You think you're doing this alone?" Griff said. He gestured all around him at the smuggler's hideout. "Do you think you could do what you do without our help?"
Hal put his hands up in surrender. "Fair enough. I spoke too quickly. I apologize. There is no I in Team; I get it."
"I'm glad we see things the same way, Hal," Griff said. "Now, come on up to the Chum Bucket, and I'll get you some dinner. Don't forget the message for the Duke."
"I won't. I'll be right up." Hal said.
QUEST ACCEPTED - Warn the Duke of the traitor in his midst.
HAL GOT DRESSED and gathered his gear for the night's trip to see the Duke. They should be able to sneak in without trouble. The word about a traitor in the Duke's inner circle was concerning, but it shouldn't affect what Hal and Kay were doing out here as long as the Duke could keep a secret and hold on to his position.
After he joined Kay for supper and the two of them started towards the location of the secret gate, Hal informed Kay of what Griff told him.
"It doesn't surprise m
e," Kay said. "If I were the Wardens or the Emperor, I'd place someone in the Duke's Privy Council or subvert someone who was already there to keep an eye on things from the inside, too."
"It certainly adds a layer of difficulty to things for him. I don't think it will affect us, though," Hal said.
Kay shook her head. "The Duke is probably running interference for us from the top. There are plenty of people searching for us here in the city, but the Duke's personal guard hasn't gotten involved yet. That means he's managed to hold them back from lending a hand with the search. Think about it this way. If they got involved, it would double the number of people on the street, double the number of search parties and road blocks. We'd have a hard time getting anything done, even with the laundry cart disguise."
Hal considered what she said. He hadn't thought about how things had been going. He assumed the Wardens were disorganized and responding poorly to the threat he and Kay offered to them. It was something to keep in mind, and Hal pondered it while he and Kay made their way to the location the Duchess described.
Thirty minutes later Hal and Kay stood on the far end of the sea wall, staring down at the waves crashing against the side of the stone outcrop on which the Duke's palace was built. Clearly, the Duchess had never actually seen the so-called courtesan's gate.
"She was so sure it came out on this side of the palace wall," Hal said. "She must have been mistaken. We'll have to try another night."
"I'm not so sure, Hal," Kay said, pointing down to a dark hole barely visible amid the rocks. "I think we will need a boat, though."
After retracing their steps to the docks and finding an unattended fishing boat with oars, Hal and Kay rowed around the base of the cliffs below the palace until they found the outcropping and inlet Kay had spotted from the sea wall. Hal worked at the oars, still trying to get the hang of the rhythm needed for efficient strokes. Kay sat at the tiller and steered them up the inlet and into a cave.
The lantern came in handy in the darkness, and they had to duck their heads to pass through the low tunnel in the boat. Eventually, it opened up into a larger cave. Along the far wall was a man-made stone landing with a few thick and rusty iron rings for tying up boats along the water’s edge.
Kay guided the craft up beside one of the rings and grabbed ahold while Hal shipped the oars and secured the boat to it. They both stepped out onto the landing, thankful to be out of the rocking boat. Neither of them were sailors.
The stone landing had a rack nearby on which rested two small boats only a little larger than the one in which they arrived. The racks had a lever system that would allow a single person to tilt them from the wooden rack and launch the boats into the water. It looked like the whole system hadn't been tended to in years, though, and appeared to be in some disrepair.
"This must have originally been planned as an escape route for the family and loyal retainers should the palace above fall," Hal noted. "The Duke must not have known about the boats or didn't have a chance to send his family down here."
"We'll have to ask him," Kay said. "If this was how his father snuck concubines and courtesans into the palace, the Duke may not have wanted to learn more about this entrance."
"There are stairs up to the palace, I presume," Hal said. He pointed to the stone steps leading up in to a dark passage. "Shall we go and ask his Grace ourselves?"
Kay nodded, and the two black-clad rogues headed up into the palace. After climbing upward for half an hour, Hal stopped to stifle a sneeze. They were now kicking up a good deal of dust as they walked higher inside the palace, leaving the dampness of the sea cave behind them. No one had used this passage for some time.
Hal shuttered their lantern here and waited while their eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight filtering in through narrow slits in the walls. Moving on again, the two continued to climb stairs upward until they reached a final landing ending in a bare wall.
"Did we miss something?" Hal asked. "Was there another passage off the stairs?"
"Not that I saw. This must be the entrance to the palace," Kay said. "Check the wall for a lever or a pressure plate that opens a door."
The two began running their hands over the wall of close-set stones, searching with both their eyes and their sensitive fingertips for any change in the surface that would signal a secret door mechanism.
Hal found it first.
There was a rounded, smooth knob of stone that had a slight seam around it. Pressing on it resulted in a soft click and a portion of the stone wall pivoted into the landing, revealing the back side of a tapestry on the other side.
Stepping forward, Hal moved the tapestry aside and stepped into a well-appointed room that appeared to be a dressing chamber. There were several wardrobes along one wall and a small secretary's desk in the corner. There was also a padded chaise lounge along with several other chairs arranged around the room. There were two doors off the room. Hal suspected one led to the Duke's bedchambers, and the other led to the rest of the palace and the family living quarters.
Hal checked the door on the right first. Opening it only far enough to glance outside, Hal saw there was a long well-lit hallway on the other side of that door. He shut it.
"It must be the other one," Hal whispered as he pushed the door closed.
Kay crossed to the other door and opened it a crack. Peering through the opening, Kay looked back over her shoulder and nodded.
"This is it. I can hear him snoring."
"Come on then," Hal said. "Let's wake our friend, the Duke, and give him the good news about his family."
Kay pulled the door open, and both of them walked into the Duke's bedchamber. Hal felt weird, like he was intruding, which was strange considering how he'd killed the Merchants Warden only a few days earlier.
Reaching out with a hand, he touched the Duke on the shoulder. The man reacted instantly, snatching a dagger out from under a pillow and rolling over to grab Hal and throw him to the floor.
Hal found himself staring up at the Duke's enraged face with a dagger pressed against his throat.
"Who sent you, assassin?" The Duke hissed between clenched teeth.
"Your Grace, I'm no assassin. I come with a message from your wife," Hal said.
The hand holding the dagger to Hal's throat relaxed.
"My wife?" The Duke said, looking around and noticing Kay for the first time. "Is she here? Where are my daughters?"
"They're all safe," Hal said. "We rescued them from the man who was holding them hostage for the Wardens last night. Your wife told us how to enter the palace in secret so we could tell you of their safety and to warn you about a traitor in your midst."
The Duke climbed off Hal and sat back on the bed while Hal got back to his feet. The man had caught him by surprise and could have easily killed him if Hal hadn't spoken quickly.
"You're the two I saw at the Gilded Cage that night, aren't you?” The Duke asked as recognition dawned on his sleepy brain.
"Yes, that's us. We've been seeking our revenge on what happened to Selena and her women ever since," Kay said.
The Duke smiled. "Leave it to my wife to remember that secret way into the palace." He looked from Hal to Kay. "The slavers, the two Wardens, even the brawl in the harbor market, it was all you two, wasn't it?"
"Yes, your Grace," Hal admitted. "We've been a little busy."
"I'll say you've been busy. The other three Wardens are pressuring me to release the palace guard to help them search the city for the scoundrel who calls himself the Hood. Which one of you goes by that moniker?"
"It's kind of a catch-all for both of us, sir," Hal said.
"It was his idea. He thinks it's funny to steal from the Wardens and give the money back to the people of the city." Kay added.
The Duke chuckled. "It is amusing at that. You've certainly worked the Warden's into a bit of a tizzy."
"That's the plan," Hal said.
"Now, about my wife and daughters. May I see them?"
"I don't think that's
wise, your Grace," Hal said. "They're in a safe place where they are. If we were to move them or try to sneak you in to see them, it would risk exposing them to capture again. It's best if they remain where they are for now. Hopefully, we'll be able to help you free your city again, though, and then you can all be reunited."
"What do you need me to do?" The Duke asked.
"Do all you can to keep the palace guard under your control and inside the palace," Hal said. "Also, I have a warning from a concerned party. They say there's a traitor in your midst, someone close to you who is working with the Wardens and is sympathetic to the Emperor."
QUEST COMPLETED - Warn the Duke of the traitor in his midst.
4,000 experience points awarded.
"THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE," the Duke said getting up and pacing across the bed chamber. "There have been several instances where the Wardens confronted me about something I'd planned before I had even had a chance to implement it. They've always alluded to a fifth member of their group…"
"We think there's a Palace Warden of sorts who works with the other Wardens in secret to betray your plans of subversion against the Emperor," Kay said. "We have records of four Wardens everyone knows about: the Harbor Warden, the Merchant Warden, The Caravans Warden, and the Temple Warden. Those four operate openly to control the city. This Palace warden is the one we don't know anything about."
"Sir, if I might suggest," Hal said. "You work to find out who the traitor in your midst is here while we continue our campaign against the two remaining Wardens out in the city. If we put enough pressure on them, it may force the Palace Warden to reveal himself."
"I can do that," the Duke said. "If I discover the culprit, how do I contact you?"
Hal thought for a second before replying, “Send a message to a man named Griff at the Chum Bucket in the Harbor District. He will pass the info along to us.”
“That will work for me,” replied the Duke.
"Perfect, sir," Hal replied. "If that's all then, we should be on our way. We want to be out of here and back to our hideout before dawn."
Hal and Kay turned to leave after bowing to the Duke, but he stopped them.
"Thank you, both for all you're doing for our city. We owe you both a great debt."