Thraxas

by Martin Scott

  Chapter 17

  We arrive at the law courts with an hour or so to spare before the final day of the case begins. The sun beats down. There hasn't been a breath of wind in the city for weeks. Stals flop lifelessly on the statues in the forum. Sweat runs down the inside of my tunic. I'm fed up with the heat. I'm fed up with being fed up with the heat. In his black uniform tunic, Rallee suffers as much as I do. I notice that the Guards and officials of the courts still treat him with respect. He might have been bounced out of the Palace by Rittius but they know the Captain is worth ten of him any day.

  In the forum outside the courts people gather for the business of the day; everything from petty criminals heading for spells behind an oar to wealthy merchants from the Honourable Association of Merchants involved in complicated commercial law suits. There are even a couple of golden-haired and green-clad Elves, sitting beside the fountain with an advocate and his legal advisers, poring over some old scrolls.

  "Got fleeced on a deal to ship a load of silver," the Captain informs us. "Why these Elves still expect Turanian merchants to be honest is beyond me."

  Makri hails them in the royal language as she passes. The Elves leap to their feet in alarm, assuming that some important Elf Lord has arrived unexpectedly in the city. When they realise who has greeted them they practically fall over in their confusion. Makri grins and strolls on.

  "I really thought Grosex killed Drantaax," says Captain Rallee as he leads us down to the cells below the courts. "He's such a sad little guy I couldn't help feeling sorry for him, though not sorry enough to stop him from hanging. I have to hand it to you on this one, Thraxas."

  A sad little guy is a fair description of Grosex when we reach him. It's the last day of his trial and he knows he's going to be found guilty and hanged in short order. When we walk into his cell he's slumped on his bunk. His face lights up with hope when he sees me.

  "Thraxas! I thought you'd given up on me."

  "I never give up on a client," I tell him. "And I don't often lose one either."

  I pause, looking awkwardly around the cell. It's completely bare. There's nothing to focus my eyes on except Grosex.

  "Although technically speaking, you're not my client. Prefect Tholius dragged you off before you could pay me my retainer and we never did get round to formalising the deal. Which is unfortunate."

  "What do you mean?"

  "If you were my client I might have to think some more about it. Because I'm pretty unlikely to turn over any client of mine to the courts. Goes against the grain. Even if my client turns out to be guilty, I'd rather send him out of the city on a fast horse than hand him over. But as you're not really my client, and you did in fact kill Drantaax . . ."

  I hold out my hands, palm upwards.

  A look of terror crosses Grosex's face. "I didn't!"

  I'm tired. I feel bad doing this. I want to get it over with quickly.

  "Sorry, Grosex. I've been everywhere with this one. I've involved myself with killers, monks, the Brotherhood and Lord knows who else. Makri nearly got killed and plenty of others were. When you start playing around with so much illegal gold it spirals out of control. You should have stayed out of it. You were always going to end up way over your head."

  "Are you saying Grosex is guilty?" demands Captain Rallee.

  "Yes, unfortunately. Drantaax knew nothing about the theft of the gold. There was no reason for him to. His business was doing well. He had no gambling debts or drink problems. That was just a story made up by Grosex to give the sculptor some motive for being involved. But it wasn't Drantaax who Ixial approached with the proposition for hiding the gold in the statue. It was Grosex."

  I stare at the apprentice. He stares back helplessly, like a rabbit.

  "Why did you do it?"

  Poor Grosex seems unable to speak. Makri and Captain Rallee look on with interest.

  "I don't really care why you did it. Maybe you just wanted money. Drantaax didn't pay you much. I've seen the room in Twelve Seas where you lived. Maybe Calia encouraged you. You wouldn't be the first apprentice led down the garden path by the mistress of the house eager to get her husband out of the way. But if she was involved I doubt she wanted you to kill Drantaax."

  I turn to the Captain. "She went on holiday with Drantaax."

  "What?"

  "On holiday. When the gold was stolen. They were having a break from the heat in Ferias. But when Grosex arrived in my office he told me he and Drantaax had been working on the statue round the clock for days. While Drantaax was away Grosex did the business with the gold. I didn't add it up properly till we were in the magic space and something reminded me."

  I don't mention that it was the talking pig that reminded me.

  "Like I say, Drantaax knew nothing about the gold. Grosex loaded it inside the statue when Drantaax was away. Ixial arranged it all with him. And when Sarin's men came to the workshop looking for it, Drantaax learned what was going on. He returned from an appointment early and interrupted them in the process of removing the statue. So Grosex killed him. Stuck his knife in him. Simple as that. Unluckily for Grosex, Calia arrived back and started screaming for the Guards before he could remove his knife. And then he realised that leaving a knife with his aura in it sticking in the body wasn't the brightest thing he could've done, so he fled. He didn't have the nerve to try and make it out the city gates, so he ended up at my office.

  "Which is the only smart thing he did," I add, glumly. "I have a reputation in certain circles for getting men off in dubious circumstances."

  And that's about as much explaining as I want to do. I turn to go, but Captain Rallee grabs my tunic.

  "You mean you started all this for no reason, Thraxas? Grosex stuck a knife in Drantaax? That's what the Guards have been saying all along."

  "Well, you've got to get one right sometime."

  "So thanks for dragging us all through the magic space and damn near getting us killed."

  "I recovered the gold, didn't I?"

  Captain Rallee isn't too pleased at all this. "I'll remember your words about sending your guilty clients on a fast horse out of town," he says acidly. "Try doing that again and I'll be down on you like a bad spell."

  I walk out quickly, not wanting to catch Grosex's eye. I'm so keen to get out of the building I'm practically running when I get to the exit. By the time Makri catches up I'm well on my way to the nearest tavern.

  "Don't feel bad," she says, and takes a beer to keep me company. "It's not your fault your client turned out to be guilty."

  "It still makes me feel bad."

  "If he'd paid you a retainer, would you really have got him out the city?"

  "Maybe. I never like turning a client in. Bad for business. But Grosex deserves it. It was pretty cold-blooded of him to murder Drantaax. The sculptor might not have paid him too well, but he didn't do anything to deserve being killed."

  I down my beer and order another. With the heat and the exhaustion and all my exertions leading to this sad denouement, I'm not in the best of moods. I'm annoyed at Grosex and I'm furious at myself for being taken in by his sad demeanour. I'm humiliated at the thought of Captain Rallee telling his cronies in the Guards that they were right all along and that old Thraxas must be losing his grip.

  Furthermore Captain Rallee is now annoyed at me and he's in a position to make my life awkward. The Brotherhood are none too pleased with me either. They certainly suckered me with Quen. It was a smart move for Casax to put a spy on me. I imagine the Boar's Head just burned down by accident and Casax immediately saw his chance to get someone into the Avenging Axe. Quick thinking on his part. I could take it as a compliment that the moment he heard about the gold and the monks he reckoned that I might well be the man to find it. What I mainly feel is stupid for not suspecting anything. All that time the Brotherhood and their tame Sorcerer were wandering around pretending to be looking for Quen, they were really looking for the gold. Only the fact that Astrath had put a bafflement spell on the place
kept them at bay, I suppose, till I took it into my head to expose the gold right under Quen's nose. That makes me feel annoyed at Makri. She offered Quen shelter when she pretended to be on the run. I'm about to vent some of my anger on her, when I remember I'm pleased she isn't dead. I probably should mention that.

  "I'm pleased you're not dead," I tell her.

  "Thanks. You don't sound too pleased."

  "I am. But it was pretty dumb of you to bring a Brotherhood spy into the house."

  "I didn't know Quen was a spy."

  I inform Makri shortly that she's bound to get us into trouble if she insists on bringing in every waif who's looking for sanctuary.

  "Not as much trouble as you taking on clients who are guilty of murder," retorts Makri angrily. "You didn't even have to take him on. You just got annoyed because Tholius offended your precious dignity."

  "My precious dignity? I'm fed up with your stupid fixation with your own honour. You could have got us killed in the magic space just because you refused to run away from overwhelming odds. Good fighters know when to retreat."

  "You don't have to tell me anything about good fighting," says Makri. "If I didn't spend half my life doing some good fighting at your side you'd be dead and buried by now."

  "Is that right?" I demand, banging my fist on the bar. "You think just because you could beat a few Orc gladiators you're number one chariot? I was street fighting before you were born."

  Makri is now irate. The heat has affected her as well. Customers edge away from us, wondering if swords are going to be drawn.

  "Then maybe at your age you should be thinking about retiring," says Makri. "Concentrate on your drinking."

  "Well, I like that. Next time someone fires a crossbow bolt into you don't expect me to save your life."

  "If you hadn't bundled into me in the first place I'd have avoided it and there wouldn't have been any life-saving to do."

  Makri and I are now standing toe to toe, glaring into each other's eyes.

  "Oh yes?" I roar. "It wasn't me bundling into you that made you get hit. It was taking dwa that slowed down your reactions!"

  "I have not been taking dwa!" shouts Makri.

  "Oh no? I saw you stumble when we met in Quintessence Street. How much time did you spend in Kaby's caravan with Dandelion and Soolanis?"

  Makri is livid. The drinkers who had edged away now clear a wide circle around us.

  "You fat drunk!" she yells.

  "Don't call me fat, you pointy-eared dwa addict!" I yell back.

  "How dare you say that!"

  "Did I hurt your feelings? Why don't you go and tell your friend Hanama about it? She's always looking for some information."

  For a second Makri looks as if she really is about to draw her sword. Instead she slams her leather tankard down on the bar so hard the handle snaps off, then storms out the tavern.

  I yell some more abuse after her.

  "Another beer," I say to the barman. For an instant he looks like he's about to ask me to leave the tavern but on seeing my face he thinks better of it and brings me a drink.

  I'm about as angry as a wounded dragon. I can't stand it that Grosex turned out to be guilty after I decided he wasn't. I feel a little better for having someone to yell at. I finish my beer and get another. After that I get another. Then I get bored with the company I'm in so I make with a few insults about lawyers and head east to the Kushni quarter where I get spectacularly drunk with three mercenaries from Misan and a professional dice player from the far west and manage to forget what it is I'm so mad about.

  Chapter 18

  I wake up under a bush. Some time during the night I've crawled into a small park and fallen asleep. At least I kept enough wits about me not to lie down in the gutter.

  I stink of beer, sweat and various nameless things picked up from the streets. While I've been chasing monks around the city I've forgotten to wash. If I don't visit the Twelve Seas baths soon they'll be dragging me away as a health risk. A few beggars look at me vacantly as I haul myself to my feet. I quickly check my purse. It's still there. I bid them a cheery good morning and start walking back to Twelve Seas.

  I'm feeling in reasonably good form, all things considered. No hangover. I've noticed before that a lesada leaf seems to keep them away for a few days. I ought to sail down south and bring back a shipload. Make my fortune with them in this city. I'm less unhappy with life. So Grosex is going to hang. Hardly my fault. And if the Guards and the Brotherhood are on my tail, then so be it. I've managed this far with precious few allies in Turai. I guess I can struggle on now.

  So it's in fairly optimistic mood that I head back towards the Avenging Axe. Nothing like a night getting disgustingly drunk with some mercenaries to clear the system. Their leader was the size of an ox and dumb as an Orc but he was liberal with his money and very willing to buy a man a beer once he learned I was an old soldier with plenty of fighting experience. I remember a joke one of the others told about two Niojan whores and an Elf Lord and laugh out loud.

  I find myself passing through Pashish. When I turn into the Road of Angels, a narrow street with tall tenements on either side, I remember that this was the address where Tresius told me he was staying while in Turai. Hardly salubrious, but good enough for a monk I suppose. Up in the mountains they're used to worse.

  I wonder if Tresius is still in the city, and whether or not I should call in. He does owe me money, now I think about it. I found the statue. Things didn't go the way he planned, but that's not my fault. I realise there's little chance of him actually paying me anything but it will give me the opportunity to let him know what I think of people who come and tell me lies. And then hire Assassins to mop up the mess.

  The tenement is not as bad as many in Turai but, with its crumbling grey stone and shaky timbers bleached by the sun, it's not the sort of place I'd like to live. Children have scratched their names into the stone and the front door hangs loose. Like every other front door in Turai, it's painted white but from the look of the building I doubt it's brought the tenants much luck. I push it open. Inside the torches are out and the staircase is dark. I walk up. Tresius told me he was living at the top. When I get to the topmost landing, it's so dark I can't see a thing. I'm fumbling around for a door when I walk right into it. There's a curse as it swings open into someone inside, then the noise of a person falling heavily to the ground. I'm in through the door in an instant, my sword drawn. I recognised that curse.

  Just inside, struggling to her feet, is Sarin the Merciless. I place my sword point at her throat as an encouragement for her to stay where she is. Light from the room beyond filters into the corridor, and I glare down at Sarin. She glowers back up at me. Out of the corner of my eye I see something yellow. I risk a glance. Looks like a bundle of cloth, half in and half out of the room.

  "The Venerable Tresius, I presume?"

  Sarin doesn't reply. I warn her not to move.

  "I'll be pleased of the chance to stick this through your neck."

  "So why don't you?"

  I don't know, really. I take another look at the yellow-clad body. "The gold's long gone. Why did you kill him?"

  "He hired the Assassins to kill Ixial."

  "So? What do you care?"

  Sarin doesn't reply. If it was anyone else I'd understand readily enough. You can't let your teacher be killed and do nothing about it, not if you've spent years in the mountains under his tuition. I just never figured Sarin to have any emotion. Then again, she did go back to visit him when he was dying.

  "So you've avenged Ixial. And yet you were quite prepared to cut him out of the deal with the gold. You were heading out of the city with it yourself."

  "Of course."

  "You really are as cold as an Orc's heart, Sarin."

  I wonder what to do. Good fortune has arranged things so that the woman I swore to kill only yesterday is at my mercy. I just blundered in and knocked her over. And she has apparently just murdered Tresius, my client. Not much of a cli
ent though. I don't feel too much like avenging Tresius. But there is the matter of Soolanis. I told her I'd track down the killer of her father.

  "And here you are. I might not be able to prove to the Guards you killed Thalius but his daughter will probably be satisfied when I tell her the murderer is dead."

  I press the tip of my sword a little closer to her throat. Sarin gazes up at me with contempt. She seems incapable of showing fear. Maybe she's incapable of feeling it. It would seem so, for even though she's lying helpless on the ground, a fraction of an inch from death, she has no qualms about insulting me.