“As soon as I’ve had a couple more,” Pacian blustered, “I’m going to tell her how I really feel about her, straight to her face and see where we go from there.”
“That’s a bold move. What’s changed?”
“Looking death in the face, literally,” Pacian replied with a haunted look. “Have another drink.”
“I’m not much of a drinker, and you know it. Neither are you, for that matter.”
“I’m hoping that should make it easier to get drunk,” Pacian explained. “Come on, Aiden, we fought the undead today. Have a drink with me,” he insisted, pouring some more beer into Aiden’s glass while silently resolving it’d be his last one.
Chapter Eleven
A pounding sensation in his head brought Aiden back to consciousness, although it was some time before he remembered how to open his eyes. The sound of someone groaning nearby could be heard, and the noise made him nauseous.
Unsure of where he was or why he was feeling so terrible, Aiden looked around with bleary eyes, noting that he seemed to be inside his room at the inn. Light was streaming in through the window, blinding him and making the room spin. Actually, the room was spinning anyway, and it was all he could do to hold on to the mattress with both hands to prevent himself from being thrown off.
Eventually, the room settled down and Aiden celebrated by throwing up into the chamber pot nearby. He even managed to get some of it on target. He slumped down on the floor afterwards, reaching over with unsteady hands to grab a pitcher of water that was sitting on the small table near his bed. A few minutes later, he was starting to feel a little better, so he rose unsteadily to his feet and tidied up his hair.
This was his first experience at getting drunk, and he failed to see the appeal. Flickering images of the previous evening flashed through his mind, but none of them made any sense. Across the room, Pacian was still in his bed, drifting in and out of a restless sleep and snoring loudly.
Aiden’s hearing was playing tricks on him, for the snoring emanating from Pacian’s bed seemed to be echoing. Peering closely at his bed, Aiden realised there was actually someone else under the blankets with him. It was only when they rolled over that Aiden saw Valennia amidst the tangle of blankets.
Shaking his head in amazement, Aiden left Pacian to his fate and staggered out the door, heading down to the washroom. He poured a bucket of fresh water into a tub and dunked his head into the icy cold water to shock himself back to sobriety.
The sound of people chatting casually in the common room swept over him as he walked through the door making the walk over to the bar more challenging than it should have been. He gingerly sat down on one of the stools and ordered some stew, silently hoping it was going to stay down.
“You’re looking worse for wear, mate,” Ronan suddenly said, having sat down next to him without being noticed.
“Don’t shout,” Aiden begged, clutching at his head, drawing a quiet laugh from the laconic sailor.
“I wasn’t. First time, huh?” he remarked, receiving a slight nod from Aiden in reply. “Yeah I don’t remember my first time either. Anyway, I’ve got some important news for you.”
“Can it wait?” Aiden rasped as his breakfast was presented by a waitress who was looking at him strangely.
“If it could wait, it wouldn’t be important,” Ronan replied, looking around to make sure no-one else was listening. “While you and your friends were drinking, I went out and made contact with a few old… well I wouldn’t call them friends as such, but you get what I mean.”
“Anyway, they weren’t too interested in telling me much of anything, ‘cause since I joined the navy they think I’m practically one of the authorities. But I did manage to wring the general location of the guild’s headquarters out of them, so we need to get down there and talk with them before they find out I’ve been looking.”
“Down there?” Aiden echoed between careful sips of stew. So far, so good, he thought.
“The sewers, or ‘aqueducts’ if you’re so inclined,” Ronan clarified. “Back in my day, we had a nice warehouse we worked out of, but I guess times are hard for the guild and they’ve had to go underground. Pun intended.”
“Do we actually have to wade through -”
“No, there’s a path along the edge of the ‘river’,” Ronan assured him. “Bit smelly, but that’s part of the reason why it’s such a good place to hide.
Aiden nodded, rubbing his temples and praying for his head to stop pounding. “Have you heard what happened yesterday?”
“Yep, Sayana told me all about it,” Ronan replied casually. “I offered her the comfort of my company as a result, but she turned me down.” Aiden felt a flash of jealousy go through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
“Right, well, you know about Alan Leonson then?” he asked.
“Mostly, yeah,” Ronan shrugged, leaning back against the bar. “He’d apparently borrowed heavily from some shady types, and they forced him to do some work for them.”
“That’s right, and those people have a connection to the assassin’s that have returned to the city.”
“Maybe not directly,” Ronan said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Whoever is pulling the strings on this puppet show may have brought him in separately. Poor bastard probably didn’t even know why he had to blow up the pavement, and I bet the assassins didn’t know he was behind it either.”
“What makes you think that?” Aiden grated, his voice sounding far more gravelly than it used to be.
“If I was in charge, I wouldn’t want any one group of employees knowing who else was in on the job,” Ronan explained. “Less chance of it falling apart that way.”
“Okay, just let me finish up here and we’ll head out. Is everyone else ready?”
“From what I can tell, yeah,” Ronan shrugged. “No sign of Pacian though.”
“We won’t be seeing him out of bed for a few more hours, I suspect.”
“This can’t wait,” Ronan insisted ominously. “Do we really need him?”
“Not in his current condition, no,” Aiden admitted.
“Then we leave in ten minutes. I’ll gather the others and let them know what’s going on.”
“I appreciate that,” Aiden thanked him. “Wait, uh, can you tell me what happened last night? The waitress keeps looking at me strangely.”
“I wasn’t here, remember?” Ronan replied as he stood up. “Ask Val, she was still conscious when I got back and probably saw the whole thing.” Aiden nodded, and then focused on finishing his food. With the addition of some crusty bread, he was satisfied with the meal and then set about checking his gear before walking over to the table where the others were gathering.
Sayana must have held back on her intake, for she didn’t appear to be hung-over at all as she sat at the large table, although she did appear a little on-edge. Maggie was packed and ready to go, though both women looked up at Aiden with barely concealed amusement on their faces.
“Okay, what happened last night?” he sighed, slumping down into a chair.
“There were so many things that happened, it’s hard to know which one you’re talking about,” Maggie suggested slyly.
“You know what? Forget I asked.” From across the room, he saw Valennia make her way down the stairs and head towards them, fully equipped and appearing to be completely sober. Maggie and Sayana exchanged a knowing glance, and Aiden was reluctant to ask further questions.
“Look, we’re going to try and make contact with some of Ronan’s former associates,” Aiden continued as Valennia came over to stand beside him. “It involves going down through the sewer system, and I just wanted to let you know that you don’t have to come along if you don’t want to, because it’s not going to be pretty.”
“I do not fear this ‘sewer’ of which you speak,” Valennia stated. “But I will not be going anywhere until I receive my daily payment.”
“Oh, of course,” Aiden said, quickly going through his pouch and producing
a silver noble.
“Then you may count upon my steel for this quest, Aiden. May our enemies die horribly at my hands.”
“I’m hoping it won’t come to that, but it’s always good to hear your enthusiasm,” Aiden remarked. “What about you two?”
“I’ll manage,” Maggie shrugged. “I told you I’d help out with your task, and I mean to follow through on it.”
“I’ll come along if you promise not to try and stick your tongue down my throat, or any waitress’s for that matter,” Sayana stated flatly, causing Valennia and Maggie to burst out laughing.
“I told you I didn’t want to hear about it,” Aiden groaned, flushing red with embarrassment.
“You Aielund men are very strange,” Valennia said with a curious look. “You talk with such bravado, but then cannot perform when the times comes.” Maggie burst out laughing again, and Sayana couldn’t help but join in, prompting Aiden to consider the benefits of joining a monastic order.
“Wait, does that mean that you and Pace..?” he asked, suddenly realising her full meaning.
“The pretty blond boy challenged me to a drinking match,” the akoran warrior explained, “but after five drinks he was barely able to stand. Nonetheless, he propositioned me and I accepted his offer, but upon reaching the bed he collapsed and fell asleep almost immediately. I was not impressed.”
Ronan returned with Nellise in tow not long after they had enjoyed a good laugh at Pacian’s expense. Aiden made them promise not to tell Nellise, and he was interested to discover that nobody at the table was surprised to hear about Pacian’s intentions toward her.
“Sir William won’t be joining us,” Nellise said with some sadness as she placed her helmet on the table. She was otherwise fully armoured and evidently not ashamed of it anymore. “His bones are taking longer to mend that he’d hoped for.”
“Even with all the healing power under that roof?” Aiden asked, frowning.
“The healing energy we channel speeds up the natural process,” Nellise explained. “At Sir William’s age, his natural healing is a good deal slower than yours.”
“Is he otherwise okay, though?”
“He is in high spirits,” Nellise assured him, “and it took some convincing to persuade him to remain at rest. I am confident he will be on his feet again by tomorrow, more than ready to serve.”
“Alright Ronan, why don’t you take the lead on this one?” Aiden offered as he stood up, with the rest of the ladies following suit.
“Is this likely to be a dangerous journey?” Maggie asked as she checked her small sword.
“We’ll only run into trouble if Ronan left the guild on bad terms, right?” Aiden suggested, looking to Ronan for an answer. The sailor gave him a blank look for a long moment before speaking.
“We’d better get moving,” he finally answered, causing Aiden to sigh at the prospect of facing more people who wanted to kill them.
*
The day was clear and cold as they walked along the snow-covered streets of Fairloch, and Aiden was forced to squint against the intense light from the cloudless sky. Ronan led the way through the crowded streets, but managed to keep Sayana close by so he could point out features of interest.
Despite rebuffing his earlier attempts, the wild girl seemed to be more relaxed in his presence, so the cunning sailor might actually be making some headway in his campaign. After nearly ten minutes of walking, it occurred to Aiden that they could probably have gone down one of the numerous drainage covers they’d passed.
“Are we taking the scenic route?” Aiden asked of Ronan.
“Not on purpose, if that’s what you’re wondering,” he shrugged. “Think of it as a fortunate co-incidence.”
“We’ve passed plenty of entrances.”
“The information I was acquired is quite specific,” the sailor explained, “and we have to start from the correct location or it’s worthless. Don’t worry, we’re nearly there.”
Satisfied, Aiden dropped back to walk alongside Maggie, although part of him desperately wanted to listen in on what Ronan and Sayana were discussing.
They passed through the gates leading into the docklands, and then took a sharp left turn down a narrow alleyway, ending the unofficial tour of the city. The clamouring noise of thousands of people receded into the background as they moved in-between buildings, most of which seemed to be as old as the city itself.
After a few minutes of moving through the maze of alleyways, Ronan brought them to a stop at a large grating on the stone ground. It was larger than the others they had come across, and looking through the tight metal bars Aiden could make out a narrow ladder descending into the darkness below.
“This is the place,” the sailor declared, looking at the unassuming grate with his typical mild interest.
“How can you be sure your contact didn’t lie to you?” Aiden inquired cynically. “Maybe he just wants you to waste your time.”
“He tried that at first, but I wasn’t fooled,” Ronan explained casually. “It took a bit of doing, but trust me - in the end, I got the truth.”
“I don’t think I like the sound of that,” Nellise remarked sourly.
“Then don’t listen,” Ronan advised in the same even tone, then crouched down and lifted the grate, propping it up with a short metal pole that was sitting just underneath the surface. He then stepped onto the ladder and made his way down into the darkness.
“Why does it smell so strange?” Sayana asked, drawing a curious look from the others. It occurred to Aiden that she probably had no idea what a sewer system was, and no-one had thought to tell her.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Aiden said, “but for now, just don’t step in the water if you can help it. It’s… poisoned.”
“It is where the people of this giant village send their waste, much like in the river back in Akora,” Valennia explained in more detail, saving Aiden the trouble. Deciding not to stick around for the ensuing conversation, he descended into the tunnel and left them to it.
The sounds of rushing water filled his ears and the noise echoed off the tunnels into the distance, but it was the stench that caught Aiden’s attention and flooded his senses. He had expected it to be bad, but not quite this bad. The unique aroma, combined with his pounding headache and unsettled stomach began to react in new and interesting ways, and he promptly threw up into the river of waste, conveniently located only a few feet away.
“Don’t worry, I did plenty of that when I first started moving around down here,” Ronan confided, his breath misting in the chilly air. Aiden was a little too preoccupied to respond, but he appreciated the sentiment. By the time he had finished, the ladies had descended and were gathered nearby, waiting for him.
“Sorry about that,” he apologised. “If I’d known I’d be coming down here today, I would have eased back on the liquid refreshment last night.”
“I find your weakness amusing, Aiden,” Valennia stated. “You remind me of the young warriors from my tribe, pretending to be men.”
“I’m not paying you for your opinions, Val,” Aiden growled, in no mood for her bluntness.
“And you are not paying me to walk around in excrement, either,” she countered. “We will have to re-negotiate our deal if this is to be a regular occurrence.”
“God I hope not,” Aiden muttered. Ronan gave a short chuckle, then turned and started walking along the narrow path that ran beside the turgid waters. Sayana summoned a small flame to light their way.
Ronan carefully led them along the path, continuing straight past several intersections in the tunnel before deciding to turn left. This entailed jumping across the river to get on the walkway on the other side, something Aiden found was almost as frightening as facing the undead.
“This place brings back some memories,” Ronan sighed after agilely leaping across the water. “Be careful - they’re not happy memories.”
“I’m not even going to ask,” Aiden replied absently, focused on not slippi
ng on the slick surface. Sayana and Nellise made it across without incident, but Maggie found the jump to be far more challenging.
Their path wended back and forth, and they only had to perform a river crossing twice more. The shadows shifted and moved eerily as they travelled, and rats could be seen skittering around at the edge of the light which seemed to unsettle the raelani druid more than anyone else.
“I thought you liked animals,” Ronan remarked as she gave a loud squeal at the sight of a particularly large rodent swimming through the water.
“Except rats,” she replied emphatically, keeping as close to the wall as she could. “They’re dreadful things, not at all pleasant to be around.”
“That one looked like it could eat you whole,” Valennia laughed, amused by her fear.
“Don’t even joke about it,” Maggie hissed.
“Keep it quiet,” Ronan said in a low voice. “Rats aren’t the only unpleasant thing running around down here.” That was enough to quell the conversation and redirect their attention to their surroundings, mindful for anything odd moving in the shadows. They’d been walking along for nearly twenty minutes through this foul place when the tunnel opened out into a larger chamber filled with pipes of varying sizes, and Ronan finally stopped to look around as if expecting to find something.
“This is the place,” he told them. “Look around for anything shaped like a door.” They began searching carefully on both sides of the channel for a door, but the filth-encrusted walls refused to give up their secrets.
“Maybe there’s a hidden switch,” Aiden mused aloud after a few minutes of fruitless searching.
“My source wasn’t too specific on that part,” Ronan mused. “But it’s worth a try.”
“There are tracks in the dirt here,” Sayana observed, crouching on the ground for a close look. “Many tracks that go in all directions.”
“Anything recent?” Valennia asked, moving in to look for herself.
“It is difficult to tell, for there are far too many to discern any sort of pattern.”
Ronan peered over at the area of the floor they were looking at, then knelt down and started pushing aside the muck to the stone underneath.
In Defence of the Crown (The Aielund Saga Book 2) Page 19