by Rob J. Hayes
The school of Sorcery was most akin to the power of witches. It was not the Arbiter’s own power fuelling the magic but instead that of Volmar. The Arbiter used their body as a conduit for the God’s power to effect the world and in doing so Volmar could wreak his own changes upon it. There were some Arbiters, not to mention both Inquisitors of the family Vance, who specialised in Sorcery and they were without a doubt a force to be reckoned with and one Thanquil truly hoped he never had to. His own use of Sorcery was confined to parlour tricks and the occasional exploding wall and he was well aware the latter wouldn’t so much help in this situation as it would cause a watery death.
Stepping up to a dice table Thanquil reached into his stolen purse and pulled out a coin, a single silver bit; wilds currency. “Mind if I roll,” he said already reaching for the dice.
The gambler beside him backed away a step but the pirate watching over the table, dolling out any winning and collecting the losses, inclined her head. “Simple game, witch hunter. You name the number and roll. Your number comes up you take your coin plus another. Your number don’t come up, I take your coin and you get to put down another. Savvy?”
“Sounds fair. Four.” He picked up the dice, whispered a word to them and rolled a double two.
“It’s one o’ them, ain’t it.” Came the voice from behind. Thanquil ignored it.
After just a few hours he was well and truly up. The regular use of magic was leaving him feeling a little drained especially coupled with the lack of sleep but he had turned a few silver bits into a handful of gold. The trick was not to play one game for too long so as not to garner too much in the way of suspicion. Also he was fairly certain being a much maligned witch hunter and feared by everyone helped with avoiding said suspicion.
“You know I do believe she’s right, boss. He does look quite like one of them,” the second voice was male and carried the unmistakeable lightness of good humour.
“Reckon ya jus’ took piss, I do,” the first voice again, female and unrefined. Thanquil sighed and picked up his cards; a tree and the sun, all he needed now was a fire and…
“You know it’s really not becoming for such a small lady to speak in such a way.”
“Oh, I see. An’ tell me; how becomin’ is it fer a small lady ta forcefully interpose a dagger up ya posterior?”
There was a moment’s silence. “Not very.”
“Right, so how’s ‘bout ya shut the fuck up?”
“There really is no communicating with her when she gets like this, boss. Could we not just put her back in the alley from which we took her?”
Thanquil paid for another card and pulled a spear, he flicked the edge of the card once and it took on the appearance of a fire. He laid all three cards on the table to a collective sigh from the other gamblers and then pulled the bits toward him.
“Well ain’t ya gonna kill him?” said the first voice again. Thanquil started shoving the ill-gotten gains into his purse and decided it might be time to turn around to face his oncoming killer.
“Don’t reckon I will, no,” came another male voice, one Thanquil recognised. “Don’t do that no more, Ril. Besides…”
Thanquil turned around and stared into the face of a ghost. The Black Thorn stopped mid-sentence with his mouth slightly ajar. He looked different; less hair on his head and more on his face, a couple more scars around the burn maybe but it was hard to tell. Also his left eye appeared to be missing unless he was wearing the patch as a fashion statement.
“Thorn?”
The Black Thorn winced as Thanquil’s compulsion locked onto his will. “Aye,” he said with a grunt. “Was that really fuckin’ necessary, Thanquil?”
Thanquil broke into a wide grin and was relieved to see it mirrored on the Black Thorn’s face though distorted into a horrific pulling of melted flesh on the left side.
“I heard ya were dead,” Thorn said, walking forwards and clapping Thanquil so hard on the shoulder he stumbled.
“That so. I heard the same about you.”
Thorn laughed. “Aye, that one’s been doin’ the rounds fer a while now as it happens. Truth is it’s a bit harder ta kill me than most folk realise. Never seems ta stop ‘em tryin’ though.”
Thanquil laughed. “It’s good to see you again, Thorn. Looks like you have a whole new crew these days.”
“Aye,” Thorn said nodding. “I’ll introduce ya. This fancy fuck is Anders, the little cunt is Rilly, that one is Ben…”
“Six-Cities Ben,” said Ben.
Thorn ignored the interruption. “The big one at the back is Suzku and I reckon ya already know Henry.”
Thanquil had overlooked the small woman hiding at the back of the group but now she tilted back her cavalier hat and gave Thanquil a lopsided grin. “Arbiter,” she said by way of greeting.
“Good to see you again, Henry. Wasn’t sure you made it out of Hostown,” Thanquil replied. “You should have seen Thorn, cried like a newborn.”
The little murderess laughed and shoved her hands into her pockets, she seemed less angry than Thanquil remembered. “Where’s that whore ya used ta crew with?” Henry asked. “The one that near threw me into the Jorl.”
“Aye,” Thorn butt in. “Where is Jezzet?”
It was the last thing Thanquil wanted reminding of, not that it had ever been far from his mind. “Drake has her.”
Anders stepped up beside Thorn. “Drake has her? He kidnapped her?”
“Well…” Thanquil started, stopped and scratched at his scarred arm. “Not exactly. She kind of went willingly.”
“That makes more sense,” Anders replied. There was something familiar about him, Thanquil couldn’t quite shake the feeling he had seen the man before.
“Sorry, Thanquil,” the Black Thorn said. “Hard ta keep the interest of a lass like Jezzet Vel’urn, I reckon.”
“No,” Thanquil said. “That’s not it. She… She had to go or… I’m looking for Drake. He has her and I need the truth from him.”
“Ya should try askin’ Anders where the bastard is,” the little woman called Rilly said while picking at something between her teeth. “Blooded cocksucker works fer him.”
The Black Thorn let out a groan.
Thanquil looked at Anders. Anders smiled back at Thanquil.
He grabbed Anders by the collar and dragged him forwards, span him around and slammed the man down onto the card table. He struggled a little, attempting to push back but Thanquil was the stronger of the two and he just slammed Anders back down again. “Where is here?” he demanded.
Anders shuddered as Thanquil’s will dominated his own. “I don’t know,” the man whined.
“What do you know?” Thanquil screamed back into the man’s face.
Anders just groaned on the table, the question was too open, there was no answer. Thanquil was just about to ask another when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, he struggled against the pull but he couldn’t match the Black Thorn for strength and slowly he found himself dragged away. Thorn positioned himself between Thanquil and the prone form of Anders. From his peripheral vision Thanquil noticed some of the guards taking an interest but none were investigating.
“No more of that, Thanquil,” Thorn said his face as stern and unyielding as the steely tone in his voice. “Anders might work fer Drake but he works fer me too an’ I ain’t ‘bout ta let you question him like that. Time was you didn’t like ta ask questions, as I remember it.”
“If he knows anything…”
“He don’t,” Thorn interrupted.
“I dunno,” Henry cut in. “Reckon we should let the Arbiter at him. Might finally get the truth from the little bastard.”
Anders rolled off of the table and onto the floor. “I know we’ve had our differences, my dear, but I don’t think that’s cause to want me tortured.”
Henry just shrugged.
Thanquil turned back to Thorn. The man seemed taller than he remembered, towering over him as he stood between the Arbiter and Anders.
“I need to be certain.”
“Ya can be certain. I’m tellin’ ya, Anders don’t know nothin’. Good?”
Thanquil forced his breathing to slow and unclenched his jaw. He did trust Thorn, despite or perhaps because of all they had been through. He also knew there was no sense in arguing, he was a little outnumbered. “Fine,” he said. “Sorry, Anders.”
“Good,” Thorn said. He turned and extended a hand to Anders, helping him up from the floor. “Truth is we’re here on Drake’s leave.”
By the curses that erupted from the rest of Thorn’s crew Thanquil judged he was not the only one surprised.
“We workin’ fer that fuck again, Thorn?” asked the girl, Rilly.
“Nah,” Thorn said, his one eye staring at Thanquil with doubled intensity. “We ain’t workin’ fer him. But he’s knows we’re here an’ his pirates know ta leave us be.”
“Why are we here?” asked Six-Cities Ben before breaking into a grin. “Not that I ain’t enjoyin’ some of the attractions.”
Thorn sniffed and looked to Henry who shrugged back, then he turned back to Thanquil. “Reckon this is one of those things we should be talkin’ ‘bout somewhere a little less public.”
Thanquil nodded. “Lead the way.”
Thorn led them to one of the ships at Fortune’s Rest that acted as a brothel. He paid for a room, the largest cabin the ship had, and, much to both Anders and Ben’s disappointment, no women. The request was unusual to say the least but the woman in charge was compliant enough when she saw Thorn’s face and even more so once she saw his money.
Thanquil was the last into the room and the big quiet one, Suzku, closed the door behind him. Thanquil hadn’t managed a step into the room before a big hand touched lightly on his shoulder, he turned to find Suzku staring at him with equal parts wonder and curiosity. He wore a light suit of bronze-link despite the weight of it and a white robe over the top with a white wrap around his head, he was as tall as the Black Thorn and even bigger in build.
“You have no colour,” the man said with not a trace of wilds drawl in his voice.
“Um,” Thanquil grunted stepping away from the man. “Thank you.”
He moved further into the room, finding himself a wall to stand with his back to. Thorn had found a similar wall and stood with a similar posture, Anders had collapsed onto the bed headless of the sexual deviances that had no doubt been performed upon it, Henry stood in the centre of the room with her hat tilted to hide her face, Ben collapsed upon a chair and stretched with a noisy yawn and Rilly paced about the room like a caged animal waiting for a chance at freedom.
“So yeah, there’s a reason we’re here an’ it ain’t jus’ ta see how fucked up some of these folk are. Henry an’ Anders already know this; looks like we got another line on Kessick.”
A hush fell upon the room as all the members of the Black Thorn’s crew gave each other significant glances and Thanquil let out a mental sigh. Fate may have forgotten that he existed but it didn’t stop it having a keen sense of irony. He had purposefully shirked his responsibilities and his orders to come here chasing Jezzet and yet he already knew how this conversation was going to end.
“You’re chasing after Kessick,” Thanquil said, purposefully not making it a question.
“Aye,” said the Black Thorn. “Have been ever since I escaped the Inquisition. Truth is I thought he’d killed a couple of friends of mine. Turns out now they’re both still ‘live an’ at least one of them is fuckin’ Morrass. Seems he might have mentioned that last I saw him.”
“She’s not…”
“S’not the issue. Bastard still took my eye an’ I mean ta pay him back fer that. An’ I made a deal a while back. Still lookin’ ta hold up my end if you’re still good fer yours.”
“My end…” Thanquil repeated.
“I kill Kessick,” the Black Thorn said, his one eye staring at Thanquil, “an’ you get me that pardon. Don’t much like these Arbiters comin’ after me.”
“You were never… There aren’t any Arbiters hunting you.”
“Aye? You tell that ta the one that killed Rilly’s da’ an’ Ben’s brother. ‘Cos the bastard was after me an’ no mistake. Don’t much want any more bein’ sent.”
Thanquil nodded.
“Good,” continued Thorn. “Man here who knows where Kessick is goes by the name of Carlston Barrow an’ it jus’ so happens we got some unfinished business with that fuck too. Now we were lookin’ ta go at him the hard way with a long session of arduous torture. Reckon Henry was lookin’ forward ta it but I know fer a fact Suzku ain’t too fond of the torturing.”
The big man by the door nodded solemnly. “Seen it once too many times in my life.”
Six-Cities Ben leaned forwards on the chair, rubbing his hands together with a wide grin. “Oh I’ve been waiting fer this, a few gritty details from Pern’s past. So how many times you seen men tortured?”
Suzku shrugged. “Once.”
“It ain’t an issue no more,” Thorn continued. “Seein’ as you clearly don’t mind askin’ questions these days, Thanquil, reckon you could do the interrogatin’. Use that compulsion of yours fer good.”
“Wait,” Rilly shouted. “We workin’ fer the Arbiter now?”
“The Arbiter’s workin’ fer us,” Thorn shouted back.
Thanquil snorted. “The Arbiter’s working with you.”
“Same bloody thing, Thanquil.”
“Nah,” Rilly was still shouting. “Don’t trust ‘em an’ neither should you. Fucks tried ta kill you. Killed my da’. Killed a lot o’ folk.”
“Rilly would you jus’ shut up,” Thorn said his voice taking on a commanding tone. “’Cos if you don’t, by the hells girl, I’ll…”
“What?” Rilly asked. “Ya ain’t gonna hit me.”
“I’ve hit girls younger an’ prettier an’ who deserved it a damn sight less.”
Thanquil looked at the young woman, her delicate features were at war with her posture, her attitude and her appearance. Bright red hair cut to various maddening lengths, piercings through nose, ears and lips, a scrawl of ink across the base of her neck disappearing below her bulging jerkin. She also had the foulest mouth Thanquil had ever heard on a woman and he had lived with Jezzet for over a year.
She snorted. “Da’ never fuckin' hit me. You won’t neither.”
“Ya da’ shoulda taken a fuckin’ lash ta ya back on his boat. Might have taught ya a few manners.”
Rilly sneered at Thorn. “What makes ya think he didn’t?”
The Black Thorn let out a groan and shook his head. “Henry.”
The little woman turned and Thanquil saw a grin from underneath the hat. She advanced on Rilly silently, her hands open and ready. Rilly backed away, her anger and courage both forgotten.
“Alright,” Rilly said as she bumped into the far wall. “Alright. Enough.”
Henry tipped back the front of her hat and Thanquil could clearly see the sneer on her face and the scarred lip that created it. She was pretty in a strangely feral sort of way but Thanquil knew just how dangerous the little woman was. “Glad we had this talk,” Henry said with a wink and walked away. Rilly quickly took to sulking.
“Right we are then,” Thorn said eyeing each person in the room. “Any other questions.”
Thanquil held up a hand. “I’m wondering what it is this Carlston Barrow does for Kessick.”
“Oh, I know this one,” Anders said from the bed. “What we know for certain is he’s providing Kessick with people.”
Thanquil waited for the man to elaborate. He didn’t.
“That can’t be it.”
“Might be there’s more to it than that. These folks he’s sellin’ ta Kessick they all got what you Arbiters call potential. Swift used ta work fer Kessick doin’ the same thing up until Henry gutted him.”
Henry spat.
“Well Suzku used ta work fer Swift an’ he said Kessick gave Swift some sort of jewel or somethin’ which set ta glowin’ ‘ro
und certain folk.”
Thanquil’s hand reached into one of the hidden pockets of his coat but came out empty, he had lost his own gem to the witch's daughter back in Fort Talon.
“Near as we can figure it he’s recruitin’ folk with this potential. Creatin’ an army of evil Arbiters or something.”
Thanquil thought about telling them all the truth but decided against it. The Inquisition’s dirty secret, its connection to the demons was something he wanted to keep hidden if possible. It was something he had to keep hidden, something all Arbiters had to keep hidden.
“No more questions?” Thorn asked. “No more whining?” he looked at Rilly. “Good. ‘Cos I happen ta know jus’ where we can find Carlston Barrow.”
Thanquil hung back with Rilly at Thorn’s request. Carlston kept guards and the Black Thorn’s cunning plan was to simply take them by surprise and, as he was quick to point out, Arbiters were not entirely inconspicuous. Though as far as Thanquil could see, neither was a tall, one-eyed, heavily scarred Black Thorn.
“Got a hole in ya coat,” Rilly said. She was leaning against the wall of the boat, the Very Same, in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Thorn.
Thanquil looked down at the bottom of his Arbiter coat. She wasn’t wrong. He shrugged. “Dragon bite.”
Rilly snorted. Thanquil ignored her. The Very Same was a fat bottomed craft better suited to transport of people or cattle. It had plenty of cabins varying from cupboard-sized to inn-sized and held regular bare knuckle fist fights. It was also one of Carlston Barrows most popular places and where he conducted much of his business. He was a loaner and a fixer and a bookie and a hundred other things as well. He was extremely well connected and had a small army of tough, violence-inclined bodyguards all willing, able and more than willing to kill or maim on his command. Despite this the Black Thorn had not seemed particularly troubled.