[Blood on the Reik 03] - Death's Legacy

by Sandy Mitchell - (ebook by Undead)

  “Right away, sir.” The muscular youth drew the knife from his belt and levered for a moment at the raw planking. With a splintering of wood and the squeaking of nails, the lid came free.

  “Excellent.” Von Eckstein burrowed in the crate, displacing a copious amount of straw, which he scattered across the immaculate Arabyan rug without a moment’s thought for the mess it created. “Ah, here we are—quite hideous.” He pulled out a heavy-lidded baking dish of crudely glazed earthenware, the sort of thing that Rudi was accustomed to seeing in taverns. In these refined surroundings it looked utterly misplaced. “This is the one?”

  “I think so,” Fritz said. “There were two or three in there, but that’s the one nearest the top.”

  Rudi nodded, understanding at last. This must be one of the boxes of pottery that Shenk had taken aboard the Reikmaiden in Carroburg. Fritz had obviously concealed the package inside it, replacing the lid afterwards, and instructed the captain to dispatch it directly to von Eckstein’s house. While the Fog Walkers followed the visible messengers, Mathilde having no doubt used her chilly wait on the quayside to make sure their attention was on her, the precious contraband had been conveyed through the streets unnoticed.

  “Well, let’s take a look at it.” Von Eckstein removed the lid and upended the pot, catching the familiar oilskin package in his hand as it fell out into his upturned palm. He placed the dish back in the crate, and laid the package carefully on the surface of his desk before stepping back. “Fritz, if you would?”

  Without a word, Fritz stepped forwards, slitting the seal with the point of his dagger, and returning the weapon to his belt. He stood aside to make room for his master. Von Eckstein gestured for Rudi and Hanna to join him at the table.

  “I’m sure you’re both eager to see what you’ve been risking your lives to protect,” he said. Rudi was by no means sure that he was. The sense of dread he’d felt before at the sight of the oilskin packet was back again, and the thought of seeing what was inside it started his gut churning with apprehension. Nevertheless, he forced himself to step forwards, ignoring the sweat that broke out on the palms of his hands, and the spasms in his belly. For a moment he was sure that everyone else in the room was aware of his agitation, but with one exception, their attention was fixed on the package, because so much seemed to depend on it.

  “I’ve already seen it,” Mathilde said, moving to guard the door with barely a glance at the table. This, above all, impressed Rudi with the gravity of the situation, and the magnitude of the trust von Eckstein seemed ready to place in them. If his bodyguard felt the need to take precautions here, of all places, the contraband must be valuable indeed.

  Ignoring her, von Eckstein folded back the weatherproof cloth, and spread its contents out on the polished wooden surface. Hanna’s breath stilled, her eyes widening with astonishment, while Rudi fought the impulse to turn and run, a blast of terror stronger than anything he could ever recall almost sweeping his legs out from under him. Trying to slow his hammering heart, he forced himself to look at the wonders laid out before his eyes.

  In all, there were around half a dozen different items. Rudi’s eyes skipped quickly over a couple of gems of almost impossible brilliance and depth of colour, and a series of small statuettes no bigger than his thumb, depicting creatures like none he’d ever seen before, all bearing marks of a script he didn’t recognise. They had the soft, refulgent gleam of solid gold, and under any other circumstances would have attracted his undivided attention. This time, however, he barely noticed them. In the middle of the table lay two other objects: a flat disc of polished stone, about the size of a crown piece, so black and lustrous that the light in the room seemed to fall into it and be lost entirely, and a curious tangle of cords, knotted in dozens of places with a precision he instinctively knew must carry a wealth of meaning.

  “What’s that?” Hanna asked, stretching out a hand towards the peculiar stone, and then clearly thinking better of it.

  Von Eckstein shrugged. “I’ve no idea, but Hollobach seems eager to get his hands on it.” To Rudi’s intense relief, he rewrapped the bundle of marvels from the ends of the world, and as the mysterious objects disappeared from sight, the feeling of dread they’d conjured up in him began to diminish.

  “Where did they come from?” Hanna asked, clearly awestruck. Rudi couldn’t even imagine how they’d looked to her magical senses. Von Eckstein shrugged again.

  “Southern Lustria,” he said, “one of the lost cities the reptile folk abandoned centuries ago. There was a temple there, full of stuff like this, apparently.”

  “Apparently?” Hanna asked.

  Von Eckstein sighed. “The lizards take a dim view of tomb robbing. Not much more than this made it back, and whatever else there was, the elves kept. Under the circumstances, I felt it best not to press the matter. There’s enough here to get the merchants’ guilds salivating, and it doesn’t hurt to keep Silvershine happy at the moment. We need him and his clan, and he knows it.”

  “I’m surprised he didn’t want that magic thing,” Hanna said. “It must be worth a fortune.”

  “Not to an elf,” said von Eckstein. “Their mages have a different perspective on such things, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have something that the colleges here in Altdorf want.” He didn’t elaborate, but Rudi was beginning to realise that, far from being remote bastions of intellectual endeavour, the Colleges of Magic were as bound up in the politics of the Empire as any other institution.

  To his unspoken relief, the nobleman placed the packet of treasures in a drawer and locked it. As the small package disappeared from sight, Rudi felt the tension drain out of his body, leaving him feeling weak and enervated.

  “Talking of which,” Hanna said, with a glance through the window at the lengthening shadows. “I’d better get moving if I’m going to find the Bright College before dark.”

  “I suppose you had,” von Eckstein said guardedly.

  “Where are you going to be staying?” Fritz asked ingenuously. “Have you found a room anywhere yet?” Hanna shrugged.

  “If they take me in, that won’t be a problem,” she said. Von Eckstein nodded.

  “That’s true. All the colleges prefer to keep their apprentices on the premises. At least until they’re sure they’re not a danger to themselves or anyone else.”

  “What if they turn you down?” Fritz persisted. Hanna’s jaw tightened.

  “Then you’ll be far better off not knowing where I am,” she said. Fritz continued to look puzzled, although everyone else present nodded sombrely. If the colleges refused her sanctuary, the girl would continue to be a target for every witch hunter in the Empire.

  “What about you?” Mathilde asked Rudi. He shrugged, taken by surprise. Carried along by the flow of events, he hadn’t really thought about it until now.

  “I’m looking for some relatives in Altdorf,” he said. “At least, I think they might be related.” He hesitated. Now he was so close to his goal, the practicalities of trying to find somewhere to eat and sleep seemed almost irrelevant. “Maybe I can find something close to them.” That sounded feeble even to him. In his heart, he knew, he had hoped to find some kind of acceptance from the von Kariens, whoever they might turn out to be, perhaps even to be taken in by them. He was forced to concede now that it was an idle dream, even more desperate and tenuous than Hanna’s.

  “There’s a place near here that’s not too bad,” Mathilde said. “The Cordwainer’s Last. I drink in there sometimes. Full of ’prentices and burghers on the make, but the ale’s all right, and the rooms are clean.”

  “How do you know about the rooms?” Fritz asked. Mathilde grinned.

  “Some things I don’t want to bring home, if you know what I mean.” She shot a look at her fiancé, in which embarrassment and reassurance mingled awkwardly. “Didn’t, that is. I mean, I hadn’t even met you the last time I was here.” She turned back to Rudi, seizing on the change of subject like a drowning sailor suddenly noticing
a passing log. “So, who are these relatives of yours anyway?”

  “If they are relatives,” Rudi said. He’d skated over his reasons for leaving Marienburg in his account of their voyage up the Reik, contriving to give the impression that he was accompanying Hanna out of concern for her safety, which was true enough, and only alluding to his own business in Altdorf in passing. More interested in whatever shreds of information they could recall about their encounters with the Fog Walkers, von Eckstein hadn’t pressed the point. Now that he was on the point of putting Fritz’s assurances of the nobleman’s assistance to the test, he found himself hesitating. “Does the name von Karien mean anything to you?”

  “Von Karien?” Despite years of experience in the art of diplomatic evasion, von Eckstein couldn’t keep a trace of surprise from his voice. “Are you sure that’s the right name?”

  Rudi nodded. “Reasonably sure. There was a lawyer in Marienburg, who had some papers mentioning them.”

  “I see.” von Eckstein nodded slowly. “Well, I’ve met Osric von Karien a couple of times. He’s the current graf, as you probably know.” His voice remained tinged with doubt. “But so far as I was aware, he’s the last surviving member of his family.”

  “I know.” Rudi nodded gravely. “I heard he inherited the title from his cousin, after the old graf was executed.” As he spoke, it occurred to him for the first time that he had no idea of the name of the man who, if his suspicions were right, had been his father.

  “Not just executed,” von Eckstein said, “burned for heresy, along with his entire family.” He looked narrowly at Rudi. “If you really are related to them, it might be wiser not to pursue the matter any further.”

  Rudi shook his head. “I’ve come too far to turn back,” he said, “and besides, this Osric must have been proved innocent, whatever his cousin did, or he would have been burned too, wouldn’t he?”

  Von Eckstein nodded, conceding the point. “His innocence was generally felt to be beyond doubt,” he said, “and his actions since would appear to confirm it, but the family name remains indelibly tainted. No doubt it’s best that it dies with him.”

  “He might be happy to find that he’s not alone in the world after all,” Rudi said.

  Von Eckstein rubbed his chin thoughtfully, clearly not convinced of that, but tacitly conceding that Rudi wouldn’t be deterred by anything else he might say on the subject.

  The nobleman sighed. “I would advise you most strongly against pursuing this,” he said heavily, “but if I can’t convince you to drop the matter, at least allow me to write you a letter of introduction. Osric von Karien is not a man to take the news that someone is making enquiries about him idly, and would certainly be moved to take action as soon as he heard you were doing so. At least if you approach him openly, he won’t be unnecessarily antagonised.”

  “Thank you,” Rudi said, trying to absorb the implications of this. It sounded as if von Karien was some kind of recluse, trying to live down the legacy of his cousin’s heretical activities as best he could, but still retaining some measure of influence.

  “Don’t thank me until you’ve met the man,” von Eckstein said dryly, and Mathilde nodded in agreement, clearly sharing his opinion. Nevertheless, Rudi couldn’t shake a rising sense of euphoria as the nobleman dipped a quill into his inkpot and wrote rapidly on a sheet of thick paper. “Can you read?”

  “Yes,” Rudi said proudly. Von Eckstein nodded, folded the letter, and pressed his ring into the blob of molten wax that he’d dripped across the join. Satisfied that the wax had hardened, he picked up the quill again, and scribbled a few lines across the outside of the message.

  “Good. Here are directions from the Bright College. It’s a well-known landmark, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding the house from there.” He glanced across the room at Hanna. “I assume you’ve no objection to Rudi accompanying you that far?”

  “None at all,” Hanna said, looking much happier all of a sudden. “I’d be glad of the company.”

  “I could show you the way,” Mathilde offered, and looked at von Eckstein for permission.

  The nobleman shook his head. “I need you to take a message in the opposite direction. The sooner Hollobach takes possession of that little trinket the happier I’ll be.” He glanced involuntarily at the desk drawer as he spoke, and his bodyguard echoed the gesture. “Take Fritz with you. The sooner he begins to find his way around the city the better.”

  “That thing’s magic?” Fritz asked, looking surprised.

  Von Eckstein nodded. “And powerful,” he said, “so they tell me.”

  “You have no idea,” Hanna confirmed.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  As Rudi and Hanna left the sanctuary of von Eckstein’s estate, the gate they’d entered the hidden house and gardens by closing behind them with a solid-sounding thunk!, the noise and stench of the city rushed in upon them again like a breaking wave. After the haven of tranquillity they’d just experienced, the shock was disorientating, even inured to the sights and sounds of the city as they’d become after their months of urban living in Marienburg.

  “Where to?” Rudi asked, hesitating on the verge of immersing himself in the stream of hurrying figures channelled between the tall, narrow buildings he was beginning to associate with the capital city of the Empire. Hanna shrugged.

  “East, apparently,” she said. Mathilde had given them slightly more precise directions before bidding them farewell, although they were still as vague as most instructions for finding somewhere specific in the city seemed to be. “If we can find the Koenigsplatz, we should be all right from there.”

  “I guess so,” Rudi said, trying to keep a taint of doubt from his voice. After all, if the Bright College, or to be more precise the site of it, was distinctive enough to be a major landmark, it couldn’t be that hard to find. The uncomfortable thought came to him that if he was wrong, he might never find von Karien’s house either. The peculiar way the magical auras surrounding the various colleges affected the topography of the city meant that directions to anywhere always started from a particular fixed point, and would be all but useless if the landmark in question couldn’t be found.

  Luckily, they were able to locate the Koenigsplatz without too much difficulty. After several minutes of shoving and sidestepping through the ever-present crush of bodies, Rudi at last caught sight of the famous statue over the heads of the crowd. The Emperor was mounted on a griffon, his sword held aloft in a suitably heroic pose, which would probably have pitched him over the creature’s neck to the ground if he’d ever been incautious enough to try it while airborne. Rudi pointed.

  “This way!” With Hanna at his heels, he forced his way into the wide open space, finding a few square feet of relative calm in the lee of the massive plinth. He glanced up, hoping to read the inscription, but the sinking sun struck hard from the gilded lettering, rendering it unintelligible. He wasn’t even sure if this was supposed to be Karl Franz himself, or his father Luitpold. Or Magnus the Pious, come to that, whose foresight had established the Colleges of Magic in the first place. That reminded him. “Where to now?”

  “That way.” Hanna pointed, following the direction indicated by the shadow of the statue, as if it was a compass needle. At first, Rudi thought she must be mistaken. The main routes in and out of the Koenigsplatz were on the north side, leading to the main gate of the city, and the south, after the thoroughfare had split in two to flow around the gigantic sculpture, as if it was a tree root in a stream. The streets in the direction Hanna had indicated seemed small by comparison, little more than alleyways, but the girl seemed sure of herself, so Rudi simply nodded, and launched himself into the milling crowds again. To his battered senses, it seemed as if half of the Empire, if not the entire Old World, had congregated there, hawking wares of dubious provenance, arguing in tongues he hadn’t heard even in Marienburg, and in one or two cases picking the pockets of the unwary.

  “Fresh pies! Rumster’s Originals! Get ’e
m while they’re hot!” A halfling-sized pushcart rammed into his shins, its owner apparently so busy scanning the forest of knees surrounding him for potential customers that he’d forgotten to watch where he was going. “Oops, sorry sir, my fault I’m sure.”

  “Don’t mention it.” Rudi shot out a hand without looking, finding to his complete lack of surprise that a second halfling was attempting to lift the flap of his belt pouch. Grasping the tiny wrist, he dragged the miscreant around and into view. “You need to get another routine, lads. Distract and lift was old when Sigmar was in swaddling.”

  “I dunno what you’re talking about,” the pie vendor said, in tones of aggrieved innocence. “I’ve never seen this ruffian before in my life, have I, Ned?”

  “No,” his confederate confirmed, wriggling in Rudi’s grasp. “You’re a witness, Peasemold. This great lummox just assaulted me for no reason at all. Be off with you, or I’ll call a watchman!”

  “He is a watchman,” Hanna said, with a trace of amusement.

  Ned stopped squirming, and Peasemold’s jaw went slack.

  “I’m sure we can sort this out,” the pie vendor said, back peddling hastily. “Just a little misunderstanding, that’s all. Have a pie, on me, your lady friend too.”

  “Thanks, but no.” Rudi put Ned down, and the would-be pickpocket scurried behind his friend, keeping the cart between himself and the possibility of further retribution. “If I did, I’d have to take you in for attempted poisoning too, most likely.” He shrugged, content to have kept his money and made his point. “Just don’t let me catch you at it again.”

  “No sir. Thank you, sir. Ranald bless you.” The halflings knuckled their forelocks and scurried off, vanishing into the crowd. A moment later, Rudi heard “Oops, sorry, madam. My fault I’m sure,” echoing through the intervening bodies.

  “Maybe you could join the watch here,” Hanna said. “You were a good Cap in Marienburg.”