by B J Hanlon
“It was your idea…” Arianne shrugged. She stopped when a sweaty and clearly tired serving woman appeared next to their table. The light gave her the look of a woman dying. “Food? Drink?” She seemed too tired to go much further than that and looked toward Edin then Arianne.
“Ale and what are you serving?”
“Meat and potatoes. Braised beef I think…”
“That’s fine, do you have a red wine?” Arianne asked.
A soft chuckle came from the woman as she glanced down at Arianne. “So sweet young lady, no there ain’t no wine.”
“Ale then,” Arianne sighed, “and two dinners.”
“It’s breakfast…”
“Doesn’t sound like it…” Arianne said.
“Well it’s all we got.” After the woman left, Arianne was about to speak when three men sat on the other side a few seats down. A merchant and two sailors.
They didn’t say anything for a moment and Edin caught them scanning the room in a way that would’ve made Grent proud.
As one man‘s gaze turned toward Edin, the serving woman stopped between them and placed the ales down.
“You ordered food, right?” she asked.
Edin nodded and she lowered her head. He turned his attention to the ale in front of him trying to ignore the hard stare from the sailor. Edin drank heavily, it wasn’t half bad.
When he put down the large mug, the sailor wasn’t looking at him anymore.
“So where does this… incident leave us?” the well-dressed man said. “I cannot be waiting more than a few weeks for my stock to be replenished. If you can’t do it…”
The smaller sailor who glared at Edin slowly shook his head. “It ain’t just me… you won’t be getting any deliveries by ship for a while. Not since the Duke closed down the ports.”
“All of them? I heard about Alestow being closed, but up here why?”
“What I hear is it ain’t about that business a few weeks ago.”
Edin glanced up at Arianne, they caught each other’s eyes. They knew too well about that business.
“Have you been to the dry docks? They’re building like demons are on their tail. Each ship gotta need a crew of fifty, maybe more.”
The merchant was silent. Edin couldn’t read the man’s face and Arianne was trying not to appear as if she was looking. Their eyes met for a moment again and Edin took another drink.
“Our deal was for you to provide me with another ton… I need it.”
“It will not be coming. Maybe a trawler they’re…” The man eyes flicked toward Edin and then he bent his head forward.
He couldn’t hear any other part of the conversation. All the docks closed; new ships.
A few moments later, the deep brown braised beef with a thick muddy gravy and a barely cooked potato was delivered. There was a moment when he just about dug his hands into the meat to eat it like a wild-man. Then a knife and fork were placed next to him.
They ate in relative silence and the meeting between the sailors and their client ended. After the meal, they were escorted to two rooms on the second floor directly across from each other. Arianne set up baths and they pulled clean trousers and tunics from their packs.
The bath house was attached to the rear of the inn. It was steamy, dirty, and smelled of moldy food and cloth. It was one large room but had thick curtains hanging from metal runners that gave a semblance of privacy.
Arianne looked at the curtains, the wooden tubs with splotches of green mildew, then at Edin, and then the female attendant.
The woman had long gray hair and looked to be near blind. Maybe that was the reason for the poor condition, but it still didn’t make Arianne move any quicker.
“So, there are no private baths?”
“This is as private as it comes down here,” the woman croaked. “You can bathe here or you can stay smelling like a ship’s head... Up to you lady.”
Arianne glared at the woman, most of that previous air of nobility had been gone for a while, but now she huffed and put her hands on her hips glaring at the woman whose cataract covered eyes were blank.
“We’ll be fine, thank you,” Edin said. He slowly pushed Arianne toward the far tub. There were four in total, each about a yard and a half apart. At the edge, he closed the curtain and twisted the hot water knob for her.
Arianne drooped her head and sat on a small stool.
Edin filled a mug of ale with the pitcher and brought it to her. “Here,” Edin whispered.
She looked up, tears welling in the beautiful eyes. Arianne took the mug.
“Not up to your standards?”
“That’s not it… I just… I’m lonely.” She drank from her mug and moved her eyes slowly up him before blinking as if seeing him for the first time. Arianne reached up with her soft hand and took his.
“You don’t have to be. I’m here for you,” Edin said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know.” She looked up at him. “A part of me, most of me actually, wished you were lying about… well everything. I hoped maybe someone, anyone I knew was alive. I know you’re not lying about that, but sleeping for a thousand years is, well not something I can easily process… I’m trying to deal with it…”
“I know…”
“Then throw in the fact that the church, the secular power… everyone is conspiring to murder us... We take a step forward then trip.”
“I only know you,” Edin whispered. He lifted her chin and leaned down until they were a hand’s width away from each other. He held her gaze for a moment, her puffy eyes, bright pink cheeks, and pale lips. Her soft jaw quivered and her breathing sped slightly.
His chest was thumping as he moved in, but at the last moment, Edin tilted his head and kissed her cheek. “And I’m okay with that.” He offered a soft smile.
Arianne blushed slightly. “I’ll have my privacy now.”
After a moment of holding her stare, he pulled the curtain back. With water filling the tub, Edin took off his tired and dirty clothes. He ran his fingers across the new scar on his gut. The collection he bore made him look like a well-used training dummy… or a warrior. He didn’t feel like the latter. He was just a man running from killers.
He felt stiff and looked like he’d lost at least fifteen pounds since his childish days in Yaultan. A different life… someone else’s life.
Here he was at the end of the continent and looking for a passage into another world. Edin looked down at the leagues he’d put on his body. He wore a dozen new scars, his body was too thin, and nearly every muscle stood out like twisted rope.
“Why did this happen to me?” Edin whispered as he finally got in the bath. “What did I do to deserve this?”
Edin closed his eyes and let the warm water rise. Glancing over he saw the shadow of a perfectly formed woman removing her tunic. His mouth went dry. As he stared, Edin couldn’t get the thought of a goddess out of his mind. His eyes flowed from her thin neck down her strong shoulders to her pert breasts, thin waist, slightly wider hips, and taut legs.
She stood there in silhouette for what seemed like a long time and Edin became conscious of his groin reacting.
It seemed as if she were watching the tub fill… but she could’ve been looking toward him. Was she thinking about him, waiting for Edin to come over and be with her? His heart was beating like he’d just run fifty leagues.
Then she slid into the tub and he heard the soft splash of water crashing to the stone floor. Edin exhaled and nearly gasped for air. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath.
Back in the room, Edin was changing into a pair of new trousers when a knock came to the door. He buttoned them, grabbed his sword and stalked toward the door.
“Yes.”
“It’s me,” Arianne said.
He opened it and stood back letting Arianne in before glancing into the hall.
“I was thinking about the tosoria, the fire mage, and this group. Do you think we should seek them out?” Arianne said tak
ing a seat on his bed. Her eyes lingering for a moment on the thin scar that pierced his gut.
Edin pulled on a tunic and leaned against a small bureau. A fleeting image of her silhouette in the bath crossed his mind.
“I’m not even sure how to do that… but, question is, do we trust the magi?” he said.
“I’m not sure… but our ride out of here is a ship that may or may not be in port... We may have to stay in the city for a long time…”
Edin thought about that for a moment. She was probably right. What did he expect, Ashica waiting for him like some sort of chartered river cruise? “So what do you think?”
“Find La Fie…” Arianne said. “I mean we could hold up here for days or weeks or even months and scour the docks for the Castilander and hope your information is correct? How long since your mother received the information, what if Ashica is dead or in prison? You don’t know. We made it here, what if we can’t leave?”
He swallowed. Her logic made sense. Was he wrong to assume his mother’s information was correct. Edin had made that assumption and many people were dead because of it. His companions, his family, his friends…
“And you remember what that man said about the docks being closed and the construction of new… huge ships. I don’t know if we can even sneak out by ship.”
A war was coming, people were being drafted for the army… what if the ships were being drafted as well.
His hand slowly moved up and he reached for the fang. Gone. Edin sighed and shook the thoughts of war from his head. It didn’t matter. They needed to get away.
There was silence between them for a long time. Edin’s gaze drifted to the window and its perpetual night. An oil lamp post maybe twenty feet away held a haze about it. A line of smoke just hanging in the air like a halo.
“We have to try, Edin. We may be able to live on the coin for a while, but what if someone is searching, how long could we live here?”
“Okay,” Edin said. “Let’s go.”
Arianne pursed her lips. “We should split up.” She stood.
“No, we should go together.”
“We could have more…” Arianne started. “You need to stop trying to protect me… I’ve had it done all of my life. You and me, we’re different, we’re special, better than these people.”
Edin frowned. They may be special, but his mother taught him to treat people with kindness until they prove they aren’t worth either. Respect was always earned. She never acted like a self-absorbed superior noble. She was loved, until the mob murdered her.
“I did not mean it that way,” Arianne said as if reading his thoughts, “I just want to get out of this place.”
Edin noticed the long pause and nodded.
16
The Raven
They didn’t have to wait until dark, it was always dark. Edin threw the dirty cloak over his clothes and strapped his sword to his belt.
Arianne carried the quarterstaff.
They were in some sort of middle quarter, artisans mostly. What type of people would know a gang leader? That was what he assumed The Darsol Rose was… a gang. The answer was the seedier type.
“We have to be careful who we ask,” Edin said. “Two hours, that’s all. We meet back here at… he looked out the window, couldn’t see the sun and there was no clock in the room. “Well in two hours.”
“Okay,” Arianne said.
They left. Edin headed further into undercity, Arianne nearer the docks. Hopefully, they could find someone to talk for a coin or two.
As he delved deeper into the winding dark town, he saw well maintained buildings next to dilapidated ones. Some places were shuttered and looked vacant, while others had bars on windows as if a jail.
More than a handful of the buildings dove directly into the ceiling above. Edin guessed they were like columns.
Most people looked away as he approached. A group of boys about Edin’s age looked at him like he were a sizzling steak hot off the grill, he pulled back the cloak revealing the sword and slowly shook his head. The boys turned, clearly none wanted to get stabbed for a few coins.
A few streets away, he spotted a red and white pole. He’d seen it before in Alestow and in Frestils. A barber.
He read somewhere that many people go to the barber and just talk. Could it be that simple?
Edin entered. There were two chairs that seemed to be more than a hundred years old. The leather covering was ripped in many places, one had an arm that hung loosely off. The place held a pungent odor that somehow was minty and fresh and foul at the same time.
“Hello?” Edin said as he entered.
There were two oil lamps on, one at the front and one through an open portal at the back. Slowly, a man appeared, he couldn’t make him out in the dim light but the way he moved said the man was old.
“Hi.”
“Welcome, you need a haircut?”
“Well actually–”
“My word I’d say you do. Who in the gods blazing name cut that?”
Edin ran his hand over his head, he knew there were spikes and shaves and it probably looked like it’d been caught in some weird accident. “A friend.”
“Get over here, I’ll fix ya right up.”
“Actually...” Edin started but the man was already working on pulling some things out from a drawer.
The man flicked a few switches on a pair of oil lamps to either side of the non-broken chair and increased the light.
Edin could see the man clearly, little hair of his own, white wisps that seemed almost clear in the fire. He had a hunched back and a belly that hung far over his belt. Edin took a seat.
“I’m Darl,” he said holding out a hand.
“Edin,” he said without thinking. Then he took the hand.
“I’m gonna go short, but not bald. Don’t want you being mistaken for those… people.” Darl nearly choked on the word it seemed. Edin had to suppress a smile.
The man worked for twenty minutes, maybe thirty, trimming and cutting nearly every strand. After, he pulled out a straight razor and began on his beard and mustache.
The man spoke about the city, how it was going down. “People don’t care about their neighborhood anymore. Even if you just rent, you better take care of the damn place… ya know.”
Edin nodded.
“It’s like no one gives an elephant’s pattoti.”
Edin had no idea what an elephant or a pattoti was but could understand the sentiment. After they were done, the man said two coppers.
Edin pulled out the five he’d had from earlier. He looked at him. “I’m looking for someone. He’s supposed to be in the city.”
“Uh huh, who might that be? Don’t know many above the ceiling.”
“Le Fie,” Edin said quietly.
The man inhaled sharply. His eyes met Edin’s, gray but nearly losing even that small amount of color. His voice quivered. “I ain’t know…”
“Sir, please it’s a matter of great importance.”
“Listen boy, I only know he’s a killer,” his voice whispered, “some say he works for the Raven, but I don’t think so… talk to the Raven, if you dare, but if I were you I’d keep that name to myself and leave town.”
Edin swallowed but felt his mouth suddenly dry. “And who is the Raven?”
“You can find her lads on every corner. They watch from the shadows, pick pockets, but generally do little harm. It’s the stuff she imports that’s the issue with the city. Drugs that make you see things, do things… believe me boy, it is best not to get involved with her.”
He paused for a second. Arianne too was going around asking for a killer... Was this what the Por Fen magus had in mind? Kill them without killing them? As he thought of it, he noticed the old man’s hand still out. It took him a moment, then Edin dumped the five coppers into his wrinkled palm. One clattered to the ground. Edin picked it up and put it in the old man’s hand.
“Thank you… and be careful,” he said.
Edin left,
he ran his hand over his head and felt the sort trim. He had hair, but it was barely an eighth of an inch, he guessed.
His mind was thinking about the killer when he noticed a small boy rushing through a gap in a wooden fence. It took a few moments to click, then Edin ran. His boots slapped the stone as he crossed to the alleyway and the faded red fence. The boy shimmied through a loose board. Edin vaulted it without stopping.
His feet slammed down on the stone sending shocks up his knees. Edin spotted the kid turn right beyond the light of a small sconce on a wall. He ran.
Edin splashed through a puddle that dampened his pants to his knee. He skidded around the corner to see another fence between a pair of buildings barely two feet apart. It was too high to jump.
He went to the boards, found the loose one and pushed. Edin squeezed through, just barely. Maybe it was good he lost so much weight.
As he exited into an alley, he heard a soft caw from somewhere behind him. Edin glanced back but saw nothing as the board slammed back into place.
Edin ran forward down the long corridor of the two thin buildings. There were windows high above his head and some that were at the ground.
Eventually, he saw another fence, shorter than the last and he vaulted it onto a thin stone alleyway.
Then he spotted the kid, he was watching Edin from the corner of a building a hundred yards or so away.
Edin glanced around, the road felt empty, but many of them did here. He took a few steps toward the kid and raised a hand.
The kid raised one back, looked into the alley and then back to Edin. Slowly, he approached.
“Hi,” Edin said. “I’m looking for someone.” He had to be about ten, but his face showed a wariness far past his days.
Edin was only ten feet away when the kid darted behind the building. He went after him and turned down the alley. It was slightly wider than the last but was stopped by another fence halfway down. The kid was slipping beneath it and Edin knew that despite the weight he’d lost, he couldn’t make it through there… and he could only imagine Arianne’s look when he showed up with more clothes ruined.