by B J Hanlon
Edin turned back and saw a few people in front of him, boxing him in.
“’ello there laddy. Looking for someone?” It was a bigger man, maybe Berka’s size but older with quite a bit more meat around the gut. Next to him were two men about Edin’s size and from behind him, the kid stepped out.
“Says he looking for someun’.”
“That right?” He glared at Edin. “Nobody here’d want to speak with you, lad.” The man tilted his head and raised a bushy eyebrow the size of Edin’s little finger.
“I wouldn’t go making assumptions, many people would like to talk to me. You just get to be the lucky ones to do so.”
“We are lucky, that’s certain. You isn’t.” He stepped forward and slapped a long club against his palm with a meaty thwack. Edin watched him move, the man looked like a seasoned brawler, maybe good for busting up bars and shaking down merchants. He’d be wild.
Edin pulled back his cloak and revealed the sword. The man paused but Edin didn’t go for it. “I’m here to see the Raven.” Killing any of the Raven’s boys, if this was one of the Raven’s boys, would not be a good way to get a meeting. He had to hold back.
“You don’t get to see anyone, boy.” A moment later, the big guy lunged, his club hanging in the air like a tree about to crash to the forest floor.
Edin took a step back, the man wasn’t fast and the swipe missed by more than a foot. He roared and tried again. Edin ducked it and came up behind the man. He shoved a foot into the man’s backside and sent him toward the fence.
Edin turned toward the other two, they looked a bit scared. “I want to see the Raven.”
The other two men looked at each other. The kid yelped and disappeared out of view.
“And why would you be wanting to see her?”
He heard movement behind him and ducked. The air above his head whistled. Edin looked between his legs and saw the big man was unbalanced and exposed. He snapped his foot back and caught him in the groin.
Another yelp, higher than the kid’s. The club clattered to the ground a few feet from him and he heard a wailing moan. Even Edin cringed.
Then he stood and looked at the men. “She may know where I can find someone.”
Both of them looked confused for a moment. A darker skinned one, maybe four years younger than Edin by the looks of him said. “but you just said you were looking for the Raven.”
“I am.”
“And someone else?”
“Yes.”
He sighed for a moment, “That corner, ten tonight. If she decides to meet you, who can I ask you’re actually looking for.”
“Le Fie.”
The boy didn’t have that scared look on his face that Darl did. The other one did though. “See ya soon.”
Edin heard a groan from behind him and saw the big man holding himself and rocking on the ground. There was a yellow soupy liquid next to him on the stone.
“That’s disgusting,” Edin said.
Arianne hid around a corner almost fifty yards behind him. She had her bow and an arrow at the ready. If she saw anyone moving toward him, she’d attack. Then, she’d run. At least that was what Edin hoped she’d do. He doubted she would.
The corner was quiet and empty. The shutters were all closed, but Edin could see small flickers of light between wood slats and the gaps between the brick and wood. He wore the cloak with the hood down so they’d know it was him, though his hand rested on his hilt so they’d know he was armed.
“You’re the one who gave Musto the black eye.” The voice came from behind him, a bit squeaky and quick.
“It wasn’t his eye?” Edin said assuming it was the man he’d injured.
“Ain’t what I’m meaning.”
Edin turned to see a kid, none of the ones he’d seen before. He had a pockmarked face and was thick in every way. From his neck down, his body looked like a stone cottage. His sleeves and pants were rolled up a few times, the clothes clearly meant for a taller man.
“Tell your lady to come out, you ask for the Raven, you get her. No need to be afraid… yet.”
“What lady?”
“Don’t be dumb, I know she’s back there, bow in hand. She couldn’t hit me from that distance…”
“She could hit a copper from that distance.” Edin said.
The kid’s smile wavered slightly. Then he pulled it back to reveal a few rotted brown teeth.
“Come on, been waiting for someone to slam a piece into that clunk for a long time. Too bad you didn’t finish him,” he paused. “You didn’t hear that from me.”
“What’s your name?”
“You don’t need to know. Call your lady and we’ll go.” The talker turned, looked past Edin, and waved.
Reluctantly, Edin called back. “Come out. They know you’re there.”
She came, there was no reluctance in her step. Her bow wasn’t even out anymore but she had the quarterstaff.
They turned down a familiar alleyway and went a hundred yards before stopping at a nondescript door with a small R carved into the jam.
The kid knocked four times, the door opened very slowly and barely enough to get a fist inside. A moment later it closed and Edin heard the clatter of a chain being dropped.
“He’s here?”
“Yes Flack.”
Edin noticed it was the dark-skinned boy from earlier. The guide nodded. Edin looked back at Arianne. In darkened windows he could see movement and small gaps.
Flack went in first and took a right into a narrow hallway. The wooden walls looked surprisingly clean and even a bit shiny. Polished wood…
They followed as the kid turned into a room and kept going for a few paces until he reached a staircase and headed up.
After two flights they reached a closed door and Edin could hear the murmurings of people behind it.
The kid opened it and stepped into a well-lit room about the size of Arianne’s bedchamber but half as tall and with far too many people. There were fires in two hearths, Edin wondered where the smoke went. Breaks and discoloration in the wood flooring said walls had been knocked down to make it a larger space.
The room went silent. People gawked and stared at them. Edin caught a glimpse of men rolling dice at a small round table. Men and even a few women placed their hands on weapons but none moved.
Their little party skirted around a pair of mean looking guys with scowling scarred faces.
He heard whispers and grunts and Edin put a hand on Arianne’s hip. The hostility in the room felt palpable. Even though Edin had been invited up, the Raven’s goons still tried to intimidate them.
Off to the far right on a couch next to a hearth, Edin saw Mosto sit up slowly and whisper something to another brute next to him. The man stood. He wasn’t tall or wide, more thin and wiry. The man slid a pair of long knives from sheaths and spun them in his hands.
The kid leading them didn’t seem to notice until the wiry guy appeared in front causing them to halt.
“Watcha doing Flack?”
“Taking them to see the Raven. Her business.”
“Is this one?” he said pointing a blade at Arianne. “I don’t think so, I’ll be taking her.”
Edin slowly stepped in front of Arianne and kept his eyes on the knife fighter. He’d trained with Dephina, sparred with her. She was good, experienced, and trained at an academy of masters in just such a form. This man did not worry him.
The sounds of chairs scraping the floor and people rising broke the silence. Wooden floors squeaked and blades were removed from their sheaths.
“You gonna stop me?” The man challenged, glaring at Edin. “I hear you are a dancer and don’t stand and fight like a man. What are you one of those boy loving nobles?”
Edin said nothing,
“I’ll be taking her. My friend needs a bit of caring.”
“He should’ve been born a woman, like he is now.”
There was a shocked gasp from some, laughs from more. Edin glared back at the man, he
stood with one foot in front of the other in an almost causal stance, though Edin could tell he was moments from attempting to pounce. He was armed and Edin’s blade was still sheathed. Then there were his friends, thirty, maybe more, surrounding them.
Then a door opened silently and a petite figure stepped from it. Edin shifted and rested his hand on his hip. “Is this how your little gang treats all of its guests?”
Edin kept glaring at the knife fighter.
The man slowly turned his eyes back and saw a dark-skinned woman. “You said one was coming to talk. I’m taking her for myself. I’ll put her up in the Lazy Orphan, she’ll make us good coin.”
“Your friend got off easy because I didn’t want to kill him. It would’ve ruined first impressions,” Edin said trying to keep a steady voice. “Now that first impressions are through, I won’t hold back… I’ve killed terrin’s bigger than you…”
The man guffawed like he’d just witnessed a jester face plant during a routine.
“Enough,” the woman said. Edin guessed it was the Raven. “This is not the place for bloodshed. They both may pass.”
The man’s eyes narrowed and he shifted his jaw as if to be menacing. Instead, it looked more like he had something stuck in his teeth.
When the man stepped back Flack led them the last ten feet before stepping aside.
“Thank you,” the Raven said to him. It took a moment to see the resemblance of the boy and her. They both had the same complexion, chin and eyes.
She turned and led them into an office, it smelled almost identical to his mother’s. A woodsy incense. There was a map, though this was of the city with small pins in certain areas. There were scrolls and books on the shelves, a ledger sat closed on the large oak desk.
“Shut the door,” she said in a polite tone.
“But mot…” Flack stared but Edin caught the look, a reprimand, then he shut the door.
“Your son?” Arianne said.
She nodded and walked around her desk. “I try to keep him out of here, out of this life but…” She sat and the chair creaked, which was odd since she was so small and was clearly in great shape. “You were asking for Le Fie, few get to meet me who are not part of my organization.”
If Edin had to guess, she’d be about forty, but still very pretty.
“Le Fie is one who does and he is dangerous. How do you come by the name?” She pointed for them to sit in the two chairs with thin wicker backs.
Edin looked toward Arianne.
“We met a man on the road who… suggested we find him. Our original intent was to find the Castilander,” Arianne spoke up.
“You want Ashica?” She snorted. “Batty fool, could be wealthy if he had any sense.”
Arianne nodded.
“You’re really just looking for the who is who of the underworld here in our fine city. And I’m guessing I know why.” She leaned forward and grabbed a small glass filled with a light brown liquid. She downed it in a single gulp. “There is little reason for normal travelers to seek out Ashica, far less reason for anyone at all to seek out Le Fie.”
“Our reasons are our own,” Arianne said leaning forward.
The Raven shot her eyes toward Edin and offered a broad white smile. It was shocking, far more then pleasant. The smile was stunning.
“Mistress No-name, I cannot just offer up information about colleagues to someone I do not know.”
She sat back in her chair and folded her fingers together and turned her eyes to Edin. “You see, you’ve put me in a bit of a pickle, my men do not like you… which was fine when it was just you, but as you have brought a pretty little thing with you, they think she is fair game.”
“If they try to take her you will have no gang,” Edin said.
“Such confidence,” she chuckled. “Well you did manage to beat one of my best lieutenants without a weapon. Musto will be ragged for weeks.” She paused again. “To get out of here you’d need an act of the gods… or have the talent.”
Neither Edin nor Arianne spoke.
“Thought so. That is one of the reasons people seek out Ashica and the only reason to seek out Le Fie. Are you both magi, or just her?”
“Both,” Edin said.
“I see.” She leaned forward again.
Edin was getting annoyed by the constant creaking of the chair and the incense was leaving a hazy fog hanging above their heads.
“It does seem however, that you may be just in time to help us. A great many of us.”
“Help criminals?” Arianne guffawed. “You have –”
“Go on,” Edin interrupted and ignored Arianne’s glare. He didn’t like being associated with a crime boss, he really didn’t like her knowing his secret, but they had no choice. They were hunted and needed help.
“Good. Have you heard of the seizures of ships, the draft, and all of that nonsense about war?” She waived her hand as if it were an annoying mosquito. “Well it is stifling my businesses and my partners’ businesses. When the work and funds dry up, our men get apathetic and begin to act like mongrels. You saw a bit of that earlier.” She sighed.
“What is it you want us to do?”
“We, that means friends of mine, are planning a raid tomorrow night. Your hand fighting skills must be good, I can only imagine how you are with a blade, though it is your other talents that may be needed even more.”
“And where is this raid to take place?”
“The dry docks of course,” she grinned. “It will be quick, get in and out…”
“The purpose of the raid?”
“That is not part of the deal. Do this and I will get you in contact with Ashica’s man so he can spirit you to the Isle of Mists.”
Edin and Arianne looked at each other, then she looked back.
“Where did you get that?” Arianne said pointing toward the bookcase.
“Which?”
“The one in Ulstapish.”
The Raven stood and walked toward it. “The one in highborn? I bought it off a pirate… why?”
“Gostal… he stole it from me,” Arianne said. “As well as my dagger and my bow…”
“This dagger?” The Raven said. She pulled open a drawer and out Arianne’s bejeweled dagger.
Arianne nodded. She seemed to be at a loss for words. “You help us, I will also gift these to you…” She paused. “So, are you both in?”
“Yes,” Edin said.
17
Burning down the house… or dry dock
The raiding party had to slip out of the city. They climbed the trellises down to the docks. Edin took a small elevator with Flack who was just seeing them off. Both didn’t like heights.
Soon, they all converged on floating warehouses, at least a third were owned by the gang.
The man in charge was Encenzo, an older man about Edin’s build and supposedly the best with a blade. He included in his group, Edin, Arianne, as well as a trio of rough looking men with black soot on their hands and each carrying a large sack.
If all went to plan, they’d be in and out within ten minutes.
They split into their groups and began rowing out from a hidden entrance beneath one of the warehouses. It took an hour and the wind was biting. It was summer but somehow it felt like it was six months earlier. Arianne huddled next to Edin, her teeth chattering. “I should do…” she started.
He shook his head. They stopped a yard off dry land. Edin held the hilt of the enchanted blade as he sprang off the skiff and into the ankle-deep ocean water. It made the chill into a sharp cold. He helped Arianne down and they slipped out. She carried her bow and quarterstaff, everything else but their coin, was left with the Raven.
They trekked through dark woods for a league, other parties would be coming up from the south and from other directions. The scouts that had been sent before reported all was quiet and there was only the normal guard rotation.
Finally, they stopped and Edin saw the dry docks. Massive wooden walls built with the giant redwoods. It wa
s supposedly a half a league semicircle that reached out like a bubble from the Tallonwhine River and the sea.
Edin pulled at the back of his uniform. It was black and thin and gave the wearer a wide range of movement. After sitting still and freezing, now that he was moving… he was sweating as the suit clung to his body and kept in the heat.
To the west, up on a hill, Edin saw the workers camp and could hear drunk men singing.
Back at the dry docks, Edin could see a few guards standing on watch towers, but they didn’t seem to be interested in their duties. The wooden gate was shorter than the walls, to make it easy to move, though the watchtowers sat on either side. There were four gates each similarly guarded.
Glancing to the right, he saw three quick flashes of light. A flame reflecting from a knife. The signal.
Edin didn’t see the shooters but watched as the arrows struck the two guards and they fell back into their perches disappearing.
Encenzo was first, followed by Arianne, then Edin. Their target was the furthest west gate, and they were to go deepest in the docks.
Other units were converging on them, but their group would be at the gate first. Encenzo carried a long rope looped up around his shoulder. At the gate he leapt, driving a pair of knives into the sturdy wooden posts.
Like a squirrel he began to climb up stabbing them like rungs of a ladder until he was at the top. Then dropped one line of the rope and disappeared over.
Edin took the loose end and twisted it around his hands. He felt others behind him beginning to take more of the rope.
Feet clapped the stone behind them and a moment later a knock. With all of their might, they began to pull. It was heavy but they were able lift it.
Then the door swung out and they nearly dropped the huge beam.
“Welcome,” Encenzo said.
The other units were just about there. Edin caught a glimpse of the dual wielder who was about ten yards away. He fixed his glare at Edin. They had to watch their backs.
They met first the workshops for the ship outfitters. They were long and low and reminded him a bit of barracks housing.