by Logan Jacobs
“What’s that, human?” Sully leaned forward.
“I know you are concerned about the current heat, but what would it take for you both to join a longer-term relationship with us?”
“That’s easier said than done for you, lad, but … ” Sully eyed his brother, “if the elven presence lowers drastically around here, and they lift the curfew, then we can talk again.”
“That’s what I thought it would take.” I nodded and shook both of their hands. “Where would you like us to bring in your whiskey?”
“You held up your end, human.” Sully shook my hand and squeezed it. “If there are no elves, just bring it in the front. No one will know the difference unless you give them a reason to.”
I nodded toward the brothers, and then I walked out of the office with both Dar and Selius at my side.
“Grab the kegs from the back, I’ll keep watch,” I said and looked down the street where a few young halflings were busy playing a game. I turned the other direction and scanned the rooftops carefully.
“Got em,” Dar grunted from behind me, “we’ll take them to Sully.”
“Good,” I muttered as I continued to glance at the buildings that surrounded the hall.
Most of them were industrial and run down, but my eye landed on the building right beside the hall. There was a large hole carved out of the second story. Through the oval-shaped crack, a stone staircase led to the rooftop. I might have been just as paranoid as Selius, but I could’ve sworn someone was watching me right from that wound in the building's side.
The only question was, who?
And why hadn’t they brought the elves down on my head yet?
Chapter 17
We got out of the Halfling District as quickly as we could, but then we circled around the Entertainment District a few times with the hope that we might be able to catch whoever was following us. I couldn’t see her, though, and I realized she probably knew everything about our operation at this point, so I parked the wagon inside the theatre and led the two halflings into the elephant stables.
“Ya brew the whiskey here?” Selius had his mouth open as he walked around the stables. “Does the theatre guy even know?”
“Distill,” Dar corrected the kid and watched him trot over to the table. “We distill the whiskey.”
“No idea what that means, but that’s why I’m not in charge,” the kid chuckled and stood in front of me like he was a soldier reporting for duty.
“We wouldn’t have gotten that sale with the twins without your help, so thanks,” I told him. “Also, watch out for our pet dragon.”
“Pet drag--” the kid started to say, but then Azure rolled out of the hay pile and lazily snorted a puff of smoke in the halfling’s direction.
“You have a dragon!” Selius screeched as he jumped away, tripped over his own big feet, and then fell on his ass.
“Yep,” I answered simply, and then Dar and I sat down at the table.
“Any idea who it could be?” Dar asked as he watched me stack piles of coins on the table. “It’s gotta be the elves since the commander told you he’d be watching, right?”
“I don’t think it would be elves since they wouldn’t want anything to do with a halfie,” I said as I slid several coins across the table to Dar. “Here’s your cut.”
“What’s the next step, then?” Dar took the coins and put them in his cloak pocket.
“We need to figure that out, don’t we?” I said as I waved the distracted kid over from the whiskey barrels. “Selius?” I slid a couple coins across the table. “Here’s your cut, too,”
“Shit, this is a fuck-ton more than I ever made at the guild.” His mouth opened in shock as he took the coins and held them in his palm, but then he glanced fearfully at Azure before his eyes returned to me. “Thank you, it was my honor to help. I hope to help ya both more.”
“You earned it,” Dar tussled the kid’s hair, “but don’t spend it all on shit you don’t need.”
“I won’t.” Selius unleashed a big grin just as Penny and Cimarra walked in.
They seemed to spend a lot of time together lately. I was happy but still slightly confused about how to feel.
“Looks like the deal went well?” Penny asked as she closed the stable door behind her.
“Penny!” Selius waved a little too frantically at the pixie. “You remember me, right?”
“I do, Selius.” Penny patted him on the head and leaned back a bit.
“I’m Cimarra,” the dancer introduced herself as she extended her hand to Selius.
“U-um, I’m Dar and, and Wade’s p-partner … ” The kid’s tongue hung from his mouth as he looked at the beautiful dancer.
“You’re Selius, I know, they’ve told me a lot about you,” Cimarra giggled as she glanced at me.
“How about we count some grain?” Dar ordered as he shoved the wide-eyed halfling over to the corner where the grain was.
“Cute kid,” Cimarra said as she walked over to the table.
“Your payment.” I slid another stack of gold across to her.
“The theatre’s relaunch could use this, couldn’t it?” She clicked the coins together between her fingers. “What do you think?”
“That’s for you to decide now,” I said with a smile as she debated with herself.
“Save some for me, too?” Penny asked as she joined us.
“Last but not least, here is your share,” I announced with a flourish as I slid the last coins across the table.
“Where’s yours?” Cimarra asked.
“In with the rest of the coin we’ve earned so far.” I grabbed the heavy pouch full of our profits. “I haven’t counted it all yet, but can you keep this with you in the theatre’s safe?”
“Absolutely,” Cimarra said with a smirk. Then she slid all five of her own coins in the pouch and tied the drawstring tight.
“We need more chairs in here,” Penny grumbled as she struggled to drag a small hay bale over to the table.
“Why are you dragging that over?” Cimarra asked as she helped the pixie.
“The look on Wade’s face,” Penny panted as she took a break and nodded toward me. “He has something to say.”
Cimarra furrowed her brow and turned to me.
“She’s right.” I shrugged. “There’s some news I need to share, and we need to discuss our next steps.”
“Told ya.” Penny smirked and pointed to her temple. “Dar, Selius!”
Penny motioned for the two halflings to join us around the table.
“Dar and Selius are both a little more aware of the developing situation but … ” I began, and then I shared with Cimarra and Penny what we discovered from the twins. How there was a good chance either the elves, Hebal, or the guild leader who hired Hagan to steal the keys followed us.
I also shared how the halfling twins backed out of any long-term commitment until the elven presence in the Halfling District had shrunk. So, we were no longer distributing in that district.
“We’ve got to deal with the elves somehow,” I said and shook my head at the absurdity of the statement. How were three humans and two halflings going to “deal” with the elves?
“As Sully told us, that’s much easier said than done,” Dar echoed my own thoughts.
“Yeah, Wade, I mean maybe it’s just not the right time to distribute in the district.” Penny arched her eyebrows. “We have to let it cool down.”
“What are you thinking?” Cimarra asked as she eyed me carefully.
“I heard from the keys last night.” I scratched at my neck and noticed the confused look on Selius’ face.
“Keys?” the young halfling asked with wide eyes.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dar said as he put his hand on the kid’s shoulder.
“What did they say?” Penny asked and leaned forward.
“It was more of what they allowed me to hear.” I cleared my throat. “I somehow became the chest the keys want us to find.”
“
Wait, what?” Dar’s eyes narrowed. “You became a wooden box?”
Penny snorted and covered her mouth.
“I became whatever they made the chest from,” I corrected as I eyed the pixie. “With that, I overheard a conversation between a few elves. One of which we know well.”
My eyes fell from the group and landed on the rolled-up painting in front of us.
“The noble?” Dar asked and scratched at his arm. “This is weird as shit.”
“Isn’t all magic?” Cimarra retorted as she reached for the scroll as if it held the answers to all her questions. “What did he say?”
“He talked about the investigation that’s taking place for the stolen painting,” I said.
“That was you guys?” Selius shouted, but then he clapped his hand over his mouth. “They’re searching hard for the suspects, well, for you, and they think the elven murders could be linked with the same person.”
No one responded, but my look to Selius told him everything he needed to know.
“You killed the … ” The halfling gripped onto his head and walked back over toward the grains. “Oh, the Ancients better be on our side.”
“Will he be okay?” Cimarra asked as she turned toward the halfling.
“He’s gotta walk off the fact that he’s now sworn a blood oath to a bunch of elf killers,” Dar snorted but stopped at Penny’s glare.
“Anyway, the noble mentioned the commander’s top suspect is the assistant we met during the catering event,” I sighed and gestured toward the kid in the corner. “But Selius’ new information about them thinking the heist and the Elven Guard murders are linked is news to me.”
“Fuck,” Penny breathed.
“There’s also one more detail that could blow up at any moment right now,” I sighed.
“And what’s that?” Penny asked as she pursed her lips.
“In the vision, one elf said Eleran’s assistant claimed to have seen a small human woman running away from the house,” I huffed. “If the commander follows that lead, then he’ll investigate any humans Eleran came in contact with recently.”
“And that’s us and only us,” Cimarra added.
“How the fuck did he see me?” Penny sneered. “What are we doing, then?”
“The inconceivable idea that a human could rob an elven noble under his nose is working to our advantage.” I smirked. “If the Commander believed him, we’d already be in custody. Elven pride is keeping us alive.”
“But it can change any second,” Dar said, and his voice was quiet.
“Exactly, a sword over our heads ready to drop.” I nodded. “That’s why we have to deal with the elves somehow.”
“And they could already be following us?” Cimarra asked as she rolled the painting back up into a scroll.
“They could be, but if that were the case, I think they’d just arrest us.” I stood from my seat and cracked my neck to the side. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think it’s the elves following us.”
“Then who is?” Dar threw his hands up.
“I don’t know,” I murmured. “But the stalker is stealthy, and that isn’t something elves are usually known for … ”
“Hebal?” Dar suggested.
“I doubt he wo--” I began.
“Shit,” Penny’s groan cut me off. “That fucking elf saw me.”
“He didn’t see shit, that’s why we’re still here,” Dar pointed out.
“That’s right,” I said with a reassuring nod. “Let’s switch to some good news for a second before we solve the elf issue.”
“Please,” Penny muttered as everyone else but Selius nodded.
“We’ve finished another batch for Hebal.” I meandered over toward the barrels and slapped one with my hand, and Selius, who sat on one of the wooden cylinders, jumped at the sound. “Do we know where the miners are meeting, yet?”
“I’m seeing the dwarf before the show tonight,” Cimarra replied. “I’ll let you know before you have to inform Hebal of the location tomorrow.”
“Perfect.” I clapped my hands and looked throughout the room. “Let’s think as we work. Dar, did we clean the germination tank already?”
“We did, squeaky clean,” the halfling said. “Are we starting the next batch?”
“Might as well, the grain needs to germinate,” I replied as I grabbed the last few bags of our grain and laid it near the vat we used for germination and fermentation. “We’ll need more grain and--”
“Yeast, I have it on order,” Cimarra chimed in and stood from the hay bale.
“So, the elves?” Penny reminded us of our issue.
“Not the elves,” I said as I lifted a bag of grains on my shoulder and stepped up the ladder. Then I rested the bag on the rim of the metallic vat. “We have to think smaller. We don’t have to deal with all the elves, we just need the commander off our asses.”
“Okay, so how?” Selius finally cleared his head and hopped down from the whiskey barrel.
“That’s the golden question, ain’t it?” Dar said as he stepped over and helped ready the next bag of grain for me.
“We kill him, too?” Selius shrugged and stared at all of us.
“No need, not yet,” I chuckled and nodded at the young halfling.
“Do you think the assistant to Eleran would help in any way?” Cimarra wondered. “He’s falsely accused.”
“I doubt it.” I cut open the bag of grain and tilted it forward, and a waterfall of tiny yellow seeds cascaded down the side of the vat. “He’d probably just blame us to prove he was right. Plus, he’s too loyal to the noble. All the assistants are.”
“What if we set him up?” Penny suggested and stood to her feet.
“Who, the assistant?” I tilted the bag all the way down until it was empty. Then I crumpled the paper sack into a ball and tossed it aside. “We could provide some proof for the commander that it really was the assistant.”
“Exactly, we could even try to pin the elven killings on him, too. Maybe Mr. Assistant wanted to cause a distraction from the heist investigation.” Penny grinned as she moved over to stand beside Dar and me.
“We can make it seem like he’s trying to cover his bony ass,” I added as my mind churned over the idea. “The commander would be interested in any information.”
“But we need to prove the assistant is guilty, they will always side with their own kind if it comes down to a human’s word and an elf’s,” Cimarra said as she grabbed the painting and held it up toward us. “What if we planted this on him somehow and led the commander to discover it?”
“Don’t we need the painting?” Dar asked as he lifted another bag of grain to me.
“We could make a copy,” I mused as I sliced open the next bag of grain. “Don’t the counterfeiters have a way to trace over an image?”
“They do,” Penny replied, “they make a killing in small time art sales. I’m not sure how well they’d do with a painting like this, though, since it’s elven.”
“Would it be worth trying?” Cimarra asked and tilted the scroll toward Penny.
“I think it might be our only option as of right now.” Penny turned to me. “It’ll cost some coin to ask the counterfeiters to do this well. They might need some magic.”
“We have the coin,” I said.
“Can we even trust the counterfeiters?” Dar asked as he crossed his arms. “Everyone knows about the missing painting now. What if they turn us in?”
“They won’t,” Penny argued, “discretion is the foundation of their entire operation.”
“Alright,” Dar nodded. “You know them better than I do.”
“Counterfeiters aside,” I said as I tapped my chin, “how do we even plant the scroll on the elven prick?
“He saw a small human woman, right?” Penny showcased herself with her hand. “We give the commander a lead through an anonymous note or something, and we get the assistant in the same area.”
“And you plant the scroll on the elf?” Dar asked a
nd motioned toward Penny.
“What if we had a whore do that instead?” I began. “We lead them both outside of Madame Rindell’s, it’s a secret elf haven as it is, and we have one girl get touchy-feely with him.”
“How soon can this happen?” Cimarra wondered.
“That depends on the counterfeiters,” I said as I looked to Penny, who nodded in agreement. Then I tipped over the last bag of grain into the tub, and it formed a yellow hill at the bottom.
“With magic, they can have it done by tonight,” the pixie said with glowing eyes. “We can confirm with them, but they should be able to do it.”
“We just need to write the notes and get them to the commander and Eleran’s assistant,” Dar added as he picked up the paper grain sacks I had tossed throughout the stables.
“I’ll handle the notes,” Cimarra chimed in as she moved toward the stable door. “I’ll give them to you before I talk with the miners.”
“Make the meeting with the assistant and the commander at sunrise tomorrow,” I suggested. “Rindell’s women will be desperate for any kind of coin since they’ve had to close early because of the curfew.”
“I’m on it,” Cimarra said as she reached for the door to open it.
“How do we deliver the notes in time for tomorrow morning?” Dar asked, and his question stopped Cimarra from leaving. “That means the notes would need to be in both the elves’ hands by tonight.”
I frowned as I considered the problem, and then an idea struck me.
“Centaur Express,” I announced as I stepped down the ladder and wiped my hands on my trousers. “I’ll handle it.”
“The orc’s own them, don’t they?” Dar’s voice trembled. “Wade, orcs are unpredictable.”
“But their service is fast, and coin can make an orc do anything.” I looked to Cimarra. “Write the letters.”
“I will.” Cimarra nodded and gave Penny the scroll. “The commander is under pressure, with three elven murders and a robbery under his leadership, so he’ll show up for sure. And the assistant has to be desperate to prove his loyalty. This will work.”
“Bring me the letters once you’re done,” I said, and Cimarra waved as she left the stables. Then I turned to the pixie beside me. “Penny, can you run the scroll to the Counterfeiter’s Guild? Either the Dwarven or Halfling branch, whatever one you’ve dealt with and trust the most.”