by Logan Jacobs
“I’ll go to the Halfling Guild,” Penny said as she put the scroll in her satchel. “With the elves locking the district down, they’re probably desperate for work just like Rindell’s women.”
“Cimarra took our coin to the safe, so grab whatever you think you’ll need from her,” I said and motioned toward the theatre.
“I have more than enough on me.” Penny nodded and smirked at the same time. “I’ll hopefully be back here tonight with another painting.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” I began, “after you have the fake image, go to Rindell’s.”
“I hate her, Wade,” Penny scoffed.
“I know, but this will ensure we get the image to the dancer who will place it on the elf, or … ” I trailed off as another idea came to mind. I knew it would work, but Penny would hate it.
“What?” Penny’s eyes widened.
“You will make the Madame’s year,” I snorted. “Why trust a dancer who doesn’t have quick hands when we use your original idea and have you plant the image on the elf?”
“Ugh, I have to be dressed up in one of those ridiculous outfits?” Penny dropped her head in her hands. “I’m not bedding any creep no matter how much--”
“Whoa, whoa, I’m suggesting no such thing,” I began. “You will simply blend in, and the easiest way to do that is to … umm … look the part.”
“She’s always wanted to see you in one of them,” Dar chuckled. “Embrace your destiny.”
“Fuck you,” Penny grumbled before she looked up at me. “Are ya serious?”
“I am,” I smirked, “if you can’t get out of the district in time before the curfew bullshit just--”
“She can sleep in the guild!” Selius shouted next to Dar. “The back door is open.”
“That’ll work.” I smiled. “I would say stay at Rindell’s since she loves you so much, but I think you’ll appreciate the guild more.”
“Let’s hope the damn day elves are on my side today,” Penny muttered as she trotted out the stable door. “See you assholes in a few.”
“What about us?” Dar gestured to Selius.
“We get to pour the water into the tank and wait for Cimarra to drop off the letters.” I pointed to the kid. “See those water kegs over there?”
“Uh, ya,” he said as he bounced on his feet.
“We have two wooden pails over there.” I pointed to the other side of the stables. “You’ll fill those up and bring them to Dar, and then he’ll hand them to me on top of the stepladder.”
I took my position on top of the ladder, while Dar stood and waited for the kid to finish filling up the two buckets.
“One at a time,” Dar cautioned Selius as he struggled to lift both of the pails at the same time.
“Ya, ya,” Selius grunted and brought the first bucket over to Dar.
“What about the keys’ chest?” Dar asked as he lifted the bucket to me.
“I feel close to knowing where it’s at,” I said and poured the water into the pile of grain. “Do you think you can carry the water keg over once it’s light enough? Or else we’ll be here all day.”
“Huh?” Dar huffed as he looked over to Selius, who was still struggling with the water pails. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”
Dar strode over to the water keg and eyed Selius as he passed him.
“Here ya are,” Selius groaned as he lifted the sloshing pail up to me.
“Did you see anything that would tip you off to where the chest could be?” Dar asked as he corked the water keg and yanked it toward the step ladder.
“It was definitely in the Elf District,” I said as I stretched my arm over my chest before I helped Dar lift the keg. “It had slanted glass panels for walls and had small glass display rooms inside. That’s all I could see.”
“Well, shit,” Dar panted as he balanced on one foot to help me tilt the water cylinder over the edge of the elephant tub. “I have no clue where that could be.”
“Same, but … ” I tilted the cylinder further down the vat’s wall and coated the grain with water, “I’m close to knowing where it is. I feel it tugging at me, ya know?”
“I wouldn’t have any idea what it feels like to have a magic chest tugging at me,” Dar chuckled. “Better you than me, that’s what I say.”
We continued to fill the vat with the water until it was at the level I needed it to be so the grains could germinate.
“Wade,” Cimarra opened the stable door with two pieces of paper in one hand and two envelopes in the other, “here they are.”
“Let’s look.” I reached for the two letters and moved over to the table to read them.
I read Vardreth’s letter first.
Commander Vardreth,
May the glorious tendrils of our Moon’s holy light hold and watch over you during this trying time as you seek justice for our kind. I am writing this letter to you in the hopes it can assist you. Lord Eleran’s assistant recently hired me to clean the home both he and his master live in.
I hope the Most High Moon can forgive me since I did a little investigation myself, but something seemed off with the gray-haired one as he watched me clean. My troubled instinct proved truthful when I saw two things.
First, in his notebook, left open on his desk, he scheduled a meeting for sunrise tomorrow at the atrocious human wasteland known as Madame Rindell’s. All it said was “meet the buyer.”
My husband, whom I shall not name, had his fingers removed for mixing with a halfie there only a decade ago. So, you can understand why this does not sit well with me.
Second, there was evidence of spilt elf blood in a pile of his robes. It might just be my imagination, but I thought I saw a dagger before he rushed me out of the room.
Weren’t the most loyal of servants to our Moon murdered with a dagger in the Halfling District?
Who else could murder three elves other than one of our kind?
For his soul, I pray to the stars I am wrong, but I could not ignore the possibility.
I hope this letter finds you in time.
Yours,
Under the infinite glory of our Moon …
“So?” Cimarra asked as I handed her back the letter for Vardreth. “Is it believable?”
“It is.” I smiled. “It’s something the commander can’t ignore at least. That’ll appease him for some time, and if he finds the painting on the elf, that will only fuel the commander in thinking the assistant was the murderer, too.”
“Killing two of our problems with one stone.” Cimarra folded the first letter into the envelope and handed me the next one for the assistant.
To whom it may concern,
To honor Lord Eleran, we must prove your innocence. If you wish to free yourself and your master from the false accusations made against you, meet me at Madame Rindell’s at sunrise tomorrow. I know who has the painting.
Please come alone.
I’ll be the one at the back table.
“His was much simpler. I think he’d be desperate for any kind of hope.” Cimarra winced as she awaited my verdict.
“These will work.” I handed the beautiful dancer back the letter to seal in the envelope. “The commander will question, if not search the elf, as soon as he sees him based on the tip you gave. I’ll play the part of the contact for the assistant to make sure he stays put and allow us enough time to plant the fake painting on him.”
“Won’t he recognize you?” Cimarra asked.
“I’ll do my best to keep my face hidden,” I said as I tugged at my hood. “My bigger concern is that we need to make sure we plant the scroll on the assistant before the commander gets to him.”
“I agree.” The dancer nodded as she licked the envelopes and sealed them shut. “What’s your plan for now?”
“I’ll speak with the orcs who run Centaur Express,” I explained and extended my hand out to Cimarra. “I’ll take the letters with me and make it clear these need to be delivered tonight.”
“Then we hope they b
oth show tomorrow morning, where you and Penny will be waiting,” Dar added.
“I thought we were going to use one of Rindell’s dancers instead of Penny,” Cimarra said as she laid the sealed envelopes in my hand.
“I trust Penny over one of Rindell’s girls,” I remarked as I reached for Cimarra’s hand. “It’ll be okay.”
“I know.” The blue-eyed dancer smiled as she squeezed my hand. “I’ve got that meeting with the miner to get to.”
“See you later, then,” I said.
“Sooooo cute!” Dar said behind me, and I turned to see my friend and Selius watching us with goofy grins.
“What?” Cimarra rolled her eyes. “Good luck with the orcs.”
The immature halflings giggled as Cimarra blew me a kiss and waved to them. How they could be immature never made sense to me since they were double my age.
“You’re both coming with me to see the orcs,” I chuckled as Selius’ already big eyes doubled in size.
“Do you know where the Centaur Express even is?” Dar asked while he gathered his satchel.
“Yeah, a smashed up building on the outskirts of the Halfling District near a dead end.” I checked my own satchel and made sure I had the letters secured. “We’ll know it when we smell it.”
“I-I-I-I’ve never seen any near the guild,” Selius stuttered.
“Orcs or centaurs?” Dar asked.
“B-B-Both.” The young halfling shuddered at the thought. “Do orcs even have a district?”
“They have territories within districts, minus the Elf District,” I replied as I motioned for Selius to get his things. “As I said, just look for the smashed-up buildings and use your nose, and you’ll know when you’ve wandered into orc territory.”
Fuck the orcs.
As much as I hated them, they were a necessary evil these days. The elves kept them nice and happy since they knew the orcs had the strength to tear an elf in half if they wanted to.
“Have you met the orc who runs the Centaur Express before?” Selius blinked up at me as he strapped his satchel to his shoulder.
“No, but once you meet one orc, you’ve met them all,” I said as I walked to the stable door and opened it.
Dar and Selius left first, and I locked the door behind me. Then we jumped in the wagon and drove parallel with the Halfling District until I knew we were close.
I glanced over my shoulder almost the entire time.
“Smell that?” I nudged Selius after we’d ridden for a good half an hour.
“It’s like … ” he sniffed the air and grimaced, “Hagan’s armpits if he didn’t shower.”
“Never heard that one before,” Dar chuckled as he plugged his nose.
“Pull over here, Dar, we can walk the rest of the way.” I pointed to the side of the road near an abandoned store with shattered windows. “Listen?”
Distant guttural noises and the crashing of glass echoed down the street. Then a high-pitched squeal like a pig came from an enormous shadow jogging across the road.
“The Centaur Express is here?” Dar wondered as he gripped his blade at his side.
“Should be if I remember right.” I gestured for them to follow. “I’ll do the talking, they aren’t that smart, but they’re fucking angry.”
“Got it,” Dar mumbled as he pushed Selius in between us.
“Alright, here goes nothing.” I shrugged and formed a cone over my mouth with my hands to project my voice. “Centaur Express!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dar groaned.
“C’mon and yell with me.” I took a deep breath and raised my voice again. “We’re looking for the Centaur Express!”
“Centaur Express!” Selius joined in the shouting, and so did Dar.
We shouted and strolled down the street littered with trash and orc shit. Bones were scattered along both ends of the road like a massacre had taken place.
The memory of my village popped in my mind.
The road led to a dead-end where a group of orcs huddled over a massive fire with some burnt winged creature cooking over the flame. On the brick wall that enclosed the street was a sign that read, “Centaur Express.” There were dented packages of all shapes and sizes out in the open like corpses for the centaurs to deliver the next day.
“Centaur Express!” I shouted right at the orcs until one creature stepped out from his group and faced us.
“Human, closed,” the orc grunted and blinked his yellow eyes at us. “Horse man done for day.”
“We pay double.” I raised two gold coins for the ugly beast to see.
“Did you not hear?” The orc slicked back his long oily hair and grunted to the surrounding others.
“Three gold!” I shouted and raised three coins for the beast to see.
Now, his friends were interested.
The yellow-eyed orc unsheathed a hooked blade from his side and walked over to me.
“Horse man gone,” the orc snarled and flashed his rotted teeth.
“Four gold,” I countered and clicked four gold coins between my fingers.
The three other orcs approached from where the fire burned.
“For deliver?” The orc tilted his head at me and then looked to Dar and Selius behind me. “Deliver them?”
“No, no.” I reached into my satchel and caused the orc to take a step back, unsure of what I was about to pull out. “These.”
The orc’s eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air. Then his friend stepped in front of the yellow-eyed orc to get a better look.
“Four gold?” the new orc asked as he raised a brown leathery hand toward me. His red eyes darted to me and to the coins I held. “I send my horse man.”
“No!” the yellow-eyed orc squealed as he reached around his brown friend’s neck and pushed him aside. “Mine!”
“Step back,” I said as I turned to a terrified Selius.
Dar gripped onto the young halfling and pulled the kid behind himself.
“Four gold!” The brown-skinned orc spat on his friend and shook the road beneath our feet as he slammed the other orc’s head into the dirt.
The yellow-eyed orc’s head became part of the road, and his arm twitched like a broken wind-up toy.
“You deliver for four gold by tonight?” I asked as I raised the coins to the victorious orc.
“Yes!” the orc growled and gestured behind him.
Another orc disappeared in the alley between the back wall and the last building to our left. Then he pulled out a metal cage that screeched like a dying bird against the rocks and dirt.
Inside was a half-man-horse creature with a bruised face, long hair, and splotches of dried blood on his shoulders. I felt a bit of pity in my stomach, and I suddenly had the urge to ask the orc how much it would be to buy the poor fellow so I could free him. But I knew the orc would ask for way more than I had, and it wouldn’t matter anyways.
Centaurs were lower on the pecking order than humans. The elves were perfectly fine with them being slaves of any race.
“Goodness,” Dar gasped as he saw the centaur chained inside the metal cage.
“How’d they end up here?” Selius whispered.
“Punishment from the elves,” Dar responded.
“Four gold!” The orc extended his greasy hand toward my chest.
“You deliver these tonight?” I asked as I swatted a few flies that buzzed around us like mini vultures.
“Tonight?” The orc scratched at his dented head.
“Before the moonrise,” I said and gestured toward the sky.
“Yes, before moon.” The orc nodded and extended his hand again.
“Can I speak with horse man?” I asked as I glanced at the caged creature. The other orc had opened the cage door and untied its hoofs.
“After pay,” the orc growled.
“Here.” I dropped the coins into the orc’s greedy hands. “Can I talk to horse man?”
“Quick,” the orc grunted as he grabbed the other orc he killed for my money
by the foot and dragged him aside.
“You speak the language of man?” I asked the hoofed creature as the orc finished untying him.
“Aye,” the centaur murmured as he stretched his arms and neck. “Where are those headed?”
“I wrote the directions on the envelopes.” I handed the letters over to the centaur, who put them in a tattered leather pouch.
“Who’s it from?” he asked as he avoided eye contact with me.
“It’s from an anonymous source,” I instructed.
“Aye.” The tortured deliverer nodded, and then he sighed as the massive orc slipped a golden necklace around his neck. The magic chain must have ensured he wouldn’t run off and escape somehow.
“Before nightfall?” I asked again.
“Aye, human.” The centaur nodded his head and caused the chain to rattle. “For the empire.”
I didn’t know if I should thank him or try to set him free. I had that feeling a lot in this realm.
“For the empire,” I murmured as I stepped over a puddle of orc blood.
Chapter 18
“The sun is coming up,” I muttered, “let’s hope this works.”
“It will,” Cimarra said as she gave me a smile.
“You think Selius can handle his responsibility?” Dar questioned as he sank lower in his seat.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t have to.” I glanced over to the halfling and decided to rephrase. “He won’t have to.”
I told Selius if none of us came back to the stables within a few days, he needed to burn it down. That meant we were caught or killed. If we escaped, we could always start over, but I wanted to protect us at all costs.
“This is going to work,” Cimarra repeated as she tightened her cloak around her shoulders.
If this plan didn’t work, it would only be a matter of time until the Commander sent out a search party for us, if he didn’t capture me today. Either way, that would start the elves down a path I didn’t want them taking.
That couldn’t fucking happen.
“She inside?” Dar asked and bit his lip.
“She should be,” I said as I steered the catering wagon to the side of the road just far enough for us to see Madame Rindell’s.