by Jaxon Reed
Soon the party headed down a switchbacking path, quickly reaching the floor of the giant pit. Dudge headed straight for the appropriate drainage tunnel.
He stopped at the entrance, and turned to the wizard. The guards looked up at the human, too. The hole stood three paces high. Greystone stood six paces, and a few fingers to boot.
He said, “Yes, I see the difficulty you mentioned, Highness. Hmmmm. Let me think.”
He crossed his arms and absently pulled on his beard for a minute.
Finally he said, “I believe I will ask a friend for help with this dilemma.”
He walked over to a large boulder and pulled out a piece of parchment from a pocket somewhere in his robes, along with a quill and a small bottle of ink. He unfurled the parchment and spread it flat on the boulder, using it as a makeshift table, then dipped the quill in the ink and jotted down a brief message.
When he finished he turned and smiled at Pudge and Dudge and their royal retinue.
He said, “This shouldn’t take very long, I would imagine.”
They stared back with curious expressions, but it seemed impolite to inquire further so they said nothing.
A moment later Greystone glanced back down at the parchment.
He said, “Ah! Good.”
He turned away from the dwarves and cast a spell out in the open quarry. A hazy yellow globe appeared, spinning slowly. A moment later, another wizard stepped out from the globe. This one had dark orange hair and a thick beard of the same color. He stood shorter than Greystone by at least a pace. He smiled and turned to look back at the globe. Yet another wizard apparated from it, this one taller than Greystone. Unlike the other two, he had much darker skin.
Greystone said, “Crown Prince Pudge, and Prince Dudge, may I present to you Wizard Redstone and Wizard Loadstone.”
The newcomers gave polite half-bows to the dwarves. The guards looked stunned, first at the magical entrance both had made and second to see not one but three human wizards all together. The whole thing felt somewhat unprecedented, judging by everyone’s faces. Those from Ore Stad had heard about Dudge’s battle, and knew that most of the wizards had been present in that conflagration. A couple of them had even participated in it. But seeing three wizards together at once was a first for most present.
Greystone made a following motion to the other two men and walked over to the drainage tunnel.
He said, “As you can see, the way is difficult for people our size. I understand there is a crevasse deeper in the tunnel that leads to a cavern in which the tomb resides, and things open up from there. But at the moment it’s rather difficult to get to that spot. I was hoping your specialties might be put to good use, Redstone.”
Redstone nodded, eyeing the entrance. He said, “Aye, shouldn’t be too difficult. Just have to take care to not let the mountain drop down on us while I’m expanding and widening things.”
He walked over and rested his hand for a moment along the wall of the giant pit. His eyes glazed over as he concentrated, his mental power extending out and down into the ground below, following the little tunnel.
He looked up and locked eyes with Greystone again.
He said, “Right. This will take a while. Iffen the wee folk don’t mind, mayhap they could spare us a meal or two. I reckon the sun will be down afore I’m finished.”
Dudge’s face dropped. He sighed and said, “I’ll sen’ a message t’ Pywot. I swear tha’ innkeeper wi’ be th’ riches’ dwarf fer a hunner’ miles . . .”
-+-
Bellasondra woke up and crossed the hall to knock on the door of Kirt’s room.
A sleepy Kirt opened it for her and said, “He’s not here. He didn’t come in last night.”
She nodded grimly, and walked down to the pirates’ room. They did not answer her knock right away, but eventually a red-eyed Veeroy opened the door.
He said, “Nay, ha’n’t seen Lord Fortune.”
By the time she made her way to the inn’s common room, Kirt had thrown on some clothes. He went down and joined her. She asked the innkeeper if he had seen Stin, or heard any word. The innkeeper assured her he had not.
Dejected, she slumped in a chair while the innkeeper brought her and Kirt bowls of porridge for breakfast.
“I never should have let him go alone,” she said while Kirt slurped his food with a wooden spoon.
When he finished, Kirt slid the bowl away and caught her eye.
He said, “Let’s go find him.”
She stood up enthusiastically.
She said, “Right! We’ll get Horse and go ask for him at the palace.”
An hour later, Kirt set the cart’s brake near the side gate to the palace and Bellasondra jumped down. The guards eyed her approaching with undisguised lust in their eyes.
Kirt watched from the street as she engaged them in conversation. Besides looking her up and down with appreciative glances, along with several comments about her good looks, they seemed little willing to offer her much. After several minutes she threw up her arms in disgust and returned to the cart.
She sat with her arms crossed in the driver’s seat, stewing in silence. Kirt thought she looked like an invisible cloud of gloom hung over her. He tried to think of something to say that would snap her out of it. Finally, inspiration struck.
He said, “Why don’t we go see that agent who helped us last time?”
Bellasondra’s mood brightened instantly.
“Tempolius! Why didn’t I think of that? You’re brilliant, Kirt! Do you remember where his office is?”
Kirt nodded, released the brake and pulled the reins to lead Horse back out into traffic.
They had given Tempolius far too much gold last time, he thought. But, the man did seem to have resources, and he had done as much as could be asked for when trying to find Stin.
In less than an hour, Kirt parked the cart in front of Tempolius’s storefront in the upscale section of the merchant quarter. Kirt accompanied Bellasondra this time, figuring Horse would be safe from theft here.
Tempolius recognized them. He stood and came around a table to grasp Bellasondra’s hand warmly. He tousled Kirt’s hair, much to the boy’s chagrin. Kirt bit his tongue, though, deeming diplomacy more important at the moment.
Bellasondra said, “We did eventually find my beloved, Tempolius, and we thank you so much for all your help.”
Tempolius’s looked surprised. He said, “I never heard back from you and assumed the worse. I’m so glad you found him.”
Not that glad, Kirt decided. He sensed an undercurrent of strong attraction for Bellasondra. If she had never found Stin and returned to Tempolius, the boy decided he would eventually have tried to replace Stin in her heart.
Nonetheless, money talked and the agent’s attention shifted to the purse full of coins she pulled out and placed on his table.
“We came into some winnings during Fight Night at the Turtle,” Bellasondra said.
Again, Kirt kept his mouth shut, not bothering to correct her on the name of Tonggus’s pub. Indeed, with the unexpected windfall of the drunk young noble’s purse that night, they had placed it all on Ribber, who won the fight and left them with even more gold.
Stin was not happy they had gambled with the money, telling Kirt gamblers always lose more than they win. The fact Stin’s fortune came mainly from playing Primero was not lost on Kirt, who mentioned it in reply. Stin said Primero involved more skill than luck and could not be held in the same category as betting on a bare knuckles fight in a pub. Nonetheless, Bellasondra split the winnings with Kirt, and they both carried a fair sum of gold.
Bellasondra motioned toward the purse and said, “I need you to find him again.”
“Right. So, tell me what you can about where he was off to, last time you saw him.”
By noon, they found themselves parked in the street once more at the palace side gate. This time, Tempolius climbed down and spent several long minutes in conversation with the guards. They became furtive,
casting nervous glances up and down the street. Kirt watched as gold surreptitiously changed hands. Then they opened the gate and Tempolius was allowed to enter. One of them went in with him, presumably as an escort.
An hour passed. Just as the grumbling in Kirt’s stomach began demanding serious attention, the gate opened again and Tempolius stepped out. He headed straight for the cart.
Climbing in he said, “Well, your man was here after all. The guards were under orders from somebody not to discuss his arrival, but eventually I supplied them with enough gold to pry away the information we needed.
“He met with a famous prisoner here, a man by the name of Syphon. Apparently, Syphon sent Stin on some errand or other and Stin returned to complete the contract.”
Bellasondra and Kirt nodded. This much they knew already.
Tempolius said, “Following that, it appears the guards clonked Stin on the head and loaded him into a travel crate normally reserved for wild animals.”
Bellasondra gasped. She said, “But why? Why would they do such a horrible thing?”
“I’m a little uncertain as to the why of it. I think it had something to do with neutralizing his magic. Anyway, his crate was transported down to the docks and placed in the hold of Foambreaker, an express boat. Your man is headed for Port Osmo even as we speak.”
Kirt felt a sinking feeling in his heart. Port Osmo on an express boat? Locked up in a cage of some sort? He felt like the situation was hopeless.
Tempolius said, “I also picked up another bit of information. You know how guards will talk once their tongues loosen. It seems a Globe of Transport appeared on the docks yesterday and at least three people came out, including a woman dressed all in black like a battlemaiden. Then, there was a scuffle when Foambreaker docked. Someone onboard tried to run away, and got knocked down by a spell. She was last seen being carried off, by three people again. Possibly the same ones who stepped through the globe, since spells were involved both times.
“I know it probably doesn’t help you find your man, but these events seem related somehow. We’re talking about the same ship, after all. If I were a betting man, I’d go down to the Dolphin’s Fin. It’s the closest reputable inn to the docks. I would check and see if a battlemaiden and her friends are there, and have a word with them. Then I’d book the fastest passage to Port Osmo as I could.”
Bellasondra thanked Tempolius profusely for his efforts. Kirt turned the cart around in the street and drove Tempolius back to his office.
Tempolius climbed down, turned and bowed toward Bellasondra.
He said, “If you ever need anything, milady, anything at all, please do not hesitate to look me up. Agent Tempolius is at your service, always!”
Bellasondra thanked him with a sad smile. Kirt clicked his tongue and shook the reins on Horse’s back, giving the man no further time to ingratiate himself.
Bellasondra said, “Let’s run by our inn, first. I’m starving.”
When they walked into the common room, they found Veeroy and Plinny nursing their third rounds of ale. They were greeted loudly by the pair, and found themselves sharing the news about Stin while the innkeeper hurried out with plates of food.
By the time they finished catching the pirates up on what they knew, Veeroy and Plinny were ready to sail for Port Osmo on the spot.
“Whoever put Lord Fortune in a cage will answer to me!” Plinny growled, slamming an empty mug down on the table.
“First,” Bellasondra said, “We’re going to try and find these people who captured someone off the same boat Stin is on. The agent found it a curious coincidence, and I do too. There won’t be any ships leaving before the evening tide anyway.”
“Probably a good idea to gather our things and pay our bill, though,” Veeroy said. He scooted back his chair and headed up to his room.
“Aye,” Plinny rumbled. He waved at the innkeeper and said, “One more mug of ale, and I’ll pay me bill.”
Soon, the four of them climbed back into the cart. Kirt took the reins next to Bellasondra while the pirates scrambled into the back with their bags.
Following directions from the innkeeper, they made their way to the Dolphin’s Fin near the docks. They found a sign in the shape of a fin hanging above a door in an area where the neighborhood around the docks became more respectable. Kirt decided the fin could either be a dolphin’s or a shark’s. The ambiguity was fitting, he thought, given the dual nature of the neighborhood.
Inside, the four approached the innkeeper who at first took for them new customers. When he discovered Bellasondra only wanted to ask about other customers who may or may not be present, he lost interest in the conversation.
She sighed dramatically, and motioned for Kirt to hand over his purse. Kirt did, reluctantly, and she retrieved three gold coins and plonked them down the counter.
“You don’t even have to put us up for the night. Just tell us what room they’re in.”
His interest restored, the innkeeper slid the coins off the counter and made them disappear.
He said, “Follow me,” and headed upstairs.
At the end of a hall he pointed to the last door on the right and gave Bellasondra a significant look. Then, without a word, he retreated down the stairs, apparently unwilling to be seen by his current guests and face their wrath in case they wished to retain their privacy.
Bellasondra watched him go and took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. She felt better having Veeroy and Plinney in the hallway with her and Kirt. They would be useful in a fight, if it came to that.
They walked down the hall and she knocked on the door.
After a long moment it opened a crack and an eye peeked out at her. It grew wider in surprise. The door opened all the way and her brother Bartimo looked at her in open astonishment.
He said, “Bellasondra? What are you doing here?”
17
Inside the inn’s room, Bellasondra spied Lady Leddia sitting in a chair near the back wall, arms bound behind her. She looked barely conscious.
Standing over Leddia, the battlemaiden from Greystone’s Village seemed to be holding an invisible globe around the woman’s head. Her hands were stretched out on either side of Leddia’s ears. The battlemaiden concentrated hard on something only she could see.
Bellasondra quickly recovered from the surprise of seeing her brother. She looked at him and said, “What’s going on?”
Phanissa answered for him and said, “That bitch over there killed my parents at our wedding reception.”
“Oh, my. Oh! You two got married?”
“Yes,” Bartimo said, “But as you can imagine the day was ruined with the death of my in-laws.”
“Oh.”
Bellasondra covered her mouth as the full impact of what her brother was saying hit home.
She said, “And you know for certain it was Lady Leddia? What happened?”
Phanissa nodded vigorously. Bartimo said, “We’re fairly certain, based on everything we know. There was a timed spell of some sort. It was set to kill whoever stood under the crystal of Highpoint Chapel’s domed pavilion at noon. We were supposed to be there, for the traditional light show for newly weds, but Finero and Ermina were standing there waiting on us because we were late. They died in our stead.”
Bellasondra’s mouth dropped open in a mix of horror and astonishment.
Bartimo continued. “Leddia left town before the wedding. She had threatened me previously because I turned down her family for marriage. Her anger was completely out of proportion than what was warranted, I thought. But, it made her the constables’ prime suspect.
“Wizard Darkstone heard about their magical deaths. She visited us and came to the same conclusion. Darkstone allowed us to accompany her when apprehending Leddia as she debarked from her ship upon arriving in Coral City. We traveled by magic and beat Leddia here. Based on her reactions when she saw us, it became obvious she was at fault for the tragedy at our wedding. That about sums everything up.”
&nbs
p; “I see,” Bellasondra said. “Well then, our agent was right. He figured that events were somehow related. Stin brought the dagger to Coral City that he had stolen earlier. It was the one used in the Battle of Greystone Village. But when he went to return it at the palace the guards jumped him and threw him in a cage. Now he’s on the same boat that arrived from Refugio with Leddia, only it’s headed to Port Osmo.”
Darkstone glanced up, her concentration on Leddia temporarily broken.
She said, “The thief and the dagger are headed to Port Osmo?”
Bellasondra said, “That’s what we heard. Or rather, what our agent heard.”
Darkstone pulled out a piece of parchment from a pocket on her armor, and grabbed a quill from a nearby table. She scribbled a note on it.
She looked up at the inquisitive glances directed toward her from the newlyweds and the visitors.
“It’s magic parchment,” she said. “Wizards use it to communicate at a distance.”
She glanced back down at it and read new words, appearing under hers.
She said, “Yes, the wizards watching the dagger’s progress have noticed it is on a ship. Normally they track people and things with magic, but the Forlorn Dagger saps magic. I think they’re following the area around the dagger with no magic, so it’s a roundabout way of tracking it. But rest assured we know where your man is, Bellasondra. If he is with the dagger, we haven’t lost him yet.”
“Well, that’s a relief, I suppose,” Bellasondra said. “What are we going to do about it?”
“We’ll jump over to Port Osmo ahead of the ship. In the meantime, I’m going to try and pry some information from this one. She is under a spell the likes of which I’ve never seen. It’s clouding her mind right now, and she’s quite useless.”
Darkstone furrowed her brows and bent down to scribble another message. A moment later new words appeared again.
She looked up and smiled.
“I’ve had to ask for help. I’m more used to fighting armies than dealing with mind spells.”
A Globe of Transport appeared in the room suddenly, making everyone but Darkstone jump back in surprise. A wizard apparated, stepping through the hazy yellow globe. His hair and beard were entirely gray, almost snow white. His face, what little was visible under his beard, looked very wrinkled.
