The negotiation did not take long. Thomson had not been flattering me when he said they were expecting me. A full list of items to buy and sell was provided to me, and there was no need to argue prices. It all worked out in my favor. The excess iron that Authos had access to would be sold for 50 gold per unit, and the beer that I was producing would bring me 15 per unit. They could fulfill several of Euthos’ needs, of which I adjusted the purchase price to factor in my own cut for making the deal. In the end, I would be walking out of Ulmack 500 gold richer.
As hands were shook and documents were signed, I began to get the feeling that Thomson wanted me to leave. During the end phase, he had mentioned that my horse had already been fed, groomed and had his shoes refitted. Smiles was right outside, waiting for me. There was no discussion of a tour, nor was there any invitation for any kind of meal. This was not the normal custom of hospitality that I had experienced. Even Yusuf, who could not get his towers to recognize me as a friend, broke bread with me as a sign of hospitality. They wanted me gone as quickly as possible.
For simplicity’s sake, I should have left. I had the documents signed and shipments were being made immediately. The money was in my pocket and I was so damn close to funding the wall. But my instincts told me otherwise. For a champion to not meet one of their own seemed strange. Combined with the complete lackadaisical approach of the peasants and Thomson’s insistence to chase me away, I began to feel that I should take a look around.
As Thomson tried to usher me towards the door of the townhall, a rather spacious and elegant building, I paused to turn back around and face the stairs leading upwards. Six guards had been posted at the base of the stairs, standing in rows of three, facing each other.
“You know, I can appreciate the deal you’ve made with me so far,” I said, “I really can, but I’m wondering if perhaps you wouldn’t mind giving me a tour of this place? It’s getting a little late to take the road deeper south.”
“We have a wonderful inn on the way into town,” Thomson said, his face growing slightly pale at my request. It appeared the economic advisor was certainly no good as a liar. “Anything you want is on the house, of course.”
I whistled, looking around. “What are these floors made of?” I asked, scuffing my foot against the smooth stone ground. “Can’t be marble, is it?”
“It’s Orgrenic Stone, far more cost efficient than marble,” Thomson replied. He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t we head out?”
I said nothing and instead decided to play along. Thomson was too nervous to share the truth with me, that much I knew, so I would have to delay my investigation until later in the evening, well after he had retired. So, I announced that I was thankful for his time, climbed up on Smiles and rode off into the woods, to wait until after nightfall. I had the Great Picture with me, so passing the time would be easy enough.
Chapter 33
I slipped into town during the black of night. Despite the walls being thick and high, there were many places to sneak through, especially when there weren’t many guards around. In fact, I didn’t really know if there were any guards manning the different entry points, as I had not seen a single torch while making my way to Ulmack’s townhall.
This lax security only intensified my curiosity as to what was happening. The first thing that came to mind was a coup. Perhaps the people had grown tired of Elmira’s actions and locked her away in the dungeon, content to keep up appearances of her still being in charge. The neutral policy sounded nice, and if they were eager to give champions who visited what they wanted, no questions would be asked. Such a plan had almost worked on me too.
There were two guards posted in front of the townhall, but they didn’t seem to be terribly engaged with their surroundings. A table had been brought out and they were playing cards. One of them was losing a lot of money and, in the process, made quite a fuss. I took this opportunity to climb through one of the windows on the first floor. They had been left open, to let the breeze through.
I was unsure of what I was looking for inside of the townhall, but figured that I would start with the area that had been most heavily protected: the second floor. There were no guards inside, save for a single man who was sitting by the stairs, dead asleep, a bottle of brandy in his hand. I began to worry that Ulmack’s champion had not been captured in a coup, but rather had been kidnapped due to the lax security around the entire building.
As I crept up the stairs, I could hear the pained hacking and wheezing of a woman, clearly in agony. She was crying out, but her voice was quickly muffled. I followed the source of this sound to a large metal door, with light coming from underneath it. I could hear hushed whispers and another scream, one that was quickly cut short.
I took a deep breath and placed a hand on my dagger. I had sent a message to Finch, instructing him that if I did not talk to him by the morning, he would need to send a crew to come find me. It wasn’t in my nature to play the hero, but the screams of this woman made me realize that, if I didn’t act now, she might be killed during whatever horrendous medieval torture was going on. I gripped the dagger, heart pounding in my chest, and slowly opened the door.
There was a woman tied to a large wooden X. She was upside down, her arms and legs strapped to each beam. Her head was covered in rags and a tall, pale man was standing above her. No one else was in the room. This was most likely Elmira, and I needed to intervene.
The torturer didn’t notice me opening the door. Elmira was thrashing about, eyes shut and groaning from the pain, drowning out the sounds of my footsteps as I walked. Carefully, I placed the blade against his neck.
“If you move,” I hissed, “you’re a dead man.”
The man stiffened immediately. “Good gods, man, I’m just the healer!” he protested.
I took a look at Elmira again. She was unconscious for certain and was sweating profusely. There were no marks on her arms or legs, nor any signs of physical abuse that I could see.
“What’s wrong with her?” I pressed.
“Fluid in the lungs,” he whimpered, shaking nearly as hard as my hands were. This man was as much of a torturer as I was a hardened warrior. “We’re trying to get it out.”
I pulled him away from her and forced him to sit on the bed, then closed the door, making sure to lock it.
“Why are you hiding this?” I demanded, while unbinding her. I didn’t know a lot about medicine, but I was pretty sure you couldn’t cure pneumonia this way.
“Don’t ask me, I’m just the healer,” the man stated again, keeping his hands raised well above his head. He looked as if he were about to burst out into tears.
“Help me get her down,” I said, and he complied. We laid her out on the bed and I turned my attention back to the healer. “Can’t magic fix this?”
“It’s not a terrestrial illness,” the healer replied. “That is, it’s not a disease our people suffer from.”
I squinted at him. “You don’t get pneumonia?”
“Pneumonia?” he repeated. “Never heard of it. I take it you’re the Tine Champion?”
“Charles Morris,” I said, reaching out my hand to shake his. “Sorry for putting a blade to your throat.”
“Normally it’s my patients who attack me,” he replied, shaking my hand. “I’m Arlus Merrigold.”
“Well, Arlus, I’m not well versed in medicine here, but I thought you used magic for healing.”
“Magic can heal our diseases and illnesses, but champions aren’t from this realm. So if you have a champion-ill, as we call them, you’re out of luck,” he replied. “Fluid in the lungs was what our divination spells told us, but we can’t figure out how to remove it.”
“You’ve got to start thinking more about the long term,” Elmira wheezed, opening her eyes and pointing a finger forward. “Maybe a barn?”
“She’s becoming more delirious due to the fever,” Arlus groaned. “I’ve tried everything, but if magic won’t cure it, we�
�re basically useless.”
I rubbed my forehead. I didn’t know anything about medical science, but I was aware that pneumonia could be fixed by antibiotics. How we would get those was beyond me. I frantically racked my brains, trying to figure something out. I wish I had been more of a paranoid, end of the world type of guy back in my own country. Then I’d have stocked up on all this survivalist knowledge.
“Have you looked for help outside?”
“I’m afraid not,” came a voice from behind. I turned to see Thomson standing at the front of the doorway. In his right hand was a large scimitar.
“Damn it,” I growled, placing my hand on my measly dagger. There was no way in hell I’d win this fight and there were no windows for me to dive out of. Maybe I could take the medicine man hostage. But that wouldn’t really be fair to him, especially after I had just scared him to death.
“Listen here,” Thomson said, slowly stepping forward, sword rising higher with each step. “If we called for help from another champion, we’d be announcing our town is defenseless.”
“You can’t muster without her?”
“No, we cannot,” Thomson replied. “She’s the one who has to call the troops to arms, hire mercenaries and give orders. Without her conscious, we’re helpless.”
“So you were hiding her to protect the village?” I asked.
Thomson nodded. “This is the end anyway. When she dies, the village disbands, but the people stay alive. They just have to move somewhere else. Inviting a conquering force to loot us means many of us will perish.”
“I understand,” I replied. “You really think she’s going to die?”
“We can’t cure her, no amount of magic seems to work,” Thomson said. “And it has fallen to me to ensure that this village stays safe.”
“Well, you didn’t do a good job,” I replied. “I basically just walked right in here.”
“We’re all waiting for the walls to fall down,” he said. “You can’t blame the guards for not caring so much.”
“So what are you going to do with that sword?” I asked, eying the weapon nervously. It hadn’t dropped at all during our conversation.
“Just need to ensure you’ll come along quietly,” Thomson said. He took another step forward. “She doesn’t have much longer, so until then, you’ll have to be a guest of ours. And I’ll need your book, too.”
I sighed at that. I understood his concern, but at the same time, he had already given up. He was trying to protect his people, but not his leader. “Are you not a loyal man?” I asked. “Does her life mean nothing to you?”
“She is my liege and her life means all to me!” Thomson replied, pointing the curved sword right at me. “But I know when things are beyond my power. She entrusted me with this power because she knew I was pragmatic.”
“But what if we can still save her?” I said. “Yes, another champion knowing might start a war, but what if it could help her?”
Thomson sighed at that. “I wish that I could believe this. But champions are all the same. They are your friends when they need something from you. But the moment they see opportunity, they will take what they want without a moment’s hesitation.”
“How much do you believe that?” I asked.
“With all my heart,” he replied.
“Then you must know that I already have what I want,” I said. “We signed a very lucrative contract, one that ends with her life.”
Thomson tilted his head at that. “I suppose.”
“And you must also know that I’m a trader, not a warmonger. I spent a fortune building a trade route to the West, and I’d rather not get into wars with my trading partners,” I continued. This elicited another nod from Thomson. “So it goes to show that it is in my best interest that your liege lady survives at all costs.”
“But what can you do?” he asked. There was skepticism on his face, for certain, but he had gotten a feel for me during our initial meeting. He knew very well that I was a man under significant pressure from the Tradesmen. I didn’t have time to make another enemy.
“Nothing, but I know someone who might be able to help,” I replied. “But you need to let me take her to him.”
“Another champion?” Thomson asked.
“Yes, his name is Yusuf, of Sitago,” I replied. “He studies magic extensively, and I got the feeling that he’s scientifically minded. If anyone can help her, it’s him.”
Thomson looked at Arlus, who had been busy tending to the unconscious champion’s fever. “Arlus, do you know of Yusuf?”
“I buy herbs from him sometimes,” Arlus said. “He’s very boastful about his progress.”
“I don’t know if I can trust you…” Thomson trailed off.
“Do you really believe that all champions are ruthless and greedy?” I asked. “Because I’m losing a lot of money if she dies. I don’t need you to believe in the best of me here, I need you to believe in the worst.”
Thomson let out a snicker. “You make a compelling point. Arlus, how long does she have left?”
Arlus shrugged. “Her breathing is getting worse. It would be a miracle if she made it to the end of the week.”
“Very well,” Thomson said. “You will take a caravan, with an armed guard, to see Yusuf. You leave within the hour.”
“Understood,” I said. “But these men will need to listen to my instructions.”
“Oh, for certain,” Thomson said. “And just so we’re clear, if she dies because of your treachery, they will ignore your pleas for mercy, understood?”
Chapter 34
The horses ran as if the wind were beneath their feet. Enchanted horseshoes helped them navigate in the moonless night, through the woods to Sitago. In the back of the caravan was poor Elmira. I didn’t know a damn thing about the woman, but still, if it was in my power to try and help her, I would. I had stated many a selfish reason for why I needed her alive, to make Thomson understand that I was a friend, but the truth of the matter was I didn’t care about any of those things. All I saw was an opportunity for me to aid one of my own. We were all strangers in Liora, with so many different stories, but we all came from the same place. We owed it to each other to watch out for one another. Voluntary, involuntary, something special had happened to each of us. And until proven otherwise, I would give other champions the benefit of the doubt.
We arrived within a mere hour to Yusuf’s estate. The horses were exhausted from such a ride, nearly incapable of standing from the sheer amount of energy expended due to the magical horseshoes. I instructed the men to stay within a safe distance of the towers, and I approached to call upon Yusuf. One of the guards recognized me and called for his master to arrive, as he had before.
Yusuf came out, dressed in his nightclothes, staggering as a man who had been in the middle of a dead sleep. He did not seem terribly thrilled about my arrival, but decorum was most important and he bowed to me.
“My friend,” he said in between yawns, “what brings you to my doorstep at such a late hour?”
“Yusuf, I apologize for this intrusion in your evening, but it’s an emergency,” I replied. I was taking a real leap here, in asking Yusuf for help, but we had just signed a very important trade deal not a week ago. Perhaps that would give him reason to aid me.
“Most unfortunate. How can I be of assistance to you?” Yusuf asked, yawning once again.
I was quick to explain the problem. I would have preferred to hide that Elmira was a champion, but the nature of the sickness would betray that fact. Instead, I told him all that he needed to know.
“I see,” Yusuf said, glancing past me at the caravan. “I have not ventured so far South in a long time. Elmira is no friend of mine, or enemy. I fear I cannot be of help.”
“What do you mean?”
Yusuf shrugged. “My greatest apologies, friend, but you are a healthy and strong village who brings great value to me. I do not know this woman, I do not know her reputation or her d
eeds. Until you brought her to my door, I did not know of her existence. To aid a champion without understanding of who they are is…foolish to say the least.”
“But she’ll die without your help,” I said.
“And that is most unfortunate,” he replied. I quickly took note that he did not mention that he was incapable of helping her. Rather, he was simply telling me he would not provide assistance. He knew how to fix this illness, I knew it. “But kindness is never repaid by champions. You have been blessed to possess only a desire for business and trade,” he continued. “We all smile at the merchant, for he brings us what we need. And no champion is foolish enough to cut off the hand that feeds. But I have been here for so long. Long enough to know that you cannot trust another champion that you do not know.”
“So you would want for someone to leave you for dead? Even if it was in their power to heal you?” I asked.
“Do not ask me to have such empathy,” Yusuf replied. “For I was bright-eyed and stupid once.”
“Is it too much to ask you to be bright-eyed and stupid twice?” I asked. “She is one of us.”
“Doubtful,” Yusuf said with a sigh. “My people are living right behind me. You? You are a means to an end, just as I am to you. If push were to come to shove, you would not stick your neck out for me, nor would I expect it of you.”
“You’re really just going to let someone die on your doorstep? When you have the power to help?”
Yusuf shrugged but said nothing. “I am sorry, Charles.”
“What can I offer you then?” I asked.
This caused the magician king to groan loudly. He shook his head and placed a hand on my shoulder. “My friend, do not make this worse. My mind is set in my ways. I do not help her out of fear of what will come when our borders meet. Not because I am a miser.”
“So her life doesn’t matter, simply because she could be a problem for you in the future? Then why bother having any allies at all?” I asked.
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