He took the information from me and looked it over. It took him a while, and at one point he left the room for a few minutes.
“No,” he said, when he returned. “I can most definitely tell you that none of these were deserving of being put on that infernal Board. They were all eliminated simply because it was convenient to have them be. I must say Mr. Grandfather, this is making me doubt the wisdom of helping any so-called Nuisance Man, including you.”
“I can understand that. Let me ask one more thing, and I’ll be out of your hair. These are ones that are currently on the Board. I need to know who’s truly guilty and who isn’t.”
He gave me a baleful glare before looking through the list of names I gave him. As I watched, his face grew more thoughtful.
“Reluctantly,” he said, “I have to say that it seems as if this time your Watch has either done their jobs, or been extremely lucky. Almost all of these deserve to be on your Board. They are the dregs of society and make all of us look bad. Except this one.”
He pointed to an ogre, accused of setting up shop at a crossroads and extorting money from anyone trying to pass through.
“I know him,” Ivar said. “The extortion claim is manufactured. Hoof is not very bright, a trait that I believe you ascribe to all ogres, and has a hard time earning money. He is not extorting people, Mr. Grandfather, he is simply begging. There is no reason to eliminate him as a nuisance.”
I looked at who requested that the ogre be posted on the Board. While I didn’t recognize the name, I knew the neighborhood. Another one of those swanky addresses where people could live without being bothered by the lesser races. What they were doing where Hoof could “bother” them was irrelevant. What was important was that I thought I found my next victim.
I walked to the address of the man who put Hoof on the Board. He lived in Brightwood Gardens, a place where people who had money could gather and compare the royal heads on all their coins, or whatever it was that rich people did in their spare time. The man’s name was Richard Throckmorton, the Third, if you can believe that. He was a merchant who brought in wooden furniture from the elven lands. Of course, the only ones who could afford that furniture were those that lived in places like Brightwood Gardens, but the actual work went on down at the docks. That could explain how he ended up in an area where someone like Hoof could annoy him.
I knocked on the door and waited. There were footsteps, and the door was opened by an actual butler, powdered wig and all. I admit it…I burst out laughing. I heard of this trend among the rich to have their staff wear those ridiculous things, but hadn’t seen it up until now.
For his part, the butler didn’t seem to find my merriment very amusing. He looked down his long nose at me, sniffed, and said, “May I help you?”
He had that tone in his voice that meant he was sure I was some vagrant looking for a handout, and that he had much better things to do than spend his time being forced to wallow in the filth by talking to me. That attitude, coming from a full-grown man with a white wig perched on his dome, struck me as even funnier, and I started to laugh all over again.
“I’m sorry,” I said, when I got myself under control. “I’m here to see Richard. Um, you know, Throckmorton?”
He obviously wasn’t buying my apology, or the fact that I had legitimate business there.
“I’m afraid that Lord Throckmorton is not receiving callers…” he began.
There was the crash of glass breaking from the back of the house, a startled exclamation from someone, and a shriek.
I pushed past Jeeves, as I assumed his name was, and ran toward the sound. Jeeves was on my heels, but then he passed me, arms pumping. I decided to follow him, as the place was huge and I had no idea where we were going. A moment later, we both skidded to a stop outside of a large wooden door. Inside, we could hear voices.
“Why?” the first one pleaded.
There was a muttered response, the voice too low to be heard clearly.
I stepped back and kicked the door as hard as I could, rattling it in its frame. Jeeves helped me on the next one, and we stumbled into the room as it sprang open.
There, I saw the sight that I hoped, desperately, that I was going to be wrong about. The man who I presumed to be the owner of the place, Richard Throckmorton, the Third, was cowering behind a large desk. Across from it, holding a sword that was almost as large as himself, was Adrian. He was obviously stalking Throckmorton when we interrupted him.
Now that others were there, Richard suddenly became much braver.
“Ha!” he said, standing up. “Now you’re in for it! Miguel, summon the Watch!”
The quick flash of disappointment that the butler’s name really wasn’t Jeeves passed quickly, and I snarled at Throckmorton.
“Shut up!”
I turned to my friend.
“Adrian,” I said, trying to remain calm.
“Duke,” he replied, looking at me in surprise, but then breaking into that old familiar smile. “What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask the same thing of you.” Unlike him, I couldn’t find it in me to smile. My worst fears were confirmed, and my best friend was going to be put down like a rabid dog.
Adrian laughed.
“Oh, come on Duke. Smile! We haven’t seen each other in forever! How have you been?”
“I’ve been good, but this isn’t really the time for that, is it? What do you think you’re doing, Adrian?”
He looked at the giant sword in his hands and at Lord Throckmorton.
“This? Well, geesh Duke, I’d thought it’d be obvious. I’m going to eliminate this nuisance.”
“That’s not how it works. You know that. Adrian. You’ve got to stop and get the hell out of the city.”
He smiled that easy, devil-may-care grin at me again.
“Can’t do that,” he said, and pointed the sword at Throckmorton. “He is a swine. He put that ogre on the Board simply for daring to talk to him. The ogre doesn’t deserve to die…but he does.”
He took a step forward and I moved over to stand in front of Throckmorton.
“I can’t let you do that, Adrian.”
He stopped and regarded me. With a flourish, he sheathed his sword, which became normal sized again when it was hung on his hip.
“I don’t want to kill you, Duke.”
He smiled again, turned, ran and jumped back through the shattered window he entered by. Just like that, Adrian was gone.
“What are you doing?” Throckmorton yelled behind me. “Get him! He threatened to kill me!”
I turned and let loose with a right cross, connecting solidly with his chin. He grunted in surprise, and collapsed back against the bookshelves behind the desk.
“You post anyone on the Board again,” I growled, “I’ll be back to finish you myself.”
I saw myself out.
My mind was racing as I walked away from Throckmorton’s house. Now I knew for sure. It was Adrian. Sarge was right, and I supposed I should have been grateful for him telling me, but there was a part of me that really wished I wasn’t involved. Now what was I supposed to do? I could tell Sarge and they’d know who to watch for, but then they’d do everything they could to take him alive, only to kill him in a gruesome fashion later.
I really hoped that if I was the one to find him, I could talk some sense into him, but that hadn’t worked out. There was something off about him. He was surprised to see me, but that was all. Other than telling me he didn’t wish to kill me, there was no real emotion, no remorse or shame in his actions. He exchanged a few words with me, then left, simple as that.
I stopped in my tracks, horrified at myself. Turning, I ran back up the hill to Throckmorton’s house and burst through the door without stopping to knock. I tore down the hall and back to the study where I confronted Adrian.
Inside, I saw what I was afraid I would. How could I have been so stupid? Nuisance Men don’t give up that easily. If they did, they’d never make any mone
y. Adrian simply waited outside until I left, then came right back in and killed Richard Throckmorton, the Third. He was slumped over his desk, his head cut completely off and laying on the floor. Miguel was in the corner, cut almost in two. I was pretty sure Adrian did that in passing, casually eliminating someone who stood between him and his target.
That, more than anything, made me realize that the Adrian I knew was truly gone.
Reluctantly, I returned to the watchhouse and told Sarge what I discovered. He was sympathetic, but let me know that now there was no choice. He had to share what he learned with his superiors and the hunt would be on.
“Find him first, Duke,” he said to me. “Whatever you do will be a mercy compared to what they’ll do to him.”
When I left the watchhouse I went directly to the Swordsman’s Edge. I needed a drink, and to think, and I was hoping that being in the place where Adrian and I spent so much time together would help the process along. I ordered a blood ale, of course, and sat and moped.
I was on my second mug when a chair was pulled out across from me and Adrian sat down, as he had a thousand times before, back in better days.
“Drinking alone?” he said. “Bad sign, Duke!”
“Yeah, well, it’s the thing to do when you find out your best friend is a homicidal maniac.”
He smiled at this, as I knew he would.
“We were always homicidal maniacs. Didn’t you know that?”
I shook my head.
“How can you joke at this, Adrian? Don’t you know what they’re going to do to you?”
“Well, first, I’m not joking. And second, they have to catch me first. You’re the only one who’s come close.”
I couldn’t look at him. He didn’t realize the situation he was putting me in.
“Look,” he said, “you know I’m right. Remember that night we were after the troll? The night I quit? That was only the start of it, Duke! I started listening. The sword tells me what’s right and wrong, and if someone deserves to die. That guy today? Oh boy, did he deserve it!”
“You’re listening to a thing, not a person. I understand if you don’t want to be a Nuisance Man anymore, but now, you’ve turned into a common murderer.”
He laughed at that.
“Me? Common? I don’t think so. I have a moral compass now, and I’m using it to clean up a broken system. Like your friend Ivar, but rather than flapping my gums and talking about it, I’m doing something. After a while, people will get the point, and they’ll stop persecuting those that aren’t like them.”
His eyes got a weird, fanatical glaze to them as he spoke. I could see that Adrian truly believed what he was saying, but it wasn’t going to work out the way he was thinking.
“No,” I said, “what’s going to happen is that you’re going to get caught. They’re going to use you as an example. They’ll hurt you badly before they kill you, and then claim that you were working on the behest of people like Ivar and you’ll set the whole thing back for years. You can’t see that though, can you?”
“Look,” he said, staring me in the eyes. “I don’t expect you to understand. I came to warn you. Don’t get in my way again. I still think of you as a friend, Duke.”
I shook my head, sadly.
“You’ve got to stop.”
He smiled at me one last time.
“I’d say I’ll see you around,” he said, “but I’m hoping you take the hint.”
He left without another word, and I sat there for a while, finishing my blood ale, and brooding.
I knew what would happen now. Sarge would tell his bosses what I discovered and they’d set Adrian up. They’d purposely put someone on the Board that didn’t deserve to be there and lure him in. I could have told Adrian about this, and helped him avoid the trap, but I didn’t. I felt guilty as hell about it, too, but Adrian made his decision.
I went back to the watchhouse and stood in front of the Nuisance Board, pondering. Sarge walked over, and without a word pointed out a goblin. They moved faster than I thought they would have.
The goblin was supposed to be down in the Stews, an area of Capital City that’s mostly inhabited by the other races. It can be rough and a lot of our work as Nuisance Men tended to turn up there. It was completely believable, and the complaint was put in by a human who lived right outside the area, claiming that the goblin had threatened arson. I was sure the human was a plant of the Watch, and they’d be hid all around the place, waiting for Adrian to appear. I sighed, glanced at Sarge, who nodded at me, and went out the door.
Later, I was set up on a roof top overlooking the house where the supposed complainant lived. Adrian and I came by rooftop several times when we were trying to sneak up on someone, so I had an idea that he might still be sticking to that method. Even if not, I had an excellent view of the house itself, and most of the approaches, so I could see who came and went.
A short while later, my suspicions about this being a set up by the Watch were confirmed. Sarge himself came down the street, knocked on the door, and was let in right away. He hadn’t been on the street in years, but the word was, back in his younger days, he was a real go-getter. Apparently, the brass wanted someone with experience there.
I shifted position and continued to watch, trying to keep an eye on out on the approaches to the house, my rooftop, and the neighboring roof tops all at once. It wasn’t easy, and Adrian was more than capable of sneaking up on me, but this was my only chance to intercept him first. I was still feeling horrible about not telling him that the Watch was on to him, so I hoped that maybe I could stop him here, and give him one more chance to leave.
Sure enough, I spotted him coming. He was coming over the roofs, staying out of sight of the house below, headed directly for where I was. He also recognized this spot as a great vantage point, I’m sure. I watched him come, not trying to hide.
He was on the roof across a narrow street from mine when he saw me. He stopped at the edge, not making the jump over.
“Duke,” he said, no smile on his face this time.
“Adrian.”
We both stood there, looking at each other across a narrow gap, neither one of us willing to be the first to jump over.
“Why are you here?” he said. “I warned you.”
“It’s a trap,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “The Watch is on to you. I should have told you before, but didn’t.”
“So why tell me now?”
“I don’t know. I guess I wanted to give you one more chance to get out here. Leave Capital City and don’t come back.”
Now he did smile.
“You know I’m not going to do that. Things need to change.”
“They will. I’m working on it, and so are others. If you keep it up though, the Watch is going to catch you, and they’ll make an example of you.”
He sighed.
“No,” he said, drawing his sword. “I think I’ll go make an example of them. Then they’ll stay out of my way.”
“Sarge is down there,” I said, trying one last attempt to get him to see reason.
“That is a shame. I always liked Sarge, but then again, he’s also part of the problem.”
He backed up a couple of steps, preparing to come over.
“I warned you, Duke,” he said. “I’m sorry it ended up this way, but the sword says you deserve it too.”
I actually had no doubt about that. Despite my recent conversion, I had removed my share of nuisances that didn’t actually deserve it.
“Don’t do it, Adrian,” I said, and pulled my gun.
He smiled, and started forward at a run, leaping into the air to clear the space between the roofs.
Feeling sick, I whispered a word to the gun that I never had before.
“Human”, I said, and the little metal ball inside was set to inflict maximum harm on my own kind.
I brought the gun up, aimed and took Adrian in mid-jump. The ball caught him in the throat and stopped his momentum in mid-air. I watched as he
crashed to the hard cobblestones below, his sword flying from his hand and returning to the size of a normal one.
The noise from the gun brought the Watch out of the house below, Sarge in the lead. Most of them ran to Adrian’s body, but Sarge looked up, saw me standing on the edge of the roof, and nodded to me. There was really nothing more to say.
I needed a drink, but not blood ale, and not at the Swordsman’s Edge. I didn’t think I’d be drinking there anymore.
INTERLUDE 3
When the old man finished, he sat still and silent, staring into the fire.
“Granddad,” the young man began, and fell silent himself.
The two sat, staring at the dancing flames for quite some time.
“Granddad,” the young man started again, “he was your friend.”
The old man sighed.
“No. Not anymore. That wasn’t Adrian, and I believe he came looking for me to help him end it.”
“But still, wasn’t there another way?”
“No, there wasn’t. That sword of his had control of him. It whispered to him at night, telling him all the things he did wrong. I don’t know if the damn thing lied to him or not, but it certainly twisted the truth. At least that’s what I believe.”
“What happened to it?”
“It disappeared. I asked Sarge once, later on. At first, I didn’t care. But then I got to thinking about it, and realized it was too dangerous for just anyone to have. Sarge didn’t know what happened to it either, and neither did your Grandmother when I asked her later on. It hasn’t shown up again though.”
“Thank the Gods for small favors,” the young man said.
“Indeed”, Duke replied. “But, now, it’s time to go. Come back tomorrow, I’ll tell you another then.”
“About what this time?”
“Whatever you pick from upstairs,” Duke said.
The young man gathered his things and made to leave, but stopped and turned back to the older man.
Duke Grandfather- The Whole Story Page 8
