The Thief's Gamble

by Juliet E. McKenna

  Next morning Darni left us sitting over indifferent ale and worse food in the tap-room and went to find his contact. He returned unexpectedly fast with an expression that would have soured wine.

  'Trouble?' Shiv pushed the jug towards him as he seated himself with a sigh.

  'He's dead.' Darni scowled into his ale and fished something out.

  'How?' Gens' eyes were wide with concern.

  'Abscess. The surgeon pulled the tooth, but it was too late. The poison was in his blood and two days later…' Darni shrugged.

  I ran my tongue round my own teeth, grateful to my mother for the gap I had there. I'd bet the others were doing the same; it's a story we've all heard, after all. I frowned at Geris, who was looking inappropriately cheerful, and he blushed and ducked his head.

  'Did he leave any word, anything for you?' Shiv asked hesitantly. 'Your letter…'

  Darni shook his head. 'Not that I can find out. The widow's sold up and gone back to her own family. You can't blame her, he's left her with five to bring up.'

  He glowered at his ale and went off to start an argument with the potman about it.

  'So who was this man? What was Darni hoping to get from him?' I asked, curiosity pricking my neck.

  'It's not important.' Shiv managed to combine smiling at me with a warning glance at Geris.

  So that was that. I let it go; if there was no information and as a result no risky job for me, they could keep their little secrets if it made them feel important. Still, distracted men make poor gamblers. I took my runes out and smiled cheerfully at them both.

  At least we could leave muddy Hanchet and, although we had to make a long detour to the next bridge, we were still in Dalasor before the full dark of the night.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Taken from:

  Thoughts on the Races of Antiquity

  Presented to the Antiquarian Society of Selerima by Weral Tandri

  I am sure, gentlemen, that, as children, you and I were entertained and on occasion chastised by our nurses with tales of the Eldritch Folk. Did any of you lose a fallen tooth, as I did, and lie awake that night, afraid lest some little blue man step out of a shadow and demand one from my mouth in place of his rightful offering? We can all laugh now and, as grown men of learning, we might feel such subjects too trivial for consideration. I will not argue with those who do so, but I have chosen to search for whatever seeds of truth may have nourished such flowers of children's fancy.

  With the increasing popularity of antiquarian studies among gentlemen of breeding and fortune, several Eldritch rings have been excavated in recent years. Some fascinating discoveries have been made; from their bones, we learn these people were indeed shorter than modern men by some hands-widths. A warrior found buried on Lord Edrin's lands near Ferring Gap was found to have black hair and possibly swarthy skin, although this may have been a result of the remarkable preservation of his remains in ground akin to a bog before drainage allowed cultivation. Tales of little dark men do not seem so very far from the truth.

  The Shadow-men were said to ride upon the wind. Well, a ring opened in Dalasor last spring found a woman of rank, by her garments, buried with six horses, bones all draped with the remains of richly ornamented harnesses. More workaday effects included tents, quilts, distaffs, a quern and a brazier, but there was no sign of any wheeled conveyance; indeed none such has ever been found even depicted in Eldritch art. Consider the vast windswept plains of Dalasor even today, and it is not so hard to imagine a race of people living and travelling with those herds of horses that we know once roamed the lands.

  Gentlemen, the time has surely come to gather and examine the evidence in a more scientific manner. Our ancestors, in their ignorance, could not see beyond conflict with the ancient races of wood and mountain. Consider, however, the benefits accrued now that miners of Gidesta work with the Mountain Men of the Dragon's Spines; the very knives you use at table benefit from skills and techniques lost to our smiths for generations. When the Crusted Pox struck Hecksen last winter, their apothecaries could soothe and save many sufferers with simples learned from their commerce with the Forest Folk.

  Our tales for children credit the Eldritch Folk with many miraculous powers but, alas, they have left no descendants in modern times. Their burials and artefacts are all we have to study, so I am here today to ask for your co-operation and yes, it is true, your coin. If we can establish a proper programme of study, we can add inestimably to our knowledge of antiquity and may even discover lost marvels to benefit ourselves and generations yet to come.

  The South Road, Dalasor

  38th of For-Autumn.

  I shivered as I stood looking across the grasslands early in the morning. The grass was damp with dew and silvered with icy fingers wherever the few scrawny trees gave shelter.

  'Cold?' Geris opened his arm and I stepped inside his cloak gratefully.

  'How long is it to Equinox?' I frowned. 'Isn't it a bit early for frost?'

  Geris pursed his lips as he rummaged in a small trunk, typically emerging with three assorted Almanacs. The rest of us make do with one to a household, if we're lucky.

  He flipped over the pages and compared the charts of the waxing and waning moons.

  'It's five days if there's no lesser moon tonight,' he said finally. 'We've come a long way north, don't forget.'

  I dug out my own cloak. 'So we won't get to Inglis until we're into Aft-Autumn then. Have you got an Almanac covering Inglis? What'll be going on?'

  Geris consulted one of the other books but shook his head after a moment. 'It's all guild business, fixing prenticeships and the like.'

  That tweaked my curiosity and I was about to ask for a look when Darni called us over to get mounted. As we moved out, I decided I really didn't like Dalasor. Among other things, there's almost no cover and that makes me seriously uncomfortable. I always like to have a discreet route out of any situation but out here you could be seen for leagues. As we rode, I found my back prickling like a child who's convinced there's a monster in the well-house or the privy.

  We reached a turning off the high road and I was surprised to see Darni take it. I kicked the horse, sorry, Russet, into a canter and caught up with him.

  'Aren't we going to take the river? I thought that's the fastest way to reach the coast.'

  Darni shook his head. 'All the miners and trappers will be coming out of Gidesta at the moment; winter comes early to the mountains. The boats will be full of them and they're rough company at the best of times. I want to steer clear of trouble.'

  'Oh, oh well.' I tried to hide my disappointment.

  Darni grinned at me. 'Looking forward to a game, were you?'

  'They say you can make a killing on the bigger boats if you manage to get out without a knife in your back,' I allowed.

  'Sorry. You'll have to try and win a few head of cattle off some herders instead.'

  It was all very well for Darni to laugh but, a few days later, I did manage to win us half a beef and a load of fodder when we stopped to spend the night with some drovers taking beasts south for slaughter. I slept well despite the noise of the cattle shifting around us but that was my last decent night.

  'You're very jumpy,' Darni observed neutrally as we crossed yet another featureless stretch of plain and I kept looking over my shoulder.

  'I'm not used to being so conspicuous,' I admitted. 'The sooner I feel cobbles under my feet and can see a wall to hide behind, the happier I'll be.'

  He smiled broadly and took a deep breath of the bracing air. 'I like it up here.'

  'Well, I don't. I know this sounds daft but I'm sure I'm being watched.'

  Darni considered this. 'Maybe we should ditch the last of that meat. We might have some wolves on our tail, I suppose. There are a lot of animals and birds up here, haven't you seen them? Aren't you Forest Folk supposed to be sensitive to animals?'

  I shrugged. 'I've no idea. I don't tend to notice dogs unless they're biting my leg. All I know is I've go
t crawlers running up and down my spine.'

  'Sure you didn't bring them with you from Hanchet?'

  It was all very well for him to joke but I was serious. I went to help Shiv when we stopped to eat, trimming the meat while he lit the fire. Wizards do save you a lot on tinder and flint.

  'Do you have to look for something specific when you're scrying, like you did with Halice?' I asked casually. 'Or can you just have a general look around?'

  Shiv nodded. 'Why do you ask?'

  'This may sound stupid but I can't shake the feeling we're being watched. Darni thinks I'm just getting the creeps from the local wildlife but I don't think that's it.'

  'You're sure?'

  'Certain.' I realised just how certain as I spoke, and Shiv heard it in my voice.

  'That's good enough for me. I'll check back along our trail if you like.'

  He took out his oils and worked his spells and we all gathered round to look into the fascinating images he drew out of the water. He found the herdsmen we had met and we watched as they forded a stream, tiny horns nodding as the cattle plunged through the water.

  'All right, let's work backwards,' Shiv breathed.

  The image sped along and I wondered if this is how the land looks to a bird, a tapestry of green and brown, laced with glinting waters, dotted with the darker green of trees and spotted with the last flowers of summer. My stomach lurched as the ground fell away down a valley.

  We saw a few deer racing across the plain with lithe grey shapes in pursuit, their passage startling a bevy of fowl into the air. A raven was picking at the remains of a wild horse come to grief in a gully but, other than that, we saw no signs of life. Shiv brought the image back to us.

  'Nothing you wouldn't expect to see,' Darni said as the picture showed four figures, bent heads together while the horses grazed. I blinked as the image dissolved in a dizzying spiral.

  'I looked all around, not just on our trail,' Shiv agreed. 'There's nothing out there.'

  I shook my head. 'I must be imagining it,' I said reluctantly.

  'We'll try to find better cover when we camp,' Geris said comfortingly but I saw a gleam in his eye. Oh well, I thought, nothing works like good sex to give you a decent night's sleep, not an unpleasant prospect. I winked at him and stifled a smile when I caught Darni's expression.

  'I know a place we can use.' Darni pushed on the pace and by late afternoon I realised he was heading for an earthwork that rose out of the grassland ahead like a small, flat-topped hill.

  'Isn't that an Eldritch ring?' I gaped at him. 'Is that where you're planning to camp?'

  'That's right.' His eyes challenged me. 'What's the matter? Frightened that shadow-blue men will step out of a rainbow and shoot you full of little green arrows?'

  'They're copper, you know, Eldritch arrows,' Geris piped up. 'All their metalwork was.'

  His flow of inconsequential information covered the fact that I was at a loss for words and I was able to keep a level face as we found the way through the ramparts of turf and made our camp.

  After all, the Eldritch kin are just tales for children and, while those with their feet still in cow dung might believe in them, we more sophisticated city types are above such things. That's what I kept telling myself anyway, sounding about as convincing as a huckster selling baldness cures.

  'They were real people, you know,' Geris said helpfully as we unpacked and I had just about got myself persuaded that I really should ignore such childish worries.

  'What, little grey men who can step into shadows?' I managed a shaky laugh.

  'No,' he said seriously. 'But people lived here and in places like this. One mentor took his students to dig up a ring near Borleat. They found a man buried in a boat with treasure all around him.'

  'You're joking!' I frowned. 'That's a long way from navigable water. You can't get barges any higher than Tresig, can you?'

  'Maybe they used to be able to. There are dry wharves nearby, aren't there?'

  Shiv came over at this point. 'It's nearly Equinox.' He pointed at the last faint sickle of the greater moon. 'Is it anyone's birth festival?'

  Geris shook his head. 'I'm a For-Winter baby.'

  'Darni and I are Aft-Autumn.' Shiv shrugged. 'Oh well, I expect we can come up with something to drink to.'

  'Er, well, it's my birth-festival actually. I was born in Aft-Summer.' I felt a little shy about admitting it for some daft reason.

  'Not much chance of celebrating out here.' Geris looked really worried which both touched and concerned me. 'It won't be much of a festival for you.'

  'Oh well, we'll—'

  Shiv's plan was lost in a shattering scream from one of the horses and for one heart-stopping moment I really believed the Eldritch kin had woken.

  'Backs to the fire!' Darni's bellow brought us back to reality and I saw men cresting the rampart, drawn swords glinting in the firelight. Their helms and mail chinked as they ran and their studded boots thudded into the soft earth. None of them spoke but they moved with a unity of purpose more chilling than any battle cry. The effect was slightly spoiled when some of them slipped on the slope, now slick with dew, but thank Saedrin, it gave us a breath to collect our wits and to realise we were badly outnumbered.

  I fumbled in my belt pouch for my darts and stepped back to get distance for throwing. I felt heat on the backs of my legs; I didn't have much room before I would be treading in the embers.

  'Kiss Saedrin's arse,' Darni snarled as he stepped out to meet the first attackers. Their air of confidence was terrifying and the first swept up his hand to bring his sword down into Darni's head. I watched the attacker's hand rise, and then carry on rising as Darni took it off at the wrist with an explosive strike. His mate was momentarily distracted by a faceful of blood and his troubles ended with Darni's short sword in his guts. When a third went down to a boot in the stones, the attack lost a little of its impetus and we were able to form a defensive circle before they hit us.

  Swords met in a flurry of sparks, slash, parry, feint, lunge, hack. Darni's sword flashed in the light of the flames until he managed to reach in over a guard and rip into his opponent's throat. Blood sprayed across him, but he simply blinked it clear and kicked the bubbling corpse aside.

  The dancing shadows from the firelight were confusing my aim. I threw a dart and for one gut-wrenching second, it looked as if the victim was unaffected. He staggered forward then sank to his knees clawing at his arm, dying in seconds with a choking cough. What a relief; the poison hadn't lost its strength after all.

  My darts took out a couple more but I was soon running low. Darni was fighting like one of Poldrion's own demons and I kept him between me and our attackers. I glanced over my shoulder to check we weren't being encircled and saw Shiv and Geris were back to back with us. Geris had the reflexes and speed for swordwork but was making a slow job of finishing off his opponent. Even I saw a chance which he had just failed to follow through. The vicious face attacking him knew it too, and teeth shone in a triumphant sneer. Too many years fencing like a gentleman, whereas Darni had been killing for real; blood was running down the sleeve of Geris' off arm and I realised he was used to fighting with a shield.

  He must have realised he was in trouble as he suddenly kicked himself to a quicker pace. He drove the attacker back with rapid slashing strokes. Confused, the man let down his guard and Geris split his skull; I saw his grimace as he turned his head to avoid the shower of brain and blood.

  Back at our side of the fire, I used my last dart then found myself facing a bearded heavy, who thought I was now unarmed. His mistake; I slid a dagger down my sleeve and as he came in for a downward smash I got him through the armpit. I couldn't get the dagger loose as the bastard fell and began to feel cold fingers of fear as I screamed at Darni's back.

  'I need a weapon! Darni, I haven't got a sword!'

  He kicked a loose sword backwards, nearly taking off my toes. Shrieking obscenities, he drove his distracted opponent back a couple of paces. B
londie facing him made the mistake of thinking he saw an opening and came in to meet the blade in his guts. He sank to his knees, screaming wetly, and Darni kicked him in the face.

  I moved to Darni's side and began to relearn my swordsmanship very speedily indeed, blessing Halice for insisting I practise with her and wishing for her skills.

  A big bastard with a yellow beard came round to me, looking to take the weaker option. He was strong and quick and it was all I could do to match him until he slipped in the slime of his friend's entrails and I was able to smash my blade through his ugly face. Teeth and bone gleamed for an instant in the firelight as he fell headlong into the fire. His hair blazed with a revolting smell as his arms flailed wildly. I stamped frantically on the back of his head until he stilled.

  Darni dropped another with a low sweep that took out his knees and then finished him with a thrust into the eyes. Our gazes met in an insane instant of calm.

  'Get behind me. How are the others doing? What about the horses?'

  The horses! If we lost those, it was a long walk home. I looked round and saw why Darni had not bothered hobbling his mount. The brutish-looking chestnut was rearing, kicking and biting with the controlled savagery of the trained warrior's horse, and several figures bled writhing under his hooves.

  Shiv was using a beam of amber light like a halberd and the attackers screamed like pigs whenever it made contact. He dropped two of them, who went down as if they'd been poleaxed, not even twitching, the only movement the blood streaming from under their helms.