Deepwoods (Book 1)

by Honor Raconteur

  “Ah, finally see the trouble that boy brings, eh?” Wolf responded in a distinctly unsympathetic tone.

  “You never went around randomly trying to kill people,” she responded indignantly, trying to justify herself.

  “I was never an assassin, I was a mercenary,” he refuted calmly. “There’s a difference.”

  Yes, apparently quite a difference. She started grumbling under her breath, unable to argue the point.

  “It might get worse.”

  She looked at him from the corner of her eye. “Why?”

  “He’s disappearing during the day.”

  “What?!”

  “He did it yesterday, after he saw us back to the compound, and again this morning.” Wolf rubbed a palm against his jaw, making a rasping sound against his night stubble. “I don’t know if he’s trying to get back into his old guild or not. It might be that he’s just not comfortable here, in his old enemy’s headquarters.”

  She let her head thunk against his shoulder. “Great. Wonderful. Now what do I do?”

  “Nothing you can do. You can’t control a man’s heart, Siobhan.”

  That was less than comforting.

  “But I think you’re more worried about other things, and less about Rune.” He cocked his head as he looked down at her. “You’re wondering why Lirah’s group was attacked, aren’t you?”

  She nodded in grim agreement. “There’s too many holes in her story, too many things that don’t make sense. It’s like I’m staring at a puzzle with half the pieces missing.”

  “It’s not our job to solve the puzzle,” he pointed out. “Our job ended when we found Lirah. It’s just because you’re worried about them that we’re staying on and letting Conli treat everyone.”

  “Well, yes, I know….”

  “But?” he prompted, knowing well there was a ‘but’ coming.

  “But it doesn’t sit right with me to just let the mystery hang like this. I don’t see anyone stepping forward and trying to solve it, either.”

  Wolf slipped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her into him. “I know you don’t like things left loose like this, unexplained, but we’ll be walking into trouble if you try to sort this one out.”

  “I think we’ll be in more trouble if we don’t figure it out. My instincts say that, anyway.” Siobhan sat there, weighing out options for a long moment, but in reality she knew what they needed to do. “Erik.”

  Wolf jerked his head down to look at her, eyes wide in surprise. She’d only ever called his true name a handful of times in the past ten years.

  She looked up at him with firm resolve. “We shouldn’t sit here. Lirah might not be able to move, but we can, and we should. We need to go to Coravine and investigate, find out what they’re up to. Otherwise we won’t know how to prepare for the storm that’s coming.”

  He nodded solemnly. “Eh, I agree. It’s folly to sit here. But you think this small guild is strong enough to go there alone?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think we’ll face trouble just by traveling there, though. We’re not directly connected to either Iron Dragain or Silver Moon. We’re small enough in number that it won’t look odd for us to travel toward Orin. And if we need a cover story,” she realized, bemused and amused, “We’ve got one on hand. Markl will be our stand-in client.”

  “Ah?” His head canted as he thought about it, before he shrugged ruefully. “It’s not even a lie, quite. Heh. I like it. We can even stay for several days on the excuse that he’s studying things. Right, well. Leave in the morning?”

  Siobhan wanted to, but life wasn’t quite that convenient. “We’ll need to find a boat first. And make preparations. We’ll be lucky to get out of here the day after tomorrow.”

  “Well, might not take as long, if we ask Jarnsmor for a ship,” he pointed out.

  True, that. Although it would still take them three or four hours by ship to cross the Dual Channel to reach Orin. Never before had Siobhan regretted the limits of Pathmaking like she did now. Why, why wouldn’t it work over water? The fact that it was restrained to land—and only fertile land, to boot—drove her mad some days. “I’ll ask him first thing in the morning.”

  “Ya won’t be able ta if ya don’t sleep now,” Rune’s voice laconically pointed out from…somewhere above them.

  Siobhan jumped—now when had he gotten into the rafters again?—but Wolf nearly leaped out of his skin. He scrambled to his feet like a guilty teenager caught kissing his girlfriend, and even in this dim lighting it was easy to see the vivid blush on his cheeks.

  Rune laughed outright from the safety of his hiding place, amused at Wolf’s reaction. The laughter helped her pinpoint his position better. He’d found some sort of crawl space between the roof and the ceiling, apparently, as he had to be almost directly above her head.

  Seeing the murderous look that Wolf aimed at the ceiling, not to mention the way his hands twitched as if hungering for a weapon, Siobhan put a constraining hand on his shoulder. “You can’t kill him.”

  He shot her a look that said, Want to bet?

  “It’s one of those unwritten rules about being a guest,” she explained mock-somberly. “You’re not supposed to kill people in someone else’s home.”

  Rune cracked up laughing again.

  “Just maim him a little bit, alright?”

  Wolf gave her a predatory smile. “Define ‘a little.’”

  The ex-assassin’s nerves broke, and with a yelp, he quickly scrambled out of the area.

  She looked in the direction he’d retreated, even though she couldn’t see through the wood. “Apparently he didn’t realize I was kidding.”

  “Apparently he realized I wasn’t,” Wolf growled, a wicked gleam in his eyes. With a gentle pat on her head, he wished her a good night before stalking back into the building.

  Siobhan watched him go and said under her breath, “Run, Rune, run.”

  Siobhan preferred not to make major decisions that affected the whole guild without discussing it with them first. After her conversation with Wolf the night before, she felt that this was one of those times where she needed to hear everyone’s opinions. So she called for a general meeting of the guild before breakfast. They retreated to the common room, the only space that could hold all of them and had enough privacy where they could talk without interruption.

  Everyone found a place on either the couches or chairs. Denney chose the floor next to Conli’s feet, where the dogs could curl in next to her. Rune was in the farthest chair, not directly facing the group, although the way he had his ear cocked in her direction made her think he was at least listening in.

  Once they’d settled, she drew in a breath and began. “Alright. We have a decision in front of us. Our original job is complete—we found Lirah and her people, we’ve notified Blackstone where they are, and she’s got the protection she needs to make it safely back home again. For all intents and purposes, we’re done.”

  “I hear a ‘but’ in that somewhere.” Grae sat forward, eyes studying her carefully. “Is there something else going on, Shi?”

  She nodded somberly. “Grae, I don’t feel right walking away at this point. There’s too many unanswered questions. Why this elaborate setup? Why would a guild from Orin attack Blackstone? What is so important that a game should be played at high stakes, using people’s lives as the chips?”

  “It’s bothering me, too,” Sylvie admitted with a troubled sigh.

  “You want us to investigate,” Fei said neutrally.

  “Can you think of someone better to send?” Siobhan asked him while spreading her palms. “We intimately know the ins and outs of the situation, better than anyone in Iron Dragain does. No one from Blackstone is fit to leave and look into it. We have two natives of Orin right in this room that would be able to find out more information than an outsider asking.”

  “Just as vital, we need to know.” Hammon had open approval on his face. “If this—whatever this is—can hurt Blackstone guildsmen
this far from home, what is to prevent it from happening again in Goldschmidt itself?”

  That was another worry that had occurred to her last night. “Exactly.”

  “I personally don’t like the idea of having an unknown enemy,” Wolf added darkly.

  “As much as I hate to agree with him,” Tran grumbled, “I feel the same way.”

  “Any objections?”

  “Have you talked about this to Jarnsmor or Lirah?” Beirly asked her. “Guildmasters are a touchy bunch. They don’t like people going off and doing things without their knowing.”

  “I plan to ask them next,” she assured him. “I just didn’t want to go talk to them about it without hearing your opinions first. After all, this delays us going home by days, weeks, I have no way of knowing.”

  “I don’t think that really bothers anyone.” Beirly looked around the group.

  Siobhan did the same, reading their expressions. Sylvie didn’t look particularly happy to be going to Orin, but she never did. Her parents usually gave her trouble when she was within arm’s reach of them. Denney, Conli, and Grae seemed ambivalent with the idea. They felt the need to go and get answers and didn’t particularly mind if that delayed their departure home for a few weeks. Her enforcers were already gearing up for potential trouble, and, judging by that smile, Wolf looked forward to it.

  Only Rune didn’t seem to care or have an opinion. He still didn’t face their direction, but only sat there because she’d called him into the room. Well, he was a problem she’d have to sort out later.

  Siobhan blew out a breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding. “I think we have a general consensus here. You realize we’ll be walking into unknown danger?”

  “I think I prefer that over keeping an eye on our backs for the next several months.” Denney raised a hand. “All in favor of going to Orin?”

  Every hand went up into the air, almost without any hesitation.

  She felt relieved at their willingness but also strangely tense, as she realized that she had taken on another set of problems and responsibilities as her own. Walking into unknown danger hadn’t been an exaggeration. But she truly felt that she didn’t have any other choice. “Well then. I’ll go find Jarnsmor and see if I can convince him.”

  ӜӜӜ

  Jarnsmor, as expected of a major guildmaster, could not be easily pinned down. Even with help, Siobhan spent a good hour trying to find him in this huge labyrinth of a compound. She only managed it because he always had breakfast at the same time in the same place. Once she found Nortin, he knew where to direct her. Otherwise she knew with absolute certainty that she would have spent the rest of the day searching for him in vain.

  He sat in this out of the way little room that seemed to be made entirely of windows, like a greenhouse, with a single round table in the center that took up most of the space. She entered and abruptly slowed at the doorway to avoid running into anything. The windows let out over the same garden she had been in last night, only with the morning sun now pouring through, she could see much more of it. Waaahhh, what a pretty sight to stare at while eating. No wonder he had breakfast here without fail.

  As soon as she stepped into the room, Jarnsmor looked up, a cup halfway to his mouth, and he dipped his head in greeting. “Guildmaster Maley. I trust your sleep last night was comfortable.”

  “Quite, sir. Thank you. You are a good host.” Wolf had coached her to say that, just in case. It was the right thing to respond with, as Jarnsmor openly beamed at her. “I wanted to speak with you, if that’s alright?”

  “Of course, of course.” He waved her into the chair across from his. “Sit, eat.”

  Siobhan felt it odd to discuss business without eating, so she sat without further encouragement and loaded up a small plate with different foods before pouring a hot cup of tea. “I had a thought last night,” she began.

  “About?”

  “This whole odd situation. Markl mentioned that he found this nameless guild in Orin strange. If they knew about the monopoly you were forming here, why attack and try to destroy it? Why not join it instead?”

  Jarnsmor grunted. “He’s quite right.”

  “I thought so as well. I think that someone needs to go to Orin, investigate further, see if we can pinpoint who it was exactly that sent assassins after Blackstone and why. It’s the ‘why’ I truly want answered. My sixth sense is telling me that there’s a very deep and compelling reason for this reaction.”

  Holding his cup with both hands, he stared over the rim at her. “You want to go.”

  “Do you have a better candidate?” she replied, not trying to come off as arrogant or cocky. “One of my people is from Coravine. I have two that are from Orin altogether. I’ve traveled that continent many times. We are not tied down here for any reason and are free to go and investigate. More, we are fully aware of what the situation is and so know what to look for.”

  His open palm accepted the argument. “I have no qualms with you going. In truth, I’m in a quandary over this. You see, I have my own people that are in Coravine to keep an eye on things.”

  She nodded in understanding. Every major guild had at least a few spies in their neighbor’s guilds. It was common business practice.

  “I lost contact with them several weeks ago,” Jarnsmor admitted with a troubled frown. “We’ve sent several messages but haven’t received any reply. I’m afraid that they’ve been found out.”

  And most likely executed or imprisoned. She could see why he was worried. “You can’t send any of your people in after them.”

  “Not without giving the game away,” he agreed, mouth in a flat line. “If they are undiscovered, but unable to respond for some reason, I risk exposing them. It’s a small chance that’s the case, but I don’t dare react hastily. But no one knows you or your connection to me. It would be safe enough to send you in, I think. But I want you to report your findings to me.”

  “I had every intention of doing so,” she agreed, mouth quirked up mischievously. “But if you want me to go and bring news quickly, it’d help if you lent me a ship.”

  “Ah, that’s what you’re after.” His eyes crinkled up in amusement. “Alright, I’ll arrange it. Be ready to depart in the next few days.”

  “I will.” Well, that was one problem sorted. Now to make preparations for everything else. “Can I ask when exactly you lost contact with them?”

  “Some two months or so ago, we noticed that it had been a long time since we’d received any information from them.” Jarnsmor picked up his glass and twirled the liquid about in an idle way. “We don’t get regular updates from them, you understand, just when they have something to report. It could well be that their disappearance can be linked to the change of leadership in Fallen Ward.”

  Siobhan blinked. “Fallen Ward has a new guildmaster?”

  “As of about six months or so ago. The old leader had quite the funeral, I understand. I can’t tell you much about his successor, however. Actually, it was because I wanted information about the new guildmaster that I contacted my people. But ever since the change in leadership, we haven’t heard a single peep from across the channel. I haven’t the faintest idea if the new guildmaster is a man or woman. It could be some mythical creature for all I know!” he said disgruntledly.

  She nodded understanding, well able to imagine how frustrating this must be. Information was vital when trying to conduct business with other guildmasters. If Darrens had been here, he’d have likely hit the table with a closed fist at this point, in sheer frustration. “I’ll try and find every bit of information I can,” she promised him.

  “Good. Thank you.”

  They ate in companionable silence for a moment before Jarnsmor cleared his throat and ventured, “The young man that is in your guild. He bears a striking resemblance to an assassin that hails from this city. Bloodless, I believe his name is.”

  Hooo, so he’d figured it out that quickly? Or someone in his guild had recognized Rune and repor
ted it. She looked him dead in the eye. “His name is Rune and he’s a member of Deepwoods.”

  Jarnsmor held up a hand in a placating manner. “I’m not trying to stir up anything. If he’s with you, he’s with you. I’ve seen the way that young man responds to you, after all. I don’t expect trouble from him. But I am curious, how did you bring him over to your side? I’ve met a few people from Silent Order before and they are cold souls, like empty dolls. I’d never thought that they could be brought into a good guild.”

  Yes, she’d had a few doubts about that herself the first few days with Rune. It was her experience with Wolf that had made her try at all.

  “Did you seduce him away somehow?” Jarnsmor asked, head cocked.

  “No.” The memory made her smile as she answered. “I scribbled on his face. Much more effective.”

  “Eh?” Jarnsmor blinked, uncomprehendingly, then put his breakfast aside completely. “Now, you must explain that.”

  Chuckling, she obliged and told him the story as she ate. Jarnsmor proved to be a good listener, only interrupting once to ask a question and otherwise paying strict attention to her. But then, this man ruled one of the largest guilds of the four continents. A man in his position had to be very, very good at communicating in order to stay in power.

  When she’d finished, Jarnsmor laughed aloud. “Card games and doodling on people’s faces…now there’s a tactic I’ve never heard of before. I salute you, madam, as your tactics obviously worked.”

  “I think it was the kindness that worked.” She wore a sad smile as she stared at her plate, idly moving a piece of fruit around and around. “He doesn’t know how to respond to kindness, it’s such a stranger to him. Being able to laugh and joke with us was just the final clincher.”

  “Ah, I see.” His deep voice softened slightly. “But then, I suppose you have experience in dealing with dark guild members.”

  She looked up at him askance.

  “Your enforcer Wolf has all the markings of a former mercenary. I assumed that he was once in a dark guild as well. Am I wrong?”

  This man…just how good were his eyes? “No, you’re not.”