Colonel Xern nodded and bowed before turning and leaving the tent. Count Stavix settled into his seat and brooded about the current state of affairs. He did not like the way it was going. In the beginning, it had all seemed so easy. Call for the Occulate Raun, kill the boy and any other seekers, and then waltz into the Citadel and become Duke. Now it was a mess, and he was not at all sure he would survive it.
Suddenly he heard a low chuckling from behind him. He spun and saw a figure standing there. One that sent a chill down his spine because he recognized it as the same figure that had given him the Golden bands. This time the man was holding a staff with a large crystal on the end of it. It seemed to glow with a strange flickering light, and he couldn’t quite tell if it was blue or something else.
“What are you doing here? What do you want!”
“Now, now, dear Count Stavix,” the man said in his strangely accented voice, speaking from behind the robes and metal mask that covered his eyes. Once again the horizontal slit in the metal was covered in shadows, and he wondered for a moment what color the man’s eyes were. “Is that any way to greet me? You really should work on your manners.”
Count Stavix stood quickly and moved so that the table was between him and the intruder. It unnerved him how easily this man appeared in his presence without alerting the guards that surrounded his tent. “I’m not inclined to be polite to someone that intrudes on me without permission, even one that has given me gifts. I’ve seen far too many friends killed by knives by people just like this.”
“And of course, do not forget those that you have sent these knives after,” the mysterious figure answered. “I assure you, they number much greater than your friends or family. I am not here to kill you, Count Stavix, but to warn you.”
“Warn me? Warn me of what?” Count Stavix said in a raised voice. In part, it was a warning to his soldiers that someone was in his tent, but for some reason, not one of his soldiers were coming in to see what was going on. He was already thinking up delicious punishments for the men for failing him like this. “It’s not like I don’t already have enough disaster surrounding me. I’ve shown the Golden Bands to some lords, and only some of them are coming to my side. If you came to warn me of that, you’re too late. Truly, I can do without your warnings; it’s an army I need.”
The dark figure stepped toward the table making Count Stavix take a step back to keep enough room between him and the potential assassin, though somehow he doubted it would matter if the man truly wished him dead. Picking up a morsel of food from one of the plates, the intruder slid it under his mouth guard and chewed it before swallowing. “Decadent,” he said sounding disdainful. “No, I do not bring an army. I do bring you news about Ashrak and his small party. They are traveling toward the Dark Spire.”
Count Stavix squinted, trying to understand what he’d just been told. “The Dark Spire? Why would they be traveling there? Do they hope to hire the assassins to kill me? If so, they will be sorely disappointed and they will make the contract on them much easier to fulfill. They are walking into a trap.”
The dark figure shrugged and leaned on his staff which seemed to be shimmering even more. “So you think, but that will not happen. There is one there that will stop them from carrying out their task. There is every potential that the assassins of the Dark Spire may even become their allies. You see, there is a little problem with the Golden Bands I gave you. It turns out they are false. If Ashrak and his party succeed at what they are trying to do, they have every potential to find the real Golden Bands.”
Count Stavix felt the blood rush from his face as he scrabbled for the thick Golden bands that he always kept on his person and pulled them out. Even as he watched, the gold melted away revealing dull clay that began to collapse in his hands. Each of the intricate designs faded into nothing, and they dropped through his fingers onto the carpets. He stared at his now empty hand in horror, and he felt his face slowly harden into a rictus snarl before looking up at the figure. Despite his fear, he had every intention of launching himself across the table at his visitor and clawing the mask off of his face so he could take his eyes. However, he was staring at an empty tent.
He screamed, the torn sound echoing off of the canyon walls that he and his army occupied. This time the soldiers heard and rushed quickly into his tent to see what the danger was, but all they saw was their Lord kneeling on the carpets with his fists clenched and pounding on the ground. They didn’t know what to do so just stood there and waited. It took several moments before Count Stavix looked up from his rage.
“Get Colonel Xern in here now. We’re marching to the Black Spire!”
Chapter 24
The small town that Fallon led them to was called Copper Pits by the inhabitants. It was a mining town that barely warranted a mark on the maps. Its inhabitants were rough and dangerous folk, use to scrabbling out an existence on the edge of society. The town had no walls, constructed in and around a warren of shallow crevices and massive boulders which served to confuse an already ramshackle layout.
Nilesh had snuck in hours ago to scout around, and it was just now slipping from dusk to full night. It had been fascinating to watch the small man transform himself from a thin, young man to a slightly overweight, middle-aged worker. It was the perfect disguise for this hole-in-the-wall, and they lost sight of him almost immediately once he slipped in close enough to join the main thoroughfare.
The reason for the caution was the presence of soldiers from Count Stavix’s troops. They looked more like carousers than patrols and on a few occasions they took some delight in bullying some of the locals. It was unclear if they were occupying the town or merely using it as a base for supply and entertainment, but the result was a tense situation. They had no clue if their descriptions were known or if anyone was even looking for them specifically though enough time had passed it was possible.
“I don’t like the looks of this,” Daka grumbled to himself as he pulled himself down from the rock hide they were crouched behind. “I’ve already seen at least two brawls in the street.”
“Daka, that’s normal for a place like this,” Fallon said quietly. “You should know, you’ve started enough of them for the fun of it.”
The big man grinned and shrugged. “Yes, that’s true, but usually it’s not been to the death.” He said, sliding down to the sand with the rock to his back. “Both of those brawls ended in blood and at least two bodies are not getting up. On top of that, I saw what looked suspiciously like butchers taking the bodies away.”
Ellian frowned and looked at Fallon. “Are you sure your Uncle is still alive?”
“I don’t know. He runs the tavern here, and he’s well respected so hopefully she is okay.” She said as she leaned her head on Ellian’s shoulder. “I gave Nilesh a description of him, so he could duck into the Tavern and make sure he was there.”
“He’s there,” a new voice said from the darkness, making them all tense in surprise. “Calm down, it’s me,” Nilesh said as he eased himself between some boulders and into their cold camp. They’d not lit anything so as not to apprise anyone of their position but Tulugri, one of the two moons, was full and provided enough light for them to see the hunched shape of Nilesh in his workman disguise.
“Dammit, Nilesh,” Ashrak breathed in relief. “Can’t you warn us when you’re coming in?”
Nilesh chuckled and shook his head. “What am I supposed to do? Throw rocks before I enter the camp? The only one I have to watch out for is Fallon because of her bow, and I was watching her the whole time. If she’d drawn, I would have dove behind a rock. I’m pretty sure I could call my name before the rest of you got on top of me with your blades. No, I’d rather risk your momentary discomfort than an arrow in the face.”
“What did you learn?” Ellian said, cutting Ashrak off before he could respond.
“Crappy news, maybe crappy news, and news I’m not sure of,” Nilesh said as he slid to the ground next to Daka and accepted the waterskin the bi
g man was holding out. “The crappy news is those soldiers are not looking directly for us, but they have the same orders from weeks ago. Kill or waylay any travelers in case they are seekers. Since none of them want to drag anyone around with them, you can imagine which way they lean on their orders. Still, they aren’t looking for us directly, but they will try to kill us if they see us as outsiders.” Nilesh stopped to take a long swig from the skin before leaning his head back against the wall.
Ashrak and Ellian exchanged concerned glances. If Nilesh hadn’t had a drink while he was in town, that was more bad news about the town’s supplies. Miners were a tough, no-nonsense breed and they would think nothing of robbing travelers for supplies. “What is the maybe crappy news?” Ellian said after a few moments, trying to spur Nilesh on with his report.
“Oh, sorry,” Nilesh said and held up the water skin. “They’re charging an arm and a leg for water down there. That’s the maybe crappy news. They’re desperate for food and water since the soldiers have cut off any traders. That and those idiot soldiers are taking whatever they want to supplement their supplies. The people of that town are about ready to go crazy and attack the soldiers or worse. That could be a good thing for us, or it could be bad. I’m not sure at this point.”
“I think it’s bad,” Daka volunteered. People out here in the wastes are already usually a bit tapped in the head. There’s no telling what they’ll do, and after I saw those butchers take off with some bodies, I would say it’s closer to bad than not.”
Nilesh nodded emphatically. “I think they are close to breaking. In another week, I bet this town won’t be here, or at least it’s not a place anyone would want to come. These aren’t exactly civilized people, and once they get a taste for flesh, it can change a person. Either it will be a full military camp or a ghost town filled with ghouls.” Nilesh shifted his gaze to Fallon as he began to take out the bags of sand from inside his shirt, dumping out the sand and re-stowing the light bags for later use. “You’re uncle isn’t just a simple messenger or watchman. He’s more than that. He spotted me almost as soon as I made my way into his tavern. No normal lookout would be able to do that. He’s had more training than that.”
Fallon shrugged. “I don’t know, but he was always an intimidating man. He’s the one that taught me to shoot my bow. When I left here, he told me that if anyone ever needed to hire the Assassins, they could come to him. That’s the only time I’ve ever heard him mention it.”
Nilesh nodded. “We need to make contact with him. I’m betting he will know if we have a contract out on our heads. The problem will be getting out if things go against us. I spotted several people in there that seemed more like your uncle than not. On top of that, no one was misbehaving, not even the soldiers in there. My guess is they lost a few men under mysterious circumstances.”
“No one ever messed with him,” Fallon confirmed. “I never realized it might be more than just my Uncle was meaner than most of the other men we knew.”
“So, what are our next steps?” Chari asked. “If we all go down there, will we be able to make it to the tavern? It sounds like we might be robbed or killed on the street.”
“We don’t do anything,” Nilesh said to Chari. “You’re right. If we all went down there, we’d be robbed and killed, if just for the meat on our dancers. No, it’s got to be me, Fallon and probably Daka. If any more of us go, we’ll be marked and attacked, or sold out to the soldiers. I can get three of us close enough to the tavern to get us in, and once inside, Fallon should keep us alive long enough for her Uncle to hear us out.”
Ellian looked displeased as she sat up straight, her arm going around Fallon almost protectively. “What happens if he has more loyalty to the Assassins than his family?”
Nilesh shrugged non-committedly. “Well, then whoever’s left gets to come and try to fight their way through a bunch of starved thugs, soldiers, and rescue us from Assassins.” He stopped and looked Ellian square in the eye. “It’s a risk, and I can’t say it’s a light one. The thugs and soldiers I’m not so worried about, but these Assassins are trained killers. Still, this is our best hope.”
“Not Daka,” Ellian said suddenly. “I’ll go. I’m not going to leave Fallon’s safety to anyone else.”
Nilesh frowned. “You are recognizable. That would endanger us.”
Ellian met her lovers gaze for a long moment as anger warred with fear, but finally, anger won out. “I’m going, and that’s final. You can disguise me enough that no one will recognize me.” Fallon tried to argue and Ellian refused to listen. As the two shared their moment, Nilesh began to disguise himself as another worker though not one that was overweight this time. It involved more dirt over his face, and he even put some in his mouth and swished it around before spitting it out. When he grinned, it looked like his teeth and gums were rotting.
He waited for Ellian and Fallon to finish their discussion and gestured for both women to stand. Both women nodded and succumbed to his expert ministrations. When finished, he had not completely changed Fallon’s looks but had done his best to change Ellian’s. Fallon looked like the same person though he had her take off her tightly fitted leather armor and added or subtracted some of her clothes until she was indistinguishable from the people down in the town. He also added a tattered backpack which he put a few rocks and handfuls of sand. Where Nilesh had acquired women’s clothes that fit Fallon, none of them knew, but they were glad he had them. Ellian was now a hunchbacked, hooded mendicant. They could tell the disguise was uncomfortable even as it hid Ellian’s features completely.
“Okay,” Nilesh said, finally standing back and looking Fallon up and down. “We’re ready. We need to leave now.
Ellian and Fallon both nodded to the rest of them and then turned to follow Nilesh into the darkness. For some reason, Ashrak felt a chill run up his spine as shadows swallowed his sister.
Chapter 25
Ellian and Fallon followed Nilesh through the night. Both were practiced at moving silently and were amazed at Nilesh’s graceful movements from shadow to shadow. Many times, as they traversed their way through the cluttered, rocky landscape towards the first buildings, Nilesh would hold his hand up and make them wait. Sometimes for many minutes longer than either Fallon or Ellian would have judged prudent, but in the end, they made their way successfully to a rough alley between a shack and a large, dirty tent.
Piles of garbage cluttered the alley though it was not overly difficult for the athletic trio to make their way through the junk. Any sounds they made were covered by the loud, ambient noise provided by the locals. Drunken talk and boisterous laughter were met and drowned by angry imprecations, cursing, and yelling in the night. It was not a pleasant environment, and while Ellian and Fallon had been in their fair share of places like this, they could tell it was ready to boil over.
“Just follow me and move slowly along the sides of the road.” Nilesh hissed into their ears as he leaned in closely. “You’ve been in towns like this before, but it’s bad. We’ll try to avoid the worst of the locals as much as possible.”
At that, he turned and stepped out into a local walkway between tents and shacks. It was not a straight road by any stretch of the imagination. It was simply the easiest route between a hodgepodge of building placement strewn with human refuse created mud, rocks, and well-worn paths. Both Fallon and Ellian followed closely, mimicking his speed and disinterest in what was going around them while at the same time straining all of their senses for danger.
They were not disappointed.
They could feel eyes follow them as they passed, peering out from dark doorways or tent flaps as they moved through the maze. Sometimes there would be a man or woman lying or sitting in the dirt or on a rock. All of them looked thin and malnourished. At one point, they passed an alley where a couple was obviously engaged in some sort of sexual play which they ignored. The most dangerous point came when they stumbled around a corner directly into a small group of soldiers.
The
men wore the colors of Count Stavix though they were almost as dirty as the townsfolk and clearly drunk. The four men were laughing and pointing at a man lying face down in some of the dubious mud, and there was not a sign of bubbles, indicating he was most likely dead.
“You there!” one of the soldiers called, looking at Ellian since she was the closest. “Roll this piece of filth over. I want to punch him again.”
Ellian paused and didn’t move to obey. Fallon could tell by the twitch in her hand it had drifted closer to one of her daggers, but that would be a disaster for them right now. She bumped into her lover and hissed “do it!” so that only she could hear. Ellian stopped her hand movement and then nodded, moving silently to the downed man.
When she bent over, she had to leverage her hands into the not-mud and pull. The corpse was stuck and took a moment before rolling out of the mud with a sucking sound and lying on his back. His front half covered in thick, brown goo which completely caked his face and shoulders.
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 105
