by P. G. Thomas
*******
At the back of the room, the two assassins sat tied to chairs stared at the ground. “So the dead can talk? What did they have to say?” asked Ramy, sitting at the table.
“We had a lively discussion,” Steve began, “That tailor you sent for provided me with some interesting details. The fabric isn’t from the west, he figures the Bright Coast, but it was just average so they would blend in. Same with their boots, but what he missed was that they were relatively new, hardly showing any wear.” He placed one on the table and then asked Ramy to remove one of his, which he did. Steve turned it over, “You’ve had yours for a while. Three times, you’ve repaired these soles, so I’m guessing they’re comfortable. See all of the scuff marks, and how one heel is worn down more than the other is. You have a bit of a limp, barely noticeable, but the soles of your boots show it.” Handing Ramy his boot back, Steve picked up one of the assassins. “By comparison, these are almost new. The heels are still square, and they’ve seen very little walking, but one of them,” he then picked up a second boot, “This one was different. It has fresh dirt stuck in the stitching and the others don’t. From what I’ve seen in this town, these are most likely also from the Bright Coast.” He pulled out one of the jackets, asking Ramy for a small knife. Dragging it along a stitched seam, tiny transparent crystals popped off. “Taste one.”
Licking his fingers, reaching over, Ramy pushed his fingers into the clear crystals and brought them up to his lips, “Salt.”
“How does salt get on the outside of a coat?”
“Sea salt?”
Steve nodded, “That’s what I figured. Now about their hands.” Reaching into a box, he pulled out one of the amputated body parts, “These marks on the fingers are from rings, but they all removed them.” He pulled out three more severed arms or hands, “Since they all removed them, the rings declared something they didn’t want anybody to know. We have the same oddity with the boots. On all but one, the hands are more or less clean.” He pointed the amputated hand at one of the tied up assassins, “This is his, and there was dirt under his nails. The same as his boots, so I have to wonder why one out of ten played in the dirt.”
“Could it have been to hide their rings?”
“No, because the skin was starting to take back its natural shape, they removed them a while ago. Now let’s talk about their weapons. That blacksmith you sent for had a look at them, and he said the metal isn’t from the west, suggesting the Bright Coast also. However, when I showed him those small handheld dual-bolt crossbows, he had never seen anything like them.” He pulled one out of the box. “These’re precision instruments, highly crafted, and I would imagine expensive.” He pointed to the underside of the one he held, “This used to have a maker’s mark, and somebody, who was very proud of their work, signed it, but a different person removed it. I examined the wounds on the dead elves, and I suspect poison.”
“All these years, I have just been burying the dead,” began Ramy. “Guess next time I will brew up a pot of bean juice and sit down to have a talk with them.”
Steve, picking up another amputated hand, placed it beside the first. “Can you see any differences?”
Picking up each, Ramy examined both, “Other than the dirt you pointed out, it also has a yellow tinge to it.”
“If they all had dirt on their hands and boots with yellow stains, it would mean nothing. When only one does, it means something, but I’m not sure what.” Then Steve pulled out six pieces of skin from the box. “They all have these brands on their shoulders, including those two withered ones and these guys,” then he tossed one to Ramy.
He picked up the piece of skin, which had a round brand containing several lines and characters inside of it, “What does it mean?”
“Well, since that was all the dead had to tell me, I thought we would see if the living might be interested in joining the discussion.”
There was a knock at the door, and a Watch Guard let John in, “How goes the interrogation?”
“We’re just starting,” replied Steve
“You’ve been at this for a while. I thought you were better at this. No, wait! You’re the one who arrests innocent mothers. I forgot, sorry.”
Steve pushed out a chair for John, who carefully placed the arrow he carried on the table but let neither of them touch it. Steve set his box of grotesque body parts on the floor, “Ten men sailed out of the Bright Coast, and I guess arrived in that south port town everybody talks about. They took measures to hide anything that might say where they were from, or what their purpose was, and then they managed to somehow make it north through a trollmare infested territory and arrived here. One likes playing in the dirt, and they all have these brands on them. The only real clues are these strange crossbow pistols.”
“Why would somebody travel from the Bright Coast to here?” asked John.
Steve picked up the amputated hand, smiled, scratched behind his ear with it, “That was what we were just about to ask our friends here.”
Shaking his head, John looked at the two silent men at the back of the room, “The one on the left, I don’t think he’s going to answer many questions. Is he even still alive?”
“He lost a lot of blood,” advised Ramy, “and he’ll die soon without Earth Mother’s help.”
“Do you mind if I try something?” When nobody objected, John walked over to the nearly dead man, jabbing the arrow into his leg, and then watched. The man never flinched when the arrow penetrated the leg muscles, but then he slowly began to slump in his chair, sliding down as his head fell forward, losing its shape. Finally, the abnormally grotesque form let out a moan, a few quick breaths, and fell onto the floor. The body that lacked definition looked like somebody had removed the bones, filling it with a liquid, as it resembled a human shaped water balloon.
Steve went over, tried to pick up the arm to feel for a pulse, but lacking structure, it was limp in his hands.
“I’ll explain it later,” advised John. “Let’s talk in the next room.” As they exited, a guard outside entered, and Ramy went for hot bean juice. Steve and John crossed the hall, entering an adjacent room. “Okay, I get it. You’re telling him just enough, so he still thinks he’s smarter than you are, but what aren’t you telling me?”
“You’re wrong, I’m telling him everything I know because he won’t say anything, and I know that. It was a professional hit, and they used the biggest attack on this town as a diversion.”
John shook his head in disbelief, “What?”
“There are only two pieces of information that I’m looking for, but I doubt if he’ll give any names or details and torture won’t work. All of them are covered in old scars, and this guy didn’t even scream when we cut off his hands, or when Logan barbecued his stumps.”
John began massaging his temples, “Crap.”
“I have one idea, that elf Earth Mother, what do they call her?”
“Earth Mother, they’re all called that, even me.”
“So how do I ask somebody to get her?”
“Just tell them you want to see Earth Mother. They’ll know which one, and before you ask, no, I can’t explain how.”
Stepping into the hall, Steve called to one of the Town Watch, whispering his request to the guard.
“I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this. What do you hope to learn?” asked John.
“If he was employed by an organization or an individual.”
“You don’t think he’ll tell you anything else?”
“I think it would take years to make him crack. When you turned his friend into jelly, I would’ve told you all of my PIN numbers. Since he didn’t even flinch, death doesn’t scare him. While back home I might have been able to put him into protective custody, this guy is mob scared. Even if we let him go, he would most likely take his own life, which will be quicker than the slow death that waits for him.”
Ramy entered the room with three cups of bean juice, “Is that brand an assassin’s m
ark?”
“Don’t know much about assassins,” replied Steve, “but very few of the hired killers I arrested would do anything like that. I think it has another purpose, but I have no idea of what it is.”
John accepted the cup, “What’s Earth Mother going to tell you?”
“The story you told me about what happened last time,” Steve paused, “I have an idea, but I want to see what happens.”
“Well let’s go wait with him to make sure he doesn’t do anything.” As they entered the room with the still living suspect, John looked at the guard, pointed to the second assailant on the floor, “Can you please remove him?”
For twenty minutes, Steve and John stared at the silent bound man, not asking any questions. When they heard a knock at the door, Steve walked over, and seeing Gingaar, whispered something into her ear.
She stepped into the room, “Why do you attack Earth Mothers?” It was an Earth Bond.
With the silent man remaining speechless, Gingaar exited.
“Kid, that’s what I was afraid of. We might as well leave because I don’t want to watch the rest.”
John stood, headed towards the door, but as he stepped into the hall, quickly jumped to the right, as he watched one of Gingaar’s deer spiders slowly advance into the room.
Chapter 15
It was three feet long, having thick legs like tree branches, covered with tiny spiked hairs. On the top of its head, eight multi-faceted eyes looked in every direction, and below them, six-inch long fangs dripped with venom.
John watched from the hallway, “Holy crap! I thought Nur was exaggerating.”
The spider slowly inched closer to the bound man.
“That thing will kill him, you know?” advised John. “They inject venom into their prey which breaks down the tissue, so it can suck it in through those fangs.”
Even though the man tied to the chair remained quiet, his eyes showed his fear.
“You need to do something,” prodded John. “That venom is so potent, it’ll actually liquefy bones.”
Steve looked at the bound man, “That’s what I thought.”
The assassin looked up from the spider to Steve and John.
Steve smiled, “TALK!”
With the spider halfway to the chair, thick perspiration now covered the assassin’s face.
Steve looked into the pleading eyes of the handless man, “TALK!”
The spider was getting closer to his bound legs.
“Kill me! PLEASE KILL ME!”
“Talk!”
From inside the room the man screamed, his breathing rapid, his voice filled with fear, “If I tell you anything, promise to kill me. Shoot me with my crossbow.”
Steve nodded, “Who hired you?”
“The guild gave me the contract. Kill me please before it bites!”
“Why did they send you here?” asked Steve.
“To kill the Earth Mothers, now shoot me!”
“WHY?”
His anguished screams filled the room when the spider sank its fangs deep into the leg.
“TALK OR I’LL LET IT FINISH YOU OFF!”
“The guild paid me gold, I never asked. Kill me, the pain, PLEASE KILL ME!”
“The brand,” Steve shouted back, “WHAT IS IT FOR?”
“Protection, but he never said from what.” The confessed assassin was shaking, his voice a hushed murmur. “Please—,” and then he went silent.
“Damn it, I didn’t think the venom would be that strong.” Steve called to Gingaar, leaned close, and whispered to her. As she led the giant spider from the room, Steve went to the room across the hall, and sitting down, he slammed his hand on the table.
“What’s wrong?”
“He said the guild sent him to kill Earth Mothers, but somebody told him the brands were for protection. He knew who sent him here, but I thought I would have more time. We’re looking for one guy, not an organization. Any idea on why this mystery guy, who hired him, had such a hate for the Earth Mothers here?”
John, trying to understand what he had witnessed, walked away in silence.
*******
The next morning, wandering down the stairs at Pintar’s, John found Eric, Steve, Gayne, and Mirtza in the dining room and asked about the rest. Eric informed him that Logan had spent the night with his Bastards, and Lauren with Ryan had stayed with Zack. As Evesnight set John’s meal down, she pointed to a large box of arrows that Ramy had dropped off for him. Then he inquired about the attack from the previous day.
“They lost about thirty,” replied Eric, “mostly dwarves, but it could’ve been worse. Ramy is making arrangements to send them back to their clans, and digging graves for the rest in the shantytown. Ironhouse has prepared the graves for the Earth Guards, and their service is at the first sundown tonight.”
John wiped away a tear.
“Did anybody hear what happened with Earth Mother and Ramy?” asked Steve.
Mirtza replied, “She issued an Earth Bond for any that conspired against Alron, and three came forward. She told them to confess their crimes, and Ramy seized their property.”
“What?” asked John.
“I remembered what you said about Lauren issuing an Earth Bond thing to identify traitors,” replied Steve, “so I asked the Earth Mother to do the same. Since our spider supper wasn’t from these lands, I figured there might be more traitors here. Guess I was right.”
“So, back to the Bright Coast today?” asked Gayne.
“I would actually like to visit Mother’s forest, but I don’t know how to get out there.”
“John,” started Gayne, “of all the places we could go, why in the name of all the honey beer brewed by dwarves would you want to go out there?”
“What do you hope to see?” prodded Mirtza.
“I don’t know. I was hoping a staff for Lauren. Maybe a tree of truth; eat a piece of fruit and understand everything. The forest we visited first was dead, and Gingaar says that this one is alive. On the other side of those mountains it’s raining, but here the weather is typical. There are bastards in the west, but only rumors of them in the east. The Earth Mothers Gayne heard about fled to the Bright Coast, but he can’t find any, and now they attack the same here. The only things in common on both sides are the trollmares. It’s like there are two different worlds, and I just want to know what’s happening. If Mother is still in that forest, maybe there are also answers.” He pushed away his plate, “I promised Ramy I would make him spelled arrows for the trollmare attacks.” Grabbing them, he headed up to his room and put on his cloak.
Around noon, Ramy showed up to collect the arrows, providing an update on the traitors, advising they were the riders selected for the fast horses that visited the south port town. Somebody had offered them gold to supply information about Alron, the Earth Mothers, defenses, and such. They also provided information on their contacts and meeting spots, which he would forward to the Watch in the south port town.
John explained to Ramy about the kites, chains, and cloak, including the process to recharge it. He also advised him that Fodu would be able to give him directions on how to build the kites when he returned the Trollmare Slayers back to Ironhouse. “I’ll leave this here so you can recharge it, returning in a few weeks, so I can get it back.” Then he handed Ramy his silent black cloak, knowing he had spent its magic, as it could no longer transmute gold into lead.
Shortly after that. Eric, John, and Steve headed over to visit Nur and Zack. As they walked, John congratulated Eric. “I heard you made quite the impression yesterday inspiring the troops?”
“I would’ve preferred a good storm with a lot of lightning, and my old buddies back, but those men on the wall impressed me just as much, and Sister found Logan?”
“I guess she did. I don’t know how, but I’m thankful,” replied John.
“So Logan is back to normal, you have your magic back and—”
“I already spent it all,” interrupted John. “I enchanted some arrow
s for Ramy in case they have more attacks like that, and he’s going to recharge my cloak, but it could take a week to a month. For now, we need to rely on Logan to protect us.”
Eric nodded, “Let’s just hope a spelling bee doesn’t attack us.”
In front of Zack’s house, they found a dozen midlanders and elves standing guard. They were not Earth Guards, rather concerned citizens showing respect. Once they were inside, Gingaar explained the extents of Nur’s wounds, and while extremely serious, she felt confident of her recovery.
“The two attackers in the basement?” asked Lauren. “Something strange happened to them. Sam and Hope said you made them grow?”
“When I went to the basement, Earth Mother pushed me into the room secret. When I stepped out, two were in front of me, so with my staff, I made them grow, like I make my plants grow, but I made both grow old.”
John was surprised, “It can affect non-plant life? That’s amazing.”
“I called upon Mother’s gift, and it answers. I thought like my old friend Lauren and did as she would.”
She smiled, “You’re incredible. I remember the timid little elf that shadowed Earth Mother back at Ironhouse. How you resisted us calling you Earth Mother for so long, but now you’re so confident, cunning, and assertive. I can’t believe the changes in you.”
“I had a good teacher. If not for one called Lauren, I would still be a simple plant maiden with mud between my toes. Will you leave this day or stay for the Earth Guard burial this night?”
