Siege of Pailtar

by Robyn Wideman

  “Kind of ironic, having a stakeout from a bank to watch a fence,” said Kiana.

  “Yep, normally we’d be staking out the bank with the help of the fence,” agreed Ethan. “I’m glad you thought to bring water sacks up here. The view is great, but the lack of shade is making me sweat like a whore in church.”

  Kiana laughed, “Know a lot of whores do you? Have you even been in a church? Which god would you pray too?”

  Ethan glanced over to look at Kiana, “This is Pailtar, everyone knows a whore. And I’ve been in a church. I’ve been in several.”

  “I mean have you been in a church when you weren’t there to steal something?”

  Ethan grinned. “No, but that is beside the point. Just because I lifted a few items while I was there didn’t mean I didn’t think about the gods. I always give thanks to the gods.”

  “Which ones?”

  “Whichever ones keep an eye out on thieves,” replied Ethan. “Gods of war, love, heavens or Hell, envy or animals, I try not to discriminate. I steal from all of them so that gods know I don’t play favorites.”

  “You ever get caught stealing from a high priest you will become a sacrifice to the gods.”

  “I’m not crazy enough to steal from them. I only steal from fat merchants, it’s way safer.”

  “True,” agreed Kiana. “You think Marco is stealing from the Guild?”

  “You don’t think this is an actual mission do you? This is just another practice session Keyon has us on. The teachers are all busy worrying about rumors of Morthon wanting war that they don’t have time for our lessons. Instead we get to practice surveillance on a hot rooftop.”

  “I don’t know,” said Kiana. Keyon had been pretty explicit in his instructions to not do anything foolish and to make sure they did not get spotted. It sounded like Keyon was somewhat desperate to have someone following Marco without tying up more experienced guild members. “I think this is real. And even if it is just a practice mission, you remember how cow watching went. Who knows what we will see today.”

  Ethan groaned, “Can we please just forget about the cows. The shit jokes are getting old.”

  Kiana had a small smirk on her face as she kept her eyes on the door of Marco’s shop. “Sure we can forget the fact you stunk like cow shit for a week … Maybe.”

  “It’s almost lunch time. Keyon said Marco would be closing the shop for the day soon. Should we head down to the street now?” asked Ethan.

  “You head down. Go stand under that palm tree down the street.”

  “Why there? I’ll barely be able to see one door, let alone both of them.”

  “No, but you can see the front door and keep an eye on the roof. If he leaves by the back door I’ll signal you. If he leaves by the front door and goes up the street I’ll stay on the roof long enough to make sure you catch up. If he heads down the street, I’ll come down right away.”

  Ethan nodded, “Okay, that does make sense.” Ethan crawled back away from the edge of the roof and stood up. “See you in a few,” he said as he crawled over the edge of the roof and down into the alley between the bank and the merchant’s shop beside it.

  Sitting alone on the roof, Kiana took a sip of her water and focused on the doors. She was determined to not screw up this job.

  When the man that fit the description of Marco came out the front door, Kiana was ready. Which way are you going? Kiana thought to herself as she avoided staring directly at him. When Marco headed down the street towards Ethan, Kiana crawled back and then down into the alley where she waited a couple seconds before walking out onto the street.

  Glancing ahead, Kiana spotted both Ethan and Marco. Ethan was doing a good job of following Marco at a respectable distance, far enough back that Marco wouldn’t see him through the crowds. Later, if Marco went somewhere less crowded they would take turns following so that Marco wouldn’t get used to having one person behind him.

  Luckily, Marco stopped at an outdoor eating area. The small park-like area was popular among the street vendors. Marco purchased his lunch and sat down at a bench. Instead of catching up with Ethan, Kiana went to a spicy meat vendor and bought a couple strips. The meal would give her an excuse to sit down in the park area behind Marco.

  Taking a bite of the hot, sweet and spicy meat, Kiana glanced over at Ethan. The look in his eyes made his jealousy over the fact Kiana had been able to eat lunch obvious. I stayed up on the hot roof, getting lunch for a cover is fair, Kiana thought.

  Kiana watched as a man walked past the food vendors and sat down beside Marco. Kiana almost spit her lunch out when she saw who it was. The man was the cow-stealing wizard! Marco was in cahoots with a dangerous man. The question was what to do now. Marco and the wizard were having a long conversation, but about what?

  Standing up, Kiana started walking away from the park area.

  Ethan, seeing the direction Kiana was taking moved to meet her. Once they were a safe distance from the park, one where they could still see Marco and the wizard but not be heard, Kiana and Ethan stopped.

  “Did you see who that was?” asked Ethan.

  “Yes, the wizard we stole the cows back from. The one you used the flaming poop illusion on.”

  “Ya the one who blew up that farmhouse because of it. I went back, you know. The house was completely burnt down. There were pieces of the house hundreds of yards away! That is a powerful mage.”

  “And he’s a thief. Not one of ours either,” said Kiana.

  “Do you think he works for King Ganus?” asked Ethan worriedly. Following Marco was one thing, following a powerful mage who would roast you alive if he knew who you were - was quite another.

  “I don’t know, but we have to find out,” said Kiana.

  “Kiana, we have specific instructions….”

  “If this mage is working for King Ganus, Keyon will want to know. We need to finish our assignment and not lose the mage.”

  “How are we going to do that?” asked Ethan.

  “We follow both of them. You follow Marco, and as soon as he goes somewhere not important like his office or house, you get to Keyon and tell him what’s going on.”

  “What are you going to do?” asked Ethan, despite the fact he already had a sneaking suspicion he knew the answer.

  “I’m going to follow the mage. I will be careful, but this is too important. We need to know why are they meeting, and who else they meet.”

  “Keyon is going to kill us,” groaned Ethan.

  “Whatever. Look, they’re getting up. Follow Marco and be careful, then get to Keyon.”

  “Be careful? I’m not the one following a fire mage who can blow up an entire farmhouse into little pieces.”

  “Get going, Ethan. I’ll be fine.” Kiana tried to sound confident despite the fact she knew this was very dangerous. However, her instincts told her that something foul was afoot and the right thing to do was follow this mage until she could learn more about him.

  As Marco and the mage walked away from each other, Ethan and Kiana split apart. Ethan started following Marco and Kiana the mage.

  Kiana was curious about the way the mage was dressed. Normally, mages tended to wear robes to signify their statue, and the last time she had seen the mage he had been wearing robes, but today he was dressed like a normal person, tan pants, leather tunic, and a rope belt. If Kiana hadn’t seen him in the forest she would not have suspected him to be a mage. Mages were not uncommon in Pailtar and magic did not bother most people of Pailtar so why hide his identity?

  As Kiana pondered the mage’s appearance trouble arrived. Two more men were suddenly walking alongside the mage. Kiana would bet any money that these men were also mages. Their simple appearance did not fool Kiana. They both had the same facial expressions and sharp eyes as the first mage.

  Kiana dropped further back. Following three men was easier than one, but the risk of being noticed was greater.

  Ahead of the mages was the large city guard barracks, home to Pailtar’s vers
ion of an army. Kiana watched in dismay as the three mages approached the building. The men raised their arms and started chanting. Magical energy flowed from all three mages into a small bundle of flames in front of them. As the men kept walking forward the ball of flames grew bigger and bigger until they pushed forward with their hands, the magical ball of fire flew through the air striking the barracks.

  The loud explosion rocked Pailtar. Kiana could not believe the mages were attacking the city barracks! As soldiers ran out of the burning building, the mages fired more fire at the soldiers.

  “Shields,” cried out one of the soldiers. “Don’t come out without shields.”

  The soldier’s warning to his fellow warriors was heeded and a group of soldiers came out armed with shields and spears. They started attacking the mages. The mages started to flee the soldiers, firing fireballs at the soldiers to keep them at a distance.

  The attack on the barracks shocked Kiana. She did not know what to do. Would the Guild want the mages followed? And what would she be able to do if they noticed her. Kiana decided the prudent move was to report what she had seen right away. She would already be in trouble with Keyon for following the mage. The question was who to report to? Kiana decided the best person to answer that was her mother. Kiana raced home. Her heart was pounding. Kiana felt the hand of fear and she ran faster.

  24

  Pailtar

  TOLGA OYAL SAT AT his table in the Broken Dagger Bar nursing his ale. The bar was one of many Thieves’ Guild establishments in the city that they would be attacking. Tolga and twenty of his mercenaries were seated at various tables throughout the bar. When the signal was given they would attack everyone in the bar. Not all were members of the Guild, but enough to matter. His brother Tunc would be doing the same in the X pub. While two more groups of his mercenaries attacked other Guild businesses. Fire mages would be attacking the city guard barracks, keeping the city guards occupied while Tolga’s mercs dealt with the Thieves’ Guild.

  Tolga admired the serving wench as she filled the mug of one of his men. Her healthy bosom and sparkling blue eyes made her a very attractive woman. In another place and time Tolga might have tested the waters to see if her attentions could be purchased, but today Tolga would not indulge in such behavior.

  The explosion was loud, even inside the Broken Dagger everyone could hear it. As the bar's patrons started to stand, startled by the noise, Tolga and his men attacked. Tolga grabbed the attractive serving girl and ran her through with his dagger. Tolga could see the look of shock and pain in her big beautiful eyes as he wiped his blade clean on her blouse while watching her die. Turning away from his first victim, Tolga flipped his dagger and threw it into the chest of the bartender.

  Screams of agony filled the air as his mercenaries slaughtered the clientele of the Broken Dagger. A few of its patrons were able to draw weapons and fight back, but after the initial surprise attack numbers were on the side of the mercenaries and those who survived the initial attacks were slain. Not a soul was left alive.

  Tolga looked around the bar. One of his men had died at the hands of a sailor and another was wounded, very acceptable losses for an attack on the Guild. With satisfaction, Tolga assessed the number of dead patrons. The first attack had been a success. Tolga gathered his men and headed to the next Thieves’ Guild establishment on his list.

  …

  Everet put his foot up under the table and onto Severa’s chair. His foot rested between her legs.

  Severa raised an eyebrow in question. Everet was not one for public displays of affection and him placing his foot on her chair was not likely an act of foolish flirtation.

  “Take the knife out of my boot,” said Everet.

  Severa placed her hand on his boot and pulled the hidden dagger out. “You do know I have my own dagger?” asked Severa, confused by Everet’s actions.

  “Yes, I know,” replied Everet softly so only she could hear him. “When the attack comes, throw my dagger into the gentlemen behind me with his back turned to me. Don’t miss.

  Severa calmly looked past Everet to the next table. Three men were sitting there drinking ale, at first Severa couldn’t notice anything alarming about the table of men, then she started to notice small details. The men all had weapons and wore riding boots, these were not sailors nor were they part of the city guard. In addition, all three of the men were not talking or drinking, they were waiting for something. Glancing around the bar, Severa noticed several other tables with men of similar garb and posture.

  Everet waved down their server, a young lass named Emily.

  “Would you like some more ale?” asked Emily.

  “No, tell the bartender I’d like some Venecian wine, and I want it as soon as possible,” replied Everet.

  Emily nodded, “Right away.” The request was somewhat odd, Everet and Severa had been coming to the bar for several days in a row and had never ordered wine, nor spoken to her so abruptly, but Emily was a smart girl who had seen many strange requests, she immediately went to the bartender and repeated Everet’s request.

  The bartender looked over at Everet who was scratching his neck, making eye contact for the briefest second, the bartender watched Everet bring his fingers across his throat. “Emily, go upstairs and find Colby. Tell him to bring the Venecian wine and a couple swords.”

  Emily nodded and slowly walked up the stairs, she was not just a serving girl, she was a full-fledged Guild member, an accomplished pickpocket who only worked at the bar to pay her Guild membership. She knew that something bad was about to happen if Brendon was asking for Colby.

  Without knocking, Emily entered the private lounge and went directly to Colby. “We need the Venecian wine and a couple swords right now.”

  Colby turned to the rest of the men sitting around the room. “Grab your weapons, walk downstairs one at time.” Colby turned to Emily, “A couple more of the boys are sleeping, wake them and tell them to go outside and watch the exits. When you’ve done that, stay here.”

  “I can help,” insisted Emily.

  “I know you can,” replied Colby, “You are going to take that crossbow on the wall and make sure no one that you don’t recognize comes up those stairs. Make sure you watch the back door. I am keeping my back to the stairs, so don’t be letting anyone past you. If they do make it by you, yell like a banshee.”

  Emily took the crossbow from the wall along with a quiver of arrows and stood beside the stairs, determined to do her part.

  Colby motioned for his companions to make their way downstairs one at a time. It was time to find out what was actually happening downstairs.

  Colby grabbed a bottle of wine and went down into the bar. As he reached the bottom stair Colby scanned the room. At first glance it was a normal crowd, a mixture of sailors and locals. A second glance showed Colby what had Everet worried.

  Instead of going towards Everet’s table, Colby walked up to the bar and placed himself between two men whose intent might be questionable. As Colby positioned himself at the bar another of his men came down the stairs and casually made his way towards the fireplace. Colby wanted to smile, his men knew exactly what to do. As each of them made their way into the bar they spread out and positioned themselves near a group of the strangers.

  …

  Tunc Oyal stood at the entrance to the Barnyard pub, he waited for the explosion that would mark the signal for him to enter the bar. Once he entered the bar, his men would start attacking everyone in the pub. The distraction caused by the explosion would give his men all the advantage they would need to quickly kill everyone in the pub. Most of the patrons would be innocent victims, but that was not his problem. The Barnyard was a Thieves’ Guild establishment so it was on his list. Any business or person associating with the Guild was on his list of targets. King Ganus had a good number of spies in Pailtar, giving Tunc and Tolga a very large list of businesses and people to target. Tolga folded his copy of the list and slid it inside his pocket. He would look at it again wh
en they finished at the Barnyard.

  Tunc just finished putting the list away when he heard the explosion. Tunc entered the Barnyard, signaling for the attack to begin.

  …

  Everet heard the explosion and sprang into action, jumping up a half second before Tunc walked into the bar.

  As the door opened and Tunc entered, his men stood up and drew their weapons. They expected everyone else to be in shock at the loud explosion. Instead they found men waiting with weapons drawn.

  As Evert had instructed, Severa threw Everet’s dagger into the man sitting behind him. The man had been turning, intending on stabbing Everet in the back.

  The gasp of air behind him told Everet that Severa’s aim had been true. Everet used his other dagger to stab the man at the next table as he tried to rise to attack. Around the pub, Everet could hear the sounds of men being stabbed and throttled with bottles and beaten with chairs. The attackers without the element of surprise on their side were outnumbered and were falling victim to their own plan.

  Glancing back to see that Serena was safe, Everet noted with satisfaction that she had already pulled out her own dagger and attacked one of the other two men at the table behind him. Another of Colby’s men was fighting with the third from that group.

  Everet turned his attention to the man coming in the door. This would be the leader, he would be the one Everet wanted to keep alive, at least for a short while, to get information from him. Everet danced his way through Guild men and the attackers, making his way to the leader.

  As Tunc entered the bar he immediately saw trouble. The first man up was not one of his own and as that man rose, the woman sitting across from him threw a dagger into the chest of one of his men. From there things only got worse. Tunc’s men were ambushed, someone had anticipated the attack and the room was full of Guild men, armed and ready. The battle was a slaughter, but not in the way Tunc had envisioned it when he and Tolga planned it.