by Brian Keller
Once Aden had distributed the contents of the pipette amongst a dozen other glass tubes, he placed the pipette down carefully on a clean cloth and put corks in all the tubes. After the last one was in place he rose to greet him, “Sorry about that, but some things just can’t be postponed once they’ve been started.” Cooper turned to point out the vials he’d just arranged, stopping on one in particular, “You never told me what was in these, just that you wanted me to test them as potential antidotes for Blight.” Aden didn’t reply except to nod in agreement. Cooper had paused, expecting some reply but didn’t wait longer to continue, “This first one didn’t seem to have any effect at all.” He handed the vial to Aden for his inspection as he moved on to the second vial, “This one might’ve helped the guy a little bit, but I didn’t wipe off all the residue from the first one as well as I probably should’ve. I wiped off the blood, but didn’t really put much effort into it. Sorry.” He handed over the second vial as he moved to the third, “With this one, notice how I shaved off part of the edge of the cork, to make sure I identified the right one. For this one, I cleaned my dagger much better. The guy was already starting to fade, but this one showed some real promise, I was able to get a few more questions in.” He turned the vial over in his hand, pinching a finger over the cork, “But by then, the guy was getting a little incoherent. A second dose seemed to help straighten him out for a few minutes but after that..” He shook his head, “After that it was as if I’d never given him any antidote at all. He just couldn’t do anything but scream. That Life Blight is some nasty stuff.” Aden took the antidote vial from him and tied a short length of ribbon around it, asking, “Speaking of Blight, how much did you use?” Cooper lifted his chin, “’Just enough of the dagger tip to break the surface tension’, that’s what you told me. That’s what I did.” He reached out and took Aden’s hand and turned it palm down. He pointed to a vein near his elbow, “I made a cut right here, then put the point of the blade into the cut, right over the vein. That’s what you told me to do, right?” Aden nodded, “That’s exactly right, in fact.” Aden took a breath, “Ok. That gives us something to work with.” He placed all three vials in a rack and set it to the far side of his work table, then turned to face Cooper, “What’s next for you then?” Cooper shook his head, “I think I’ll go hunt around for Jarell in the Ruins, whether I get assigned to do it or not.” Aden put a hand on Cooper’s shoulder, “There’re other, more experienced Assassins for that task. Let the Council decide. If they want you involved, you’ll be included in the task.” Cooper’s expression hardened, “Jarell shouldn’t still be alive. He’s alive because I didn’t kill him.” Aden smiled, “And you’re still alive because he didn’t kill you. Don’t forget, we sleep in the same bay. I saw all those cuts and bandages covering you after you fought him. I think we’re all a little surprised you lived after that, pleasantly surprised, I might add.” Cooper stood up and squared his shoulders, “Things are different now. Besides, several of those cuts came courtesy of Felis. Now my wounds are healed, and maybe Jarell’s are too, but I know how deep that blade went into his leg. After taking a plunge into the river, I’ll bet he still hasn’t fully healed. And now… I’ve Manifested.” Aden had a defeated expression, “You’ll do what you want-”, then he corrected himself before Cooper could interrupt him, “-what you think is right. You always have. Just consider listening to the Council this time. You’re an Adept now, or soon will be. One of the Guild’s Assassins. You’re expected to display a certain amount of self-discipline now, right?” Cooper took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He had to admit, Aden was probably right. Cooper muttered, “We’ll see.” Aden chuckled then asked, “Incidentally, do you still have that vial of Debilitas?” Cooper nodded and touched a pouch. Aden nodded, “I’m making a copy of my formula book. Miss Camilla insisted and she’s also added a few of her own. I was thinking of suggesting a specialized Apothecary class, Advanced Poisons. What do you think?” Cooper let out a quick snort, “I think you’re gonna have a classroom full of empty seats! Who’re you going to teach that stuff to? You and Miss Camilla, and a few Masters are the only ones who’ll know what you’re talking about half the time.” Aden’s shoulders sagged, “You’re probably right. Miss Camilla wanted me to make the copy for safekeeping, but I was thinking that if more Guild members got involved, then they’d be making copies of their own, too. Plus, it’d be a huge help to have more of us working on these projects.” Cooper gave Aden a slap across the back as he turned to leave, “See you at breakfast.”
*****
In the time it took Yoren to assemble the soldiers that he wanted and then explain what they were preparing to do, the mages from the University arrived. Iona found humor in watching the soldier’s expressions change from apprehension to relief when the mages announced that they’d be leading the movement into the Ruins. Felis accompanied Iona when Yoren waved her forward. Yoren told her, announcing to all assembled, “You’re in charge of this expedition. You’ll need to tell them where they’re going. I’ll await your return to learn of your findings.” Until this point, she’d simply assumed that he’d be the person in charge. It seemed that the Spymaster didn’t see a need to place himself at risk. Still, this is what she was trained for and there certainly wasn’t a lack of security. In fact, she felt concerned that the collective nervousness, and resulting Talent access from the assembled forces might be enough to cloud her perception. She’d need to address that before they departed. Her thoughts were interrupted as Wen stepped forward. As she spoke to Iona, she jerked a thumb in Felis’ direction, “What’s the bookworm doing here? Documenting our findings?” Before Iona could reply, she could feel Felis’ power build as he stepped forward. She thought she caught a floral scent with just a whiff of sulfur as he replied, “Yes. That’s exactly it. I’ll be going along, but I’ll stay out of the way.”
Iona took a few steps and raised her voice. She was completely unaccustomed to speaking to a crowd, her voice wavered but was loud enough to carry, “I will be trying to sense where the person we’re pursuing has used magic in the last few hours. It isn’t always easy to do, so I’ll ask that all of you not use your own Talents while we go, unless it’s required for safety or self-defense. Thank you.” She turned to the assembled mages, “Wen, you and him”, she indicated the Fire mage, “up front. The rest of you, distribute yourselves as before.” Felis stepped forward to stand beside her, and gave Emmit a nod of acknowledgement. Emmit looked slightly uncomfortable with the greeting.
The trip to the Ruins was long and uneventful. Since there were no gates in the Palisade Wall, their route took them out across the bridge into the Grid, through the Trade Quarter to the North Bridge, then back through the Waterfront into Batter’s Field and to the edge of the Ruins. Each time a mage complained about the length of the walk, Felis smiled enigmatically.
Once they reached the boundary between Batter’s Field and the Ruins, they stopped. In a quiet tone, Felis suggested, “Perhaps we should have the mages and soldiers fan out a bit. That might increase our security a little, as well as make your immediate surroundings a little quieter?” Iona nodded but felt uncertain about positioning the soldiers. He suggested, “There are ten soldiers. As we move north along the edge, with you searching for whatever yet lingers, position four to each flank, keeping two in front to the center. Place the mages, paired, between those small groups, with Emmit staying nearby so he can quickly shift where needed, if needed.” Iona nodded and relayed Felis’ suggestion in a loud voice.
Iona initially had a fair idea of where she needed to search, from where she’d viewed the surroundings from the Palace balcony earlier. But now everything looked very different from the ground. It felt like they needed to walk further north, closer to the Palisade Wall, but she couldn’t be sure how far from the Palace they needed to be. As they walked southeast along the boundary between Batter’s Field and the Ruins, they approached the Waterfront district. Iona couldn’t explain it, but it felt like they
had been drawing closer. She also felt like if they kept walking in this direction, they’d be moving further away. She called out, “We need to turn left. To the north. Into the Ruins.” There was a collective buzz from the small groups of soldiers and a note of irritation found its way into Iona’s voice, “You knew we were going into the Ruins before we left. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you now.” One of the soldiers, a sergeant, stepped toward her, “We know it, miss. But you must understand that we don’t have any patrols that go inta the Ruins. Nobody goes inta the Ruins.” He took a quick breath, “We’re soldiers. We train for battle against a flesh and blood enemy, and we’ll go wherever were ordered.” Iona took in a breath to speak, but the soldier continued, “We’ll go inta the Ruins with you, miss. Don’t you worry about that, but most of us’re gonna need a moment to resolve to it, beggin’ yer pardon.” As Iona looked across the groups and the mages looked no more confident than the soldiers. Felis stepped forward with a smile and looked at Wen, “The bookworm is resolved to go. Shall I lead the way?” He looked over his shoulder at Iona and gave her a wink. The Fire mage took a deep breath and let it out slow, then turned to face north and called out, “All right, let’s go. Everyone stay together in your groups and call out if you see something.”
They hadn’t walked for more than a minute before Iona called out, “Stop! We’re very near.” She took a moment and centered herself then pointed at a house that actually looked like it could be lived in, “It’s there.” The Fire mage remarked, “Well, look at that. The only decent building around. We almost wouldn’t need a bloodhound for that, would we?” Wen, standing beside her, nudged the fire mage with an elbow, “You wouldn’t have come out here on your own, would you?” The fire mage shrugged and Felis leaned in to whisper to Iona, “Send a few in to check out the rooms, then form a protective ring around the building?” Iona nodded and repeated those directions, adding, “And please, touch nothing inside.”
Once inside, Iona didn’t feel drawn to any one thing but the sight was horrifying. There wasn’t a place on the floor where she could rest her eyes that didn’t have the body of a dead sellsword lying there. Felis walked around the room, stopping every few steps to bend forward and inspect some detail. A few minutes later he stepped back to the doorway and scanned the entire room, his eyes seeming to follow first one path, and then another. His eyes ended on the stairway, and the streaks of blood on the wall at the base of the stairs, then on the body resting below them. Iona had been watching his movements with interest, “Finished?” Felis looked slightly self-conscious as she continued, “You’ve walked all over the place. Find anything?” Felis shook his head, “I wasn’t really looking for anything. I was just trying to piece it all together. I thought if I could do that, I might help you find whatever you might be looking for.” She knelt down beside the body between the doorway and the stairs, “There’s something here, but very faint.” Felis nodded, “Everything paused here, might’ve even finished here.” He knelt down and pointed to the man’s side, “Someone dressed his wound. Then killed him, or he simply died from his wounds.” Iona leaned over to look where Felis was pointing, “That’s it. The dressing. That used to be his.” She reached forward and peeled the poultice away, “It’s faint, and already faded. He’d stopped using magic for a few minutes before applying this dressing. This dressing might not have even been his to begin with, I can’t tell.” Felis asked, “Can you sense anything else?” Iona shook her head, “There’s nothing else to tell. In another hour or two, there won’t even be enough of a trace left on this to be readable at all.” Iona stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her clothes, “Will you come upstairs with me? I don’t think anything is up there, but we’ve come all the way over here… it would be a waste not to go up and look.” Felis turned toward the stairs, “Want me to go first?”
Upstairs there was nothing of interest except for a body in the main room. His wrists and ankles were still bound but if his body position was any indication, his death had been a painful one.
By comparison, the walk back to the palace seemed to take much longer than it had taken to reach the Ruins. Iona was not looking forward to giving her report to Spymaster Aporigh. She felt certain he’d find nothing of significant value in return for the time and effort he’d personally invested.
Chapter 35
After eating, Cooper returned to the sleeping bay to get a few hours of much-needed sleep. Upon waking a couple of hours later, he felt a little apprehensive about whether to wait for approval, or just go ahead with the search. Regardless of the decision he made, there was no denying that his equipment had seen some hard usage and would benefit from some attention. Taking a few more minutes might give the Guildmaster, or the Council, time to decide how the Guild would respond to the information he’d provided them. He snugged up the bindings on his belt and put a fresh edge on his blades. Not knowing exactly what he might be walking into, he checked the fletching on his arrows before slinging the quiver over his shoulder. He considered whether to try assembling a small team to go along but decided against it. He wasn’t even sure whether he was considered an Adept yet. Surely no full-fledged Assassin would be satisfied following his lead. He’d considered either Kolrem or Rukle, but placing them deliberately into an unknown and undoubtedly dangerous situation didn’t appeal to him even though they’d both most likely be glad to come along.
Strapping his belt around his waist and checking the bowstring for the third time, he decided he was as ready as he’d ever be. No one had come to inform him that he’d been assigned, but neither had anyone come to refute the intentions he’d stated earlier. He visited the storefront and signed for two vials of antidote before walking to the hallway where the newcomer’s sleeping bay was. He went into a nearby room and on through the tunnel concealed beyond. He paused before he raised the pallet in the abandoned Potter’s shop at the far end. To his knowledge, that route hadn’t been compromised.
As he crossed the Whitefoam River, the guard on the north bridge studied him as he passed. His clothing and accessories left little doubt of who he was. He was still too young to be a sellsword. It almost looked like the guard was committing his appearance to memory, but most likely the man was deciding whether to call for reinforcements and attempt to enforce the current edict by arresting him, or simply let him pass. Kinsman passed without incident.
He walked along the road that formed the boundary between the Waterfront and Batter’s Field. Upon reaching the point where Batter’s Field ended and the Ruins were in front of him, he stopped. He stood still and tried to see as far into the Ruins as he could. It was bad enough that everyone in the city was wary, or even outright fearful, of that area; the unusual condition of the corpses being brought out from the Ruins was even more reason for caution. As he proceeded between the Ruins and the Waterfront district, he noticed a man sitting in the dirt on the Waterfront side. His head hung so low that he almost appeared to be sleeping. As Kinsman drew closer he could see by the heaving of the man’s shoulders that he wasn’t asleep, he was weeping. There was also something unmistakably familiar about him.
Feeling the not-unusual sensation of being observed, the man raised his head. It was Chesim’s father. Cooper cried out, “Faril!”, and immediately rushed to his side. He knelt down, “What’s the matter?!” Faril attempted to regain his composure, but mostly failed. He did manage to control his voice enough to say, “I came home from fishing to find my family gone. The neighbors told me that three men had come and taken Remali and the children! They told me they’d been brought this direction.” Cooper felt a wave of dread wash over him. When he spoke again, the Kinsman’s question was a single word, “When?” Faril shook his head, “A few hours ago. I was hoping for some sign of them. I’ve just been sitting here for a short while; trying to find the courage to enter. You know what is said about the Ruins.” Kinsman knew. He grew up a short distance away from here. He also knew how great Faril’s fear must be, to outweigh his love for his family. T
he man was disturbed enough that he hadn’t even noted Kinsman’s almost-signature attire. Kinsman gave Faril a knowing nod, “I’ll go and look for them. I was going in there anyway. Wait here or go back home. I’ll come find you afterward.” Faril gave him an amazed look, noticing his clothing at last, “If you return, you mean.” Kinsman nodded. He hadn’t considered dying, but he had to acknowledge the possibility.
He couldn’t be sure, but even the air seemed to have a different quality about it. Just stepping from one side of the street to the other. The odor was a mix of stale dust and a whiff of very old decay. It wasn’t overpowering, but it was enough that he no longer smelled salt air and dead fish. He wove amongst the collapsed buildings and piles of rubble. Prior to its destruction, this part of the city must have once been quite a sight to behold. Many of the piles of stone could have been from buildings three, or perhaps even four, stories in height. It was still possible to identify the streets and walkways, though most of them were more obstructed than not. He found a path that appeared to have been opened up. Someone had moved some of the debris and created a path wide enough for a small cart to pass. Kinsman followed the tracks.
After walking a few blocks, though the ‘blocks’ were barely discernable, he discovered that the slaves who had been brought in had indeed been put to work. A few buildings were undergoing reconstruction. Though it looked as if little more had been done than the removal of rubble from several of the foundations, much of the material had been salvaged and set aside for use in future re-construction. There were also several piles of clay and sand heaped up along the sides of the foundations. On one site, several large stones had already been positioned and a mixture of the clay and sand had been added as mortar between them. As he circled the site, he noticed that there was an opening leading underground but before he could approach to see whether it was simply a hole, or an opening to something larger, he stopped short.
