by E. M. Hardy
Very quickly, the guard’s expression twisted with fear and I knew I tugged on the right strings. He signaled the other guards and, before I knew it, the gates were wide open.
“Thank you,” I teased the guard. “Please do keep a mental image of who we are. We wouldn’t want you to forget.”
He didn’t reply but did stare as we strode on in and passed by the grounds’ barracks. I held back a laugh and I could see Elia was too. She just gave me a playful wink and we moved on forward, crossing the bailey until we reached the second largest building. This one looked like the proper audience building where the Grand Duke would meet with his people. Right by the door was a tall, thin man with a balding head and the deepest black eyes I had ever seen.
“Y-yes?” he stuttered a greeting just as we approached.
“We’re emissaries sent by the Golden Dragon,” I answered. “Let us through to speak with the Grand Duke.”
The man tried to deny us entry, just like the guard earlier, “Grand Duke Sivahl Grahm is indisposed at the moment.”
Elia put her research to good use this time. She arched her hands in a strange oblong motion until her palms met at about chest level. She bowed but never took her eyes off the man. Then, she stood straight and said, “As he said, we are emissaries of the Golden Dragon. We demand the right of conscript; we’re not here to simply speak with the Grand Duke. We are summoning him. By law, he must answer our call or the bank will forever shut him out from our services.”
The man gasped and gagged. He coughed here and there before he cleared his throat – well, as best as he could – and then asked, “W-what are your names?”
“I am Maia,” Elia answered. That was my cue to use an alias.
“I am Corbin,” I told the man. It felt so odd to hear that name now.
Satisfied, he opened the door, and we found ourselves exactly where I thought we would end up. Except that, to our utter surprise, there weren’t a lot of people inside.
As it happened, there were only about three dozen. I had expected nearly thrice that number. Even Elia seemed a little perturbed. Fortunately enough, however, we did see the Grand Duke seated on a throne and, right beside him, standing to his side, was his wife. Seated on a long table at the side of the audience room was Ritorio, along with a good five other men I had never met before.
“Pardon the intrusion, Grand Duke Sivahl Grahm and Duchess Miranda Grahm, but hereby I present to you two representatives of the Golden Dragon Trading Bazaar and Bank: Lord Corbin and the Lady Maia.”
Sivahl was a far more intimidating man than I had first perceived. He was tall, lean, and muscular with long black hair and deep, vengeful eyes. He was clad in royal reds and purples with a fur-lined cloak and a circlet on his head. His wife, Grand Duchess Miranda was a very petite woman but with a strong allure. She had long white-blonde hair, bright blue eyes and wore similar clothing. There was warmth to her that Sivahl did not bear.
“Step closer, that I may see who I speak to,” Sivahl said. His voice was deep, gravely and coarse. It had a very strong sense of authority and a tone of strength in it. Elia and I both walked in and presented ourselves to him and the rest of those attending. We stood a good ten feet away and gave a slight bow.
“Lord Grahm,” Elia began, “we come to you as representatives of the Golden Dragon. It is known you were present during the sudden kidnapping of the prisoner Ohren. It is also known that, during the assault, the perpetrators bombed the Golden Dragon as part of a diversion to keep the soldiers away. We are here to discuss the monetary repercussions of those events.”
I added in, “My lord, the main concern we want to present to you today is that much of the damages caused by the terrorist attack are to be charged against your coin and, in that same discussion, to the crown.”
Sivahl only gave a slow nod as he considered what we asked of him. “I understand that the crown is responsible for expenditures regarding repairs for public vicinities and amenities. We are happy to pay for the road that was damaged during the explosion, but we will have to discuss if this obligation also applies to the damages incurred by the bank.”
Elia began to drone on in response, and the two went a little back and forth. I no longer paid much attention to the discussion, keeping only the peripheral audio in the back of my head as I scanned the room and its occupants.
My gaze first fixed on the Duchess. She looked like someone Lord Sivahl could confide in, but she didn’t have the harshness that pervaded his very being. She seemed more like the type of woman the common folk could approach and share their problems with. There was a kindness in her, though I knew all too well that I couldn’t trust those observations. Some of the worst psychos were also the nicest neighbors.
After her, I studied the people sitting along with Ritorio. I could only presume this was the council that advised the Grand Duke. Ritorio must have held some kind of office, seeing as he was amongst those men.
The person immediately to his right looked like a weasel of a man: thin, lanky, dark curly hair and dark circles under his eyes. It was like he was constantly scheming something in the back of his brain. It would be too obvious for him to be the spy of the Ascendants. I assumed he was either the city’s Lord of Coin and Trade or perhaps the Lord of Law.
The person to Ritorio’s left was a lithe, elven woman clad in full plate armor. There was a big shield leaning against her table and, along with it, a really big sword. Her hair was platinum-white, braided and long enough to reach her hips. Even with her small stature, she looked intimidating. There was a sense of wisdom in her, like a warrior who had seen years of conflict and had managed to temper their battle lust.
Beside her was an elder dwarf with grey hair and a neatly trimmed grey beard. He wore spectacles and a long green robe lined with white and gold. Right beside him, at one end of the table, was a Venaris male with a sinister goatee and several tribal tattoos all over the right side of his face and neck. He looked like a Pugilist, wearing a pair of loose pants and an open vest. In some ways, he reminded me of Parnax, but this man had an air of power and respect about him.
All the way to the other end of the table was an elven male. He appeared to be a mage but instead of the wizard sub-class he was a warlock, similar to Moira. This elf was bald and had really pale skin. His eyes were the scariest features about him – they were pure white with no pupils. I could only imagine what sort of being his warlock patron was.
Of those five people around Ritorio, I suspected the warlock and the wiry man the most. I realized those were too evident choices, yet I couldn’t dissuade how my gut feelings rolled. I was going to keep an eye on them both.
Very quickly, I began to look around. I made sure that, every now and then, I’d glance back at Lord Sivahl to make sure he didn’t catch what I was doing. I didn’t want him to call me out for not paying attention. I had to quickly observe the other lesser lords and ladies present in the audience hall, though none of them seemed interesting to me. The only person of note was a human female clad in the most exquisite and expensive clothing, but I assumed she was only trying to stand out among her peers.
That was when Ritorio scared the hell out of me.
“Friends,” he interrupted Elia, just as she was telling Sivahl how much the damages to the bank amounted to. “You wear my badge. Clearly we’ve had good dealings in the past. Maybe we could skip all the analytical discussions, eh darlings?”
“Are we boring you, Lord Ritorio?” I jabbed. He knew we weren’t really working for the bank, and even the slightest slip of the tongue could break our cover. I treaded the conversation carefully, “Perhaps we could talk about it another time? I do have other business discussions I’d like to tackle with you, but these are matters best suited in privacy.”
I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Ritorio give me a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it wink and said, “Sure, darling, as all this talk about money is only making me want to spend some of my own coin. Father, would y
ou not let these two emissaries stay in our guest tower for the night? They can speak with Lord Julian tonight or in the morrow.”
Sivahl considered the offer. “Forgive my son, he is still young and stupid. He does not yet know how to keep his mouth shut when adults are speaking. With that being said, he is right. We are all exhausted here and we would like to call it a day. You may stay in our guest tower until tomorrow. Seeing as you are acquainted with my son, he will be the one to show you around, and you may call upon him to speak with Lord Julian Gygan.”
He then pointed to the wiry man I was uncomfortable with earlier. I took the satisfaction in knowing my guesses were correct, but that was a very small consolation.
“Now please excuse us,” Sivahl said as he and Lady Miranda got up from their seats. “There is a war coming and I would rather spend the little free time I have left with my family.”
Elia and I looked at each other when we heard the mention of a war. We had no idea what was going on but there was no time to discuss all of that at the moment. Just as people were leaving the audience hall, Ritorio approached us. He wrapped an arm around Elia and pulled her in close to him.
“Darling – oh wow, you smell good – why all the secrecy?” he whispered, yet his voice was still uncomfortably loud. “You know you can trust good ol’ Ritorio, yes? My, my, I must know what soap you’re using. It smells magnificent.”
Elia was distraught, and I was looking around hoping no one was listening in. Ritorio didn’t stop there, however, and kept on rambling.
“Oh you pesky duo,” he went on. “I smiled the biggest smile when I saw you two work your thing during the execution day. My, what my father would do to you pretties if he finds out you’re responsible for all that mess in the plaza.”
“Look, my lord,” I said. “We’re not here to play some stupid games. We’re looking for a spy.”
He didn’t seem the least bit phased and just rolled his eyes. “You’re looking for a spy by being an undercover spy? Darling, that’s just so wrong. I love it. What are going to do? Sneak into everyone’s bedrooms and look at all their letters? Maybe someone here is screwing my mother or is that not something you’re into?”
Elia pushed him off and said, “My lord, we have reasons to believe a member of the Ascendants is in your court.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know, darling,” he retorted with a grin. “I’ve been on the lookout forever, and even I can’t figure out who it is. I’ve suspected Gygan but he’s too much of an obvious shrewd, don’t you think?”
“Speaking of Gygan, we need to speak with him in order to keep our cover intact,” I said. I then looked at Elia. “Well, at least you have to speak with him. I’m going to start investigating everyone that was in this room today.”
Ritorio laughed and brought us outside the audience hall and back into the bailey. “Relax, darling, don’t try to rush things.”
I shook my head and looked at him straight in the eye. “My lord, if I don’t find out who the spy is within twenty-four hours, I am going to blow up this entire castle from the inside. I will kill you, your family, and everyone in it even if I go down too.”
“He’s telling you the truth,” Elia said. “He’s already blown up a skyship and a bank. A castle kind of sits right up there on the list of stuff to destroy.”
The joy in Ritorio’s face dropped and he finally took the situation a little more seriously. He stopped his playful persona and merely told us, “Gygan’s not the spy. I tried following him. It’s also not Lady Avygael, the armored one on the council. She’s the Master of War and spends most of her time on the battlefield. She wouldn’t be an effective spy if she was never here.”
“That leaves us with the three other council members,” I concluded. “Who are they?”
“The Venaris is Lord Torin and he’s the Master of Secrets,” Ritorio explained. “I think he could be the Ascendant but, if he’s not, then he could be a reliable asset. He knows of things even I ignore. The warlock is known as Tellos and he’s the Master of Feather, the one who goes around building relations with other nations. The dwarf is the Master of Law, Lord Gorghen Auldbrittle.”
Elia told me, “I’ll speak with Gygan and then start investigating Tellos. You can move ahead and start digging in about Torin and Gorghen.”
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” Ritorio said as he began to walk away from us. “Ta-ta, I hope you both succeed. Don’t blow me up without at least saying good-bye, darling!”
I commented, as soon as I knew he was out of ear shot. “Do you ever wonder if he’s a player?”
“He can’t be a player,” Elia noted. “The Grand Duke and the Duchess are his parents. You can’t just have players as children in the game. They’re all NPCs.”
I sighed and then began walking towards the main keep. “Let’s not get lost. Whatever you discover, don’t rush to tell me. We’ll meet by the stables tonight, around eight o’clock, to report what we’ve discovered. Be careful.”
“You too,” she said, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek before we opened the keep doors and stepped inside.
Chapter Twenty Three
As soon as Elia and I split ways, I roamed the castle, going in the places that the guards deemed accessible. Some of the higher floors and the tower extension were off-limits. I assumed the private quarters of the Grand Duke and his family was located in the higher floors. I had no idea what could be in the extension tower for it to be kept in such secrecy.
For a while, I got a little lost, but in less than half an hour I finally got used to the layout of the keep. Many of the important rooms were up on the third and fourth floors. These included the war room, the treasury and the private quarters. The first two floors were dedicated to the library, a solar, the kitchens, guest rooms, a dining hall and some other less important rooms.
I eventually found Lord Torin in the kitchens. He was watching over the trio of elves preparing the meals for lunch.
“Ah, Lord Corbin,” he greeted as soon as he saw me enter. “It’s very nice to see you. I have a few questions regarding my account in the Golden Dragon.”
I raised an eyebrow. He was the Master of Secrets and I hoped I could squeeze some of those out of him but not in front of other people. I put on the best smile I could muster and then said, “I hope I may serve you well. Come, perhaps we can discuss this in private.”
He caught on quickly and gave the cooks a pat on their backs before he walked up to me. “Very well. I can presume there are issues in my credit, though I hope perhaps you can help me alleviate those issues.”
We headed out of the kitchens and to his quarters on the second floor. It was right across from Lord Gorghen’s room, so I hoped I could speak to them both in quick succession without having to go back and forth through the castle.
To my surprise, his room was barren. There was just a bed with a very basic mattress, a single bedside drawer and an undecorated privy. There were no tables and chairs, no exquisite drapes on the window, no fur carpets, or anything of the sort. He had no bookshelves, no large wardrobe, and no chest to hold his private belongings.
“Please, sit on the bed,” he invited me in. Torin himself sat down on the floor opposite the bed. “I’m afraid I have no other amenity to offer you.”
“What kind of a man lives such a frugal life?” I had to ask him, bluntly.
He smiled. “I am the Master of Secrets, Lord Corbin. My trade is in forbidden knowledge. I do not want to risk losing that knowledge to spies, so I keep the information in the one place no one can steal from: my mind. I’ve removed all the distractions and temptations in my quarters, ensuring I never write vital information down or give out any cue.”
That was a very interesting take on keeping secrets. Maybe I should do that sometime in the real world.
“Fascinating,” I complimented him. “Now that we’re alone, I do have something I’d like to ask you before we tackle the issue of your ba
nk account.”
Torin started laughing. “Lord Corbin, you can drop the façade. I know you’re not working for the Golden Dragon. I know every employee there and you, good sir, are not one of them. You’re not even an emissary working for Gygan.”
“So why didn’t you tell the Grand Duke if you could see right through our disguises?” I asked, trying to conceal my shock.
An amused expression was dancing on his lips. “That would ruin all the fun. I know you’re not an enemy because you do have Ritorio’s badge of allegiance. Any friend of Lord Ritorio is a friend of mine, even if the young lord doesn’t trust me all that much.”
“You seem to know a lot, and that’s a dangerous thing,” I reminded him. If he truly did like Ritorio, then it was possible he wasn’t an Ascendant. I needed to make sure, however, before divulging every bit of knowledge I had to him.
“People do not like smart folks,” he did lament. “They especially do not like smart folks with a lot of leverage.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You think you’ve got enough leverage on the Ascendants?”
Almost immediately Torin’s happy-go-lucky allure vanished. The Venaris stood and opened the door. “Leave.”
“Huh? Wait, what?” I was caught way off guard by his sudden shift in mood. “Let’s talk about this real quick.”
He shook his head. “No. I will not reveal your lie to the Grand Duke and you can conduct your business in the castle, but I will not discuss anything regarding them. It’s too dangerous. Now, thank you and good-bye, Lord Corbin.”
Damn it! He did know something!
I rushed towards the door right before he could exit, and I grabbed him by his vest and slammed him against the door, shutting it tight. I pushed my forearm up against his Adam’s apple, choking him. With my free hand, I reached behind and grabbed an arrow.
“Fire Arrow,” I said to activate my skill. I drew the flaming tip closer to his neck. “You’re going to tell me everything I want to know or I’ll slit your throat and cauterize it just so I could torture you some more. Start talking.”
