Jewels of the Dragon

by Allen Wold

  "Do you think he would have if he'd found what he was looking for?"

  "For a while I was sure of it. He and Mother were a real love story ever since they first met. He gave up adventuring for her. She gave up her titles for him. They moved to Pelgrane, where neither was very well known. I can't remember there ever being a moment's unhappiness between them.

  "And then I decided he'd changed his mind, found the money and run out. That's when I gave up on him, since he'd given up on us. But now I don't know. He said he was going to be gone for a year, but it took him two years just to get here. Apparently he didn't know where the treasure was as well as he thought he did. And the way he disappeared, after being here for two-thirds of a year—well, I just don't know."

  "Who was your mother?"

  "The Lady Sigra Malvrone."

  "Ah! Of course. I remember hearing stories about that. She was kidnapped, wasn't she?"

  "Yes. They wanted a ransom, but her family had no money, only titles. And even with their connections, they couldn't raise the amount the kidnappers wanted.

  "But Mother's brother, my uncle Gawin, had friends who knew my father. They asked him to help. And he did, and got her back, and destroyed the kidnappers in the process. He fell in love with my mother, she fell in love with him, and that was that. Uncle Gawin never forgave my father— nor himself, for that matter, though he was the only member of my mother's family who ever came to visit us."

  "How romantic."

  "Well, it was, the way my father told it. And my mother told it the same way. And though Uncle Gawin had a different opinion of the whole affair, his version was more or less the same. And as long as Mother was happy, he was satisfied. I never saw him again after Father went off."

  "And so your father left your mother one last time, to make just one more fortune."

  "Yes. It would have been something he could cash in quickly. My father was incapable of holding a job."

  "And you don't know what this 'treasure' was, but you've traced him here."

  "And I think he's still alive." He told her about his meeting with Boss Bedik.

  "If your interpretation is correct," she said, "then he might be. Well, how are you doing so far? Do you have any more leads?"

  "Nothing. You saw what happened here. I know he's on Kohltri somewhere, but nobody will admit to having seen him."

  "I'm not surprised. You're probably asking your questions in all the wrong places." She finished her beer and signaled the tender to bring her another.

  "So what are the right places?"

  "You wouldn't know them."

  "That's obvious. I'm a tourist, I don't know anything about Kohltri. Give me some names."

  "These places don't have names."

  "You're playing with me, just like Gareth."

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. Even if I told you where to go, it wouldn't do you any good. You wouldn't know how to ask the questions, and you'd get hurt or worse before you got any answers."

  "That's what they said about this place."

  "It's different. The Troishla is dangerous, like a den of hyenas. The places I mean don't play games with you like they did here."

  "That's as may be, but I've come this far, and while I appreciate your concern, I have no intention of giving up now. I've spent too much time and too much money coming here. I'm not going to waste that now that I'm so close. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I've got to see this out. So if you have any ideas at all, please tell me. Where can I go next?"

  "You really want to put your life on the line? You've done so well it would be a shame to get yourself killed now."

  "So what do I do, just stand here until they throw me out?"

  "If you weren't such an obvious tourist, you might be able to get away with it. You've got talent."

  "Okay, so how do I stop being a tourist? Everybody who wasn't born here started out as one."

  "Not really. They were already citizens of Kohltri before they ever got here. They just shed their tourist disguises after a few days and melded right in—if they lived that long."

  "Like you?"

  "I don't live here, I'm just a visitor. But I'm not a tourist, not the way they mean it here."

  "Okay, sorry. I know, mind my own business. But you know these things; I don't. How do I stop being a tourist?"

  "It's not easy."

  "I never expected it would be."

  "Do you really want to do this?"

  "Hell, no. I'm only here for the fun of it. Squandered three lifetimes' income to get here just so I could play games."

  "Sorry." She stood silent for a moment, sipping her fresh beer.

  Rikard regretted his outburst, his lack of control. Espe­cially since this was the first person since he'd come to Kohltri with whom he felt comfortable talking—if he didn't count Leonid Polski, now that he thought about it. And she could help him, if she only would. He signaled the tender for another drink.

  He turned his back to the bar and leaned his elbows on the polished wood behind him. There were more people in the big room now. Only occasionally did anyone glance his way. If he didn't start anything, there would be no trouble. He saw Gareth over at the other end of the room, near the stairs going up to the galleries. Dorong the drunk was nowhere in sight.

  "Hey," the woman said, "look, I'm sorry I got you all upset."

  Rikard looked down at her. She was younger than he by a couple of years. How had she gotten so hard so soon?

  "No problem. I shouldn't let it get to me. If I'd been talking to Arbo, he would probably have just blown me away."

  "Not in here, but he sure would have rearranged your face. But only because you're a tourist. You've got the makings of a first-class Gesta."

  "Thanks, I guess. I tried exploitation once. Worked at it for a whole year. Lots of excitement if you don't mind being hated by most of the locals you have to deal with. Of course, I was pretty young then. Maybe I could do a better job of it now."

  "A Gesta isn't the same thing as an exploiter. Exploitation is a business. Being a Gesta is a way of life. You go adventuring for the fun of it. No, really. There aren't too many of us, but your father was one. If you find him, ask him why he did what he did."

  "Is that why you're here, for the fun of it?"

  "Sure. And to lie low for a while. And just for the fun of it, I'm going to take you on. If you want to find your father, you have to ask in the right places, and even to get into the right places, you have to look like you belong there. On your own authority, if nothing else. Give me a week with you, and I bet I could teach you enough so you'd be able to go anywhere. Coming back again would be your own problem, of course."

  "You mean that?"

  "Sure. If somebody doesn't do something about you, you won't get home tonight. Dorong's got a grudge, but he doesn't dare take it out on Gareth. So you'll be the target. If not tonight, tomorrow or the next day. You see, just by coming in here, you signed your death warrant."

  "I've been set up before, but—okay, I'll take the chance. If you're willing to teach me, I'm willing to learn. What will it cost me?"

  "Nothing, I'm flush at the moment. Just pay attention, and I'll do what I can. Okay?"

  "Fine. How do we start?"

  She stuck out her hand. "I'm Darcy Glemtide." Her grip was firm and strong. "And you're the son of Arin Braeth."

  "My name's Rikard."

  "Okay, Rik, we start now. Pay up."

  He did, then they left the Troishla. He couldn't help but wonder what the "tough" parts of the tavern were like.

  "You're staying at some hostel downtown," Darcy said as they walked away from the building. "The first thing we do is find you a new place to live. You're spotted, and they'll come for you—whoever they are. I know just the place. It's out of the tourist section, off an alley, has two other exits, and is probably more comfortable than the place you're in now. And since I know the owner, you'll have no trouble getting in. Just let me handle everything."


  "I'll.be more than happy to."

  4

  Although the walk back to Rikard's hostel took a few hours, they had no trouble on the way. There he packed his one suitcase in a matter of moments. Then, with Darcy car­rying his recorder, he checked out just as night was beginning to fall.

  As they walked through the city, Darcy kept her free hand on the butt of her laser pistol. Rikard's suitcase was an invitation to a mugging, but nobody bothered them.

  They came to a very narrow alley and waited for some moments to make sure they hadn't been followed. Then they entered the alley, which had several back doors opening onto it. Darcy led him through the third door on the right, into a small courtyard, little more than a patio, with the leaves of the ever-present plants almost meeting overhead. Beyond an archway opposite them was a hallway running right and left.

  They turned right up the hall and went through the second door on the left, into a room furnished with a couch and a couple of chairs. Darcy handed Rikard his recorder as another door on the right opened and a man came out, a heavy shotgun pistol in his hand.

  "It's you, Darcy," he said. "Come to pay me a visit?" He watched Rikard closely.

  "I need that room you have." Darcy took a wallet from an inside pocket and handed the man a couple of large bills.

  "For him?" The man nodded his head at Rikard as he took the money. Darcy nodded back.

  "Have fun." The man went out the way he had come in.

  "Come on," Darcy said to Rikard. She led him through a third door in the far wall, into another corridor. They passed three more doors, the hallway elled to the left, and they went on to the end.

  She opened the last door on the left and ushered Rikard into a comfortable sitting room. It was clean, brightly lit, and well furnished, but there were no windows, and the phone was a nonvideo type.

  "Let me show you the other two exits," she said. Rikard put down his suitcase and recorder and followed her into a well-appointed kitchen, already stocked with food. A section of the cabinets swung out, revealing a narrow, unlit passage, which led to the street.

  "You can't get in this way," she explained, showing how the door at the other end worked. "Always check before you go out to make sure you aren't being seen." She indicated a globe eye next to the door. Rikard looked through and could see the whole street beyond.

  "There isn't usually much traffic there," Darcy went on. "Use this exit only if you have to."

  She led him back to the kitchen, then to the third room, which served as a bedroom and sanitary. There she showed him another secret door behind the bookcase. Beyond was another dark passage, which ended in a hallway.

  "You can come in through here," she said, "but again, don't let anyone see you." She stepped out into the hallway, and Rikard followed, looking back to see how the door worked.

  They went left a few meters to where the hall elled to the right, men on past two doors on either side to the end, where another door opened onto a more conventional courtyard with all the usual plants in containers on the ground and on brackets on the walls. There was another door at each end of the courtyard. The street entrance was across from them. They went out so Rikard could see the place and recognize it from the outside. Then they went back to his rooms the way they had come in the first time.

  "Always use the front entrance," Darcy said, sitting in one of the big chairs in the living room, "unless you have no other choice. Mendel won't come out unless you bring somebody with you. When you first enter that little court off the alley, an alarm rings and he checks on you then. He did it just now when we came back."

  "Are there lots of places like this?" Rikard took a seat on the couch. He was suddenly very tired.

  "Lots, but none as good as this one. Or at least, if there are, which is a good bet, I don't know about them."

  "What if somebody manages to find me here?"

  "If he or she comes through Mendel's little parlor, they'll have to talk to his shotgun first. If you hear it going off, don't bother asking whether it's for you or somebody else. Just get out."

  "Good enough. What's the charge on this place?"

  "A hundred a week. Can you cover it?"

  "Sure. For a while, anyway. I'd like to keep enough in reserve to buy a ticket off if I need to. How much did you pay him?"

  "Two hundred."

  "Let me pay you back." She took the proffered money. "Just how much danger am I in?"

  "A lot. Not from Mendel. But from everybody else. You're off your turf. You've been lucky so far. I guess you know how to handle yourself well enough to get along most places other than Kohltri, but never forget that Kohltri is different. If you keep your head down, you may live long enough to know how to survive on purpose instead of by accident."

  "Why are you going to all this trouble?"

  "For the fun of it, like I said."

  "Sure. Want some supper?"

  "Thought you'd never ask."

  Rikard pushed himself to his feet, went to the kitchen, made a selection, pressed the buttons, and set the meal out on the table. Darcy stood in the doorway, watching him.

  "You don't believe me, do you?" she said. 'That I'm doing this for fun."

  "Oh, sure, but fun isn't enough. It's too pat. But mat's your business." He sat down, and she joined him.

  "It's true," she said, digging into the roast. "I've got ab­solutely nothing to do right now, and you're a challenge. Not too much of one; you've got lots of potential. But enough to make it interesting."

  "Okay, I'll accept that, I guess."

  They ate in silence for a few moments.

  "I don't mean to pry," Rikard said after a while, "just making conversation, you understand. But how did you get into this business?"

  "You really want to know?"

  "Sure, but like I said, I'm not prying. You've heard my life story. Or part of it. What made you become an adventurer, a Gesta as you call it? The fun of it?"

  "Sort of. It's not always fun, you know."

  "My father used to love to tell stories. I thought he was just making them up. After I left Pelgrane, I found they were all true. He didn't always have fun either."

  "Most of it is fun, though. Or, not really that, but exciting. That's the real reason, I guess. Life was dull."

  "As what?"

  "An archaeologist, can you believe it? At least, that's what I got my degree in. It's paid off too a couple of times. But the idea of spending my life in some university, going on sabbatical digs whenever funds could be found... well, I didn't like that. My family thought it was great.

  "So anyway, I got my B.S., and my father gave me a big graduation check. The next day I hopped a lighter to some place I'd never heard of, and I've been going ever since."

  "Ever get tired of it?"

  "Nope. I've been more places and known more exciting people than any dozen normal people ever will. I've been rich more often than I've been poor. I'm not tired of excite­ment. The farther I go, the farther I want to go, and someday I'll make my mark. But there's plenty of time for that."

  "Seems like it would be kind of a hard life." They'd fin­ished eating, so Rikard cleared off the table.

  "Oh, it is sometimes. Especially at first. All I wanted then was to get out and away. I wouldn't have lasted half a day here then. But that first year I wasn't up against this kind of stuff. Just a kid out alone with my money. My father's rich. That check was a big one, and it took me almost a year of traveling to spend it all."

  Rikard got them each a beer, and they went to sit in the living room.

  "I'd learned a lot by then, of course," she went on. "So when the money ran out I found somebody who could use my knowledge of archaeological techniques. We went to Aakan, and excavated the great pyramid there. And then the people who owned the pyramid found out, and we had to leave in a hurry. That was my first time outside the law. And I liked it."

  "So you just kept going."

  "Sure. I don't know about most people, but I found the adventure addictiv
e."

  "I think I know what you mean." He told her about the muggers he'd fought off and the exhilaration he'd felt afterward.

  "That's it exactly," Darcy agreed, "though getting mugged's not the way I'd look for thrills."

  "Me neither. Okay, so now I know about you, a little bit. What's next on the program for my education?"

  "Nothing more for today. Get yourself rested up, and tomorrow we'll go out and get you some new clothes."

  After she left, Rikard stood for a long moment, looking at the closed door.

  5

  He woke the next morning to find Darcy Glemtide standing by his bed.

  "Do you always come in unannounced?" he asked.

  "Just part of your education. I've been here about five minutes. Long enough to have killed you a dozen times in any number of ways. Or drugged you. Or whatever. You're going to have to learn to be more alert, even when you're asleep. Tomorrow when I come in here I'm going to dunk you with ice water. So be on your guard."

  "It seems a rather drastic way to make a point."

  "A bullet in the head is even more drastic, but I'm not trying to make a point. I'm trying to condition you so that you'll wake at the first sound of intrusion. It takes a long time to learn that without help, and a lot of people never do learn it, because they get killed first."

  "I guess I'm pretty used to civilized society. Is that kind of sleeping vigilance really necessary?"

  "Absolutely. What if I'd been Dorong?"

  "Somehow it never occurred to me that they'd come and get me in my sleep."

  "You're naive."

  "Yes, I guess I am. Okay, I'll bet you a bill you never get to douse me with that ice water."

  "It's a bet. Now get up. We've got some shopping to do."

  "I sleep nude."

  "So?"

  "So I wasn't aware that our relationship had progressed to that degree of intimacy."

  She smiled slowly. "It hasn't." Then she went back out to the living room.

  He joined her a few moments later and offered to fix breakfast. She accepted readily.

  "So we're going to buy me clothes today." He pushed the buttons on the kitchen console. She sat at the table.