While he was not fond of the castle, especially because of all the guards that they had there, he was not fond of what was on the other side of that door either: the base of Alexander Abrams.
Alexander Abrams was the man in charge of the Thieves’ Guild of Caldreth. In other words, Alexander was his boss.
The two of them had never been on great terms, especially after one he cut off the right hand of one of Alexander’s enforcers.
The bastard deserved it after he touched Katie. It could be said that Nicolas saw himself as a big brother figure to Katie. It was not far from the truth either.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and walked through it into the unmarked tavern that Alexander Abrams used as his base.
As always, a couple people were sitting at the bar and a few people were sitting at the tables spread out across the room to his right. It seemed that there were always people drinking there, regardless of the time. Of course, some of the people there never left, and the tavern lacked windows. As such, it was easy to lose track of the time unless the door was opened.
He managed to get a dozen or so feet away from the door before the big, burly man behind the bar spoke.
“Where are you going, Edge? The boss went to visit his brother in Umbridge, so he’s not around right now.”
“I’m not here to speak with Alexander,” Nicolas said without even looking at him. “I’m a member of the guild, remember? I can come here anytime I want.”
“You’re a high profile guy. If you lead guards here, the boss is going to kill you,” he remarked.
“I’m not the one you should be worried about right now. If you continue to piss me off, it’ll be your life at risk, not mine,” Nicolas retorted darkly.
“You can’t kill me,” the man said nervously. “Killing a fellow guildsman is against the code.”
“You work for the Thieves’ Guild as a bartender. You gave up your career as an enforcer long ago. You aren’t a guildsman,” Nicolas said, effectively shutting him up.
With that man dealt with, Nicolas walked across the tavern and went through a door that led into a hallway. Four doors were visible. Three of them were on the wall in front of him, and one was to his right, at the end of the hallway. That last door was where he headed to.
Opening the door, he saw a man in his mid-thirties sitting on a poorly made bed with clothes on that made him look as though he just crawled out of the sewers. The only other thing in the room was a dresser that looked even more poorly made than the bed.
“Ed, I need information,” Nicolas said immediately. He drew the scimitar at his left hip and handed it to the man.
The man, a member of the Thieves’ Guild by the name of Edward Smith, took the scimitar curiously and looked it over.
“This is a scimitar, a sword that originates in Tiberia. In the Tiberian Jungle, it helps to have a curved sword for fighting. It makes it easier to swing the sword without hitting something accidentally,” Ed said.
“I’m this close to kicking your ass,” Nicolas said as he held his right hand out with his index finger and thumb about a quarter of an inch apart. “I know what a scimitar is. It’s my second favorite type of sword.”
“Then what do you need?” Ed asked, shaking his head. “I can’t read minds.”
“My friend has assassins after him. They’re pretty good and come in fairly large numbers. If they were going after anyone else, they would have succeeded, but Caleb’s something else,” Nicolas answered. “Twenty assassins have come after him. One of them wielded that scimitar.”
If Ed was surprised at the numbers, he did not show it. “You want to know who is trying to kill him.”
Nicolas nodded his head. “Only a guild of assassins would pursue him this diligently and have so many men to spare on his elimination.”
“You’re correct,” Ed said as he looked over the sword. “Fortunately, there are only three guilds of assassins in the entire kingdom. The least likely is the Crimson Arrows out of Tir. It’s too damned far for them to be involved, and their assassins are all archers. Their trademark is an arrow with crimson feathers. They always use one to kill their targets. Then, there’s the Shadow Guild of Telmir. It’s essentially a combination of a thieves’ guild and an assassins’ guild. They’re pretty far away, but they’ll take almost any job, so long as it doesn’t put them at odds with any of the other disreputable guilds in Arcadia.”
“What’s the third guild?” Nicolas asked.
Ed frowned. “The third assassins’ guild is the Night Blades of Umbridge. They are the single most dangerous guild of their kind in the world. They have assassinated kings, queens, dukes, counts, viscounts, and barons over the years since their founding. They were founded before Arcadia was, if that tells you anything.” He sighed as he shook his head. “They aren’t as dangerous as they used to be though. No one’s as dangerous as they used to be, really. We’ve been at peace for a hundred years. A hundred years ago, the Night Blades counted a thousand men under their employ and Arcadia had ten thousand knights. Now, I hear that the Night Blades only have a hundred men and only a thousand knights serve King John.”
He sure knows a lot about the Night Blades. I suppose it’s a good thing that they’re not as numerous as they could have been though.
“How many men do the Crimson Arrows and the Shadow Guild have?” Nicolas asked.
“The Shadow Guild has around twenty-five assassins and seventy-five thieves,” Ed replied. “And there are always fifty assassins among the Crimson Arrows. When one of them dies, another steps up in his place. I’m told that they have roughly a hundred recruits at all times though.”
“How is it that the Night Blades are considered to be so dangerous then?” Nicolas asked, slightly confused. “The Crimson Arrows sound more dangerous to me.”
“That’s where you’d be wrong,” Ed said, actually a little amused. “The leader of the Night Blades is Victor Abrams, Alexander’s brother. In addition to that, they have a single assassin who could systematically assassinate the king, the high general, and every other person in a seat of authority without ever being caught. By the time anyone realized that he was behind it, there would not be anyone left alive who gave a rat’s ass.”
Nicolas was not sure what to be more unnerved about at that moment. The knowledge that his boss had a brother who was in charge of the world’s most elite assassins’ guild was far more unnerving than one might have expected. The possibility of an assassin being as skilled as Ed claimed was also unnerving for obvious reasons.
“And it seems that your friend is screwed,” Ed said as he finished looking over the scimitar. “Victor Abrams has every weapon that his men use branded with the insignia of the Night Blades. This scimitar bears that mark.”
Nicolas groaned at hearing that news. In all honesty, he was not that surprised though. It seemed that Caleb had the worst luck of anyone that he had ever met.
“Do you have any advice?” Nicolas asked as he took the scimitar back from Ed and sheathed it in the scabbard at his hip.
“Sure,” Ed said. “Tell your buddy to run as fast as he can. He might be safe in Tiberia.”
“Thanks anyways,” Nicolas said, knowing that the advice was useless. He had gained the information that he sought, and he knew exactly what Caleb would do with it. “Be careful until we meet again.”
“The same to you,” Ed replied as Nicolas made his way out of the room.
* * * * *
As Nicolas was obtaining the information on the assassins that had attacked the night before, Caleb was standing behind the Black Raven Inn with his long bow in his left hand and his quiver slung across his back. Half a dozen targets were set up about twenty-five yards away from him.
In a single fluid motion, Caleb drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it. He drew the bow back, the brown feathers of the arrow touching his cheek.
He held his breath, his entire body becoming steady. Even if it only lasted a moment, that was all he needed.
Caleb released the bow string, sending the arrow flying at the target to his far left. It struck the bull’s eye of the target as though a force of nature drew it there. The arrow could not have hit the target any more perfectly than it did that moment.
Exhaling, he lowered his bow. As much as he enjoyed being able to make such a precise shot, it was not practical to take too much time on a single shot. The simple truth of the matter was that he was no longer a hunter. He had become a warrior, whether he wished to admit it or not. He did not practice to hit a deer. He practiced so that he could kill people.
He frowned as he realized where his train of thought had led him too. I’m a warrior. All this time, I’ve been fighting what I am. I guess I just didn’t want to give up what I used to be. I was Hector’s apprentice, I was Gabriel’s best friend, and I was my parents’ son.
At the last thought, he shook his head. I might not be Hector’s apprentice any longer and I might have changed too much to be Gabriel’s best friend anymore, but I’m still the son of Michael and Sophie Sullivan. They might be dead, but that doesn’t mean anything. I was born because of them, and they made me into who I am today. Father is the whole reason I sought the Sword of Kirakath, after all.
His attention turned to the five remaining targets suddenly, and a serene feeling enveloped him.
He raised the bow and nocked an arrow quickly before he drew the bow back. As soon as the feathers touched his cheek, he released the bowstring, sending the arrow flying at the second target. It struck the dead center of the bull’s eye, but his attention had left the target immediately after the arrow left the bow.
A second arrow was drawn back as the sound of the first one hitting the large, round, wooden target filled the area. He released it immediately, the arrow striking the third target dead center in the bull’s eye.
Three more arrows followed that, each fired with amazing speed and accuracy.
By the end of it, all six targets had an arrow in the center of their bull’s eyes.
Clapping suddenly rang through the area, turning Caleb’s attention to behind him, where a man that looked like an older version of Nicolas was standing. He was wearing all blue clothing and had a goatee, making him look distinctively different from Nicolas.
“You’re an incredible archer. I don’t suppose you’re looking for a job, are you? I’m sure I could get Count Clovis to accept you as one of his soldiers.”
“Do I know you?” Caleb asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I apologize,” the man said with a kind smile. “I’m Jason Edge. Nicolas is my nephew, and I am the magistrate of Caldreth. I was sincere in my offer just now.”
“Nicolas didn’t tell me his uncle was so important,” Caleb commented, ignoring the part about the job offer. “Sorry if I sounded rude. You just surprised me. I had no idea anyone else would be coming by until Nicolas came back.”
“It’s fine. I noticed that he wasn’t inside. When I heard noises coming from behind the inn, I thought maybe I’d find him back here,” Jason said, shaking his head dismissively. “If I may ask, where is he?”
“He had to go to Caldreth to take care of some business,” Caleb said, knowing better than to give anyone too much information without Nicolas around. “He’ll be back before too long.”
Jason sighed at that. “He’s not accepting a job from Alexander, is he?”
Caleb looked genuinely confused at that. “Who is Alexander?”
“Alexander is the leader of the Thieves’ Guild,” Jason answered, looking a little surprised. “I thought you would know more about him. You’re clearly a friend of Nicolas. He doesn’t let anyone stay around the inn when he’s away, after all.”
“Nicolas and I are friends, but I’m not in the same line of business that he’s in,” Caleb said, shaking his head. “My name is Caleb of Kirakath.”
That nearly made Jason’s jaw drop. “You’re the Caleb of Kirakath? I’ve heard stories of you. They say you’ve killed hundreds of men just with your sword.”
Jason’s words actually made Caleb laugh quite a bit. “I assure you that I am the only Caleb of Kirakath, but I haven’t killed hundreds of men. I’ve only killed forty people, and not all of them died by my sword.”
Jason looked surprised at Caleb’s statement. “I expected that it was exaggerated a bit, but I never thought you had actually killed as many men as you have. I doubt that there’s a single man in the King’s Army that has killed as many people as you have.”
“I doubt anyone in the King’s Army has fought a griffin or a specter either,” Caleb remarked. “But even more than any of that, I doubt that anyone in the King’s Army has had their family and village massacred either. Well… I doubt anyone outside of my former best friend has had that happen, at least.”
Jason frowned at Caleb’s words. Resentment was clear in them.
“Do you have something against the King’s Army?” he asked.
“I have something against the King’s Army and Caldreth’s Army,” Caleb said evenly. “My problem with them is that my village was massacred, and they did not do anything about it. They did not raise a hand to do anything at all. They never even acknowledged that they messed up.”
“How did they mess up, as you so eloquently put it?” Jason asked.
“How can a hundred bandits band together, travel by the road, and massacre a village a day’s ride from here without them messing up?” Caleb asked. “Forget what I said. They didn’t mess up. They just didn’t care because it did not affect them directly. I guess as long as your count can have his servants feed him grapes and wine in peace, he doesn’t care what happens.”
“That’s out of line,” Jason said, surprised by Caleb’s words. “Yes, something should have been done in response to the massacre, but you dealt with the matter long before anyone could have been mobilized.”
“I guess that just goes to show you had inefficient and slow the armies are,” Caleb retorted. “It should have only taken a day or two to send a force of twenty or so men out to deal with them. A trained soldier with chainmail and a quality weapon can easily take on several bandits. A small force could have done what needed to be done. Instead, your leader abandoned his responsibility to the nearby villages in the land and left me to do the job myself.”
“I can understand your anger,” Jason said quietly. “I will not try to change your mind. I just ask that you think about it from a different perspective. What would you have done if you were in milord’s position?”
Caleb looked away. He wanted to say that he would have hunted them down, but he knew that he could not say that. The truth of the matter was that he had only found the Black Crows because of Nicolas. If he had been the count, he would never have been able to ask someone like Nicolas for help.
Finally, he gave his answer.
“I would have done what needed to be done.”
“Good answer,” Jason said as he turned away. “Tell Nicolas that I stopped by. I won’t mention this conversation to him or Count Clovis, so don’t worry about anything. In the meantime, I wish you luck. I can tell one thing about you from a single glance: trouble follows you.”
With that, Jason left and Caleb returned to his archery practice.
The whole time, Caleb thought over what he had been told by Jason.
Chapter 6
Caleb sighed as he sat at one of the tables in the Black Raven Inn. He had come in after about an hour after he spoke with Jason Edge, and his right arm was a little sore from practicing with his bow. He had not taken the time to do much shooting lately, outside of when he hunted for food at least.
His confrontation with Jason was still playing over and over in his head. Even though he felt bad about speaking the way he did to the uncle of his best friend, he did not regret what he had said.
That thought stopped him in his tracks. Did I just think of Nicolas as my best friend?
A frown made its way to his face when he thought of Gabriel Silver, the person who he h
ad always considered to be his best friend. In all honesty, he could not consider Gabriel to be his best friend any longer though.
Caleb had changed a great deal with the Massacre of Kirakath, but it was not the changes he had undergone that had changed his view of his oldest friend. No, the problem was that he felt Gabriel that had turned his back on him. Had they been in each other’s shoes, Caleb knew that he would have found a way to leave the King’s Army to help bring the Black Crows to justice.
I don’t think I can forgive him for abandoning us. I know it’s selfish, but I had to shoulder the burden of revenge alone because of him. It’s just not fair.
Rise of the Champion (The Sword of Kirakath Omnibus #1) Page 21
