by Brian Keller
Except for the steady rain, the walk to the Waterfront boardwalk was quiet. Several citizens took notice of them, but as in years past, these townsfolk rapidly found other things to interest themselves or somewhere else to be. A Guild hunting party slogging through the rain was an easy thing to recognize. By the time they’d reached the Sundancer, the boardwalk was nearly deserted for a hundred meters in both directions. Birt swept his eyes across the open space, “I’d always wondered what that would feel like. Assassins get reactions like that all the time, I suppose?” Cooper shook his head, “No. We seldom announce ourselves. Though sometimes it does simplify Bridge crossings.”
They boarded without announcing themselves. Several members of the Sundancer’s crew seemed uncertain how to respond to their sudden appearance. The First Mate rapidly intervened, calling out, “Welcome aboard! Might I suggest ye find yer way below? An’ quickly too, if ye don’ mind.” He turned and gestured to the hatch behind him and stepped to the side. They followed his instructions and, once below, they shook the majority of the water from their cloaks and set themselves to the task of clearing the galley; pushing the tables to one side and stacking bench seats on top of them, leaving one table in the center of the space.
Captain Rigel joined them soon after, “I see you’ve taken the liberty of rearranging my galley.” Cooper stepped forward, “Yes, sir. I hope you don’t mind. I’d like to see this meeting finished as quickly as possible. Once the sun sets, we’ll need as much time as darkness can provide.” They arranged a few rows of benches along the sides of the galley. Cooper unrolled a roughly drawn map depicting the coastal neighborhoods, the bay, and the Broken Coast and spread it out on the table. Captain Rigel inspected the map then climbed the stairs up to the deck, closing the hatch behind him.
Cooper gave instructions to his Guild mates, “Everyone attending this meeting should be considered allies, friends even.” He positioned Rukle and Loryn near the stairs leading to the hatch and continued speaking, “But, once we’ve begun describing the plan – No one leaves. If someone protests, and then threatens violence… well, tonight we go to rescue our Guild members, our friends, our family.” The other Guild members were positioned sparsely throughout the galley. “Anything or anyone that threatens that? Destroy it.”
The Captain’s voice could be heard from above, muffled by the rain “Mate! Keep the crew aboard and employed. I’ll take our guests below with me.” Then in a louder voice he shouted, “Come aboard! You’re expected!” Birt’s voice had a tinge of nervousness to it, “I guess we’re about to start…?” Cooper took a breath and waited for everyone to join them in the galley.
It took a few minutes for everyone to arrange themselves. Mardon stepped forward to shake Cooper’s hand and Silas leaned forward and pushed a meaty arm past a few Wharfsiders to extend the same courtesy. Most men were nudging one another in good natured fashion, it was only natural that everyone would want to have a view of the table. Wharfsiders were still jostling for positions when Captain Rigel spoke, “I’m Captain Rigel and the Sundancer is my ship. Welcome. We’re all here because…” He paused and turned to face Cooper, “Kinsman has requested it.” At the mention of “Kinsman” several Wharfsiders shifted their positions again to adjust their view, and several could be heard speaking quietly, “It’s him!”, “He cleared out them troublemakers from the bay!” Mardon spoke over the collective muttering, addressing the assembled Wharfsiders, “Kinsman has helped us Wharfsiders on more than one occasion. We’ve exchanged favors, bought and sold services, and we have always benefited. Now he has another offer. A dangerous one. But the reward is substantial. We will all stand by and hear him out. Any arguments or disagreements, save ‘em for later. Do not defy me on this, or you’ll find me a most difficult business partner in the future.” The galley fell silent and Mardon slowly swept his hand toward Cooper.
The Guild Assassin cleared his throat, “I’ll get right to the point. I plan to break my people out of Serpent Tooth Prison and I need able seamen to navigate the ships.” He paused, expecting some form of outburst but everyone was either cowed by Mardon’s earlier words or stunned by his own sudden announcement. He continued, “We’ll be taking the three Lukasi ships. Caldori flags or not, you all know which ships I’m referring to. Upon completion, one of those ships will belong to the Wharfsider community with Mardon retaining owner shares, the other will be managed by Captain Rigel but owner shares go to the Guild.” Kinsman directed his attention to Captain Rigel, “We’ll negotiate further afterward, sir.” The noise the Captain made in response was something between a laugh and a grunt. Kinsman turned his attention back to the room, “Of course the current owners will resist, but considering the fact that they are the source of the Apex, the Guild considers their interests to be forfeit.” He paused again, but only for a moment, “I’m sure you’ve all realized that this accounts for two ships, but not the third. This is because the third will be scuttled and run aground against the rocks of the north side of the prison island.” This announcement brought a subdued buzz from the group. Mardon only needed to clear his throat and all fell silent.
Kinsman continued, “Prior to this, on that ship, the Lukasi flag will be raised to its full height. It shall be left there as a clear message.” No one made a sound as he paused again. “As soon as we’ve finished our discussion here, my people will raid a house in the Dregs that we know is involved in the Apex trade. Afterward, we'll position ourselves around one of the few remaining warehouses used by the Lukasi drug merchants, and at a time we shall agree upon, we will raid that warehouse and kill everyone inside. We will then systematically do the same with the two remaining warehouses, drawing closer to the boardwalk as we move from one to the next. During these raids what we’ll need from the Wharfsider community is for you to secure the boardwalk and the waters surrounding the Lukasi ships. If anyone should escape the warehouses, they shouldn’t be allowed to warn those aboard the ships.” He let those words sink in for a moment then resumed his summation, “With the warehouses emptied and occupants killed, we’ll converge on the ships and board them on foot from the pier and up over the rail from longboats on the water’s side.” He turned to Mardon, “You’ll be given first choice of ship. If you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to have made that decision before we loose the ships of their moorings, unless you’re coming along for the whole trip. In any case, you’ll need to decide before we reach the prison. Once the poorest ship is identified, that’ll be the one scuttled.” He paused and searched the faces of the men and asked, “Are there any questions so far?” A few of the men cast a glance toward Mardon, hesitant as to whether they should speak. Kinsman emphasized, “I’m asking. Is anything unclear so far?” Silas risked a question, “How many longboats will you want in the water? For stopping anyone from getting a warning through, and for putting Wharfsiders alongside the Lukasi ships?” Kinsman shrugged, “You’d know the answer to that better than I would. I’d say six. That’d give you the ability to spread out around the docks, and give you two longboats per ship when it came time to board them, but you might have a better idea.” Kinsman turned to Mardon, “I’ll handle the warehouses. I’ll trust you and you’re people to secure the boardwalk and the bay.” Mardon gave him a confident nod. One of the other Wharfsiders spoke, “If we see someone runnin’ on the boardwalk, how’ll we know if we needta stop ‘em? They might jes’ be people runnin’ ta get away from the fightin’.” Cooper shrugged, “Again. I leave that to your judgement. If a warning gets to the ships, we’ll be facing a prepared enemy rather than a surprised one. It’s my intent that I and my Guild associates will initiate the takeover of the ships. If they’re unprepared, we can kill several of them before they even know they’re under attack. If they’re warned it certainly won’t happen that way.” Mardon interjected, “We can’t simply kill everyone that comes running out onto the boardwalk. When the sun comes up again we will still be neighbors with the Waterfront community.” Kinsman recognized the discussi
on was running off course and spoke quickly, “I wasn’t suggesting that everyone on the boardwalk should be killed. I simply want to prevent those on board the ships from receiving any warning. If you see people come running out, turn them away, subdue them, tie them up… let the City Watch sort them out in the morning. If all goes according to plan, there’ll be plenty of empty prison cells awaiting Lukasi survivors by that time; but if a man comes running out, wild-eyed, with weapon drawn and blood on his clothes, I’d say it’s safe to guess what he’s running from.” This comment brought a reserved collective chuckle from several men. One of the men spoke from the back of the room, “Why’re we wastin’ a good ship?” Kinsman sighed, “I have a few interconnected reasons for this. If I were to say that I wanted to expose the Lukasi traders and make Apex look like an attack on the populace, and that we are all simply well-meaning citizens defending our city, would that be a good enough answer for you?” It took a moment for the man to sift through the words to find the meaning but in the end he smiled and asked, “So, we’re gonna look like heroes?” Rukle almost snorted, and muttered “Yeah. And tomorrow the bards’ll be singing your praises.” This brought a stifled laugh from Loryn, who was close enough to hear. Both fell silent in response to Kinsman’s warning glance in their direction. Kinsman replied, “Only if everything goes horribly wrong. If things go as planned, no one will ever know who’s done it.” Captain Rigel had the next question, “So, Mardon gets first pick, then I get second choice?” Kinsman replied simply, “Yes.” The scarred captain nodded, “And after that, I come back to my ship and several of my sailors sail her to the prison.” Kinsman paused, then comprehended, “Yes, so that tomorrow you will still be present to display the fact that you and your ship had nothing to do with the events of this night.” Captain Rigel gave him a satisfied nod and Kinsman looked around the room, awaiting more questions. There were none.
Despite the fact that all her sails were furled, the winds outside caused the Sundancer to rock. One of the Wharfsiders commented, “An’ we’re ta sail out… in this weather?” One of the other men grumbled his assent, “Docking on that island is gonna be tough. Tougher still since the Guard don’t want us out there.” Kinsman was prepared for that observation, “True. And it’ll be dark, besides. But that works in our favor, too. Crossbowmen from the walls might be able to shoot that far in clear weather; and if the piers get damaged a bit, that won’t matter. Just don’t damage them so much that we can’t walk on them to get to shore and back. Once we’re alongside the pier, my people will work our way in, get control of the entry and then we’ll split into two groups. My people already have their orders. The only thing we’ll want from the rest of you is to move along behind us, watch our backs and give whatever help is needed to get prisoners back to the ships.” Silas asked, “Any idea how many soldiers are manning the prison?” Kinsman shook his head, “Not exactly. We estimate between fifteen and thirty. It depends on whether this storm caught them in the midst of a shift change.” He paused, then admitted, “Sometimes the army will garrison a few extra squads in the prison if they’ve received word that there are more ships in the area than usual, but if they intended to do that, they’d have done it when the flagship and warships made their circuit in the bay a few days ago.” Captain Rigel observed, “Speaking of the prince’s ships, won’t they pursue us rather rapidly? Three ships being boarded and leaving port all of a sudden, only to go out and raid the prison… that will hardly go unnoticed.” Kinsman smiled and avoided looking at Mardon, “We have considered this and have put… measures in place to, shall we say, address those concerns.” This brought a chuckle from a few of the Wharfsiders, which revealed their involvement in emplacing those measures. “I have no doubt that they will follow, but I expect that the term ‘rapid’ will not apply.” The First Merchant made a quiet throat-clearing noise, which Kinsman hoped would be as close as he’d ever come to making an admission of guilt, the rest of the men became silent.
Kinsman took a deep breath. He’d reached the point in the plan where he expected the most resistance. He announced, “Once we get the prisoners loaded onto the ships, we’ll cast off and sail west out of the bay and in amongst the rocks of the Broken Coast.”
The captain’s burned face stretched, consistent with someone raising their eyebrows, “The Broken Coast?! Do you realize how many wrecks lay amongst those rocks? A man, nay, a business could make its fortune there purely based off salvage… if anyone would dare to attempt it. Even fishing boats avoid that area.” The Wharfsiders were nodding in agreement. Kinsman waved his hands, asking for silence, “That’s because no one has bothered to plan for it. It can be navigated.” He looked meaningfully at Silas as he indicated the map on the table and pointed, “Here, and here. A ship could sail through, even moor itself.” Captain Rigel protested, “I’ve sailed past those rocks so many times I’ve lost count. There’s no safe harbor there. A ship sailing into those rocks can’t be expected to come out again.”
Silas had leaned in to inspect the map. He spoke, his voice hesitant at first but gained strength with each word, “No. I’ve fished those waters and we’ve smuggled in a fair bit of cargo through there. There are gaps where he’s pointing. And, unladen, the ships will have a shallower draft. A ship would need to reef almost all sails and drift in, and turning would need to be done by setting temporary anchor lines, or by skilled steering with the right sails… it’d take an active crew but it could be done.” The Captain pointed to the roof over their heads, indicating the weather outside, “But in weather like this?! And in the dark?” Silas shrugged, “I think so. I’ve been through there enough.” Mardon leaned in to examine the map. He gave Silas a long look and said, “I’d not wish to risk a ship amidst those rocks, but if you say it can be done, and you think you’re the man to do it, then the position’s yours. Your problem now will be finding a crew who’s crazy enough to go with you.”
Silas squinted suspiciously as he asked Mardon, “Standard rates? And I pick my own crew?” Mardon considered the meaning behind Silas’ question then extended his hand, “Consider it the first part of my daughter’s dowry… son.” Silas looked stunned but vigorously accepted the handshake, and Wharfsiders all through the boat cheered loud enough to be heard halfway across the bay, and as soon as the word spread the crew of the Sundancer heartily joined in.
Birt stepped over to stand beside Cooper and spoke into his ear, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say the meeting you arranged just got co-opted.” Cooper smiled, not taking his eyes off the celebratory handshakes and slaps on the back, “I’d agree, but they’ll all be back on track soon enough. The upcoming wedding will be a big event.”
Chapter 25
The warehouses would wait. The Dreg’s House was first on the list. Two longboats ferried the members of the Guild across the bay. Six other boats carried the Wharfsiders. No one seemed pleased with the roughness of the water. One of the oarsmen had shouted over the storm, “If the bay’s this rough, imagine the open water!” He didn’t go so far as to claim that it was, perhaps, foolish to attempt such endeavors on a night like this. He didn’t have to.
When they arrived at the Dreg’s Boardwalk, they ascended quickly, grateful to be out of the small vessels being tossed about like so much flotsam. The fighters of the Guild split into three groups, faced west and were quickly swallowed up by the darkness. The Wharfsiders fanned out along the boardwalk finding what little shelter was available under eaves or porch roofs. Four others walked north to watch over the Bridges.
Kinsman felt a twinge of guilt when they converged on the House in the Dregs. One of the Dregs kids stepped out to meet them. The boy’s waterlogged clothes hung from his frame in such a way that he looked more like a miniature scarecrow than a wet, little boy. Kinsman had forgotten all about the children assigned to watch the place. He had intended to have Rukle tell them to stop; in fact, he thought he already had, but here they were and a boy from the Dregs was telling them, “We’re pretty sure there’re fo
ur men in the House. Nobody’s come ‘r gone since lunchtime.” Kinsman placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and leaned in close so he could speak in normal tones and still be heard, “Go home and get dry. There’ll be no more need to watch this place after tonight.” The boy didn’t need to be told twice. He disappeared quickly enough to be impressive.
Kinsman extended a hand displaying four fingers so everyone could see, then crouched and approached the door. He pointed at Rukle and made a sweeping gesture around to the right. He pointed at Spen and Gaff and waved them closer. He handed his bow to Gaff and indicated the others in his small group to do the same. He then directed Gaff and the men rescued from the quarry around to the left. Once they split off, Kinsman, Spen, Naro and Loryn lined up on the door. Kinsman pressed a gloved hand on the door. The wood was soft. Rotten. He reasoned in silence, “They’ve probably reinforced the door on the inside. And added a latch or deadbolt… but I’ll bet they didn’t reinforce the door frame.”
Kinsman faced the others and waved them all closer. He then pantomimed a pushing motion against the door and held up three fingers, giving them an exaggerated three second countdown. When all he displayed was a fist, he turned and they all rushed against the door. The nails holding the hinges in place held. Those securing the dead bolt did not. The door flew open and they tumbled in, the angle of the door forced them to get tangled together momentarily. Kinsman pulled himself free and raced past the first man near the door, reclined in a chair that he had leaning against the wall, “One of the others can handle him.” They needed to get all of them inside as quickly as they could. The room they were in had two doors, not counting the one they’d just burst in through. One likely led to a modest privy. That was probably the door in the left corner. Kinsman sprinted to the other door, ignoring the second man who was hunched over a dying fire, trying to nurse it back to health. The man called out, “Close the damn doo-”. As Kinsman pushed the second door open, from behind him he heard the sound of a chair clattering and the sudden exhalation and groan made by the man who’d ridden it to the floor. He felt certain how that would be concluded but he was already entering the second room. By now it was obvious to the man at the fire that something was amiss. He only had time to drop the kindling in his hand and begin to stand. He reached for the sword at his hip and filled his lungs to shout an alarm as Naro’s blade silenced him. The two men in the second room were startled awake by the sudden opening of the bedroom door. As the closest man started to sit upright, Kinsman stepped left and dispatched him with a stab through the windpipe, gliding the blade past the right side of the man’s vertebrae, before the man even had a chance to call out. He heard a wet, “shik” sound and a muffled cry from his right and turned to see Spen withdrawing his own blade from the left side of the other man’s chest, with his left hand over the man’s mouth as he pushed the man downward onto the bed. He’d thrust his blade at a sharp inward angle, just below and to the outside of the man’s left nipple, where the space between the ribs started to widen. Kinsman made no comment, he merely scanned the room quickly to assure no threat remained and turned back to the main room.
