“Quite the gathering of specialists,” Nerthus murmured as they reached the steps. “This has to have something to do with whatever it was Titus had the locals working on.”
“Maybe he needs help finishing it?” Edda offered. “I mean, one of our people did blow up a decent sized portion of the craftsman district. They must have lost some ground on the crystellium project.”
“Perhaps,” Egveny said, his voice thoughtful.
It took only a few moments for them to wait before it was their turn at the entrance with Gustav. The older man looked resplendent in his polished armor, and his silken tabard was dyed a dark green, with the Bellkeep insignia displayed with golden embroidery. When the three of them reached him at the top step, there was a second of silence as Gustav eyed them up. It wasn’t a leer, or a glare, but there was something menacing in that look. Calculating. Nerthus did not like it at all. The second passed, and Gustav smiled, showing his white teeth.
“Ahh, our friends from the Consortium. Welcome, welcome. When Lord Titus heard you had arrived, he had to make sure you were all invited. I hope you have enjoyed your time here in our fair city?”
Egveny bowed his head slightly as he handed over his invitation. “Indeed. From what we’ve seen so far, Bellkeep is a very interesting place. It saddens me that the Consortium hasn’t visited sooner.”
“Well, while I may not be privy to all of Lord Titus’ plans, I do believe that the purpose of this party is to build long lasting partnerships.” Gustav’s smile grew, but Nerthus saw that it did not touch his eyes. “With luck, we have something that will get the attention of your superiors.”
“Will Knight Captain Garrey be joining us?” Edda asked suddenly. “I would so dearly like to speak with him.”
Anger flashed across Gustav’s face at the mention of Garrey, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by his fake smile. “Ah, unfortunately not. We are currently undergoing a...transition within the city, and the Watch has been absorbing more responsibilities of the common soldiery. Captain Garrey and his men will be...needed elsewhere.”
“Oh, that is a pity,” Nerthus said. “I would have also liked to have seen him.”
“Forgive my sisters,” Egveny said. “They are both looking to wrangle any man in shining armor into marriage.” He smiled slyly. “Be careful, Captain Gustav. They may set their eyes on you.”
“Ah, of course,” Gustav said, his voice going oddly flat. “Well, regardless, there are many other guests here, perhaps they will have some luck after all.” He extended his hand towards the door. “Please, enjoy the party.”
Egveny bowed his head again as Nerthus and Edda curtsied before walking into the manor. There was no entry hall or closet rooms for them to navigate through. They were immediately standing within the grand foyer of Titus’s mansion, a large, cavernous room three stories high. The foyer was softly lit by alchemical globes resting on pedestals, casting a bright but gentle light around the room. Large windows, spanning almost the entire walls from floor to ceiling, were decorated with large, luminescent bells, hanging like pendulums. The walls were painted a deep green, with golden curtains framing the windows. Nerthus found the color scheme a little garish. To her side she heard Edda mutter “eww”. Good to know she wasn’t the only one who disapproved.
There were a fair amount of guests already there, Nerthus saw. She quickly counted thirty people, not counting the servants. And even the servants were dressed in finery. Wearing white silk tunics and dark green breeches, the servants moved with a silent grace amongst the guests, even with trays laden with food and drink balanced on their shoulders. The assortment of food being proffered was impressive. One tray had delicate pastries heaped upon it, the thin sugar icing on each glinting in the light. Another tray was covered in small shellfish, their jagged shells already cracked open. Trays covered in steaming meats, or fruit slices, or vegetables in sauce all passed them by. Almost immediately, a servant approached them with a tray carrying delicate looking drink flutes, filled to the brim with a thin, amber-colored liquid. The servant offered the tray silently, but was politely waved away by Nerthus. They knew better than to eat or drink anything provided to them. Even though the array of food presented made their stomachs rumble.
“Let’s move into the room a little bit more,” Nerthus said, “and away from this gods damned food. We need to get a better idea of where exactly we are.”
“And we need to mingle, even if it is only for a little bit,” Egveny said as they walked. “I really want to know why these specific people were invited.”
“Like that Forn woman from before? You know, the one dressed like the harlot queen?” Edda asked.
“Yes. For, ah, academic reasons. You know, uh, intelligence gathering?” Egveny tried to look serious, but he chortled at his own statement, causing Edda and even Nerthus to chuckle. It was a testament to their nerves, Nerthus thought as she looked around the room, that they were still able to laugh and joke. Especially knowing that they were in the vipers nest, and the vipers were watching.
They casually walked forwards, passing small knots of guests as they did so. Directly across the foyer from them was a grand staircase, which ascended to a roped off landing leading to the second floor rooms. From the second floor landing a smaller staircase rose to a small balcony on the third floor. On that small balcony was a small table and chair set, behind which was a door leading to the third floor proper. Nerthus desperately wanted to see what was up there.
The attendees, they soon saw, were not limited to guests and servants. Standing on either side of the staircase was a member of the City Watch, clad in the same dress uniform as Gustav outside, their faces hidden by sealed helmets. Their cruel looking cudgels were gone, replaced with ornamental staves adorned with a bell at the tip. Edda pointed when a guest tried to walk up the stairs with his young date. The guards barred his path with their staves, yet they remained silent even as the guest hurled drunken threats at them. Apparently guests were not allowed off of the main floor. A number of other doors along the walls on the ground floor were similarly off-limits for guests, hidden behind small curtains, or blocked by guards.
“Which one of those doors do you think we need to get into?” Edda muttered.
“If this place wasn’t warded, I would tell you,” Egveny said. “As it is, I’d rather not risk using any spells unless absolutely necessary.”
“Down and up are our only directions,” Nerthus said. “In my experience, people love towers, high places, or deeply dug cellars for performing their mischief.”
Edda peered up at the third floor balcony. “I’m good, but I don’t think I can make it up there without being seen by all these people.”
“Then we find a way down,” Nerthus said, watching a servant with an empty tray disappear behind an unlocked, unguarded door. A moment later a different servant with a full tray emerged. “Kitchens usually need access to some sort of cellar,” she said. “So that is our way down, hopefully.” She turned to the other two. “Okay, Egveny, quick question. Aside from plans, magical artifacts, or one of those blue crystals from the warehouse, is there anything else you want me to keep an eye out for?”
“No, not that I can think of,” Egveny said, his eyes still on the Forn woman. His hands absently searched up and down his vest and trousers until he found the correct pocket, and he drew out a long, thin handkerchief. The thin material was unfamiliar to Nerthus, but the way it shimmered in the light somehow comforted her. “Finding one of those crystals is paramount though, in any state it may be in. Take this,” he said, handing Nerthus the handkerchief. “If you find one, wrap it in this. It will mitigate the bulk of the effects of the crystal. Make it safe for you to carry. Do not, under any circumstances, touch it with bare hands. The effects could be...bad.”
“You don’t have to remind me,” Nerthus said, folding the handkerchief into a pocket. “Okay, scat you two. Go do your mingling. Edda you too. Find out just who these guests are, what they do, and why they thi
nk Titus summoned them all here. I’m going to get in that kitchen and find out what secrets Titus has hidden beneath us.”
“Do you really want to go alone?” Egveny asked. “If you get into any trouble down there, we won’t know about it.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a horrible plan,” Edda said. “Plus I’m no good at pretending to give a shit about other people. Mingling is a waste of my talents, I should be the one doing all the sneak-thiefing.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Nerthus said with a grin. “Just twirl your hair around a finger, giggle, and nod. Men love it when their audience is pretty. And don’t worry about me,” she said, patting her assortment of stylish pouches with her mecharm, “I came prepared for almost anything. Give me a half hour before you start to worry. That should be plenty of time.”
Nerthus turned before either of them could say anything else, and hurried over to the closest servant. Before the man could offer her an exotic fruit from his tray she clutched his free shoulder, grabbing handfuls of his shirt as she did.
“Those shellfish one of you were handing out, were they deeprock clams?” she said, putting the right amount of demand and fear in her voice. “Answer me, dammit!”
The servant’s eyes widened a little. “Uhh, yes, I believe they were. Miss, are you okay?”
“No you fool!” Nerthus hissed, clutching her stomach with her hands. “I told Titus’s representative that I was allergic to deeprock clams, and he assured me, HE ASSURED ME, that only coldbay clams would be served. But in this dim light, they looked the same.”
“I’m, uh, sorry miss, but that really isn’t, um-”
“Look you,” Nerthus interrupted, her voice regal yet panicked, “unless you want my breakfast, lunch, and dinner all over your shirt and floor, you had better take me to a privy. Now.”
“Miss the facilities for you to use are-”
“You gods damned simpleton, do you expect me to...have my episode surrounded by the other guests, having them listen to every horrid sound my body is about to make? Bring me in the back somewhere damn you. The cellar privy or what have you. Just hurry with it before I blame you personally.”
The poor servant was caught out of his depth with Nerthus clutching and hissing at him, and she felt almost sorry for the man. She knew his job was totally at the whim of the nobility, and at that moment he was probably fearing for his well-being if she were to hold him somehow responsible for public embarrassment. He looked around for help, but none of the other servants were within earshot.
“Okay, you’re absolutely right my lady,” he said at last. He took her by the elbow with his free hand and
together they did their best to hurry across the foyer while not drawing inquisitive looks from the other attendees. The servant guided her to the door leading to the kitchen and they passed through together, halting only for the servant to set his tray down on a table. They all but fought their way through a number of other servants and attendants who looked curiously at the two of them, but said nothing. He brought her through the prep room and into the kitchen itself, where they dodged around the cooks bustling about large the stone ovens and boiling pots of soup and water. The air itself was heavy, as if a light fog of moisture, butter, and flour had settled about the floor.
Still hungry from earlier, Nerthus’ stomach protested strongly at all of these scents taunting it, and it rumbled loudly. Loud enough for the servant to hear, which he took to mean that the end of all things was approaching. Despite herself, Nerthus had to stifle laughter as the servant began to panic and almost broke out into a run, dragging her behind him.
Finally the servant halted his mad dash in front of a door and opened it for Nerthus.
“I am terribly, terribly sorry for all of this,” he said as Nerthus pushed past him and closed the door in his face. “Please, call out if you need help,” he said to the wooden door.
“You can help by getting lost,” Nerthus snapped. “The last thing I want is anyone back here listening to...me! I’ll find my own way out.”
“But-”
“Get lost kid!”
“Ma'am I-”
“I SAID GET LOST!” Nerthus shouted. The servant actually jumped back from the door at the vehemence in her voice and, seeing that he went above and beyond the call of duty in solving a problem he had no hand in creating, he followed Nerthus’s instructions and hurried back into the kitchen. Nerthus sat there for a minute, doing her best hold in her laughter, but she snorted softly, which opened the gates and she had a rare, honest belly laugh alone in the servant's privy of a monster’s mansion.
As she slowly regained her composure, she wiped the tears away and began taking a tools out of her pouches. Despite her best efforts, a large smile remained on her face the entire time.
She really did love her job.
Chapter Eighteen
As the dying rays of the sun pierced the night sky, Kinnese rode his charger through the main gates of Bellkeep, flanked on either side by Naria and the Underking. The rest of his bizarre convoy followed close behind. All of them were exhausted from the day’s events. But there was no time for them to halt and rest. They needed to melt into the cracks of Bellkeep before Else and his Outriders sniffed them out. Even though they weren’t in the Dominion of Tethis, Else would have the advantage within the city. An armed confrontation with them here, in a city patrolled by a City Watch and a garrison of soldiers, would be bad. There would be many awkward questions he didn't feel like answering.
Kinnese led them through the city blindly for a few moments, anxious to get away from the main gate. Members of the Watch stationed there stared at them silently as they rode by, but didn’t make a move to bar their path. That was good. They didn’t seem to recognize him. Or the Underking, for that matter. A sifar openly riding in a human city with human companions was a rather uncommon sight, and wouldn’t have gone unremarked upon. To mitigate this as much as possible, the Underking had a large, deep hood cast over his head, shrouding all but his chin. So far it seemed to have been enough.
According to a sign they passed, the road they were on took them would take them through one of the residential districts and then, if they let it, the market. Smaller streets broke off around them, an artery breaking off into veins. Kinnese halted and turned his horse to one side to look at the Underking.
“This is your show, sir,” Kinnese said. “I’m a stranger in a strange land here. Where should we be heading?”
The Underking turned his hooded head one way, then another as he looked down different side streets.
“There’s a tavern in the Craftsman District, The Broken Axle. It is...under my management. They can shelter us for the time being.”
Kinnese nodded respectfully. “That sounds like just the thing we need. We have a man here we needed to meet with ourselves, and-” he caught sight of Naria, grimacing as if she were about to be sick. Her eyes met his. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“There is...something terribly wrong happening here,” she said.
“Like what? Any specifics?” Kinnese asked.
“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. It’s as if places here have been...twisted. Perverted somehow. Corrupted. Oh gods, people too. I felt it first when we passed through the gate. The City Watch all felt...toxic somehow.”
“Like a disease?” Kinnese asked, a sense of panic touching his mind. He had been in a city once when a plague had broken out. The indiscriminate horror of a merciless disease ravaging a human population trapped within stone walls was something he never wanted to witness again.
“No...it’s not like that. Things have been...warped. Changed. I don’t know, I’d need to do a thorough examination of a few people to see what exactly it is.”
“Sadly,” Undis whispered, “I can’t sense anything in this body. If what she says is true, if there is some misuse of the Power happening here, my perspective could be an invaluable one. Perhaps I should be in my original body for
a time? I'm afraid I'm simply dead weight in this body.
“I don’t think so,” Kinnese said to Undis. “With the wonderful state of decay and regrowth your old body does, we can’t be sure you’d be in any condition to wander around a city without setting off some sort of panic.” He turned back to Naria. “And honestly, we don’t have the time for this. At least not yet. Let’s go to this Broken Axle, let the Underking get in touch with his people and lay low for a day or two. Besides, if this infection is as bad as you say, the local mages circle and medicos are no doubt working on it as best they can. And after we are done with our business here, we can lend a hand.”
“I hope so,” she said, doubt in her voice.
“I would very much like to see what sort of...malaise is spreading,” Undis said, a note of eagerness in his voice as he took in the surroundings.
Kinnese didn’t reply, he simply turned his horse and gestured for the Underking to ride next to him. But now his mind was turning this new variable over in his mind. Perhaps it wasn’t chance that he brought one of the continent’s most skilled healers to a city in the possible throes of a plague. His master had tasked him to get the new employees to Nilbin. But he couldn’t imagine his master objecting to taking a few days to stay and help if they could. Making the world better was what their big scheme was all about. Wasn’t it?
The Underking led them through the dim streets of Bellkeep, and even Kinnese could sense that something was wrong. There was an unspoken tension, visible in the faces of people they passed on the streets. As they rode through the residential area, Kinnese saw more than one argument break out between husbands and wives over nothing. A group of old pensioners sat silently on the porch of a house, staring into untouched mugs of ale. Even the cries of children at play were tainted. There was no joy in their voices, only harsh, cruel words and and undercurrent of anger.
Chasing Down Glory: The Outrider Legion: Book Two Page 30
