Anilyia

by Carroll, John H.

  “What?” the voice replied in confusion. The man’s eyes peered through the opening. They were brown, deep set and protected by very shaggy eyebrows.

  “Maybe, but not yesterday,” Tathan answered confidently.

  The brows furrowed in deeper confusion. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

  “Humpfiggers. Isn’t everyone?”

  His head tilted as though confusion was heavy. “Humpfi . . . What?”

  “Slurpy purple humpfiggers are falling softly from the sky, didn’t you hear?” Tathan said with a very serious face.

  There was silence from the other side of the door. Tathan figured he must have broken the man’s brain. A moment later, another man’s voice asked, “What’s going on, Hank?”

  “Something about falling humpthingies,” Hank replied.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” the new voice asked.

  “Apparently everyone’s talking about purple humpthingies because they’re falling from the ceiling or something like that,” Hank explained to the new man.

  “Get out of the way,” the new voice ordered. A new set of eyes appeared at the eyehole. “What is he talking about?” the man asked in annoyance.

  Tathan shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. I think Hank has totally lost his mind.”

  “Hey! I heard that,” Hank said grumpily from behind the new guy. “You said humpthingies were falling from the ceiling. Don’t lie.”

  The new guy looked back at Hank, then at Tathan. “Who are you and what’s the password?” he challenged.

  “I’m me . . . usually. Sometimes I’m someone else, but not always. The password is mysterious and hidden and I’m not willing to tell you because I don’t know if you can be trusted,” Tathan answered in conspiratorial tones, looking over his shoulder as though someone might be listening.

  He heard a sigh from the other side of the door. Apparently, Tathan wasn’t the only one afflicted with sighs. The door opened and the new man gestured for Tathan to enter. “I don’t feel like playing games with you.”

  Tathan grinned. “Aww, but I was having fun.”

  The man shook his head in exasperation and gestured toward a table with people sitting around it. They were in another cave three hundred feet in diameter with lower ceilings. Sitting areas with cushions and couches bordered the edge of the cave. The aroma of cooking food wafted underneath Tathan’s nose, causing his mouth to water.

  Watching him from the head of the table was a well-dressed man wearing fine jewelry. He and the others at the table were eating dinner. The girl was standing behind his chair, whispering into his ear. Tathan sauntered over. “Nice place you have here. It’s a bit different than other areas of the city.”

  The man was sprawled with a leg over one arm of his chair and a half-eaten drumstick in his hand. Tathan mused that the head of every thieves’ guild he had ever seen sat in that same position. Maybe they thought it made them look relaxed or something. This man looked to be about thirty-five with long, curly black hair and an olive complexion. His light blue eyes were haunting, setting him apart and making it easy to understand why others followed him.

  “It is nice, isn’t it?” The man’s eyes never left his. Tathan assessed that this was the one person in the room who could pose a threat. “My name is Elian. This lovely young orphan you’ve been following is Miesha.” He used his drumstick to gesture toward the girl as he made the introductions.

  Her eyes were also blue, only steely. She stared at Tathan intently while standing behind the chair. Tathan had seen girls like her, orphans raised on the streets. It wasn’t always pretty. Miesha’s eyes were that of a girl who had learned hardship at too young an age.

  “She’s not available,” Elian declared dangerously, drawing Tathan out of his thoughts. The man was sitting up in his chair and had set the drumstick back on his plate. His hand was much closer to the rapier at his side. Tathan idly recognized that all of their rapiers looked the same. They must have robbed a shipment. Tathan mentally kicked himself for staring. Traveling with people he trusted was causing him to make mistakes. He didn’t show it outwardly though.

  The girl didn’t interest him, but he was certain Elian wouldn’t believe it. Ignoring the statement, Tathan introduced himself. “Name’s Tathan. Thrilled to meet you.” The words were delivered flatly, showing no evidence of being thrilled. Actually, he was thrilled to meet them. This was the first shady organization he had seen in Rojuun territory. He just wanted to keep them off guard.

  Elian narrowed his eyes. “I’ll get to the point. Miesha tells me that you travel with an odd group, including a knight. I’d like to know what your business is in Alluu.”

  “We’re here to take a boat ride and go swimming of course,” Tathan replied with an enthusiastic smile. “It sounds like so much fun!” He even jumped and clicked his heels. Then he went back to the serious face. Everyone stared at him in silence. Tathan was really enjoying himself.

  “I don’t have patience for games,” Elian stated angrily, pointing his finger. “I’m going to tell you what I think. I think you and your knight friend and whoever else you have with you, are working for the Kingdom of Mayncal and that you’re here to rescue Princess Anilyia. That’s what I think.” He sat back in the chair, hiked his leg back over the arm and took a bite of some cheese.

  Tathan wished he could be so lucky when rolling high stakes dice. Too bad no one here wanted to play games. “That’s why we’re here, yes.” He left out that Elian was wrong about where they were from.

  “I knew it!” Elian exclaimed, pounding a fist on the table. There were expressions of delight around the table. “Then we’re going to help you get in and rescue her.” He looked around with a big smile on his face, pleased with himself.

  “That’s wonderful. Exactly how are you going to do that?” Tathan asked. These people seemed too eager to help and his suspicion was aroused.

  “Have a seat and some food,” Elian told him, gesturing to a nearby chair. The man sitting in it stood quickly, taking his food with him. Someone else brought a clean plate for Tathan. It looked like a shipment of plates had been stolen too, considering all the plates were the same.

  As soon as Tathan was settled, Elian began the explanation, leaning forward with his arms on the table. “We are part of the Servant’s Guild.” He gestured at the people in the cave. “Most of us here are wanted for some crime or another, so we hide in order to avoid being killed. We do some of the . . . less honest work for the Servant’s Guild.”

  “What is the Servant’s Guild?” Tathan asked. He took some of the cheese and bread that was on the table, putting them together and taking a bite.

  “You don’t know?” Elian asked in surprise. When Tathan shook his head, Elian explained. “The Rojuun became tired of trying to figure out which human already had a job somewhere. Humans were being killed for refusing to work for one when they already had a job with another. The Servant’s Guild was created so Rojuun would have one central location to go to whenever they needed someone to work for them.”

  “I see. That sounds like a good idea,” Tathan replied before taking a drink of wine someone poured for him. He took a chance that they didn’t poison it. For some reason, he trusted these people. It was probably because he had been hanging out with Liselle for too long.

  “Yes and no. The Rojuun have automatically declared that all humans work for the Servant’s Guild, which would be fine if the guild weren’t corrupt like humans tend to make things after a while.”

  “Ah, that would be a problem,” Tathan admitted.

  “That’s not important right now. What is important is that the princess has been imprisoned in Alluu Fortress. We want her to be rescued,” Elian said.

  “I know why I want to rescue her, but why do you want her to be rescued? Why should you care about a princess?” Tathan asked.

  “The Rojuun are evil,” Elian claimed, leaning forward. Tathan noticed everyone in the cave surrounded the table to listen to
the conversation and were nodding in agreement with their leader’s words. “They seem nice and they pay a lot of gold, so some people like them, but they’re evil.”

  “Alright. The Rojuun are evil,” Tathan repeated. “What does that have to do with the princess?”

  “The Kingdoms of Mayncal and Brindlyn will go to war, allowing the Empire of Iynath to conquer both. The Rojuun are allied with Iynath and will gain more power as a result,” Elian explained. “If the princess is rescued, it will slow down both Iynath and the Rojuun.”

  “I see. So your only interest in saving the princess is to stop the Rojuun?” Tathan asked.

  “We don’t like humans being prisoners. It’s almost as bad as Rojuun killing us for everything,” Elian said, banging a fist on his thigh. The audience around the table nodded and mumbled in agreement. “If you rescue the princess, we’ll help you get into the fortress.”

  “Sounds good. How?”

  “You and your group will pose as servants the day after tomorrow. One of us will lead you to the princess’s chambers where you’ll help her to escape,” he said with a big smile. Everyone else nodded and smiled.

  “That sounds like a good plan. How do we get the knight in? Do they allow armed humans?” Tathan asked.

  “Well, no. He would have to take his armor off. We can hide it in some linen we clean for them.”

  “Hmm . . . He doesn’t take his armor off . . . ever,” Tathan said thoughtfully. He didn’t mention the part about Sir Danth not having a body. It complicated things. Another thought occurred to him. “So once we get in, how do we get out?”

  Everyone exchanged quiet glances while Elian played with the food on his plate. Tathan waited for an answer. “You do have a plan to get out, don’t you?

  “There is no way to get the princess out,” Miesha finally answered. Her voice was reserved as though she didn’t speak often. “It’s been tried before. Alarms go off if she leaves her chambers. There are no secret doors into those chambers and anyone who tries to help her escape, dies.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a complete plan. Getting into the fortress is good. Getting to the princess is better. Setting off alarms and dying is a minor flaw in the design,” Tathan pointed out logically.

  “Yes. That’s the part we’ve been having a problem with,” Elian admitted sadly. “I don’t know how to get her out. We can get you to the princess, but I’m hoping your group can get her out . . . somehow.” They all looked at him hopefully.

  Tathan pursed his lips and considered. “How do people die? Is there some sort of trap with the alarm? How is the alarm triggered?”

  Elian ticked off the answers on his fingers. “The Rojuun kill them. There is no trap, just the alarm, triggered by some sort of magical weave in the floor. It’s far beyond anything our wizards have seen.” He took a deep breath and continued. “There are other tunnels extending deep into the rock behind the fortress. Rumor is that they’re extensive and some lead to the surface. However, we don’t know for sure, because the Rojuun don’t allow anyone past certain points. Your other option is to fight your way out and try to escape via the Cavern Road, but that’s not a great solution.”

  “So . . . Getting to the princess is easy. After that, it’s a matter of running away while thousands of Rojuun chase us until we’re dead. Do I have the plan correct?” Tathan asked.

  “Yeah. That’s the plan. We’re hoping you avoid the ‘until we’re dead’ part,” Elian said dejectedly.

  “Well . . . at least we have a plan this time,” Tathan said with a grin. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He stood up to go. “Let me talk to my companions and we’ll let you know tomorrow night.”

  Elian stood to shake Tathan’s hand. “I hope your friends agree. I don’t know what we’re going to do if you don’t.”

  “I’ll let you know either way,” he responded. Tathan saw Miesha smile. There was more to her smile than he was interested in. He turned to go.

  Chapter 20

  As he walked back, Tathan tried figuring out how to get the princess out of the fortress, but just couldn’t come up with anything. He had been on missions with less hope, but it wasn’t a good habit to get into.

  Sir Danth was sitting in front of the inn with elbows over the back of a bench and his legs crossed in front of him. He was the most casual knight Tathan had ever seen. More and more, Sir Danth was coming out of the dark silence. He had an odd sense of humor dryer than the deserts of Iynath. Tathan had to admit he liked having the knight around. He didn’t know how he was going to pass him off as a servant though.

  “Hello, Master Tathan. It is good to see you alive and well. How was your conversation?”

  “It went fairly well. I learned some new things and we now have half a plan,” Tathan replied, standing next to the bench and looking back the way he had come. Miesha was down the street a way, peering at him from behind a building. She turned back when Tathan caught sight of her.

  “Half a plan?” Sir Danth questioned.

  “Yeah. Half a plan. I haven’t figured out how to escape without dying yet,” Tathan admitted.

  “That seems an important thing to work out,” Sir Danth said. “It’s more than our last plan though.”

  “I know, right?” Tathan replied with a grin. “Did we get a good room?”

  “Yes, and only ninety gold uun instead of a hundred,” The knight answered with a grin of his own.

  Tathan wasn’t amused. He knew the Knight was joking, but there was a fear in his heart that it might be true. “Seriously, how much did she pay?”

  “Relax. Your cousin did an excellent job. She purchased a suite with two bedrooms for two nights at ten gold uun a night, which includes meals, baths and a bottle of wine.” Sir Danth saw the concern on Tathan’s face and reassured him, “It is on the top floor and has an excellent view of the fortress. The rooms facing the river cost as much as seventy gold uun per night. Your cousin bargained down from fifteen per night for our suite and made certain the innkeeper threw in the baths and bottle of wine. She did well.”

  “Yes, you’re right,” Tathan admitted with a wave of his hand. “It’s just more than I’ve ever paid for a room before. I’m not used to the amounts of gold thrown around here.” He took a deep breath then exhaled. “Let’s go see the suite. I have to discuss the plans with everyone anyway.”

  “Of course.” Sir Danth stood and led Tathan up to the suite. It was luxurious with carpets, cushioned chairs and a table in the main room. It smelled of clean linen and scented candles. Bedrooms were on the right and left and two windows looked out toward the fortress. Vevin and Liselle were snuggling on a small couch near one of the windows, their bare feet on a soft knitted rug. They looked disappointed when Tathan and Sir Danth came in. Tathan rolled his eyes and went to the other window.

  “How’d your conversation with the girl go, Tathan?” Vevin asked.

  Tathan turned from the window to stare at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “You said you were going to go talk to someone, and then you followed that girl who was following us,” Vevin explained. “I think she’s too young for you though,” he finished with a disapproving frown.

  Tathan rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’m not interested in her in that way. She led me to the local Thieves’ Guild. They gave me a plan to get into the fortress,” he said, pointing at the citadel, which was in perfect sight from the window.

  “I don’t normally trust thieves,” Vevin said. “I like you, but that’s different. Can we trust them?”

  Tathan sighed again. “Yes, we can trust them.”

  “Sir Danth is right. You do sigh a lot,” Vevin declared.

  Tathan began to sigh again, but caught himself and glared at Vevin, who just grinned. “They’re not the most capable thieves, but I believe they want to help and won’t betray us.”

  “How will they help us?” Liselle asked. She was sitting on Vevin’s lap with her head on his shoulder.

  “They’re goi
ng to sneak us in disguised as servants the day after tomorrow. Once inside, they’ll take us to the princess’s chambers.”

  When he didn’t continue with details, Sir Danth suggested, “Then we disguise the princess as a servant and come back out?”

  Tathan sighed again, eliciting chuckles. “No. If the princess leaves the room, alarms triggered by magical wards woven into the floor will be set off. Anyone trying to help the princess escape will be hunted down and killed.”

  “I don’t like that part of the plan,” Vevin said, shaking his head.

  “It isn’t as good as the first part,” Sir Danth agreed. “Do you have any idea how to escape with the princess?”

  “Elian, the guild leader, mentioned that there were tunnels deep into the rock behind the fortress that might lead to the surface. I was thinking we’d kill everyone who tried to stop us and maybe let Vevin eat some of them, finally.”

  “Oh yes!” Vevin exclaimed, jumping up. Liselle yelped because she was still sitting on his lap. He had his arms underneath her though, and held her easily while he began doing a happy ‘I finally get to taste a Rojuun’ dance. She laughed and held on for dear life.

  Sir Danth pointed out a concern that Tathan had been struggling with all the way back to the inn. “What if none of the tunnels lead to the surface and there is no way out after all?”

  Vevin stopped dancing and sat back down. Liselle got comfortable in his lap again. Tathan replied, “I don’t know. That’s something I’m worried about too.” He turned back to the window to look at the fortress. It was imposing. “I’m hoping we’ll find a way out somehow, but that’s not a good plan and I don’t feel comfortable with it.” He turned to them once more. “Any ideas?”

  “That’s too far for me to look,” Vevin said. “I can only see a short distance through rock.”

  “I don’t like the idea of killing everyone. The Rojuun are beautiful and just slaughtering people, whether they be human or Rojuun, bothers me,” Liselle told them with a gloomy expression. “I want to save the princess, but not at the cost of hundreds of lives.”