by David Pauly
'Filth, my Lord?' asked Captain Dunner. 'Insolence? I don't understand.'
Grimly, Alfrahil stated, 'Perhaps, Captain, you would care to escort me back to the stables and see the chaos firsthand?'
Smiling a little too quickly for a man in his position, Captain Dunner replied, 'With all due respect, my Lord, perhaps there was one idle soldier who irritated your grace. But overall, the stables should be in good working order, even if they are not quite fit for a parade inspection.'
Alfrahil held Dunner's eye. 'Captain, you have a choice to make. Either we can return to the stables for my formal inspection, or you can immediately volunteer to replace the Messenger Captain currently assigned to the Eastern Shardan command for the next year. If you volunteer, and conclude your assignment satisfactorily, you may return and resume your duties within the City, and this business will be forgotten. If you fail the inspection, you will be dismissed from the army and left amongst other unemployed veterans. Choose now.'
Dunner paused for a moment, but then, swallowing hard, said, 'I volunteer for the assignment, my Lord.'
'Wise choice, Captain,' said Alfrahil approvingly. 'Why don't you run ahead and inform your senior lieutenant that we are on our way to return to the stables and that I will be choosing your successor presently.'
'Yes, my Lord Prince,' said the captain. 'At once, sir.'
As Dunner scurried away, Alfrahil called for the madam of the house to step forward.
A large, matronly woman dressed in expensive but gaudy clothing emerged from the crowd. With an oily obsequiousness and a gaze that did not quite reach the Crown Prince's eye, she inquired as to his needs and how she could best serve them. Her voluptuous frame had clearly gone to seed, but the hints of fading beauty were still evident in her face. Anyone could tell that she was one of the lucky women to rise from the ranks of common 'joy girls,' as women of ill repute were politely known, to oversee an entire house of younger desperate women.
'You can serve them, woman, by telling me who owns this house,' said Alfrahil.
'Well, Lord, I am not sure,' she temporized, rapidly trying to think a way out of this calamity. 'I believe this house is owned by different businessmen within the City.'
'Who is the man or men who control the activities of this house?' thundered Alfrahil.
'I don't know, my Lord,' she repeated. 'We work through different moneymen and brokers within the City, and I am not sure who actually the owner of this house is.'
'Silence, woman!' Alfrahil barked. 'I have had my fill today of sly looks and lack of candor. Your lying schemes have bought you a special reward today. You shall be sent forthwith to the Azhar frontier as a common serving wench.'
Stricken, the woman looked desperately into Alfrahil's face. 'My Lord,' she stammered. 'Perhaps you and I could withdraw privately to my room, where we could discuss this matter more comfortably?'
Alfrahil extended his hand in a gesture indicating that she should show him to her room and only one guard would follow them. She led Alfrahil and the soldier along a couple of back passageways until she entered a nondescript storage room. She touched a portion of the wall, and Alfrahil saw that the stone depressed inward an inch or so, revealing a hidden door, which she opened with the touch of another hidden switch. She stood aside and indicated that Alfrahil should precede her into the room thus revealed.
The prince shook his head and instead gestured for the soldier to enter. Then, taking the woman by the arm, Alfrahil guided her inside. Soft yellow light came from crystal light fixtures on the ceiling; he was astounded by the opulence that confronted him. Only the finest weavers could have created the tapestries that hung upon the walls, and the furniture was ornate and antique, worth a small fortune. A small abacus lay on a writing desk composed of the finest northern hardwoods. An odor of perfume filled the room, a scent that Alfrahil did not recognize. A beautiful painted screen of far Azhar separated the working room from private areas revealed only by dark shadows and a sense of greater space than what was actually visible. Clearly this woman, despite her flaws, had an appreciation of beauty.
The woman quickly asked the Prince to sit. 'Now, my Lord Prince,' she said, 'there has been a misunderstanding between us, and for that I apologize. I will be happy to offer you a permanent gift of companionship in this house, valuable secrets many would kill for, along with fifty gold pieces per month. All I request in return is that this small matter be overlooked.'
Alfrahil said nothing, appearing to contemplate her offer for a moment. Then he invited the soldier closer for a brief whispered discussion, after which the soldier saluted smartly and left the room.
'Now,' said Alfrahil to the madam with a tight smile, 'you shall tell me the name of the owner of this house if you would escape my sentence of banishment.'
Thinking that this was only an opening gambit, the woman replied, 'Perhaps my secrets, one hundred gold pieces per month, and a quarter of my wealth can find their way to your coffers, my Lord, so that our dealings may operate more smoothly.'
Smiling, the Prince said politely, 'I am giving you one last opportunity to redeem yourself. Do not waste it on idle flattery or foolish attempts to bribe or seduce me.'
The woman said, 'A quarter of my current wealth is the best that I can do, but I can give you one hundred fifty gold pieces a month.'
Alfrahil said nothing and remained silent as the steady tread of booted feet came down the hall and through the empty false storeroom. The sergeant of the guard entered the room, his eyes darting everywhere at once as he observed the rich decorations.
'Sergeant,' stated Alfrahil, 'I order you to place this woman in your custody immediately. See that she is questioned by Lord Mergin and his men. Once Lord Mergin is done with her, she is to be dispatched to the Azhar frontier with the patrol that is leaving this week to take up their positions there. She is a new serving woman for the men, and should prove valuable to their needs and comfort.'
'My Lord, I beseech you,' the woman cried. 'You will never have such an opportunity again, for the documents that I have hidden could well make you one of the most powerful men in the realm.'
'Silence, wench of misfortune!' roared Alfrahil. 'I am already one of the most powerful men in the realm, or have you forgotten that you are speaking to your Crown Prince?'
Angrily and enigmatically the woman replied, 'You are now, my Lord Prince. You are now.'
Regarding her statement as the angry retort of a desperate woman, Alfrahil dismissed the implied threat. 'Sergeant,' he said, 'after you have taken this creature to her meeting with Lord Mergin, send a messenger to Lord Golbur, Dwarf Lord of Edelhohle, who is here on leave from his kingdom, requesting the services of Dwarven engineers to aid me in search of the secrets this room surely holds.'
As if suddenly stricken by the seriousness of her situation, the woman fell to her knees and cried out for mercy.
'You had your opportunity,' Alfrahil said with distaste in his tone. 'Now the Dwarves will uncover your secrets, and all of your wealth will be seized and given to the poor and the needy. Perhaps you will learn the meaning of honest labor as you cook and clean upon the distant frontier.'
One last wail came from the woman as she was wrenched back to her feet and escorted from the room.
Summoning the senior corporal, Alfrahil asked him to guard the room against entry until the Dwarven engineers arrived. He then returned to the main lobby of the house, where a few confused women were still gathered. He bade them return to their rooms and retrieve their belongings before leaving the house forever.
'But this is our home,' one of the women protested.
'No longer,' he replied. 'This house will be cleaned and repaired and given to the families of honest people who have nowhere else to live.'
With luck, thought Alfrahil as all the women, weeping now, fled up the stairs, news of his intent would travel quickly and serve to bring the true owners of the establishment out from their hiding places.
Alfrahil spent the bette
r part of an hour reviewing a detailed list of patrons discovered in a drawer of the madam's writing desk. Slowly, and with growing disgust, Alfrahil noted the names of prominent men in the City, government officials, merchants, even members of the army staff and the King's personal guard. Placing the list and the ledger he'd found earlier in the hands of the senior corporal, Alfrahil bade him bring it safely back to the Citadel.
While Alfrahil did not doubt the loyalty of his soldiers, he was concerned that once word spread of his actions and his discovery, an attempt to steal the book might be possible. Thinking further about what he might find here, he sent another soldier to bring down a detachment of his personal guards, his Guard Captain, Biramin, and a full company of soldiers. Once Biramin and his men arrived, Alfrahil would have him secure this house and the neighboring homes and streets against theft and fire that could damage the information Alfrahil was certain the house contained.
Biramin was the second son of the Duke of Anscomb. Unable to inherit as long as his brother lived, he had entered the military, which customarily took in the unlanded sons of nobility, giving them special training for military posts. The dark-haired and dark-eyed Biramin was a huge man, nearly seven feet tall, barrel-chested but without any fat upon him. In addition to his regular military training, he had spent three years with Shadows learning counter-intelligence, close-hand combat, and urban warfare as well as desert warfare, to become Alfrahil's personal guard captain. The two men had been lifelong friends ever since the day they had met; and Alfrahil trusted no one else as thoroughly as he did Biramin.
The Dwarven engineers—four in number—were the first to arrive, an hour after being summoned. Alfrahil led them back into the secret room, which one of the engineers laughingly derided as 'so crude a blind Man child could find it.'
'It is precisely because of your skill at finding things that I have asked you here,' said Alfrahil. 'I would request that you diligently employ all of your skills at finding secret doors, panels, and other hiding places. Please give any of the things you find there to this soldier of the guard.' He indicated the young corporal. 'He will remain here and provide any aid that you need. I will send one of my merchant account men to negotiate your fee, but please begin without delay.'
Emerging back into the common room, Alfrahil waited for another hour until a harried-looking Biramin entered the room. 'Biramin, I am sorry to disturb your rest, but there are important things to be done here today,' said Alfrahil.
'How may I serve, Lord?' the captain asked.
Taking Biramin aside, Alfrahil explained what he had found, and what he suspected might yet be found, within the house. He needed men whose loyalty was unquestionable to guard both the house and the Dwarves within it until the search could be completed.
'Yes, Lord,' said Biramin. 'I will dispatch twenty-five of my men to watch the company you have summoned. Nothing shall happen to this house or its contents; I will personally escort the madam to Lord Mergin.'
Feeling a sense of relief, Alfrahil ordered half of his guard to accompany him back to the stables so he could proceed with his long-postponed visit to Amarant.
Striding back toward the stables, he noted the modest crowd that had gathered around the brothel. By the time he had climbed out of the alley, a small throng of curious citizens was following at his heels. Alfrahil paused to address them.
'Good citizens of Titania,' he said. 'I have attended to a blight upon the bright reputation of our fair City. One joy house will no longer contribute to the degradation of Eldora and the corruption of its moral fiber. This house shall be assigned to the families of the veterans of the wars who find themselves in a serious plight and have nowhere else to live.'
Hearing the hoarse cheers of the local populace, especially the women, Alfrahil turned upon his heel and proceeded to the stables. Upon arriving there, Alfrahil was greeted smartly by two of the messenger guards in clean and shining uniforms. Entering the stables, Alfrahil was frankly astonished. While his eye could still see repair work that needed attending to, much of the rampant filth and malevolent odor had been dispelled. The remaining piles of excrement had been loaded onto what looked like dozens of carts. The dank stone walls had been scrubbed, along with the gray flagstone floor. The wooden rails had had their coating of manure and flies removed and showed the gleam of old polish under their newly scrubbed surfaces. Even the ceiling had lost most of its cobwebs and lint, and air circulated freely from deep-set windows that had been closed during his prior visit.
Suitably impressed, Alfrahil proceeded to the desk and dispatch area that had hitherto contained the unpleasant personage of the rude sergeant. Standing in his stead was a dark-haired man of about forty. Bearing the rank of a lieutenant, the man introduced himself as Caelus, son of Caelar.
'Please forgive the conditions of the stables, my Lord; they have fallen into neglect and disrepair. I have recently had the opportunity to begin cleaning and repairing them, and I hope to have them up to proper standards within a fortnight,' said Caelus.
'How long have you had your present post, Lieutenant?' asked Alfrahil. 'Barely four hours ago a surly; gray-haired sergeant was sitting where you now stand, and this building looked as if rude corsairs from the Shardan coast had been living here for generations.'
'I was off duty when I heard the guard captain was being sought for by the Crown Prince to explain the state of the stables. I hurried here to take command of the stables, as I am the first officer and hoped I could use this opportunity to bring the stables into some semblance of functionality so that when your Grace returned you would be able to complete your errand.'
Just then, two young guardsmen escorting a group of stone-masons hurried by with buckets and trowels laden with cement and began patching the damaged walls. Looking farther down the hallway, Alfrahil saw a journeyman stone-mason directing laborers with barrows of flagstones to place them in stacks along the floor where the apprentice stonemasons were already beginning to remove the broken and stained stones.
Alfrahil had rarely seen such industry in Eldora in recent days and remarked to Caelus, 'This sort of behavior might just land you a promotion.'
Not sensing Alfrahil's jest, Caelus replied shortly, 'Promotion is the furthest thing from my mind. I only hope to fulfill my duties.'
Seeing the rising color in Caelus's face, Alfrahil was suddenly struck by the thought that this man truly meant what he said and that he was trying to do his job with faith and honor. 'While these stables are in a shambles and you may have been less than diligent for not seeing to their upkeep before now, I cannot help but be impressed by your present attention to duty and detail. Therefore, from this day forward, Caelus, you are hereby promoted to Captain of the Messenger Stables and carry all of the honors and duties that your position entails. I give you free “rein” to choose your subordinate officers and sergeants so that you may continue your excellent work.' Seeing the astonished face of Caelus and hearing the man's stammering protests that he did not deserve such an honor, Alfrahil knew he had acted wisely. 'Now, Captain,' he added, 'I require two things of you: swift horses with a small honor guard and the recommendation of someone who can help me with a task requiring discretion and wisdom.'
'Can you tell me more of this task, my Lord?' asked Caelus. 'I could then perhaps recommend someone who could suit your needs.'
'No,' replied Alfrahil. But leaning in for a close whisper, he added, 'I need someone besides Biramin, who is performing an equally valuable service for me now, who I can trust implicitly, who would draw their sword, stand their ground, and defend me to the death. Who besides yourself would fit this duty?'
Without pause, Caelus said, 'My older brother would be the man you are looking for, my Lord.'
'Where is he and how is he known?' asked Alfrahil.
'Alcar, son of Caelar, my Lord. He was Captain of the Prince of Ackerlea's guard until politics got the better of him. Now he is a pikeman upon the outer wall. You can ask for him at the guard house north of the
Great Gates, and they will tell you how to find him, sire.'
'Send one of your messengers to bring him to me while you choose ten horses for my guard and have my horse re-shod,' said Alfrahil.
Caelus bowed and departed.
At that moment, one of the soldiers of Alfrahil's company approached him and stated, 'There was an attempt to fire the house you recently visited, my Lord. A couple of the would-be arsonists have been apprehended.'
Alfrahil asked in alarm, 'Did the house burn?'
'No, my Lord,' replied the messenger. 'Captain Biramin had men with shovels and barrels of water stationed nearby, and they were able to extinguish the blaze before it spread.'
'What other news?' asked Alfrahil.
'Well, my Lord, the former madam of the house was walking with the guard detachment when an arrow came from a high rooftop and slew her where she stood,' the messenger reported.
'Slain!' cried Alfrahil. 'Slain, you say?'
'Yes, my Lord,' replied the messenger. 'She is dead.'
'What of the men that I entrusted to guard her?'
'My Lord,' replied the messenger, 'Captain Biramin tells me that his men were hand-picked and marched closely around her and that only an exceptionally fine archer could have attempted the shot, much less sent the arrow home.'
Swallowing down a curse, Alfrahil asked, 'Is there anything else?'
'No, my Lord,' said the messenger. 'Captain Biramin will be here shortly to update you on the status of his progress.'
'Thank you, messenger,' said Alfrahil. 'You may return to your post.'
Pondering this latest development, Alfrahil berated himself for failing to see that the woman had knowledge that men would literally kill to protect. He hoped the Dwarven engineers would have better fortune in searching the house.
