"My partner and I were hired to...retrieve an item for a client. We succeeded and were on our way back when we were ambushed last night. We got separated, and I escaped. I don't know what happened to my partner or the item he was carrying. I've been trying to find him, but I'm still being hunted."
"By whom?" I asked. He looked up quickly and said nothing as Dela approached with a tankard of ale.
"Thanks, Dela. Please put it on my tab," I told her with a wink as she set the mug on the table.
"Oh, yes sir," she responded sarcastically and quickly moved off to answer the hail of another customer.
Raleb waited until she left and then continued. "I don't know who it is," he growled. "They tracked us somehow, and I didn't think it would be a good idea to stop and ask them why." He took a long drink of his ale and closed his eyes with a groan that was almost a sigh.
"Probably wise," I concurred. "So why did you want to meet with me?"
"The man who hired us won't be pleased with failure. But I can't search for Donal, my partner, while I'm trying to evade the hunters. I need help finding him while I work on staying alive."
I interrupted him with a raised hand. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but I can't involve myself with stolen goods."
"Yes, that is your reputation. But you can help find a missing person, right? I don't care about the item," he said bitterly.
"Perhaps." I nodded slowly. It seemed unlikely that a thief wouldn't care about the stolen goods, but I sensed no guile in his words. I still didn't like the feel of this contract, but finding a missing person was right in line with the work I normally did for Raven Company.
"I can pay, of course," he said. Below the table, his hand reached inside his cloak. I tensed and eased back from him instantly, and his hand stopped moving. "May I?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry. Automatic reaction," I answered. I relaxed, but remained alert.
"Believe me, I completely understand," he said under his breath as his hand emerged from his cloak with a small leather purse. "It isn't much, but it's most of what I have with me." He offered the purse to me under the table, and I accepted it from him.
I loosened the lacing and quickly peered under the table at the contents of the purse. A satisfying quantity of gold and silver twinkled from within. I looked over at him, both eyebrows raised. "That's plenty. For a couple of weeks anyway. One week if you want me to hire bodyguards for you."
"Thanks, but bodyguards would just draw attention to me. If you haven't found Donal within two weeks, I doubt I'll be around to be disappointed about it." He drank more of his ale and seemed to re-inflate a bit. Something about the way he said the name hinted at a level of respect and affection that went beyond a normal business partnership. I got the impression that Donal was a trusted mentor or perhaps even his father.
"Where did you last see him?" I asked.
"West of here. About a half-day's ride. We were on the main road when a group of four riders stopped us and demanded that we give them the item Donal was carrying." He shook his head. "I don't understand how they knew about it or how they knew we had it. We had no choice but to run and hope we could lose them."
I didn't want to hear any more about "the item." It was definitely the source of my concerns about this contract.
"How do I get back in touch with you?" I asked as I discreetly slipped the purse under my vest, committing myself to the contract despite my misgivings. The amount he had given me compensated for a certain amount of moral discomfort.
"You don't. Meet me behind the big barn north of town, the one that's just this side of the forest, at dusk again in two days time." He took a deep, final swig of his ale and slid his chair back.
I nodded and said, "I know that barn. I'll try to have something useful to tell you by then." I smiled encouragingly. "I don't suppose you need a receipt for this?"
He chuckled once, a fleeting hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "I just hope you find him before the others do," he said seriously. "Thanks for taking the job."
"I'll do what I can," I promised.
"In two days then," was his parting response.
He stepped over to Dela for a short, whispered conversation. She nodded and pointed toward the kitchen. Dela's mother stood at the bar near the kitchen door, closely observing their exchange. Anticipating what was wanted, she nodded once and hooked her thumb toward the kitchen door.
Raleb pulled his cloak closed, ducked his head, and slipped quietly through the door to the kitchen, where I knew he would exit the inn through a back door.
My last sip of ale was interrupted by a muffled shout and a clash of arms from behind the inn.
Slamming my mug on the table, I jumped from my seat and rushed through the kitchen. I nearly knocked over Sedora, our aging cook, as she stared nervously at the back door, a knife and a loaf of bread held absently in her hands. With a mumbled apology I grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her. I then carefully stepped over to the door to listen.
It seemed the scuffle was over. I couldn't hear any more fighting. But I did hear muffled voices, including Raleb's. I eased the door open slowly and peered out into the drifting mist.
***
The kitchen door hinges were silent, but the light from the room behind me spilled out to illuminate a strip of ground behind the inn. Raleb was on his knees in the mud. A man was roughly tying Raleb's hands behind his back, while before him stood a woman holding a crossbow to her shoulder, aimed straight at his chest. He hung his head in silent defeat.
Both of Raleb's captors wore studded leather armor, stained dark by the drizzling mist and muddied by travel. The man wore a felt hood that draped limply around his unshaven face.
The woman shifted position to put both Raleb and me in sight and called out, "Either go back inside, or come out with your hands where I can see them."
I removed my hand from the hilt of the dagger in my belt, eased the door open slowly, and stepped out showing her the palms of both hands. Behind me, Sedora closed the door, and the bar thudded into place. Ah well, I couldn't blame her for that.
The door closed off the only source of illumination behind the inn, leaving me facing Raleb and his captors in the gathering darkness. I had just enough light to see their tired faces and edgy movements.
"Who are you, and what business do you have with this man?" the woman demanded, tilting the crossbow toward Raleb while keeping it squarely pointed at me.
"I could ask you the same thing," I responded with some annoyance. I get cranky when someone draws a weapon on me without provocation.
"Well, since I have the crossbow and this man is a known criminal, I think we'll answer my questions first," she retorted. Her partner grunted in agreement as he guided Raleb back to his feet, one hand on Raleb's shoulder, and the other holding the rope that bound the scowling thief's hands.
She was too far away for me to try anything fancy. I'd be a pincushion before I took two steps toward her, and light crossbow or no, getting skewered by a crossbow bolt would be inconvenient.
I was trying to decide how much to tell her when the sound of clattering mail and running boots came toward us from around the side of the inn.
"Imperial Guard! Drop your weapons!" shouted a burly guard as he drew his sword and approached. The second guard also drew his weapon, but stayed back a few steps. He held a flickering torch that glinted off the exposed steel of their swords and dimly lit our little scene.
I knew Jorj Berman, the guardsman who stepped forward. In my time as Captain, he had been a gate guard. It seemed he had managed a promotion to Constable, a job that put him in more direct contact with the townspeople and required more initiative and judgment. Good for him. I didn't recognize the second guard.
The woman's aim never wavered from me, and her eyes only glanced at the guard as he approached. "I'm Agent Sulana Delano, and this is Agent Daven Prost," she said with a tilt of her head toward the man holding Raleb. "Captain Pollard knows we're here to t
ake this thief into custody."
Captain Pollard would be Rakerus Pollard, my one-time second-in-command and the current Captain of the Imperial Guard. The same man who had convinced me to seek employment at Raven Company.
The guard nodded and sheathed his sword. "The Captain told us about you." Seeing Raleb held securely by Agent Prost, he turned to me. "Good evening, Cap...Mister Forester. How are you involved in this?"
"That's just what I was asking a moment ago," the woman interjected. "It seems a popular question. Suppose you answer it," she said to me.
"Agent, is it?" I said. "Agent of what?"
"Please don't try my patience. Just answer the question," she said tightly.
The arrival and apparent acceptance of the guards reassured me somewhat. I looked at Raleb, but he didn't meet my eyes.
"Fine. This man hired me to locate a lost friend." It was the truth. Not exactly informative, but the truth.
"Yes, I know all about his lost friend," she said with an eye roll. "We've been tracking them both for a while now. What do you know about the item they stole?"
"There was no mention of a stolen item," I hedged. "He did say that an item of some importance was involved, but he didn't say what it was, and locating it was not part of my task."
Constable Berman interrupted. "Agent Delano, I would appreciate it if you would lower your weapon. I know this man, and if he says he isn't involved in the theft, then he isn't."
Lucky for me, Berman was apparently one of the men who thought I got a raw deal when I was discharged from the Imperial Guard. The guardsmen had been about evenly split between those who were happy to see me go, those who thought I'd been treated unfairly, and those who didn't give a pigeon dropping either way.
She lowered her arms and pointed the crossbow at the ground, which was nice as it made the tickling feeling in my chest go away. It's much easier to have a civil conversation when you aren't worried about an errant muscle spasm sending a bolt through your heart. I lowered my hands slowly to my sides, carefully keeping them away from the front of my vest, which didn't quite conceal the dagger at my waist.
Raleb glanced from the woman to me. "The job still stands, if you'll do it," he blurted with a desperate edge.
I hesitated, and then replied. "That all depends upon our friends here."
"We don't need help, and I don't want you in the way," Agent Delano said curtly. "If you interfere, it will prove that you are in on this and we'll deal with you accordingly."
Agent Prost cleared his throat. "This man is local. He could be useful if he knows the surrounding area well."
"No! This mission is too important to blindly trust someone we know nothing about and who has questionable ties to the very men we are hunting," she replied.
"Look," I said with a little heat, "I never met this man before tonight, I know nothing about this item you seek, and all I was hired to do was locate his friend. I'm still willing to help with that part of it, and I don't give a damn what you do with this item, even if we do run across it."
She narrowed her eyes at me and was silent for a few moments.
She finally pursed her lips and nodded her head once. "Here's the deal," she said, "You stay where I can see you at all times, and you head straight back here if I tell you to leave. As soon as we locate the other man, your job is done, and you return here immediately."
In the dim light, she probably couldn't see the color rise into my face as she spoke. I'm much more accustomed to giving orders than receiving them, and being treated like some kind of criminal or yokel was getting on my nerves. I really wanted to take this woman down a peg, but continuing to be confrontational wouldn't help me or my notorious client.
I bit back the response I wanted to make and answered calmly. "That works for me. When do we start?"
"Right now. Get what you need, and be quick about it," she said as she removed the bolt from her crossbow and eased the tension on the string.
Her partner spoke up again, "Sulana...we've been sleeping in the saddle for two days. I think we could all use a decent night's rest."
She looked up and glared at him as he started to speak. Before he finished, she opened her mouth to interrupt him, but then stopped herself, closed her eyes, and sighed heavily. "I guess you're right," she said, and then she squared her shoulders. "We'll spend the night in town and head out tomorrow morning just before dawn."
She turned to Constable Berman and asked, "Would you be willing to keep this man locked up for us until we can return for him?"
"I'll check with the Captain," he said with a nod, "but I'm sure that won't be a problem." He motioned to his partner to take Raleb into custody. The second guard sheathed his sword, handed his torch to Berman, and approached Agent Prost. The agent handed him the end of the rope that bound Raleb's hands. Raleb stared sullenly at Agent Delano.
After watching the exchange, she turned back to me. "We'll meet you in the serving room of this inn about an hour before dawn tomorrow. Be ready to go, and don't get any ideas about heading out by yourself before then."
Slowly shaking my head in frustration, I mumbled, "Yeah, I got it. I'll be ready."
"Good. As long as we're clear." And with that, she turned and walked off, apparently certain her orders would be obeyed without hesitation.
Her partner looked over at me, raised an eyebrow and snorted in amusement, and then followed quickly in the wake of his commander.
I couldn't help wondering what, exactly, I had gotten myself into.
Chapter 3
Agent Sulana Delano stepped out into the chilly twilight of the approaching dawn with Agent Daven Prost at her side. A good night's sleep and a satisfying hot breakfast helped erase the fatigue of two cold wet days in the saddle. She was impatient to continue her search for the remaining thief, but her mind and body appreciated the brief respite.
Sulana and her team had spent the night at the local Sanctuary, a home known to be sorcerer-friendly. Agents Talon Destry and Barek Hunter, the other two members of her team, stayed at the house to prepare for the day's journey. The two men had been keeping watch at the front of the inn the night before and had missed all the excitement.
"Are you sure we have time for this?" Daven asked Sulana as they walked through the mostly deserted streets toward the Governor's Complex.
"I'm not going to take this man Jaylan Forester along with us until I know more about him," she insisted. "Our host at the Sanctuary knew little, other than that he lost his place as Captain of the local Imperial Guard detachment last year." She looked over at him. "You don't need to come you know. I don't think I'm in any particular danger on the streets of Northshore."
Daven blushed a bit, but shook his head emphatically. "I'd be doing a poor job of my duties to let you walk off into the dark alone."
Sulana was a Sword Sorceress, and the only member of her team skilled in sorcery. Daven's primary job was to protect her while she conjured. He was, in effect, a bodyguard. She sometimes thought he took his responsibilities a little too literally.
Sulana rolled her eyes and held up her hands in surrender. "Fine. Then let me do my job. I'm responsible for this team, and I take my job seriously too."
Daven smiled and said, "Yes, ma'am," dipping his head toward her in a slight bow as they continued walking.
Sulana scoffed and turned her attention to the Governor's Complex ahead of them.
Every province in the Tanes Empire had a capital city, and every capital city, including Northshore, had a Governor's Complex. The complex was like a town within a town. It was gated and surrounded by its own wall. Within the wall were the Governor's home, a barracks for a troop of the Imperial Guard, a prison, a commissary, an infirmary, and a large stable.
The gates to the complex stood open, and two guards stood at ease just inside the opening. One guard covered a yawn, but both men straightened up when they saw Sulana and Daven approaching. The guards each wore a maroon tabard over their armor, the rampant eagle emblem on the front pr
oclaiming them to be Imperial Guards. The guard on the right was a big, red-bearded man who quickly assessed the approaching strangers and addressed Daven.
"How can I help you this morning?" he asked.
Sulana, unimpressed with the guard's conclusion of who was in charge, stepped forward and answered. "We're here to see Captain Pollard."
The man looked her up and down and grinned. "Then I suggest you come back later. Like at noon."
Sulana shook her head. "I'm Agent Sulana Delano. The Captain knows I'm here in Northshore and has agreed to help. I need information from him, and it can't wait. We need to leave shortly."
The guard narrowed his eyes at her and thought for a moment. "Yeah, I heard about you. I'll let you pass, but you'll have to convince the Captain's secretary that it's urgent." He stepped back and swept his hand aside in invitation.
"Let me worry about that," Sulana said as she stepped quickly through the gate and headed toward the Captain's office.
***
Inside the captain's office, the secretary wrung his hands. The fussy little man looked like an insufficiently stuffed scarecrow with his belted tunic draping loosely over his thin frame. "Agent Delano, you don't understand. Captain Pollard is late to bed and late to rise. If I wake him now, we'll all be paying for it the rest of the day."
Sulana folded her arms. "He can go back to sleep after we leave. I just need a moment of his time, and it's very important. Please wake him now."
The secretary sighed deeply and hung his head. Then he took a deep breath, gathered himself, and exited the room through the door to the inner chamber.
A moment later, Sulana and Daven both jumped at a roar of rage from the other room. They couldn't hear exactly what was said, but the sentiment was clear.
The secretary scuttled out of the back room and closed the door carefully behind him. He glanced over at Sulana with an injured look and positioned himself in the back corner of the room away from the door he'd just exited. "The captain will be with you in a moment. I hope for your sake that it really is important," he said with a shaking voice.
The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled Page 2
