The Questing Game

by James Galloway

  Ulfan looked up and smiled broadly, showing teeth that were just beginning to brown with his age. Ulfan was an old Wikuni, nearly sixty, though it wasn't apparent to anyone who looked at him. "Little swordflower," he called warmly, standing up and motioning her over.

  "Swordflower?" Azakar asked.

  "It's a nickname," Keritanima grinned at her human friend as they went over to Ulfan's chair. Keritanima extended her hands to Ulfan when she reached him, and he swallowed them up in his massive taloned hands and looked down at her. "You're getting fat, old bear," she noticed critically.

  "It's a bear's nature to get fat," he countered smoothly in a deep voice. "You're looking well. I see Kalina found you."

  "You can tell them apart?" Azakar asked respectfully.

  "Of course," Ulfan replied to him. "Kalina has more chest than Keritanima, and her legs are longer. That's why she's taller."

  "Don't let this slovenly sop fool you, Zak, he's one of the sharpest tacks in this city," Keritanima said in a jibing tone, patting Ulfan on the arm.

  "One tries," Ulfan said modestly. "You're still looking lovely, Miranda. Ready to give up on my swordflower and accept a position here?"

  "As much as I'm sure you can bring a woman to weak-kneed pleasure, Ulfan, I think I'd like a job where I spend more time on my feet than on my back."

  "You don't know what you're missing."

  "I know exactly what I'm missing. My job with Kerri lets me spend enough time on my back to keep me happy."

  Ulfan just grinned at her, then turned back to Keritanima. "So, what brings you to my door? Word on the street says that your father wants to flog you, and that you're restricted to your room."

  "Kalina's playing Princess for me. That's why I needed her," Keritanima replied smoothly.

  "What about the flogging?"

  "I told her I'd double her pay if that happened while she was being me," she told him. "She probably wants to be flogged now."

  I've been flogged," Ulfan grunted. "It's not worth the money, believe me."

  Azakar shuddered slightly, a haunted look crossing his features, but it quickly vanished.

  "I know you know I'm here on business, old bear, so let's get right to the point," Keritanima announced. "I need you to arrange some assassinations."

  "My knives are always for sale, swordflower," he assured her. "Who and when?"

  Keritanima pulled out a piece of parchment. "These are all the names," she said, handing it over to him. The bear Wikuni opened it, and his eyes widened in shock. He gaped at Keritanima openly for a moment, then he laughed ruefully. "I know, some of them won't be easy," she assured him. "As you notice, I've already written what I thought was a fair fee for each name. Do you think they're reasonable, old bear?"

  Ulfan quickly pored over the figures. "Yes, they look fair to me," he assured her. "I see you even took into account the fact that I'll have to hire some freelancers, and buy the aid of a couple other guilds."

  Keritanima nodded. "They all have to be hit on the same night, old bear. I want all them killed exactly nineteen days from today."

  "Not much time."

  "You can manage it," she said. "I'll pay you half today, and half when the job is done."

  "You have yourself a deal, swordflower," he smiled. "I don't think you're carrying that much money on you."

  Keritanima shook her head. "It'll be here by sunset, old bear. I have to arrange it."

  "Word is that your father stripped you of your money."

  "He thinks he took my fortunes," Keritanima winked. "You'll get your money, Ulfan. Since when have I fallen through on a contract?"

  "Never," he smiled. "I must say, you're looking very well, swordflower. Word was that you did some serious growing up out East. Even though I know the truth of it I still see they were right."

  Keritanima smiled demurely at her old mentor. "I found good friends, Ulfan."

  "And since when have I not loved my little swordflower?" he challenged with a smile.

  "You know what I mean," she retorted with a playful smile. "You're a thief, old bear. I found friends who didn't teach me how to cut purses and pick locks."

  "No, they taught you how to skewer people and boil them in their own skin," Azakar said casually.

  Keritanima slapped Azakar on the arm while Ulfan laughed. "Stay out of this, Zak!" she snapped at him.

  "Well, I'm so glad that my little swordflower found someone to replace me," he teased. "How did things go out East?"

  "Very well, actually," she replied. "I managed to fall in with the right people. If it hadn't been for bad luck, they'd have never caught me." She pulled the cloak around her a bit. "I hate to cut this short, old bear, but I still have alot of stops to make, and you have a major project to start arranging."

  "True, but it saddens me that we don't have time to catch up. And you should get out of here before someone thinks you're Kalina and tries to hire you."

  "They'd get a big shock," Keritanima grinned, holding up her thumg and index finger, then Ulfan rocked back when a little bit of arcing electricity danced between those fingers.

  "I see those rumors were also true," Ulfan surmised. "They really taught you magic at that school?"

  "Some of it," she replied.

  "Could you teach me?"

  "Sorcery isn't something you can just learn, old bear," she said gently. "You have to have natural ability before you can learn it. If you're interested in magic, go find a Wizard. He can teach you magic that you can use."

  "Swordflower, you know that wizard magic is forbidden here," Ulfan said.

  "I know a couple of arcane mages, old bear," Keritanima teased. "I'll even give you their names, if you ask very nicely."

  "Maybe later," he said. "After I do this for you." He held up the parchment of names meaningfully.

  "Alright. I have to go, old bear. I'll send you some love notes."

  Ulfan collected the petite princess up in his huge arms and then picked her up into a massive hug. "I missed you, swordflower," he told her sincerely. "I'll get things moving for you. You just make sure you have that money here by sundown."

  "I'd like to keep my ribs," Keritanima wheezed.

  "Those are my ribs," Ulfan teased as he set her down gently. "I'll be waiting for your notes."

  "You do that," she grinned. "Get to work, Ulfan. You're on my payroll now, and I expect my employees to be professional and motivated."

  "I'll show you some motivation," Ulfan jibed, poking her in the shoulder. "I'll see you later. Keep yourself safe, little swordflower."

  "Always, fat bear, always," she assured him with a warm smile, then she led her two companions back out as Ulfan called together his more trusted thieves.

  "He seemed sincere enough," Azakar noted as they walked away from the warehouse.

  "Ulfan's a sweetie," Keritanima smiled at him. "He has some rough edges, but those just make him more adorable."

  "I wouldn't call a thief and a murderer a sweetie," Azakar grunted.

  "You have no idea what a Wikuni woman looks for in a man, Zak," Keritanima winked. "In our society, being a good thief and a murderer are good qualities."

  "You're lying," Azakar stated bluntly as Keritanima just gave him a wicked little smile. "No way," he said adamantly. He turned to Miranda, who was wearing a similar little smile as Keritanima, and that made the large Mahuut snort and fold his arms.

  Keritanina and Miranda laughed delightedly, and Keritanima patted Azakar on the arm. "Of course I'm joking," she assured him. "Ulfan's a thief and a murderer, but he's also a dependable, loyal man."

  "How can a thief be loyal?"

  "When you pay for a service from Ulfan, that service is rendered," Miranda told him calmly. "It is rendered quickly, efficiently, and quietly, and those are qualities that are very much in demand when you want someone murdered. When Ulfan accepts a job, he makes sure that job is carried out, and he won't switch sides or sell out his employer once he's paid. Ulfan is known as one of the most dependable work
ers of underhanded deeds in Wikuna."

  "Oh. I guess I can understand that."

  "He's a very solid friend," Keritanima said admirably. "He thinks of me as his little daughter, so he taught me more than he really intended to," she smiled.

  "Why does he call you swordflower?"

  "Because I'm very pretty to look at, but you don't touch," she winked. "I carved up a couple of his thieves when they mistook me for Kalina and got fresh."

  "Oh. I guess that's a good reason. Where to now?"

  "To the main office of the Twenty Seas trading company," she winked. "I have to arrange for Ulfan's pay."

  Going there required a change in clothing, so they stopped at a seamstress' shop and arranged for new clothing. When Keritanima left the Dancing Needle, she was garbed in a sleek, expensive gown of cream-colored satin, plain yet extremely elegant, with a very simple yet tasteful string of pearls around her neck, wrapped around the chain of her silver amulet. The neckline was high enough to hide that very distinctive adornment, something that would invariably give her away, but still managed to show a peek of cleavage. That was necessary, since low-cut dresses were all the rage among the higher circles of Wikuni society. The more it showed, the better it was. Keritanima figured that they'd eventually end up with dresses that started at the waist. Keritanima had pulled up her hair into a more mature-looking bun, and it changed her entire appearance. She no longer looked like a young lady, and now looked like a sophisticated, mature socialite or well-to-do merchant.

  "Wow," Azakar said as she stepped from the shop and modelled a bit for him. "You look completely different."

  "That's the idea," she winked. "Let's go. We have to hire a carriage to take us across town."

  "Why not walk?"

  "Because, my dear bodyguard, Lizelle Sailmender does not walk around," she said in a pompous tone.

  "And what does that mean?"

  "It means that she's assuming one of her other identities," Miranda told him. "Don't worry about it, Zak. Just play along. In a few minutes, she'll probably put an Illusion over me. You see, I'm Sanda, Lizelle's maid. I used to dye my hair and wear a disguise, but it'll be easier the other way."

  "You know, I wonder why nobody is noticing me," Azakar said curiously.

  "Because what's so striking about a wolverine Wikuni playing bodyguard?" Keritanima said lightly.

  "I'm still--" he started, but Keritanima cut him off with a smile and a nod. "Oh. I don't see a thing."

  "You won't," she smiled. "The wearer doesn't see his costume, Zak. Only the people who look at him."

  "I didn't know that."

  "Now you do," she grinned, and then Keritanima moved to hire a carriage.

  The home office of the Twenty Sails trading company was a massive trio of warehouses located solidly in the middle of the docks. Three large warehouses were there with smaller buildings between them, walled off from the others by an impressive metal fence that was patrolled by roving sentries. The trading company owned the docks, as well as the ships sitting in their sloops, and just about everything that was inside the compound. The covered carriage Keritanima hired to bring them there stopped at a heavily defended pair of large steel gate, as a pair of intimidating dog Wikuni advanced. One of them, Keritanima recognized. Darl, one of her company's older guards, a good solid man who always paid attention to detail. He was an excellent guard. Keritanima raised the shade hiding them from the outside and looked out imperiously.

  One of them drew himself up into a rigid posture. "Lady Lizelle!" he announced. "I will have the gate opened immediately!"

  "Thank you, Darl," she said in a calm, deep voice. "Would you send someone to let Rallix know I'm coming? I don't want to have to wait for him when I arrive."

  "At once, my Lady," he said in a confident tone, turning and shouting back to the other men. "Send a runner! Have Master Rallix summoned to Lady Lizelle's office immediately!"

  The carriage drove past the front gate, and Azakar was looking strangely at Keritanima. "Why did they just let us in?"

  "They'd better just let us in," she smiled. "I own this company, Zak, or at least Lizelle does. I'm not a poor little rich girl, you know."

  "How many secrets do you have, Kerri?"

  "More than you'll ever find out," she teased in reply.

  Where Ulfan's warehouse was dark and grungy, Lizelle's office was impeccably neat and orderly. A desk and chair stood by a window looking out over the docks, with two more elegant chairs for visitors. There was a metal cabinet beside the desk with drawers, for holding documents, and a washstand with a pitcher and basin in the corner. About half of Wikuna had running water, but they had not managed to extend the plumbing lines inside the building. There was a water line downstairs, in the cafeteria for her workers, but nowhere else. Keritanima sat down at the desk slowly, running her hands along its clean, clear top, a strange smile on her face. "Stand behind me, Zak. Miranda already knows what to do."

  A few minutes after Keritanima sat down, a short, thin badger Wikuni entered the office without knocking. He bowed immediately and silently to the seated Wikuni. Rallix was a thin, short, energetic Wikuni with a sharp mind and a nose for business. He wore a faded brown waistcoat with a clean white shirt beneath it, to match his tan fur and the black mask-like fur that crossed over his eyes, making him look like a bandit. In matters economic, he was a bandit, taking his colleagues for outrageous sums of money in business deals and trading. He'd run the Twenty Sails for nearly five years, back when Keritanima had to wear lifts in her shoes and padding in her bosom to pretend to be a sophisticated, mature merchant woman. In those five years, the Twenty Seas had gone from a small, local company to a major economic enterprise. And Rallix was the primary reason for that.

  "Lady Lizelle," he said in his nasal voice. "I was starting to worry that you weren't coming back."

  "I've been busy, Rallix," she said calmly. "Bring me the books."

  "At once, my Lady," he said, bowing again before he scurried out.

  "The books?" Azakar asked in a quiet tone.

  "Lizelle always inspects the books when she visits, Zak," Keritanima replied quietly. "Rallix runs this company, but Lizelle owns it. She's going to check the profit margin."

  The badger Wikuni returned moments later, carrying two large tomes in his hands. He set them in front of the desk, and Keritanima only nodded to him and opened the covers of one. They all stood in total silence as Keritanima's finger pored over lines of numbers, page after page, then into the second book. After nearly an hour, she closed the cover of the second book and looked up at Rallix. "Excellent. You outdo yourself, Rallix."

  "I try, my Lady," he said modestly. "Was there anything else you wanted today?"

  "Yes. Have forty thousand in trade bars put into a chest and loaded onto my carriage." Rallix's eyes widened, and he stared at her. "Do you have a problem with that, Rallix?" she asked dangerously.

  "Ah, no, my Lady. How should I mark this in the books?"

  "Put it down as a business expense," she replied. "If things work out as I intend, the return on this investment will be tenfold."

  "At once, my Lady," he said immediately, bowing to her and scurrying from the room.

  "Are you always so terse with him?" Azakar whispered.

  "Always," Keritanima replied calmly. "Lizelle is a hard woman to please."

  "What is a trade bar?"

  "A trade bar is a unit of currency," Keritanima replied. "It's a gold bar stamped with a value, and the crest of the house or merchant company that issued it. It's good for the amount stamped, not its weight, but larger valued bars tend to be much larger than smaller valued bars, as a faith display of the issuing house. That way you can put a great deal of money into something easy to carry."

  "Couldn't someone just stamp their own bars for huge amounts and then sell them?"

  "A house has to be able to buy back any bar they hold at any time," Keritanima told him. "That means that they don't issure more trade bars than the can pay
for themselves. And it's very difficult to counterfeit trade bars, Zak. It takes a master goldsmith, the stamp crest of the issuing house, and a very large and expensive minting operation. Not even Ulfan could steal a stamp crest, and it wouldn't do him any good if he did, because usually a house only keeps one or two. Without the crest, a minted bar is worthless. Stealing one would be pointless, because everyone would just stop accepting trade bars from the victimized house or company."

  "Does this company issue these bars?"

  Keritanima shook her head. "We use trade bars we get from others in business transactions. We're the largest trading company that doesn't have its own trade bars."

  "Why not?"

  "It's more profitable to let other companies and houses spend their money to make trade bars," Keritanima winked. "Rallix keeps a healthy supply of bars on hand for large cash transactions, so we're never without some operating capital."

  "Clever."

  "That was Rallix's idea, actually," Keritanima admitted. "I wanted to issue bars at first, but he showed me the profit projections if we didn't. He sold me on the idea."

  "So, you own all of this," Azakar mused, turning and looking out the window.

  "You bet," Keritanima told him. "This is just one of the company's properties, and I own the company. My father doesn't know it, but I'm one of the richest women in Wikuna. Between this and my personal fortunes, I'm nearly as rich as he is. Or at least I was."

  "I've never had money before."

  "You're a Knight," Miranda teased. "You took a vow of poverty."

  "It seemed like a good idea at the time," Azakar chuckled. "I'd never owned more than what was on my back up until that point."

  "Don't worry, Zak, I won't let you go hungry," Keritanima teased.

  Rallix returned several moments later. "The trade bars are loaded, my Lady," he said in his nasal voice.

  "Very good, Rallix. Anything you want me to sign while I'm here?"

  "Actually, yes, my Lady," he said, holding up a sheaf of parchments. "This is business that needs your personal attention, as well as a few proposals from other companies."

  "Let's go over it."