Chaos Storm (The Flight of the Griffin Book 2) (2 page)

'That… has to be one of the nastiest things I've ever seen. Why do they leave them hanging up there?' Pardigan swatted one of the many fat flies away that were buzzing around the three slowly swinging corpses, hanging by their necks outside the city gates. The three were in an advanced state of decay with tongues distended and their flesh already starting to break apart - the air was ripe with their stench.

'Well the signs around their necks say they were thieves, Pardigan, so you'd better take note, it's what most people would call a warning. You'd best keep your hands in your pockets while we're here if that's at all possible.' Covering his nose and mouth with the edge of his cloak, Quint looked at Pardigan and sighed, hoping it wasn't a mistake coming to the Royal city. If there was trouble going on here, then Pardigan was bound to find it.

'Bit tough, hanging someone just for being a thief, isn't it?' Pardigan continued, somewhat appalled.

'Maybe,' Quint replied with a smile, 'but then, it does make a pretty good warning, eh?' They moved on past the hideously grinning figures as the large crowd that was attempting to enter the city shuffled slowly across the drawbridge and through the gates into the ancient city of Deniah.

There was no particular reason to be here, no special reason to be anywhere really. They had done all the fishing they could handle for a while, spent time back at the moorings, and then more time cleaning and provisioning
The Griffin
. They still had a good portion of the coin that Pardigan had stolen from Merchant Bask in Freya, and were planning to make a trading voyage out to Minster at some point soon, but it wasn't really the time. Mahra had gone visiting friends in the south, and when the others were discussing what to do, they'd discovered that none of them had ever been to Deniah before, the capital city of the Realm, so a visit had seemed like a good idea.

Royal Deniah, to give it its full title, was a huge and ancient city. The oldest part was crowded within massive protective walls complete with battlements and tall towers that loomed above everything. The first sight to draw a traveller's eye, cresting the surrounding hills were the massive city defences and the many coloured pennants flying proudly from its towers, it was a famous sight and one that all traveller's eagerly anticipated.

There were actually two cities of Deniah. Within the walls was the 'old' city, with the Royal palace taking up nearly a quarter of the total area while the remainder was given over to a maze of winding streets and neighbourhoods where the so-called 'better citizens' lived and conducted their business, and then outside the walls was the new city, which had built up over the last few hundred years as the population expanded, and now housed almost twice as many people as lived within the walls. Dividing the two parts of the city was an ancient, foul smelling moat with four drawbridges where guards monitored who was entering and leaving.

The sight of the thieves hanging by the gate had only slightly dampened the crew's excitement as they crossed the gloomy moat. When they entered the old city, it was with a sense of excitement and anticipation as the general hustle and bustle and dark narrow streets drew them in and swallowed them up.

'It stinks,' moaned Pardigan clamping his hand over his nose.

'You'll get used to it luv,' said an old lady suppressing a toothless cackle. She was sitting on the ground just inside the city gate selling small bunches of flowers. She was peering up at Pardigan, hopefully. 'Like to buy some posies to hold under yer nose dear? It'll take the nasty smell away. Would yeh dear… would yeh?' She held out a small bunch of tired looking yellow flowers and continued to offer Pardigan a toothless, but hopeful smile.

'Eermm… no thank you,' said Pardigan trying to move on, but to his frustration, the crowd had come to a momentary halt.

'Yes, that's what they're all saying today, but you go on dear, don't you mind me. Just you leave old Norah to die here without a copper to her name… might have to start eating the flowers soon,' she muttered gloomily.

With a sigh of exasperation, Pardigan dropped a copper penny into her lap and snatched up the flowers.

'The Source bless you young man,' she cried, cackling dryly as she examined the coin. 'May your visit to our Royal Deniah bring you luck and love.'

'Well that's a good start, Pardigan,' said Loras with a grin. 'You always need all the luck you can get. Nice flowers, by the way, are you going to put them in a vase until you find your love?' Pardigan threw them at his laughing friend and they missed, hitting a large, well-dressed lady in the face. She squealed in shock, and the four boys pushed past through the crowd and ran laughing into the city.

On hearing of their planned trip, Mahra had told them about an Inn she knew called The Owl, close to the Lion's gate, the gate through which they had just entered the city. She had explained that an old friend of hers named Parish ran the Inn and promised that he would treat them honestly and may be of help if they encountered any problems. The Owl wasn't the biggest, and probably wasn't the best Inn in Deniah, but Mahra had assured them that the city's best pies were made in their kitchen, and it was actually named The Owl after her. When they'd questioned her on this, she'd blushed and said it was a story that would have to wait for another time.

The Owl was easy to find, and Parish, when they made their introductions, did indeed prove to be welcoming. He was obviously disappointed that Mahra wasn't with them, but was happy to offer them a large room on the top floor overlooking the teeming street below. It was quite basic, with four beds, a table and just two chairs, but it was clean and Parish assured them that the lock on the door was good and solid. Loras would be placing a guard spell on their valuables, so the lock didn't actually worry them, but it was good to know that Parish was concerned about his guests' security.

Once settled, they decided to split up with Loras and Tarent opting to visit the clerics' quarter with its famous bookshops and museums while Pardigan and Quint opted to explore and just see where their feet took them.

'Pardigan, be guided by the Source,' advised Tarent, 'and don't go buying any books. The last book you got hold of meant we had to become angels of the Source!' Pardigan responded by hooting and flapping his arms while running round the room pretending to be an angel, much to Loras's delight.

It was with a mixture of pride and disbelief that the crew had listened to stories and rumours of how the skulls had arrived and become a legend in such a short space of time. They'd eventually returned to the temple and listened, giggling at the back of a crowd while the priest told how he'd witnessed a band of warrior angels, fighting the Lord of Chaos and his army as the angels had placed the skulls, a gift to the people, upon the altar.

Loras had conjured a golden misty halo over the priest's head, which he'd then dropped with a plop as the crowd had all gasped. Tarent had given Loras a lecture about respecting his talents, but Pardigan had heartily approved.

'You should have turned it into a halo of horse shit and dropped that on his head,' he'd crowed while Tarent had despaired at the irreverence of his two friends.

Royal Deniah was a marvellous place despite the recent spate of rainy weather, and Quint and Pardigan were soon lost in its dark, twisting streets and tiny damp squares as they tried to make some sense of the place. They knew there were four gates into the walled city leading into different districts. The Lion's gate where they'd first entered, then Dragon's gate, King's gate and finally The Gate of Sorrows, which was by the infirmary in the poor quarter. The Royal palace was accessible from outside the city by the Kings gate, or by two entrances within the city. After meandering for some time, Pardigan and Quint joined a crowd clustered by one of the city entrances to the palace. The crowd was held back behind a rope, with everyone trying to peer past the guards and sneak a look inside.

'This is boring,' said Pardigan as he glimpsed red carpet through the doorway that a uniformed servant had just pushed open. 'I can't see anything!'

'So what did you expect? To see the King popping his head around the door and waving at you,' said Quint, laughing.

There was a lot of activity around the gate with people coming and going all the time, the guards at the door carefully checking the credentials of anyone attempting to gain admittance. Appointments were confirmed in a large register while anyone unexpected was forced to wait as a runner was sent inside to obtain the necessary permission.

'Come on,' muttered Quint, 'you're right this is boring. We're not going to see much, not with all this talk of war around here. Parish told me that this time last year, there were tours to look around parts of the palace, but they've stopped now. They think just about anyone could be a spy or even Queen Morgasta herself dressed up in disguise, hardly anyone's getting in.'

'Bet I could get in,' murmured Pardigan. Thunder rumbled, and the first drops of rain started to break up the crowd.

'Don't you even think about it, Pardigan,' said Quint, angrily pulling on Pardigan's sleeve. 'Come on, let's find something to eat, I'm famished.'

They set off down one of the busier streets making sure to keep to the side to stay as dry as possible. It wasn't long before they found a brew shop and were sitting inside drinking from steaming mugs and sharing a plate of sweet cakes. Staring out of the window, they watched the world and his wife traipse by in the thin drizzle, heads bowed, impatient to be on their way. It was cosy in the brew shop, it smelt of brew and bread and pastries. The muted sounds of conversation from other customers drifting around them, they were in no hurry to move on.

'That's the second time someone's mentioned the guild of thieves and something called the golden rose,' said Quint. 'It's hard to believe there are any thieves left when they hang them up by the gates like those we saw on the way in.'

'Thieves take some scaring,' said Pardigan as he scanned the tables around them. 'The hangings would just make them more cautious. I wonder what it's really all about.' He turned to the man at the next table who moments before had been talking about the golden rose to his companion, an older woman hugging a tattered shawl about her thin shoulders.

'Excuse me… I'm sorry to bother you, but could you tell us what's with all the talk about a golden rose? We've been hearing it everywhere since we first got here.' The man swung towards him, a sour expression on his face. He said nothing, then picked up his cup of brew and drank the last down. Standing up, he glared down at Pardigan, weighing him carefully.

'Well firstly,
youngster
, dint your mummy ever tell yer it's not nice ter be listening to folks having a
private
conversation? But… there…' he leaned over, pulled a parchment from the wall, and dropped it on the table in front of Pardigan. 'You'll find these all over the city.' With a nod to the old woman, he strode out, slamming the door behind him. The woman sighed and leaned across, putting a bony hand on Quint's sleeve.

'Fraid Jeb's a bit low. That's his brother swinging out by Lion's gate, and all because of that Source cursed rose.' She hawked and spat noisily on the floor, ignoring the exclamations of disgust from a couple at the next table. 'King's way of cleaning the city of thieves is all it is, and they're all so stupid, or so proud that they fall for it. The guild, Source rot em, is even offering its own reward.'

Pardigan turned the parchment around so he could read it. A black, penned picture of a rose was at the top and below that was a flowing script in low speak -

'That's madness,' said Quint, reading over Pardigan's shoulder. 'Why would anyone try and break into the palace? It's such an obvious set up!' He looked at Pardigan then the old woman, who shrugged.

'For the first few weeks that those parchments were being placed over the city, that was what everyone was saying. Who would be stupid enough or desperate enough to break into the palace?' The old woman scratched her head noisily. 'But then the hangings started. Thieves were trying to get the rose, either because they had friends or family in the King's dungeon that they wanted to get free, or out of some wish to prove their ability as thieves.'

'I still can't believe the thieves chance it, or that the guild lets them,' said Quint frowning.

'The guild! Why the guild has only been fanning the flames by offering an additional reward on top of the King's offer, in exchange for them being able to name five of the people to be freed of course. They caught Jeb's brother a few weeks ago. Apparently, he'd got as far as seeing the rose, least that's what he shouted before he was hung. He tried to tell more, but they didn't let him, strung him up real quick they did.'

'They must be used to getting in the palace,' mused Pardigan. 'Otherwise none would try it.'

'Oh yes dear, the thieves made a good living until recently, both in the merchants' houses and in parts of the palace, as well. Probably what peeved King Hugo. With most of his troops moved up to the war fronts, there's not so many guards see, the thieves have been all over it for weeks.'

'And now?' asked Pardigan.

'Thing is, no one really knows. Those that do are hung.' She got up shaking her head. 'Look, you boys don't need worry about that old rose, just enjoy our lovely Deniah.' She shuffled out into the rain, hugging her thin shawl tightly about her.