Death Or Fortune (23 page)

    
The little halfling stood in the shadows, watching the men come and go.
 He knew that the person he was waiting for would be along soon.
 Part of him wanted to go inside, yet another part of him said that was
the old Pare.  Pare the thief, not Pare the war hero and all around good
guy. He stood and thought for a moment about that, trying to pin point when he
changed.  He just shook his head as he could not afford to be distracted
right at that moment.  Cynthia would be along soon, he wanted to see her
before she left town again.  She told him where she would be but it was well
past time for her to arrive.  Perhaps she wanted to tempt the halfling
back into his old life.  Having her meet him outside the hidden thieves’
guild.  Soon the scent of roses came to him and he knew that she was
there.
     "I am sorry I am late my little friend, I had to
finish packing for my trip.  I doubt I will be back in Arcadia any time
soon."
     "Why is that? Where are you going? Are you going
after Darmot, Hetaron wants to kill him. It makes me sad, my friends wanting to
kill each other. It is all my fault, I should have done something." Pare
pressed the palms of his hands to his face, really believing he could have done
something to change what had passed.  He told himself that he still had
Hans to pal around with but he was always locked away in his temple.
 Doing the work that needed to be done.
     "Listen, I have to tell you something.
 Someone took out a contract on Darmot's wife, Jasmin." The halfling
was stunned.
     "What?" he shouted. "Who would want to
hurt her? She has not done a single thing to anyone. She is the kindest woman
alive next to my own mother, where ever she is. Tell me who wants to kill
her?"
     "Some noble, word is out that Darmot is gone on
some dangerous mission.  Some do not expect him to make it back.  If
Jasmin is gone, there wouldn't be anyone who could hold his title. This noble
believes that if the seat is vacant, he will be awarded it by the king."
     "You don’t know who it is do you? If you knew, I
could do something about it. Captain Turk would help me or Hans. Hans wouldn't
let anything happen to Jasmin."
     "I am sorry Pare, I don’t know.  I have to
go now.  Lord Hetaron is expecting me.  I will see you when I get
back." A single tear rolled down the face of the halfling.  He could
not believe that everything had fallen apart for him so fast.  All his
friends were gone.  One friend was hunting another and another was locked
away from the world.  Pare reached out to give his lady friend one last
hug only to find that she had already gone.  Pare cursed at the empty
space and started to head home.  It then dawned on him that all of his
friends were gone, except for one. Jasmin was his friend and the wife of his
best friend.
     "I am who I am because of Darmot.  I can't
let anyone hurt him like this while he is away.  It is up to me to stop
this." Convinced of this, Pare took off at a light jog.  He had to
get home to make sure everything was ok.  Ducking and weaving past the few
people on the streets he made his way back to the house.  He stood looking
at the home, guarded from the outside by a ten foot tall wall. 'Anyone could
get over that' he thought to himself.  He then opened the gate and walked
inside.  He looked around the darkness, thinking that he needed to do
something about all of it.  He then realized that he would need help so he
went to see the one person who would not question him and had a good reason to
help.  He entered the front entrance and ran down one of the side halls to
the servant’s quarters.  Stopping at the first door he was about to start
knocking when the door opened up.
     "Yes Pare, how can I help you?" asked
Charles
     "Chuck, we have big problems and I need yer help.
Someone wants to hurt Jasmin, I mean Lady Kromwell. Anyway, this person, who I
don't know, thinks Darmot is going to die. They figure if Darmot is dead and
Jasmin is dead they can just stroll in and take over. Which wouldn't' be good
Chuck, not at all. So what are we gonna do? First I want to get some kind of
lights around the house for night. Then we need to make the outside wall
taller, maybe a dome. That would be kinda neat to have a house under a dome. We
could start a new trend in building. Stone domes to protect your homes..."
As the halfling continued to speak, Charles watched him pace back and forth in
front of the door. The faster he spoke, the faster he walked. Charles knew the
halfling meant well but he had no idea what the creature was talking about.
 He figured it was best to let him rant for a little while.
     "Very well Master Pare, we will get started on
these things in the morning."
     "You promise?" he asked in a hopeful tone.
Charles nodded his head yes and told him one last time that night, in the
morning.  Satisfied that Charles would keep his word he set out to inspect
the house.  He started in his room as he had to drop off some coin pouches
in there as it was. Checking all the rooms on the second floor he found them
empty. He was pleased with this until it dawned on him that Jasmin should have
been in at least one of the rooms.  Some annoying feeling crept into his
chest as he started making his way back down to the ground floor.  While
he was in the kitchen he thought he could hear someone in the cellar below.
 Putting his hand over his dagger he quickly headed down that way.
     The cellar itself was one huge room.  While there
were various items stored down here in the cool air, Darmot had kept a large
area cleared for his own use.  Half way down the stairs he could hear
Jasmin doing something.  Once she was in view he came to a full stop.
 Dressed in bits of old armor Jasmin was attacking what could have been
ghost with a sword in one hand and a small shield in the other.  Pare
watched her for some time thinking he had seen the dark steel blade before.
 It was Darmot's old sword; that he had bought from the crazy dwarf Boris.
 Pare watched her do the exercises that Darmot had started teaching her
even before they left for Eystlund.  He started to move closer, wondering
if she could really fight a man with it. "It almost looks like you are
dancing." he said to her as he came with in the light of the lanterns.

     "It
is a dance." she said as she slid the sword into a scabbard that was
hanging from a belt on her narrow hips. "Darmot once called it a dance of
death.  He would be upset with me if he found out I did not continue to
practice while he was gone.  He is a wonderful dancer." Jasmin let
out a quiet sigh as she set down the shield and started to remove the armor she
had on.  She put a bracer to her face, smelling the leather lining.
 Her own scent had started to mix with her husband’s.  It made her
miss him all the more.  Setting all the armor in a chest she then took the
sword in hand.  It would stay in her room that night and every night until
her husband returned home.
     Pare tried a time or two to speak while watching
Jasmin take her armor off. "What do you mean he is a wonderful
dancer?"
     "Pare haven't you seen it, in the way he moves,
the way he fights? There is no wasted motion.  Fluid motion from once
stance to the next, it is beautiful to watch him. I am not as good as he is but
he tells me I am improving.  I've even managed to strike him a time or two
with the wooden blades."
     "Dancer?" The halfling asked again, lost in
the mystery of his friend dancing.  Jasmin laughed at the little halfling
and tousled his hair as she started to make her way back upstairs.  Pare
stood there in the cellar as the lantern light started to fade away.  He
took a step or two and followed the wife of his friend.  For a moment or
two he thought of telling her what he had learned that day.  Yet for some
reason he could not bring himself to open his mouth.  Not yet anyway, he
had to be sure.  Pare continued to follow Jasmin all the way to her
bedroom.  Her mind on other things she did not notice him walk in the room
behind her.  As she set the lantern down on a table she started to get
ready to take a bath.  She never saw Pare walk over to the large bedroom
window.  She never noticed him playing with the lock.
     "The trap will only hit someone outside the
window it won't be a big deal if she opens it from in here."
     "What did you say Pare and why are you in
here?"
     "Oh I put a trap on your window, can never be too
careful.  I am going to bed now as I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow.
 Don't open your window tonight.  There are lots of bugs out, yea
great big bugs." Before she could ask him why there was a trap on her
window he ran out of the room and closed the door behind him.  Jasmin did
not mind how over protective the halfling was but he had an odd way about him
at times.  She would ask him to remove it the next day.  For now she
would just worry about a warm bath and getting some rest.
--------------------------------
     "Be careful with that poison Mort. It will lock your
body up like you were made of stone.  You won't do me any good then."
     "I know what I am doing idiot you’re the one who
forgot the rope Abe. There are six servants in that house. What were we going
to tie them up with, huh? We are only getting paid for the woman. We will never
get her out of the house if the servants are running around screaming their
bloody heads off."
     "Why would we take her? I thought we were just
gonna kill her?" Abe asked.
     "Have you seen that little tart? Oh no, she might
die later on but I am gonna have some fun with that one for as long as I can.
 Soon as that room up there goes dark we start the count.  We give
her an hour to get to sleep then we are heading in." The two thieves sat
there in the dark watching the window.  Never once seeing the eyes that
were watching them.  Even as they looked over at the spot where the eyes
were now watching from, they saw nothing.  All three sets of eyes watched
the window as it went dark.  Abe and Mort began their count, pulling out
the gear they would need to get over the wall.  Never seeing the large
shape move out of the shadows.  Never hearing a thing until he spoke.
     "I have some questions for you.  Don't make
this hard on yourselves." Both Abe and Mort turned to the sound of the
deep voice, pulling out weapons as they looked.  All they saw was the
shadow of a man coming towards them.  As it drew near Mort dove towards
it, the point of his blade seeking the center of the shadow.  He could
feel as the tip of his blade was turned away by the armored man, he almost
expected it.  He was not expecting the rock hard grip to clamp down on his
wrist.  For one fleeting moment Mort thought of trying to pull away,
trying to run but before the thought was fully formed a fist crashed into his
face.  Mort made no sound as his body fell to the ground below, no sound
other than the crunch of his nose.
     "Who the hell are you?" Abe asked as he
started to back away from the looming dark figure.
     "I'm the wind in the fields, I am the quiet
before the storm, I am the shadow on the wall. Thank you for remembering the
rope. I won't have to use my own tonight." It was then that Abe saw the
illusion fall away from the man.  Scale blue armor covered wide shoulders
and a large chest.  As the cloak was pushed back from the strangers face
his long dark hair moved back just enough for Abe to the slightly pointed ear
that fit the elven face he could not clearly see. "Come on Abe, don't make
me hurt you." While Abe would never admit it to anyone else, at that
moment he felt his blood run cold.  He felt a heavy chill as his bladder
let lose, soiling his new black leather pants.  Dropping his weapon he
turned to run, running for his life.  He could hear the weapon behind him,
parting the air just before the flat side of the blade smacked him in the head.
 Abe was only glad he did not get his face messed up like Mort.  It
was all he had time to think about before he passed out.
     The next day when his friend Mort woke up he would
tell him about how he put up a fight, how he held his own but the bounty hunter
got lucky.  Abe never told him about how they had been tied up with their
own rope.  He never told him about waking up as they were being carried on
the back of a horse.  He never told him about being dumped into this
prison cell like a sack full of potatoes.  Abe only told him about the
fight he put up.  Mort would listen to the story in awe but in the end it
didn't matter.  They were still in a prison cell and Windfall the bounty
hunter was in Arcadia.

     After
Michaels rode away I headed back inside to see what my new friends had to say.
Zackary was into his second bowl of fish stew and what looked like his third
ale.  I thought I heard him say something about it being watered down.  I
was more interested in Zender and Lomark.  There was something between
them that to this day that I cannot define.  I sat down at the table and
just listened to them speak for hours on end.  As the sun faded and
darkness fell on the streets outside, they were still going and not once had
they mentioned the mission we were on.  I started to wonder if these two
were the reason Zackary drank so much.  Over time I have learned that
isn't the case but I did wonder.
     As the hour grew late I told them that I had rented
them a room and that I was in need of sleep.  I then asked how we’re going
to get to this mountain castle that Michaels had spoken of.
'It is quite
simple, we take a boat from here in the bay and take it down stream. When we
are close we will strike out on foot.'
Zender seemed so sure of himself
until Zackary looked up from his tankard of ale,
'No bloody boats!'
There was real fear in his voice.
'Zack, that was a long time ago, there is
no chance it will happen again. There are only so many dragon turtles in the
world.'
Hans had told me the story of the dragon turtle and what Zender had
done to fight it. I could see his father in him.  Windfall was the type of
person who would pound on you until you see things his way. Yet Zender had a
much softer touch than his father, he would often try to talk his way out of
things.  As I went to bed that night I did something I had not done in
quite some time.  I looked to the gods for guidance.  As there were
no answers for me at that moment, I crawled into bed and tried to get some kind
of sleep.
     First thing in the morning I went down stairs and got
myself a good meal.  Once that was finished I went about sorting out the
things I would need for the trip and finding myself another horse. While the
port in Rohloff wasn't that far away, it would slow things down if I had to
walk. I went to see Tomas who told me I could use one of his mounts before I
even got the question out of my mouth.  It would seem he wanted a favor
from me at some later point; at least that was the impression he gave me. He
gave me all that I needed and refused payment.  Once I had the new mount
and the saddle to go along with it, I was ready to go.  I returned to the
inn to collect my saddle bags and anything else I had left in the room.
 In the room we shared Zackary looked like I had felt the day before.
     After a flurry of activity we were off and down the
road towards Rohloff.  Zackary spent the entire time mumbling about
getting on a boat.  I trotted up next to Zender who seemed happy to be in
the lead and asked him why they were late getting to Klassen.  He just
pointed back to Zackary.
'Last time we were in this part of the world we ran
into a little trouble. We thought we could cut some time off of our trip if we
cut through the Tanglewood.  Well, being young and quite stupid we ended
up getting captured by some crazy cultist. Bunch of folks who worshiped this
man who called himself the Messiah.'
I felt a chill race up my spine and
settle somewhere inside of my head.  I asked him if he was sure, that was
what they called him, The Messiah.
'Yes, they are all held up in some
underground fortress. Hundreds of them. They accused us of being spies. Even
once we convinced them that we were just passing through the area on chance
they still didn't want to let us go.'
When I asked him how they escaped it
was then that Lomark spoke.
    
'Zender did what he always does when he is
presented with a problem his god doesn't have an answer for.'
I looked back
at the slender mage waiting for the answer but Lomark seemed to tire of talking
already.
'I challenged them to a fight'
Zender told me.
'I told them
I would fight anyone they wanted and if I won they would let us go. If they
won, they could kill us all.'
I just shook my head in disbelief.  They
could tell me where the Messiah was. We could capture him and bring him to
justice for his attack on the city.  When I asked him what happened he
then finished the story.
'They gave me my weapons and armor. They took us
all to this little arena deep under the ground.  We were surrounded by
hundreds of men, all loyal to the Messiah.  I figured they would sent out
some powerful warrior, which they did.  I did not expect him to be seven
feet tall though. I know the Minotaur had a name but do not ask me to remember
it right now.  I still have a small mark on my shoulder from where he
gored me. Still, I was able to beat the creature and they let us go.'
     I was in a frenzy, I could not believe in all the time
I had known Hans he didn't tell me of this. He did not remember it or even
think to mention it at all.  I reached across the space between us and
gripped Zender’s arm and asked him to show me where this fortress was.  I
told him about the war and the attacks on the city. The man had to be brought
to justice.
'While I understand your passion for this, more than you know, I
cannot tell you. They blind folded us and when we could see again we were out
of the woods. I could point to you on a map where we entered the forest and
where they dumped us but where the fortress is, we do not know. I am sorry
Darmot.'
I thought about turning around right at that moment, The Rod of
the Arcane be dammed.  If there was any chance at all that we could have
found him there, I had to take it.  There was too much blood on his hands
to ignore it.  It was only my commitment to those three men that kept me
going towards Rohloff.
     A little past noon of that day we saw the man in the
middle of the road.  Just standing there waiting for us to come along.
 When I saw his face, it all came back to me.  Here was the bandit
leader, same chain armor, same weapon.  He just stood there waiting.
 I stopped my horse, refusing to get closer.  I could see the smirk
on his face.
'Want to take another run at me?'
his voice sounded like it
was coming from the bottom of a well.
'No one get any closer to him, stay
back. He wants to draw you in so he can use his power on you.'
Lomark was
nearly shouting at us to stay away. I asked him what he was talking about and
he just shook his head and said he did not have the time. Lomark then
dismounted from his horse,
'flee back to your master soulless one, we will
not submit to your will. Go now, tell him we are coming.'
The bandit leader
just smirked again, laughing his hollow laugh at the wizard.
    
'Oh come on now, you and I would be great friend’s
wizard. You can feel it can’t you?  Come to me, help me destroy these
fools and we can join the ranks of the master. We will sweep this land clean of
evil and bring the land into a new era of prosperity for all.'
The bandit
leader began to take small steps towards us.  Slowly walking down the
middle of the road, the metal ring in the air was Zackary drawing his weapon.
 I did then did the same but I could not leave my horse.
'Do it now
Lomark!'
Zender said while gripping his hammer. The wizard held up one
hand, telling us to hold.

    
'Yes,
do it now Lomark. Come to me and together we will rid yourself of those high
and mighty fools who do nothing but hold you back from reaching for true
glory.'
The bandit leader continued to stalk towards the wizard.  I
felt helpless.  How could this man I had struck down be here now, taunting
us?
'Once they are dead I can bring them back. You will have them all for
servants. Once we reach the White Spire and my master accepts you, we will be
brothers for all eternity.'
He took another step forward, closing on the
mage.

    
'The
White Spire you say? Interesting!'
It was then that Lomark unleashed the
lightning bolt. His hand drew forth a single glass rod and pointed it towards
the chest of the bandit leader.  For a moment, just a single moment I
thought he was standing up to the blast.  The bolts light filled the air,
blazing brighter than even the sun in the sky overhead.  When I could see
again the bandit leader was laying in the road, black and smoldering.
 Each of us dismounted and came to stand beside the wizard.
'Zackary,
go build a fire with him as the base. Take nothing from his body, burn
everything. Do it quickly, it won't be long before he comes back again.'
I
asked him what he meant.  I only wanted to know what was going on.
'He
is one of the creatures your paladin friend is hunting.  He is a servant
of Ramanthus.  He knows who hunts him and he sent that one out to subdue
us. Had he not been so bold, this may have had a very different outcome.'
I
asked him what he meant by that.
'Had he approached us without being seen,
as soon as he was close enough to me to use his powers on me, I would have
gladly fallen to my knees in worship of him. Then at his command I would have
destroyed you all.'
He spoke to us in soft, even tones. As if it was all
just a matter of fact. The very idea of it all made my blood chill.
'Had he
used his power on you, you would have done the same. You would have cut each of
us down as if it was the right thing to do.'

     I thought
about what he said while we waited for Zack to finish his job. Once the fire
was started Zender went as close to the fire as he could, got down on his knees
and started to pray. Asking his god to accept the soul of the now burning man
back into the fold. We stayed there for the rest of the day, just off the side
of the road. Keeping the fire going until there was nothing left of the body.
'There
are at least four more out there. We need to be careful. Ramanthus can see into
the eyes of his pets. He has seen our faces and he does not need one of these
to kill us.'
I asked him how he knew so much of this Ramanthus.  How
he knew so much about these creatures of his.  He just turned his head and
looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
'The same way I knew you were
coming to meet us alone. The same way I knew you had been betrayed by the one
called Hetaron. I know, do not question these things.'
    
'Oh yes great and powerful one. We will not
question you!'
Zender said with more laugh in his voice than anything.
'Don't
worry about it Darmot. He has a crystal ball that he can use to spy on people
or other things.  That is how we found the rod.  It doesn't always
work though.'
I looked towards Lomark again but he was beyond us, lost in
his spell book.  The sight of seeing him there like that was perhaps the
most painful thing I had felt that day.  It reminded me that Hetaron was
gone and our next meeting was not going to be all that pleasant.  Even
with how he betrayed me, then and still now, I missed him.  He was my
first friend in Arcadia, even if he had no idea what the word meant.  I
was just a tool to him, as my shield is a tool he used me the same way. Once
the fire was dead Zackary turned the ashes over, filling the burned marks with
dirt. Before we rode away, Zender sprinkled holy water over the area, one last
time asking Solarth to welcome home his lost child, asking him to bless the
ground.
     We arrived in Rohloff in the dead of night.
 Zender headed to the docks to find us a ship while the rest of us took in
a meal at the tavern.  There were no rooms open anywhere in the city.
 So we sat in a tavern, eating a cold meal, drinking warm ale.
 Lomark had a glass or two of wine while picking at a loaf of bread.
 When Zender returned he told us we were leaving in the morning on a ship
named Nathan’s Bounty.  I remember sitting there at that table drifting
off to sleep to the sound of their voices.  A quick dream of the bandit
leader brought me back to life, I did not sleep again for two days.  Each
time I tried, his face would come to me. Taunt me with dreams of promised power
and flowing blood.  It was not until I was put to sleep by the gentle
rocking of the ship on Darknight Bay. The sound of the water calmed my mind and
my soul.