El-Vador's Travels (20 page)

It
would not be long until he reached the village, if his strength held
out until then he could rest without worry of immediately being
discovered. He had money on his person and a warm bed in a barred
room would be difficult for any woman to negotiate. Then he would
slip forth into the early morning as she slept and leave enough of a
trail onward to Sarvacts' fortress. He could easily have confused the
tracks and denied his pursuer the chance of retribution, after which
he could have made his way to his master untroubled. That was not his
duty though, in order to bring the Elf to the fort he was required to
also bring the woman. His orders had been most specific in this
regard. Sarvacts would be expecting him soon, it would not be wise to
make the Orc wait any longer than necessary. He could afford one
night at this village, then there would be little stopping until he
reached his destination.

The
village she had wandered into had but one inn, it was largely empty
at this hour and the proprietor didn't seem too disturbed at her
attire. For some reason he seemed accustomed to dealing with heavily
robed people coming in from the road.

'I
know not of any Elf that has sought residence here in many a year,
you would have better luck searching far north for such creatures.'

She
nodded silently at him, the target of Sarvacts' vengeance had not
made it this far south yet, there may yet be a chance that she could
intercept him. She bid the innkeeper fetch her some water and prepare
a room for her rest. The coin had been hard to come by on the journey
north but she was resourceful enough to gather a meagre amount.

As
the man scuttled to fetch her wine, Phaedra sat at a nearby table
close to the fire. The inn was poorly kept, not that its few
residents seemed to care. It would suffice for now, she would only
need a night's rest for the coming week's journeying.

None
of the other patrons bothered her, clearly they had enough sense not
to interrupt a heavily cloaked figure that was seeking the warmth.

The
innkeeper returned with a cup of water that looked palatable enough,
Phaedra offered him a few coins before drinking deeply. She did not
require sustenance beyond the occasional replacing of fluids. She
would rest soon and ask the inhabitants of the village about the Elf
in the morn.

Anacletus
entered the inn and immediately sensed that something was wrong. It
was an almost imperceptible smell in the smoky atmosphere of the room
but it was there all the same. Working with Sarvacts had let him grow
accustomed to the stench of his automatons. Nevertheless he knew that
scent as soon as it touched his nose, why had the Orc sent one of
them out here?

It
was the woman sitting near the fire, or what at first he thought was
a woman. Her pallor was not hidden by the light of the embers and
there was no mistaking her for anything else to trained eyes such as
his.

Cautiously
he walked over, settling himself opposite her as if it were something
that had already been planned. The brief surprise that flickered over
her gaze was replaced with a smile, she had not been expecting him
but the recognition was one of mutual respect.

He
ate heartily then, knowing that this creature could not partake in
his feasting and that with her watching over him he was safe for the
time being. They spoke lies to each other so as not to arouse
suspicion and acted like old acquaintances reunited after some time.
He watched her sip at her cup with an amused expression, trying to
imagine what it must be like to only imbibe water instead of the
feast laid out before him.

'So,
my dear Phaedra.' he said. 'what brings you to this dingy tavern
north of your home? It's not often that you venture out after all.'

She
smiled back at him as if he had cracked a witty joke at her expense.
'I have been tasked by our master with tracking down an individual
that he requires vengeance upon.'

'Indeed?
That is also why I am present in this place, tell me of this
individual you seek.' He watched her face carefully, she was hiding
something from him.

'Fear
not Anacletus, it is not you that I seek to hunt down. Instead I have
been charged with finding an Elf of all things.'

He
mused over this. 'This is most odd, there are no Elves this far south
of the mountains.'

Had
Sarvacts really sent this automaton out to capture the Elf that was
trailing him? Or was she lying through her teeth and planning on
executing him and taking his place?

It
didn't make any sense, his pursuers would not follow any further if
he simply disappeared or died. Unless the creature's orders were to
kill all involved and overpower the Elf.

The
assassin smiled, things were beginning to get very interesting.

El-Vador
and Eihblin stood, talking in low whispers to the innkeeper.

'Whatever
quarrel you have with this man can wait until the morning when you're
both outside my premises.' the man said, clearly put out at the
thought of trouble.

The
Elf drew his sword slightly, the inn was silent but for the blade.
The look in his eyes was enough to convince the innkeeper that they
were going to have words with the man regardless of what happened
here.

'I
see you're not the sort that'll take no for an answer then.' he
replied nervously, realising after a furtive glance that there was
nobody around to help him. 'he's on the third door to the right,
here's the key.'

'Return
to your business,' the Elf ordered.

The
innkeeper shuffled quickly away as El-Vador walked in silence down
the corridor, Eihblin slowly following in his wake.

He
kept his blade drawn as he stealthily made his way deeper into the
inn. Eihblin was surprisingly silent in following him, a good sign
for this moment in time but one that he should be mindful of lest she
turn on him once the heirloom had been recovered. He counted the
doors silently under his breath, the next one should reveal Harlven's
assassin. El-Vador only hoped that the man was sound asleep.

The
key seemed impossibly loud as he fit it into the lock and turned,
waiting for some fiendish trap to spring out and dice him to pieces
for having the temerity to enter the assassin's room. When nothing
happened he eased his way into the darkened place, his sword at the
ready should any trouble present itself.

A
darkened shadow hovered over the assassin's bed, arms stretched high
and holding exactly what El-Vador suspected.

'Hold,'
El-Vador whispered hoarsely to the shape, pointing with his sword.

The
figure let out a gasp and turned to face him, clearly it had not been
expecting company. 'This doesn't concern you stranger, let me rid
this man and be on your way.'

'Oh
but it does, we seek an heirloom he carried upon his person.'

He
continued to stare into the darkness at the vaguely feminine shape
that the voice hinted at.

'His
possessions are of no concern to me, you may gather them after I have
disposed of him,' she said, then focused her attention on the prone
body of Anacletus once more.

'I
am called Phaedra,' she said, oddly conversational as she buried the
dagger in the man's body, 'would you tell me yours?'

'I
am El-Vador and your kill is of no concern to me.'

There
was a long pause after this, was the woman thinking of attacking him
to prevent further repercussions? 'You are the one I seek, yet you
came after Anacletus rather than flee. Why?'

With
his attention focused entirely upon this strange woman, El-Vador's
vigilance suffered. The seemingly dead body of Anacletus kipped up
and threw itself out of the window. How could the man have faked such
a mortal wound?

El-Vador
pushed past the woman and cursed, if he was quick enough he may yet
catch him.

'Stay
where you are!'

El-Vador
turned and raised his sword at the voice he had momentarily
forgotten.

Eihblin
stood in the doorway brandishing her own steel, apparently she would
not let him pass so easily.

'Anacletus
will get away if we dally here!' he said, gesturing frantically at
the window.

'That
is not my concern,' she replied, advancing upon him fearlessly. 'give
the heirloom to me and I may let you live.'

El-Vador
eyed Phaedra nervously, she made her way to a small desk and fumbled
through the belongings of the departed assassin.

'Enough
stalling! Give me the heirloom now!' Eihblin yelled, advancing
further into the room.

He
watched as Phaedra continued to desperately search through the cloak
of the assassin. It would seem that Eihblin was not willing to wait
any longer for her property. He brought his blade up to parry as she
struck out at him in rage, turning his attention away from Phaedra
and trying to shield her from this mad woman's attack.

Eihblin
yelled incomprehensibly in frustration as their blades clashed and
lunged for El-Vador once again.

He
evaded the lunge and sent a swipe out to keep her at a distance, she
was practised with the blade and may well best him should this fight
last much longer in such close quarters.

She
came at him again and he barely deflected the last of her thrusts,
this had gone on long enough. He rushed forward as the next lunge
sent her off balance, darting under the path of the strike and
planting a knee in her sternum. She doubled up on the floor and
dropped her blade. It had been a lucky guess on his part, she was
well trained in a fair fight but not battle-ready.

'I
yield.' she retched, gasping for breath on the floor.

Now
that she was disarmed El-Vador once more turned his attention to the
other woman in the room.

There
was nobody by the robes any more, Phaedra had made her exit into the
night, much like Anacletus had before.

'Did
she take the heirloom with her?' Eihblin asked from the floor,
concern for the possession now causing her previous hostility to
vanish.

El-Vador
moved to the pile of clothes the assassin had left behind. There was
no heirloom to be found. 'Phaedra must have taken it while we were
engaged in combat.'

A
groan came from the floor, the dawning realisation of Eihblin's own
stupidity perhaps.

'You
were too eager to retrieve it,' El-Vador chided her. 'had you not
been so unreasonable with your demands we would have both Anacletus'
head and the talisman. Now we will have to keep hunting after both.'

'We
shall speak of it later.' she replied, picking herself up and
sheathing her sword. With that she left, not giving El-Vador any
chance to voice an objection. Apparently she was going to use his
help regardless of whether he was willing to agree.

He
shrugged, two sets of eyes were still better than one. So long as
they didn't come after you with a sword again, he would be wary of
that next time. Should Eihblin betray him again he would make it her
last act.

It was the rarest of things in those turbulent days, for me to
place trust in one who had already raised a blade in defiance of me.
Yet in her I saw parts of myself, she claimed to seek an heirloom but
I knew that in her heart it was truly vengeance to be claimed.

T
he
dagger came out with a hiss after some degree of tugging, he
shuddered as the black smoke left his body and the wound began to
heal. He had not stopped lurching away from the village until he was
entirely certain that all immediate pursuit had ceased. Ultimately he
knew that what he was running toward was far worse than anything he
could have been running from. His head hurt at the implications, an
automaton of Sarvacts' own design had taken the heirloom from his
possession and driven a dagger into him. Why then had the stab not
been fatal? Had the creature aimed for his heart then its orders
would have been carried out, instead it had buried the blade in his
side. To an ordinary man that may still have been a killing blow but
to Anacletus, the master of the shadows, it was but a setback.

Surely
if Sarvacts had planned to do away with his assassin he would have
given specific instructions to aim for the heart when the exhumation
took place. Either Sarvacts wanted to punish him but leave him alive,
or the automaton had no knowledge of his physiology and was acting
independently of its master.

This
thought caused much confusion within Anacletus, who assumed that
Sarvacts' control over his own forces was absolute. He had certainly
been given no reason to doubt that before, had something changed that
he was unaware of?

The
Elf was of greater concern to him, let Sarvacts do what he would with
his automatons, Anacletus was still determined to deliver the pointed
creature to his employer's lap. A kicked hound may yet still be
obedient for a time, he wasn't going to completely abandon the coin
Sarvacts provided based on one poor judgement. It would be hard to
find work that would match his fee, most of his richer clientèle
had been warned off him already.

Either
the Elf and Eihblin had the heirloom or the creature had taken it and
somehow escaped their grasp. His first task was to determine whose
possession this trifling bauble was in the hands of, no easy feat
given the wary nature of those involved.

He
had soon acquired some clothing off freshly made corpses he had
garotted, the meagre coin they had also provided gave him another
blade and enough food to survive on.

There
was of course the possibility that the Elf had taken it and refused
to return it to Eihblin, perhaps thinking that it would produce a
pretty penny on the market. That produced an entirely different set
of problems. Anacletus could only hope that his task continued to
follow him out of some sense of vengeance rather than the noble deed
of retrieving an heirloom.