Hemlock And The Wizard Tower (Book 1) (21 page)

As they climbed down
,
Hemlock responded
,
"I want my
sister
to be able to afford the potions and sp
ells she needs for her digestive
condition.
 
I want people to be able to live and work and not have to do so
in fear of crime or the Wizard Guild,
"
s
he concluded.

"A noble answer," h
e responded with an exhale as he landed solidly on the ground and began to move into the crowd with Hemlock.  It was a harder pursuit now,
but their practiced eyes
were
still
able to track their quarry.
"An idealistic answer, too,"
Safreon added.

"
Meaning what?
"
Hemlock
asked
with a sidelong glance
toward him
as she slipped between two farmers.

"
Meaning that you should remember these ideals once y
ou gain the power that you seek,"
Safreon responded with undisguised gravity.

"Of course I will,"
s
he responded.

"Of course, indeed,"
h
e replied. 
"
It’s sometimes harder to do that than you would think
."

Hemlock chose not to respond.  He was right, in a sense.  She did seek power and made no pretense with Safreon to pretend otherwise.

Ahead, the T
hief darted into an alleyway
; the Elite
followed in short order. 

Safreon and Hemlock k
new the area well.
T
he Badger G
uild,
a Thieves Guild of some
notoriety, operated from here
.  They were mostly
common
cutpurses, but their
numbers and their
control of the marketplace
district made them powerful
.  It was rare that one saw such a high level of
ability
as they had seen from this
man that
they
now
tracked.  That he was
apparently
a Badger was a surprise to both of them.

"
He must be high in their Guild
,"
whispered Safreon as they approached the alley. 
"
He’ll be bold and careless at first, but beware
,
Hemlock.  Once he recognizes us, he’ll be very dangerous.
"

Safreon walked past the alley discreetly and cast a glance down its length.  When he passed the alley he quickly stopped and hugged the wall.  Hemlock did the same on her side of the alley.

They both knew that
a
Badger lookout would have spotted them by now.  Now it was a matter of time and communication. 

"
How quickly
will they get word to their people and respond in force?" Hemlock wondered.
 

Hemlock and Safreon had moved against Badger members before, but in those instances they had been more junior members
,
and the Guild had decided to look the other way rather than confront Safreon.  Hemlock was concerned that this time might be different.

Without warning, Hemlock
had a vision.  She
imagined a great Black Dragon rising from inside a Mountain, its wings beating strongly and lifting it up into the heavens.
  The vision passed as quickly as it had come.

Safreon hissed at her to get her attention.

Still
surprised and
bemused by the vision, Hemlock followed him into the alley at a relaxed pace.

The alley was well traveled with layer upon layer of footprints in the sandy ground.  Old barrels, bottles, furniture fragments and other debris were strewn about, giving
it
an unkempt appearance.  Makeshift sheds rose one and sometimes two stories toward the three story rooftops above.

Safreon stopped at a doorway and without warning
,
kicked it in.

Both of them flowed into the building, entering a medium
-
sized chamber with once fine wood wainscoting, which was now faded and chipped from wear and tear.

"
What, now just you wait!  This is Badger territory!
"
exclaimed a young and dirty cutpurse
.
He had
evidently had been aware of their approach because his saber was drawn as
they entered the room
. 
He was dressed in a dirty tan cloak with gray pants and wore a dark hood over his head which shadowed his features. The youth took two steps forward and h
is footfalls resulted in dull creaks from the old wooden floor
beneath
the
faded carpet.

Safreon made a gesture of caution and grunted more than spoke a query in response
,
"
The woman?
"

The youth just smiled and then charged with what he intended to be a bold attack.

Safreon parried the boy
’
s downward thrust with his quickly drawn short sword and then stabbed the thief in the solar plexus as he embraced him and took the boy
’
s charge.

Safreon threw the body down onto the carpet and muttered an epithet under his breath as Hemlock moved to a door across the room.

She listened and heard guttural and reveling voices within.  She nodded to Safreon
,
who was watching for her reaction.  He approached behind her and kicked the door in.

Hemlock was through the opening f
irst and burst into another fine, but similarly decayed room.  It was
a three story
entry hall
with a marble floor and a broken sweeping staircase.  Rope ladders hung from an upper banister to compensate for the stair.  Burn marks were in evidence on the stairs, walls and floor.  Evidently some conflict had occurred here at one time or another.

The female citizen whom Hemlock and Safreon had been seeking
was bound at the wrists from a chain that hung from the ceiling three floors above.  She was partially unclothed and still did not struggle.

Three men surrounded her, wearing opulent clothes.  One stepped forward,
looking familiar in
a black robe
, although
the hood
was
down now and the robe worn open. 

Evidently, this was the man that they had followed.
  The open robe revealed that the man wore an ostentatious outfit underneath: he had a gray jacket on with burgundy lapels which were accented with golden buttons.  The jacket and the fine white shirt underneath were unbuttoned almost down to the man’s midsection, showing his chiseled abdomen.  The abdominal muscles were tinged with a light gray hair, however; he was clearly advanced well into middle age.  His face had the look of nobility, but was marred by several scars.  He wore a flamboyant, waxed mustache which was turned up at the tips.  Thigh-high leather boots and a blue sash buckled with a gold accent completed his appearance, which displayed all of the braggadocio that Hemlock would have expected from a Thieves Guild member.

"
Safreon
, is that you?
"
the mustachioed man
in the robe
said with a swagger.  The scent of rum was in the air.

Before Safreon could answer, the man noticed the body of the young cutpurse that Safreon had slain in the adjacent room.  His features hardened.

The man glanced back at Safreon
.
"
Why, you’ve killed my nephew.  He was a fine boy – but headstrong.  I can see
his foolishness
cost him dearly
in the end
.  Still,
it was not a just end for him, for
he was defending Badger territory.
"
  He stressed the word Badger with spittle flying out of his mouth in anger.

Hemlock fanned out into the room.  The other two men ey
ed her with a mixture of
carnal lust and bloodlust.

Safreon spoke
,
"
Greybreech, you
just openly
kidnapped a Citizen in the market.  I had to intervene.
"

The man had regained a calm composure, but Safreon
’
s statement enraged him again
.
"
This
…wench
is the daughter of a man that owes me and refuses to pay.  Thus I am
taking my payment in other ways."
  At this the other two men laughed harshly.

Safreon responded
,
"
Release her into my custody.  I’ll return her to the man and I’ll see that you get your money.
"

"
Oh no, it’s gone beyond that here already
,"
the man responded. 
"
You’ve killed Herbert and that must be answered for.
  Aye, answered in blood."

"
Graybreech, I will lay gold down against his life.  It is all I can do now.  He charged me foolishly.  Listen to reason
," p
leaded Safreon.

Hemlock noticed that a large chest lay open behind the two ruffians.  Inside it she saw the glint of gold.

"
I think she’s seen our baubles
,"
said one of the ruffians, noticing Hemlock’s stare.

"
Do you
see
that
,
Safreon?
"
replied Graybreech angrily
, pointing at the chest.
"
Does it
look
like I need your gold against Herbert’s life?
"
  Graybreech drew his rapier and the ruffians followed suit.

"
Don’t be a fool
,
Graybreech!
"
hissed Safreon.

"
What
is this
?
"
screeched Graybreech
.
"
Does the mighty Safreon and his girl think they can best me and my two best men?  Has your head
finally
gotten too big?
  You’ve been a thorn in my side for years now.  I’ll be glad to finally be rid of ya."

Graybreech began to circle Safreon and the two men fanned out and approached Hemlock.

"
That’s no ordinary girl
,"
warned
Safreon.

"
We’ll see
," r
eplied Graybreech
,
with a thrust of his rapier.

Safreon grunted and dodged the attack and then another, seeming somewhat overmatched against the quick Graybreech and his thrusting rapier.

Hemlock dodged two thrusts from her assailants and then parried another with her saber.  These
thieves
, t
oo, were accomplished fighters–among
the best that Hemlock had ever faced. 

As they fought
her,
she began to feel something g
rowing within her.  S
he struggled against it at first, trying to keep her mind focused on the nuances of the combat.  She recalled
her
vision and she let her mind re
lax
just for a moment, to see what this force or rhythm was that seemed to be overcoming her.

The two men were recovering from savage thrusts that had left them unbalanced.  Hemlock
instinctively
began to draw her
saber
into her torso in a spinning motion
,
but her mind became alarmed
at the exotic move,
and she cut the motion short. 

One of the men thrust in return and she ducked a split second too late and
took
a flesh wound on her back as a result.  She cried out in pain.

"
Hemlock!
"
cried Safreon as he
fought
on the defensive against Graybreech.

Hemlock recovered her composure as the men circled her again
,
making catcalls.  Again she attempted to rest her mind and let her instincts take over.

The two men thrust again in unison and this time she didn’t hesitate when
the strange sensation overcame her and her reflexes took over.
H
er body tensed and jumped to the side while her arm swung in a wide arc and her
saber
crashed
into
the forehead of one of her attackers, rendering his features inhuman and reducing him to a gurgling pile on the floor.