Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book One (17 page)

“That sounds wonderful. We will take the two rooms for one night, with a view to extending our stay, depending on how our business here in Helveel goes tomorrow. Please could you also send up two platters of cold meat and bread with some of your finest ale at your earliest convenience?”

“Of course sir. That will be one gold for the two rooms, and two silver for the platter and ale. Would you also like me to reserve you a table for the evening meal?” she asked, while taking two keys off their hooks and placing them on the counter.

“Yes please, if you wouldn't mind. We will be downstairs around seven o'clock, if that’s acceptable?” Skelly replied, placing two gold coins on the counter and taking the keys in exchange.

“Yes sir, that's fine. I'll make sure your table is ready for you by seven. If you will excuse me, I shall fetch your change.”

“No need. Please, keep the change as a token of our gratitude, for all of your help,” Skelly said smiling, and performing a small mock bow towards her.

“Why, thank you sir. That’s most generous of you. I
hope your stay with us here at the
Golden
 
feather
is a very pleasant one,” she replied, returning his mock bow with a similar curtsy of her own, before turning and disappearing into the back room, obviously very happy with her generous tip.
Carter glanced at Skelly with a puzzled look on his face, but knew better than to ask questions here where they could be overheard, so he took one of the keys and they both went to find their rooms. The rooms were adjacent to one another, with a lockable connecting door between the two rooms. As expected, both rooms were impeccably clean, with crisp white bed linens, thick velvet curtains, and various pieces of opulent looking furniture dotted around the room. Carter closed the door behind them, before asking, “What was all that about?”

“All what?” Skelly asked, still inspecting the contents of the room.

“The fake accent. Speaking like you're some lord, and the king-sized tip you left that bar maid,“ Carter replied, hoping he hadn't overstepped his mark: Skelly wasn't known for his kind nature or small talk.

Skelly turned to look at Carter, who he could see was instantly regretting asking the question. But after the hard two week journey they had just endured, being here in a warm dry and comfortable inn, with the prospect of some fine food and drink, not to mention a bath, had put Skelly in
a good mood for a change.
He didn't want to spoil it by killing his travelling companion, and having to go and find another place to stay in a poorer part of the city.

“If you really need to know … someone once told me: '
If you let people think you have nothing, they will keep you with nothing
.' Or in other words, if they think you're worth something, they will treat you as such. As for the tip, that will buy us far more in the way of service and quality of food and ale over the coming night, than the sum I gave her would ever do in reality—you'll see,” Skelly replied, studying Carter to see if he truly understood. “Anything else you'd like to know?”

Carter just shook his head nervously, before pointing with his chin towards the adjoining door. “I think I'll go check out my room and wait for the food, leave you to settle in here,” he said, quickly heading towards the door without waiting for a reply. Skelly just nodded to himself. At least Carter was smart enough not to bug him too much. He liked him for that. Whether it would be enough if he got under Skelly's skin when he wasn't in such a good mood, was another matter entirely.

The next morning Skelly and Carter headed straight for the horse-trader that had been spotted with their guild horse. They found the horse-trader on the outskirts of the city, in the southern part of Helveel. It
looked like whoever had stolen the horse, had sold it to the first trader they had come across in Helveel.
As luck would have it, the guild horse was still there in the corral. Plainly visible on its hind quarters, was the guild symbol that was branded on all their livestock in Stelgad. A large man noticed them looking at the horse, and came over to the fence to ask if they were interested in buying the animal.

“Morning good sirs,” he said, lifting off his hat a little and bobbing his head. “A fine animal that one. I'm sure we can come to agree a fair price for it, if you're interested.”

Neither man responded to the horse-trader, but Skelly turned to stare at him with those cold deadly blue eyes of his, before turning his attention back to the horse. Nodding towards the animal, he asked in a cold voice that would shake the confidence of most men, “Where did you get that horse?”

Looking from one man to the other, the horse-trader gave the impression he didn't intimidate easily.
Too bad for him
, Skelly thought.

“If I have to ask you again, it's going to get painful for you,” Skelly said, taking a step closer to the fence that separated him and the horse-trader. The man obviously wasn't used to been spoken to in this manner, and took a step towards the fence in a show of defiance. Skelly approved of his bravery, then baulked at his stupidity. The horse-trader lifted one arm to point down the road, whilst
grabbing a fencepost with his other hand.
“Get the hell off my property you … AARGH!” he screamed, as his hand was pinned to the top of the fencepost by Skelly's dagger. Skelly had moved so fast, even Carter hadn't seen what was coming. Skelly's actions took Carter by complete surprise, so much so, he took an involuntary step back as the knife pierced the man's hand. The man stood there whimpering in pain, as his blood flowed down his fingers, dripping onto the grass below. Skelly kept a firm hold of the dagger, and moved closer to the man. He removed a second dagger, then placed it across the horse-trader's little finger, applying a small amount of pressure.

“Okay, I'll ask again. Where did you get that horse?”

“Go to hell … AARGH!” he screamed again, as his little finger fell from his hand to join the rest of his blood on the floor. Moving his dagger to the next finger, Skelly once again applied a little pressure.

“Wrong answer. But, I guess you have nineteen more attempts to get it right. Where did you get the horse?” Skelly asked again. This time his question was met only with a stony silence, until he let out another scream, as a second finger hit the floor. Skelly was genuinely impressed by the horse-trader's guts—but that wouldn't save him if he didn't talk. Again, Skelly moved on to the the next finger, and asked his question once more.

“Where did you get the horse?”

Whimpering through the pain, he heard the man say something.

“Louder, I can't hear you. Or I'll cut off another one.”

“A GIRL!” the man screamed.

“That's better. Now we're getting somewhere. What was her name?”

“I DON'T KNOW!” screamed the man, panicking that he was about to lose another finger.

“Okay, I'm not unreasonable. I understand you probably didn't know her name, but give me a description,” Skelly said, ever so slightly moving the dagger that still pinned the man's hand to the fence, causing him to cry out in pain again.

Panting through the pain, he managed to say, “She was young … maybe sixteen … blonde hair … about my height. PLEASE! That’s all I know … I need two hands to work … PLEASE!” he pleaded.

“That’s good. But how am I to find someone in Helveel with only that information to go on? You need to give me something else to work with. Or I could simply remove another of your fingers to jog your memory,” Skelly said coldly.

“NO! PLEASE! I … I … don't know anything else,” the man begged.

“Okay, have it your way.”

“NO WAIT! I remember something.”

“Funny how pain jogs the memory isn't it,” Skelly replied, grinning at Carter, who by this point was looking quite pale. “Go ahead, I'm listening.”

“The girl … after she sold me … the horse … she asked me … which was the … best thieves' guild … here in Helveel … I told..her … to try the … Ravens' guild—AARGH!”

Skelly removed the knife from the man's hand—and faster than anyone should be able to move—grabbed the back of the man's head, and placed it where his hand had been only a moment before. Holding a dagger to the man's eye, he said in a stone cold voice, “If you're lying to me, I'll come back and kill you—and it won’t be fast. Do you understand?”

“YES!” the man screamed in absolute terror. Skelly let go of him and he collapsed into heap on the floor, clutching his mutilated hand to his chest, and crying like a child, as Skelly and Carter turned and calmly walked away.

It wasn't hard to find the headquarters of the Ravens' guild. It seemed almost everyone knew where it was located, and they soon arrived at the unassuming looking building. Two burly men stood guard outside the entrance, and as Skelly and Carter approached, they both removed weapons from their belts.

“Calm down lads. We're not here to cause you any trouble,” Skelly reassured them, holding up his open hands to show he wasn't carrying any weapons.

“You've got no business here. Move along, before you get hurt,” one of the guards said menacingly.

“I need to speak with whoever's in charge of your recruiting here at the Ravens' guild,” Skelly replied, not backing down.

“Well, he doesn't want to speak with you,” the other man said laughing, as if what he had just said was the funniest thing he had ever come up with. Skelly wasn't amused, and the look in his eyes when he stared at the men, left them in no doubt either. Both men stopped laughing almost immediately, as the tension in the air rose rapidly; one false move, and everyone knew blood would be spilt.

Not looking half as confident as they had when Skelly and Carter had arrived, the first man said, “I can ask Tyray if he wants to speak with you, but he's going to ask what you want, and who you are?”

“What I want is none of your business. As for who I am, tell him I'm a fellow thief from Stelgad looking for a little professional courtesy,” Skelly replied, with a forced smile that hid none of his contempt towards the two men.

One of the two men whispered something in the ear of the other, before saying, “Wait here. I'll ask him if he wants to see you.” Then he opened the door and disappeared
through it, closing it firmly behind him.
Several minutes passed before the door reopened, and the man who had taken the message reappeared, followed by eight other men. None of the men looked friendly, but Skelly had no doubt he could end them all without breaking a sweat if he had to. One of the men stepped forward, eyeing them both up and down, before saying, “My name is Tyray. I believe you wish to speak with me?”

“My name's Skelly. Thanks for taking the time to come and talk with me, I appreciate it.”

“How can I help you Skelly?” Tyray asked calmly, as his men spread out all around him in a semi-circle, ready for any trouble that may arise.

“I'm looking for a girl …” Skelly started to say.

“Aren't we all?” Laughed one on the guards at the door.

Tyray turned sharply to look at the man, who visibly withered under his gaze, then he turned back to Skelly and said, “Sorry. Please continue. A girl?”

“Yes. A blonde girl, around sixteen years of age and average height. I believe she approached you a few months ago to join your guild. She is wanted by our guild for the theft of guild property. Any information you have would be well appreciated.” Skelly knew that every thieves' guild viewed the theft of its own property, by one of its own
members, as the highest crime possible.
Having an organization comprised solely of thieves, had to have the strictest possible consequences for anyone caught stealing from its own members. Usually it meant a death sentence without trial, and if this girl had gained employment here at the Ravens' guild, she would be ejected without question to face the accusing guild's justice. To do otherwise would risk a possible guild war, and the complete breakdown of thieves' justice within their organizations.

Skelly saw the glint of recognition in Tyray's eyes as he gave the description of the girl, but said nothing. He could see Tyray carefully working out the possibilities, and ramifications of the situation before responding.

“I have seen the girl you're describing. She came here like you say a few months ago, but she was refused entry to the Ravens' guild. I knew nothing of her, and thought she might be a spy, sent by a rival guild. I'm sure you understand.”

“Of course. Can you tell me where she is now?”

“What makes you think I would know where she is now?”

“Because, if you really thought she was a spy like you say, you would have had her followed for a while, to see if she reported back to another guild, and killed her if she had.”

“And how do you know I would do that?”

“Because that's what I would have done,” Skelly replied.

Tyray laughed, while nodding his head, “I see you're no '
wet behind the ears'
recruit Skelly. Yes, I did have her followed for over a week. Smart girl that one. She never approached another guild during that time. She was seen sleeping rough on the streets each night, and often visited the main gates each morning, like all the street kids do, to look for work. Last time she was seen, she was wearing a brown tunic and green trousers if that helps.”