Secrets of Arkana Fortress (7 page)

              Byde looked down at the table. ‘Erm… near there, yes. Just down the coast.’ He hoped that his story would pass as believable.

              ‘Ah right. Must be lonely,’ Olen acknowledged.

              Byde breathed out subtly, relieved that he had deceived the man. ‘Anyway, you were saying about this island?’

              ‘Yes I was.’ Olen perked up as if he rarely had a lengthy conversation with anyone at all. ‘Anyway, the capital of the island is a place called Hocknis, ever heard of it?’

              ‘No I haven’t.’ Byde shook his head gently.

              ‘No matter – it’s a grand place where a lot of trading goes on. This island is very trade oriented, you see; always has been. Hocknis never used to exist many years ago – it was a lot of separate villages. They soon realised that they could survive a lot longer if they all joined together rather than competing against each other for trading supremacy. In the end they formed a coalition government that did OK for a small while, but collapsed coz of conflicting ideas and a lot of unrest from people. Instead of bickering over things they clubbed together and put things to the vote; now they’ve got a stable government – a minister as leader of the council. Democracy seems to have worked over here. I can’t say much for Donnol up north across the pond.’

              Byde raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. ‘Is Donnol in the northern territories then? Why can’t you say much for it?’

              Olen screwed half of his face up with indifference. ‘It used to have a good government, but over the past dozen years or so everything across Salarias has gone to pot; the plague and all that shit.’

              ‘Plague? What plague is this?’

              The dark-faced Olen was taken aback with utter disbelief. ‘Are you serious?’ He turned to look at his wife. ‘Ilsa… apparently Byde doesn’t know about the plague.’

              Ilsa stopped her washing and peered behind her at the pair of them, mostly at Byde’s look of confusion. ‘The Psyloss plague? The thing that’s been sending people across the land completely loopy? Surely they’ve been affected down south? You’ve got a sense of humour, Byde.’

              Byde shrugged and shook his head gently. ‘I’ve lived on my own for a few decades so I have no clue what’s going on in the world… no joke.’ He lowered his head.

              Olen waved at Ilsa. ‘Carry on with the washing, sweetie.’

              She moved back to the tub of hot water.

              ‘We didn’t know how long you had lived on your own for; we’re sorry for seeming a bit unbelieving.’ Olen gave a soft smile. ‘Where was I?’

              ‘You were talking about Donnol up north,’ Byde answered.

              ‘That’s the one, yeah. It was a thriving market town that developed into a large city – got its own military and everything now. It kind of monopolised the port trade up there so there aren’t any others left – they all went into the
care
of the Donnol government.

‘It holds a monthly market – impressive stuff I might add; go there myself every so often. You get all sorts of people going up there to sell their wares and stuff – loads of different races from all over Salarias.’

Byde sat in his seat, fixated on what he was being told. He hadn’t known much about the outside world and what it was like for an incredibly long time. Sure he had had a map or two back home, but having no experience with any of the places on it he was now like an eager child learning about it for the first time in his life. ‘Sounds like a grand place regardless of the troubles you’ve mentioned.’

Olen nodded. ‘Yeah, you should go there and have a look around for yourself. It’s certainly something you should do at least once in your lifetime to be honest.’

‘I’ll do that sometime.’

Ilsa dried off the last plate and joined them, holding a bottle of some liqueur in one hand and three glasses in the other. She set them down and parked herself on the stool. ‘A night-cap is at hand,’ she commented before she poured three half measures of the dense, purple-red liquid and replaced the cork.

‘So… tell us about yourself, Byde.’

Byde sipped the drink, suddenly wondering how to answer Ilsa’s interest.

Chapter 5

‘Look at him – he’s nothing more than a weedy little bag o’ shit.’

              The words snapped Mikos’s mind back into clarity. His head was a garbled mess of hazy recollections of what had happened to him – being smothered by a filthy bag going over his head, and clouted into unconsciousness with some implement or another.

              ‘That’s as may be, but he was the one who got my niece captured by those brainwashed simpletons in the guard; I will not let this go,’ a second voice boomed.

              He tried to adjust his aching eyes in the poor light of a weak candle, but could only just make out a couple of silhouettes standing in front of him embroiled in what he could only ascertain as a heated debate about what they should do with him.

He flexed his biceps and found that his hands were restrained behind him by some tough rope that dug into his wrists like razor wire. He should have guessed that he would wake up all tied in knots. Typical.

              The taller figure in front of him, a deeply exotic-voiced man, paced around with a masterful air to him – it was as if he was
the
man in the position of power and influence. ‘If my Evie comes to any harm, then that shit bag will be the first to know about it.’

              Evie? Was that the girl he had inadvertently apprehended in the market? If it was, then he was kicking himself now – she was obviously part of something bigger. Damn it all to hell.

              The not-so tall figure, a timid sounding male, clasped his hands as if praying to the gods for some sort of resolution for his sins. ‘Please, Dedrick, calm down. He could be of some use to us.’

              Mikos’s ears pricked up at the mention of this, but not too much to give away the fact that he was conscious. What possible use could he be to them? Being of use would be better than not being of use he supposed. He kept his head low, maintaining his unconscious-like demeanour.

              He could afford a little movement in the dankness of this room. All around him was bare floor space – the floor being a cold, hard stone surface moistened with rainwater that was leaking in through cracks in the ceiling. He was tied to some kind of stone pedestal by a series of chains and rope around his wrists and ankles. No chance of getting out of these things anytime soon.

              ‘What use could he be to us?’ the man named Dedrick protested.

              ‘Listen, Dedrick… if we persuade him to help us in our cause then he could be invaluable. We could send a message to the commander stating that the man who apprehended one of the most wanted people in Donnol wants to arrange a meeting.’

              Dedrick remained sceptical. ‘Then what?’

              ‘We could either kidnap the commander or get the trader to scout the area where Evie is being held. Remember, she isn’t in the maximum security place yet. Maybe he could ask to see her before she goes off to be hung, drawn and quartered.’

              ‘And why would the commander allow that?’

              The smaller man paused, an awkward silence hanging in the air.

              Dedrick snorted. ‘Didn’t think that one through did you, dipshit?’

              ‘I’ll work on it, but it has the basis of a good plan.’

              ‘I suppose it might have some use,’ Dedrick finally conceded after a few moments pause. He raised a hand and pointed to the other side of the shrouded room. ‘Leave us. I want to talk to him alone. No interruptions… you get me?’

              The shadowy man nodded silently, and hastily exited through a far off doorway. This Dedrick character certainly had a way of intimidating people.

              It was as clear as crystal why after he moved up close to Mikos. Dedrick’s features became sharper in the nearby candlelight – a middle-aged man with shoulder length grey hair, black headscarf, a scarred face and a couple of silver teeth. Aside from his face, there was his body – a powerful, rhino-like stature giving him a physical edge by all appearances. His broad shoulders were petrifying, and Mikos had no doubt that a well-kept set of muscles were resting underneath the man’s apparel.

              ‘Ah fuck!’ Mikos yelped as Dedrick’s hand came thundering onto his cheek to wake him up. ‘I was already awake, Dedrick.’

              The old man scoffed before letting out a soft chuckle. ‘For a while by the sounds of it, considering you know my name already, lad.’

              Mikos breathed out heavily. ‘Get to the point – why have you brought me here?’ He didn’t appreciate being taken out of a warm lounge and into the biting cold just to be knocked out, tied up, and then carted off to some underground shit hole.

              ‘Oh we are snippy this evening, aren’t we?’ the old man replied in a sickly sweet voice. His aged, yet strong hand yanked Mikos’s hair back; his sour breath radiating onto his face as he moved closer. ‘The rest of the group don’t want to see you hurt just yet, but they answer to me; so what I decide goes a long way… understand?’

              Mikos grunted as his head was released from the man’s fearsome grasp. ‘Help you get your niece back? Why can’t you just break her out?’

              ‘Oh come on; any kid still wet behind the ears knows we can’t just
break
someone out of that place.’ Dedrick sucked in the dusty air through his clenched teeth, his face changing to a frown. ‘We would have our asses handed to us on a platter if we tried that. Without any knowledge of where we’re going we’d be like blind rats in the middle of a house fire.’

              Mikos’s heart began to pound against his chest. He knew something was going to be dropped into the conversation to twist his arm – he had a sense for impending doom. ‘I suppose you want me to scout the area? Or go meet the commander and steal a map of the grounds? Maybe even break her out myself?’

              The old man laughed whole heartedly with genuine amusement. He had quite a jolly laugh when he wasn’t intimidating someone. ‘We hadn’t come up with a plan as of yet, but thanks for the input,’ he said, still chuckling.

              Mikos tilted his head forward and muttered under his fatigued breath. ‘And why should I give you a hand anyway?’ He was well aware that he was fighting a losing battle; his mind was not completely there after being beaten about by this man’s thugs.

              The room seemed to darken as Dedrick moved closer again, his breath not as rancid this time around; maybe Mikos was getting used to its foul odour. He lowered his voice to a harsh rasp. ‘You’re a trader right? Reputation is everything…’ He left his sentence to hang in the air like a mist.

              ‘And what the hell is that supposed to mean, old man?’

              He laughed again. ‘Oh I think my implications are clear enough, wouldn’t you say?’

              Mikos knew exactly what he was on about – a trader with a bad reputation may as well not be a trader. Word of mouth from the right sort of people would render his reputable standing more or less null and void, leaving him with a worthless profession and an equally bleak life – no one would want to know him, let alone deal with him. The thought of this was earth shattering – a fate he considered worse than his own death.

‘Why should I believe that you have the influence to do that?’ He tried to remain as sceptical as possible.

              ‘Trust me, lad, I have enough influence remaining to make a significant impact.’ With that Dedrick strolled off with almighty satisfaction, leaving the now troubled Mikos to his own devices.

              If there was one thing he valued above all else it was his reputation for being an honest and valued trader across Salarias. He had travelled all over the place making business acquaintances, friends, contracts and the like; but now along came a man who said that he could threaten his entire image. He knew in the back reaches of his mind that it could be all talk; however, something about the old man seemed frightfully sincere and meaningful.

How had Mikos gotten himself into this mess?

***

‘Do you think he’ll bite?’ asked Orlanna as she brushed her lengthy blonde hair with an ornate hairbrush.

              Dedrick sipped whisky from a small glass as he sat perched on a rickety wooden chair in the corner of her room. ‘He may do,’ he replied with a sigh. ‘From the intel we have on him he seems to be someone who values face in the trading community.’

              The girl placed her brush down, turned, and leaned on her dresser. She was only in her late twenties, but she had seen something in Dedrick long ago that was compelling and attractive. She smiled. ‘I hope you didn’t bruise him before you left? I know what you’re like when it comes to Evie.’

              He snorted out a laugh and finished off his drink. ‘Yeah I suppose you’re right there, love. I didn’t rough him up… much.’

              ‘They wouldn’t like it if he was battered and bloodied. He’s our only link to rescuing Evie, you know.’