Okay, it’s the moment that both of you that read Chapter One have been waiting for!
Followers of the Forbidden Circle
Copyright 2018 Breton Winters
CHAPTER 2
“Borek,” he said in response to her question.
“And I am Tharia.”
“So I gathered. How are you feeling, now?”
The elf’s hands were cupped around a clay bowl of Myrtle’s stew. She leaned back in her chair, back against the old stone wall of the kitchen. “Great.”
He laughed. That was unlikely, but he appreciated her courage. “Then we should leave.”
“Why do you care about Vormann?” She looked up at him with her single violet eye.
He chafed at the further delay, but he answered her. Maybe he owed her that, since he was taking her into further danger. “Seven years or so ago, I was a gladiator slave here in Redpoint. He purchased me, and educated me. I served him as a guard. Then he set me free.”
“Where did you go?”
“Away.”
“Why did you leave him? If he set you free, I mean.”
Myrtle came back into the kitchen, holding Tharia’s green cloak. It had been mended where the dagger had rent it, by some patron in the great room of the tavern. She tossed this to the elf, and then handed Borek a small knapsack.
“Some bread, some jerky, and water,” she told him. “As payment for getting her out of the city safely.”
He tucked it into his backpack, which he slipped back onto his broad shoulders. “My thanks,” he said.
“Just take her someplace where she’ll be secure, not simply outside the gates.”
“Of course.” He looked to Tharia, who had finished the last of the stew and was rising. She moved stiffly, but he had noted that before, and wondered how much was as a result of her lack of depth perception. How recent had her facial injury been?
Tharia pulled the hood over head, obscuring her scars and rent ear, and said, “I am ready. We should go to the Maul. The Thieves’ Guild has little sway there, should my former master seek their help in trying to kill me. More importantly, that is where the most knowledgeable people on the doings in this city are located.”
He nodded. He affixed the shield on his left arm, and left the blade sheathed. He had cleaned both while the elf ate. He had wolfed down some of the stew and a sour ale, and felt refreshed. The aches from his earlier flight were insignificant. “Lead on.”
The women hugged, with Tharia telling her older friend, “I will see you again.” Myrtle, watery-eyed, said nothing.
They passed into the great room of the tavern, whose name Borek still didn’t know. It was a cheerless place, with a half-dozen tables and grim regulars bent over their cups. A few looked up at their emergence from the kitchen, but none cared. Boris paid them no attention as he polished pitchers behind the bar.
Stepping out the front door onto Sun Street, facing south, they left the Thieves’ Quarter behind, as this ancient road, old when the current city was founded, separated that district from the Commons. Borek noted the many buildings here that exhibited the blocky architecture that characterized the original inhabitants, that may or may not have been human. From here, he could also see a few of the gothic architectured-buildings from the early current era, with towers and buttresses, as well as the newer columns and facades of more recent construction.
They turned right along the long, wide street, which was fairly crowded now, a few hours before midnight. Borek’s black eyes roved over all those that passed close, and more than a few shrunk back or altered course beneath that gaze.
Sun Street widened into a square with several temples lining it, and in the center, apart from the others and standing by itself, was the temple of Solarrmys, the Sun Goddess. Borek made a gesture of fealty with his free hand, which seemed to startle and amuse his companion.
They passed behind it and found themselves heading southwest among a jumble of mismatched buildings that faced the mudflats and the great Seddarin River beyond. Eventually their path turned east and the buildings were shouldering against each other here. The crowd thickened and became harsher and louder. They were called to by street merchants, approached by shady men, propositioned by bravos, and Borek had to intimidate quite a few. Two he laid on the broken street with swings of his shield.
They were in the Maul.
The press was unavoidable, but still few got near Borek. There were many that were larger than he: a variety of humans, orcs, ursans, a huge luprian, and a few minotaurs. But even these did not get too close.
He leaned close to Tharia. “Who should we talk to?”
“Slim Todd is generally the most knowledgeable, but he has been in hiding lately. So we should find Elzy, at the Throttled Cormorant.” She pointed to a blue door in a fractured wall.
They approached and an ursan confronted them. “No trouble, little man. Understand?”
Borek nodded and the door was opened for them. Sweet tobacco smoke rolled out, and they stepped into a loud montage of drinking, dancing, and shouting. Tharia stood on a stool and tried to see over the heads of the crowd, then touched his shoulder and pointed. He shoved his way through the mass of revelers in the direction she indicated, as she held tight to his jerkin. Her hood was drawn up to avoid anyone who might recognize her, and several lecherous men tried to pull it back. After Borek hammered one into a table, she was not touched again.
Elzy was a hardened, slender black woman, with a trio of bodyguards. She sat with her back against the wall. The bodyguards, an orc, an ursan, and a very tall goblin, moved between her and the newcomers.
“Whatcha want?” asked the goblin.
Tharia stepped forward to where Elzy could see her. “Information. Concerning a missing man.”
Blowing out a smoke ring, Elzy asked, “And who would that be?”
Tharia looked to Borek, who now stepped forward, pushing the orc aside. Tempers flared but a gesture from the dark-skinned woman stilled them.
“The wizard Vormann,” he said.
“So you are back in Redpoint, Borek. Here to stay, or just seeking revenge? If the latter, for or against your former master Vormann?”
“I do not know you,” he said. “How are you familiar with m–”
“It is my business to know many things. And it is no secret that the wizard Vormann had a particularly deadly bodyguard for a half-dozen years.” Her eyes traveled the tall span of his height. “And I might like to hire you, if you are staying in the city.”
“My interest is to find out what happened to Vormann.”
“A pity. I pay well.”
“Do you know what happened to him?”
“Of course.”
“Well?”
“How will you buy this information?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I have forty-seven silvers.”
She laughed. “That will not buy a single syllable of my information.”
The orc said, “So we get to kick this one out, eh? We keep his woman?”
“Calm down, Argo,” Elzy said. “There is another way Borek can buy this information. If he doesn’t mind getting bloody hands.”
“I only kill when I have to,” he said, eyeing all four of them. “You are not the only information broker here. I can find out what I need from someone else.”
“Unlikely,” she said. “Few know the truth of what happened to your wizard, and none will utter the names of those responsible.”
“Why?”
She smiled and drew on her clay pipe. She looked at him and then the elf a moment, then exhaled. “To do so is to invite their scrutiny. I can withstand it; few others can.”
Irritation began to rise in him. The three bodyguard sensed it and laid their hands on their sword-hilts.
He spoke slowly and deliberately. “Tell me how much this information will cost me. In silver, not in blood.”
“Three hundred silvers.”
“Beltair wanted two hundred.”
She barked a rough laugh. “And he would have lied. He fears them far more than you.”
“That may no longer be true,” he said. “Regardless, that is a ridiculous amount of money.”
“Most of that will be put toward renewing a few protection spells. Talk about ridiculous prices. The magic racket is a total scam.”
He turned away, but her call stayed him.
“Wait, Borek! Will you at least hear what I would have you do for the information?”
“I will not murder anyone for you. And I know this city. People talk. There are several that have the knowledge I seek, and will be more reasonable than you.”
She said something else, but he left, with the elf close beside him. They pushed back toward the door and left the tavern.
He turned to the elf. “Who else can we ask?”
“I can think of one more person, besides Slim Todd. His name is Goldbargg.”
“I remember hearing something about him years ago, when I served Vormann. A dwarf.”
“He used to run gambling interests and a brothel,” she said with distaste. “He ‘retired’ from that and now sells curios. And discrete information on the side. He is not far from here.”
“I guess he’d be open at this hour, as this is when business in the Maul thrives. Lead on, Tharia.”
As they left the Throttled Cormorant behind them, Borek looked over his shoulder. He could see no one among the throng taking any interest in their passage. He looked forward, and spied a knot of cloaked men against a wall to their left. They were silent and kept their heads bowed and Borek showed no overt interest as they passed.
He continued scanning the crowd in front, and a few moments later looked back. The four men were following them.
Ahead there was an alley. He subtly gripped Tharia’s elbow and she started. “Relax. Come this way.” They turned into the piss-stenched alley and Borek drew his blade. There were a few loiterers here, and they suddenly retreated deeper between the tight buildings. “Stay in the shadow against the wall,” he advised the elf as he turned to wait for the men.
The first came around the corner to find the point of Borek’s sword inches from his face. He cursed and sought to draw his blade, but Borek’s words halted him.
“Do that and die.”
The man froze. The three that appeared behind him, as they saw the situation, did likewise.
“Are you with Beltair?” Borek growled. The foremost hesitated, eyes never leaving the blade’s tip, then nodded. “Why? To kill us?” Borek continued.
“No,” the man said. “Just the elf bitch.”
The three others slowly fanned out.
“Your friends will be the death of you, if they continue moving.”
“Stop!” the man hissed to his companions. They complied.
“Why does Beltair want her dead?”
“She knows too much.”
“I have a message for your master. You can deliver it with your tongues or with your corpses.”
The man’s eyes flicked about nervously. “I’m listening.”
“Tharia is leaving the city with me once I find out what I seek. He’ll never see her again, so he can stop worrying. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
“And if I see any more of his punks while I am here, I will pay him a final visit before I leave.”
The man nodded. “Can…can I go, now?”
Borek lowered the blade. “Go and tell him.”
The four backed away, and then were lost in the crowd beyond in moments. He watched to make sure they did not double back, then turned to the elf. She was pressed against the wall, her eye glittering at him from inside the hood.
“What was it that you did for Beltair, anyway, that he wants you dead?”
She shrugged. “Some accounting.”
“Hmm. I suppose that explains it.” He sheathed his blade and gestured back out the alley.
They resumed their course and after several turns, came to a recessed doorway, covered in a curtain. A minotaur stood outside, and snorted at their arrival.
“What do you runts want?”
Tharia explained as circumspectly as was prudent, and after glaring at them a time, the huge creature pushed aside the curtain, letting yellow lamp-light spill out. He gestured them forward, and after they passed, put a huge hand on each of their shoulders. Borek turned and the minotaur said, “Easy and you don’t get broken.”
They passed inside to a small shop with a few precious items on display on two of the walls: gleaming statuettes, paintings, skulls, delicately decorated pottery, and other finery Borek did not pay any attention to. Opposite the way they had entered, a dwarf sat writing at a stained wooden desk.
Goldbargg looked up at their entrance and his glance passed over the woman and settled on Borek, noticing the prominent brow and sharp black eyes and the thin scars of several cuts.
“You seem familiar,” he said to Borek.
“Sorry, boss, they want to ask about a missing wizard.” The minotaur released his grips on them.
“I am Borek,” the warrior said, trying a different tack here. “I seek knowledge about my missing friend Vormann.”
The dwarf’s brows shot up. “Ah, yes. You were his slave and bodyguard for a few years. He released you and you showed your appreciation by deserting him.”
“Yes,” Borek said dryly.
“How did you learn of his disappearance, so far away?”
“I was in Steel Gap. A traveling merchant was gossiping about it.”
“And so you know who took him, then?”
“No. That is why I am here.”
“Ha! I won’t risk their wrath. Not for any price. Go ask Elzy. She’s stupid enough to tell you.”
“I already did. She wanted three hundred silvers.”
“Ha! She’s a vampire, that one.”
“Or to kill someone for her,” Borek continued. And, on sudden inspiration, he added, “A certain dwarf.” Tharia shifted at his side.
Goldbargg stared. “She wouldn’t dare.”
Borek shrugged.
“Well,” the dwarf said thoughtfully, stroking his beard, “I’ll look into that.” He waved them away. “Go ask Slim Todd.”
“He is missing, as you well know,” Tharia spoke up. “You are the last one who could help us.”
“Todd’s hiding in the sewers. Waiting for the price the Thieves’ Guild set on his head to expire. You can find him there.”
“That’s a big place to get lost in,” she said. “We could spend weeks down there without finding him.”
“Why is everyone so damn frightened of these kidnappers?” Borek burst out. “Are they assassins?”
The dwarf regarded him again. “Worse. And they know when their name is spoken aloud.”
“Then write it down! I can read!”
Pausing contemplatively, the dwarf began, “I liked Vormann. A decent sort, as far as mages go. Powerful, too, as you undoubtedly know. Still, he was overcome by greater power.” Again Goldbargg appraised the warrior. “As strong and skilled as you are, you would fall before avenging him.”
“Avenging? So he is dead, then?”
“I do not know. Probably.”
“I would still know who did this.”
“You would toss your life away for him, now?” When Borek said nothing the dwarf sighed. “Vormann did me a favor once or twice. I owe him this, as belated and pointless as it is.”
He lit a candle at his desk, then took a scrap piece of parchment. He dipped his feather in ink and scratched out something. He beckoned them over and showed it to them.
Followers of the Forbidden Circle.
He then held it to the candle and it caught flame. When it was mostly consumed, Goldbargg dropped it onto a pewter plate.
“Thank you,” Borek said. “They are still here in Redpoint?”
He gestured dismissively. “I have said too much already. Begone.”
“Elzy asked me to kill someone, but she did not say it was a dwarf. I am sorry I lied.”
Goldbargg laughed. They turned and walked toward the exit, and as they passed the minotaur, the dwarf called out, “Good luck.”
I’m hooked 🙂