The sky began to brighten over the town square, heralding the arrival of dawn and the promise of a clear day after last night’s downpour. The mood on the streets was lighter than it had been the previous night. It was as though the people were breathing a sigh of relief. They had survived the night. Yet none knew that the previous night was the first in months that the Downwater Demon had not claimed a life.
A steady line of pious men and women climbed the stairs to the church for dawn prayers before they went about their daily business They wore dark colours to hide the soot that would inevitably stain their clothes, and many walked with kerchiefs pressed firmly against their noses and mouths.
“Are you sure he will be here?” Averal asked.
Thorace pulled his hood lower over his head, conscious of the stares the Captain’s red cloak was attracting and nodded. “The Steward is here every morning at dawn without fail.”
“How pious of him,” Averal remarked dryly before turning to his companions, who had traded their red cloaks for plain brown ones on his order. “You three can go inside and declare your oaths.”
“We can all go in,” Thorace suggested. “Inside or out, it makes no difference where we meet him.”
A pained look crossed the Captain’s face as he looked at the Church over his shoulder. He turned back and shook his head. “I’m afraid Churches and I don’t mix.”
Thorace’s eyebrows shot up and he took a step away from the Captain. “You’re an apostate?”
“No, he isn’t,” Lector said firmly before looking at his Captain. “Best not create any misunderstandings, eh?”
Averal grunted. “I am a God fearing man as much as anyone else…”
“The Captain thinks himself unworthy of God’s grace,” Tavar explained.
Averal gave the dwarf a sharp look. “My faith is between me and God.”
“Ah, here he comes now!” Thorace declared, glad for the opportunity to change the subject.
The others turned to see a black carriage rattle down the street. It was flanked by a pair of horsemen acting as outriders, and the townspeople made way as it pulled to a stop at the foot of the stairs.
“Get inside, you lot,” Averal ordered before removing his sword from his belt and handing it over to Tavar. “Take this. Quickly now.”
“Are you anticipating trouble?” Violet ventured.
“It does seem to come more often than not when negotiating terms,” Averal pointed out.
Lector let out a tired sigh. “That has more to do with the way you negotiate than anything else.”
The Captain raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “I was quite the diplomat in case you’d forgotten.”
“Were,” Lector stressed before he and the others took their leave.
“Aren’t you going with them?” Averal ventured when Thorace didn’t move.
The boy shrugged. “I have no ties to you, and I’m keen to see a skilled diplomat in action.”
Averal smiled wryly. “Suit yourself.”
One of the outriders pulled the carriage’s door open and Jeflan Jerland, steward of Elgurid stepped out. He was in his forties and was dressed in white from the wide brimmed hat on his head down to his leather walking shoes. His eyes locked onto Averal almost at once and narrowed.
Averal smirked. “Oh, I get the feeling the two of us aren’t going to get along at all.”
“Does that mean you won’t be taking the job on?” Thorace asked worriedly.
Averal glanced at the boy before taking a deep breath. “I suppose that depends on that peacock over there.”
Thorace contorted his face in confusion. “Peacock?”
“Step back,” Averal warned. “Wouldn’t want him thinking we know one another.”
The boy fell silent and backed away as the Steward approached, flanked by two guards whose armour rattled as they climbed the stairs.
“A blessed morning to you,” Averal said, bowing his head. “I am…”
“You are mercenaries here for the bounty, I take it?” the Steward asked, cutting Averal off brusquely as he climbed past the stairs past where Averal was standing before turning around so that he could look down at the Captain.
Averal’s smile didn’t falter. “That I am.”
Jeflan looked around theatrically. “Where is the rest of your band?”
Averal shrugged. “No need to involve the help with negotiations, is there?”
The white clad man arched an eyebrow. “My terms are on the bounty. What is there to negotiate?”
“Payment terms,” Averal said. “The amount isn’t an issue, but I want payment in full upfront.”
“Now see here, you little shit,” one of the guards growled as he stepped forward menacingly.
Averal, though was unmoved.
“That’s enough Duwan,” the Steward said before turning his attention back to the tall stranger before him. “That cloak. You’re from the Red Company?”
“Guilty as charged,” Averal grinned.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Jeflan smirked. “Do you have proof?”
His eyes widened when Averal held up a polished metal disc that was the size of a large coin. Two lion’s heads were embossed onto its face.
“Is that real?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
Averal nodded and offered it to him. The Steward took it and examined it in wonder before turning back to the Captain. “Can you…”
“Don’t hold it too tight, or it will rip the skin right off your dainty little fingers,” Averal warned before holding his hand up.
The guards bristled when the coin flew out of the Steward’s hand and back into Averal’s. The Captain pocked the coin and arched an eyebrow. “I take it there are no more doubts as to my credentials?”
“No,” the Steward replied before twisting his lips into a sneer. “So it’s true. The Red Company has lowered itself to mercenary work. How the mighty have fallen.”
Averal shrugged carelessly. “We do what we must to survive in this new world.”
He paused before adding. “So, do you agree to my terms?’
“No,” Jeflan shook his head. “Payment up front? Outrageous. Besides, do you doubt my word?”
“Of course I doubt your word,” Averal replied without hesitation.
A guard strode forward to strike Averal. The Captain dodged his fist easily, catching the guard off balance. Averal then placed a hand on the guard’s chest just as he was about to topple down the stairs and turned his attention back to the Steward.
“When the banners were raised, not a single soldier from the Valley of Steel answered the call.”
“We were hardly alone,” the Steward scoffed. “It was the price you paid for your arrogance.”
“And so you must forgive me for being unable to trust the word of oathbreakers any further than I could spit,” Averal remarked.
“That’s enough slander out of you,” Jeflan hissed before gesturing to his guards. “Apprehend this man. Let’s see if a few nights in the dungeon will teach him some manners.”
The guards drew their weapons, and Averal raised his hands. “Now then, no need for violence. I’ll come along peacefully. Your master will want to know where I am when he reaches his wits end with the creature that is bedevilling your town.”
Jeflan smiled sweetly. “We’ll see about that.”
“Indeed we shall!” Averal promised as the guards shoved him down the stairs.
Thorace watched in disbelief as Averal allowed the guards to take him away without so much as a struggle. He then turned his attention to the Steward, who watched them leave for a moment before walking back up the stairs with a troubled look on his face. The boy turned back down and wondered if the Captain had planned to be imprisoned all along.
Shaking his head, he began to climb the stairs, deciding to get morning prayers out of the way. Inside, he found the Captain’s companions seated close to the door. Lector beckoned the boy who thought about it for a moment before joining them.
“So, where’s the Captain?” Violet asked. “Did the Steward’s men take him away?”
“They did,” the boy replied.
“Well, everything’s going to plan, then,” Tavar observed sourly.
“What will you do now?” Thorace ventured.
Lector coughed before replying. “Find a place to stay, I suppose. There’s no telling how long the Captain will be locked up for.”
Throace brightened. “I think I know just the place.”
Violet was instantly on guard. “It’s not one of those places where you earn a commission for bringing people from out of town in so that they can be charged usurious prices, is it?”
“No it isn’t,” Thorace insisted defensively. “I know someone working there is all.”
“So you do earn a commission,” Violet sniffed.
“Now now,” Lector said. “It can’t hurt to at least take a look at the place.”
“And we’ll have to figure out a way to speak with the Captain,” Tavar sighed. “He will want updates.”
“Updates?” Thorace asked.
The dwarf nodded. “You didn’t think we were just going to sit on our heels while he’s imprisoned, did you?”
The boy shrugged. “What are you going to do?”
“Why, discover more about this creature, of course,” Tavar replied. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but we want to get out of here as quickly as we can. As soon as the Captain has what he wants, we want to be able to spring into action straight away.”
“It would be good if we could meet up with the Captain while he is incarcerated,” Lector mused.
“I might know a way,” Thorace said.
“Really?” Violet ventured.
“Perhaps,” Thorace allowed. “But if I’m going to help you, I want a cut of whatever the Steward is paying you.”
“That’s fair,” Lector said quickly, cutting the gnome and the dwarf’s protests off. “You can discuss that with the Captain when you bring us to him.”
“One of you,” Thorace said, looking pointedly at the old doctor. “I can only bring one of you, and it will have to be you. The guards don’t take kindly to non-humans sniffing around where he’s being held.”
“Why?” Tavar protested. “I see plenty of dwarves in here.”
“Notice how they are keeping to themselves?” the boy pointed out. Tavar blinked and realized for the first time that he was the only dwarf in their section of the Church and was attracting curious stares.
“Should he move?” Lector asked.
Thorace shook his head. “It’s too late now.”
Lector nodded. “When can we go?”
“After morning prayers, if it suits you,” the boy replied.
“It does,” Lector said.
Before Tavar could voice an objection, a man wearing flowing gold robes and the tall hat of a priest walked in. Clothes rustled as the congregation got to their feet. Trailing behind the man was half a dozen boys dressed in gold robes, carrying an elaborate litter on their shoulders. Inside, was a statue of Pochtil, the God of Light cast from solid bronze.
The service was a brief affair. Work was waiting for the good people of Elgurid, and if they didn’t work, the Church would receive no tithes. Thorace and his new companions were the first ones out. After they dropped the dwarf and the gnome off at a nearby dwarven tavern, Thorace and Lector made their way back towards a large stone building on the edge of town.
“This is the Arsenal,” Thorace said as they walked past the large set of reinforced doors that led inside. “It doubles as a redoubt if the town comes under siege.”
“The walls look sturdy enough,” Lector remarked sourly as the boy led him into an alley that ran between the Arsenal and the neighbouring stables. “Can you think of a way to spring the Captain if things go pear shaped?”
“Oh no,” Thorace said, shaking his head. “Like you, I’m not doing nothing for nothing, and if you’re scarpering, there will be no pay for me, will there?”
“There was a time when people would be falling over themselves for the opportunity to lend the Red Company aid,” Lector sniffed before coughing as the stench of human excrement assaulted his nostrils.
“I can’t say I’ve ever heard of your group,” Thorace remarked absently, looking up at the small, barred windows set six feet off the ground.
Lector’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’ve never heard of the Red Company? The Royal Guard of Infarlin?”
Thorace turned around and smirked. “Oh, that Red Company. Weren’t you supposed to have been wiped out in the Fall?”
A shadow crossed Lector’s face. “Most of us were, but some of us survived.”
“The Steward didn’t think much of you,” Thorace remarked absently. “He threw a grand celebration when news of the Fall reached Elgurid.”
“Did he now?” Lector grunted.
“He said you were arrogant sods who got what they deserved,” Thorace remarked. “I can’t say I know enough to have an opinion either way, myself.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Lector mused. “Just don’t let the others hear you say any of what you just told me.”
“I won’t,” Thorace said before coming to a stop. He counted the number of windows they had walked past and turned to the doctor. “We’ve arrived.”
“Could you keep it down out there?” came the Captain’s voice from the window they were under. “I’m trying to have a nap.”
“Just thought I’d check in on you, Captain,” Lector whispered.
“Oh’ it’s wonderful here,” Averal said. “You three should know what you have to do, so get to it. Come back when you have something to report.”
Lector gave Thorace a tired look before replying. “Will do, Captain.”
“I still can’t believe you got yourself thrown into a dungeon on purpose,” Thorace snorted.
“All part of my cunning plan,” Averal said cheerfully.
Thorace shot Lector an incredulous look. “Is it?”
“Oh, yes,” Averal said. “One so clever that it will leave you gobsmacked at my genius when it all plays out. I’m like a spider spinning his web, right from this humble cell.”
“We’d better go find the others,” Lector suggested with a weary sigh. “He will keep going on like that for a while yet.”