《The Beggar Wars》


 Chapter 1

    Part 1


    Chapter 1


    It rained gently as I paced through the dimly lit city street. Hunched, and with my hood up, I moved silently, avoiding the light from the lanterns as best I could. The drunkards were out tonight, which meant so were the whores, and no good came from either company.


    Both were dotted like flies on every corner. The whores offered themselves loudly and unashamedly, and the drunkards were more than happy to oblige. No matter what the women of the night looked like, they got attention. Be they young or old, beautiful or ugly, fat or thin. It seemed to be unimportant to the men of the city. There was always some local who leered at them with a keen interest and deep pockets. It didn¡¯t take long for me to notice that. I also realised from early on that staring for too long was just about the worst thing you could do. The less you looked, the less they bothered you, and that went for everyone in this city.


    As I came to the end of the street corner, I glimpsed a man and woman leaning up against a wall. The man was the size of a cow, and the woman was as thin as a stick.


    ¡°That¡¯ll get you fifteen minutes,¡± she said, ¡°after that, the price goes up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s more than enough time with a beauty such as you,¡± he put a thick hand on her cheek. She gave a false smile.


    I crossed the cobblestone road. The knapsack on my back made a faint jingling sound as I moved. I tried my best not to wonder what was inside.


    In front of me, on the other side of the road, was a beggar. He sat cross-legged with a tankard by his bare feet. He was hoodless, letting rainwater drip through his long, greasy, hair. His twisted mouth gave him a sour look, and he had distant eyes. They were the eyes of a man who had known pain. The glazed-over stare of a cruel world. I had seen many like him since being in this city.


    I kept my head down and passed him. But as I did, my foot landed in a deep puddle. I groaned as the cold water seeped into my sandal. I heard the beggar cackle hoarsely as I slipped through a side alley.


    Normally I would have stopped and tried to dry my sandal, but not tonight. Tonight, I didn¡¯t have time.


    The alley itself was pitch black, but I could see the lights from the Revellers¡¯ Square up ahead, and there was my next obstacle.


    A stray cat meowed as I moved through. I couldn¡¯t see her, but I knew where she lay. She was underneath a broken door that leaned up against the wall and, she had been there for a while. It had been at least a day or two since I had last seen her nursing her litter of kittens. There were five, maybe six of them in all, and each kitten looked as vulnerable as the next. I reckoned only a few would survive.


    ¡°Watch it,¡± came a voice from the darkness. A lady with wine-stained breath barged me as she shifted past. I¡¯d be lying if I said she didn¡¯t scare the life out of me, I didn¡¯t sense her presence nor hear her until she was too close.


    She kicked the door with the cats underneath and then giggled to herself at the hisses the mother cat made.


    I sighed. the square was certainly going to be busy tonight.


    I was close now, the light and the hoots and cheers from drunken voices blared through the night like a rumbling thunder.


    I appeared out of the alleyway and was greeted with a sight that I was sure only this city had to offer. And that was the drunken madness of its people. The locals were doing what they always seemed to do, hugging, falling over, being sick, making bets, singing with one another, and fighting.


    I took a deep breath and scanned my surroundings. The square had two entrances, the one I just came from and one that was directly opposite. It was the backyard to plenty of the local taverns, which made it an incredibly popular spot, and having so few entrances meant that guards didn¡¯t come down too often. which made it an incredibly dangerous one.


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    Moving around the edge of the square was always better than heading straight through the middle. There were fewer drunk faces around the edge which meant I was less likely to run into trouble. Although it was never a guarantee, especially when you look the way I do.


    Being bronzed-skinned was enough for these pale folk to raise an eyebrow, but to have the marks of my homeland on my skin. The marks of the Deer Tribe of the Bervian hills on my hands, legs, neck, and back. That was enough to make them frown. To make them angry even. Normally I wouldn¡¯t have come this way, but it was the best shortcut the city had to offer, so I had no choice.


    Keeping my head down, I made my way across. I did my best to stay out of people¡¯s way and seize any opening I could find as city folk staggered from one place to another. Fortune didn¡¯t favour me as I bumped shoulders with a man, or shall I say, he bumped into me. Purposefully. He was smaller than I was, but he was wider, broader, and mean-looking. He muttered something drunken and unintelligible. I went to ignore him, but I saw the anger in his eyes and the fist he made. I had no time for this. Luckily for me, neither did his red-faced companion who put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. I slivered past them and didn¡¯t look behind.


    The quicker I was out of the square the better.


    About halfway through, I slipped past a group of men and women in yellow robes. They were guarded by three men in plate armour and half helms, with swords as long as my leg. An old woman, who held a straight back like that of a chieftain, was standing on a wooden crate and yelling at the drunken crowd. I didn¡¯t speak the local tongue, but her eyebrows were knitted, and her lips were pursed, and she pointed vigorously with accusation at the gathering of people. The locals didn¡¯t seem to care. For the most part, they ignored her entirely, except for the few who made mocking hand gestures of pleasuring one¡¯s self.


    I made it to the other end. A big cheer went up just as I was leaving which startled me. I looked back. A crowd had gathered around the drained fountain in the centre of the square. A local city boy had climbed up to the top of the statue that was a part of the fountains feature. The statue was of a soldier. Sword in one hand pointing to the sky, and a tankard in the other pressed to his lips. The boy stood on the soldier¡¯s head and mimicked the statue¡¯s pose. I had to admit, the resemblance was uncanny. It made me smirk a little.


    I passed through the opposite alley, gingerly stepping over a snoring drunk who had seen fit to sleep in his own sick. Unsurprisingly, this was not the first time I had seen such a sight. It was common in the city of Wanniheim. As common as seeing a dog chase a cat, or a bird eat a worm.


    out the other end of the alley was the high road. It was a lot less busy than the square, but a lot more dangerous for someone like me. With my head down, I prayed to Telafa that the guards on horseback wouldn¡¯t spot me. They made their patrols coming from the Kings¡¯ Bridge this time of night, and if they were to snoop among my things, there would certainly be problems.


    I crossed the road as briskly as I dared, my knapsack jingled louder this time as I upped the pace, and slipped through another alleyway opposite.


    When I came out of the other end, I had made it. Well, I had made it this far at least, the next step was in Caine¡¯s hands.


    I bit my lip and leaned against a wall.


    Where is that Bacran?


    ¡°Jeb,¡± he said, seemingly appearing from nowhere.


    It startled me, although I didn¡¯t show it. Instead, I frowned, giving him a stern look.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Wasn¡¯t so bad, was it?¡± My brother asked with a subtle grin.


    I was in no mood and so I shoved him in the chest. ¡°Next time, you can do the run.¡±


    ¡°You have it then?¡±


    I nodded, taking the knapsack off my shoulder, kneeled, and opened it to reveal a rectangular package. It was concealed with brown paper and string. Caine took it from me and shook it. The clanging of metals inside was enough for him.


    He looked at me and smiled. ¡°Very good,¡± he said, spitting on the floor.


    He passed me back the package and I put it in the knapsack and over my shoulder.


    ¡°You run any into trouble?¡± He asked. There was genuine concern in his voice.


    ¡°Nothing worth mentioning,¡± I said.


    He nodded. ¡°Well, then I suppose we¡¯d best be off.¡±


    I let out a nervous breath. ¡°Let¡¯s hope this goes well.¡±


    ¡°It will. As long as you do as I say.¡± He looked over his shoulder, and then back at me. ¡°All these city folks care about is coin. If we have it, then we have a say in things.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t wrong, we both noted how important it was when we first came through the gates. The shiny circular things, small enough to fit in your pocket and about as useful as sand. The people of the city were mad for them. We couldn¡¯t understand why, but we could care less provided they fed us well, which they promised to do.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said.


    Caine nodded and we set off to see the city men

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2


    The Rain ceased, the clouds began to part, and the moon god Fanarah showed his shiny face and set himself amongst the stars.


    Caine walked with high shoulders. Proud. Much like he did on the hills. Although now he carried half of the weight he used to and even less of the command.


    We strolled along a wet, stony pathway with our hoods up. My brother set a pace that seemed too leisurely for my liking, but he was chief now, and so it was his decision.


    ¡°What do you reckon is in the package? It must be something valuable for these folks to send us outside the city to get it.¡± I said after a while. More to make conversation than to get an actual answer.


    ¡°Most likely,¡± my brother said, shrugging idly.


    I should have expected such a reply. Caine had a way of being absent-minded. I knew him long enough to know that there was no malice to it. It was just how he was. Getting him to talk was sometimes a challenge. I tried again, ¡°Where exactly are we meeting them?¡±


    "Not far,¡± he said after a moment, ¡°the Merchants¡¯ Bridge, this side of the river.¡±


    I nodded. I knew the location and it was a good one, they¡¯ll be easy to find provided Caine remembers what they look like. ¡°How many of them are there going to be?" I asked.


    He shrugged again, ¡°There were three of them the last we met, but that¡¯s not to say they won¡¯t bring more this time."


    ¡°And you trust them?¡± I spotted a twitch in my brother¡¯s hand. He slowed his walk to a stop and pulled his hood from his head showing a messy mop of black hair. The black outline of a deer on the left-hand side of his face still looked odd on him. It was perhaps my skill with the needle and ink that made it so. I had never been the craftsman that others were in the tribe, but I was all he had. He was chief. Leader of the tribe. And it was his right to wear his mark. ¡°Do you doubt me, brother?¡±


    I swallowed, ¡°Not you, but these city folk. They have no love for us.¡±


    ¡°True enough,¡± he said and continued walking, ¡°but be at ease. Everything will be fine, we drop the package off, the men give us coin and then we leave. You¡¯ll see, these are good men, one of them is Bervian after all, and of Deer ilk. If the rest have no love for us, then he certainly will. Who knows he may even be a distant cousin.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the first time that Caine mentioned the countryman. I didn¡¯t say as much, but it brought me even less comfort.


    ¡°I wonder how he ended up here?¡± I said.


    ¡°Probably the same way we did. He had the warrior¡¯s mark on his arm, it could be that he fled the Mirnese.¡±


    ¡°Which would make him a coward,¡± I said.


    Caine frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t care what it makes him, providing they give us what we want. I won¡¯t shame a man for surviving. The old ways are not what they used to be, Jeb.¡±


    And yet you still want to be known as chief, pointless as it is. I thought.


    ¡°Have you conversed with him? spoke of home maybe?¡±


    Caine shook his head, ¡°I didn¡¯t get the chance, the local did the talking and he knew the tongue of the Namin well. Although he looked friendly enough. Roc, they called him.¡±


    ¡°I wonder where the local learned that. Most of the city folk I¡¯ve seen are usually too drunk to speak their own tongue well, let alone that of the Namin.¡±


    My brother snorted, ¡°Jeb, this is Wannihiem, the biggest city of them all they say. I¡¯m sure there are plenty of locals who speak plenty of languages. Come. We¡¯re nearly there.¡±


    *


    The foreboding arches of the Merchants¡¯ Bridge came into view. Four large piers of sleek block stood dominantly in the Ghid River as supports for the overpass, allowing the people to travel from the southern part of the city to the central parts. Atop you could see the small, speckled lanterns of the city guards out on patrol. I counted more out tonight than usual. They would have to be avoided.


    Even from where we stood, which was still some way off from the bridge, I could hear the loud calls from the merchants atop. They were there night and day, bargaining and bartering with one another. All trying to obtain coins. Gold, silver, and bronze coins that this strange place used for everything. Even food. We had coins in our homeland, but they were not used in the same way as they were here. Never would someone go hungry if they didn¡¯t have them. My brother and I had no idea of their worth until we fled.


    As we neared, Caine moved in a direction I didn¡¯t expect. Instead of taking the stairs upwards to the bridge road, he took the stairs downwards to the sandy shores of the riverbank. I stopped walking, ¡°where are you going?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s underneath,¡± he replied.


    ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°Where we are to meet of course,¡± he looked at me as if I was stupid, ¡°you wouldn¡¯t expect them to make a trade like this in the open would you? for all the guards to see.¡±


    I took a small step back, ¡°Truth be told that¡¯s exactly what I expected, it¡¯s dark underneath the bridge brother.¡±


    Caine rubbed his chin and smirked, ¡°Oh come now Jeb, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re afraid of the dark all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°Not the dark itself, just the people in it.¡±


    Caine¡¯s annoyance was plain on his face, ¡°You know, as chief I could order you to come along. It is my right after all.¡±


    I clenched my teeth and said nothing. It was another thing that was becoming more frequent. Caine trying to use my honour to do his bidding. He was testing me, and it was growing tiresome. An odd silence lingered a moment, then Caine sighed and pinched his nose, ¡°We haven¡¯t got time for this, if you are so craven that you fear to take a step on this beach, hand me over the knapsack and I¡¯ll go alone.¡±


    I paused for a moment longer and considered, but in the end, I was always going with him. Mother and father would have killed me if I let him do something like this on his own.


    As we moved underneath the bridge, blackness engulfed us, the cold bit hard, and an unsettling quiet loomed over us like a large blanket. I could barely hear the merchants atop shouting their offers anymore. I only heard the gentle swaying of the river on the shore, and some far-off voices I couldn¡¯t place. I began to shiver, and I couldn¡¯t tell whether it was from the cold or something else, something to be feared. No animal was close, I knew that much. Living on the hills made us listen out for certain noises. Bacran wolves mainly. They were near silent predators that needed a keen ear to avoid.


    Humans were different, however; they were the only animals that didn¡¯t make any sound if they were skilled enough.


    I found things unnerving, I had a weight in my stomach that wouldn¡¯t shift, and my blood began to tingle. No good ever came to me when I felt like this.


    In the darkness, Caine and I made our way up an incline of a beach dune. At first, it was small, but quickly it became steeper until we were on our hands and knees crawling to the top.


    Over the other side, and in the close distance, came a light. A campfire. Shaded figures sat on rocks around it. Each one was shrouded with hooded cloaks. Slowly and carefully, we made our way down the other side of the dune. Once at the bottom, Caine put his hand on my chest to stop me.


    ¡°That¡¯ll be them,¡± he said, ¡°wait here, I¡¯ll approach.¡±


    He trudged ahead. His high-shouldered walk sank a little in the firelight, and he dragged his feet through the sand. The three figures rose swiftly as he neared. Startled. As if they weren¡¯t expecting company. I couldn¡¯t say for sure, but I saw what looked like a blade in one of their hands. Caine spoke to them in Naminian. The northern tongue we called it, although, to these folk, it would be southern. I couldn¡¯t make out what was being said, but I knew the sounds well enough. Caine opened the conversation with a friendly greeting. It was diplomatic in its tone, and one he obviously practiced back on the hills. One of the figures spoke back, his voice hoarse and rough. His accented Naminian was thick, and it was apparent to me that he only knew a few choice phrases. After a few words, Caine made his back way to me.


    ¡°We¡¯re to follow them,¡± he said stiffly.


    ¡°Is everything all right?¡± I asked.


    He didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he turned and walked back to the fire. I couldn¡¯t see his expression in the dark, but I took his silence as a sign that maybe things weren''t. Still, I followed.


    Only one of the shadowy figures around the firelight stood when we approached. He said nothing and turned to walk along the riverbank. We walked just behind. The light from the campfire left us and it became dark again swiftly. So much so that I could barely make out the man in front. I came as close to him as I dared.


    The campfire was behind us. We were almost to the other side of the bridge and out into the open again. Then, the figure in front stopped in his tracks. It was so unexpected, that Caine and I nearly ran into the back of him. Without saying anything, he lifted a leg and slammed his foot on the ground. It made a thudding sound. Not of a boot hitting the sand, but of it hitting wood. Three times he did this. Three loud bangs echoed off of the bridge¡¯s underbelly. Then he stepped forward.


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    ¡°Down there,¡± he said in Naminian.


    He didn¡¯t look back to see if we understood. He just trotted forward towards the open air.


    We waited for a moment. Long enough for me to feel the sinking feeling again. Down where?


    Just as I began to doubt, sand flew up from the ground and into the air. I shielded my eyes. A wooden door had emerged from underneath the sand and flung open.


    I was expecting someone to come from to poke there head through and greet us, but I quickly realised it weren¡¯t to be. We were to enter.


    Gingerly, Caine and I looked down the newly formed hole. Stairs. Lantern light also. I could now see Caines¡¯s face again. His eyes were as wide as plates and his cheeks were red from breathing heavily. Uncertainty.


    Maybe we could run. Maybe we could dart through to the other side of the bridge and back to the ruins. We could hide from these city folk if they tried to look for us. I was about to suggest it to Caine, but something told me that running would be worse. We have something they want. It would be wise to give it to them. I buried the thought.


    However, this was Caine¡¯s idea, so I gestured with my hands for him to go first. It felt only right. He did so but hesitantly. His first step down the hole made a loud creaking noise as he shifted his weight onto the stairs. It was as if they hadn¡¯t been stepped on in years. He made his way down and I followed. At the bottom of the creaking steps was a corridor, just wide enough to fit one man in a single file. A lit lantern was on its rocky ceiling and an old wooden door at the far end. The brickwork of the walls was of moss-covered and misshapen stone. It was the opposite of those on the surface which were smooth to the touch and cut with precision. This place was old. You didn¡¯t have to be from Wannihiem to see that. Slowly we walked. Once at the door, Caine put his hand on the rusted handle and turned.


    We entered.


    It was a square room, simple in design. With a lantern on each wall, a wooden table in the middle, and an old wooden door, much like the one we entered, on the opposite side. I looked at Caine and frowned. ¡°What now?¡±


    A second later, the door opposite swung open. It hit the misshapen wall, creating a loud bang, and then rattled on its hinges. Three men entered the room and spread themselves out swiftly along the table.


    ¡°Ottom!¡± Caine said with fond familiarity as if he¡¯d known him his whole life. There was no fond reply. The man in the middle had a large barrel-like belly that stuck out at least an arm¡¯s length further than his legs. So wide was he that he had to arch his back and lean as if to balance his weight properly. His neck had just about disappeared into his chin and his mouth seemed to sink in behind his cheeks. Surprisingly, his arms and legs looked thin. Or at least, thinner than the rest of him. It was as if someone had thrown his real arms and legs away and replaced them with narrower ones. His hands however were how they should be, thick, with sausage-like fingers. I had never seen such an odd-looking person.


    He fixated his dark eyes on me and pointed, ¡°Who is this?¡± he spoke coldly in well-practiced, but blotchy Naminian.


    ¡°Ah yes,¡± said Caine. ¡°Ottom this is my brother, Jeb. The one I told you about. I explained to the men at the beach that he¡¯d be coming with me. I hope that is all right.¡±


    Ottom looked me up and down and then whispered something to the man on his left. He was a bronze-skinned man. Shirtless, with his arms folded. Showing a lean muscled chest with the markings of the deer all up them. It must be the Bervian that Caine had mentioned.


    ¡°I told you to come alone,¡± Ottom said icily.


    Caine shuffled his feet, ¡°Yes, the men atop said as much when I told them. I was unable to do the task by myself, you see. Whilst I went and spoke to your man who gave me this location. Jeb here went to pick up the package. The timing of it all was too close to one another and so I-¡±


    ¡°I told you to come alone!¡± Ottom repeated.


    He looked me up and down again, ¡°You trust him?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Ottom, he is my brother. Forgive me, but I do not see the problem here, Jeb-¡±


    ¡°The problem, kling! Is that I¡¯ve asked you to do something, and you haven¡¯t done it exactly how I told you to,¡± he snapped his finger. ¡°Place the package down. Quickly now.¡±


    For the briefest of moments, I forgot that I was the one carrying it, then, without thinking, I slung the knapsack off my shoulder and onto the table. I opened it, pulled the package out, and placed it in front of the large man.


    Ottom leaned over and snatched it. He began pulling on the string, unravelling it hastily but also with delicacy. When finished, he opened it up and poured out its contents. Jewellery, and lots of it. Necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings. All with studded stones of many colours. My mouth went agape. Was this what I was carrying all this time? Even on the hills, items such as these had value. Much more than coins at least. They made great wedding presents and gifts for foreigners who visited the tribe. I could only imagine how many weeks of food this would have gotten us.


    Ottom¡¯s face lit up, and his features softened a little. He turned to the man on his left and said something in the local tongue. The man, who was a head shorter than me, and with a large scar running down one cheek, picked up a silver necklace with red studs and ran his fingers over it. He then held it close to the lantern light and looked at it intensely. After he had inspected every inch of it. He muttered something in the local tongue back. Ottom nodded to us, and a wide smile hit his face. The tension in the room faded.


    ¡°Well done,¡± he said, his voice now light and friendly. I let out a large breath and relaxed a little. Caine slumped his shoulders.


    The weight in my stomach eased and the large man chuckled, ¡°I have given you quite a fright. I do apologise. You must understand that what we do desires secrecy. You bringing your brother along put my guard up. However, Ghasken here has just confirmed all I need to know.¡± He chuckled again, ¡°Everything is okay on your end.¡±


    Caine couldn¡¯t hold the glee from his voice, ¡°That is good news. So, you will give us the coin now?¡±


    Ottom nodded and waved his hands, ¡°Of course, of course. As soon as Ghasken has finished inspecting the jewellery, we¡¯ll finish the business.¡±


    The small man was now picking up other pieces and holding them into the lantern light. Ottom pressed his hands on the table and looked over at me, ¡°You, Jeb, was it?¡±


    I nodded low and respectfully.


    ¡°Yet again, a sincere apology. I¡¯m sure if you are a brother of Caine, then you must be of good sorts.¡±


    I smiled and nodded again, ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Ottom¡¯s gaze lingered.


    I looked over at Caine who was beaming at the compliment, then back at the large man. The smile stayed on his face. The two small pits he had for eyes were unblinking.


    ¡°You know,¡± he said, suddenly taking the hands off the table and clasping them behind his back. ¡°I hear many bad words on Bervians. Gutter rats the people of the city call you, klings. But, in my experience, you hill folk are of top quality. Roc here has been by my side for nearly a full cycle now, and he has been as loyal as a dog. Isn¡¯t that right Roc?¡±


    The Bervian opposite us said nothing, he just exhaled and nodded so slightly that one may not necessarily have taken it as a yes.


    ¡°Although admittedly he¡¯s not much of a talker,¡± Ottom turned to Caine. ¡°I noticed that you two have the same marks as him. Doesn¡¯t that mean that you were of the same tribe? Do you know each other?¡±


    Caine shook his head, ¡°We are of one tribe, but our people were many. We move from hill to hill. Tending the land and the life on it. It¡¯s possible that we may have met once or twice but that is still unlikely. Although, we would have the same ancestor, Henarlta. The great hunter of deer.¡± Caine looked at Roc and put two fingers to his forehead. He brushed them down to his chin. ¡°charlema en wrahela,¡± he said.


    It was the Bervian salute. A sign of respect. Roc remained still. His arms stayed folded across his chest. Caine frowned. Every Bervian knew that greeting and every Bervian knew the insult implied to not receiving it back. If we were on the hills, Caine would have had strong words for him.


    Ottom grinned, ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. Like I said he doesn¡¯t talk much. It¡¯s the war that¡¯s made him so quiet. Isn¡¯t that right Roc?¡± yet again there was nothing from him, just a hard stare from black eyes.


    ¡°It must have been difficult for you also,¡± said Ottom, addressing me this time, ¡°the Mirnese invasion. Tell me, how long did it take you to get to Wannihiem?¡±


    ¡°Many, days and many nights,¡± I said, ¡°I forget the number, but it was summer when we left and, winter when we arrived. Although that doesn¡¯t seem to matter for much here.¡±


    ¡°A long time. Roc here was one of the first to flee, wasn¡¯t you Roc. He was on the front line and witnessed first-hand the slaughter the Mirnese brought with them. After seeing what he has seen. One cannot blame his silence. There¡¯s not much to talk about.¡± Ottom let out a breath, ¡°Did you lose anyone? I suppose you must have.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°many people.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s no fun, tell us who it was. Was it your mother, father, sister, uncle, a child maybe?¡±


    Fun? Was that what he just said?


    ¡°All of them,¡± I replied, feeling uneasy, my blood began to tingle again. The weight in my stomach slowly returned. ¡°Except for a child, we¡¯ve never had children.¡±


    ¡°I see, and how did they die?¡± It was slight but I noted a hint of a laugh on Ottom¡¯s lips like he was trying his best to hold one in. I felt the tension rise again. Is this some sort of game? I looked over at Caine who seemed unfazed. That was typical.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t like to speak of the dead, it¡¯s in bad taste to mention their passing after they are buried.¡±


    ¡°What does a kling know of taste?¡± Ottom said. ¡°I asked you a question.¡±


    The short man to his right, Ghasken, said something abruptly in the local tongue which took Ottom¡¯s attention away. I felt a pang of relief. They conversed with one another for a while. Their tone was civil but earnest. Then there was a pause and Ottom gave Caine a look of disbelief. Something was wrong. Ghasken Glared at me, and Ottom¡¯s expression turned dark. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest?¡± he asked.


    A breif moment went by, ¡°What?¡± Caine said in a clueless tone.


    ¡°The jewellery, it¡¯s not all here. Where is the rest of it?¡±


    Silence. Ottom¡¯s face turned to a sneer. His eyes were on Caine, unblinking. Ghasken put a hand in his pocket. Roc remained still.


    ¡°Well!?¡± the large man snapped.


    Caine looked at me wide-eyed.


    I shrugged nervously, ¡°this was the only package the rider gave me. I didn¡¯t even know what was in it until you opened it.¡±


    Ottom sighed, ¡°I should have known better than to trust a pair of klings. Roc, Ghasken!¡± Without a moment to think, the two men on either side of him drew blades. Roc hopped over the table and put a dagger to Caine¡¯s neck. Ghasken sidestepped around it and put a knife to mine. Our hands went up immediately.


    Caine let out a yelp, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Thirty pieces!¡± Ottom said, ¡°Thirty pieces of jewellery, that¡¯s what is meant to be here. We have only twenty-nine. Where is the remaining?¡±


    Ghasken patted me up and down whilst keeping his blade pointed at me.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t take anything¡± I uttered, ¡°I swear it on Telafa.¡±


    Ottom turned his nose up, ¡°Leave your dirty hill gods out of it. I need not your word, just the jewellery I¡¯m owed.¡±


    My hands began to tremble. ¡°The rider must have not packed the package properly. Your quarrel is with him, I swear it.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯m to trust two hill klings over Dagler, a man I¡¯ve worked with for three cycles.¡± He scoffed, ¡°I think not.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± I begged. ¡°Please do not kill us.¡±


    ¡°We have a problem here boys. You owe us so you-,¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± Ottom¡¯s face went sun red, ¡°Interrupt me again, and I¡¯ll have Ghasken cut your tongue out.¡± He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head as if casting out a bad thought.


    The weight in my stomach grew heavier than ever before, and the tingling feeling in my blood felt as if would pierce my skin from the inside out. Everything in my body was telling me to run, but if I tried, I¡¯d surely be gutted before I made it out of the room. This was fear I hadn¡¯t felt since fleeing from the hills.


    ¡°As I was saying, you either have to cough up the missing piece this instant or pay the seventy-five ferrings its worth.¡±


    Everyone in the room knew that was impossible, we didn¡¯t have the jewellery, Telafa knows where that went, and that sort of coin was out of the question for people such as us. I couldn¡¯t even comprehend its worth.


    ¡°Ottom,¡± Caine stuttered, ¡°Ottom we swear it. What can we do to prove it so?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you what needs to be done.¡± He put his hands on his hips expectantly as if he were to be given what he asked for at any moment.


    ¡°We do not have either,¡± said Caine, his voice was croaky and high, ¡°isn¡¯t that right Jeb?¡±


    I nodded my head vigorously.


    The large man exhaled from his nose, ¡°My patience is beginning to wear thin. Roc, Ghasken.¡± The two men in front of us pressed their knives closer to our necks, I could feel the coldness of the blade as it etched closer into my skin.


    ¡°Is there nothing we can do?¡± I found myself saying. ¡°We do not have it, that I swear, but There must be a way we can resolve this. Please spare us.¡±


    Ottom paused for a moment, ¡°The debt must be paid if not in coin, then in blood¡­. Unless¡± ¡°Unless what? There must be another way!¡± I said, shaking.


    ¡°Perhaps you can work it off.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. Just tell us how.¡±


    Ottom put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment, ¡°Normally I¡¯d have you begging the streets for it until the debt was paid, but the marks on your face and bodies would mean you would get us less money than ashens. No, that won¡¯t do.¡± He let out a sigh, ¡°There is but one other way.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± I begged. ¡°Please tell us,¡±


    ¡°I want you to kill a man.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    The two big men threw us out the back of the cart and onto the muddy road. My head snapped back, and I felt a wetness soak through my hair as the top half of me landed in a deep puddle. Luckily for us, the rain had softened the mud. Unluckily for me, the water was freezing.


    "And now we know where you live," the bone-thin rider said with a wide smile. He slapped his mare and the cart set off down the road.


    I lay there for a moment, the muddy water rising to my ears and blocking out the sounds of the street. I was wondering what had happened to us. How have we ended up like this? Poor and half-starved in this strange land of wet and cold. I let out a large, latent breath, and then slowly made it to my feet. The water from the puddle dripped underneath my tunic and down my back sending a shiver up my spine. I tried to shake it, but it did no good. Caine had already risen. A sour, pitiful look was on him like he had just lost something extremely valuable. I suppose in some ways he had.


    ¡°That could have gone better,¡± he sulked to himself.


    ¡°Yes, it could have,¡± I gave him a glowering stare and then pushed past him, making sure I barged my shoulder into his with all my weight. He staggered some which satisfied me more than I would like to admit. I turned towards our home. A huge, abandoned, monstrosity of brick and mortar. There was no front door to it, instead, just a square arch where a door used to be. There were countless gaps in its walls where ancient brick had decayed and crumbled. It led to a cold interior with more wide holes in its ceiling that gave a clear view of the night sky. Thu Inglard the locals called it. Which in our tongue meant, Giants¡¯ House, as best I could make out. It deserved the name. It was a ruin of a massive proportion, the fact that we were able to move into it was a surprise when we first came to the city. But we soon realised why. Rats were everywhere. At night, if you were not careful, they would chew on your toes, ears, and anywhere else they could get. Luckily for us, we were Bervians, and so we had methods of keeping them away.


    Towards the back, was a room with its ceiling mostly intact and that¡¯s where we slept. If you lit a fire just outside the room, the heat from the flames would draft through, leaving it warm enough to sleep in. We stayed there most of the time and dared not venture out because we weren¡¯t the only ones to call this place home. The ruin had many spots like ours and others filled them. People who could keep the rats away. We rarely saw them, but we heard them during the night, whispering in whatever language they spoke. For the most part, they kept to themselves. No one seemed to want trouble. Like us, they just wanted to be left alone.


    When we first found the place, we pinned our Kwawan papers to the wall to keep them dry as water had a way of seeping through our room when it rained heavily. After a few weeks, Caine was able to build a rough chest to store what little valuables we had. Our Kwawans had sat inside the chest ever since. Unused. Until now. I didn¡¯t bother to light a fire before entering the room. It felt wrong somehow. I felt as if I should be punished for not seeing the signs earlier. As if it was my fault that we had found ourselves with the problem we have, and therefore I should remain soaked and shivering. I pulled the Kwawans out of the chest and unrolled them on the floor. I knelt in front of them, placed my hands on my thighs, and closed my eyes.


    Telafa, you of the sun, may your light always shine brightly on us. Fanarah, you of the Moon, may you rise every evening to show that you are protecting us from the dark. Henarlta, Great ancestor of the Hunt. May you guide us to the food we need. May you keep our eyes fine, our noses keen, and our ears sharp as always. I put two fingers on my forehead and brushed them down to my chin. We are in new lands, distant lands, where things are strange, and no one has heard of your great being. The people here do not like us, they do not trust us and think us cursed people set to leech off everything they have. It couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. We just want enough to feed our bellies. We would leave this place but that would see us enslaved. I ask you now, is enslavement worse than death? Would it be wrong for us to take a life knowing it would save our own? Are the lives here equal to ours?


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    As I asked the questions, I heard Caines¡¯s footsteps slap off the stone flooring, and come to a quick halt.


    ¡°You are praying?¡±


    I opened one eye and turned to him, he had knelt by the kindling on the firepit and began striking two bits of flint together.


    ¡°I was trying to,¡± I said bluntly and then turned back to my papers.


    ¡°They never answer,¡± he said. ¡°Nor do they listen. They abandoned us long ago.¡±


    I shook my head and ignored him.


    The people of the city have set us a task. One that would surely go against the law of the Kwawan. If we fail this task, we will be killed. If we complete it. Then someone else¡¯s life would be forfeit. What are we to do? Why would you set such a challenge before us?


    ¡°You are wasting your time praying to gods that have no power in these lands brother. I have half a mind to pray to the local god. The drunk god they call him. lord of wine and mead. Perhaps he would be better fitted to help us steel our hearts.¡±


    Caine managed to get the fire going. A whooshing sound started it off as the sparks from the flint struck the dried hay and kindling coated in oils. I felt the warmth fill the room almost instantly. I opened my eyes and turned to him. Ready to reprimand him on the rudeness of speaking to a man whilst he was talking to his gods when something he said occurred to me.


    ¡°Steel our hearts? So, you intend to go through with it then? You intend to do the city folk¡¯s bidding and kill for them?¡±


    My brother shrugged, ¡°Of course. What choice do we have?¡±


    I said nothing.


    Caine shook his head in annoyance, ¡°Do you want an apology? Is that it? will that make things better? Well, I am sorry brother, there I said it. I am sorry that I tried my best to get us fed. I am sorry that I was able to keep us alive from the Bervian hills through the entirety of the Namin to this land of Wannihiem. I am sorry that it is you, who has been kept alive with me rather than Uncle Gen or Uncle Reb or Mepa even. You, who does nothing but complain and criticize my every move, rather than thinking of his own solutions. I¡¯m sorry that Father isn¡¯t here to protect and shelter you from the world like he always did,¡± He scoffed. ¡°Look at me, a head chief of the deer tribe, and my only flock is an ungrateful little brother whose usefulness consists of carless whittles.¡±


    I felt heat flush my cheeks, ¡°You nearly got us killed. You still may have. I said that this was a bad idea, I told you more than once that the people here are not as we are. That they are animals in human clothes. You only have to look along the street to see it. But you did not listen, you never listen. Instead, you did what you always do, which is to go in bull-headed and without caution. We could have survived here. We could have stayed in the shadow and been left alone.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± Caine spat, ¡°To eat rat every night, to sleep next to a rusted blade in fear that someone might enter and kill us, whilst the critters try chew at our every limb. To hide from the guards constantly in fear that they might capture and send us to be slaves. We may as well be dead brother, I¡¯d rather have taken my chances with the Locals, even now. You are right in saying that they are animals, but right now we have to be animals too. I will kill whom they have asked to. And you are going to help.¡±


    ¡°And what do you think happens to us after we kill this man? Do you seriously trust them to keep their word?¡±


    Caine made no reply, instead, he shook his head, laid on his makeshift bed of hay, and faced the wall. ¡°What choice do we have.¡± He said softly after a while.


    I sighed a deep sigh and slowly took off my wet tunic. I put the Kwawans back in the chest and then placed my tunic close to the fire. I then buried myself in my own hay bed and did my best to keep myself warm. ¡°This will lead to worse trouble brother; I can feel it.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything, but I knew he heard it. A moment later, he started to snore.


    *


    I was sat at the base of the hill. The burning sun of Telafa beamed brightly in a cloudless sky. The heat irradiated off my skin. The akerin were grazing the landscape. As was the season. They were Unaware, Unafraid. I had a strange admiration for them. Sometimes it seemed better to be a beast.


    ¡°You look worried,¡± she said.


    ¡°I am,¡± I replied. ¡°I feel as if we have left it too late; we should have fled with the rest.¡±


    ¡°Your father had his reasons for staying. Even your Uncle Gen didn¡¯t protest it too much, that alone should tell you something.¡±


    My mother¡¯s voice was as reassuring as it always was. A wave of relief washed over me. Only mothers could do that, make everything feel calm when it''s far from it.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    ¡°You both sleep in so late.¡±


    The voice wasn¡¯t one I wanted to wake up to. His thick Wannihiemian accent made me jolt and stiffen like I¡¯d just been plunged into freezing water; a cold shiver went through my spine. I thought for a moment to remain sleeping, that if I just kept my eyes closed, he¡¯d soon get bored and leave us alone. A child¡¯s thought. He wasn¡¯t the type to let us be. He wasn¡¯t the type to let anything go. Slowly, I sat up from my bedding and rubbed my eyes before letting the first light of day in. Ottom was at our feet. He had his hands on his hips and was leaning backward as if he was ready to take a long piss. A smile was on his face. A sinister one, like that of a boy who enjoyed hunting because he got to see the animals yelp and squeal.


    Behind him were two men on either side of his shoulder. Not Roc the Bervian or the short one he called Ghasken. These two looked exactly like one another, with strawberry blond hair and freckles, Strong, lean jaws, and deep clefts on their chins. One was dressed in a tunic. Common in style, but immaculately clean for something so rough spun. The other had a plated cuirass donned, with a large sword at his hip. Both had mean, sneering faces that looked down at us from broad shoulders, and they were at least a head taller than my brother and I.


    I looked over at my brother who, like me, was sat up from his bedding. He had a wide, blank stare on his face like he couldn¡¯t believe this wasn¡¯t a dream.


    Ottom¡¯s smile grew larger, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Wasn¡¯t expecting us so soon?¡±


    Neither of us said anything, we just gazed on absently. He looked around the room, scrunching his nose. "This place isn¡¯t good enough for the dogs. And what¡¯s that smell? Has something died?" He glared at us expectantly, like he wanted an actual answer.


    I shrugged nervously.


    His face softened and he chuckled to himself. He said something to the big men in the local tongue. The two of them snorted and sniggered. "It''s too small in here... Hjorn, Burd. Head outside and guard the door. I¡¯ll be fine with these two.¡±


    They looked at one another and then back at Ottom. One of them said something under his breath before slowly making his way from the room. The other kicked a bit of kindling that was apart from the burnt-out fire on his way out.


    "Those two are the Folf twins," Ottom said after they left. "They will be your... Well, your overseers on this particular job. Their Naminian is not nearly as good as mine, but they understand it well enough."


    Ottom gave a comforting smile which soon faded as he looked around the room again, ¡°On the drunk god, you really are a pair of rats. This place doesn¡¯t even have a privy. Where exactly do you shit? By the smell, I¡¯d say close by.¡±


    After receiving silence for a response, Ottom sighed to himself loudly. ¡°So, did you manage to find the rest of the jewellery within the night? Or at least the seventy-five ferrings? Perhaps that is why you have taken to sleeping in so late. Because the job is done and now, you¡¯ll be able to pay back what you owe?¡± he looked at us with genuine expectancies, like what he asked was at all possible. Caine shook his head, ¡°We haven¡¯t found either.¡±


    ¡°As I suspected, you have slept in because your kind are lazy. You¡¯re a stain on this fine city. So, I take it that means you are willing to do what I asked for last night? That you will kill someone for me?¡± Caine gazed over at me.


    I stared back.


    He turned to Ottom and nodded.


    ¡°Good,¡± Ottom said.


    The large-bellied man reached into his pocket and pulled out something small and shiny. A glass vial. Tiny enough for him to hold it between his thumb and forefinger. Inside the vial was a clear liquid. ¡°Dust gin,¡± he said. ¡°Brewed and distilled from the high springs of the Farian mountains,¡±


    He threw it onto Caines¡¯s lap, pulled out another, and threw that one on mine. He then pulled out a third and kept it for himself. Ottom undid the vial¡¯s little cork and dropped it to the floor. He then raised it high as if saluting the stone ceiling, ¡°Drink!¡± He said, and then put the vial to his lips. He was about to swallow but noticed that my brother and I hadn¡¯t moved.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


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    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    He looked at me as if I was stupid, ¡°Do you tribes folk know nothing of proper custom? One does not just agree to do what you''re about to do without drinking on it first.¡± He shook his head. ¡°And as I just told you it¡¯s dust gin. It¡¯s alcohol, although I¡¯d admit this stuff has more of a kick to it than most. One gulp of this stuff and you¡¯ll feel brave enough to fight ten men. You¡¯ll need that courage if you¡¯re going to do what I ask of you. It does come at a price though. Too much and this happens.¡± Ottom smacked his large belly and laughed loudly. It soon died off to a whimper when he realised we hadn¡¯t joined in with him.


    ¡°Humourless rats,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Why must we drink it?¡± I asked.


    Ottom glowered at me pitifully, ¡°How clearer must I be? Because we are entering a contract with one another and all contracts in this city must be sealed with a drink. I the contractor must choose what drink we seal it with. And you, the contractee must drink it. I have placed those drinks on your lap, see.¡±


    He gestured vigorously to the vial. I picked it up and inspected it, turning it over in my fingers. The liquid inside was as clear as water, although on close inspection you could see black specs swirling around as I moved it. I stared at it with peculiar fascination.


    That was until I noticed Ottom¡¯s eyes were boring into me. The large man¡¯s face started to redden, ¡°May I remind you that this is a command, not a request. I will not ask again. Drink!¡±


    The venom in his voice almost willed the corks off all by themselves. Before I knew it, my head was tilted back, and the liquid began pouring down my throat.


    Caine and I had never had the city mead or wine before. It was the first time we had tried any kind of alcohol. Seeing how the city folk were on an average night was enough for me to decide that no good could come of it. I had never been one for altering the mind.


    On the hills, they had pipe smoke that was passed around to the chiefs on occasion. Usually, it was to celebrate a birth or an eloping, or in memory of a dead elder. Even then, I wasn¡¯t too fond of the space-like feeling it gave me. It left me unfocused for the most part. Confused. Unable to act to the proper customs of our people. This, however, was different.


    Firstly, the dust gin burnt my throat like nothing I had felt before. A searing burn that stayed there well after I had finished it. It was odd but strangely, it wasn¡¯t unpleasant. I found myself pining for it after it was gone. When that sensation left me, things began to change. It was subtle, but enough for me to notice. The room was brighter, as if someone had illuminated it with a lantern. Ottom¡¯s face seemed more detailed, I could see every wrinkle under his eyes. Every hair on his stubbly chin. It was like looking at him from only a breath away.


    I gazed over at Caine, the blacks of his eyes were like marbles, and he had something on his face I hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. A wide, genuine, smile, like he used to have when we were children. Was he happy? That didn¡¯t seem like him.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it,¡± said Ottom, ¡°Feel it course within you. Feel like you are the bravest, strongest there is. That you can take on the armies of the world.¡±


    I did feel it. A surge. A rush. It was as if I wanted to do nothing but run along the hills and hunt the Akerin. I shot up to my feet. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was planning on doing. I just had to stand.


    Ottom threw up an open palm, ¡°Easy there boy! You¡¯ll hurt yourself moving that fast.¡±


    And then, as if being drained from my very blood, the surge left me. Tiredness came over me and somehow, I found myself back on my bedding.


    ¡°The sudden burst of energy is short-lived,¡± the large man said chuckling. ¡°But the courage. Well, that stays for quite a while. You¡¯ll need it.¡± Ottom rubbed his hands together. ¡°Right, now that the sealing of the deal is complete, let¡¯s get down to business.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°You¡¯re to find a man named Gerert. He can usually be found in an inn called The Mule and Mare. It sits on the bank of the river Alora in the north part of the city, just off the Finches Bridge. I would wager that neither of you has been that far?¡±


    Caine shook his head.


    ¡°Figured as much. It¡¯s a lot different from these parts, I can tell you that. It¡¯s Where the rich people live. Senators and noblemen and whatnot. The prissy, soft-hand types that will take one look at you and turn their noses up. Which works for us, we want you to be overlooked.¡±


    Whilst he was speaking, he had pulled another small vial from his pocket, uncorked it, and knocked it back. ¡°The twins are going to take you by carriage from here to The Mule and Mare, and they¡¯re going to show you Gerert. Then you¡¯ll have a fortnight to plot a way to kill him. You most certainly will want to remember his face as we are only going to show you him once. If you fail to kill him. We kill you. If you take longer than a fortnight. We kill you. If the city watch or any military type catches you, then they will kill you. Understand?¡±


    Caine and I both nodded.


    ¡°Good klings,¡± Ottom patted his belly, ¡°oh, and don''t think about running. That would be bad for you. Very bad. There are worse things in this world than death. Is that clear?¡±


    We nodded again.


    The large man looked satisfied. ¡°I believe that¡¯s all that needs to be said.¡± He turned around as if to leave.


    ¡°Why?¡± I found myself saying.


    Ottom turned back squinting, ¡°why what?¡±


    ¡°Why do you want him dead?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern little kling. Or would it ease your conscience if you knew he was a bad man? An awful one at that. Yet again he could be the most valiant of people. With honour as high as the sky. A saviour of men and a healer of the sick and the needy. It matters not. You¡¯ll kill him anyway because I¡¯ve told you to and until the debt is paid, I own your bodies. . . Is that clear?¡±


    I nodded yet again.


    Ottom gave us one final hard glare. ¡°The pressure is on boys, I found that it''s the best way to get things done. Do yourselves some good, put on clothes, and get some food in your belly. The Folf twins will be back in one hour. Be seeing you.¡±


    With that, Ottom left.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    I had to admit, the streets on the upper Alora were like none I had seen throughout the south side of the city. The marble buildings shimmered white in the midday sun, and they stood at least two or three stories higher than those found south of the Ghid. Complete with tiled roofs of many colours and cylinder chimneys, this place was everything Ottom had said it was. The home of the wealthy. ¡°Out!¡± said one of the twins as the carriage came to an abrupt stop.


    The driver hitched the horses to a post. Caine and I hopped out the back. We were on a long, straight road with a clear view from one end of the street to the other. The type of place we¡¯d normally avoid for fear of the guards. Especially during the day.


    I hadn¡¯t been so out in the open like this for a while. It made me feel exposed, as if I was naked and an arrow might pierce through my back at any moment. What made it worse were the natives. The locals here wore rich furs, embroidered tunics, and tight corsets. Their fingers were full of shiny rings of coloured stones, and their necks bared bright gold and silver chains.


    Most of them had a glint in their eye when they saw us. The look of fear, peppered with curiosity, and disgust. The glares were subtle, but plenty.


    It seemed to me as if the deer mark on Caine¡¯s face was even more defined in this place. As if Henarlta himself wanted him to stand out among the crowd, but perhaps this was in my mind.


    ¡°This way,¡± said the twin. He signalled to an alley between two buildings. His Naminian was rigid and overpronounced, and I knew from just two words that understanding one another was going to be difficult. He turned and headed down the alley, nearly knocking an elderly passerby off his feet as he walked. The other twin stood behind us and pushed me by the shoulder, prompting us to follow.


    Out of the other end, was a riverbank. Chest-height railings stood just before the water and cast off in both directions moving adjacent to the river.


    I winced as I took in the smell. A putrid stench wafted through me that would have made a weaker man gag. The Alora River was fouler in smell than its southern brother. I couldn¡¯t say for why, but I took a strange comfort in knowing that they didn¡¯t have everything in the richer parts of the city. They did, however, have the best view of the keep.


    Across the river, on its own island, stood the Doge¡¯s keep. A massive feat of brick and mortar that loomed over the rest of the city like a mountain over a hill. Huge white stone blocks, as thick as some oxen, formed a perfect windowless square with four spires coming out of each corner to a pointed tip. Surrounding it, was a large grey stone wall of misshapen blocks that looked much older than the keep itself.


    I had seen this grand building before, you can catch glimpses of it throughout the city, but this was the closest I¡¯d been to it. I gazed upon it with disbelief. Before leaving the Bervian Hills, I had never seen a stone building. We Bervs made our homes from the skins of Animals. Our tallest structures were our totems which pale in comparison to the likes of this city.


    We had heard of such buildings, of course. Travellers from the north and east would come and tell us about the wonders of the world. They would give us gifts from distant lands. Even teach some of us how to read their language. It''s how my brother and I learned Naminian. But to see these sky-piercing monuments in person was something I found fascinating.


    There was a strong tug on my arm ¡°This way!¡± said a twin harshly.


    We walked along the riverbank and passed several Inns and taverns. Each one had its own set of benches outside, overlooking the river. The patrons, whilst deep in their cups, conversed loudly and cheerily. When their eyes met mine. I could see the light fade from some of their smiling faces, and although I found it annoying, it wasn¡¯t the same as south as the river. I couldn¡¯t say whether it was the dust gin that was still in me or something else entirely, but I didn¡¯t feel threatened by them. I felt no fear at all. The rich folk had contempt for us, that was plain, but there wasn¡¯t any sense of aggression. There was no name-calling, no spitting, no sword grabbing or fist Clenching in our direction that the folk in the south liked to do. It was refreshing in a strange way.


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    The Mule and Mare stood out from the rest of the Taverns along the riverbank. It was the only one that wasn¡¯t dressed in white marble and instead went with grey, uneven stonework, similar to the stones on the wall around the Doge¡¯s keep. Its sign was made of old cracked wood and was hanging on by rusted hinges that whistled in the wind. It had no benches stationed outside like the others, and its front grass was long and overgrown. If it wasn¡¯t where we were going, I would have said the inn had been abandoned long ago.


    The twin in front sauntered up the stony path and opened the old Inn door. The one behind prompted us inside. It took a few moments for the eyes to adjust to the dimness. Only a single crack of light gleamed through the inn¡¯s shutters, and I could have sworn it was empty until I noted the almost motionless patrons in their collective seats. The smell of stale ale was in the air which masked an underlying stench of vomit.


    Through the dimness, a serving boy approached. He rubbed his hands with his washcloth and spoke to one of the twins in the local tongue. After they finished talking, he gave me and Caine a brief look, nodded, and then motioned us to a table towards the back of the room. The patrons didn¡¯t glare at us as we passed them like the ones on the benches did. In fact, they didn¡¯t look at us at all. They all seemed too fixated on their own conversations which gave the room a low murmuring sound much like the one a bacran wolf makes when she¡¯s defending her cubs. The serving boy ushered us to our seats and one of the twins tossed him a coin. He bowed and headed off out of the back.


    We sat in silence for a moment. One twin leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. The other had his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his knuckles. They stared at us, unblinking, a bored look on both their faces. Eventually, the one that was leaning straightened his back and beat his chest, ¡°Me Hjorn. This Burd. You?¡±


    ¡°Caine,¡± Caine said.


    ¡°Jeb,¡± I replied.


    He nodded ¡°You drink?¡±


    I shook my head ¡°Not until this morning.''''


    Hjorn chuckled, ¡°Today you drink.¡±


    As if by magic, four large metal tankards slammed themselves on the table. The serving boy slid one to each of us. He then bowed, said something in the local tongue, and left us to tend to another customer.


    Each tankard was filled with a brownish-golden liquid that frothed and foamed around its edges. The twins wasted no time in putting the drink to their lips. They drained the tankards with a series of large gulps. Caine and I sat still, mouths agape, in awe as streams trickled down the twin¡¯s cheeks. Burd slammed his tankard onto the table first and let out a large belch. He looked at Caine and grinned, ¡°I won.¡±


    Hjorn pointed at me, ¡°You drink!¡±


    I stared at him blankly for a moment.


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you. You drink! You both drink!¡±


    I shrugged, pulled the tankard to my lips, and began to gulp vigorously. The drink tasted differently from the gin. It was thicker with more bubbles and lacked the burning sensation in the throat. Hjorn nudged his twin brother and laughed.


    I slammed my tankard onto the table and let out a belch of my own, almost mimicking the one that Hjorn made. I was quicker than Caine, who slammed his tankard just after me, but snail-like in comparison to the twins. The scene was to their enjoyment, and they snickered at one another with delight. I looked at Caine and he was smiling for the second time today. It made me smile. Before I knew it, we were all laughing. It was a genuine one. I hadn¡¯t snorted like that since I came to this city. Perhaps my brother and I were losing our minds. I hate to admit it, but it felt good. For the first time in as long as I could remember. I wasn¡¯t worried about anything.


    The sensation was brief.


    It was interrupted by the Inn doors swinging open.


    ¡°Good day all!¡± a man shouted, crashing the door shut behind him. His hair and goatee were a matted black with flecks of grey. His clothing was stained with grime and holy to the point of asking why he was wearing it in the first place. I realised in an instant that he was drunk. He swayed and stumbled towards the nearest free table he could find and plumped himself onto a chair.


    He yelled for the serving boy, and the boy approached. The man put a coin in the boy¡¯s hand, closed it into his fist, and gave the boy¡¯s arm a hefty shake. He then, rather rudely from what I could see, shooed the boy off.


    ¡°Him,¡± Said Hjorn. ¡°That is Gerert.¡±


    I stared on; he was struggling to keep upright. He held onto his table tightly, as if the ground were about to fall from beneath his feet. What could he have done to warrant death?


    Burd leaned in close, ¡°He will be here till the afternoon,¡± he whispered. ¡°Then he will walk along the riverbank. This is routine for him.¡±


    I glanced at Caine. His face was unreadable.


    ¡°And how do we do it?¡± I asked.


    The two of them shrugged, almost in sync with one another, ¡°We don¡¯t care.¡±


    Burd did a stabbing motion with his hands, whilst Hjorn mimicked strangling himself.


    ¡°This is up to you. Either way, job must be done,¡± said Burd.


    ¡°And in two weeks,¡± Added Hojrn


    The laughter and cheer of the two men had disappeared. They leaned in. Their eyes narrowed at the two of us.


    ¡°You understand?¡± asked Burd.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said.


    ¡°Good.¡± The twins rose from their seats and looked down at us.


    Hjorn let out a sigh, ¡°Look, I like you, so have advice from brothers to brothers. You have a drunkard next to a river. All you do is stab once and push him. The water will do rest.¡±


    Burd tossed a coin on the table. ¡°Have one, on us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± asked Caine.


    They nodded.


    ¡°And how are we to get back?¡±


    They didn¡¯t bother to reply as they walked out of the inn.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    We didn¡¯t have another drink. Instead, Caine pocketed the coin, and we left soon after the twins. We walked past the man known as Gerert on our way out. In the short time of his entering, he had already fallen asleep at his table and began to snore gently. The rest of the Inn paid him no mind. Even the serving boy seemed disinterested.


    Our exit was met with a surprisingly warm sun. Given how cloudy and rainy last night was, I was sure that the greyness of the clouds would have lingered for quite some time. It was another thing that was strange about this city. One day the cold winds could freeze the rivers over, the next, the blistering heat could cause them to dry up.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe they just left us here, expecting us to make our own way back.¡± Said Caine as we began to walk away from the inn and along the riverside path.


    ¡°I Can,¡± I replied bluntly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you know the way back?¡± He asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I figured at as much, let''s see if we can find a bridge, we should at least be able to make it south from there.¡±


    The sun¡¯s heat, mixed with the stench of the Alora made the walk quite unpleasant which didn¡¯t help my already foul mood. It could have been the drink that put me in this sudden temper, as I had seen it do to some men, but I doubt it. No, I was certain that my brother was the route of all my anger. Caine walked with a high chin and swaying arms. As if he hadn¡¯t a care. I don''t know why I was surprised; he had always been that way. Today though, the look on his face brew a fire in me. This was all his fault as far as I was concerned, and his proud walk made things worse. I tried my best to ignore him, but I found it harder with every step.


    We walked past The Doge¡¯s Keep which stood boldly on the other side of the river. The building seemed to look bigger in the midday sun.


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t noticed that on the way here,¡± Caine said, glancing across at it.


    I let out a grunt. Of course, he hadn¡¯t noticed it, he wouldn¡¯t notice the sun falling out of the sky until it got too hot.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite a site, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°We could stop and admire it if you want?¡±


    I stopped walking for fear that my ears might bleed. ¡°No... No, I don¡¯t want to stop here and look at a building. I want to get back to the ruin and, and- ¡°


    ¡°And what? Come on Jeb, you¡¯ve told me countless times before that the one thing you like about the city is the buildings. Why not stay for a bit and look at one?¡±


    He was smiling. How could he smile at a time like this?


    ¡°You need to relax brother, honestly,¡± he said.


    ¡°Relax? We are almost certainly dead because of you, and you want me to relax? Henarlta take you; you fool!¡± I threw my hands up in frustration.


    ¡°Because of me?¡± Caine said, His smile faded and slowly turned into a sneer. He looked out among the river, shook his head, and then narrowed his eyes back at me, ¡°I¡¯ve had time to think, Jeb, last night whilst you were sleeping and this morning on the ride up. I was thinking that the only person who was alone with the package at any point was you.¡±


    ¡°And the rider, who gave it to me don¡¯t forget,¡± I said.


    ¡°Sure, and the rider,¡± Caine said it with such a disregard that I could have cried with frustration.


    I hadn¡¯t thought I could get much angrier.


    ¡°You¡¯ve kept them for yourself, haven¡¯t you? The jewellery I mean. And now that you¡¯ve been found out, you want to try and pin all of this on me. Where is it, brother? Perhaps we can get out of this if you just give it up.¡± He held out his hand as if I had it on me.


    I was both completely shocked and barely surprised at the same time. Of course, that was his thinking, he had no capacity in his fever skull to take any sort of blame.


    ¡°Do not accuse me of such things,¡± I hissed.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s why you''re pulling that face. To hide your guilt.¡±


    I pushed him.


    He stumbled back a few paces. A look of shock was on him at first, but it swiftly switched to a deep frown. He took a step towards me and pushed me harder.


    I fell over, landing on my rump.


    I got up quickly.


    Then I charged.


    With my head down I went to ram him fully in his stomach. He swerved left and laid a fist into my temple. I scrambled to the floor again. He¡¯d always been the better fighter. I got up as swiftly as I could and turned to him. He had his fists raised to protect his head, like Father had taught us.


    ¡°I¡¯ve let you push me twice now, not again,¡± he said.


    ¡°This is your fault!¡± I screamed.


    ¡°You¡¯re an ungrateful prick, Jeb.¡±


    His face started to redden. I didn¡¯t care. I lunged at him again, my arms flaying. I landed one punch on him, but I mostly hit his teeth and so my knuckle burst with blood. He returned the favour with a swift punch to my other temple and then a knee to my groin. I Went down, my head ringing in pain, and this time, I didn¡¯t get back up.


    ¡°Fine!¡± I heard him shout; his voice was throaty as if he was trying to hold back tears. ¡°You can do it all alone from now on.¡±


    *


    I didn¡¯t know how long I had been laying there for, it could have been a minute, it could have been an hour. I wasn¡¯t hurt per se, the ringing in my head stopped as soon as I hit the floor, but I was broken, like a building with rotting foundations. I had all but given up and so I lay there. What was the point? Even if we do kill that Gerert, they¡¯ll probably kill us afterward. I may as well stay here until I starve to death.


    I felt something hard prod me in the ribs. ¡°Kling.¡± The man said.


    I opened my eyes to see a snarling face wearing a half helm. It had seemed that my lying in public had earned the attention of a city guard. A panic of fear struck me, I let out a puff of air and quickly rose to my feet. The guards weren¡¯t friendly to us and I had no reason to think that this one would be any different. To tangle with them was to play with your life. He said something in the local tongue and butted me with his spear again, this time in the shin. It hurt more than I thought it would. Although I couldn¡¯t understand him, I got the message. Get out of this part of town.


    *


    It was getting dark as I made it to the central parts of the city. The walk to the ruin was longer than I had expected, and the soles of my feet started to ache. The blood from my knuckles had dried and crusted around my fingers which gave my hand an annoying sticky feeling. I was also hungry. What to do first? Eating was out of the question. Caine had seen to that by running off with the only coin we had.


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    I decided to rest for a while. I tucked myself down an alleyway that hid from the bustling scenes of the central high street and crouched into a sitting position. As soon as my head hit the hard surface of the stone wall my eyes started to close. What¡¯s the harm in resting? The night was going to be a hot one much like the nights on the hills, and I couldn¡¯t be robbed if I had nothing to steal. I sat there, listening to the idle chatter of people talking in a language I could barely understand. It mixed with the sounds of horses clopping and the occasional carriage in motion and became soothing.


    I dozed off.


    ¡°Get out!¡± I heard a voice call.


    It jerked me from my broken sleep. ¡°What?¡± I said, opening my eyes.


    The man was dressed in rags much like my own and he had brown skin like me.


    ¡°This ain¡¯t your spot, get out!¡± his fists were clenched and his face was a hardened stare. He spoke in Naminian, it sounded broken and distorted.


    I stood abruptly ¡°My spot?¡± I said blinking.


    ¡°This here is Archin¡¯s territory and you ain¡¯t welcome.¡± He had the look of a Bervian, with a round jaw and thin nose, but he had no marks. Perhaps his ancestors were hill folk. He took a step forward as if to strike and I held my hands up submissively. I didn¡¯t want to have two fights in one day. I just wanted to sleep.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving,¡± I said as I backed out on the high street.


    ¡°Good, begone.¡± He cocked an eye at me before turning his back and disappearing down the alley muttering to himself.


    What was that about? I wondered.


    I heard a laugh behind me that seemed to echo through the passing crowd. I turned to see a woman standing in the centre of the pathway, smiling as city folks shifted around her.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just sleep anywhere in this part of town,¡± she said.


    ¡°I know that now,¡± I replied.


    She was strange-looking, dressing differently from most of the women in the city. She wore a sleeveless vest that revealed lean, muscular arms and fabric trousers like what the men of the city wear. Her hair was raven black and down to her shoulders. Her face looked youthful but hardened which made it difficult to guess her age. Her right eye had no pupil and was a milky grey. Her left was a deep, dark brown. I found it uncomfortable the way she stared, so I turned and started to walk off.


    ¡°You¡¯re going the wrong way if you¡¯re looking for home¡± she called, her voice sounding deep and humorous.


    I stopped and turned back; she was still smiling. That¡¯s when I realised that she was speaking in Bervian. Not only was she speaking it. It sounded perfect, without a hint of a foreign accent. When the local folks spoke Naminian I found that odd. Wannihiemian people seemed to me, too concerned with their own selves to ever bother to learn about someone else.  However, the Namin was vast, and its borders weren¡¯t far from this city. The Bervian hills, on the other hand, were as far as the sun in the sky as it was from Wannihiem. I thought I would never hear one of them speaking my native tongue. Especially as good as it was.


    ¡°And how would you know where my home is?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This is Wannihiem, and I know things, but nothing is free. For you to find that out I am going to need something from you.¡±


    I shook my head ¡°Well I have nothing.¡±


    ¡°Not true,¡± she said, ¡°You have more than you know... hungry?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes, follow me. We¡¯ll get you some food as we walk back home.¡±


    She turned and started to stroll off. I stood where I was. Unsure. Who was this woman? Why was she helping me? What did she want? She looked back and sighed.


    ¡°Look, you have been walking for most of the day now, and you have only managed to get across the Alora. It would be impressive if it wasn¡¯t so tragic, why don¡¯t we get you back aye?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Someone who wants to help a young Bervian out of his problems. First by feeding him, then by guiding him, then by showing him how he can get away with not killing poor Gerert.¡±


    I felt my body stiffen. ¡°How?-¡±


    ¡°One thing at a time, now are you coming? Or are you going to stay here lost, tired and hungry?¡±


    *


    The meat on the stick tasted like life itself as I chewed and swallowed my last bite. I hadn¡¯t had something so tasty since the akerin pies my mother used to make. It was a welcome change to the rat stew that frequented my diet. My mood brightened drastically.


    ¡°You finished?¡± The woman asked.


    ¡°Yes¡±, I said swallowing the last bite.


    ¡°Good, then let¡¯s go.¡± She nodded to the broad-chested vendor. We left our stools and headed back out into the city. We swerved in and out of the moving crowd at a pace that she set. I tried my best to match her, but I found myself constantly running in short bursts just to keep up. It left me breathless.


    ¡°So how long?¡± She asked after some time of marching through the chaos of crowded roads.


    ¡°How long for what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°How much time have they given you to kill him?¡±


    I thought for a moment whether it was wise to tell her. This could be some ploy set up by Ottom to see if I kept things quiet. But then I thought, even if it was, what did I have to lose? I was probably dead anyway.


    ¡°Fourteen nights,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hmm not bad, it must be a slow month for them. and how did they do it?¡±


    I looked at her blankly.


    ¡°Trap you I mean. They have different methods each time, but the trap is always the same. Did they use a contract signing? No, can¡¯t be that you Bervians don¡¯t know how to write. Maybe a rigged game? Or maybe a honey pot even?¡±


    I frowned in confusion. What is she talking about?


    ¡°Oh, come on, don¡¯t look at me like that, I¡¯m dying to know. How exactly did they force you into it? Into offing poor old Gerert.¡±


    I let out a breath, ¡°They had us bring in a package from outside the city and deliver it to-¡°


    ¡°And let me guess, the package was light?¡±


    My eyes widened, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That one¡¯s called a false weight and it¡¯s- Look out!¡±


    The woman put her hand across my chest just moments before the carriage flew past at speed, inches from my face. I flinched embarrassingly.


    ¡°You have to keep your wits about you in this city Bervian,¡± she said with a smirk.


    ¡°How did you know the package was light?¡± I asked as we crossed the busy street.


    ¡°Because the package is always light. Or never light depending on how you look at it. Believe me, if you actually had taken from them, you would have been killed on the spot.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that they deceived us. That this was their plan all along?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, you¡¯re more likely to do things for them if you think you owe them, am I right?¡±


    I felt sick and confused. how could I not have seen it?


    ¡°But why?¡± I asked, ¡°Why do they need us to do it? Why not just kill Gerert themselves?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re a kling. A non-local that clings onto the city like a flea on fur. If they use you, they haven¡¯t got to get their hands dirty. When people come asking, they can just say that a kling did it and that will be enough. And if you don¡¯t succeed, they can just kill you, and nothing will happen to them because you¡¯re nothing to them, or this city.¡±


    What she said hit like an arrow, ¡°Why do they hate us Bervians? What have we ever done to them?¡± I asked the question as much to myself as to her.


    Her clouded eye seemed to gaze through me. ¡°They don¡¯t hate Bervians, they hate klings, that¡¯s anyone who''s non-local. Gyanth, Hafra, Faria, Mirna... it doesn¡¯t matter where you are from. You¡¯re not from the Wannihiemian plains.¡±


    I looked down at the cobblestones and sneered.


    ¡°Oh cheer up hill man, it¡¯s not all bad. In fact, it¡¯s useful when you know how to use it, what¡¯s your name anyway?¡±


    ¡°Jeb,¡± I said.


    ¡°And the other one you were with? What¡¯s his name? The one that beat you?¡±


    I frowned at her.


    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯ve been following you for quite some time. Don¡¯t look so surprised.¡±


    ¡°Caine,¡± I said, ¡°he is my brother.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s always a shame when families squabble. Well, Jeb, you and your brother are lucky ones.¡± She said grinning. It wasn¡¯t an ugly grin but there was something off about it, something unnerving.


    ¡°How so?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because you¡¯ve been set to kill one of my men, which means that I have to stop you from doing so. So now that I¡¯m involved. You and your brother won¡¯t be killing anyone.¡±


    ¡°You can do this? I asked eagerly.


    ¡°Yes I can, but like I said earlier, nothing in this city is free.¡±


    I believe I was starting to understand what she meant, ¡°What is it you want from us?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Bervian, you¡¯re used to traversing up and down vast hills, over long landscapes, correct? That would make you and your brother natural runners. You don¡¯t lose breath easily?¡±


    ¡°We, travel long distances, but not fast. That''s how we hunt. The prey can outrun us for a while, but eventually, it must stop. That¡¯s when we get them. For the most part at least.¡±


    She gave a satisfied nod, ¡°I want you to work for me, the pay won¡¯t be great, and the work will be dangerous at times, but you¡¯ll be clothed, fed, and it¡¯s better than ending up dead in two weeks.¡±


    She had a point, but something wasn¡¯t right, something I couldn¡¯t grasp. She was saying all the right things, but I had that uneasiness in my stomach, a tingling in my blood. It was a gut feeling in every way, but one I trusted.


    ¡°We¡¯d have to think about it,¡± I said.


    She stopped me from walking and looked at me deeply. She was smiling but I saw her good eye glint with displeasure.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to think about?¡±


    I shrugged and sighed ¡°I don¡¯t know, thank you for offering your help but- ¡°


    ¡°Let me put it to you this way Jeb, say you turn down my offer and you decide to go through with killing Gerert. What do you think happens to you after?¡±


    I frowned, ¡°I do not know, hopefully, Ottom will leave us alone and we can forget the whole thing happened.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, that¡¯s not how it¡¯ll go. Listen, just so you understand. If you did decide to kill Gerert, you won¡¯t make it as far as the bridge before me and mine get our revenge. Especially after we have offered you an outlet. You are, what we say in the city, between a rock and a hard place Jeb and I am offering you a hand before they collide.¡± She breathed deeply, ¡°Come, we¡¯re nearly at the Merchants¡¯ Bridge.¡±


    She didn¡¯t speak as we weaved in and out of the remaining traffic, I was still trying my best to keep up and was just about managing.


    ¡°The others,¡± I said, ¡°I mean Ottom and the Folf twins, they know where our shelter is, they¡¯re watching us.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Indeed they are, but you won¡¯t have to worry about that. When what we have planned is complete, we¡¯ll move you in with us, to the northern parts of the city, it¡¯ll be the last you¡¯ll see of these folk.¡±


    ¡°And who are they? Ottom and his ilk? Who are you for that matter?¡±


    Her smile grew wide, ¡°We¡¯re at the Merchants¡¯ Bridge. You know your way from here?¡±


    Although it looked different from the other side, I recognised those four sleek blocks that stood in the Ghid river.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good, tomorrow you and your brother are going to meet me here by this statue at midday, understand? You can ask me more questions then.¡±


    I looked at the statue. It was of a small girl. Her hands were pressed up against a knee-high wall, overlooking the river.


    ¡°Tomorrow Hill man, don¡¯t be late.¡±


    ¡°Before you go,¡± I said. ¡°You got my name, but I didn¡¯t ask for yours.¡±


    ¡°Anna,¡± she replied, before merging into the moving crowd.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    For the first time in as long as I can remember, I awoke on a full stomach. The food that Anna had given me the night before had done its job wonderfully. Perhaps even too well, as my belly felt heavy when I sat up from my bedding. Still, it was a good problem to have, one that I hadn¡¯t had for a while. Our room was much the same as we left it the day before. Untouched. When I finally made my way home last night, I was so tired that I didn¡¯t even bother to start the fire. So tired in fact that I didn¡¯t check to see if Caine was in his bed. It¡¯s only now that I realised, he hadn¡¯t come back at all. I wondered where he could have gotten to.


    Conversing with Anna, the strange lady who helped me get back home, had given me hope. Hope that maybe we didn¡¯t have to do Ottom¡¯s bidding, that maybe we could make it out of this without our dead bodies thrown into a river. I wanted to tell Caine the good news.


    We had a fight last night, one that seemed stupid now, and although spiteful, it was a fight out of fear and frustration, not hatred. He is my brother after all. I would apologise and hopefully, we could mend things. This wasn¡¯t the first time we¡¯d fought and wouldn¡¯t be the last.


    I got up from the bedding and made my way over to the fireplace. I looked up at the open ceiling to see grey, rolling clouds blocking out an otherwise bright sun. The weather here changed so often that it shouldn''t have surprised me anymore, but it always did. I couldn¡¯t say the time exactly, but I was sure it was a few hours before midday. That gave me enough time to find Caine, tell him what had happened, and then meet Anna at the statue across the Merchants¡¯ Bridge.


    As I ran the plan through my mind, pondering on where to look for him first, I heard something. Bare feet slapping across ancient stone. I perked up quickly, a nervous feeling running through me. Blood tingling.  My first thought was that perhaps it was Caine returning home, but I knew it wasn¡¯t. No, someone was near, one of the others. The people whom we¡¯d hear throughout the night but would never see. Moments later, an old man moved across the ruins, hobbling as fast as his feet could take him. He eyed me as he walked, panic was riddled on his pale face.


    ¡°Helms!¡± He whispered at me and then kept moving deeper into the ruins.


    I didn¡¯t know what it meant. I was about to return to my room, thinking that whatever the man was running from was probably somebody else¡¯s problem. Then, I heard a voice, one that I knew was for me. It made me cringe and tense and wish that I was anywhere else, it made me want to pretend I never heard it. I found myself walking to the entrance of the ruin. There was no point having him meet me in this room again.


    I recognised the bone-thinned rider and the half-starved mare that was hitched to his carriage almost immediately. The rider once again gave me a toothless smile.


    ¡°Nice to see you so soon,¡± he said. His Naminian broken and husky.


    My antagonizer poked his fat head out at first, then, upon seeing me, He swung open the doors and jumped out of the carriage. His large frame moved ungracefully and clumsily. The carriage swayed from left to right upon losing its large weight. He looked at me with a bitter sneer. There was an anger in his eyes that made my bones stiffen straight.


    ¡°How is it that I''ve seen your wretched face every day for the past three?¡± Ottom had that tone in his voice that wanted an answer I couldn¡¯t rightly give.


    ¡°He tried to leave¡­ Your brother. We caught him trying to make his way through the Gladiators¡¯ Gate.¡±


    The large man wiped his mouth as if cleaning something disgusting from it, ¡°You will not run, understand! It¡¯s time and effort that we don¡¯t want to spend finding you, but it¡¯s time and effort that we¡¯ll go through if we need to. And that¡¯ll make things unpleasant for everyone.¡±


    At that moment I couldn¡¯t have run if my life depended on it. The effects of the dust gin had worn off in my sleep and so Ottom scared me rigid.


    What have they done to Caine? The thought went through my mind sharply. I wanted to ask if he was okay, if he was alive even, but I doubted that Ottom would have appreciated the panic in my voice. So, I just nodded timidly, hoping that the large man hadn¡¯t noticed the beads of sweat that started to trickle down my face.


    ¡°Here!¡± he said and chucked a box that splashed the puddle at my feet. The same puddle that I fell in just two nights before.


    ¡°You will get him back when the job is done.¡± Ottom climbed back into the carriage ¡°Oh, and Kling, you now have until the end of the week,¡± he slammed the carriage door.


    The bone-thinned rider whipped the mare and smiled his toothless smile before taking off along the road.


    I waited until they were out of sight to let out a breath. It made me feel as if I had been running for an hour. I took a knee for a moment as the panic set in. Slowly, the street started to fill with the others. Everyone was cautious of not being seen by the rider and his fat companion. It seemed I wasn¡¯t the only one who feared the large man.


    People gazed and whispered and pointed at me. I took that as the time to leave. Shakily, I grabbed the box that Ottom threw at me, tucked it under jerkin, and made my way back inside the ruin.


    Sitting on my bedding, I pulled the box out from underneath my jerkin and placed it on my knees. It was a plain thing, small and brown¡­ with one corner stained red. That''s when I noticed that the box was dripping. Blood. I gulped and felt a wave of horror sweep over me. It Started from my lower back and crept up to my neck. I opened the lid.


    It was worse than I thought. I put my hand to my mouth, flung the box away, and leaned my back against the wall. The box hit Caine¡¯s side of the room and out came what was inside. I¡¯d recognise the mark from anywhere. I was the one who drew it on him after all. They had cut the skin off a part of Caine¡¯s face. The deer mark that I pinned on him with ink and needle. The mark that signified his right as chief, now lay on the floor, trickling with blood. I felt sick. I started to shake, and my breathing became uncontrollable. What should I do? What should I do? The thought repeated itself relentlessly. A heavy lump came from my stomach and lodged itself in my throat. I closed my eyes and let out a flood of tears. I sat there crying. Alone.


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    *


    She was overlooking the Ghid when I finally spotted her. Her elbows rested on top of the waist-high wall, her arms casually hanging over the river. At first, I had tried to locate the mysterious woman as soon as the statue came into sight, but I could see no sign of her. Then, as I made it to the other end of the Merchants¡¯ Bridge, she was there, right where she said she would be.


    She smiled at the sight of me and stood upright, ¡°You¡¯re a smart man.¡±


    ¡°Please¡­¡± I uttered with a croaky voice; I could feel that I was still shaking.


    Her smile faded, ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡±.


    ¡°My brother, they have my brother.¡±


    She pursed her lips and gave a kissing sound, ¡°Not good.¡± Leaning back over the wall she said: ¡°Tell me everything.¡±


    *


    ¡°And you¡¯re sure it was your brother¡¯s mark?¡± she asked after I had finished telling my brief but terrifying series of events.


    ¡°Of course I am sure. I drew the fucking mark myself.¡±


    Anna sniggered.


    ¡°You find this funny?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not at all,¡± she said and went back to facing the river.


    She was quiet for a time. Her raven black hair sat boldly on her shoulders. The silence between us lingered. I patiently stood with my arms folded. Annoyed. Anxious. Worried.


    I was about to yell, about to scream my frustrations when she said: ¡°You see that ship there, the big one with the red and green sails coming under the bridge as we speak?¡±


    I looked over, the ship was long and flat. Its sails nearly touched the bridge''s underbelly as it passed through.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s called a Ghidian, a ship specially designed for this river. It sails up and down the Ghid from the port of Lundim in central Mirna to the capital city Parla in the Namin and so on. Its main export is lumber. Lundimian forest oak to be exact, and it¡¯s been like it for generations. However, it is known to take other things for a price. She stopped gazing at the ship and turned to me, her clouded eye seeming brighter than usual.


    I frowned.


    ¡°You¡¯re wondering why I¡¯m telling you this? Well, you see on that ship there is a sailor named Micah, and Micah¡¯s job is to make sure that the captain of the ship does us a favour every once and a while.¡±


    ¡°What kind of favour?¡± I asked.


    ¡°When something creeps on that ship what¡¯s not supposed to be there. Something that we want to send to friends in other cities. The captain of the ship will pretend to not have seen it. Will pretend it doesn¡¯t exist and it¡¯s certainly not on that ship. Now, say for instance that the captain doesn¡¯t want to do it anymore. That he suddenly gets guilt-stricken and finds his Honour or that he¡¯s feeling pressure from certain others to start looking into his stock. It''s then Micah¡¯s job to remind the captain that a deal has been made. And in this city, broken deals lead to severe consequences. If that captain, then still decides to meddle further in affairs that don¡¯t concern him. It¡¯s then Micah¡¯s job to remove the captain and a new captain will be reinstated.¡±


    ¡°You mean?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°However, everything comes at a price, young Jeb. Once that happens Micah¡¯s cover is blown, investigations start to become the norm and Micah has to make a quick getaway or he¡¯ll see the dungeons. Which means we also must reinstate a new Micah. It becomes a nuisance after a while.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re telling me this?¡±


    Anna smiled. ¡°Because just like the Micah on that ship we have others elsewhere, and we have one, deep within the people that took your brother.¡±


    My eyes widened, and the sudden realisation of what she was saying settled in, ¡°So, you can help me? You can help Caine?¡±


    She made a grin that struck me uneasy, ¡°Yes, but as I said, Jeb, everything comes at a price. For us to help your brother, a man leaves himself vulnerable. He¡¯ll be detected and in danger. It¡¯s a man who we¡¯ve spent a long time trying to get where he is.¡±


    Things went quiet again, she stared at me with a knowingness that I don¡¯t think I could ever get used to.


    This time I broke the silence, ¡°So what can we do?¡±


    ¡°Are you worth it?¡± she said bluntly, ¡°Are you and your brother worth the time, effort, and cost it will take, to ensure the safety of both of you? Or do I cut my losses here and leave you both to your fates?¡±


    ¡°You help us,¡± I said.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­ because otherwise, I will kill Gerert!¡±


    Her shoulders stiffened and she clenched her jaw, ¡°that would be a bad idea for you.¡±


    I backtracked, ¡°Because¡­. Because Caine and I will be in your debt. We¡¯ll work, day and night, tirelessly to do whatever it is that you need doing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± She said. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    She set off without looking back to see if I was behind her.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I asked when I caught up to her side.


    ¡°I have to let a companion know that there¡¯s a change of plan.¡±


    *


    I found myself in one of the large riverbank buildings that overlooked the Ghid. Anna had put me on a comfortable chair in a sitting room that seemed bigger than the Revellers¡¯ Square. Since coming to the city, I had always wanted to see what was on the inside of these buildings and now that I was here it, was more than I expected.


    Large, portrait paintings plastered the walls. They made Bervian art look childlike in comparison. We had such things as depictions of the seasonal hunts of Akerin. These were basic in detail and lacked proper attention. We used our art for fundamentals. Understanding and planning. Not for something to be gawped at.


    In Wannihiem it was the opposite. Every portrait in the room looked lifelike. They were immaculately drawn, so much so that even the facial hair was intricately depicted to the strand. From what I could tell, all of them were of the same man. He stood upright in most of them, and in most, he was dressed in tidy, light blue armour that would have put any city guard plate to shame. In the larger paintings he was holding a sword, in others, it was a spear or a halberd. In all of them was the long red beard that finished just above his chest. I wondered who he was and what he had done to achieve a whole room dedicated to him.


    The door opened and Anna entered. Behind her, a man followed. He was standing stiff with straight shoulders like that of a sentry on post. His hands were clasped behind his back which made his chest puff out to a stocky frame. His jet-black hair was oiled and slicked back neatly, and he had a goatee that was trimmed with not a hair out of place. His dark eyes were focused and knowing and somehow familiar. He gave a wide smile at the sight of me which had confidence. Sophistication.


    I stood up to greet them.


    ¡°Jeb, this is Gerert,¡± Anna said.


    ¡°Gerert?¡± I said frowning. This couldn¡¯t be.


    ¡°Nice to finally meet you face to face,¡± he said with an offering hand and a grin.


    Unlike Anna¡¯s, his smile seemed friendly and genuine. He spoke in Naminian which was clear enough. We shook hands slowly. My mouth was agape.


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased with that reaction,¡± he said, ¡°It means the disguise worked¡­ for a time at least.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Anna said who leaned on the wall by the door and folded her arms.


    ¡°Now from what Anna has told me, I Understand that it is you that is set to kill me, correct?¡±


    I nodded dumbly, still not believing that the man in front of me was the same drunkard who fell asleep at his table in The Mule and Mare.


    ¡°And I understand that the Helms, they have your brother?¡±


    ¡°Helms?¡± I said.


    That was the second time I heard that word today.


    Gerert gave a glance back at Anna. ¡°Yes, Ottom and the others.¡±


    I nodded again.


    ¡°I would normally ask you if you were sure that you want to go through with this as once you¡¯re initiated there¡¯s no getting out, but it would appear that you don¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    ¡°Initiated?¡±


    He looked at Anna again, ¡°Have you told him nothing?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°There has been no time, besides, you can¡¯t be too careful.¡±


    Gerert shook his head mockingly and then looked back at me, ¡°We cannot just let you join us, Jeb, there must be a proof of loyalty, something that you can do that earns our trust... The good thing is, the initiation has landed right on your lap.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve worked out a plan, a plan that we¡¯ll set in motion in the coming week, and that will involve us getting your brother from the Helms alive, and then the two of you joining and working for us.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I said desperately, ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°I want you to go through with it Jeb. I want you to kill me.¡±

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    ¡°We call this the crypts,¡± Anna said proudly as the blindfold was pulled above my head.


    After we spoke at the big house by the river. Anna and Gerert had insisted that I come with them to another place that was safer. They said that there was someone I needed to meet.


    ¡°The blindfold was necessary,¡± they told me, as where they were taking me was a secret. Not that I would have been able to find it even if I could see where I was going. I just about knew the way from the ruin to the Merchants¡¯ Bridge. They overestimated me in that regard.


    It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the torches. The darkened room had a familiarity to it. The brickwork was old and misshapen, and there was a damp air to the room that you could almost taste. ¡°Take a seat,¡± Anna said, I bent down on the wooden chair behind me and rested my arms by my side. She leaned up against the door in front of me.


    A voice spoke in the local tongue. The words sounded blotchy and sluggish to my ears.


    Anna replied to it in a humorous tone, and then addressed me, ¡°She doesn¡¯t like the look of you.¡± ¡°Who doesn¡¯t?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Me,¡± said the voice, this time in Bervian.


    The old lady was black-skinned, with white thinning hair and eyes a mix of hazel and brown. She leaned her right hand heavily on a cane that hunched her shoulder up higher than the other. Her eyebrows were pinched together in a hard frown. It was a mean look, not like the one Ottom had which was of hatred and disgust, this was of annoyance. As if my very presence wasn¡¯t worth her time. She was Hafran. Her sharp nose, and pointed chin indicated that she was the Bervian neighbour to the east.


    As someone from the central parts of the Bervian hills, I rarely saw the people from the coast, but she wasn¡¯t the first I¡¯d come across.


    She walked to the front of me and for a while. Glaring. Gazing deeply into my eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s too much of a gamble, I can see that from one look,¡± she said in Bervian.


    ¡°Only if I¡¯m wrong,¡± replied Anna.


    The old lady stood upright, ¡°Well, then for all our sakes let¡¯s hope you¡¯re not.¡±


    She looked at me one more time before turning and walking towards the door Anna was leaning on. Anna opened it for her, and she made her way out. The tapping of her cane grew fainter as she disappeared into the darkness.


    ¡°Well, that could have gone better,¡± Anna said.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± She smiled but said nothing.


    Instead, she walked to the other end of the room.


    On the wall was a neat-looking rack that held an assortment of blades. Some straight, others curved, all shiny to the point of shimmering in the firelight.


    ¡°You ever held a sword?¡± Anna asked, ¡°I mean a real sword, not some hunting knife they give you on the hills. Vidlaian broadswords are said to be the best forged, I prefer a Telforn Rapier myself. They¡¯re good for sticking someone with, and at some point, in your life, you may have to decide whether you prefer to thrust or cut... here, stand up, take this.¡±


    She pulled a sword off the rack and handed it to me. I gripped the hilt tightly. It looked common enough, the pommel and hilt were as ordinary as any the city guards wield. The blade however looked pristine, as if it had been polished, over and over again.


    ¡°It¡¯s a decorative piece and so it¡¯s seen more oil than most swords. You could use it all the same, however.¡±


    It felt weighty in my hands like I was holding a stick at its weakest end. I could not tell if this was how it was supposed to feel or if it was just too heavy for me.


    ¡°Well, go on!¡± Anna said and motioned her arms ¡°Wave it around, see how it feels.¡±


    I did so. I swished the blade in diagonal slices, pretending I was running down an enemy or someone who wronged me. Ottom came to mind quickly. I had thoughts of slicing his large belly like I was carving akerin meat.


    Anna looked impressed, ¡°From that display, I¡¯d say you¡¯d prefer to cut,¡±


    ¡°As would I,¡± Gerert was standing in the open doorway.


    He was with another. A local by the look of him, small and blond with bright red cheeks. At first glance, he looked like a young boy, a teenager perhaps. It was only when I looked into his eyes that I saw the wrinkles around them. He was a lot older than he looked.


    ¡°I see she has started with you right away; I suppose it couldn¡¯t hurt," Gerert said, then he looked at Anna ¡°She¡¯s ready for him.¡±


    Anna nodded, took the sword from me, and placed it back on the rack. ¡°Follow me,¡± she said.


    The four of us walked down the darkened corridor, our footsteps echoed off the walls making it sound like a slow applause from the dead. This place gave off an uncomfortable feeling. It wasn¡¯t quite the feeling of fear, but it wasn¡¯t far off. The hairs on my back stood and I found myself fidgeting at any noise that I thought wasn¡¯t coming from the four of us.


    ¡°What is the place?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Have you forgotten already? We are in the crypts.¡± Anna said.


    ¡°Yes, but what actually is it? What are we doing? Why are we here?¡±


    ¡°This is where our people operate,¡± said Gerert, ¡°it also serves as the best place for you to train.¡± ¡°Train?¡± I frowned, ¡°for what?¡±


    They remained silent. After a moment of walking through the corridor, we came to a large set of wooden doors. Anna glanced at me, her clouded eye brightening in the dimness, she pressed both hands on the doors and pushed them open.


    ¡°Welcome to the ground!¡± she said, spreading her arms out with open hands.


    The room was big. It made the room with the paintings by the river look tiny. It made our place in the ruin look like a stone compared to a boulder. I¡¯d dare say you¡¯d fit the entirety of the Merchants¡¯ Bridge inside. It was a vast hall held up by large, circular columns, made completely out of misshapen rocks and mortar that tapered into an arched ceiling. A bench was built into the walls all the way around. Only leaving gaps for the numerous doors that dotted the hall. Weapons hung on every inch of the walls. All different shapes and sizes and varieties, that I had never seen before. Spears with nasty looking curved blades at the end, swords the size of myself that seemed only fit for giants, strange bows, and peculiar arrows with figurine tips that looked as artful as much as they did sharp. The old lady stood leaning on her cane. She was on a raised platform in the centre of the room. Black braziers surrounded the stage making the hall shine brightly unlike the corridor we had come from. ¡°This first was built as a sanctuary from foreign invaders,¡± Said Gerert as we walked into the room. ¡°You see, Wannihiem has always been a hub of wealth, but hasn¡¯t always had its large walls to defend it. So before having the bright idea of building up, the brilliant minds that were most likely my ancestors decided to build down and where we are right now, are some of the original foundations. This place was designed to hold the entirety of the city surface if need be, granted there were a lot less people back then, but still, it was an impressive feat. In its glory days, these crypts connected the entire city in one big network that was full of secret entrances and hidden pathways, but unfortunately, years of neglect have seen too many cave-ins and-¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Come Gerert, don¡¯t bore the poor man,¡± Anna interrupted.


    ¡°I¡¯m not boring him; Jeb am I boring you?¡± I shrugged and smiled awkwardly, the truth was I had too much on my mind to be bored or interested. As much as I was in awe of this ginormous foundation. I was more concerned. Concerned with where I was and why I was here and exactly how this was all meant to help with the release of my brother.


    When we approached the old lady, she pointed her cane at me, ¡°On the stage.¡±


    I looked at Anna who nodded. I stepped up nervously, still unsure what was happening. The small blonde man stepped onto the stage also and stood opposite me. His grey eyes were distant, his face expressionless.


    Without warning, the old lady slammed her cane into the ground making a loud thud, then she took a step back. The blonde man walked towards me and offered a hand. I took it, thinking it was a traditional Wannihiem greeting. It wasn¡¯t. Before I could think he had pulled my hand towards him, put a palm on my chest, and lifted me by the torso until I was mid-air. I could have only been in that position for a moment, but time seemed to slow as I went crashing down to the ground. The stage rumbled as my back slammed into it. I let out a loud groan then coughed as the wind left me. I could hear laughing from Anna and Gerert. The slam had brought back the ringing in my ears I had received from Caine the day before. I stared up at the stone ceiling.


    ¡°As expected,¡± the old lady spoke in Bervian. ¡°he¡¯s too trusting and slow to react.¡±


    ¡°You could have killed me,¡± I said, wide-eyed and in a broken voice.


    ¡°Oh please,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re on softwood and Ben here is a professional, if he wanted to hurt you, he would have. This is what you give me Anna? Not only a boy with the smell of the hills on him but someone who whines like a babe as well?¡±


    ¡°Boy?¡± I said.


    ¡°Give him time Raina, he¡¯ll surprise you. I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    The old lady grunted and then narrowed her eyes at me, ¡°Well, get up!¡± She snapped, slamming her cane to the floor.


    As I rose to my feet, Gerert leaned over and put something in my hand. It was a knife made of wood. The old lady stepped towards me, ¡°Now when you stab someone there are three things you must remember to ensure a killing blow, first you must be accurate. People will say the neck is the best place to stab if you want to kill, but in truth, it¡¯s the heart, more people survive from neck stabbings than they do with the heart and if you correctly pierce it, they will die in seconds.¡± She poked two fingers into my chest. It hurt so unexpectedly, I had to take a step back, ¡°Between the second and third rib from the top on your right side is where you want to aim. You¡¯ll notice on your prop dagger that we¡¯ve dyed the tip of the blade red, it¡¯s so that we can see where you¡¯re hitting when you start stabbing.¡±


    ¡°Why are we-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt. Secondly, you need power. There¡¯s no point in assuming that your knife is going to do all the work. When you strike you want to strike as if you¡¯re aiming to run your knife all the way through so your hilt is poking out of your enemy¡¯s back. This differs with weaponry I¡¯ll admit, but with what you¡¯re doing that¡¯s, how you want to think. And thirdly. You¡¯ve got to want to kill. You¡¯ve got to go with anger. They¡¯ll be no praying beforehand like you Bervians do before a hunt. There will just be you, the blade, and the life your about to end. Nothing else matters.¡±


    I snapped. I couldn¡¯t say whether it was because I was blindfolded and put in the back of a carriage for over an hour. Or if it was because I had just been unexpectedly slammed on my back. Perhaps it was the fact that my brother was missing and most definitely hurt, and none of these seemed to care all that much. It was probably a mixture of all three. Whatever it was, it didn¡¯t matter. I had gone past the point of no return. I felt my cheeks flush and my body tense.


    ¡°What are we doing!?¡± I roared and balled a fist.


    The old lady''s eyes glinted. It wasn¡¯t quite a flinch, but it was still something.


    Both Gerert and the blonde man reached for their pockets.


    Anna just grinned her usual grin.


    ¡°So far no one has told me anything. Instead, I keep getting led from place to place with no idea how any of this is to help my brother.¡± I turned to Gerert, ¡°you say I have to kill you, we¡¯ll how? How exactly, let me be done with it now! if it¡¯s you they want you, then I¡¯ll gladly trade your life for my brothers!¡±


    The old lady gave the smallest of smirks, ¡°Maybe he does have a spine.¡±


    ¡°Put the man out of his misery,¡± said Gerert. ¡°He¡¯s starting to make threats and they¡¯re directed towards me. Tell him what¡¯s going on otherwise he¡¯s going to be as stiff as Ruland all day.¡±


    Anna sniggered.


    ¡°Fair point,¡± said the old lady, ¡°Jeb, isn¡¯t it? You currently stand in the grounds of the Mards, the people that run most dealings in the city north of the Ra.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said.


    ¡°My name is Raina; I am the matriarch of these people. This is Ben. Gerert and Anna you know.¡± She breathed in, ¡°Now you and your brother had fallen into a trap from another set of people called the Helms. They run everything south of the Ghid. Us and them are¡­ at odds with one another and unfortunately, you have been muddled in with it. As you¡¯re aware, the Helms want poor Gerert here dead, and those fools have tried to use you to do it. However. We, being the people that we are, have and have gotten you on our side.¡± She looked into my eyes to see if I was following and then continued. ¡°Initially the plan was a simple one. We¡¯d have you, your brother, and Gerert, stage a fake killing. Publicly. So that the Helms could see and think that Gerert is dead. But your brother being taken captive has made things more complicated. We now have to get your brother out of captivity, whilst still continuing with the plan.¡±


    ¡°So how do we do that?¡± I said.


    ¡°Like I mentioned before,¡± said Anna ¡°With the man hidden within them, the man who''s secretly one of us... It¡¯s hard to get messages to one another, but when we do. We¡¯ll tell him to keep your brother safe.¡±


    I Raised an eyebrow, ¡°And he can do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it will raise susupicion. He¡¯ll be risking his life as much as you are risking yours.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Raina. She looked at me intensely, her brownish, hazel eyes shining off the fire from the brazier. ¡°Jeb, I¡¯ll ask you to trust us, like we are to trust you. If you can ensure that you¡¯ll pull off a perfect performance in killing Gerert, then we will promise to get your brother back.¡± She held out a frail hand, and I shook it.


    ¡°I promise,¡± I said.


    ¡°Good, now that everyone is on the same page let¡¯s get to it... Gerert if you please.¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± he said, ¡°Let me just get into character.¡± Gerert bowed his legs slightly and walked with the leaning gait of the drunk he was when I first saw him. He turned his back on me.


    Raina spoke: ¡°Jeb, you are to put your left hand on his right shoulder and pull, then you are to plunge the prop knife into his heart... No no, you don¡¯t hold the knife like that, you hold it like this....¡±


    *


    ¡°Pig¡¯s blood?¡± I said frowning.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Anna. ¡°It looks a lot like human blood. No Helm would be able to tell the difference... or the guards for that matter.¡±


    I had left the crypts by blindfold again and was thrown into another carriage. The driver dropped us off at the same place I had met Anna earlier. She took the blindfold off and we started walking towards the bridge.


    I shrugged, not entirely convinced, ¡°If you are sure then okay.¡±


    ¡°I am sure. Believe me Bervian, this isn¡¯t our first time. It is the reason we are making you practice. Where you will stab will determine how much blood will flow. Piercing a bag of pig¡¯s blood will spill quicker than a human¡¯s stomach, piercing a heart however, the blood will flow the same.¡±


    I looked out at the river without saying anything. I didn¡¯t want to know how she came about that knowledge.


    ¡°You did well today,¡± Anna continued. ¡°Even Raina seemed to come around towards the end,¡±


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d be there for longer,¡± I said.


    ¡°If we could keep you, we would have, but the Helms will be monitoring your ruin twice a day, and if you¡¯re not back by sundown, they¡¯ll get suspicious. Best not to give them a reason to start looking for you.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°And so what now?¡±


    ¡°Now, we practice, day in and day out until the week¡¯s end, we¡¯re going to make it so that there are no mistakes on our part.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    There was silence for a moment. The late afternoon wind swept in from the river, and a cool breeze brushed Anna¡¯s hair over her clouded grey eye.


    ¡°You know your way from here?¡± She asked when we arrived at the bridge.


    ¡°Yes. Are you not coming any further? I still have some questions.¡±


    Anna smiled, ¡°Unfortunately I can¡¯t. If I were to step one foot on that bridge my head would end up on a spike by the end of the day. In this line of work, you must know where your boundaries are.¡±


    I tilted my head, ¡°Would the Helms really do that?¡±


    I realised it was a stupid question. The side of my brother¡¯s face still sat in the corner of our room at the ruin.


    ¡°Who said it was the Helms?¡± she replied.


    ¡°If not them then who?¡±


    Anna nodded towards the bridge. It was a fair distance, but I noticed him, leaning upright on a pillar. Hooded. Somehow, I could tell he was gazing at us.


    ¡°Who is he?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Doge Rolof ¨C this fine city¡¯s elected ruler ¨C has a keen interest in our affairs, and let¡¯s just say he doesn¡¯t like it when one group tips the balance too far on one side... That man there makes sure we follow the rules.¡±


    ¡°Rules?¡±


    She smirked and nodded, ¡°The game is a corrupted one, but it still has rules, you¡¯d best remember not to break them often or it will give you problems. Us, the Helms, and the Furns know our limits.¡±  ¡°Furns? What¡¯s that?¡±


    Anna cocked an eye, ¡°Did we not mention them? Archin¡¯s lot. They¡¯re another group like us and the Helms, they have the central parts of the city.¡±


    ¡°Did you say Archin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    I leaned my elbows up against the river wall, ¡°I have heard that name before. The beggar that kicked me out of the alley, right before I first met you. He said it was Archin¡¯s territory.¡±


    Anna shrugged, ¡°He wasn¡¯t wrong.¡±


    ¡°Are there any others? Groups I mean.¡±


    ¡°There are a few smaller ones that take on a single street, but they¡¯re not a concern to us. No, these are the big three of the city.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose I am lucky you found me then.¡±


    ¡°More than you know,¡± she gave a glance towards the bridge, ¡°best be getting back now young Jeb, it¡¯s almost sundown.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    I was sweating more than I would on a midsummer day upon the hills.


    The braziers were a roaring flame that had no tame to them. I was breathing heavily, feeling weak and ready to slump. Ready to give up.


    ¡°You''re slacking!¡± Raina spat.


    Slowly, I picked myself up from the stage and rubbed the back of my head, ¡°Can we stop soon?¡±


    Ben stood opposite me. His stupid face was expressionless as always.


    ¡°Pathetic,¡± Said Raina and stomped her cane onto the stage, ¡°Again!¡±


    Ben sauntered towards me, His legs squat and his palms out. I had gotten better at keeping him off me for a while. I would twist my body to make things awkward or dig my heels in to keep my stance firm, but eventually, he would out-muscle or out-manoeuvre me. He would get me where he wanted and then.


    Up. Over. SLAM!


    Before I knew it, I was facing the ceiling for what felt like the hundredth time. I had gotten so used to seeing that ceiling that I began to take note of which of the misshapen stone blocks had chips in them and which ones were darker than the others¡­ It had been a trying few days.


    The routine became a simple one. I would get up at sunrise and make sure to spot the Helms spying on me on their first patrol around the ruin. After a few attempts of actively seeking them out, they were easy to spot. They were hunched and mixed in with the crowd, or they were leaned up against the wall. hooded. No matter what time of day.


    When they were gone, I would then make my way to the Merchants¡¯ Bridge and meet a Mard, or so they called themselves. He would blindfold me and bring me to the crypts and then Raina would torture me for the next four hours by way of combat training. After that, I¡¯d be escorted back to the ruin for the second patrol and then back to the crypts for more torture. On the first day, I tried convincing them that I didn¡¯t need to train so vigorously, but I quickly learned that I¡¯d had a better chance of convincing grass to stop growing than changing Raina¡¯s mind.


    She stepped over me as I stared up at the familiar ceiling. ¡°You need to bend your knees more and keep your back straight, counter Ben''s strength against him as he comes forward. You have muscles hill man, so fucking use them!¡±


    I let out an exhausted breath. I was fed up, ¡°Why are we doing this? you have said yourself that my motion of the stabbing is convincing enough to fool the guards. Why do I need to learn how to wrestle?¡±


    She jabbed me in the stomach with her cane which caused me to spit out and yelp. ¡°Because you''re soft, that¡¯s why. You¡¯re about to cost us a valuable asset with our informer. And in return, we get you. A Bervian who doesn¡¯t even speak the local language. You best believe that I¡¯m at least going to have you in fighting shape if I¡¯m to make any sort of gain on this investment¡­AGAIN!¡±


    Slowly, I rise to my feet, ¡°you sound a lot like the people that threatened us.¡±


    Raina gave a pitiful laugh, ¡°The fools south of the Ghid offer you a knife in the back and we offer you a bed with a warm fire and a full belly. You should be kissing my feet hill man¡­ Ben!¡±


    The small blond man charged and,


    Up. Over. SLAM!


    It rocked me so hard that I felt my insides shake. A ringing went through my ears that didn¡¯t let up and I felt a sharp pain in my jaw of all places. Ben had used extra force.


    ¡°Care to comment on anything else Bervian?¡± said Raina.


    I let out a large cough, ¡°I would kiss feet, but I¡¯d fear that their stench would kill me before the Helms got the chance.¡±


    I heard Gerert snort from afar. Even Ben smirked.


    ¡°A Bervian with a sense of humour, now that is a rarity,¡± said Raina. ¡°It¡¯s almost time to get you back for the second patrol. Go and get yourself cleaned up. You have a big day tomorrow.¡±


    She nodded at Ben curtly and without another word, they left the stage. They exited the training ground, opening and closing the doors behind them. Not bothering to look back.


    I had gotten used to her cold demeanour quite quickly. When she was done with you, she was really done with you.


    I stayed on the floor for a moment to catch my breath. Then I sat up and wiped the sweat from my brow. I let out a large sigh before making it to my feet. Everything ached. From head to heel. I felt as if I had been run over by a horse. By a hundred horses. The only thing that stopped me from quitting was knowing that Caine probably had it worse.


    I made my way to the built-in stone bench that edged the length of the hall. I wiped my brow again and began to gingerly change from my robes back into the ragged clothes I was wearing before I arrived at the crypts.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking a lot better,¡± Gerert said as he took a seat next to me.


    ¡°Ben manages to pin me every time,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s taking him longer than it did five days ago. It shows that you¡¯re improving.¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    Gerert pressed his hands together and leaned back on the bench, ¡°You nervous? About tomorrow I mean.¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply right away, instead, I paused and thought about it. Was I nervous? In truth I hadn¡¯t had time to be nervous, Raina had kept me busy all week escorting me from one part of town to the other, working me to near death, and then drilling into me the importance of not messing up on my part of the plan. Any time that I did have spare, I had to pretend to do a mock reconnaissance on Gerert, in order to throw the Helms of our scent. This happened on the second patrol, and it wasn¡¯t easy as it meant I had to walk to the northern parts of the city after an intense morning workout in the crypts. If it wasn¡¯t for the Mards feeding me, I would have collapsed in the street.


    I shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ I¡¯m more concerned about what¡¯s happening to Caine than myself. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Bah! Not really, if anything I¡¯m looking forward to it. I mean sure I will miss Wannihiem. It has its charms, with its buildings and its business, but it also comes with a strong smell of rats and not just ones with fur. Humn on the other hand, now there is a city that has elegance. It has all the culture of Wannihiem without any of the¡­ grit. It¡¯s a perfect place to retire.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re planning on leaving?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. The plan is for me to stay dead. It¡¯s for the best. If I were to stay here and be recognised by the Helms it could cause retaliation that would be catastrophic, it would bring along the wrong sort of attention. No, it¡¯s best to quit whilst I¡¯m ahead. I just need to work up the courage to tell my wife.¡± I frowned at him.


    He read my expression perfectly and shrugged, ¡°I couldn¡¯t find the right words to say at the time and so I didn¡¯t say anything, it¡¯s a problem I have sometimes. If I¡¯m honest, she still doesn¡¯t know that I have been a Mard man for the past decade. She thinks I¡¯m a traveling merchant that trades through the free cities. When really, I hardly ever leave Wannihiem,¡± he began to Snigger, ¡°She¡¯s in for a big surprise tomorrow when I tell her and the boys that we are taking our things and heading downriver.¡± He let out a wheezing laugh and clutched his chest.


    I found myself grinning.


    The lanky man who was my escort home approached. I nodded to him. it was my time to go.


    Gerert placed a hand on my shoulder, ¡°You¡¯ll do all right here hill man.¡± He rose to his feet and bowed to the escort lowly and somewhat mockingly.


    ¡°Just remember one thing, no one in this city is who they say they are, and the ones that are, are to be feared the most.¡± He gave me a Bervian salute before setting off down the hall in the drunken gait he did the first time I saw him.


    *


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    It was the morning of the big day, the day that I had spent all week training for, the day I get my brother back. I awoke early to find Anna in my room at the ruin. How she knew where it was, I had no idea, I certainly never told her. Neither could I tell how long she had been watching me sleep. It was both comforting and terrifying.


    She was leaning against the wall, idly inspecting her nails ¡°Do you realise how much you snore?¡±


    ¡°How can I when I¡¯m asleep?¡± I rubbed my eyes and yawned. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of being seen?¡±


    ¡°Not today. I called in a favour¡­ Get dressed, we have work to do.¡±


    There was no time for breakfast apparently, as soon as I was dressed and ready, Anna rushed me out of the ruin. She went from relaxed to tense the moment we were out in the open. The way she walked with her head down and bunched her shoulders told me she had no desire to be noticed, and so I copied her as best I could. Both of us were hooded, she had made sure of that, they were dark, colourless things that covered our faces down to the nose. We marched to the Merchants¡¯ Bridge at a pace that was just shy of jogging. Her thick black boots splattered in the muddy puddles, and she took long strides for extra measure.


    ¡°What about the patrols from the Helms?¡± I asked breathlessly. Butterflies rose and fell in my stomach as the weight of the day began to sink in.


    ¡°Least of my concerns right now. Our boys in The Mule and Mare said that there¡¯s a Helm man at the inn as we speak. And he¡¯s not drinking too much. It could be that it¡¯s the morning and he¡¯s not a man who relies on the drink, but we know better than that don¡¯t we. He¡¯s in there waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Talk me through the plan again,¡± Anna said without looking at me.


    I gazed along the busy street. Carts stacked with fruits and vegetables crowded the main roads Whilst pedestrians took to the side paths. We weaved among the crowd, doing our best to be invisible to prying eyes.


    ¡°I am to arrive at The Mule and Mare at midday and wait there until three hours after midday.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Gerert will enter shortly after I do, he will have two drinks and a nap in between them. Then he¡¯ll leave.¡±


    ¡°How long will his nap be?¡±


    ¡°Around an hour, give or take a few minutes. Although he¡¯s not really asleep, he¡¯s eavesdropping on conversations to find out information.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Continue.¡±


    ¡°I am to follow him down to the riverbank until he reaches the tree with blue leaves.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°There I am to whistle to grab his attention.¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°He is to turn, and I am to grab his right shoulder with my left hand. I am to stab him once in the heart and then try to escape.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Then a guard is to have seen the attack, threaten me at spear point, lock me in shackles, and escort me to the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°What colour tunic will the guard be wearing under his breastplate?¡± Anna asked, turning her head towards me slightly.


    ¡°I... I don¡¯t remember¡± I said.


    ¡°A green one.¡± She replied.


    ¡°I forgot-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget. This is very important; one slip-up could cost us. What is his hair and eye colour?¡± ¡°Black hair and blue eyes.¡±


    ¡°Good, and what are you to do if it is another guard?¡±


    ¡°Run.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    We came to the Revellers¡¯ Square. Even during the morning, it heaved with drunkards that went about singing loudly. Anna hunched herself more, and we walked straight into the centre. Something I never did when passing through. To my amazement, we were not bothered. No one so much as even muttered kling under their breath.


    After we were through, we pretty much followed the exact route Caine and I took to the Merchants¡¯ Bridge a week before.


    She slowed her pace when we crossed the bridge. I could see her relax her shoulders almost instantly. She pulled her hood back and let her hair fall.


    ¡°Much better,¡± she said with relief.


    ¡°Do you never worry that they will follow you across the bridge?¡±


    ¡°The Helms?¡± She shook her head, ¡°This is Furn territory and the Furns and the Helms are currently ¡­. at odds. Maybe not to the extent that we are, but still.¡±


    ¡°And your¡­ our¡­ people aren''t? At odds with the Furns, I mean.¡±


    Anna looked pensive, ¡°There may be some financial disagreements but none that has left us in outright conflicts. Some of the lower members of our group get into tavern brawls now and then. It''s bravado usually. Young Mards fuelled by the drink trying to prove themselves. We usually solve such problems with our own justice. For now, we have no issue with them, so we walk freely among each other.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t understand, how are the Helms then able to come so far into the northern parts of the city if they¡¯re bound to the south.¡±


    Anna smiled again, ¡°The Mule and Mare is a neutral territory by the Doge¡¯s orders. He has a few places like it around the city. Ironically, he did it so that there would be less violence between the groups. In truth, all it does is give us a place to scout out and plan against one another. ¡°


    ¡°And what about getting there?¡± I said, ¡°Surely the Helms have to travel through Furn territory, if not Mards aswell.¡±


    ¡°You pick things up quickly hill man.¡± She held up her fingers. ¡°Two ways,¡± she said. ¡°They could ask permission. There would be rules for them of course, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do any¡­ business with anyone, and they¡¯d be watched, but they wouldn¡¯t run into any trouble whilst they walked through either. Or they could do what I have just done. Which would be to sneak through. It¡¯s cheaper but dangerous.¡±


    ¡°And which one did they do?¡±


    Anna shrugged, ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, but I¡¯d wager that they would have spoken to Archin. On a day like this, you don¡¯t want to take any more chances than you need to.¡±


    ¡°But you said the Helms and the Furns were at odds. Why would Archin grant permission to a rival?¡±


    ¡°Because Archin loves coin more than anything. And the Helms will be more than happy to pay if the day goes the way they want it to. Which it won¡¯t of course.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the Mards do something about that then? Shouldn¡¯t they stop this Archin from allowing the Helms to come through?¡±


    Anna shook her head, ¡°It would create too much tension in an already tense time. We don¡¯t dabble in Furns affairs nor do they in ours. The doge would also have an issue with more needless infighting. Besides, these groups are fickle. It might be in the future that we embrace the Helms as friends. It¡¯s best not to make enemies so quickly and for something so small.¡±


    I frowned, ¡°that doesn¡¯t make sense to me.¡±


    ¡°Well right now, it doesn¡¯t have to. Right now you only have to worry about what you¡¯re doing today.¡±


    I stopped at the usual spot almost on instinct and was surprised to see there was no lanky Mard man there to blindfold me.


    Anna noticed, ¡°Not today Bervian, today we walk to the Inn.¡±


    My heart dropped a little, I was aching from the day before, and the lack of breakfast left me feeling weaker.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°If they see you pull up in a horse and cart, they are going to suspect something. Come along.¡±


    I huffed and then followed her, dragging my feet. when I was close, she pulled my arm like a mother would pull a child. She was stronger than she looked.


    ¡°Stop moping, ¡°It¡¯s quicker than it seems, think of your brother.¡±


    Caine. I almost forgot about Caine, as strange as it seemed. He hadn¡¯t entered my mind since I had awoken. In a flash, thoughts of him hit me like an arrow hitting a deer. I stopped still, Anna walked a few steps before noticing I wasn¡¯t beside her and then turned back to me.


    ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°How are you getting him back? My brother I mean.¡±


    She huffed, ¡°As I¡¯ve said before, leave that to us,¡± she motioned me to keep walking.


    I remained still, ¡°not good enough. The only thing I¡¯ve seen of him all week is a carving of his face, it lays in the corner of our room and watches me sleep, I am unable to touch it. For a full week now, you have trained me to do your bidding, and I have listened, and I have learned. The least you could do for me now is to give me the details of what will happen after I do this for you.¡±


    ¡°Where is this coming from Hill man?¡± she snapped, it was the first I had ever heard sternness in her voice, ¡°We haven¡¯t time.¡±


    I felt emboldened by her sudden burst, ¡°Well, make time. You need me to do this-¡±


    She took a step towards me that cut off my speech. Her face switched from a smile to a sneer. I would be lying if I said didn¡¯t feel a pang of fear. ¡°Need I remind you that the reason you have a whiff of a chance to get out of this alive is because I have thrown you a bone to chew on.¡±


    I puffed my chest, ¡°And need I remind you that in not so long, you want me to do a job for you. A job I won¡¯t do if you don¡¯t tell me what I want to know.¡±


    ¡°And then you and your brother will be dead before nightfall.¡±


    ¡°Or I could just aim for the stomach rather than that bag of pig''s blood when I ram the knife into Gerert. Let him bleed out like a real pig,¡±


    ¡°And then you and your brother will be dead before nightfall,¡± She repeated.


    ¡°But so will Gerert,¡± I said, I even dared to smile.


    Her eyes glinted and she breathed in deep, ¡°You are playing a dangerous game Bervian.¡±


    ¡°My name is Jeb,¡± I said, ¡°not hill man, not Bervian, and not kling.¡±


    I kept my gaze on her clouded eye. There was silence for a moment as we looked at each other.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you on the walk. come¡­ Jeb.¡±


    She turned and crossed a road briskly as if to make up for the lost time. I ran after her, carefully dodging a ragged woman carrying a bucket of dirt water.


    ¡°Firstly,¡± she said when I caught up, ¡°Your brother is alive, we got a message this morning.¡±


    ¡°Well, thanks for telling me,¡± I said.


    ¡°Secondly, you need to blink less when you feel intimidated, it¡¯s a tell that could get you killed.¡±


    Anna led us down an alleyway. A girl was sleeping against the wall. She was young, no more than thirteen. And covered in dust and dirt. Anna kicked the girl, and the girl stirred suddenly. She said something in the local tongue to which the girl shook her head.


    ¡°Good, we¡¯re clear.¡±


    We carried on moving.


    ¡°Now, they will deal with your brother in three different ways. The first will be to kill him, strap a weight to his body, and then cast him down the river. Which is what I think they¡¯ll favour. It¡¯s a perfect crime for them. No one will be looking for the body and if they did, they wouldn¡¯t care about some Bervian.¡±


    I gave her a hard look as we walked out of the other side of the alley and into a new crowd of people.


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth,¡± she said evenly, and then continued. ¡°Second would be to sell him into slavery, it¡¯s mostly outlawed within the city-states, but again, he¡¯s a Bervian and if you can afford a slave you can afford to make people turn a blind eye.¡±


    ¡°And three?¡±


    ¡°Three is they recruit him. It¡¯s rare but it¡¯s been known to happen, people like you make good street informants. A few have even made it through their ranks. Probably the only decent thing about the Helms is that they treat everyone equally bad.¡±


    That made me think of Roc, the Bervian by Ottom¡¯s side on the night this all began. How had he gotten to be that way? So different from any Bervian I¡¯ve known.


    ¡°They won¡¯t just let him go?¡± I asked hopelessly.


    Anna laughed aloud; I had seen her smile a lot, but the sudden guffaw caught me off guard.


    ¡°Let him go? With all the information he has, not a chance.¡±


    We started to walk through a closed-top fish market. The heat from the steam hit my face in a sudden flush, it made things hard to see but the smells of freshly cooked fish made up for the lack of vision and sent my stomach rumbling.


    ¡°So, what will you do to prevent any of that from happening?¡±


    ¡°We go for the latter two of the three options. If they sell him into slavery, then we will be the people that buy him, and if they recruit him into their ranks. Then we have another informant.¡±


    ¡°But if they take the first option?¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s when our informant¡¯s cover is blown.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°No you don¡¯t, but you will, come, we¡¯re going to be late.¡±

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10


    Anna walked with me over another two bridges and through the central parts of the city before she left. We were about a mile out from The Mule and Mare when she turned around and let me go the rest of the way alone. I now stood just outside the Inn, staring down the old wooden door.


    Once upon a time, I¡¯m sure it was painted a bright colour, red or blue maybe, but it had now turned to a faded grey.


    I let myself in.


    The darkened room greeted me the same as before. The same crack of light shone through the centre and the low bacran murmurs of the patrons, deep in their cups, ringed off the walls. The thick smell of stale ale seemed even stronger than last time. I could almost taste it before putting any to my lips.


    The serving boy approached. This time with a cocked eye. He looked beyond me as if he expected me to be accompanied by someone. Most likely he thought to see one of the twins with me. If that was the case, then he remembered me. I tried to weigh up in my mind whether that was a good thing or bad. I supposed it didn¡¯t matter. The plan would either work or it wouldn¡¯t. He would have little to do with it.


    The boy ushered me to the same seats as before with not so much as a word. Not that I would have understood him if he did speak, we both were aware of that, and it was probably best he kept quiet. I took a seat and breathed deeply. The boy bowed and then left.


    Almost instantly I noticed a set of blue eyes glaring at me from the table opposite. I recognised him, with dark black hair and short dark stubble around his chin. Ghasken. The small man who was counting the jewellery for Ottom. The one who told Ottom that our load was light. The one who had a blade to my neck. He smiled a cruel smile when we met eyes. leaning back on his chair, he raised his tankard to me in a mock salute. I knew they would be watching but it still gave me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach to see a Helm in plain sight. My blood started to tingle. It was the first one I had seen in a week that wasn¡¯t trying to hide from me.


    The serving boy came back and planted a tankard on the table. I took a large gulp. There was nothing to do now but wait.


    *


    When I was a boy, my father took me hunting. Caine was with us as were my uncles, Gen, and Reb. It was the first hunt my brother and I were allowed to go on and we were giddy with excitement as hunting for a Bervian, meant manhood. Caine was earning his manhood late, and I was earning mine early. It was the akerin forest migration, which meant the air was warm and the beasts were plentiful. A perfect hunt to come of age to.


    We were on the side of a hill. My father had just finished setting the last of the rabbit traps. His brown skin shone with sweat from the burning Bervian sun. The mark of the deer on its hind legs was planted across his chest. The black outline of the antlers spread from his right shoulder, the front hooves across his right peck, and the rear along the left hip. It was customary for tribe chiefs to have the biggest mark. It was a sign of stature and respect.


    ¡°That should do it,¡± he said grunting as he pulled the trap into place.


    My uncle Gen, a small and rough-looking man, muttered under his breath.


    ¡°What was that?¡± My father asked.


    ¡°I said this is Pointless brother, A bacran doesn¡¯t focus on mice when deer are at play, why should we?¡± Gen¡¯s voice was low and husky.


    ¡°So, you compare our wisdom to that of dogs?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Akerin season Treb, if there is one time in a generation that you don¡¯t have to lay traps it¡¯s now.¡± ¡°And yet I still do.¡± My father circled the trap with a keen eye. Inspecting every inch. He nodded to himself with satisfaction and then turned to my brother and me.


    ¡°We''re nearly there. Are you two ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes father,¡± said Caine.


    We followed eagerly as the three giant men who were our elders took long strides to the top of a hill. Its steepness was hard for me. Being the young age I was, my breathing was not yet accustomed to such endurance, and my thighs protested with every stride. I could feel sweat glisten through my then, curly hair, and  the heat from the sun burned my back fiercely. We were midway when I felt like stopping. I almost did until Caine pulled my arm and urged me to keep going. He was told to look after me and wasn¡¯t about to miss his chance at manhood. I was glad that he pressed me so. It was a gruelling task, but I made it. Even at that young age, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to bear the shame if I had listened to my weaker self and stopped.


    When we reached the summit, my hands went to my knees in exhaustion. I felt the heat rush to my face and drops of sweat dripped onto the soft grass beneath my feet. I was panting heavily and was desperate to be out of the unrelenting heat.


    ¡°Tired?¡± Uncle Reb asked with a grin as he knelt beside me. In one hand, he had a rag, in the other, a waterskin.


    ¡°No!¡± I said, snatching the waterskin from him.


    ¡°Good,¡± he said, ¡°then stand up and take it in, you¡¯re missing it.¡±


    The rolling mounds of the Bervian hills spread across the midday horizon like large lush green knuckles on a clenched fist. The cool wind rushed and swirled underneath my arms and changed direction more often than a flying insect. It was a cool and welcoming sensation.


    ¡°Look there,¡± Uncle Reb pointed off into the distance.


    It took me a moment to see it, but there it was. A thin line of grey smoke rose in the air meeting the white clouds above.


    ¡°Our camp?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± he said.


    I stood there for a moment in fascination, ¡°I have never seen it from this far away before.¡±


    ¡°Well, I should hope not, a boy who¡¯s not yet a man should not be traveling this far from his camp. A boy who¡¯s becoming a man, however, will have no trouble climbing the next hill and will not need his older brother to help him along the way.¡± He gave me a knowing smile, and it made me feel as if I had failed some sort of test. I later found this to be the way of Uncle Reb. He was teasing me and at the time I was too young to realise. Reb was thinner than both his brothers and by some margin. And although the youngest, he had the least hair on his head. Both were signs of ill health to Bervians and so some in the camp were weary that his features would rub off on them. Still, if it ever bothered him, he never let it show. He was the most cheerful of the three, and most easy to talk to. He never courted or took a wife of his own. It wasn¡¯t until years later I realised what that meant.


    He turned and pointed in another direction. ¡°And over there are the tribes of the rooster, it¡¯s faint, but can you see their smoke?¡±


    I nodded ¡°It¡¯s very far.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as far as it looks, that¡¯s the beauty of our homeland, the hills can be slow to climb but they¡¯re quick to go down. Much like how the bird takes more time to find its stick than it does to build its nest, we take time to climb but when the climb is done then it¡¯s all downhill.¡±


    ¡°Stop giving the boy those shaman philosophy lessons Reb and bring him over here, the akerin on the move,¡± said Uncle Gen.


    A loud yelp echoed off the hilly landscape. Uncle Reb grinned one last time and then ushered me to the other side. We stood beside one another and looked down.


    The migration of akerin was in full effect. My heart thumped at the site. I was in awe. I had never seen anything like them before. Brownish-grey beasts the size of trees in their thousands roamed majestically across the green hills. Their hooved feet rumbled the ground from which I could feel the faint vibrations even from up high and far away. On all fours, they were horse-like in appearance except their legs were thick and trunk-like. They had large sword-like spines that ran from their head to their long spindly tails. The sounds they made were like war horns, and they would yell when they brushed across one another with pointed tusks.


    ¡°We... we are to hunt them?¡± Questioned Caine in a high voice. My father looked at us both and nodded, his long black hair waved in the wind.


    ¡°How?¡± I asked, my voice matching My brothers.


    ¡°With rope and arrows, how else?¡± Said my Uncle Gen with a high chin, ¡°You boys aren¡¯t scared, are you?¡±


    ¡°N... No,¡± said Caine.


    ¡°Are you sure? Because today you become men and we can¡¯t have you freezing on us like some boys would. It makes things dangerous.¡±


    ¡°It looks dangerous,¡± I said nervously. ¡°They look more protected than the men in the east and north do with their clothes made of metal.¡±


    My father chuckled lightly, ¡°You¡¯re not wrong there boy, but your uncle is also right. If you feel afraid, it''s better to embrace it than let it consume you. Let it tune your mind and make it sharp and loose rather than stiff and still. One akerin kill will feed us and the surrounding tribes for a month.¡±


    ¡°So why aren¡¯t the surrounding tribes helping?¡± Complained Caine.


    My father clipped him around the back of the head, ¡°We do not share glory if we can help it. Let the other tribes see that the deer tribe of the western hills are the greatest hunters.¡± Father looked out onto the herd. ¡°We are to move around them and head them off in that valley before they reach the forest. There we can pick our target.¡±


    The brothers nodded in agreement.


    The next few hours were spent trudging the vast landscape. We went up one side of a hill and down the other, keeping at a pace that my father set. I suspected that he would usually move quicker but slowed himself for the benefit of my brother and me. The blistering Bervian sun of Telafa made his way slowly down to the horizon by the time we halted, and I was exhausted when my father finally raised a hand that signalled us to stop. I could not have been more thankful. My whole lower body ached, and my legs burned as if they had been whipped. I looked at Caine who was standing upright and panting. He tried better to mask his tiredness than me, but it was written on his face more clearly than the ink on Kwawan papers.


    ¡°This should do it,¡± said my father, ¡°Jeb, Caine, come to me.¡±


    We gave a glance at each other and then slowly walked over to him.


    He knelt beside us and pointed. ¡°You see there, how the bottom of the hills starts to line up with one another to create a valley?¡±


    We both nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s our spot, that¡¯s where we get them. You see when these akerin are scared they are like water. They flee, choosing the path of least resistance and so they keep to the low ground. Your uncles and I will get them agitated until they get into a feared frenzy. Eventually one will bolt, and when one does, they all will. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes father,¡± said Caine.


    He looked at me, ¡°And you Jeb?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes father.¡±


    ¡°Good, then before we commence the hunt. Let us pray. Gen, get the Kwawan won¡¯t you?¡±


    With a grunt, my uncle pulled out a small wooden board from his knapsack, no bigger than a clay plate, and unrolled the Kwawan on it. The five of us knelt around it in a circle. Our heads bowed.


    No one spoke, but we all knew what to say in our minds. We all knew the words.


    Telafa, you of the sun, may your light always shine brightly on us. Fanarah, you of the Moon, may you rise every evening to show that you are protecting us from the dark. Henarlta, Great ancestor of the Hunt. May you guide us to the food we need. May you keep our eyes fine, our noses keen, and our ears sharp as always.


    After saying the phrase in our minds, we then spoke to our gods about whatever we wanted. This was Bervian custom. The first part of prayer is spoken in silent unison. The second part is between you and your gods.


    When I had ended my prayer, I lifted my head to find I was the last to finish. My father smiled at that and then said. ¡°Reb, pass me the equipment will you.¡±


    My uncle, springing to action, unbuttoned another knapsack and gave it to Father. Father pulled out a long, thick rope and a pair of stakes. He inspected them deeply, checking for any cracks or fraying. When he was satisfied, he said, ¡°Jeb, you are on this side, Caine you are on the other. Here, take this with you.¡±


    He handed my brother a stake.


    ¡°Why am I over there?¡± Caine asked.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re the oldest and because I said so, now go!¡±


    Caine took it and walked to the other side of the valley. About halfway up, he looked back to see my father¡¯s signal.


    ¡°Get into position opposite your brother on this side of the valley. Hammer this stake into the ground.¡±


    I did as commanded. Or at least tried to. The ground was harder than it looked, and my man strength wasn¡¯t there yet. It took me more whacks with the mallet than it should to embed it, and in the end, my Uncle Gen came over and gave it a final hit. He then pulled on it to make sure it wouldn¡¯t come out.


    ¡°Paint!¡± He called.


    Reb appeared with a bucket and knelt beside me, ¡°You see this stuff,¡± he pointed to the greyish powder in the bucket. ¡°Strong stuff this is. Mix it with water and give it time to dry and it will be as hard as a rock, harder even. It becomes so strong that an akerin couldn¡¯t break it. You catch my meaning?¡±


    I nodded slowly. Gen poured water from his skin, drowning the powder. Together, the brothers carefully mixed it and then smeared it at the base of the stake.


    ¡°That should do it,¡± said Gen folding his arms. ¡°It won¡¯t take long to dry.¡±


    He then took the bucket, and both went to Caine.


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    My father came over with the rope. He started to tie it around the stake.


    ¡°Now, on my signal, you pull on this part of the rope understand? That will spring the trap and we¡¯ll be able to snare us some akerin.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Only pull it on my signal, otherwise this whole journey will be a waste of time.¡±


    I nodded again.


    He looked at me sternly before setting off to set up Caine¡¯s side. Now I waited.


    The sky became a purplish glow as the sun began to fall behind the hilly landscape. Caine and I had been sitting in our positions for hours. So much so that my back began to tighten, and I would find myself arching it to relieve some of its aches. My brother and I would stare at each other now and then, occasionally pulling funny faces, but mainly we kept to our own thoughts. Being younger than I probably should have been on an akerin hunt, my thoughts were about whether my mother would let me play with the other children when I got back to camp. And what games in particular. Hare chasing was always fun, or maybe bush jumping.


    What I didn¡¯t understand was that the last time I would play those sorts of games had already passed. I was a man now, and a hunter at that. It would have been unseemly of me. It was tough meat to swallow when I found that out, but it was one I took without a whimper.


    I heard it. In the distance at first. And then gradually closer, like nightfall after a setting sun. The ground began to shake violently. It wasn¡¯t the soft-sounding hum like before. Now it was quick rigid beats like a horse in a gallop. My heart began to race. I looked over at Caine, he had stiffened upright. His eyes were wide, his nerves, visible all over his face.


    ¡°HORAH.... HORAH, MOVE YOU BEASTS!¡± Uncle Gen¡¯s raspy voice echoed across the hills.


    I braced myself for the inevitable, clenching my toes in anticipation. The tusks of the beasts shimmered and shined off the setting sun, almost blinding me as the herd began to show themselves on top of the mound and charge down the valley in panic. My heart punched against my chest, and I felt the urge to flee further up the hill. I closed my eyes tightly and held a firm grip on the rope. I felt the wind brush past me as the first of the Akerin rushed into the valley. The signal, the signal, wait for the signal. The thought ran through my mind like a spinning wheel. I opened my eyes a peep. The sight was surreal. A mass of beasts ran at lightning speed just below me like a violent rush of a river. I looked over at Caine. He was shaking with tears streaming across his face, but his hand was on his rope. It gave me strength. Then, through all the madness, a single flaming arrow flew through the air, lighting the hills in their entirety. I pulled the rope and Caine pulled his. The trap sprung. The ground rumbled in a crash and the horn-like yelps from the Akerin grew louder as I ran for my life up the steep hillside. Only when I reached the top, did I look back. The panic of the Akerin from the rope caused them to pile up and now they all struggled to make it to their feet. I saw my father and his two brothers run from over the hill, each with their bows drawn. In sequence, they shot their rope arrows. The arrows snared an Akerin, and the three brothers pulled tight. Hammering their individual stakes into the ground.


    ¡°REB, NOW. IT WON¡¯T HOLD FOR LONG!¡± My father bellowed as my uncle ran in between the stampeding herd.


    He dodged and dived, evading the beasts by a hairline. One false move and he¡¯d be a broken pile of blood and bones. I had never seen such bravery and such madness. When he was close to the pierced akerin, he cast a net he had tucked under his arms.


    ¡°QUICKLY! WATCH THE SPINES!¡± Shouted Gen.


    The three brothers surrounded the downed Akerin and then hammered more stakes into the net making it secure. Each of them moved with cat-like reflexes whenever a stampeding Akerin came too close. The beast caught in the net yelped and struggled but to no avail. The net was too strong. After they finished securing the net, they ran back up atop the hill on Caine¡¯s side and let the rest pass in peace. My father signalled me to check I was all right and I signalled back to let him know I was.


    As he had said, the beasts were like water, they evaded the downed akerin and moved around it, indifferent to its yelping. I looked down at my hands to see they were shaking. The herd of beasts began to slow their panicked sprint. If they had any remorse for their trapped comrade, they failed to show it. The vibration on the ground began to settle and slow as the last of the Akerin passed through the valley.


    What followed was laughter. My father and my uncles had grins as wide as crescent moons as they made their way down the hill. I met them at the foot of the valley where the yelping Akerin lay.


    ¡°You did good boys.¡± My father said as he rustled both our heads.


    ¡°Not good enough,¡± said Gen.


    ¡°Jeb, you pulled your trap later than Caine and that could have caused the rope to retract or ricochet.¡± My heart sank a little. I hated being faulted, especially by my father or uncles whom I greatly admired.


    ¡°Oh, quit teasing Gen,¡± said Reb. ¡°They did fine, let us not forget how it turned out on your first time.¡±


    ¡°Which is exactly why I¡¯m telling them now. This is a dangerous hunt, and they need to do things right.¡±


    The uncles bantered and argued with one another, their voices raising to a familiar pitch that was somewhat comforting in its own way. Everyone in our camp was used to them bickering. My father rolled his eyes at his brothers and then took Caine over to the beast to check on the netting and console in him privately.


    That¡¯s when we heard something we shouldn¡¯t have. Another horn-like yell. This time alone. Everyone stopped what they were doing. My father stiffened. My uncles ceased arguing. Their eyes shot to the top of the hill like a husk of hares when sensing a bacran.


    It was an akerin. Split from the herd. The bull.


    In a flash, it charged down the mound in furious frenzy.


    Dust kicked up into the air around me as the hunting party sprinted up either side of the hill. Everyone darted for safety except me. I couldn¡¯t move. I stood there, scared stiff. I could see the rage in its black eyes.


    ¡°JEB MOVE!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY NOW.¡±


    I heard them scream from above. I heard the terror in their voices. But still, I couldn¡¯t, I wanted to and knew I should, but I couldn¡¯t.


    It was on me now. I closed my eyes and stood there. Frozen. Waiting for death. The horn-like yell was loud. louder than I had heard before, so loud that my ears began to ring in pain. Death was upon me, and suddenly, it didn¡¯t seem so frightening. I was ready for it.


    The yell faded. There was no crash, no feeling of my head being crushed or sounds of my bones breaking. No waking up to the plains of Henralta and joining the great hunt.


    Nothing happened.


    I opened my eyes, and a grassy hill was in front of me. I looked behind and saw the bull running along the valley, not looking back to see if it had hit its target. It scampered off into the distance and joined the rest of the herd.


    The next few moments were a blur. If I had any reaction to what just happened, I couldn¡¯t remember it. Perhaps I was in shock.


    I was struck by my father in a gripping embrace. He nearly threw me off my feet. He squeezed me so tight that I couldn¡¯t breathe. Needless to say, he did more damage to me than the beast. After a moment, he went down on one knee and gripped me by the shoulders. He looked me up and down, panting heavily. His eyes were wide and distant. I had never seen him so rattled.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run?¡± He breathed.


    Before I could answer, he turned to Gen. ¡°How did you miss the bull!?¡±


    There was anger in his voice. A tone I rarely heard.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Gen replied sharply, ¡°it wasn¡¯t there Treb, you were with me.¡±


    ¡°Well where did it come from?¡±


    Gen said nothing.


    My father looked back at me, ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    I nodded slowly.


    My uncle Reb knelt on one knee next to my father and started to inspect me up and down. His face was puzzled. Disturbed. Like he had seen a dead thing move.


    ¡°How did it not strike you down?¡±


    My father hugged me again, this time less tightly than the last, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He whispered.


    ¡°It was a clear path,¡± Reb continued. ¡°Jeb should have been trampled.¡±


    ¡°The beast must have missed,¡± said Gen folding his arms.


    Reb shook his head, ¡°It couldn¡¯t have, we saw it. It was heading directly for him. Jeb should be¡­¡±


    He trailed off, ¡°It bares not thinking about.¡±


    A silence that loomed over us. I looked over at Caine who stood next to Gen. His face was blank.


    My father rose to his feet, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now, we¡¯ll take this as a gift from Henralta and let it be.¡± Gen nodded in acceptance.


    Reb¡¯s face remained puzzled.


    The sun god Telafa had faded fully behind the hilly horizon now, leaving a small glow in his wake. The stars, disciples of Fanarah, began showing themselves in the purplish sky. I was the first to see the other tribe approach from atop the hills.


    I roused the rest of the hunting party.


    ¡°Well met Treb!¡± The chief called as he trudged towards my father.


    He was a large, portly man with a wide belly that had a black rooster covering it in its entirety. A friendly grin painted his face.


    ¡°Well met,¡± my father returned with a waving hand.


    There were five of them in all, and much like us, each had the mark of their tribe animal on them. The rooster tribe were foragers and tent builders. Useful people in their own right. And loyal allies. But they were not hunters like us. And so, traditions were formed.


    The chief looked over at the downed akerin. The beast¡¯s yelping had simmered down to a whimper, its soul slowly leaving its body.


    The chief whistled with a loud reverence. ¡°A fine catch,¡± he said.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said my father. ¡°Did you bring the equipment?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, of course, and as a tradition. When the meat is carved and shared, the deer tribe will receive the largest portion.¡±


    ¡°Good, then we are almost done¡­ Caine, come here!¡±


    My brother walked over to my father and the chief. The chief of the rooster tribe grinned warmly at Caine and pulled out a blade from his belt.


    It was a dagger like I had never seen before. A jewelled piece, with red stones on its silver handle. It had a bright gold razor, with a crescent cut out just before the tip. A rarity for the hills. It was most likely from the Namin or somewhere further, clearly not meant for anything too practical.


    The chief held it to the sky. My father, uncles, and the rest of the rooster tribe bowed their heads. I did the same.


    ¡°With the dagger of Telafa, the rooster, the deer, and the boar tribes unite in feast.¡± The chief chanted.


    ¡°With a dagger of Telafa, the rooster, the deer, and the boar tribes unite in feast.¡± The rest repeated.


    ¡°With the dagger of Telafa, we say we are allies and kin.¡±


    ¡°With the dagger of Telafa, we say we are allies and kin.¡±


    ¡°With the dagger of Telafa, we will eat together, live together, and die together.¡±


    ¡°With the dagger of Telafa, we will eat together, live together and die together.¡±


    Everybody raised their heads and the Chief continued, ¡°Now, as custom to show respect from one tribe to another. I, Shen-of-three-feathers, bestow the dagger of the Telafa to you, Caine-first-of-deer to cut the throat of the Akerin as a display of manhood.¡±


    Shen put the dagger in my brother¡¯s hands. Caine looked blankly at the blade at first. Then his eyes widened as realisation set in, neither he nor I was expecting this.


    He turned to my father, ¡°I...I-¡°


    The look on Father¡¯s face was calm, and also pitying, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid son, it¡¯s a passage we all must go through as men.¡±


    ¡°It gets easier as time goes on,¡± said Reb.


    ¡°It has to die for us to eat, it¡¯s only right that you do it. The blade is as sharp as they come, it will go through its neck with ease,¡± Added Gen.


    ¡°But father I-¡°


    ¡°It must be done Caine; we won¡¯t be leaving until it is.¡±


    Even at that age, I could tell that my father and uncles had rehearsed that part.


    Out of respect, the men of the rooster tribe began to turn their backs on Caine and the Akerin.


    ¡°Turn yourself around as well Jeb,¡± said Uncle Reb. ¡°This is something he must do alone.¡±


    I turned and focused on the stars in the sky.


    I could hear my brother snivel as he moved with slow steps to the now quiet beast. It seemed the akerin had given up on making noise altogether. Perhaps it knew its fate. A long silence fell. Then came the loud horn-like screech as the life went from the beast.


    *


    The door swung open and Gerert stumbled through. He leaned on its handle to steady his balance. He shifted his weight and staggered to his usual seat. His hair was matted, untidy, and unrecognisable from its sober counterpart. His eyelids were low, and his eyes were a distant haze. In my head, I credited his fa?ade. He was so convincing that I had trouble telling if he was acting or if he actually was drunk.


    The serving boy didn¡¯t even bother to see what he wanted this time. Instead, he went straight to the back and brought him out a tankard in quick timing.


    He will have two. I thought as I looked over at Ghasken. The Helm had taken to leaning forward and staring at me straight-faced with his elbows on the table. I took a sip of ale and pretended to not notice.


    *


    Not long ago, I was getting ready for a feast that I was reluctant to attend because it was for a courtship that I had no interest in. It was my mother¡¯s bidding that I do so, and she was a keen matchmaker for the tribe. To her annoyance, Caine and I were her hardest prospects. Something she had no issue with reminding us of every chance she got.


    ¡°You need to take a wife soon Jeb.¡± She said. "You are past your age, and we need to make our families strong.¡±


    ¡°I look like a fool,¡± I said, gazing along the hilly sunset.


    I was dressed in Bervian ceremonial wear, which was an itchy sheepskin kaftan of a light blue colour. My arms and legs had also been dipped in blue paint. The colour was the sign of availability and fertility in our culture. And some Bervians, mainly the desperate, were seen wearing it frequently to signify their desire for a partner.


    ¡°Hush now,¡± Mother said. ¡°You look handsome. This is sure to make Inela of the boar tribe consider you a suiter.¡±


    ¡°She looks like a boar,¡± I said.


    My mother gave me one of her many clips around the back of the head.  ¡°We¡¯ll have none of that this evening. You understand?¡±


    I smiled, ¡°It¡¯s the nose, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± She whispered.


    My mother wasn¡¯t a beautiful woman, not in the traditional sense at least. But she had beauty in an imperfect way. Her brown eyes shone with a welcomeness that would make the wariest of people feel comforted, and she had a smile that told you everything was fine no matter how hard it might be. I missed her the most. She was the only one who could make me feel better, even when she was the one giving me the bad news.


    The tent doors flapped open, and my father stepped out. He looked me up and down and folded his arms, ¡°Is he ready?¡±


    ¡°As he¡¯ll ever be.¡± said my mother.


    He smirked, ¡°You hate this don¡¯t you?¡±


    I sighed, ¡°It seems pointless and ineffective, what does the boar tribe have to offer us what we can¡¯t get ourselves.¡±


    My father shrugged, ¡°At the very worst they offer friendship. No doubt you have heard of the speak from the outer tribes, especially the boars. The men from the north and the west are at the base of our hills. It¡¯s only a matter of time before they set foot on our lands. Now is the time for alliances Jeb.¡±


    I frowned, ¡°so, rather than grab our spears, we grab our courtship gowns and marry one another? And what of Caine? Why is it that he can decline Inela, but I must bow my head to her?¡±


    He looked over at my mother ¡°I remember asking the same questions about you. It¡¯s trying for a man of his age.¡± He turned back to me, ¡°But these are even more trying times than then. Son, the boar tribe is our furthest alley and lives the closest to where our land ends and the foreign man¡¯s land begins. One quick message from them could mean the difference between our tribe living or being slaughtered and enslaved. Remember I have seen the men of the outside. Ate with them, hunted, and fought with them. In some places their soldiers¡¯ number greater than the Akerin herds. If they were to turn their eyes on our hills, then we¡¯d have no choice but to run.¡±


    ¡°And go where?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d go north. Where I went before. There are cities north, giant gatherings of people from all walks of life living in tents made of stone. It would be a long journey and living would be hard, but we¡¯d be safe. Safer than here anyway.¡±


    I let out a long breath, ¡°But why Inela?¡±


    *


    Gerert slammed his second tankard down. He got up abruptly from his chair, staggered to the door, and opened it with a drunken lean. He saluted the serving boy before shutting it behind him.


    This was it.


    Time to follow.


    I looked over at Ghasken. The Helm man sipped his tankard without taking his eyes off me. I clenched my jaw and then stood, leaving a coin on the table for the ale.


    I made my way out of the Inn.


    The light from the afternoon sun blinded me for a moment. I lost sight of Gerert at first but then noticed him trotting down the stony path heading east along the riverbank. I waited a little while before following because although we both knew what was to come, I still had to act as if I was pursuing Gerert for the first time. Helms were most likely watching.


    When I deemed it right, I made my way from the Inn and went after him.


    Up ahead, Gerert crossed paths with two high-born ladies. Both of them were wearing silk-woven dresses and fine, colourful jewels around their wrists and neck. One of them looked in his direction and then averted her eyes immediately. A sneer grew on her face. His drunken stumbling clearly frightened her. He moved in between them and I lost sight of him.


    As they passed me, her face grew sourer. I was well aware of what many of the locals thought of my people. It wasn¡¯t the first time I had seen a look like that. I ignored her and carried on with my pursuit.


    Gerert came back into sight when I was on the adjacent path to the river. He walked as if he was limping. Swaying from one side of the path to another in a clumsy, diagonal trudge that looked uncomfortable even from the distance I was. If I didn¡¯t know it was an act, I would have feared he would fall in the river. He even stopped at one point to lean over and vomit into the water. That was a surprise even for me. The man was committed to his role.


    A fisherman carrying his catch across his shoulder walked past. Gerert almost bumped into him, but then lethargically swayed out of the way at the last moment. The man cursed loudly and threatened the drunkard with the back of his hand. Gerert shrugged his shoulders in his apology. The fisherman let it go but muttered fiercely under his breath. I kept my head down as he passed me.


    The drunkard came off the riverbank path and made his way up a set of marbled steps.


    We were close. I could feel it within myself. I stalked him slowly, gripping the hilt of my dagger that was tucked within my breeches.


    I saw it. In the distance. The white tree with blue leaves. A sudden sinking feeling went through me. It was larger than I imagined. Its pale branches twisted and tangled into endless spires that went off in all directions. The leaves themselves seemed to glow and pulse with light and dark shades of blue as they glimmered off the shining sun. As I neared It, I saw that its white trunk had an engraving of a horse on its hind legs etched into it.


    Gerert stumbled over to it and vomited again. My heart started pumping vigorously in my chest and my hands clammed up with sweat. It was time. I quickened my pace. My mind tuned out any intruding thoughts of fear or anxiety and instead, I became a predator on helpless prey.


    I whistled loudly. Gerert turned. A dumbfounded look was written across his face as if he had never seen me before. I moved quickly. In a matter of moments, I was close enough to feel his breath on my chin. It stunk of ale and vomit. I grabbed his left shoulder with my right hand tightly and plunged my dagger through his chest. It was a perfect hit. Just as we had been practicing in the crypts. Gerert played his part brilliantly. He let out a dying breath and then dropped to the floor limply. He made it look as if the light had gone from his eyes. Pig¡¯s blood spewed from his waterskin, and he began to fidget and fit.


    ¡°YOU THERE!¡± The guard''s voice made me jump at first but then was also welcoming.


    His timing was just perfect. Before I could think I had a spearhead pointing at my neck. I almost smiled in relief at how well it all went.


    That was until I realised.


    Black hair, blue eyes, green tunic under his breastplate.


    That was what I was expecting the guard to look like.


    Grey hair, green eyes, red tunic under his breastplate.


    That was what was in front of me.


    When the realisation set in, I nearly wet myself.


    I was just about to bolt when a blunt force hit the back of my head.


    Everything went dark.

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    From afar, it looked like a swarm of ants had covered the hills in darkness. Even from where we were, we could feel the ground quake from their marching. The banners of the Mirnese, a black, upright sword on a red background, dotted the skyline, almost blocking out the setting sun of Telafa. Their drums rumbled through the hills like a thunderous, crashing cloud. They had truly come in their thousands.


    My homeland had become engulfed in blackness, and we Bervians knew what the blackness brought. Death.


    ¡°Now is not the time to stare,¡± my mother said softly. Her voice was as calm as always. She put a hand on my shoulder which gave me a sense of safety that I had no right in feeling.


    I looked down at the soft earth beneath my feet. A single tear was in my eye.


    ¡°There must be a way we can fight them,¡± I said. Although I knew the truth of it. It was clear now why my father had warned everyone. Why he was so scared of this day finally coming. Why, in the end, he ran.


    There were just too many of them. Never in all my life did I imagine a gathering of soldiers could be so plentiful.


    Still, my mother did her best to console me, ¡°There is a way to fight them,¡± she said. ¡°But it is not today nor is it tomorrow. For now, we do what we must. Go and seek your brother, and make sure the rest of them are safe.¡±


    I looked at her and she smiled a hopeless smile.


    ¡°What will you do?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find your father. I know in my heart that he wouldn¡¯t just abandon us, and it¡¯s my duty as his wife to help and guide him in his time of need.¡±


    ¡°But that would mean going towards the enemy. How do you expect to find him amongst that?¡±


    I pointed to the ever-moving blackness of the Mirnese. Her hopeless smile waned. Her eyes welled up with tears. ¡°I have a different journey, Jeb, we may never see each other again my son. But there is always hope. Look after the ones you can.¡±


    *


    I opened my eyes slowly.


    At first, I couldn¡¯t make out what the flecks of green were. My vision was a blur. I could hear a ringing behind my ears, a low humming sound that lingered endlessly. A droplet of water hit my forehead and then things became clearer. I was staring at bits of moss on a stone slabbed ceiling. The light that I could see came from a window just big enough to fit a head through. The window was arched and barred.


    I went to move. A wave of pain surfed across my head as I prompted myself into a sitting position. A quick look around told me that I was in a room, dark and wet. Three sides of the room were of uneven stone walls, and one side was of thick, iron bars that were pressed tight together. A realisation dawned on me. This was a cage. Like the ones that Father used when setting traps before a hunt, only this was human-sized. I got to my feet gingerly and almost fell again as the dizziness struck. I felt the back of my head and winced. It was sore and my hair was crusted with dry blood.


    I stood there for a moment, reliving the final parts of the plan through my mind. How did I survive?


    I pressed my face against the bars of the cage to look out along the corridor. There was nothing, just a few unlit torches hanging along the wall.


    ¡°Hello!¡± I called in Naminian.


    Silence.


    ¡°Hello!¡± I tried again in the local tongue.


    Silence.


    I let out a breath. ¡°You¡¯re not on the hills anymore.¡±


    I sat on top of some hay that was in one corner of the cage, put my head to my knees, and wept. I was alone, tired, hungry, scared, worried, guilt-stricken, and probably going to die. I don¡¯t know how long I stayed like that for, but it was long enough for the sunlight from the barred window to fade and moonlight to form.


    So far, no one had come.


    The only thing I had to keep me company, was the noise of the droplets falling from the moss- covered ceiling.


    I fell into a dreamless sleep like that. With my head on my knees.


    *


    ¡°Get up kling!¡± said a voice.


    I stirred.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    My first waking moment was greeted with the return of the rushing throb in my head.


    ¡°I said get up!¡±


    SPLASH!


    The rush of cold water hit me in an instant. I shot to my feet in a sudden fear that I was drowning. I started to shiver and panic, and for a moment, I had no idea what was happening. But then I realised what had happened.


    Three men stood in front of the bars of the cage.


    The brown-robed one held an empty wooden bucket. He was old, haggard, and skulking. A cruel, gaunt, look was upon his face.


    The one in front of him was dressed in a thick, rich coat of dark green, and wore a hulking chain necklace that looked as heavy as a stone block.


    The third was a bald man in a mauve robe, tall, and small-eyed. With his chin raised high.


    The man in the green coat looked over at me and spoke in the local tongue.


    I caught a few words here and there but not enough to understand.


    ¡°His Excellency the Doge Rolof II asked for your name, kling, I¡¯d advise that you answer him.¡±


    The bald man spoke in Naminian.


    ¡°J-Jeb, Jeb-of-deer-hill-and-low-grass,¡± I said shivering.


    The front man¡¯s face was unmoving. Unblinking. His dark eyes were fixated on me like that of a statue.


    So, this was the Doge I had heard about. From what Anna had said, he is the chief of this city, like my father was the chief of our tribe. He stood with straight, broad, shoulders and had his arms clasped behind his back expectantly. A thin black moustache lay on his top lip and a slight tuft of hair was set on his pointed chin. He looked neither amused nor angry, neither bored nor excited. He just looked plain. As if dealing with something like a Bervian killing a drunkard in the middle of the street was an everyday occurrence. He lifted his green hat and scratched the top of his head. He then spoke again in the local tongue.


    The robed man cleared his throat, ¡°The Doge says that you have stirred quite a lot of trouble in his city. Your technique and general handling of the operation were sloppy and unprofessional. He was expecting better, especially you being one of Raina¡¯s ilk.¡±


    All three men looked at me as if I should have some explanation. I shrugged. I was cold and tired and unsure of what was happening.


    When the silence remained, I shrugged again and said ¡°Well, we only had a week to prepare.¡±


    The robed man gave me a scalding look and then translated quickly.


    I realized how stupid it sounded.


    The Doge gave a peculiar smile and spoke again in the local tongue.


    ¡°How long have you been in the city?¡± Asked the bald man.


    ¡°No longer than two months,¡± I said.


    The Doge spoke again. The bald man nodded, waiting for him to finish before relaying what he said back to me.


    ¡°It must have been hard, coming from your homeland to here.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Yes.¡± It was the last thing I wanted to talk about. I was in no mood to tell a long tale. Doge or not.


    He pursed his lips and spoke again.


    ¡°Our excellency would like to give you some advice. He says that the best thing you could do is leave. Leave the city as soon as you can. This city treats people like you the worst. If you expect to live another two months, then you will want to be far away. He even says that he will give you the provisions you need. He will see to it that you live a comfortable life in lands distant from here. He is a man of his word, and his word is bond.¡±


    frowned at him. His face remained the same.


    ¡°Why would you help me so?¡± I asked.


    The robed man gave a quick translation and the Doge replied promptly.


    ¡°The Doge said that you shouldn¡¯t ask why. That the offer is a good one and that you would be a fool not to take it.¡±


    I looked down at the floor, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± I said. ¡°They have my brother; I cannot just leave him.¡±


    Then a thought dawned on me, I looked up at the leader of Wannihiem, ¡°Perhaps you can help him?¡± My voice was eager and desperate. ¡°You could free him from the people he is with, and we could leave together. If it could be, then I will certainly go. Please, can you help me?¡± I was close to getting on my knees and begging as the bald man relayed my request.


    There was quiet after he finished translating.


    The Doge scanned me, eyeing me up and down as if I were some sort of prized horse. He then spoke again in the local tongue. It was a command. The short, skulking man to his left put the bucket down and pulled out a set of ringed keys from his brown robes. He unlocked the caged gate and slid it open.


    The Doge spoke again, and both the skulking man and the translator left us without a word. The Doge kept his eyes on me as we heard the door from along the corridor slam shut.


    He exhaled, ¡°My condolences on your brother.¡± He said in a clear Bervian accent. It was better than Anna¡¯s. ¡°However, I must be brutally honest. If the drunk god has shined on you, and you have the best luck in the city. Then they may have just made a slave of your brother rather than killed him. I wouldn¡¯t hold out any hope of that. The people that have him are savages, and a Kling is of little worth to them. So, my offer still holds. You are better off to leave this city and forget about your brother. He is probably already dead anyway. With my influence, I could get you as far as Vidlaia on a merchant¡¯s caravan. There, you will be safe and live a better life than you would here. This city has nothing for you but death.¡±


    I was in such awe at how well he spoke that his words went over me. ¡°You know Bervian?¡± ¡°Obviously.¡±


    ¡°How is it that you speak it so clearly?¡±


    He frowned ¡°I was taught it. How else?¡±


    I looked at him blankly with a low-hanging jaw. The dialect was pitch-perfect. If it wasn¡¯t for his flat nose and his pale complexion, I would have thought he had spent his life on the hills.


    He began to look annoyed, ¡°Please take that stupid look off your face and heed my words. Run. Leave this city behind you. It¡¯s not every day that you get a pardon from a Doge after killing one of his citizens.¡±


    ¡°But the person I-¡°


    Doge Rolof held up a palm, ¡°I do not know, nor care of the details. What say you? Quickly now. I have little time.¡±


    I let out a breath.


    The offer was tempting. Especially after all that I had been through. I knew stronger men who would jump at the opportunity. I¡¯d suspect that even Caine would have understood. If he was alive that was. Still, there was no way I could leave without at least knowing. Even though we had our differences, he stuck with me for as long as he could. I owed him as much to do the same.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but no. If that means that I die, even by way of execution, then that¡¯s the fate that my god Henralta has chosen for me. Whether my brother is alive or dead I need to find his whereabouts. He is all I have left.¡±


    Doge Rolof tutted, ¡°You realize that what I am offering you is for this time only. That if you decide against it, this opportunity will be lost.¡±


    I considered his words for a moment. ¡°I am sorry, I cannot abandon the last of my tribe.¡±


    His eyes flickered, ¡°Very well, then listen hillman. You have entered a snake pit disguised as a brothel. You will be bitten with poison fangs and think they are kisses. By the time you realize what happened, everything around you would have burned.¡± He took a step to the side, ¡°Learn to lie better than those in your company, it¡¯s the only hope you will have.¡± He pointed down the corridor ¡°Head down there, at the end you¡¯ll find the door that leads to a set of stairs, go down the stairs and keep walking, eventually, you¡¯ll see the light.¡±


    I moved past him quickly. Before he had the chance to change his mind, I was halfway down the corridor.


    He called out: ¡°Oh and hill man, tell Raina that we are now even.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    A silhouette of Anna was leaning against the tunnel wall. Her arms were folded, and her hair was pinned into an uncharacteristic ponytail. She heard the splashes of puddles upon my approach and her head darted towards me. The light from the sun behind her kept most of her features dark. Except for her eye. Its cloudiness emitted a faint glow.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± she asked when I neared.


    ¡°I was hit at the back of my head,¡± I said, still hearing the ringing from behind my ears. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Not here, follow me.¡±


    The sunlight hurt my eyes as we left the darkness of the tunnel. We were next to a small winding creek that was crannied between a series of hillocks, slightly bigger than Anna and me.


    ¡°We¡¯re outside the city,¡± I stated, smelling the fresh air of the countryside for the first time since entering Wannihiem. I¡¯d forgotten how pleasant that smell was.


    Anna bent by the side of the entrance, which I could see now was a formation of large rocks.


    ¡°Come, help me help me hide the entrance. There is a farmhouse nearby that has little ones. We don¡¯t want them finding this.¡±


    She had picked up several large broken branches and started stacking them in front of the tunnel, then she fetched some sizable netting with leaves stringed to it. Together, we hauled it over the boulders until it covered the entrance. Anna then hopped up onto a boulder and started weighing the netting down with smaller rocks. Then, we covered the netting with more sticks.


    It took longer than expected, but when we were complete, the tunnel had vanished. What replaced it was a thick, overgrown bush that looked as if it hadn¡¯t been touched for centuries.


    I wiped the sweat from my brow, ¡°Now that this is done, what happened?¡±


    ¡°I said not here,¡± Anna hissed whilst checking her surroundings, ¡°you never know who might be watching. I¡¯ll tell you everything when we are on the river.¡±


    We started to walk along a dirt path adjacent to the creek. It had rained whilst I¡¯d been caged, and my sandals were not enough to keep the mud from squishing between my toes. It was just another thing to add to my already treacherous mood.


    We followed the creek for some time, passing hillock after hillock, and eventually came to a large river. The Ghid, the Alora, or the Ra, I could not say.


    A small rowboat was moored to a wooden post where the creek met the river.


    ¡°Hop in,¡± said Anna, ¡°don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll row. You¡¯ve done enough.¡±


    I jumped onto the boat and sat at one end. Anna unhitched the post and paddled off gently. Luckily for her, she was going with the river¡¯s current rather than against it.


    She rowed us to the centre without saying a word. It was quiet. All I could hear was the soft swishing of the oars motioning through the water.


    She looked around and deemed us safe, ¡°ask your questions.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± I repeated for the third time.


    ¡°Something that shouldn''t,¡± she replied.


    I remained quiet.


    ¡°The guard was late. We had everything planned but the guard was late. The timing on your end was perfect by the way, bravo on the performance. Gerert gave you immense praise to Raina and even she seemed impressed, but the damned fool of a guard was late. The guard that spotted the crime wasn¡¯t the one who was supposed to and so he was acting how you would expect someone to act who had just witnessed a murder in broad daylight. If it wasn¡¯t for the damn no good fool of a guard that came a moment later and hit you on the back of the head, then the first guard would have opened your throat. I¡¯ll give him a small credit for thinking quickly, but the truth is. If that stupid, no good, damn fool of a guard wasn¡¯t late, then this would have all gone smoothly and without flaw. Suffice to say, he cut his payment in half.¡±


    ¡°And what of my brother?¡± She averted her eyes.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± I said.


    ¡°He¡¯s alive, he should be at the crypts when we arrive, but from what I¡¯ve heard he¡¯s had it rough, our informant told us that they tried to kill him straight from the start. If it wasn¡¯t for our informant¡¯s constant intervening, he would have been dead days ago... Jeb I would prepare myself if I were you. Your brother might not be the same man he once was.¡±


    She had a rare look of seriousness on her face. It made me uneasy.


    ¡°Let''s go see him,¡± I said.


    *


    Anna paddled along the river for some way until we diverted off its main body and onto a smaller stream. I could see the city walls up ahead. Thick, monstrous grey stone built as high as a hill from my homeland.


    As we drew nearer, the stream opened and became a marsh. The water grew murky and brownish. The sounds of crickets filled the afternoon sky. The thick smell of dampness stung my nostrils. The air felt cold.


    ¡°Not many know this way,¡± Anna said.


    Closer to the city we went.


    I began to make out a grated, circular gate. It was small compared to the other gates of the city. In front of it was a pier.


    ¡°It¡¯s the sewer entrance. A way in and out of the city that doesn¡¯t draw attention.¡±


    Sat on a wooden chair leaning up against the gate was a guard. A small, fat man sleeping soundly. I immediately felt tense.


    ¡°Do not worry,¡± she said, seeing me shuffle my feet uncomfortably, ¡°he¡¯s one of us.¡±


    Anna moored the boat to a post, and we stepped off onto the pier. If the guard was here to watch for threats, then he was terrible at his job. Anna stood but inches away before he opened his eyes, and he only did that because she kicked him. His fat face did not look impressed.


    ¡°What!?¡± He grumbled in the local tongue. It was as if Anna and I were of the utmost inconvenience.


    She spoke some words back to him, harshly by the tone. They went back and forth for a time. Voices raising. Then the fat man threw up his arms, sighed, and slowly got to his feet. Anna slid the chair over and opened the gate. I followed her in.


    ¡°Lazy prick,¡± she muttered in Bervian.


    We walked in darkness for a bit. The sound of dripping echoed off of the tunnel walls and the faint scent of sewage was in the stale air. After a short while, we came to a lantern light that was set on a table. Four men were sat around it with cards in their hands. Quietness was about them. One of the men looked up at our approach. He spoke more words I couldn¡¯t understand.


    He was dirty looking, with a shaggy black beard and a stout belly. A green bandanna was tied tight to his head.


    ¡°Jeb, this is Dak,¡± Anna said to me.


    The man grinned and showed a set of silver teeth.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be escorting us back from here. He knows these sewers better than anyone.¡±


    *


    No one bothered to blindfold me as we approached the crypts. I supposed it was the Mard way of telling me that I was now trusted. Dak had led us to an opening in the northern parts of the city and then from there Anna and I went on alone. I should have guessed that the crypt entrance would have been in a graveyard.


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    We had places of death like this on the hills, but they were not the same. Our graves were small, and shallow, with a single-coloured rock to indicate our stature in the tribe. We didn¡¯t name or date them. It was the moon god Fanarah¡¯s duty to remember Bervians long dead. In this city, they had hefty arched slabs that had worn and unreadable engravings on them, and where we had colour, they had none.


    An old man in rags sat by the crypt entrance. He was missing an eye and had a thin, shaggy beard that went all the way down to his chest. He looked unhealthy, like he might die at any moment. He looked like a beggar. Upon seeing us, he stepped to one side and nodded at Anna. She nodded back and led me down a set of stone stairs.


    We came to the open spaces of the training ground. We walked around the stage where two heavyset Mard men were wrestling one another. One grunted as he slammed the other onto the platform. The man wheezed as if his soul had left his body. I sympathised. Ben had done that to me enough times in the past week.


    We walked out of the training ground and Anna led me down a dark corridor. About halfway down, she swung open a set of doors.


    The room had shelves full of books on each wall. The shelves were stacked so high that they reached the ceiling. I had never seen a room like it before. It had no torches and instead was lit by a series of reflecting mirrors in each corner that drew light in from the sun above the ground. Working out exactly how it did it, was too complicated for me. But I knew the reason why almost instantly. A fire in this room would be instant, and deadly.


    Raina sat at a desk in the far corner. Her hands turned the pages of a large grey book.


    ¡°What¡¯s the latest?¡± Anna said.


    The matriarch didn¡¯t look up, ¡°The other Bervian will be arriving any moment now. According to Raff¡¯s scouts, The Helms are in disarray, Jaskal has rumoured to have killed two of his own in his rage and that hasn¡¯t sat too nicely with his lieutenants.¡±


    Anna grinned widely, ¡°We¡¯ve read him perfectly. I told him long ago that nothing good would come of him being that harsh on his subordinates. Today is looking to be a good one.¡±


    Raina glanced up ¡°I wouldn¡¯t speak too soon. This is still a bad trade in my opinion.¡±


    She glared at me before going back to her book.


    Anna nudged me and smiled, ¡°She means nothing by it Jeb. As I said, she was singing your praise earlier. Here, relax and take a seat. Would you like anything whilst we wait? Some food or water maybe?¡±


    ¡°Ahh so here¡¯s the other kling,¡± said a voice from behind. I recognized it. It was in butchered Naminiam with a thick Wannihiem accent. My mind shut off for a moment and fear gripped me like a vice. I turned and saw him standing in the doorway.


    ¡°Ottom?¡±


    The fat man grinned with such ugliness that it turned my stomach.


    ¡°Surprised to see me?¡±


    I looked at Anna ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    She swallowed, ¡°Jeb, I¡¯d like you to meet our informant.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s unsurprising,¡± Ottom said and then turned his attention to Raina, ¡°How did it go with that pathetic excuse of a man?¡±


    ¡°Accordingly. Gerert should be halfway down the Alora by now and on his way to Humn,¡± She said. ¡°Good, then all has worked out. Well, that is if you excuse the fact that my cover ¨C the one I had spent the last two years working hard to keep secret - has just been blown. And the fact that we are now at the beginning of a large-scale gang war. The magnitude of which hasn¡¯t been seen in at least two decades¡± he turned and pointed a finger at Anna. ¡°You¡¯d best know what you¡¯re doing Farian, you could have just killed us all.¡±


    ¡°I can assure you I haven¡¯t. The Helms will retaliate quickly. Jaskal, being the rash man that he is will not wait to be granted passage through Archin¡¯s territory. This will breach any ceasefire they have. His own men seeing the problems he¡¯s creating will opt to overthrow him. There will be chaos in the city tonight.¡±


    ¡°Speculations. Not facts Anna. You underestimate him.¡± Said Ottom.


    ¡°More like intelligent guesses, and we also have fail-safes. We¡¯ve doubled our lads along the bridges and tipped the ferrymen on the Alora handsomely. The Helms won¡¯t make it north without us knowing. We¡¯ve even hired a few out-of-towners for backup just in case.¡±


    He grunted, ¡°And so what do I do now?¡±


    ¡°You go into hiding, like Gerert.¡± Said Raina.


    ¡°On the Drunk god''s arse.¡±


    Raina looked up from her book, ¡°You have been compromised Ottom. Jaskal not only has seen you and knows who you are, but he also trusted you as a lieutenant for the last two years. If he ever catches you. It would bear not to think about what he¡¯d do.¡±


    Ottom sneered ¡°He couldn¡¯t do worse than what he already does to people. My fate is set in that regard. No, I will not leave the city. I have too many interests here.¡±


    ¡°I told you he wouldn¡¯t,¡± said Anna.


    ¡°My brother,¡± I interrupted ¡°Where is my brother?¡±


    Ottom turned to me and raised an eyebrow ¡°He¡¯s allowed to speak out of term?¡±


    Anna shrugged, ¡°he¡¯s made no oaths.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s weakness I¡¯m hearing Anna, we hold the cards not him-¡±


    ¡°Oh, put him out of his misery Ottom, if it wasn¡¯t for him, we wouldn¡¯t be able to put this plan in motion.¡± Said Anna.


    Ottom muttered something under his breath and left the room, slamming the door behind him.


    I shut my eyes deeply for a moment and then opened them, ¡°What is happening?¡±


    ¡°Ottom is our informant Jeb. He always has been.¡±


    ¡°But that makes no sense, he was the one who gave Caine the ¡°job¡± in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Yes. You see, we knew that they were planning on killing Gerert, and we had a rough idea of how they would go about doing it. They would use a kling to do it for them. Jaskal, the Helms leader, wouldn''t risk using one of his own for this sort of job. Not in foreign territory. He also wouldn¡¯t risk paying anyone. Professionals, although useful, wouldn¡¯t be loyal if caught. Especially if they were offered a bargain. So Ottom decided to choose which kling to use.¡±


    ¡°And he chose Caine,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Anna, ¡°in our defence, our intention was always to bring you two in with us. We weren¡¯t planning on using and then discarding you like they were. But then your brother ran, and that complicated things.¡±


    The doors swung open again. Ottom returned, holding a thin, frail, shirtless Bervian by the arm. His face was so disfigured and swollen to the point that he was almost unrecognisable. If it wasn¡¯t for the deer mark that lay across his belly, I would have sworn it wasn¡¯t him.


    ¡°Here!¡± Ottom said and shoved Caine at me.


    I rushed off my chair and embraced him. He leaned all his weight on me which felt like half of what it used to be. He was shivering in my arms. I pulled him into my chair and held him. His eyes looked lifeless and if it wasn¡¯t for his breath hitting my face, I would have thought him dead.


    ¡°Caine!¡± I said.


    He groaned with great effort. I felt a rage in my stomach hit its boiling point, my shoulders tightened, and an indescribable flash hit my temples.


    I let go of him and turned to Ottom, ¡°WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM!¡±


    A sneer. The barrel-bellied man squared up. His eyes narrowed and glared at me unblinkingly. ¡°Careful how you speak to me kling,¡± he said with venom. He beat his chest, ¡°or doing you plan on doing something?¡±


    If we were to fight. He¡¯d win. I was never known for being tough, and with his weight, it would be hard for me to get in close. If I was quick, I might be able to land a few shots on him before he knew what was happening. But I doubt that would topple him. And it may get me killed. Still, I was tempted if it meant I could inflict some pain of my own.


    I met his gaze, and took a step forward ¡°I said, what did you do to him?¡± I spoke with gritted teeth.


    There was silence in the room as we stared each other down. His breath reeked of dust gin and his breathing was loud and heavy.


    He laughed and then broke eye contact, ¡°truthfully you should be thanking me. If it wasn¡¯t for me your brother would have been at the bottom of the river, and before that happened, he would have had his eyelids pulled out and his fingernails ripped off. He had had a toe cut off every hour and then his fingers after that. They would have put his hair in a vice and then strapped him to a wheel and pulled him until his hair ripped from his head. And after that would they have dressed him in female clothing to parade him in some sick twisted show for Jaskal. Klings like you are what the Helms call Easys because they know that no one worth their salt is looking for you. You are easy to take.¡±


    ¡°So, now be in my position. You have an easy who is not only Jaskal¡¯s perfect type but also is not doing the job we have asked him to do, Instead, he tries to run and everyone around me knows this. Our next plan of motion is a simple one. We put the kling through the process so Jaskal can witness him in one of his shows. It¡¯s what he does, it¡¯s what he¡¯s always done. Except now I have to make up excuses as to why not put him through the Process. It starts to make people suspicious, so, to make them less suspicious and so we both don¡¯t end up in one of those damned performances, I have to beat him and beat him rough. But as you can see, he¡¯s alive.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. I didn¡¯t care for his excuse; I knew that much. Even if what he was telling me was the truth. I wasn¡¯t going to just swallow it. My brother looked like a shell of a man. And the reason for that was standing in front of me. ¡°


    Not happy kling? Good. Because I¡¯m not either. For two years I have been infiltrating that filth. Acting like them. Doing things that are beneath me for the betterment of my Mards, only for it all to be cut short on a gamble,¡±


    He shook his head, ¡°You¡¯d better be right Anna.¡±


    ¡°I think tensions have gotten a little high,¡± said Raina, ¡°Ottom, why don¡¯t you go and get yourself cleaned up and your head straight? You can give us a full debrief later, and Jeb, we will get a priestess to oversee Caine. We¡¯ll see him bedded and looked after. That I will promise.¡±


    I gazed over at my brother and took him by the hand. It was then that I noticed the large scab across the side of his face. It was where his mark used to be. I held back tears as he lay there, staring aimlessly at the ceiling.


    Ottom said something to the others in the local tongue. To my untrained ears, it sounded like a warning. He then left the room, giving me a final smile before leaving. I was going to make him pay somehow.


    Moments later a woman walked in. She was petit and was dressed in a dark grey hood that covered the top half of her face. The matriarch gave a command in the local tongue. The woman nodded and then ushered me away from Caine without saying a word. When she neared me, I felt something. An unnerving. Not exactly bad, but it wasn¡¯t good either. She felt like a cloudy sky just before a heavy rain. Like a humming sound that you couldn¡¯t place the origin of. She didn¡¯t cause discomfort, but she was impossible to ignore.


    She lifted Caine from the chair and took him around her shoulders. I went to stop her at first. Purely from instinct, but Anna interjected.


    ¡°Careful there Jeb, That¡¯s just Alia. She means him no harm and is only going to give him the attention he needs. It¡¯s best not to disturb her.¡±


    My eyes began to well again as I saw what was left of my brother leave the room. I put a hand to my face in hopes that neither Anna nor Raina noticed. They both did.


    ¡°Jeb is now your responsibility Anna, make sure he is all right and ready for his initiation.¡±


    Anna nodded, ¡°Follow me, Jeb.¡±


    I Gave one last look at the matriarch as we left the room. Her brown eyes stared through me, and I saw a warning in them. I wasn¡¯t scared, I stared right on back.

 Chapter 13

    ¡°They always say these things behind my back,¡± Exclaimed Heral as we walked along the busy city streets. ¡°No one has ever had the stones to say it to me directly. The day they do is the day they¡¯ll get a crack to the jaw.¡±


    He was a large bulk of a man, dark-skinned and intimidating, with a menacing smile. He was a Mard bailiff, someone who went around the city collecting money for the group.


    ¡°And what about you young Jeb?¡± he said in the local tongue.


    ¡°What about me?¡±


    ¡°How is your training going?¡±


    I sighed, ¡°My dagger skills are getting better, I¡¯m a natural with a knife, or so Ben says, he puts it down to me being Bervian.¡±


    ¡°But not the sword?¡±


    I winced, ¡°I find it too awkward to wield. The weight throws me most of the time, and I find myself off balance.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because you are small Jeb, small and weak.¡±


    I frowned, ¡°If you say so.¡±


    Heral had no issue with being too forward. Sometimes his words leaned on the verge of insulting, but I knew him long enough to know that there was no spitefulness in the things he said. He was just too big to deal with any painful consequences. When Heral said something, you tended to agree.


    ¡°Fear not though.¡± He continued. ¡°A dagger will serve you well. Some of our best fighting men are dagger trained and do just as much damage as the swordsmen.¡±


    ¡°And what do you like to use?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Whatever is in my hand, HAHAHA!¡±


    I¡¯ve heard horns that were quieter than Heral¡¯s laugh. It was so loud that the people around us jumped in fright at the sudden sound.


    ¡°I must say though Jeb, you have come a long way these past six months, your Wannihiemian is as clear as can be. If it wasn¡¯t for your pointed nose and brown skin, I¡¯d have taken you for a local. HA- UGH,¡± He let out a throaty cough that was equally as loud.


    ¡°Thank you, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°In all seriousness, both you and your brother should be proud of yourselves. I hear he¡¯s doing well scribing under Raina, it¡¯s not easy for a foreigner to pick up the language, let alone the written word of the city.¡±


    That gave me comfort, mainly because it was true. Despite all that the city had thrown at us in the beginning, Caine and I had survived it, and now for the first time since fleeing our homeland. We felt safe.


    Heral and I turned down a side alley of an Inn. He looked around before bringing me in close.


    ¡°Now remember,¡± he said in what he considered his quiet voice. ¡°Although Kline is and has always been a loyal overseer, his underlings are fresh. We must be wary of them. This is still new territory all things considered.¡±


    ¡°You suspect something?¡± I asked, hopefully demonstrating how a whisper should sound.


    He cocked an eye, ¡°I always suspect something, young Jeb.¡±


    He pushed open the side door to the Inn. Steam from the kitchen hit us instantly and my eyes started to sting as they adjusted to the room. The smell of salted fish hit my nose and made my mouth water. The food that came out of the inns and taverns from the newer parts of Mard territory were a welcomed bonus.


    I had lived in the south side of the city for the first two months of being in Wannihiem, and not once did I have the chance to try the cuisine, excluding the rats we caught, and the scraps of bread that we occasionally found discarded.


    Everything was new to me. Roasted chicken, tender beef, crisped duck, freshly cooked cod, venison, boiled potatoes, steamed broccoli, smoked eel and so much more. All seasoned with spices from throughout the continent. Living so close to the Inns and taverns but never being able to afford anything was tough to swallow when I realised what I was missing. And so, my mind made up for it by giving me intense cravings when I got the slightest whiff of any sort of cooking.


    The food in the northern parts was just as delicious and it was nice to have the pick of both. I¡¯d never felt more spoilt in that regard.


    Shortly after the events that happened with me and Gerert, the Mards began moving in on Helm territory. They took control of an area called Brigands¡¯ Wharf which wasn¡¯t very large, but was considered extremely profitable for us, and a devastating loss for the Helms. Because of its Value, the Mards sent bailiffs around frequently. I was with Heral as his understudy, to see how the business worked.


    The big man nodded to a thin-haired local who stood behind the door we entered. It set the man at ease when he recognised Heral.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    The chefs paid us no mind. It was morning and they were working tirelessly to feed the dock workers coming in for their breakfast. We walked through the kitchen and Heral pushed open a door at the far end.


    It went into a backroom.


    ¡°Welcome!¡± Heral shouted with extended arms. He liked to do that, he said it kept the overseers on their toes. By the shocked looks on their faces, I¡¯d say he was right.


    ¡°How goes it Heral?¡± one of them said idly. He was the one sitting closest to the door on the round table and was the only one unimpressed with the big man¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°All goes well Kline, very well indeed, and how goes you?¡±


    ¡°As can be expected,¡± Kline¡¯s face was blackened with soot. Leaving his blue eyes to shine brightly. I concluded that his other profession had something to do with fire and he had not long finished. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for Mard men to have another role in the city, as well as do the work they did for the Mards. Especially if you were a local. Anna told me that it made people less suspicious.


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that grand,¡± said Heral with a mocking smile, he gestured to the three others sitting at the table. ¡°And how are the new meat treating you?¡±


    Kline looked up said nothing, he stared at Heral with no amusement.


    There was an awkward silence.


    Heral shrugged, ¡°You know why I¡¯m here.¡±


    Kline huffed and then pulled a brown sack from between his legs and plopped it on the table. The table vibrated with a loud thud and the sack jingled with clanging metals. Heral grinned widely. He picked up the sack and twisted it around his shovel-like hands a few times. He then flung it over his shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming I don¡¯t have to count it?¡± he said.


    ¡°Not at all, it¡¯s all there, honest.¡± Said one of the others at the far end of the table. He was a youngster, no older than sixteen. He had a face like a rat¡¯s and long stringy hair that stopped just above his shoulders. Heral glared at the boy like the table had just spoken. The boy shrunk in his chair. The other two at the table were smart enough to keep their mouths shut. They kept their heads down and pretended to focus on their playing cards.


    Kline gave his own glare at the boy and then turned back to Heral, ¡°As I have said countless times before, no, you don¡¯t have to count, but if you feel the need to do so. Then feel free to do it here. Otherwise, our business is concluded.¡±


    Heral shook his shoulder making the bag jingle, and grinned, ¡°It feels about right. Be seeing you.¡±


    ¡°Be seeing you,¡± Kline replied, and his attention immediately went back to the game of cards.


    We walked back through the steamy kitchen, weaving past the busy chefs, and out onto the side alley.


    ¡°The stick that''s wedged up Kline¡¯s arse could reach the deepest part of the Ra!¡± joked the big man. ¡°I¡¯ve known him for the better half of my life and not once have I seen him smile, never mind though, one of these days I-¡±


    WHACK!


    Something hard hit the back of my head and I found myself staring down onto the stony, alleyway floor. As if from instinct I quickly rolled on my back, I was looking upwards.


    Heral was on his knees. A man had struck him with a metal rod. The sack of coins wrapped around his hands rattled across the floor. There were four of them.


    CRACK!


    A boot struck me in the ribs. I yelped in pain.


    Heral took another hit to the back of his head. The assailant raised the rod again to strike him a third time.


    I covered my ribs with my arms anticipating another boot.


    Heral shot to his feet like a fish out of the water before the man could swing his rod.


    THUD!


    The second boot to the ribs hit parts of my arm deadening it.


    Heral swung out an elbow whilst spinning, catching one of them clean across the jaw, the man staggered back as his legs went from under him.


    I prepared myself for the third boot by moving my right arm to guard my ribs, and with my left arm, I went to draw the dagger from my belt.


    THUD!


    I took the third boot on my forearm as I gripped the knife''s hilt.


    Heral had spun fully now and faced his attackers. The two other men raised their rods to strike. The large man caught one of them on the chin with a solid right that floored him. The sack of coins was still wrapped around his hand. He then raised his left forearm to his face.


    CRACK!


    His arm took the brunt of the other pole.


    I took the fourth boot and waited for the fifth. The boot came. I unsheathed my dagger as quickly as I could and plunged it into the top of the attacker¡¯s foot. He screamed in pain and jolted back. I got to my feet quickly. The man I stuck fell onto his backside. His head leaning on the alleyway wall. I struck a boot into his chest, almost losing my balance in the process. Heral had ripped a rod out of the attacker¡¯s fingers and whacked him across the face. Blood splattered from his mouth and painted the alley wall. The man dropped with a moan, joining the other who remained unconscious.


    The big man moved on to the last assailant. Pole in one hand, sack of coins in the other.


    I struck another boot into the chest of my attacker. He let out an ear-piercing cry.


    ¡°What are you going to do now little man?¡± Heral whispered. He had backed his assailant up against the wall. It was the quietest I had ever heard him speak and it gave me chills.


    The rod was softly pressed against the assailant''s nose, and the man was shaking in fear. The one I had stabbed began to whimper, ¡°Shut up!¡± I said and booted him again in the chest.


    ¡°Who sent you?¡± growled Heral.


    He started to apply pressure to the pole. The man glistened with sweat; his mouth opened with a nervous jitter.


    ¡°WELL?¡±


    ¡°J..J...Jaskal¡± he said, ¡°Please sir, I didn¡¯t mean nothing by it, just orders is all¡±


    ¡°And what exactly, were your orders?!¡±


    ¡°T..T...To rob you. We weren¡¯t going to kill you. It''s why we brought the rods. Jaskal just wanted to send you Mards a message. Please don¡¯t kill me, sir, I have children.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    The inn door opened, and Kline stepped out onto the alleyway. His entourage of men were behind him.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this commotion?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Fools thought they could rob me, that''s what.¡± Heral didn¡¯t take his eyes off the man he had pinned.


    Kline¡¯s face soured at the site, ¡°Let him go, for your own sakes.¡± He pointed to the end of the alleyway. ¡°People are beginning to stare.¡±


    We were attracting attention. A series of onlookers were gazing into the alley, and it wasn¡¯t good for klings like us to be seen doing criminal things.


    ¡°Heral,¡± I said quietly. He looked at me and I nodded to the growing audience. Heral dropped the rod to his side and the quivering man sighed relief.


    ¡°Go,¡± he said.


    With a tear down his face, the man darted as quickly as he could from the alleyway, leaving his three other companions to their fates without looking back.


    ¡°We better get going,¡± Heral said. His face riled. He dropped the pole, walked over to me, and picked up the stabbed man. He launched him over his shoulder. The man groaned in anguish.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Kline said aghast.


    ¡°Taking him with us, what¡¯s it look like?¡±


    ¡°What am I supposed to do with these two?¡± Kline pointed to the two unconscious Helms on the floor.


    Heral shrugged and continued walking out of the alley.


    I followed him gingerly as we were back onto the busy street.


    ¡°What about the guards?¡± I asked, noticing the onlookers.


    ¡°Fuck the guards,¡± Heral replied

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    Heral and I were seated at the back, our faces were hidden in the darkness. The only light in the room came from the lantern next to the prisoner¡¯s foot. The foot that still had my dagger in it. Ottom told us to keep the dagger in place once we arrived. He said it may become useful.


    ¡°And so how did you find our bailiff¡¯s whereabouts?¡± Ottom was in the prisoner¡¯s face, giving him no room to breathe. No doubt he could smell the dust gin on Ottom¡¯s breath. The prisoner was doing his best to show no fear. His mouth was tightly shut, and he kept a hard gaze on Ottom, but his eyes gave him away. His eyes told me he was terrified.


    ¡°What¡¯s this? Don¡¯t want to talk? Well, I¡¯m sure we can change that.¡± Ottom bent down and gripped the dagger tightly, wiggling it back and forth. The man screamed so loud that I covered my ears.


    ¡°P...Please!¡±


    ¡°Oh, so he does have a voice, how about that!¡± Ottom got in his face again, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±


    The prisoner nodded. His eyes squinted and sweat trickled down the sides of his face. He was a fox caught in a trap, not realizing he was already dead.


    ¡°Well, go on, say who I am.¡±


    ¡°Y...You¡¯re the traitor.¡±


    WHACK!


    Ottom hit him so hard across the cheek, that the chair he was roped to fell to the side and crashed to the floor. The prisoner shrieked.


    ¡°YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!¡± exclaimed Ottom.


    The two Mardmen who stood behind him pulled the chair back upright. Ottom sucked in a breath.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve heard about me then? About the things I did before I made a fool of your boss. About how the only one who was more ruthless than me was Jaskal himself.¡± He leaned in closer, ¡°Can I tell you a secret? The truth is I liked Jaskal, in a lot of ways, me and him, we were similar. We¡¯d both hurt, people. On the drunk god, we could spend hours doing it. It was more than a job for us. It was fun.¡±


    ¡°However, Jaskal lacked a Certain¡­ something. I can¡¯t put my finger on it exactly, but if I was to guess parts of it, I¡¯d say that the man is quite visionless. I mean sure, you¡¯d have to be crazy to stand up to him, that gives me shivers just thinking about it. But take now, for example, he sent four local street rats to rob a Hafran the size of an Akerin, for a purse that he could make in a day. It¡¯s darn right ludicrous and it¡¯s come back to bite him, because now.¡± Ottom wiggled the dagger again. The prisoner let out another gut-wrenching scream.


    ¡°HOW DID YOU FIND OUR BAILIFF¡¯S WHEREABOUTS!?¡±


    ¡°A Mardman¡± the prisoner yelled. ¡°A Mardman has been talking to us.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Ottom asked.


    The prisoner shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know sir, honest, I¡¯m just a job man, I don¡¯t know nothing, I swear it, I swear-¡±


    Ottom put a finger to the man¡¯s lips ¡°Sh..sh..sh, Hush now little Helm, I believe you. I mean, you¡¯d have to be an imbecile to keep something from me, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    The prisoner nodded vigorously.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought, tell me, what is your name?¡±


    ¡°Br...Brenald sir,¡± he was quivering now, any defiance he had was rapidly leaving.


    ¡°Brenald, A traditional Wannihiem name. I like it.¡± Ottom stood upright. ¡°Unfortunately for you Brenald, you chose the wrong side to work for and a punishment is in order,¡±


    ¡°Pl...Please, sir, we weren¡¯t going to kill, just hurt em that¡¯s all, we were just to send a message.¡±


    ¡°Well, then you¡¯ll understand that the Mards will have to send a message in return. I am sorry Brenald, honestly.¡±


    Ottom turned to leave the room, he signalled for Heral and me to follow. One of the Mard men closed the door behind us as we left. We made our way down a darkened corridor.


    The muffled screams of the Brenald could be heard all along the hall. Only when the screams became a distant noise did Ottom decide to talk.


    ¡°It seems we have an informer in our midst,¡± he said with his arms clasped behind his back, ¡°I am going to have to investigate this, in the meantime, well done to the both of you.¡±


    He eyed us both.


    I kept a straight face.


    Ottom still left a bad taste in my mouth, and I didn¡¯t like taking a compliment from him. We hadn¡¯t spoken properly since the day he returned my brother to me. I think that Anna had purposely made sure that we didn¡¯t work alongside one another.


    ¡°Everything alright Kling?¡± he asked.


    I nodded. The rankings within the Mards meant that I couldn¡¯t speak my mind to him.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Good. I am sure Anna will be proud to hear that her little side project has been successful so far. I even hear your brother is doing well licking Raina¡¯s boots, who knew that klings could be so effective? I sure didn¡¯t. If it were me, I would have cast you out like a dog long ago.¡±


    I was silent. Ottom was goading me to do something stupid, and we both knew it.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Not in the mood for talking?¡± He smiled an ugly smile, ¡°you should be screaming your own praise right now. You¡¯re the first flea-ridden Hillman to do anything of note.¡±


    We heard footsteps approach.


    Anna was shrouded by the darkness of the hallway. Her clouded eye was the only thing we could see clearly.


    ¡°And here she is to watch over you again,¡± Ottom said. He looked up at Heral, ¡°As for you, I like the way you work. How long have you been with us now?¡±


    ¡°Since I was fourteen,¡± Heral said proudly, ¡°Great Auntie Raina took me in from pilgrimage.¡±


    Ottom smiled and nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right, I remember now. Do you fancy a new role? Just say the word and I¡¯ll speak to Marken. Being a bodyguard for me pays quite well.¡±


    Heral gazed at Ottom for a moment and stroked his chin, ¡°I¡¯ll consider it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Make sure that you do. Be seeing you Heral, good job today... and you as well hillman.¡± He grinned and set off down the corridor.


    I clenched my fist, ¡°Bastard.¡± I said under my breath.


    ¡°You rise too easy young Jeb. He¡¯ll only do it more if he sees it¡¯ll hurt you,¡± Heral said.


    ¡°And how would you like it if he insulted you like he just did me?¡±


    The big man smirked, ¡°He¡¯s smarter than that.¡±


    ¡°Heral¡¯s right.¡± chimed Anna, ¡°you¡¯d be wise to wipe that look off your face around him. It only gives him a reason to fan the flame.¡± She looked at us both with a still face. Her clouded, grey eye seemed the more focused of the two.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard what you¡¯ve done. The both of you. Impressive. Heral, I¡¯ll bid you a good day. Jeb, I¡¯ll have you follow me.¡±


    ¡°No problem boss lady,¡± The big man set and sauntered down the hallway, humming an idle tune.


    Anna turned to me, ¡°the prisoner. Did he talk?¡±


    ¡°Almost instantly,¡± I said, ¡°the moment Ottom put the pressure on him, the prisoner let loose his words faster than I can run.¡±


    ¡°And what did he say?¡±


    ¡°Something about an informant. He said that that''s how he was able to ambush us.¡±


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± The word became distant as if she was lost in thought.


    ¡°You know something?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Only rumours. Still, the attack doesn¡¯t make sense. Jaskal would have been better striking in Mard territory north of Ra. We¡¯ve flooded the Brigands¡¯ Dock with more men than is necessary. Even if you and Heral hadn''t been able to handle it. They wouldn¡¯t have made it out of the area without getting caught by someone else. It was a suicide mission.¡±


    ¡°The prisoner said they were there to send a message,¡± I added.


    She shook her head, ¡°No if you wanted to send a message, you send a professional, someone you know who can do the job right. Not some run-down street rats with more bone than muscle... There¡¯s more to this. Jaskal isn¡¯t the type to botch a job.¡±


    ¡°Ottom seemed to think he is. According to what he said to the prisoner at least.¡±


    ¡°Ottom doesn¡¯t know him as well as he thinks he does.¡±


    ¡°So, what is it then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet, I¡¯m going to check our books, see what pushers we have on the lists and look for anomalies, something doesn¡¯t add up.¡±


    A pusher was another name for a beggar. And beggars were the main source of income for the Mards. For all the groups that is. When Anna told me this after my initiation, I was shocked.


    ¡°Here¡¯s a lesson that is a little overdue Jeb,¡± she had said, ¡°This is Wannihiem, it¡¯s the biggest city on the continent. It¡¯s a city so big, that the surrounding kingdoms have no authority over it. It is its own ruler and because of this, things are different here. Firstly, and mainly, no other kingdom is allowed to war with each other inside the city and that¡¯s a rule that¡¯s kept to absolute strictness. Rulers will kill one another in their own lands, but here they will embrace one another in love. More peace treaties have been signed in Wannihiem than anywhere else.¡±


    ¡°The Ra, the Alora, and the Ghid rivers run through the city and so does the trade they bring with them. Which means it also attracts the wealthy. So, by default, the city has a constant flow of monarchs, diplomats, aristocrats, merchants, scholars, soldiers, priests and priestesses and every other type of person you can think of. They all run through Wannihiem. They say that all roads lead to Wannihiem Jeb and although it isn¡¯t strictly true, it may as well be. Everyone in the city has a business of some sort. You even have Bervians on the upper east Alora that specialize in making those papers that your people so dearly favour. What are they called again?¡±


    ¡°Kwawan papers.¡± I had said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the one. Anyway, our collective group''s main source of income is in the begging business Jeb. You see we have incentivized every fortune teller, shaman, Rumor spreader and magic person for miles to spread the word that Wannihiem rewards the generous. That if you give a coin to the downtrodden on your eventual stop off in the city, you¡¯ll see good fortune for the rest of the journey. It¡¯s an incredibly simple and an incredibly lucrative ruse.¡±


    ¡°The people give the coin to the beggars; the beggars give the coin to us and then we use that coin to gain political and social influence in the city. That¡¯s not to say It is all we do of course. We have several different businesses, but begging is essentially our profession, and it has served us and those before us for quite some time.


    ¡°But what about the beggars themselves? I hear you asking. Why are they happy to give us the money they¡¯ve earned? Well, what makes you think they have a choice? It''s called taxing and every beggar on every corner of our territory has to pay. Now don¡¯t get me wrong, one could argue that the taxes are a little high, and I would be inclined to agree. However, the people who do our bidding on the streets are given everything they want.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± I Asked.


    ¡°Drink, mainly. Sometimes some other narcotics like dust gin or ring grass. Whatever it is you desire, we¡¯ll facilitate, we¡¯ll even put a roof over your head come nighttime and look after any relative that needs us whilst you¡¯re in our employment. It¡¯s not the worst of deals and we rarely get complaints.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a problem with any of that?¡± She had asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± I said.


    ¡°Good, the city is grand but it¡¯s also ugly Jeb. If you ever feel like you¡¯re going against your conscience. Just remember that If we didn¡¯t do what we do, someone else would.¡±


    I remember Anna explaining this to me like it only just happened. It took a few days for me to accept that most, if not all of the people the rags I had seen were affiliated to a group in one aspect or another.


    ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡± I asked As we walked down the hallway.


    She shook her head, ¡°you¡¯ve done enough.¡±


    She had led me to my quarters without me realising and had a proud look on her face for doing so.


    I smirked at her and opened the door. Caine was at his desk, doing his daily scribes for Raina. Anna didn¡¯t bother entering, instead, she nodded and said, ¡°You did well today Jeb. It couldn¡¯t have been easy taking on four Helm men, even with Heral there to help out. You¡¯ve impressed the right people and something big has come up that they want you to help out with. Tomorrow¡¯s going to be a big day for you. Get some sleep.¡±


    Anna walked down the hallway. I closed the door behind her and turned to Caine who had an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°And how was your day?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± I said.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    Smoked river trout and darkened rye bread lay steaming on the dining table. Caine had already seen to fetching breakfast from the local market.


    I stretched my arms out until I felt my back make a satisfying click. ¡°Morning,¡± I yawned.


    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± Caine asked, salting his plate.


    ¡°Like a baby. I have to give it to the city men, they know comfort. It was the smell of the fish that woke me in truth.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad it did,¡± Caine got from his seat and limped to his desk. He picked up an envelope and then returned to his food. He held the envelope between his two fingers.


    ¡°This is for you. It¡¯s a letter from Raina. One of her underlings dropped it off this morning,¡± he tilted his head, ¡°how is your reading coming along? Or would you prefer if I read it to you?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± I said, I pulled myself up from the feathered mattress and made my way to the dining table. I seated myself opposite Caine.


    He opened the envelope carefully, and cleared his throat, ¡°Dear Jeb-of-dear-hill-and-low-grass. We¡¯d like to thank you for yesterday''s actions. Because of this, you have been formally invited to witness today¡¯s council meeting. Please refrain from being late and please come alone. Regards. Raina.¡±


    Caine smirked, ¡°It seems you have become somewhat of a Mev-With-Bacran-Fangs after yesterday¡¯s little brother.¡±


    I dismissed his words with a gesture, ¡°I¡¯m no Bervian myth. I didn¡¯t do anything really; it was more that brute Heral that they seem to love pairing me with. He¡¯s the one that should take the credit.¡±


    ¡°Still, for them to invite you to one of their meetings you must have impressed them. I have been scribing for Raina this whole time and she still doesn¡¯t trust me with anything but basic logistics.¡±


    ¡°Logis-what?¡±


    ¡°Logistics, it means when... never mind, my point is that she knows I¡¯m capable of doing more. Yet she keeps me to simple tasks that I can now do in my sleep. It¡¯s frustrating.¡±


    I took a bite of my trout, ¡°You needn¡¯t worry, your time will come. From what I hear you have also made your own impressions. You''re well-liked.¡±


    ¡°I suppose,¡± He said.


    ¡°It will come, brother, trust me. Look what we¡¯ve both achieved since being here. Since before being here also. We are survivors¡¯ Caine; we always have been.¡±


    ¡°Not bad for some no-good Klings,¡± Caine had a hint of a smile.


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    Caine nodded but still played with his food.


    ¡°Is there anything else bothering you?¡± I asked.


    He was quiet, staring into his plate as if the food might have the answers. ¡°I think I just miss home,¡± he said finally.


    I had a sinking feeling in my stomach whenever home was mentioned. No good news was coming from the region and it hurt more than I¡¯d like to admit. The home we knew was lost and we were never going back.


    ¡°How¡¯s your leg today?¡± I asked, after a long pause.


    ¡°Better than yesterday, not as good as the day before.¡± Caine wasn¡¯t completely lame, but the beating he took six months ago had refused to leave him. He now walked with a permanent limp and it bothered him. Ottom will pay one day, I thought. I broke off a bit of rye bread.


    *


    The council chambers were at a part of the crypts I had never been to before. Ben had given me directions from the training halls and even then, I had gotten lost a number of times. It was an easy thing to do if you didn¡¯t know your way around. The winding dark halls went on for what seemed like miles and the Mards had never seen it fit to put up any sort of signage. I now stood in front of a foreboding wooden door that looked out of place with the rest of the stonework. It was newer, sturdier, similar to the doors of prestigious buildings on the surface.


    I banged the brass knockers and a thumping sound echoed along the corridor.


    The door opened slowly.


    Behind the door was a man, short in stature with a hard face. He was covered in a light green cloak that hid the entirety of his body from the neck down. I had seen him around the crypts before, but we had never spoken. In fact, I had never seen him speak with anyone.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Bervian,¡± he grumbled slowly. His deep voice didn¡¯t match his size and it surprised me. He stepped to the side to let me in.


    ¡°You¡¯re early,¡± Anna said with a hint of a smile on her face.


    The room consisted of an oval table made of pure stone that protruded straight from the flooring as if it had been sculpted. The chairs were also stone slabs that were moulded into the ground. Raina was at the far end with a book in hand idly flicking through its pages.


    Anna was seated to her right, leaning back on the stone chair with her feet propped on top of the table.  ¡°Welcome to the council chamber Jeb.¡± She said, ¡°This is where the business is done. Every plan, every account, and every report flows through this room at some point. Feel honoured that you have been invited,¡± she spoke with a hint of sarcasm. ¡°The man behind you is Mannis. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen him around.¡±


    I looked at him and nodded.


    He remained straight-faced.


    I went to take a seat.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Raina said, ¡°Only senior members sit at the table, you¡¯ll be standing today.¡±


    I acknowledged it with a quaint smile and stood behind Anna¡¯s seat.


    There was a long silence.


    Anna put her hands behind her head and hummed an unintelligible tune. Raina kept to her book pretending not to notice either of us.


    I felt awkward standing there, unsure of what to do with my hands or whether I should try to make conversation. If any of the others felt the same way, they¡¯re faces didn¡¯t show it.


    Eventually, there was a knock at the door. Mannis opened it, and a man entered.


    I had never seen him before.


    ¡°Greetings Raff,¡± said Raina.


    ¡°How goes it?¡± he said, taking a seat next to Raina¡¯s left. He sat down relaxedly, resting an arm on the back of the stone chair like he was at a banquet. He was dressed in all-black leather that looked thick and padded. In the daylight, his attire would have stuck out like a sore thumb. But at night, he would have blended with the darkness. His brown, greying hair was tied back to a ponytail, and he had a golden hooped earring in one ear.


    ¡°All is well,¡± Raina said.


    The man eyed me up and down, ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡±


    ¡°One of mine,¡± Anna said, ¡°Raff this Jeb, the Bervian.¡±


    Raff gave me a curious look for a moment. As if he knew something about myself that I didn¡¯t know already. Then he started inspecting his nails.


    Shortly after, there was another knock.


    Mannis opened up the door to a woman this time. She was petite. Not much taller than a child. She wore a grey hood that shaded most of her face in darkness, however, this time, her green eyes shone through like emeralds through a cave. It was the woman who nursed Caine back to health. I hadn¡¯t seen her since that awful day. No one acknowledged her as she entered and for a moment, I thought I was the only one that could see her.


    ¡°You remember Alia?¡± Anna said.


    ¡°Y,yes,¡± I stuttered.


    The same feeling came over me that I felt before. The feeling of her presence. It was like a high-pitched tone just behind the ears that wasn¡¯t really there.


    ¡°There¡¯s no point in trying to talk to her because she won¡¯t respond... isn¡¯t that right Alia!¡± There was silence and Raff smirked.


    ¡°See, I told you.¡±


    The woman took a seat one over from Anna¡¯s right. She maintained a stiff posture whilst staring blankly at the stone table. I couldn¡¯t work her out. Why and how, did someone like that become a council member?


    Before I could ponder on it, there was another knock. Mannis opened the door. The two men were in conversation with one another and ignored Mannis completely.


    ¡°As I said, I want him, and I¡¯ll pay for him. Think about it.¡±


    Ottom¡­ and another, appeared in the doorway. I barely noticed the scathing look the fat man gave me because his companion shocked me to my very spine. Heral had mentioned his boss before. He mentioned how he looked¡­ different.


    I was looking at something inhuman.


    Coarse dark hair stuck to the entirety of its face. It had a black snout instead of a nose and Its eyes were a dim orange and cat-like. Its ears were upright, like a dog''s, and its mouth had two jutting fangs that stopped at the base of its chin. The thing scratched its neck upon eyeing me with a pawlike hand that had black claws the lengths of knives. For a moment I had an urge to bolt, to run past and out of the crypts, but I restrained myself.


    I had heard of beings like this before. Beings from across the desert, but like most things you hear on the hills. You assume their myths.


    ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± The beast asked. The tone of his voice made me uncomfortable, it was husky, almost a growl.


    ¡°More like what¡¯s he doing here?¡± Ottom said.


    ¡°I invited him to stand in,¡± Anna replied evenly.


    Ottom grunted and then took his seat next to Raff. The beast-man stood still. He maintained his gaze on me. I tried my best not to make eye contact but couldn¡¯t help myself. He felt like a predator, and I felt like prey.


    ¡°Take a seat, Marken,¡± said Raina firmly, ¡°Anna requested his invitation and I accepted it.¡±


    The beast looked me up and down, ¡°Bervian aye? The one who stopped those southern boys? Hm, he doesn¡¯t look like much.¡±


    ¡°He isn¡¯t,¡± Ottom said, ¡°it was more Heral than this one. Which is why I want him off you,¡±


    The¡­ thing called Marken remained where he was, peering at me deeply, ¡°You don¡¯t like the way I look boy?¡± he said with a low growl.


    I didn¡¯t say anything and hoped to Henralta that he didn¡¯t notice my trembling hands.


    ¡°Please stop antagonizing our guest Marken and take a seat. There is too much to discuss.¡±


    He eased his gaze and turned his lips into what looked like a grin, but it could have just as well been a frown. He took a seat next to Ottom.


    He would look around the room aimlessly for the most part, but every so often he would lock eyes with me. He would stare at me, unblinking, focused. Curios. Like a cat playing with its food. It made me shudder inside.


    ?????*


    Time passed slowly. We were waiting on another two members of the council according to Anna, although there were three empty seats.


    ¡°The third seat is where Gerert used to sit,¡± she said with a bored tone before I even asked the question. ¡°There is an opening for a seat at the table now that he¡¯s gone, but we¡¯re yet to decide on who will take it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should replace two seats while we¡¯re at it.¡± Ottom interjected, ¡°Why is Dak always late? Ruland is understandable, duty runs over. But Dak, Dak has no excuse.¡±


    No one replied to his complaint, but Marken growled in what sounded like idle agreement. I suspected that it wasn¡¯t the first time Ottom had complained about such a thing.


    A moment later, Mannis opened the door. The man in the doorway was dressed as a city guard, with mail and plate, and a sword at his hip.


    He stood rigid, upright. Like a guard should, ¡°I apologize for my lateness. We had a brawl outside the Corkscrew Innwhich ended up in a murder. I had to settle everything down before I could get away,¡± he said.


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    He was tall and thin, with a scraggly ginger beard and a long, pointed nose.


    ¡°The Corkscrew eh? Gang-related?¡± asked Raff.


    ¡°Woman-related,¡± The city guard said, he then looked my way but said nothing.


    ¡°Ruland this is Jeb, he¡¯s one of mine and he¡¯s sitting in today,¡± said Anna.


    Ruland stayed quiet and took his seat between Anna and Alia. He paid me no attention at all.


    *


    ¡°Finally,¡± said Ottom as the final council member lingered in the doorway. A short man with a stout, bloated belly. He had a black shaggy beard that matched his eyes and he wore a faded green bandana that was pulled tight over his head. It was only now that I remembered who he was. Dak was the man Anna and I met in the sewer upon my escape from the dungeons. It was the same day I was reunited with Caine.


    ¡°And where have you been?¡± Ottom snapped.


    ¡°Brothel,¡± he said carelessly.


    ¡°And you couldn¡¯t cut that short?¡± Ottom asked.


    ¡°If I¡¯ve paid for an hour, then I¡¯m getting an hour.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and I bet your wife would approve of that logic.¡±


    The stout man frowned, ¡°what are you a priest?¡±


    I notice another smirk on Raff¡¯s face. Raina looked up from her book, and Ruland, the city guard, shook his head.


    ¡°No,¡± Ottom said, ¡°I¡¯m a Mardman, a leading one at that, and so are you. You''re expected to turn up to these meetings on time.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m here now,¡± Dak said sarcastically, ¡°and it¡¯s now you who''s wasting time by complaining.¡±


    Raina put the book aside, ¡°We¡¯ll deal with this later. Take a seat Dak, we have business to discuss.¡±


    He sat opposite Raina, which was between Marken and Alia. He saw me and I noticed the recognition in his eyes. He smiled showing a set of silver teeth.


    Raina stood and then nodded to Mannis.


    The man bowed and then left the room. Shutting the door firmly behind him.


    ¡°Now that we are all here, I¡¯d like to welcome our sit-in today. As most of you already know this is Jeb, the Bervian who stopped a few Helms from robbing us yesterday. Because of this Anna has asked him to attend today¡¯s meeting which I have accepted. Any objections?¡±


    Ottom went to stick up his hand but then thought against it.


    ¡°Good. Then let¡¯s get to it. In the early hours of the morning, Ruland laid a letter on my desk from Doge Rolof. As you are aware, this isn¡¯t regular protocol, I usually receive updates from him at the end of the week in the evening. Now, what I¡¯m about to announce is of the utmost secrecy and cannot be discussed with anyone outside the Mards,¡± she took a breath, ¡°The Sharian assassin known as Heblah-Alin-Toid has entered the city.¡±


    I felt the tension in the room almost immediately. Raff stopped inspecting his nails and leaned forward, ¡°Heblah? Is he here on business?¡±


    ¡°That remains to be seen, although someone of his renown entering this city. It would be stupid to assume he wasn¡¯t.¡±


    The council members nodded in agreement.


    ¡°And you¡¯re sure it¡¯s him?¡± asked Marken.


    Ruland cleared his throat, ¡°early reports say that a guard spotted him on the back of a merchant¡¯s wagon coming through the Hell¡¯s gate. The guard recognised him due to his bounty symmetry. Another three guards then confirmed the first guard¡¯s report. We are sure it¡¯s him.¡±


    ¡°Through the Hell¡¯s Gate, you say. That puts him in our territory,¡± Ottom said.


    ¡°And on our very doorstep,¡± said Raina, ¡°He is staying at the Fleet Tavern.¡±


    Ottom grinned ¡°So, he wishes to parley.¡±


    Raina nodded, ¡°You see why the Doge has sent this our way.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Marken.


    I looked over at Dak who out of the people seated, seemed the least intrigued.


    ¡°If he is here on business, who are his targets?¡± asked Raff.


    ¡°Good question,¡± Said Raina, ¡°Earlier this morning I had Anna do some finding out about potentials and we have it down to three... Anna if you please.¡±


    Anna sat forward in her chair.


    ¡°Yesterday at around noon, the Farian general known as Atinosh entered the city with a small company of soldiers. Atinosh, who has been in the service of King Leopolf for more than a decade has been rumoured to arouse suspicion with the king as of late.¡±


    Marken had a natural low growl when he spoke, ¡°And what do the rumours say?¡±


    Anna ran her hand through her hair, ¡°The general has had two decisive victories at the Namin Pass in recent years. Against both The Namin and Republic of Mirna... He and his armies have answered a decade-long question. The question being, ¡°Who controls the centre of Piranlia?¡± Because of this, he has become somewhat of a legend to the people of southern Faria. Although likely false, there is talk of peasant folk, and local bureaucrats swearing loyalty to him, rather than their king.¡±


    ¡°So Leopolf is threatened?¡± asked Raff.


    ¡°If the rumours are true.¡±


    ¡°If that was the case, why send him to Wannihiem? Surely this is the worst city to perform an assassination, especially someone so high ranking,¡± said Ottom.


    ¡°That is exactly it. Atiniosh¡¯s arrival at Wannihiem was completely unexpected. Although he arrived on horseback, the rest of his company arrived on foot. The company was also surprisingly small for someone of his notoriety,¡± said Anna.


    ¡°You think he¡¯s fleeing?¡± asked Raff.


    ¡°The signs suggest so, but nothing is concrete. Another thing to be mindful of is that Atinosh is staying at a private residence in Journey Square.¡±


    ¡°Which puts him in close proximity to the Fleet Tavern,¡± Said Ottom.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Anna.


    Marken let out a breath, ¡°The boot fits. It means Heblah is close enough for an assassination attempt.¡±


    ¡°That it does,¡± said Raina, ¡°but it isn¡¯t the only boot. Anna if you please.¡±


    She sucked in a breath, ¡°Another possible target is a former slaver and newly turned merchant named Hasslian-Aled-Ghast. A Fellow Sharian like Heblah.


    ¡°King Dhalian of the Sharian Isles is famous for his pettiness and cruelty. It seems that this Haslian did something to enrage the king.¡± She looked around the room briefly. ¡°From what I could find out, Haslian had unintentionally kidnapped one of the king¡¯s nephews with the intention of slavery after plundering a trading vessel. Quickly realising the errors of his ways. Haslian released the king¡¯s nephew and fled to Wannihiem. That hasn¡¯t stopped the king from sticking a bounty on him.¡±


    Ottom pulled out a vial of dust gin and began to knock it back.


    Dak stretched his arms and then rubbed the side of his neck, ¡°Heblah is a Jetonah Assassin, he has no loyalty to the king. They are at odds more often than not. Why would he care?¡±


    ¡°Because everyone has a price,¡± said Anna, ¡°and the price for Haslian is thirty thousand golden marks for proof with his head.¡±


    Ottom spat out the dust gin, ¡°Thirty thousand? For a mistaken kidnapping?¡±


    Anna nodded.


    ¡°Well, why aren¡¯t we taking the bounty?¡±  Ottom said.


    ¡°Because the Doge doesn¡¯t want us to,¡± said Ruland, ¡°He has been very clear that he wants the Mards to prevent assassinations. Not cause them.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what we¡¯re doing here?¡± chimed Raff. ¡°We¡¯re stopping these assassinations from happening?¡±


    Ruland nodded, ¡°That is Rolof¡¯s request, yes. He wants Mards to intervene if there¡¯s a chance of averting possible bloodshed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good way to keep his nose clean I suppose,¡± Raff mused, ¡°use the criminals to do the dirty work.¡±


    ¡°Let''s not forget that some six months ago the Mards escalated tensions so highly that the whole city nearly rioted. Rolof certainly hasn¡¯t, and in his eyes, we owe him,¡± said Ruland.


    ¡°The doge also has an interest in this Haslian, let us not be coy about that,¡± said Raina.


    Ruland remained silent.


    ¡°Another thing to note is that Haslian is currently in Furnterritory,¡± said Anna,


    Ottom perked up with a grin, ¡°Does Archin know about this?¡±


    Ruland shook his head, ¡°The message that was relayed to me is that he wanted the Mards and the Mards only to deal with the problem. It¡¯s unlikely that the Furns know anything.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s in their territory why doesn¡¯t Rolof want the Furns to know? Why not just send in the city guard for that matter?¡± asked Marken


    Ruland sighed, ¡°Because this is our punishment, and ours alone apparently.¡±


    ¡°Punishment?¡± Said Marken, ¡°will we not be paid for this then?¡±


    ¡°If we succeed, the Doge has agreed an acceptable fee with us.¡± Said Raina, ¡°If we fail, however, then the repercussions will be drastic. It wouldn¡¯t be too bold to say that Rolof wants us to fail.¡±


    Marken scratched his chin, ¡°and with Haslian, do we know what Rolof¡¯s interest is?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that. It is in all our best interests that Haslian is kept alive,¡± said Ruland.


    Ottom was still grinning, ¡°Well then, this could be¡­ very fortunate, if we play it right.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Said asked Raff.


    ¡°We can cause a rift within the Furns. All the while appearing as an ally... We sell the Furns information on Haslian, they¡¯re more likely to believe we are genuine by selling it to them. Archin, a man who loves his coin, will not be able to resist. If all goes well, he will kill the Sharian. He¡¯ll get the bounty sure, but at the cost of unnerving the Doge who we now know wants him alive. We can then use Ruland¡¯s influence to lean on Rolof. Making sure that he inflicts harsh punishments on them. Whilst appearing unaware of anything. The Doge will surely be angrier with them, than with us. If anything he¡¯ll forget about us completely.¡±


    Anna nodded with a face that said she understood the logic behind Ottom¡¯s line of thinking.


    ¡°Who says they have to get the bounty? I could just steal the head of Hasslian after they¡¯ve done the deed and we could sell it to King Hasslian ourselves,¡± said Raff.


    Ottom¡¯s nodded, ¡°I like that idea.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to remind you all that we have to rid ourselves of this Assassin before any of that can happen. Let us not plan for tomorrow¡¯s problems when today¡¯s problems are at our doorstep,¡± said Raina.


    ¡°Okay well, then that will bring us on to target three.¡± Anna said, ¡°Princess Sian of Hafra has been staying on the grounds of the White Keep for three years now. She is married to Viceroy Hanabal. It was an arranged marriage to solidify a very shaky alliance between Hafra and The Namin,¡± Anna looked up at me, ¡°If you do not know this then you should, it was this alliance that prompted the Mirnese to pass through the Bervian hills to strike at The Namin. Without this marriage, you¡¯d still be living a quiet life today.¡±


    ¡°Enough of that,¡± Ottom cut in, ¡°why is this marriage a problem?¡±


    ¡°Because Princess Sian has fallen pregnant. She has fallen pregnant whilst Hanabal was not in Wannihiem.¡±


    There was a snigger from Dak.


    ¡°The child will be illegitimate?¡± Raff asked.


    ¡°Almost certainly,¡± Said Anna, ¡°and it being of supposed Naminian and Hafran heritage could have claims to royalty in both regions. In truth, it was why the marriage went forward in the first place. The child being illegitimate, however, changes things drastically. The Namin Hierarchy is said to be furious. It¡¯s quite possible that they have ordered an assassination.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s certain that they have. Whether or not it is the Sharian is another matter,¡± said Dak.


    ¡°Fine, well in any case they are our three main suspects. There are others but we think them too low for the likes of Heblah.¡±


    There was silence.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s that then, I¡¯m assuming you have a plan in place,¡± Said Ottom.


    ¡°Half a plan,¡± replied Raina, ¡°due to the Doge¡¯s sudden urgency we haven¡¯t had much time to prepare. Ben, and a few other Mards have been scouting the potential suspects and so far, no attack seems imminent. That, however, can change at any moment. It forces us to make haste. Ottom, you are in charge of Princess Sian. You and Alia are to watch over her residence within the White Keep.


    ¡°Alia you are to get in the heads of the soldiers, make sure their minds are clear and focused. If an Assassin comes, then they need to be ready. Ottom, I want you to sweet talk the folks at the temple. See if we can get some extra guards in the palace grounds without rousing too much suspicion.¡±


    ¡°The Heneith will be on patrol. Even Heblah would think twice before tangling with them,¡± he said.


    ¡°Still, I would like to even the odds as best as I can.¡±


    Ottom nodded, took a large gulp from a dust gin vial, and let out a breath, ¡°I haven¡¯t been to the temple in over a year and there are bound to be Helms lurking.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯ll be taking Frenna and Heral. If you do run into problems, then at least you have our most capable with you. The people at the temple only respect high born, that means you¡¯re our only option.¡±


    Ottom nodded, ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°Raff you are to monitor Hasslian. Ben will be waiting for you at dusk on the Beggars¡¯ Bridge to give coordinates. If Hasslian looks like he is in any sort of trouble, you are to make as much noise as possible. Warn both the guards and the Furns. Rumours would have likely spread by now which means that the response time will be quick. If you have to, then engage, but remember, we are out of territory so anything you do could cost us.¡±


    ¡°Fine with me,¡± Raff said, and went back to leaning on his chair and inspecting his nails.


    ¡°Marken, you and your lads are to stalk Atinosh. From what reports are saying, he is currently visiting several different taverns in the northern parts of the city. Should something happen, you know what to do.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the beast-man said.


    ¡°Dak, cover the rivers, if the Assassin tries to escape by boat, I want him caught.¡±


    Dak nodded and yawned.


    ¡°Anna you are to meet with Heblah himself. If he truly does want to parley as it seems. You are to find out his intentions.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± Anna said, ¡°I want to take Jeb with me.¡±


    That surprised the entire room, including myself.


    ¡°What?¡± said Raina.


    ¡°No,¡± Ottom said, ¡°no no no. I¡¯m aware that you are fond of the little Bervian, but he¡¯s not ready for something like this.¡±


    ¡°Well, what better way to learn than on the Job,¡± Anna retorted.


    ¡°You are aware of the magnitude of this situation? and the repercussions?¡± Raina said.


    ¡°I am,¡± Anna replied confidently, ¡°and I still think it¡¯s a good idea. Look how he exceeded yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Defending yourself against some Helm street urchins is not the same as negotiating with an assassin,¡± snapped Ottom, ¡°you and your little¡­ experiment, are being too bold Anna.¡±


    There was silence for a moment. Anna and Ottom kept their gazes at one another.


    Slowly, she stood up. ¡°Since we formed this organization from the ashes of our predecessors ¨C may they rest well ¨C how many jobs have we pulled?¡±


    ¡°Countless,¡± said Dak, smiling.


    ¡°Correct, and everyone here has been involved in all of them, have they not? Have we not in the last ten years tripled our territories and gained heavy favour with the Doge? Have we not stood united in this city and been so effective, that no one even talks of back-alley transactions without clearing it with us first? And have I not played my part in it? Ottom. Your lack of faith in me is insulting. We are kings and queens of the underworld and we got to where we are by putting our trust in one another.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough Anna,¡± said Raina in a tired tone, ¡°If you want Jeb to accompany you then I¡¯ll allow it. But let it be known though that if this plan is to fail, then the fault will be on you. Does anyone apart for Ottom object to this?¡±


    ¡°I have concerns also,¡± said Ruland. ¡°I want to be clear on what failure looks like in this circumstance. The Doge will not take it lightly,¡± he leaned forward and tapped his index finger on the table, ¡°if we are to fail then he will take the strictest action. He will cut all ties and we will be sitting ducks for the other factions to take our territory piece by piece. We will have essentially lost any support from the most powerful man in the city.¡±


    Anna just looked at him and said nothing.


    ¡°So be it then,¡± Raina said eventually, ¡°and Jeb what do you say? Are you willing to do this? It could be dangerous.¡±


    All eyes turned to me and I felt a pang of fear.


    I paused for a moment.


    Unsure.


    Then nodded nervously.


    I probably didn¡¯t give the decision the time it deserved.


    ¡°Good,¡± Raina said, ¡°Then it¡¯s time to get to work. Meeting adjourned¡±


    The council members rose to their feet and left the room orderly. Me, Raina and Anna stayed behind. Ottom lingered at the door before leaving. ¡°Nice speech Anna, but you''re making a mistake.¡± He narrowed his eyes on me. ¡°That Bervian will be the death of us.¡±


    He took a sip of dust gin before trotting down the corridor.

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    The Fleet Tavern was huge. Comparing it to the Mule and Mare was like comparing a puddle to a lake. It was also far busier than its smaller counterpart. The main bar was a circle in the centre of its great hall, and it was tended by an array of staff, all dressed in the same, grey, drawstring uniforms.


    Shouts and laughter echoed off the walls like Bervian drums over the hillside. Seats and tables were dotted around the hall without a single one being empty. There was a large gathering of people surrounding the bar, so patrons had to squeeze past one another if they wanted to move from where they were standing.


    Anna had me follow her as she weaved through the drunken crowd. A few locals eyed me as I passed them, but it wasn¡¯t like normal. The frowns were of curiosity more than anything else. As if they knew I was different but couldn¡¯t make out why. They could see the deer marks on my neck. I never hid them. But they didn¡¯t seem to care as much as the people south of the river. I put it down to what Anna had dressed me in, and the fact that I was in her company. The green jerkin made me look more like a wealthy local, and less like a fresh-from-the-hills Bervian.  And Anna being who she was, demanded respect. It felt good not being sneered at for once.


    Many patrons seemed to make space for us when we neared. No matter how crowded it was or how drunk they were. Everyone that caught Anna¡¯s eye nodded or smiled with reverence, although no one approached her for conversation directly. It was like an unwritten rule that this tavern followed.


    We came to a table towards the back. A group of mean-looking local men were seated at it. One of them tapped another on the shoulder when he saw us, and all of them promptly rose. They pulled out a seat for Anna and she gave one of them a wink before sitting down. They then walked off into the crowd.


    ¡°You had a table ready for us?¡± I asked.


    She signalled a serving maid over. ¡°The Mards own this tavern in all but name, Jeb. There¡¯s always a table ready for us here¡­ Two meads please.¡±


    The blonde-haired maid bowed before heading off to the bar.


    ¡°So, is he here?¡± I asked, looking around the room.


    I had heard of the island folks Sharia when I was on the hills, but I couldn¡¯t ever recall seeing one. They were said to be taller than mainlanders and with darker skin tones similar to Hafrans. But when I looked around the room, all I could see was the pale, bearded faces of the city men.


    Anna snapped her fingers at me, ¡°Be a little more subtle. You¡¯re in the home tavern of the Mards. It¡¯s assumed that I know everything that goes on in here, and you, looking around the way you are, contradict that.¡± She let out a breath.¡°He may have gotten a booth over at the other side. Wait here.¡±


    She got up from the table and moved into the bustling crowd.


    I leaned back on my chair and looked up at the tavern''s large ceiling. There was a mural on the ceiling that seemed to cover the entirety of the building. It was full of colour and drawings.


    The part that was directly above me depicted a large-scale battlefield. Men in suits of armour were wielding large pikes and sticking one another. Their menacing faces were covered in blood. Soldiers, dogs, and horses lay dead. The banner of Wannihiem¡ªa blackened outline of two towers connected by a parapet wall on a blue and white striped background¡ªstood in the centre of the battle. A soldier who was a head higher than the rest wielded the banner with one hand.


    Caine, being how he was since his injuries, would have loved to gaze upon the ceiling. He would have been fascinated by the history of it and would easily spend an afternoon trying to find out as much as he could about its origins.


    His change in personality since that horrible day still astounded me at times. A part of me was glad to finally have a reasonable, level-headed brother. It certainly meant I had less to worry about, but I¡¯d have been lying had I said I didn¡¯t miss the old him. For all his faults, my brother never lacked for confidence. But since the days after his torture, I¡¯d seen him flinch at a slammed door. There were things in him that disappeared since that day. Spirit. Fieriness.


    Ottom took those from him.


    ¡°And you say they won the battle?¡± I overheard a voice say from the table behind me.


    I glanced back.


    Two elderly men were seated. Mugs in hand. Leaning on their chairs.


    ¡°Indeed, cousin,¡± one of them said. ¡°They were outnumbered four to one, and so they launched a death charge that split the Mirnese army in two. The Mirnese fled for their lives back into Hran Forest. The drunk god knows how long it must have taken an army that size to travel over those thick roots. The Farians will be laughing until they piss themselves. It has been a good year for King Leopolf. For Faria in general. The bards have been singing of this victory from Farcor to Bikel,¡±


    The other man chuckled to himself. ¡°Still, bards are known for embellishment. Four to one sounds improbable, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, cousin,¡± said the first man. ¡°But what is certain is that the Mirnese sought to launch an attack on the city, and they were outdone by a force with fewer numbers, and that anAkonir Mercenary was behind it all.¡±


    ¡°Akonir?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, and that¡¯s another thing. Apparently, after the battle, the mercenary was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he vanished into thin air.¡±


    SLAM!


    The two thick glasses of mead made me jump as they hit the table. The serving maid gave another bow before turning and leaving.


    Just at that time, Anna appeared through the bustling crowd and retook her seat at the table. ¡°He¡¯s at the back,¡± she said.


    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡±


    She exhaled, ¡°Take a sip. You¡¯re going to need it.¡±


    Anna picked up her glass and started to gulp. She waved a hand upwards, ushering me to do the same. I saw the look in her eye. It was a command, not a request. Throughout the months of being with the Mards, I had gotten drunk once. It was during my initiation. The clouded black memory and the tremendous headache I received the next day, made me swear that I¡¯d keep away from the stuff as best I could. Today would have to be an exception. I finished the drink with as few gulps as possible. The bitter taste of the mead stayed at the back of my throat, and I had a brief moment where I thought I might vomit. Thankfully I just burped loudly.


    Anna stood from her chair and wiped her mouth. ¡°Come,¡± she said.


    I followed her back into the crowd, trying my best to keep off the bloated bellies of the patrons as I passed them. But the densely packed tavern made it hard. It got tight towards the centre, and as much as people were trying to get out of Anna¡¯s way it was becoming impossible. She grabbed my arm and pulled, making sure I didn¡¯t get lost from her. After some time of worming our way through, we came to a clearing. It was as if we finished squeezing ourselves through a compact array of bushes.


    Three large city men stood in front of us. Bouncers. They were there to ensure that none of the locals made it this far. Behind them, three wooden booths were fixed to the tavern¡¯s back wall. That¡¯s where I saw him. In the booth in the middle. He had noticed me before I did him, and it made him smile cruelly. A single golden tooth stood out on an otherwise set of perfectly straight white ones. His eyes were a set of unblinking dark pits. His posture was relaxed, with an arm resting on the top of the booth chair. He was dressed in blue and black robes that were wrapped tight so as if to not be cumbersome if he decided to move quickly.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I stood behind Anna and wondered why I was even involved with all this.


    After a quick glance, he held up a small glass with a clear liquid inside, ¡°Anna of Faria, it has been a long time has it not?¡±


    ¡°Do you know him personally?¡± I whispered.


    She nudged me slightly and took a step forward. The large bouncer in the middle moved aside.


    ¡°That it has Heblah, but I fear it is not long enough.¡±


    ¡°Now, now. You have nothing to fear. Come, sit, have a drink with me.¡±


    Anna held up a hand. ¡°I¡¯ll stand.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    She nodded.


    The Sharian grunted, ¡°Well then, if it¡¯s business, not pleasure you are here for, what can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°You can give me some assurance.¡± Anna¡¯s voice was higher than normal. I looked down at her fingers and noticed the slight shake they had to them.


    Heblah smirked. ¡°In what?¡±


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t be coy with me, Sharian. You know what I am asking.¡±


    ¡°Except you haven¡¯t asked it, Farian. So, who is the one being coy?¡±


    Heblah looked into his glass deeply, watching the small bubbles float from the bottom to the top. He took a swig of his drink and planted it on the table.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Anna said, ¡°if you insist.¡± She cleared her throat.¡°Do you intend to disrupt Wannihiem¡¯s justice system by committing an act that goes directly against the Doge¡¯s interests, and therefore goes directly against the interests of the city of Wannihiem?¡±


    The assassin grinned. ¡°Well said.¡± He took his eyes off his glass and leaned forward, placing his arms on the table. He then looked straight at me.


    ¡°Tell me, the man behind Anna, who are you?¡±


    I felt a shiver run up my spine. His eyes shone in the tavern lights like two black balls of fire. It was like staring into the face of a smiling demon.


    ¡°He is my underling-¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you, Farian, I asked him. What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Jeb,¡± I said. ¡°My name is Jeb. I am of the Bervi-¡±


    ¡°Do you realise what you are, Jeb?¡±


    I frowned, unsure of what he meant.


    He continued, ¡°I suspect not. The youngest the change has ever been recorded was in someone in their late twenties. You can¡¯t be a day over twenty-five. Perhaps younger.¡± He leaned back in his chair. ¡°Anna knows what you are, though. Don¡¯t you Anna?¡±


    ¡°Enough of this,¡± she said.


    ¡°You¡¯re a Mahadur, Jeb.¡±


    Anna took another step forward, bringing the attention back to her ¡°You are to leave this city immediately!¡± she said in a raised voice.


    A quietness began to fall on the tavern as patrons noticed a confrontation.


    ¡°Or what?¡± the assassin replied.


    ¡°Or I¡¯ll have half the city hunt you like a dog!¡±


    He pursed his lips. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see how that works out.¡±


    The two looked at each other with venom.


    This was a game.


    ¡°Let us be honest with one another,¡± said Anna. ¡°You don¡¯t want the mess and neither do we. You came to this tavern to make a deal. So, let¡¯s make one.¡±


    Heblah took another swig of his drink and then looked back at me. ¡°Tell me, Mahadur, have you started to dream yet? Dream so vividly that you can¡¯t tell whether you are awake or asleep. They say that¡¯s the first of the signs.¡±


    I frowned at him. I had no idea what he was talking about, or why he was so intrigued with me. But then his words made me pause. I remembered the night in the cell. The night the Doge had visited me. The dream I had that night, I could have sworn I was back in my homeland. I could have sworn I was speaking to my mother. I was certain that it wasn¡¯t a dream, and even now, when I thought of it, the memory imprinted on me like I had only just lived it.


    ¡°I¡­.I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Heblah,¡± Anna cut in sternly, ¡°I am warning you: let us speak reasonably. Tell us what you want, and we can come to some sort of agreement.¡±


    The assassin¡¯s smirk grew wide. His gold tooth glinted off the candlelight. ¡°You weren¡¯t expecting me to see, were you, Farian? It didn¡¯t even occur to you that I would be able to recognise what he is. Oh, this is rich, wise old Anna being so foolish.¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    ¡°Do the other Mardmen know what he is? I suspect so,otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be here, but you probably haven¡¯t that you haven¡¯t told them everything. There are things that you would keep close to your chest. Things kept deep in the woods.¡±


    ¡°I said enough!¡±


    ¡°I wonder what the Doge would say if he found out. A Mahadur in the city, and it was kept hidden from him. He wouldn¡¯t be amused, that¡¯s a big enough reason for exile, maybe even an execution.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Anna whistled loudly and stomped her feet. The tavern flashed silver as the three large bouncers drew their knives and pointed them towards the assassin. Things grew quiet in an instant. Then, as if by command, the tavern started to empty itself of its patrons. People hurried out the main door and fled into the night. Some stayed, mouths agape. The remaining Mards in the tavern drew their weapons and slowly made their way around me and Anna. I felt strength and relief with being surrounded by comrades.


    ¡°Now,¡± Anna snapped, ¡°as you can see Sharian! I am in no mood. You forget where you are, so let me remind you. You are in Wannihiem, the city that makes and breaks empires. You may think that your actions in this city are lucrative, but they won¡¯t be if we don¡¯t want them to be. You claim no allegiance to any nation, which means we have no issue with gutting you here. Nor will Doge Rolof. I suggest that you come with us and come quietly.¡±


    Silence.


    For what felt like an age.


    Heblah kept his eyes on Anna.


    His face was as still as a statue.


    Then he laughed.


    It started as a small chuckle.


    Then it grew.


    Like the beginning of a heavy hurricane.


    He bellowed loudly.


    His guffaw echoed across the otherwise silent tavern.


    Anna remained still.


    ¡°You are losing your edge, Farian. You¡¯re not seeing things for what they are anymore. Perhaps it¡¯s your age. You are in fact getting older are you not? Mistakes such as these are going to get you killed, and sooner rather than later.¡±


    Anna scoffed. ¡°You are alone, outmanned and with your back against the wall. I¡¯d say it is you who has made mistakes.¡±


    The assassin looked around the room, into the eyes of his oppressors. Judging them. Slowly he rose to his feet and worked his way around to the front of the table. His movements were graceful and light. Every step looked meticulously planned. The Mards readied themselves hesitantly. Anna held out a hand, staying them. My heart began to thump in my chest.


    ¡°You see, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong,¡± he said. ¡°You think you know this city, but you only see what pleases you. If you looked close enough you would see that I am neither alone, nor am I outmanned.¡±


    He clicked his fingers and a second flash of silver glinted throughout the room, before I knew it, I had a blade at my neck. The patrons that stayed in the tavern had snuck behind the Mardmen with drawn weapons. The large bouncer in front of the assassin drew another dagger. He put that and the one he was already wielding to the necks of the bouncers on either side of him. Just like that, the power had shifted. Every MardI could see was at knifepoint.


    ¡°Lower your weapons! Now! Or I order them to start slitting throats,¡± commanded Heblah.


    Slowly, the clanking sound of metal hitting wooden flooring ringed throughout the tavern as the Mards dropped their blades.


    ¡°In-house talent!¡± he bellowed as he stood inches away from Anna¡¯s face. His cruel grin reached ear to ear. ¡°Are you impressed? I would be, if I were you. You city folk think yourselves so much cleverer than anyone else.¡±


    I felt breath on the back of my neck from whoever held the dagger to it. Fear gripped tightly in my stomach and I started to sweat. My blood tingled. The blade at my throat reminded me of the first time I met Ottom. The time when all this began.


    ¡°This will do nothing but anger the city, Heblah. You won¡¯t get away with this!¡± said Anna, her good eye burned with rage.


    ¡°Oh, but I will,¡± he spat. ¡°Shrouded, clueless city folk. You have no idea about what¡¯s going on outside your walls. You have no idea what is at stake!¡±


    ¡°Well, do you care to tell us before you kill us?¡± Anna said with gritted teeth.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not going to kill you, well not all of you anyway. What I will do though is give you a message to send your precious Doge. You are to tell him that he is being deceived. Tha¡ª¡±


    The door swung open, and the general known as Atinosh entered.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    He was shorter than I expected. A bushy brown beard covered the bottom half of his face and finished just before some wine-flushed cheeks. He was dressed in a fine, silk robe that had an intricate design of flowers embroidered upon it. He came with an entourage of men. Some were dressed in soldier attire, whilst others were dressed similarly to him, and it was undoubtedly him. Atinosh. The high chin and the look of command were that of a leader. My father pulled exactly the same gaze.


    A surprised expression hit his gaze upon seeing the commotion in the room, and it quickly turned to a frown. Without a word being said, his soldiers drew their swords. One of them offered him a battle axe. He ripped it from his hands and swung it in front of him. The weight of it almost pulled him off his feet, but he steadied himself.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± his voice was low and booming, and when he spoke it was clear that he was drunk. He and his crew sauntered towards us.


    The room was quiet before his arrival, but now the silence was foreboding. I looked at Heblah, his face was still, but with a small crease in his eyebrow. This was something he hadn¡¯t intended.


    ¡°Speak, one of you!¡± Atinosh screamed.


    I looked at Anna who also had a blade to her neck. She seemed calm. Bored even. As if this was a mild inconvenience rather than a threat to her life.


    ¡°This is none of your concern, friend.¡± Said Heblah Coolly.


    ¡°None of my concern? Do you know who I Am!?¡±


    Atinosh took another step forward. It forced one of Heblah¡¯s men to take the blade off a Mard''s neck and face toward the newcomer. There was uncertainty in the room, and I used the distraction to my advantage.


    As quick as I could, and with all my weight, I launched myself backwards at my oppressor. He stumbled and fell to the floor, Releasing the dagger. On his way down he gripped onto one of his comrades who in turn went down with him.


    That is when it all happened.


    Chaos.


    Another Mard broke free, snatching the dagger out of a hand and ramming into Anna¡¯s captor''s back. As soon as she realized she had been released she went for the Assassin. He was too quick. He jumped backwards at a height and landed feet first on his booth table. He then propelled himself across the room and landed himself on Atinosh¡¯s chest. If I didn¡¯t see it with my own eyes, I would have said it was not possible.


    The room started to brawl. The clanking of daggers and swords echoed off the walls and it wasn¡¯t long before blood started to splatter the floor. I got to my feet as quickly as I could. A fist came hurling towards me from an unarmed man and planted me right on the nose. I fell onto the floor and luckily my hand landed on the hilt of a dagger. The man charged. I thrust the dagger wildly and plunged right into his cheekbone. He staggered, hitting the floor screaming whilst holding the hilt that was now embedded in him. I got to my feet. I went to pull the dagger from his face and let him bleed, but something hard hit me on the back of the head. I fell to my knees. It wasn¡¯t like before when I was hit by the guard at the white tree, or by the Helms in the alley. No, this was different. This felt sharp. A pair of legs tripped over me. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was friend or foe. I looked over at Atinosh as the place erupted into more chaos. Hebolah had his feet planted on the man¡¯s chest. He was holding onto the battle axe and trying with all his strength to pry it from the general¡¯s fingers. Atinosh was stronger. His feet were spread, and he squatted stiffly. A bull would have had trouble moving him.


    ¡°Is that all you got!?¡± He barked, almost laughing.


    CRASH!


    Marken, the beast-man, barrelled through the tavern window. He landed on two of Heblah¡¯s men and ripped their throats out in an instant. It was so fast that the room stopped for a moment. Blood dripped from his long black claws and the two men laid shaking on the red-stained flooring. The beast-man roared like an animal. The men backed off their attack. His demonic stare was enough for them.


    Suddenly, Heblah let go of his grip. Something Atinosh didn¡¯t expect. The release in pressure made the general fall backwards and, in a flash, the assassin had a dagger drawn. He sliced at Atinosh¡¯s neck as the man fell. Blood started to leak from him. My vision began to blur. I heard Heblah whistle.


    The sounds of stomping feet thundered as the assassin and his men rushed out of the tavern. The Mards that remained standing let them go. All except Marken who rushed out of the door to give chase. Red spots started to hit the floor in front of me as the blood from the back of my head started to trickle down my shoulder. Anna rushed to Atinosh who lay motionless. Her left arm was painted red from a large gash.


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    ¡°He can be saved!¡± she said as she put pressure on his wound, ¡°Someone get me a priestess!¡±


    *


    ¡°Is it too tight?¡± the nurse lady asked as she finished tying the bandage around my head.


    ¡°No,¡± I said in a huff.


    I was sitting in the corner of the tavern, and I was fed up. It had been an hour since Hebolah had made his leave. The priestesses dealt with Atinosh first. They escorted him to the healers at the temple district with the remainder of his retinue. Then they came to aid us. It turned out, the sharp object that hit the back of my head was an empty wine bottle. The nurse had just finished picking out the last of the glass that was embedded into my head.


    ¡°Well, in that case, I am done. You¡¯ll want to change these bandages every three days or so. The wounds aren¡¯t deep, luckily for you. But you¡¯ll want to make sure they scab over. So, refrain from picking at them.¡±


    I nodded.


    The nurse rose to her feet and went to attend to someone else.


    Ruland entered through the tavern entrance. Behind him stood a group of soldiers. His face went white when he saw the dead or dying bodies that lay on the floor. There were nine dead in total. Eleven others had some sort of broken bone or stab wound. Me and Anna included.


    ¡°How in the drunk god¡¯s name has this happened?¡± he said as he walked up to the bar, his face going from white to red. A clear vein started to show from his temple.


    Anna was leaning against the bar, getting her arm wrapped up by a nurse. She was clasping a bottle of rum with her free hand. She took a swig and sighed, ¡°We... were outsmarted.¡±


    ¡°Outsmarted? Pardon me if I come across as rude but aren¡¯t you the one who does the outsmarting? Isn¡¯t that why the others on the council put up with your horse shit? How am I to explain to the Doge that not only did the assassin get all three of his targets, but he also slaughtered an entire bar''s worth of patrons!?¡±


    Anna frowned, ¡°Three?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you haven¡¯t heard? Princess Sian and the Merchant Haslian are dead, both were gutted like pigs. There was also a fourth murder of a beggar in Helm territory. Honestly, this whole thing has been a mess. I warned you. I warned Raina. Now this will only get worse.¡±


    Anna shrugged and stayed silent.


    ¡°Is there any good news? Anything I could take back? Where is the Assassin now?¡±


    Anna shrugged again, ¡°Marken went after him when the commotion died down. We haven¡¯t heard anything back yet.¡±


    Ruland looked around. He pointed to a frowning man sitting on a table. The man¡¯s leg had a dagger sticking out of it.


    ¡°This man is not a Mard.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Anna, ¡°he¡¯s one of Heblah¡¯s. He couldn¡¯t move when the others ran.¡±


    ¡°Others?¡±


    ¡°The assassin was not working alone. He had a tavern full of men like him. It¡¯s why it ended how it did.¡±


    It took a moment for Ruland to understand what Anna was saying. When he did, he nodded to himself and went over to the man. ¡°Where will Heblah be heading to?¡±


    The man spat blood on the floor and then wiped his mouth, ¡°I don¡¯t know nothing,¡± he said, ¡°I was just told to bring a knife and wait in the Tavern. Bevan didn¡¯t tell me much else, he just said I¡¯ll know what to do when it happens.¡±


    ¡°And who is Bevan? Did he leave with the assassin?¡±


    The man shook his head and pointed to a dead body on the floor, ¡°Bevan¡¯s right there. Most of us aren¡¯t even from this city. We jumped a carriage out of Humn some three days ago. Bevan told us that the guy was paying major coin. That all we had to do was guard him. It was meant to be the easiest payday any of us has had. My only pay was this dagger to the leg.¡± He lifted his calf as if presenting it.


    ¡°Hebolah only entered the city this morning, it means he was planning this for quite some time,¡± Anna said idly.


    ¡°That is obviously clear,¡± Ruland sighed, ¡°I suppose what¡¯s done is done. Although the repercussions of it all will be problematic.¡± he turned to his second in command, ¡°Have the men carry the dead ones outside and make a pyre. Although it will be difficult, try to be discreet. If the locals ask, tell them that this was a structural accident. Most won¡¯t believe it, but it means there will be fewer questions.


    ¡°Escort the rest of the men who aren¡¯t Mards off to the dungeons when they have been seen too. If any of them try to be a problem. Kill them.¡±


    The second in command saluted.


    Ruland then turned and met eyes with me. I stared at him back. It was slight but I noticed the sneer he tried hiding.


    ¡°Hurt yourself?¡± he asked.


    I nodded slowly.


    He didn¡¯t take his eyes off me. ¡°I thought you said he was a good luck charm, Anna... Remind me never to believe you again.¡± Ruland turned and walked out of the tavern, slamming the door behind him.


    A few minutes went by. I tried my best not to look around the room too much. The dead bodies made me uneasy and the yelps from the wounded Mards left a ringing in my ear that wouldn¡¯t leave. What was I still doing here?


    ¡°Go home Jeb,¡± Anna said as if reading my thoughts.


    I looked up. Her sunken head told me everything. We had failed miserably tonight.


    ¡°There is nothing left for you to do here, go home and get some rest.¡±


    Slowly I made it to my feet. The gradual uprightness made my head ping with pain. I went to rub the wound but then resisted. At least let it set for one night. Anna didn¡¯t even bother looking at me when I left. She returned to the bar and leaned on it silently, occasionally sipping the rum. I opened the tavern door and closed it slowly behind me. The cool city air hit me almost instantly. It gave a slight relief to the throbbing on the back of my head. I looked up at the sky. The stars told me it was midnight. I hunched over a little, crossing my arms to keep them warm.


    It was quieter than normal. I suspected that many had heard of the commotion and thought it better not to face the evening. The walk wasn¡¯t far from the crypts, and I knew my way back. As I walked into the night, I relived what happened. Fear, rage, anxiety, and awe, all ran through me.


    I started to question.


    How does Anna know the Sharian?


    How did he move so quickly and leap so far?


    Where did the General find the strength to hold off a fully grown man who was standing on his chest?


    What exactly is Marken? Is he more beats than man?


    How did the assassin kill the other two?


    All of these needed answering, but there was one question that burned brighter than the rest. One question that stuck with me even amidst the brawl.... what did Heblah mean by Mahadur?

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    ¡°That¡¯s twice in two days you have come back with some sort of injury,¡± Caine said with a mouth full of market meat.


    I awoke  and was greeted with a throbbing, ringing pain at the back of my head as I sat upright. I rubbed my eyes. ¡°What time is it?¡±


    ¡°Three hours after midday. You have been out for fourteen hours or so. It¡¯s the longest I have ever known you to sleep,¡± he swallowed. ¡°Brother, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I am fine,¡± I lied. I stood up from the bed and sat at the table. Caine pushed a dish of meat in front of me.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time you eat.¡±


    I nodded, stabbing into the food with a fork.


    ¡°Was there much disturbance whilst I slept?¡± I asked.


    Caine swallowed another bite. ¡°The crypt has been in chaos all morning. Both Ben and Heral have come to check in on you, I told them that you were sleeping, and you were fine. You didn¡¯t say much when you got in last night. You were quite out of it, though you assured me that the cuts on your head weren¡¯t deep. What happened?¡±


    I let out a large breath. Recalling the events of yesterday evening left a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.


    ¡°Things didn¡¯t go to plan,¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement,¡± said Caine. ¡°Half the city has been in riot and that is without including the gangs. Namin emissaries have been attacking Hafrans. Farian bureaucrats have been said to be outraged and a mob has gathered outside the White Keep. The locals in the southside have been dragging Klings out of their houses and beating them in the street. The city is in turmoil.¡±


    Caine emphasised the word Kling.


    I took a bite. The clenching of my jaw sent a niggling pain to my head and so I chewed gingerly.


    ¡°And what of the Mards themselves?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Worse, I¡¯m afraid. One of the council members had a run-in last night by the Alora. It didn¡¯t go well for him; he¡¯s said to have lost a hand. I forgot what they called him Jak or Rak or¡ª¡°


    ¡°Dak,¡± I said with wide eyes. I put my fork down and stood abruptly from the table. ¡°I have to go see Anna.¡±


    Caine stood also and tried to move as if to restrain me. His crooked leg protested at his quick motion and so he leaned over the table with a reaching arm.


    ¡°Not now, brother. I have been instructed to ensure that you rest. We¡¯re to leave all this in the hands of the people that know what they¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°And who told you that?¡±


    ¡°Raina. She stopped on my way out to get food this morning and made her instruction very clear. When she is ready for us, she will call.¡±


    I sat back down on my chair. ¡°This is a mess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say.¡± Caine sat back down and forked another chunk of meat into his mouth. ¡°So how did that happen?¡± He pointed to the bandage that wrapped around my head.


    ¡°Wine bottle shards,¡± I said looking down at my plate. ¡°He was so fast brother.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The assassin. I have never seen anything like that before. He knew things as well... Things about me,¡±


    ¡°Assassin?¡± Caine said. It was clear that he hadn¡¯t heard much.


    ¡°I stabbed another last night, this time in the jaw. I don¡¯t know whether he is alive or dead.¡±


    Caine had no words to say to that. He looked at me dumbstruck. Like he didn¡¯t believe I was telling the truth. Then he shook his head as if shaking away a bad memory.


    ¡°You''re not speaking plainly, Jeb. Tell me what happened from start to finish.¡±


    I looked up at him. ¡°Brother, have you ever heard of someone being a Mahadur before?¡±


    He paused for a moment and looked to the ceiling. Then shook his head. ¡°No, no I cannot say that I have. Why is that?¡±


    ¡°The assassin, yesterday, it¡¯s what he called me. A Mahadur. He said that Anna knew about it and that she wasn¡¯t expecting him to see it. That was just before the tavern erupted.¡±


    Caine frowned and then swallowed. ¡°Start from the beginning, Jeb.¡±


    *


    It was three days before anyone of note came to visit me, and surprisingly it was the council member known as Raff. I opened the door to him and bowed. Rather than entering, he leaned up against the door frame. Arms folded. He was a tall, slim, figure, and although he was dressed in dark leathers, I could tell he was lean with the body of a climber, or an acrobat.


    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± I said.


    He stared at me for a moment, weighing me up, like one might do when looking to buy a horse.


    ¡°That remains to be seen. How¡¯s your head?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s healing. Caine put fresh bandages on it this morning... What news is there on the outside? I¡¯ve been told I am not allowed to leave my room.¡±


    ¡°And for good reason. There are a lot of people within the organization that think you''re behind this mess.¡±


    My face dropped, ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you. It¡¯s been heavily rumoured that you were the first to start the commotion in the tavern. The commotion that led to nine deaths.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that. They had blades at our neck. What was I¡ªnine? So does that mean that the general survived?¡±


    Raff nodded. ¡°Which is also fortunate for you. King Leopolf of Faria is said to be furious and vowed that he¡¯d get the heads of all responsible if the general didn¡¯t survive. Heblah fled the moment his tasks were done. The king will never catch him. Not with all the armies in Piranlia. You, however, you¡¯d make the perfect scapegoat. Best not to displease a king after all.¡±


    I was taken aback. ¡°How am I responsible for any of it?¡±


    Raff stood himself upright off the side of the door. ¡°Because people need someone to blame. Never forget what you are in this city. The people around you sure haven¡¯t¡­ Anyway, that¡¯s not why I¡¯m here. You are needed again. Raina has asked me to escort you to the training ground. Are you able to walk?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Well then, get dressed. I¡¯ll wait outside.¡±


    Raff walked even faster than Anna. I thought that impossible. He raced down the corridor without any consideration that every step I took, sent a ringing to my head. I did my best to keep up with him. He nodded to every passerby we came across and they nodded back. Some had contempt in their eyes when they saw me with him.


    ¡°So, everyone hates me now,¡± I said glumly.


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    ¡°That word implies that they liked you in the first place. And no, not everyone hates you. Understand that the Mards are a very tightly fastened group. Some members have been in the organization for years and haven¡¯t come close to being involved in things that you have. For your first job to go that badly, well, it looks like incompetence on our part, and they think you¡¯re to blame.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m to blame.¡±


    ¡°And that is because you are not. Anna is. At no point should you have been there with her. We all should have been aware of that. Still. She thought she saw something in you, and we went along with it.¡±


    She saw what the assassin saw: that I was¡ª


    ¡°Raff, have you ever heard of something called Mahadur?¡±


    He looked over at me, his face as straight as an arrow.


    ¡°No,¡± he said and looked forward.


    I let out a huff. ¡°So, is Anna in trouble?¡±


    ¡°A senior member doesn¡¯t get in trouble. There weren''t enough objections when the plan was set forward and so that takes away any real punishment. That doesn¡¯t mean there won¡¯t be consequences in the form of alterations though. You, for instance, won¡¯t be working with Anna anytime soon. Instead, Raina¡¯s asked that I take you under my wing for the time being. She thinks you could learn a thing or two with me.¡±


    ¡°And why would Raina want me to learn from anyone, if the Mards think me responsible for such a failure of a job? Why give me a second chance?¡±


    ¡°Let me be clearer. Some Mards think you are responsible, but not the Council members. In fact, you¡¯re the only one who smells of roses in this pile of shit. It was brave what you did in there. Fighting back when you were up against it. Especially for a no-good Kling as people like to say. That, and the incident you had with Heral, has made Ottom even have to concede, and you¡¯re not exactly his favourite.¡±


    We were at the entrance. Raff pulled the double doors open to the training ground.


    The large hall was filled with Mards. Idle chatter echoed off the walls as they conversed with one another. It was daunting to see so many people. Some faces I recognized but most I didn¡¯t. It gave me a true idea of the scale of the group. There had to be two, maybe three hundred of them and as far as I can tell, that didn¡¯t include the beggars. Many noted me when I entered. A few even pointed. An array of different emotions was painted on their faces. Some were sneers, others were curiosity. A few people even smirked. It seemed I had become quite notorious. Raff waltzed over to a cylinder, structural, column that stopped just before the stage and leant up against it. I followed him. From the other end of the room, I saw Ottom. He was surrounded by an entourage of big men. All of them looking menacing. One of them being Heral.


    Raff noticed my gaze. ¡°Pathetic if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s is?¡±


    ¡°That many strong men smothering you.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why is that a bad thing? Surely, it¡¯s wise for Ottom to have protection? He is probably the only man more hated in this city than I am right now.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say ¡®bad¡¯, I said ¡®pathetic¡¯. It lacks bravery. It shows his fear in plain sight, and when you think of it, it is also quite bad. Big, hulking men like that¡ªwhen he walks to the market, he must stick out like a sore thumb. How easy it would be for a Helm to spot him.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you''re right,¡± I said.


    ¡°He has no variety in his protectors. It¡¯s all strength and no speed. You witnessed Heblah¡¯s display the other night first-hand. He¡¯d have dismantled that entire group within minutes. Word of advice, Jeb: if you ever find yourself in a position like he is in, diversify your protection. Take Mannis for example, the man is short, no bigger than an ashen. But, put a blade in his hand, and he''ll deal with any of those surrounding Ottom.¡±


    ¡°You think so?¡±


    ¡°I know so. The man is dangerous when he wants to be.¡±


    The short man that Raff was referring to was guarding the large main doors to the training ground. He had his hands by his side and a face of indifference.


    I also saw Caine towards one corner of the room. He was alone, arms clasped behind his back. He stood a little distance from anyone else, and he wasn¡¯t engaging with anybody. It seems that being Bervian, as well as my brother, gave him no popularity.


    *


    A clanking sound echoed the entirety of the hall as the large wooden doors that Mannis guarded opened. The room went silent. Raina¡¯s cane tapped on the stone flooring as she entered. Marken and Anna followed closely behind her. She stepped onto the stage in the centre of the hall and stopped. The rest of the Mards surrounded her. She scanned the room. Her dark brown eyes gave an all-knowing look. She let the silence linger for a moment, just long enough for the mind to start wondering.


    Then she spoke, ¡°As most¡ªif not all¡ªof you know by now, some four nights ago we were outdone. We were tasked to stop an assassination attempt in Wannihiem, and we failed on three accounts.¡±


    There were murmurs among the crowd, like the rumblings of a thunderstorm. Raina let them carry on for a moment before holding up a hand that signalled silence.


    ¡°There would be no point denying it like there would be no point denying the stars in the sky. One of the people killed was a royal lady of the kingdom of Hafra. She died from a throwing knife to the back. Another was a Sharian Merchant in Furn territory. His head was removed from his body in the middle of the street. And the last one was a Farian General, and although he is not dead, his throat has been cut deeply. The priestess tells me, it¡¯s almost certain that he won¡¯t speak again.¡±


    The room began to murmur once more, I could tell that the news of Atinosh was not yet common knowledge. I noticed a few eyes from the onlooking crowd stare at me. I also noticed Anna. To my surprise, she had the usual smirk on her face.


    ¡°All in all., over the three assassination attempts, we lost thirteen Mardmen. Another twenty- three are injured, including one of the senior members. Many of you here know and have worked with Dak. He was one of the group''s founders and has served it with absolute loyalty. It is with regret to inform all of you that he lost a hand when trying to prevent the assassin from fleeing the city.¡±


    There were audible groans throughout the hall. Everyone in attendance would have known at least one member who died. It made me wonder what Anna¡¯s feelings were on this. It could be argued that it was her fault after all. By the look on her face, it didn¡¯t bother her.


    ¡°How could this happen?¡± a freckle-faced woman cried from the crowd.


    Raina looked at the woman directly, ¡°I could lie to you. I could say that there is treachery and deceitfulness afoot. But in a room full of traitors and deceivers, I¡¯d be seen through, and quite quickly. No. The truth is as I said before, we were simply bested. We thought we supplied enough manpower to overwhelm one of the most infamous assassins on the continent, but we were wrong. Due to the quick process of the ordeal, we hadn¡¯t noticed that the assassin had planted out-of-town mercenaries, thugs, and other assassins all around the city. He made himself a decoy and we fell for it. It is our burden to bear.¡±


    ¡°And what of him? The Kling?¡± A grey-haired man pointed at me.


    I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as I was set upon by hundreds of eyes.


    Raina turned to the man sharply. ¡°I¡¯d advise you not to call him that in my presence. Do you forget where some of your senior members are from? I myself am Hafran, with skin darker than the Bervian¡¯s. Marken is from lands you couldn¡¯t comprehend. To make a mockery of him is to make a mockery of us. All of us. Do you understand?¡±


    The man¡¯s face fell. ¡°I meant nothing by it. It¡¯s just what us city folks call them.¡± Raina looked as if she was going to argue some more, then thought against it.


    ¡°To answer your question: there is nothing to wonder about Jeb, except for where he got his bravery from.¡±


    ¡°Whilst in the Fleet Tavern, he and some fifteen other Mards had knives to their throats. If it wasn¡¯t for his reactions. There would be a lot more dead. He is the only one that I can speak about positively in this whole ordeal.¡±


    She looked at me with approval. I tried my best not to beam at her.


    What she said took the anger out of a lot of the Mard faces, although not all of them. Ottom still looked at me as if I was dirt, despite his apparent agreement with my actions, but that was nothing new.


    Raina let out a breath and let the room be silent for a moment. She gazed at her people slowly, making sure to meet the eyes of every Mard. It still made me wonder how someone her age could command so much respect.


    After another moment, she started again. ¡°The events that took place a few nights ago are not our only misfortune... Doge Rolof has also refused to do any more business with us at this moment in time.¡± The statement filled the room with tension. The lady next to me stiffened and stood upright.


    Raina continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure some of you are starting to realise what that means. Allow me to explain for those that don¡¯t. We are no longer to have any form of communication with the guards. Anything we do now that doesn¡¯t follow the laws of the city will be under scrutiny. We cannot be seen taking bribes from aristocrats or diplomats, even taking our coin from the beggars may be enough for them to make arrests. Right now, as a group, we are in hiding.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just pay him off?¡± a voice called.


    Raina turned to it. ¡°I wish it was that easy. Unfortunately for us, the assassinations committed by Heblah have been detrimental to kingdoms across the continent. People put their faith in Wannihiem because it is a protectorate. It is a haven for all warring kingdoms to reside and resolve their differences. The fact that so much controversy has happened all at once has tarnished the city¡¯s reputation. So much so that the Wannihiem senate might look to replace the Doge with someone more... unsullied. Someone who¡¯s less likely to use groups such as ourselves. The Doge has a right to be furious. I for one am glad that we don¡¯t have a war on our hands.¡±


    ¡°So now what?¡± said the freckle-faced woman again.


    ¡°Now we rebuild. We work in the shadows until it¡¯s safe to come out to the sun again. When we have rebuilt the bridges we burnt with the Doge, we will return at full strength.¡±


    ¡°When the Furns and Helms find out about this they will seek to take advantage,¡± called another voice. It was Kline, the one who was at the Inn on the south side when Heral and I were attacked.


    ¡°Oh, believe me, they already have. It won¡¯t be long until they¡¯ll start to muscle in on our territory, they still have the backing of Rolof after all. But fear not. We have some plans set in motion for when the time comes. That brings me to my last point. I¡¯d like to remind everyone in this hall that you are Mards. That you have all been initiated and all have sworn oaths. For some, it might be tempting to break those oaths. I¡¯d strongly advise against it. People throughout the city always talk about how they fear Jaskal¡ªthe leader of the Helms¡ªbecause of his cruelty. So, I will be as clear as I think necessary when I say that towards traitors, deserters, and oath breakers we can be equally as cruel. We are aware that there is at least one among you talking to our enemies about things they shouldn¡¯t. When we find out who that is, you¡¯ll beg for the treatment that Jaskal would give. Is that understood?¡±


    ¡°AYE!¡± many in the room called.


    ¡°Good, the senior members and upper overseers will give you instructions on your posts in the coming days. Stay strong.¡±


    Raina exited the stage and left the circling crowd. I noted Anna as the crowd dispersed. She was looking at me, smiling. Her dead eye shimmered in the firelight.


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