AO 5 Ch 18

Chapter 18

The next morning, I managed to untangle myself from the pile of limbs that had slowly accumulated throughout the night. True to the words they had given me and Aurelia, I had some lovely private time, only for Emlyn to become impatient and take one round with me before promptly passing out.

Zuri and Maribelle were far more reserved.

I must have had plenty of energy last night because I woke first in a pile of limbs, though it seemed that Maribelle had already left the room, because she wasn’t among the pile.

Finding my clothes neatly folded on a stool in the corner, I got dressed. Glancing, at the other three still sleeping in bed, I knew I shouldn't really go anywhere without one of my anchors, but I was going to go find Maribelle anyways. It wasn't as if I was a defenseless mage like I had once been.

Instead, I pinched my cheeks, making sure I was alert before I stepped out, searching for Maribelle.

The inn was far quieter than we had left it last night, people having stayed up late. The mood for celebration often lasted for weeks, both before and after the actual festival.

As soon as I made my way downstairs, Maribelle was obvious. The innkeeper had given her the kitchen to cook what I assumed would become my meal. 

"Morning," I told her, waving one hand. As I came down I moved over towards the bar. My anchors would be happier if I stayed with at least one of them. 

"Morning, Sir," she nodded at me, looking delicate and in no way showing the bit of a dark twist that was inside her. Her eyes moved over, indicating something that should get my attention.

I pivoted, looking over to find the Boss from the bandits. Though, he was cleaned up nicely. A fine shirt and a pressed pair of pants made him look almost civilized. If I hadn't met him so recently, I wasn’t sure I would have recognized him. I blinked. 

"Oh, old friend, you here for the festival?" I wasn’t about to call him by his first name, which he hated, or boss, which made him sound like a thug.

"Something like that," he said quickly. "I should have guessed you were heading this way, and you wouldn't travel too fast." His eyes carried over to Maribelle. "I'm sure you prefer sleeping where you can find a bed." He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Something like that. I'm used to creature comforts. Camping on the road isn't my idea of fun.” I answered, not calling out that this wagon was terrible on my back. Cyam's carriage was a thousand times better.

Boss grinned. "Well, since you are here, I suppose it's my good fortune." The rest of the inn was empty, yet he still looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I happened to return only to get an interesting bout of news." He sighed, beating around the bush. 

"Oh, would it be the kind of news that a peddling merchant would be interested in knowing?" I asked, being just as vague as he was being. Two could play at his game. 

"Given our prior arrangement, I think you'd be very interested." As he was talking, the door opened up, only for Eva to step in. She had a cloak around her, as well as rosy cheeks suggesting she had been out in the brisk morning for some time.

"Ah, your sister," he said, though his tone was slightly disbelieving. Eva saw me, and then did a double take at the man I was talking to, only to pull back her hood and stride confidently across the room.

"Sir," she said, giving him a formal courtesy. 

He waved his hands in front of him. "No need to give a simple man like me such respect." 

"Nonsense," Eva insisted. "You're no simple man." 

Boss' eyes immediately became sharp, and his whole body went on edge.

"Oh, we're playing a game of riddles," I said, a giant grin sliding onto my face. "I'm really good at this. Hold on. Eva, you give the riddle first. Boss, you get the second round and I'll guess it." Both of them squinted at me. My humor had successfully diffused the sudden tension.

"I was just referring to the knight here," Eva said, gesturing at Boss. "Or, is 'former knight' more appropriate?"

"Former knight would be appropriate, as my patron is no longer with us," Boss replied.

I blinked and looked back at him. "You were a knight?"

"I was. I served a traveling serpent mage," he said, his eyes becoming hard and distant for a brief moment before he returned to the present. "But that's in the past. I don't want to bore either of you with melancholic tales. Instead, why don't we discuss the skulking woman going about town?" He gestured to Eva. "Or the novice mage, who according to my men, performed what looked suspiciously like an adept spell." He gestured to me.

I scratched the back of my head. "An adept spell? I'm honored that you think it was that good."

He looked between the two of us. "Something doesn't add up."

"And what would that be?" I said quickly.

Boss leaned on my counter. "You're not a novice mage. She's certainly not as helpless as she would like to pretend," he pointed at Eva. "And the maid that's currently cooking in the kitchen there for you is watching me like a hawk without actually turning her head. If I didn't know better, I would guess she was actually your anchor rather than the tall one. In fact, I would guess that all five of your attending ladies were anchors."

I glanced at Eva. "He thinks you're my anchor." It seemed we hadn’t fooled Boss.

We burst out laughing, causing Boss's brow to furrow.

"Not an anchor," Eva said quickly. "However, Knight Clarence," she curtsied once again, "even if you think you've abandoned the title, technically it's still yours. And you are due the respect that the title gives you."

Eva knew more in this situation and I let her take the lead.

"I actually think whatever it is you are here to talk to Trevor about is likely the same thing I came to say." She watched him.

"Oh," Boss leaned against the counter. "Are you going to prove me right or am I going to prove you right?"

"The floor is yours," Eva gestured for him to continue.

Boss gave us both one more calculating look before nodding, continuing. "She is right, I was a knight. However, my mage was kidnapped by King Martin. And at this point, I am certain she is dead. You may not know, but mage-forged are still rather new to Garrish. The first ones were only seen about a decade ago."

He narrowed his eyes and looked off into the middle distance, at nothing in particular. "When they first started appearing, my lady grew concerned and tried to create a coalition of other nobles. I do not know how much you know about mages, given that you are a novice," he said, dripping with sarcasm. "But Garrish mages are not well organized. She attempted to use the mage-forged as a reason to convene a council, if you will, of the stronger mages in Garrish. However, upon forming said meeting, each and every mage that attended disappeared. At the time, I was not with her."

He grit his teeth and his hands squeezed tightly on the edge of the counter, enough that his knuckles had turned completely white. "I failed her," he said. I nearly expected him to break into tears there and then, but he didn't. Instead, he took a deep breath and looked back up at the two of us.

"It was shortly after that when the ruling council of Garrish completely stepped aside for King Martin. Several other powerful mages reappeared from the meeting as his sycophants overnight and I saw those who had, just the month before, been prepared to confront him, turn into his blind followers. The man is rotten to the core, so much so that I cannot stand idly by, not after what he's done to our people, not after what he's done to my lady."

"And what does that have to do with us?" Eva asked, her tone harsh.

"Really?" I said, turning to her.

"It's an interesting story," she waved towards Boss. "However, it's entirely convenient that it includes no proof, besides the fact that he is indeed a knight. The story around town is that he betrayed his patron."

Boss slammed his hand suddenly down on the counter and roared with genuine anger at Eva. "I did not! I would never do such a thing!" His hand was itching for his blade.

I held my hands up in the air, patting them gently. "Calm down. Eva isn't entirely wrong to be skeptical, especially if that's the story floating around."

"Well, it gets better, because I suppose he's about to ask you to attack a Garrish supply fort. About a full days journey from here, there is a manor that has been sequestered from a noble family and is currently being used as a depot. That's where the caravan that we sacked came from," Eva said. "Which brings into question why he'd be luring you into attacking."

"I am not luring," Boss demanded. "I was coming to ask for your assistance. The depot is going to have mages. It's going to be better guarded than the supply caravan. My men cannot take it alone.”

“They're beginning to move supplies out of the depot to another station. They're going to change up the routes significantly to avoid," he glanced at Eva, "Avente spies continuing to disrupt them."

"How dare you," Eva snapped, so reflexively it seemed genuine, "calling me a spy.”

“You've happily sacked a caravan," his voice was barely above a whisper. "I think a spy is being more polite than the alternative that you're a traitor."

She hissed, "you're the traitor."

Boss stood up, straightening his shoulders and pulled at his shirt to remove the wrinkles. "And if I am, I might be one in the eyes of King Martin, but I am not. In my duty to my lady, I am no traitor. All I aim is to make those who are responsible pay. As her fervent knight, that is the least I could do in her memory."

I smiled, liking Boss more by the minute. "If that's the case, why don't you tell us a little more about this supply depot?" 

He glanced at Eva and shrugged. "Don't you already have all the information?"

"Don't be a sore loser," Eva said quickly. "Either you've come to recruit us, genuinely, and you'll show your information, or you've been disingenuous. And we will ensure never to meet you again."

"That almost sounded like a threat," he said, his hand touching the saber at his hip, only for a knife to appear at his throat.

Maribelle had crossed the distance from the kitchen to the bar nearly instantly. Her lips were not far from his ears, but she spoke loud enough for me to hear, "You can consider this a threat. The way you've been posturing next to my master is making my knives itchy. You won’t even look at him wrong or I will be your end."

I cleared my throat. "You'll have to excuse her. She is," I hesitated for the right words, "dedicated."

Boss’ eyes slowly slid over to where Maribelle was perched on the table. "I can see that." The knight had a slight waver in his voice. "I was right when I told my men to be very careful of your maid. It seems she's just full of surprises."

Maribelle disappeared from her perch with a flutter of fabric, and she landed behind the bar, humming and going back to stirring whatever was in that pot.

"She's good at what she does," I said simply.

"And what is it that she does?" Boss asked nervously.

"A bit of everything," I didn't give him a straight answer. "Now it seems we both have cards on the table. How about we have a little more civilized conversation?"

We moved to the corner of the room, hopefully where no one would disturb us. That was the unsaid rule of inns and taverns. When people sat in the corner of the room when the rest of the room was available, it meant they didn't want to be disturbed.

Boss continued to look around, taking the corner position so he had a good vantage point. Meanwhile, Maribelle served up soup to Eva and I while pointedly avoiding feeding Boss. 

"Quite the maid you have there," he said, before lowering his voice. "Two days from now at night, when the festival is at its peak, we're going to hit the manor that they're using as a depot." His voice was soft and he did his best to not look like he was skulking in the corner. "We have it on good authority that the guards will be minimal and that they might even have some drink on hand making it a little less vigilant than normal."

"Why bring this to us?" I asked. "Sounds like you have the perfect opportunity and your bandits can go right ahead." 

Boss scowled at me. "There's going to be mages. Likely multiple mages. While we might be able to take the mages, certainly having a mage and a few anchors would make the job significantly easier and save lives."

"There are multiple mages there," Eva squinted. "Right now, I know they have six or seven stations. There's no way you're going into that many with just crossbows and spears." Eva watched him as she said her next words. "You have a mage in your number or two."

"Not two," he said. "We have a good handful of anchors and a single mage. We can maybe give them enough magic for the operation."

I pursed my lips and leaned back, doing my best not to give away my thoughts. This was honestly a little too convenient, though I didn't think Boss was at fault. Instead, my mind was lingering on a particular Vel'shae that had been absent from these conversations. My gut told me that Uncle Valken had a hand in us meeting Boss and his bandits in the first place, possibly even him re-meeting us here. I trusted Uncle Valken, however, it was frustrating that he might be playing me like a chess piece rather than a player in the game. No one liked that feeling.

"We'll consider it. Sounds like you are going through with it regardless," I said. 

Boss squinted at me. "You won't give me an answer?"

"No," I told him, perhaps a touch too sharply. "We'll give you an answer in two nights when we either come or don’t.”

I took a bite of the eggs that Maribelle made. I was no connoisseur, but I was fairly certain she had mixed cream into this batch. Otherwise, I had no idea how she got them so light and fluffy. I waved my fork at Boss. "I don't like this. It's too convenient for you to meet us here again. It's too convenient that I met you in the first place."

My words caused the bandit leader, or knight, I wasn't quite sure how to address him, to scowl.

"You have gone out on a limb here. But I'm unsure whether you went out on the limb to tie a noose for me, or to help yourself. Either way, I'm not making a decision here and now, and I'm not telling you where I will be at any point in time."

Eva watched me, not saying a word.

"As for any information you can provide about this place, it seems I should just talk to Eva. I already have that information, and I can make a plan if I decide to join you. Now if you'll please, I need to have a conversation with my sister."

"Whatever you say, Mage," Boss said. "However, if you're going to stick around this area, you should know that your anchors aren't very good at pretending to be normal people."

With that, Boss swept himself out of the inn.

I waited and watched for him to exit before using my sense of soul to make sure there was no one on the other side of the wall or outside the window listening in.

"Dear sister," I said, turning to Eva, "it seems like we're officially pieces on the board. I just have to ask, am I playing or am I being played? Because our father isn't here and this is all suspiciously too convenient."

"What are you accusing him of?" Eva hesitated.

"I'm not accusing him of anything. I'm just saying I knew when we came over here that we  would be reliant on your resources. However, I thought I would understand what we were supposed to be doing. Right now, this feels like Uncle Valken set me up to meet a growing resistance amongst the Garrish people without telling me in the slightest."

Eva spread her hands on the table. "From the information I had coming into Garrish, we were aware of a growing resistance, but our awareness of it was like whispers in the wind. Zenovian intelligence did not have a location or a face to put to it. I highly suspect that Boss is not the top of that organization. Most likely, he is the second or third rung from the top. Leading bandits isn't exactly a glorious job."

I rubbed my temples. "Yes, Eva, but how much more does Uncle Valken know than you? Is he playing you too? Furthermore, why is he not here?"

"He went and traveled some distance, that's all I know, to obtain more information. Meanwhile, I was to gather things on where that most recent caravan was coming from.”

“Do you have a guess as to where he went?"

"If my suspicion is correct, he went all the way to this noble's estate where they're keeping the supplies.”

“At the same time, we just happened to cross paths with Boss." I whispered, "You do understand how this looks incredibly suspicious?"

"I'm not making excuses for him," Eva clarified. "I'm simply telling you what I know. Now, if you expect me to tell you things I don't know, I'm afraid that's not possible."

I squinted at Eva. I wanted to trust her and Uncle Valken. However, this situation was progressing quickly and was a touch too convenient.

"Fine," I said, focusing back on my eggs. They were a pleasant distraction. "I'm going to eat, I'm going to mull over this, and then we're going to go up to our room and have a private conversation with my anchors. Please attend. I'm sure Zuri will have plenty of her own questions."

Eva's jaw was tense. The petite princess glared back at me, her eyes full of ferocity, as if challenging Uncle Valken had challenged her very morals. "Fine. Enjoy your meal. I need to check on something." She got up and stormed out of the tavern, only for Maribelle to slide into the seat next to me.

"Was that wise?” She asked. “We don't exactly want to upset her or Lord Valken. In many ways, they are our eyes and ears over here."

I shrugged, waving my fork in the air. "I don't want them moving me around the board like some sort of keeps and mage piece. I will not be a piece blind to the overall strategy, even if I get to be one of the precious mage pieces. Because by extension, that means they're putting you and my other anchors in unknown danger. And that's what really pisses me off."

Maribelle put a hand on my thigh and leaned against me, taking a piece of ham off of my plate and nibbling on it. "Of course, Sir, would you like me to follow her?"

I waved a hand. "We're not there yet, Maribelle. But if we do get there, I will let you know."

"Of course, sir. Enjoy your meal." She slid out of the booth and posted up nearby so she could watch the tavern continue to grow more lively.

While I finished the food in front of me, I mulled over what I had just learned and tried to decide my next move.