Easier Said Than Done
"Jorun!" Farah spat breathlessly, I almost didn't hear her. "The scroll, it's..." she cut off and turned away wincing in a manner that made me want to weep inside, when a magic user reacted like that it meant bad things. Everything went into slow motion as things tend to when one's life is about to experience explosive pain quite literally. I looked down and was already dropping the scroll as it began to slowly begin glowing brighter and brighter, it hit the ground and my legs were pushing me off the ground to lead into a leap but I knew it already too late. My mind raced as I watched that piece of innocent looking parchment glow brighter and brighter, but there was only one thing on my mind as I awaited my coming doom...
This was going to hurt.
I hate it when I'm right.
There was a flash and I felt more than heard the concussive
whump and felt my body get hurled through the air in a fashion I imagine was very similar to a child's rag doll. I believe I was out before I could feel myself hit the ground, not that it mattered, if I was conscious the pain was too much for me to register my body crashing into the earth anyhow. The lovely thing about unconsciousness to the semi-lucid dreamer was that it gives you time to think and dwell on past events. That wasn't what happened but I figure this is as good enough a point to get into how I got into this situation anyhow.
* * * * * Easier Said Than Done * * * * *
It was a dark and stormy night... well to be honest it wasn't stormy, more like a partly cloudy night with the moon playing touch and go with those clouds providing illumination. I was in Port Sapphire, had been working there for some time occasionally doing freelance work for the guild, I dislike associating with the guild but if they have a job that requires a third party and it meets my specifications than I am to take it, the Four Winds have told me so. At least until I received a sign to do otherwise.
I was to meet a guild Grandfather, a highly respected and highly ranked (at least one would assume so) member, who had a task of importance for me to claim, he said it shouldn't get in the way of my standards so I agreed to meet him in the tavern known as
The Heavy Net. It was a larger tavern, two stories on the pier devoted to drinking, dancing, gambling, and just about all the stuff sailors like to do when they're not on their ships. This made me a touch nervous, I never fancied bar brawls, they make me twitchy considering my style of combat tends towards the more silent-yet-absolute sort, not the hit-them-til-they-fall-down-and-get-up-later-with-headache sort. In other words I prefer to kill my opponents, not fight them.
It was crowded as usual, I decided to show up early so that I might enjoy an ale and keep an eye on the patronage, I was itchy, there was something about tonight. Something interesting. I had my horse, Nimbus, outside and loosely tethered in case of a quick getaway. I name all my horses Nimbus, one less thing to keep track of, this one had lasted longer than most of the others so I had been entertaining notions of changing it should I get another.
As I waited I caught sight of the bouncer, an imposing man, intimidating to say the least. Large, bald, one arm, one eye, and a typical striped sweater. He seemed like the type who could stop a fight with a glare and a growl and assuming from the lack of brawling that was going on in this sailors bar that was indeed the case. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the help of more than a few loyal customers who didn't like seeing their favorite dive get wrecked. Yep, definitely not my kind of place, so I tried to make note of exits should I find need to make a hasty retreat. Thank the winds I left my work clothes at home, I'd stick out here if I wore that.
Eventually Cyrel arrived... Now let me clear something up. I'm not a member of his guild. Not at all. I have a somewhat unique career for a professional murderer, one that doesn't lend itself to becoming completely mercenary, however in civilized society it's bad to step on peoples toes. So as much as I hate associating with, sure they're businessmen but they're too impartial for my tastes, as much as I hate associating with them I must. Simply because if I didn't have some level of guild protection I'd be hunted down which would do my cause no good.
Where was I?
Oh, yes, Cyrel.
He was dressed in darker clothes but they were fairly nondescript, nothing that said
'look this way good sir, for I am a professional hired killer' which was good. For utilities sake my own 'work clothes' are stylish as well, though toss in the bandoleer of pouches and you have me looking quite suspicious. He had entered the tavern without drawing so much as a second glance if he even drew a first and slid into the chair across from me. "Jorun, I'll make this quick." he said in a clear soft voice, one that I could hear over the raucous laughter at a nearby table but I doubt anyone not sitting directly across from him could discern.
He reached beneath his cloak and removed a rolled piece of parchment, it was tied with a black bow, the symbol of the Rangefire Guild. For some reason I felt a touch uneasy as he slid it across the table to me. "A guild mate of ours, Sezch, carried out a contract in Beryl five nights ago. He made the strike but was sloppy, got seen and got caught. Thus he has not completed the transaction and collected the guild's half of the payment. I would like to offer you the opportunity to close the contract."
This didn't sound interesting, which meant it was all the more interesting to me.
I smiled, Cyrel had been my contact a couple of times and I appreciated the fact that he was straight forward, something not often done in the cloak and dagger like of work. "Certainly." I said in a friendly tone. "I assume the details are enclosed within?" I said, as I began sliding the scroll under my cloak I called out to a waitress "Excuse me miss, a mug of ale for my friend here, make it something dark." I turned to Cyrel "Is there anything else I must know? If not I shall consult the winds and leave at first light."
"Nothing for me, I'm not staying." he said to the waitress before turning to me. "Wait." My hand was still on the scroll, at his gesture I placed it back on the table. He motioned to it "You should know this;" he began "it's guild policy to hire out sticky situations such as these, to keep such idle intrigues away from normal business. As it stands at this very moment, the deal is protected, and other guilds refuse to meddle in it, as a matter of principle."
He pointed to the black ribbon "As soon as the contract leaves my hands, it becomes unprotected. The contact map enclosed, in essence, becomes an anonymous voucher for the remainder of Sezch's payment. Anyone could collect upon it. And anyone could try." translation: once he removes the ribbon, I become a target, or whoever has the scroll and rest assured there'd be interest in collecting on another guilds payment, it was like telling them they could bugger themselves without actually calling for retaliation. His eyes shifted for a moment looking about the tavern. "There are at least three toughs from competing guilds here, now, waiting for me to remove the Rangefire bow. As soon as I do, they will try to kill you and take it."
These guilds had strange rules, customs that seemed overly complex to me, still I'd stick with them, fact was I needed the coin. I chuckled "I take it waiting until I'm out of town and on the open road the remove the bow is not an option?" I asked, I wasn't too concerned with the toughs, with the bouncer (or was he the owner, or both?) here they wouldn't start anything. I tried scanning the area with my peripheral vision to see if there was anyone paying a suspicious amount of attention to our friendly conversation, there was a table of two, but where was the third that Grandfather Cyrel had mentioned? "Perhaps I should travel with other bodies? Or is their threat even more immediate than that?" I asked.
Cyrel's gaze hardened as he looked at me with eyes that had seen far more murders than mind had. I had been taught well but I was barely no longer a student. "The threat is indeed imminent unfortunately."
Such was life I supposed. Cyrel pulled out a small cloth bag and opened it to let a rather nicely polished amethyst spill onto the table. Seeing as you likely aren't too familiar with the White Kingdom gems are commonly used as trade, as such, those who spend time here swiftly learn to estimate a gems worth in gold, and this looked to be an easy three hundred crowns. "If I didn't think you could handle this, I wouldn't be offering it to you. Just the same, it may be wise to procure some 'hired help' immediately. This should help you get started." he said to me and I found myself raising a skeptical eyebrow. If I were to be attacked outside I wouldn't have enough time to hire help. He seemed to sense my doubt and glancing about the tavern added "There's always hired swords looking for work here."
He stood up and reached for the bow, before he tugged on the ribbon and untied it he said "Nobody steals from Rangefire. Make sure this person pays, dearly. Best of luck, Jorun." and with that and a sweeping motion he departed the tavern in much the casual cloak and dagger style he had came in. Damn strange rules these guilds had, Ahmed never explained any of this to me during my training. Still, while it was in my best interests I had no real choice but to play along. I took a breath and mentally prepared myself for the task at hand. After downing my ale I looked around the room trying to find any other suspicious looking chaps, and in a dockside tavern that was like finding a needle in a haystack.
I was pondering where to find hired help when my ears picked up some conversation from the table nearby. "Out of curiosity," a voice said "do you know of any place where one with a good sword-arm and a set of spurs could get some work?" Ah what fortune, this task was indeed one the winds favored. "Good deeds are my favorite ones to do, but I won't be doing them for long if I starve to death." even better, a man who lived by morals as well as necessity!
The voice belonged to a handsome young man, the way he lounged in his chair conversing with the sailors and flirting with barmaids made him appear laid back, lazy even, but Jorun saw that he had a build that could not come from loafing about doing nothing. The man was a trained warrior and likely a competent one at the least! Perfect for the situation at hand and practically handed to him by the wise winds. Jorun grabbed his bow and slung it over his shoulder before making his way to the table and casually taking a seat before the man. "Many apologies good sir, I could not help but overhear your conversation, considering I believe not in coincidence for the most part I felt I should inform you that I might have employment if you're game." I said shifting in my seat as though seeking a more comfortable sitting position though the true purpose was to keep an eye on the two I had seen earlier.
The man nodded and smiled at me, he seemed nice enough, and Jorun preferred an easy going body guard to one who was uptight and full of himself. "Certainly sir, I'd be glad to hear whatever you had in mind. I'm glad to have met you honestly- while the company here is wonderful-" He raised his mug to an old sea-dog he had been talking to, and winked at the Barmaid when he thought none were looking. "-It doesn't seem like any of them would have had much work for a man like me."
I smiled, it tends to loosen people up a bit, make them relax, well, in conversation that is, there were some times when I smile that people seem to get more nervous, I wish I knew why. "Then our meeting is indeed fortuitous and by no means a coincidence." I said. I had already prepared what I needed to say next, I leaned forward and let the words out in the rush of someone who had a lot of information to divulge and very little time to do it. "Now, you seem a fairly easy going fellow so I'm going to be as straight forward with you as I can afford to be at the moment. I consider myself capable in a fight under the right conditions, preferably those that keep me at a distance from my enemy or, if their attacks are clumsy, one on one rather than en masse. I am traveling to Beryl and find myself in need of a good sword arm to assist me, there's good coin in it for you, possibly more if you continue your assistance after we arrive to the city." I said and gave him a moment to register while I took a breath for the next burst.
"Now the catch is your employment would start rather soon and by soon I mean once I leave this tavern which I intend to do tonight. The reason for this is that there are men of an amoral or downright sinister nature who wish to harm my person for reasons that are nothing personal but still quite painful and even fatal. Mere thugs but likely more than I can handle on my own." I said and then paused awaiting an answer.
The man blinked, it seemed to take a moment for him to realize I was done before he spoke again "Its a bit much to take in, but..." He leaned in, speaking quietly. "I'm in. I'm not about to let any sinister men have their way, wouldn't be chivalrous. Just tell me when you head out, and I'll come with." he then threw his head back and laughed and said "Ha, thats a good one!" It took me a moment to realize he was trying to make it sound like I had just told a good joke in an attempt to keep his friends and the other patrons of the bar in the dark about our dealings. I smiled and shook my head at his attempt at deception which likely only added to it. It probably fooled the common folk but our opposition would know precisely what was going on, or at least guess, I could only hope they couldn't read lips.
"'No time like the present' as those in a hurry oft want to say." I said with a good smile then "I would suggest you ready yourself for combat. I would be surprised if they didn't attack us before we could acquire the proper means for travel and some necessities from where I'm staying." I really hoped they would attack right upon our exit, or at least soon after, the sooner the better, less worry and paranoia that way. "I am Jorun. I imagine it will be interesting." I introduced myself finally not knowing how right I was.
"Sir Arlan Dulach, at your service." The young man accepted his handshake, and smiled. "Of course, Just Arlan is fine normally." With that, he finished the last of his drink, set some gems on the table, and grabbed his things. "Shall we?"
A toothless sailor balked as his drinking companion was suddenly hired. He beamed at Arlan. "Ask and ye shall receive, eh lad?" The man looked like a crusty old sea salt, the kind you knew you could learn the dirtiest jokes from. He had apparently been listening in on the conversation "Danger 'tis then, eh?," he asked as though it was a piece of juicy gossip being discussed amongst washer women, "Rest'n sure that no fightin'll break out 'ere." He motioned to the one-eyed, one-armed bouncer. "Finn keeps it clean 'ere, he does." another look at Finn made Jorun a touch proud his initial assessment had been correct. The salt pointed to the door. "Once't yer on the pier, though, all bets're off."
Arlan finished paying for his drink and even placed some coins on the old man's table "You sir, have been much to kind. Enjoy a last drink on me." He looked back to me. "Did you still want to go now, or rest a bit first?"
I gave the salt a polite nod, for I have enjoyed more than a few dirty jokes while inebriated told and lovingly crafted by old sailor men such as that, I then looked back to Arlan "I've rested and have had my ale, I think departing and getting the messy part over with as soon as possible would be best." I pulled my cloak about me and leaned in using the noise of the surrounding tavern to mask my words meant only for Arlan alone "I want to try and get us as ahead of them as possible. They'll likely want to keep an eye on us but strike out of sight of guard." I then began to head for the door.
"Sounds like a plan." Arlan answered in an equally soft tone as he strapped his sword to his belt and followed after me "Do you have a horse?"
I nodded "Tethered outside." I said "I want to draw them into a confrontation before we get to my inn though, so we should go just fast enough to be prepared for when they catch up. Best to fight on our terms." I paused in mid-step and turned to look at the man. He had said
'Sir' a moment ago upon introducing himself and had mentioned Chivalry, this meant he was a knight which might complicate things like tactics and later business deals. I started moving again "How do you feel about ambushing if we can arrange it?" I asked as I made straight for my horse.
Arlan whistled and his horse came trotting over, well trained, useful, and probably more reliable than some of my past horses had been. "Its certainly not my preference, but if you believe it is our best option, I'm not fool enough to turn down the idea." this was good, he was flexible, which meant he might not run me through if he somehow discovered my mission in life.
I smiled "Good, I've known some warriors to be... picky over the situations wherein they fight. I didn't want to offend potentially delicate combat sensibilities." I said with a chuckle "Now then, let's be off." I said and mounted up onto the back of Nimbus.
We began to ride toward the end of the pier, it was late and all the shops were closed, their doors locked and shuttered adding that much more to the dark night. Thankfully the streets were lit by dim torch lamps that barely illuminated the boardwalk. As we road I heard a voice call out from back near the tavern "Jorun! This can can be easy or difficult, your choice."
I looked back keeping my horse facing the edge of the pier, approaching us was an plain looking middle aged man in dark green traveling clothes and a floor length cloak, he was approaching with his arms out and his palms open showing he was unarmed. I knew better.
"Drop the scroll, and you ride away alive. Step horseshoe off the end of this pier, and my hidden bowmen will drop you from the shadows."
