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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7394103" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 146Thinking back on that fateful day, Bredan acknowledged that he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without Glori’s help.She always knew the right person to talk to, the right questions to ask to get someone to open up and volunteer information.  Bredan had brought a purse full of silver coins in order to buy drinks at the various taverns they would visit, but with the bard in his company he’d hardly had to touch it.They had started at a tavern in the Shield District, a neighborhood that was reputed to be a hangout for mercenaries.  Their visit to The King’s Blades had been brief, and with Glori directing their inquiry they made their way to one tavern after another, from sprawling inns where a hundred people crowded into a common room to dives that were little more than a wooden plank bar where guests stood as they drank.  Bredan couldn’t remember the names of more than half of the places they had visited, but the quality had definitely declined as the day had given way first to evening and then to full night.  They’d left the Shield District behind and moved into a part of the city known locally as the Gilded District, a name that convinced Bredan that the Severoners did in fact have a collective sense of humor.  The cracked paint and sagging buildings were quite the contrast from the rarified environs of the High District where they’d been spending most of their time.Glori had urged restraint.  “I think we’ve done enough for one day,” she’d told them after they’d staggered clear of yet another room thick with smoke and the stench of stale sweat and spilled liquor.Bredan had limited himself to only one drink at each place they visited, but even so his head was swimming.  “One more place,” he’d insisted.  “That guy you talked to seemed like he knew something, and it’s not that far.”“We should be careful because he knew something,” she’d said, but ultimately she’d agreed to accompany him to a dim tavern lodged in the cellar of a sprawling complex of buildings that leaned together as if for support.  There had been a battered brass sign on the front that identified it as The Marker’s Post.The rest of the night was a gray haze, but Bredan could recall every detail of what had happened next in sharp clarity.  The steps that led down to the main entrance had been choked with litter and slippery.  Glori had started to make a joke about him cracking his head, but his response had been lost over the din that had spilled out when he’d opened the door.  The tavern had been deceptively large for its location, with two bars and a number of side-chambers that looked as though they had been parts of different cellars that had been joined together over time.  Thick posts supported a ceiling that still managed to sag alarmingly in places.  The place had been crowded with thirty or forty patrons, overwhelmingly hard-faced men in dirty coats.  More than a few had cast evaluative looks at Glori when the pair had entered, looks that had Bredan’s fingers itching for the hilt of his sword.  He’d left it behind, as a greatsword wasn’t a welcome adjunct in most of the capital’s bars, but he was reassured by his ability to conjure it to his hand at will.  He was starting to gain more control over that power, and in a few tests it didn’t seem like distance was an issue; he was confident that he could recover the sword even if it was halfway across the city.Maybe something of that made it into Bredan’s face, or maybe the place wasn’t as bad as it looked, but nobody bothered them as they fought their way to the closer bar.  Again, Bredan let Glori take the lead.  He didn’t hear most of their exchange over the general din, but after a few moments—and a brief flicker of silver changing hands—the big bartender pointed and they made their way to the back of the place.  They passed through a breach in a brick wall that still had rough edges into still another side chamber.  This place looked like it had once been another cellar, with a narrow flight of steps that led up to a door near the ceiling.  There was still another bar there, this one little more than a shelf installed in a corner, manned by a surly-looking man with a leather patch over one eye.  Six tables were crowded into the room, half of them populated by men sitting on seats that looked to be made of piles of extra bricks.  A pair of lamps with dirty flues provided a wan light.  The mood here was more sullen than extravagant, and while none of the drinkers so much as glanced their way Bredan got the impression that their appearance did not go unmarked.They started with the bartender, who wouldn’t tell them anything until they bought something.  Coins changed hands, and after getting a pair of shot glasses filled with murky liquid they were directed to a table in the far corner where a single man sat with his back against the wall.  He was draped in a dark cloak that couldn’t hide the hard lines of his body, even though he looked to be well past his middle years otherwise.“Mind if we join you?” Glori asked.The old man’s eyes flicked up at them.  “Suit yourself,” he said.The two of them sat down on a bench made of a board set down upon stacks of loose bricks.  It shifted precariously as they settled their weight upon it.  “You are Gulder Nox?”The man’s expression tightened, and for a moment it looked like he wasn’t going to answer, but finally he sagged and said, “That’s my name.”“We’re looking for information about someone who served with the Silver Gauntlet,” Glori said.“That was a long time ago,” Nox said.“Not all that long ago,” Glori said.  “It seems like they were a pretty big deal, back in the day.  Should be folks around that remember them.”“I’ve been told that some of them went on to work for private employers, after the organization was dissolved,” Bredan said.Nox looked at him.  “Oh, is that what you were told?  Look, you’re not from Severon, that much is obvious, so I’ll give you a piece of advice.  Leave the past in the past.  Better for everyone that way.”“Look, we’re not looking for trouble,” Bredan said.  “I’m just looking for information about my father.  Colvas Karras, he was a member of the Gauntlet.”“Never heard of him,” Nox said.  “I can’t help you.”“Look, we can make it worth your while,” Bredan said, reaching for his purse.“I said, I can’t help you.”  With a speed that belied his years he shot up from his seat, jostling the table enough to splash some of their drinks on the battered wood.  Before they could stop him, he disappeared through the breach in the wall and was gone.  For a moment it looked like Bredan would follow, but he finally slumped back down onto the bench.“Well, that was a bust,” he said.“It’s just out first day looking,” Glori told him. “And I’d say we learned something.”“Learned what?” Bredan asked.  He took a sip of his drink, then made a face.  “Gods, that’s poison,” he muttered.“There’s more to this than what we were told,” Glori said.  “For an organization as prominent as the one the wizards described, there should be more people who know at least something about it.  I could have put it down to apathy about the past, but this guy, Nox, he was legitimately afraid of talking to us.”“Should I have gone after him?” Bredan asked.  He turned to look back at the doorway, but there was no sign of the old man.  He glanced over at the bar, but the man who’d served them had stepped out.  Frowning, he looked around but saw no sign of him.  The men at the other two tables were talking in quiet voices, not looking their way.“We’re in unfamiliar terrain here,” Glori said.  “If we’d had a bit more time I could have tried a suggestion, but if you’d tried to catch him it would have only made a scene.  When we try again we’ll be a bit more circumspect—is something wrong?”Bredan turned back to her.  “Just… I don’t think so.  I don’t know.  Something’s off.”“You’ve had a pretty good number of drinks tonight.”“This isn’t… my mouth feels numb.”She put a hand on his arm and looked into his eyes.  “I think we should get out of here,” she said.They got up, but as he started to turn around Bredan stumbled and nearly fell.  He jolted the table much as Nox had, and Glori’s glass shattered as it struck the floor.“Are you okay?” she asked.“The drink,” Bredan said, staring at his overturned glass.“Hsst!” she warned, drawing his attention back into the room.  The men at the tables had all gotten up, and now stood between them and the exit.  None of them had produced any weapons, but they didn’t need any to communicate malign intent.Glori reached under her cloak.  “You really don’t want to mess with us,” she said.Bredan felt like a haze had been dropped over his senses, but with a supreme effort of will he was able to remain upright.  The four men hadn’t moved, but as he glanced over at Glori he caught a hint of motion out of the corner of his eye; the upstairs door had opened and there was someone on the stairs above them.“Look out,” he said, or tried to; the words came out thick and slurred.  Glori sensed that something was wrong but reacted too late as the figure dropped down and brought something crashing down onto her head from behind.Glori collapsed to the floor.  Bredan let out a yell and summoned his sword.  The weight of it, so familiar, pulled him off-balance.  He still managed to swing it, but Glori’s attacker was able to dodge back and the blade struck the wall with a loud clang.Bredan’s vision was fading.  He slumped against the wall but pushed off it, struggling to lift the sword.  “Stay back!” he said, but this time it only came out as a vague mumble.Another figure appeared in front of him, just a vague outline in his vision.  He swung the sword again, putting all of his fading strength behind the blow.  He felt the jarring impact, but that was the last thing he felt as he tumbled forward onto the hard floor.He was out before he struck the stone.</blockquote>

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