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Second Draft

4th Duir 2044

The sun had just crested its midday climb into the sky when the party reached the top of a tall hill overlooking Saltcliffs. Ahead of them stretched a mile or more of gentle hills covered in lush green grass, leading off towards an abrupt end at the cliffs of the Vasmar.

Saltcliffs -- or, what passed for Saltcliffs nowadays -- was a cozy village snuggled against the edge of the Salt Cliffs. The Salt Cliffs started several miles north of the village, and continued for tens of miles to the southwest, ending eventually in the Great Forest of the Dales. The cliffs were named for their bleached white color, but there was no salt of any value in the cliffs; instead, they were chalky formations.

Across the fields ahead of the riders were signs of what Saltcliffs was like during its glory days. Sections of an ancient curtain wall, fifteen paces tall, jutted from the fields, surrounded by piles of stone rubble where the walls were collapsing still. Herds of cattle lazily walked around the cracked, dirty walls, oblivious of the poor condition of the ruins as they grazed on the grass. The ruins of a tower, easily thirty paces tall where its top had collapsed, gave another indication of how impressive Saltcliffs had been before the city had been razed by hordes of orcs fighting for the Dark One over two thousand years ago.

The party approached Saltcliffs, riding slowly along the ancient Via Avillonia they had followed from Armagh. This stretch of the ancient Golden Era roadway was in poor condition, with many of the close-fit stones missing or damaged. Old ruts, now worn nearly smooth, were visible in the ancient route.

On the outskirts of town, a herd of sheep milled around several obviously abandoned buildings, grazing on shoots of grass and bleating plaintively from time to time. Two young men, perhaps in their mid-teens, appeared to be the shepherds, but they paid as little attention to the sheep as the sheep did to them. Farther into town, the party could see children running along the unpaved side streets, screaming and chasing one another or the numerous dogs that shared the dirty roads. A handful of the children ventured out onto the twenty-pace-wide Via, running alongside the mounted travelers, their feet slapping the paving stones in a counterpoint to the ringing steps of the horses.

The party noticed that the town seemed to be still shrinking. Every fifth building they passed was clearly abandoned, and shopkeepers were milling about on the road, talking. On a couple of occasions, patrons would enter a store and leave with goods, leaving coins behind as they did so.

A short column of four merchant wagons pulled by oxen and led by a pair of armed outriders creaked along the road, passing the riders as it slowly rolled towards Armagh.

The center of Saltcliffs held the city square. The Via emptied onto what may have once been a square as impressive as the smaller ones in Londoun. Several of the buildings surrounding the square were easily as old as the Via itself, their stone corners heavily rounded by centuries of rains and winds.

The square itself was in a low point between two low hills. The cliffs were also lower, little more than two or three paces above the sea due shoreward from the square. The cliffs climbed gradually higher to either direction, but they were clearly taller to the south.

The riders stopped in the square, ignoring the curious glances of several shopkeepers and other passersby.

"Well," Bilbus said. "Here we are. Now what?"

Eric looked around. The building nearest to them, where the Via emptied to the square, was an inn. "I am guessing we shall stay there tonight. We should check around the town and find out if anything out of the ordinary is occurring. Are there any other taverns? Other places where people might stop and talk?"

Bilbus turned his horse in a circle. A short jut of a road from the square went straight towards the low cliffs. At the end of it, near what appeared to be the end of a pier, was a tavern. Bilbus grinned. "I see a tavern by the cliffs. Perhaps my Lady and I should check it out?"

Eric nodded.

Sturm cleared his throat. "We passed a caravanserai. Any merchants traveling overland here probably would need to stop for parts for their wagons."

"Good idea. I will go with you," the Azirian said.

"What about us?" Rishala asked, nodding towards Kasey.

"You could go with us? Or you can look into getting rooms here."

Rishala glanced towards the inn. In spite of the obvious age of the building, it was well kept and clean. The warm glow of a fire lit the common room. "We'll see if the inn is acceptable."

Kasey smiled. "Good. I'm hungry. Let's eat."

Kasey and Rishala dismounted their horses and led them towards the stables adjacent to the Square Inn. Eric and Sturm rode back down the road they had used to enter Saltcliffs while Bilbus and Adria went towards the cliffs.

Rishala and Kasey turned their horses over to the stable boys. Kasey admonished them to be careful around Farran, and not to give the large stallion a chance to nip at them or kick them. One of the boys looked at Kasey disbelievingly, but the other looked at Farran just as the horse stretched out his head and shook it violently, flashing too-sharp teeth as he did so.

The storyteller and the knight walked into the common room of the Square Inn. The interior looked bland -- the walls were stone, with a few tapestries covering the bare rock, and the floor looked to be century-old wooden planks. Several men, all middle aged or older, sat at a few tables in the inn, playing card games. One older man sat alone at the bar, nursing a small crystal glass with a golden liquid within. The fireplace burned cheerfully, warming the room to a cozy heat that made one want to nap.

Kasey took a seat at a table near the door. Rishala took another of the empty seats at that table and continued to look around the common room. A hallway led back to rooms in the inn, and a staircase next to the hallway led to the upper floor. A doorway in the wall opposite the entrance was open, and the sounds of pots and pans rattling told Rishala that the kitchen was in there.

A man came out of the kitchen. He was the largest man Rishala had ever seen -- not in height, but in girth. He was no taller than the Caledonian, but Rishala was sure the man had to be at least six feet around the mid-section. His legs were likewise stout, in part simply excess fat, in part muscle needed to support and carry the morbidly obese man.

The man clapped his hands together and smiled, then crossed the common room far faster than Rishala would have imagined possible for someone of that size.

The man stopped next to the table, across from Rishala and Kasey, and ran one hand through his thinning, dark mop of hair. "Hello, strangers! I am Brule. Welcome to my inn, the finest inn of all Saltcliffs! Will you be staying the night, or merely stopping for the finest food of the city?"

Rishala started to answer. "We will be staying the n..."

Kasey interrupted. "But we need food, now. I've been riding all day."

Brule looked truly distressed. "Gods! How a man can survive for so long without sustenance is beyond me! Let me see what I have that is hot. I'll get a roast started right away!"

Kasey grinned towards Rishala. "Oh, and we have four friends who will be joining us, as well. They're hungry, too."

Brule nodded and scurried towards the kitchen.

"Master Brule!" Kasey shouted. "We could use ale, as well!"

"Of course!" Brule stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. "Marna, my dear wife! Please get the large roast -- No, two of them! -- and put them in the fire! We have some hungry guests out here. And ask Saille to make up some rooms for our guests! Our best rooms!" The tremendous man then rushed over to the bar to draw to tall mugs of ale from a keg.

He brought the foaming mugs to Rishala and Kasey, then excused himself to help his wife prepare the meals.

Eric and Sturm walked into the caravanserai. The merchants' outfitter's shop looked abandoned -- dust covered several rolls of canvas cloth, and several nails in a wooden box were brown with rust. Sturm had just picked up a coil of rope that showed signs of dry rot when the shopkeeper stumbled into the shop. He held a half-filled bottle of wine.

"Oh!" he said, swinging his arm holding the bottle. "I didn't realize you had stopped. I thought I saw you going on out of town."

Eric looked at the man. "We came back. It appears that you do not have a lot of business." His voice raised questioningly.

The man took a long draw from his wine. "No, we do not." He held the bottle towards Eric and Sturm, offering them a drink. Eric put his hand out, palm forward, and shook his head. Sturm dropped the rotting rope back on its shelf and crossed his arms, looking sternly at the shopkeeper.

"More for me," the man mumbled to himself as he took another draw from the bottle. "We see less traffic from the Dales these days. For several years, now. Most of the merchants simply take a ship from Portsdale to Londoun instead of traveling overland. Other than the local merchants who carry goods from the northeastern extents of the Dales, we don't see much business in Saltcliffs."

Eric looked at Sturm. "That explains the empty buildings."

The Sun Knight nodded.

"What can I get you two gentlemen today? Need some wheel work? Axle bad? Hitches for the oxen?"

Eric jerked his head back towards the shopkeeper. "We are not with the merchant train. We just rode into town."

The man visibly slumped, even while standing. "So, you don't need anything?"

"We could use some information," Eric said. "Has there been any unusual goings on lately? Bandits? Problems in town?"

Dejected, the man said, "Nothing happens in Saltcliffs. People leave, merchants don't often stop, buildings fall apart."

"I am truly sorry to hear it," Eric said, sounding sincere. "It can not be easy surviving in a town such as this."

The man took another draw from his now-empty bottle. "No, it isn't. Ask o'Biobh. He used to be a pretty rich merchant until he retired here." He turned and stumbled back into the rear of his building.

"That was productive," Sturm growled as he walked towards the front of the shop.

Eric and Sturm found their comrades already in the common room of the Square Inn. Kasey had staked out a table near the door, and there were platters and pitchers and mugs all over it. A table next to Kasey's had piles of foods -- two large roasts, stewed vegetables, breads, cheeses, and an assortment of fruits and sweets. Kasey was gleefully passing from one table to the other, filling a plate, then taking a seat and eating.

Sturm looked at the Church Knight. "Hungry, Kasey?"

Kasey spoke around a too-large slice of roast. "Oh, yeah. We've been riding for two days, now. I need a good meal. I figured everyone else was hungry, too."

"Where is the innkeeper?"

Kasey let go of the knife he was using to hold his roast, gripping the meat with his teeth. He pointed towards the kitchen with his now-freed hand.

Sturm nodded to himself and turned to the kitchen.

Eric grabbed a clean plate and cut a few slices of roast and a generous heap of the vegetables. He took a seat next to Bilbus.

"What did you and Adria find?" he asked the con man.

Bilbus snorted. "The Cliffside Tavern is a dive..."

Adria smiled and sat forward. "Just his kind of place," she said to Eric a little too cheerfully.

Bilbus shot a quick scowl towards the noblewoman. "Yes, well... It was still a good place to check. There were a few dockworkers in there, waiting for business. We saw a small ship tied up to the dock. It looked like a fisherman's boat. I don't know why it was still in port at midday. Maybe the captain decided not to bother fishing today?" he shrugged. "Anyway, no one in town has seen a merchant ship in weeks."

Adria added, "But someone was in town some time back hiring dock workers."

"Yes, as my dear Lady says," Bilbus exhaled sharply, as if struck, as Adria blinked far too innocently, "a man came through the tavern looking for workers a few weeks ago. He hired a couple of the men, but no one else knows any of the details of the job. They say the men haven't been back to Saltcliffs since they left with the man." Bilbus took a bite out of a roll. "Did you fare better?"

Eric shook his head. "I did not find out much at the caravanserai. The owner was a drunk, and he lost interest when he realized we were not part of a merchant caravan."

Sturm took a seat at the table. He added, "And his goods were in such poor condition only the most desperate, or foolish, merchant would have paid for them."

Bilbus leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Can you believe how much Brule wants for his rooms? Three Crowns a night, when he might be lucky to fill two of his rooms most nights? I've stayed in less expensive places in Londoun!"

Sturm looked at the thief. "You actually agreed to pay three Crowns? I talked him down to two."

"Two?!?" Bilbus said incredulously. "He robbed me!"

Rishala nodded. "Even two is a lot of coin for an inn in a town that is dying."

The party had been gathered around the table for a couple of hours, most of them very sated, when Brule waddled out of the kitchen again, this time with no trays of food. Instead, he carried a large, ornately finished and lacquered stump of a tree.

"Do we have a cover?" Bilbus asked quietly when he realized that Brule was planning on sitting with them.

Kasey handed Bilbus a well-worn riding cloak. "I don't need it. I have enough of them at home."

Bilbus's eyes rolled upwards as Adria laughed.

"What?" Kasey asked as Brule set his stump next to the table and sat down upon it.

The solid block of wood groaned as the gigantic man sat upon it. The stump seemed to sag under the tremendous weight of the owner of the Square Inn.

"What brings my lords to this fine town of ours?" Brule asked, smiling cheerfully.

"It is a fine town," Eric replied. "It must be difficult making a living, what with traders bypassing the town."

Brule's smile slipped. "It is difficult. I hear about it often. I also am the mayor of Saltcliffs, and some of the people think I can magickally fix their problems."

Eric was only partially listening to Brule. The explorer was watching the old man at the bar as the mayor spoke.

"Pardon me, Brule," Eric interrupted. "Who is that old man?"

"That's old o'Biobh. He's a merchant who gave up the trade a few years ago and decided to settle here."

"Excuse me. I think I should talk to him." Eric stood up and walked towards the bar.

The Azirian heard Brule repeat his question to the rest of the party: "What brings you to our town?"

Eric approached the bar. Saille, the barmaid/housekeeper, dropped a cleaning rag and rushed over to the bar. She was a sharp contrast to Brule, tall and lithe, with long blond hair and a pale complexion. She smiled pleasantly to the Azirian.

"M'Lord?" she asked in a musical voice.

"What is o'Biobh drinking?"

She glanced over at the old man and furrowed her brow as she looked at his nearly-empty glass. "Umm. He drinks Caledonian whiskey."

"How much would a bottle cost?"

She looked at the bottles on the shelf behind her. "Let me check with Brule." She giggled. "I'm sorry. Just a moment."

She ran over to Brule and lightly tapped his shoulder, interrupting a story he was telling Eric's traveling companions. She returned to the bar, standing next to Eric. "He says the single malt that o'Biobh drinks is three Crowns."

Eric suppressed a wince. "Are there less pricey whiskeys?"

"He says the blended whiskey is only a Crown, since the bottle is half empty."

"I will buy the blend, then." The Azirian fished a silver coin from his coin bag and gave it to Saille. She curtsied slightly then hurried behind the bar to fetch a dusty, half-empty bottle. She put it on the bar in front of Eric, along with an empty glass.

"Enjoy!" She said with a wink.

Eric picked up the bottle and glass and walked to the end of the bar, taking a stool next to o'Biobh.

"Care to share a drink, o'Biobh?" Eric asked the old man.

The man looked at Eric. "Eh?"

Eric asked again, louder. O'Biobh regarded Eric for a few moments, then emptied the last of his glass in one quick sip. He put the glass down in front of Eric. Eric filled o'Biobh's glass with the reddish-golden whiskey, then poured himself a small amount.

The man sipped at the whiskey experimentally. "A blend, huh?" He shrugged to himself and emptied the glass.

Eric refilled the glass. "O'Biobh, I understand you were a trader along the coasts around here for a long time."

The man took his glass back again, sipping at it again. "Oh, yes, laddie. I was trading since before your ma ever even thought of giving your da his first kiss."

Eric tried to put an appropriate amount of awe and respect in his voice. "Really? Wow. That is a long time..."

"You bet your King's Crown on it, boy."

"So, during all those years of trading, have you ever seen any place around here that someone could, say, bring a ship up close to the cliffs?"

"What, like here in Saltcliffs?" O'Biobh emptied his glass again.

"Well, yes. But anywhere else around here?" Eric started filling the wrinkled old man's glass.

"There is a place over by the haunted house that you could bring a ship close. Still can't go to shore, because there are cliffs there still, and taller than around here. You know why we call them Salt Cliffs, boy? Because the cliffs look white as pure salt. I remember this one time when we sailed through the Valles Marineris with that load of salt for the Tursiks down the coast. They like to have never seen anything that pure..."

"Yes, but what about a haunted house?"

"Oh, the haunted house up the Old Londoun Road? We call it the Londoun Road because it goes all the way to Londoun. Used to be a hundred caravans a day going through here to Londoun from the Dales. But you know how those Dales types are. Anything to save a Common here and a Common there. Never even be any trade in town but for a few what are scared of Javik Raiders and stick to the old Via. I remember this one time these raiders set..."

When o'Biobh finally finished his rambling monologue about Javik Raiders, Eric excused himself, leaving the bottle with the old man. Eric returned to his companions' table. Brule had already left the table so he could tend to other customers dining in the inn that night.

Bilbus looked at the explorer as Eric sat down. "What was that about?"

"The owner of the caravanserai mentioned an 'o'Biobh' in town who used to be a merchant. I thought a merchant might know of goings-on along the coast, so I talked to him."

"Did you learn anything useful?" Bilbus asked, glancing past Eric at the old man with his bottle of whiskey. "Other than how much Caledonian whiskey costs?"

"Yes. There is a 'haunted house' outside of town, along the Old Londoun Road."

"Hmmm." Sturm said. "Did anyone else notice Brule's smile waver when I asked him about odd things happening around here, just before he excused himself? I think we should keep watch tonight."

5th Duir 2044

Bilbus decided for the fifth time that the chair he was sitting in was uncomfortable. He regretted again offering to help keep watch over Brule and the inn. The pre-dawn darkness was cool, with a breeze blowing in from the Vasmar keeping the dark common room chilly. The hearth fire was long since burned down, and only the feeble warmth of the coals glowing dimly in the fireplace gave any heat.

Bilbus had been on watch for two hours already, watching the sky outside the glass-paned windows slowly changing from black to a deep gray as the dawn approached. To keep awake, the con man had spent most of his time on watch designing plans to relieve Brule of his coffers. He had started with the simple and obvious plans -- walking over to the small chest and picking the lock -- but he found the more elaborate plans far more satisfying. Playing the deposed lord of a small village had its appeal, but Brule would not fall for that grift after Bilbus had already spent a night carousing with his friends and with the cute help that Brule had staffing the inn. What was her name? Ah, yes. Saille. Bilbus grinned to himself.

Another cool breeze blew through the drafty front doors. If I spend much more time in here, Brule is going to be broke and I am going to be on my way to warmer climes.

Bilbus stood up and slowly stretched his legs. He started creeping along the side of the common room, working his way towards the strongbox just past the kitchen doorway. He stopped next to the doorway, waiting to be sure no one was in the kitchen before he crossed the exposed opening. A quiet scratching at the back door gave him cause to freeze in place, tensing.

Bilbus slowly edged against the doorway, sliding his face along the door frame until he could peer into the kitchen with one eye. The thief watched the enormous bulk of Brule slowly step through the kitchen to the back door. A couple of metallic clanks of bolts unlocking were followed immediately by the creaking of the door on its insufficiently oiled hinges.

A raspy voice whispered in the darkness. "Brule. You know who I am. Answer me well and you will see the sun rise again. Answer me poorly, and you will wish the sun never to rise. What news have you to report today?"

Brule answered quietly. "There were strangers in town today. They asked about unusual events. They were especially curious about merchant raids. I think I heard them mention the haunted house."

"Very well. Try to keep them here tonight. They may be people I should meet."

"I will try."

"You will do better than try, Brule. Do I need to remind you of the consequences of failure?"

"I know the consequences. I will make every effort to keep them here another night. Perhaps one of their horses will throw a shoe today?"

"Good."

Bilbus could not see past the gigantic owner of the inn to see the other person. Bilbus pulled back quickly when Brule shut the door and locked it once more. The thief listened to the mayor quietly go back into his room adjacent to the kitchen and shut its door as well.

Bilbus raced up the stairs, glad again that he wore his soft-soled boots, and down the hallway to Eric's room. He shook the Azirian, keeping a hand over Eric's mouth in case he awoke loudly.

Eric opened his eyes and glared at Bilbus.

Bilbus whispered loudly. "Come on, Eric! The innkeeper just betrayed us. His friend is leaving town now. Rouse everyone else! Follow me out back!"

Bilbus raced back out of the room. Eric jumped out of bed and pulled a silk robe over his bedclothes. He grabbed his longbow and arrows and followed Bilbus downstairs.

Eric joined Bilbus in the small yard between the kitchen of the inn and the stables. Bilbus pointed towards a shadow of a figure walking quickly north on the Via.

Bilbus whispered to Eric, "We need to stop him. I'll get my horse."

The mountebank ran towards the stables as Eric strung his bow. The Azirian casually selected an arrow from his quiver and drew it back as he aimed the bow upwards. Bilbus, riding his horse bareback, raced out of the stables and down the street. Eric saw the figure turn and spot the racing horse. Calmly releasing the arrow, Eric watched it disappear into the dark sky.

A moment later, the figure fell to the ground. Bilbus caught up with him seconds later, bringing his horse to a quick stop as he threw a leg over its back to drop to the ground next to the wounded man.

Eric went back into the inn to get the rest of his companions.

Eric, Kasey, and Sturm found Bilbus between a pair of abandoned buildings, with the unknown man bound and gagged on the ground, Eric's arrow still jutting out of his abdomen. The man was taller than Bilbus, with a fair complexion. He wore maille armor with metallic plates, the entire thing wrapped with cloth that hushed it greatly. A dark gray cloak covered everything, making him difficult to see in the dark.

Sturm looked at the arrow still in the man. He looked at Eric. "Why did you shoot him?"

"I did not want him to escape," Eric replied simply.

Bilbus added, "It stopped him, didn't it?"

"Now what?" Sturm asked.

Kasey glanced around. He then answered, "The church in town is empty. There hasn't been an active church in Saltcliffs in years. We could hide him in there until we know what to do with him."

Bilbus nodded to himself. "Great. Kasey, you and Sturm help carry him there. Make him look like a drunk or something. There are a few people on the streets." The thief glanced skyward for a moment. "I'm going to get a little more sleep. Wake me when we're ready to move out."

Bilbus climbed back onto his horse and rode it back towards the inn at a walk.

Sturm broke the arrow shaft and pulled it from the victim. The man winced and tried to shout, but Bilbus's gag was effective enough to keep him silenced. The two knights, with Eric's help, lifted the man to his feet and draped him between them. They led him towards the town's abandoned church.

The sun was just above the horizon when the party left Saltcliffs, following the Via out of town, then turning onto a worn, unused dirt road that stayed close to the cliffs.

Kasey rode next to Bilbus. He looked over at the thief with a concerned expression. "Did you cut yourself shaving this morning?"

"Huh?" Bilbus touched his neck. He pulled it back and saw a little blood on it.

Behind the two, Adria laughed, a sharp bark.

Bilbus turned and shot a scowl at her, then turned back to Kasey. "Yeah, Kasey. I must have cut myself this morning."

Adria snorted to herself. "Next time, Bilbus, crawl into your bed."

Bilbus turned to look back at Adria. "An honest accident!" He stopped when he realized Adria did not believe a word. "I just want to know where that knife was. You were wearing a shift. There was nowhere that you could have hidden that thing without me seeing it.

Adria pointedly looked out to sea. "Forget it, Bilbus."

The party continued to ride on in silence.

It was mid-morning when the party came across an abandoned house that matched the description Eric had of the "haunted house". A long, low, decorative stone wall surrounded the grounds. Large sections of the wall had crumbled years ago, creating scattered rubble piles. A wide iron gate, rusted and hanging from one hinge, marked the entrance to the property. A small copse of trees grew next to the rusted gate.

The house itself was obviously in extreme disrepair. A section of the roof had collapsed years ago, and several sections of the wooden walls looked to be bowing outwards.

The party stopped next to the copse of trees and dismounted.

Rishala looked towards the dilapidated house. "I think I'll watch the horses. If there is someone in there, we don't want to just abandon the horses."

Eric nodded. "Okay."

Sturm looked towards the house, scowling. "Let's just hope this is the right place. That man could have been lying, or just too drunk to answer correctly."

Eric glanced towards the knight. "We can find out pretty easily." He lifted the end of the gate and pushed it forward a couple of feet. He walked through the entrance and across the weed-covered yard towards the house. Rishala started tying the horses to trees as the rest of the party followed the Azirian.

The dull roar of the waves crashing against the cliffs masked the crunch of the weeds underfoot as the party approached the back of the two-story house. All of the windows had been broken, with a few odd shards of glass in a couple of the panes. The awning over the back door was sagging precipitously, and looked ready to fall at the slightest provocation.

The house was arranged in a "T" shape, with the long face towards the ocean, eighty feet east of the cliffside. The third leg of the house pointed east, away from the shore. On the northern wing of the house was a door that the party approached.

Bilbus looked at the open windows above the doorway. He pulled his folding grappling hook from its sheath underneath the darkened metal vambrace on his left forearm. He unfolded the hook and tossed it towards the window sill above him. His first throw missed, and he cursed to himself as he stepped out from under the falling hook.

His second throw caught, and the con man tested the grab. A strong tug pulled the hook free, along with part of the window sill. Bilbus cursed under his breath again as he tried a different window. As the grappling hook again pulled part of the window sill loose, he glanced over at the rest of the party.

Kasey was crawling through one of the ground floor windows. A few moments later, the giant knight opened the door from the inside.

"Well, yeah, that would work, too," Bilbus mumbled as he followed the rest of the party into the room.

The party checked around the room. It was devoid of dust in a number of places, while other sections of the floor had dust piled a quarter of an inch deep. One corner of the room had been used as a nest by some sort of bird, and the debris and refuse of the nest had been scattered about.

"What's this?" Sturm asked.

Bilbus looked towards the Sun Knight. Sturm was kneeling on the floor, pushing dust aside. Bilbus walked over to the knight and kneeled beside him. A three foot by three foot section of the floor looked like it had been fitted with newer boards. Bilbus helped Sturm clear the section of the floor, then found a well-concealed panel in one of the boards that concealed a brass handle.

Chuckling to himself, Bilbus lifted one of the handles and held on to it. He glanced over at Sturm, who had uncovered another handle. Looking around at his companions -- Eric had his bow at the ready -- Bilbus nodded towards Sturm. The knight and the con man lifted, lifting the pace-square section from the floor. It pulled free with some effort, as if it had not been used any time recently.

Bilbus glanced down into the hole. A ladder had been built on one wall of the tunnel. It dropped straight down eight feet to a platform, but the ceiling of the chamber beneath them was only four feet below the floor of the house. Stairs led down from the platform underneath the house. The steady glow of lantern light barely illuminated the platform and the stairs.

"Kasey," Bilbus whispered. "Hold onto my legs and lower me into the hole." The thief pulled a small, polished silver mirror from his jacket.

Kasey lowered Bilbus through the trapdoor. Hanging upside down, Bilbus stretched out and held the mirror so he could look around the room underneath the house. Glancing back up past his feet, he nodded towards Kasey. The Church Knight pulled Bilbus out of the secret tunnel and set him on the floor.

The party huddled close as Bilbus whispered, "There is a large room down there. I saw a long table, with some chairs around it, and a few casks. It is definitely lived in. I didn't see anyone down there."

Eric looked around at his companions. "I think we should check the rest of the house before we go down there. No sense leaving our backs unguarded."

"Agreed," Sturm said.

Eric looked at Kasey. "Guard this door. We shall check the rest of the house and come back."

The Church Knight nodded glumly as the party left down a hallway. Looking around the room, he noticed a stack of books piled haphazardly against one wall of the room, surrounded by the rotted wood of broken shelves. The knight walked over to the pile and grabbed a double handful of the books.

He carried them back to the open trapdoor and sat down next to it. He picked up the first book and thumbed through it, mumbling, "Words. Words. Words." Finding no illustrations that he understood, the Church Knight threw the book down the trap door onto the platform below.

Eric led the party through the ground floor of the house. It was in poor condition, with one room littered with plaster from the sagging ceiling. Other rooms had broken furniture, damaged wall hangings, and the litter of rats' nests. The kitchen was in better condition, and the small stove looked like it was still useable. Occasional signs of use -- paths in the dust, doors that were still on good hinges -- gave the impression that the "haunted" house was not abandoned.

Eric climbed carefully up the stairs to the second floor landing. Hallways led down each of the three branches of the house. He decided to check the leg ahead of him first.

Eric had walked ten feet down the hallway when someone poked around the corner at the end of the hall. Eric had a moment to shout in surprise before the man brought a large crossbow to bear. The bolt shot past Eric's face to bury itself in the rotted interior wall of the staircase.

Eric and Bilbus, who was right behind the Azirian, charged down the corridor. The man popped around the corner again with another crossbow and fired again. Eric brought himself to a sudden stop as Bilbus passed him to the left. In a blur of motion, Eric drew an arrow and fired it at the assailant. The arrow shot through the man's chest, sending him toppling backwards to the ground.

Bilbus stopped in shock and looked back at Eric. "You nearly hit me!"

"Nonsense, Bilbus. I had at least six inches to spare."

Bilbus continued to stare back at Eric disbelievingly.

Eric shrugged and walked forward to inspect the attacker. He lay dead on the floor, with two empty crossbows discarded next to him. A dented brass lantern with a hinged shutter was on the floor next to him. Bilbus picked up the lantern as Eric recovered his arrow. The rest of the party crowded into the room at the end of the corridor and looked around. Finding nothing else of interest, the party returned to the stairwell to explore another hallway.

In the last room of the house, Eric found a scrap of paper tacked to the rotting sill of a window.

"What do we have here?" Bilbus asked as he pushed past Eric.

He and Eric looked at the paper for several seconds.

Eric tore the paper loose from the tack and carefully folded it. He looked out the window at the sea beyond. "I think it is a signal code. Want to bet there are ships that visit from time to time?"

Bilbus looked at the lantern he still carried. "That would explain the lantern, wouldn't it."

Eric nodded. "Well, we had better check on Kasey. It has been almost an hour."

They found Kasey still sitting on the dirty floor next to the trapdoor. He had two books still sitting next to him, and a third was open in his lap.

The Church Knight looked up hopefully at the party. "Find anything?"

Eric described what they had found in the house, with a quick description of the fight with the crossbowman. Kasey expressed disappointment at missing the fight, then started detailing what he had done for the past hour:

"I was looking at books, and they had words, so I threw them down there." He pointed towards the trapdoor.

"Kasey!" Eric said.

"Well, someone was yelling for a little bit, then they stopped, and it was quiet."

"Did they come up here?"

"No." He looked at Eric's glare. "I got bored waiting. Can we go down there now?"

"Sure," Eric said levelly. "You take the lead."

Kasey jumped to his feet, smiling. He quickly, but cautiously, climbed down the ladder to the platform, where he eased his hand-and-a-half sword from its scabbard. The knight disappeared from view as he started down the stairs. Sturm followed the other knight, and the rest of the party followed Sturm.

The room was nearly eighty feet long, and twenty wide. On the far end of it were two doors, one of which had some writing carved into it. There were no other people in the room, but there was a long table with several plates and a couple of mugs abandoned on it. The table was surrounded by chairs, as Bilbus had described. Half a dozen casks and barrels, along with assorted bags of grains and other dry foods and several slabs of jerky were arranged on one wall, and ten ragged mattresses, several with small footlockers, were placed against the opposite wall. The room had the pervasive stench of unwashed people that lingered in the stuffy atmosphere.

Bilbus inspected the barrels and kegs. The largest barrel held water. Two of the kegs held a weak ale that was hardly stronger than water. Bilbus sputtered when he sipped it and quickly dropped the ladle into the keg.

Bilbus followed Kasey through the unmarked door at the end of the room. The room beyond it looked like a bedroom, perhaps for an officer. It had a larger mattress that was in far better condition as well as a small bookshelf and a wooden lockbox. Kasey picked up the lockbox and smashed it to the stone floor of the room, breaking it open. He looked at the contents -- mostly copper and bronze coins, a few silver ones, and a folded sheet of paper -- then left the room, satisfied that there were no threats.

Bilbus unfolded the sheet of paper and read it.

Dearest Sanbalet,

The Lady Baroness wishes to thank you for providing such expertise in moving supplies to Our allies in the Kingdom of the Five Crowns. I spoke well of you, my dear Sanbalet, when I visited the Lady Baroness at her chateau estate. She desired for me to give you a personal favor of hers, this exquisite dagger. The Lady Baroness has also issued a formal invitation for you to visit her manor once the final shipment has been delivered to our clients.

In Service to the Baroness Eilservs,
Edralve

Bilbus reached for the coins now scattered on the floor, intending to pocket them for himself. He happened to glance down at one of the silver coins just before he picked it up. A tentacle-faced monstrosity stared at him from the face of the coin, a visage he had seen on the gold coin in Cadell's possession. Forgetting the rest of the coins, Bilbus picked up the silver coin and looked it over. On the back side of the coin was the image of a stout tower on a low hill.

Eric walked into the room. He noticed Bilbus crouched next to the coins and sighed too loudly.

Bilbus looked up at Eric, then flipped the silver coin to Azirian, who snatched it out of the air.

The thief smiled grimly as Eric looked at the coin. "Looks familiar, doesn't it?"

Eric nodded. "Maybe I should put it with the gold one we found."

There was a sudden shout from somewhere outside the room. Bilbus ran to the doorway and glanced back towards the main room. Most of the party was running towards him, but Kasey was missing. Bilbus glanced the other direction and noticed the other door had been opened. The carvings on the wooden panels of the door were easy to read from here: "DANGER". Bilbus took the two quick steps to the doorway and glanced in.

Sturm blocked the doorway. He was fighting a skeleton that moved on its own. The skeleton swung a battered, rusted sword as large as the Sun Knight's, and it wore a dented breastplate and a corroded maille coif. Beyond the two combatants, Bilbus could see Kasey halfway across the room, surrounded by three more of the animated skeletons. Five more of the skeletons were moving stiffly towards the two knights.

Bilbus looked back over his shoulder towards the rest of the party. Eric stood right behind him.

"Eric, they need help and my rapier isn't going to do anything to those walking bones. Give me Cadell's sword."

Eric drew the adamantine blade from the scabbard he had strapped to his back. After Bilbus took the sword, Eric drew his own Azirian sword.

Bilbus shouted at Sturm's back. "Sturm! Make way!"

Sturm parried one of the skeleton's slow swings. The rusty sword broke at the hilt when it connected with the flat of Sturm's own blade. Sturm quickly moved several feet further into the room, engaging two more of the skeletons. Bilbus charged through the doorway, engaging the now-unarmed skeleton nearest the door. After a few swings, he was able to press it back a little farther into the room, making room for Eric to join the fight as well.

Bilbus felt the burn in his arms as he repeatedly swung his sword and blocked the skeleton's bony-fingered attacks. When the con man managed to hit the undead thing, chips of bone flew off or the brittle, dried bones simply cracked and broke. After what felt like an eternity, Bilbus realized he was standing over a pile of shattered bones. A quick glance around the room showed all nine of the skeletons were lying in smashed pieces, fragmented bones and battered breastplates littering the room. Kasey was already striding to the far wall, where Bilbus could just see the edges of a door.

Kasey looked at a hole in the wall next to the door. He drew one of his hand axes and inserted the shaft of it into the hole. The door popped inward an inch. With a shove, Kasey pushed the door open and walked into the room beyond. Sturm, who had walked over to Kasey as the Church Knight messed with the door, followed Kasey through the door.

Bilbus ran across the room, ignoring the crunching noises of the bones underfoot. He stepped into the room beyond and realized it was extremely dark.

A torch flared to life as one of the knights decided to provide light.

There was a long table in the middle of the room, with shelves along the walls holding books and jars and contraptions of every description. A single chair was in the room, facing the table. Sitting in it was a dried corpse of a man, his shock of white hair a contrast to the dark shirt and vest he had been wearing when he died.

On the table in front of the skeletal remains was a large book, still open and covered in dust, along with several gold objets d'art: an apple, a skull, an intricately-detailed long-stem rose.

Kasey started collecting the golden items on the table, putting them into a leather bag.

Sturm lifted one of the clenched hands of the body and dropped it on the table. The dried hand shattered, revealing a smooth, gray stone slightly smaller than the palm of a hand. Sturm picked up the stone and rubbed it.

"What do you think it is?" he asked as he looked at his companions.

Adria pushed past the Sun Knight and flipped the book shut. She read the cover. "The Secret of the Philosopher's Stone. Boy, that looks like some light reading." She clearly did not mean it.

Bilbus looked at the stone in Sturm's hand. Philosopher's Stone? He was an alchemist! Bilbus looked at the golden artifacts on the table. "Sturm. You don't really want that stone, right? You think you could let me have it? Please? I mean it. I'll share it with you." His speaking got faster as he continued, and more desperate. "Look, Sturm, I don't want to hurt you..."

Bilbus's voice was quickly choked off as the Sun Knight clenched Bilbus's throat with his free hand and lifted the con man into the air.

Bilbus tried desperately to draw air into his lungs. He slapped at Sturm's wrist ineffectively as the edges of his vision started to become a ragged darkness. Near panic, Bilbus grabbed at the magickal energies around him. He violently weaved the Heka into Sturm, shaping it into what he hoped was the right weave.

Sturm staggered forward, his head spinning. He stumbled, dropping Bilbus to the ground. The Sun Knight fell on top of the mountebank, retching violently for several seconds.

Great. It was the right casting, Bilbus thought as Sturm threw up on top of him. Maybe I should have tried to get out of the way.

Sturm picked himself off of the ground and stood again, still woozy. Bilbus waited a moment, then sat up to wipe the vomit from his armored jacket.

The thief muttered to himself, then looked up at Sturm. "That wasn't necessary, was it?"

"You threatened me," Sturm growled.

Adria looked at the Sun Knight. "You really think he could hurt you?"

Sturm looked at Adria. "He threatened me."

The tension in the room shifted when Eric shouted from the far end of the underground lair, "I found another door!"

Kasey ran from the room, shouting, "Hey! Let me figure it out! I got this door open!"

The rest of the party chased the enthusiastic Church Knight back into the main room.

Kasey drew his hand axe and started prodding and probing the wall near where Eric stood. A section suddenly sank inward several inches and swung aside. Kasey turned and beamed at the rest of the party, then noticed the lantern Bilbus had discarded some time earlier.

Kasey lit the lantern, then stepped into the stairwell behind the hidden door. He jumped to one side as an arrow shot past him into the wall behind the knight. Kasey threw his hand axe down the stairwell as he shouted. Sturm and Eric followed the Church Knight down the stairs. Bilbus glanced at Adria, then followed the other three men at a much slower pace.

With Adria behind him, Bilbus climbed down steps that had been cut into the stone of a descending tunnel. At the base of the stairwell, the corridor turned right and emptied into a natural cave. The battered lantern was at the base of the steps where Kasey had discarded it as he charged into a fight. The rough-sided cave had two twisting tunnels leading away from the stairs. One of them had sconces cut into the walls, with smoky torches filling most of them. Down that tunnel came the sounds of a battle, shouts and metallic crashes.

Bilbus looked over his shoulder at Adria. "We really should catch up with the knights and Eric."

Adria nodded absently as she looked down the other, darkened tunnel. She saw movement down the tunnel.

"Bilbus!" she shouted as she tried to get clear of the thief.

Bilbus looked down the tunnel. Two large, bulky shadows stood in another natural opening at the end of the tunnel, about seven paces from Bilbus and Adria. Both shadows were at least a head taller than the knights. The dull glint of blackened steel plates reflected from both bodies, and the distinctive jingle of the maille on their legs echoed in the stone-walled tunnel. Each of the beings carried a large sword.

One of the beasts snarled. Bilbus stared at the tusks below a snout on the creature for a long moment, realizing only belatedly that the thing had thrown a curved blade at him. Bilbus fell to the ground as the weapon flew where his head was and crashed noisily into the wall behind him.

Bilbus pushed himself to his knees and ripped Heka from his surroundings, shaping the flows of magickal energy into a malicious weave that he directed into the two creatures. Bilbus pointed his hands at the things, focusing the Heka into a tighter flow. A wave of queasiness washed over him as he finished the casting.

Both creatures yelped in terror, turned, and ran down a different tunnel.

"What were those?" Adria gasped, her long bow in hand with arrow nocked.

"Orcs," Bilbus rasped as he tried to catch his breath. "I think. I've never seen them before."

"Let's find the knights," she whispered loudly.

"Yes," Bilbus said as he pushed himself to his feet and jogged towards the receding sounds of battle.

The tunnel twisted for several paces before it forked. Eric stood in the left fork, firing arrows into another natural room beyond. Both knights were in the room, each with an opponent who was desperately trying to defend himself. Three more men were on the ground, vicious cuts apparent on their bodies.

Bilbus watched the fight for a moment, fascinated at the efficiency with which both knights fought.

"Bilbus!" Adria again shouted as she loosed an arrow down the other tunnel.

Bilbus looked to his right and saw two orcs charging. The tunnel must loop around.

One of the orcs fell to the ground, the arrow from Adria's longbow jutting from its chest just below the throat. The other orc threw another of the curved, heavy knives. Bilbus grabbed the noblewoman and pulled her to the ground. The curved knife just missed her head as she fell on top of him.

The orc charged.

Still on top of Bilbus, lying on her back, Adria managed to find her quiver. She drew another arrow, drawing the fletching back to the side of her face, and released the bowstring. The arrow found its mark, punching straight through one of the orc's eyes. The gigantic beast fell forward with a gurgling scream. Its hand-and-a-half sword clattered to the cave floor three paces from Bilbus and Adria.

Adria realized that she was still laying on top of the thief, and his hands were on her waist. She elbowed him in the chest as she struggled back to her feet. The mountebank scrambled to his feet as well as he realized that there were four men down the corridor, past the dead orcs. They had formed a double row in the narrow passage, blocking it effectively.

Kasey ran past the two, his sword held partially behind him as he closed on the men. Eric fired an arrow down the corridor. One of the men in the front rank fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen.

Another of the men lowered his sword and raised his free hand. "We surrender. Please! Stop! We surrender!"

The other two men lowered their weapons, not willing to drop them in case the charging knight refused to accept their surrender.

Kasey slowed, an exasperated scowl on his face. "No! Come on! Not surrender!" His voice took on a disturbing whine.

He stopped a couple of paces away from the men, the tip of his sword nearly dragging on the ground. "Why'd you have to do that?"

The three men looked at the Church Knight, eyes goggling in terror and disbelief.

Kasey slowly put his sword back in its scabbard. He looked at the men and said, "In the name of the Church, put down your weapons." His voice was sullen, as if he were repeating an unpleasant litany for the hundredth time.

The three men dropped their weapons and raised their hands, empty palms forward.

Eric walked past Kasey, his readied arrow now back in the quiver. The Azirian looked at the three men. "Who do you work for?"

None of them answered.

Kasey quickly drew his bastard sword. With a hint of hope in his voice, he asked, "Are they resisting? Did they change their minds?"

The man who originally offered to surrender quickly answered Eric, although his eyes never left Kasey. "We work for Sanbalet. He hired us to protect his base here and to move goods."

Eric crossed his arms as he stood next to Kasey. "Where is this Sanbalet?"

"He was in the storage room, preparing the next shipment."

"He will not be preparing any more shipments." Eric produced the paper he had found on the second floor of the house. "How do these signals work?"

The man's shoulders slumped farther. "The ship signals the first line when it arrives -- one long, three short. We repeat the second line twice at them. They flash the third row, and we light torches in the sea cave. What are you going to do with us?"

Eric shrugged. "I have not decided." He turned to the Church Knight. "Kasey, take their weapons away from them and make sure no one else is hiding in these caves."

"Okay," Kasey answered. He walked towards the four men warily, hoping they would change their minds and fight.

Bilbus sauntered up to Eric. "Well, we did pretty good. There were six bolts of silk in that cave with all the guys you slaughtered. We also have nine casks of some tasty Iberian brandy. Not a bad haul."

"Great, Bilbus," Eric replied with a slight irritation in his voice. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. I found this," he held out a black dagger, "on the dead guy who wasn't wearing armor. I'd guess that was Sanbalet, since I found a note that offered a dagger to a 'Sanbalet'. Wanna bet this is adamantine?"

The black dagger had workmanship similar to the sword Bilbus still carried.

Kasey shouted from somewhere behind them in the caves. "Hey guys! I found a bunch of coins! Check it out!"

Bilbus glanced over his shoulder towards where Kasey's voice had come. He looked back at the prisoners in front of them. "What are we going to do with these three? Or is it four? Is that other one still alive?"

Eric shrugged. "I do not know what to do with them yet."

Bilbus smiled a menacing grin. "I have an idea. Leave them to me..." He twirled the adamantine dagger in one hand as he walked towards the prisoners.

Adria watched as Bilbus finished checking the binding on the four prisoners. He had tended to the wounded one, treating him far too roughly for a prisoner, and left him tied and sitting with the other three. Sturm stood over them, glowering malevolently. None of the prisoners looked like they wanted to make the Sun Knight any madder.

I hate this, she groused to herself. I got away from my father, went to Londoun to enjoy myself before he marries me away to some slob of a noble, and here I am. Still stuck in a dress. The boys won't let me fight, and I don't dare wear my armor around them. They keep trying to protect me, like I can't stand up for myself. What, they think this longbow and the rapier are decorations?!?

Bilbus stood up, satisfied that his knots would hold. He swaggered towards Adria. When he noticed her watching him, he winked.

And him! He's had that bravado ever since I met him. I can't believe that stupid del Gareth got lost and we wound up in the Thieves' Quarter of town! The Salty Anchor! If I were alone, I would have been fine, but nooo, del Gareth had to 'protect' me...

The thief walked past Adria, heading into the caves to check with his other comrades. She felt his fingers brush against her hand. Her family signet ring slid a little, but she clenched her hand into a fist before Bilbus could remove it.

Without turning to face Bilbus, Adria snarled, "Need I remind you that it is difficult to be a thief if you have no fingers?"

"My dearest Adria, who said that I'd use my fingers?"

What in the Hells did that little pervert say to me?!? Adria realized her jaw had fallen open. She snapped it closed again. That's it. Time to put him in his place!

Adria spun around to face the thief. Bilbus continued to walk away from her, whistling tunelessly to himself.

"You pathetic little rat!" Bilbus spun around, surprised. Adria continued before he could interrupt. "You dare have the indecency to talk to me like that?!? My family is proud of its honorable standing! If my father heard you talk to me with such a vulgar innuendo, he would happily cleave you from head to toe and leave you in the gutters where your fellow vermin could feast upon you. Next time you address me, thief, use whatever passes for a mind in your body before you open your mouth, or I will gladly take your rapier and shove it so far down your throat that you will taste steel for a year!"

Bilbus waited for her to stop. He glanced towards the heavens. "Women... Sheesh..." He then looked back at Adria and turned on his most disarming smile. "Adria, you expect different? There is nothing like the look of a rich and domesticated woman when she's mad, and I mean that in the most respectful way. Did you know that you're angry when you're beautiful?" His smile had shifted into more of a smirk.

Okay, you want to play that way, do you? Adria narrowed her eyes. "Domesticated? Do you think me domesticated because I have no fleas like your filthy street whores? Perhaps I overestimated your limited grasp of polite manners. Your behavior will never land you in a lady's chambers. If all you aspire to do is roll in the hay with a drunken barmaid or a barnyard animal, you are ideally suited. If you hope to steal the key to a woman's heart, you are no better than a thug."

Bilbus's jaw dropped slightly, but he clenched it with determination. Adria was inwardly satisfied that she had found a chink in the thief's ego.

"Even a thug gets results, my Lady. There is no lock that I can not undo in time, be it the door to the Londoun Armory, or the closely guarded wraps around a woman's heart. Every lock has a weakness; the trick is finding it. A good thief," he grinned, "like a good lover, takes his time."

Adria sighed quietly. "Then I would ask you to show me to a good thief, that I may pay for your lessons. You show the finesse and patience of a vexed bull."

Bilbus laughed mirthlessly. "Ha, ha. Funny. 'Tis said that to touch one such as yourself, one would be wise to wear mittens against the frigid pall. Even barmaids, for all their commoner's ways, have more warmth and love of life than I have ever seen in you. When was the last time you had any fun, Adria?"

"While you may call rolling in the mud and making a fool of yourself 'fun', some people have differing ideas of 'fun'. If your barmaids are so desirable, why don't you waste your time with them instead of going to such great and futile lengths to proposition someone who is so far beyond your reach? You neither respect me nor understand me, so you find it easier to treat me like an expensive whore rather than one of your cheap ones."

"Show me a reason to treat you differently. I may yet change my ways."

Eric had decided to check on the argument when he heard Adria shouting. He watched the two exchange barbs, then rolled his eyes. Maybe I could go check on Rishala, he decided. Happy with an excuse to get out of earshot of the two bickering people, Eric quickly walked towards the stairs back to the haunted house.

It was late in the afternoon. The party left Sturm in the caves, guarding the prisoners. Rishala led the horses up close to the house. Everyone else was in the crumbling house, sitting or standing near the trapdoor. They had finished their explorations of the house and the caves, both natural and artificial, hours ago. The smugglers had a second secret door that led from their communal barracks room to the cellar of the house. It was this second door that they actually used. The trapdoor was an emergency exit from the caves.

The party decided to wait in the haunted house until nightfall so they could signal the ship that was expected that night. They had not really decided what to do once they had contacted the ship, but they would worry about that obstacle when they reached it.

Adria and Bilbus had continued their verbal sniping most of the afternoon, much to the consternation of the other people who were close enough to hear it.

The argument over the last several minutes had drifted towards one of Bilbus suggesting that Adria make an effort to see how he lived his life.

She snapped a response to the thief. "I have no desire to look into your life, thief. You make me ill. You have no compassion. You have no honor. You have no concept for how the rest of the world works."

Bilbus snorted. "Honor is for those who delude themselves into believing they are more than what they truly are. All of us are animals, with base needs and baser desires. To believe otherwise is foolish. To embrace this ideal -- therein lies the true honor: the honor of survival."

Adria glared at Bilbus. "You may think honor an illusion because you have none. My family believes that honor is worth dying for. Since you are an ignorant wretch of a commoner, I could excuse your conduct. You have gone too far, however, in mocking and degrading all that I hold dear, and you have done it for no better reason than pure spite. You insist on being such a person? Fine. I shall treat you as one."

Adria pulled one of her leather riding gloves that she had tucked into her belt. She struck Bilbus squarely across the face. "I challenge you, base commoner that you are, to a duel to first blood." She paused, watching with satisfaction the shocked expression on Bilbus's face. "Since I have no male relatives present to make this challenge for me, I am forced to uphold it myself. If you have a fraction of the manhood that you have been claiming for these past several hours, you will find the courage to meet me, a woman, on the field with your rapier."

Bilbus took a couple of defensive steps away from the angry woman. "Woah, sister! Hold those horses. You're challenging me?!?" He looked around at Kasey and Eric. "First off, you are nobility. If I win, the knights kill me for attacking a noble. If I lose, well, that will not happen."

He studied her face for a moment. "Ohhhh. That's it. A little game of 'Let's Kill the Commoner'! What fun! Just what I expect from nobility." He sighed loudly. "Fine. You throw down the gauntlet, I'll play. But, we do it where there are no witnesses, got it? Anyone sees me pull a sword on you, and I'll find my head on a pike."

Bilbus took a deep breath. "So, you win," he chuckled at the absurdity of the thought, "and you keep your noble honor. I win, I get a kiss. Sound fair?"

Adria's voice had dropped to a growl. "I am not kissing you. Not in this life, or in the next."

Bilbus smirked. "Don't lose."

Adria hesitated, her fingers twitching restlessly at her side. "Very well. If we're going to make this a wager... If I win, you sleep in the stables."

"Why should I risk this challenge, anyway?" Bilbus snorted. "If I so much as rip that pretty little dress of yours, Kasey has the legal right to run that sword of his through me. No trial, no sentence, just death."

Adria rolled her eyes. "You sound like a frightened lamb. You are challenged by a woman and you tremble and sputter. You don't want witnesses? Why don't you just refuse if you are so terrified of fighting against me. You don't have the manhood to accept the challenge as it stands. Why don't you just stand there and let me prick your finger with a needle. We'll call it a fair duel." She leveled her gaze at the thief. "Just don't have the gall to call yourself 'Bilbus the Great in my presence..."

In her temper, she flashed a barb in the Thieves' Sign language. It was an insult meant to question his manhood and belittle it at once.

Bilbus's eyes widened. "Fine. Bring it on, sweetheart!"

Adria drew her rapier. "With pleasure, rat."

Kasey stepped forward, his face worried. "The Lady has issued a challenge to defend her honor. As it is to first blood, not death, I offer myself as her champion." Kasey bowed deeply towards Adria.

Bilbus glared at Adria. "Is this how you want to play it, little princess?" he sneered. "Let the knight fight your battle for you? That is the noble way, isn't it... Start a fight and force others to finish it."

Adria turned to Kasey. "I thank you for your offer, Sir Knight. Under ordinary circumstances, I would be most happy to accept. But I have learned that sometimes it is best to fight your own battles. I do not carry this rapier because I like large jewelry, or because I think it complements my dress. If more honorable men like you had been around," she looked directly at Bilbus, "I would not have had to learn to use it."

Bilbus drew his rapier in a flourish and took several steps back, settling into a street-fighting stance. He circled towards Adria's left.

Adria felt the comforting weight of the rapier in her hand, but she did not feel any pleasure in it. She had rarely drawn the blade since Jerryn had been banished from Portsdale. He only taught me to protect myself! And to take care of those men who deserved it. He never tried to get into my bedchambers. She realized she was shaking, and tried to calm herself.

She tossed her swordbelt and scabbard against the wall and turned to face the thief. Her long silk skirt swirled about her legs. She frowned to herself. This won't do. It will take too long to go back to the inn to get proper clothing. She set her rapier on the ground and drew one of her many knives. She started slicing the skirt just above her knee.

With her legs now bare and mobile, the noblewoman took a scrap of the skirt and tied her long, flowing blond hair back in a tail.

Bilbus pointed towards her shapely calves with his rapier. "Trying to distract me with your legs? It will take more than that..." His voice trailed off quietly as he looked at the smooth, pale legs. "Maybe not a lot more..."

"You are buying me a new dress tomorrow, Bilbus."

Adria took a step back, settling into a street-fighting stance that mirrored Bilbus's. She pointed the tip of her rapier at the thief's throat and started to circle.

She noticed with satisfaction that Bilbus looked genuinely worried. He had obviously expected the noble woman to stand in a courtly "honor" duel stance, not a practical fighting posture.

He signed to her, Who are you really? I must know.

Adria replied with her free hand, Get used to disappointment.

Bilbus shrugged. "Okay," he said aloud.

Kasey shifted from one foot to the other as the two combatants circled warily. "Uhhh. Ummm. Guys?"

Keeping his eyes on Adria, Bilbus answered, "Don't worry, big guy. This is an honor duel. We're not going for blood. Well, not much blood." He looked at the woman standing across from him, weapon at ready. "At least, I'm not."

How in the Nine Hells did I get into this? he asked himself. Any other woman would have either slapped me or slept with me by now...

Kasey had walked over to stand next to Adria. He hovered around the young woman like a leather-clad mother hen. "Well, your stance is pretty good..." He circled around to her other side. "You're holding your sword right... I think you'll be okay." He stepped back. "Do you need a parrying dagger? A shield?"

Adria shook her head. "I'll be fine, Kasey."

The Church Knight backed towards the wall, still watching worriedly.

With a tinge too much sarcasm, Bilbus asked Adria, "So, he's not fighting your battle?"

Levelly, Adria replied, "No. I would not have torn my dress if I were going to let him fight for me."

"What a surprise..."

Adria lunged towards the insufferable thief with a feral snarl. Bilbus staggered backwards in a panic. Good gods! She is fast! He parried wildly, his rapier well out of line. Adria's blade slowed quickly, as if the air in front of it had congealed.

Bilbus was immediately glad he had left the protective chain on his neck. He had recovered it from one of the assailants who had tried to accost Merek a few days earlier, and some experimentation had shown him that it had been imbued with certain defensive magicks.

Adria's expression darkened as she felt the resistance to her blade. She had wanted to probe how well he reacted, but he was slow and clumsy enough that she decided to try for a quick touch. The sudden slowing of her blade was a dead giveaway. So, he needs to cheat to win the fight. Adria recovered from her lunge and backed away several paces.

She had encountered defensive magicks of that type before. Although she was the daughter of a prominent noble of Portsdale, on the Vasmar in the western extents of the Dales, she had started sneaking out of her house for excitement. On one of those occasions, her "fun" almost became too much for her when a pair of large, drunk ruffians decided she would make for a good evening's entertainment.

A mercenary merchant's escort saved her from being raped by the two men, and he beat both of them to within an inch of their piteous lives. The man -- Jerryn -- offered to escort her back to her home and safety.

The young noblewoman instead hired him to teach her to fight. She never wanted to be vulnerable to a man's desires again. The surprised sword-for-hire agreed, and soon Adria was mastering use of the rapier, daggers, knives, and an assortment of small throwing weapons that she could conceal in plain sight, in her hair, or on her belt, or up her sleeves.

At one of her father's frequent parties, Adria learned that one of the other minor nobles in Portsdale had beaten one of his female servants to death when she refused to sleep with him. Incensed that any person -- man or woman -- could casually commit murder, then have the gall to joke about it with his peers, Adria decided to deal out her own justice.

She had tricked the man into thinking she was a mere servant, then agreed to meet him in his chambers. Slitting his throat was easy. He never expected it, and by the time he realized what had happened, it was too late for him.

When she told Jerryn what she had done several days later, he nearly killed her himself. He was infuriated that she would take such foolhardy risks. Still, Adria convinced Jerryn to help her help those who had no legal recourse.

Several more nobles who had cruel tendencies towards their staff died before the remaining nobles began treating their servants better. One of those men had a magickal amulet that seemed to slow blades, thickening the air before the weapon touched him. And the resistance felt like this... the noblewoman/assassin told herself.

"Is that all you have?" the thief asked her tauntingly.

Again, with a blur of motion, Adria closed on Bilbus. She drove her blade towards the left side of his abdomen, which he parried. He countered with a fast thrust towards her legs, which she deflected into her boots.

Steel flashed as Adria slashed wide, and then followed up with a cut to the right and a lunge. Bilbus blocked the cut and sidestepped the lunge with a flourish. He darted in to press the attack, but Adria parried and disengaged.

Bilbus seemed puzzled. "You fight well. Definitely not courtly. Where did you learn?"

"What's it matter?"

Bilbus pressed an attack this time, forcing the assassin backwards for several paces. He stumbled over the remains of her skirt, still in the middle of the floor, and stopped to kick the cloth out of the way. Adria took the opportunity to step towards his blind side and drive the blade into him. Again it slowed in the magickal protections surrounding the thief, stopping short of his leather armor.

Bilbus spun as if struck and brought his weapon to bear. He lunged towards her, and she deftly deflected his blade downward with a sharp slap of her own rapier. His rapier rammed into one of the boards of the floor. The force of his lunge, with his full weight committed to it, caused the blade to bend precipitously. Bilbus took a step back and pulled the rapier loose of the boards. The blade had a definite bend to it.

He glanced towards Adria. "Do you have any idea how much this cost me?!?"

Eric, who had been quietly watching the duel from the side of the room, laughed.

Bilbus turned towards him. "I bought this legitimately!" He paused for a moment. "With stolen money. Still!" He looked levelly at Eric. "New sword!" the thief demanded.

Eric cocked his head to one side. "What are you looking at me for?"

"You have a spare sword. Hand it over."

"I do not."

"You do too!" Bilbus pointed at the odd Azirian sword with its single edge and curved blade that hung from Eric's hip.

"That is my family's sword, Bilbus." He reached over his shoulder for the black-bladed adamantine sword. "Here, borrow the black evil sword..."

Kasey cleared his throat. "I hardly think that's fair."

Eric nodded and let the sword fall back into its scabbard. "No, it is not."

"No, 'tis not fair," Bilbus said. He looked at Adria. "If you would indulge?" He tossed his rapier towards the side of the room and drew a pair of daggers. Certainly a noblewoman would not know how to fight in such an uncourtly manner...

Adria paused for a moment. Her companions still thought of her as an unusually-trained noble woman, but a noble nonetheless. Drawing knives and fighting with them would raise more than a few eyebrows -- nobles did not fight with knives. Still... She could not let this annoyance of a human win even the slightest satisfaction.

Adria reached over her shoulder to draw a long knife from its scabbard, concealed under the dress along her spine. She reached through a special slit in her dress to produce a second dagger that had been concealed along her thigh, out of sight under the folds of the silk dress.

"What else are you hiding under there?" Bilbus wondered aloud.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes I would, actually." The thief sounded earnest. "Shall we up the bet, then?"

"No, I'm perfectly happy with the bet as it is."

"Pity. Very well, if you aren't noble or honorable enough to up the challenge."

"I'm dueling with a thief," Adria replied, sounding tired. "I've given you as much rein as I can allow. You'll be lucky to claim that kiss from me, if you can win it."

Once again she slipped into an efficient street-fighter stance and closed with the thief. Bilbus was again pressed backwards -- she was even faster with the knives than she was with the rapier, and she knew how to fight effectively with both of them.

She pressed her speed advantage without mercy, watching with quiet satisfaction as the thief's deflection and parries became increasingly erratic and desperate. He was soon flailing the knives in an effort to form a wall of steel between the deadly noble and his own body. He lost his grip on one of the blades, and it flew towards Kasey. The Church Knight caught it, unconcerned, and flipped it in his hand.

Adria stepped back several paces. "If you don't want to fight this duel, Bilbus, just say so!"

"Sorry." Bilbus apologized sheepishly.

She scowled at him. "Reclaim your dagger."

"Unless you'd like to continue with one?" he offered hopefully.

"Fine, Bilbus. Must I humor you at every turn?" She threw her offhand dagger into the wall. It stuck in the wood, waving back and forth slowly.

Again the two combatants closed. The "honor duel" had degenerated to little more than a grudge match. Adria glared at the thief. If he wouldn't have cheated, this fight would have been over minutes ago! She suppressed a wince as her arm tired. I have got to start practicing again. My arms aren't used to this abuse.

The daggers sliced the air as Bilbus and Adria exchanged attacks, lashing out at one another, parrying what blows they could, and chancing what they could not deflect. Bilbus had become so focused on the fighting that he had stopped talking.

Adria skipped out of range of another of his strikes, then darted forward to drive her dagger just below his ribs. Bilbus anticipated the attack and brought his free arm crashing into her dagger arm as he slashed towards her now-exposed shoulder. Adria let out a yelp as she felt the burn of the blade cutting her skin through the thin silk of her dress. The duel was over.

Bilbus dropped his dagger immediately. "Oh, my gods. I am sorry."

Adria shot the thief a glare as she clamped her left hand over the cut.

Kasey shoved Bilbus aside as he rushed to Adria's aid. "Are you all right? Let me see the cut."

Adria scowled at Kasey. "I'm fine. Kasey! I'm fine!" She walked past him to the remains of her skirt, Kasey following close behind.

She picked up a length of the ruined silk, intending to use it as a bandage.

"Let me take care of it," the Church Knight said as he pried her fingers away from the cut. She consented, wiping her sticky fingers on the skirt. The pain was not too severe, more of an irritation and a reminder of her anger at the cheating thief.

As the knight tore strips of her skirt into bandages, he looked Adria in the eye. "It's okay. You fought very well, and the wound is slight."

Bilbus circled wide around the noble and the knight, until he could see Adria's face. She wiped her brow and pulled back a few loose tendrils of her golden hair as she looked neutrally at the thief.

He signed to her, Where did you learn to do that?

She sighed quietly, then cringed as Kasey applied a poultice to her wound. I didn't learn in the palace, she grudgingly replied.

Kasey finished his bandaging. Adria experimentally moved her shoulder, and found it was much better already. "Thank you, Kasey," she said to the tall knight.

"So, my lady," Bilbus began. "If you are well..." and you aren't going to kill me, he finished the sentence in sign.

Adria recognized the brief, submissive gesture and raised an eyebrow. The sign -- a single extended index finger flexed repeatedly -- was normally used to beg for one's life, or to indicate one's desire to negotiate. Adria had been surprised to learn how many people, especially those nobles in power who never had contact with thieves, knew the gesture. How could he possibly know what I've done?

"We did have a wager," he continued. Please don't kill me!

Adria stiffened. So, he cheated to win the wager, and he intends to follow through. Let's see how much he squirms... "Do you swear, on your honor, that you did not cheat to win that duel?"

She saw the conflict in his eyes. Despite the braggadocio, Bilbus was good natured. He just hid it well. By the gods, you little rat, squirm. If you deny you cheated, I will give you such a kiss that your entire world will shift, and I will never speak to you again, may the guilt rot you from inside...

"On my honor?"

Kasey took a step forward. "On your personal honor," he echoed, taking a sudden interest in the discussion.

"Why would I need to cheat to beat a young girl?" He paused. "I mean, an excellent adversary," he corrected.

"A simple yes or no," said Adria.

"On my honor?" asked the thief, knowing full well that he had none.

Adria frowned. He was stalling. "Yes or no?"

"Um..."

"It's a simple question, Bilbus. I don't want to know your personal definition of your honor. I just want to know if you cheated."

"Nothing I had on me was not used in the fight."

"Yes or no?"

"I must know -- why do you feel the need to ask?"

"There seems to be an unusual thickening of the air around you whenever my blades get close. I didn't think you reeked that badly."

Bilbus looked thoughtful. He started frisking himself, as if seeking something hidden on his own body. With a shocked expression, he pulled his magickal chain from under his doublet. "Oh, by the Nine Hells!" He looked at Adria. "I forgot I had this!"

"You forgot," echoed Adria mockingly. "Would that be ... cheating?"

"I forgot I had it on. It's part of my normal outfit. I'm -- oh, I'm so sorry about that milady --" good gods, please don't kill me "-- perhaps we should ... um ... nullify the bet?"

Kasey nodded, not understanding the significance of the chain. "She did give you much leeway with your weapons problems. Perhaps a draw?"

Bilbus nodded his head, taking any support he could find. "We could call it a draw, right?"

"After all the hot air we've expended," she sighed. "You want to call this duel a draw?"

He answered with a short gesture. Hells, yes!

Kasey watched the sudden hand movements the thief made. "No, Bilbus. Like this." He held his hands in front of himself and flexed them slowly. "Stretch them way out. What you're doing doesn't really help. It makes them more tense."

Bilbus shot a brief look of exasperation at Adria, then mimicked Kasey's motions. "Like this?"

Adria fought a smile as she watched Bilbus flex his hands.

"No, you stretch them all the way out. Same with your legs. Don't do those bouncy stretches.

Bilbus finally admitted, "Perhaps inadvertently yes, my lady, there is a small chance that I did forget it was upon my person since I have worn it for such a long time -- you cannot fault me for that!" He finished again with the finger waggle: Please don't kill me.

"Did you cheat?" Kasey asked, concerned.

"Not on purpose!" Bilbus protested.

"Are you saying you cheated?" Kasey repeated, pointing a finger at the thief.

"Not on purpose! I forgot! Don't you forget things?"

Kasey started to reply, but lowered his hand, instead. He could not deny a tendency to forget things on occasion.

"Perhaps we should fight again," Adria suggested. "Without your cheating."

"I didn't mean to!"

"But you admit to it. There is no honor to a duel that was fought unfairly."

"My honor is satisfied," Bilbus offered hopefully.

"But mine is not. You slandered me. You slandered my family. You belittled all that I hold dear in this life. Then you cheated to win in an honor duel."

Bilbus waggled his finger. Don't kill me!

Adria arched an eyebrow. "Really? Apologize."

"For what?!?"

Adria continued to stare at the thief. Her fingers caressed the comforting leather grip of one of her daggers. Bilbus blanched as he noticed where her fingers rested.

"Milady, I am truly..."

"On your knees," she said.

Glancing distressfully at Eric and Kasey, neither of whom offered any encouragement, Bilbus dropped to his knees, realizing belatedly that it gave him a better vantage point to admire Adria's bare legs.

Grinning slightly, Bilbus began his apology. "My Lady Adria, who is truly a beautiful and deadly adversary, allow me, Bilbus the Great, to offer this wholly and truly heartfelt apology for having besmirched your honor and forcing you to damage this dress, exposing your exquisite legs..."

Adria cleared her throat. Bilbus looked her in the face, a slight flush of embarrassment creeping from the hardened leather collar of his jacket. He continued his overly flowery apology.

Adria interrupted. "Cut to the chase, Bilbus."

"I am sorry, Adria."

"Apology accepted."

Bilbus bounced to his feet, relieved.

Adria continued, "Since you were such a gentleman, and admitted that you used an unfair advantage against me..."

"Purely on accident!"

She continued, undaunted. "And apologized, I will honor our debt."

"Honor our debt? Does that mean we're going to sleep in the stable?"

"No." Adria put one arm around Bilbus's neck and pulled him close. She kissed him deeply, full on the mouth. She held him close for a second, noticing out of the corner of one eye that Kasey's eyes were about to fall from his head, he was goggling in such shock. Satisfied, Adria pulled back, pausing to whisper quietly to him, "And that is all you are ever going to get."

Bilbus held still, dumbfounded, as Adria unwrapped her arm from around him much like a predator releasing its prey.

She turned to walk away. "And you're still sleeping in the stable," she added, not stopping.

He watched her leave. "It was worth it," he mumbled to himself.

Kasey chuckled. "Bilbus the stable-boy."

Adria shouted from the adjacent room, "Does anybody have some water I can use to rinse my mouth?"

Bilbus continued to stare into the hallway into which she had walked. He shook his head and ran towards the back door. Outside, near the end of the house, Rishala continued to watch the horses.

The mountebank grabbed the story teller by his sleeves and shook him. "You are not going to believe this!"

"What?!? Stop it!" Rishala tried to get the thief to release him.

"She kissed me!" Bilbus shouted. "Look! See? Here's the lipstick mark!" Bilbus released the Caledonian to point at a smudge on his lips. He lowered his voice. "Chances are, it's poisoned... But it was worth it."

"You are incoherent, Bilbus..."

The thief ignored Rishala, choosing instead to run around the exterior of the house, shouting. Two of the horses looked up in alarm as Bilbus ran by, whooping.

Back to the previous chapter: Diversions

Continue to the next chapter: Portents

Back to the Book I Index.

Back to the Dark Mysteries Campaign Chapter Index.

Second Draft 25 August 2001

Original Draft 17 September 2000

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