After a week of being cooped up in an attic room that was barely large enough for him by himself, let alone him and Blade, Kassrylon was ready to kill someone. The plan had seemed so simple when they’d first left her hide-out but the rumors that had coursed through Patoga and were still blazing through the inns of Artra had put a dagger through the heart of that quickly enough. Blade was able to disguise herself using her magic and move about the city but Kassrylon’s tricks were useless in such close and confined quarters. For once, he envied his younger brother. Bards often learned thieves’ skills during their training and if ever there was a time when Kass wished he could move through a crowd with the silent grace of a pickpocket, it was now. However, Qoth’s army had put out descriptions of him claiming he was behind the kidnapping of Lady Bassina. Her own army was searching for her as well but seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Lady Pagalia — Qoth’s wife and Blade’s eldest living half-sister — was supposedly preparing herself for her impending coronation.
As soon as Bassina’s kidnapper was found and the girl was returned to her family or her body given to them for proper burial, of course.
The door to the room creaked open and Kass sat up from the bed as Blade ducked into the cubbyhole of a room and pulled off her hooded cloak. Her face was flushed and her eyes blazed with anger as she pushed the door closed behind her and slammed the bolt in place to lock it. “Only one more night to put up with this and we can leave this place,” she growled.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if we weren’t staying right by the cisterns,” he muttered. “Did you learn anything useful?”
“Gesthina has vanished. So has your brother. Her army claims that Qoth’s mercenaries kidnapped her and they’re preparing to attack. Some of the guards think that your brother might have been involved and others think he might have been taken alongside her. Either way, if he’s smart, he’s laying low where ever he is.”
“Gods bless my brother but I’ve never known him to do the smart thing,” Kass snorted. “No, if there’s any chance of him getting a tale out of it or fame, he’ll do the dumbest thing possible.”
“I guessed as much,” she agreed dryly. “So I’ve been on the lookout for him here. This would be the worst place for him to be right now. Unless he’s figured out some way to smuggle Gesthina directly into the Temple, the smart move would be to avoid Artra until after the Searchers have left.”
“He was thunder-bound and full of fire as a forge to take the Oath and join the Search,” Kass groaned. “He’ll be here.”
“Again, I guessed as much. I’ve caught wind of a few people who might be him but I’ve been unable to track him down myself. Best case, he knows where Gesthina actually is. Worst case, he either did turn her over to Qoth’s army or he doesn’t know where she is. Either way, we’re not much worse off than we are now. If you have any brilliant ideas on how we might find your brother, now’s the time to share them, Llhersian.”
“Think like a trickster or a con-man on the make,” he suggested. “Put yourself in a thief’s shoes. Sokan is probably here, yes, but he’s not a complete fool. He’ll have found some place safe and secure and will be holed up there. If he leaves, he’s going to blend in to the crowd as best he can. If he could, he’d cut his hair but that boy’s ruined some of my best knives trying to do that. I still can’t work out how he managed to dull a battle-axe,” Kass added under his breath. “He might be earning his keep with songs or stories but he won’t be claiming to be a bard. He’ll have put the cloak away and will be traveling as a historian or a low-born noble. He can pull it off when he has to,” he added when Blade shot him a look full of disbelief.
“At least you are somewhat off the hook,” she sighed. “Enough to risk letting you out of the room. Keep the crossbow here and change out of your shirt. We can slick back your hair — I have some grease — and you go with just some plain bracers for your wrist. I can even paint your chest and face a bit. You speak in grunts often enough to pull off being one of the Ufariqi. I’ve spotted a few who are here to take the Oath,” she grinned, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
“I am not letting you paint me like I’m a barbarian,” he frowned.
“It’d be the easiest way to hide you in plain sight.”
“I’d have to be the smallest Ufariqi ever born.”
“I’ve known a couple who were your size. All the more reason for you to leave your clan and come here to earn a brand for yourself.”
“Woman, you’re insane. All anyone would have to do is tug off my breeches to see I’m no Ufariqi!”
“Are you planning to remove your pants in public?” she asked flatly. Kass flushed and shook his head. “Then no one is going to see that particular feature. Unless, of course, you really want me to give you a clan branding. You won’t sit comfortably for a few weeks but…”
“You are not getting anywhere near my backside with any kind of heated metal,” he said fervently. “I will go to the depths of the last hells myself and challenge to Doombringer to a game of chance before I risk that!”
“Oh, please,” she snorted as she shook her head. Her hair was honey-blonde with amusement. “I would not dream of depriving the world of enjoying the great, hairy white canvass that is your arse. Gods above and below know I’ve seen it far too often for my liking of late.” Kass bit his tongue to hold back the acerbic retort that sprang to mind. The woman had no sense of privacy. Then again, druids rarely did. He’d seen far too much of her for his wits to take. Not that she was difficult to look at, mind. It was the principle of the thing. “By the Thunderer,” she laughed, “does nothing make you smile these days, Llhersian?”
“I can think of a few things that would make me smile,” he mumbled. “Being out of this room tops the list.”
“Well then,” she grinned, her sapphire eyes flashing with good humor, “I’ve told you how to pull that off. Come on, Kassrylon. I can’t keep you all to myself now, can I?”
Kass groaned. She was serious. At least it got him out of the room for a few hours. He began plucking at the strings of his shirt, mumbling and muttering curses to himself while she busied herself preparing the paints. Maybe if he got really drunk, he wouldn’t care so much that he was passing for a painted barbarian who ate the hearts of the dead. And maybe if he got drunk enough, he wouldn’t be wondering just how Blade would look trussed up like a Ufariqi war-maid.
~*~*~*~
Blade was forced to remind herself not to stare once she and Kass slipped down the rear stairs and out into the streets. They’d planned for her to walk a bit ahead of him — far enough that they wouldn’t be thought to be together but still close enough to spot each other in a crowd. While she’d painted him, he’d brought up a few places they might have luck finding Sokan. None of the inns or taverns were in the most reputable area of town but with Kass watching for her, Blade figured she had a better than even chance of avoiding being groped too much.
She was forced to grin to keep from gnashing her teeth. Llhersian had no idea how easy he had it. Men in Artra waiting for the Day of the Pact were far too handsy for her liking. The town’s brothels had more customers in the past month than they’d seen in the previous three years. The whores had to be bow-legged from the attention. But that still wasn’t enough for the men. They viewed almost every woman in their sight as a potential conquest. It had taken all of her quick wits and agile maneuvering to avoid the worst of it.
“I hate cities,” she whispered to herself. “Once this is done, it will be a cold day in the lowest hell before I set foot in another one.” She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. She could have sworn that she felt Llhersian agreeing with her! Shaking her head, she reminded herself that being around so many people and away from the forest was wreaking havoc on her senses. Once they’d joined the Search Pact tomorrow, the two of them could go their separate ways and never cross paths again.
Provided, of course, that they found their siblings. Blade could cheerfully strangle whoever was behind Gesthina’s disappearance. The last thing Patoga needed was the only one fit to rule vanishing like fog on a sunny morn. If Gesthina were dead, then Blade would have no choice but to kill Pagalia and Qoth. With them dead and herself removed from consideration, the Seat would pass into the hands of the Council of Seconds who would elect one of their own to the Primarchy.
Not that any of them would be much better than her bastard of a father, granted. All of them saw the Seat as the chance to do whatever they wanted and damn the consequences. The Prime was allowed to have multiple wives so her father (and his father before him) had taken as many women as they wanted. Never mind whether or not the woman wanted to be taken — that mattered little to them. Women who sat on the Seat were generally better — they kept their consorts close. Gods only knew why they wanted such things. Blade shuddered. The thought of letting a man have that kind of power over her was terrifying. She’d rather he just stabbed her through the gut and left her in the deepest swamp. That’s why she’d chosen the life of a druid. She would never be forced to take a consort if she chose not to. Her mother’s life would have been much easier if she’d been able to avoid the Prime’s eyes.
Growling softly, she shoved those thoughts aside. They were almost to the tavern that Kass had mentioned. She glanced at the sign and shuddered again. She really didn’t need to know what a rumper’s stump meant. She glanced back once more and grinned wickedly when she saw that Llhersian had attracted a bevy of women. Luckily, he remembered to keep his replies in the form of grunts. Not that it seemed to discourage any of his admirers — if anything, they seemed even more determined to get him alone. Maybe that would calm him down or at least smooth over his temper. Ever since they’d arrived in Artra, he’d been in a bleak humor at best.
Ignoring her companion and trusting that he would be able to get himself into the tavern, Blade stepped through the door. The main room was bustling, dark, and smoky. The pungent odor of piper’s weed filled the air and made her eyes water. Loud, raucous laughter echoed and the barmaids were practically dancing to deliver drinks while avoiding being pulled onto some man’s lap. Slipping into the shadows as quickly as she could, Blade willed herself to be unseen and felt the magic wrap around her. Now, so long as she was careful, she should be able to pass through the room without being noticed. Only someone who knew she was there would be able to spot her and even then, their eyes would want to glide over her. Several moments later, Kass entered the tavern. Most of the other patrons eyed him warily. He adopted his meanest snarl and quickly a table was opened for him. The women who had been crowding him on the street did not venture into the tavern. That showed that they had more wisdom than Blade had been willing to credit them for. Moving carefully, she crept to the table and settled down next to him.
“Dammit, woman,” he growled softly, pitching his voice so only she could hear it, “you startled me.”
“Sorry,” she whispered back. She scooted on the bench as close as she could, pressing up against him so he could hear her over the crowd’s din. “Any word of him?”
“None on the street.”
“We’ll have a drink here and then leave for the next tavern,” she suggested. He grunted in agreement. The barmaid brought over a mug of strong, dark ale. Kass fought not to wince at the harsh bite. He wasn’t accustomed to drinking something with this much kick to it. Next to him, he could feel Blade giggling softly. Resolutely, he lifted the mug and swallowed the contents quickly. Setting it back down on the table with a loud thump, he glared out across the room. “You are going to be stumbling over your own feet if you keep that up,” she muttered. He grunted again. She was right but she didn’t have to rub it in. “Ready?” she asked.
“Gimme a minute,” he growled.
“Sure,” she sighed. Another few minutes passed and he felt as if he might be able to stand on his own without staggering. However, before he could rise, the barmaid brought him another round. “Don’t even think about it,” Blade hissed.
“Shut it,” he muttered. Just as he finished arguing himself into draining the foul drink, he blinked. Was that Sokan who had just come down the stairs? “S’my brother,” he muttered, nodding towards the steps.
“About time we got lucky,” she whispered. Kass nodded and kept his gaze on his brother. Sokan looked the worse for wear. Dark circles marred the skin under his eyes and his expression was taut and grim, far different than his usual happy-go-lucky demeanor. He frowned distastefully as he scanned the crowd. Apparently the bard did not care for such a low class of audience. When his eyes fell on his brother, they widened in shock before he mastered himself. Kass watched as Sokan whispered something to the barmaid and pointed at him. Whatever she said put another frown on the younger man’s face but he waved her off and then walked calmly over towards Kass.
“The grove an hour after first setting,” he said as he stood next to Kass without looking at him. Kass grunted and waved his hand. Sokan nodded to himself and then walked out of the tavern.
“Well, at least something good came of this,” Blade sighed as Kass polished off the ale. He growled and fumbled in his pouch for the payment. Slapping it on the table, he rose to his feet and staggered towards the door with Blade trailing behind him. Once the first moon set, they would have the answers they wanted, one way or another.