Just as Brounn was burning the message over a candle the secret door creaked. His heart nearly gave out from the sudden shock of the event before he recognized Tusul’s face.
“How did you know about that door?” Brounn collapsed into a chair and took a series of deep breaths to calm his nerves.
“What do you mean? I built it remember? You seem to have let it fall into disrepair. Shouldn’t squeak like that.
“I let it fall into disrepair? I haven’t had a need to use it in the last fifteen years.” Brounn felt the pounding in his chest subsiding.
“That is odd. The cobwebs have been cleaned out of the outer tunnel recently.” Tusul fingered his hat for a moment before sitting down opposite Brounn.
“I suppose Enthack used it a while ago but before that it hadn’t been used for fifteen years. “
“Who?” Tusul looked confused for a moment.
“The new courier, he is the one that brought you the chancellor's seal to copy. By the way how did you manage that?” Brounn checked his pulse one more time just to make sure.
“Oh him. I made a powder and pressed the seal into it. The powder compressed and when heated solidified into a mold. From that I refined it and compare it to an unheated mold and produce a final mold. Before I forget, you should oil the moving parts of the door to preserve it and get rid of that squeak.’
I guess I should but without that squeak how will I know if some assassin is sneaking up on me intent on slitting my throat?”
“I can set up some kind of discreet alarm that would go off any time the door opens. It wouldn’t be too difficult to do. I could even set up something that would make sure you woke up. Like for example I could design a support under your bed that would collapse when the door...”
“Never mind, sounds like a lot of trouble. I would probably just be better off with my throat slit. Why are you here? I doubt it was to check on a squeaky hidden door.” Brounn interrupted Tusul before the toymaker had a chance to design the whole infernal contraption right then and there.
“Oh that’s right. The door distracted me. You should really get it oiled soon and don’t use lard. It just gums up and doesn’t work...”
“The door is still distracting you. What is it you don’t want to tell me?” Brounn narrowed his eyes and watch Tusul squirm for a moment before he answered.
“I fear that we have been compromised.” Tusul handed over the letter and personal items he had removed from the lieutenant’s person. “I think it was Anan.”
“Who?” Brounn was busy analyzing the contents of the letter.
“The wiry fellow that ran the way house in Cercha. Sort of a nervous type. Always fidgeting.”
“So a lot like you?” Brounn set down the letter and watched Tusul.
“No Anon was taller and had the southern look about him. But anyways, I guess he wasn’t as discreet as he should have been. He must have kept a few of the correspondences and he even put down my name in writing. What should we do now?” Tusul was absently picking at the table top as he spoke.
“So how did you come by this letter? And who is this Ildroth?” Brounn needed more details before he wanted to come to a decision.
“Oh I guess I forgot to tell you that part. He came into the shop and started accusing me of working for the Asgare and demanded to know where he was.”
“He what! How did you get away? You didn’t bring him here did you!?” Brounn’s heart was not used to this much excitement in one day.
“He didn’t believe me when I told him he was mistaken then he threatened Turana then I sort of made him fall in a trap and Turana hit the page over the head with a skillet.” Tusul looked about to spring out of his chair and flee as he waited for another outburst.
“The who? They aren’t dead are they?” Brounn tried to calm down as he sorted out what he was hearing.
“Dead?” Tusul seemed at a loss for a moment.
“The page and Ildroth. Are they dead?” Brounn repeated himself.
“No, no. They are tied and gagged and Turana is watching the skillet. I mean she has them watching her skillet... She has her skillet and is watching them.” Tusul stumbled over the words as he tried to convey the information.
“There wasn’t anyone else?” Brounn relaxed a little.
“No. I made sure before I came here.”
“Good. Something doesn’t make sense about this whole thing. This order isn’t from the Chancellor and it uses the old signet design. If Ildroth had been one of the Chancellor's men then he wouldn’t have sent a single soldier to apprehend you. More likely one of his elite squads. We do know that at least one other person knows about you. Another thing is that secrecy is urged and “certain individuals” aren’t supposed to find out about the mission. As far as I know, the Chancellor wants the Asgare dead so why offer a “generous retainer”. I doubt that the fool would think that the Asgare would forget the insignificant detail of having tried to kill him last time the Asgare worked for the Chancellor.”
“So what should we do?” Tusul waited for Brounn to come to a decision.”
“I think my other shoe just split a seam. I happen to know a good cobbler and we can sit around and have a nice chat while my shoe is getting repaired.”
“So you want to come to my shop and talk to him? What if he sees you? He already knows what I look like but you?” Tusul feared that the situation was bad enough as it was without the lieutenant knowing who else was involved in the Asgare’s organization.
“I need to talk to him and find out more information before I make any decisions. Don’t worry, I wasn’t born yesterday. I will wear a mask or something.” Brounn told Tusul to leave the way he had come and that he would be at the shop in a little while.
When Brounn arrived he was met at the back door by Turana who let him in and showed him to the bedroom where the captives were being held. The lieutenant was awake but suffering from the paralyzing effects of the dragon’s tail. The page was sleeping off a new dose of the sleeping potion. Brounn who was hiding his face behind a hastily constructed mask eyed the lieutenant carefully before he began the interrogating.
“So who are you supposed to be?” Brounn settled into his habitual posture on the bed.
“Sir Ildroth of the noble house of Inarack. Unhand me at once or your lives will be forfeit.” The reply was barely a whisper but arrogant.
“Oh, I'm sorry. I hadn’t realized that we had a noble in our net. Why don’t you try again then I can act properly awed.” Brounn laughed menacingly.
“You have no right. You and Tusul will pay dearly for having accosted a nobleman.” Ildroth glared fiercely.
“Now that I don’t like the tone of. You see, I like to think that I protect the people that work for me.” Brounn pulled a short dagger from his shirt and stood up. Leaning over Ildroth he sliced the bonds that held the man’s hands and feet with a couple deft strokes. Ildroth had remarkably remained still during the proceedings. That is accept for his face that had been twitching and straining heroically to no avail.
“Tusul is legendary in our circles for his skill at making concoctions and contraptions. Not even his father had his flair for the unexpected. I doubt you were expecting the tables to be turned so suddenly and completely.” Brounn returned to his seat on the bed and watched as Ildroth continued in his attempts to control his unresponsive body. After a minute the man gave up.
“What do you want? I can get you money, gems or gold. Just name it.” Ildroth’s offer was met by Brounn’s laugher.
“What I want is information. The currency of kings or rather in this case, assassins.”
“You are the Asgare?” There was real fear in Ildroth’s eyes now.
“Ha. That’s a good one. The legendary Asgare was really just a fat lazy bastard. Can you picture me scaling a castle wall or slinking around palace corridors? I can just picture it. Reign’s search for the fabled Asgare turns up fruitless when the man he was looking for was pretending to be the army cook while he
ate up all the provisions. That is a good one.” Brounn chucked at the mental images conjured while Ildroth scowled helplessly.
“I need to speak with the Asgare.”
“Oh that I know already. Not exactly the information that I want. This said that much already.” Brounn pulled out the letter and unwrapped it.
“Where did you get that? It is only for my eyes!” Ildroth glared at Brounn as he read it again without paying the least attention until he reached the bottom.
“Where do you think I found it? Son, you should start talking now. You are between a rock and a hard place. You are paralyzed from the neck down so your threats carry little weight. If you don’t prove useful I can easily have you thrown back in that hole and forgotten about. Who sent the letter? I don’t recognize the seal.” Brounn decided that the time for jokes was past. Evening was drawing closer and he remembered another engagement.
“I can’t tell you who sent the letter.” Ildroth steadfastly refused to betray his superior.
“Hmm, no matter. We can come back to that later. It also says that you aren’t supposed to let certain people know about your mission. Who might they be?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Ildroth attempted to murder Brounn with his glare alone.
“Pardon me but I can on occasion be quite oblivious. Would you care to enlighten me?” Brounn sat back folding up the letter awaiting a response.
“The high chancellor. If he found out what I am supposed to be doing he would have me beheaded.” Ildroth found that glaring at a faceless mask was unrewarding so he shifted his gaze to the ceiling.
“Oh? It really is nice to meet another in the same circumstances. If you don’t answer to Reigns then who do you answer to?”
“The King. My fealty is sworn to the King and him alone.” Ildroth haughtily replied.
“And by extension Reigns.”
“Never! I serve the true King not the usurper.” Ildroth spat to emphasize his point.
“What difference does it make? The King hasn’t been seen in years and Reigns runs the country.” Brounn pondered the information.
“I am sworn to remove Reigns from power. That is all I can tell you.” Ildroth lapsed into silence when he realized that he may have inadvertently given away too much information.
“By hiring the Asgare to have Reigns killed?” Brounn prodded at the truth.
“We heard that Reigns had tried to kill the Asgare years ago.” Ildroth refused to look at Brounn as he answered.
“So the enemy of my enemy is supposed to be my friend?” Brounn laughed lightly.
“I'm empowered to negotiate a retainer for the Asgare’s services.”
“Ha, he learned his lesson about working for anyone long ago. He always liked freelancing better. By the way, what might these generous retainer offers be?” Brounn was coming to a decision.
“A full pardon for the Asgare and... his associates.” Ildroth grudgingly announced the last part.
“Ha. That is practically worthless. For one, you have no idea who the Asgare is so it wouldn’t matter whether he was pardoned or not. Another thing is that Reigns isn’t likely to honor that if any of us fall in his hands. To tell the truth, I could have you killed and if I moved Tusul, your people would never find us again so make a better offer.”
“A pardon and a thousand gold coin.” Ildroth was looking a little blanched.
“I'm hiding twice that much under my floorboards for the Asgare. Try again.”
“What do you want! I can get you anything. Just name it. Land, gold, gems, power prestige.” Ildroth began panicking.
“It isn’t what I want. It’s what the Asgare would want. By my thinking he would want to be left alone unless he decides otherwise. Like I said, he doesn’t like to work for anyone. It didn’t go very well last time. Let me think about this. You will be among the first to know my decision.” Ildroth fortunately had the better sense to remain silent at Brounn’s announcement as the man left the room.
“So what are we doing with them?” Tusul asked expectantly.
“I'm not totally sure yet. It seems a new fraction is developing. There are those loyal to the King and they want to dispose of Reigns. It seems the lieutenant came to make sure that the Asgare is either working for them or at least won’t be used against them.” Brounn took off the mask and smoothed down his hair.
“That might explain why he didn’t have the Chancellor’s medallion.” Tusul tapped his lower lip as he thought.
“That could be but that also troubles me. Reigns doesn’t trust him enough to employ him. If we are seen working with him then we would be suspect. Quite honestly I would prefer to have him disposed of however you would have to abandon your life here. His superiors know too much. If we let him go then there is the chance that he might be telling the truth and his group might leave us alone.”
“It would be an opportunity for an insurance of a sort if he is legitimate. If his fraction were to have information about Skeln or have captured him. On the other hand, if they manage to capture the Asgare. You see what I'm getting at?” Tusul had no interest in killing anyone in cold blood.
“Yes, you have a point, do what you want. I will let you decide what to do. If you want to let them go then I'm making you their contact. Just be careful. You are valuable to the organization. We can’t afford to lose you.” Brounn left the decision in Tusul’s hands and departed to take care of a meeting in the gardens.
Tusul gave his wife a glance before entering the bedroom. He took a seat on the bed and scrutinized the paralyzed man on the floor. Ildroth tried staring him down but found the thin man to be more than up to the challenge.
“So I get to decide whether you live or not. Convince me that letting you live would be the better choice.” Tusul crossed his arms and waited.
“You wouldn’t dare kill me. I'm a noble from the house Inarack.” Ildroth used his haughtiest voice in an attempt to intimidate the cobbler.
“Ha. If I were you, I would reevaluate what is and isn’t dared. You see, I dared to throw you in a trap and tie you up, not that it mattered much seeing as you can’t even lift a finger. I could very well dare to kill you. It’s just that it would make a mess and bodies are difficult to dispose of so I'm inclined to let you live however you haven’t made a good case yet for that point.”
“My superiors know about you and will come looking if I don’t report back to them soon.” Ildroth began to think that it had been a very bad idea to have trifled with these people.
“You see, that is the thing. Your orders came in a letter. That tells me that I would have a few days to disappear before anyone would even miss you. That is more than enough time for me to disappear.” Tusul watched as Ildroth tried to argue his logic.
“I can get you a position in the employ of the King. Your services would be valued.” Ildroth tried a different tactic.
“You want me to polish boots for the King? I think that I will pass on that offer. I already have a job.” Tusul was pretty sure that a job for this new fraction could well be more dangerous than the one he already had.
“We both know that you are more than a cobbler.”
“That may be the case however it has little to bearing on whether I kill you or not.”
“Alright, I'm out of ideas. Why don’t you tell me what you people want? You have passed up wealth and power so far.” Ildroth had reached a state of total frustration.
“It isn’t that complicated really. We mostly just want to be able to live to see the next day. You haven’t made any offers that would promote that goal. Since you are so unimaginative I will be plain. If we are to work together than we will set the rules and you will abide by them. Is that simple enough?” Tusul watched Ildroth scowl.
“What are your rules?” Tusul smiled. Ildroth had no other options and knew it now.
“For one, unless invited you will never step inside my shop again. Since I am your contact, your page over there will be the one that conducts the communication between
us if you unless you think he can’t be trusted.”
“So you didn’t kill him?” Ildroth tried to catch a glance of the lad.
“Don’t be a fool. No one ties up a dead body. Besides, it was my wife that captured him, not me. He is going to be in for a dreadful headache when the sleeping potion wears off. Secondly, you will give us any information that we request.” Tusul paused as Ildroth broke in.
“What kind of information?”
“For example. Any information that the army may have as to the whereabouts of a certain blond haired, blue eyed lad of about fifteen winters.” Tusul was interrupted again by Ildroth.
“So you are looking for him too? What makes him so important?”
“We have very good reasons to want him found safe and unharmed. The third rule is that you don’t interrupt me when I'm speaking. Fourthly, if you make any requests of our organization, we have the right to decide whether or not we want to comply. Fifthly, you will comply with any request that we make so long as we are working together. You may agree now.”
“These demands are all very one sided.” Ildroth was clearly unhappy about the agreement.
“So says the helpless knight on the floor.”
“I suppose I have no other choice but to agree to your demands. As far as I know, that kid you are looking for is headed north somewhere in the western midlands. Was that helpful at all?” Ildroth scowled at the indignity of his position.
“Not really. We are the reason the army is looking over there. If you learn anything else be sure to let me know. Oh look, your page is waking up now. I will have you on your way as soon as the antidote kicks in.” Tusul left the room and a minute later returned with a vial of a nasty yellow fluid that he forced Ildroth to swallow. It began nullifying the effects of the dragon’s tail within minutes. A short time later Ildroth had regained most of his faculties. Danryn the page was awake a few minutes after and was duly informed of his new duties. Just as Ildroth was about to leave Tusul informed him that mixed in the antidote was slow acting poison. Unless Tusul supplied the antidote Ildroth would be dead at the end of a month. Subdued by this prospect the duo left without further interaction.