CHAPTER 19
A little less than an hour after the appointed meeting time, Brask, Vistalas, Thorstar, and Ristil arrived at the Wilted Rose. They would have been there on time but they had to move slowly and with care in order to avoid the patrols of Pillars moving throughout the city. They held little doubt that the guards were looking for them after they had given them the slip in the slums. Xavdak was not the type of military leader to let his quarry go that easily. He wanted them followed to know what they were doing and would no doubt have Pillars scouring the city looking for them. Brask knew that even coming to the Wilted Rose was risky, but they had to meet up with the others to decide on the next course of action. After the debacle with Drisk and his guild, they had run into a dead end. At least they knew the assassin was here and had contacts placed throughout the city, but that wasn’t helping them find the man any faster. Hopefully, Dex had a little more luck with his contacts. If not, finding the assassin would be that much harder.
They moved their horses through the alleyway and came up next to the Rose. Brask eyed the surrounding area, looking for Pillars, but found none. Even though he did not actually see any guards didn’t mean they weren’t watching the tavern. It also did not mean they weren’t inside. Xavdak may not have known where their intending meeting place was, but the dwarf had men following all of them and if Dex was inside, Pillars probably were as well and since it was so late and most of Pelartis’s citizens were in bed, they would not be hard to spot in an empty tavern.
“Vistalas,” Brask said, looking to the rogue. “Check it out. If you see them, do not make contact. Just come back here and we’ll figure out how to get their attention.”
The thief nodded and quickly disguised himself as a wandering old man. He rubbed some dirt on his face, covering specific places to make him appear older. In the light, he would not fool anyone, but at night and in a low-lit tavern, it would be convincing enough. He covered his body with a large cloak, took on a slight limp, and hunched over as if his back had been warped by old age. After the way was clear, he slowly walked from the alley and made his way to the tavern. No guards appeared and no one tried to stop him. In a few moments, he was inside.
Brask knew it would take a few minutes for Vistalas to return. Though he hated having to wait, it was necessary to avoid detection. If there were guards inside, it would look suspicious for him to walk in and then right back out again. The fastest way to finish his task, and Brask knew Vistalas would do it, was to go in, have a look around, then go to the bar and ask if they could spare a poor old man a drink. The last thing any tavern owner wanted was a freeloader, especially in this city. With luck, Vistalas would be back in less than five minutes and, hopefully, on his own two feet. Some owners could be a little aggressive with beggars. There were a few times when Vistalas had used the tactic and ended up being thrown out instead of walking. Thinking about those times now brought a small smile to Brask’s face.
Sure enough, after exactly five minutes, Vistalas came limping out of the tavern. He turned back towards the building, offered a curse to sell his disappointment to any that may be watching, and stumbled into the alley. When the darkness had swallowed him, he removed his cloak.
“Dex isn’t here,” he said, wiping the dirt off his face. “Neither is Jannda nor Druzeel. There are no guards either, just a handful of drunks.”
“Could we have missed them?” Ristil asked.
“Doubt it,” Vistalas replied. “You know Dex. He’d wait for us even if the building were burning down around him.”
They all knew what Vistalas said was true. Dex would wait, regardless of how late Brask kept him. He wouldn’t be happy about it, but he would not leave. There was one time Brask had kept him waiting for almost three hours. They all thought Dex would be long gone when they finally arrived, but sure enough, there he was, a scowl and a handful of harsh words for his tardy companions. No, Dex had not been here yet, and that was bad.
Brask said nothing. He just rubbed his chin and looked down at the ground in concern and frustration. Thorstar watched the man and took on a look of worry himself. Ristil just looked back into the streets, making sure his companion was not followed.
All the men knew they had reasons for concern because Dex was never late. In fact, he was often times early. Those few times he had been late to a meeting, it was only by one or two minutes at most. The fact that he wasn’t here did not bode well for them or their missing companions. Brask quickly thought about the reasons for his delay and none of them were promising.
Brask’s first thought was that he could have been stopped by the Pillars, but that seemed unlikely. The guards had not shown any interest in actually hindering Brask or the others, not until they made an active attempt to lose them. Since Dex said he was going to see a merchant, a supposed law-abiding citizen, he saw no reason for him to try to avoid the Pillars. His second thought, which brought a sneer to his face, was that Druzeel had done something stupid and got them all in trouble. That wizard was prone to accidents and acts of stupidity and Brask wouldn’t be surprised if he crossed someone wrong or said something he was not supposed to. Though that seemed like a viable option, Brask trusted Dex and Jannda to reign in the young wizard. They would keep him in line and watch him closely.
That left a third option, and the one that seemed most likely, given their battle with the thieves guild. Dex had probably run into trouble with thieves or some other associates of the assassin they were tracking. He could not imagine the assassin attacking them or sending blades against them in the open, so he most likely waited until they were by themselves, but they had gone to see a wealthy merchant. Where would they go that had them isolated from the public? Could they have wandered through the alleys, trying to avoid the Pillars? He could not believe Dex would be so careless. He trusted the man and Jannda to be able to overcome any odds for they had done so many times before, but the assassin was resourceful. There was no telling what he could send against them. Brask quickly thought about his recent battle. They had been outnumbered, but they were four and had been expecting betrayal. Dex and Jannda were only two. Well, three if he counted Druzeel, but Brask wasn’t counting on him to do much should battle find them. If someone like a merchant betrayed his companions, Dex may never have seen it coming.
“What do we do now?” Vistalas asked, looking at Brask.
“If he’s not here by now,” Ristil said, “he’s not coming.” It was a hard statement but it was the truth. By now, if Dex was even able, he knew he had missed the meeting and would be looking for other places or contacts to help him find his missing Knights.
After a few moments of tense silence, Brask took his hand from his chin and looked out into the street. He knew Dex would continue his search for the assassin, but he would also be looking for them at the same time. They needed to do the same, and Brask knew exactly who to go to to help them do both.
“We’ll go see Piyus,” he said, thinking they probably should have done that to begin with. Though the man was difficult to get an appointment with, Brask knew if they mentioned Graeak’s name, it should get them in to see him. Though he hated using an employer in that way, they were slowly running out of options. He thought using anything else besides what those who had hired him had already given him made his group look weak, ill prepared, and unreliable, but this was a special case. Considering Graeak had stuck them with his annoying apprentice, Brask thought using him to get to Piyus was justified.
“That doddering old wizard?” Ristil asked. “He’s crazy.”
“True,” Brask said, “but he may be able to help us find the assassin. He would definitely be able to find Dex and Jannda.”
“I’m all for it,” Vistalas said, “but you know it will be difficult to see him, let alone make it to his home without being seen. The Pillars are all over the city and they know why we are here. They will certainly see him as a potential contact and have his home watched.”
“Then we’ll just have to be careful,” Brask said, si
gnifying the decision had been made. Ristil and Vistalas remained quiet and nodded. They would do whatever Brask decided. They trusted his decisions and had done so for many years. Thorstar didn’t make any sort of gesture. They all knew he would agree with Brask, regardless of the decision.
The Knights made their way through the alleys, heading toward Piyus’s home. Often times, the alleyways were too narrow for the horses to move through so they had to find alternative routes. Luckily, the Pillars in the area suddenly seemed scarce and they were able to move around buildings and other obstacles without being noticed. It usually would have taken about a half hour to reach the odd mirrored dome, but moving as they were, it took only an hour. They had yet to figure out how to make it into Piyus’s home without being seen, but as soon as the strange building came into view, they knew they would have much bigger problems than avoiding a few guards.
“What the hells?!” Brask said, pulling his horse to a stop as he rounded the corner. His sudden halt almost caused Thorstar and the others to run into the back of his mount, but they managed to avoid him.
“Back up!” Brask quickly said, pulling on his reins. The others said nothing and did as ordered. They knew from the tone of their leader’s voice that something was very wrong and obeyed without question.
They backed their horses deeper into the shadows of the passage. When Brask dismounted, they did the same and followed him as he edged his way to the end of the alleyway. They kept their backs against the wall but leaned over in order to see what had alarmed Brask. What they saw made them all thankful they had not just run out into the open.
Diagonally across from the alleyway, sitting less than a hundred yards away, was the home of the archmage. At this time of night, the grounds and area around the building should be empty, devoid of everyone save a few stragglers who for some reason hated to sleep, but at the moment, that was not the case. Now, the mercenaries were staring at over two dozen Pillars surrounding the entrance to the reflective dome. Many of them sat on horses while others stood nears the gates and lined the trail leading up to the large archway that led inside the building. Brask tried to see inside but his view was blocked by a mass of bodies, so he turned his attention back to the front gates, where a large wooden carriage with two small windows filled with bars waited. Four horses stood tethered to the mobile prison and the thick door was being held open by a single Pillar. Because it was facing away from him, he could not see if anyone was inside. It appeared that it was empty but by way the guards were acting and the swords in their hands, it would soon be occupied.
“What the hells is going on?” Ristil asked, staring at the scene before him. No one answered for they could not even begin to guess what could have possibly brought so many guards to the home of the archmage. None of them thought that someone would be stupid enough to try to break into the wizard’s home. Whatever happened, it looked serious.
Could something have happened to Piyus? Brask asked himself silently, his eyes never leaving the prison carriage or the gates. Did a thief really try his hand at the archmage? Perhaps a spell went awry, but if that was the case, why all the guards? It could be any number of things.
“By the gods!” Ristil suddenly blurted out. “Dex!”
Brask tore his eyes from the carriage and looked toward the entrance. There he saw three guards walking out of the dome. Directly behind them, with his hands bound together by manacles, walked Dex, followed closely by two angry looking Pillars, each holding a sword at his back. The man held his head down and wore a look of utter defeat and frustration. There were no wounds on him or signs of struggle. Not a single spot of blood or torn clothing marred his body. He looked like he was walking away from a funeral.
“What the hells?” Brask said, clearly shocked. He had expected to see a thief or someone dressed like an assassin being escorted out of the building, not one of his own men. What by the god of mischief was going on?
“Damn it all!” came Vistalas’s voice next. “There’s Jannda!”
Brask moved his head and saw Jannda being led out next, in much the same way Dex was. Her hands were bound as well, but she wore leather straps for the Pillars did not seem to have manacles in her size. A single guard walked behind her, a crossbow aimed right at her head.
“What are they doing here?” Ristil asked. Like the others, the sight of his fellow Knights was a complete shock.
“Perhaps they thought along the same lines we did,” Vistalas answered. “They have both been here many times and know of Piyus. They may have come here seeking help as well, but that doesn’t explain what we are seeing now. And where is our young wizard? Where is Druzeel?”
As if wanting to answer his question, Druzeel was the next figure that came out of the archway, but instead of walking out, he was being carried by a pair of Pillars. The men held his arms and dragged him along the ground. His head was down and his hands were manacled behind his back. His entire body was limp, as if he was sleeping, but the mercenaries watching the spectacle knew better than to think the Pillars had just dragged him out of bed. The way they were handling him and the looks on their faces said that one of them had been the cause of Druzeel’s current state.
Brask’s eyes narrowed as another figure suddenly appeared in the dark opening, barking orders and waving his thick arms at the surrounding Pillars. The guards immediately jumped to obey the High Captain’s orders and soon the area was alive with activity.
Xavdak continued to shout at his men as he followed the Pillars that were escorting his prisoners. The dwarf wore a furious look, his eyes burning into the back of his captives. He was clearly angry, but Brask had no idea why and really didn’t care. Though he loathed the pretentious dwarf, his only concern now was freeing the others. Once they did that, they could figure out what was going on, but first he had to free them and, at the moment, he had no idea how to do that.
None of them spoke as the Pillars led Dex and Jannda to the prison carriage. The pair never struggled or tried to get free. They just walked into their movable cell. Druzeel came next, but he was treated with much less respect. When they reached the carriage, the guards carrying him picked him up and threw him inside. The carriage rocked back and forth from the force. After they were all inside, the man holding the door open shut and locked it. He waved his hand at the man controlling the horses. The driver snapped the reins and the carriage jolted forward, slowly making its way toward the dungeons.
Brask didn’t say a word as the carriage pulled away. He just turned and walked to his horse, anger burning in his eyes. The others followed his lead. When they were all saddled up, every eye went to Brask for orders. They all knew what their next step would be but waited for their leader to speak.
“Ristil,” he said, looking at the half-elf. “Follow and find out where they are taking them. Once you know, see if you can get a layout of the place. Vistalas, make contact with anyone else you know. We need people we can use to get close to Dex and the others. See if anyone has connections to the Colonnade as well. If they go before them, that will make it easier to get them free. If not, we may not be able to free them from the dungeons, but they won’t keep them locked up forever.”
“Where should we meet?” Ristil said, checking his weapons, making sure they were secure. He would soon be skulking through the shadows and wanted to make sure nothing was loose.
“The Wilted Rose,” Brask replied. “Thorstar and I will meet you there in three hours. I have some inquiries to make about what we just saw. Something like this won’t stay quiet for long. People will know about it soon and I intend to find someone with a loose tongue.”
Ristil and Vistalas nodded and turned their horses around. They moved to complete their tasks and disappeared into the alleyway. Brask gave one last look towards the archmage’s home and gave a curse. Somehow, he knew this was all Druzeel’s fault. Somehow, the idiot and gotten them into this mess. Now, instead of a find and retrieve mission, it had turned into a search and rescue.
“Damn kid,” he said. After that, he urged his mount forward and, with Thorstar following close behind, went to go find someone he could vent his anger on.