Chapter 19: Pilosh

The gates of Pilosh were wide open, with no guards in sight. Sara shot Darren a questioning look as they passed through. Darren explained, “It’s the largest city in either North or South Shirn, and so to keep people moving they don’t regulate anything. Pilosh isn’t one of the nicer cities of Shirn…in fact; it’s probably one of the worst.” He glanced at the others as he tied up the horses. “Unless you have other business, let’s stick together and head towards the library.”

Legerra raised a hand. Darren sighed. “Yes, Legerra, you can go and drink. We’re meeting at the library before dark.” Legerra grinned, and Darren could swear he was panting as he bounded off. Thendat and Acerin faded into the crowd, each heading towards a different part of town. Milar mumbled something about having to carry Legerra from the bar and went after him. Fraydon shrugged and didn’t move. Sara leaned over and whispered “How do they pay for drinks and stuff when Darren’s got the money?” Fraydon whispered back “Darren’s tab with the Guild is good everywhere, and we’re on it. He does jobs like taking care of the smugglers, and his employers make sure he’s taken care of.”

The three began to make their way through the crowd, Darren keeping an eye on the money. It was getting low enough as it was. After the library he was going to have to visit some friends on the way out of town. He looked around, noticing some new sights.

Pilosh…Changing City…

Towers of various shapes and sizes soared upward, dwarfing most of the homes. The houses ranged from dirt-and-stick huts to glittering houses of crystal and glass, and occasionally Sara would notice rich and poor living right next to each other. Darren led them through the main streets of the big city, avoiding the seedier spots. Even then, there were still prostitutes and dealers of all kinds on street corners, peddling their various wares.

The library and area around it were mostly empty. Darren noted the double dose of irony in that as he pulled open the big doors of some foreign mixture metal and wood. They walked inside, breathing in the rich scent of old cedar wood used in the shelves. Fraydon smiled. “Now this I could get used to.”

The library was five stories high, not the highest building in Pilosh and only about a hundred feet from the center to any wall, but looked huge from the inside. The shelves lined the walls of every floor, and on the bottom floor it was impossible to walk in a straight line for more than ten feet without hitting another shelf. The place was crammed with shelves, the shelves were crammed with books and from the ones Darren flipped through, the books were crammed with writing.

Sara looked from Fraydon to Darren. “So…we’re looking for clues to a place that nobody can find?” Darren shook his head. “Even I wouldn’t bring us all this way without more to go on. When we all get here, we’ll discuss it more. So, until dark, feel free to roam around. Find a subject that interests you and learn something.” He smiled and headed towards the stairs.

Fraydon headed for a section with a few desks and many drawers. Apparently the librarians attempted to make some listing of the books here. Sara wasn’t in any particular hurry, so she took her time looking the titles shelved. Metallurgy…well, maybe if I had the tools and time. A book on how to write properly…perhaps as a gift for the author? No, no, that wouldn’t be subtle enough.

A book on myths caught her eye and she flipped through it, a faint hope fighting in the back of her mind that she would find something on the Stone of Naugan. But common sense won that battle. Most likely the Stone wasn’t mentioned, since so many other people had come, read, left, and still not found it. She spent her time wandering among the shelves, finding books she liked and reading parts here and there.

Fraydon went through the listings, attempting to find some veiled reference to the Stone, even though Darren had specifically told her not to worry about it. As she expected, she found nothing on the Stone itself, but she did find a listing of a book where more information might be held. Some more research revealed that the book had been destroyed by order of the king, so that lead turned up nothing.
~
Thendat stepped carefully over the drunks and the homeless, heading towards the worst parts of town. Thieves sized up this new mark, a few coming closer to watch him. One even dared to brush up against him in an attempt to get the little money Thendat carried with him. This was soon remedied by Thendat’s quick knife thrust. The remaining thieves were instantly on the body, stripping it of everything. Word spread quickly: Thendat was back.
~
Acerin ambled calmly through the people going about their daily lives. A five minute walk took him through the mostly middle-class part of town. He slid open a latched gate and kept going until he got onto the back porch and quietly opened the back door. “Old man…old man, are you still here?”

“For the last time, Acerin, I’m your grandfather. Call me ‘old man’ once more and I’ll school you in the art of manners. And where I come from, that means a bath of fire.”

Acerin smiled inwardly. Crotchety old geezer hasn't changed a bit. “I’m only here for a little while, so I can’t stay long. I want to know everything you know about Darren Kinsley.”
~
Legerra stopped in front of his favorite bar and waited for Milar to catch up. “Come on, come on! It’s been too long!” Milar took his time, fully aware of the torture he was inflicting on Legerra. They walked in the door and ignored the heads turning towards them as they sauntered up to the bar and sat at the stools.

Milar smiled at the bartender and ordered his usual drink. Legerra did the same, and they sat there soaking up the atmosphere and (in Legerra’s opinion) the best beer in Shirn. Acerin walked in the door and immediately headed for one of the dark corner tables. He sat alone, not noticing Milar and Legerra staring at him.

Legerra leaned over and whispered, “Whaddya think he’s here for? Female companionship?” Milar rubbed his chin and frowned. “Nah, he’s not that kinda guy. He comes here to think, maybe. Maybe he just wants to cool down.” “Well, he’s confusing. Why doesn’t he wear armor like we do?” “Why doesn’t Darren wear armor?” Legerra thought for a second. “Oh, right.”

More than one waitress stopped by to check if Acerin needed anything, some coming back more than once. He could easily see them congregating behind the counter, shooting quick looks at him, giggling amongst themselves about the black-haired, light-skinned newcomer with the dark blue eyes. Average height, well-muscled, and run-of-the-mill dark cloak, but mysterious with an air of command and authority…it drove them wild and he knew it. Too bad he wasn’t interested in what they were selling. At the point he was at, no-one could sell what he wanted to buy.
~
Thendat stopped at a rundown house, fully aware of eyes watching his every move. He knocked and waited for the door to open. It didn’t. He frowned and knocked again. Someone across the street yelled, “There ain’t nobody home there no more! They got kicked out cause they couldn’t pay the rent.” Thendat turned around. “And where are they now?” “I dunno. Ask the guy who owns the place, he lives in some fancy place over that way.” The person pointed. Thendat nodded and walked off.

The “guy who owns the place” was a rich landlord who made money off of lower-class people. Thendat didn’t bother knocking on the door, but chose a more elusive way of getting in. Rich people always have holes in their roofs…Once in, all he had to do was find the guy, which was no problem considering his incredible girth. It was impossible not to hear him coming up the stairs to the second floor.

Thendat slid into the shadows near a large plant and left the rope dangling. As expected, the man saw it and immediately rushed over. Thendat jumped out and put a knife to his neck. “Listen, and listen well. You have taken something of mine, and I want to see it safe. Where are the people you evicted from the house over in the slums?”

The man wasn’t used to being held at knifepoint, so he complied quickly. “I evicted a lot of people, and I don’t remember all of them.” Thendat turned the man around, still holding a knife to his throat. “Thendat? You’re…you’re back!” “Yes, I’m back. I have other business to attend to, but first I need to know where you put my sister.”

The man would have stared at the ground, but the knife interfered. “Thendat…I’m sorry. But they wouldn’t pay! I have to follow the law. She was out of my hands when she left. I even offered her a job as a servant! But…” Thendat tightened his grip on the knife. “But what?” The man swallowed hard. “But…she said she knew a way to make more money in a day than I could pay her in a week.”

The blood drained from Thendat’s face in a second and rushed in just as quickly. “You let my sister become a common WHORE?!?” The knife jerked slightly forward and the landlord turned away, sweating hard. “I did all I could, Thendat! I swear!” Thendat’s arm trembled with the strain. It was with a supreme effort that he put away the knife. “You mean you did everything you could, but stopped short of actually giving her money or a well-paying job.” The landlord said nothing, staring at the ground.

Thendat breathed in deeply, regaining composure. “Do you know where I can find her?” “No! I told you, I was against this!” The man was very adamant in his position. If it was a lie, it was a good one. Thendat looked around. “Yes, so you said. Very well. You know the drill; I was never here.”

The man leaned against a statue for support. “As always. May I never have to see you again, Master Thief.”
~
Darren, Sara, and Fraydon sat on a bench in front of the library, enjoying the cool evening. That day had been hotter than usual. Milar rounded the corner, supporting a thoroughly drunk Legerra, who was mumbling and laughing to himself. Acerin walked a few steps behind them until they arrived, and then waited silently.

Thendat’s voice rose from a side street, clearly heard from where they were. Darren glanced at the others. “Stay here.” He went off to find out what was happening. Legerra hiccupped and would have fallen over, but Milar had a tight grip on his arm. “No you don’t. If you think I’m going to let you pass out and not have a hangover, you’ve got another thing coming. I warned you about drinking too much…”
~
Darren followed the loud and very upset voice down the street, turning down another narrow one and finding Thendat yelling at a woman dressed in next to nothing, clearly a prostitute. He blinked and waited for one of them to notice him. Thendat would normally have been the first, but he was busy shouting. The woman saw him and yelled, “What are you looking at?” Thendat whirled, his knife out and ready. When he saw Darren, he calmed slightly, but not much.

“Darren. It’s not what it looks like.” Darren nodded, but didn’t smile. “I know. So what’s the problem?” Thendat spoke with his jaw firm. “I’d like to introduce you to my sister, Gwira.” Darren nodded politely at her, expressing no interest. She noticed and stopped trying to flirt with him, much to Thendat’s relief.

“She’s been having problems with a local landlord, and she needs quick money for her…extravagant lifestyle.” Thendat almost spat the last words. Darren sighed. “To support her gnib habit, you mean. Yes, that would run up quite a debt.”

Gwira stepped closer and raised her voice. “What? Are you judging me? How dare you!” Darren sighed. “I don’t judge. I discern.” Gwira turned to Thendat. “You have weird friends. But you look like you’re doing well. In fact, I was hoping you could…y’know…help me out with a loan.”

Thendat turned purple, barely containing his rage. “Absolutely not. You got yourself into this mess. You could’ve had an honest living. But you chose this. So get yourself out of it.” He turned and walked away. Darren followed him. Screams came at them from behind; obscene name-calling and epithets quickly followed.

They turned back onto the first side street, and Thendat leaned against a wall for support, breathing deeply. Darren looked at him with concern. “You gonna be alright?” Thendat took another deep breath and nodded. “It was just…seeing her actually enjoying the lifestyle…I got out of this place as quickly as I could when I was younger, avoiding becoming too widely known. And just in time; there were guards all over the place looking for Thendat, the ‘Master Thief.’”

Darren nodded. “Yes, I briefly considered turning you in when I first traveled with you. But as I always do, I look at people first, rumors second. And you were just in the wrong place.” Thendat smiled. “Thank you, Darren. Are the others waiting?”

Darren nodded and led the way back to the bench. They didn’t ask questions, but Thendat knew they’d approach him later, one by one. That’s life in a group. That’s why I worked alone…

Darren glanced up at the setting sun, then at the group. “Okay, we’re all here. Here’s the plan.” He produced a long rolled-up piece of paper from his cloak. “The library is one of the few places in Pilosh that closes after dark. We’re going to go in and make our way to different parts of the first floor.” He unfurled the paper and spread it on the ground, the group crowding around. It was an excellent drawing of the library, to scale and from different angles. Fraydon looked at Darren. So that’s what he did with his time…impressive.

Darren continued, “It will be dark in there with many shadows, so hiding won’t be too hard. Even if you are spotted, a quick non-lethal attack will keep other guards from finding you. I will only say this once: Do not kill anyone. These are innocents, they have families, and they are just doing their job.” He looked at each person, making sure they understood. They understood perfectly. Acerin didn’t have to like it, though. “What exactly are we looking for, Darren? Or are we just robbing the place?”

Darren smiled. “Funny you should say that. We’re going to steal a book. A very special book is hidden in secret archives below the actual library, riddling the location of the Stone. We need it, and we don’t have time to be held up in red tape.”

Legerra started to speak, but Darren cut him off. “Yes, I know I didn’t mention this before. This time, not all of you need to participate in the actual thievery.” Legerra closed his mouth as Darren continued. “Fraydon, I’d like to have you, Thendat, and Acerin accompany me. Your skills would be best suited for this task. Question, Milar?”

Milar lowered his hand. “I’d ask to go, but there’d be a lot of noise, and I would rather take off my skin than my armor.” Darren smiled a little wider. “Understood. The same goes for Legerra, I’d imagine. Well, then. Unless Sara has any objections…” Sara shook her head. “Then we leave now. Milar, Legerra, when you’re done, wait outside for us. We should be out before the midnight watchman comes by. Be as casual as you can in plate-mail.” They both laughed.

The head librarian looked up from his desk at the seven walking in, and then resumed his work. Spreading out, it was easy to find hiding places as darkness quickly spread throughout the library. Eventually the head librarian got up and walked from floor to floor, calling “Library’s closing! Library’s closing!” Milar and Legerra followed some other people out, keeping the appearance of a large group. Once outside, they sat down on the bench and waited.

Inside the library, the five others took their time waiting for just the right opportunity. Sara stayed with Fraydon and Acerin stayed with Thendat, so when Darren’s aura appeared, they could all see it and follow him to a certain wall. One book in particular on the shelf began glowing as well, but now visible to everyone.

A guard coming down the stairs noticed the glow and pulled out his short sword, looking all around, and then walking slowly towards the book. Darren and the others faded into the shadows. The guard reached out and touched the book, which swung the shelf out, slamming into his head and knocking him unconscious. The glow left the book and the small group moved through the hidden doorway into a tunnel. Darren touched a small stone in the wall and the shelf slammed shut, total darkness engulfing the five.

Torches sprang to life on both walls, lighting the stairs in a downward spiral. The steps were dusty after being unused for many years. The stairs didn’t last long, ending in a small room with two shelves and a podium. Darren immediately went over and picked up the book, looking through it carefully. “This is the one. Look through the rest to see if there’s anything we’ll need.”

Fraydon found the book that the listing said was destroyed and took it. Acerin held up a spellbook for Darren to see. “No, we won’t need that one. That’s magic for beginners. They don’t keep the higher ones down here.” Acerin nodded.

The whole thing took less than half an hour. They climbed the stairs, closed the hidden door and made sure the guard wouldn’t be able to open it again, and left as casually as they could. Milar and Legerra stood when they approached, and they walked towards the gates as quickly as they could without arousing suspicion.

But a large group always incites curiosity, and the night watch was no exception. “Where ye going?” The man was rough and obviously didn’t enjoy his job. Darren stepped forward. “We’re leaving Pilosh. We were able to finish our business before midnight, so we decided to try to get to our destination as quickly as possible.”

“What’s ye destination?” Darren didn’t miss a beat. “We’re going treasure hunting in the old tombs.” The guard smiled disdainfully. “Oh, ye be havin a death wish, then? Well, don’t let me stop ye. Enjoy!”

Darren nodded and the group continued until Sara passed the guard, who stopped her. “Missy, ye ain’t from around here, are ye?” She shook her head. “Well, ye be needin a license to enter the tombs, see?” Darren turned to the guard. “I thought they got rid of that law!” The guard smiled a toothy smile. “A few weeks ago they changed it. They decided to get a leetle more money from so many people dying.”

Darren sighed. “How long is the processing period?” The guard glanced at him. “Ye be in a hurry?” Darren nodded. “Well, the fastest ye be leavin be two days, at best.” Darren said nothing, mulling it over in his mind. “Very well, then. Two days. My friend here,” He pointed to Milar, “will accompany you both to the guardhouse.” The guard assumed a hurt look. “Don’t ye trust me, laddie?” Darren smiled. “It’s not you I don’t trust.” The guard looked at Sara again and nodded. “Ay, ye be knowin the many men of the city. Off we go, then.”

Darren spoke to Milar briefly and walked away with the rest of the group, waving. They returned to the horses, which were blessedly unhurt and well. Darren led the group a couple miles away into a small nearby forest, where they could camp unobserved for a while. The tents were set up, the horses were tied, and they all drifted off to sleep. All but one. Darren’s tent flap opened and a shadow quietly set off back towards town.
~
Sara turned to Milar, confused. “Why did you come with me and not Darren?” Milar looked hurt. “Well, I suppose next time I could wear his cloak…maybe dye my hair?” Sara smacked him with her hand and he chuckled. “Ah, you’re easy to tease. But anyways, he has to read that book and do his best to figure out where we’re going in the next two days.” Sara nodded absentmindedly, staring off into the distance. Milar took notice and they walked in silence until they reached the guardhouse.

When she was settled into a cell-turned-bedroom, she locked the door from the inside and said goodnight to Milar. He made sure she wouldn’t be disturbed, threatening the guards and their unborn children, and then set out towards the camp.

Sara drifted off to sleep after a while, returning to the cliff. I wonder what jewels of wisdom Nanashi has for me today…She went through the usual routine, climbing down and waiting. This time, a disturbingly real mask floated in front of her, the mouth moving with Nanashi’s voice. “Sara…how good to see you. I’m sure you know this isn’t my real face…it’s just a temporary form I could take. But you already know all about masks, don’t you Sara?”

Sara was used to this sort of doubletalk by now. “And what do you mean by that?”

The mask opened its mouth and exploded. Sara was thrown into wakefulness, disoriented. She was in the cell bed, the iron bars were there, and there was a horrible draft. Of course, that may have been caused by the smoking hole in the wall. A hand reached through the hole. “Sara! Come now!” She grabbed the hand and allowed herself to be pulled out. “What’s going on?”

The shadow whispered “Quiet! The blast wasn’t heard, but if the guards hear you, they’ll investigate.” They crept through the city, sticking to the shadows and avoiding guards until the pair reached the gate. Then they ran as fast they could to the camp, so nobody could see which way they went. They reached the camp, Sara breathing a sigh of relief.

Darren spoke from the branch overhanging them. “There was no need for that, Acerin.” Sara looked in surprise at her rescuer. Acerin?

“We were behind schedule. Now we aren’t. I’ve helped out, so you can stop saying I’ve never done anything for this group.” Acerin finished and went inside the tent. Darren jumped off the branch and landed lightly on his feet. I never said that. “How was your sleep?” Sara smiled. “Acerin made Nanashi explode.” Darren raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? A talented man, if he can reach into dreams by altering reality.”

Sara yawned. “Same tent as before?” Darren nodded. “Fraydon’s is the one near the branchless tree.” He sat down on an old log, a pile of smaller logs and sticks before him. Fire leapt up from them and he warmed his hands. Sara smiled and sat down next to him. “Holding an open flame in your hands isn’t warm enough?” The fire reflected in his eyes as he spoke in a monotone. “Sometimes you have to remember where you came from before you can truly appreciate where you’re going.”

Sara nodded thoughtfully, yawning again as she set her head on his shoulder. After a few minutes he turned to her, about to say something, but she was fast asleep. He smiled. She’s going to have such a crick in her neck…but she’s happy. He picked her up and carried her to her tent, setting her inside and closing the flap. He walked back to the fire and resumed staring into it, still in thought. She’s happy…

- posted by Nick @ 5/04/2004 02:03:00 PM