The Tomni'Tai Scroll (Book 1) (13 page)

Kai tossed the guard’s sword away and retrieved his own as he neared the exit. “There is no turning back now,” he muttered to himself.

He pushed through the broken door and gazed out at a few passersby who had seen the whole encounter. They pointed at him, but nobody said a word. With each step Kai took, the people backed away slowly, as if staring down a rabid dog in the street. He looked up and down the streets, pondering where he should go to find clues about the cloaked man. His thoughts were cut short as the bystanders started to scream for help. Kai grunted and sprinted down the street. He would have to think later, for now he had to find a way out of the city if he wanted to survive.

Kai slid the window up and clambered through. The streets were dark now, covered by the blanket of night, so he was confident no one had seen him duck into the alley next to Captain Lador’s house. Once inside, he pulled the window closed and made for the hatch that led to the cellar. He quickly picked the lock and descended the ladder.

Once he pulled the hatch closed above him he felt around for the lantern for a few seconds. He knocked his knee into the corner of a table and stifled a curse. Then, upon finding the lantern he slid his hand over the table for the match box. Luckily, Lador had always kept it on the same table as the lantern so it was easy to find. The match hissed and spat as he struck it and lit the wick inside the lantern. The yellow light exploded into the windowless room, forcing the darkness into shadows behind the various crates and sacks in the cellar.

Kai turned, looking for the large desk. He spied it in the far corner and went straight to it, kicking aside a small wooden bucket filled with cobwebs. He pulled the front drawer and shuffled through the papers.

The hatch above the ladder squealed in protest as someone opened it. Kai extinguished the lantern between his thumb and forefinger and then crouched low beside the desk.

Dusty light filtered in from above. A boot slowly came into view and landed on the top rung on the ladder.

Had someone seen me?
Kai wondered. A second boot soon followed the first and a form came down. Kai pulled a knife and waited silently, tempering his breathing and focusing on the person coming down.

Kai watched the tell-tale brown cloak fall into the hole, it was a city guardsman for sure. Just as the intruder’s shoulders became visible the hatch was pulled shut and the room was dark again. Kai hadn’t expected that. Who would come looking for him without any light?

Kai closed his eyes, hoping to force his eyes to adjust faster. When he opened them again, he couldn’t see anything. He strained his ears. He heard nothing. He pressed his back into the wall, slowly turning his head sifting the darkness as best he could.

“Move, and yer dead,” a gruff voice warned.

Kai froze. The voice came from his left, so perhaps the intruder was just trying to panic him.

“I can see ya plain as day,” the voice said. “Yer back is against the wall next to a desk, and yer holding a knife in yer hand.”

“Wait, I know you. You were at the inn a few nights ago, you helped me.” Kai guessed as he placed the voice.

“Aye, put the knife down, and we can talk.”

Kai sheathed his knife and reached for the lantern again.

“Nah, leave that be, we can see just fine.”

“My name is Kai,” Kai said as he set the lantern back on the desk and slowly stood. “We fought together, but I don’t think we were formally introduced.”

“What are you doing sneaking around in here? I thought you were in the dungeons.”

“Lador let me out to help him with an investigation, but he’s dead now,” Kai replied.

“Did you kill him?” another voice asked.

Kai turned to face the right, where the other voice came from. “No, he was my friend. I don’t know who did it.”

“Go ahead and light the lantern,” the first voice said.

“I think we should whack him over the head first,” the second voice put in.

“Ah, shut yer yapper, Pinhead,” grumbled the first. “He’s telling the truth.”

“You can read minds now?” the second shot back.

Kai lit the lantern and the two dwarves shielded their eyes for a moment. “I am telling the truth,” Kai said. “Governor Gandle is dead too,” he put in.

“Well, that’s perfect,” Pinhead said with a shrug. “They are going to hang us for sure.”

“Pinhead?” Kai asked, pointing to Pinhead.

“Yep,” said the first dwarf. “And I’m Redbeard,” he said as he jabbed a thumb in his chest.

“We don’t have much time. They’ll be scouring the city for me. It’s only a matter of time before they look here.”

“Well, we did make a big mess at the inn,” Pinhead said with a smile.

“And, I was seen fleeing the dungeon where Captain Lador was killed.”

“Aye, that is bad,” Redbeard said with a nod.

“Lador was going to smuggle us out after the heat cooled down, but now that he is dead, I don’t know how we are getting out.” Pinhead crossed his arms. “I could use a drink.”

“Ale is the last thing you need, especially now,” Redbeard quipped.

Kai returned to rummaging through the desk. “Go to that wall over there,” he said while pointing to the wall behind Pinhead. “Look for a crate that has a rat carved into the side.”

“Then what?” Redbeard asked as he and Pinhead moved to the wall and scanned the crates.

“Pop the top off and pull the lever inside,” Kai replied.

“I found it,” Pinhead shouted. He broke the boards on top and reached inside. “Argh, my hand!” he yelled. Pinhead’s hand was pulled into the crate and his face writhed in agony.

“What is it?!” Redbeard shouted as he reached over.

Pinhead smiled and stifled a laugh. “Nothing,” he said with a shrug. Redbeard slugged his arm and pushed him aside. “Just playing,” Pinhead said. “I thought it might be good to lighten the mood a bit.”

“Have I ever said how much your name suits you?” Redbeard retorted. He reached into the crate, gripped the crude, sturdy lever and pulled it up. Gears and cogs clicked into place and a small portal opened in the back wall.

“Not bad handiwork, for a human.” Pinhead went through and looked around. “Looks like it goes directly into the sewers,” he said while holding his nose.

Kai caught up to them with a rolled up paper in his hand. “Exactly, and the sewer leads out. If we follow this map, we can find the main drainage tunnel. That will lead us out under the walls and into a drainage field.”

“Then what? It just opens into the desert?” Redbeard asked.

“Not exactly.” Kai held up the map and squinted. “Looks like it opens into a cistern a few hundred yards away from the city.”

Redbeard shook his head and took the map from Kai. “No, a cistern is for storing good water.” He glanced at the map for a moment and then rolled it back up. “This will take us to a large cesspool. The bad news is we will need a very long bath.”

“But the good news is we get to keep our skins,” Kai put in.

Pinhead started looking through the crates. Redbeard pulled a small, cylindrical object from under his tunic and handed it to Kai.

“What’s this?” Kai asked.

Redbeard pulled the old city guard cloak off of his shoulders and stuffed it into the crate with the lever. “It’s called a stick-bow. I made it myself.”

Kai turned it over in his hands. It was heavier than he had expected.

“The outside just looks like a club, or perhaps a really large talisman, but inside there is a tightly compressed spring with a modified crossbow bolt loaded. The button just under your thumb will fire it out of the bottom end.”

“Why are you giving me this?” Kai asked.

Redbeard shrugged. “Well, I thought it might come in handy for you.”

Kai smiled and nodded. “Thanks. So, are you headed home then?”

Redbeard smiled. “Nah, figured we should probably come with you and keep an eye on you. We already saved you once, and we just found you creeping around in a basement.”

Kai chuckled.

“Found one,” Pinhead said to himself as he wiped dust off of a clothespin.

“Why don’t you and your brother hang on to that map,” Kai offered. “Maybe later you can come back for your goods or something.” Kai went through the opening and located the lever that would close the portal once they were all through.

“I doubt it,” Redbeard said as he raised an eyebrow at Pinhead. “But, thanks just the same.” He tucked the map into the back of his trousers and called out for Pinhead. “Let’s go brother.”

 “Ugh,” Pinhead muttered as he clamped his nose shut with the clothespin. “This stinks! No pun intended.”

Redbeard and Kai looked at each other and shook their heads.

*****

Blacktooth Pete sat with his heels digging into the worn floorboards below, his shoulders melting into the chair behind him, and his head drooping lazily in front of him. His left hand held a pair of cards and the dice lay before his right hand.

“Your roll, Pete,” said the man across the table.

“I know,” Pete said. His cards were decent, but he hadn’t been having any luck with the dice. He would have to roll either a pair of sixes or threes to win the round. He didn’t like his odds. Pete reached over his pot belly and snatched the dice. He kissed his dirty knuckles and tossed the red dice onto the table. Not even close. A four and a one. Pete slapped his cards on the table and sat up straight. “That’s it for me,” he said.

The man across from him swept the copper pieces to him with a big, toothy grin. “Pleasure doing business with you,” he smirked.

Pete stood up and stretched. He hadn’t walked two paces when someone else sat in his chair, eager to try their hand at winning a few extra coppers. Pete walked over to the bar and hailed the barkeep. “Whiskey, if you have any left.” The barkeep nodded and promptly produced a shot glass full to the brim so that Pete spilled a bit as he raised it to his lips.

“Two coppers,” the barkeep said.

Pete reached into his coin purse, grabbed the seam, and turned the bag inside out. “On my tab?” he asked with a sheepish grin. The barkeep shook his head, took the whiskey bottle back, and walked away. Pete smiled and turned around, propping his elbows on the bar behind him in a way that accentuated his gut even more.

He scanned the room and was just about to call it a night when a strong, determined man walked through the door. Pete watched this newcomer take three steps inside, pull his hood back, and head straight for Vermut’s table. Pete did a three-quarter turn so that he mostly faced the bar, but could still watch. The two enforcers at Vermut’s table intercepted the newcomer and he surrendered his sword and a pair of knives to them. Then, he promptly sat directly in front of Vermut himself.

Pete watched for a few moments, and then Vermut abruptly rose and walked through the back door, leaving the newcomer to sit alone with the two enforcers. Pete knew something was stirring. He weaved through the tables to sit in a chair near Vermut’s table.

“Mind if I join you two lovely ladies?” Pete asked a pair of chunky, well-weathered women. The two exchanged glances and nodded for him to sit, but they weren’t overly happy about it. “Name’s Pete,” he said as he pulled out a chair and sat. “Where are you two from?”

“Let’s go,” one of the women said. The other nodded and they abandoned Pete just as quickly as he had joined them.

“Well, thanks for the…” Pete reached out and took the half empty green bottle they left behind and sniffed it, “ale,” he finished. Pete wrinkled his nose and grabbed one of the goblets that they had left behind. It too was half full, so he drained it before pouring more.

A moment later a large, bald Kuscan man pushed through the back door, followed by Vermut. The change in the room was palpable. Several gamblers left, the barmaids briefly stopped serving tables, and even the newcomer seemed a bit unsettled. The Kuscan was easily seven feet tall, with shoulders wide enough that he had to turn sideways to fit through the door. His arms were thick and meaty and his footsteps thudded through the floor as his massive legs propelled him toward Vermut’s table. Pete had never seen this man before, but he knew who it was; Galion the Red. Pete had heard of the Kuscan custom of roasting the hearts of a vanquished army in a great feast after battle, but Galion elevated the ritual to an especially sinister level. Galion had earned his name by cutting the hearts from his still breathing enemies, smearing the blood on his own chest, and eating the hearts raw on the battle field.

As wild as the stories were, there were very few who doubted their accuracy.

“What do you want?” Galion rumbled.

“Gildar has been slain,” the newcomer said with a slight bow of his head.

If Galion was displeased or upset, he didn’t show it. He motioned for the two enforcers to leave, then he and Vermut sat opposite the newcomer.

“How did it happen?” Vermut asked in his surprisingly nasal voice.

The newcomer shook his head. “Gildar was slain by one of the Rasselin Rangers, a man named Kai.”

“Correct me if I am wrong, Diggs, but don’t we pay you to handle these kind of issues?” Galion growled.

Diggs nodded. “This was different. There was no investigation. Gildar’s men kidnapped Kai’s sister. Somehow he was able to track Gildar down and he killed everyone.”

Galion scowled and his shoulders tensed.

“Everyone?” Vermut repeated.

“If any survived, they didn’t contact me,” Diggs said soberly.

“What of the women in Rasselin?” Galion asked.

Diggs shrugged. “They were never found.”

“Then some escaped,” Galion observed. “They will not likely return until we have increased our security in Rasselin.”