The Tomni'Tai Scroll (Book 1) (25 page)

“No,” Yeoj grunted and relaxed as best he could back down to his side. Kelden looked to Sebina and pointed for her to go back to addressing Yeoj’s wounds.

“Would Blacktooth Pete know?” Kelden asked.

“Maybe,” Yeoj through gritted teeth.

Sebina stepped forward and slowly went back to work. “What are we going to do?”

“We will do nothing,” Kelden said coldly. “You will stay here and tend to Yeoj. I will send over a physician.”

“No!” Yeoj grumbled.

“It’s someone I trust, Yeoj, and you are in no position to argue with me. You need more than an alchemist and her apprentice.”

“What will you do about the others in Blundfish?” Sebina asked.

“I will handle them,” Kelden said.

“That won’t work,” Yeoj interjected. “Pendonov is maimed, and I am pretty much bed-ridden for a while. You won’t be able to arrest them on your own.”

Kelden looked over the holes in Yeoj’s shoulder one more time. “I am not going to arrest them,” he said. “I am going to end them.”

*****

“We are out of ale,” Pinhead whined. “How about we go out to the local pub and…”

Kai thumped the table with his thumb a few times. “I have another good lead,” he said. “It shouldn’t be much longer now.”

“Is it in a pub?” Pinhead asked. Redbeard threw his stubby arms up in the air and grumbled incoherently as he walked away from them. “I’m just sayin’ it would be convenient, that’s all,” Pinhead shouted at his brother’s back.

Kai shook his head. “You will have to stay here, Pinhead.”

“I thought the reason for coming here with you was to help you wrap this up?”

“He has a point, as much as it pains me to agree with him,” Redbeard said. “We walked all the way from Rasselin, dodging patrols along the way. We snuck into the city, and now we are hiding in this abandoned spider-hole with nothing to do. We should be scouring the city with you.”

“Sometimes it takes a little while for an investigation to move along,” Kai said. “We didn’t have much to go on.”

“All the more reason we should be out there.” Redbeard pointed to the dark, broken window emphatically. “We won’t catch anything but spiders and rats in this old shack. We need to be outside.”

Kai sighed. “If you are spotted, it could alert them to our presence. Furthermore, the guards have likely heard that a pair of dwarves and a former Ranger escaped from Rasselin after slaying several people.” Kai rose from his seat quick enough that his rump toppled it over backwards. “I don’t like it either.” He took a few steps toward Redbeard and pointed at the diminutive, yet stocky dwarf. “You think I like hiding in the shadows while men connected with the group that kidnapped my sister run free somewhere in this city? You think I like being blamed for murdering Governor Gandle? You think I like the idea of running for the rest of my life from men who were as close to me as brothers only a couple of weeks ago?”

Redbeard looked down to the floor and waved Kai off. “I get it,” he gruffed. “We just don’t like being cooped up. That’s one of the reasons we left our home to begin with. We like open air, and most of all we like action. We just aren’t much for waiting.”

Kai nodded understandingly. “I don’t like waiting either. I have run down these leads the best I know how. Nothing has turned up so far.” He pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket. “But I have one more that should prove helpful.” He held the paper up. “I have the name of an enforcer for the group we are after. I also have the name of the tavern he is going to be at tonight.”

“Finally, we can get some more ale!” Pinhead exclaimed with a fist slamming on the table.

Kai shook his head. “Not tonight, my friend.” Pinhead scowled and folded his arms. “Let me make my move. Soon there will be plenty of action, I promise.”

“And ale?” Pinhead asked.

Kai nodded with a slight smile. “More than you can carry,” Kai assured him.

“We’ll see about that,” Pinhead pledged.

“You best get to it, then,” Redbeard put in.

Kai nodded. “I will return shortly after nightfall.” He took his cloak from a hook near the dilapidated door and exited the run down shack.

Redbeard walked back to Pinhead, brushing a cobweb from his beard and crushing a large, brown spider in his fist. “I hate this place,” he grumbled.

Kai took in a deep breath of the salty air. It had been over a week, but he still wasn’t used to the smell, especially when it was low tide. The gulls squawked loudly overhead as they circled the rooftops of the port city. He tolerated the gulls little better than the smell of the ocean. He drew his hood up over his head and scanned the area around him. He knew the Rangers would probably be hunting him by now. After what had happened at the dungeon, there was no one alive who knew of Kai’s secret mission from Lador. Nor were any of the Rangers likely to believe him if he tried to explain it. They would check all of the nearby villages and settlements, they would likely look for him in Kobhir and even in Khatthun. The Rangers would also probably try to gain entrance into Shausmat to look for him. Sooner or later they would make their way to Blundfish. It was only a matter of time. He understood that they would eventually find him and that once they did, they would do everything in their power to put him down like a rabid dog.

Kai knew that he needed to get off of the mainland and escape to one of the islands. That would be his best chance to plan his strategy, but he couldn’t leave without finishing what he had started in Rasselin. The men that had taken his sister had to pay. Even if the Rangers caught up with him in Blundfish, Kai would consider it a fair trade so long as he put the rest of the traffickers into the ground first.

Kai set his feet to the dirt road and walked through the poor district. He spotted a few fishermen coming in with their morning haul. Some of the nets were decently full while others had only a fish or two in them. None of them seemed to pay him any mind. An old man stepped out onto a creaking, sun-bleached porch holding a ragged rug over his left arm. He fanned it out over the porch railing and beat it a few times with a stick. Gray dust puffed out with each strike, lighting on the wind and drifting away from the porch.

The old man looked up at Kai. One of his eyes was missing, and a long scar ran from the old man’s jaw to the top of his scalp on the right side of his face. The old man stopped beating the carpet and leaned forward, placing his knuckles against the railing and watching Kai keenly with his one good eye. Kai held the man’s gaze for a moment and then turned away, picking up the pace just a bit.

Within a few moments the buildings around him became newer as he crossed out of the poor district. A few taverns stood out, with large hand-painted wooden signs over their doors. Houses rose up two or three stories, clumped closely together on blocks with narrow alleys between them. The alleys ran with water and muck, adding an altogether unpleasant odor to the sea air. Kai marveled that people would willingly live in such filth. Even in Rasselin, in the middle of a desert without ample water, the alleys never reeked the way Blundfish did. Kai had grown accustomed to broken bottles, wood scraps, and bits of food strewn through the alleys, but this was the first time he had ever seen people emptying chamber pots directly onto the ground outside their homes. He pulled his hood tighter, trying to cover his mouth and nose with a corner of it as he walked by a particularly large heap of waste in an alley nearby.

After a few more minutes of walking he saw a large sign protruding out above a double door. “Honan’s Tavern,” Kai read aloud to himself. A couple of men sat around a wooden crate they had overturned to create a table for their booze. One of the men jeered and smacked another on the shoulder as he gestured to something across the road. Kai followed the man’s gaze to see a shapely young woman exiting a bakery across the street.  The men whistled and howled at her, but she paid them no mind. She spat on the ground in their direction and continued on down a different road.

“Nice piece of meat, eh?” one of the men shouted out. Kai then realized the man was addressing him. He didn’t bother to respond. Instead he looked back up to the sign and made for the double-doors. This was where he expected the enforcer to arrive.

Night’s blanket of darkness spawned a boisterous increase in activity at Honan’s Tavern. Kai patiently sat in the corner of the large dining hall, next to the fireplace. The stew in the bowl before him had long since grown cold and the single mug of ale had hardly been touched. Occasionally he would take a sip, or perhaps mill the stew around with his spoon or sample a tiny bit of the thick, over-starched mush, but mostly he just sat and waited. He examined each person who entered, searching for the tell-tale sign of a golden-handled sword. He was about to give up hope and start looking for a different tavern when in walked the man he had been waiting for.

As the man entered the tavern, he made a great wave of his arm as if he was some sort of nobleman. He wore a large, flowing blue silk tunic, trimmed with golden embroidered oak leaves that hung over his black trousers, which in turn were tucked into a pair of hand-tooled leather boots. His sword was definitely an expensive piece. The handle appeared to be made of gold, and not simply decorated with gold leaf overlay. A single ruby broke the yellow monotony near the base of the pommel, appearing to be an eye set into an intricately etched pattern of a large serpent. The hand guard flared out dramatically like a pair of claws.

Kai watched him stride directly to the bar and address the barkeep. It was obvious that this was the enforcer. The barkeep didn’t bother to call for the bouncer, whom Kai had already seen in action earlier when a pair of drunks became overly friendly with the barmaid. Instead when the enforcer reached over the bar and pulled a leather sack from a shelf the barkeep just shook his head and waved resignedly before walking away to serve another customer. Kai thought it most interesting that none of the other patrons seemed to notice the exchange. However, it also didn’t seem as though anyone else was particularly allied with the enforcer. It simply appeared as though they accepted the enforcer’s presence as a matter of fact, and did their best to conduct their dealings in spite of his intrusion.

“You’re a louse!” Kai yelled across the tavern. A few of the nearby patrons set their mugs down and stared at Kai incredulously.

The enforcer cocked his head to the side and slowly turned around. He leaned back on the bar with his elbows atop the surface, holding him up as he bounced the sack of money in his left hand. “Are you speaking to me?” he asked cynically.

Kai nodded his head and reached for his mug of ale. He took a deliberately long sip before responding. The others in the tavern grew quieter with each passing second. “I despise you, and your kind,” Kai added as he set his mug back on the table.

“Why is that?” the enforcer asked with a chuckle.

Kai pointed an accusing hand at him and gestured toward his clothing. “You come in here with your silk clothes and your gold sword and take the barkeep’s money. What service do you provide any of us?”

“I maintain order in an otherwise chaotic part of town,” the enforcer replied. “You would do well to shut your mouth before someone cuts out your insolent tongue.” The enforcer slowly reached down and gave his sword a slight tug, showing he could draw it free from the scabbard at any moment.

Kai scoffed. “The bouncer can provide security. You are redundant.”

The enforcer set the sack of coins down and pushed them back toward the barkeep. “My patience is growing thin, stranger,” he said. “I am Calhoun, one of the finest swordsmen in Blundfish. I provide a kind of security that the bouncer cannot. I also dabble in gutting annoying guttersnipes when they make the mistake of pestering me beyond my tolerance.”

A few patrons laughed and raised mugs into the air. “Aye, slice him up, Calhoun!” a trio of drunks toasted.

Calhoun nodded and sneered. “Perhaps I should.”

Kai sat quietly and tucked a large spoonful of stew into his mouth.

Calhoun laughed again and shook his head. “No, I think the snipe has learned to keep his mouth shut. I am in a generous mood tonight, so I will let you live as long as you leave through that door, right now.” Calhoun pointed to the door and grinned slyly.

Kai smiled and started to speak through his full mouth. “Nope,” he sputtered through bits of flying food. Kai shook his head, and wiped his mouth on his sleeve before washing the food down with his ale and rising from the table. “Sorry, how rude of me to speak with a full mouth,” he offered. The barmaid sniggered and put her hand to her mouth.

“You should leave, stranger,” the barkeep put in.

“Listen to him, mate, or you will end up sleeping with the worms tonight,” Calhoun swore.

Kai smiled back. “I will tell you what,” he began as he drew his cloak back to reveal his own sword. Out of his peripheral he saw the bouncer tense up. “As we both can’t occupy this tavern, let’s settle our differences outside, like men.”

“You want to duel with me?” Calhoun mocked.

Kai shook his head. “No, I am afraid I would put you to shame if we drew swords against each other.” Kai pointed to the door. “I thought it might give you a sporting chance if we had an old-fashioned fist fight. No swords, no knives, just two men finishing an argument.”

Calhoun nodded. “Alright, but let’s up the ante,” he said. “One hundred gold pieces, if you have the coin. Winner gets the gold, and the right to stay.”

Kai thought for a moment.

“What’s the matter, snipe? Haven’t you got the coin?” Calhoun mocked.

Kai reached for his coin purse and set it on the table next to him. “I am a bit short, but I am willing to wager all I have.”

Calhoun shook his head. “You aren’t worth my time for anything less than one hundred gold.” Calhoun turned to look at the bouncer. “Get that snipe out of here, and take those coins from him as an ‘annoyance tax’ for the trouble he has caused here tonight,” Calhoun instructed.

Kai nodded and held his arms up. “Who here wants to keep giving their money to that louse?” Kai turned and pointed to the pair of men sitting at the table closest to him. “Surely you would spare a few coins to see a good fight tonight, am I right?” The men shifted in their chairs, glancing nervously to each other and then to Calhoun. “Come on,” Kai continued. “If I win, this man will not return to this establishment ever again. If I lose, well then I can at least promise you a few minutes’ worth of entertainment. What do you all say? Can I get a few coins to meet this rat’s wager?”

“They don’t want you around,” Calhoun groused.

“When I win, those who help me will have their money doubled,” Kai offered.

“I have five gold that says the stranger whoops Calhoun into the ground,” an old man with an eye-patch said from across the tavern. The man dug into his pocket and tossed his coins in front of him onto the table.

“What are you doing? Put that away!” Calhoun instructed.

“Alright, his five plus my twenty makes twenty five. Who else will pool with us? If I win, I will split Calhoun’s hundred gold with you. Every creditor will receive one gold for every coin he throws in!” Kai promised. He then removed his cloak and drew his black tunic up over his head. His hard, bulging muscles clinched the deal.

“I’m in for three,” someone shouted.

“We’re in for ten,” the pair of men nearest to Kai pledged.

“I’m in for twelve!” an old woman said.

“Half way there!” Kai announced.

“Three here,” another person shouted.

A drunk stood up and emptied his pockets onto the table in front of him. “Put me down for two! If I win, that’s four bottles of the good stuff now,” he said pointing to the barkeep.

“We’re in for seven,” shouted a young woman at a table with several men.

“We have eight,” a group of merchants announced as they set a bag on the counter.

Calhoun fumed. A vein in his forehead throbbed visibly as he spun around looking at all of the people betting against him. “Louts, the lot of you!” he shouted. The tavern grew quiet again. He wheeled back on Kai. “You are still short!” he exclaimed.

“No,” the barkeep said in a wobbly voice. “I am in for thirty.” The barkeep pulled a wooden box up from behind the bar and plunked it down in front of him.

“You said this was everything!” Calhoun growled as he thumbed the bag of coins he had taken already.

“Let’s go,” Kai said. “My entry fee has been paid, and now it is time to take out the rubbish.”

Calhoun turned and drew his sword.

“NO!” the bouncer yelled in a thunderous voice. “You agreed to his challenge, no swords. Now, take it outside and finish it.” The large man readied his mace and glowered at Calhoun.

“You dare speak to me like that?” Calhoun hissed. “When I am finished with him, I am coming for you next, and we will settle this with steel.”

All of the patrons sat motionless. They kept looking back and forth between Calhoun, Kai, and the bouncer.

Kai removed his sword belt and made a show of thumping it on his table. “I am ready when you are.”

Calhoun seethed and drew in heavy, heated breaths. “Very well then, let us settle this in the street. There I will lay you in the gutter like the rat you are!”

Kai was the first to exit. Calhoun walked several yards behind him, and set his sword belt on a wooden barrel outside in the street. Then as if there had been a fire inside the tavern, all of the patrons exited quickly behind them to see the fight. Calhoun stood in the center of the street. He glared at Kai through angry eyes as the crowd encircled them. Kai strolled confidently to the center of the street and stopped only three yards away from Calhoun. Kai could hear side bets being wagered as the crowd sized up the two fighters.

“First man to fall loses,” Kai said.

Calhoun shook his head. “Pit rules,” Calhoun countered.

The crowd grew quiet for a moment and waited for Kai’s response.

“As you wish,” Kai said with a shrug. The crowd cheered and betting rose to a frenzy. Someone procured a length of cord and approached the two fighters.

“You both understand the rules?” he asked as he held the cord out in his hands. Kai and Calhoun nodded somberly. “Alright, then I will tie you and announce the start of the fight.”

Kai waited and rolled his shoulders and neck while the man tied the cord to the front of Calhoun’s belt first, and then attached the other end to the front of Kai’s belt. Kai stepped back and drew the cord taught, checking to see whether Calhoun would resist. Calhoun responded by jerking his hips back and tugging Kai forward a step.

“Mind your balance,” Calhoun taunted.

Kai smiled and gave a mock salute with his middle finger.

The man in the middle stepped back and raised his right hand. “Calhoun, are you ready?”

Calhoun nodded and smiled.

The man turned to address Kai. “Are you ready, stranger?”

Kai responded with a short, quick nod.

The man stretched up as tall as his limbs could reach. He glanced to each fighter and held his hand up for a moment. The crowd hushed.

Calhoun lunged forward with a sucker punch before the fight started. Kai took it in the jaw and then quickly threw a blocking side-arm out before Calhoun landed a kick to his side. The self-appointed referee tried to step in and restart the fight as the crowd booed and heckled Calhoun, but Calhoun knocked him back with a quick back-fist to the nose.

The man scrambled back to the crowd, holding his bloodied face. There was no stopping the fight now.

Calhoun drew his right fist back and launched a savage punch. Kai easily ducked under it, stepping back to take up the slack in the cord and then he made his counter attack by pulling the cord with his left hand and slamming Calhoun in the jaw with a savage elbow strike.

“You shouldn’t give away your strikes. Take your time,” Kai coached.

Calhoun hissed and rushed forward, grappling with Kai and trying to take him to the ground. Kai responded with a series of knee strikes that battered Calhoun’s forward leaning torso before dropping several elbow strikes on the back of Calhoun’s neck and spine from above.

Calhoun jerked and twitched as his body absorbed each of the blows. Finally he turned his head and bit Kai’s bare side, just above the hip. Kai thrust both of his arms down, ripping Calhoun away from him. Calhoun fell downward, catching on the length of the cord and dragging Kai down to his knees. Calhoun groped around the ground until his fingers closed around a rock and he immediately swung up, aiming for Kai’s head. Kai reflexively grabbed Calhoun’s wrist with his left hand, pulled Calhoun’s arm straight and then slammed into the meaty portion of Calhoun’s forearm with a knuckle strike. This sent Calhoun’s arm into a spasm and Kai was able to shake the stone free from Calhoun’s grasp.

Kai reached out and grabbed Calhoun’s neck with his right hand and pushed up with his legs, yanking Calhoun to his feet and exposing his body again. Calhoun tried to close up, but Kai still held his wrist and pummeled his abdomen with his right fist, snaking around Calhoun’s free arm as he frantically tried to block. Four strikes and Calhoun’s knees started to give out. Two more put him down on the ground. The cord again snapped taught, but this time Kai stood firm and was unmoved. The crowd cheered wildly. Calhoun coughed and wheezed as he rocked back to his haunches.

“It’s over,” Kai announced. “You lose.”