"Raider 07: Setup" by Richard Lorenz

Chapter 7

I saw Varen seated in a low-ceilinged tavern. The furniture was all sturdy, which was surprising. But then again, it would hold up to the frequent brawls much better than most furniture would. It would take a good sized man to pick up and swing the chair Varen was sitting in, and you would have to be an ox to pick up the table.

Everything was smoke-stained. The hearth obviously hadn’t been cleaned in a while and most of the fumes came billowing back into the room rather than venting outside. The narrow windows didn’t help any, either. The light had to battle the smoke to get in. My eyes had quit watering, but my throat still convulsed with the nasty haze in the air. I kept coughing and I was afraid I would tear something loose inside again.

I wanted water to drink, but places like this didn’t have any. Their beer was probably bad, and the wine almost certainly tasted like piss, with flavor of drowned rat thrown it. Nasty stuff. I didn’t know how Varen could get it past his lips. I almost ordered milk as I walked past the waitress, but one look at the low-cut blouse she wore changed my mind. She might have thought I was inquiring into her availability later that evening. The predatory look in her eyes made me cringe.

Surprisingly, Varen fit in quite well here. Somewhere he had dug up some thoroughly disreputable looking clothes. Dirty tunic, leather pants, shabby boots, and a floppy hat. His sword even looked plain, although I bet it only looked that way.

On the other hand, I stood out like a … I believe the best phrase would be a rose in the midst of lilies, but I wasn’t a rose, and they certainly weren’t lilies. I was colorful though. I was wearing red and white stripped pants, with a purple shirt. (I love purple!) A broad yellow belt held my dagger and sword.

“Where are the clothes Valentine gave you?” he asked as I joined him. I opened my mouth but he interrupted me. “Never mind! Where have you been?” he growled. “Three months ago you disappear. One note, six weeks ago, saying you’re still alive. If you don’t give me some very good reasons, I’ll turn you over to the priests myself.”

His final words were hissed, more than spoken. He must have been really mad. Probably at me, I thought, but not necessarily. I mean, it wasn’t really my fault I was gone for so long. And maybe he’s just mad in general, and taking it out own me because I’m here. I’ve never seen the purpose behind taking the blame for something that may not be my fault after all.

“Well, I ran into some trouble. When you left that first night, I couldn’t sleep so I went exploring.” I knew he had posted a guard at the top of the stairs so I couldn’t go into the town, and he didn’t know about the other doors down in the hallway. They were too well hidden. Let him think about that. “I found out what happened to the miners. They probably burnt to death. Luckily, I survived. How do I look?” I asked as I grinned impudently at him. I almost giggled when I saw the look on his face.

“What…. Where… Never mind. Keep going.”

“Anyway, those responsible took good care of me, and nursed me back to health. Although you may not be able to tell in here, my looks have changed quite a bit. You’ll have to see me outside. There are too many shadows in here.

“When I felt up to it, I snuck into your office and left you that note.” He looked genuinely surprised that anyone could sneak into his office without being seen. “I hope you don’t mind, but I used your paper and ink. I didn’t have any on me at the time. And, so, here I am.”

“So, here you are. What about the other note? After the first one appeared on my desk, during my wife’s soiree no less, I doubled the guard around my house. How did you get in again? How did you know about this place? And why did you want to see me here of all places?” There were obviously too many questions on his mind, and too many other important things going on in his mind to ask them all.

“Second note?” I repeated back to him. “I came here because of your note to me.” I could see in his eyes that the same thought occurred to us at the same time. We had been set up. Somewhere, probably here in this room, there was either a spy or an assassin. “Don’t move,” I told him. “We need to have a plan before we jump up and try rushing out of here. That will look even worse than whatever it is they think we might be up to.”

Varen leaned back with his glass in his hand, and asked again about my clothing. He needed something innocuous to cover his silence while he thought of a way out. My blathering on would mean he didn’t have to answer, and nobody would think anything of me talking about clothing. I did appear to be a vain, little popinjay.

“Actually, your note asked me to wear something bright and distinctive.” Hm, I thought to myself, how did they get that note to me anyway. Now, whoever is following Varen can get a good look at me, since they probably don’t know who I am. That means, they must know Varen has a new ally, but don’t realize they already have my picture somewhere. Interesting. Varen must already be under suspicion by someone. This could be why he’s so edgy and snappish.

“The clothing I was given was very fine, but a bit flashy.” Considering what I was wearing now, I got a little grin from him. “If I wanted to fit in to the upper echelons of society they would be perfect. Well cut, good quality material. They fit fairly well, too. But I couldn’t wear them everywhere I need to go, so, um” I wasn’t sure how he would take this, “I sold them.” At his startled expression, I quickly reassured him. “Not all of them. Just a few items. I needed some money anyway.”

“You could have asked. I might have given you some.”

“’Might have.’ ‘Maybe.’ I needed money right away. I could have taken something from the Temple, but…”

“You would steal from a temple? Don’t you fear anyone?” Despite himself, and his attempts to think of a way out, he was obviously drawn into my tale.

“No. Yes. Well,” I stammered on, “I figure if these places are really the dwelling places of the gods, the gods can defend them, right? Or at least the priesthood should be endowed with special powers of protection. If I can get away with something that belongs to a god, he doesn’t deserve it anyway.

“But, I definitely wouldn’t steal from that Temple.” Oops. I think he heard the difference.

His eyes narrowed, and he finally set his cup down. He hadn’t really been drinking from it, but had used it as a prop. Maybe he was planning on feigning drunkenness to get us out of here. “Which temple are we talking about here? To’Kmet’s, or one of the smaller ones in the city. You don’t seem to be scared of To’Kmet, but nobody here would buy anything with his mark on it anyway. They would probably turn you in for a reward.”

I was kind of nervous now. I cleared my throat, and ran my fingers through my hair. Instead of looking at his scowling face, my eyes darted all over the room. Unfortunately, my eyes snagged those of the waitress and she came swishing over. “Do you boys need anything else?” Although she spoke to us, she never took her eyes off of me. I asked for bottle of Qhen’s Tears. She and Varen both looked startled. A single bottle was out of Varen’s price range, let alone anybody who frequented this place.

“No,” she said as her lips curled up. Either I’m very rich, or very naïve, she probably thought. Or, hopefully, both.

“Then how about a glass of pure spring water? Ice cold?” At the look on her face, I told her I didn’t want anything else. She didn’t seem very happy when she left.

“Qhen’s Tears? You are something else. They don’t have anything like that here.”

“I know. I wanted her to go away.”

“Now, about those temples,” he reminded me.

I dropped my head and sighed. I was hoping he would forget. I took a deep breath and told him what I thought was safe. “I told you I went exploring in that tunnel. I found several storage rooms, a couple of suites, and a throne room. At the back of the throne room, was a small door leading of to some private rooms.

“That was where I ran into my trouble. After being nursed back to health, they let me wander around.”

“Who was down there?” Varen interrupted. “Who let you look around?” Suddenly he leaned forward, almost knocking over his glass of … whatever nasty stuff he was drinking. I’m glad he didn’t spill it on my purple shirt. “What does this have to do with the missing miners?”

Suddenly my stomach growled. “Hey, relax” I told him. “Why don’t you order some food for us. Talking makes me hungry.” As he opened his mouth to tell me off, I flicked my eyes toward the bar, where the waitress stood, and remarked. “I don’t think she likes me anymore. You do the talking this time.”

His nostrils flared, and a vein throbbed in his forehead, but he did it. After she left, I began my tale. Again.

“Okay. I was wandering around in the dark, and sort of got captured. Not really, but that’s as good a way of putting it as any.”

Varen laughed at me. “The same way we sort of captured you, but didn’t really since you were coming here anyway.”

Uh-oh. I didn’t like the sounds of that. What if stumbling into that place hadn’t been an accident at all. I thought coming here was my idea. It appears someone else had more in store for me than I knew. More to think about.

“Yeah,” I said, “sort of. Anyway, if I can continue.” He chuckled, but didn’t interrupt. “I told them I couldn’t see, asked for some light, so . . . they summoned up a fire elemental and the room went up in flames with everything in it, including me.”

His eyes started flickering back and forth as he though real quick. He took a deep breath. “They’re servants of To‘Kmet, aren‘t they? Why does he have a secret temple?” Then his eyes narrowed, and he looked up at me. “How did you survive down there?”

“I told you, they took care of me.” At the continued look on his face, I broke down and gave him a little more. “It was touch and go for a while there. I was burned pretty bad. My throat is still pretty sore and sensitive. The air in this place is making it worse.”

“And …?’” he asked suggestively.

“Aaaannd … I thought water might help, but the waitress said they didn‘t have any. Do you think she was lying, hoping I‘d buy something more expensive?” I played dumb.

“How did they not get burned?” His teeth were clenched, and the muscles in his jaw were throbbing. Yeah, he was pretty exasperated by now. This was as much fun as baiting my brother. At least Varen wasn’t going to hit me. Not in public, anyway. “Are their bodies impervious to fire? Were they wearing magical clothing? Amulets?” he asked, wiggling his fingers ridiculously. “I know you can recover pretty well, but what about them?” Suddenly he stopped and looked vaguely frightened. “Is To’Kmet building an army of priests beneath our feet?”

“No, no. They‘re not his.”

Our food arrived just then. A thick stem with big chunks of potato, carrots, celery, and, um, goat. Lots of goat. A whole loaf of bread, a dish of butter, and two spoons. I dug right in. Varen lifted that first spoonful to his, and his face blanched. I guess he doesn’t like goat. To his credit, he kept eating, to keep up the guise that we were here to eat. Besides, we needed a little more time to think our way out of here. And we would need to keep our strength up for the night ahead of us.

“What do you mean, something worse?”

“You’re awfully full of questions tonight. Just eat.” I tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into my bowl. I love a thick stew and fresh bread. It reminded me of my mom’s cooking, except the stew was a tad bit salty. The waitress showed up with two more drinks for us. It looked like fairly good ale this time. I grabbed them both for myself, leaving Varen to drink from his own cup.

“They were created to serve in that Temple, and only that one.” I punctuated my sentences with my spoon. “They’ve probably never even been outside. That’s why they are so powerful, and so ignorant. I’m sure that’s how the miners died, too. Asking for a little light. But they just couldn’t survive the initial conflagration. I hope it was quick.”

Varen had stopped eating for a moment, and was staring at me. “What was that you just said?”

“I hope their deaths were quick. Look,” I said, leaning across the table. “I know the stories you heard, but most of them really aren’t true. I’m not a monster. I don’t eat little girls. I have no need for gold, or a deep-seated desire to starve entire villages to death.” That’s where I stopped. I was breathing hard, and needed to lean back and cool off. Besides, the other things were true.

He licked his lips and dropped his gaze to his bowl. He appeared to have lost his appetite, so I reached over, took his bowl, and dumped it into mine. I finished eating in silence.

When I pushed back my bowl, there was a new resolution in his face. “So, tell me more about this temple. Are there riches we can bring up and sell? I’ve fallen under suspicion, and think my accounts will soon be audited. I need an outside source of cash to keep us going.”

I pursed my lips and answered honestly. “No. Its full of treasure,” and I watched his eyes light up. I hadn’t finishing my sentence. “But you can’t bring it up.” Varen looked angry.

“Why not! Are there temple guards? Are they as powerful as those priests you met?” he asked heatedly. The Temple below us was an unknown to him, and he needed to gather as much information as he could. Gold would be nice for his war chest, but an ally that strong would be tremendous. Another enemy like To’Kmet would crush him altogether.

“No. Not really. But the … um …” I wasn’t sure how to put this to him. “I’ve been accused of being a heretic. You’ve called me an atheist. I’m not an atheist …”

At this point, the door opened, letting in a little light, before closing again. The place got real quiet. Varen’s eyes left me and started tracking someone walking up behind me. I could tell it was a woman by the looks in everyone’s eyes. The barmaid had murder in her eyes, and I knew she must be beautiful.

I turned to look over my shoulder and got hit in the back of my heard so hard I though it might have broken. My head bounced off the table, scattering bowls and cups. When my ears stopped ringing, I could hear the laughter. “The little dandy was sucker-punched by a girl” I heard someone saying.

I tried to stand up, and I felt a hand grab my shoulder and tip me over my chair. I caught a glimpse of Varen laughing out loud. I briefly thought that was a good sign, then I got slammed into the floor. My head bounced and my vision blurred. I felt more than saw, her coming down at me again. I flinched, but instead of getting hit again, she kissed me.

I reached up to wrap my arms around her and kiss her back. She slapped me hard, and the laughter re-doubled. I was starting to wonder what I’d done, who I’d … well, that was a long list. Too many enemies to start counting in the middle of a fight.

She grabbed the front of my shirt, yanked me to my feet, and started screaming at me while shoving me towards the door. I looked back and got a big shock. I stopped moving and opened my mouth but she kicked me in the shin, just above the boot, right on the bone. She turned back to Varen and yelled some at him, making him get up and follow us. I couldn’t understand most of what she was saying though. My shock was that deep.

She moved us to the back of the bar, not the front. I don’t think we would have been allowed out the front anyway. Varen and I were still in the middle of a trap, and they were probably watching the back door too.

I was pushed, and Varen was led grinning, to a storeroom. The owner of the place wouldn’t mind us using it for a few minutes. All of his customers would get a big laugh, and it would probably bring people back tomorrow, to see what else happened.

Just before we got to the door, the beautiful woman slipped a medallion over my neck. I caught a glimpse of it and recoiled in shock. She pushed me forward, and my hand touched the doorknob. I stopped there and looked back. The look in her eyes was hard and implacable. I had no choice but to go through that door.

“What’s wrong?” asked Varen.

“This is my sister, and my father is behind this door. That’s what’s wrong.”

I turned and Opened the door onto a future I didn’t want.