 | Amaranth wasn't at all certain that this employer was such a good idea,
anymore. She had watched him hire people from the Flaming Cockerel,
which didn't strike her as the best place to find reliable people. And
then there had been the accident in the lab. Which now turned out to be
attempted murder.
But Lyterpes paid well. If he didn't seem to care about where he was
hiring people, then it also meant that she didn't have to look very
hard to find work for herself and Do'on. Do'on wasn't easy to hire out,
even when he intimidated the hell out of his prospective employers. Or
perhaps because.
Do'on was, to all appearances, completely unconcerned. Amaranth watched
him sit at their table, seemingly humming to himself, though he might
have just been farting softly. With Do'on you could never tell. The
pitcher he used for a beaker was getting towards empty, and Amaranth
considered calling it a night. She didn't have to stay at the inn,
these days, since Lyterpes liked having his employees under his roof.
That particular perk amounted to a considerable rise in wages.
In spite of appearances, Do'on wasn't at all unconcerned. His soul was
in a torment. He was almost finished with his pitcher of Hugh's second
best. The thing was, Amaranth had That Look, which signified they would
repair to quarters as soon as the pitcher was empty. Do'on's priorities
tended into a somewhat different direction. He felt he wasn't quite
drunk enough, and he'd been meaning to talk to Amaranth about something
that he was fairly sure shouldn't be brought up anywhere near the Amber
Palace.
In fact, even the Dragon's Inn might be too close to their current
quarters. Do'on fished the thing out of his pocket to look at, one more
time. It was an attractive thing, about the length of his forefinger,
and it glistened brilliantly in the light from the inn's many lamps.
Amaranth looked up. What was Do'on looking at? It appeared to be a long
sliver of crystal.
"Where did you find that?" she asked him.
"In my pocket," Do'on said.
Amaranth looked at him. Sometimes her large companion enjoyed creating
the appearance that he was a bit simple. Taking her question literally
would be one way of doing that.
"Where was it before that?" she asked.
"Don't know," Do'on rumbled. "How much you think worth?"
"No idea," she said. She was having an awful feeling. "I suspect it
could be worth our lives. Let me have it."
Do'on handed it over. Amaranth decided that she was right. This sliver
of crystal looked very much like the sliver that had been extracted
from their employer on that night a ten-day ago, when she had thought
they might have to look for new employment. If Do'on didn't know how it
came to be in his pocket, then someone else put it there.
Amaranth hid the sliver in her sleeve, careful not to slice herself on
its sharp edges.
"I think you better not mention this to anyone," she told him.
"Mention what?" asked a sweet voice behind them. Amaranth turned around
to look in Yun An Lin's face. As she was seated, her eyes were level
with those of Mage Lyterpes's diminutive assistant. She'd never gotten
used to those red irises.
"Nothing," she said to her. "Just some advice on male discretion." She
hoped that the queasiness most people felt when it came to Amaranth and
Do'on's personal lives would have its effects on Yun An Lin. Yun An Lin
just smiled at her, white teeth startling in her pitch black face.
"Perhaps you should explain it to Mage Lyterpes," she said. A slight
gesture directed Amaranth to where the mage was seated with Sheriff
Wintermane and another man.
Amaranth had the feeling she had been set up. This sort of thing had
happened to her and Do'on before. More than once. Occasionally there
had been some justification, too, but this time it seemed a lot worse
than those previous times.
"I'm sure Mage Lyterpes would be very interested in the object you have
hidden in your sleeve," Yun An Lin insisted.
Do'on didn't know how he managed to miss Yun An Lin sneaking up on
Amaranth. Nor how Amaranth had managed not to notice. Amaranth had once
pegged a mouse to the wall with her knife, where she'd heard it
scrabbling behind a curtain from across a crowded and noisy room. You
had to make a special effort for Amaranth not to notice you.
Just now, however, Amaranth was signaling him for a diversion. Do'on
knew how to do that. He clambered to his feet, rising to his full eight
foot height, and then let himself slowly fall over backwards. His
impact on the table behind him broke it in two and scattered mugs and
several of Hugh's regular guests.
"Do'on!"
Amaranth leapt from her seat to run to Do'on's side. In the commotion
she allowed the crystal shard to slide back down her sleeve, palmed it,
and with a flick of her wrist sent it flying into the shadows of the
room's rafters.
Do'on lay motionless, snoring quietly among the debris he had created.
He and Amaranth had long ago discovered that one couldn't start fights
in the Dragon's Inn. One had to be more subtle to create a diversion.
One method they had found was a minor spell that Do'on could recite,
which instantly put him asleep. A sleeping person wasn't considered a
threat by the inn's wards, and eight feet of Do'on falling just about
anywhere was always a good diversion.
Most of Hugh's guests hadn't even bothered to check out the sleeping
giant. Those whose drinks he had spilled were standing around
grumbling, some of them brushing the liquid from their clothes.
Amaranth ignored them and set about rousing her companion back to
consciousness.
Do'on woke to having his cheeks slapped. There was a slight pain in his
back where his bed was a bit lumpier than usual. And then he remembered
the diversion. He groaned.
"Not feel well," he belched.
"You drink too much." That was the voice of Mage Lyterpes.
Do'on blinked his eyes open. There was Amaranth, a look approaching
panic in her eyes. Beside her stood Yun An Lin, fingering that crystal
shard. He wondered why Amaranth had given it to her. Behind Yun An Lin
loomed their employer, alongside perhaps the only other inhabitant of
Montfort as intimidating as Do'on, sheriff Wintermane.
Do'on rolled over to remove the crushed mug from where he had fallen on
it. He got the distinct impression that he and Amaranth were in very
serious trouble.
Amaranth had noticed the crystal shard in Yun An Lin's tiny hands as
soon as Do'on began to rouse himself. How had that creature seen her
toss it into the shadows? How had she retrieved it so quickly? And now
Mage Lyterpes and the presence of Sheriff Wintermane made their
situation even hairier.
Mage Lyterpes looked over his two employees. No one appeared to be
hurt, and he expected that they would deal with Hugh if they wanted to
return to drink here. Then he noticed the shard of crystal in Yun An's
hands.
"Where did you find that?" he asked her.
"It seems that your two bodyguards need to explain a thing or two," Yun
An told him.
"Fine, but not here." Eamund considered the situation briefly. He was
extremely annoyed with Yun An. He didn't want to involve either the
guard, nor the college. Now that had become unavoidable, as both the
sheriff and Renald Heutton looked at him with curiosity.
"Have Hugh get us a room where we can talk privately," he told Yun An.
Then he turned to his guests. So much for a quiet evening of
socializing. "It seems there is one somewhat sensitive matter we will
have to talk about. We could return to the Amber Palace for privacy,
but I think it would be better to avoid any delays. I'm having Mistress
Lin procure a room. If you would do me the favor and join me and my
employees there?"
A few minutes later had the six of them in one of Hugh's rooms. There
was one chair, a small table, and two beds. Not much room for six
people, but this shouldn't take long. Eamund sat on the edge of one of
the beds and gestured to Amaranth and Do'on to sit across from him. He
noticed that Yun An took up a position by the door, as if she were
guarding it.
"A ten-day ago there was an accident in my laboratory. I was injured,
and I might have died," Eamund explained. "At first no one suspected
foul play, but a little later I came across evidence that the injuries
I had suffered were caused after the accident, while I lay unconscious.
Since then Mistress Lin and I have tried to discover who might have
done that, but we've only found that the perpetrators were very clever
at covering their traces."
Eamund paused for a moment in case either of his guests had questions
for him.
"My injuries were caused by a crystal shard, much like the one that
Mistress Lin is holding at this time. So perhaps Mistress Lin had
better continue our explanation at this point," he added.
"I noticed Do'on with the shard. While I went to their table to get a
closer look, he handed it to Amaranth, and she hid it in her sleeve and
told Do'on not to tell anyone. After I invited her to explain herself
to Dean Lyterpes, she used Do'on's little accident to try and hide the
shard by throwing it away. Luckily I was able to find it again."
Yun An fell silent again.
"It might be completely innocent, except for Amaranth and Do'on's
behavior. The shard may be from the scene of the crime."
"Of course it's from the scene of the crime," Amaranth broke in. "Do'on
picked it up while we were looking for your assailant. If you recall,
Mistress Lin brought us along when she first thought that someone had
attacked you. That was before you regained consciousness to tell us it
had only been an accident."
"Dean Lyterpes," came Yun An's small voice. "That may well be true.
However, I told them not to touch anything, and watched them carefully.
I didn't notice Do'on pick up anything. Also, we didn't really spend
much time at all looking around the laboratory. Mostly we searched the
next cellar up. And finally, why did Amaranth try so very hard to hide
the shard?"
"Because I didn't know Do'on had picked it up, and I was trying to keep
anyone else from finding out," Amaranth said. She'd have loved to
strangle Yun An Lin, but she also suspected that the tiny woman would
be more than a match for her.
[Renald Heutton]
The Master of College Security had opted to lean against a wall, and
had listened impassively to the whole conversation - his hard,
gray-eyed, gaze lingering on each speaker, but never with sharp
intensity. ~Only six months in operation and we've already got a murder
attempt,~ he passingly considered, but he wasn't overly surprised that
it centered on Eamund Lyterpes. When Renald had been ordered to his new
post he had done a thorough study of all the known staff, and Lyterpes
had lead the list of "those to be kept under watch."
The mage had been demoted from College Dean, and posted to what was
considered the frontier; plus the man had chosen his home and staff
from the more questionable elements of Montfort. The Amber Palace was
one of the few manors to survive the False Dawn, but the neighborhood
had not rebuilt to reflect prestige - it was a street of small
businesses, which sank down into brothels and ale houses. And Lyterpes
had chosen some of his staff from one of the pricier brothels.
And truth be told - Amaranth and Do'on had more of a printable history
than Yun An. The pair of mercenaries were well-known at the Dragon's
Inn, and had no record with the Tower Guard. Despite their
eccentricities they had been more of a help to the Inn than a hindrance
when dealing with the variety of patrons that crossed the Inn's
threshold.
Of Yun An ....nothing could be found beyond her last employment.
Granted mages were a quirky bunch - a fact he knew well, but his
business was to make sure _nothing_ interrupted the College's
operations.
Renald firmly wished this discussion was on College property - then he
could have Eamund kept under protective guard, since the man was a
sworn servant to the Crown. But in Montfort the law was guarded by the
Tower Guard, and this situation was now in Sterling Wintermane's hands.
[Sheriff Wintermane]
The minotaur's face was unreadable as he listened to the exchange. He
had been wondering how long it would take for something like this to
happen. Things never stayed quiet in Montfort, after all.
There were numerous questions coming to his mind and Sterling looked
from face to face as he considered where to begin asking them. In the
end he settled on Mage Lyterpes. "Dean Lyterpes," he rumbled, "Is there
a reason why you didn't report this matter to the Guard once you
learned it wasn't an accident?"
[Lyterpes et al]
Eamund shrugged impatiently.
"With respect, Sterling, but since when am I required to involve the
Guard with my personal business? I trust my staff implicitly," he said.
He frowned at his bodyguards. "At least I did, until now."
[Renald]
"It's to Mistress Lin's credit," Renald commented in a polite tone,
"that this situation has been brought to our attention....for which I
thank you, since anything that effects the safety of College personnel
is of highest importance to me."
[Lyterpes, et al]
Eamund gave Heutten a look. Did he somehow imagine that his Assistant
Dean was not interested his own personal safety? What kind of a jumped
up tin soldier was he dealing with?
"I consider Mistress Lin's actions commendable to the extent that she
acted to defend my interests," he said. "On the other hand, she didn't
just bring this matter to our attention, but to the attention of
everyone out there in Hugh's common room."
"You are correct, Mage Lyterpes," said the diminutive woman. Her ebon
face was ashen but calm. "I have acted without thinking. Please accept
my immediate resignation. I will remove my possessions from your
premises before the end of the day."
Eamund stared at her, for the moment speechless.
[Renald]
~How handy,~ Heutton considered, ~Bring the limelight right onto your
employer, and then leave.~
"Mage Lyterpes, I understand that you recently moved a new apprentice
to your dwelling....Dureg," the Master of Security said, "While I
cannot order you to the safety of the College, at least not without the
Dean's permission, I will escort the young man back to the campus."
Renald's gray eyes didn't waver from the Assistant Dean as Renald made
his pronouncement. "After your statement is taken I would recommend
that you accompany us back to the College - not only for safety, but it
will allow you to meet with the Dean, since I'm sure he'll wish to see
you in the morning."
[Lyterpes, et al]
Tin soldier, indeed. What was that man's agenda? Eamund closed his eyes
for a moment to get his temper under a tight reign. Yun An had truly
caused him more grief this evening than she could possibly have
guessed.
"I think Dureg should be allowed to speak for himself," he said. "He is
no child. And, if in fact it turns out that these two," he nodded his
head at Amaranth and Do'on, "had something to do with the attack on me,
then I see no reason for you to intrude on my personal affairs. I am
capable of taking care of myself and my household."
[Renald]
"Dureg has bound himself as an apprentice to the College," Renald
answered, with a calm nearing on boredom. (How many temperamental
nobles and mages had he dealt with over the years.....? And he came to
the conclusion - he had lost track). "If he is to keep that status he
will return to me this evening, and after that - it is for the Dean to
decide."
His cool gray gaze rested on Eamund, and he added, "As for your status
- you are a mage of the Royal College, and as such are a relatively
precious commodity."
His tone indicated he could have been talking about well-bred horse
flesh.
[Sheriff Wintermane]
"Dean Lyterpes," Sterling said evenly, "An attempt on your life is a
crime, not personal business. And given Montfort's current view on
vigilante justice, attempting to settle it yourself without the Guard
could well end up being a crime as well."
[Lyterpes, et al]
"Sheriff, vigilante justice was never an option I considered.
"If you would consider my position, for a moment. If I had reported
this incident to the Guard, you would have found out no more than I
did. The least consequence would have been a disruption of my
researches, which Master Heutten is in fact contemplating even now.
"Instead Mistress Lin has proven highly resourceful, excepting this
lapse tonight. If she had thought to bring the crystal shard that was
in Amaranth's possession to my attention privately, then I would have
interviewed them both, and subsequently turned them over to you with
all of the evidence against them."
He looked again at Yun An who still held her post by the door, her face
expressionless, blood red eyes staring at a point in space occupied by
nothing Eamund could see. Confound that woman! He hoped her pride would
not prevent her from rescinding her offer to resign after making it in
public.
[Sheriff Wintermane]
The minotaur nodded as he listened to Eamund. Mentally he changed his
impression of the situation. It seemed the assistant dean considered an
attempt on his life as a more of an inconvenience than anything else.
At least he didn't seem to be planning to hunt down his assailant
personally.
[Renald]
Heutton looked up at the Sheriff and said, "Since the College will be
holding its own inquiry can I acquire a copy of statement this
evening?"
[Sheriff Wintermane]
Sterling turned to Heutton and nodded. "Of course you will receive a
copy of the statements," he told him, "There is no reason not to
combine our efforts in this investigation."
[Renald]
He turned to the Sheriff, and said, "I am more than willing to combine
our efforts. The College is now part of Montfort and there is every
reason for cooperation to be fostered."
The prime reason being to avoid all hint that the College was a power
unto itself - such as the Bank had been.
[Sheriff Wintermane]
He gazed at the diminutive Yun An, then over to the pair of
mercenaries. He knew Amaranth and Do'on only from rumor and second hand
reports. And not all of those were favorable, though all seemed to
indicate the pair were typical sell swords. While they didn't seem to
have anything against the mage, they might have been paid off. Of
course, he knew nothing of the assistant. He nodded. "We'll need to
take statements from all three of you," he said, "Individually. Now I
know Mage Lyterpes wants this matter handled quietly, so we can take
the adjoining room and I'll question you myself. Unless one of you has
a problem with that."
[Lyterpes, et al]
"You go ahead, first, Do'on," Eamund said. "Let Sheriff Wintermane ask
you his questions."
Do'on had been following events with a rising panic. That shard had
started all that trouble. He looked over at Amaranth. She was looking
at the sheriff, idly toying with a lock of her hair. Wrap it around the
first finger, then the third finger, then the first, over and over.
Such a nervous habit, Do'on thought. He looked expectantly at the
sheriff.
"I follow?" he grunted. People were going to ask him questions, and he
had no idea what the answers were supposed to be.
[Sheriff Wintermane]
"This way," Sterling said to Do'on as he escorted the large being into
the next room. Taking out a small notepad, he chanted a brief word of
magic over it. "Please understand that this is an official Tower Guard
interview and everything you say will be recorded. Now, state your name
and tell me how that crystal shard came into your possession." As he
spoke, the recording spell caused his words to appear neatly on the
paper.
[Do'on]
Do'on wasn't too keen on answering any questions, especially since he
didn't know the answers. He tried smiling at the sheriff, and then gave
that up. Some people had run away from his smile, but the sheriff
seemed to be made of stronger stuff.
If Amaranth had been around, she could have signaled him what the
answer should be. Instead she was in the other room, signaling him to
shut up.
Oh! 1-3. Shut up. That was particularly good advice since he knew
nothing.
"I not know," he rumbled.
[Sheriff Wintermane]
"You do not know how the shard came to be in your pocket?" he asked,
"Then your partner's claim that you picked it up from the scene of the
attempted murder of your employer is a lie on her part?"
He paused to look over the large being across from him. "You know," he
said casually, "This wouldn't be the first time a couple of mercenaries
sold out their employer. If that is the case, helping us learn who
wants the assistant dean dead could make things easier on you... and
Amaranth."
[Do'on]
Do'on had started to watch the sheriff's magic notepad, wondering if
the writing was maybe produced by an invisible demon. He wondered if
the demon would be very small, or if it might be even larger than
either him or the sheriff, when the sheriff's last words percolated
through to his consciousness. His first impulse was hot denial, but he
managed to clamp his lips shut just in time.
"I not know," Do'on repeated. "Maybe I not pay attention." He shrugged
his shoulders to lend emphasis to his ignorance. Amaranth was the fast
talker. If it came to explaining how come she knew and he didn't,
that'd be her job. Do'on knew that she certainly was better at it than
he was. Meanwhile his job was 1-3.
Shut up.
[Sheriff Wintermane]
The minotaur sat and stared at Do'on, letting the room fall into
silence for the space of a few heartbeats. Then he reached out and
started to close his notepad.
"I don't believe that you are as dumb as you're acting," he said, "Or
that you know absolutely nothing about how that shard got into your
pocket. Now, you're either an innocent in a bad spot who panicked and
tried to remove the evidence or you're an attempted murderer. Now, I'll
give you one last chance to tell me what happened before I have you
taken to the Tower where we can go over all of these questions again
with a truth reader present. So, what will it be?"
[Do'on]
Do'on wasn't too worried about a truth reader. He was a bit more
concerned that the sheriff seemed to be thinking that he was smart.
That wouldn't do. Smart people invariably ended up getting blamed for
stuff, and Do'on had spent a lifetime creating the impression that he
wasn't smart enough to be blamed. Though he suspected that Amaranth
knew better.
"Is good. We go?" When your hand is relatively strong, call the bluff.
At the same time, he still avoided saying anything.
[Lyterpes, et al]
Eamund watched the Sterling lead Do'on out of the room. Two impulses
warred inside him. On the one hand he found this situation ridiculous.
It had started when he thought these two men should be apprised of the
situation, and quickly got out of hand as each of them decided that
they should take charge of it, as if he himself weren't capable. A
seething anger roiled just beneath his self control, urging him to
shout or scream, to vent his frustrations.
On the other hand, in the short time he had known them - Renald
considerably shorter than Sterling - he had gotten the impression that
they were both intelligent and capable. Perhaps he could get them off
his back if he did cooperate at this point. He decided to offer a peace
token to Heutten, who at this time stood to cause him considerably more
grief than the sheriff might.
"Would it be useful to you to have Mistress Lin provide you with the
information we have collected? I would direct her to cooperate with the
Guard, as well, of course."
[Renald]
"That will be of use," Renald agreed with Eamund.
[Lyterpes, et al]
"I only wish you didn't find it necessary to interfere with my
household," Eamund continued. "Especially since removing Dureg back to
the college doesn't really enhance the security at the college."
[Renald]
The Master of Security raised a thin eyebrow at the mage, and calmly
said, "I would say that someone has already 'interfered' with your
household. Its been my experience that it is very hard to go about
one's business when you have an assassin...or assassins....ready to
strike at any heartbeat. Very bad for one's concentration."
[Lyterpes, et al]
"My concentration has been fine," Eamund said, ignoring Renald's irony.
He stood from the edge of the bed and paced a few steps in the tiny
room. Even with just the four of them it still seemed
claustrophobically small. He stopped by Yun An and turned to where
Renald was still leaning against the wall.
"Did you hear about the assassination attempt in the Flaming Cockerel a
few ten-days ago?"
[see "Hired Hands, message ID bpk7dd$lt4$1@terabinaries.xmission.com]
[Renald]
"That doesn't seem to have come to _any_ official's attention," Renald
commented, "But I'll be delighted to hear about it...now."
[Lyterpes, et al]
Eamund looked at Renald with curiosity. He distinctly remembered Yun An
being interviewed by people in Tower Guard uniform. Perhaps the Flaming
Cockerel had hushed up the incident?
"Yun An is probably the one to ask. She stopped the assassination. Her
client at the time was," Eamund looked at Amaranth, "Narlett? A
somewhat shady character?"
Amaranth nodded.
"Don't know if that's his given name or what," she said. "Everyone just
knew him as Narlett. Hadn't seen him around in ages, so I have no idea
what he'd been up to recently, but he used to run various smalltime
swindles. Seemed to be doing a lot better, then. If he could afford to
hire courtesans at the Flaming Cockerel. Too bad you hired her away
from him."
Amaranth grinned at Mistress Lin, but the small woman's face was still,
and Amaranth couldn't see even a hint of embarrassment.
"That's enough," said Eamund. "What do you mean, too bad?"
"Well, I hear that whoever wanted him dead finally got to him. They
found him hanging from the rafters in a barn outside town." Amaranth
shrugged. Good riddance to bad rubbish, she thought.
"I guess that is too bad," Eamund said. He was silent for a couple of
beats. It helped to be reminded on occasion that he no longer lived in
Blackner. "In any event," he continued to Renald, "the point is that
Mistress Lin stopped one assassin's darts from striking Narlett even
after they had been launched. Snatched them out of the air. And then
she brought Narlett to safety before the second assassin could appear,
and killed the assassin before he had a chance to act."
"It was just one dart, but I never saw anyone move so fast," said
Amaranth.
"That's right," said Eamund. "I suspect Mistress Lin may be one of the
most effective body guards in all Montfort."
Eamund took a breath and forced his shoulders to relax before
continuing.
"So I've had no reason to fear for my personal safety. On the other
hand, Mistress Lin is untrained in magic, and feels uncomfortable in my
laboratories, which is why I've finally decided to allow one of our
students to become my apprentice. Most other mages are saddled with
more than one, and no one seemed to be willing to work with Dureg, in
any case." He let the conclusion of his argument hang in the air.
Perhaps Renald wouldn't force him to press it.
[Renald]
~Now why do I feel like dragging her before a truth orb?~ Renald
privately pondered, ~And how is it the more powerful mages are some of
the most naive?~ His current theory was that Mistress Lin and this
Narlett had been part of a show to impressive Eamund into hiring the
woman, and Narlett had been killed as a loose end. He would ask for
reports on the Flaming Cockerel and Narlett's murder.
His expression, as usual, stayed impassive. "A very impressive young
lady," he conceded, "But its not my place to judge the fate of young
Dureg. I am simply to make sure that both you and he are tucked into
the safety of the college, and the Dean informed."
~And once on the grounds,~ he privately added, ~I'll find out why you
are so hesitant to return.~
[Eamund Lyterpes, et al.]
Eamund fought back the hot retort that bubbled up. He wasn't going to
score points with Renald here. His worry now was that Dean Mercene
would feel forced to interfere, as well. At Blackner he had no problem
keeping his researches from his peers because there was too much going
on to pay attention to his obscure work, even if he was the Dean. But
at Montfort there was no way to keep the rest of the faculty from
prying.
Worse, if he resisted too much he'd just make people more intent to
find out what he was up to. Luckily Dureg hadn't seen too much of his
work up to this point, so he wouldn't be able to give anything away
that Eamund didn't want known at this time.
[Sheriff Wintermane]
He shook his head and closed his notepad. "We go," he answered Do'on,
"Come on."
Stepping back to the other room he looked over at Amaranth and frowned.
The big one might be smarter then he looked, but the woman was clearly
the brains of the duo. Best to keep the separate until a truthreading
could be done at the Tower.
"Dean Lyterpes," he said, "I'm afraid I'm going to need to take your
employees into custody for the time being. I've reason to suspect they
may indeed be involved in the attempt on your life."
He then reached one large hand out to Amaranth. "If you agree to come
with me quietly," he informed her, "There will be no need for bindings
or cuffs."
[Eamund Lyterpes, et al.]
Eamund looked up as sheriff Wintermane returned, preceded by the
hulking Do'on. The giant's tusked face communicated a quiet confidence,
so at first the sheriff's words didn't register. When they did he
stared at Amaranth, who had got up from the bed to confront the
sheriff.
"You know you're being absurd," she told him. She ignored the hand he
held out to her. Even at six feet tall she was a good two feet shorter
than the minotaur, but for some reason Eamund got the impression that
she was looking down at him. "You better use your bindings. If you
don't believe we're innocent, then you shouldn't trust my word that we
won't try to escape."
[Renald]
"I'll be around to the Tower," Renald commented, "Once I have the
Assistant Dean and his apprentice safely back to the College."
[Wintermane]
"Very well," he answered. Then the sheriff produced two pairs of cuffs
from his belt. Quickly and professionally he secured first Amaranth and
then her partner.
"I'll make sure to leave word with the gatekeeper to be expecting you,"
he told Renald. Turning to Eamund he added, "I'll let you know what I
find out, Dean Lyterpes."
Then he gestured towards the door. "This way, you two," he said to his
captives, "The sooner we get you to the Tower the sooner we can sort
this mess out."
[Eamund Lyterpes, et al.]
Do'on watched Amaranth allow herself to be shackled. This might have
been fun, except that Amaranth wasn't smiling. Do'on had seen that
expression before. It appeared to be calm, but Do'on knew she was
furious about something. He only hoped he hadn't messed up somehow.
He allowed the sheriff to bind his arms, as well, and restrained
himself from testing the bonds. Then he followed Amaranth out the door,
the sheriff behind them.
Eamund watched them go. Then he turned to Renald.
"I gather we have an appointment with Dean Mercene," he said.
He followed the sheriff out the door. At the moment he didn't
particularly care if Renald was following him.
[Renald]
"We will," Renald Heutton answered, "Once we collect your apprentice."
He closed the door to the room, and followed the Assistant Dean down to
the common room of the Dragon's Inn.
--
Helge Moulding
mailto:hmoulding@excite.com Just another guy
http://hmoulding.cjb.net/ with a weird name
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