另类小说人亚洲小说

Chapter 60

The Castrator

In the morning, I ordered a dozen pastries with breakfast. I trickled mana into Black Snake while I waited for my food.

I paid a tin to have a young lad take my armor with two coppers to the Guild to have it cleaned.

“You’ll not see those coins nor the armor again.” The innkeeper told me.

“Oh, I thought that was your son.”

.....

“Aye, and I know my child. If you’d have just asked, I could have pointed you toward a more reliable boy.”

I shrugged. “Easy come, easy go.”

“If you say so.” He said, and went back to business.

The pastries were DELICIOUS. I closed my eyes, savoring the scent, the taste of the things.

With the faintest hint of a scooting chair, there was a sharp prick of pain on the inside of my left thigh.

“Good morning.” She said. “Hand over three silver, quiet as you please. One for each thing you don’t want me cutting down there, and then you’ll never see me again.”

“Femoral artery. Nice choice.”

She twisted the knife, drawing a drop of blood. “Nice. Quiet. Fast. And you get to laugh when you tell the grandkids about this.”

I slowly put my right talons at the edge of the table. “Have a pastry.” I said, in what I hoped was a pleasant tone.

Her eyebrows raised, then immediately got closer together. “Coins. Now.”

I split two of my fingers enough apart for her to see gold between them. “I’m impressed, and I’d like to hire you.”

“Nice try, but I’m not the hiring type. Get your fingers off the coin, or I’ll cut them off.” Somehow, there was a knife in her other hand. I was impressed.

“I propose that you have a pastry, and do a single silver coin’s worth of work that doesn’t involve anyone losing any fingers.”

“No. It’s a setup.” She licked her upper lip. “Just the coin. Now.”

Her stomach chose that instant to growl.

“Take the pastry, and I’ll throw in breakfast.”

“What work?”

“Heraldry. I need to know which house or business uses...” Crap.

[You have accepted a quest to save the life of a woman marked with the sigil of a black bird bearing crossed spears on a red background and her family. You have not discovered this woman. Quest on hold.]

I described the sigil.

“Raven Spear Brassworks.” She said. “Pay up.”

I took my hands off the gold, and ordered breakfast.

“You’ll show me where it is after breakfast.”

“Like hell. Hand over all your gold.”

I snagged her left ankle in my right foot. “Have you ever seen a reptile die? Even if you cut the head off, the body will thrash about. What happens to you when the tendon in the back of your ankle snaps? Can you feed yourself with only one working leg?”

I moved my left hand, picked up a pastry. “You’ve just made three days of pay, and not had to cut anyone. Take the pastry, eat a meal, and we take a short walk.”

The knives vanished into her inventory. “My name is Katherine.” She said. “I’m NOT dulling my knife on those cast-iron balls you have.”

#

Thank you, Kismet, for telling me the ways of panthers, or pumas... whichever.

“So, Katherine. What’s your story?”

“I’m working a job, not spreading around my sob story.”

“Why is it a sob story? You’ve got skills, obviously you’ve no problem making money.”

“I see what you’re doing. That won’t ride with me little man.”

“All right. Isn’t the street of smiths this way?”

“Raven Spear is out on Potter’s Way. Amphorae, candlestick holders, cups, even a few spear heads and arrow heads, but that’s not what pays the family’s way.”

“What do you know about the family?” I asked.

“Wealthier than mine.” She said. “Mom runs the actual store, and rumor says the brassworks as well. Two darling daughters, about the same age as my kids.”

“Oh, you have children?”

“Take them hostage, and iron balls or no, I’ll shove them down your throat before you die.”

“Not my intention.”

“Better not be.”

“It’s not. I won’t even ask where you live.”

“Good. There’s the brassworks. We done?”

“For now. How do I find you later?”

She shrugged. “Have money when I need it. I’ll find you.”

Okay. Woman who runs the shop, probably the woman I’m looking for. I went inside, and Katherine followed.

I looked over my shoulder at her.

“Remind me not to ever try to break your neck. What? I’ve got money and they make toys here.”

“Okay.”

The store was being watched by a young man, but he had an engagement ring (brass, of course).

I began looking around, and found some glassed mirrors. High quality, high prices. I looked at the creepy not-quite-kobold in the mirror.

I smiled. No wonder people didn’t like me. That just looked – dangerous.

I moved on, looked at something my System called a Fortified Canteen. It looked about the size and only slightly less capacity than my current canteen, but nearly forty percent more condition. A bit pricey... but I decided I wanted it, so I carried it about the store with me.

Ooh... metal shields. Metal shields with armor ratings, so that small blows didn’t even lower their condition. The condition track read: 40/40. And that was for the small shield. Ooooo, but it was so far above my head. Five gold pieces? Five?

I separated my money from that I was only holding for the Uruk.

Yup. Roughly five silver. Sigh. Someday, shield. Someday I’m coming back for you.

Katherine was rummaging around in cookware, favoring a skillet with ridges in the bottom, and a spatula, with indentations to match.

Where I was there was an assortment of cups, glasses, and goblets. None of them spoke to me.

Knives. Skinning knives, combat knives, whittling knives, larger blades that could also be considered the small end of the sword category.

“May I help you, sir?” Eh, it was the clerk.

“I’m definitely getting this canteen, possibly other things.”

“I’ll keep it by the counter until you’re ready to purchase.”

#

I found a picture in a brass picture frame. The woman was wearing a brass amulet with the store insignia colored on it.

“Is this the store owner?” I asked the clerk.

“Her mother, Magda, I believe.”

“Hm, thank you.”

[You have not discovered this woman. Quest on hold.]

Okay, so not the whole family, then. The amulet was probably handed down from mother to daughter.

It wouldn’t be one of the children. I became more convinced it was the shopkeep herself. But I couldn’t see anything that would threaten the store. It was a quaint little shop, but far from lucrative, if today was any indication of the number of customers they had.

Maybe I needed to find some way to keep a creditor from foreclosing on them? Get them out of town before some leg-breaker collected late rent or tax payments?

I pondered a brazier, complete with a grill for cooking. I mean, yum, but I couldn’t afford it.

.....

“Ah, Katherine. Lionel told me you were out here.”

“Hello, sister.” Said Katherine. As she went to hug her, I saw the amulet.

[You have accepted a quest to save the life of Evylina Moleas, shopkeeper of Raven Spear Brassworks and her family from the ravages of Rakkal and the Red Tide.

Primary – Save Evylina Moleas. Not accomplished.

Primary – Save her daughters. 0/2 saved.

Optional – Save her husband. Not accomplished.

Optional – Save her sister, Katherine the Castrator. Not Accomplished.

Optional – Save Katherine’s children. 0/2 saved.

Threat not yet active near Whitehill township. Quest on hold.]

What. The. Seven. Hells.

Did I accomplish this quest if the attempt to break the power of Rakkal and the Red Tide succeeded? Maybe I’d be given some other equally dangerous task?

And what were the odds that I would be here on exactly the right day to meet both women?

Yeah, yeah, flaming brass plaque. Pretty good odds.

And – no, trying to figure out how some smith-god knew that this particular family would be threatened would just result in me chasing my tail. Oracles were a thing, they got their power from gods...

But Hephaestos didn’t have any such powers, did he? Maybe he borrowed from Apollo like he had from Hestia? How would a huge divine favor exchange work, anyway?

No. Focus, focus. I knew who I had to save, I just needed to know how to save her. Trickery and diplomacy? Something like that.

Only I wasn’t actually good at either of those things. So... How would I get Evylina to listen to me?

I breathed deeply. Okay, I had time. Rakkal was coming for Narrow Valley before anything that threatened Whitehill.

I purchased the canteen, thanked Evylina and returned to the Knight Rampant.

Obviously, I needed to lay in some contingency plans.

#

I found myself in an alley, pressed up against the wall, with the tip of a dagger at the base of my spine.

“How do you know my sister’s name?” Katherine asked.

“The quest in my System identified her.”

“Bullshit. You’re staking her out to rob her.”

“Truthspeaker. Can’t lie.”

“I don’t trust people.” She sent a party invite.

I don’t understand how Systems decide to share information when people party. Some people seem to get more information than others, and part of it seems to be based on whether or not the other person trusts you.

The dagger vanished, as did the knee in my lower back.

“Okay, so who’s Rakkal? Some kind of Khanate thug?”

“Minotaur, far south of here.”

“And how’s he going to threaten my sister?”

I explained the situation, and my plan, such as it was.

“So... you need to enter a city. And a fortress. Unseen. Do you have a breaking and entry team for that?”

“What kind of team?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re buying me another meal, and a bit more besides.”

Aristocrats, merchants, and other wealthy types enjoy a meal at noon. You pay a premium for it, and we were at a run-down portion of the town, so the food wasn’t that good.

For those who don’t know, breaking and entry is slang for getting into a place, usually with the intent to rob it. It wasn’t a skill set that Katherine herself had much of, but she knew experts.

“What manner of experts?”

“Look, you’re going to want a crew with three skills – subterfuge. You know what that is?”

I nodded.

“Great. Subterfuge, Bypass, and Traps. You want people with experience with both physical and magical defenses, and how to get past them.”

“And these people will be willing to travel?”

“Not initially. I’ve a crew in mind, but they’re going to want to meet you, to understand what they’re risking their lives for. Understand, most of these crews plan jobs for up to a year, raid only one place a season. These are people who live life by their own rules, and they aren’t going to like yours.”

“They sound charming.”

“Some of them make me look all cute and cuddly.”

I sighed. “So when do I meet these people?”

“Not for a few days, yet. Let me ease them into this. You come in strong, you’ll end up stabbed.”

“How badly stabbed? I’ve survived being stabbed before.”

“Like Flurry of Blows stabbed, multiple times. As in good luck skinning what’s left stabbed.”

“Ah.” I said. “We’re talking about monsters.”

She shrugged. “Not far off, but treat these people with respect. They won’t dress fancy, but they’re every bit as skilled as the heroes you want to lead.”

Wait. Lead?

Lead? As in make decisions for?

“I understand. Skilled people, who regard themselves as the best in their field.”

“Almost. This crew is the best you’ll find south of the Khanate.”

“How many days do you think this introduction will take?”

“Stay at this inn, we’ll find you.”

#