Shadowblade (11 page)

“And yet, these Tartarus Monks have enemies?”

“They are not liked by anyone that I know of, and the Lord Mayor himself has had to rein them in lest they deplete the tax paying populace too far. They are largely discouraged from patrolling the waterfront, lest their exploits deter merchants from coming here. There are rival monastic orders devoted to Umber which despise the Tartarusians.

“But their chief enemies are the
Nyzyr,
an order dedicated to the ancient Cjii known as Baelor. Baelor is a powerful lieutenant of Umber and a commander of his demonic armies.”

“I never knew there were so many factions devoted to Umber,” he said, genuinely surprised. Zach had traveled much of the Arnathian Continent while he served the empire, but never had he known such mysterious orders existed. He found his desire to learn more was overpowering. If the Tartarus Monks could inflict disease with a touch of their hands, what could the other devotees of Umber do?

“In Powyss, it is the
Nyzyr
who most staunchly oppose the Tartarus Monks. They are the power elite of the Guild of Assassins and are the sworn enemies of the Tartarus Monks. The
Nyzyr
are followers of the way of Baelor, another powerful and long dead disciple of Umber. ”

“And these
Nyzyr
are possessed of strange powers as well?”

“The
Nyzyr
keep their secrets closely guarded,” nodded the old man. “They have roots in Ckaymru that go much farther back than the Red Dragons, and yet most are of not of Ckaymrish blood. No one really knows what they are capable of, for very few who meet them survive. It is said that the teachings of Baelor are similar to that of Tartarus, yet the two were mortal enemies. The
Nyzyr
take great pleasure in capturing Tartarus Monks and killing them, leaving their desiccated bodies lying on street-corners. But when they do, the Dragons inflict severe reprisals. It’s a terrible fight, and one I have survived by using my business wisely. I pay dues to the Tartarus Monks because I have to in order to survive, but I do not serve them.”

“I understand,” said Zach with a great exhaled breath. He wondered if he had made the right decision in coming here with these powerful items. But who could he find to help him understand them?

“What is it you seek, lad?” asked the man, his eyes alight.

“Power!” hissed the detached voice next to Zach’s ear. Zach cringed, embarrassed. The man was looking right at Zach and
had
to have heard that!

“What kind of power?” asked the old man. Zach was stunned. The old man had looked directly at Zach when the voice had spoken, he must have seen that Zach’s lips didn’t move. Maybe the old man thought Zach had spoken those words.

“Power over death,” whispered the voice. Zach was becoming alarmed at how much that voice seemed to be expressing his own desire. And how no one seemed to notice that it wasn’t his own voice. “I want to live forever!”

“More than a few have achieved that goal, through the use of items such as the ones you carry,” said the man. Zach wondered if he had some way of detecting magical items, if he knew of the dagger that he even now gripped tightly in his hand. “It is not my place to caution you one way or another, young man. But I’ll say this: you should expect that your presence has not gone unnoticed.”

“Why is that?”

“It isn’t everyday someone who isn’t a
Nyzyr
kills a Red Dragon
.
I have no doubt that the
Nyzyr w
ill be looking for you.”

Zach left Baldric’s shop knowing one thing for certain about the old man; Baldric had not attained a position of trust with both the Red Dragons and the
Nyzyr
by being foolish. And Zach would be foolish to believe that he was the warm, kind, and caring grandfather that he pretended to be. No, he decided, Baldric must be very formidable in one way or another. Perhaps the man was a retired assassin himself. Perhaps he gathered and sold information about one side or the other, or both. Perhaps he was just a wily merchant who knew when to remain silent and when not to.

But that didn’t leave Zach feeling confident that the old man wouldn’t divulge information about his possessions if it suited him to.

“Should have killed him,” said the voice, reading Zach’s thoughts. “He might tell the assassins about us and that lovely book!”

“And why would that be bad?” he said, feeling surly. “
Morloth
is getting thirsty and I’ve a mind to let it drink.”

The voice did not reply as Zach realized a gentle snow was falling. He was glad that he had spent some of his money on warm boots and heavier clothing. It seemed that the weather had discouraged even the usual cutpurses from loitering in the cold winter air for he saw none of them as he made his way back to the main waterfront.

He began thinking about what the old man had told him. The temptation of power was intoxicating; he could almost feel the devices in his pocket calling to him. He resisted the urge to experiment with the potentially dangerous items and decided to return to the
The Siren’s Call.
He was getting short on money, however. He had enough coin to pay for information from
The Call
or to pay for the next few nights’ stay at his own inn, but not both. He resolved to visit Siren again, and work out a way to get more money later.

When he arrived at the
Call,
Zach advanced to the bar and ordered some rum. Siren was there and gave him a grand smile. After a few moments of small talk, Zach decided to ask Siren for his turn with a girl. Zach knew that if he came to the
Call
too often without seeing a girl, it would look suspicious; there were plenty of other places to buy rum in Powyss, most would be cheaper than the
Call
. Siren seemed to understand and nodded, asking him for his preferences. A few moments later, a pretty Ckaymrish girl who could be no more than seventeen or eighteen with red curls and stunning blue eyes came out to the main room to meet him. She gave him a demure smile, but her eyes lacked the sincerity that her face portrayed. He wondered what would turn a girl as pretty as she to prostitution, surely she could have almost any man she liked.

Her choice,
he thought to himself with a shrug.

“Definitely her choice,” said the voice. Zach became angry, and embarrassed. He knew the girl had heard the voice and gave him a confused look.

“Er, definitely a great choice,” said Zach aloud, turning to Siren with a smile and a wink. Siren nodded and the two went through the double doors, down a hallway, and into comfortable room with its own hearth; a small table with two chairs were placed comfortably close to the fire. The girl began to remove her clothes and when Zach held up his hand for her to stop, she almost seemed offended.

“Please,” he said, smiling. “What is your name?”

“Kella.”

“Kella. I am Levi,” he said extending his hand with a gold crown. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Kella looked at her hand and brightened considerably. “This is a whole week’s pay! We haven’t even begun yet. Why would you do that?”

“Because I need a favor from you. I would like you to go and fetch Siren for me.”

“Siren doesn’t service clients, Levi,” the girl replied innocently. He was charmed by her naivety, but he was also very tempted to follow through with his transaction with the young woman. He forced himself to focus and remembered the training he underwent as an assassin for the Spiders; distraction meant death.

“I understand. I would like to talk with her about something. We can wait a few moments if you’d like to give the appearance that you are working.”

“No, that’s ok. I’ll go and get her now.”

Zach nodded and Kella left, closing the door. He sat down in a comfortable chair near the hearth and waited. After ten minutes, Siren entered the room.

“I knew you were here for something else, Levi. But I
am
surprised you turned Kella down. She’s one of our most popular girls.”

“She’s a heart-breaker, that one,“ agreed Zach, it had not been easy to turn her away. ”But, I have a problem.“

Siren let out a laugh and then Zach understood her humor and laughed right along with her for a long moment.

“Seriously,” he said with a small sigh, he really liked Siren. “Someone tried to kill me the other night.”

“I see. What do you expect me to do about this?”

“There’s no need for games, Siren. There are no witnesses here and you and I both know that Siren and Levi aren’t our names. You deal in information and I’m prepared to buy some from you.”

“What makes you think I have the information you need?”

“You have it,” he said with confidence, placing a coin on the table. “Or, you will know how to get it.”

“Ok,” she said as she took the coin and made it disappear. “What are you looking for?”

Zach told her about the man in the black hooded cossack with a red sash, and of his supernatural entry to his room.

“Sounds like one of the monks that work for the Dragon’s.”

“I had assumed he was a priest, but a monk does seem to make sense. What sort of monk?”

“There’s only one kind that work for the Red Dragons, Levi,” she said as though he ought to know better. “The Tartarus Monks, the ones who worship Umber as the rightful god of the Dead. They have awful powers, they can kill with a touch of their hand.”

“Useful,” he said with a grimace. He was becoming very intrigued by the special powers of the Tartarus Monks.

“But the Guild doesn’t like them too much.”

“The guild of assassins?” he asked, guessing.

“None other. Ever since the Dragons took over the town the guilds have suffered, all of the guilds have.”

Zach nodded, understanding. Dockyard City was a place not unlike Powyss where guilds ruled the streets. But in Dockyard City there was no law or government other than the guilds. Those who chose a guild were safe enough, and the guilds did seem to take care of their own. He could see how the guilds here would suffer under the Dragons.

“I had heard the Red Dragons were a guild house here in Powyss before the Rhi raised them,” he said. It was a very clever move on the part of the Rhi.

“Aye, they were the most ruthless guild in the city. They had a lock on government corruption. It used to be that all the guilds worked together, each one staying within its own specialty and everyone would go to the Dragons when a government official needed buying.”

“So, the Rhi decided to fight fire with fire,” Zach reasoned. ”He raised the Dragons up from the street because they already had his officials in their own pocket. They are given legitimacy by the Rhi, the city’s marshals are removed, and Dragons take over the other guilds by force.”

“Exactly so, Levi.”

“But why are they after
me?”

“You are treading on dangerous ground, Levi,” she warned. “I can find out, but it will cost you more. My girls won’t have anything to do with those disgusting monks, and that’s the only way to get the info you need.”

Zach handed her five more gold crowns without hesitation. Five crowns was a fortune to a dockside prostitute, even one in an upscale establishment like
The Siren’s Call.
Siren accepted the money.

“Come back in two days,” she said as she stood up. “One of the monks is a regular here. I expect him back any day, and he
is
a talker.”

“If I were interested in finding a guild house, where would I look?”

“That depends on the guild,” she replied, craftily. Zach couldn’t think of a way to ask without telling her which guild he sought. In the end, it seemed he had to trust her.

“Assassins. Not the Dragons, the
top
assassins in the city.”

“That would be the
Nyzyr
.”

“The
Nyzyr,
” he repeated, nodding.

“You don’t aim low, do you?” she whispered. “They are the hardest and vilest sect of the Assassins Order! I
don’t
want to know what your intentions are.” She sat back down, looking at her hands. Zach saw they were trembling and he realized that he was beginning to feel affection for this woman. He approached her as if to place his hand on her shoulder, but something in her eye stopped him.