Troy Denning - Faces of Deception

Atreus squatted down and dropped the heavy basket on the floor. Rishi spun around at the resulting jingle, but he did not step out of the way.

"Move!" Atreus shouted, pulling the Mar aside.

The first guard was only a dozen steps below, staring up at the casks and sneering in relief.

When Atreus reached down and grabbed the wedge, the man's smirk vanished. He cocked his arm to throw his sword, and Atreus jerked the wedge free. The casks tumbled loose with a deafening rumble, bouncing down the stairs to bowl the guards over backward. One keg split and spilled oil everywhere, turning the whole stairwell into a slimy avalanche of somersaulting men and flying casks.

"Well done!" Rishi exclaimed, once again eyeing Atreus's heavy cargo basket. "Very well done. Now escape is assured."

"I'll believe that," Atreus said, "once we've actually escaped."

Atreus picked up his cargo, and he and Rishi started up the stairs after Yago. Although the basket was ungainly and difficult to carry, he did not even consider abandoning it. The coffer inside held many ten-thousands of gold lions, a full quarter of the fortune bequeathed to him by his unknown mother. This was the amount he had dedicated to finding Langdarma, and he had no intention of leaving it to Queen Rosalind's guards.

They ascended three more flights of stairs, then stepped into a long hallway leading toward the rear of the building. Yago stopped and pointed toward a window at the end of the corridor, where a long plank lay on the bottom sill, stretching across a narrow alley to a similar casement in another building.

"Am I supposed to fit through that?" the ogre demanded.

"Most definitely not," Rishi replied. "Your weight would snap the board like straw. You must continue up to the roof."

"The roof?" asked Atreus.

"I have seen how strong the ogre is," said Rishi. "I am sure he will not be troubled by such a small leap."

Yago squinted out the distant window. "How far is it?"

"Oh, it cannot be far," said Rishi. "The board itself is not five paces long."

"Five paces?" The ogre stretched his arms apart, trying to envision the distance. "That's got to be as long as a-"

"Five of our paces. It is no more than two of yours," Rishi said as he braced his hands on Yago's hips, struggling in vain to shove the ogre into the stairwell. "Now go up on the roof-and hurry! Can you not hear our enemies?"

Atreus cocked his head, listening to the sound of the pounding feet below, then nodded to Yago. "Go on. We'll see you on the other side."

Yago reluctantly squeezed back through the door and rumbled up the steps, leaving Rishi and Atreus to continue down the corridor alone. The Mar stopped at the window and turned to Atreus.

"No indignity is meant, but you are heavy enough with-out your basket, and the board is very old. Perhaps I should go first and drag your cargo along behind me."

Atreus shook his head. "I'd feel terrible if you fell. The basket is too heavy for you." He eyed the plank. As weathered and gray as the board was, it was also quite thick, with no sign of rotting. "You go ahead. I'll be fine."

Rishi sighed, then leaped onto the board and trotted across as lightly as a cat. Atreus followed more slowly, holding the heavy basket away from his body so he could look down and see his feet. By the time he had taken five steps, he almost wished he had let Rishi steal the gold. The plank was bowing severely under his weight, and every step caused it to bounce so harshly he could hardly keep his balance. Forty feet below, a constant stream of Mar scurried past, oblivious to the danger that Atreus might slip and drop the basket on their heads or fall off the board entirely and come crashing down himself.

Atreus was halfway across, on the bounciest part of the board, when heavy boots began to pound down the corridor behind him. He looked up to find Rishi staring across the alley, eyes as wide as coins.

"Perhaps the master could come more quickly," said Rishi.

"I'm coming as fast as I can!" Atreus's gaze dropped back to the plank, and he began to grow dizzy as he contemplated the distance between his feet and the ground. "This isn't as easy as it looks!"

"The master is to be extolled for his remarkable balance," said Rishi. "But Her Radiance's men are proving most persistent."

Atreus took a deep breath, then rushed ahead three quick steps. The plank jumped like a quarterdeck on a stormy sea, and his fourth step found the board coming up when his foot expected it to be going down. He stumbled forward and fell to one knee, slamming the heavy basket down in front of him.

The plank bucked so hard that the end bounced completely off the sill and came down an inch closer to the edge. Atreus squeezed his eyelids shut and did not move, afraid of what would happen if he allowed himself to look a; the alley below.

"Come back here, you ugly devil!" growled an angry voice behind him. "The queen's executioner will be wanting a word with you."

A rasping noise sounded ahead, and Atreus felt the board moving backward. He opened his eyes again and saw the end of the plank slowly scraping toward the edge of the windowsill.

Rishi thrust out his arms. "Give me the basket!"

"So you can run off with it?"

Atreus crawled forward, pushing the basket ahead of him. The board jerked beneath his knees, and the end slipped to within two fingers of the window's edge.

"Have I not earned your trust by now?" Rishi continued to reach for the basket. "I am only trying to help!"

"If you want to help, grab the board!" Atreus commanded.

"But I am only a Mar," Rishi whined. Despite his objection, lie grabbed the plank with both hands. "I am no match for the strength of the Ffolk!"

The board wobbled sideways, and the guard called, "Last chance! Surrender now, or I'll finish you here."

"And kill those people down there?" Atreus glanced at the alley floor, where a small crowd had finally gathered to stare up at the strange confrontation above their heads. "I doubt the queen would approve of that."

"They'll get out of the way." The guard gave the plank a mighty tug.

Rishi pulled back and kept the end from slipping off the window sill, but Atreus's knee dropped off the side. The board tipped sideways, nearly flipped, and Atreus cried out in alarm.

Rishi grunted and braced his feet against the wall, leaning back against the guard's strength. The plank began to wobble and shudder. Atreus sat down and straddled the board, and only then did he hazard a glance over his shoulder at the other end of the plank, two guards stood side-by-side, both holding the board and straining to pull it out of Rishi's hands. There were more men behind them, but quarters were too cramped for additional hands. Atreus's heart began to pound. Even if his foes did not realize it yet, they had only to let go to send Rishi tumbling backward and Atreus plunging to his death.

The guards suddenly scowled and glanced up at the ceiling, then Yago appeared on the tenement roof, standing directly over their heads. When the ogre saw Atreus's predicament, be frowned and kneeled, cocking his fist to punch through the roof.

"Yago, wait!" Atreus yelled

The ogre was already bringing his fist down. A huge hand smashed through ceiling of the tenement and began feeling around. Atreus turned back to Rishi and pushed the basket forward, pulling himself along behind it as fast as he could.

Rishi let out a deep groan and slipped closer to the window. The Mar's knuckles were as pale as ivory. He kept his gaze locked on the treasure basket and did not blink. Atreus scooted another step forward. He was close enough to push the basket through the window, but Rishi was in the way.

A strangled cry sounded from the other end of the plank as Yago finally caught hold of a guard. Atreus shouted a warning to the people below, then shoved the basket into Rishi's startled face.