Dave Smeds: The Schemes of Dragons

The decor was wooden-extremely so. Except for a small carpet near the bed and the straw tick mattress, everything was hard and uninviting. A large cask of ale stood in one corner, and every wall contained shelves or racks of steins, bowls, and other utensils. Keron lifted the carpet and inspected the planks of the floor to be certain they were immobile.

A boy brought a slab of cold meat, vegetables, and a loaf of bread. The bread was stale, and the vegetables had simmered to the point of formlessness, but it hardly mattered. As soon as he was sure that the boy would not return, Keron disposed of the entire meal on the compost pile, leaving only enough scraps to make it seem as if he had eaten it. Then he drew a stein of ale and sipped tiny amounts to pass the time.

Presently the noise of the drinking room stilled. Not long after, an obese man wearing an evening suit embroidered with silver walked in, alone, and closed the door behind him. Their gazes met, the straightforward glances of men who have learned to lie.

"Good evening, Master Luo," Keron said.

"I've been expecting you, Captain."

"I'll wager you have."

"It was a fine trick, capturing the Dragon's frigate like that." He drew himself an ale and sat down across from his guest.

"One gets inspired when one's own ship is sinking out from beneath one's feet."

"Indeed."

Keron leaned forward. "I don't like losing my ship, Luo."

"Is that an accusation?"

"Let's just say I'm suspicious that it happened so soon after we had last done business."

Luo cleared his throat. "I am the biggest silk producer in this province, and you Elandri royalists are my best customers. What motive would I have to betray you to the Dragon?"

"I haven't solved that one yet. Yet there was a betrayal."

"If you think I'm the one responsible, why are you here?"

"My people need silk. The last shipment is blanketing crabs and octopi off the reef." Keron stroked his close-cropped beard. "That's a problem. I can't let the smuggling be hamstrung, but I can't proceed blindly, either. We both know it was unlikely that the Worm's ship was there by coincidence. Either you or your men gave me away, or one of my own men has turned traitor."

Luo folded his hands firmly around his stein. "Agreed," he said presently. "But may I point out that I didn't know the drop point until that very night?"

"I've taken that into account."

"And what have you decided?"

Keron shrugged. "I've decided to buy some silk."

Luo sipped his ale, feigning disinterest. He cleared his throat. "I'm not sure I dare, Captain. If your security has been breached, my own is endangered."

Keron frowned. "How much to soothe your fears?"

Luo shrugged. "Sixty-six droels per bolt."

"That's expensive insurance."

"The Dragon's blockade is becoming tighter all the time. I would have had to ask for an increase soon anyway."

"Sixty-four droels."

"Captain…"

Keron drew out a small pouch and poured several large pearls out on the table. Luo picked one up and examined it, a hungry look in his stare.

"Currency is a problem. These will have to do. I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the quality."

"These are amath, aren't they?" Luo said reverently.

"Yes."

"Sixty-four, then." With the blockade in force, amath pearls were hard to come by in Cilendrodel. The exchange rate improved almost weekly against oyster pearls and gold. Odds were Luo could realize a substantial gain simply by holding them for a short time. "But two more for the violet."

"Eh?"

"You know we make violet dyes from wendruil root. We import that from the Syril Mountains. Either we pay the Dragon his new tariff or pay more for overland shipment."

"Very well. Can you have it ready by the fourth of Three Moons?"

Luo calculated absently with his fingertips. "Yes. The green and blue are still being dyed, but the timing should be no problem. I'll have the wagons ready."

"Done."

Luo rose, as if well aware of the intimidation value of the movement of so much weight, and set his stein back on its perch. He clutched the pouch of jewels tightly in his palm. "I am sad that it came to this, Captain. Perhaps, if the Dragon allows it, we won't have such… strained times… in the future." He glanced toward the rear of the room. "You'll be leaving immediately, I trust."

"Yes. It's best."

"True. Good night, sir. Pleasant journey." Luo reached for the door back into the tavern.

"A moment," Keron called.

"Hmmm?"

"The password is faernak."

Luo grunted. "Ah. Of course. May the rythni keep you well."

"Good night," Keron said.

As Keron listened to Luo's footsteps recede, the uneasiness that had possessed him ever since arriving at the tavern intensified. Luo was not a forgetful person. But the conversation had revealed nothing untoward. Keron stepped over to the outer door and whistled as he had before.

Two long heartbeats later, a double whistle came from just on the other side of the wall.

The signal was correct. Keron lifted the bar off its cradles and began to open the door. Only then did he remember that his men were supposed to remain in the forest, not next to the building.

Too late.

The door slammed inward, knocking him to the floor before he could let go of the bar. Three men surged inside. A heavy blue glint reflected off the steel in their hands.

Keron kicked, catching the first man in the groin, sending him crashing into the ceiling. A rafter cracked open the man's skull. The body, however, landed on Keron, thwarting his attempt to rise. The other two assassins closed in.

Keron felt the knives pierce him. One peeled loose a section of his scalp. Another slid along his ribs. He took a stab in the thigh. Only the interference of the corpse prevented a fatal blow.

By then, Keron had a grip on the ankle of one of his attackers. He yanked, pulling the man's knee out of its socket. The man screamed and fell to the side. The effort had left Keron exposed. It cost him a knife in the back, close to the heart. He nearly fainted from the pain. He struck blindly. His elbow connected with something that caved in like a melon.

After that, neither of the assassins lasted very long.

Keron collapsed against a wall. He could sense the blood spurting from the wound in his back. He tried to control his breathing, staving off the shock that would doom him. A few seconds. If he could just last long enough…

He felt the sorcery kiss him, soothing and strong. It worked quickly. The river in his back was stemmed. His tissues begin to knit.

As suddenly as it had come, it left. The magic, as he had feared, had its limit. His distant doctor had done what he could. He had a reprieve, but only the most severe damage had been dealt with. He might still die. The pain was still intense. For a time, he could only shake. He would have made a passive victim for a fourth assassin.

He looked at the lithe, dark-cloaked figures of the men he had killed. He recognized the insignia on their vests. The Claw. Worm's men.

They were good. The Dragon's best. They had almost been good enough.

Stumbling outside, he searched through the underbrush. Soon he saw the crumpled bodies.

Both had been stabbed from behind. Faces of men that he had shared the decks with on long sea voyages stared up empty, slack-jawed and puffy in death. But he had expected no better from the moment he had been attacked.

"Good wind and clear sky," he murmured, and closed their eyes.

The brawling of oeikani disrupted his mourning. The noise came from the stables next to the tavern. Spurred with a final reserve of energy, he limped around the perimeter of the building, arriving at the stable doors just as they swung open.

Luo whipped his animal when he saw Keron, but the Elandri stepped aside, grasped an antler in his good hand, and yanked downward. The oeikani squealed and plunged into the dirt, flipping its rider to a landing so heavy as to dent the roadway. Luo emitted the sick wheeze of someone who has lost all the air his lungs have ever possessed.