Death Or Fortune (41 page)

     The
following month after I returned home seemed to be a non-stop fight with things
beyond my control. Of the twenty nine active Arcadian lords I was the only one
who didn't care who replaced Hetaron. Well there was Lord Wendel Marigrove. He
just wanted to be moved from his fife to Hetarons so he could get away from his
troubles.  His land was on the border of both Westheath and Toryth Vol.
 I honestly don't blame him for wanting the move.  Most of the land
under my care is covered with forest and I only have to deal with the lumber
workers. There are a few farms but nothing that requires my constant attention.
 Lord Warren kept insisting I had something to do with the death of
Hetaron but his views were not making him popular.  Some of them still
remembered why I was made a lord.  Some of them were there when we saved
the king.  Yet King Roderick continued to listen to him.  Until the
mess was cleaned up or forgotten, anything I wanted to do would have to wait.
     I started to feel like a prisoner in the city.
 Three times I had people in my home to ask questions about the trip to
Toryth Vol.  Asking just how it was that Hetaron died.  I did the
best I could to keep from losing my mind but you can only answer the same
question so many times.  I was told by Roderick that Warren even sent
people down to question Zender and Lomark. Not that they could find them, from
what I understand when they inquired about the two of them with King Darius
they were run out of the city before they even got inside the castle. They only
questioned Zackary once and he was so drunk at the time they decided he was too
biased in my favor to tell them anything different than I had told them.
 So I spent my time with Jasmin and made the best of things.  After
two months I started looking into buying a second inn.  I had to find
something constructive to do with my time in the city.  As I doubted the
city was going to be attacked by monsters any time soon I was starting to get
restless.  So Charles and I would inspect different locations, see if
current owners would consider selling or retirement.  Charles was also
worried about profit; he did not want to see me waste my money.
     I am glad he never noticed all the gold I used to
commission a new set of armor.  Not until it was too late anyway.  I
needed something better, something that would protect me from stray crossbow
bolts and the like. Between Boris and the wizard I hired; I ended up spending
far more than I should have.  Yet good armor doesn't grow on trees.
 After three months things started to ease up but Warren had issues with
me, I thought about facing him directly but knew that would only end in me
killing the man.  I often wonder if he would still spout off about how he
is so much better than me while I was slowly choking the life from his body.
 Not that I would ever do that unless he attacked me, in front of plenty
of witnesses.  Sometimes when things are at their worst I think about what
would have happened had Hetaron returned to the city with the Rod of the
Arcane.  These pompous fools have no idea how many lives were saved with
his death.  Even after a replacement was named Warren continued his
ranting.  Even though it was a replacement that I had nothing to do with.
 In the meantime I worked to make not only my fife a stronger place, I
worked to improve things in the capital.  It wasn't until much later that
I learned someone else in my little family was doing just the same.
     While I had seen Captain Turk a time or two since I
had been back I never really got a chance to spend time with him.  As he
was my friend and I wanted to talk to him about the Messiah.  I invited
both him and the new captain of the city watch to my home for a dinner.
 Captain Myers seemed like a good man, much better than the one he
replaced.  I told them of my trip to Toryth Vol and how I discovered about
where the Messiah might be hiding.  Both of them had an interest in seeing
something done or at least finding out the truth.  Seeing if he was really
there. The two of them at first launched into a talk about how to approach it,
plans of battle, sending in scouts to find out the size of the forces there.
 When I told them King Roderick shot down my plan to hunt for him they
were disappointed.  Yet they were a bit more understanding than I was.
While the man who killed my friend Arturo was dead and gone, I still held the
Messiah responsible for it.  Turk said he might send a single scout or two
to check the area, off the record but he never told me if he did or not.
     When I asked how things had been in the city while I
was away was when things took an odd turn.  In truth I was looking for
something to do, maybe a head to bash or two.  Turk knew what I was
looking for, he knew the tone of my voice when I asked and he could only laugh
at me. Yet what Captain Myers had to say made me think about someone who was
absent at that very moment.
'Believe it or not, crime across parts of the
city is at an all-time low. Not long after you left on your trip, with the help
of Windfall, we were able to make a major arrest. Breaking up one of the
thieves’ guild that was working the lord’s district. After the war they were so
entrenched here I never thought we would find them. The Lords district was
spared a lot of damage during the riots, it gave them plenty of places to hide.
With Windfall's help we were able to find out where they were hiding. Not only
did we arrest two dozen men, we were able to take down three or four contacts
outside of the lord’s district. Now after that I expected it to be quiet for a
little while, I never expected this. We still have the normal problems that
needs the attention of the city watch yet something in this part of town has
the smart ones running scared.
' I almost laughed but seeing the look on
Turks face kept me from doing so.

 
    
'He has a blasted vigilante running in the streets and we can't catch him.'
Turk said. I looked at the two of them thinking they were trying to play a joke
on me. I waited for them to start laughing at me, yet it never came.
'They
call him a demon. Big silver claws, inhuman face, it will chase down a thief
after they pull a job, tie them up and leave them in the streets. Now while I
think this creature is doing a good thing, they don't always leave everything
behind. Sometimes they will take something small, a bag of coins, gems. When
the people who got robbed claim their things from us they would complain of something
missing. If it was just one or two people I wouldn't think about it. Yet every
time we find someone tied up like that, there is something missing from what
they stole. Just about once a week we will find someone tied up in an alley.
They all tell us the same thing. He comes out of nowhere, attacks them and ties
them up. It never talks to them but it has this high pitched laugh, almost
childlike.'
I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
 I asked them what they were planning on doing about it.

 
    
'Well, Turk doesn't like the idea of this thing running all over the Lords
district. He thinks someone is going to get hurt. It hasn't killed anyone yet
that I know of but it is keeping us busy. If it would return the stolen items...'
Turk slammed his fist down on the table.
'It isn't a creature, it is man.
The fact that it is a shark that only eats other sharks but that doesn't make
any difference. He needs to be stopped and put in jail where he belongs. There
is a halfling bounty hunter in North Hembers right now. She is good, very good.
I've sent word for her to come this way.'
I called for Charles to bring us
a bottle of the good wine from the cellar.  For the most part I don't care
for wine but I did not want this talk to continue.  We each had a glass of
wine before they left for the night.  I reminded Turk one last time that
we needed to speak with the king together about the Messiah.  Once they
were both gone I went upstairs to check on my wife.  While she had dinner
with us she did not stick around for the 'man' talk as she called it.
 Finding her asleep I went down the hall to Pare's room.  The door
was locked but I had the key.  I almost felt guilty having to use it.
 When I found his room empty with the window wide open I knew for sure.
 I pulled out a chair and waited for the demon to return.

    
I sat in Pare's room waiting.  The minutes turned to hours and I started
to wonder how long he was going to be out.  I closed my eyes for only a
moment but the moment seemed to last forever. I was tired to begin with and the
wine I had during dinner wasn't helping matters. The air was starting to get
cool, winter was coming.  I was just enjoying the feel of the cool air on
my skin when I fell asleep sitting in that chair.  While these dreams are
now long past me, for the first six months or so I was home I would see them
every night.  The faces of the undead, the screams of the creatures in the
holding cells under The White Spire, the undead giant whose blood nearly blinded
me.  I don’t know why that all bothered me so but I am just glad it has
passed. Yet sometimes I see something worse, something that still makes me cry
when I wake up in the middle of the night.  I just hope this too will pass
with time.  I felt something crash into my foot and it jolted me awake.
There was a small climbing hook sliding across the floor, I watched as it
settled on the marble window ledge.
     I could hear the small grunts he was making as he
climbed up the side of my house.  I just sat in the chair and waited.
 As he tumbled in the window he was quick on his feet.  I had not
seen him in action in a while and I had forgotten just how nimble he was.
 Yet at times he was oblivious to what was going on around him, like when
he thought he was in a safe place.  I watched as he wound up the rope he
used to get back in the house, I waited until he closed the window to say
anything at all.  I just asked him what he was doing.  I never
expected him to draw his blades.  He turned around and looked at me with
two daggers in his hand.  He looked at me for a moment and tilted his head
to the side like a dog listening to a strange sound.
'Ummm hiya Darmot. What
ya doing in my room?
' I told him I had a nice little chat with Captain Turk
and Captain Myers from the watch. Pare put his weapons away as I talked. When I
told him they were going to bring in a bounty hunter to deal with him he ripped
the mask off his face and jumped onto his bed.
'But I am helping!'
he
said in a barely audible voice.
'I catch people who steal and leave them for
the watch. What is wrong with that?'

     I then
asked him if he returned everything the thieves had stolen.
'I think so,
sometimes I find little things, I didn't think anyone would notice really.
'
I told him that they did notice and that if he was taking stolen goods he was
no better than the folks he was catching.  I then asked him where he got
the idea to do the things he had been doing.
'Well it was like this. I was
working with Windfall to help protect Jasmin, he gave me this awesome armor and
mask. People don't know who I am when I wear it. Windfall asked if I wanted to
keep working with him but I didn't want to leave Jasmin here alone until you
got back. I figured I can catch thieves here. Arcadia is a pretty big city, there
are not that many guys on the watch. They call me a demon, they are scared of
me. It is pretty funny really, I pop up and they all start screaming and
running. They don't know who I am, you should go with me one night, it’s fun!'
I then told him that he needed to return everything he had taken from the
thieves he captured.  I then told him that if it was up to Turk, he would
end up in jail right along side of the guys he had caught.  I thought he
was going to pass out as his face turned a pure white color.

      '
Everything
?'
he asked me in that low voice.  I didn't say anything, I just looked at
him, watched as everything I said sank in.
'I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I
was just having a little fun.'
When I asked him if he still had all the
stuff he found while he was out he just nodded at me.  I told him, this is
about doing the right thing.  That it doesn't matter if he caught a thief
if he was walking away with the things that were stolen.
'It wasn't anything
big, just little things. Things that shouldn't have been left behind. I just
wanted to keep the stuff safe, I promise!'
I thought for a small moment
that he was going to start to cry.  I felt bad for my friend, I really
did.  He believed in his heart of hearts that he was doing the right
thing.  At times Pare didn't think and the fact that he was walking away
with other folks stuff just didn't dawn on him until I pointed it out to him.
'So
what are you going to do with me? What are you going to tell Turk?'
I told
him to get in bed and that I would think about it.  I also told him to
stay in bed and to have all the stuff he took packed up before breakfast.
 I could hear him let out a small groan as I closed his bedroom door
behind me.

      That
was honestly one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  The
following morning Pare came down stairs with a sack almost as big as he was.
 I almost bit my fork in half when I saw him drop it on the floor.
 He looked like hell and I don't think he slept at all the night before.
We didn't talk at all during breakfast, Jasmin sat at the table looking at the
two of us.  I wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry.  I had told
her about what had being going on, while she never admitted it, I think she
knew what Pare was doing at night.  I never asked her, she never told me.
I will just be happy to live with that. Charles on the other hand knew
everything, we had a nice long talk about it.  He was under belief that
the less time Pare spent in the house, the better.
'My lord, he is rather
busy. I did not see the harm in what he was doing.'
I told him that it
could have harmed me if he had been caught.
'I understand that My Lord, yet
only in the short term. In the long term we would be rid of the little trouble
maker.'
I sat back for a minute and looked at him. I then informed Charles
that next time he knew of something like this going on, he was to tell me right
away.  I then told him that if he failed to do so he would start spending
the winter months out at his little cabin near the lumber camps.

      So
with Pare's bag of loot in slung over my back, we set off for the office of
Captain Turk.  He was the one who had a problem with what Pare had been
doing so I wanted to make sure he understood this was over.  If we dumped
a big bag of stolen goods on his desk to return to their owners, he might not
have Pare tossed in jail.  Yet some time between the time we left the
house and arrived at Turks office, I had a small change of heart.  While
he was just a halfling, Pare was still a hero of the Arcadian civil war.
 While most folks had forgotten it, I never would and he was still my best
friend.  Just before we arrived at Turks office I told him to keep his
mouth shut and to let me do the talking.  I honestly believe if I had let
Turk talk to him, Pare would have broken down and cried the whole time.
 Once we were in his office he just looked at me then back to Pare. He
said nothing, he just stared at me for what seemed to be the longest time.
 I told him that Pare and I had decided to do something about his demon
trouble.  We were able to capture it and follow it back to his hiding
spot.  It was there that we found the bag of items, just sitting there.
 Turk, still silent, continued to stare at me.  I then told him how
we explained that he was no longer needed in Arcadia and that it was time for
him to move on.

 
    
'Is everything in the bag
?' he asked in a dull flat tone.  He didn't
believe a word I had told him.  That is when I told Pare to head home.
 I didn't want him to hear anything that would upset his fragile state of
mind.  That and I wanted to give him a head start in case Turk was going
to have him arrested.  I pulled Pare's demon mask out of one of my belt
pouches and told Turk that it would never happen again.
'What in the nine
hells was he thinking?'
he asked me.  I told him it was my fault for
leaving him home alone with nothing to do.  He really was just trying to
help.
'Well, if you can keep him from running wild in the streets I will
leave him to you. It looked like you had been pretty hard on him already. If
everything he took is in here, I won't bother you about it again. You are my
friend Darmot, so I will give you this one. Don't make this mistake again, Lord
Kromwell. It wouldn't be good for you.'
I told him I more than understood
what he was saying and that it would never happen again.  One night a
little over a year and a half later Turk was in my home standing in front of my
desk.  It made me feel a bit uneasy, like I was sitting in his chair.
 He dropped Pare's mask on my desk and said only one thing to me.
'Make
sure he returns everything and the watch in the Lords district will over look a
masked halfling leaving them presents.'
Yet by that time Pare had moved on
to other things.  Something else Turk had done had caught up with
Pare.  Between being a good uncle and friend Pare no longer had time to
think about the criminals in Arcadia, his heart just wasn’t in it.

      It
had been a little over seven months since the time I returned from Toryth Vol.
 I had been cleared of any wrong doing in the death of Lord Hetaron.
 From what Roderick told me, it had a lot to do with Lord Anderson Floyd.
 I don't know if he spoke up for me because he believed it or if he was
just trying to get at Lord Warren.  While I can't call Lord Floyd a friend,
he is an ally and if ever he needs me I will stand up for him.  He is over
sixty years old, if someone has to battle for his honor, I will be glad to do
it.  He can't pick up his own sword any longer but he was more than happy
to take the ring of regeneration I gave him.  He still keeps up the sick
old man act in public but I have seen him in private, I know better now.
 Seven months, just being Lord Kromwell.  I had my hands full with
the people in my fife and keeping a handle on both my inns. The Red Dragon Inn
and the newly opened Star Sword Inn.  I named it as such for the sword I
bought from Boris Sparkcatcher.  I did not think The Nameless Inn would
have done as well. Seven months since I had returned, it was almost to the day
when the Silver Dragon was seen flying over the city. The Silver Dragon that
landed on the front steps of the temple of Solarth. When the Dragon flew away
it had left behind a man who was battered and bloody, in the uniform of an
Arcadian Royal Guard.