The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 02 - The Gathering (21 page)

Jack put up
his hands in a vain attempt to placate her and said, “I didn’t think it
mattered.”

She growled,
but Taryn interrupted their exchange. “What’s the Ocleon?”

Siarra whirled
on him. “It's the most precious thing to the entire orc and gnome nation. It's
a large sapphire that supposedly their grand shaman uses to communicate with
their god. The dwarf king told me about it when I said we would be coming this
way—and told me that ever since that stone has been taken the entire nation has
been on the warpath.”

“So how does
that impact us?” Taryn said, confused, “besides making it more difficult to get
in.”

Siarra’s eyes
flashed in a mixture of anger and excitement. “We can
use
it to get the
king to join the gathering.”

Jack jumped in
with a shake of his head, “Hey, I stole it fair . . .”

Siarra’s look
at him could have struck down a giant, but only made the thief wilt a little.
“Where is it?” she demanded and a slight current of energy blossomed up her
arms.

Jack threw up
his hands and grumbled, “It’s in the city. I had to stash it when they were
about to capture me. They tried to execute me, you know, and it wasn’t easy to escape.”

Siarra’s expression
turned calculating and she said, “OK, let's go. Jack and Taryn will retrieve
the Ocleon and meet Liri and me at the palace. Trin and Mae can stay out here
in case something goes awry and we need a rescue.”

Taryn tapped
Jack on the shoulder as Siarra fell back to explain to Trin and Mae. “Don’t
worry about it, Jack,” he said, his voice full of sympathy. “We all know she is
impossible to say no to.”

Jack sighed,
his gaze lingering on her back. “She’s like a tornado, impossible not to be
fascinated with . . . but deadly if she comes after you.”

Taryn turned
his laugh into a cough as he saw his sister returning and said, “Besides, you
can always steal it again after this is over.”

Jack smothered
a laugh and brightened considerably, so when Siarra arrived and motioned for
them to move, he didn’t argue.

During their
conversation the patrol had moved on, so Jack sprinted down the slope in the
fading light of day. Reaching the wall, he scaled it to the point he’d
indicated and lifted the branch. A small portal swung inward and the thief disappeared
from view. Taryn checked the perimeter once more before following and moments
later he was inside the city.

As one by one
the rest of their party slipped in behind them, Taryn took the opportunity to
look around. Peering out from an overhang created by the walkway on top of the
wall, Taryn saw the city lit by countless torches. Ramshackle buildings,
scattered in every direction, seemed even more unstable this close. Although
some of the structures appeared to be made of wood or rough stone, most seemed
to be constructed with a sort of fragile brick. The lack of order was almost
overwhelming, but it wasn’t the worst part.

The smells and
sounds of the city’s occupants leaked up from every direction. Wrinkling his
nose against the motley collection of odors, he felt the urge to cover his ears
with his hands. Drunken yells and quick bursts of scrambled fighting pierced
the night as raucous laughter sounded to his left.

“It takes some
getting used to,” Jack said from beside him, and he turned to see Jack's grin
in the darkness. “Before I took the Ocleon, they used to allow outsiders into
the city.”

“So it’s
always like this?” Liri asked, closing the hidden door behind her with a soft
click.

Jack chuckled
dryly, “Except when they go to war. Then it's worse.”

“Which one is
the palace?” Siarra asked.

Jack squinted
in the darkness and pointed north. “I can’t see it from here but you can’t miss
it. It sits on the outer wall a mile north of here and is the sole structure in
the city that you would consider tall.”

 “How long
will it take you to get the Ocleon and meet us there?”

Jack smirked.
“We’ll probably beat you there.”

Ignoring
Jack’s expression, Siarra asked, “Should we follow rooftops or streets then?”

“Rooftops
where possible, streets if necessary. Try to avoid taverns, too,” Jack replied,
one eyebrow rising as he looked at her critically. “Perhaps you should try to
avoid anything. We’ll meet you there in about thirty minutes unless we run into
trouble.” Without another word he slipped from the shadows and dropped onto a
lower roof. Taryn met Liri's reassuring gaze as he dropped from sight, glad the
darkness hid his flush.

Is it
possible?

As Taryn leapt
from building to building and shadow to shadow, he began to realize what made
Jack such a good thief. For a human, he moved much more like an elf
. Or a
panther
, he thought with a smile. Following him through Ryazan required
much more speed and agility than Taryn would have thought, and it felt like
trying to catch the wind itself.

Taryn jumped from
a roof to an adjacent building, but dodged behind a twisted chimney when he
heard a bark of warning from below. Holding his breath, he waited until he
heard an answering growl and then an ensuing scuffle. A sigh of relief escaped
his lips and he slipped out of the patch of shadow. Easing to the edge, he
dropped to the ground where Jack had disappeared. Landing in a crouch in the
darkened alley he moved to the side where he saw the dim outline of Jack’s
body.

“How close are
we?” Taryn whispered.

“It’s here,”
Jack replied in the same tone. “I think it is anyway. Some of the buildings are
different, so I can't be sure.”

“
Great
,”
Taryn hissed, already wondering what to do if they couldn’t find it, but he
felt a nudge from Jack’s elbow.

“Relax, we’ll
find it,” Jack said and moved down the alley to the street.

Taryn frowned,
but followed him to the end where it opened onto a large square with a building
in the middle. Stopping just shy of the light, he looked out of the alley to
see four groups of orcs in view, huddled together as they gambled. A pair of
gnomes also stood at the front of the structure, with their short spears
leaning against the wooden doors as they talked.

“That building
is one of their places where they worship their god. When I took the stone, the
whole city flew into a frenzy and everyone flooded towards their temple next to
the palace. I ran by here and ducked inside when a patrol passed. It should be strapped
to a rafter inside.”

“So what do we
do about them?” Taryn tilted his head towards the score of orcs.

Jack thought
for a minute and then shrugged, “I say we pull a sneaky fox.”

Taryn’s
eyebrows pulled together. “What’s a sneaky fox?”

“You know the
old saying 'the wolf is in the hen house'?” Jack asked, and when Taryn nodded
he said, “While the wolf brings the farmer to the hen house, the fox takes the
turkey off the table.”

Taryn chuckled
to himself. “I would ask who is the fox and who is the wolf, but we both know
the answer to that question.” Jack spread his arms out wide, causing Taryn to
grin and add, “Should I knock them out or lead them away?”

“Knock them
out fast if you can. If it takes you more than a minute, lead them away or the
commotion will draw others here. If we get separated, meet me at the palace.”

Taryn accepted
the instructions with a nod. “Give me a minute.” Looking back at the courtyard
he planned his route and then wrapped his cloak around him before stepping out
of the darkness. Strolling towards the closest group, he waited until he stood
right behind them before striking.

In a blur of
action he brought the knife edge of his hands into the thick necks of two of
them. Even as they began to collapse he jumped towards the third and spun to
stand behind him. Wrapping one arm under the orc’s head, he placed the other
behind his bull neck, cutting off his air supply—and his cry of rage. Struggling
to breathe, the orc tore at his arms in a vain attempt to break his iron grip.
After a moment the orc lost consciousness and he lowered him to the ground. A
quick check revealed that no one had noticed the brief interchange, and he
hurried to position their forms. When he was finished, it looked like three
orcs playing dice, albeit with more leaning.

Moving to the
next group he stole up behind two of them and bashed their heads together with
a soft thud. The other two, clearly drunk, reached for their weapons but seemed
unable to find them. Before they got the chance, Taryn kicked one in the
stomach and spun to elbow the other in the head. Catching them as they fell, he
knocked out the one he’d hit in the stomach and moved to place them into a circle.

Once again
he’d gotten lucky, and no one seemed to have noticed. Dodging to the back of
the building and its long shadow, he worked his way around until the last two
groups came into view. The largest group had seven orcs dressed as soldiers and
looked to be gambling, while the other had two orcs nursing a bottle.

Shadow jumping,
Taryn approached the smaller group. Just as he came within striking distance,
one of them looked in his direction, peering into his cloak as he tried to
identify him. In a flash Taryn closed the distance and grabbed both of them by
the throat. Slamming them back into a wall and out of sight, he lifted them off
the ground by their throats. With eyes bulging, they fought to breathe as Taryn
choked them until they passed out. As soon as he released his grip, they
slumped to the ground and began to breathe again.

Peering out of
his hide, he looked at the last group until he figured out an effective
approach. A glint of moonlight flashed off something on the ground. Curious, he
crouched to pick up one of the bottles that the two orcs had been drinking
from. Remembering how pretending to be drunk had worked at Keese, he stepped
out of the darkness and stumbled his way towards the soldiers. Tripping over a
stone he bumbled into the center of their game, scattering the dice. Rising to
their feet, all the orcs cried out in anger and one of them tried to kick his
tumbling form.

He saw the
large foot swinging towards him and rolled out of the way at the last second,
causing the orc to lose his footing and collapse onto his knee. Some of the
group started to laugh, while one of the other ones reached down and yanked
Taryn to his feet. Pushing off the ground as he was pulled, he amplified the
momentum and flew back into the orc, knocking him sprawling. Forgetting their
anger, the remaining five burst into laughter and jeered at the two that had
fallen.

Taking
advantage of the moment, Taryn swayed into the orc by his side and head butted
him as he pretended to fall. The laughter increased as a third member of their
party fell to the ground. Dropping the ruse, Taryn grabbed the next one in line
and tossed him into the other three. All four tumbled to the dirt with Taryn close
behind. On his way he knocked out the orc on his knees with a quick elbow to
the head. Before the others could rise he threw sharp punches into each of them
and stood to check that everyone had been incapacitated.

A slight
movement and a groan from the side brought him to the orc he'd knocked backward.
From the lump, Taryn saw that the orcs head had rocked into the hammer on his
back. As Taryn walked past he struck the back of his neck and he collapsed.

A familiar
chuckle came from nearby and he looked up to see Jack walking towards him with
a small package in his hand. Behind him, two unconscious gnomes slumped against
the wall, giving the only sign that he had been there.

“You make an
excellent wolf, Taryn,” Jack said and Taryn grinned.

“And you make
an excellent fox, Jack,” Taryn replied.

Jack smirked
and began moving towards the palace. “Let’s go before they wake up. Orcs can be
so cranky when they get out of bed.”

Stifling a
laugh, Taryn turned to follow the thief as he began working his way towards the
palace. They had a king to convince.

Chapter
17: Ryazan

Taryn and Jack
reached the palace after finding the Ocleon and found a hiding spot on a roof
across the street. Crouching in the darkness behind a double chimney, they
waited for the rest of their group to find them a few minutes later. A flash of
moonlight on fair skin gave them away and Taryn stood so they could spot him.
Siarra and Liri jumped between the two buildings and knelt in the shadows with
them.

“Took you long
enough,” Jack said at the same time as Taryn spoke.

“You girls OK?”

Siarra replied
first to Jack’s comment. “We ran into a brawl and had to bypass it,” she said,
her voice full of acid.

Liri's eyes
sparkled when she looked at Taryn. “We’re fine, thanks for asking.”

Jack nudged
Taryn and gave him a loaded look, reminding him of their conversation about
Liri. He turned away as heat flooded his face. Before he could think about it
further, Siarra pointed across the street at the palace.

“That’s where
the king lives?” she asked, her tone dubious.

Taryn
understood what she meant. The king’s home barely topped the outer wall and had
five levels of windows in it. Built of brick overlayed with broken plaster, the
palace looked in almost as much disrepair as the city, and it tilted to the
left on the upper levels. Where four grand columns had been attempted in the
front, only two remained, while the other two appeared to have fallen down at
some point and been carted off. Despite its appearance, it still looked
beautiful compared to the rest of Ryazan.

“Where is the
king’s quarters?” Liri asked Jack, but he shook his head.

“I’ve only
been in the place once. After they tried to execute me in the courtyard in
front of those steps, I escaped into the palace to avoid the mob out front. I
saw a bit of the first three floors until I went through a window on the south
side.”