The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (45 page)

“I’m sure they are alright,” Jiron replies.
“They won’t get worried unless they see things blow up.” James nods
his head and gives him a grin.

“Let’s at least stay here until Kir finishes
for the night,” James says. “Then we can go.”

Sighing, Jiron says, “Very well. But I hope
this isn’t a complete waste of time.”

James looks to Kir, a.k.a. Perrilin, there
on the stage and replies, “I don’t think it will be.”

At one point when Perrilin takes one of his
breaks, James gets up and says, “I need to use the bathroom.” He
then moves toward the back door while at the same time working to
intercept Perrilin on his way to the kitchen.

“Why does he want a bath?” he hears Reilin
asks Jiron.

Then he hears Jiron chuckle. “He doesn’t,”
he explains. “You’ll soon find that he uses many expressions that
say one thing and mean something entirely different. This one means
he has to…” The rest of what Jiron says to Reilin is lost in the
buzz of the common room as he moves closer to Perrilin.

Perrilin notices him moving toward him and
as their paths cross, he gives him a slight shake of the head and
mumbles, “Afterward, outside.” Without even pausing he continues to
the back and passes through the door into the kitchen.

Likewise, James continues on to his supposed
destination and leaves the common room. He then makes his way to
the outhouse out back. Nasty things outhouses, this is one of the
things about this world he will never get used to. Back home, the
odd time when he had to use similar facilities, such as when he was
camping, had been a novelty. Now it’s just plain disgusting.

When he finally returns to the common room,
Perrilin has yet to make his appearance again. As he takes his
seat, Jiron leans forward and indicates two fellows sitting off to
one side. “Do they look familiar to you?” he asks.

Looking to where he’s pointing, he sees the
two men in question. “Yes, they do,” he replies. They are the two
slavers Reilin had talked with just before they left the slaver’s
compound. They take notice of the fact that they are being watched
and their expressions turn dark.

“Hope they try something,” Jiron says.

“Here?” Reilin asks. “I doubt it.”

“Why would they?” asks James. “They may hate
us and would like nothing better to make us slaves, but even men
such as them are constrained by society’s laws.”

“I have found that some men don’t care a
whole lot about ‘society’s laws’,” Jiron states.

“So have I,” agrees Reilin.

Just then, Perrilin makes his appearance
from the kitchen and works his way through to the stage. When he
reaches the stage, he picks up his instrument and gazes at the
audience. He calls for any requests and the crowd shouts back the
names of their favorite pieces.

Settling on one, he takes his seat and
begins a long love ballad filled with tragedy, death, but
ultimately ends in happiness. When he’s done, he calls for another
request and continues to play requests for another hour or so.
Despite the lateness of the hour, the common room remains full.
None apparently wish to miss out on even one song that Kir might
play.

Then there comes a time when he begins
strumming his instrument and announces that this will be his last
song of the evening. Several people shout out protests, more an
imploring for him to continue than anything else. But he shakes his
head and says that this must be his last song. Then he launches
into a lively one that the crowd must know well for many begin
thumping the table. At the chorus, some of the crowd joins in and
before the song comes to an end, the whole common room is singing
the chorus.

At the end of the song, the common room
erupts into a wild display as people rise and give him a thunderous
applause. Coins fly to the stage, hardly any landing in the
vicinity of the bowl, and Perrilin bows to them twice.

As he begins to pick up the coins, the
patrons start to leave. Most make it a point to come to him and
exchange words or pat him on the back. It’s clear that he is a
favorite around here and that for many, this isn’t the first time
they’ve been here to hear him play.

“Can we go now?” asks Jiron. “Whoever your
Mr. Mysterious is, he isn’t going to show.”

Standing up, James nods his head. Then with
a final look over to where Perrilin is collecting the coins people
threw, he follows Jiron outside. The mood of those who had
experienced Perrilin’s performance can only be called exhilarated.
Outside, they hear many animated conversations between those who
have seen him before and others who had not. It doesn’t take Reilin
to explain to the other two what’s being said for them to get the
gist of it.

Several coaches are already leaving, only a
couple others still awaiting their passengers. One coach is
especially fine with gold worked in intricate detail. That coach
has a compliment of half a dozen guards besides the two men on the
driver’s seat.

“Come on,” says Jiron. “Let’s get back to
the others before they begin worrying, if they aren’t already.”
Striding down the street, it doesn’t take him long before he
realizes James is beginning to fall behind him and Reilin. Slowing
down, he sees him casting frequent glances back to the tavern.
Finally, he comes to a stop when the tavern is just within
sight.

“Let’s stop here a moment,” he tells the
others. Then he has them move to the side of the street and stand
in the lee of a building where the shadows are the thickest.

“Why?” Jiron asks.

Motioning for the other two to come close,
he keeps a constant eye on the front door of the Wallowing Swine as
he explains. “The person who wrote the note was in the tavern,” he
tells them.

“Who?” asks Reilin.

“I didn’t see anyone,” says Jiron.

In a very quiet voice, so quiet the other
two can barely hear him, he whispers, “It was Kir.”

“The bard?” asks Reilin.

“Yes,” nods James.

“How do you know?” Jiron asks.

“I just do,” he replies. “He wants us to
meet him here in the street.”

“Someday you’ll have to tell me how you
found all this out,” Jiron says.

“Shhh!” James tells them for he just saw
Perrilin come out of the front door of the tavern. He points over
to where a group of people are standing just outside the front door
talking to him. The manner in which they are speaking to him leads
them to believe they are congratulating him on a superb
performance. They watch as he shakes the hands of several of the
men then turns and begins walking down the street in their
direction. The people with whom he had been talking give him a
final farewell then move off in the opposite direction.

As he approaches, Jiron begins to move out
in the street when James grabs him and whispers, “Not yet.” He
waits until Perrilin is close then begins to softly whistle Home on
the Range.

Perrilin must have heard him for he alters
his course slightly and moves more directly to where they are. When
he gets close, he gives a quick glance up and down the street then
moves into the shadows where they are waiting. James begins to
speak but Perrilin cuts him off with a shake of his head and
signals for them to be quiet by putting his finger against his
lips.

They hold still a moment, unsure what is
going on. Then a motion down the street draws their attention and
they see two men working their way from the direction of the
Wallowing Swine. From the way Perrilin is watching them, James can
tell there’s something going on here of which he is ignorant.

As the two men walk down the street, they
casually look this way and that. All the while they continue to
maintain a steady pace. When they finally move past the spot where
they’re hiding and disappear down the road, Perrilin says, “They’ve
been keeping an eye on me lately.”

“Does this have anything to do with Korgan?”
asks James.

Eyes widening at the name, Perrilin asks in
return, “What makes you say that?”

“Just the fact that ever since I rescued you
from him in Cardri,” he explains, “he’s had it out for me.”

Perrilin looks to him and the other two and
nods, “In a way.”

Jiron moves closer and asks, “Why did you
have us meet you?”

Perrilin glances to him and recognizes him
from the time before. “Jiron right?” he says.

“Yes,” he replies, surprised at how this man
knows him.

James sees the confusion on his face and
clarifies it for him. “This is Perrilin.”

“Perrilin?” he asks, still not sure if he
should believe him. “You don’t look anything like the Perrilin I
know.”

“That’s the whole idea,” he says. “This
isn’t a good place to talk.” Glancing up and down the street again,
he says, “Follow me and then we can discuss a few things.”

Jiron looks at Perrilin, still not convinced
but trusts in James’ judgment. When Perrilin steps out into the
street, he follows along with James and Reilin right beside him.
Perrilin quickly leads them further down the street away from the
Wallowing Swine and turns left at the next crossroads.

Down this way the number of lit street
lights gradually diminishes until all they have is moonlight
overhead. They continue to follow him for several more minutes when
he all of a sudden moves off the street and toward the doorway of
the building on his right. Going up to the door, he knocks twice
hard then one time softly.

From the other side, the sound of a bolt
sliding open can be heard. Then the door opens a crack and a man
peers through the opening. “Kir!” he exclaims throwing the door
open wide.

“I may have been followed,” he says and the
man nods. Then as soon as they are inside the small room, the man
closes the door and bolts it. Perrilin tells the man, “Have your
people take a look around out there just to be sure.”

“Don’t worry,” he says as he eyes James,
Jiron and Reilin suspiciously, “it’ll be done.”

“These are friends,” Perrilin tells him.

The man gives them a quick nod then moves
into the next room.

“Who is that?” Jiron asks. “And who is
following you?”

“Not here,” he says and then motions for
them to follow. He leads them through the door that the other man
had passed through and into the room on the other side. A woman and
two children sit on a bed pushed against one wall and eye them as
they pass through. Neither they nor Perrilin say anything. From a
table near the bed, Perrilin picks up one of the candles burning
there and takes it with him.

Once they’ve passed through into the
hallway, he leads them down to a doorway on the left. Opening it
up, he indicates for them to precede him inside. The doorway is
twice as thick as the average door and made of solid wood. As James
and the others move inside and Perrilin shuts the door, he notices
that all noise from outside of the room is gone.

“Quiet room?” he asks.

Perrilin nods as he takes a seat at one of
the chairs sitting around a lone table. The others take seats as
well. “We found that such a room comes in handy when you wish not
to be overheard,” he explains.

“Is it magical?” asks Reilin.

Shaking his head, Perrilin says, “No. Just
built very thickly.”

“Now what is going on around here?” Jiron
asks.

“Let’s just say that some of my associates
and me don’t exactly have the good will of the powers that be,” he
says.

“What do you mean?” Jiron asks, obviously
not satisfied with the answer.

Perrilin gestures to the Empire type clothes
Jiron is wearing and says, “As someone who himself is trying to not
draw attention, I’m sure you’ll understand if I decline to say
more.”

“Your business is your own,” says James.
“Though I would like to know why you gave us the note.”

“Earlier I saw you going into the slaver
compound,” he tells them. “And then later when I saw you leave, you
had the look of someone with a great deal on their minds. So I had
a boy I knew give you the note and hoped you would take the chance
and come.”

“Why?” asks Jiron. “Sounds as if you have
enough troubles without getting yourself involved with ours.”

Perrilin gazes at him a moment and says,
“There was a time when I was in trouble and someone came to my aid.
Can I do less to repay the debt I owe?”

“You don’t owe me any debt,” James tells
him. “Your help in introducing me to Ellinwyrd was payment
enough.”

“Nevertheless,” he replies, “I still feel
onus to help you now.”

“Maybe he can help,” suggests Reilin.

Jiron looks to James who nods. “It can’t
hurt and I definitely trust him,” James says. Then turning to
Perrilin, he adds, “We need to talk with the slaver named
Buka.”

Perrilin grows quiet at that. “Why?” he
finally asks. “Do you plan to kill him?”

Shaking his head, James says, “No. All we
want is some information.” He then goes briefly into the final
dream he had of Cassie and Tinok, what she said about the fate
hanging over him, and of the trail they’ve followed thus far in
search of their friend. When he finishes, he has Jiron take out the
necklace and show it to him. “This is all we have to go on,” he
concludes. “The last person we talked to said that he got it from
Buka a slaver here in Cyst. Now, we need to find out what Buka
knows.”

“Do you know him?” Jiron asks.

“Oh yes,” he says with a nod. “He is the
Guildmaster of the slavers in this area. A very powerful person
whom it isn’t wise to cross.”

“Can you think of a way for us to talk to
him?” James asks.

“It isn’t as simple as you are making it
out,” he says. “No one simply goes up and talks to Buka. Very few
around here have even seen him.”

“We heard he is presently within the slaver
compound here in Cyst,” states Jiron.

“That well may be true,” nods Perrilin.
“From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t leave here often.”