Plotting

Chapter 191

If Heather was any indication, Tiller felt certain she truly didn’t want to have to deal with Chris any time in the near future. Particularly not together. One bit of waltzing chaos at a time was enough.

“Took a minute because it seemed polite to let him do his owner himself,” Heather offered, jerking a thumb at the La’Durin named Sellos. It was the only answer she’d given and not in reply to any of the questions Elim had asked.

“Fine, let's move then. Wouldn’t do to draw attention,” Elim growled.

“There we are, a nice sensible decision,” Heather said approvingly.

No serious fuss happened though Tiller took a few moments to get a cloak for Sellos. He was too big to hide really, but it would keep anyone from immediately noticing he was La’Durin. The last thing they needed was to run into someone who knew his former owner and have them start asking questions.

“You hid the body?” Elim asked Heather quietly once they were a few blocks away.

“Yeah, convenient thing that inventory. Would have gladly given up a hand for something like it when I was still fleshly,” Heather replied cheerfully. Tiller couldn’t help a little shiver at the idea but nodded. Elim raised a brow at that.

“Eh, same. Can't even imagine how much cargo I could have moved like that, not to mention contraband,” Tiller admitted. Elim snorted but gave her a shoulder hug rather than argue. He likely had his own ideas about how it could be useful just like everyone else.

“What now?” Heather asked. She was smoking a cheap pipe she hadn’t had a few minutes before. Tiller bit back on a sigh, sticky fingers were the least of their current worries.

“Once we're back to the inn we'll need to talk more and figure out if why that man was here mattered any,” Tiller explained. She and Elim had more than enough time to come up with a plan while they were waiting for Heather and Sellos to appear.

The main problem wasn’t the murder, nobody would likely even realize that happened. The issue would be who would notice the slaver had gone missing and how long that would take.

“Sellos, that bastard here for a special reason?” Heather asked without preamble.

“Business, something about a donation to the church,” Sellos said with a shrug.

“Again, once we're back,” Tiller said, allowing the sigh this time.

“Why bother? More likely to get eavesdropped on in an inn than in the street,” Heather countered.

“No point in hiding it now,” Tiller muttered mostly to herself. It was true that they had a good view of the area around them and nobody was particularly close. She didn’t like feeling exposed while they had such a discussion but put Storm on look out. If anyone was trying to spy on them then there was a good chance the hawk would notice.

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“Do you know anything more about the donation or what church it was for?” Tiller asked.

“There's only one church for people like him, Strom. Still, he was on about getting something from this one. It's what he did mostly, went and negotiated for the seekers to get things,” Sellos said with a shrug.

Tiller was about to say something when she noticed Elim go still. Not like he was on alert, a different sort. She didn’t need to see him gripping his sword to understand the problem. Just the mention of seekers was enough to boil his blood.

“You take his things earlier? Might be a clue in there,” Elim asked Heather tightly.

“Everything, but nothing but money and junk turned up in the inventory,” Heather said with a shrug.

“Do you know which church it was?” Tiller asked Sellos.

“No, I wasn’t allowed in really, but I could take you there,” Sellos replied.

“Did he still have business with them? An appointment?” Tiller asked. Elim wouldn’t be picky if a church took the side of slavers and she didn’t feel like dealing with that kind of a mess if it could be avoided. At least not without some planning and he clearly wasn’t in a mood for that.

“Tomorrow to pick up whatever it was. It was the last thing he had to do here,” Sellos explained.

“Then we’ll go tomorrow, if you’ll help. Elim cant pass for that man but if you're with him and it's just a pick up they might not question a new face like they might otherwise,” Tiller offered.She was grateful there was still an appointment, it would give Elim some time to calm down.

“Want to take things slow?” Elim asked, curious rather than suspicious.

“A bit,” Tiller replied.

Elim wasn’t hotheaded exactly and honestly had a better sense of strategy than her most of the time. The trouble was that Tiller liked things to be orderly and to scout the situation first. He’d be happy enough to just get on with things as they were given the circumstances. He’d be clever about it certainly, but it would leave her uneasy.

Churches, even the lowest of them, weren’t to be trifled with lightly. A god that wouldn’t move for the suffering of its believers oftentimes would defend its holy ground and clergy. An act of self preservation since they needed them to spread their faith after all.

They were getting near to the inn and soon the streets would turn narrow. It was time to stop any serious topics for the moment.

“Eh, I don’t need rest, boss. Anything you want done just now?” Heather asked. Tiller looked to Elim who just shrugged, leaving it up to her.

“If you can be discreet about it, go see what you can find out about the goings on in the town. It's strange that anyone from Stromholt should be able to do business here easily,” Tiller decided.

“Discretion is my middle name,” Heather said, giving an imitation of a curtsy.

“I thought it was Elain,” Sellos said.

“Heather Discretion Elain Phlanages,” Heather said without missing a beat. Elim just rolled his eyes at that while Tiller snorted.

Not in the mood to bullshit further Heather took off in what was probably a random direction. It didn’t seem likely that she’d find anything, but it would keep her out of Tiller’s hair for a bit at least.

“Are you sure about just turning her loose on the town like that?” Elim asked.

“Didn’t hear you trying to stop me,” Tiller countered, curious.

“Oh, I wouldn't dream of it,” Elim explained. “I just don’t imagine things will stay quiet if she actually does find anything out.”

“Eh, don’t particularly care if it's just slavers. I just don’t want to go rushing into a church without knowing more. They aren't to be fucked with lightly,” Tiller said with a shrug. She didn’t particularly care if Heather went and slit the throat of every slaver inside the town walls. Getting the wrong side of a church was an entirely different thing though.

“Fair,” Elim agreed, leaning in for a kiss.

“You're both mad and I’m pleased to be along for this,” Sellos offered, laughing for the first time.