Missteps V.2

Chapter 44 – Locked in a Room

The first thought Iados had, was that he was a dead man. He looked down at his stomach where the knife hilt was visible against his skin. His team wasn't going to let him hear the end of this, he hoped. He glanced over at the unmoving form of Loiwin, and the pool of blood that silently formed under him. He did not want to end up like him.

He sat up gingerly, and was surprised by how much the action didn't hurt him. What was it he'd heard Elaine say before? Something about shock being a powerful painkiller? He probed around the hilt with his fingers, still no pain. This wasn't the first time he'd been stabbed, so he knew he should be feeling some pain. He grabbed the hilt and moved to pull out the knife. He hadn't moved the knife more than a millimeter before a piercing pain cut through him. He bit his lip so hard he could taste blood on his tongue. He immediately let go of the hilt, and the pain stopped. He wasn't going to do that again.

Iados grabbed a bedroll from the nearby sled and quickly tore it into strips. He wrapped the strips around his midsection and the knife; that knife wasn't going anywhere.

Carefully, he got to his feet and debated his next course of action. Should he travel down the stairway for two hours till he got to Elaine? He thought about the narrow tunnel behind the Nazash statue, and the idea made his stomach churn. Alternatively, he could head towards Flyta's. The inn was definitely closer, and he just had to be careful not to run into that devil woman on the way out of the caverns.

He headed towards the entrance. When he got there, he crouched as he scanned the area. No sign of Kalia and her goons, which wasn't surprising. First rule of murder, don't stick around to get caught with the body. Iados wrapped his cloak around himself even more, and headed out in the brisk predawn morning. The way to the inn was familiar to him, as he'd just traveled there about an hour ago.

He'd gone about halfway before a voice called his name out of the darkness.

Immediately Iados drew a dagger and held it in front of him. "Who's there?" His eyes scanned the darkness.

"Only a modest bookseller." The smooth voice stated as it got closer. Iados watched as Chaxelle stepped closer to him.

He lowered the dagger. "What are you doing out this time of night?"

"On my way back from a night of fun." Chaxelle grinned as he walked closer to Iados. "What about yourself?"

"Same, but my fun wasn't as good." The akudaem moved his cloak aside so that the other male could see the thick bandages and the hilt that stuck out.

Chaxelle gasped and kneeled down so that he could have a better look. "How the hell are you walking around?" The man gently probed around the hilt, but Iados didn't feel anything through the wrappings.

"I'm not really questioning it right now, so if you'll excuse me." Iados moved to go past the man.

Chaxelle grabbed his arm. "Where do you think you are going?"

Iados tried to wrench his arm free, but failed. "If you must know, Flyta's inn."

The bookseller shook their head. "My place is closer, come on." He dragged Iados down the street. They only travelled a couple of blocks before they entered a narrow alleyway. The alleyway opened into a small shared yard space for many of the surroundings buildings. Sitting in the middle of the space, was a vardo living wagon. It was painted a muted red with a faded golden trim. There was a sign on the door that read "Unearthed Troves" in bold calligraphy.

Iados followed Chaxelle to the wagon. Chaxelle pulled out a metal rod from a pocket and inserted it into the lock. Chaxelle muttered something and the lock clicked. He removed the rod, replaced it in the pocket, and then opened the door. "Come on." The bookseller pulled the akudaem into the cramped space, and then roughly pushed towards the bed in the back of the wagon.

"Nice place." Iados said as he squirmed on the firm mattress. He watched Chaxelle open a cabinet and pull out a wooden box.

"I like to think so." Chaxelle moved his attention briefly from the box to a small stove. He opened a cabinet next to the stove and took out a few pieces of coal. The coal was then chucked into the belly of the stove. Chaxelle pointed a finger at the coal and said a word, and shortly after Iados could smell it begin to burn. Chaxelle stepped outside briefly with a bucket.

Iados took the opportunity to gape at the room. Besides a small bench, the bed, and the stove, everything else in the wagon was designed for storage. There were chest of drawers built in under the bed beneath. Cabinets scaled the ceiling, while under the small bench was a locked trunk. Everything in sight was of high quality. Even the blankets and pillows on the bed were soft and silky. Above, small glowing glass beads were strung together and affixed to the ceiling that bathed the wagon in a soft light.

Chaxelle walked back into the wagon, his bucket now full of water. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he set it down on the bench, and ladled some of it into a kettle that was then placed on the stove.

"Pretty well considering the circumstances." Iados watched as Chaxelle turned his attention to the wooden box. "What's in there?"

Chaxelle grinned and brought the box over for Iados to see. Inside were dozens of small pouches, each with a different set of initials sewn on the front. "They're tea leaves." Chaxelle explained at the look of confusion on Iados's face. "A lot of them are gifts from those I've done business with, while others I've picked up on my own." He took out an orange packet and sniffed it. After a second he shook his head and replaced it in the box.

Iados frowned as he watched Chaxelle sniff another pouch. "Interesting, but is now really the time to be drinking tea?"

"Tea has many medicinal properties, so excuse me for taking some precautions." Chaxelle sniffed another pouch, and this time nodded. He closed the lid, walked over, and replaced the box. "For someone who's been stabbed, you are remarkably unpained."

"True, but that doesn't mean I want to keep this knife in me any longer than I have to." Iados's tone was full of annoyance as he watched the bookseller pack the herbs into a small metal sphere. Silence lingered between the two of them for a few moments as Chaxelle finished and placed the sphere into a small porcelain cup.

It was Iados who spoke first. "So, you're a wizard like Ander huh."

Chaxelle snorted. The kettle began to whistle. "I barely lasted a month at the Circle." He poured the water into the cup. "Turned out that I barely had any magical talent myself. I have enough to operate magical items and perform cantrips, but I'm not powerful enough to cast any real spells."

Iados gestured at one of the glass-paned cabinets where a myriad of different colored books were stacked inside. "So now you sell books?"

Chaxelle waved his finger over the cup and the liquid inside began to stir itself. "Yes, but not just any books. During my short time at the Circle, I found out just how greedy a spellcaster can be when it came to spells. After I was kicked out, rather unceremoniously, I decided to become someone that they could not ignore." Using a spoon, Chaxelle dug out the metal sphere. He brought the cup over to Iados and offered it.

"So I'm guessing you specialize in magic books." Iados took the cup and his nose immediately crinkled at the strong earthy odor that emanated out. Chaxelle reached over and gently pushed the cup towards Iados's mouth with a smile.

"I travel to estate sales, pawn shops, and sometimes even the occasional thieves' guild all over the continent. I purchase not only magical texts, but also rare texts. Over the years I've gained a reputation for being able to reproduce older texts that are falling apart." Iados drained the small cup and Chaxelle took it back. "In some cases, I've even returned lost texts to their owners for a small finder's fee."

"Too bad you weren't there to see the library in the temple." Iados smacked his lips, the tea wasn't very good. His head began to fog up. "What was in that tea?"

"Just some valerian root." Chaxelle leaned over Iados. "What temple are you talking about?"

"The one under the caverns." Iados found that his eyelids were becoming very heavy. "Isn't that the root used to help people sleep?"

"Yes it is, and I've just given you a pretty big dose. Now, how do I get to the temple?" Chaxelle's voice sounded far away as Iados struggled to stay awake. He tried to get out of the bed, but wasn't sure if he'd actually moved or not.

"Nazash…." Was all Iados said before he succumbed to the valerian root.

When Iados woke up, the first thing he noticed was the late afternoon sunlight as it streamed in through the window. That was odd, because he hadn't remembered Chaxelle's wagon having any windows. He moved to get out of the way of the sun, and immediately regretted it. Pain radiated out from his midsection, and he groaned.

"Iados, are you alright?"

The concern-ladened voice was familiar. He cracked open an eye and saw Lia sitting on the floor next to him. She smiled as their gazes met, and she reached out a hand to gently stroke his hair.

"You're here." Iados said weakly.

Lia grinned. "Where else would I be?"

"We're here too, if you care." Kerri's voice stated from the end of the bed. Iados lifted his head and looked around the room. The first thing he realized, is that he wasn't in Chaxelle's wagon anymore, but actually back in his room at Flyta's inn. The second thing, is that not only was Lia and Kerri in the room with him, but in fact all the members of M.A. were.

"Ah, thanks for the support guys." Iados tried to sit up, and was cruelly reminded of what his still hazy mind had forgotten.

Elaine rushed over and gently pushed him back down. "Let's not try that just yet. We don't want you ripping your stitches."

Iados groaned. "Stitches? Why'd you stitch me up instead of using a healing spell?"

"I'm not the one that stitched you up." Elaine informed him as she looked under the wrapping at the wound. "Chaxelle said that he knocked you out, and then brought in another doctor to do that bit. Then afterwards, while the doctor brought you here, Chaxelle went to find us in the temple."

"By the time he got to the caverns however, the city watch was all over the place. Someone had sent them a note informing them of a murder." Jun explained from his place on the wall. Carric sat next to him, Shomma asleep in his lap.

Ander sat cross-legged on a stool. "Since you'd been a while, we'd sent Jun and Carric up the staircase to help bring down the supplies."

"I got caught by guards when I came around the Nazash statue." Jun sighed. "Carric ran back down and reported the situation. It didn't take the watch long to follow down the stairway."

"Thanks to the heads up, we got all of the dark elves who wanted to leave out of the temple before the city watch showed up." Kerri added. "They arrested all of us who were left. When we got near the top of the stairway, that old druid broke free, cast a spell, and caved in the tunnel behind us."

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"Where are they now?" Iados looked about the room and confirmed that the former underground inhabitants weren't there.

"Last we saw, the city watch was loading them all into a wagon and taking them to prison." Carric's voice was sour. "Whoever had sent them the note, told them about the people they'd killed for the tree."

Iados formed a fist and punched the bed next to him. "Kalia."

Kerri shook her head. "We can't be sure of that."

Iados snorted. "I can. I was there when Loiwin was killed, on her order. Not to mention, she's the one who stabbed me."

Kerri's face screwed up in confusion. "Why would she kill her brother?"

"I got the feeling there wasn't a whole of sibling love between them." Iados sighed. "Where's that knife she stabbed me with?"

"Right here." Ander held up the blade. "It's interesting. We briefly spoke with the doctor who patched you up, and they said that the wound was weird."

"That's one word for it." The former pirate grimaced as he had Lia help him stuff some pillows behind his head. "For one thing, it didn't hurt. It only hurt when I tried to take it out. Tried once, and then decided I didn't want to do that again."

The halfling nodded. "From what I can tell, the blade is enchanted. It only actually does damage when it's taken out." Ander held out his arm and sliced it with the blade. The blade passed harmlessly through the appendage. "Also, the whole blade has to be inserted before the damage kicks in."

Jun snorted. "Rather useless for a fight."

Ander shrugged. "I wonder if that was the enchantment Kalia was going for, or a mistake. Seeing as how she's the gargoyle's creator, something like this would be in her wheelhouse."

"At least we have someone else to pin Loiwin's murder on." Elaine walked over to the door and knocked on it. "Open up!"

The door opened and a grim-faced guard stuck his head in. "What?"

Elaine crossed her arms. "Get us the Captain. Iados is awake, and instead of being the murderer, he's a witness to the murder. He can ID the real culprit."

The guard, a young male wearing armor that was slightly too big on them, huffed and opened the door fully. "The Captain already said that they'd be by later. No need to bother them with the akudaem's lies."

Lia popped up to her feet and stood next to Elaine. "Why do you assume that he's lying? Can't you see that he's been stabbed? He's a victim just as much as Loiwin."

"All I see is an akudaem who stabbed themselves to garner sympathy." The guard snarled.

Lia's eyes narrowed. "If your Captain truly thought that he was the murderer, do you really think they would have allowed us to be in the same room as him? Why are you even here if you won't do your job?"

The guard's grip tightened around the spear he held. "My job is to make sure none of you scampered away before the trial."

Lia smiled and crossed her arms. "As if you could really stop us."

The guard opened their mouth to say something, but a sudden sound from outside the window drew their attention. Kerri and Carric were the first ones there, with the others (minus Iados but plus the guard) gathered around. As they watched, two horses with horns on their heads thundered past and down the street. On their backs were four cloaked figures. As the unicorns passed the inn, their horns began to glow, and in a flash they and their riders were gone. They watched as mounted guards galloped past down the empty street.

Lia turned to the guard. "I think your Captain's schedule just cleared. Go and fetch them for us, now." The guard left.

Once the door had closed, Carric burst into a fit of laughter. He was quickly followed by Jun, then Kerri, and then everyone else, save Iados.

"What's so funny?" Iados asked from the bed.

It took another hour before the guard came back. There wasn't even a knock on the door before an older woman with a bald head stomped in. There was a Captain's insignia on the front of their armor. She walked right over to the bed and stared down at the akudaem.

She didn't say anything for a few moments as she stared into his eyes. Iados tried to return the gaze, but ended up looking at her nose and forehead as he caved to her intimidating stare. "Did you kill Loiwin Wanit?" The Captain finally asked in a clear, crisp voice.

Iados's eyes snapped back to hers. "No."

"Do you know who killed him?" The Captain followed up.

"I don't know his name, but I know on whose orders it was done."

"Whose orders?"

"His sister, Kalia." The injured akudaem answered.

The Captain's eyes narrowed. "Lies."

Iados leaned up as far as he could. "It's a not a lie, I saw it." His voice was filled with the pain of the movement. On the other side of the bed, Elaine reached over and tried to push him down, but he wouldn't move. "She's the one that stabbed me with that knife." Iados jerked his head towards Ander, who held up the knife.

The Captain switched her gaze over to the halfling. She held out her hand for the knife in question, and Ander handed it over. "It looks awfully clean for a knife that stabbed somebody." The Captain stated as they ran their eyes over the shiny blade.

"I had to clean it so that I could examine it." Ander explained. "It's been enchanted, probably by Kalia."

"Is her name on it?" The Captain asked with a raised eyebrow as she examined the hilt.

The question caught Ander off-guard. "Uh, no." He answered. Behind him, both Carric and Jun grimaced.

"Then you don't know if Kalia had enchanted it. Also, even if Kalia had enchanted this knife that does not mean that she stabbed him. All we have is his word." The Captain used the knife to point at Iados. "Why should I believe a single word that any of you say? You were found in the company of those cultists. The ones responsible for dozens, maybe hundreds of ritualistic murders."

Kerri got to her feet, no longer content to sit and watch. "We just got to town a little over a week ago. Ask Flyta, she'll vouch for us."

The Captain looked at Kerri. "I already talked to Flyta, and she told me that you were sent down there on a job for Loiwin." She switched her gaze back to Iados. "Tell me, did you kill him over a pay dispute?"

Iados groaned and fell back onto his pillows. "I didn't kill him."

"We'd already concluded our business with Loiwin, and gotten paid." Kerri explained. "We were no longer working for him. We went down there on a rescue mission. Talk to that girl we brought up, Mira."

The Captain nodded. "I spoke to Mira, Flyta introduced us, and she has no knowledge of any temple. She says she's never met any of you, and has no idea why you've included her in this mess."

"She's lying!" Kerri stomped her foot. "She was part of a previous team Loiwin had sent down there, before us."

The Captain's eyebrow raised. "You mean those burned up husks we found in the cavern? The ones with no way to identify them? Odd way for someone to die in a cavern supposedly filled with rats."

"What do you mean 'supposedly'?" This time it was Jun who interjected. "There were dozens of rats down there. We took their tails as proof to Loiwin."

"My men searched all throughout those caverns, and they didn't find any evidence of rats." The Captain crossed their arms. "The best I can figure, Loiwin hired the lot of you to go down to the temple. From what little we got out of the prisoners, they were in league with Loiwin for years. Now I'm not sure what kind of job you were doing. Possibly sent in to clean up those bodies, but obviously this one," She nodded towards the bed. "Got into a disagreement with Loiwin, and Loiwin died for it. Only thing I'm not sure of, is whether Loiwin stabbed him, or if he did it to himself."

"This is ridiculous." Kerri sighed and sat down again as she began to massage her temples.

"Have you even spoken to Kalia about this?" Ander grumbled.

The Captain shook their head. "I was getting ready to go to their estate to inform her of her brother's death, when the prison break occurred."

"We saw part of that." Carric pointed at the window with his thumb. "What exactly happened, and or are you going to blame that on us as well?"

For the first time, the Captain's lip twitched into a smile. "No, it's pretty clear you lot weren't involved with that. A man walked into the guardhouse and knocked out all of my guards, and led the prisoners to the waiting horses. They got on and ran off. We've started a manhunt of the town and the surrounding area for the man, the horses, and the prisoners."

"What happens to us now?" Jun asked.

The smile vanished off the Captain's face. "We're still building our case. It'll be sent to the Magistrate soon, and then a trial date will be set. Until then, none of you are to leave the inn. As a courtesy to Flyta, she's asked for you to be incarcerated here."

"I'd like to speak to the Magistrate myself." Lia announced.

"You'll get your chance in court to plead your case, don't worry." The Captain turned to leave.

"Tell the Magistrate that I'm from House Silverfrond of Stonepine." Lia's face was stone-cold as she said those words.

The Captain turned around, a scowl on their face. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"Not to you, but if your Magistrate is anyone of importance, it'll mean something to them." Lia's eyes were hard as they bored into the Captain's eyes. The two women stared at each other for a few more seconds, before the Captain nodded.

"Fine, I'll pass it along, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Nobles from other countries don't hold a lot of sway around here." The Captain left the room, and the door slammed shut behind them.

Kerri whistled. "How big a card did you just play?"

Lia sighed. "Hopefully big enough to give us a little wiggle room out of this." She turned and sat down on the bed. "In the meantime, we either need to come up with a good defense, or figure out a way to run."

"I think we just saw a preview of how court will go." Kerri leaned back in her chair. "I'd noticed before when we went to the temple the complete lack of dead rats."

Ander nodded. "They'd also already moved the bodies. Do you think framing us like this was the Wanit's plan all along?"

Kerri shrugged. "Maybe, or they were just planning to sweep it under the rug."

"Let's take stock, alright." Elaine started to count on her fingers. "They've got Iados for Loiwin's murder, the group of us for three murders, and then our association with a murderous cult."

"As a cleric of Vowil, they can't really think that you'd have anything to do with the cult." Kerri chimed in. "And, if we can get a statement from Pova and the others at our trial that we had nothing to do with the murders, we'll be home free."

"One small problem, by the time this trial happens, Pova, Aniksil, and Hoklem will be dead." Jun reminded her.

Carric nodded. "I'm pretty sure that it was the girls and their dark elf friends on those unicorns."

The bard deflated in her chair. "Fine, we'll just go to jail then. We'll probably get twenty-five to life, if not a death sentence."

The ranger shrugged and dropped Shomma in her lap. "Ordinarily I'd say that Iados is closer to a death sentence than all of us, but those with ties to murder cults aren't looked at favorably."

Elaine groaned and sat down on the bed. "Vowil help me."

"If we do decide to make a run for it, I am more than willing to burn some houses down as a distraction." Ander offered. "I'll need my spellbook from my pack that they took to study though."

"I've got a fiery potion that I can use to help with that." Jun added.

Kerri grinned. "With that kind of distraction and some disguises thanks to yours truly, we could totally just make a run for it."

"While that is a valid plan, there's a few flaws." Lia pointed to Iados. "Namely Mr. Injured."

"All I need is for Elaine to hit me with a few healing spells, and I'll be golden." Iados argued.

Elaine nodded. "He's a got a point, I mean I'm too tapped to heal him today, but I can heal him tomorrow, if needed."

Kerri smiled as she stretched out her legs. "I'm sure I can get Ander's pack for him, just have to sweet talk the guards a bit."

"If that doesn't work, Shomma's got a new trick she could try." Carric smiled and pointed towards the happy weasel who squeaked as Kerri rubbed her belly.

Lia laughed. "Should I be concerned that we seem to be more ready to cause mayhem than anything else?"

Jun laced his fingers behind his head. "I take it as a sign of improvement."

Later that night, Kerri got to work. She knocked on the door and waited a few minutes, but no one answered. She knocked again, to the same effect. She knocked a third time, and this time it was wrenched open by the same young guard as before.

"What do you want?" He snarled.

Kerri smiled and leaned against the door frame. "I wanted to see you. I'm bored."

The guard blinked in surprise. "You're bored." He repeated.

Kerri nodded. She reached over and began to run her finger up and down the spear he held. "I've been locked in this tiny room all day. I was hoping for a chance to stretch my legs and get a little…exercise."

The guard gulped and moved his spear out of reach. "There's plenty of room in there for you to move around in."

"Maybe for some people." She began to play with the lapel of her blouse. "I was hoping for a bit more privacy. I hope you can understand." Behind her, everyone tried to appear distracted; some looked out the window, some conversed softly, and Iados pretended to be asleep.

The guard took a step back out her reach. Kerri took a step forward. "You know, this armor really doesn't do you justice. Now that I see you up close, you're really quite fit." She skated forward and gathered the arm (the one not holding a spear) in her hands. She pulled it close to her body as she examined the smudged chest plate.

"We spend a lot of time training during the winter." The guard explained as he tried hard to look Kerri in the eye. Her blouse had fallen open, and from his taller height he had a clear view at her cleavage.

"I can tell." Kerri traced the muscles on the arm. "Tell me, what kind of activities do you do in the winter months? Cardio?" As they talked, Kerri slowly pushed the guard closer to a room down the hall.

Lia crept over and closed the door to their room. "Well, that was easy." Lia looked over at Carric. "Is Shomma ready to go find the book?"

Carric nodded. He'd been whispering to her for the better part of an hour as he described the book, and what she needed to do. He walked over to the door, and waited for Lia to open the door again. When Lia heard the sound of another door open and close, she opened their door a crack and nudged Shomma out with her foot. Through the crack, Carric watched Shomma scurry into the hall. Instead of heading towards the halfling's door, she stopped and sniffed the air. After a few seconds, she turned and ran excitedly down the stairs. Carric hung his head in defeat.

Twenty minutes later, Kerri came back into the room with a skip in her step. Her face was flushed and her hair tousled. The guard that escorted her back had an equally stupid grin on his face.

"No need to ask if you were successful." Iados grinned as Kerri settled back down on her chair.

She winked. "Shomma back yet?"

Carric scowled. "No."

There was a knock at the door and it opened. Derin, Flyta's youngest daughter, walked in carrying a tray laden down with several bowls. "Dinner time!" She announced happily.

Jun stood up and took the tray from her. "Thank you. It smells lovely."

Derin beamed. "I made it myself." Derin looked over her shoulder, at the guard whose gaze was on Kerri. The girl stumbled, badly, and fell to one knee. Instantly Ander and Lia were by her side and helped her to her feet.

"I'm such a klutz." Derin stuck out her tongue. Carric could not control the wince that formed on his face from the bad acting. Without another word, Derin left the room, and the guard closed the door behind her.

"What was that for?" Jun passed out bowls of soup to everyone, while Elaine tore chunks out of the bread loaf there as well.

"To give me this." Ander held up his spellbook. "She had it stuffed into a stocking."

"Nice to know we've got some friends in this town." Kerri slurped at the potato soup. "Now that Ander's got his book, let's plan our escape."