Chapter 15

Irnoc

I thought long and hard about the best way to reach Cat without being caught while I lay in bed waiting for my dorm mates to all fall asleep. The fastest way to Lundness, without a flying beast anyways, would be by ship. Would the priests, once they realized I was gone, think to look for a former slave on a ship? The priests in general don’t know about Cat, and wouldn’t think I was going to Lundness, but Kadeem knows about Cat, as do the Order of Kinathe. They wouldn’t hesitate to look for me by ship, but going on foot would take too long, and either the priests or the Order would find me rather quickly. I could try to steal a mount, but having never ridden anything in my life and would probably kill myself.

Perhaps a combination of ship and travel on foot would work. According to what sailors say when drinking, there are several villages along the coast that most trading ships stop in at on their way between the cities. If the captain and crew thought I was going all the way to Lundness on their ship; but sneak off the shipjust before we get to port when no one is looking, I could leave a false trail and no one would know where to look for me, giving me a chance to find and escape with Cat.

About half a candle mark later, once my dorm mates were all deeply asleep, and the hall monitors went to bed themselves, believing their charges were all deeply asleep. It wasn’t until nearly three full candle marks past midnight when I felt it was safe to move about. I put my acolyte robes back on, the clothes I came in were probably burned I thought as I dressed quietly. I reached beneath my mattress and extracted a small wrapped bundle, careful not to let it clink. I slipped a few gold and silver pieces, after I got back to the temple, which would fetch me enough at a good fence to grant me passage on a ship to Lundness.

The hallways were hauntingly empty and cloaked in shadows, three out of every four light globes shut off to conserve the charge. I could hear a few echoing footsteps from the booted feet of the temple guards. I looked both ways down the halls, listening carefully for a long moment trying to catch any hint of movement. I slipped barefoot down the hall, heading towards the side entrance. I knew the main entrance would be closed for the night, but if I was lucky the side doors might not be so secure.

After nearly half a candle mark of slowly moving through the halls silently and hiding from guards on patrol, I finally reached the servants entrance in the side of the temple, not far from the kitchens. As I approached the door, I could see the locking bar was engaged and a stout lock holding it closed. I reached into the pocket inside my sleeve and extracted a set of lock picks I managed to fashion, they were crude but they should get the job done at least.

I reached for the lock on the door, but froze scant inches from it. There was a slight buzz of energy coming from the door. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I relaxed my mind and unfocused my eyes like I was taught. I opened my eyes and the door was a blur in my vision, but there was a soft radiance of red light coming from the sides of the door and coating the sliding bar and lock. Shit, I thought, they even have the servants doors locked and warded. I looked around; frantically I looked around trying to think of another way out of the temple that wouldn’t be too heavily guarded. In the quiet of the night I heard the rattle of wagon wheels on cobblestones. The morning shipments, perfect. If I can’t get out that way, I deserve to be caught.

I immediately changed mental gears and quietly sped off towards the servant’s quarters. This would require a change of clothing. Slipping into a servant’s room, I pulled a uniform from the chest at the foot of a sleeping servant’s bed. I took it to a nearby supply closet and changed into it. The uniform was rather baggy on me, so I folded up the acolytes robe I just pulled off and slid them under the tunic and trousers, giving me the look of a rather rotund servant. I openly walked from the servant’s quarters and went to the kitchens. When I got there servants were helping unload the wagon already.

“You, lazy bastard, get to work or I’ll get to work on you”

I glanced up and saw what I assumed to be the mistress of the kitchens. A rather large woman herself, standing at least six feet tall with thick slabs of muscle covering her arms and a large apron covering a round belly protruding from her broad frame. She held a large wooden spoon the size of a club, though it looked smaller in her hands. She had a fierce scowl on her face and steel grey hair up in a tight bun. Her hard eyes were locked on me.

I bowed my head at her and scurried past to help unload the cart like the other servants. It took less than half a candle mark to unload all the goods and store them into the pantry. While the mistress of the kitchens and the wagon driver compared counts I slipped out the open doorway, hopefully she wouldn’t remember an extra servant with the breakfast preparations ahead of her.

The wagon is fairly large, but uncovered, and there was nothing left in the back to hide behind or under. I could see the guards manning their posts at the gate in the wall surrounding the temple. I looked at the wagon again, trying to think of some way to hide in it, and then I caught a flash of movement and ducked quickly. I heard the squeaking chirps of bats and let out a deep breath. While I was kneeling I noticed a few gaps in the frame and springs and other parts of the underside that I didn’t know the names of. If I was careful I could wedge my feet in to a couple of them and grip with my hands. It wouldn’t be comfortable, and would be tiring but it would get me out of sight of the temple and I could make my way free.

I rolled myself under the wagon, situated my robes and plunder on my belly but secured under my servants uniform, positioned my feet and hands, and shortly after the driver came out and climbed aboard.

I heard the driver cluck at his horses and snapped the reigns slightly and the two horses started walking forward at an easy pace, the racket the wheels on either side of my head made drowned out all other noise. The wagon paused at the gate as the guards checked the back of the wagon and exchanged a few words with the driver, and then we were off again, gradually picking up speed until we were moving at a fast walk.

Once we were far enough from the temple, and I was as certain as I could be that I wouldn’t be seen, I eased my aching feet out and dropped quietly but quickly down to the ground and let the wagon roll past me. I felt a soft warm cushion in the middle of my back as I landed, and the smell of fresh horse manure filled my nose. Of course, one moment sooner or later and I would have avoided it. I’ll need a different shirt anyways before I get out of the city.

I stood up and shook the moist clumps from my shirt and took stock of my current location. I was in the middle of the hills, halfway between the Heights and the Warrens. I didn’t look completely out of place in my current garb, but I would raise some eyebrows if anyone saw me wandering around. I moved deeper into the city, avoiding eyes for the most part and going to the warrens.

After about a candle mark I arrived at Jorgen’s, a second hand clothes dealer. I knew he paid street thieves who pilfered clothes and stole handkerchiefs and the like. He had reasonable rates on decent clothes for the warrens, I was sure I could at least trade in the servants clothes, made from good cotton, for one full set of clothes a bit more worn, and wouldn’t make me stand out. The store was in reasonably good condition, I opened his front door and walked in. there were clothes piled in several bins and some folded on tables around the shop.

“Hey Jorgen, how have you been?” I asked after reaching his counter.

“Irnoc, is that you? I heard you got caught and sold to the mines” he said, an affable smile on his face.

“An exaggeration I’m sure, no iron collar around my neck” I grinned back, “got a deal for you, I happened to come across this lovely, almost brand new uniform. High quality cotton weaving, I’m sure they will fetch you a silver mark at the least.”

He cast his measuring eye over the uniform I was wearing, reached across the counter to feel the weave between his thumb and forefinger. “Hmm, decent weave, light weight but good quality. The temple emblem embroidered in reduces the value a bit though. It will have to be taken out and will leave holes in the garments. Are you looking to sell or trade?”

“Trade, I’m in the market for some good traveling clothes, got anything to suit?”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He looked me over up and down and thought for a moment. “I think I got a pair of canvas trousers and a canvas shirt that is sturdy and reasonable wear, hardly stained at all. Traveling are you? Where abouts you headin?”

“I got a sudden errand I need to run out of town, I’ll be back in a couple weeks. Got any foot wraps to go with the trousers and shirt?” I asked

“I might have something for a bit extra.” He said and strode over to one of the bins and started digging around. He extracted the shirt and trousers then went to another bin and with a small exclamation came out with leather and canvas footwear. A pad of leather stitched to canvas wraps with a cord to bind it to the foot. He walked back and placed the items on the counter. His descriptions of the items were fairly accurate, great condition for the warrens, and could even get by in the poorer sections of the hills. Sturdy enough to take a bit of weather and road wear. They should do well enough to suit my purposes.

Jorgen walked around me, examining the clothes I was wearing, his footsteps paused for a moment as he saw the wet spot between my shoulder blades.

“For the uniform you are wearing, minus the cost of removing the embroidery, and the stain on your back reduces the value too, I’ll give you the foot wraps and the shirt and trousers for the uniform and four silver pennies.” Jorgen offered.

“C’mon, Jorgen you and I both know you will get at least 5silver pennies for this uniform and you will take out the embroidery yourself. The stain will come out easily, since it’s fresh. Those clothes can’t be worth any more than 3 silver pennies, foot wraps included. You will still make a profit with a straight trade.” I countered.

“I have 5 children and a sick wife to take care of, do you really want to take the food from their very mouths?” he asked with a sad look on his face.

“I know you don’t have any kids or a wife Jorgen. Let’s just make the even trade and call it a night, you know you will still make a profit from this deal.” I said with a laugh.

With a deep sigh he replied “Can’t blame a poor shop keep for trying. It’s a deal” we shook hands and I pulled off the trousers and shirt right there, carefully setting the bundled robes with the loot wrapped up in them to the side and pulled on the new clothes and secured the foot wrappings on my feet.

Once I finished I grabbed my bundle and gave Jorgen a wave and said “fare well, say high to the wife and kids for me” and chuckled as I left his shop.

Now that I had my clothing problems taken care of, time to make some coin. This won’t be as easy as Jorgen; the Weasel is tight with coin and drives a hard bargain. The fox’s pawn shop was only a few blocks away and I arrived quickly. I saw the sign hanging in front of his shop. Three gold coins, the universal symbol of the pawn broker. Showing for every two coins he gives, he gets three back.

I entered through the front door, the shop was divided in half, many low cost items lined the shelves in the front half, a wall with a barred window in the middle and a locked door separating the more expensive items and the items held as collateral for the loans he gave out. Weasel was sitting behind the barred window, going through his ledger while the shop was empty.

“Hey weasel, how you been” I asked.

“Roach, heard you was made a slavie, did you do a runner?” he asked pointedly looking at my neck.

I pulled down the collar of my shirt and said “Nah, you know the rumor mill; them cackling old bats can’t keep a story straight.” I knew if he thought I was a runaway slave, he would turn me in quicker than you can blink for the standing reward of a gold mark.

He looked carefully at my neck for a moment then looks in my eye and says “well what do you want then?”

“I’ve got some gold and silver baubles for you, looking to sell.” I said as I pulled out a small silver candle stick, a gold paperweight and a few other small pieces.

“Let me see here” Weasel said as he pulled out his scales and weights. He placed each item carefully on one dish and added weights to the other until they balanced out, made a careful note on a roll of parchment and moved on to the next. After comparing the weights to his notes on the value per ounce on a chart, he pulled out his abacus and did some quick calculations. “I’ll give you half the value by weight.”

“Only half? C’mon Weasel, you can do at least three Quarters value. You know you’ll still get a good profit. This is high quality gold and silver here, not alloys.” I said.

“I’ll give you half and you’ll be happy with it. There is no guarantee on the purity and you know it, not until it’s melted down. I know it’s stolen, and I know you need the money bad, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. I’ll give you seven gold marks and six silver marks and you will be happy with it.”

I knew when Weasel wouldn’t be budged, and he knew he had me over a fence. Seven gold marks should be plenty enough to get me to Lundness; just a couple months ago it would have been a vast fortune for me. “It’s a deal” I said, resigned.

Weasel handed me the coins, the gold weighing heavily in my hand. I looked around and saw a leather purse on the shelf, “you mind throwing in this purse?”

“You know what, I like you kid. I’ll throw in that purse for nothing.” I could see the glint of greed in his eye, with a cold feeling in the pit of my gut I knew he was going to have me jumped as soon as I was out of sight of his shop.

I put the coins in the pouch and tucked it inside my shirt, grabbed the bundled robes, they might make it easier to get on a quick ship out of here if the ship captain thinks I’m on temple business, and went out the door. As soon as the door was closed I took off running. If I could get to the docks quickly enough I could get on an outbound ship on the morning tide and avoid anyone Weasel could send after me.

It took nearly a full candle mark to get near the docks, I stopped a little ways off and pulled the robes back on over my other clothes and walked in what I hoped was a dignified manner. I strode up to the dock master with purpose; I stood before him, with the two golden ropes stitched on his shoulders signifying his office and said “I need to book passage on a ship to Lundness, on temple business. Could you direct me to a suitable vessel that will be leaving shortly?”

“Temple orders you say, do you have any papers to support your story?” his eyes roved up and down me, measuring everything about me.

I extracted a gold mark from my pouch and told him “I’m sorry dock master, but some rather uncouth ruffians chased me and my papers were lost” I placed the gold mark in his hand subtly.

He glanced at the mark, grunted and pocketed the coin and checked his large pocket watch. “The Gulls Wing is set to depart in a candle mark once the tide begins to flow out. Pier seven, slip thirteen. She is traveling to Lundness and might have a room available” and after giving me direction he turned away and started shouting at one of his deputies. I darted off to pier seven and hope the captain had room for me, and not too dear.

Pier seven wasn’t too far down the dock, and I found it quickly. The Gulls wing was a massive three mast ship its gangplank was down and one of the ship’s crew was standing at its foot. I strode up to him asked “is the Captain available?”

The crewman looked at me, noted the pastel red robes I was wearing and asked “what business do ye have with de captain?”

“I need passage to the city of Lundness, the dock master said you that was your destination.” I answered

“Aye we be heading to Lundness, and we might have room for another passenger, just a bit” and he turned to the ship and yelled up. “Oy Skal, go fetch the captain, we has an important visitor seeking passage” one of the crew on board stuck his head over the railing, saw me standing there and nodded then disappeared.

A few moments later, a very large and grizzled looking man wearing a three pointed leather hat faded and cracked from the sun and saltwater walked down the gangplank He had a black and white streaked beard that fanned out over his chest. In a deep rough voice he says “I hear you do be looking for passage aboard my ship to Lundness. And that ye be an important guest.” He looked me up and down and took in the robes I was wearing and my rather unkempt hair. “Ye be wearing the getup of one of them Corana priests, but if ye be old enough to be a priest I’ll eat my hat. What be yer business in Lundness and why should I give you one of my few rooms left. Will ye be payin fer the voyage?”

I kept my composure over the barrage of questions the Captain threw at me. “I am looking to book passage, no I am not a full priest, but rather I am an Acolyte of Corana, serving her chosen on this mission. My business is that of the Lady of the sun and I may not speak it to one of the uninitiated, but yes I will be paying for the passage, a reasonable passage fee anyways.” I kept my gaze firm and my chin held up. I tried to mimic the haughty air some of the priests at the temple affected. I could feel a few drops of sweat trickle down my back from the strain.

“Well as it happens I do have one or two rooms left to let, they are neither fine nor fancy. But they are secure and comfortable enough. And I’ll be askin fer three gold marks, in advance.” The captain said with a grin. I could see several gaps where his teeth had been knocked out or pulled.

Three full gold marks! That’s nearly five month’s wages for a Journeyman Craftsman; I looked up at the sky, and could see the lightening with the rising of the sun. This was the first ship out, and would be sailing in under a candle mark. I took a deep breath and said “agreed, three gold marks for passage to Lundness, and Corana’s blessing be upon you.” I slid my hand up my sleeve and extracted the purse from within the pocket sewn in there and pulled three gold coins out, leaving the pouch in my sleeve at least I still have three gold marks left and a handful of silver marks. I placed the three gold marks in the captain’s hand and he put them in his coat pocket. He snapped his fingers at his crewman who then darted up the gangplank and came rushing back with a portable writing desk.

The captain pulled out a parchment and quickly wrote out a bill of sale, passage to Lundness for three gold marks. He filled out two copies and sealed both with a blob of wax and a stamp he pulled from the writing desk. He handed me one and put the other away. “Here ye are, Skal here will show ye to yer cabin. I trust your voyage will be pleasant and smooth.”

I looked up the gangplank and saw the same scruffy young man that fetched the captain standing at the top, waiting for me. I nodded at the captain and said “thank you captain, will we be under way soon?”

“Aye, we will. About another half a candle mark and the tide will be just right.”

I turned and strode up the gangplank, nodded at Skal and was shown to where I will be living for the next five days if all went well.