Taen’s hand darted out and grabbed Saelin as the dark elf passed by, and with a brutal yank, pulled him into the alley. The slender dark elf went straight for his corkscrew shaped dagger before the pull took him a complete step, only to freeze at a word, “Gold.”
Taen hissed the phrase and Saelin drew his hand back and allowed himself to be drawn around a corner. “I need to know, is he still alive?”
“Who? My last employer? My old comrades?” Saelin hissed back at the masked man, his hand drifting slowly behind his back again, dark eyes normally kept charming, narrowed to a sharp focus. ‘If he’s worried about the bodies from before, he must be connected to the last man somehow… that’s the only reason to ask with this kind of urgency… which means I may be in trouble… can I take him?’ Saelin wasn’t sure. ‘Better to try and die than to die without trying.’ He mused and kept his hand in motion.
“Your… yes, your last employer, but also any of your old comrades, however far back you go here, anyone who could give anything up to anyone?” Taen asked, his voice muffled by the mask. He stepped back from his underling, his eyes narrowing in expectation of violence.
“The one who used to employ us, back when we had the gash with us, he got away, but… over the years, all the other ones from way back in the old days? They’re dead. Died in prison, died on the roads, fell afoul of the smugglers… the only one still alive is in prison right now.” Saelin answered and began to relax when he saw his masked employer do so first. ‘I wonder what he looks like behind that thing…?’ It was an idle question, not something he cared to ask.
“So as far as you know, there is nobody left alive who can connect anyone to any of those bodies?” Taen demanded.
“None in my current crew, no, and we’ve got one inside the estate of the Duchessa now. Sob story and some papers, that’s all it took and he blends right in. Helps that he actually was a high class servant once...or twice. I’m actually going to meet with him in his free time. Knowing him, he’s got something good already. The one still in prison…?” Saelin pursed his lips, “He could be a problem. Times like this, I wish Bracer was still alive. Foul brute but… really great at getting people to disappear.”
Taen was quick with an answer, “I’ll make sure that… friend… of yours is out of prison, after that, you kill him. The foreign whore, she’ll want him out soon, and she’ll probably have him guarded… she’s very, very paranoid.” Taen’s voice became almost admiring at the last word. “So we’ll have to act fast while we can still count on lazy trash to be lazy trash.”
“Alright but how will you do that?” Saelin asked, briefly scratching his head. “Where will you take him?”
“Not to worry, just keep a close watch on the Penitent’s Passing. When he leaves, end him.” Taen replied, “And where is your new safe house?” Taen demanded.
A sigh of relief passed over Saelin’s face, he drew his hand over it and his eyes sparked with satisfaction. “A better smelling place, since I didn’t have to split the payment this last time, I had someone buy me a little whorehouse that only employs dark elves. Nice little specialty place, and I had the ‘rough room’ retired. Whores’re pretty happy about that. Entrance there in the back, little alley passage that was once a discrete way to get a healer or a shy customer in. Nobody uses it now.”
“What’s the name?” Taen demanded.
“The Dark Side.” Saelin answered with a lecherous half smile and a wink. “I’ll give you half off if you like a tumble after.”
“Don’t tempt me.” Taen chuckled a bit, “See you soon.”
----------------------------------------
Rasgen walked to the front of the crowd, they were sinking to their knees as fast as they could move aside, and when he made his way to the front, the guards took up positions with the corpses to their backs and the crowd in front of them. The Prince moved on, over to the working watch to the bronze collared woman in clothing that marked her as part of the House of Aiwenor.
“My Prince!” She pronounced and knelt with her eyes downcast.
“You’re Komestran, aren’t you?” He asked with a raised brow.
“Ah, yes, My Prince.” She stammered at the sudden question.
The unspoken question lingered. “My Prince, my mistress will be marrying you and lives here, that makes you her Prince, so you’re My Prince too!” She shot out hastily. ‘Don’t piss off the mistress’s husband, don’t make him mad, don’t put anything at risk of going wrong.’ She told herself until she felt a more gentle hand fall on the top of her head than she would have expected out of the man who ruined her life.
“You would be the one called ‘Freyjin’ wouldn’t you, slave?” He asked in a quiet, patient voice.
“Yes, My Prince.” She answered still without raising her head.
“I am told you were instrumental in bringing home one of your own. That you are a gifted investigator.” While he might have said it in a mild voice, to her long flinching ears, it might as well have been an accusation.
“I have some talent for it, Sire! I worked for a private organization tracking the lost… it turned out to be useful here! Ah, but how can I help you, My Lord!” She squeaked out.
“I’m sure you’re being far too humble. Your owner declares your services are mine to command. I want to know what you’ve found, go ahead, raise your head and rise, take me through what you know.” Rasgen ordered, and she slowly rose to her feet.
“Sire…” Freyjin held out the paper in her hand, “All of these bodies were dumped by the same people.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Rasgen would have sucked in a breath if he wasn’t sure that the stench would have lingered on his tongue. “How could you possibly know that, slave?” A hint of displeasure in his voice.
Freyjin flinched at the implied doubt, but confident in her words, Freyjin straightened and walked to the one on the far right, farthest from the crowd. She stepped over one set of bodies after another, careful to avoid stepping on the waterlogged corpses and hoping she didn’t slip and fall onto one. ‘I’ll never get the smell out of my clothes or the taste off my tongue.’ Freyjin mildly groused. The Prince followed somewhat awkwardly compared to herself, but he made his way there nonetheless.
“Master, this is the first. The body was found far to the back, right.” She pointed to the sack in the worst shape that she now stood over, the body was an utter ruin within. She turned around and swept her hand over the corpses, “Do you see, master, how the sacks get in better and better shape as they draw farther from this place? Whoever dumped these bodies, knew where the ones before them were, or close enough so that they didn’t risk stacking anything up. Someone thought this through.” She said, and pointed to the one farthest from where she stood. “That one is Karlo, we knew he was dead, even without a body. He’s still wearing his work clothing from the hotel. That means he was killed after work or on his way. As nobody saw him leave his home the morning he was reported missing, he most likely went missing the night before. Nothing was cooked in his house the night before either, which means he never made it home for dinner. Now…”
Rasgen felt his pulse hum with the rush of excitement as the long haired blonde slave grew so enthusiastic that her earlier nervousness completely vanished. She took him through what they knew of the death of Karlo and the recovery of Priceless, before she pointed out something else.
“If you look, master,” she reached out to a rope tied around the sack where the victim’s neck was, and held it up, “a rope here.” She then stepped to the other end and grabbed a rope secured at the feet. “A rope here. And both are secured with heavy rocks.”
Rasgen felt the ghost of significance there, like he should have seen why it mattered, but didn’t quite, however the slave wasn’t done.
“Also, master,” she pointed to where the ropes were bound, “the knots are always the same.”
“So?” He asked with a shrug.
“These aren’t the simple double knots, have you ever been on a boat, master?” Freyjin asked as the grin spread over her face.
“Yes… why… Freyjin?” He asked as a growing sense of respect began to take shape.
“I’ve seen it before, master. Komestra didn’t have a lot of water, but we had a few lakes and ponds. They call that a ‘cleat hitch’ ; it isn’t normally used for something like this. It’s used to tie up boats, It’s quick, easy, and it doesn’t come loose. This isn’t the best use for it though, so someone did it by reflex, either because it was the knot they used so often it was unthought, or it was the only one they knew. So…” Freyjin straightened up, spread out her hands as if to embrace the bodies, “Everyone here was disposed of by the same people, probably two, but maybe one, every time. And whoever got the bodies ready, owned, owns, or worked on a boat.”
Rasgen’s eyes went wide at what ten minutes earlier he would have called mad conclusions, but she wasn’t through.
“They didn’t kill them though.” She declared, “Or at least not many, and I doubt any of ‘em!”
Before he could even ask, she took him to Karlo’s corpse, he followed faster, excitement building despite the horrid circumstances and the watching, curious crowd which he now barely noticed.
“He was killed with a sword through the back, probably while sitting down, and broke his hand when he fell forward. That killed Karlo. But this one…” Freyjin pointed to another, there was a long round wound straight through the eye. “Someone had a really unusual blade, it looks like he was stabbed with an oversized corkscrew.” She pointed to another with half the head crunched in, “That one took a hammer to the head, he was tortured first, given that his knees, feet, hands, and ribs are all broken. I guess they gave up asking, or he gave up everything, because then they broke his jaw and bashed in his head. Another one, his head was completely severed, I’ve seen axe wounds, and if it wasn’t an axe, double handed, I’ll lick the bottom of my boot right now.” She shuddered at her promise, but her confidence didn’t waver.
“There are others, but sire, all these kinds of wound patterns repeat. Big round wound, sword, ax, blunt, these are different people using their favorite weapons, and doing so for years.” Freyjin explained.
“How… many years, Freyjin?” Rasgen asked, looking away from her to the lines of bodies.
“I don’t know exactly, Karlo puts it to this year, but… master I’m not native to this region, how long ago were tassels popular to hang on the chests of noblemen’s clothing?” Freyjin reached up to scratch her head, then thought better of it and put her hands in front of her and folded one over the other.
“I remember them from when I was a child, I thought they were ridiculous, it’s been so long…” Rasgen rubbed his bearded chin, “maybe twenty years ago? It was a fashion that didn’t last long, I remember my father wore them at my birthday before I went to school again, but never saw them much after that.”
Freyjin pointed to the corpse she said was the oldest, “Then around twenty years ago, master. But they weren’t killed here, they were killed there.” Freyjin pointed toward the shit district.
“What makes you say that…?” Rasgen asked, following her gesture.
“I was over there when we were searching for Priceless. These are the same sacks they use to shovel shit into, and all the bags we’ve opened, they all have shit in them, Karlo’s is absolutely coated in the stuff. It couldn’t have come from the water, the bags were tied shut, plus Karlo was never seen after his last work shift. Something drew him there. Nobody ever goes there, I’ll bet that if we went back, we’d find a place with a bloodstain on the floor where Karlo landed, and probably a lot more blood besides.”
“So… the gang responsible…?” The Prince asked as certainty crystalized.
“The same, master, the same. Only the goblin and the orc are dead. There was a dark elf, an unknown mastermind, and a half-elf was arrested, I don’t throw dice on these things, master. I’ll bet his sword would fit the wound on Karlo’s body.”
A sinking feeling began took over Rasgen’s gut, “After my father’s murder, there was a witness who disappeared, it was thanks to him that we found the killer. Could he be here?” The Prince urged.
Freyjin looked back and forth at the corpses, “Master, this was before your soldiers put me in chains, I can’t say… but if you know what to look for…?”
“Of course, I remember his face like it was yesterday. He… He had a… there was…” Rasgen stroked his beard. “I was with the investigator when the witness came and he… what did he say… ,damn it what did he look like…?!” Rasgen snarled the question and Freyjin shivered.
“Master… please… I don’t know…” She hung her head as she whimpered out the plea.
“No… not you, Freyjin, you’ve rendered a great service with your work today. It’s been many years since my father’s death. I’ll just have to ask a few who helped find the killer. I’m sure they’ll remember the witness.” The Prince said with reassuring confidence and a charming smile at her when he put his thumb beneath her chin and raised it. Catching her blue eyes, he asked, “Is there anything else?”
Freyjin’s confidence returned, “Yes, master… I believe the ones who hid the bodies, work here. Probably slaves who work the shit. My guess, and I’m just guessing, the gang killed these folks, buried them in the shit, and then when the slaves found them, they just got rid of them this way for the gang. Most likely the one who does the majority, handles the boat here, and probably had a boat before.”
“Yes, that makes it easier, they may know the identity of whoever the missing members are of the group who abducted your fellow slave. At the very least, we can make sure they face justice for what they’ve helped hide.” Rasgen’s teeth clenched and his jaw tightened, but he placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder.
“Good work, Freyjin, very good work.” Rasgen said with a voice of velvet calm.
“Thank you, master. And… master… may I speak personally?” Freyjin asked, taking a tiny step closer to him.
That caught his ear. “Yes… go ahead.” He replied.
“When you touch her, touch her softly. She may seem to be cut from adamantite, but she isn’t.” Freyjin whispered.
The Prince didn’t need to ask who the slave meant, he only gave a clear nod of affirmation and moved to face the crowd.
“People of Pas’en! I realize this horrible discovery has you all walking on a razor’s edge… but rest assured, the finest of our finest are going to discover what lies behind this horror, and bring down royal justice on their heads! We will protect you, all of you! And if we fail, we will avenge you!” He roared, and whirled on Freyjin while the crowd began to cheer with relief.
“You have the crown’s full support. Unlimited resources, by whatever means necessary, find out who did this!” Rasgen said, loud enough for the now more comfortable and confident observers to hear.
“As you command!” Freyjin replied and knelt with head bowed until the Prince had disappeared.
‘I’m never going to get the smell out of my clothing.’ Freyjin cursed, and called one of the watch over.
Her heart raced as she prepared to confront the guilty and the innocent, and she gave her order, “I need every single slave that has ever worked in this area for the last twenty years, I have questions, hard questions to ask them.”