The Wizard's Chalice, page 13
part #2 of Gags & Pepper: Protection Agents Series
The restaurant was tidy, clean, and not overlarge, but most clientele wore silk robes. Gags felt a little underdressed in the place. The smells were exquisite as a server led them back into the restaurant. Gags peered at the plates as they passed engaged diners. Most of the meals served were in the style of the dry land, but there were a few Perian dishes, and everything looked good to him as food usually did.
They sat down, and Pepper immediately asked about the Perian food.
“It might be a little different from what you are used to, but I think you’ll like anything they have better than Feybeerian cuisine,” Patricia said.
Gags was ready to order two plates after their long afternoon walk, but a silk-robed Feybeerian walked up.
“What right do you to be here?” the older man demanded.
“He is with me and has earned the right to wear his badge,” Patricia said, referring to the badge on Gags’ headdress.
“I defeated a Loureen in a properly witnessed challenge,” Gags said, not knowing if it was witnessed correctly or not.
“I was there,” Patricia said. “Gags,” she nodded toward him, “is a great warrior, and I have a Gagareen badge made up for him as we speak.”
“Two badges for a foreigner?” the man said.
Gags rose from his seat and towered over the older man. “I am a magician, but I fought without magic.”
“He did,” Patricia said.
The older man frowned and shook his finger at Patricia. “Your father will hear of this.”
“He already has,” Gags said. “We just left his office.”
The man rustled the silk of his robes as he quickly turned and walked back to his table.
“Should we leave?” Pepper asked.
“No,” a defiant-sounding Patricia said. “We have every right to be here, even if we wear Perian clothes.” Then she giggled. “He was going to tell on me to my father, but you stopped him cold. Good work, Gags,” Patricia said.
Gags wondered why Patricia was so friendly after she had so coldly left them before the ship docked at Veilport.
Chapter Fourteen
~
Honian Garish
~
M exius Dapple stared at Honian Garish. The Feybeerian won the staring contest and felt like Mexius had disappointed him. But then, Mexius Dapple had been disappointing Honian for most of the time they had done business.
With all the merchandise that Honian had run through Mexius’s operation, the man hadn’t lost a shred of his arrogance. Terrius, Mexius’s brother, was worse, but he was always subservient to his brother.
“I thought you were going to bring your brother to Basheer,” Honian said once the two bodyguards had left the office.
Mexius looked bitter, “Terrius is dead. It was a deal gone bad.”
“Not with my merchandise?”
Mexius shook his head. “A local thug and a drug deal. You don’t have to know the details.” Mexius didn’t look very much like a grieving brother to Honian.
Not knowing the details was a constant refrain from Mexius Dapple, but Honian had made money in his dealings with the man with little hassle. Now, Mexius had come with a big proposal, and Honian, against Patricia’s advice, had let the man come to Basheer to talk about it.
“Your wife is in good health?” Honian asked.
Mexius looked like he forced a smile. “She is fine.”
“Will she be fine once she learns you extorted money from her?” Honian said. “Patricia supplied me with the story about your faked abduction and the amount you profited from in your little deception.”
Mexius frowned. “There was no other way for me to finance my next step, and that is where you come in.”
Honian leaned forward. “I am interested in what all your steps are.”
“I have other partners,” Mexius said.
“Then why do you need me?” Honian asked.
“You have two things that I need. A market for Perian artifacts in Caless and…” Mexius paused.
Honian wasn’t supposed to like the second thing, looking at Mexius’s expression. Honian braced himself.
“What do you think of this?” Mexius pulled a golden figure from his pocket.
Honian took the piece. It looked like a stylized lion, but he had never seen anything like it. “Your request has something to do with this?”
Mexius nodded. “I need ten children, small and smart. They can be beggars, orphans, whatever. Kids no one needs or cares about.”
“Child labor is frowned on in Basheer,” Honian said. It wasn’t unknown, but he wasn’t going to tell Mexius that. “What are you going to use the children for?”
Mexius looked out the window and paused. Honian recognized the move as a manipulation to make Mexius’s words more important.
“I have found a source of artifacts like that lion that rivals Rezzura in riches,” Mexius said.
“And why do you need children?” Honian asked.
“A shaft to the treasure level is too narrow for any adult and even large teenagers,” Mexius said. “If the operation is exposed and the authorities take the children since they are not Perian, the penalties will be much less. We have curtailed operations until we can get enough workers to make an expedition worthwhile.”
“There are enough artifacts to justify enslaving ten children?” Honian asked.
Mexius nodded. “The discoverer was able to pay a child to descend into the shaft, and the child sent up a few artifacts before an accident. The explorer was executed for the child’s death.”
“Which raises the risk,” Honian said. “Why didn’t the government stop everything?”
“The project has stopped. There won’t be any grieving families with foreign children if something happens. The boy’s family made sure the discoverer would pay,” Mexius said.
“What needs to happen to allow someone to harvest the treasure?”
Mexius grinned. “The lord of the fief is now in on the deal. The lord’s wizard is the one who contacted me to sell the goods. I can’t sell them all,” Mexius said, “so I thought I would bring you in since I’ll be sourcing the children from Caless.”
“Why didn’t you grab street urchins from Veilport?” Honian asked.
Mexius shrugged. “I’m not adept at kidnapping children.”
“And I am?”
“You have more people to do that kind of thing,” Mexius said. “I thought you could do that for a cut of the treasure.”
Honian sat back. Unfortunately, there were plenty of beggars in Basheer, and no one would miss them. The children wouldn’t have a life any harder, but Honian didn’t know if he could trust Mexius.
“I will join you in your enterprise, but before I transfer the children, I’ll want to see the treasure for myself, and I’ll want to take protection.”
Mexius didn’t look thrilled by Honian’s request. “You can’t take your men, but I will allow my two bodyguards to protect you. I won’t need them in Peria.”
“You aren’t going to be kidnapped again?” Honian couldn’t help saying.
Mexius laughed. “No. Two bodyguards, yourself, and ten street beggars. In return, you will become a rich man.”
Honian laughed. “I am already a rich man, but I wouldn’t be opposed to becoming richer. I can’t commit immediately. Come with me to Rezzura, and I will make the decision before we return,” Honian said.
He wanted to squeeze more information out of Mexius before he took on the responsibility of the lives of ten children. Besides, he wanted to talk to Patricia about the offer. The girl had a superior mind and was willing to challenge Honian’s thinking which few others in his employ did.
“I can get my pick of your harvest?” Mexius asked, holding out his hand for the ancient artifact.
“I will give you a good price,” Honian said. “We will eat dinner while you tell me how your business is going, and I will give you a report on my attempts at reproducing Rezzuran pottery.”
~
Patricia walked carefully into the workshop next to Basheer’s city wall. Honian watched her pick her way through the workbenches filled with artisans glazing the pottery that provided the bulk of Honian’s income.
“You never do like coming here, do you?” Honian said to Patricia.
She shook her head and suddenly put a finger to her nose. “The place makes me want to sneeze, and my clothes reek of burnt cinders when I leave.”
“I get the kilns hot to duplicate the original pottery firing. These may be reproductions, but they are and have always been faithful to the original,” Honian said.
Patricia waved the comment away. “We both know that’s the case. What was so important that we had to meet here?”
Honian ran his fingertip along a workbench and looked at the colored dust. The glazes he used cost more than the raw clay, and Patricia almost touched a green casting.
“How often do I have to tell you not to touch unfired pieces. The oil on your fingers can ruin the glaze.” Honian said. “Mexius made a proposition to me last night.”
“He wants to buy you out?” Patricia said. “If so, the ransom he took from his wife is woefully insufficient.”
Honian chuckled. “No. He and his partners have discovered a treasure city on Peria. There are special needs for the extraction.”
“And if you provide these special needs?” Patricia asked.
“I will get a percentage.”
Patricia walked away from the workbenches and looked at the conical kilns on the other side of the grounds.
“If you want to talk to me about it, there is a catch to it all.”
Honian nodded and wondered what Patricia’s answer would be. “He needs ten beggar children to retrieve the treasure. It is down a shaft that is too small for an adult.”
“Can’t he find enough children in Artport?”
“It isn’t so easy. The original discoverer of the site was executed because the Perian child he used died somehow. Mexius says that if Calessian orphans are used, the risk goes down. If we find little beggars, we can feed them regularly, and they can live better than they would be struggling on the streets of Basheer.”
“And he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty?” Patricia said.
Honian nodded. “Precisely. Plus, if the items are exotic and the sample he showed me was, I can get a contract to reproduce and distribute the copies on all of Caless.”
“You don’t sound excited about it, uncle. What is the catch?”
Honian frowned. “I won’t do it unless I accompany Mexius to the Perian site and verify that all he says is correct.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“I will have Gags and Pepper to protect me.”
Patricia shook her head. “He won’t let you take anyone else?”
Honian pursed his lips. “No.”
“Don’t you feel guilty selling children into slavery?” Patricia asked. “You won’t stay the whole time they are there. What happens if they stop feeding the little urchins as soon as Mexius has seen the back of you?”
“Business risk,” Honian said. “I’ve wanted to take a vacation from the business for some time, and this gives me the chance to do that.”
“Then do it, but I have one condition of my own,” Patricia said. “Take me with you. I don’t want you alone among Perians.”
“You don’t trust Tibbeus Pepper?” Honian asked.
“It isn’t that. Gags is a very competent protector, and Pepper is the cute little one, but he doesn’t have magic. I will admit I don’t want to let go of him just yet, but I can’t let you go to Peria by yourself.”
“Come with us to Peria after I return from Rezurra. I know Mexius hasn’t been forthcoming.”
“And if I say no?”
Honian smiled and patted his niece’s shoulder. “Then I’ll say no, too.”
Chapter Fifteen
~
Gags
~
I t was clear to Gags that he wasn’t a lover of the dry lands, despite the fact he sported two badges on his headdress. The sun was unrelenting, although it wasn’t the hottest time of the year, it was the driest, and he was using much too much magic to create water for those who asked him. At least they fed him well.
Mexius had ignored Gags and Pepper despite their efforts to ride close to the man from Artport. He kept telling them there were enough of Honian’s people to keep him safe.
“I was hoping to see Patricia on this trip,” Pepper said.
“Honian said she had been to Rezzura before and had other things to do,” Gags said. “Don’t get too attached. She lives here, and you live elsewhere.”
Pepper nodded. “I suppose I don’t know her all that well,” he said. “So, I’ll just enjoy what time I get with her.”
Gags grinned. “I hope you mean what you say. A lot of life would be better spent living in the moment periodically, but there is danger in doing so all the time. I often wonder what Miria is doing, forced into the form of a unicorn. I can only hope she doesn’t go mad from it.”
“So, you don’t rescue a crazy woman?” Pepper asked.
Gags couldn’t restrain a sigh. “I have to rescue her first. I’m far from being able to see if she’s crazy or not.” He thought of the spelled knife back at his manor in Yearsend and how he’d like to use it again.
“You certainly are. If Miria is in Dixoia, that’s a long way away from Basheer,” Pepper said.
Gags nodded. He needed something to push Miria into the back of his mind. He left Pepper and joined Soxus, who was currently emptying a water bottle, but the water smelled suspiciously of alcohol.
“I didn’t think you could tear yourself away from your friend unless he was ogling the Lord Honian’s daughter,” Soxus said.
Gags looked at the drops of “water” on Soxus’s beard. “You enjoy the water around here?” Gags asked.
Soxus stroked his beard and wiped the dampness on his robe. “I do. I draw it from a special well in Basheer,” the man said with a grin. “What are you after?”
“I’d like to know what Rezzura is like.”
Soxus shrugged. “It is a ruin, but it has a warm heart.” Soxus smiled and tapped his chest.
“A heart of gold?” Gags asked.
“That might be the better term. The entrance to a treasure room is guarded all the time. I’ve spent weeks in the middle of a dead plain, ensuring Honian Garish’s supply of ancient artifacts continues.”
“How much is left?”
Soxus smiled confidently. “You’ll see.” He made a face. “Actually, there isn’t much left since much of it has already gone to Basheer, anyway.”
Gags nodded and rode back up to Pepper.
“Did you miss me?” Pepper asked.
“Oh, I did,” Gags said. “Honian’s men always monitor the site. I’m not sure I can believe that, but they are at the end of the treasure hunt.”
Pepper laughed. “It isn’t your worry.” He took a sip of water. “It’s scorching out here!”
As the column approached Rezzura, the word got out to tighten up. Gags noticed that those armed were checking their weapons. It didn’t make sense that the column would be attacked going into Rezzura.
“If I were the thief, I’d wait when the entrance was open or make my move after goods were loaded on the wagons, so I wouldn’t have to do it myself,” Pepper said.
“A lazy thief?” Gags asked.
“One who uses his mind,” Pepper said, tapping the side of his forehead. “You wanted me because I thought like a thief—”
“Among other things,” Gags said.
“I’m thinking like a thief.”
Gags still made his weapons ready and transferred some crossbow bolts into a pocket in his robe.
In a few minutes, the column was surrounded by sword and spear-wielding Feybeer. They all wore the same patterned headdress and, as far as Gags could tell, the same tribal badge.
“Perhaps you spoke too soon,” Gags said as he urged Pepper to join him closer to Honian and Mexius.
A native wearing silk robes rode up to Honian.
“You are on our land, Honian,” the silk-robed man said.
Honian broke into a grin, ignoring the remark. “Terzian,” Honian said. “Thank you for the welcome. I pay you and your men well for protecting us from here.” Honian tossed a large silk purse to Terzian, the man in silks.
The Feybeerian grabbed it, and his men erupted in a cheer before Honian ordered the column to continue. Their ranks were now three times as large, and Terzian’s men interspersed with Honian’s guards as if they were old friends, and Gags guessed that they were, and this might happen every time Honian visited his treasure room in the ancient city.
Pepper tapped Gags on the shoulder as they got underway, riding closer to him. “See? Honian will use these extra men to intimidate any thieves out there,” Pepper looked at the arid land filled with stunted plants suitable for the dry climate.
“An answer for everything?” Gags asked with a smile.
“We will see,” Pepper said.
~
All that remained of Rezzura were clusters of trees that had found constant water sources underneath the dry land soil. The ancient city's structures had fallen in on each other, and the large area was a jumble of rocks that remained from the old capital of the Feybeer.
The column stopped at the only recent structure in the area, a stone-walled compound about the same size as the army fort that sat on the plain in Atto. Pennants flew in the breeze in the colors and motifs as the Gagareen badges. The meager vegetation had been cleared two hundred paces from the fort, but a few trees grew above the walls.
The walls swallowed the riders and the wagons, revealing more buildings and people than Gags had expected. The middle of the yard was a jumble of the old city’s walls. The framework of a crane stood above a hole in the ground from which a large cage hung above the rocks. Gags thought it looked like Honian owned a well where he dipped the metal framework, and out came the treasure.
Men took the horses away, leaving Mexius, Honian, Terzian, Pepper, and Gags staring down the big hole.
