Silver Peak, page 28
part #2 of Sky Realms Online Series
Hall almost started laughing. Pretty close to where it had begun.
He studied the Blade’s map and then touched his own map. A small pin appeared on the parchment, or the image of one.
Skill Gain!
Cartography Rank Two +.1
“How did you do that?” the kid asked, again surprised. “Only Cartographers can...” his voice trailed off and he looked at Hall in awe.
“Ain’t ya full o’ surprises,” Ulysses remarked with a chuckle.
Hall grimaced, knowing that Berim would soon know that he was a Cartographer. He didn’t think it was that important, but he hadn’t told anyone and hated people learning things about him that he didn’t tell them himself. And Cartographers seemed so rare, and mysterious, that he really wanted to learn more before it became common knowledge.
He had not been able to learn much about this Cartographer’s Guild he had heard about. Only knew that it existed and an unGuilded Cartographer was rare. He expected that he would soon need to visit them before they visited him.
And if Guilds were anything like the unions back in the real world, they wouldn’t like it if someone non-Guild was operating in their territory.
A problem for another day, he knew as he rolled up the map and put it back in his pouch.
“Thank you,” he told the Silver Blade as he stood up.
The captive’s eyes darted all over the place, extremely nervous now. Hall turned away and could feel the Blade’s eyes following him, trying to grab him.
“What happens to me?” the Blade asked.
Hall stopped and waited a couple seconds before turning, making it look like he was deep in thought. He stared at the Blade, expressionless. The kid’s eyes were pleading, hopeful. Ulysses was looking almost predatory, waiting for a chance.
“You live,” Hall said and the Blade visibly relaxed, sagging to the ground. Ulysses grumbled. “For now,” Hall added, drawing all eyes. “If your information of what is in the tunnel and on the other end is right, then you live. If it’s not...” Hall trailed off, eyes hard and staring at the Blade, making sure he understood.
The Blade nodded. Hall turned and walked away, heading for the farmhouse.
“We’ll keep him nice an’ cozy,” Ulysses said, looking down at the Blade.
“No,” Hall replied, stopping and staring at Ulysses. “They can keep him tied up here,” Hall said and pointed at the other two Door Knockers. “You are coming with us.”
“Hells I am,” Ulysses growled, taking a step toward Hall.
Hall turned, walking back to stand in front of Ulysses. He was a foot or more taller, looking down at the smaller man. What Ulysses lacked in height he made up in girth. The man was a solid block of muscle and weight. Hall knew Ulysses might be a Level, maybe two, higher as well. But at the moment, Hall did not care. He was tired of being used, being pushed and prodded by others. It was time to take control back.
“You. Are. Coming. With. Us,” Hall said, emphasis on each word. Ulysses started to say something but Hall held up a hand. “Shut up,” he said calmly, his lack of anger or inflection having more of an effect. “Don’t say anything. You’re coming. No argument.”
The two men stared at each other. The two Door Knockers, sensing the tension, took steps back and put hands over weapons. Hall’s companions spread out, hands hovering over their own weapons or raised to start casting spells.
The stare down went on for a minute, neither budging.
Finally, Ulysses smiled and shrugged.
“Sure,” he said as if the contest of wills had never happened and he was always going to go along. “What else I gots ta do?”
Hall remained staring at the thief for another minute or so before turning. Without a word, he headed into the farmhouse.
“Tunnels there, ain’t it?” Ulysses said, pointing at the barn.
Hall ignored him.
He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to search the farmhouse, but he did, so Hall led his companions into the building. They spread out, each taking a room and floor. It was two stories, wooden planks laid horizontally on posts, steep shingle roof. Three rooms on the first level with the stairs up. A living room, dining room, and kitchen. Upstairs were three bedrooms.
It didn’t take long to search.
Hall was upstairs in what looked to be the master bedroom, combing through a drawer of clothes when he heard Sabine call his name.
“I found something,” she said from one of the other upstairs rooms.
The one she was in had been converted to an office. A writing desk, shelves, and a couple chairs. The closet was empty as were the desk drawers. But on top, where Sabine was pointing, were two identical ledger books. They looked the same as the ones from the crate.
Both were opened. Each page of the one on the left was filled with small and neat handwriting. Top to bottom, margin to margin. Columns of numbers with notations. The book to the right was only half-filled. A single column.
Hall bent down, looking at the books closer.
The unfinished on the right was a copy. The letters and numbers were identical to the left, the handwriting nearly identical. It was close, but Hall could tell the difference.
“Get Ulysses,” he said.
The thief walked in a minute later, grumbling but stopped when he saw what Hall was looking at. Motioning for Hall to move aside, Ulysses studied the two books. He ran a finger down a column on the left book, stopping halfway down. He looked to the right book, finger pointing at the last line. His eyes jumped from one to the other.
“Well, damn,” he finally said, leaning back. “That explains ta ledgers in ta crate.”
“What’s it mean?” Roxhard asked.
The others had all gathered in the room, the only one with anything of interest, while Hall and Ulysses had studied the ledgers. The thief shot Roxhard an annoyed glare before rolling his eyes.
“Ter forging ta book,” he muttered. “Ta other ledgers are practice ta get the writing right.”
QUEST COMPLETE!
You have discovered that shipment of ledgers are being used to forge an existing ledger book.
THE NEW BLOOD II
Learn what the Silver Blade’s plan to do with the ledgers 1/1
Rewards: +50 Door Knocker reputation
+50 PeakGuard reputation
+50 Alliance
Reputation with Sergeant Brient
+20 Experience
Hall partly closed the original book, looking at the cover. It was unmarked, no name or initials or mark to indicate who owned it. The color, stitching, and design were identical to the ones he had found in the crate.
“Who uses a book like this?” Hall asked, looking at Ulysses.
The thief started to shrug but noticed Hall’s glare. He sighed.
“Silver Peak Keep’s Councilor of Coin,” Ulysses answered.
He flipped through the pages of the ledger, looking at the columns of numbers and the dates.
“That answers how ta Councilor doesn’t know this is missing,” he muttered. “It’s an old book.”
“Why are they forging an old ledger?” Roxhard asked.
Ulysses looked at the Dwarf and chuckled, rolling his eyes.
“It’s for practice,” the thief chuckled. “Not that hard ta figure out.”
Roxhard looked down at the ground, what little was visible of his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. Hall shot Ulysses a harsh glare, which the thief ignored.
“The Councilor would most likely not miss an old ledger,” Leigh told Roxhard, laying a hand on his shoulder.
“Which is true,” Hall said as he looked down at the book in thought. “But Roxhard might be onto something. The only reason to forge the ledgers is to fix the numbers. Either make it look like there is more or make it look like there is less. Might make sense to alter some of the older books as well. Really make a mess of it when they go to check if the forgery of the latest is discovered.”
“But what is the point?” Caryn asked. “What are the Blades up to?”
“Only one way to find out,” Hall replied, turning to leave the room. He left the ledger on the table.
“At least we’ve shortened the suspect list for The Cudgel’s identity,” Sabine said as they started walking down the stairs.
“The Councilor of Coin?” Roxhard asked.
“No,” Sabine replied shortly, annoyed. Hall figured she was rolling her eyes. “That makes no sense. The Cudgel will be someone that has access to the Councilor of Coins or wherever the ledgers are kept. There can’t be that many people.”
Hall stepped down to the first level and glanced up the stairwell. Roxhard was still at the top, waiting, and again looked embarrassed. Hall sighed, it was so hard to remember that Roxhard was really just a kid, a teenager.
“Doesn’t really help us that much,” Hall said. “The Cudgel doesn’t need to have direct access him or herself. It can be just someone highly placed in the Silver Blades.”
Roxhard brightened a bit but Hall got an annoyed glance from Sabine.
He sighed. Dealing with the egos and personalities of Players had always been his least favorite part of raiding. Living in Sky Realms Online didn’t seem to be changing that.
“But it does give us a starting point,” he said to try to mollify Sabine.
You have discovered that the Silver Blades plan to forge account ledgers belonging to the Silver Peak Keep Councilor of Coin. Sergeant Brient needs to know this information.
THE NEW BLOOD III
Inform Sergeant Brient of the Silver Blades forgery plan 0/1
Rewards: +50 Door Knocker reputation
+50 PeakGuard reputation
+75 Alliance
Reputation with Sergeant Brient
+25 Experience
ACCEPT QUEST?
THE NEW BLOOD III (ELITE) (OPTIONAL)
Stop the Silver Blade’s plans for the forged ledgers 0/1
Rewards: +75 Door Knocker reputation
+75 PeakGuard reputation
+100 Alliance Reputation with Sergeant Brient
+50 Experience
Unknown Reward x2
ACCEPT QUEST?
Hall stared at the quest prompts, looking to the others to see if they had received them. All nodded, including Caryn, which Hall found a little strange. Ulysses did not, seeing the blank look on their eyes but recognizing it. This was the second time Hall had received an optional and Elite quest. The first had led to Roxhard and him destroying a camp of raiding goblins and had rewarded Hall with Pike. For him, it was an easy decision on which quest to take. The part about the two unknown rewards was interesting and helped tipped the decision in the Elite quests favor.
“Elite?” he asked.
Roxhard and Leigh nodded. Sabine looked off over their heads, thinking, before finally nodding. Hall had explained about the Elite and optional quests to her soon after she had joined them. Jackoby didn’t bother responding, the Firbolg as noncommittal as usual. He didn’t care until it came to fighting, and then he was committed to seeing the combat through.
“I got it too,” Caryn said a little sheepishly. Her eyes darted from one to the other, ignoring Ulysses.
Hall looked at the Duelist. She was aligned with the Door Knockers, or had been. What was she now? She had fought beside them, bled with them. Seemed she could be trusted but how far? Was she really loyal to Berim and the Door Knockers or did she truly want to be rid of them? It was hard to tell. She was a Player, though. He couldn’t just abandon her. He thought about the Bodin Player they had met after disembarking in Auld. Davit? He thought that was the name. That one had been trouble. Caryn didn’t seem the same. She seemed nice, slightly naive and innocent.
Making a decision, realizing he was doing it without checking with the others first, he nodded to Caryn.
“You’re with us,” he said and saw the gratitude in her eyes. Roxhard and Leigh smiled, the Druid reaching out and clasping Caryn’s shoulder. Sabine didn’t look happy, not looking at either him or Caryn. It was hard to tell with her, Hall knew. The Witch seemed to be easily aggravated and annoyed. And she was getting worse every day. “Elite it is then.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The center of the barn was wide open, a two-story space. The dirt had been churned up showing where the giant had been sitting and rapidly standing up to join the fight. Stalls lined both sides of the large space, a second story above the stalls. Built of traditional post and beam, the barn showed signs of heavy use. The stalls were empty, piles of moldy hay in the corners. Dust was everywhere except where it looked like the giant had leaned against the posts.
To enter the barn, they had to squeeze past the dead giant, crouching low and moving under it, trying to avoid the dried blood. Pike squawked, irritated that he had to walk in as there wasn’t enough space to ride on Hall’s shoulder or Angus’ back. The talons stepped in the blood, leaving a thin trail. Once inside, Pike hopped over to a corner and started trying to clean the blood off his talons.
They spread out, looking through the stalls. Hall stood in the middle of the open space, eyes scanning the ground looking for the trap door. The Silver Blade, now tied up inside the house and under guard, had said it was a large hatch in the middle of the barn floor. Walking to the middle, he scuffed his foot along the ground, moving some of the loose dirt aside.
He listened to his footsteps, the thud of boots on hard-packed dirt was replaced with the sound of boots on wood. Smiling, he bent down and started pushing aside more of the dirt and found the edge of the hatch.
“Got it,” he said and stood up.
He started moving to the side, kicking the dirt out of the way to reveal more of the hatch. He got to the corner and started up the side until he got to the other corner. A minute later he had the entire hatch revealed. Hinges were on the end opposite the barn door. Big and heavy looking, the door was solid when he stomped on it. Six-foot square.
Crouching down, he felt around for a hole or a handle, something to open the hatch with. There was nothing and the seam between hatch and floor was tight. The Silver Blades, or whoever had built the hatch and tunnel, had put wood another foot or so out from the edge, giving a solid surface to line up against. He tried to pry it up enough to get a finger under but couldn’t. Jamming his dagger into the seam, he tried and managed to get it up a half inch but not enough.
The hatch was heavy.
Standing up and stepping aside, he motioned for Jackoby to take his place. The Firbolg grumbled but did so, setting his shield and hammer down on the ground. Crouching, he used his dagger to lift the hatch up enough to fit a finger underneath.
“Dwarf,” Jackoby called, grunting as he tried to lift the hatch enough to get the rest of his fingers under.
Roxhard rushed over, fitting his slightly thinner fingers under and lifting. Together, Dwarf and Firbolg managed to pick up the heavy hatch. Each moved to a side and worked the hatch up, letting it fall to the dirt floor with a loud thud. Dust kicked up as the hatch hit, and they coughed.
Waving his hand through the air to clear the dust, Hall looked down into the dark hole now revealed. Wood planking lined the wall, holding back the earth. A ladder had been set into one side, leading down into the dark. The floor was lost in shadow. There didn’t seem to be anything moving, no lights. He could see brackets on the walls for torches, but none were there.
“Be right back,” Hall said and activated Leap.
He landed at the bottom in a crouch, spear pointing up, eyes searching the dark. He had used the class ability instead of climbing down for the surprise of the move. Climbing the ladder, he would have been easy pickings for anyone waiting in the dark. Now he was down in seconds and ready to defend.
Or attack.
His eyes shifted as his racial ability of Limited Night Vision activated, using the ambient light from the opening above. Before him, in a direction that would head straight to Silver Peak Keep, was an opening in the wooden walls. Arched, he could see timbers set into the hard-packed dirt walls at intervals to support the ceiling. About eight-feet tall, six wide, the tunnel ran off into the darkness past where his vision could see.
He listened, eyes searching the dark.
“Clear,” he said a minute later, not taking his eyes off the tunnel.
Standing, he moved into the entrance, out of the way. Sabine was the first down, followed by Caryn and Ulysses. He grimaced as Angus’ annoyed moos echoed through the shaft and into the tunnel as the cow was lowered by rope. Jackoby and Roxhard were above, slowly lowering the cow as Leigh descended the ladder, gently petting at Angus.
Once down, the cow gave a last indignant moo and settled down at Leigh’s feet. Jackoby and Roxhard came down the ladder quickly, followed by Pike, who flew down and settled on Angus’ back. They all looked down the dark opening.
“That looks inviting,” Sabine muttered.
“Torches,” Hall said.
“Gots better,” Ulysses replied with a chuckle.
He reached into the pouch belted to his side, his hand disappearing into the magical hole that was the inside. Hall turned away, not wanting to look at the strange distortion where the larger hand entered the smaller opening. He had seen it when he placed or removed items in his own pouch, and it disturbed him every time.
“Here they be,” Ulysses said with a smile as he pulled out a lantern. Setting it on the floor, he reached into the pouch and pulled out another one.
Each lantern, made of a thin and dark metal, was about eight inches tall and four inches wide. Shutters covered the sides and a small ring on top served as the handle. Hall recognized them as Thief Lanterns. The shutters would allow a very limited amount of light to shine through, the amount able to be controlled by the holder of the lantern. Ulysses handed one to Hall, who shook his head, pointing at Sabine.
“Roxhard is in the rear,” Hall said. “Ulysses is in the lead with Caryn behind, looking for traps.”
