Wynefrede never did learn the end of Nigel’s story, as the queen announced that dinner was about to be served. An army of servants invaded the ballroom and escorted each of the guests to the dining room next door.
A cold wind blew across Wynefrede’s exposed arms and bosom. “You’re shivering.” Raphe started taking off his jacket. “Here…”
“Raphe Faryndon, at your pleasure.” Raphe straightened up from his bow and stretched out his hand. Wynefrede looked up at him, at the way his hair flopped down over his eyes, his slightly crooked smile, and his warm eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Margarett and Benedicta being pulled out onto the dance floor by two other gentlemen.
Elea Carlyle’s castle was fully decked out for the ball, with hundreds of candles and oil lamps making the ballroom seem a little smoky. But the lights glittered off mirrors and polished silver to create a magical effect.
“I like the idea of starting fake rumors,” said Margarett. “It sounds like something a counter intelligence agency will do. I’ll take notes, so we don’t lose track of which rumor we spread where.” She looked around. Nobody was eavesdropping. The guards were standing by the coaches, waiting to take the two women home. Close enough to keep an eye on them, but not so close that they could hear what they were saying. The maid was gone, back inside Benedicta’s house.
“What took you so long?” Benedicta stepped back from the full-length mirror in her dressing room and spun around. “We started without you.” She looked like a fairy tale princess in a light blue ball gown.
“Ride back with me,” Benedicta told Wynefrede and Margarett once they were back outside the hospital. “We can gossip about the boys.” She angled her chin slightly in the direction of a couple of other Royal Season participants, dressed in the best Elizabethan finery. “And you can help me pick out a dress for tonight. As a famous actress, I’ve got an image to maintain.”
The Chubb-Baggins Leper Sanatorium and Heritage Medicine Hospital was fully equipped and it didn’t take long for a Doctor Buryngton to extricate Wynefrede from her thigh holster while Margarett and Benedicta watched, their wide skirts filling up most of the space in the tiny examination room.
“Are you having trouble down there?” asked Wynefrede Aumberden. “We’re almost at the leper hospital.”
Wynefrede Aumberden, as she decided to call herself on Krim, scooted down a little bit in her seat in the back of a carriage slowly making its way along the cobblestones of Knots Hollow Way. She spread her legs a little further apart, giving the man under her skirts a little more space to work in.
The hall grew silent. Even the soldiers at the back of the room who’d been taking bets on the outcome of the hearing stopped arguing about the odds. “I don’t know what to say,” the Duke finally said. “I’m disappointed. I was lied to when I first hired you. And then I was lied to …
Geoffrey knocked on the door to Flame’s room at the Drunken Pie Inn. “Go away.” Her voice was muffled. “It’s me,” he said. “We need to plan your defense.” “I said, go away.” “I’ve got your file,” he yelled through the door. “I know what happened on Emura.” “What the…” Flame swore then stomped to …
Abigail clutched her file to her chest. “Even if we burn these files, what’s to stop the Duke from ordering the same kinds of background checks that Ayoob did?” “I came to Krim to get away from all my mistakes,” said Hephziba. “I didn’t think I could get any further away from Heartburgh.” She glanced …
Geoffrey, Abigail, Hephziba, Ayoob and the General all followed Flame back down the stairs, arguing with her not to quit just yet. “Let us talk to the Duke,” said Abigail. “We’ll convince him to drop it.” “Or Geoffrey will put up an amazing defense and the Duke will never bring up Emura again,” said the …
Geoffrey left the atheneum and spotted Olav the page in the hallway. “Where did Flame go?” “She’s in the north tower,” Olav said. “Hold on, I’m coming with you.” Abigail came out into the hallway, followed immediately by Hephziba, Ayoob, and the general. “I’m sure we won’t even need a hearing if she just explains …
“You looked very different on Emura,” Flame told Handel. “You were… taller. And…” “I know, I know, I was a lot more handsome,” said Handel. “But one thing I learned from that experience is that when you’re choosing an avatar, you’re better off picking one with a brain instead of just going for looks. All …
“This is exciting,” said Hephziba. She looked around at the other members of the Duke’s advisory council. “Come on, why is everyone so glum? The Duke said he had something important to talk to us about. Maybe we’re about to be attacked. I know it would be awful, but, honestly, it’s been a little slow …
The following morning, Geoffrey stayed at the castle for breakfast. It wasn’t because he was avoiding Flame and Steuan. It was just that the food was better at the castle. They had eggs, and bacon, and sausages, and pastries, and a chicory coffee that was almost like the real thing, especially if you hadn’t had …
“I have a feeling that things are starting to come together,” the Duke told Geoffrey. From where he stood at the top of the castle steps, the two of them could see down into the town. The sun was setting, and people were starting to light street lanterns and oil lamps. “It’s like a scene …
Geoffrey slowly eased Steuan’s door closed. He’d managed to get in and out without getting caught, without making a sound, or attracting any attention. He didn’t normally engage in breaking and entering. When he needed to have anything stolen on World of Battle, he had plenty of thieves he could subcontract to. Unfortunately, he hadn’t …
“You want me to go with you on your vision quest?” Geoffrey asked Abigail. “Why?” “Isn’t it obvious? There are bears up there, and wolves, and bandits, and who knows what else.” “I’m not sure what help we’re going to be,” said Ayoob. “Unless you want someone to talk the bears to death. Maybe you …
The Heartburgh market was a square of bare ground where local farmers and crafters sold their wares. Most of the stalls were empty. “It’s busier if you come early in the morning,” Flame told Steuan. “Or on the weekend.” She led him to one of the farmers’ stalls. “Though most of the herbs you’re going …
Author’s note: I removed the book Bartram was reading in the previous installment and replaced it with a catalog. A very special catalog. “So this is where Flame’s faith healer is staying?” General Lukomendrius Dungerame asked Geoffrey as the two approached the Drunken Pie in. “Steuan Raollet, yes. And he’s staying in the room right …
The door to the athaneum popped open. “The Duke is going to be a few minutes late,” Olav the page told the waiting council members sitting around the conference table. “He’s probably meeting with a foreign ambassador,” said Hephziba Primrose Livilla Massey. “Running a small kingdom in the middle of nowhere must be very challenging.” …
Geoffrey Napadayushyi, professional drama stirrer-upper in exile, walked into Heartburgh’s finest dining establishment, the Drunken Pie Inn, located just outside the entrance to Heartburgh Castle. Flame Bunyips, the Duke’s alliances and outreach coordinator, looked up from her breakfast. “Looking for a fast horse out of town?” “No, I’m actually just here for breakfast,” he said. …
“This would be a good time for bandits to attack us,” said Ayoob, eating eggs in the great hall the following morning. The room was almost entirely empty. Besides Ayoob and Geoffrey, the only other person who made it up for breakfast was Abigail Yaxley, who was sitting at a table in the corner, working …
By the time Geoffrey found and returned with four raw eggs, word of the competition had spread. Several villagers were camped out on the edges of the training ground, placing bets. The soldiers were no longer competing just for the gold stars. They were now competing for an audience, which meant that Ohoudulus might well survive …
Ohoudulus stood with his hands on his waist, watching the troops try to organize themselves into teams. “Watch and learn,” he told Geoffrey. “Watch and learn.” He walked to the first team. “Your ties are too loose,” he told them. “If they come undone, you’re disqualified.” He walked around behind the team, sniffed, and continued walking …
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do here,” the Duke told Ohoudulus. “If we don’t improve morale, we’re going to lose the few soldiers that we do have.” “And we have a heart enough time recruiting people to come out here as it is,” added the general. “If fighters go back to Krim City and …
“This is your army?” Ohoudulus The Unliving’s hands were at his waist, elbows sticking out, as he looked over the two dozen men and women on the training ground below him. They were all on the wide stone balcony at the back of the castle. Ohoudulus was wearing long shorts and a sweatshirt. “He looks …
“This isn’t going to end well,” Bartram told Geoffrey. “You’re right, Flame is going to find out.” Geoffrey could see how it would play out. Flame Bunyips, Heartburgh’s alliances and outreach coordinator, would find out that Geoffrey hadn’t been injured in battle at all, and that she had provided medical care under false pretenses. She …
“Well, this is exciting,” the Duke said. “Our first official after-action debriefing.” For the purposes of the meeting, the atheneum had been turned into a war room, with a large map of Krim hung up on one of the walls, completely covering the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A slate slab was propped up against the shelves on …
“And then what happened?” Flame poured gin over the wound on Geoffrey’s shoulder. He flinched away. He’d had antiseptic poured on his wounds before, back on World of Battle, but it hadn’t hurt as much. The level of pain allowed by Krim’s basic bio avatar simulation was excessive. If this was supposed to teach him …
Geoffrey was very good at riding horses. Sowing hatred and discord usually required lots of travel. He was even better at riding dragons, since they were the faster mode of transportation on World of Battle. Krim, unfortunately, had no dragons. That was a pity, because it could have significantly reduced the time it took to …
“I guess he’s not going to have his soup then,” said Jim, and sat down in Bartram’s chair. He leaned over it and breathed in the scent. “Beans and… turnips?” “Skirrets,” said Quarta Pappa. “And garlic and onions, a little fennel.” Jim slurped up a spoonful. “Tasty.” “Is your friend really planning to walk all …
Geoffrey rode in silence next to the driver at the top of the coach. It was chillier up here, but he didn’t have to deal with Bartram’s constant chatter. The previous hour had been peaceful, as he watched the scenery crawl by. “It that it?” The coach had followed the road around a curve, and …
“When you get to Cleig Grijan, look for Quarta Pappa.” Flame handed Geoffrey a packet. “She’s the village elder.” “Her house is right next to the church on the village green,” added Abigail. “You can’t miss it.” “Fine, I’ll go,” said Geoffrey. “But just to Cleig Grijan. I don’t want to go to the sex …
As Geoffrey walked down to the Drunken Pie Inn, he thought about his strategy. He didn’t quite have the power to run full simulations — he’d have to wait until he was off-world and had access to more than just the human brain that Krim saddled him with. He’d paid extra to max out his …
Geoffrey walked out of the front entrance of Heartburgh Castle with his overnight bag. A couple of changes of clothing, a few jars of skin care products, hair pomade — just the bare essentials. He hoped that Flame would bring anything else they would need for the trip. After all, she’d been on Krim longer, …
Olav nudged Geoffrey awake. “Mr. Napadayushyi? Mr. Napadayushyi?” Geffrey propped himself up on an elbow. “Did we have a meeting scheduled? We did, didn’t we?” “No, no, I mean, yes, you wanted to talk to me today, but this is about something else. Duke Percheval would like you to come up to his suite.” Olav …
Geoffrey lay on the couch with his eyes closed, waiting for the raw egg to take effect. Back on World of Battle, healing potions started taking effect instantly, and there would be a health meter showing him that it was working. Here on Krim, there were no indicators. All he had to go by was …
At Castle Heartburgh, breakfast was served buffet-style, in the great hall on the ground floor, on the north side of the castle. The food was on sidebars on the west side of the room, directly across from the staircase. Windows opened out over the training yard. There was porridge, and bread, and stew left over …
“Wait, you can’t go in there…” the page said. Geoffrey shoved him out of the way and threw open the door. The general was climbing out of the bathtub and his derriere, glistening with water droplets, was pale and flabby. “Hey!” The general grabbed for a towel and turned around. “What’s the meaning of this?” …
“General Lukomendrius Dungerame is in here,” the page said, opening the door. Hot, steamy air washed over Geoffrey and he stepped back. “Is that you, Geoff? Come on in!” The general was soaking in a large tub, one leg hanging over the edge, in a small, wood-paneled room that smelled of eucalyptus and juniper, probably …
Geoffrey’s lodgings were located outside the castle proper, in an inn not too far from the castle entrance. He headed for a side door, instead, to avoid bumping into anyone he knew. He opened the door and walked right into Flame Bunyips. “What the hell!” Heartburgh’s alliances and outreach coordinator staggered to keep her balance. …
“General Dungerame! The new military strategist is here.” General Dungerame turned around in his seat. “Hello, Geoff.” He dismissed the page with a wave of his hand. “Sit down.” “Hi, Luke.” Geoffrey walked out through a set of heavy wooden doors onto a stone balcony that overlooked the training field. Below, Heartburgh’s army was doing …
The atheneum turned out to be a drafty old library. Geoffrey arranged the stack of books on the table in front of him. He couldn’t find any military strategy books, not in the 30 seconds he spent looking, but did find a copy of the Krim terms of service, and an encyclopedia of ancient Krim …
Geoffrey found Flame Bunyips in the stables, brushing one of the horses. “There you are,” he said. “Who, me?” said Flame, turning around. “No, the horse,” said Geoffrey, and stroked the animal’s neck. “The stablehand said there’s nothing wrong with her.” “Then I’m sure she’s happy that you’re here with her instead of him,” said …
Duke Percheval stood on the steps of Heartburgh Castle and looked down on the town green in front of him, where half-a-dozen wagons were lined up and discharging cargo and passengers. He imagined that he looked like King Henry the Eighth, but he had a fondness for primary colors and looked more like a clown, …
The accountant rubbed his wrists and staggered around the fire. “Did you have to kill them all?” Ellison stepped over one of the corpses, working the kinks out of his arms. The stars were bright in the sky. Normally, in Krim City, the constant smog blocked much of the view. Out here, you could see …
Ellison lunged towards the fire, trying to grab the poison capsule, but it was gone. One of the guards immediately grabbed him by the back of his jacked and pulled him away. “None of that,” said the guard. “We went to a lot of trouble to catch you.” One by one, the prisoners were re-shackled, …
Ellison didn’t know if the cult was watching him or not, so he followed the recommendation to go the King’s Arms and asked loud and detailed questions about the menu. “What do you mean, you don’t have turkey legs?” he complained at the bar. “The Middle Ages were all about turkey legs.” The bartender pointed …
Ellison stepped through the gate in his new avatar, wearing a randomly-generated face and a default adventurer outfit. He looked around as if he were on Krim for the first time. Matilda was nowhere in sight, but there were a lot of people milling around between the merchant stands in the Gate Plaza. Or she …
Ellison and Matilda met with the Round Krim Society late the following morning to deliver the bad news. The brothers were in the main meeting room downstairs, sitting around one of the long tables at the back, drinking herbal tea. Linota stood up when she saw them walk in. “Did you find him?” Ellison shook …
The wench avatar was a big mistake. Barking Street was much shorter when Ellison had walked up it while wearing the assassin outfit, with its long pants, jacket, and heavy, hooded wool cloak. Walking back down to Aldwich Row in a skirt and a bodice-baring chemise was an endless march. At least the skirt had …
Matilda and Ellison exited the Aldwich Row Community Center through same back door that they had come in through. There was a line of people in the alley and they pressed in as soon as the door was opened. Matilda pushed the most aggressive devotees aside but Ellison had neither her forceful personality nor the …
In the hallway outside Remember Keturah Bohannon’s office Ellison stopped to check the floor. “Do you see any scuff marks?” he asked Matilda. “You mean, from when Remember dragged Fulke out of his office, into hers, and threw him out the window?” She pursed her lips and looked at the floor, then grabbed an oil lamp …
Returning to Krim never got any easier. Even knowing that the fleas were all in his head, the minute he stepped through the gate, his entire body began itching again. His body felt heavier. His shoes were too tight around the toes, and too loose at the heel. The air, full of soot and aerosolized …
After getting back to city center, Ellison veered off for the central gate while Matilda continued down Knots Hollow Way, to the rooming house on Marylebone Place where Fulke lived. Ellison’s brother, Jerald Crewe, owned an investigation agency that mostly handled background checks and delivered subpoenas. When Ellison got out prison, Jerald was the only …
“You should have come and talked to me first,” the waitress said. She came up to the banister, keeping Ellison between her and Matilda, and looked over the bay as she tilted her head towards him. “I know all the goss. I’ll give you the straight story.” “What did Captain May lie about?” Ellison asked. …
“Apparently, to have a completely realistic physics engine, you need a computer as big as Krim itself,” said Ellison, walking up to Matilda’s table at the King’s Armpit. She normally sat at the bar. The choice of the table, in the far corner, was so that she could have a private conversation with some guy. …
Taenaran the Bard confirmed that he saw nobody else upstairs except Brother Fulke before the rehearsals began, then nobody else went up and down all afternoon. “We were short of chairs and a couple of guys had to sit on the stairs,” he said. “Nobody snuck past us.” “Did you go upstairs at anytime during …
“So let me get this straight,” said Ellison, looking around the office. “You want us to find evidence that Krim World administrators kidnapped your leader…” “Brother Fulke,” said Brother Linota. “…And are keeping him trapped in some kind of secret dimension where they keep everyone who disagrees with them.” “Yes.” “So that you can sue …
Damp darkness surrounded the back door of the Aldwich Row Community Center. It was colder by the door, with a mist rising up from somewhere to the right of the entrance. The only light was a faint glow from a second-floor window of the building on the other side of the alley. Someone up there …
Ellison put his hands in his pants pockets. He could feel the notebook in one of the inside side pockets of his jacket, just under his left elbow. “What’s in the notebook?” he asked. “Nothing that anybody else would care about,” said Rodge. “Just a record of transactions between me and Elea.” “Sounds very romantic.” …
Why would Rodge hire someone to steal a blank notebook? Ellison stopped under a streetlight and pulled it out of his pocket. He felt the pages. There was still nothing hidden in them or between them. He put the notebook away and continued down Leadenhall back to the Barley Mow Inn. Maybe Harmen Chapman stole …
Quimby Plummer, owner of the Barley Mow Inn, refused to tell Ellison where Donna lived. “I know you’re working for that Rodge guy,” Quimby said. “After you two dragged my customer right out of here, I’m seriously considering kicking you out. Next time, drag them out after they’ve paid for their meal.” Ellison sighed, then …
Matilda left, to put up more reward signs and to listen for gossip about the jewel. Ellison stayed behind. With Rodge down in the basement, whipping the thieves, it could be a good opportunity to talk to the guild members. And have some chamomile tea. Danmak had a pot going in the break room and …
“Wait at the entrance,” Matilda told Ellison as she walked into the inn. “Don’t let him go upstairs or into the kitchen.” She pantomimed a knife across her throat. “You want me to slit his throat?” he whispered. “No. If he gets to the kitchen he might slice his own throat and we’d lose him …
The city hall was, in theory, a great place for secret meetings. Krim administrators didn’t allow any hanky panky inside the building. They had no problems with their residents being subject to grotesque acts of violence, but didn’t want to become victims themselves. Any user who violated the rules could be permanently banned from the …
Rodge Bannister didn’t want to offer a reward for the return of the Jewel of Rhotar. They’d recovered everything except a dozen or so of the smaller, less valuable previous stones and historic artifacts. The Gang of Four had either hidden them somewhere where Rodge and his mercenaries couldn’t find them, had already sold them, …
On the way back through Krim’s welcome area, Ellison took the opportunity to reset his avatar, so he wouldn’t have to go back in wearing his old, dirty clothes and his old, tired, body. He still kept his same look. The body was his, back before the explosion that killed him a little more than …
Ellison didn’t stick around for any of the torture. He didn’t think it would be particularly useful, first of all. Back in the old day, people would confess to just about anything for the torture to stop. But also, it just didn’t sit right with him. Sure, it wasn’t real. Not really real. But it …
The rain had ended by the time Ellison left the guild and he went straight back to his room at the inn and fell deep asleep. He slept through breakfast, and through lunch as well so by the time he made it downstairs all that was left was cold cabbage that the cook was about …
“I suspect that Gervis has been finding opportunities to climb that back watch tower and drop the stolen goods down to one of his accomplices standing outside the wall,” Ellison said. “It’s hard to see who’s going up and down because the guild house and the stables are in the way.” “Well, now that’s all …
The four thieves laughed in relief when Matilda left with the two other warrior women and ordered another round of beers for the road. Then Gervis stood up and walked over to Ellison. “I saw you sitting over here with Matilda,” the stablemaster said. “At first I thought you guys were here to arrest me, …
“Don’t look now, but there’s a table at the back with four guys at it,” Matilda told Ellison in a low voice. “I know. My guy is there,” he said. “The one who just walked in?” “No, the one he kissed when he sat down.” “That’s Trozganoth the Anointed,” she said. “He knits scarves and …
Two Toe Toe continued his circumnavigation of the Armstrong Guild compound, but Ellison had had enough. He was tired, and his bones hurt from having fallen on the stones and then being crushed under Tom. He retraced his steps through the alley back to Knots Hollow. As he approached the street, he saw Gervis the …
Ellison stepped out through the front gate of the Armforge guild, onto Knots Hollow Way, and debated about whether to head straight back to the Barley Mow for some dinner, ale, and a good night’s sleep, or to try to catch up with Matilda. On the one hand, Matilda could be just about anywhere. On …
“I really thought you were onto something there,” Two Teeth Tom told Ellison. “One of the maids saw Gorehair and the other two walking back from this direction. Plus, Gervis is the most antisocial of us all. He could easily be replaced by an impostor and we wouldn’t notice.” “Hey,” said Gervis. “I’m standing right …
“They’re the Gang of Four,” said Matilda. “They’re famous. They case their targets, figure out who has access but doesn’t interact with other people much, and steal their identities while the commit the crime. They usually knock their victims out and tie them up somewhere, but getting Hellcut, Gorehair, and Rainbow Squirtle passed-out drunk was …
It was getting late in the afternoon, but Derek decided he had enough time to walk them down to Lothbury Street. “I haven’t had a chance to visit the wine shop yet,” he said. “I’d like to see how Lucy and Lora are doing.” They walked east along Marylebone to Aldwich, then followed Lothbury Street …
Marylebone Place was a street of ill repute. Not because of its various houses of prostitution but because it was a street that saw a great deal of vehicle traffic but was located far enough from city center that Krim administration kept forgetting to do repairs. The cobblestones surface was torn up, making it a …
Before leaving, Ellison and Matilda had a chat with some of Rodge’s security team. They weren’t happy that Rodge had brought in outsiders to deal with the problem. “It’s almost like he doesn’t trust us to do our jobs,” said Two Teeth Tom, newly back from the dead. “Just because someone got the drop on …
Two weeks later, Ellison and Matilda met up with Simond and the other investors at the docks to see the boat set sail. She’d been renamed the Nina. Ellison had been following the gossip in the bars. After Pompas had been marched through the city, word had spread quickly about what happened, and Krim residents …
Ellison got to the Simond Fine Art Gallery first, even though he made a detour to the Central Plaza so that he could pop back out through the main gate and change into his regular avatar. For a few minutes, he was worried that Pompas had somehow managed to escape again. Then he saw them …
“I’m sure my boyfriend will be back any minute now,” Ellison said. “I’m not in the way, am I?” The sailor grunted and looked up at the setting sun, the same way that someone on a different, more civilized, world might pointedly check their watch. While Ellison had been keeping an eye on Pompas’ boat, …
Ellison deliberately avoided looking at Pompas’ ship as they walked past it, for fear of somehow spooking him. “So, going over the edge of the world, huh!” he said, in a extra-high pitch. “I don’t know, the weather looks a little cloudy,” Matilda said, looking up at the sky. “Right, right. You want to sail …
At the Crow’s Nest Cafe, Ellison and Matilda grabbed beers and a bowl of fried skirrets and sat at one of the two tables on the balcony with a clear view of the docks. They could see Ander’s ship down below them. It looked too small to make a long sea-voyage. “It must be insanely …
The docks were located to the west of city center, where Krim River flowered into the Bay of Krim. They were easy enough to find. Ellison could simply follow the fishy smell. Krim’s owners were remarkably unimaginative when it came to coming up with names, but the docks were a true work of art. The …
Matilda and Ellison walked Jerald back to the main gate. The company he ran, Crewe Investigations, now had its main office in a business district on Facepage. Jerald had been renting space in a nice office park, but that world had been swallowed up by Gobble. Given the choice of being part of the Gobble …
“We only had a small window of opportunity to grab him,” Matilda explained to the client, Count Simond. “The building had multiple exits. If we’d taken the time to get enough bodies together to guard all the exits, we would have lost the chance to grab him. But something spooked him, he ran out the …
“It’s a little firm called Pocoto,” said Norbert. Ellison restrained himself from giving Matilda a high five. That’s what they were looking for. Instead, he walked closer to Jerald and Norbert and pulled at Jerald’s sleeve. “We turn left up ahead,” he told him. Jerald glanced at Norbert, who sped up his sales pitch. “Several …
“And finally we’ve come to the worst of Krim’s fine drinking establishments, the King’s Armpit.” Matilda Scarletstrike swung open the door so that Ellison Davo and his brother, Jerald Rex Crew, could walk in. Jerald hesitated in the doorway. The Krim’s Armpit could be a little overwhelming to newcomers. It was a bit of an …
The guild had rearranged the furniture in the member’s lounge for the hearing. The couches and arm chairs had been pushed back against the walls, and there were now four rows of chairs in the center of the room. The refreshments table hadn’t been moved, though. It was still off to the side, covered with …
“So it all hinges on Ismena’s testimony.” Ellison leaned over the hand-written statement from Gus’s girlfriend and sole alibi. “Do you think she’ll be credible?” Matilda shrugged, then raised her self on her elbows so she could look over at the paper, her head almost touching Ellison’s. “Look here,” she pointed. “She writes her letter …
Ellison met up with Matilda again back at the Barley Mow Inn. And she immediately started in about the elephant. “It’s a smallish elephant, but no, I don’t know how they got it in there,” he said. “I didn’t ask, and I don’t care. For all I know they chopped it up into pieces and …
“Hey!” Just outside the doorway, Gus threw up his hands. “Warren already told you that he didn’t see who attacked him!” The chancellor grudgingly nodded. Or perhaps the chief assassin did see who attacked him, but was too embarrassed to admit that he’d been caught out. Saying so out loud, though, especially without any evidence …
Ellison had never been inside the Paladins of Death guild hall before. The entry hall was two stories high and was a museum of artifacts and successful assassinations. The focal point was a giant elephant. It’s glass eyes followed Ellison across the room. Was the elephant itself the target of an assassination, or its means? …
There were two guards on duty at the assassins’ guild house. They’d beefed up security a bit since the murder. Ellison didn’t recognize either of them, but figured that the one with the wooden leg had been on duty the previous night. “Nimble Wind?” he asked the female guard while the other went to fetch …
