Chapter 6: A Final, Fleeting Paradise
After a few more jokes and the accompanying laughter, which added to the raucous din of the place, Jack spotted a traveler with dark hair who reminded him of the unkempt, uncouth Royal Advisor, Bors Vasyl. Jack summarized his encounter with Vasyl to Nolan, who reacted exactly as Jack had expected him to.
“I’ve never liked that man. His advice must be exceptional if King Durgas can put up with the awful stench that radiates from him. Seriously, hasn’t he ever heard of a bath? We do have them in the castle, you know,” Nolan said.
“I take it you’ve had dealings with our pungent acquaintance?”
“Mmm,” Nolan responded, taking a gulp of ale. “More than I desire, believe me. He’s always got his nose in things that don’t need his attention. The other day he got three officers of the Law Brigade to abandon their patrol in the Royal Quarter and instead put them in the LQ, saying it was on the order of His Majesty, as if King Durgas would involve himself in minor details like that. I mean, sure, the LQ is dangerous, and the folk living there could use the added protection, but those patrols are assigned to their posts at the behest of the Brigade Captain, who does almost nothing other than monitor the current crime trends in the city. Captain Danzeg knows what he’s doing. All Vasyl does is disrupt the natural order of things,” Nolan said with a huff.
“I don’t doubt that he does. Just out of curiosity, how long ago was this?” Jack asked his friend.
“About two days ago, I’d say,” he replied.
“Hmmm,” said Jack thoughtfully.
“What?” asked Nolan. “Why ‘hmmm?’”
“I’m sure you know this already, but there was a murder in the Royal Quarter last evening. How long was it until the patrol was reassigned back to the RQ?”
“It wasn’t until this morning. You don’t think Vasyl had something to do with that, do you? He’s the Royal Advisor, for Dalbor’s sake! He’s a disgusting little wretch, but he’s always been loyal to this city and her people.” Nolan had emotion in his voice.
“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence,” Jack said, dismissing his earlier idea as ludicrous. “Still, I wonder if that man’s life might have been saved had Vasyl not reassigned that patrol. Do you know who the murder victim was?”
“Yes, actually, Sir Barrow’s cousin in the Law Brigade, Sir Whit, is heading the investigation,” Nolan said. “The man was Rolf Stoneburg, a loans officer from the Upper Middle Quarter.”
“That’s not so odd, then. Perhaps he was getting too hostile with past-due payments from the wrong person, a dangerous malefactor from the LQ perhaps?”
“Apparently not,” Nolan said. “It seems Rolf only dealt with reputable customers from the UMQ and the RQ. Even his off-the-book records indicated as much.”
“The same night a Brigade patrol is discreetly reassigned, a loans officer with no enemies is brutally murdered in the safest quarter of the city, a crime the likes of which it hasn’t seen in over a decade,” Jack said. “Say what you will about Bors Vasyl’s dedication to Lazaras, it sounds a bit suspect to me.”
Nolan paused, his pint raised halfway to his mouth as he pondered what his friend had said. Finally he shook whatever doubts had momentarily taken hold of him.
“You’re just reading too much into it. Remember last year when you were convinced someone was stealing numbing agents from the apothecary? It turned out Rhodes was nursing an infected tooth his dog had.”
“Yes, you’re probably right.”
Nolan finished the last of his fourth pint. He set the empty mug on the table with a bit more force than was necessary, again, blame it on the ale.
“Well, I think I’ve had enough for one night. This place is starting to wind down.”
Engrossed in their conversation, Jack now realized the tavern had emptied considerably and Molly and her girls were just about finished cleaning up for the night. As Jack reached for his purse, Nolan made the half-wave gesture that indicated Jack’s action was unnecessary.
“Don’t worry, mate. I’ve got this.” Nolan reached for his own purse on his left. Finding nothing there, he searched his right, and found nothing there, either. Then his eyes widened and he started cursing so loudly Molly and the girls all looked over to see what the commotion was about.
“My purse is gone!” exclaimed Nolan, incredulity shining through his voice. “I had a senturn’s wages in there. How in the Void did I lose it?”
Jack, though shocked at his friend’s misfortune, quickly surmised what had happened. “Nolan, perhaps that grubber in Jade Square today wasn’t so helpless after all. I imagine he and his sister are fairly well off at the moment.”
Nolan yelled a few more angry curses.
“I should have known better than to go easy on a thief! That’s what I get for showing leniency.”
“Fret not,” Jack responded. “I’ll pay for our drinks, and besides, tomorrow’s Restenday. If you like, we can try to track that kid down. After pickpocketing a Knight’s Squire, I don’t imagine he’ll be showing off. It would attract too much attention, even in the Lower Quarter.”
Nolan took a moment to compose himself. “Not my favorite way to spend Restenday, but I need that purse back. My Ma and sisters need to eat. If that little worm has spent it all, I’ll wring his grubby little neck.”
“Gentle, Nolan. He’s still a kid, after all. If we do find him, he’ll most likely be so terrified of going to the dungeon he’ll just hand over what’s left.”
“I hope you’re right,” Nolan sighed as Molly sauntered over to the table. “I’ll be off now. Ta, Mol. Jack-Knife.” With that, he hulked out of the tavern’s front door as Molly came to rest on Jack’s lap, putting her arms around him as she did so.
“Well, my love,” she said, “you have my undivided attention. What would you like to do now?”
“Oh I have a few ideas, dear, but I am so very tired. Perhaps we should discuss them in your bedchamber?” Warmth radiated from her touch and spread to his heart.
“My, what a novel idea. How do you come up with such notions?” She laughed. “Very well, you talked me into it.”
“Yes, and I had to try so very hard,” he responded. They kissed once more, warmly and with a modest amount of passion, then broke away at the same time with wide smiles on their faces.
“Girls,” Molly said, beaming to her workers. “I’m taking my man to bed. I trust you’re fine to close up?”
“Go on, you two,” the oldest of them said, laughing. “We’re just fine.”
That was all the go-ahead Jack needed. He rose from the table with Molly in his capable arms and carried her up the stairs to her bedchamber, the two young lovers giggling all the way in anticipation of fulfilling their undisclosed desires. Jack closed her door behind them with his foot and deposited her carefully on her wooden frame bed.
The night wore on in its pleasant way with the moon bathing the city in its cold glow. After their romantic activities, the two paramours slept comfortably in one another’s arms, blissfully unaware of the tragedy set to befall the world of Talla Arcaya.