I'd never made the basket trip across Pavis before. It doesn't recommend itself for the tourist trade. It's an uncomfortable mode of transportation and makes sightseeing difficult so I can't say that I would recommend it to anyone else either. The combination of the stuffy sack and the basket and the funk of fish were making me feel quite nauseous. Rather clever, nobody would think to stop some fishermen returning to Riverside after a delivery with an empty basket. Of course if they'd bothered to think about it at all they might have wondered why two or more men were needed to carry a supposedly empty basket. In my experience most people don't bother to think so as long as you act like you're doing nothing wrong they'll ignore you. And that includes the authorities. In fact just before I passed out from the lack of air and the smell I heard the fishermen trading jibes with the soldiers who hand't returned to their barracks yet.
When I regained consciousness, how many times have I said that to myself, I found myself lying on a dirt floor still wearing the sack. I slowly tried removing the sack and when no one interfered I yanked it off. I just lay there and gulped in great gasps of air. Boy did it smell good. After I'd laid there and weezed a bit I realized that I was not alone. "Hello?" I asked. "Greetings Placidus Treibonus, I apologize for the rough treatment at the hands of my men." The voice was masculine and quite mellifluous. I shook my head, a wasted effort in the darkness and said, "If you wanted to talk to me Hallarax you could have just paid me a visit during my regular hours." Hallarax the Singer is the head of the Riverman's Guild and part of the pro-Lunar faction in the city. Who else would have such a nice speaking voice and employ fishermen to do his dirty work? Hallarax snorted disgustedly, yet musically, and barked out for a light.
I sat up slowly, my stomach still wasn't feeling too settled well at this point, and said, "If you want to disguise your identity you might consider letting someone else do the talking next time." By this time a light had been lit and I could see Hallarax shaking his head. "I guess you're just too sharp for us rural types, eh Treibonus?" I shook my head again, "If I was that smart I would know why you wanted to talk to me. I suppose it has something to do with the deaths of Cressidus Silvercloak and Balarus Reflected Glory. Why else would you want to talk to me?" Hallarax a stocky, grizzled middle aged man with broad shoulders and huge hands was seated on a barrel and nodded at this last statement. "I suppose that's rather obvious. I apologize again for the abduction, I didn't think that it was wise for outsiders to know I spoke with you." I glared at him, "And you couldn't write a note? I can read. I am a Lunar after all, purveyors of culture to the world you know." He shrugged and smiled sheepishly, "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Anyway the reason why I wanted to speak to you was to tell you that the Imperial faction had nothing officially to do with their deaths."
I gave him a grimace for his troubles. "That's it? You had me semi-professionally kidnapped, dumped into a stinky basket, and hauled half way across town just to tell me that you Imperials had nothing "official" to do with the two deaths? Meaning of course someone in your group could still be involved in an unofficial manner?" He shrugged again, "I suppose." I rolled my eyes and stood up with some difficulty, I gestured rudely at the fisherman who leapt to help me. He left me to my own devices. After I had gotten myself straightened up I looked Hallarax in the eyes. "If we're finished here?" Hallarax nodded. I turned to go and then thought of something and turned back to Hallarax, "Oh by the way you owe me the cost of a bath and some laundered clothes." I held my hand out expectantly. Amazingly Hallarax reached into his moneybag and handed me two wheels. I bowed and said thank you. I was just leaving the room when I thought of something else. I turned back to Hallarax and said, "Oh, by the way you've lost yourself a customer. I don't think I can ever face the thought of fish again."
To be continued.
Oliver
Powered by hypermail