The Wood Knot Warrior Pt. 02

"What was in the pouch?" he asked.

"It was more, who was in the pouch," Eryllis responded, and he leaned forward again as his eyes widened.

"We found a winged female tied up with magic silver thread. She claimed it weakened her, and her race has the ability to shrink down to a size small enough to fit within the pouch," Eryllis stated.

Morgan's expression showed his surprise. "A Pixie? Someone abducted a Pixie?"

Karter leaned closer. "Yes, and they were sending it to Devlin Warrick! What does the dying man need more than anything?" he snapped.

Morgan immediately understood Karter's implication and scowled. "Make no mention of the Pixie to anyone. If word got out that someone was trafficking Pixies as some type of cure-all, the ramifications would be dire for everyone!"

Eryllis looked like she might argue, but Karter placed his hand on hers. She turned her face to him and saw he was begrudgingly in agreement with the master wizard.

Karter locked eyes with Morgan. "That doesn't let Devlin off the hook for being involved.

Morgan nodded and leaned back in his chair wearily. "But his death might."

"What?" Eryllis, Kharza, and Karter exclaimed in unison.

The wizard sighed. "Natural causes this time, but Lucien wasted no time in stepping forward to claim his authority as the new leader of the Warrick family."

There was a knock on the door, and Karter moved to open it. Commander Falco took in the gathering and frowned. "You began without me?"

Karter gestured for him to enter and close the door behind himself.

Falco spotted the red courier pouch on the desk. "You opened it?" he growled.

"NO!" Eryllis snapped, her temper fraying. Kharza reached over to take her hand to calm her this time.

Morgan turned to the commander. "The bandits had a wizard with them. I didn't recognize his tattoos or jewelry, but from the sound of him, he'd be a lower-level wizard experimenting with the dark arts and drugs. Still, he was able to breach the seal on the pouch. Possibly his one useful skill to the bandits." He saw the question in Falco's eyes. "I just gave Eryllis an update on how courier pouch seals worked. She stated it was open when they arrived."

Falco nodded in acceptance and suddenly realized someone was absent. "Where is Dell?"

Eryllis snarled silently as a directionless rage flared in her. The hair on everyone's arms began to stand on end.

Kharza left her chair to kneel next to her and wrapped her arms around her. They heard Eryllis suck in a breath, and the charge in the room dissipated.

Morgan gave Falco a glance. "I have to admit I was distracted by the open courier pouch and assumed he was in the kitchen," the wizard admitted.

Eryllis got control of her voice. "He went into the tent where I found the pouch and vanished. It was magic, but I couldn't detect it." Morgan connected the dots and understood that the Pixie had taken him.

"He's dead?" Falco gasped.

"NO!" Eryllis snapped once again. "I said he vanished. He went somewhere, and I don't know where."

Falco glanced at Karter to see how the father was reacting and saw he was watching him. "Right... okay. What was in the pouch?"

Eryllis took a deep breath and gestured to the threads hanging out of the opening.

Falco moved forward and picked up the envelope. He looked inside and saw many short pieces of silver thread. He turned to Eryllis. "You took nothing from inside?"

"Nothing," she asserted as he looked at him. "Who knew there was a courier delivery coming from Portoa?" she asked.

The commander's eyebrows rose. He wasn't used to being interrogated. "Devlin Warrick was the intended recipient. He swore me to secrecy when he asked me to send you two to find it, so I doubt he told anyone. I've learned he's passed, so we can't ask him what he expected to find inside."

"Yet there were bandits only ambushing specific travelers from Portoa, and the bandits had a wizard with the skills to open magic-sealed courier pouches." Eryllis handed Falco the drawings she made of the tattoos she saw on the arms of many of the bandits.

Falco's expression became grim. "These are Grennesh Guardsmen markings. Different platoons."

Kharza spoke to head off a hostile response from Eryllis. "The tattoos were faded like the men who wore them. Retired Guardsmen. The few I met had little fight left in them."

Falco frowned at the implication in her words but nodded. He pointed at one of the sketches. "This one is definitely from a platoon we disbanded for corruption. They were organized criminals when we kicked them out. Not surprisingly, they turned to banditry. The HooBess squad." He sighed. "I have to bring this pouch to the new head of the Warrick family and let him know what you found. I hope Lucien Warrick isn't as difficult to deal with as his father was. I'll send someone by tomorrow to return the cart to the Warrick estate." He sighed. "Thank you," he said, then paused. "I hope you find Dell soon."

Eryllis gave him a quick nod and then looked away.

Morgan waited for Karter to escort Falco out of the building before he turned back to Eryllis. "I don't know where Pixies are located, but someone must have discovered them and a way to use them for cures—" Morgan suddenly froze for a second, then quickly continued. "It's my understanding Pixie magic was very powerful but unlike mine and yours. If you couldn't even detect it, it must be incompatible. Why she took Dell is unknown, as is almost everything else about them. Let me go home and do some research. I'll let you know what I find out. Please don't do anything until I get back to you."

Kharza could see Eryllis wasn't happy about that, but they nodded to him. Morgan took a breath, then left as Karter returned to his office.

"What's he going to do?" he asked when they were alone.

Kharza spoke as she could see Eryllis was struggling to keep it together. "The wizard is going to find information on Pixies. He asked us to wait."

"We give him until tomorrow," Eryllis said through clenched teeth. "Then I start peeling back the layers on this conspiracy."

Karter and Kharza shared a worried look.

-=-

Falco was cursing silently as he rode back down the road toward the Wood Knot Inn a day after his last visit.

As he'd suspected, Lucien Warrick was equally arrogant about his privileged status as his father had been. When presented with the opened courier pouch, he demanded the thieves be apprehended and executed for stealing from his family.

Falco had informed him that the bandits who ambushed the courier had a wizard with them who was far more likely to have been the one to commit the crime of breaking the seal.

Lucien proceeded to claim that this was a flagrant attack on his right to protect the family's assets and that he would be informing the heads of all the other first families in Grennesh. He said the presence of a wizard helping bandits was obviously a blatant lie to hide the truth that the very people sent to protect the pouch had opened it and stolen the contents. He pressed formal charges against Dell du Krane and Eryllis Harrowane and demanded that Falco take them into custody immediately.

It took until this morning for the warrant paperwork to be completed, so here he was on the way to deliver it.

He entered the inn and spotted Karter sitting in the bar with several older men, likely regulars. Karter glanced up, stood, and slapped a few shoulders with a smile before joining Falco.

"From your expression, I can tell you're not here with good news," the innkeeper said.

Falco sighed. "No. I think it's best if we do this in your office. Eryllis and Kharza as well, please."

Karter snagged Beverly's arm and asked her to go upstairs and ask the two women to join him in his office with Falco." With a nod, the woman rushed off.

As he waited in the office with Karter, Falco thought about the expression on the young woman's face. "The young lady seemed rather sad," he offered, and Karter glanced toward the door.

"Yes. They've heard Dell is missing, which has unsettled all the inn staff. It's unsettling me for more than the obvious reason that he's my son. We've made a major investment in the restaurant that requires him to be in the kitchen, where he most wants to be! He's not a bloody warrior!" Karter said in frustration.

Falco was aware that he was the one who'd called upon Dell to take up the sword on several occasions.

He was spared from having to respond by a knock on the door.

"Come in," Karter called out, allowing Eryllis and Kharza to join them in the room.

They took chairs, and Eryllis focused a stern gaze on the commander.

"What's your bad news?" Karter said, and Falco saw the look in the lovely Wood Elf's eyes sharpen. He sighed.

"I spoke with the new head of the Warrick family, Lucien, and he's proving to be difficult. He doesn't believe the bandits had a wizard, has accused you and Dell of stealing the pouch contents, which he stated may have contained a cure for his father's ailments, and has filed charges against you two. I have an arrest warrant for you."

"WHAT?" Eryllis yelled and the air crackled with electricity.

Karter raised a finger. "She cannot be arrested in or taken from the inn."

Falco smiled. "Yes. She is protected by its neutral territory designation. Until this nonsense can be dealt with in the courts, I'm asking you to remain here."

Eryllis leaped to her feet and glared at the man. "I will not be caged while I should be hunting for clues for where Dell might have been... taken or sent."

Kharza interrupted. "Excuse me. Was I mentioned in the arrest warrant?"

Falco turned to her, grateful to look away from the rage on Eryllis' face. "No. No, you weren't named."

Kharza simply nodded with a smile.

Having delivered his bad news, Falco wanted to beat a hasty retreat, so he stood as well.

"I'm sorry you've become tangled in the political machinations of a Grennesh first family. I hope we can resolve it quickly." With another nod, he left the room, the inn, and mounted his horse for the ride back.

He glanced over his shoulder as he swore he could still feel the power in Eryllis' eyes following him.

Chapter 7

Things had definitely taken a wrong turn in their pursuit of answers.

Kharza tugged on her friend's hand to make her take her seat again.

"So, the bastard is aware of the significance of the contents of the pouch but not necessarily its nature," Karter mused.

"He must have been the one who hired the bandits and the wizard to keep that pouch from reaching his father," Eryllis reasoned, and Karter nodded.

"We need proof," he said.

"That's something I can get for you," Kharza said with a smile. "I can move freely through Grennesh."

Karter smiled and nodded. "You should try to find a link between Lucien and the ex-Guardsmen who became bandits. What did he call them, the HooBoo squad?"

"The HooBess squad," Eryllis corrected.

Karter nodded. "The bars on the north side of Grennesh are where the darker element hang out. The bars on Pricton Lane would be a good place to start. If no luck there, Xoctoz Way in the next street but don't go further north than that." When Kharza stood, he raised a hand. "It's too early. None of those bars will be open until an hour after dark. Two hours would be better."

She nodded and patted Eryllis' shoulder. "Not to worry. I won't beat up too many people."

-=-

The bars on Pricton Lane were far too gentle to find ex-guardsman-turned-bandits. After her fourth try, Kharza wrote off the rest of the establishments on that street.

The places on Xoctoz Way were seedier, and she fended off some unwelcome touching with a few carefully controlled nut-sack slaps, but again, the client base wasn't near the sinister mark required. She began to wonder at how out of date Karter's information was.

She headed further north into Sesrex Alley. There was very little light here and fewer places of business. She did get to flatten two thugs who tried to drag her into a dark hallway.

She didn't kill them, but they got the idea, and the news spread fast.

When she reached the first bar, there were only three customers, but none showed any interest. It felt like a dud, so she moved on. Three fistfights later, she was drinking a surprisingly good ale in her fourth bar when she pulled her first bit of useful information from the bartender. He admitted that the HooBess squad used to drink there, but they'd lost privileges in most of the bars in the alley months ago and had to resort to the last bar on the northernmost road, which was just inside the wall. But her kind wouldn't be welcome there.

Kharza snorted but thanked the bartender with another coin. She left the bar, knocked out another mugger waiting to stab her just outside the door, then walked to the end of the alley to step out onto a wide cobblestone lane that ran between the buildings and the city wall. On this side of the city, the wall was made of stone. She recalled that Dwarves assisted with the construction of Grennesh, so this was likely part of their contribution. A short distance along the road was a single torch mounted next to a doorway, above which was a sign showing two tankards and the words First Priv.

She didn't know what that meant, but it was a bar, so in she went.

The interior was dark, with booths lining the wall to her right and a bar running along the wall to her left. A few tables filled the space between. There had to be at least a dozen customers, which was more than she'd seen in the last three bars combined. All of them seemed to be generally similar to the bandits she'd fought on the road, so she assumed this meant they were retired guardsmen too.

Looking behind the bar, she saw the bartender was bald, badly scarred, and heavyset. Working amongst the tables were two servers who were very different. One was a young dwarf female, short and broad, busty, with long dark hair in braids, dark skin, and a sullen expression.

The other was... big! She was stooping slightly to avoid bumping her head on the low ceiling. Her skin was white as the snow from the nearby mountain tops and matched the color of her hair which was bound in a thick braid running down her back to her knees. She was half a head taller than Dell, generously muscled all over but not bulky thick. She had amazing long legs shown off by her ridiculously short skirt. Kharza stared at the woman's tremendous cleavage as her large breasts strained against her tight top. She also had a bouncy round ass under the short skirt. Everything about her was just... big!

When the blonde headed back to the bar, she looked over at Kharza, and a broad, delighted smile appeared on her pretty face. She had a wide mouth with bright white teeth and full lips. Her fang teeth, top and bottom, were just a little more pronounced than the others.

It was the innocence in her large eyes that caught Kharza's attention.

"Orc! We don't serve your kind here. Piss off!" the bartender called out to her.

Kharza smiled and continued walking until she reached the bar. The dwarf female arrived with her tray and set it on the bar as she glanced apprehensively at Kharza.

"I'm not here to drink your swill. I'm looking for the one who hired the HooBess losers to kill travelers from Portoa," she said.

The tall server stepped up behind the dwarf and added her tray to the bar. She was still smiling at Kharza. In the brighter light by the bar, Kharza realized the blonde's eyes were completely green with slit pupils. In the darker table area, it looked like she had black eyes, but that must have been just her pupils. She pushed her hair back, and that's when Kharza noticed the large, tufted ears projecting out from the sides of her head. She'd thought it was just her hair, but she had large furry ears.

"That was Mitch Tagg—"

"SHUT YOUR TITS!" the barkeep yelled at the tall blonde, and she leaned away with a frightened wince.

Kharza spotted the slave bracelet on her ankle and a matching one on the dwarf's leg. She turned her attention to the bartender.

"Slaves? In Grennesh?"

"It's none of your fucking business! Get out, you green skag!" the man said threateningly.

"Commander Falco told me personally there are no slaves within the city limits. Are you calling him a liar?" Kharza asked. She heard a burst of angry grumbles behind her. The commander wasn't a popular man in this bar, it seemed.

"Right. Free drinks for the rest of the night to the first of you to toss this snot gob out of the bar!" the bartender called out.

Three ex-guards leaped to their feet and charged at Kharza. She surged at them, driving her fist into the closest one's nose. It exploded in a spray of blood as Kharza kicked the feet out from under the second one. He slammed his face into the bar rail, sending teeth scattering. The third landed a punch on Kharza's bicep but caught one to his throat. He went down too.

It was over in seconds.

Kharza smiled back at the bartender. "If I take the battle axe from my back, none will live, and I promised Falco not to kill within city limits, so it stays where it is tonight."

The bartender looked at her with hate in his deep-set eyes.

"Free drinks for a week to the man who takes the cunt's head off."

The stakes had just gone up. Two more stood to take that offer. One had a wicked eight-inch blade, while the other was wielding the short sword that active Guardsmen carried.

Kharza pulled her dual hand axes and blocked the thrust from the smaller blade as she sliced the man's wrist with her other axe. As he screamed and fell back, Kharza dropped under the sword stroke and slammed the butt of one axe into the man's kneecap. It shattered nicely, and he grunted in pain as he tried to hop away. She helped him along with a shove, and he crashed over a table.

At the last second, she saw another man rushing at her, so she grabbed his arm, twisted her body to slam her hip into him, and threw him over her shoulder. He sailed over the bar and crashed into the bartender.

She spun and leaped toward two more who ran at her with death in their eyes and knives in their hands. She grabbed a chair and slammed it into the head of the first. The chair broke, and the man fell at her feet, so she stomped to snap his shoulder blade as she leaped up and drove her heel into her next opponent's forehead. His neck snapped back, and he collapsed as if boneless. There were only four left, but none of them reached for weapons. Instead, they slowly made their way to the door and left, not once looking away from her.

Kharza surveyed the room and saw most of her challengers were either unconscious or too badly hurt to continue. She returned to the bar and smiled at the two servers who hadn't moved. Looking over the bar, she spotted the bartender pretending to be unconscious.

She sighed, grabbed a bottle from the bar, and tossed it at the man's head. Now he was unconscious, as was the man she'd thrown over the bar.

Kharza hopped over herself and freed the chain from around the barkeep's neck. It had a crystal on it, which was likely the key for the slave bracelets. She crossed back over and dipped the crystal into the opening on the locks. Both popped open and fell off.

The dwarf pulled a jacket off one of the fallen men, wrapped it around herself, grabbed the coin purses from two of the fallen, and left the bar without looking back or saying thank you. Kharza looked up at the white-blonde... giant.

"What race are you?" Kharza asked.

"I don't know," she said as she blinked at Kharza. "The master said you were an Orc?"

Kharza's eyebrows rose. There was that innocence again. "He's not your master anymore."

"Are you?" she asked.

Kharza chuckled. "No, you are free. You are your own master."

"Oh!" the tall female said but didn't seem to know how else to respond.