Black Hart

Gradsul by Twilight

Chapter 8 - Lost and Found

Eloi fumbled about for his trusty flail to break his attacker's grasp on him, but he could see nothing in the glaring light.
"Eloi, by the horned toads of Hepmonaland, calm yourself man!" Smokelight yelled, and Eloi relaxed, realising that he was just being wakened.
"This is obscene!" Eloi declared, looking at the dawn sunlight through the open shutters. "What hour is it?"
"There's a man downstairs, with a wounded halfling,"  Smokelight said excitedly. "He claims to be your father!"
Eloi leapt out of bed in an instant and, fumbling to put on the minimum of clothes he thought would pass as decent in Mrs. Byellok's abode, he stumbled out the door and down the stairs. At the foot of the stairs stood Father, a battered and bloody halfling man in his arms, unconscious. Without a word, Eloi helped him carry the halfling up the stairs to his room.

"Cinion...Cinion!" the voice said, in a quiet but demanding tone.
He knew the voice - it was Koftus!
"Father!" he croaked.
He managed to open one eye, and immediately felt dizzy as the light flooded into his head. He saw 'Father's' features, and about him also were standing several others, who might as well have been demons for all he knew, their strange visages were so wierd and twisted.
He felt little pain now, as though somehow his body had healed, and he was in a warm bed, not the cold, dark room as before.
"Sleep now - we'll talk later!" Father said.
Cinion needed no further encouragement.

It was late aftenoon when Father had them gathered. Eloi had by then explained, as they had guessed, that he was their contact in Gradsul, whom he had met last night.
Kyros continued to heal Cinion's wounds, and he appeared almost the picture of good health. He was in a dressing gown, and sat in the lounge room of the guesthouse with the rest of the team - except Eloi, of course! Koftus had been pacing up and down the room as they sat silently, and did not stop until Eloi wandered into the room.
"Nice of you to come," Father said sarcastically to him as he sat down. "This I am very interested in - Cinion, I know little of why you came to be so badly injured. You were 'rescued', or arrested if you will, last night by some guardsmen. Apparently you fell from a building in Bekker Street, and the crowd set about you as you lay there, thinking you were a burglar. Perhaps you can enlighten us as to what happened? And something else - do you know where Meyrit is?"
Cinion looked around, appearing very worried, then looked to his left hand.
The ring was gone! His ring of invisibility was gone!
"Ughhhh," coughed Cinion. "No, I don't know where Meyrit is. The last I had seen of her was in front of some tavern in the Plasfeyr."
Cinion cracked a brief smile. "Disguised as a 'lady of the night'. And in regards to my untimely dive off a second story building, I received an assist from a dark man-sized figure who is very good at what he or she does. I have to wonder if this figure is involved in Meyrit's disappearance. What time is it anyway?"
"Its after three o'clock in the afternoon." Father said.
"Moonday!" he continued, anticipating Cinion's next question. "You were out for a day and a half after the beatings you received - from the guards as well as the townsfolk I'd imagine. Tell us everything that happened - you must have been close to something to have received such a warm 'welcome'. Have you any news of Vellip O'Shad? What were you doing there?"
Eloi stepped forward and held out his hand to Cinion in greeting. "Nice to meet you half-pint." Eloi swiftly looked around the room to confirm that the party were alone. "I am Baron Eloi Brandt of Amarr, but for the remainder of our stay in Gradsul you should address me as Zebadiah Bradick, a simple farmhand from Furyondy. I am in Gradsul looking for much needed work."
Eloi looked foul, the clothes he was wearing were stained from weeks if not months, even years of use, and little soap. His bulky frame, sallow skin and pug nose revealed that there was more than a hint of orc in his direct heritage. "You may be small Cinion, but your seem a hardy little bloke. Tell us what you have discovered about our adversary Vellip O'Shad?"
"Perhaps," Father interrupted, "you should start at the beginning and tell everyone all you know, Eloi."
Eloi looked at the others sheepishly.
"By all means, fill us in...Zebediah" replied Cinion. " Then, I'll relay to you the pertinent goings-on of the past 3 days."
Before Eloi could reply, Father butted in again.
"I will leave you folks to it, then. Keep safe," he said, walking to the door.
Eloi sat on the bed next to Cinion and started his discussion.
"All right the majority of you know the very basics. We are in Gradsul to seek out a Scarlet Brotherhood spy. I do not fully understand why one man could be considered so dangerous, but that is not for us to consider. 'Father' is our contact in Gradsul, I met with him whilst you were all embroiled in our card game. He has provided me with further information that will assist our cause."
He coughed clearing his phlemy throat and continued.
"Cinion, here is our fifth member of our team and he has a colleague, Meyrit O'Veyl, who as you may have gathered appears to have disappeared. Thoggin has provided me with command of this team. I want your opinions and value your thoughts, but at the end of the day, what I say goes. If I do not want to do something you suggest then we do not do it."
Eloi paused and looked at Cinion "We should stop using your real name from now on Cinion. How do you wish to be referred to?"
" I see then..hmm.." replied Cinion. "My alias is Devion..Devion Dragonrings," rubbing two strange looking rings on his middle fingers with his thumbs.
"That reminds me. 'Father' told me that as well as our psue... psu... nicknames we should also have codenames. Akhan I believe you already have one, Goshawk? The rest of you should consider an appropriate name and let the rest of us know before we end this discussion. My codename will be 'Angel Boy'."
"And my code-name," Cinion added, rolling his eyes in some disgust and then finally smirking, "shall be Big Apple... speaking of which, where are my belongings? And where can I get something to eat around here?"
"Hi, there, Cinion," Smokelight said, shaking the halfling's hand, wincing at the furry hand hair notable for that diminutive race. "You can call me Smokelight. I'm the token wizard in this party. Every party should have one you know."
The wizard leaned on his crooked staff.
"I guess my code name can be 'Old Rook.' How does that sound?"
Eloi continued, ignoring Cinion's plea for food as the halfling searched through his belongings.
"Our mark is a man called Vellip O'Shad. He apparently travels along the southern coastline in a small boat called the 'Shelliak'. He first came to the attentions of Thoggin's spy network through an operative in Saltmarsh. Apparently, O'Shad does not carry himself in the manner of a seafaring man. How this highlights him as a Scarlet Brotherhood spy I will never know, but we shall leave that up to the experts."
"He has been to Gradsul on several occasions and has been followed on two occasions by Father's spies. Cinion, I suppose that may have been you? Can you tell us what you learned? On one occasion he was lost before he even left the docks and on the second occasion he was followed to the home of a prostitute called 'Red' Hannay. He was also lost there and was never seen coming out."
"Father does not think he is presently in Gradsul, but does not think it will be too long before he returns. We should learn as much as there is to know about this man before he returns. We should visit the docks, there are bound to be several old sea dogs there who would recall such an unseaworthy man. The harbour master may also have records of the man's comings and goings and perhaps knows a little about his business We should also visit 'Red' Hannay and investigate her house. We need to do this subtly. He may be a regular visitor to her house and this could be an ideal place to spring a trap. Finally, 'Father' wants this man caught before he can complete whatever task he is here to perform. He also wants the man's accomplices in Gradsul brought to justice."
"Cinion, tell us what you have found out in the past few days, then we can discuss a relevant course of action. We should also investigate the disappearance of Meyrit. We can then work as three teams of two. That would seem to be the most appropriate plan as Dunstin and myself have already paired off, and Vesic and Gresten have paired off."
He opened his hands and finished "Any questions? or anything to add?"
Finally getting situated, out of that foolish night robe and into his more familiar tan breeches and light flannel shirt, colored in browns, orange, and greens, Cinion brushed his curly straw colored hair from out of his face. His gray eyes looked quizically upward as he rummaged through one of his pouches, producing a golden apple with some satisfaction.
Biting into it, he casually remarked, " Now, where were we?..Oh, yes..."
Continuing to scarf down the apple, he began his tale of woe and misery.
"So I arrive here three, no maybe four, days ago from Saltmarsh, beating the arrival of O'Shad's ship, the Shelliak. I meet with Meyrit and decide that she should keep an eye out for the boat, and I'll go check out this Hannay's place, which is a second story residence in the immediate vicinity of where I was found two days ago. So I'm waiting around, seeing if this O'Shad will show up some time before the world ends. Sure enough he does, and Meyrit has followed him. But O'Shad's on to her. So I overhear a conversation with this Hannay and O'Shad; O' tells her to tell somebody named Gelders that they'll meet at the usual place, nine bells on Sunday night. I didn't manage to follow O'Shad, but he went into the kitchen of the place, and later all I found were his clothes. No exits, nothin'. So I figure my only link is to wait for this Gelders to show. So I wait around, and head back to the Golden Anchor to sleep you know."
Cinion was now on his third apple, this one light green in color.
"So I come back, and I notice Meyrit is gone, but I don't really think anything of it, and finally somebody shows up in a black horse-drawn carriage. Anyway, somebody was talking to Hannay, but I couldn't hear too good, and then I got an unwelcome visit from a man dressed in black who had very good perception, shall we say... And he gave me an assist to the street on an air ladder. Someone also made off with a treasured possession of mine, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it was him..."
"Oh well..like Pa Whitewillow used to say, 'One Stout's treasure lost is another Stout's to be gained.' So now that I've been introduced to these two, what's the rest of yer stories?
"Name's Kyros, priest of Olidammara," Kyros nodded and smiled at the halfing. "De facto healer of everyone's nicks and scratches, teller of bad tales, and current reigning card shark.
"Call me Sablefist; 'Kyros' is for those who know me in an intimate way, and even then, no kissing on the first date." He rolled his eyes at his own drollery. "I'm currently Gresten, bodyguard and manservant to this half-elf popinjay here. Have a good look at my real face so that you don't mistake me for someone else."
Kyros showed Cinion his real appearance under the magical disguise of his. He had not gotten out of character since the moment he got into Gradsul.
"And I'll be damned if I have to pick another code name for myself," Kyros grumbled as his leveled his eyes at Eloi.
"You look much better now," Kyros said as he examined the halfing's wounds carefully, evidently pleased with his own handiwork. "That'll be ten gold for the Olidammaran war orphans' fund, payable to me, president for life."
Then, more seriously, "Interesting to note that O'Shad left his clothes behind in the kitchen when he disappeared. We're looking then, for some kind of very narrow tunnel, or even a teleporter of sorts. I'm inclined to pick up the scent at this Hannay's place, and to make inquires into Gelders. Smells like the Brotherhood."
Kyros began to look around for a drink to ease the serious nature of the discussion, and had fished out a nice bottle of Keoish blue.
"Mmmm... mmm.." said Smokelight. "Good old Keoish blue! Mayhaps I could have a swig myself?"
He passed his bottle to Smokelight.
"This should get you in the mood. Maybe a bath would be good too." He watched to see if the mage was going to cast some painful cantrip his way.
"Nah! How many adventurers bathe that often? Really?!?" Smokelight took a hefty swig from the bottle. But he didn't appear to be casting any cantrips. "Baths are for wimps and effete snobs. Anyway, it would spoil our cover. No one else in Gradsul looks that clean."
Apart from Akhan, who had decided to get a new wardrobe for his stay in Gradsul.  As a result he was now resplendent in a fine black cloak with leaves embroidered over the shoulders and round the edges of the garment.  All this finery had improved his mood considerably and he thought he blended in rather well with the merchant set around town.  The deep crimson lining of the cloak was visible now as he had draped the folds over both shoulders.  He smiled benevolently at no-one in particular while, first Eloi, then Cinion recounted their pieces of the puzzle.
Occasionally he would pick a bit of lint off his dark, navy-blue breeches but on the whole he couldn't help wishing there was a mirror in the room. Then he would have had another chance to admire the artistry which had gone into his shirt.  This was beautifully tailored plain white silk and had been a real investment.  Or so he told himself. 
"After all, silk shirts are practical - not that I intend to let anyone stick me, but nasty bits of other fabrics get caught in wounds.  Silk's far better." 
There was perhaps a lack of ornamentation in this outfit for his taste, but he had tried to tone his apparel down so he looked like a genuine, sober merchant.  Well, merchant at least.  Anyway, the only embroidery to be seen was that on his cloak and that was fine enough to do for now.
So, all in all, he considered himself ready for the fray now.  As a prosperous half-Olven merchant he certainly looked the part.  Perhaps the eyepatch looked a little exotic, but in these troubled times it wasn't entirely out of place; even the facial scar along his left cheek was in keeping.  Maybe his hair was a bit short though.  He still wasn't sure he had been right to allow Hanali to cut off so much of his dark brown hair.
He paid close attention to the details of Cinion's actions.  Akhan's first impression was that he seemed to be a sneaky little bastard.  He certainly hoped so.  Thoggin didn't employ anyone who wasn't able to do the job, and for this O'Shad to disappear so easily intrigued him.  At Devion's invitation Akhan stood to introduce himself.
"I'm Akhan, but for the duration here in our alternate little world in Gradsul I'm known as Vesic Ommeriaij.  I'm posing as a merchant for the moment and Kyros here is acting as a hired hand for just now.  As for why Thoggin's got me involved in this - well, I can't say I remember how I first got involved in this line of work.  Can't have been for the pay, that's for sure, must have been for the opportunity to show off."
He grinned happily, sitting back down.
"As for your dark stranger on the roof - did you notice anything distinctive about him at all.  A funny smell, or a limp?  Anything like that?  For them to be casually tossing people off buildings suggests that they're up to something big, to my mind at least."
Eloi looked at the others after Devion had provided his information. "I would suggest the following course of action," he uttered deliberately, giving each sentence much thought.
"We must know the exact moment that O'Shad arrives in Gradsul. If this means that one of us must keep a constant vigil over the next few days of the docks then so, be it. I also think it would be useful if the harbourmaster was in our pockets. A small monetary token might levy a few favours from him."
Akhan sat back as listened as Eloi began outlining his thoughts but soon couldn't help from interrupting. 
"Woooah, Zeb.  Better get rid of some of that wax from out of your lugs.  Devion's just told us O'Shad is here. Now! The clock is ticking all right." 
Eloi seemed unembarrassed by his mistake, and continued.
"We should also visit, 'Red' Hannay, although I suspect from what you have told us, Devion, she is in league with O'Shad. There must be some kind of secret exit hidden in her house of ill repute. If we can find this item then we shall perhaps move closer to solving this puzzle."
He paused and scratched his head.
"We should also make enquiries regarding this contact of O'Shad's, 'Gelders', and also the dark man who threw Devion off the roof. If we can find both of them then perhaps we can find out the true nature of O'Shad's intentions." He looked at Vesic "Perhaps you could enquire with Halykk, whether he has heard of Gelders?"
He rubbed his chin pedantically. "I would also think that it should be one of our initial aims to find Meyrit. I do not like the sound of what Devion has told me and I fear for her safety. I am also keen to find out what she knows about recent events. Perhaps she has been able to find out a little more than Devion? The best place to start initial enquiries would be local hospital's, monasteries and doctors. If she was injured then that is where she would be most likely taken." He paused thinking for a few moments "We should also perhaps check the local Gaol.
"Also, remember the woman that Sablefist and myself ran into on two separate occasions riding Hamman;s horse. If my memory serves me right, when investigating the disappearance of Arial we witnessed Hamman's horse being led onto Fimuth's boat. Perhaps the woman has something to do with all of this after all?"
He looked round the group holding each one's gaze for a few moments "If anyone has anything further to add or thinks I have missed any pertinent points then please speak up. Otherwise we should start formulating our plan of action."
"It seems you've covered everything," Smokelight said in reply to Eloi.
Privately, Smokelight was wondering what Red Hannay looked like, and whether or not she was very expensive.
"I vote that you and I," he ladded, looking to Eloi, "go to Red Hannay's first. That seems to be as good a place as any to start our investigation."
"That seems to be as good a place as any to start our investigation. Better give us a detailed description of Meyrit, Devion.  If we're going to make any sort of effective search then we'll all need to know what her appearance is."  He paused briefly. "We should also consider the possibility that our adversaries have held her.  In which case there's a whole heap of misery stored up for us depending on how much she knows.  How much does she know about our operation here Devion?"
"As for courses of action, the leads we've got to follow seem to be finding Meyrit; investigating Hannay and Gelders; and possibly doing some sort of surveillance of this joint of Hannay's.  If O'Shad disappeared so easily then we've got to assume there's soem sort of concealed exits or tunnel or the like.  To make that sort of investment in a place would make them reluctant to ditch it maybe."  He shrugged again.  "Anyone got any other thoughts?"
"That meeting between O'Shad and Gelders occured last night as far as we know," Cinion piped in. "And considering that we don't know all of O'Shad's capabilities, including magical and mundane, he could very well be sitting with the Father of Obedience right now, though that's highly unlikely.
"So let's assume O'Shad is still in or around Gradsul, and doesn't possess the capability to travel far distances through magic. We do know that he knows that he has been observed going into Hannay's place, and if he is in league with this dark figure, he knows he has been probably observed closer than he would want. Therefore, assuming that O'Shad is highly intelligent he will know that Hannay's is unsafe, and if he's in league with the Brotherhood, I wouldn't put it past him to use Hannay as bait to lure out his pursuers in some sort of trap, or at least to have Hannay's place under observation. Therefore, in my opinion, we have to be very careful if we want to go there again.
"Concerning Meyrit; The last time I saw her was in the Plasfeyr dressed as a prostitute before I went to sleep on Freeday eve. She is about five feet tall with brown hair and green eyes; plain looking sort of human. Seems like a rough-and-tumble type with not a lot going on upstairs," Cinion said, pointing to his head.
"And this dark figure; wish I could say more. He is very stealthy, possesses extremely good perception or magic to aid him in this area, and has very good aim. In addition, it is possible that he was good enough to remove a not insignificant asset from my person betwen the time I fell and was abused by those fool guardsmen.
"The only other thing I feel I'm qualified to express an opinion on is regarding that ship. It's obviously still in port, as I'm led to believe, and perhaps some investigation of the ship may reveal some clues."
Eloi sat quietly for a moment as he weighed the others thoughts. He looked up and smiled.
"Right, lets get down to business then! There are several tasks that need to be undertaken as a matter of urgency, if we are to progress."
"Our first task of the day is to find Meyrit. Vesic, Gresten, may I suggest that you visit appropriate places, hospitals, gaols, poor-houses etc. and try and find her. You should perhaps also visit the area where she vanished and question some of the locals and look for clues. During your enquiries it would also be useful if you perhaps visited Halykk and see if he knows of this Gelders fellow."
"Devion, Dunstin and myself will visit the docks. We can have a quiet word with the harbour master and get an initial look at O'Shad's boat. It would be folly to try and board it during the day. We would just raise suspicions upon ourselves. It would be my intention that perhaps Vesic, Devion and myself would undertake a little midnight sortie onto his boat to see what we can find. No doubt a man like O'Shad will have left traps onboard and we are the most qualified to deal with those."
"One or two of us should also pay 'Red' Hannay a visit this evening. It would perhaps be better if we posed as customers. I for one will be happy to volunteer for the job, but unfortunately am likely to be engaged in investigating O'Shad's ship. We must try to find the secret passageway that O'Shad used to vanish. Dunstin and Gresten should go."
"Unless any of you have any questions, then lets be off. We shall meet back here at suppertime to discuss what we have found and make plans for our evening adventures." Eloi looked towards Vesic and Gresten. "If you find Meyrit, you know where you can find us. Meet us if she is fit to travel. Come and get us if she is not."
Eloi rose from his seat and motioned to Smokelight and Cinion to rise and follow him.
"Find Meyrit, right." Kyros' said as the others prepared to leave. "First, the place where she was last. You know, Akhan, I could ask around for her in another guise. That way, Vesic the merchant and his henchman do not have to be seen poking their noses into things.
"And then a spot of carousing tonight." Kyros cocked his head and grinned mischievously. "Somebody's gotta do the hard work I suppose."
"Devion, you sure you're better?" he added mischievously as the halfling followed Eloi and Smokelight outside.
"I could mother you around a bit more," he shouted with a smirk as the door slammed shut.

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