“Sweet white wine,” I specified.
“Yes, sweet white wine,” Shaw agreed.
They led me down a few streets before they eventually turned into an alley. My pulse increased. I slowed to give myself more distance, but surprisingly, they did not care to stop. What was even more surprising was that I watched Shaw pull a key out of his pocket and head toward the door of a large house.
My heart started to race. Was he really going to try to sell me sweet white wine? That was the worst possible outcome I could imagine. All this time and effort would be wasted. Even worse, I would have to pay the man good coin that I doubted the king would pay back to me.
Shaw opened the door and looked back at me. “Are you coming?” He didn’t sound too eager.
“I’d rather we finish the deal out here,” I told him honestly. I didn’t want to walk into a place I had not scoped out before.
“It might take a little while,” Shaw said. “This is my friend’s house. Got to find the damn bottle.”
The other man spoke. “You might as well wait inside. Warmer there.”
I didn’t need witnesses. The king trusted me enough that if I told him I was attacked by these men, he would imprison them. I just had to make sure that happened.
I would enter and stay near the door, where I could escape easily.
“All right, fine. But keep some distance until you find the wine.”
Shaw gave an easy shrug. “Suit yourself.”
I followed them into the house, immediately walking into a large dining area with a long table at the center. There were various pieces of fine furniture against the walls. I imagined this “friend” was likely a dark mage who had paid for this house with coin from threats and robberies.
I would’ve had more confidence about whatever was going to happen if I wasn’t lacking sleep. I had fought against many dark mages and swordsmen a week ago in the forest, usually facing two or three of them at a time. But we had surprised our enemies. They had been disorganized.
Right now I had little idea what to expect.
I stayed close to the door as Shaw walked through the dining area and opened the door to the next room. He slipped through the opening and closed the door after him. The other man stayed a few feet from me.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Don,” I lied. It was close enough to Jon that it shouldn’t throw me off too much if they were to use it. Besides, this man would probably give me a false name as well.
“I’m Jacob,” he said as he offered his hand. “There’s no need to be nervous.”
I shook it as I made myself relax my shoulders, though I was still on guard.
“Why don’t you have a seat while I check on him?” Jacob offered.
I casually took one of the nearby chairs and pulled it away from the table before I sat. I didn’t want to be trapped.
“I’ll help him hurry this along.” Jacob walked across the dining room and went through the same door that Shaw had.
I quickly got up and looked around. I rushed to one of the nearby dressers and opened the drawers one at a time. There were just cloths and silverware: forks, spoons, and knives. I pocketed one of the knives just in case. The blade was small, surely not lethal enough to kill a man, but it was better than nothing.
I returned to the door, ensured it was still unlocked, then waited on my feet. Eventually, the door across the room opened. Shaw came out holding a bottle wrapped in cloth. Jacob followed soon after, nothing in his hands. Shaw set the bottle on the table.
“Here’s your wine,” he said. “How much are you willing to pay for it?”
I edged closer. “That’s a white?”
Shaw took down the cloth, but the dark bottle hid the color of the contents inside. “Come look for yourself.” He pulled off the stopper.
I edged closer. It was clear that neither had immediate access to a large weapon like a sword, but a couple of deadly weapons could’ve been stashed just in the other room.
I thought for a moment. I could deal with that.
I sensed movement as I reached for the bottle. I glanced at the stairs leading out of the dining room and saw another man casually coming down them wielding a sword. It caught the candlelight and gleamed as he lifted it in my direction.
“Stay where you are,” he said. He was overweight with dark hair that was just starting to gray. “I’m just here to help the deal move along smoothly.”
I lifted my hands and backed away from him. The presence of mana assaulted my senses, dark energy in the form of a powerful essence, presumably in one of his pockets. This hefty one would be the one who gave me the most trouble.
“This is your house, I assume.” I spoke calmly.
I was relieved I had finally caught not only Shaw but one of the dark mages he was in business with. The king would be pleased, might even call off the rest of my punishment.
Holding up the sword seemed to strain him quickly as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. He put himself between me and the front door, then turned the lock.
“Yes, and this will be the only time you visit,” he threatened, then let down the sword. “You came here to buy some white wine, but all I had was red. You liked the taste of it so much that you left all your coin here. If you tell anyone that something else happened
