In Noram. She was found guilty of it, and only got away because her dad threatened to destroy most of their major cities. Burks and him had used the threat as an excuse to free Denno, which obviously wasn't a great idea as it turned out. It definitely wasn't worth letting a murderer go. As it was she wasn't even a person that Denno could stand when it came down to it.
If someone that was a creepy would-be-tyrant or world conqueror or whatever Denno was, didn't like you, that was saying something, wasn't it? Tor thought so. Yes, in this case he could get behind killing her. But not at the expense of getting Karina killed, which was the likely outcome of her just running over to get the job done herself. They had guards and stuff after all.
The argument that came wasn't the one he expected.
“Wait,” Ali said softly. “You can hire people to kill others, I know that, everyone does. How would you find the right people? The guild is basically just a legend and even if you could find them someone how would you pay for it? Killing a Count must cost twenty thousand gold and that's here in Noram, I can't imagine what they'd want to get someone in Austra, especially Lilli, I mean Daria.” She tilted her head and was staring at Karina, who was her best friend after all.
Without thinking Tor corrected her, which was rude, you weren't supposed to correct anyone in public. Especially a woman. He’d read about that.
“Nine to ten thousand gold for a Count. I don't know what it would cost for her. Probably about ten times that. Maybe more. I don't even know if it could be done.” When Tor saw everyone’s face he realized his mistake. First, his rudeness, which he gently apologized for, giving Ali a small seated bow. Second, Tor, of all of them shouldn't know anything about hiring killers of that sort, should he? Not innocent Tor from Two Bends. Right. Especially not how much it would cost to kill a Count.
Kind of an “oops” moment for sure.
The conversation, thankfully, stopped then, as it was time to go to that night's run down inn. Not that Tor was picky, but they could have done as well with regular tents and minimal used of magic and probably called no more attention to themselves over all. This was vacation, so he played along.
It wasn't until later that things started to change. At dinner Alissa didn't say much, looking at him over her food instead of eating, when he wasn't obviously looking. Karina was no better, but was more obvious about it. It was the first night that he could share a room with Ali, since they actually had enough rooms for everyone here, this place being larger and slightly better kept, paint on the walls, white to give it a clean and fresh feel, and fresh sheets on the bed.
Rolph stopped him to chat for a bit when the girls went up, just making conversation about the weather, which meant that Ali and Karina were already in the room, pouncing on him the second he got through the door.
Well, Tor reflected as he was gently guided to the bed, one larger by nearly half over the one person things that most inns seem to favor. Karina, black hair hanging around her ears had a hold of his right arm, firmly, but not painfully. Ali activated an amulet around her neck, Tor could feel the field wash over them, a silence device.
That would be a good idea if they were planning anything that might get loud and disturb any of the other patrons, since other people actively having sex if you weren't, was annoying. Neither girl had removed her clothing, and in fact had changed into plain black outfits that didn't flatter or serve to be alluring at all. When Karina slipped the glowing truth device over his head, the hemp string brushing his ear on the right and causing him to glow fairly brightly in the small dark room with its white walls, Tor got it. This wasn't going to be about sex at all. It was an interrogation. Well… darn.
“Alright Tor, how do you know what it costs to have a Count killed by the guild?” Karina's voice was forceful, not bothering to be quiet, since no one outside of a ten foot circle would be able to hear then anyway.
Sighing Tor knew that he just couldn't speak at all. If he tried to dodge the question, it would show up as a lie and the truth could get other people in trouble. Instead he just looked at the Princess and shook his head slightly. She was savvy enough to get the idea, wasn't she?
Apparently not.
The questions kept coming, hammering him from all side, accusations of things he'd never even heard of, had Tor killed Helmholtz? That nearly got a response, because he didn't even know who that was, but he realized the trap and kept his mouth shut. She was just trying to get him to talk. Once he spoke, she'd catch him in a lie and then he'd have to speak the truth to clear himself.
“Are you plotting to kill Raul Peterson?” Karina asked, her voice low and menacing now, after twenty minutes of questioning or more.
“Are you plotting to kill my father?” She asked, knowing that Tor would have to say something to that. Only he didn't. Her eyes went narrow.
Alissa looked scared in the white and yellow glow coming off of him, but she touched his arm gently and looked into his eyes directly.
“Did you have my father killed?”
Tor flinched. Damn. Karina saw it and her eyes went wide.
“Seriously? Fuck Tor that's…” She backed up a little. “That's why you aren't talking. I see. OK. Well… Then we didn't ask. Right Ali?”
His wife smiled gently at him and gave him a soft kiss, tears in her eyes.
“Thank you! I'd wondered but… Everyone said that it wasn't possible, that it was just an accident. But how do we kill Lilli? We have to!”
Tor turned off the amulet around his neck, plunging the room into darkness. Couldn't anything ever just be easy? Now two more people knew what he'd done and one of them was required by law to report it to the King. It wasn't that Tor wouldn't have offered his life to take out Count Derring, the man was a true monster, as bad as any in a fairy tale or play, worse. Far worse. As a sitting Count even the King couldn't stop him from abusing his own people, his own family, in ways that nearly forced Tor to challenge the man to a duel directly. That would have led to war though.
So Tor cheated and hired it done.
After that he didn't speak, not wanting to give them more to work on. Even if he had to go to the gallows for it, Trice wouldn't. She'd actually set it up, but Tor had paid for it, making it his kill. That couldn't be dodged out of. He wouldn't talk.
The next days were tense, Karina kept trying to get him to disclose who'd set up the act for him, and Ali kept hinting that they could simply have Daria Serge killed and it would be good enough. Tor didn't answer her. His wife wasn't a murderer. He might be, but Tor would protect her from that with his last breath if need be. He'd do the same for any of his friends. Eventually they both got mad and stopped talking to him about it, then about anything. That got noticed, of course, Rolph and Varley tried to bring him out about why the other two had stopped talking to him, but he couldn't say, could he?
Rolph sighed.
“Look Tor, you don't have to tell me, I think I know what this is about.” They were riding in one of the carriages, Karina and Ali having opted for the other one alone.
Varley just nodded, looking slightly odd, speaking while looking compassionately into his eyes. Lovingly.
“Mom and dad told us before we left. It's… not a big deal. Lots of people do things like that, and it had to be done. It wasn't like you really did it even…” A bump in the dirt road make her jump and settle a little uncomfortably. The seats were padded, but they weren't what they could be if Tor had made them out of shield material for extra comfort. Then it would absorb the force evenly and feel soft all the time.
Tor nearly hit himself in the head. Duh! She sat there uncomfortable and suffering in silence, pregnant and riding in one of the gods awful carriages, and he hadn't even thought about what he could do to help her be a little more comfortable. Would it be overstepping his place to see to that? He decided not. If he was just a builder, a humble craftsman, then currying favor with a Princess, or even just a wealthy girl, just made good sense. And if he was just her friend, then of course he'd do what he could to make her trip better.
It hit Tor what they were saying then. They knew? The King and Queen had told them and more, they knew? For some reason that didn't seem right. If the King knew…
Tor didn't think the ruler would tell anyone at all. If the word got out it would require Tor be killed. Even if the words had been said, it wasn't proof, taking a deep breath that puffed out the front of his cream colored velvet travel outfit, Tor looked at them levelly, face going hard, trying to convey that he meant his next words totally.
