wordlessly. 'Why did the Faceless brand you?'
'I argued with him in council. I wanted you killed, but he insists he has some other plan to take care of you. He's playing some bizarre power game that's liable to ruin business for good. None of us have any idea who or what he might be.'
At Alias's prodding, Melman described the last several meetings of the Night Masters, highlighting the parts of the discussion that dwelt on her and Jamal. As he began covering the details, Melman began to relax, until finally it was as if he were sitting with other merchants in the bar, chatting about business.
'The Night Masters report to the Faceless every other evening,' Melman explained, 'always at low tide. The entrance to the hideout is on the western bank of the Thunn, beneath the River Bridge. It's covered at high tide. It's hidden by magic, but if you have the key, you can see through the illusion.'
Melman reached into his shirt. Alias raised her sword just an inch. The Night Master gave her an uneasy smile and pulled out a chain around his neck. Hanging from the chain was an iron key with a circular grip. He held out the key, and Olive took it from him.
'You look through the grip,' the Night Mask explained, 'and you can see the door. The tide is just turning now. You won't be able to see the door until tomorrow afternoon. The next meeting of the Night Masters won't be until tomorrow night-'
'Alias,' Dragonbait interrupted in Saurial. 'There's trouble coming this way. Night Masks. Assassins.' 'Olive, check outside,' the swordswoman ordered.
The halfling moved toward the window and peered out from the side. 'I don't see-wait. Hmmm. Night Masks, nine that I can count. Probably more around the other side of the house. Hanging in the shadows across the street. Surrounding us.'
Melman's face went white from shock, making the red markings of his burned mask stand out all the more. 'He's found me out already! Those are assassins! I shouldn't have talked to you!' The vintner stood up, looking as if he might try to run past Alias, but Dragonbait pushed him back onto the bed.
'Don't be foolish,' Alias snapped, keeping her voice calm and even. 'No one knows we're here, and we can't be detected magically. More likely the Faceless had already decided to bring your career to an end. You're lucky we're here to get you out of this.'
'Looks like they've gathered a quorum,' Olive quipped. They're starting to cross the street.'
'They'll soon regret gathering here,' Dragonbait said, drawing out his sword.
Alias put a hand on the paladin's arm. 'It's better they don't discover we've been here. Faceless won't suspect we've learned anything from Melman. We'll sneak out through the basement. Let's go,' she said. Picking up the lantern, she headed for the staircase.
Dragonbait prodded Melman to his feet and out of the bedroom.
'He knows everything,' the vintner insisted, his voice climbing an hysterical octave.
'Look, you've been cheating with your phony ledgers for over a year,' Olive pointed out, following from behind. 'If he knew everything, he'd have killed you sooner. If you just keep your mouth shut and keep moving, we'll get you out of this. No sweat.'
They were just coming down the lower flight of stairs when someone began pounding on the front door with a mailed fist and shouting Melman's name.
Dragonbait halted in the front hall and hissed at the door.
Alias pushed Melman toward the secret passage and pulled on the saurial's tunic. 'Remember how they burned Jamal's home?' she whispered. 'We've got to keep moving.'
The paladin growled with displeasure, but he followed Melman down the hall and guided him to the passage behind the statue. As Alias followed behind them, the pounding on the door stopped, replaced by the sound of someone or several someones throwing their shoulders against it. Alias set down the lantern and turned about to usher Olive down the stairs, but the halfling was nowhere in sight. 'Olive!' the swordswoman shouted.
Outside, the Night Masks began smashing windows all around the house, including the transom window over the front door. Something thumped in the dark hall, and Alias could see a tiny flame glowing on the floor. It was the same explosive device the Night Masks had used in the Thalavar warehouse.
The halfling appeared in the doorway of Melman's treasure room, loaded down with two sacks.
'Olive, get down!' Alias screamed, throwing herself at the halfling, knocking her halfway into the treasure room. The explosion rocked the house, and the noise was deafening. The swordswoman was just rising unsteadily to her knees when a second, third, and fourth bomb went off.
'We've got to get out of here, Olive,' Alias shouted, but the halfling did not reply. She was still breathing, but her leg was oozing blood where a piece of twisted metal had cut a gash through the flesh to the bone. There was no time to bind the wound. Alias slung the woman over her shoulder and stumbled to her feet. She cursed under the weight, realizing a good deal of it was gold coin.
Out in the main hall, the wall hangings were ablaze and the house was filling with smoke. Alias took a breath of the still-untainted air of the treasure room and dashed down the hall to the secret panel.
Dragonbait stood at the top of the stairs, anxiously looking for the swordswoman.
'Pull the panel closed behind us,' Alias ordered as she half ran, half tumbled down the secret stair with her halfling load.
Dragonbait tugged on the panel, but the statue of Mask had toppled into it, wedging it into place. Sheathing his sword, the saurial moved out into the corridor to shove the statue over.
The front door burst open, and a large wooden keg rolled into the front hall. The paladin wasted no more time on the secret panel. He slipped into the stairwell and flew down the steps.
Overhead, an even bigger explosion rocked not only the house but its foundation as well. Brick, mortar, and wood began pouring down on the paladin's head, and the spiral staircase, which Dragonbait had just stepped off of, fell over into the basement. No one was going to notice that the secret panel was out of place, the paladin realized. In the dark he could sense the heat coming off Alias, Olive, and Melman, and he hurried down the passage to where they waited in the dark.
He pulled his sword and whispered the command for it to ignite. By the light of the flame he could see Alias holding her hands over Olive's leg, trying to stanch the blood that oozed from a great wound. Melman stood pressed against a wall, breathing heavily, his eyes wide with terror.
Thinking they would be safe enough in the basement for at least a few minutes, Dragonbait handed the flaming sword to Alias and bent over the halfling to heal her wound.
Alias stood up and was instantly aware of how much warmer the air near the ceiling was than the air at the floor. The flames from Dragonbait's sword flickered toward the ruined secret staircase. Air coming in from the secret passage to the outside was feeding the fire above.
Something overhead spattered to the floor and spread out with a gleam. Alias looked up in astonishment. One of the heavy floorboards beneath Melman's treasure room had cracked in the last explosion and molten gold was now dripping into the basement.
'I've stopped the bleeding, but she's still unconscious,' the paladin said. His mouth dropped when he caught sight of the shower of gold. 'Pity she'll miss this,' he added.
Alias thrust the flaming sword back in the paladin's hand. 'Get Melman out,' she ordered. She scooped the halfling over her shoulders again and ran after the paladin and the Night Master. At the secret door, she hesitated. She could leave it open, feeding the fire so that there would be nothing but ash left-making it certain the Night Masks wouldn't expect to find Melman's bones. Concerned that smoke might drift out and reveal the passage's existence, though, she decided against it. With a quick tug, she pulled the door closed and hurried down the passage.
It was quiet in the passage, but Alias hustled them through it, fearful that it might collapse. When they finally reached the dry wash, she set down the halfling and took a rest. Melman collapsed on the ground.
Dragonbait stood over the Night Master, assuring himself that Melman didn't try to escape before Alias was through with him. 'What are we going to do with this one?' he asked the swordswoman.
'Well, I had thought we might lock him up in one of the cells below his own house,' Alias said. She peered over the edge of the dry wash and watched the flames dancing along the roof of Melman's former abode. 'I don't think we should bring Lord Victor into this, considering the deal we've made with Melman.'
'You're going to have to impose on Mintassan again,' the paladin noted.
