wall.
They pass two doorways, briefly checking them out, before they reach the stairwell that appears to run all the way from the ground floor to the top. The stairs descending down to the bottom floor are dark, while light comes from up above. “Wait here,” Jiron says to Stig who nods that he understands.
Stepping on the flight of stairs going up, Jiron quickly and silently ascends to the third floor. Muffled voices reach him before he gains the top causing him to slow. When it doesn’t look as if they are approaching, he continues the rest of the way. At the top of the stairs, he hears the voices more clearly. It sounds as if there are at least five different men and all are talking in the Empire’s tongue.
Candles burn up and down the hallway on the third floor in wall mounted holders. Peering around the corner, he sees the hallway extends to the left and right. The voices are coming through one of the closed doors down on the right.
Then all of a sudden, one of the doors to the right opens and a man in armor walks out. In the brief glance Jiron had of him before he ducks his head back, he could tell this was not the man he met on the bridge. The man’s footsteps are leading further down the hallway away from where Jiron waits.
Peering back around the corner, he sees the man walk to the far end of the hallway where he turns to the left and disappears. Jiron then glances back down to where Stig waits and signals for him to come up.
When he joins him on the top couple of steps, Jiron indicates the hallway extending to the right and says, “I think there’s a meeting going on in a room down there. At least four men are in there, another just left.”
“Do you think Azku is in there?” Stig asks.
“I would think so,” he replies.
“Do we take him now?” he asks.
Shaking his head, he says, “No. First we have to be sure he’s in there.”
“How do you plan to do that?” Stig asks.
Not for the first time he wishes he could do some of the things James can. A magic mirror to show him who is in there would definitely come in handy right about now.
The door to the room the men are in again opens up and another man steps out. This man is dressed in fine attire with a sword hanging at his hip. Moving in the same direction the previous man went, he has soon left the hallway.
“Maybe the meeting is breaking up,” suggests Stig.
“Could be,” he agrees. Then his eyes notice that the door the two men had come out of is ajar. “Look!” he says excitedly as he directs Stig’s attention to it. “Be right back,” he says and steps quickly into the hallway and moves down to the door.
The men remaining within the room sound as if they are still in the midst of some conversation. Jiron moves to the door and peers through the slight crack. Inside he sees another man in armor, his helm resting on the table before him sitting across from the man he saw at the bridge. Just when he places his hand against the door to push it open a little bit wider to see better, the voice of the third man comes from right on the other side of the door. Jiron jumps back just as the door swings inward.
Plastering himself against the wall, he sets a hand onto the hilt of his knife and watches the doorway which is only a foot and a half away. Standing there exposed in the hallway, he’s sure that he’ll be seen.
The man’s voice comes to them again as he backs out of the room and continues talking to those still in there. With his attention directed back into the room, he fails to notice Jiron there only a foot behind him. The man says a few more words then closes the door. Without a glance in Jiron’s direction, he moves to walk down the hallway in the same direction as had the other two men.
Jiron remains absolutely still until the man is halfway to where the previous two men turned out of the corridor before backing away from the doorway. He makes the stairs where Stig is waiting just before the man turns and leaves the corridor.
“Man that was close!” whispers Stig.
Turning to him Jiron finds him wearing a wide grin. “I thought for sure it was all over,” he admits.
Trying to stifle a laugh that’s trying to break through, Stig says, “I never saw anyone jump like you did when that door opened.”
“Okay,” Jiron says, “enough.” He gives Stig a stern gaze which does nothing to help control the mirth that’s threatening to take control. “He’s in there with one other individual.”
Getting himself under control, Stig says, “You sure?”
“Absolutely,” he replies.
“Then the odds are even,” he states. Pulling his mace from the loop that secures it to his belt he adds, “What are we waiting for.”
Jiron nods. “Don’t kill anyone,” he warns. “We want information, not enemies.” Then just before they step out of the stairwell and into the hallway, the door to the room opens yet again.
The waiting is always the worst part of anything. Standing in the darkness, James watches the townhouse. It’s been fifteen minutes since Jiron and Stig disappeared around the far side. Only the fact that they haven’t returned and that it’s remained quiet gives him any indication that things are going well. If things hadn’t, it wouldn’t be nearly so peaceful.
Taking out his mirror, he checks on Jiron’s progress and finds him and Stig at the top of some stairwell looking around the corner down a hallway. “Things are going okay so far,” he says. No one has died yet.
“James!” whispers Miko urgently.
Looking to where he’s pointing, he sees a man in armor along with another man in fine clothing leaving the townhouse through the front door.
“Is either one of them the guy?” asks Reilin.
Shaking his head, James says, “No. He must still be inside.” They watch as the two men turn and follow the street in their direction. Everyone remains stock still as the two men walk past. Hidden in the shadows as they are, the two men fail to see them and soon disappear in the distance.
“Good,” grunts Shorty.
Turning toward him James gives him a questioning look.
“Just that now there are less to deal with if things go bad,” he explains.
Nodding his head in agreement, James turns back to watch the townhouse once more.
A couple minutes later the front door opens again and another man leaves. This one is obviously from the north. Dressed in finer than average clothes with a sword hanging at his waist, the man turns in their direction just as the other two had. As he makes his way closer to where they are hidden in the shadows, James gasps.
“What?” asks Miko.
“I know him,” he says then waves for Miko to be quiet as the man is quite close now and might hear them. It’s been a long time since he’s seen that face. Back in the city of Cardri it was.
When the man has moved past and disappeared down the street, James says, “His name is Orrin.”
“Orrin?” asks Miko.
“Yeah,” nods James. “Do you remember when we were being held in that root cellar and I used some boards to kill the men holding us so we could escape?” When Miko nods he continues. “And do you also remember that I went to meet someone who had sent one of those boards to me at our room?”
“That was after you rescued Perrilin right?” he asks.
“That’s right,” he says with a nod. Pointing to the departed figure, he says, “That was the man who met me, but he works for another of more importance. They never told me who they were, just wanted to know about Lord Colerain.”
“How does he figure in all of this?” asks Brother Willim.
“I don’t know,” replies James. Then to Shorty he says, “Follow him and see where he goes.” When Shorty nods he adds, “Then meet us back at the inn.”
“Right,” he says then hurries off down the street after the man named Orrin.
Things are getting more and more interesting.
The two men leave the room and turn down the hallway away from Jiron and Stig just as the others had. When they leave the hallway where the previous men did, Jiron says to Stig, “Come on.”
Entering the hallway, he runs on silent feet following the path the men took. When he reaches the point where all five of the men turned out of the hallway, he comes to a well lit spiral stairway leading down.
