'I suppose,' said Tye from the bed, 'if you wanted to purchase a few of them I'd be willing to let them go for a reasonable price. You gentlemen being representatives of the government.' What had happened to the angry man who'd greeted them at the door? Had Ironfoot's Leadership changed all of his spleen to ardor with a single glance?
'That won't be necessary,' said Silverdun. He fished in his pocket for a few coins and slapped them into Tye's hand. 'For your trouble.'
Tye looked to Ironfoot to make sure the transaction was acceptable. It was.
'I don't think we're going to learn anything else of value,' Ironfoot whispered. Silverdun nodded.
They thanked Tye for his time, and the man bowed to Ironfoot a bit more deeply than was required by custom. Now it was just getting annoying.
'If there's anything I can do for you, sir, day or night, I'm your man,' he said, his voice slightly wheedling. 'Just call on me.'
Ironfoot looked a bit puzzled, but thanked the man.
Outside in the stairwell, Silverdun said, 'That's quite a Gift you've got there. With that much Leadership in you, I'm surprised you weren't commanding a battalion back in your army days.'
Ironfoot stopped on the landing and faced him. He looked troubled. 'I've always had it,' he said. 'A bit, anyway. But on my best day, I could possibly convince a good friend to go along with a suggestion he was already inclined to favor, if I pushed with all my might. I've never done anything like that before.'
'Why do you suppose that is?' said Silverdun.
'Whitemount,' said Ironfoot. 'Don't you feel it?'
'Every day,' Silverdun said. 'I haven't slept much. I've felt strange. A bit unbalanced sometimes.'
'So have I,' said Ironfoot. 'I just assumed it was the stress of the new job, you know? All of Jedron's tricks, then straight into Paet's service.'
'You think it's more than that?'
'I don't know. When we were in Tye Benesile's apartment just now, I was getting nervous. I was worried we were about to fail our first assignment. It kept growing inside me like a panic. Did you notice it?'
'No.'
'I did my best to hide it,' said Ironfoot. And then something ... happened in my head. It was as though I had far more capacity for re than I've ever had before, and it all just surged into me. But when it happened I pushed with the Leadership, and it was like a dam had burst. I think Tye Benesile practically worships me now.'
'He's in love with you, if you ask me.'
Silverdun wanted to ask Ironfoot about that night at Whitemount. The fire, the pit, the blackness. But something inside him wouldn't allow it. He decided to force the issue.
'Ironfoot,' he began.
There was a crash below, and the sound of boots on the stairs.
'Tye's wife,' said Silverdun, scowling. 'She must have given us up.'
'We can go down or up,' said Ironfoot. 'Any preference?'
Silverdun listened. There were at least four sets of boots. 'We're to avoid notice at all costs,' he said. 'We go up.'
They hurried up the stairs as quickly as possible, past Tye Benesile's floor and higher. The stairs continued above the fourth floor, but instead of terminating on the roof, they opened onto a low, narrow attic that stretched the entire length of the building. It was hot and close, smelling of dust and mouse droppings, and was cluttered with odd bits of lumber, broken furniture, and the like.
There were voices down below, but Silverdun couldn't make them out. Assuming that the men were after them, they'd be at Tye Benesile's door by now. Tye would do his best to protect Ironfoot, but he was drunk and not particularly bright. It wouldn't take long for them to realize where Silverdun and Ironfoot had gone.
'Now what?' said Ironfoot. It was one thing to have the Gift of Leadership, Silverdun noted, but quite a different thing to lead. Not that Silverdun was much of a leader on his best day. Why had they been picked for this assignment, exactly?
'We want to get out of this building without being seen,' said Silverdun, quietly shutting the door to the attic behind him.
There was a small window at the far end of the attic. Weak light dribbled through it and pooled on the floor. 'Let's have a look.'
Downstairs there was a crash and another shout, this time of someone in
