moved on to another. She tried two more darkened windows, avoiding a third that had a light burning inside, before she found one with the shutters unlocked and open. She cautiously peered inside, a risky move since there were no clouds to cut off the moonlight shining behind her. After several seconds, she hauled herself over the sill and climbed into the room. The companions on the ground tensed, waiting to hear the room’s startled occupant shout an alarm, but they heard nothing. A moment later, Yvka appeared at the window. She smiled, nodded, and held out her hand.
Ghaji tucked Yvka’s boots beneath his belt. He then removed the coil of rope that he carried around his shoulder and took the grappling hook from his pack. He quickly tied the rope onto the hook then stepped beneath Yvka and tossed it up to her. The elf-woman caught it on the first try then disappeared back into the room. Several moments later, she returned and motioned that they could begin climbing. Trusting that she had found a sturdy place to anchor the grappling hook, Diran began scaling the wall, moving with a speed and grace that, while perhaps not elven, still surpassed that of any other human Ghaji knew. Once Diran was inside the room, it was Hinto’s turn. Ghaji was supposed to keep watch while the others climbed, but he couldn’t help sneaking a glance at the halfling to make sure he didn’t begin panicking halfway up. Hinto made it without difficulty, and it was Ghaji’s turn. The half-orc was more than strong enough to manage the task, and once he was inside the room, he hauled in the rope so there would be no sign of their entrance to alert any patrolling guards.
The room had a low ceiling, which made sense since most of Dreadhold’s staff were dwarves, and Ghaji had to keep his head lowered if he didn’t want to bash it on the stone ceiling. Though it was dark in the room, there was enough moonlight filtering through the open window to reveal that these quarters weren’t all that much larger than the prison cells. A single dwarf-sized bed with a trunk sitting at its foot comprised the room’s entire contents. The bed, which Yvka had fastened the grappling hook to, was empty and recently made, the room’s occupant presumably on night duty.
Ghaji returned Yvka’s boots to her, and as the elf-woman slipped them on, he leaned close to Diran and whispered in his ear. “Now what? We can’t just go through the building, knocking on doors and asking if anyone knows where Tresslar’s room is.”
“We need to find someone to question,” Diran said.
There was a sudden soft click followed by the creak of metal. Ghaji drew his axe and Diran’s hands sprouted a pair of daggers.
“Hinto’s just picked the lock on the trunk and is having a looksee at the contents,” Yvka said.
“Hinto,” Diran said, “we’re here to find and question Tresslar, not to rifle through someone else’s possessions.”
“Who says we can’t do both?” The halfling sailor-and occasional pirate-swiftly rooted through the open chest, but he evidently found nothing of interest, for he soon closed the trunk lid.
“Put the money back, Hinto,” Diran said.
“What money? All that was in there were folded tunics and a pouch of smelly pipe tobacco.”
“And a coin purse,” Diran said, “which you palmed and stuck into the top of your left boot. I can fish it out with one of my daggers, if you like.”
Hinto sighed. He took the pouch from his boot and was about to put it back in the trunk when Yvka said, “Wait a moment.”
“You mean I can keep it?” Hinto asked, sounding like a delighted child.
“No.” Yvka reached out and took the pouch from him. “I think I just came up with a way to find Tresslar’s room.”
Yvka had been gone a while now, and Diran was becoming concerned. Her idea had merit, which was why he’d agreed to let her try it, but just because an idea was good didn’t mean it was flawless. Perhaps she’d been captured or delayed by some unforeseen circumstance. What if the room’s occupant came back while they waited? Diran didn’t know how often the staff of Dreadhold changed shifts, but each moment they remained here increased their chances of being discovered.
He could hear a voice whispering in his mind. Patience, my boy, patience, but Diran couldn’t tell if it was Emon’s voice or Tusya’s. Perhaps this time it was a blend of both.
Ghaji sat cross-legged on the floor, axe resting on his lap, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. Hinto had crawled into the bed, which was just the right size for him, stretched out, and from the sound of his deep heavy breathing, had dozed off. Diran tried to relax, but he couldn’t. He paced back and forth, hands empty but itching to reach into his cloak and draw forth a dagger or three, so he might juggle them to help pass the time. It would probably annoy Ghaji, and if Hinto awoke it could possibly frighten the halfling into letting out a screech and giving them all away, so he just kept pacing and tried not to think about how good a blade would feel in his hand right now.
Diran knew that he was letting his emotions get the better of him, but he couldn’t help it. It had been two days since the Black Fleet raiders had abducted Makala and the others from Port Verge, and there was every possibility she was already dead. Even if they did locate Tresslar’s room and convince him to tell them where Erdis Cai laired, it might be too late to save Makala. Whether Makala was alive or dead, Diran intended to make damn sure that Erdis Cai and the Black Fleet never preyed on innocents ever again.
There came a soft knocking at the door. Three short raps, three long. It was Yvka. Diran opened the door, and the elf-woman came in. She was wearing a gray tunic they’d found in the trunk and holding the money pouch in one hand.
Diran quickly shut the door behind her, turned, and said, “Well?”
“Mission accomplished. Tresslar’s room is on the first floor in the southwest corner.”
Though Yvka was petite, as was common for a female elf, the dwarven-sized tunic didn’t quite fit her. The result, a low neckline and a high hemline, looked most fetching, and despite the situation, Diran couldn’t help but think how attractive the woman was. He had to force his thoughts back to the matter at hand.
“Did you have any difficulty?” he asked.
“No, but it took me a while to encounter someone.” Instead of going around and knocking on doors, potentially waking the entire building, they’d opted to have Yvka simply “bump into” someone in the hall who was already awake. “I was on the first floor, near the entrance, when a gray-bearded dwarf came in. I said hello, and we made small-talk for several moments. He’s one of the cooks for the day shift, but he was working half the night to fill in for another cook who’s ill. I told him that I was looking for Tresslar because I had to pay him back some money he’d loaned me while we were playing cards a few days ago, but I didn’t know where his room was. He told me what I wanted to know, but he snickered the whole time. I think given the lateness of the hour, and seeing how I was dressed, the old lecher figured I was going to repay my debt to Tresslar in a somewhat different currency.”
Ghaji scowled at that but said nothing.
“As long as your ruse worked, that’s all that matters,” Diran said. “Do you think the cook was suspicious of you?”
Yvka shook her head. “I told him that I was new so he wouldn’t question why he hadn’t seen me before. Since most of the staff, including the guards, only serve temporary tours of duty here, I would imagine it’s not uncommon for staff members to encounter someone they’ve never met before.”
“Good,” Diran said. “Now all we have to do is go talk to Tresslar.” He started for the door, but Yvka stopped her.
“Let me change back into my own clothes first. This tunic isn’t exactly designed for battle. One wrong move, and the outfit will probably tear right in two.”
“Really?” Hinto said, sounding as if he’d like to see Yvka give a demonstration right then.
“Whatever you’re imagining, stop it,” Ghaji said gruffly. “Now let’s turn around and give the lady some privacy while she changes.”
Yvka smiled. “Why Ghaji, who’d ever have guessed you were such a gentleman?”
“Don’t call me names,” he growled, though he didn’t sound displeased by the compliment. The three males then turned their backs, and Yvka quickly took off the tunic and put her own clothes on once more.
When she was finished, Diran said, “Let’s go.”
