Gord ignored the impertinence. He pointed imperiously at a pair of small but brilliant rubies enmeshed in fine golden wire. “Those, smith, are more to our taste. Fetch them!”
The man brought them to Gord as commanded, but while so doing he jerked his head toward the pair of stalwarts who served as his guards, and they moved to either side of Gord and Adaz. The girl had finally caught the drift of what was going on. She moved closer to Gord and smiled wanly at him. Her olive skin appeared pale.
Without seeming to notice the guards nearby, Gord carefully examined the earrings, allowing the slanting afternoon sunlight to play upon the sparkling facets of the gems, the rays turning them to fiery blazes of crimson. “They are acceptable, but worth no more than a plate,” he said as he stared at the proprietor of the booth, face set, eyes narrowed.
“A plate? Hah! A plate
Chapter 12
Radigast City was larger than Leukish, smaller than Greyhawk. Gord’s “family” came to the principal place of County Urnst along with a veritable fleet of barges, having sailed from Leukish with seven or eight and then having met and been joined by many others. The convoy was for protection against the pirates who were known to ply the Nyr Dyv between Leukish and Radigast City-and besides, the barge-folk didn’t have to worry about antagonizing anyone with this apparent show of force; the Countess of Urnst, who held sway over this principality, had no particular dislike of the Rhennee as did Duke Karall, her cousin who ruled Duchy Urnst. From what Gord could determine, the bargefolk often received fees from Her Noble Brilliancy for spying, intelligence, or actual services of a more military nature. Gord wasn’t exactly sure of all that, for nobody spoke directly to the matter, and his questions were never answered.
When the flotilla of barges came to a place near the capital city, they went up a small river mouth, a branch of the Artonsamay’s great delta, to Muddich, a large village of some eight or nine hundred souls. The visiting Rhennee always made a point of basing themselves at Muddich and traveling overland to Radigast City, which was only a bit more than a league distant. Perhaps that explained part of the relative friendliness for them that County Urnstmen evidenced.
Before they had taken leave of Leukish, Adaz had been most attentive to Gord. He wasn’t certain if the attention was born of gratitude or the fact that she wanted the ruby earrings, which he had kept. But whichever it was, he didn’t care. Despite all her overtures, Gord was only coolly polite. He had experienced all he ever wanted of Rhennee womenfolk with Estrella. When they put into Muddich, Adaz tried again to win him over, but Gord managed to slip quickly away.
For the next several days Gord explored Radigast, met and talked with its citizens, and covertly watched the less savory elements of the city at work and play. He would have engaged in some amusements and contributed to the city’s economy, but the fact was, he was just about broke. The purchase of his dagger and the earrings, plus the orb he had grudgingly handed over to Miklos, left him with only about four plates to his name. Better off than most-and he realized that-but these days unless Gord had more than a dozen plates in his purse he considered himself strapped. Then an idea struck him, and he hurried back to the village where his “family” had set up camp.
Gord found Adaz at the edge of the village commons, watching a caravan of covered wains setting up there. When he asked her what was going on, her pretty face contorted into a scowl, and she spat.
“These dogs in the wagons claim to be Rhennee too, but they are Attloi-half-breed nothings, vagabonds, liars, and chicken stealers!”
Filing that away for future reference, Gord smiled and invited her to come with him for some fun in the city. They could leave early tomorrow and make a day of it, seeing what there was, eating, drinking, and who knew what!
“I would love it,” she replied, “but I have nothing to wear, and I feel so inferior because of it. A girl must look pretty, you know!” Then Adaz gave him her most appealing glance, and Gord said that perhaps he’d have a gift for her when he picked her up in the morning.
“If it is a nice present, perhaps we won’t have to return tomorrow night,” she said in a sultry voice.
That it would be a nice present, Gord was certain. Returning or not was a matter to be determined by other than Adaz-except rather indirectly. She had better be prepared for quite a day, he mused.
What Gord had in mind was allowing her to exercise her dubious talents as a pilferer while remaining in the background-and using his own abilities. Thanks to the diversion she would provide, Gord should be able to have a field day. It was a cynical thing to do, but why not? He had become a rather cynical fellow, to say the least.
Plotting, Gord strolled off to where he had established his place near the family camp of Miklos.
Bright and early the next morning, he went to where he’d told Adaz to meet him, and sure enough she was there, smiling. He handed her the earrings.
After being careful to keep her out of trouble during the morning, then plying her with wine in the early afternoon, Gord led his unsuspecting decoy into the area of the city where gem merchants had their shops. Although the wares displayed close to where a thief could attempt snatch-and-run tactics were of little value, their glow and glitter were quite spectacular. Adaz was quickly enmeshed in the place, becoming filled with a growing desire to possess some of the beautiful stones that the pair was ogling in the shop windows. They actually entered one place and peered intently at the aquamarines, pearls, topazes, and similar stones there. The place had nothing of really exceptional value, but their visit served to further whet the girl’s appetite for such baubles.
They exited the shop and moved on a few paces, and then Gord told her that he remembered a brief errand he must take care of. Adaz should continue to enjoy herself by viewing the gemstones while Gord was gone for a bit. They could meet again at the end of the lane, only another few hundred feet up, in half an hour. Adaz readily assented.
After walking rapidly away and turning a nearby corner, Gord counted to thirty, slowly, and then retraced his steps in a leisurely fashion. As he again rounded the corner, he saw Adaz entering a fairly large shop halfway down the lane. He continued in her direction in his most leisurely manner, taking special care to remain unnoticed.
From a vantage point across the street, he watched the Rhennee girl examining the contents of the gem merchant’s establishment. It appeared to be a fairly prosperous shop, although not the one he had hoped she would choose. Well, never mind-he would make the best of it. Adaz had been busy in the short time she’d been in the place, Gord noted, as he strolled closer. There were quite a few different stones on the counter, and Adaz was pointing to her earrings and gesturing disdainfully at the loose gems. She was probably demanding to see larger rubies to match those on her ears.
Gord turned partially away from the small glass panes of the shop window, pretending to watch the scattered traffic passing by, perhaps awaiting someone, but surveying the interior of the shop out of the corner of his eye. After another few minutes, Adaz thought she had created a sufficiently confused situation and acted. While she was decrying the terrible quality of the stones she had been shown, the girl used her hidden left hand to take a large spinel. The offended merchant didn’t notice immediately, for by then the two were exchanging rather vile insults. As she marched in mock outrage for the door, however, the man came to his senses and took an inventory with his eyes. Of course he noticed that the spinel was not there, and he voiced an angry shout.
Adaz broke into a run and was outside the place as its owner vaulted over the counter, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Because Gord stood to the right of the door, Adaz scooted left and away as fast as she could, not recognizing him in her haste to make good her theft and escape. Gord stayed planted as the shopkeeper came out and turned left in hot pursuit. It reminded him of his old days in the Slum Quarter, and he chuckled softly to himself. Then he stepped into the shop, drew his dagger, and vaulted the counter.
A large, brawny youth, probably the owner’s son or apprentice, was just coming through the curtain as Gord landed. The sound of Gord’s pommel striking the unsuspecting fellow’s head had a hollow sound, and the blow felled
