Hulburg? In any event, I got to know many of the Veruna men by sight, including their captain, a man named Urdinger. Hamil and I found that the Veruna sellswords were keeping themselves quite busy, constantly coming and going from their timber camps and mines all around the area.”
“Which is hardly suspicious,” Sergen pointed out. “All of the merchant companies patrol the wildlands around their camps to protect their investments. And I’ll also point out that what you were doing was in breach of the concession laws. The harmach and his agents aren’t allowed to interfere in legitimate business of the merchant costers.”
Hamil grimaced. “Interfere? We gave them an honest day’s work. They’ve never had a better team or wagon.”
“This will go faster if you don’t interrupt me, Sergen,” Geran said. He was rapidly remembering why he’d never liked his stepcousin very much. “After watching the Veruna mercenaries for a few days, I decided to try a different tactic. I set out to look into the tomb-breakings Jarad was investigating. Uncle Grigor gave me the reports Jarad had compiled, and Hamil and I set out to visit each scene. We rode up to the Highfells and examined the barrows. First of all, we noticed that the barrows were not looted indiscriminately-whoever was breaking into the barrows was looking for something specific and leaving other valuables behind. And we noticed something else- each barrow was about the same age. Each was the burial mound of a servant of Lathander, and each dated from the time of old Thentur.
“Once we figured that out, I decided to seek some expert assistance. We went to Rosestone Abbey-a harrowing ride, since the dead walked on the Highfells that night-and spoke with the Initiate Mother. I asked her what tomb robbers might be looking for in the barrow of a Lathanderian from the days of Thentur, and she had an answer for me: a book called the Infiernadex that once belonged to Aesperus himself.”
“The tiefling was looking for a book,” Kara said.
“The same one,” Geran confirmed. “Anyway, Mother Mara told me that it was hidden in the barrow of a high priestess named Terlannis, and she told me where to find it. I decided to remove the book to keep it out of the hands of the men who were looking for it.
“Two days ago, we broke into the barrow of Terlannis. We discovered a secret vault hidden under the burial chamber and found the Infiernadex. But when we emerged from the barrow, we discovered that we’d been tracked. A company of Veruna armsmen was waiting for us.”
“And I suppose these men were wearing their House colors?” Sergen demanded.
“In fact, they were!” Hamil snapped. “And Captain Anfel Urdinger himself ordered Geran to surrender the book at swordpoint.”
Sergen began to reply, but Harmach Grigor held up his hand. “A moment, Sergen. Finish your tale, Geran. What happened then?”
“I threatened to destroy the Infiernadex, because I couldn’t see why they would let us go to carry tales back to Hulburg if I surrendered the tome. But Aesperus appeared-the King in Copper himself. He seized the tome before I could even think of protecting it from him. Then, once he had it, he told Urdinger that he held Veruna’s part of the bargain accomplished, and that he would soon make good on his part.”
Hamil interrupted. “He also said that Urdinger and his men were to despoil no more barrows. I certainly took that to mean that the Veruna men had broken into a number of barrows looking for Aesperus’s book.”
“Aesperus teleported away after that,” Geran continued. “Hamil and I ran back into the barrow we’d just left, hoping to fight off the Verunas. We’d likely be there still, except that the tiefling Sarth arrived and attacked the Verunas. He distracted Urdinger and his men enough for Hamil and me to fight our way back out. The Verunas retreated, and the tiefling-Sarth Khul Riizar is his full name, Kara-flew off into the night, after some sharp words to Hamil and me for allowing Aesperus to reclaim his old book.
“After that, Hamil and I retraced our steps to Rosestone, rested there a night, and set out at first light this morning for Hulburg.” Geran paused, thinking over what he’d just said, and leaned on the dark cherrywood table to meet his uncle’s eyes. “What it all means, I can’t say. But now I know that House Veruna men were the ones breaking into the tombs on the Highfells, I know that Veruna men killed Jarad Erstenwold, I know they struck some sort of bargain with the King in Copper, and I know Veruna men were ready to kill Hamil and me to keep us from telling you what we saw.”
The harmach frowned and rubbed his hand over his eyes. “That is a black tale you bring to us, Geran. I know that Darsi Veruna is no friend to me, but treachery and murder such as this…”
Sergen began to chuckle, then laughed deeply and richly. “Surely you don’t believe all this, Uncle? It’s a wild exaggeration at best, and more likely an outright fabrication!” He pushed himself upright from the bookshelf he had been leaning against and looked at Geran. “Aesperus himself took the book from your hands, and you were rescued by a mysterious devilspawned sorcerer who then flew off into the night? Ah, goodness! I had no idea you were capable of such ridiculous invention, Geran! Why, The Bride of Secomber couldn’t best that tale! Are you sure you’re not a playwright?”
Geran stood up straight and glared at Sergen. “Every word I’ve spoken here today is true. Don’t call me a liar again.”
“Why should we believe you?” Sergen asked. His easy smile fell from his face, and his dark eyes glittered like serpent scales. “You haven’t seen a reason to spend ten days in this house in the last ten years-the house of your father and your father’s father. You’re a feckless wanderer, Geran, chasing after childish dreams of glory and fame. I don’t doubt that a man such as you might invent any sort of fantastic tale to justify a few more hours of adoration from those too foolish to look past your wild claims and ask for some small shred of proof.”
“Enough, both of you,” Harmach Grigor said. “We have-”
“Now that’s odd,” Geran retorted to Sergen. “You haven’t seen fit to spend a single day in your father’s house in all that time. Where is he now, I wonder? Selling children into slavery? Robbing and murdering his way through the world as a common highwayman? Or perhaps groveling in front of some demon’s bloody altar? As I see things, Sergen, you’ve claimed my family’s name and sold off my family’s property for your own riches. Maybe we should’ve run you off all those years ago when that traitorous, blackhearted father of yours fled for his miserable life!”
“That is enough!” the harmach snapped.
“You’ll regret those words,” Sergen hissed. He took a step toward Geran, his hand dropping to the hilt of his rapier.
For his own part, Geran rounded the table and took three strides toward his stepcousin. He’d be damned if he would let Sergen call him a liar. “What are you hiding?” he growled. “Why are you trying to protect House Veruna? Did they buy your loyalty, such as it is? Perhaps you hope to succeed where your father failed?”
“Geran, I will have no more of this!” Grigor roared. He stood and struck his cane against the floor. “Sergen may not be of Hulmaster blood, but my sister raised him as her own son, and I will not hear another word about his father’s deeds!”
Geran hesitated. In all of his life he had never heard the harmach raise his voice so. Sergen fell silent too, but still glared at Geran. Kara stepped between the two and then looked to the harmach. “Uncle Grigor, we all know that Sergen is… close… to Darsi Veruna. Geran’s charges against the Verunas are serious and must be answered, but Sergen’s not likely to demand explanations from House Veruna.”
Sergen turned a black look on his stepsister but mastered himself with a visible effort. “I don’t deny that I am courting Lady Darsi. Nor do I deny that we’ve had a profitable association-all of us. House Veruna accounts for almost half of the concession fees collected on Hulmaster land. But that doesn’t make Geran’s wild accusations true, Uncle. I have in fact already heard a different account of what transpired on the Highfells. I didn’t want to mention it for fear of shaming a kinsman I haven’t seen in a long time, but it seems clear that I must speak of it now.” Sergen frowned and shook his head. “I don’t know how to say this, but… Captain Urdinger reported to Lady Darsi that he and his men were performing a routine patrol when they stumbled across a pair of bandits looting a tomb in search of nothing more exotic than barrow-gold. When they challenged the looters, they discovered Geran and his small accomplice there, who attacked them rather than allowing themselves to be taken into custody. They murdered several Veruna armsmen and fled into the mists.” He looked at Geran and added, “So where have you hidden the gold you’ve looted? How many more barrows do you intend to pillage before you flee Hulburg and go off to plunder some other land?”
“You lying serpent…” Geran snarled in fury.
Easy, Geran, Hamil told him. The halfling set his hands on his hips and looked up at Sergen. “So, Lord Sergen, are Geran and I responsible for the barrows that were plundered before we even arrived in town? If we didn’t do it,
