Sharpening Knives

Making ink on his own in the small laboratory attached to Master Jerome's workshops, Martel had time to think. As his hands went through the familiar motions, his mind considered how to spend the rest of his day. He had previously decided to go visit Flora, as her message had asked him to do. Since he would already be in the bridge district, it would be a short trip to continue to the Pearl. While the owner of that establishment had told him to lie low, he now got the feeling it had not been for his sake, but rather hers. And although that suggested she would not be inclined to receive him, let alone explain anything, perhaps Martel could find someone else more amenable to him.

***

Still undecided whether to pursue this business with Lady Pearl, Martel decided to postpone the decision. For the time being, he went to the bridge district to visit his former comrades-at-arms.

Reaching the quarters of the mercenary band, Martel noticed changes. Even standing outside the walls enclosing their small yard, he heard noises and voices reaching the outside. As he knocked on the door, a warrior unknown to him opened and glanced at the visitor.

"I'm here to see Flora," Martel announced, trying not to look intimidated by the imposing fighter in his Night Knife surcoat.

The warrior lit up in a smile. "Of course, you must be the wizard. She and Marcus have spoken of you. Come in!"

Stepping inside, Martel saw the signs of transformation that his ears had already suggested. Lots of wooden dolls for training filled the space, along with crates holding supplies and several weapon racks under awnings. Half a dozen men milled around the space, doing various training exercises; two of them wrestled against each other with a few onlookers yelling out encouragements.

Passing through, Martel entered the house itself. Several sat around the table in the middle of the room, with another attending the cooking fire in one end. "Martel!" Flora appeared, coming down from the upper floor. The others present cast curious glances at him, some of them nodding in greeting. The earthmage took him by the arm and led him outside again. "Let's take a stroll on the street. Too many people in here, I could use getting out."

They left the house and began a leisurely walk. "Your companions from Aquila have arrived."

She nodded. "Some fivedays ago. Though we haven't done much. Yet."

"Is this why you sent me a message?"

"Indeed. Do you remember I told you of a quarrel between Lady Pearl and the Comtesse?"

"Uh, vaguely." It took Martel a moment to think back, but he recalled his very first task with the Night Knives, collecting debts in the noble district.

"Things are heating up between them, and the good lady has heard a rumour that her rival is employing magic."

"Wait, I thought that whole Pact of theirs prevented any open conflict?"

"It does, which is why they are both acting through proxies. We don't know yet who the Comtesse has employed, but this is why Lady Pearl is happy our numbers have grown. If need be, she can call on us, which will seem like less of an escalation than sending in her own people."

"But given that there are a lot of you Knives now, why do you need me? I assume that's why we're talking, because you want me to join in," Martel said.

"Perceptive. And yes. If there is magic on the other side, whether a mage or something else, the best answer is more magic on our side."

"I appreciate the call, but I can't get mixed up in this anymore. It was close enough last time with the inquisitors."

"Those bumbling fools," Flora scoffed. "They couldn't find their buttocks in a basket."

Martel laughed, in agreement with the sentiment.

"Though that reminds me, I should thank you. I don't know how you and that little street rat got hold of a healing elixir, but it saved my life." She squeezed his arm as they walked down the street.

"I was happy to."

"In that spirit, I won't pressure you. I already owe you a lot. If you don't want to be part of this, I accept that," Flora declared. "I just wanted you to have the offer, in case you still needed a bit of coin."

"I appreciate that. I'm good, but I'll let you know if it ever changes."

"Alright." They stopped, and Flora gave him a quick hug. "I'll let Marcus know you came by. One of these days, the three of us will get together just for drinks, nothing else."

"Sounds like an excellent idea to me."

***

As Flora returned to the home of the Night Knives, Martel could no longer delay his decision. Go home and forget about runes, Ruby, and nuns? Or let his need to know guide him, even if it kicked up a hornet's nest. Taking a deep breath, Martel walked towards The River Pearl.

It was still reasonably early in the day, at least for an establishment that did most of its business at night; the sun had yet to set. A handful of patrons still frequented the place, but otherwise it was quiet, and Martel had no trouble gaining the attention of a waitress. "Is Ruby around? I should like to speak with her."

The young woman gave him a quick glance over. "You're the wizard, aye? I'll let her know."

"Many thanks."

Martel waited only a brief while before his former companion joined him. "Martel, I didn't expect to see you." Despite her smile and neutral words, he got the impression she would have preferred not to see him at all.

He saw no need to dally with circumspect words. "I want to know what you were doing Solday night."

"Right. There was a misunderstanding, I had to get out of there quickly, and the yellow ladies weren't happy that I left without an explanation. That's all."

"I saved you," he reminded her. "And I saw the rune stone that Lady Pearl got from the skáld. It suppresses the effect of other runes. Much like the one at the entrance to the convent."

She let out a deep breath. "Alright, let's not talk here." She turned around and walked away, going out to the inner courtyard of the Pearl, Martel following right after. Glancing around, seeing nobody within earshot, she spoke again with a quiet voice. "The Sisters of the Sun perform an important duty for the city. In their vaults, they store the wills of anyone in Morcaster with something worth leaving to their children. Including one Lord Thierry."

Martel frowned, wondering where exactly this was going, or if she was spinning some long-winded yarn to allay his suspicions. For now, he let her continue.

"Lord Thierry is a long time – friend of Lady Pearl. In fact, he owns the Pearl. The tavern, that is. But he is old and dying. His family has no regard for my mistress and refuses her to visit him." Ruby looked up at Martel. "We needed to know who will inherit the Pearl, in case they'll try to take it away from us."

"So you stole the will from the convent?" Martel could not imagine the audacity of stealing from a sacred place.

"Just a copy. They always make sure to have several, the good Sisters."

"Does it really matter that much? I'm sure given her wealth, Lady Pearl could simply buy another place."

"It is more complicated than that. For one, this establishment is the heart of all her activities. It would cause major disruption to relocate all of that. And while that could perhaps be tolerated, if we left the Pearl, it would give others an opportunity to move in. Take over not only the place, but also its reputation and our business."

It was hard to understand how one place could matter that much, though Martel admitted his knowledge of commerce, including the illicit kind, was lacking. But this still left him with the most important question. "But why did you bring me along? You clearly knew enough about this place that you must have known I would be discovered as a mage the moment I crossed the threshold."

Ruby gave him an apologetic smile. "I needed a distraction."

That was all Martel was to these people. No different than Kerra. He had thought – or hoped – that Ruby would prove to be more than that. He had been naïve, and more than that, he was tired of learning this lesson. This time, he would remember what happened when he dealt with one of the Nine Lords. At least he got paid for his troubles. "Goodbye, Ruby." He turned around and left.