Shaking herself out of her pondering, she swiftly dressed and slid on a pair of black leather shoes. She wrapped a black kerchief around her golden locks and checked her reflection one more time. Satisfied with what she saw, she picked up a small black purse and returned downstairs and slipped out a side door to an alley. At the mouth of the alley, she stopped and checked the street for traffic before boldly stepping out and walking along the street past the fashionable shops of the wealthy district in which she lived. Nobody paid any attention to her as she continued walking out of the wealthy district into the more common part of the city.
A half-hour later, she slipped into another alley near the border between the common man’s section of town and the seedier waterfront area. She moved stealthily now, down the alley until she came to a small, unmarked wooden door. She reached into the small purse and extracted a thin piece of metal and applied it to the lock on the door. Within a scant few minutes, a snick indicated that the door was unlocked and she slid cautiously inside.
The main room was a shambles. Papers and drawers littered the floor. Furniture was knocked over and broken glass was everywhere. The woman in black ignored it all and went to the small door leading off of the main room. She silently turned the handle and crept into the small room. Two small beds and a small dresser were the only pieces of furniture in the room and the dresser had been ransacked. She moved to the bed along the far wall and pulled it into the middle of the floor. Walking around to the far side of the bed, she threw the covers on the floor and laid down on them. She wiggled her curvaceous body under the bed and felt along the inside of the headboard leg until she found a small hole. She stuck the thin piece of metal into the hole and worked it in a professional manner until a small compartment slid open. She reached into the compartment with two fingers and extracted a small book. With a click, she closed the small compartment door.
Squirming out from under the bed, she slid the small book between her breasts and threw the covers back onto the bed. She walked around to the other side and shoved the bed back against the wall. Easing herself back out the way she came in, the woman paused at the rear door and placed the thin piece of metal into her purse. With her hand of the doorknob, she heard a scuffing sound from the alley beyond the door. With the swiftness of a cat, the woman moved back from the door and flattened her body to the wall. The doorknob turned slowly and a slight shaft of light penetrated the dark room as the door eased open.
The woman sprang swiftly, throwing the door open and driving her stiffened fingers into the throat of the man entering the room. The man gurgled and clutched his throat as his knees buckled. Deprived of air, the man struggled to understand what was happening. He dropped to his knees and his hands came up to his throat. The woman viscously punched the side of his head and the man sprawled unconsciously to the floor. She stuck her head out the open door and checked the alley for any accomplices. Seeing none, she dragged his body into the alley and propped it against the wall. She slipped the lock mechanism of the door and pulled it shut. Moving quickly and quietly, the woman worked her way back up the alley and onto the street. She walked casually, but swiftly as she retraced her steps to her home.
Chapter 22
Campanil
Goral did not feel much better on a horse than he did on a choka, but at least the horse would not cause the Campanil residents to run screaming in fear of an invasion as he entered the city. The giant was clothed in dark pants and a garish red shirt that shouted for people to notice him. StarWind rode several distances ahead of him attired in a plain gray shift as they entered the city from the north. She passed through the gate without comment and lingered just inside to make sure Goral was not hassled too severely. She dismounted and tied her horse to a post and waited. As she expected, the guards could not let the giant pass without some challenge or comment. Two Imperial Guards approached Goral and blocked his path with pikes, ordering him to dismount. Goral dismounted and stood silently next to his horse. The white-clad guard asked him what business he had in the city and Goral cocked his head and stared at the man. Slowly, he brought his hands up and started moving them rapidly, making signs.
“He can’t talk,” surmised one of the guards. “What is he saying?”
“How the heck would I know?” retorted the second guard with skepticism. “If he can’t tell me his business in the city, then he isn’t getting in. State your business or be off with you.”
Goral stood staring at the man’s moving mouth with a puzzled look upon his face. For a seemingly endless moment, the three participants stood staring at each other. Only years of practice in shedding visible displays of emotion allowed StarWind to maintain a straight face as she watched her friend perform.
“I don’t think he can hear either,” the first guard finally said. “Maybe we should just let him pass. He hasn’t caused any trouble.”
“I don’t like it,” complained the second guard. “I think he is faking it. Either he tells me his business or he doesn’t enter the city.”
He watched Goral for signs of comprehension and was disappointed. A line began forming behind Goral as other travelers sought entrance into the city and their murmurs grew louder although nobody was going to openly voice displeasure with the Imperial Guards. With the patience of a rock, Goral stood fast and waited for the Imperial Guards to make up their minds.
The first guard grew nervous about drawing so much attention. The Watch Commander wanted visitors to the city challenged, but he also was known to be irritable when bothered by something trivial and the guard did not need a confrontation with the Watch Commander. “Let him go. He does not appear violent to me.”
“Not until he states his business,” reiterated the first guard, “and I do not intend to wait all day for it. Go on and get out of here,” he ordered Goral as he leaned his pike against the wall and reached for the reins of Goral’s horse to turn the animal around.
The giant’s hand streaked out and seized the guard’s wrist as he reached for the reins. Slowly, Goral shook his head in an exaggerated fashion and pointed towards the inner city with his free hand.
The guard struggled to free his hand, but Goral’s grip was solid and refused to yield. The act of touching an Imperial Guard was an offense and the giant could end up in jail for his insistence on entering the city, but Goral kept his resolve firm.
“Cut off his arm,” the bound guard ordered his companion. “He won’t let go of me.”
The nervous guard approached and stood next to his companion and whispered to him, “He would not act this way if he could talk. You are making us look like fools. The giant does not even exert himself holding you captive. If we continue this, the Watch Commander will be here and we will both be cleaning latrines. Just let the fool enter and he will be a problem for someone else.”
The captive guard thought for a moment and ceased struggling to free his hand from Goral’s grasp. As soon as he stopped struggling, Goral released his grip and the guard yanked his hand back. The guard’s hand hovered over the hilt of his sword threateningly for a moment, but finally the guard stepped back and waved Goral through the gate.
StarWind watched the guards carefully while Goral’s back was to them and as soon as she saw that they meant no harm to the giant, she continued on her way, meeting up with Goral down the street far enough to be out of sight of the gate.
“You took a chance back there,” StarWind whispered after they had rejoined. “Touching a guard can mean imprisonment.”
“Perhaps,” smiled Goral as he tied his horse to a post, “but public humiliation is a powerful incentive. My grip was tight enough that the guard had to doubt his ability to take me captive without harm to himself.”