When they reach the inn, James can hear that the common room is still packed with the evening crowd. Above the voices and the occasional laughter wafts the sound of a bard or minstrel. Going around to the back, he finds an area steep in shadow where he leaves Perrilin.
“I won’t be but a moment,” he tells the bard. The only reply Perrilin gives is a nod.
Moving as unobtrusively as possible, he walks in through the back door and quickly makes his way to the stairs and then up to his room.
Opening the door, he finds Miko lying atop one of the beds fast asleep. Coming over to him, James shakes his shoulder. “Wake up, I need your help.”
Startled to wakefulness, the boy bolts upright only to relax when he sees James standing over him. “I was getting worried about you,” he says.
“Sorry about that,” James replies. “I found Perrilin and he’s downstairs.” Holding up a finger he says, “No time for questions, I need your help getting him up here. He’s pretty badly hurt.” As he leads Miko from the room he adds, “We need to get him up here without letting anyone know that he’s here.”
“How are we to do that?” Miko asks.
“Just follow my lead,” James tells him.
Miko gives him an affirmative nod and then follows him down the stairs and through the back door. James is relieved to find the bard where he left him. He and Miko manage to get Perrilin to a standing position, and with an arm around each of their necks, help him to and then through the back door.
As they enter, Miss Gilena just happens to walk by. She stops when she spies them, her face turning into a frown. Wearing a disapproving look, she moves toward them and asks, “What is going on?” Her expression seems to indicate suspicion that they are up to something.
“Just a friend who got the tar beat out of him is all,” James explains.
She turns her gaze first onto James, them Miko. When her eyes turned on the man between them, her expression changed from one of suspicion to that of shock. “Is that…?” Having been discovered, James can only nod. She looks around and finding nobody nearby says, “Hurry and get him to your room. I’ll be up in a few minutes with some food and water.”
“Thank you,” he says.
She only nods in reply then hurries to the kitchen. They help Perrilin up the stairs and into their room, laying him in the bed furthest from the door. Miko lights the candle on the table giving the room a little light. They pull the covers to his chin to better hide him should someone come in unexpectedly. They were just finishing with Perrilin when a single knock sounded on the door followed right after by Miss Gilena entering the room. Bearing a tray of food and a pitcher of water, along with several towels tucked under one arm, she snags the door closed with the heel of her foot.
“What happened to him?” she asks as she comes to where he lies. Handing Miko the tray of food, she then pours some of the water into a nearby basin and wets the end of a towel. Coming to sit on the bed next to Perrilin, she uses the damp towel to begin cleaning the dried blood off his face.
“I found him being held in a farmhouse several miles out of town,” James explains. “They were beating him up pretty good and were about to begin using a hot poker. That’s when I came along and managed to get him out of there.”
“I thought he was arrested by the city watch?” she asks.
“Apparently not,” he explains. “I went by the jail first, but they said he was never brought in.”
They both turn their gaze toward the sleeping bard. James wonders what Perrilin has gotten himself into.
After cleaning him up fairly well she says, “You will need to get him out of those dirty clothes and clean the rest of him as well. In the morning, I will bring clean clothes for him.” Getting up off the bed she says, “If he wakes, try to get him to eat and drink, at least drink if nothing else. I need to be downstairs and if you should require anything, send the boy down to me,” she emphasizes by pointing to herself, “and I shall get you what you need. Understand?”
“Yes ma’am,” James replies.
“Good. Now I’ll leave you to it,” Miss Gilena states as she returns to the door and leaves the room.
“What now?” Miko asks after the door closes behind her.
“I guess we better get his clothes off and get him cleaned up like she said,” James answers as he proceeds to remove Perrilin’s shirt.
“No, I mean about gaining access to the Royal Archives,” clarifies Miko.
When he removes the shirt, he looks with anger at the many shallow cuts and bruises dotting the bard’s chest and back. The cuts are obviously the source of the blood staining his shirt.
“They sure did a number on him, didn’t they?” Miko asks as he too examines the extent of his injuries.
“Yes they did,” agrees James. He takes another of the towels and dips it into the basin. Being careful so as not to reopen the wounds which have already begun to heal, he gingerly works to remove the rest of the blood and dirt.
“I think we will need to wait until he wakes before we do anything further about the Archives,” James says. “We’ll lay low until tomorrow and then when he awakens see if he can help us. Hopefully he will be awake by then.” Once he’s finished cleaning the wounds, James lays him back into the bed and places the covers once more up to his chin. Then he comes over and sits with Miko at the table.
Miko looks longingly at the food piled upon the tray and James says, “We may as well eat it, though let’s leave some for him should he awaken.”
As they eat, James asks Miko if he found out anything about Lord Colerain’s business in Cardri.
“It seems not much is known around here about Lord Colerain,” he explains between bites of food. “However, I did find out some things about a Lord Kindering.” Seeing the lack of understanding on James’ face he explains, “Lord Kindering is who Lord Colerain is staying with while he’s in town. I did find out that much.”
“Ah, okay,” James says understandingly, “go on.”
“Apparently, Lord Kindering is very wealthy. He has many different trading concerns all over Cardri and some even extending into the various kingdoms neighboring us.” Looking at James he says, “He even has businesses inside the Empire, or so it’s said.”
“Interesting. Did you find out what his connection with Lord Colerain is?” James asks.
“No, nobody seems to know much about that,” Miko answers. “However, some that I talked with seem to think that this Lord Kindering is on the shady side. Rumors are surfacing about dealings he’s had with slavers and smugglers.”
“Oh?” prompts James as he finishes the last of his share of the meal.
“Couldn’t find out the particulars, but it seems he is not one you would wish to cross,” he warns.
“Sounds that way,” James concludes. Seeing that Miko is done with his dinner, he says, “Why don’t you take the other bed, I’m going to be up for a while.”
Miko doesn’t argue, just goes over and plops down on the bed. As he lies there, he watches James as he takes the traveling case with the writing material in it and places it on the table. “What are ya gonna do?” he asks.
Opening the case, James removes a piece of paper, an inkwell, and one of the finely pointed quills. “I’m going to jot down some notes about what’s going on and different things. Just go to sleep and don’t worry about it.”