"Damn," he cursed softly.
At least he knew for a fact that he and Lidda were still wanted, that even in a city this size, the guard still held hope of finding them. Malthooz turned to go, but stopped. Another figure stood in the shadows near the front of the pub. A dark cowl covered the person's head and hid his face. He appeared to be thin and of average height, dressed in a plain, dark cloak. One of the dice-casting guards stood up and approached the man. Malthooz saw the guard surreptitiously take something from the mysterious figure and stuff it in his pocket. The figure then stepped from the shadow and slipped down the road, disappearing from the half-orcs sight around the nearest corner.
Malthooz shook his head. His imagination would get the best of him if he allowed himself to see conspiracy in every transaction. He turned to go. If even the city guards were corrupt in Newcoast, he thought, then he still had a lot to learn about cities.
16
"I am as surprised and shocked over the wizard's sudden death as you are," Eva Flint said, offering Lidda a seat. "If the city hadn't come sniffing around the guild for clues Id have been content to let your friends rot in a cell, convinced that you killed him in order to seize the staff for yourselves. As it is now, I'm told that I am a prime suspect."
She poured herself a glass of wine from the carafe on her desk and offered one to Lidda.
"I can't afford to have anyone breathing down my neck. It's bad for business. I do have certain privileges in this city." She rolled the word privileges luxuriously around her tongue. "Unfortunately, murder isn't one of them. Besides," she said grinning, "I'd hate to see a sister go down."
"That's' not a very reassuring tone," Lidda said. "If we wanted the staff, we never would have come back with it."
The guild master laughed.
"Don't misunderstand me," she said, raising her hand. "It is still in my interest to help you. It's just gotten more complicated." She gave Lidda a sly wink. "I need a favor."
Lidda nodded and said, "The gnolls."
Eva refilled her glass.
"No," she said, "although I think the wizard played us both for saps on that score."
"So what do you need me to do?"
"I need you to leave the city," she said.
"That's all?"
"That, and you'll likely not want to show your faces in these parts for quite some time, if ever."
"Because of the murder," Lidda said.
Flint nodded and replied, "I can help you get your friends out of the dungeon, but then I need you to disappear. That will cement your guilt in the eyes of the magistrates. You get your friends back, and I get the city off my back and my name cleared in this business."
She motioned toward the door at the side of her chamber and the doorman entered.
"This is Kargle," she told Lidda. "I believe you've met before. He's going to help you."
Lidda studied the man, for the first time in adequate light. His body was wrapped in a tight-fitting suit of supple leather armor that covered him completely, from his neck to his ankles and from his shoulders to his wrists. Over this, he wore a plain, gray cloak. His eyes were deep brown and set far back in his skull, accenting his hollow cheeks. He looked to be middle aged, though with the physical conditioning of a much younger man. A short sword was strapped to his side, but Lidda was certain that other weapons were hidden in his armor and the folds of his cloak. He bowed to the rogue and offered his hand.
"Will be a pleasure to work with you, m'lady."
Lidda blushed in spite of herself, hearing Kargle refer to her as he did the guild master.
"While I hold the favor of many in positions of power," Flint said, moving around her desk, "petty officials can be boringly obtuse when they decide to do things by the book. I've done what I can from a distance, but you're still going to need a little help setting your friends free."
The poor fool, the guild master thought, as Kargle closed the door behind Lidda and himself. That mattered little to her now, though. Even if she had grown to like the halfling's style, the mayor required something to show for the wizard's death.
Yauktul entered the chamber and moved to her side.
"Ah, my pet," she said, rubbing the commander's head. "You've done well this time."
She strode to the wall and picked up the staff from the shelf where it lay. The gnoll followed her every movement with its eyes, its tongue hanging from the side of its mouth. The guild master touched the tip of the artifact to the creature's hands and its eyes rolled back.
"Yes," Flint said, "you have done well, but there is one more thing that you must do."
She pulled the staff away. Yauktul whimpered and yelped as the thing slipped from his touch. He kneeled before Flint and pawed at her boots.
"Get up," the guild master said, kicking at Yauktul's claws.
The guild master walked to her desk and snatched up her wine glass. Things were going to work out fine, she thought. All of her problems would soon be out of her hair. The mayor would have bodies to show the city council, and she would have the staff free and clear.
There was a knock on the wall and four men entered Flint's room through a concealed door behind her desk.
The assassins assembled themselves in front of the guild master. They were lean and wiry like the doorman, but their movements evidenced a suppleness and level of training that few could approach.
Skintight black suits wrapped each of the men, showing the deep ripples of muscle on their chests. They bowed to the guild master as she moved down the line.
None of the men betrayed any emotion in his eyes. Flint grabbed one of them by the chin and gazed into the grim, black orbs. She shuddered minutely. Where even the most hardened of criminals leaked at least a hint of humanity in their gaze, here Flint saw a pit of unfeeling nothingness.
"And you," she said, "are my insurance."
Lidda was taking a long time in returning. Malthooz had been hiding near the inn for almost two hours by the time he finally saw her pass under the torchlight of the street lamp. Kargle rounded the corner behind the halfling. Malthooz didn't like it already. There was something odd about the man, even aside from his unexpected presence with the rogue. Maybe it was just knowing that he was from the guild that made the half-orc suspicious.
He watched them approach. The man's body seemed to melt into the shadows as he moved. His feet made no sound on the cobbles. Malthooz clenched his fists.
"W-who is this?" he stuttered.
He didn't really know what he was expecting from the rogue's trip to the guild. He hadn't worked his way through that part. The situation seemed so hopeless that he hadn't wanted to think about the details. Part of him was hoping that she'd just have the others with her when she came back. He realized how silly that was.
"What a welcome," Lidda said sarcastically. "The wizard is dead. The magic staff is gone. Someone set us up. Give me some credit, Malthooz. Flint offered to help us rescue our friends, and unless you come up with a better plan, I think that you need to trust her."
Malthooz looked at the man.
"And that's what you're for, to help us?" he asked.
"You could say that," the man said, stepping forward. "While the guild has reached a certain level of understanding with the city's officials regarding crime, some things are still considered off limits. For instance," he smiled, "killing innocent wizards. While m'lady Flint is given certain protections from the law, she is not above punishment. My name is Kargle."
Kargle offered Malthooz his hand. The half-orc considered what he was hearing. It wasn't completely implausible. He took Kargle's hand and shook it limply. The maris grip was tremendous.