The Broken Key (02) - Hunter of the Horde Read online

  Hunter of the Horde The Fantasy Worlds of

  Brian S. Pratt

  The Morcyth Saga

  The Unsuspecting Mage

  Fires of Prophecy

  Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li

  Trail of the Gods

  The Star of Morcyth

  Shades of the Past

  The Mists of Sorrow*

  *(Conclusion of The Morcyth Saga)

  Travail of The Dark Mage

  Sequel to The Morcyth Saga

  1-Light in the Barren Lands

  2- (forthcoming)

  The Broken Key

  #1-Shepherd’s Quest

  #2-Hunter of the Horde

  #3-Quest’s End

  Qyaendri Adventures

  Ring of the Or’tux

  Dungeon Crawler Adventures

  Underground

  Portals

  The Adventurer’s Guild

  #1-Jaikus and Reneeke Join the Guild

  Prologue

  _______________________

  Sitting in an inn now for nigh on a week has worn on his nerves. The man whom he contacted shortly after arriving in town should have brought word by this time, but hasn’t. He dared not leave the inn due to the slight fact that his life was wanted by a certain element in town. Only by meeting with the elusive head of the Thieves Guild could he rectify the situation.

  Bart again went to the window and looked out for the thousandth time since entering the room six days ago. Over in the corner sat his pack that he hoped held enough gems and coins to enable him to buy the death mark and become reinstated in the Thieves Guild.

  Thinking back on how his life had changed since he sided with Gerrick in his attempt to become the master of the underworld here in Wardean, he would do it again despite how it turned out. When the attempt failed, Gerrick had disappeared. All who supported him were systematically hunted down and killed. Those who had the good fortune to escape the initial slaughter had a bounty placed on their head, a death mark. Bart had narrowly escaped one such attempt a month ago in the small town of Quillim.

  There were only two ways in which a death mark could be removed. Either you buy the mark back, which was usually at least ten times the amount of the reward being offered for you, or you die. On rare occasions other ways could be contrived, but at present, Bart was in no position to take advantage of something like that. His only option was to buy it back.

  Shortly after he and the others had returned from the other side of the mountains, they had divided up what gold and coins they had brought back with them. The others had given him most of their shares in order for him to rid himself of the death mark. They kept only what was needed for their immediate futures. To be honest he was surprised by their generosity, none of those he had grown up with on the streets of Wardean would have been so generous.

  The man whom he had contacted to investigate the possibility of buying back the death mark was an old time acquaintance of his who had sided with the current Master of Thieves in the power struggle. He and Bart had been friends all their lives and had saved each other from getting caught after pulling jobs on numerous occasions. He was someone Bart was certain would not do him wrong and he was betting his life on that belief.

  What his friend Terk had to do was to approach someone close to the Master of Thieves and try to find out how much it would take to buy the death mark. For should Bart simply show up with a sack full of gems and coins expecting to make the offer, he would be killed before an agreement could even begin to take place.

  And that is what he’s been waiting for these long days, Terk’s return. He hadn’t expected his friend to return to him that first day, but six days? That didn’t feel right.

  Again he went to the window and looked out. He almost shouted in joy when he saw Terk crossing the street toward the inn. He could barely stand the wait while his friend entered the inn and climbed the steps.

  Knock! Knock!

  He opened the door and Terk hurried inside. Bart took a second to scan the hallway outside his door for anyone who may have followed him, then he closed the door and turned around.

  “I was getting worried,” Bart said.

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Terk said. Then he came to him and shook his hand with a grin. “When word began to spread that I was seeing about you coming in to buy your death mark, I started being shadowed. It took me days before I finally shook them all.” Bart nodded. That was one of the things he was worried about. Until he talked to the Master, he was still under the death mark. Thieves would be lining up to take him down and collect the reward, not to mention taking the coins he would invariably be carrying with which to buy the mark.

  “Did you find out how much?” he asked.

  “Yes I did,” Terk replied. “Fifteen thousand golds.”

  “Fifteen thousand!” exclaimed Bart. He glanced over to his pack and wondered if what he had brought was equal to that amount.

  “I got that from the Master’s own lips,” Terk said. “He also told me to tell you that if you show up with one copper less he’ll, and I quote, ‘Carve out your liver and feed it to his dogs.’ He was most implicit that I give you that message.” Bart grinned. He understood the underlying message he was being given. “So, what would be the best way to approach him?”

  “Do you have that much?” asked Terk.

  “I think so,” he replied. “I doubt if I’ll be getting any more.”

  “That’s a big chance to take if you’re not sure,” his friend warned. He could see that Bart well knew the risks. “The meeting’s to take place at the Spider’s Nest.” Routes to the Spider’s Next began running through his mind. “When?”

  “Tonight,” Terk replied.

  “Tonight?” Bart asked incredulously. “You cut it kind of close didn’t you?” Terk shrugged. “Oh, you may wish to know that the Master has let it be known the meeting is to take place.” He saw Bart’s face draw into a grimace. “Every thief in Wardean knows you are in town, that you have the sack of coins to buy back the death mark, and where you are going.”

  “They’ll be lying in wait at every entrance and in every tunnel,” Bart said.

  “I know.” Terk laid his hand on Bart’s shoulder. “But you still have friends on the streets.”

  Bart looked up at him.

  “Can you get to Tinkerdyth’s?” he asked.

  “That’s not too far from here,” Bart said. “Should be able to.”

  “Good. After I leave here, I’ll let it slip that I’m meeting you on the other side of town from Tinkerdyth’s, that from there I’ll escort you to the Spider’s Nest. Since everyone should already be aware that I approached the Master about you buying the mark, they’ll flock to me like flies to a rotting three day carcass.” He saw Bart nod approval of his plan.

  “The Master said that he will only be there for a short time and that this is the only meeting he’ll arrange on this matter,” Terk explained. “If you fail to make it, you better move far away.”

  “I’ll make it,” Bart asserted.

  “I better go and get things moving,” he said as he headed for the door.

  Bart stopped him. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” he told his friend.

  Terk grinned. “It’s the least I could do for the man who saved my life on two separate occasions.”

  Bart took his hand and gave it a shake. “Once I’ve bought the mark, you’ll have to let me buy a round.”

  “Deal, if you have anything left,” said Terk. He then crossed to the door and quickly left the room.

  Not long afterwards, Bart looked through the window and saw his friend moving along the street towards the oth
er side of town. He continued watching Terk until he disappeared in an alley further down then glanced at the sun in the sky. Three hours until dark.

  Once the sun set, he would have two hours to get to the Spider’s Nest. For that was the meaning of the message the Master had sent him. ‘Carve out your liver and feed it to his dogs’ Not many knew this, but the Master liked for his dogs to maintain a taste for fresh killed meat. So once a week he would feed them as much raw liver as they could stand, and always at two hours after dark. He felt that doing such would make them more likely to maul, rip, and tear anyone the Master ordered them to. At least no one but he and the Master will know the exact time of the meeting, which hopefully will give him some sort of an edge.

  He went over to his pack and removed the rolled leather containing his darts. For the next hour he doctored them with the liquid he kept in his vials. If he could survive until the meeting, then his troubles were over. Removing one of the darts, he dipped it in the liquid…

  Staring out the window from his darkened room, Bart looked over the street outside.

  The lanterns were lit and the early evening traffic on the streets was the usual fare. He gazed off into the distance towards where Tinkerdyth’s lies. It was an abandoned wine seller’s shop that had been previously owned by a man named Tinkerdyth. Bart couldn’t remember when the shop had ever been open, the thieves used it as one of their entrances into the sewers.

  Despite the ruse Terk was going to employ, Bart was certain that Tinkerdyth’s would be watched. There were other entrances he could use, many that were much more accessible than Tinkerdyth’s. But those would be even more likely to be watched, and by more thieves.

  He knew the Spider’s Nest would be covered too. Some of the Brethren would assuredly have it staked out on the off chance he showed up before the Master did. Until the Master arrived, he would be fair game.

  The only weapons he had with him were two daggers, one of which he had found beneath the Ruins of Algoth. He still has yet to determine what the second enchantment it held did. Back when he first discovered it, the magic user Kevik had used his magic to identify it. Unfortunately Kevik was just an apprentice and all he learned was part of its history, the fact that it was enchanted to hold its edge and resist succumbing to the elements, and that there was another enchantment his spell wouldn’t reveal.

  He also had a dozen darts which were now coated with a poison that would first paralyze, then kill. Four of the darts he held in his left hand, another he had in his right, the rest remained in the rolled leather tucked within his shirt for easy access.

  Deciding it was time, he moved away from the window. Crossing the room to the door, he opened it slowly and peered out into the hallway. A single wall mounted lantern burned at the end of the hallway near the head of the stairs. It gave out just enough light to illuminate the stairwell and about a third of the hallway, the rest remained in shadow.

  He opened the door further when he didn’t see anyone out there and passed through into the hallway. With his pack slung across his shoulders, full of gems and coins, he moved to the stairwell and peered down. From below he could hear the bard playing as he worked to entertain those taking their ease in the common room.

  From down the hallway one of the doors suddenly opened. He turned to look back and saw a man and woman, a merchant and his wife by the way they were dressed, leave their room and head toward the stair.

  Bart immediately stepped upon the first step and hurried down to the bottom. He held the darts in his hand as unobtrusively as he could, but he didn’t dare put them away. His life could well be saved by how quickly he could throw them in a pinch.

  Once out of the stairwell, he crossed over to the door leading out to the rear courtyard and passed through to the darkness outside. He took three steps from the door until he was out of the light coming from inside the inn, then moved to the side quickly and became motionless in the shadows. His eyes scanned the courtyard for any tell-tale movements, but it remained still and quiet. Assured that the courtyard wasn’t being watched, he continued across and headed for the gate leading into the alley.

  The alley was clear so he left the courtyard behind and began making his way to Tinkerdyth’s. He moved out to the main street then walked for seven blocks until he came to the side street down which Tinkerdyth’s lies.

  He kept to the sides of the street, taking advantage of what shadows were available.

  Placed along the streets of Wardean were poles upon which lanterns hung to give light once the sun goes down. All the streets upon which the better businesses and homes were located had them, and unfortunately this street was one of them.

  Each time he would come to an area illuminated by a lantern, he would either move around its fringe if he was able, or cross it quickly if he couldn’t. Eight blocks from when he had turned into this street, he came to a stop. A block ahead of him he could see the darkened structure that was the boarded up shop of Tinkerdyth’s.

  He remained there in the shadows for several minutes as he watched the area. It didn’t take him long to make out at least two individuals who looked to be keeping an eye on the place. One was across the street from the building on Bart’s side of the street. The other was sitting in the shadows against the wall near the entrance to Tinkerdyth’s. How many more there may be he couldn’t be sure.

  The entrance was in plain sight of both men. If he wished to enter through it, he would have to neutralize the threat posed by the two men first. Bart was never one to back down from a challenge and he hadn’t risen to the place he had once held in the Guild by being squeamish.

  These men would kill him if they saw him, of that there was no doubt. All they wanted was the reward offered by the Guild. He quickly came up with a course of action then backed down the street to where it grew darker once more, then quickly crossed to the other side. Now he was on the same side of the street as Tinkerdyth’s.

  From here, he begun moving towards Tinkerdyth’s, all the while keeping to the shadows. He was also attempting to avoid the notice of the people moving on the street.

  Though this side street held less traffic than the main ones, it was still far from being deserted.

  He slowly made his way forward and finally came to a stop when he reached the building adjacent to Tinkerdyth’s. The two buildings shared the same wall between them.

  One of the reasons thieves liked using this entrance to the sewers was that it was situated in the darkness between two of the hanging lanterns, thus was able to mask their comings and goings.

  Neither of the two men had yet noticed his approach. The man across the street was leaning against the storefront near the doorway while the other crouched in the shadows on the far side of Tinkerdyth’s.

  Still holding the single dart in his right hand, he aimed for the man crouching by Tinkerdyth’s. He threw it and saw the man react when the dart stuck him in the chest, he only made a quiet grunt before the poison took effect. It worked very fast especially when it entered the system through a man’s chest.

  Bart then turned his attention to the man across the street. He was now away from the storefront and appeared to be trying to penetrate the darkness where the other man was with his gaze. From the way he held himself, Bart figured he must have seen or heard his attack on the first man.

  Melding back into the shadows again, Bart transferred one of the darts he held in his left hand to his right. He bided his time for half a minute. Then when the crowds on the street opened up sufficiently, he threw the dart at the second man.

  The dart flew true and struck him in the center of the chest. Bart saw him reach up and quickly pulled the dart out, but it was too late. The poison had already entered his system and every beat of his heart spread it further. The man staggered a step before falling back against the storefront. Then he sagged down and when he settled to the ground, looked as if he was sleeping.

  A quick glance to the crowd revealed that they hadn’t caught on to the events transpirin
g around them. Bart held still in the shadows for another minute to see if anyone would materialize to investigate what happened to the two men. When no one did, Bart moved to the entrance of Tinkerdyth’s and put his ear to it. All he could hear was silence.

  The entrance was not the doorway as that was boarded up. Rather it was the window beside it. Anyone who gave the window a casual glance would see simply a boarded up window. But those who used it knew that if you moved two of the boards up to a certain position, you could swing the boarded window out and climb through. Bart did just that.

  A quick glance showed no one was in the immediate vicinity so he swung open the window and climbed through to the other side. Once within, he swung the window quickly shut to maintain the illusion of it being a simple boarded up window.

  The interior of the abandoned wine seller’s shop was dark once the window had been closed. Bart quickly moved to one side and then grew still as he allowed his eyes to grow accustomed to the dark. He also took this time to remove another two darts to replace the ones left in the bodies of the two men outside. When he again had four darts in his left hand and one in his right, he started working his way through the shop to the back.

  He moved silently as a cat, his feet barely making any sound as he left the front room and entered the short hallway leading to the back. There were three other rooms off the hallway between the outer shop and the room at the opposite end where the entrance to the sewer lay.

  When he came to the entrance of the hallway, he paused and listened. Not a sound disturbed the night. The doorway to the first room was on the right, just within the hallway. Then there was another on the left two feet after that. The final two were opposite each other at the end, the one on the left was the one he wanted. There he’ll find a trapdoor, beneath which was a rickety wooden stairway that led down to the basement.

  It’s there that the entrance to the sewer could be found.

  He moved forward into the hallway, his senses alert for anything out of the ordinary.

  At the entrance to the first room, he paused and gave the room a once over. Inside was dark and nothing could be seen or heard. Moving on, he went down to the second room.