Guild Wars_ Ghosts of Ascalon - Matt Forbeck [54]
Except that the guard posts were empty at this time of night. And at the base of the stone mound a single nervous, frustrated asura stood rubbing his short fingers through a tangled thatch of long hair.
Of course, thought Dougal, Soulkeeper’s “man” in Ebonhawke would have to be an asura.
The asura looked at the adventurers. “You all made it? Good. Let me reset the dampers.” He toggled a few runes on the plinth, resetting the crystals to their original positions. The shimmering meniscus of the gate surface faded behind them. “We need to move quickly. And just so you know, this was Soulkeeper’s worst idea ever.”
“Hold!” came a voice from the gateway. A trio of Ebonhawke soldiers strode through the gates. Others, armed with rifles, appeared on the parapets surrounding the gate grounds.
“Put your hands up!” snarled the officer. “Reach for your weapons and you will be slain where you stand!”
They were trapped.
Have you lost your minds?” said the lead guardsman. “Where do you think you’re going with that charr?”
Dougal looked around him. Riona stood stock-still, her hands gripping the chain linked to Ember’s manacles. The charr was equally quiet, but Dougal saw that her leg muscles were bunched for sudden flight. Killeen, always accommodating, smiled and raised both arms. Gullik crossed his, scowled, but said nothing.
“Officers,” said Dougal, raising both hands in front of him as if to ward off an expected blow, “we have a good explanation for this.”
“Explanations later,” said the officer. “Hand over that prisoner—now! Hand it over!”
Dougal looked at Riona. She bit her lower lip, then offered him the charr’s chain. “Very well, then.”
Ember’s eyes went wide and white, and Dougal was sure the charr was going to try to bolt. She would not make it ten feet before the riflemen on the walls cut all of them down.
The asura running the gate stepped between Ember and the officer. “Just a moment, Lieutenant. What are you doing with my property?”
“Your property, Master Kranxx?” said the officer, towering over the small asura but no longer reaching out for the chain. “Why are you smuggling a charr into Ebonhawke?”
“My studies, of course,” said Kranxx. “Your superiors keep pressing me for new and better ways to kill charr. I hired these”—he waved a small hand at Dougal’s group, searching for a word—“individuals to bring me a living, breathing representative of the race.”
“We could have brought you charr,” said the lieutenant. “We have more than enough of them outside our walls.”
“You didn’t hear me,” said Kranxx. “I need one alive and breathing. The ones you bring in are usually in poor condition.”
Dougal shot a look at Ember. She was no longer as panicked. She was, however, angry.
“Why would you bring a charr here in the middle of the night?” asked the lieutenant.
“Idiot of a human,” said Kranxx. “Can you imagine the riot that would ensue if I brought a live charr in with the regular supplies from Divinity’s Reach? I suggested it, of course, but your Commander Samuelsson would not hear of it.”
“Samuelsson knows about this?” said the guard.
“Of course,” lied the asura, without missing a beat. “You think I would do something like this without checking it up the line ? You humans care too much about chain of command for your own good, you know. Let’s go wake up your Commander Samuelsson in the wee hours of the morning, and I’m sure he’ll be glad to send me on my way, and then have a nice long discussion with you about the perils of personal initiative.”
The guard’s face hardened. “What are your intentions with this charr?”
“Vivisection,” said Kranxx, and Ember jumped in surprise, almost pulling the chain out of Riona’s hands. Gullik put a heavy hand on the charr’s shoulder and let out a deep, throaty warning.
The lieutenant nodded and said, “And you’re going to keep it in your workshop?”
“I have a cage prepared for it,” said the asura. “If you want, I can make a rug out of its skin for you when I’m done.”
“Very well,” said the officer. “Olsen! Gregory! Escort Master Kranxx to his workshop and stand guard outside.