Guild Wars_ Ghosts of Ascalon - Matt Forbeck [78]
“Riona went scouting,” said Dougal quickly. He didn’t want the others to know about her doubts and second thoughts in this matter—not at this time, on top of everything else. “She thought there was some way down off the walls. That is where we found her, not five minutes from your door. She was … concerned … that you might not return.”
“Or that I might buy my own safety for your own,” said Kranxx sharply. “Don’t be shy. I know asura that would sell their own birth parents for a safe bunk and a solid sinecure. I could have brought the Vanguard back with me, if that had been my intention, and spared us all a stroll through the sewers.”
“I could have done the same, I suppose,” said Riona. “And then there is this shared dream the sylvari has.”
Killeen started, “It doesn’t …”
“Work like that,” finished Dougal, his brow furrowed. “Agreed. But we’ve been moving around so much, on little sleep, that I haven’t thought much about what is bothering me about all this.” He turned to Gullik, who was resting against a large boulder, watching the others talk. “How did you find me?”
The norn blanched visibly, as if Dougal had struck him. “What do you mean?”
“In Divinity’s Reach,” said Dougal. “I arrive there, and within the day you were in my room, drunk and loaded for bear.”
Gullik smiled weakly. “I thought we had gotten beyond all that. Surely our experiences since have convinced you of my good intentions.”
“How did you know?” Dougal asked, pressing hard now.
Gullik’s lips disappeared as the norn obviously thought about how to phrase things. Then abandoned any hope for dissembling and said, “The asura.”
“Me?” said Kranxx, surprised.
“The other one,” said Gullik, “the one that was with you and Gyda when she died.”
“Clagg,” said Killeen, and she made the name sound like a curse.
“Clagg?” said Kranxx.
“Clagg,” said Gullik, snapping his fingers as the memory settled in. “He came to me. I had been drinking. The Salty Dog was the tavern, I think. He bought me a few drinks. Told me what a wretch and a scoundrel you were and that you claimed all the credit in the battle that cost my dear cousin her life. That you denied her her story. And then he told me where to find you.”
“He wound you up and let you loose,” said Kranxx. “Sounds like an asura to me.”
“I did say I was sorry about all that,” said Gullik. “That is one reason I wanted to help you, after I sobered up.”
“Did Clagg tell you how he knew where I was?” said Dougal.
“At that moment, I was not concerned with such details,” said Gullik.
“And yet he knew,” said Riona. “If Clagg knew where Dougal was, what else did he know about the Vigil safe house?”
“Yeah,” Dougal said. “And did he get to Ebonhawke before us?”
“Asura come through the gate all the time,” said Kranxx. “None of them were named Clagg, but that means nothing. He could have walked in right under my nose.”
“All this is meaningless now,” said Ember. “Assuming that this asura was hunting you, we probably lost him back in Ebonhawke. I would like to see him follow us through those sewers and down that cliff.”
“The sewers,” said Riona. “We met the gate guards there as well.”
“I’m aware of that,” said Kranxx. “It is not outside the realm of possibility, though it would require more initiative than I’ve seen from most Ebonhawkers. Present company and all that.” He waved at Dougal and Riona. “But add that to the fact that a charr patrol was just waiting for us at the bottom of that waterfall. We just dropped into their laps.”
“But none of them seemed to know exactly what our merry band is up to,” said Dougal. “Neither the Vanguard nor the warband.”
“It is possible,” said Riona, “that someone knows something is going on but is not sure what it is. There are those who would be opposed to any cooperation between charr and human, regardless of purpose.”
“Or who merely don’t like not knowing,” said Kranxx.
A silence descended on the group, broken only by Gullik’s deep yawn. “Right,” said Dougal. “Now that we’ve pounded this subject flat, let’s get some rest. I’ll stand watch for the first few hours.”
“Not alone,