Master of Chains - Jess Lebow [94]
The night wore on. Nazeem stopped only a handful of times to drink some water and rest. Eventually, he came upon a main road. He could hear in the distance the lapping waters of the Deepwash. And in front of them, in what remained of the pale moonlight, he could just make out the silhouette of Zerith Hold.
He would go around behind, to where they had taken him out of the Hold in chains several months ago. There would be soldiers there-men who would likely pay well for the information Nazeem had.
Staying in the shadows, Nazeem made his way to the other side of Zerith Hold. As he had suspected, there was a buzz of activity. He crouched in the low bushes along the side of the well-kept gravel road. Guardsmen on horses were coming and going through the heavily guarded entrance. And as he watched, a pair of riders came down the road toward him.
Now for the hard part. Nazeem took a deep breath and stepped out into the middle of the gravel, his hands in the air.
The guardsmen immediately pulled up and pulled their swords.
"Who goes there?"
"My. name is not important," said Nazeem. "What is important is the information I have and just how much you are willing to pay for it."
* * * * *
"Why should I believe you?" asked Captain Phinneous.
"Can you afford not to?" replied Nazeem.
The two riders he had approached on the road had taken him back to Zerith Hold. Nazeem sat at a wooden table, a flagon of water before him and a half-dozen armed guards around him.
The bald captain scratched his face, looking skeptically at the tattooed Chultan.
Nazeem took another drink of his water, then placed the mug back down on the table. "What have you got to lose?" he asked. "If I'm lying, you're out a few coins. But if I'm not-" he raised a long, skinny finger in the air- "and you disregard what I have said, then you will be blamed for any ill that happens here."
Captain Phinneous put his boot on the low bench beside Nazeem. "And what if I don't pay you and throw you in the dungeon instead?"
Nazeem shrugged. "When they wake up and I am gone, they will know something has happened and will likely change their plans," explained the Chultan. He looked up, staring into the bald captain's eyes. "You will be blamed for letting Ryder of Duhlnarim get away when you had him in your grasp."
The two men stared at each other for a long while without blinking. Then a grin broke out over Phinneous's scarred face. He took his boot off the stool, unhitched a sack from his belt, and tossed it on the table beside Nazeem.
"If what you have said is true," said the big captain, "there will be more-much more."
Captain Phinneous turned and walked out of the room. "Now get out of here, Chultan. Come find me after Ryder is dead."
* * * * *
Captain Beetlestone barged into Lord Purdun's sitting room, a pile of notes in his arms.
Liam stood behind Lord Purdun, who sat looking over a series of maps of Ahlarkham with his two military advisors. The baron looked up when the captain entered and waved him over to the table.
"What do you have for me?" asked Purdun, dispensing with the pleasantries.
Beetlestone nodded his head in place of a formal bow and got to the point. "We have word in from three scouting parties and have reason to believe that the undead will be making a move on Zerith Hold within the next day or two. There are also reports that the Crimson Awl are active and could be a factor."
Purdun nodded, looking back down at his maps, tracing his fingers along the shore of the Deepwash. "Anything else?"
"My lord," Beetlestone's face grew grim, "the King's Magistrates are on the march."
Purdun looked up from the map, his finger slipping from its place.
Beetlestone swallowed then continued. "The king himself leads them."
"How long?" asked the lord, his voice thin and quiet.
"They are within a day's march, my lord."
Purdun sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "How did it come to this?"