Rise of the Blade - Charles Moffat [82]
Intrigued, the warrior stepped closer and knelt beside the beggar. "What do you want old man?"
The man was covered in dirty rags and his face was smeared with mud. What looked like some kind of fungus was eating his shoulder until there was almost no flesh left on it and Chev could see the bone sticking through. "Some coin would be a nice change," the man said, peaking out from under a drooping eyelid.
"How did you know who I am?" Chev said, gripping the man by the neck and squeezing.
"I am, or was, a historian," the man choked out. He scratched at the arm holding him with scrawny arms.
"You know me well enough to spot me on the street with a hood over my face?" Chev demanded, loosening his hold on the diseased beggar.
"I've seen your statue. I wasn't sure at first because of the swords but then I saw your boots-"
Chev released the man. Staring at his glove he saw that the fungus was alive and trying to eat through the magical leather. He quickly scraped the stuff off on the cold cobblestones. "Are my boots that distinctive?"
"Oh yes! That style of embroidery hasn't been used in almost a hundred and forty years. Very stylish! The insignia on the back of the heel is that of the d'Or personal bodyguards."
"I see this stuff hasn't effected your memory," Chev said, pointing to the fungus with a platinum coin.
"No, it hasn't," the beggar said, reaching eagerly for the coin. His eyes were unnaturally white.
Chev dropped the coin into the man's hand rather than touch him. Standing, he made sure his money pouch was safely tucked into his belt and drew his cloak around him to ward off the chill.
"Where's your sword? Gravebringer?"
Chev shrugged. "It broke when I was released from the statue."
"But Marque Draque fixed it, so where is-"
Chev lifted the beggar up by the neck and held him in place three feet off the ground. "Draque fixed it?"
"Yes," the beggar gurgled. "Didn't you know?"
"Apparently I'm the last one to know!" the warrior snarled and threw the old man aside. He walked away, casually pulled a man off his horse and vaulted into the saddle as if there was nothing to it.
Korehren watched him go and helped the beggar to his feet. "This should be fun to watch."
The beggar nodded and his form changed into a shapely woman clothed in black and white robes. "I am honoured by your presence Korehren. You could have chosen a more worthy cleric for this job."
"I could have, but I have chosen you for several other tasks. I needed to test and gauge your skills. You want power Aza Brooke, and you shall have it provided you do several things for me."
"What do you want?" she asked without hesitation.
Evening settled over Waterdeep like a blanket but the City of Splendours was far from falling asleep. Chev approached the Academy slowly. Taking the lasso from his belt, he wondered how many times he would have to break into the Academy in the future. The gods knew he had already been here enough times to know the place off by heart.
The front gate would have brought too much attention to the fact that he was here and so the lasso would finally come in handy. There was no place for the lasso to grip the marble walls, but the magical rope needed no such thing. Chev simply threw it up over the wall and tugged on it to make sure it had taken a firm grip. He then walked up the wall, hand over hand pulling himself upwards.
Rising over the top, the warrior sat down and tugged the rope again three times and felt it go slack on the third. Gathering the rope together, he tied it into a reef knot and dropped it to the ground below. He followed soon after and landed with a crunch on the frosted grass.
Checking to make sure he hadn't been heard, Chev kicked the rope under a juniper in case he decided to leave this way later. With any luck he'd leave through the main gate with Gravebringer in hand. If not, Pierce will have killed him.
Nicole lead Pierce down the marble hallway and opened the door to his bedchamber. A cold draft of air rushed past her and she shivered involuntarily.
The Doctor frowned and stopped