The Unsuspecting Mage - Brian S. Pratt [95]
The city jail lies within the second wall near the gate leading into the castle, not far from where he is now. The jail as it turns out is an imposing three story building with only the barest slits passing for windows on the ground floor. A very solid door stands ajar at the top of three steps, so he goes on up and walks inside.
Entering a large room, he sees a man wearing a constable’s uniform sitting behind a desk reading one of many papers stacked neatly before him. The sound of James entering draws his attention. As James approaches, the man sets the paper down and asks, “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” replies James as he comes to stand before the desk. “A friend of mine was brought in by the city watch last night and I was wondering if it would be possible to talk with him?”
Setting the paper aside, the constable looks him up and down then asks, “And just who might your friend be?”
“His name is Perrilin, a bard,” James answers.
“There’s been no one brought in with that name,” replies the constable.
“But I heard that several constables came to the Silver Bells last night and dragged him out right in the middle of his performance,” he protested.
“Yeah, I heard about that,” the constable replies. “Nevertheless, he’s not here, sorry.”
“Where can I find him?” he asks.
“Don’t know,” the constable replies. He holds up a hand to forestall any more questions. “I am not privy to all that goes on. I just know he’s not here and I don’t know where he would be.”
James looks at the constable in quiet frustration. He can tell there will be no more help forthcoming. After a moment, he turns about and leaves the jail.
He walks across the street to an alley and takes a moment to make sure he won’t be observed. Reaching into his backpack, he draws out the compass he made earlier in Trendle. Using a variation of the spell he used while looking for Hern, he watches in surprise as the pointer turns and indicates a direction down the street. He had thought for sure it would point toward the jail.
Stepping back out of the alley, he turns in the direction indicated by the compass and proceeds down the street. Trying to maintain a course as true as possible to the direction indicated by the compass, he eventually comes to a dead end against the inner surface of Cardri’s middle protective wall.
The pointer continues indicating Perrilin’s position to be somewhere on the other side. James quickly makes his way to the gate and passes through Cardri’s middle wall and enters its outer ring. From there he once again allows the compass to lead the way.
Down several streets and passing around various buildings, his search comes to a stop again as he comes up against the inner surface of the outer wall. There is no denying the truth of what the compass is telling: Perrilin lies somewhere outside of Cardri. Making his way to Cardri’s main gates, James leaves the city.
The compass leads him through the buildings built outside the city’s protective wall, to the outskirts of Cardri. When he reaches the last building before entering the countryside, the compass still directs him on.
James contemplates returning to the inn for his horse, but discards that idea. Moving out, he enters the countryside with the plan to continue on until an hour before nightfall. If he doesn’t come across the bard by then, he’ll return to the inn and set out on horseback the following day.
Now that he no longer has to wend his way through crowded streets and around buildings, he’s able to progress much faster. Hours of trudging through fields later finds him cresting one of the many rolling hills dotting the area. He pauses when a farmhouse comes into view on the far side of the hill. A glance to the compass reveals the pointer directing him straight toward the abandoned looking building.
The farmhouse has seen better days. One side of