Chapter 8

Ben awoke sometime after dark with the room in near complete darkness. Instinctively he groped around on the night table for a candle and found one, but then couldn’t find any matches that would strike so he cast a simple flame spell on his finger instead. The flame feebly sputtered on his fingertip and instantly died out, but after trying a dozen or more times with the wick held right next to his finger, he finally managed to get the stubborn candle alit.

This was exceedingly puzzling, as he had cast this spell flawlessly hundreds, if not thousands of times in his dungeon cell, often using it in winter to heat the cold stonework. He’d also had no difficulties casting it on several occasions while he was taking his six months of military training while at or near the capitol. Tonight, here back at home in his very own bedroom, the flame just could not be reliably summoned, no matter how many times he tried.

Well, there was no help for it, he decided and chalked the entire disappointment to another of the many curses placed upon Baad, the county, the castle and likely even himself! At least with a candle lit, he could see and move about well enough now. He wanted to first look in the trunk at the foot of his bed and see if all of his childhood items were there. From what he could see, no one from the castle had set foot into any of the prince’s chambers on this floor. They were, all as left and untouched.

No, he had no need for any of his boyhood clothing or toys, but he was gratified that his few children’s books were still present ... they had been important to him. There was also a very small child’s coin purse that held six small copper coins in it. Hardly a fortune, but those six pence were better than nothing in his pocket and he wasn’t ready yet to do a full accounting of the recovered county treasury stored in the Warlock’s dungeon.

His brief urge for nostalgia satisfied, Ben set forth with his master key to explore in turn the chambers that his three elder brothers had occupied, securely relocking each of those doors when his inspection was done. Of the four family quarters on this floor, his eldest brother’s Reginald’s chambers at the south end held by far the most interest. Absolutely the largest of the four bedrooms given to the petty-king’s sons, the quarters of the crown prince took up nearly half of the second floor of the castle, complete with a bedroom, sitting room, and a small study. Facing south, it also received by far the most daylight. It had plenty of big glass windows and with the windows open there was a pleasant slightly warm mid-autumn breeze. Conversely, Ben’s small chamber at the northwest corner was always cold, and any fresh air seemed to come directly off of Baad Mountain itself, freezing the lad even during the summer.

Ben decided that out of the four rooms, Reginald’s was certainly the nicest and that he would use these quarters himself from now on and make them his own. Reg’s old wardrobe seemed to be of the right size for him now as well, and many of the garments would be very suitable for wearing while holding a formal court there, or more than adequate for his meetings with his new county council. Some garments were a bit too gaudy for his tastes and he set those aside into an empty trunk for selling later on. Garments of this quality were expensive and had a ready market in the capitol, even ‘gently used’ for impoverished courtiers that had to mind every copper. Inside of a dresser in a corner Ben found a small but adequately filled cashbox with a good bit of small silver and copper coins. Reg spent his money as fast as he could earn or plunder it, so this was a welcome but unexpected find. Another small carved box contained a collection of gentleman’s jewelry, mostly rings (likely cut off of prior victims) but a few nice (expensive) bracelets, cloak-pins and other such bangles. He’d look these over better by daylight on another day and perhaps keep a few of the more modest pieces to wear upon occasion, and bung off the rest with the excess raiment next spring, when he returned to court. No books were to be found here, of course, but most of the walls displayed some nice paintings or tapestries and for now they could all remain.

While searching Jared and Felix’s chambers, Ben found that most of their clothes as well were much of the same size as his, as of when they’d died, each at about his present age, give or take a few years. Jared had been a ‘passive samer’, enjoying the sexual company of men up until the day that their father had chucked him over the north tower. The crime, being caught (again) in the barracks late one night, on his knees servicing several hard guardsman cocks in both available orifices. His normal clothing seemed alright, but tended to brighter colors than Ben would have preferred wearing, and about half of his wardrobe now joined Reg’s, the rest triaged into the chest intended for later sale. It was Jared’s other wardrobe, when he was dressed as ‘Jarena’, that quite brought a smile to Ben’s face. There were two full chests of female garments, one of dresses both plain and fancy, suitable for an evening in town, and the other chest containing more casual, and skimpy garments for the boudoir, with lots of bows, frills, and lace, suitable for lounging in privacy ... and soft silky comfort.

At first Ben thought about just moving those two chests with female clothing down to the warlock’s dungeon, but upon reflection he decided that since Lucie de Mont was an official resident of the castle now, that she ought to have her very own bedroom too, and this suite right next to his chambers was quite convenient. The décor, linens and furnishings were a bit too ‘girly’ for Ben’s personal taste, but he thought that Lucie might feel quite at home here. What she might think to do with the large collection of sex toys that was found under the bed was entirely up to her! On the other hand, the small coin purse that contained Jarena’s nocturnal ‘earnings’ joined the rest of the found loot, and made for a merrier jingle to Ben’s walk.

The last chamber, belonging to Felix, was slightly less of overall interest and being the smallest, save for Ben’s old room, it took the least amount of time to search. Felix, who was also nominally a ‘samer’, like Jared, but in truth he was more of an active pedophile, preferring to penetrate boys that didn’t yet possess any chest or body hairs. His slightly older brother by five years had always creeped Ben out as a boy, fearing (probably rightly) that his sibling wanted to make a more intimate acquaintance with him, some late night, and he avoided him as much as possible and always kept his bedroom door locked, day or night. Felix’s fashion taste tended towards the military style, despite his lack of any proficiency in any of the martial skills, and for everyday ‘working clothes’ nearly all of those garments suited Ben quite nicely, especially the sets of riding leathers, and these were promptly transferred to his new quarters. The young prince seemed to have little interest in jewelry or other portable wealth, and any coin purse he might have once possessed was likely cut from his corpse on the battlefield, over six years ago. Frankly, little of anything else in these small chambers seemed to be of much value, but Ben would make a harder, closer final examination of everything sometime later, in daylight.

Technically, the upstairs 3^rd floor above held the royal suite that his father had once used, along with a slightly smaller suite of rooms for the lady of the castle and her maids. The former thief of a steward had been residing there in the royal chambers, but Ben didn’t feel the urge yet to become that formal and extravagant. That great master chamber was intended for the petty-king of Baad ... and Ben didn’t feel at all worthy of it yet. Besides, Ben didn’t want to ever sleep in his father’s bed and risk encountering his shade at night in his dreams. Not until nearly everything in the suite had been cleared out and replaced anew, so that any old ghosts could remain forever forgotten. Having one cursed shade haunting the castle was already more than enough!

Heading downstairs to the kitchen, the count found some leftover stale bread and stew broth to dunk it in, and this made for an adequate late meal. Then he asked where Gilgen could be found and he soon located him in his new office, where the castle stewards had traditionally kept their accounts during his father’s reign, and perhaps indulge privates in a few glasses of groot. Very good.

Gilgen had completed the collection of official looking invitations and Ben informed him that he’d have Lucie make delivery of these tonight, as he was about to meet with her and it was quite likely she would be taking a ride outside this evening anyway.

“I took the liberty of adding an invitation for Odell, the town constable,” Gil added helpfully, “since he’s responsible for your local law enforcement and he rides patrol, south of the bridge whenever he can, or so he claims. I thought that he should be present for the meeting, as he would hear rumors of new bandits or other trouble before anyone else, at the very least. Also, I can’t say that I’d trust that man with anything, let alone any access to the county purse. Keep your friends close and your potential enemies even closer ... that’s what your da’ would say.”

“Good call,” Ben agreed, “I probably should have thought of adding him myself, but I’ve already got too much on my mind. Oh, and just so you can let everyone know, I’ve already moved most of my things into Reginald’s old chambers and for at least the time being, I’ll be residing there in the crown prince suite. And I’ve given over Jared’s smaller set of rooms next door to Lucie, for her semi-permanent guest quarters, so find me a spare key for it, so she can keep her things locked up. And I’d give a very stern warning against anyone entering her chamber, even the head housemaid, for any reason save by her express order. She’s got quite the collection of extremely sharp weaponry and it would be unfortunate if anyone got accidentally cut or fatally poisoned. As a rule then, make it clear that anyone seen on the second floor after dark is quite likely to eat a crossbow bolt! As for Felix’s and my old rooms, I’ll probably be cleaning them out empty in a day or two, so the rooms can be designated for storage later, if you would like. I know the larder in the cellar is virtually empty, but odds are that we’ll be needing a place to keep some acquired things later on that ought not to seen being out in plain sight.” Gilgen agreed.

About half a glass later, Lucie had secured the doors to the north tower and selected a mount for the evening’s short ride. Mather’s markings were not particularly distinctive, but the stable staff at the Axe and Forge would already know the mount on sight as being the count’s, and that might late lead to too many unwelcome thoughts or ideas about Lucie’s identity, especially while her disguise was still imperfect.

Instead, she chose a dappled white and orange mare that looked reasonably well fed and sturdy enough on its hooves for a short evening of exercise. Tonight there was likely to be no need for a mount with either great speed or sure-footed evasiveness out in the wilderness. She would just be dealing with two-footed villains, Lucie laughed as she caressed the hilt of her sister’s silver-hilted blade. Just some petty small town thieves and a bit of overly confident weak muscle for hire that wasn’t quite aware yet of their lowly place in the food chain.

Even Count Ben could easily handle gutter rats like these, but Lucie de Mont had none of his weaknesses or limitations. These footpads might in time learn to at least respect their new count, but Lucie would tonight earn their fear ... and that was much better, in her opinion.

There was a different stable boy on duty that night at the Axe and Forge, and this one didn’t appear to be already scheming to ride off with her borrowed horse, so she tossed the lad a copper and kept her threats and menaces to the bare minimum.

“I’m here on business with your mistress tonight, boy, so give the beast some hay and if you don’t annoy me I won’t have to feed you three feet of sharp steel. I haven’t killed anyone in three days ... or is it four, and frankly it’s making my hands itch!” That definitely got the lad’s full attention.

Nothing of any significance had changed inside the tavern since Ben’s visit here yesterday, except that it seemed to be a nearly full house tonight, with customers at every seat at the bar and all six wall tables were at least partially occupied. Even better, Lucie thought with a big smile as she walked inside.

“Work it, baby!” She muttered to herself in an inaudible whisper, just as she had done on nights when she had performed onstage, “Work your hips and strut like you own this joint and all the punters in it!” It helped that her boots had rather high heels that frankly were still a bitch to walk in.

“The name’s Lucie de Mont. Please go tell your mistress Dietta that I’m here to see her, so please be quick about it,” she said to the fairly comely slattern that was serving behind the counter. A decorative young lass still apparently in her teenaged years, but even from the first glance there was something in the look of the lasses face that brought back certain old memories.

“And what should I tell her, concerning your business with her?” She replied, with a bit of a smirk on her young face. Clearly, she wasn’t much used to people giving her orders, other than for refreshment orders or instructions as how they wanted their peckers sucked.

“My concerns are not for a common cocotte like you to mind ... and I did rather ask politely, by my standards anyway, for you to be quick about it ... now move your ass sharply then, my pretty drab!”

The house was quite dead silent now, except for the chuckles from some of the punters sitting up by the bar. No one seemed the least bit interested in rising to the young girl’s defense, and an aura of excitement seemed to grow in the air as everyone waited to see what would happen next. No one had to wait long at all.

The teenaged moppet sprung at Lucie with a snarl and outstretched fingernails nearly as long as claws, eager to scratch out the eyes of the mysterious woman wearing a grey veil that had so insulted her twice, by calling her a whore. Her reflexes weren’t bad, Lucie admitted, but the girl had telegraphed her attack far too openly. Lucie floored the girl instantly with a vicious barehanded slap that knocked the poor girl quite insensible.

“Poor stupid little doxie!” Lucie laughed as she bent down quickly and hauled the half-conscious girl to her feet by her blondish hair and quite into her arms, with her left hand then entirely grasping (and quite enjoying the feel) of the girl’s now fully bared left breast, all while a slim throwing dagger was now pressed up against the girl’s throat with her lace-gloved right hand. Mostly the use of the dagger was just a visible precaution and warning sign to the rest of the crowd to remain uninvolved. No one seemed likely to come to the girl’s aid, but Lucie was not the sort to take chances.

“Let the poor stupid cunt go,” a hidden voice from behind the bar then spoke out, and an elderly woman using a cane stepped forth from behind the curtain leading to the stockroom. “I’m Dietta and I’ll speak with you, once you release her. She’s a bit rash and quite nearly useless really, except perhaps a very slight talent for night-work ... but she’s my only daughter and at my age, I don’t think I can replace her with one possessing perhaps more brains than tits. Now, what is your business with me?”

“I have no preference as to where we might to discuss our business ... and mutual common interests, either here right now ... or elsewhere in private, if you would prefer. In truth, nothing I have to say can’t be spoken publically, assuming all of the ears present are friendly local ones.”

Dietta looked around the room and nodded her head in agreement, “I can vouch for every man and woman in this room, most indeed are in my employ. Leonid, go shut the front door so that no strangers may enter while we speak.”

“Good enough,” Lucie decided, giving her drawn throwing dagger a bit of a swirl in her fingertips and a final flourish as she put it back into its sheath inside her bodice.

“I don’t usually do business or consult with people whose face’s I cannot see,” the old master thief calmly stated as she roughly pushed her crying daughter away, off into the back room behind the curtain.

“I do upon occasion remove my veil, at times when I’m bathing, or entertaining a lover, or killing someone that has royally pissed me off, but rarely otherwise. In truth, very, very few people have ever seen my face and thereafter lived. I gave my name earlier, but perhaps you missed hearing it. I’m Lucie de Mont ... perhaps you have heard of my older sister, Marie ... her name is not entirely unknown in our business circles, I believe ... even up here in the far north.”

Now this was indeed a name to conjure by! At the mention of Marie de Mont, the old villain’s knees nearly went quite wobbly and several of the nearby seated punters turned quite pale in the face.

“I ... do believe I know that name,” Dietta admitted, with a good deal of her self-control restored.

“Good, then you already know that I’m the uglier, meaner, and even bitchier younger sister. I blame our father, who never gave me the same loving bedtime attentions that Marie enjoyed. He always did like to fuck her best. The best laugh I ever had in my life was when I cut his balls and then his throat at the age of fourteen, while he rested in my bed after buggering me, right after she’d left home. Now that this is settled, our new lord and master, Count Benjamin von Baad wanted me to present his personal greetings and he commends you upon your long career and hopes that you will enjoy your forthcoming retirement.”

“Our lordship is quite mistaken,” she laughed, “as I have undertaken no such plans to quit my business activities.”

“Well that is indeed very awkward then,” Lucie giggled, “as I have been given extremely clear and precise instructions from our master that should you not be eager to comply fully and utterly with the count’s directives, that this establishment is to be quite permanently closed until such time as more complaint and ever-obedient ownership can be arranged ... and a very large number of wet-mops can be found.”

“Over my dead body!” the old crook snarled with an evil smile to her face, and there was quite a bit of cheering from the crowd at this defiant bravado. More than a few hands were disappearing to grasp hidden weapons. One way or the other, the matter was going to be decided very soon.

“Indeed ... I do think that was quite what my master intended when he said a ‘permanent closure’. Unless of course, you are of a mind to hear the count’s offer instead.”

“Humor me then, just what are my options, assuming you’d rather not cut your way out of this hall past at least twenty blades!”

“It wouldn’t be the first time. Quite simply this, that while you could continue to manage the routine day-to-day operations of your organization, all strategic senior executive functions will henceforth be assumed by me, subject to guidance provided to us by the count ... and also by the new county advisory council, of which you would be a member. Times are about to become exceptionally dangerous for all of us and the count strongly believes that we must all work together, with as few other distractions as possible. Rogue operations simply cannot be tolerated at this time, which includes private or organized local banditry ... again, without proper oversight. Lord Egner still yearns for the last remaining parts of our lands, and if we are to defy him this means some minor sacrifices now, but with the hope of greater riches later. In brief, the count asks that you, now this very minute, willingly make the choice to place the interests and welfare of the County of Baad and its people before that of your own purse. That is your option mistress, now do we do the sword dance or we make the deal? Truth be told, I really care not either way ... I haven’t killed a man for several days now and my hands are getting itchy.”