Chapter 17

Darras had to make a short gateway trip to Chassal to pick up the goods he’d ordered, finding them packed and ready.

“If you come across any more glassware, come see me,” the Lizardman said as Darras packed the drugs into his carrier.

“I will,” Darras nodded. “Nice doing business with you.”

“It was a pleasure.”

Darras was unimpeded in his journey to the gateway and soon transferred from it to Dinone, a border city near the Orcish Plains, where he dropped off the various herbs at the temple of Hallis before making his way to the assembly area where different trading caravans to the Orcs assembled. Darras soon spotted Pollo, who had led a caravan the previous time he’d needed to access an Orc trading encampment, getting a wary greeting from the man.

“Not looking to travel this time,” Darras chuckled, knowing Pollo saw his presence as a potential danger. “Just a warning from Erren that the Arkach clan is beginning a mass migration and will cross the territory of the Wasnich clan in a couple of weeks.”

“Hell!” Pollo retorted. “Glad you told me; I was planning an expedition there in a few weeks.”

“Figured I owed you,” Darras nodded. “Will settle eventually, but there will be a lot of raids and counter-raids for at least a month.”

“Guess I’ll plan something to the south.”

“Do that, my friend and stay safe.”

“I will; good to see you, Darras,” Pollo chuckled. “I was thinking of all sorts of excuses to turn down a request to travel out with me.”

“It will happen eventually; the dark lord is itching to get the Orcs fighting everyone else, not just their own.”

“If I hear anything, whom do I tell?”

“Just one of the priests of Erren in her temple; they’ll do the rest.”

“OK,” Pollo nodded. “Saying it’s you.”

Saying his goodbyes, Darras then made his way back to Dinone, though paused at the gates when he felt a hint of a shadow.

‘I felt it too, my love, ’ Erren confirmed.

“I’ll see what I can find.”

‘Please do.’

With Erren’s help, tracking down the shadow was straightforward, though it soon became evident there was more than one, a lot more than one.

“They appear to be congregated in the poor quarter,” Darras murmured.

‘Yes, plus it won’t be able to be scouted by you, not without being observed yourself, ’ Erren replied. ‘Plus, your face is known to the shadows.’

“Any of Crannok’s people here?”

‘A shrine, not a Thieves Guild.’

“It’ll have to do.”

With Erren providing directions, Darras made his way into the poor quarter, his very presence keeping many of the residents from trying to waylay him. The shrine was small, though the acolyte inside was friendly when he realised who Darras was.

“Our god bade us to aid you if possible,” Bennig, the acolyte, confirmed. “Though I admit never to be expecting to see you here.”

“Purely happenstance,” Darras admitted. “I was returning home when I noticed the presence of those I hunt.”

“There has been a rise in gang activity here, though nothing major,” Bennig admitted. “The authorities allow us to deal with it ourselves as they will not enter here with less than a squad.”

“Can’t say I noticed too much hostility, but troublemakers do tend to avoid me,” Darras shrugged, then frowned when what appeared to be a gang of thugs entered the shrine.

“Relax, sir Darras, these are all followers of Crannok,” Bennig informed Darras. “They’ll have information for us.”

Darras said nothing and merely observed as Bennig questioned the men before nodding as they all left.

“Something is going on at the house of pleasure, though the men don’t know what it is,” Bennig informed Darras. “People have gone missing, attitudes have changed, and it’s ‘just different’ according to them.”

“I’ll go look; it gives me somewhere to start from,” Darras nodded.

‘I can’t imagine what they are up to other than causing mischief, ’ Erren mused.

“You think there’s more than one?”

‘Yes, I caught a hint of more than one.’

“Very well, I’ll be cautious,” Darras nodded.

Darras soon picked up on the unpleasant sensation a shadow gave him when, following Erren’s directions, he approached what was locally known as the house of pleasure. Darras did note that it was close to the merchant quarter and appeared to cater for them far more than the locals.

Entry was easy enough, the initial appearance being that of a tavern, including the spacious interior. Darras expected that this was kept apart from the other aspects of the business, something that Erren confirmed.

“All very organised, if expensive,” Darras murmured.

‘Yes, definitely not a place for the locals if employing some of them, ’ Erren replied.

“I can feel at least three shadows but can’t point where.”

‘Upstairs, I think, well, two of them. One appears to be in a cellar.’

“Let’s see how far I can get.”

Darras moved towards a far door in the main room, and once there, he was requested to stop politely by a small clerk backed up by a massive, hard-bitten male.

“There is an entry fee to the relaxation area,” the clerk informed Darras.

“How much?” Darras asked.

“I’m afraid we have a dress code too.”

“I’m sure it can be overlooked, just this once,” Darras replied, dropping a large gold coin and two smaller ones onto the table.

“Indeed it can, sir,” the clerk replied with a smile, handing a small gold coin to the ‘bouncer’.

“My thanks,” Darras nodded politely.

Once through a privacy curtain, Darras found himself in a stairwell and immediately headed down into the cellar area, glancing into a kitchen area and seeing several people, though none noticed him. None were possessed either, so Darras slipped past the door, headed down a dark corridor under the building, and seemed to access the various ‘staff’ rooms. Darras did note that the rooms were tidy and well-decorated and weren’t for keeping staff prisoners when not at work.

‘I suspect, normally, this is a reasonable place to work ... in a sense, ’ Erren said.

“Yes, far wealthier than the cat houses my men used,” Darras agreed.

‘You never used them, did you?’

“No, I was not innocent, but I usually found company elsewhere.”

‘Until you married.’

“Yes, then it stopped.”

‘No wonder I love you; when you give your heart, it’s forever.’

“I do, even though technically, my Erriane is still alive.”

‘I know, just unattainable, even to me.’

“It’s close,” Darras warned.

‘Yes.’

Darras found the corridor ended; for all he could sense the shadow, there appeared to be no access to it. Nor did there appear to be any sign of a hidden passage or door. It wasn’t until Darras pushed against the wood panelling that he felt it move slightly, and he could slide the panel to the side, allowing him access to another corridor.

“I feel the staff don’t come here,” Darras murmured.

‘Yes, you’re right, ’ Erren agreed.

Moving silently, Darras checked each door, finding them empty and dusty with disuse. The final door, however, showed a glimmer of light from the grill; this was where Darras’s senses told him the shadow was. Glancing through, Darras saw a man sitting at a table in a large room; the smell also warned Darras of recently spilt blood.

‘Be careful, my love, he’s armed with mithril.’

Darras said nothing, simply unlatching the door and moving it silently open. Despite this, his presence was felt by the air movement opening the door caused. The figure rose, but Darras moved swiftly to wrench the shadow from the man, only to be surprised when he did not fall unconscious. This, however, did not stop Darras from dealing with the shadow. What it did do was keep Darras actively dodging the armed man until the shadow dissipated. Once done, Darras went on the offensive, and despite minor wounds, Darras could knock the man unconscious to the floor.

“Unusual,” was all Darras could think to say.

‘Unique, ’ Erren agreed. ‘Allow me a moment to examine him.’

A ghostly hand reached from Darras’s chest to touch and then penetrate the head of the downed man before withdrawing. Erren was silent for a few moments before speaking to Darras.

‘I must ask you to kill him, my love, ’ Erren ordered. ‘This man, Serrok, is a mass murderer, what you’d know as a psychopath.’

“Very well,” Darras replied, simply severing the man’s jugular. “I trust you, my love.”

‘He’s responsible for the deaths of ten people in the poor quarter; normally, he’s methodical, but the shadow made him careless, and the last three deaths were noticed, ’ Erren explained. ‘His condition enabled his mind to survive the shock of the shadow being wrenched free.’

“So, he was unaware of the shadow?”

‘Yes.’

“Best deal with the two upstairs then.”

‘Yes, my love.’

Rather than return through the corridor, Darras noted a stairway leading up and what appeared to be a trapdoor in the floor. Under the trapdoor, the stench of blood and rotting flesh almost turned Darras’s stomach as he swiftly closed it again.

‘I’m getting Crannok to inform Bennig of the situation, ’ Erren informed Darras.

“Good.”

The stairway led past a door into the entertainment section, and a glance through the peephole showed nothing amiss in the behaviour of the patrons and staff. Darras then proceeded further up the stairs, coming to another door that a glance through showed an empty office. Darras silently entered the office and glanced at the paperwork, finding nothing interesting. A sound of movement beyond a further door had Darras moving behind it when it opened, and a possessed man entered the room, only to collapse as Darras wrenched the shadow from him. Though powerful for its type, the shadow was no match for Darras and soon disintegrated.

“One more to go,” Darras murmured. “Wonder what they are doing here, as I doubt it was about the murder of innocents.”

‘I suspect they were setting up to infiltrate the King’s court, ’ Erren replied. ‘Nothing definite, though.’

“Another approaches,” Darras replied.

‘Yes, deal with it, please.’

Swiftly pulling the recumbent man out of the way, Darras hid behind the door as it opened again and promptly dealt with the shadow and its victim. He then moved through the offices to the original stairwell and descended, thanked the clerk and the guard and left the building, walking past a squad of guardsmen as they hurried towards the building.