Legends of the Riftwar (81 page)

‘Word is you were at the bottom of this mess,' the Nightmaster went on. ‘And the Upright Man is most upset that you have, once again, disobeyed direct orders. Do you know what those orders were?'

Jimmy thought it best to deny that he did, so he shook his head.

‘Keep out of sight and do nothing. You don't remember hearing that? How odd, when I have witnesses that you were present at the time those orders were issued.' The Nightmaster sat forward and folded his hands before him on the desk.

‘You've put the Upright Man in a difficult position, Jimmy the Hand. You've deliberately disobeyed orders, yet you've also rescued over thirty Mockers from certain death.' One corner of his mouth quirked upward. ‘Not to mention that you've managed to hide their escape. It will be months, if ever, before del Garza
discovers there are no bodies under all that stone. With those terrible rats down there gnawing on the corpses and the main sewers flooding with the spring rain, why even the bones will be washed out to sea before the workers get down there.' The Nightmaster fought to keep a smile from spreading too broadly as he added, ‘Without his even knowing it, you've made our enemy look very foolish.'

The Nightmaster spread his hands. ‘Yet, what can we do? The Upright Man's thankful you've saved thirty of your brethren, but he's still got to cut your throat and throw you in the bay. If such a breach of orders goes unpunished then others will believe that they, too, can do whatever the bloody hell they wish. Others far less clever, or lucky, than yourself. That way lies chaos and Old Night.' He rubbed his upper lip and stared at Jimmy. ‘Of course, if you can't be found to be punished, then perhaps it will all blow over and nothing will need to be done at all. After all, every once in a while the Upright Man offers a general amnesty.' He leaned back, not taking his eyes from the boy.

Jimmy nodded. The amnesty was offered to all who came forward and confessed their transgressions. It usually required that any loot not shared out as it should be had to be offered along with the promise not to do it again. Jimmy thought it a good idea, as it made for a little extra something in the share out after the Upright Man and his crew took their cut, and it made it easier for the Daymaster and Nightmaster to know who to watch for double-dealing. It also kept the Upright Man from having to kill off all the members, as sooner or later every Mocker ended up breaking one rule or another. But, it would also apply to someone who disobeyed orders!

Jimmy said, ‘Can't be found? As in can't be found, or can't be found because he was dropped into the harbour with heavy weights?'

‘The first. If you were to leave Krondor, and travel around a
bit…Travelling is said to be very educational, and in this case it would be very good for your health.'

Jimmy felt his gullet tighten and a heavy weight settle under his breastbone. He stammered: ‘B-but I've never, n-never been out of Krondor before in my life!'

The Nightmaster leaned forward again. ‘Let me put it to you this way–either take yourself off, or take what's coming to you. Am I clear?'

‘Absolutely.' Jimmy forced calm on himself. How bad could it be? Other people managed to live beyond Krondor. There was a whole world out there to explore!

He was homesick already.

‘Then you may go.' The Nightmaster looked at Jimmy from under his eyebrows. ‘And when I say
go
I mean far away. Just in case you didn't understand the first time I said it.'

‘Yes, sir.'

Jimmy darted out of the Nightwarden's room, past a snarling Laughing Jack, and headed quickly out of Mocker's Rest. He had to go fetch his gold before nightfall, then find a way safely to the caravanserai outside the eastern gate. He would somehow get past the guards–he had no doubt of his ability to do that–then either beg or buy his way onto the first caravan heading east or north. He might be told to go far, but he would stay in the Kingdom and not risk heading down into the deserts and Great Kesh beyond.

Feeling nervous and excited in equal measures, he hurried into the sewers one more time.

Jimmy raised his hand.

He held up two fingers, and the innkeeper filled two tarred leather mugs from the barrels that rested on trestles along one wall.

He was middle-aged and bald and fat; the barmaid was probably his wife, and looked the same, except for having hair. She waited expectantly until Jimmy fished in his pouch and brought out the coppers. The tavern wasn't much: a rush-strewn floor, brick walls with patches of what had once been plaster, and rough wooden tables and plank benches and stools. The smell wasn't too bad, though; mostly spilled beer, which was inevitable.

The place did have the advantage of not being a known Mocker hangout: most of the other customers right now were dockwallopers and labourers, nursing a mug of beer to make it last, with maybe bread and cheese and pickles on the side.

Not much of an advertisement for honest toil
, Jimmy thought morosely, taking a mouthful and wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.
But then I was never tempted
.

The Sail and Anchor was as typical a sailors' dive as you could
find in the dockside quarter of Krondor. Jimmy had scouted the caravanserai and had judged it unlikely he could slip out within a day or so, given the close scrutiny everyone was being subjected to as they tried to leave the city. The pulling down of the tower above the cells had saved over thirty Mockers, but it had driven del Garza into a frenzy of reprisals. A few Mockers too stupid to keep out of sight were already down in the Market Square Gaol–the Sheriff's Constables ran that lock-up–but they stood a fair chance of avoiding the gallows, for none had been collared for a hanging offence, unless del Garza changed the laws again. However, a few common workers and a couple of merchants' wives and daughters had also been rounded up, so now del Garza had the guilds and citizens in an uproar.

From what Jimmy could see in the falling darkness the previous evening, del Garza already had every engineer and mason in the Kingdom crawling over that tower–it looked as if he meant to have it back in place before Duke Guy returned from the Keshian border. Jimmy smiled. Toss in a magician or two and he might just pull that off.

‘Thanks,' Flora said and took a sip, watching Jimmy over the rim of her mug. ‘You're thinking. What about?'

He hunched over his own ale, blowing at the thin layer of froth and wondering if he looked as depressed as he felt. ‘Just having to leave the city. And having to sneak aboard a ship. I don't care much for ships.'

‘Have you ever been on one?' she asked, a little excitedly.

‘No, but I know enough to know once you're on one, there's few places where you can bolt, unless you can swim like a fish. I'm good enough at hiding, but hiding out on a ship…they call it being a stowaway.'

‘Well, don't. Go as a passenger.'

Jimmy sighed. ‘Del Garza's checking passengers as close here as he is at the city gates.'

‘Cheer up, Jimmy! It's not the end of the world,' she said softly, and grew thoughtful.

‘No, the Upright Man just wants me to go to the end of the world,' he said. ‘And drop off the edge for a while. Maybe he'd really like it if I managed to get kidnapped to Great Kesh, or that world the invaders come from.' Jimmy glanced up at her from under his brows; he wasn't even sure she was paying attention.
If I'm going to grumble and moan and pity myself, at least she could listen to the specifics
, he thought.

This was not the way he'd expected things to be tonight. Someone, many someones, should be buying him an ale and dinner besides, and singing his praises, and thumping his back until it hurt. Instead he couldn't go near Mocker's Rest or even the sewers: he had to be out of town, and soon. Even lingering this long was a bit of a risk.

Instead of being a hero, he was all alone in this working man's tavern, facing exile.

Well, all right, I'm not alone, but for all the attention Flora's paying me I might as well be
.
I'm a hero, gods take it. Girls, plural, should be all over me
.

Now she was giving him a considering look. He knew that look. It was the look a woman gives you when she's going to ask for something. Jimmy raised a single brow, waiting for the shoe to drop.

Suddenly she gave him a brilliant smile. ‘I know where we can go,' she said.

‘We?' That was unexpected. ‘What do you mean, we?'

‘My mother told me that I have a grandfather and an aunt in Land's End. She said my grandfather didn't approve of my father.' Flora's eyes took on the far-away look of someone remembering. ‘Not that my parents ever said so, but they'd look at one another and they'd have these odd smiles…sad like…Anyway,' she continued, ‘we could go to Land's End and see
if I still have family there. It would be like a quest! What d'ye think?'

Jimmy blinked. It was an idea, he supposed. Or a direction at least.

‘Where is Land's End?' he asked. He'd heard of it, of course, but that didn't mean he knew where it was or anything else about it.

‘I dunno. I never went there. But we can find out. What d'ye say? Shall we?'

He widened his eyes and tipped his head, shrugging. ‘Why not? I've got to go somewhere, but…would we be welcome, just dropping in with no warning? I mean, if your grandfather didn't approve of your father…' He trailed off awkwardly.

Flora's lips thinned. ‘Well, the way my Pa turned out after my mother died I could hardly blame him for that, now could I?'

Jimmy sidestepped the issue of how her father had become a brawling drunk by asking, ‘Is that why you didn't go to Land's End after he died?'

With a grimace Flora shook her head. ‘I was only nine years old, Jimmy. I had no money and no idea how to get there.' She shrugged, giving him a wry smile. ‘And the only people I ever knew were here.'

‘So you know how I feel,' he said.

Flora smiled at him. ‘I know.' Then she put her hand over his and squeezed it. ‘Maybe after supper I can make you feel better.'

Smiling wryly he raised his brows and sighed. At least someone was getting a free supper tonight.

 

Well, I do feel better
, he thought, a few hours later, stretching and smiling smugly as his eyes opened again; the candle was guttering near its finish, casting patterns of shadow on the ceiling.
A lot better.

He'd brought her to his best place; a half-ruined house with
one very good room that he'd done up. Jimmy opened his eyes all the way, stretched again, yawned, and turned–only to find her gone. His sense of well-being undiminished, he crossed his arms beneath his head and remembered.

Just before they went to sleep she had thanked him.

He grinned.
I'm a hero and no mistake, by the gods
, he thought.

Suddenly the door opened and he jumped up, clutching the sheets.

‘Good morning!' Flora sang.

‘I thought you'd gone,' Jimmy said, one hand over his galloping heart and the other slipping a dagger back under the pillow.

‘You're not going to get rid of me that easily,' she said, laughing.

She pulled off her shawl. Hidden within its folds was a loaf of raisin-studded bread. Saliva rushed into his mouth at the smell of it, sweet and yeasty at the same time. She extracted a pot of honey out of one pocket and a slab of butter, wrapped in a handkerchief, from the other.

‘Where did you buy that?' Jimmy asked; there wasn't a market near this place, or a bakery.

‘Buy?' she asked in astonishment. ‘I'm not as good as you are, Jimmy the Hand, but I made my name stealing baked goods, I'll remind you!'

True
, he thought.

Jimmy rose from the bed, wrapping a sheet around himself, smiling when Flora laughed at his sudden modesty. She sliced the bread while he poured out the rest of the wine they'd brought home the night before and they sat down to the important business of filling their stomachs.

After they'd eaten breakfast, things began to happen with the honey and the butter and they soon ended up in bed again.

As they lay quietly in one another's arms Flora said, ‘I found out where Land's End is.'

Her words cut through him like a knot of buzzing insects
briefly invading his middle. He suddenly knew this wasn't going to turn out well.

‘It's south,' she went on when he said nothing. ‘Near the Vale of Dreams.'

Thank you
, he thought a little sourly.
Here I'd just managed to pleasantly forget I'm leaving Krondor an exile, and you went and reminded me
.

When Flora spoke her voice held a little irritation; Jimmy felt a brief stab of guilt.
She's only trying to help, after all
, he thought.

‘It takes five days to sail there,' she said, looking across at him. When he didn't answer and wouldn't meet her eyes she went on, ‘The fare is four silvers, apiece, to go by ship if we sleep in the hold. They got cabins, but they're all full of people sailing past Land's End, on to Great Kesh.'

After a prolonged silence, during which he could feel her eyes giving him sunburn, Jimmy looked at her sidelong. ‘How much by coach?' he mumbled grudgingly.

‘There's a ship that sails today at high tide.'

‘Four silvers is pretty steep,' he snarled. ‘Didn't it occur to you to bargain?'

Flora turned a scalding glare on him. ‘Yes, Jimmy, it did occur to me. That's why it's not six. All right?'

The way she was looking at him, it had better be all right. He changed the subject.

‘When's high tide?' he asked. He should know: he'd lived in a seaport town all his life, but had only the vaguest notion, since the knowledge was of no great use to a thief who didn't work the docks.

Flora stretched luxuriously before answering–the sight of which improved his mood somewhat. ‘In about three or four hours, I'd say,' she answered.

‘Well if we're supposed to be on this ship we'd better get ourselves organized,' Jimmy said.

‘I know you don't want to go,' Flora said suddenly, her eyes sympathetic.

He smiled at her, appreciating her understanding, and leaned over to give her a kiss. ‘But I have to,' he said. ‘Thank you for doing what I probably wouldn't have got around to until tomorrow.' He considered her. ‘We should probably get you some new clothes, don't you think?'

She frowned. ‘Why? Most of my things are spanking new.'

‘Ah, true,' he said, somewhat taken aback.

It hadn't occurred to him that Flora would want to keep her new dresses. They were cheap and flashy and left the observer in no doubt at all as to what she did for a living. Yet, here she was talking about finding her lost family while wearing them. How should he phrase this?

‘But, they, um, they're a bit, ah, fancy for a little place like Land's End. Don't you think? What's fashionable here in Krondor might be too daring for your grandfather. Especially if he's the disapproving type.'

Flora stared at him with her mouth open, then burst into delighted laughter, kicking her slim legs in the air, while he watched her in puzzled surprise. Every time she looked at his confused expression she went off again and it was a while before she stopped gasping and could say, ‘Oh, Jimmy, you're such a dear!' She gave him a fierce kiss. ‘There you are twisting yourself into knots to keep from saying, “But, Flora, you dress like a whore!” I can't remember when someone last took my feelings into consideration like that. You're a true friend.'

Greatly relieved, he smiled. ‘I'm glad you approve.'

‘I do,' she said, getting up. ‘I hadn't even thought of it. But now I do think of it you're absolutely right. Only, what am I going to tell him about how I've been making my living the last few years?'

‘Does he know your father is dead?' Jimmy asked.

‘Well he certainly didn't hear it from me,' she said. ‘But I can't take the chance that he doesn't know. That kind of news has a way of travelling.'

‘Let's see…' He thought a moment. ‘How about this? You lived with a neighbour family for a few years after your Pa died, working at chores for your keep. Then a kind old lady with a little gold took you in and you've been her companion the last few years–you still know how to talk like a swell, so if you don't fall into street cant, they'll never know it's a story.

‘Anyway, now the old lady's died and her relatives wouldn't make a place for you. But they did pay your fare to Land's End so that you could find your mother's family. What about your father? Did he have family there?'

Flora shook her head as she did up her laces. ‘If he did he never spoke of them. Come to think of it, he never spoke much at all, even when Ma was alive.'

Jimmy took a handful of silver and gave it to her. ‘Go disguise yourself as a companion to a nice old lady,' he said. ‘What ship is it that we'll be taking?'

‘
Krondor's Lady
,' Flora said, counting with expert speed. ‘Jimmy, I can't take all this!'

‘Well, you don't have to spend it all. Don't worry about it. After all, I need you for my disguise, namely the younger brother of a nice girl who was companion to an old lady. I've got to get some newer clothing, and then I'll meet you on the docks,' he said and gave her a quick kiss. ‘See you at high tide.'

She fled through the door, eager to be shopping, leaving Jimmy to finish dressing alone. As he pulled on his trousers, he thought he might find a tailor who could quickly provide him with a reputable-looking coat to wear over his second-newest shirt–the one he had purchased while he and Larry had bathed had to be burned after the second crawl through the sewer drain below the cell. He should also wear boots and a hat, he thought.
Yes, a young couple…no, he still looked too young. Flora was a few years older, so a grieving girl and her younger brother, yes, that would be it. On their way to Land's End because of a family loss.