Fanfic:His Merry Men, Part 2: Dirty Deeds

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His Merry Men, Part 2: Dirty Deeds
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The Bandy Legged Cat's atmosphere changed considerably after nightfall. A woman with pale skin and long legs danced and sang on a raised platform to one side. More lamps had been lit, and the performer's voice could barely be heard over the roar of conversation. At the game table, a man with broken teeth and another with dirty blonde hair were intent on a game of cards. Jaryd observed all of this from a few spans outside the door, but declined to join the revelry.

He strolled down the street, humming quietly, until it met with a canal. A rough wooden bridge crossed the span of murky water, but Jaryd didn't cross it. Instead he turned to the left and disappeared into darkness. Silent now, he concentrated on finding his footing on the narrow ledge to the side of the canal. One false step and he would be drenched to his waist in filth. A few long minutes later a space opened before him, a place where two buildings did not quite meet. He stretched and murmured thanks that he remained marginally clean, before looking around him.

The walls were poorly wrought, with bricks and stones sticking out hither and thither, the plaster that usually covered them cracked, broken, and rotting. A pile of broken crockery and other garbage had seemingly accumulated in the corner. Otherwise, the place was not noteworthy. Jaryd grinned, and whistled a long, low note. Above him, a voice demanded "What?" And in the darkness he could hear the person moving.

"They're at the Bandy Cat, Adwal," Jaryd said. "Keran is keeping them busy for us for a bell or so. "

"Excellent." The shadow shifted, and a man who stood head and shoulders over Jaryd stepped into the spot of moonlight at the center of the tiny court. Adwal was younger even than Jaryd's 17 years, but he already sported a beard on his face, and a voice as deep as a sergeant's. Although he carried a pace-long mace balanced over his shoulder, he barely seemed to register its weight. Jaryd knew Adwal wielded the weapon with deadly, though occasionally inefficient, intent. "What's the plan?"

Jaryd laughed. "The plan is to get them to tell us their plan," he said. Adwal made a noise that might have been acceptance- it didn't matter. Willam and Jamis would tell him what they were planning whether Adwal assisted or not. Whistling softly, he pulled the curved knife from his belt and tested the edge with a thumb. It would do. The knives at his wrists were next, and then the two in his boots. He pulled a strip of cloth from his pocket, and wrapped his wrist and hand, then did the same to the other.

Then he and Adwal left the courtyard, following the alley canal south, to a street some distance away from the Bandy Cat.


An hour or so later, the moon illuminated a mostly empty street. An observant eye might have seen the toe of a boot in the shadows next to a set of rickety stairs, or the gleen of metal as a large man shifted in a narrow divide between two buildings on the opposite side.

Jamis and Willam did not appear to be particularly observant. Willam strolled with the indolence of a man that had consumed one too many drinks, puffing contentedly on his pipe. Jamis walked beside him. He had the girl who had been dancing at the Cat by the hair, and was practically dragging her down the street, despite her muffled protests. As they drew closer, the man seemed to grow irritated because his free hand moved sharply. The girl stumbled to the side and began to cry.

Jaryd's jaw clenched at the sight. Lieri was a Kandori merchant's daughter. She had left her family to make her own way, and instead ended up dancing for coins when no one but tavern keepers would hire a stranger. No woman deserved to be treated like that, but the blonde woman least of all.

He bit his lip hard to keep from moving as the trio walked past, counting slowly to twenty before waving to Adwal and creeping after them silent as cats. The next intersection was where the street met with the canal. This bridge was made of well-cut stone, a remnant –perhaps- of the city that had existed before Ebou Dar. A series of steps led up in an arch, and then back down the other side, with a low wall to either side.

As they approached the bridge, Jaryd looked at Adwal and nodded. The bigger youth threw himself at Willam, even as Jaryd side stepped around Lieri and grabbed Jamis' shoulder. The man twisted and fell backward onto the steps, losing his grip on the Kandori woman as he did. She crouched in front of them for a moment then turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. At least she won't get in the way, Jaryd thought, shifting his weight to rest hard on Jamis's knife hand. Jaryd's right hand pressed his knife against Jamis's throat.

"Burn me, what do you want Kosari?" Jamis demanded, his voice strained as he tried to pull away from the blade and found himself hampered by the stairs.

"Just a little chat," Jaryd said, "but you never seem disposed to friendly banter, so I thought I'd make sure the opportunity fell on you." Jamis pushed on the ground with his hands then fell still again, apparently realizing resistance was futile. "Actually, I just want to know what you're planning on doing with Dokane."

""How do you know-?" Jamis started, then cut himself off. "Bloody ashes. You great drunken idiot couldn't keep your bloody mouth shut, could you?" The accusation was directed at his companion. Willam hadn't given up; he still struggled, though Adwal sat on top of him with his arms pinned with his knees and his face pressed against the ground. Jamis licked his lips as he realized he would get no help from that quarter. "Why should I tell you?" He asked.

"Maybe you could tell me out of the goodness of your heart," Jaryd replied. "Or maybe you should tell me because otherwise Adwal and I will ensure you never harass another woman again." He grinned, this time without a trace of mirth, as his thumb pushed his blade a little further into the brute's flesh. Jamis flinched, and tried to twist away without success.

"What do women have to do with-" Jaryd twisted his hand slightly, and the blade bit. Jamis cursed inventively; the young Altaran listened with interest, but quickly grew bored and nudged the man with his knee. "We're going to rob him," he growled. "We're going to pretend to be that pretty Tairen piece of meat, and rob him of all he's got."

Jaryd sighed. "I gathered that much earlier today. How are you going to rob him? You don't exactly look Tairen, let alone like a pretty piece of meat." Adwal's snort might have been a disguised laugh, and Jaryd realized he was enjoying himself a little too much.

Jamis' fortitude actually surprised him. The man had no reason to believe Jaryd and Adwal would not make good on his threat to kill the two of them. Surely the drunken slob didn't value a plot for gold over his own sorry life?

"Her ladyship is going back to Tear in a week," Jamis said sullenly, the effect somewhat ruined by a voice strained by avoiding the blade at his throat. "Dokane is heartbroken, and has promised her a ship full of jewels and gold if she will stay."

Jaryd cocked an eyebrow. That was an extravagant promise- if Jamis believed any lordling would part with that much wealth for a roll in silk sheets, he was a fool. He said as much, then added "And what does knowing her handwriting have to do with any of this?"

"If you know what we're doing so bloody well, why don't you do it yourself?" Willam snarled, surprising all three men with his sudden contribution to the conversation. Adwal sighed and lifted the man's head, then tapped it sharply against the step. He fell limp, and Adwal grimaced as he sat back on his knees. His face said I hate doing that better than words.

Jamis withered at the sight of his friend's unconscious form, and the story poured out of him. "Lady Lanara" would fall on bad times after returning to Tear. She would send several letters beseeching her lover for monetary assistance in return for his hand in marriage. By the time he found out the letters were a hoax, the money would be gone without a trace. The likelihood of Lanara remembering her play thing once she returned home to her actual fiancé seemed like a very small risk in an investment that would pay out so well.

"If you didn't have so many terrible flaws elsewhere your brain would be a fantastic asset to the tribe," he commented thoughtfully. Adwal inhaled sharply, and Jaryd laughed. "I'm not going to pollute our honor with one such as he, my friend," he said briskly. "It really is a pity though."

Jamis tensed as Jaryd looked back at him. "I am going to let you and Willam live," Jaryd said coldly, his eyes never leaving his captive's as he spoke. "In return, you are going to go back to your drinking and dicing. You will never speak of this plot, nor so much as look at another woman without her permission again. If you do I will know, and I will kill you." He bared his teeth aggressively.

"You know I keep my promises. Don't make me keep that one. Do you understand?" Jamis nodded carefully, and the youth pulled his blade away and stood in one smooth motion.

"Go, before I regret my decision. Take that mess with you." He waved his knife at Willam. After some scrambling and more curses, Jamis departed, his still unconscious companion over his shoulder.

Jaryd wiped his blade on his knee, and stuck it back in his belt. Adwal joined him a moment later. "Dirty business," the larger man commented soberly.

"Dirty, but necessary," Jaryd said calmly. "They're both scum, and now even if we don't get Dokane's gold, at least those two will stop harassing women. Let's get back- I need to know if Marisa found that letter or not." Adwal made a noncommittal sound as they turned to walk away, and Jaryd did his best to ignore the knot in his stomach. I do what I have to do, he told himself. Somehow, he thought this time maybe he had gone a little too far.