In the Garderobe

Astra said, "Good," but she said it flatly. The anesthetic effect of the medicine that the White Hospital served was wearing off, and she was struggling not to show that she was in pain. She was facing the nurse, sitting up. She asked one final question. "What happened to my guide?"

"He is in Darvadze Yepenhan. It is a miracle that he was not killed. He was stabbed with a sword on the hip, and lost a lot of blood. He seemed to be in tolerable shape when he first came to the border - in fact, he took some pains to make sure that you were sent here. And then, he just kind of fainted, and that is the last news that I have."

Astra lay down in the bed. She had been told about stab wounds in training. Hesht was in trouble. Often a soldier would survive the initial wound, only to die from an infection of the wound a day or two later. There was little that Aqualarian medicine could do beyond dressing the wound with boiling water or, in desparate cases, a limited burning of it. She had no reason to think that Hespaniard medicine was any more advanced. Unless .... the Alchemists. The Goddess knew what they might have. But did Hesht have friends in that town? And could they provide a miracle cure?

Astra's young nurse left a chalice of some liquid on the table. "If the pain gets to be too bad, drink," she said. "It will help."

Astra nodded, and thanked the nurse. She sat up and froze as pain cracked down her side. She then reached out and pinched the stem of the chalice and drank some of its liquor. It was bitter and unpleasant, but she could imagine much worse. With an effort, she drank all of it down the next time she tried. The effort of taking the drink was enough to push thoughts of Hespan, the White Hospital, Hesht, and the problem of how she was going to get out of Yepenhan and back home out of her mind. She touched her palms lightly to the top of her knees and held them there, taking shallow breaths. Just a little pain. It never entirely went away. She held that position for a time, and then slowly lay back. There was more pain from her ribs, but it was not as bad as before. She stared at the grain of a beam of wood in the ceiling until she fell asleep.

It just so happened that Hesht did have friends of a sort. Oddly enough, they were the two couriers charged by Doazda to go to Darvazde Yepenhan and intercept both he and Astra.

Namak was a worldly courier who often worked on transporting items of middling value to Corona, a busy and lucrative route. His standing amongst his employers and fellow couriers was of a man that was trustworthy, clever, and reliable. He also kept a cool head, which as it turned out, was a trait that was to serve him well on this mission. Felfel was another courier who often worked the northwestern routes to the border kingdoms for Ghermiz. He knew the west country trails well, and in fact had a nodding acquitance with Hesht. Felfel's history and temper was similiar to that of Namak. But having little experience in the ways of the places such as Corona and the sophisticated cities of the north, he was less polished than Namak, and had a greater tendency to say what was on his mind.

The two couriers were headed norht on the Old Frontier Road when they heard a man cursing and moaning. The rushed to the man, and found him lame, scratched, and bruised. The man complained incoherently about being ambushed, and demanded drink from his two rescuers. Namak had a small flask of mediocre shandy, which the stranger bolted down. The stranger identified himself as Gog, a courier for Nozh. He had a partner, Magog, who had also been ambushed by the robbers.

Felfel scouted around, and found Magog's body and short sword. While Felfel was doing that, Gog gave his account of the ambush. He had been charmed by a good-looking young woman that he met on the road. She offered to have some fun with him, and he was curious, and wanted to see what she had in mind. She had a companion who ambushed him with a staff, and broke his leg, and then knocked him out. The theives had taken a purse of gold and silver coins, some cargo, and two horses. No, he told Namak, he had not gotten the name of the woman. She was young, tall, and fair. Although her hair appeared, white, he could tell that it was naturally red. "Bus how could you tell," asked Namak.

"Ah. She was quite bold, then."

"Yes. She was a lewd and wanton woman."

"Nuzzled her head right in your neck, and you could see red at the roots, eh?"

By that time, Felfel came back with the sword and the news of Magog's death. Gog cursed, and swore vengance upon the thieves and murderers. Namak held his tongue, and did not tell Gog of his mission to find Hesht and Astra.

Now when the alchemical boom started, men who knew the canyons and trails of the Tenge and the lands beyond were needed to transport the alchemical goods quickly, reliably, and above all discreetly to their destination. These trading missions were hazardous. A code of ethics developed amongst the couriers. One of the most important points of the code was this - if you found another courier that was hurt, even if he was a competitor, you had to make every effort to get him to safety. Namak and Felfel had no doubts on this point. Gog, although he looked like a rough character, had to be helped. Namak took the swords, cut some strips of cloth from his cloak, and used them as a splint for Gog's broken leg. Then he locked arms with Felfel, and stooped to pick up Gog, with his rear sitting on the lower set of arms, and his neck resting against the upper set.

The three men made difficult and slow but steady progress to the border. There was little talking. Gog was groggy from the shandy, and would curse and gripe to nobody in particular from time to time, but for the most part stayed silent. Namak and Felfel said nothing, concentrating on not dropping Gog and injuring him further. Felfel soon learned from Gog's complaints that the 'robbery' likely involved a fight between he and Hesht and Astra, but he stayed silent as well. Namak noticed the look on Felfel's face. He could tell that Felfel was skeptical of Gog's complaints. Felfel knew these parts well, and may have had some knowledge of Hesht or Gog. After Gog was delivered safely to Darvazde Yepenhan, Namak would have to find out what Felfel knew.

When they arrived that evening, the couriers noticed that despite the late hour, the town was not asleep. The gate was manned with six watchmen, and there were stirrings of activity.

Two of the watchmen rushed out to meet the weary couriers. Felfel explained, "This man has been hurt by robbers. Get someone up and get him a place to stay."

One of the watchmen said, "There has been a lot of that tonight. We had a courier and a young woman come through tonight who were attacked."

Gog snarled, "They are the robbers and murderers. They killed Magog. Make sure that they don't get away!"

Another watchman looked at him, and said, "Well, we will see about that. We have a place for you, sir. We are going to put you in a place where you will be safe, and have someone look at that leg."

"Damn the leg. I want justice."

"We will look at the leg first. But don't worry, the davar is awake. Justice cannot be hurried, but our davar is a good man. He will make sure that everyone gets his due."

After Gog had been loaded onto a cart, one of the friends of the toll collector came to Namak and Felfel. "Did either of you know that man?"

"No," said Namak.

Felfel added, "I know of the man he works for. Nozh. He is a hard man by reputation. Other than that, I have had no dealings with him."

"Do either of you know of Hesht, or Astra?"

"Not personally," said Namak. Felfel and Namak exchanged glances, and Felfel said nothing. He would let Namak speak for both of them.

Namak said, "But we have been sent by Doazda, for whom he works, to find him. Do you know where he is?"

"He lies tonight in the Stables-by-the-Clover. We have a doctor ministering to him now. He got cut pretty bad. He is not going to working anytime soon."

"May we see him?"

The watchman took Namak and Doazda to the stable. He said, "You stay in town for a day. The davar may have some questions."

Namak replied, "Sure. We do need someone to go down toward Petrona to let some of our people know that Hesht has been found. But we will answer whatever questions the davar has."

"Thank you."

At the stables, a foul-smelling torch gave an orange glow. Hesht was breathing, but was otherwise still. The top of his trousers were bloodstained. There was a nasty wound on his hip. The couriers grimaced as they could see blood and some grayish muscle. There was a circle of olive green surrounding the wound that was the diameter of Namak's hand.

Namak and Felfel stayed silent, and at the edge of the light. They did not wish to disturb the town's doctor (and vetranarian) while he treated Hesht. It was the doctor who started the conversation.

"Do either of you know this man?"

Namak replied, "Not very well. But he works for the same man we work for, and he sent us to find him."

"Was he running away?"

"I did not ask. The boss may have had a job for him to do."

The doctor grunted. He said, "You can go back. You will have to find someone else to do the job. I don't think he is going to make it."

Felfel said, "He's breathing. If he wasn't killed right away, he should be able to heal."

The doctor replied, "No, sir. The rot that sets in after a wound kills more people than the wound itself. Sometimes it heals. More often it gets worse, and the victim dies. If it were a foot, I could amputate. But look where it is. I can't cut out his hip. I have cleaned it out with hot water, but its been open too long. I see signs of the rot setting in. I will do my best, but ...."

Felfel said, "I forgot about the rot. We need some anti-rotting stuff."

The doctor said, "What anti-rotting stuff?"

Namak said, "Felfel knows some wizard-type medicine men. Don't make it public. Felfel, something like that is going to be dear. I have a few pieces of Hespaniard silver, but not much. Even if there was a medicine man around, how are we going to pay for it?"

Felfel replied, "I know where. I am tired, but I gotta go back down the road. Doctor, are we talking hours, or days?"

"I am not sure. I think he can fight it off for a day. You can't go tonight, anyway. Get some sleep and go at daybreak."

Namak and Felfel occupied an empty stall. Namak whispered, "Did you find something wrong with Gog's story?"

Felfel answered, "It doesn't fit together. Hesht does not fight. He avoids problems. Not the sort of man to pick a fight."

"Yeah, but if he fell in love with the girl, he might do crazy things."

"Not in that way. And why would he attack two armed men with swords, when all he has a stick, apparently? A stick versus a sword. Not good odds."

Namak whispered back, "What do you know about Gog?"

"As I said, he works for Nozh. What would you think?"

"I would avoid him."

"So would I. Hesht may be shy, but he is not a fool. In fact, I would say that Hesht being shy goes some way to prove he is not a fool in these parts."

"The girl might not be quite so shy."

"I don't know. She complicates things. But I am sure about one thing. I gotta go now. There is some medicine in a secret place that might give Hesht a chance. It's in a cache." The code of courier ethics came into play again. Risks would have to be taken to help a fellow courier in trouble.

"Yes. I thought that was where you might be keeping it. I will chip in a few coins to help pay for it. It is going to take you a while."

"Ghermiz will cover the cost. I do a lot of work for him. Nozh has been messing with our caches, but we have not been able to prove it. I think Hesht may have found him out. Ghermiz may be happy to help Hesht out, for practical reasons as well as for humane ones. I should be back in the morning, with any luck."

"Why go now? Get some rest. I am tired from carrying Gog."

"So am I. But if I wait until morning, I might not get a chance to go at all. We are witnesses after the fact of what is a pretty big crime. A man has been murdered. Maybe two, if Hesht does not get help. We brought in Gog, and have seen the place of the crime. If you were davar, what would you do?"

Namak said, "I see your point. And you not only know where the cache is, but you know this country a lot better than I do. You go. I will stay and deal with the davar."

As the sun rose the next morning, the doctor and an officer of the davar came into the stables.

There was some mumbling that Namak could not understand. He heard some footsteps come toward his stall. An unfamilar voice spoke.

"Namak and Felfel, you are going to need to get up and report to the davar as soon as possible."

"I am coming, sir," said Namak. He rose, and opened the door.

"Where is Felfel?"

"He went out to get some medicine for Hesht, sir. He will be back."

The officer scowled. "Felfel is a witness. The davar will be leaving today for Yepenhan today. He needs to talk to Felfel now, not later today."

Namak said nothing. What could he say?

The officer said, "Very well. You, at least, will see the davar now. And you can explain why Felfel has fled."

"Show me the way."

The officer led Namak through the unfamiliar streets of Darvazde Yepenhan. Hundreds of years of peace had altered most of the cities and towns of the interior provinces. Modern Hespaniard towns were built around a market, port, or palace. City walls had long since been fallen into disuse, and their towns had grown beyond them.

Darvazde Yepenhan was still a frontier, and therefore a fortified town. In the middle of it, there was a thick-walled keep surrounded by a double wall. Between the two walls there were four cylindrical towers. Namak was escorted through one of the gates in the outer wall to a small stone building. Namak noticed a lot of men in livery waiting outside an oaken door. Namak took a seat on a wooden bench, and waited.

The door swung open, and five men marched out. Jegar the toll collector was in the middle of the group. He was shaking, and looked very unhappy. Namak caught the words, "Northwest Tower, Second Level" and "writ of suspicion for accepting bribes" from one of the guards. Namak was now ordered into the room. A clerk asked him some simple questions - name (Namak), residence (Greater Still River, Tenge Province), position (free courier), and patron. This last question was vitally important, as one was treated much better and one's word went farther if one had the support of reputable people. Namak now wished that Felfel were here instead of he, as Felfel probably knew some of the local citizens. Namak had unimpeachable patrons on the Still River, good references in Corona, but knew nobody here. He had to make do with what he had.

The clerk took the paper and went into another room. Namak waited for a time, and then the door opened again. The clerk beckoned him in.

Seated inside was the davar. He had a neatly trimmed salt-and- pepper beard and moustache. He was quite thin, and his face was dominated by big brown eyes and a button nose. He wore richly ornamented robes. Namak stared at his chain of office, which was coated in gold, and was studded with diamonds that sparkled brilliantly in morning light that shone through open shutters. Namak stood, and then bowed.

The davar had the paper in front of him. He asked a lot of questions. He never raised his voice, and was consistently polite, but persistent. Namak noticed that the first questions were easy. Who was he? How many times he had been to Darvazde Yepenhan? Where did he live? Who were his parents, and what did they do? Who else was in his family? The davar asked him a lot of questions about his job as a free courier. Namak had to be wary now. Many of the alchemical items that he carried were technically illegal, and alchemy as a whole had a sinister taint. Still, he had not done anything wrong. Namak gave the impression that he transported letters, jewels, bits of coin, medicine, and minor items. The davar, to his relief, did not ask for specifics regarding the minor items.

Then the davar addressed the events of the day. Namak told him about the task that Doazda lay upon him and Felfel, and how he found Gog and the late Magog on the road. The davar was especially interested in what he knew about Hesht and Astra, and about Gog, and why Doazda asked him to intercept Hesht. Namak was not able to completely satisfy the davar as to why it was important to Doazda to bring Hesht back to Still Manor. Namak replied as honestly as he could. He did not know Astra, Hesht, or Gog well, but had some knowledge of them by reputation. The davar asked how he and Hesht could work for the same man, but not know each other. Namak replied that Doazda's manor was big and his interests were wide, and that he had a lot of people who worked for him. The davar asked him several times about Gog, and what he said when he was being carried in, and the weapons that were found, as well as Magog's body. Here, Namak had to admit that Felfel had found Magog's body - he had been tending to Gog all that time.

The davar finished his questions. Namak felt lucky that the davar had not demanded to know why Felfel had left without permission. He merely told Namak, "It appears that your friend Felfel knows quite a bit that you do not. It is a pity that he left last night. In order to get the answers I need, I am going to need him. Namak, as one of our few witnesses, I am going to have to hold you on a writ of circumstance until I can talk to some of the other witnesses, and talk to your patrons. Felfel, if he is found, will also be held on the same writ. Do you know the difference between a writ of circumstance and a writ of suspicion?"

"Yes, sir. I might be needed for some questions later, so I need to stay in the city, but you don't think I did anything against the law."

"You have the essence of it. But I am not going to give you the freedom of the city. Due in part to the nature of the crime, and due in part to the disappearance of Felfel, I am going to ask that you stay within the confines of the Northeast Tower and courtyard until I tell you otherwise."

Namak was surprised by this. However, he kept his head. The luckless man before him was to be held in the Northwest Tower, so he was going someplace different. Namak answered, "Yes, sir, "May I ask a question, agha davar?"

"You may."

"I do have one unfinished piece of business. My patron, Doazda of Still Manor, has some men near Petrona waiting for Hesht. If one of your officers could meet them, and inform them that Hesht is here, my duty will be discharged. And perhaps they may be helpful to you."

The corners of the davar's mouth rose, and his eyes twinkled in the morning light. "Certainly. In the last twenty-four hours, I would say that I am quite impressed with the devotion to duty that you free couriers appear to have. I will grant your request. Your fellows will be informed of Hesht's whereabouts before the sun sets today. Now, I have to leave shortly to talk to a lady who may be able to help answer many of the questions that I have. Del here will escort you to your room in the Northeast Tower."

Namak was something between a prisoner and a guest. His quarters consisted of one cell, about four paces long, three paces broad, and perhaps four paces high. The outer wall was bulged outward slightly. There was a narrow opening for light that was the width of Namak's hand. It extended from his waist to well above his head. To the left there were stairs leading to a garderobe. There were other rooms in the tower both above and below, but the stairs were blocked by a heavy barrier. He could hear the footsteps going up and down the stairs; Namak presumed that these were guards. How was he supposed to get access to the courtyard? He hoped that he would not be a resident of this tower long enough for it to be a concern.

Namak went into the garderobe. He looked down into the hole. There was an iron grate with a circular ring in the middle that would allow waste to pass. He was not going to escape through that. Oddly enough, the garderobe let in more light than the main cell.

Namak noticed grafitti carved on the wall. These were the names of guests or prisoners from ages past. He read some of the grafitti. Farouk the Baker. Someone named C. F. Oh, here was a bold carving for General Ueberwald - he was probably a prisoner held here during the Verboten Wars. Baron Wilderham of Torbus. Nice one. Namak was taking his captivity philosophically. Here he was, sitting on a hole in not just any privy, but a privy that had been used by some of the great heroes and villains of history, as well as people more like himself. And now, Namak was about to add his own contribution to the glorious tradition of this garderobe. While he was waiting, he reached into his bag and counted out some worn coins. He had brought a enough for to last a while. Three silver, fourteen copper. He decided that he was going to order a whole chicken for a couple of copper coins, and share it with Del. After all, while he hoped that he would be able to leave within a few days, it was possible that he might be here for longer than he anticipated. It was not too early to start making friends here.

Meanwhile, Felfel had obtained a vessel of antiseptic potion.

1. He tries to pass through the gate, hoping that he is allowed to pass.
2. He tries to sneak through and get to the stable where Hesht lay.

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