Another HS&S:WT short

[sabremeister]

Part 2

The tall thin man with the arrow-nose, short dark hair and well-cut sombre clothes rounded the corner. Three stalls, one of them selling jewellery, lined one side of the short street. The main market square was behind him, and this was the last side-street that traders had set up on. He permitted himself a brief smile, and strode quickly forward to the jeweller’s stall. He removed his thin black leather gloves as he cast a keen eye over the wares. He glared at the stallholder. “Is this everything you have?” he demanded.



“Well, yes, sir! What would be the point of me not displaying merchandise?”

“Something you are keeping back for someone, perhaps? Or something recently acquired that you have been asked not to sell in this city?”

“I don’t deal in stolen goods,” the stallholder replied indignantly.

“Glad to hear it. What I am looking for is not, technically, stolen.”

“I have nothing but what is on the table!”

The man locked his piercing eyes on the stallholder’s. “Very well. I will not trespass further on your time.” He turned to leave, and called over his shoulder as he went. “Although perhaps you should talk to the Magistrate about getting your street-trader licence renewed!” He pulled his gloves back on and disappeared into the crowd.

Half an hour later, he knocked on the door of his employer’s study. “Come in!” The voice that answered was deep, yet shaky. “Ah, Mathis – did you find it?”

The tall man did not remove his gloves. “No, lord, I did not. None of the jeweller’s shops, pawnbrokers, second-hand shops, curiosity shops or goldsmiths have it.”

“You reported that to me yesterday.”

“Indeed. And today I checked the market. There is no sign of it.”

“What about – other outlets?”

“I have contacts. They reliably inform me that no fence, palmer, con-artist or wax-man have seen it, or come into possession of it.”

The man behind the desk sighed and put his head in his hands. He ran them backwards through his thinning, greying hair, and looked up. “What about mages, nobles, and so on?”

“If a noble had it, they would be crowing it to the world, or we would already have a blackmail demand. If another mage had it, they would find it useless, and have sold it by now. The only dealer in artifacts in Tasal has not seen it.”

“Are you sure it was my daughter who took it two nights ago?”

“Yes, lord.”

“Beats me what you were doing up at that time in the morning, anyway.”

“I am automatically awakened when one of my wards is breached, lord. The outer wards were secure, so I made haste to the vault.”

“Why were the outer wards secure? She broke in!”

“She did not break in, she effected an entry through the rear courtyard, and the cellar hatch.”

“But why were the wards not set off when she did that?”

“She is your daughter. This is her home. The spell recognises that, and will admit her entry without raising the alarm, no matter where she chooses to enter.”

“She hasn’t lived here for a month! Not since she ran off with that stableboy!”

“He was one of your guardsmen-in-training, lord, not a stableboy. He merely slept over the stables.”

The man behind the desk leaned back in his chair, breathing heavily.

“You are not well, lord. You should retire for the evening.”

“How can I? How can I when that seal-ring is missing?”

“If you would permit me to cast-”

“No, Mathis! Under no circumstances will you ever cast a spell on me – understand?”

Mathis inclined his head in a polite bow. “As your lordship commands. Nevertheless, I counsel your lordship’s withdrawal.”

“Counsel what you like, no-one rests until that ring is returned!” The seated man paused for a deep breath. “Why do we not know where she lives? The house wards know who she is, why cannot you find her by magic?”

“Because of her possessions that she did not take with her when she left, all are burned to ash. Without an object intimately associated with her, the spell is ineffective. Besides, I do not know the Seek spell.”

“But you’re learning it, aren’t you?”

“It will take many weeks for me to master it. No spell can be cast from a book.”

“Well we’ll hire some other wizard to cast it, then!”

“Unless you want the whole city to know that Viscount Rothsun’s daughter and only heir has eloped with a commoner, I suggest you do not order that, my lord.”

“What about the boy? Seek him!”

“Again, we have none of his personal possessions – the sword and armour issued to him will not help. And do you really want to be asked why your lordship is spending money on magic to find a common soldier? We have discussed these matters before.”

Again, Viscount Rothsun leaned back and breathed heavily. “Very well, Mathis. But we must do something. There is no telling what she may do with that ring.”

“I shall see whether there are further lines of enquiry that may be pursued, my lord.”

“You do that.” Mathis turned to leave. “And Mathis – if it should be you who recovers the ring, you are not to touch it, understand? You are to wear your gloves whilst handling it. That is an order.”

“Yes lord. I will wear my gloves whilst handling the ring, if I recover it.”

“Go.”

Mathis left. Viscount Rothsun slumped back into his chair. After a few minutes to get his breathing under control, he bent his head again to the necessary paperwork of the nobility.

Mathis entered his chambers. He pulled off his gloves and strode immediately to a covered table. He lifted the dark silk cover, and pressed both his hands to the wooden top. Magically embedded in the top were a few strands of hair, removed from his employer three years ago now. There were various enchantments on both table and hair. Mathis glared at the hairs. In his study, Viscount Rothsun clutched at his chest, and slumped onto the desk, gasping.

“Soon, my lord, I will use a different spell, and you will not get up afterwards.” He looked up, glaring at a picture that was only visible when looking directly at it. “And soon, my lady, no matter where you are hiding, and no matter what steps you take, both you, and the ring, will be mine.” He smiled, grimly at first, then in pleasure. The picture always showed its subject as she was at that moment.


This could be continued again...