They speak? Hamil remarked.
The first I’ve seen of it, Geran answered. He reined in and turned his one “good” eye on the creature. “I am called Jhormun. This is my manservant, Pirr.”
“What is your business here?” the runehelm said. Its voice was deep and oddly inflected, but still intelligible.
“I am a mage for hire. I have heard that some of the merchant Houses in Hulburg are willing to pay a wizard of my skill quite handsomely.”
There was a long silence, and Geran quietly tensed, ready to draw his blade or cast a spell as he needed to. Then another one of the runehelms spoke. “You may go,” it said.
Do you think they’re speaking to Rhovann? Hamil asked as they rode on past. Or are they simply following his directions and exercising their own judgment?
“Neither possibility is very reassuring,” Geran muttered under his breath. The sooner they dealt with Rhovann’s monstrous creations, the better. In an inner pocket of his robe he carried twin scrolls, carefully prepared days ago in Thentia, that held a ritual of shadowcrossing to carry him into the Shadowfell at the proper time. Sarth was also capable of performing the transition, but Geran couldn’t be certain that the sorcerer would be able to rejoin them by the appointed hour-in this case, midnight. That was still eight or nine hours off, and Geran had things to do before then.
Leaving the guardpost behind, he turned right on Keldon Way and headed for the Sokol compound. Hopefully anyone or anything watching wouldn’t be surprised to see a mage for hire presenting himself at the first mercantile establishment he came to. At the gate he informed the Sokol guards that he wished to speak with the mistress of the establishment, and he and Hamil were shown to the sitting room of Nimessa’s house. They waited for a short time before Nimessa bustled in, followed by one of her clerks.
“My apologies, Master Jhormun,” she began. “There is a fair bit of trouble in Hulburg today-”
“I know it,” Geran interrupted. He stood and removed his eyepatch, meeting Nimessa’s gaze.
She drew back in surprise, and stopped. Then she glanced to her clerk. “Allow us a few moments,” she said. The clerk raised an eyebrow, but gathered up his ledgers and let himself out. Nimessa waited until the door was firmly shut before she turned back to face Geran. “Master Jhormun, indeed. I would’ve thought you’d be with your army up on the moors! What in the world are you doing here?”
“Dealing with Rhovann and Marstel, once and for all,” he replied. He nodded at Hamil. “You remember my old comrade Hamil?”
“Of course, but I thought he had more sense than to follow you into Hulburg with the Council Guard and merchant costers and Rhovann’s awful constructs all watching for you.”
“My mother warned me to choose my friends wisely,” Hamil answered. He jumped to his feet and took Nimessa’s hand, brushing his lips to her fingers with a sigh. “She was always so disappointed in me.” Nimessa smiled, and inclined her head to Hamil.
“I hope to do something about Rhovann’s constructs soon enough,” Geran told her. “Did the Council Guard march to meet our army? Hamil and I parted ways with Kara yesterday morning, and we haven’t had any word of Marstel’s movements since.”
“Marstel’s soldiers are assembling on the field by Daggergard,” Nimessa said. “He’s also ordered the merchant companies to put their armsmen under his command and send them to the muster. No one knows what he intends to do with them.”
“What of Sokol’s armsmen?” asked Hamil.
Nimessa smiled. “Regretfully, a serious flu has left most of my soldiers too ill to leave their barracks.”
Geran nodded, trying to imagine what he’d do in Rhovann’s place. After a moment, he decided that it didn’t matter; he intended to carry on with his task of dealing with Rhovann’s constructs. “House Sokol’s been a good friend to my family over the last few months,” he told Nimessa. “Tomorrow we find out if that was a wise decision for you or not. Do you think your armsmen might recover any time soon?”
“Yes-when I’m confident that we won’t be caught out all alone by taking your side. We’ve only got a couple of dozen blades to offer.”
“My thanks.” Geran looked over to Hamil. “We’d better be on our way. We have a lot to do this evening.”
“No rest for the wicked,” Hamil lamented. He bowed again to Nimessa, and made his way outside.
Geran followed after him, but Nimessa caught his arm at the door. She leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. “For luck,” she murmured. “Keep yourself safe.”
He paused. He didn’t want to say what was on his mind, but it was important to him that Nimessa understood his motives, especially if things did not go well in the next day or so. “Nimessa, the last time I was here, I shouldn’t have-I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you the way I did, and I’m sorry for it. My heart’s given to another. It’s just taken me a long time to see it.”
Nimessa looked down at the floor, and sighed. “You have no cause to apologize to me, Geran. You’re in love with Mirya Erstenwold, even if you forgot it for a time. I know it was selfish of me, but I can’t say I regret what happened.” She gave herself a small shake, and met his eyes again with a small smile. “I don’t suppose you’ve told Mirya how you feel, have you?”
He was silent for a long time before he finally said, “I don’t know how.”
She rolled her eyes. “Say what’s in your heart. The rest is up to her.”
“It seems so easy when you put it like that.” He laughed softly at his own foolishness, and caught her hands in his before turning and heading out the door.
Hamil was waiting for him outside. The halfling glanced at Nimessa, who stood watching from the doorway, and back to Geran. If I were a suspicious fellow, he said silently, I’d wonder what just passed between the two of you.
“It’s a good thing you’re not a suspicious fellow, then,” Geran said to him. “Come on, let’s get to it.”
“Suit yourself,” Hamil replied. They mounted and rode slowly out of the Sokol tradeyard, heading up Bay Street. The street was eerily quiet; every so often they passed groups of merchant companies folk huddled together, trading rumors and speculation about the Hulmasters’ army and whether or not Marstel’s Council Guard would march out to meet it or stand their ground in Hulburg. In one of the wilder rumors Geran came across, Kamoth Kastelmar was due to arrive in a new pirate fleet at any moment to raze the town, even though the harbor ice still hadn’t broken up enough for ships to reach Hulburg’s wharves. He wondered briefly what the bystanders would do if he suddenly revealed himself before deciding that it probably wasn’t a good idea.
They reached the gates of the Double Moon Coster, and paused briefly. Geran looked down at his small friend. “Do you still want to give it a try?” he asked.
Hamil nodded. “The Double Moons might surprise you,” he said. “I’m on good terms with a number of their folk. I think I can convince them to discover a barracks full of sick mercenaries at the very least. Of course, you might have to remember their help when it comes time to negotiate their rents and terms of concession.”
“If I have my way, the Jannarsks and the Iron Ring will be out along with the Verunas when things are settled. The Double Moons are more than welcome to some of those leavings if they help us now.” Geran glanced around, looking for any sign of someone paying too much attention to them, and decided that Rhovann and Marstel were likely occupied with Kara. “I’ll see you at midnight. You know how to find everyone on your list?”
The halfling snorted. “It’s not that big a town. I’m sure I’ll manage.” Between them, Geran and Hamil hoped to visit a dozen or more loyalists, passing word to be ready to strike. Geran would have liked Hamil’s blade at his side if he ran into trouble, but there were far too many people who knew that Hamil was one of his close companions-a human and a halfling together might easily spark a suspicion that wouldn’t rise if they separated while wandering the town.