He had not sheathed his sword, and he was still ready to strike. Gerrion’s right hand was concealed beneath his cloak. Daine had spent years as a bodyguard, and he could easily imagine the small crossbow it held.
“So pay me,” Gerrion said carelessly.
He had the grace of a lazy cat; he leaned back against the alley wall, but Daine had watched him land, and he still remembered the crossbow bolt that shattered a tiny crystal. Gerrion might be in repose, but Daine had no doubt the man was ready to react to any perceived danger.
“Is that a threat?”
Gerrion rolled his eyes. He tossed back his cloak, revealing the expected crossbow-small, finely crafted, the wood of the stock polished to a fine sheen. With practiced grace, he pulled the quarrel and loosened the string, placing the weapon in a sheath on his right hip.
“If I wanted you dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He spoke with nonchalance, as if they were old friends discussing the weather.
“What is it that you want?” Lakashtai stepped up next to Daine. She was still drawn and pale, but her voice had regained its calm strength.
“That’s a question with a long, boring answer, and it’s not a tale I care to share with strangers in an alley, but gold will do for a start. I meant what I said before. You were right; you do need a guide in Stormwatch, and you’ll find few better. If you need to go along the coast or into the jungle, I can arrange that too.”
“Eavesdropping is always the best way to establish trust,” Daine said.
“You only know I was eavesdropping because I told you; if I wanted to be deceptive, I could have come up with any number of better stories. As a matter of fact, I was looking for you, Daine.”
“I’m supposed to be surprised that you know my name? That would play better if you hadn’t admitted to the eavesdropping.”
“Actually I was thinking another name might help matters. Perhaps Alina Lyrris means something to you?”
Daine had sheathed his sword, but in an instant it was out again. “Something, yes, but not a name I expected to hear here.”
“Well, your history is not my concern,” Gerrion said, the hint of a shrug passing across his shoulders. If he was perturbed by the blade, he hid it well. “I received a message by the stones, warning me of your arrival and asking me to look out for you-Stormreach is not kind to strangers. The description was good, but it wasn’t hard to spot you; a man traveling with a warforged and a kalashtar does stand out.”
“What about-” Lei interjected, peering over Daine’s shoulder.
“I’m afraid you weren’t mentioned. I have no idea who you are-though it’s a mystery I can’t wait to solve.”
Daine scowled. “Stand off a moment, would you?”
Gerrion made the slightest bow and walked farther down the alley.
Daine turned to the others. Pierce was standing a few steps away, an arrow already nocked in his great bow; Daine knew that the warforged was waiting for the word to strike. Lei was frowning, while Lakashtai remained as calm and enigmatic as always.
“What do you think?” asked Daine.
“I do not know this Alina Lyrris,” Lakashtai said, “and I am troubled that this man knows of our presence. His thoughts are slippery, like polished glass, but he did us a great favor when he shattered the mindshard. I doubt that our enemy has another such object here in Stormreach, and it’s not something they would sacrifice willingly.”
“At this point, nothing Alina does can surprise me,” Daine said, grinding his teeth. “She’s a … I don’t know what you’d call her. A spider, playing games with people’s lives. This fellow has her stink on him, I’ll give you that, but we did her a service recently, and I don’t see any reason she’d sell us out. He’s probably just what he seems-this would be her idea of a gift.” A favor, he thought, taunting me with her help.
“Why doesn’t he know who I am?” Lei said.
“Pierce, what do you think?” Daine said.
“If we need a guide, he is our best choice. We have no reason to trust anyone in this city. He has helped us once, and if this Alina did ask him to help us-it is my understanding that she is not a woman to be crossed lightly.”
“Yes … that’s certainly true.”
“While he may have followed us without my knowledge, I assure you, Daine-I will be watching him now,” Pierce said. Pierce was a scout and a hunter-if he had marked his prey, Gerrion wouldn’t be sneaking up on them again.
“It sounds like we’re decided, then,” Daine said. “Lakashtai-do we have gold to spare for out guide?”
“I have some coin and letters of credit on the Kundarak Bank,” Lakashtai said. “One does not come so far without gold in hand.”
“Assuming you have gold to begin with,” Daine said, running a finger along his all-too-empty purse. “Well, you’re the mistress of coin. Perhaps you can see if our new friend can find us a trustworthy inn. I don’t know about you, but I’d just as soon get out of this alley.”
“Why doesn’t he know who I am?” Lei said again.
It took Lakashtai and Gerrion some time to work out the details of their arrangement; Alina might have told the gray man to look after Daine, but apparently she’d said nothing about the price of these services. Eventually they came to terms, and Gerrion took the lead.
“There are inns in Stormreach that make soup from the bones of unwary guests,” he said, “but I know a place where you can sleep through the night.”
Lakashtai walked alongside Gerrion, asking questions about the colony. Pierce stayed close behind their guide, listening to every word and taking his measure of the stranger. Daine held Lei back a step, just far enough so they could speak without being overheard.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded, tapping her healing wand. “I think we’ll both pull through.” She rubbed at a tear on her sleeve. “Though I’ll need to do some mending, once we’re settled in.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
Daine gestured vaguely. “Everything! We’re across the sea. There’s no law here. We were almost killed a few minutes ago, and this gray man may be leading us into someone’s soup pot.”
“Where have you been for the last three years?” Lei said. “A week ago I was fighting bugs in the sewers. I’m starting to get used to it. Besides, this is Xen’drik. All my life I’ve heard stories. They say the old kingdoms of Xen’drik controlled powers we can’t even imagine-mystical principles thousands of years beyond what my … House Cannith has developed.” She stumbled for a moment; clearly the mention of House Cannith had brought back the memory of her own humiliation at the house, but she soon found her voice again. “Just look at this place. Where else could you find pre-Galifar Lhazaar architecture next to a Zil waterhouse? And … look at that.”
At first, Daine thought the creature she was pointing at was a minotaur. It was a massive humanoid with hooves in place of feet; it wore a red tabard, and its exposed skin was covered with a coat of white fur. Its head was more like a ram than a bull; its horns curved back over its skull.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” She said. “Do you suppose there’s an entire nation of them out in the jungle? Perhaps we could ask.”
She stopped for a moment, but Daine took her arm and pulled her along. “Let’s make sure we don’t lose track of the others. I don’t think we want to be left behind on the streets.”
“You’re telling me this is the safest place in Stormreach?” Daine said. “I don’t know about the innkeeper killing us in our sleep … I think the inn may do that on its own.”
If not for the wooden door at the center, Daine wouldn’t have recognized the structure as a building. At first glance, it seemed like a heap of twigs piled together by some massive bird-though on closer inspection, the boughs and branches were carefully interlaced.
Lei was already examining one of the thatched walls. “It’s densewood,” she said, running a finger along a twig. “The elves of Aerenal use it in place of stone-it’s nearly as tough and durable as granite, but the elven buildings I’ve seen have all used blocks carved from densewood or long timbers. I’ve never seen a design like this. Try to break off a piece of one of those branches.”