"And I tol' you," said one of several gruff, dirty, but very heavily armed men who blocked the meandering deer trail on which they'd been riding, "the captain don't want to see nobody 'cept potential employers."
"How do you know we're not?" Mellorin asked from atop her palfrey, less in challenge than honest curiosity.
" 'Cuz anyone makin' a serious offer'd know enough to bring a whole heap o' coin as down payment. And you three ain't got the bags to carry it. 'Nless"-he leered up at her-"they're thinkin' o' offerin' you. You're a bit skinny, but-"
Kaleb opened his mouth and advanced, but Mellorin was faster. She dropped gracefully from her horse, hand flying to the hilt of her new blade.
The mercenary looked down at the gleaming metal, the stiff and unmarred leather of the scabbard, and snorted. "Ain't that cute? Baby's first sword. You named it yet, sweetheart?"
"I have." Her face was pale, but her voice and her hand remained steady. "Eunuch-Maker."
The mercenary's grin slid from his face as Kaleb, Jassion, and even a few of the man's comrades chuckled.
"Now, see here…," he began, hand reaching for her wrist before she could draw. And just as swiftly he froze, for while the sword hadn't budged an inch, the knife concealed in Mellorin's left hand poked abruptly against his groin.
"Look, friends," Kaleb interjected, hopefully before things got any worse. "There's no need for unpleasantness, is there? No, we're not looking to hire your company-but we do need to speak with Captain Losalis, and there might be some degree of payment involved if he can help us out."
"Not interested," the mercenary grunted, his attention glued to the ugly blade.
"Really? Losalis must put a lot of faith in you, my friend. Letting you make decisions like that, considering how much gold and how many contracts it could cost him? And the rest of your men? Well, so be it. I'm sure that when he hears about this, he'll be grateful you kept his best interests at heart."
It took the bulky fellow a few moments to work through that, but he eventually arrived at the point the sorcerer was trying to make. His lips curled in a sneer, but he nodded. "All right. Tell the girl to put her knife away, an' I'll take you to him."
Mellorin's blade vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
"You see that?" Kaleb asked as he and his companions gathered up the reins and followed the grumbling fellow. "I knew he'd see reason eventually. I'm sure it just took him a while to recognize it, since I doubt it's very familiar to him."
"Could you possibly refrain from insulting the heavily armed men aloud while we're in the midst of their camp?" Jassion asked as the mercenary glared back over his shoulder.
Kaleb cocked his head, apparently considering it. Then, "Probably not."
Following their reluctant guide, they picked their way through clusters of tents, fire pits, and other components of an encampment only halfway organized. Losalis was known for maintaining an unusual level of discipline, but these were still mercenaries, and there were still limits.
They halted before a tent that, though larger than average, otherwise had little to distinguish it. A small throng of warriors had pressed close, curious to see what their visitors had to offer-and how their captain might react if said offer proved insufficient-while their guide stuck his head through the canvas flap.
Moments passed, mercenaries whispered and jested, the summer breeze died to nothing as even the winds decided the weather was just too damn hot for all this running around. Jassion tapped a foot and drummed his fingers on his thigh, Mellorin looked about in rapt fascination, and Kaleb just waited.
Finally, the canvas flipped open and the mercenary returned, followed by two more men. One was huge, the other even bigger.
Losalis was a dark-skinned giant, a foot taller than Jassion's own six feet and muscled enough to crack small rocks like chestnuts. The eyes peering over a thick growth of beard were of two different hues, and he wore a triangular, razor-edged shield bolted to his armor in place of his missing left hand.
His lieutenant-a moment's quick reminiscence provided Jassion with the name Ulfgai-was only slightly smaller, but otherwise his captain's polar opposite. The barbarian from the frozen south was pale practically to albinism, and his long blond locks and beard were wildly tangled.
They'd killed enough people in their careers, between the two of them, to qualify as a plague in their own right, and neither looked particularly thrilled at being yanked away from whatever discussion they'd been having. Jassion and Mellorin both suppressed the urge to recoil, or grab for their blades.
"All right, my lord," Losalis said in a surprisingly soft voice, nodding first to Jassion, then Mellorin. "Reng here tells me that you need to speak with me, and that you seem to have difficulty with the word no. You don't want to hire my company-you don't have enough gold with you, and besides, you're obviously not here on behalf of Pelapheron. So would you care to explain why you're wasting my time-while I'm in a good mood?"
Kaleb's mouth began to open, but Mellorin swiftly stepped on his foot.
"It's a simple enough arrangement, Captain," Jassion told him. "I want some information and advice from you, and I'm willing to offer coin in return."
"Do we look like sages to you?" Ulfgai grunted from behind Losalis.
The sorcerer threw Mellorin a glance, all but begging for permission to comment. She shook her head, struggling to stifle a grin and failing miserably.
Jassion, perhaps inspired by the presence of so many unfriendly mercenaries, kept a lid on his temper. "Not a lot of people might know what I need to know."
"Go on," Losalis said, raising a finger to silence his lieutenant.
"We're hunting," the baron told him, "for Corvis Rebaine."
Every nearby face darkened with anger.
"I know," he continued, "that you've little cause to bear him any affection. Rumor has it that he abandoned the lot of you after the Battle of Mecepheum. Help us find him, and we'll all enjoy some measure of justice."
"What makes you think, after six years, that I know anything useful about that traitorous rodent?" Losalis asked them.
"You were his lieutenant," Jassion pressed. "You led his armies while he was imprisoned."
"By you, as I remember it. Which means you let him escape."
Again, the baron kept his calm, and again it required more of an effort than anyone would ever know. "My point, Captain Losalis, is that even if you don't know where he is, you can help us. Knowledge of his habits, how he thinks, anything he might have revealed to you about his plans and objectives beyond defeating Audriss. Anything would prove helpful, and you'll be paid for all of it."
Losalis stood for long moments, ignoring the impatient shuffling of not only his "guests" but his own mercenaries as well. Until, finally, "No."
Jassion-and, to judge by his expression, Ulfgai as well-couldn't have been more thunderstruck if Losalis had dropped his trousers and given birth to a unicorn.
"No?" The baron's voice almost squeaked.
"Captain," Ulfgai protested, "maybe we should hear what he's-"
"No," Losalis said again. "Gods know I'd like to see you succeed in your hunt, but even if I knew anything useful-which I don't believe I do-I wouldn't tell you."
"But-"
"It's taken me a long time to get where I am, my lord. Me, my company, we've got a reputation as the best, and we get paid the best. And part of how I keep my reputation as a man worth hiring is that I don't blab the secrets of my employers, even after I'm done working for them. I'll fight a man I've worked for in the past, but I won't betray him."
Ulfgai looked as though he'd swallowed something venomous, with many wriggling legs, but he nodded in agreement with his captain.
"I've heard it said," Kaleb interjected, "that Rebaine didn't actually hire you, though. That he reneged on payment when he abandoned you."