“There are about a dozen of them,” replied Tutman, “but the ringleader is a big guy by the name of Harmagan. Be cautious around that one. The man is a killer.”
“Is there a back way into the administration building?” asked Fisher. “I want to hear what Wyant says to the Jiadin.”
“There is a back door,” replied Tutman, “but it will be locked. Harmagan and a few others live in the administration building. You can’t get in without them knowing about it.”
“I am not even sure if Wyant is what they are after,” shrugged Fisher. “I think I will walk around the city and see if I notice anything strange.”
“Take your room key,” offered the innkeeper as he pulled a key out of his desk drawer and handed it to Fisher. “There will be no charge the first night. I appreciate the healing you did.”
“Thank you,” smiled Fisher. “Keep off that leg, and it will heal just fine now.”
Chapter 26
Scarab
Fisher left the Kheri Inn and walked to the park where the speech would be given. A knife fight had drawn a large crowd, and dozens of Jiadin were cheering for their favorite fighter. The noise was deafening. Fisher turned and left the park and headed down a narrow alleyway that passed behind the administration building. The back door to the building may have been unlocked, but it hardly mattered. Two mean looking Jiadin stood outside the back door with swords drawn. They glared at Fisher as if daring him to approach. The spy walked quickly by the doorway and did not look back.
At the mouth of the alleyway, another crowd of Jiadin were gathered. Two groups of warriors appeared to be squaring off against each other. Swords were drawn and insults were being thrown with abandon. As Fisher tried to exit the alley and move past the crowd, one of the Jiadin pivoted, his sword pointing towards Fisher’s chest. Fisher immediately backpedaled into the alley to avoid being sucked into the brewing fight.
As Fisher turned around and headed back along the alley towards the park, he saw the two guards in the distance. He stopped walking and leaned against the wall in the darkness. He was finding nothing out and walking around Meliban was dangerous, and not because he was a spy. It was just a dangerous city to walk around at night. He sighed with frustration and moved into a small alcove between the buildings, dropping to ground to sit with his back against the building. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the distant shouting so that he could concentrate and think of some reason for Clarvoy to travel to Meliban.
A noise forced Fisher to open his eyes, but it was not the loud noise of boisterous shouting. It was the soft click of a single person’s footsteps. Fisher gazed into the dimly lit alley, the only light coming from the full moon high overhead. He heard the footsteps coming closer. Fisher was not sure what intrigued him about the sound of footsteps in the alley, but he held his breath as they came closer. A figure walked past the small alcove, and Fisher nearly gasped. The man was out of sight within a second, but Fisher was sure that he had recognized the Jiadin warrior. What bothered Fisher about recognizing the man is that he was positive that Brakas was already dead.
Fisher rose slowly from the ground in the alcove and crept to the corner of the alleyway. He peered around the corner at the Jiadin warrior walking along the alley towards the park. Brakas stopped near the two guards stationed behind the administration building. The three men exchanged words, but it was too far for Fisher to hear what was said. Fisher was about to ease out of the alcove and follow Brakas when the two guards ushered the Jiadin warrior into the administration building. Fisher frowned as he heard the door slam and a bolt thrown to lock it.
While he might not find out why Clarvoy was coming to Meliban, Fisher knew that following Brakas could lead to important information. He immediately dismissed his thoughts of Clarvoy and looked upward to find a way onto the roof of the administration building. His eyes followed the roofline until they came back to the alcove. Seeing that the buildings were connected, Fisher entered the alcove again and peered upward. He had not brought any rope with him, but the alcove was narrow. His eyes peered into the darkness for a handhold to begin his climb. Wedging one foot on each wall, Fisher reached up and grabbed an indentation in the wood. His fingertips ached as he moved his feet higher and looked for the next imperfection in the wooden walls.
It took Fisher much longer than he cared to spend to climb to the roof, but he had no other choice. His fingertips were raw and bleeding from wood slivers that had pricked his skin. Fisher wiped the blood on his clothes and ignored the pain. He walked cautiously along the roof of the administration building, placing each step with care. His eyes scanned the roof for any type of hatch that might allow access into the building, but he could not find one.
Fisher sighed noiselessly as he realized that he was missing a valuable conversation. He moved to the edge of the roof and stared down. There were several windows on the second level of the administration building. As far as Fisher could see, they were the only way that he could gain entrance to the building. He chose a window at random and leaned over the edge of the roof above it. He could barely see into the dark room, but he sensed nothing moving in it. Fisher straightened up and removed his pack. He pulled a knife and cut the straps from the pack and tied them together.
There was a small wooden beam that ran along the edge of the roof. Fisher laid one end of the strap over the beam and jabbed his knife through it. With all of his might, he pushed the knife as deep as he could into the beam. He tied a not in the strap where the blade had slit it so that it would not continue ripping. When he was done, Fisher lowered his body over the side of the roof, just above the chosen window. Hanging from the wooden beam, Fisher reached out and carefully griped the strap, hoping that it could hold his weight.
When Fisher let go of the roof with his second hand, he heard the fabric of the strap start to rip. For a few terrorizing seconds, Fisher hung immobile. The strap held and Fisher exhaled slowly. Very slowly, Fisher lowered himself on the hanging strap. When he was at the right altitude to enter the window, he stretched out one foot to snare the window ledge. Pulling with his foot, Fisher managed to get his second foot in the window before the strap snapped. His hands immediately let go of the strap and flew out to grasp the window frame. He caught the frame with one hand and pulled hard. His body tumbled through the window.
Fisher half expected to slam into the floor, notifying the whole building of his entrance. As luck would have it, the Jiadin who occupied the room had moved his bed under the window. Fisher landed on the bed with minimal noise. He immediately sprang from the bed and placed his back to the wall beside the door, a knife automatically sliding into his hand.
When no one came in response to the noise, Fisher put his ear to the door. He could hear faint voices, but nothing else. He decided to risk opening the door. The spy eased the door open and peered out. The corridor was dark, as the evening torches had not been lit yet. He slipped out of the room, silently closing the door behind him.
Fisher tiptoed along the corridor until he reached the stairs leading down. The voices became louder, and light from the first floor spread upward to paint the stairs a ghostly yellow. Fisher dropped to the floor and crawled forward so he could peer down the steps. He stared in fascination as Brakas stood talking to half a dozen Jiadin. One particularly large man was standing toe to toe with Brakas. They appeared to be arguing.
“Why don’t you try listening for a change, Harmagan,” shouted Brakas. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life in this hole of a city?”