The Merchant of Sanukawa (Novella) (Thieves of Askaria Book 1) Read online

  “It has been the culmination of many months of painstaking work,” the theatric figure continued. “Infiltrating and gaining their trust, our agents built an intricate web of alliances among the pirate crews, and then planted the seeds of doubt to set them against one another. Crew after crew faded to extinction, until only the two strongest remained. If we had stayed our hand then, the survivors would have slowly warred until they met the same fate, but instead we hired a mercenary company to remove one—funding them with gold embezzled from the exchequer, and employing espionage to uncover the leverage needed to ensure their captain’s loyalty. And so, having crushed their rivals ourselves, we have shown the Crimson Sail our strength, and demonstrated to them what will happen to them should they think of betraying the Brotherhood of the Hooded Eye.”

  The disciples around Adusa stood beaming with pride. They watched as their leader walked over to a tall, velvet-covered table nearby. From it he carefully picked up a black, satin cushion, then returned to his place before the crowd.

  “A few nights ago Mask himself appeared before me. He stood here, right in this very room, and gifted me his words. Through His Eye,” as he spoke he raised the cushion up over the crowd, “he has closely observed us.” The dancing red light of the torches shone along the surface a small object atop the cushion—an aquamarine stone. “He is pleased with our efforts thus far, but warns us not to grow idle. It is not the time for back-patting. It is his command that we set into motion now a plan more ambitious still, a plan we’ve long nurtured, a plan to achieve our greatest ambition. We must seize complete control of this city!”

  This new announcement brought the most enthusiastic applause yet, great cheers ringing out from the adherents. The sound echoing from the walls was deafening, but the thieves barely noticed, their eyes locked onto the gleaming gem. The compass-like sense sang out in Adusa’s chest. This time he had no doubt. This was the real orb of divine energy.

  The bewitching jewel was finally lowered, the man with the golden mask the returning the cushion carefully to the high table. He allowed a moment for the applause to die down, and then turned to face his disciples once more.

  “In truth,” he said finally, “this, our greatest scheme, was also our first. We have worked a great many years, from the time when our brotherhood was still in its infancy, to prepare for this moment. Every action has served a purpose. The exclusive right to supply the Royal Palace for example—one of the brotherhood’s first victories—was sought so that we could treat the queen’s tea with a tincture of silphium, thereby keeping her from bearing an heir.”

  Adusa inched his way slowly through the press of conspirators. It was clear from the impressed faces beaming out from the black hoods that to many of them this was new information.

  “By intrigue and recruitment we have slowly seen members of our brotherhood rise to fill every position of any power or influence with the city,” the charismatic leader continued. “Working to enrich her markets, we have gained the trust and admiration of the city’s people. There remain now none able to hinder our ascent. So absolute has our control of the city become, that seizing power from the king is a now a mere formality.”

  Eager to avoid drawing attention, Adusa kept his steps small. A man at his side suddenly raised an arm. The startled thief froze. The figure in the mask swung his giant single eye over to look at the man, and then nodded to a woman standing beside him. The sleeves of her black robe were hemmed with a thin band of purple cloth, and in her hand she carried a solid golden sceptre. At its top was an enormous red ruby. She moved quickly over to the man with the raised arm, handing the sceptre over to him.

  “Exalted First Brother, I thank you for the opportunity to speak,” the man said, holding the rod before him. “I would like to ask, if I may, what of the Guard Captain Sumana? I am told she is a fearsome and incorruptible adversary.” His question asked, he passed the sceptre back to its bearer.

  “Sumana’s loyalty to the king is indeed unassailable,” the first brother answered after the woman had returned to her position. “In my position as chief councillor I have had many opportunities to learn her nature, and have decided that any attempt to subvert her would be futile. This is however on no import. Like so many of the righteous, she is dim-witted, naïve and easily manipulated. After the tragic death of their royal highnesses, she will serve us with the same loyalty.”

  Another hand shot up near the front of the room. Once more the sceptre was carried over.

  “First Brother Kovit,” said the new voice, an elderly man with a purple band at both the hem and lapel of his robe. “There has been talk of spies entering your home last night. Does the king already have suspicions?”

  Excited mutterings chased gasps of surprise through the mass of robed men and women. The first brother paid them no heed, waiting once more until the sceptre-bearer had returned to her post before addressing the questioner. “The king suspects nothing and employs no spies,” he reassured. “The men who broke into my home were thieves, not spies. Foreigners who only recently arrived in the city.”

  The attention now shifted elsewhere, Adusa began to sneak forward again, slowly getting nearer and nearer to the table.

  “The thieves stole a bauble from the hall above, a copy of the Eye that I had cut so my wife wouldn’t miss her grandfather’s precious heirloom,” he explained, nodding toward the satin pillow behind him. “They were resourceful enough to escape from the Royal Guard, but the brotherhood’s network of eyes were able to locate them easily. Their punishment is being delivered as we speak.”

  Kovit held up a hand to forestall the approving hum that had begun to spread through the room. “The blessed of Mask should always plan for failure,” he admonished. “The theft may in truth have been mere subterfuge, and the thieves may indeed by spies. It hasn’t passed my notice that one of the burglars had the look of a Muzirian, and after our success in taming the pirates of Klang it can be expected that we will find the attention of their spymasters. As a precaution, I have seen to it that the guard is increased, and have arranged for some of our friends from the Shen to watch the rear of the manor.”

  The approving murmur returned with new vigour and was joined by more applause. This time he made no effort to still them. “There are none who can hinder us,” he said again, after his audience finally quieted. “Two mornings hence the royal couple will be opening the new botanical garden that we built in their honour. Sumana and her guard will of course attend, but she will suddenly find herself called away when an anonymous tip will reach her about an impending Shen attack on the palace. This will instead however resolve to be a prodigious opportunity for the Shen. It will later come to light that the brutes infiltrated the garden’s groundskeepers, and were easily able to ambush the royals during their tour of the gardens.”

  Finally at the front, Adusa clapped along enthusiastically as the audience went wild.

  Beside him, Rishi took the opportunity of the clamour to whisper, “What say you we introduce a little chaos to their plan, my friend?”

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” Adusa smiled back.

  “After a brief period to mourn their tragic passing,” Kovit continued sombrely, “we will propose to form a new government, a republic, rescuing the people from the threat of bloody succession crisis between the pretenders to the crown. This will be a great task, and each of you,” he said, sweeping an arm over his audience, “will play key roles in bringing it to bear—steering public opinion and rallying the populace to our cause. There will be those, royalists, who will resist a republic, but with caref—what are doing? Where are you going?” he asked, his booming orator’s voice falling into a startled stammer as Adusa strode out toward him.

  Suddenly changing direction, the thief sprinted instead toward the table. In a single motion he grabbed them gem and table both, then spun and flung the table with all his might toward the confused councillor. It caught him squarely in the chest, sending him sprawling into the crowd.r />
  “A Musaian!” shouted the woman who held the speaking sceptre, right before Rishi’s ripped it from her hand. He shoved her aside and began to push toward the exit, the robed figures retreating uncertainly before the gleaming edge of his long-bladed dagger.

  “It’s the foreign spies!” yelled a panicked voice from further back.

  Adusa dropped the gem into one of his brigandine’s deep pockets and rushed to catch up to his partner, drawing his mace out as he ran.

  “Kill them!” Kovit bellowed, regaining his feet. “We must recover the Eye!”

  The metallic ring of swords and daggers being pulled from brass scabbards echoed around the room as the adherents drew a mismatched collection of weapons from beneath their robes.

  Steeling himself, Rishi sprang toward the nearest. The man was entirely unprepared. With a single broad sweep of his blade, the thief cut him down. Turning with the momentum of the stroke, Rishi swung the weapon around in hope of finding a second victim, but this time the dagger inflicted only a shallow graze, his wild-eyed foe stumbling back at the last. The young man turned and ran, screaming incoherently as he went.

  The screams and the bloody gurgling of the dying man seemed to send a contagious surge of panic through the mob. They shuffled back slowly, nervously eyeing the thief’s dancing blade as he began to push toward the door once more. The three nearest him settled into an uneasy half circle. Every step forward by Rishi was matched by a backward one from the trio, cautiously remaining just outside of his range.

  “Attack him you cowards!” a grizzled man growled from behind them. He rushed past them and swung his stout short sword mightily down at Rishi’s head. Nimbly avoiding the blow, the agile thief let the man’s momentum carry him forward onto the blade of the long dagger. This proved to be just the opportunity the cowardly trio had been waiting for. Seeing his weapon trapped, they charged forward together.

  This proved to be a mistake. Leaving his weapon where it was, Rishi shoved the dying man back to entangle one, then quickly drew a throwing knife from his vest and sent it sailing into the neck of another. The last one rushed on resolutely. Closing the gap, he began to thrust his dagger toward the thief’s abdomen. Rishi deftly stepped around his adversary, then retrieved another dagger of his own from his belt and plunged it into the man’s back.

  Disentangling herself from the corpse, the woman who had stood at their centre advanced again. Thinking she faced an unarmed man, she stepped forward confidently and slashed at his face. Rishi simply ducked under the blade and struck her sharply on the temple with an off-hand blow from the ruby-topped sceptre.

  The thief swung around expecting to see more attackers closing from the rear, but instead found only Adusa, standing behind him with a big smile across his face. “You’re as graceful as a dancer, Rishi,” he laughed.

  Scowling, Rishi quickly retrieved his weapons. The sceptre went into a loop on his belt. It had been a good weapon in a pinch, but he preferred something sturdier. The Brothers and Sisters of the Hooded Eye stood watching him motionlessly. They were now surer than ever that they didn’t want to get in his way.

  “Enough of this! There are only two of them,” Kovit shouted. His golden mask appeared to have been lost in the earlier scuffle. He glared at his followers, an expression of cold, naked rage. “Great Mask has never asked me to provide him sacrifices, but unless you recover the Eye, I’ll send each and every last one of you to meet him. Charge them!”

  Driven as much by the fear of their god as by the fear of their leader, the disciples gathered their courage, some throwing off their restrictive robes.

  “Wait! Wait! Wait. There’s no need for that,” Adusa yelled.

  Suspicious eyes watched as the tall thief withdrew the gleaming stone from his pocket. “We’ll return the orb. You don’t need to kill us,” he entreated.

  “I don’t know who you serve or what possessed you to storm in here and try to steal from Mask,” Kovit returned in a low voice, “but the punishment for sullying the Eye with your filthy hands is death!”

  Adusa laughed. “That’s what I thought you’d say.” He swung his arm back and threw it.

  The little gem twinkled in the torchlight as it soared over the sea of shocked faces, hands reaching up desperately to grab it. Rishi was already running. Speeding through the slack-jawed mass, the thieves made it only five yards before the distraction wore off. As the bearded man ran he saw the expressions on the faces he passed turn slowly from dismay to relief. Someone had caught the falling jewel.

  Kovit’s booming voice rang out behind him. “What are you doing you fools? They’re escaping! Stop them!” The shouted order was hardly needed however. The crowd had already started to close around the thieves, cutting off their escape.

  Not slowing at all, Adusa sprang at the nearest, his mace striking the hooded figure’s chest with the sickening crunch of splintering bone. Seeking to profit at the other’s misfortune, another enemy thrust his sword powerfully at the tall man’s head. Adusa yanked his weapon free of the falling corpse, but Rishi could see he wouldn’t be able to get the slow weapon up in time to deflect the attack. With the sword just inches from his friend’s face, Rishi swung his dagger down onto the attacker’s sword arm, cleaving the limb clean off. Smiling his thanks, Adusa pressed home their advantage and brought his mace around to deal the maimed figure a finishing blow.

  The pair became a whirlwind of flying metal and boots, each protecting the other’s blind spots as they struck down any foolish enough to stray into their range. The dead and dying were soon piling up around them, but despite their savagery, they were inexorably pushed back before the enemy’s superior numbers.

  Finally, with no further room to retreat, the two men stood panting, their backs to the wall and sweat dripping from their faces. Blood-soaked weapons held at the ready, they stared across at the grim-faced men and women of the Hooded Eye. Well over a score remained. They had formed themselves into a loose semi-circle, intently watching for any sign of an opening.

  The tense silence of the standoff was suddenly interrupted by the slap of leather on stone. Somebody, or several somebodies, were coming down the stairwell. Curiosity kept everyone where they stood. This time however, the conspirators maintained a close watch on the rogues, alert to another attempt at escape.

  They didn’t have to wait long. A lean, broad-shouldered figure soon appeared in archway. In his hand was a long sword, slightly curved at the tip.

  “Kovit!” called out the voice of Ruang.

  Kovit’s face split into a broad smile. “Ruang! You and your warriors have come at a fortuitous time. We’ve cornered the traitorous king’s spies. Help us slay them!”

  “It is you who are the traitor, Kovit!” Ruang spat back. “The taxes were raised under your order. You will not lie to us again!”

  The moustachioed warrior turned the last word into a battle cry, and, with his sword held high, charged at the councillor. Pouring through the door after him came his screaming warriors. The Shen had clearly taken the time to call in reinforcements, for their number had risen to more than a dozen.

  “Protect me!” Kovit stammered.

  The room exploded with the sounds of battle, the ring of metal on metal a refrain to the screams of the dying. The warriors fought with the precision and cool efficiency of seasoned veterans, but their former allies were not to be easily dispatched. Even with their swollen ranks, the Shen were still greatly outnumbered.

  In the chaos the thieves were quickly forgotten. The press of disciples who had impeded them before all rushed away to defend their leader. Rishi had little interest in participating in the fight. The two men instead seized on the opportunity to escape, and began a fresh attempt for the door. With the other combatants all embroiled in their own melees, the thieves passed unmolested across the room. It was only when they were three yards from the door than someone finally thought to try and stop them. The poor figure was torn nearly in two as both men struck out at him simultaneo
usly. With no further challenge, they passed through the archway and ran out into the corridor beyond.

  “This way!” Rishi yelled, taking off toward the right.

  Adusa chased after his friend, his long stride soon bringing him abreast of the other man. “Why are we going this way? Will this lead us outside?” he asked.

  “Probably,” Rishi laughed in response. “The building is perfectly symmetrical, so there must be another stairwell.”

  “Rishi are we going this way just to satisfy your curiosity?” he returned, exasperated.

  “I admit there is a touch of that,’ the other thief grinned. “You heard what Kovit said though. The guard above was increased, and they’re sure to have been alerted by this commotion.”

  “I’d rather not have to fight my way through a squad of guards,” Adusa grimaced. “But if there is an identical staircase on this side, won’t we just wind up in the hall again?”

  Rishi shook his head. “Another stairwell to the hall wouldn’t serve any purpose. Kovit will have wanted another point of entry for his black cloaked friends. One with less scrutiny. This one likely leads up to the roof.”

  “Or it’s just a storage room for more of macabre costumes,” he said sardonically.

  Rishi’s intuition soon proved correct however, as another stairwell came into view ahead. Adusa took the narrow steps two at a time. There seemed to be far more here than there were in the other stairwell. He sincerely hoped it wasn’t just a shortcut to Kovit’s bedroom. With dawn fast approaching, they had no time for any more exploration.

  He at last came to the final stair, and found himself in a small, unlit chamber. Through the gloom he saw a short wooden ladder, and above it, a trapdoor. The bearded man flashed him a smug smile.

  “Yes, yes, well done Rishi,” Adusa sighed, forestalling the other man’s gloating. Barely needing the little ladder, the tall man reached up and pushed at the trap door. It swung open smoothly, revealing the starlit night sky above.