Slathbog's Gold

“About Varlo,” the old man replied, looking over his shoulder again. “Information that may prove profitable.”

“I will tell him,” said Alex carefully. “However, I can’t say if he will speak to you or not.”

“I will come tonight, after you have eaten,” said the old man. “When the locals have left the i

“As I said,” Alex replied, turning to close Shahree’s stall. “I don’t know if he’ll talk to you or not.”

There was no reply to his words. When Alex turned around, the old man was gone.

Alex left the stable, worried by the old man’s words. He found the others waiting for him just outside the i

“It’s true we have few horses these days,” Tantic said as Alex approached. “The city guards have taken most of them. They think they can catch the bandits if they have horses of their own.”

“And they have not been able to catch the bandits?” questioned Bregnest.

“They don’t know the land as well as the bandits do,” Tantic replied, spitting in the dirt. “And they don’t ride or take care of their horses as well either.”

“Then we have done a service to Techen,” replied Bregnest in casual tone.

“A great service,” Tantic agreed. “Though the magistrate will be suspicious of it. He won’t like the fact that you’ve done what his guards could not. I doubt he’ll offer you any reward.”

“But we were not chasing bandits. They came to us,” said Bregnest with a smile.

“True enough,” Tantic admitted, leading them all into the i

“Then we must settle on a price,” said Bregnest in a more businesslike tone.

Tantic rubbed his chin, muttering numbers to himself. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, taking no notice of Bregnest or the rest of the company for several minutes.

“I’ll give you twenty-five gold for each horse,” said Tantic, a satisfied look covering his face. “Though I’ll tell you straight, the magistrate will pay me at least thirty.”

“Twenty-five for each horse?” Bregnest repeated, his tone uncommitted. “And for the saddles and trappings?”

“Twenty-seven for all then,” Tantic answered quickly. “And room and board for the night as well.”

Bregnest considered the offer for several minutes, watching Tantic closely, but the i

“A fair price,” Bregnest agreed. “Shall we have a drink to seal the bargain?”

“Indeed, yes, my friends,” said Tantic, a broad smile on his face. “And a second drink to the magistrate’s unhappiness.”

Alex followed the rest of the company into the main bar, his thoughts still on the old man from the stable. He wanted to talk to Bregnest right away, but knew he would have to wait.

“The bargain,” toasted Tantic, lifting a glass.

“The bargain,” Bregnest and the rest of the adventurers repeated, raising their own glasses.

Alex swallowed the liquid from his glass and his throat began to burn. The drink was something he had never tasted before, and for a moment it took his breath away. His throat tightened and he had to struggle for a minute to catch his breath.

“To trouble for the magistrate,” said Tantic, raising his glass a second time.

Alex was unable to repeat the words because he couldn’t seem to find his voice, but he did manage to raise his glass.

“A strong brew,” said Skeld, slapping Alex on the back.

“Yes,” Alex managed to reply with a cough, his eyes watering.

“You should be more careful when you don’t know what’s in the glass,” said Skeld, laughing happily.

Alex nodded. He set his glass down and left the rest of the drink untouched.

“You seem troubled,” said Arco

“I need to speak with Bregnest,” replied Alex, lowering his voice. “There was an old man in the stable. He says he has information.”

“Hold your thoughts,” said Arco

Bregnest collected their payment from Tantic and turned to face the company. As he turned, Arco

Bregnest called them to him one at a time to give them their share of the payment, calling Alex last of all. As Alex approached Bregnest he noticed that Arco

“Here you are,” said Bregnest, pushing a pile of coins toward Alex. “Sixty-seven gold and six silver. Not bad for so little work.”

“It seems a fair price,” replied Alex, taking a seat and putting the coins into the small pouch he’d bought in Telous.

“What do you have to tell me?” Bregnest questioned, leaning toward Alex and lowering his voice.

“There was an old man in the stable,” Alex reported. “He said to tell you he had information about Varlo, and that it would be profitable for you to listen.”

“It seems our adventure has been guessed by at least one,” Arco

“And profitable information is seldom free,” Bregnest added. “What more did this old man have to say?”

Alex thought for a moment, trying to remember the exact words. “He said he would come tonight, after we had eaten and the local people had left the i

“Did he call me by name?” Bregnest asked, concerned.

“No,” Alex replied quickly. “He said he would speak to the leader of our company. I tried to tell him that I didn’t know if you’d talk to him or not, but he didn’t seem to care.”

“Well, then, we can do nothing but wait,” said Arco

“We will wait,” Bregnest repeated. “And tonight we will see what this old man has to say.”

“He will want money, of course,” Arco

“We will hear what he has to say before we agree to pay for anything,” replied Bregnest, a stern look on his face. “For now, let’s see what Tantic has for a midday meal.”

Tantic had a great deal for the company’s meal, and Alex was pleased that his nose had not lied to him earlier when he had smelled such wonderful things cooking. He was surprised the food looked as good as it smelled, and tasted even better.

“It is only simple Techen cooking,” said Tantic in an apologetic tone. “We don’t often serve a midday meal, though tonight there should be a fair crowd. And if you had arrived on a feast day, well . . . If you really want to experience Techen food, you should visit on a feast day. But it has been some time since we’ve had a proper feast day.”

“The food is most excellent,” said Bregnest. “A blessing on your ovens, we shall all spread their fame.”

Tantic seemed pleased with the praise and bowed to Bregnest and the rest of the company before leaving them to their meal.

As Alex and his friends were finishing their meal, the city magistrate appeared in the doorway. He was a tall, thin man dressed in dark green robes. He had a gold chain hanging around his neck and an a

“No law against that,” said the magistrate stiffly. “And if you did indeed kill a number of bandits, we should be grateful to you.”

“You are very kind,” replied Bregnest in his most businesslike tone.

“Yes, well, it is no small thing,” the magistrate continued. “The city guards seem unable to do anything about the bandits, who have ruined our trade with the south. Perhaps the city should hire you and your company to hunt down the rest of these troublemakers.”