Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series (5 page)

“The portmaster’s office will be closed at this time of night,” Cassandra said. “You’ll have better luck walking the docks.”

Shaking his head, Agminion regarded the woman. “Wrong. The office will be closed, but there will be a posting of all ships currently in port. It’ll be posted on the door. It’s procedure in these port towns.” He grinned again, “
w
alking the docks is a good way to get killed. There’s always a lot of thieves and cutthroats in these little towns. Sailors get paid after their voyage is complete and
if they try and stumble back from the bars, well, let’s just say that they may never be heard from again.”

“Aren’t these towns well guarded?” Dagan asked. He was not smiling and seemed his normal ornery self.

“They are,” Agminion agreed, nodding his head, “however, the guards make sure no one robs the warehouses or the ships. They don’t much care for a few sailors here and there.
” He looked back at the city, “I
n fact, some of the guards are probably involved with the cutthroats.”
He was silent for a moment, obviously thinking. Finally, he shook himself and turned back to the others. “All right, I’m going into town. Wait here for me.”

“Hold on,” Heather said quickly. Agminion reluctantly stopped and eyed her. “I’m coming with you.”

“Why?” Agminion asked, looking grumpy again. “Do you still not trust me?”

Smiling, Heather shook her head, “
N
o,” she said simply.

Agminion stood there for a moment, he seemed to be grinding his teeth, then he turned and stomped off towards the port town.

Sighing deeply, Heather turned to face the Guardians. “I’ll be back shortly,” she said. “While I’m gone, Enton is in charge.”

None of the other Guardians said anything, but several mouths dropped open at the big warrior being in charge.

Heather glanced at Enton and he raised his eyebrows questioningly. This time she nodded.
Time to start you
r
planning,
she thought.

Agminion led the way into town and Heather followed closely on his heels. He still hadn’t spoken to her and he wouldn’t even acknowledge her presence. It didn’t much matter to her. As far as she was concerned, he could pout all he wanted.

Even from this distance, Heather could hear the waves and the air even felt different. Probably due to the lake.

The port town was grouped into sections. Each section was a half-circle. The piers wer
e the centermost section of town where the shore ran north to south
. The other sections radiated out away from where the ships docked.

The outer groupings of buildings were housing for the locals that worked in the port. Mixed in were some smaller warehouses for the less well off merchants. They passed through these buildings quickly, which was a good thing. This might be a small port town with a large transient population, but it was well lit and there were plenty of guards. They watched Agminion and Heather as they passed but they didn’t interfere. As long as strangers behaved themselves, then the guards would let them alone.

Beyond
the local housing was the bars,
brothels,
and other assorted shops. This was
a much busier place
, even though the shops and stores were closed
.
The taverns and whorehouses seemed to be enough of an attraction.
The housing section had been well lit, but it was nothing compared to this area of town.

The bars all had enormous signs depicting crazy scenes that were almost glowing.
Has to be magic!
Heather thought, staring around with her mouth open. Each sign was a myriad of different colors, and to tell the truth, it almost made her head hurt.
The lights in
the other sections of
town
were the normal oil lamps and lanterns, but the bar signs bore the unmistakable signs of magic and t
he cost must have been enormous.

If the bars were all different colors, all the brothels were red. There was different shades of red, but the front porch, the inside windows, and the overhead balcony
all glowed one or another shade
of crimson.

Heather watched in amusement as sailors stumbled from one place to another.
They’re
like children being offered an unl
imited supply of candy
’
she thought.

Agminion barely looked at the human spectacle that was taking place all around him, but instead maintained his quick pace through the debauchery.

The next section of town was the warehouses and it too was well lit, but the lighting was of a totally different nature. The bar and brothels had been
lit with
brig
ht colors,  but the light that illuminated the warehouses were a clear bright light, that was clearly not meant to entertain.
Enormous oil lanterns were attached to poles that lined the warehouses. No one would be approaching any of the buildings without being seen.

Heather kept a close watch around them, but no one tried to bother them and they quickly passed through the warehouse section.

The last section was the docks, and this was the least well lit section of town. The ships and their berths were well lit, but the rest of the area between the water and the warehouses was kind of dark. Heather understood what Agminion had meant about walking the docks being dangerous.

Agminion finally slowed, and for the first time, he showed an interest in his surroundings. “Stay alert. We’re being watched.”

Heather believed him. She hadn’t seen anyone but she could easily enough believe that there were people in the shadows.

Agminion kept walking until he came to the very last lane, which ran along the water’s edge. He looked both left and right and considered for a moment.

“Do you know which way?” Heather asked, craning her neck to keep an eye on their surroundings.

“Not exactly,” was his answer. “Should be in the middle of the town, but I’m not exactly sure where we are.” He considered for a moment and then turned to his right, which was south. “I think it’s this way.”

Heather followed for several moments, trying hard to keep an eye on everything at once.

Long piers ran out into the water and numerous ships were tied up. She assumed that the thieves wouldn’t be on the actual wharf, but probably in the darker area next to the warehouses. At least the lane was wide, so as to better accommodate the caravan traffic.

They walked for several minutes before Agminion said, “
T
here! That has to be it.” He led them to a small wooden building in between two long piers.
It was a circular building with wooden siding that was suffering water damage. Several of the wooden shingles were missing from the roof. A small porch wrapped around half of the building and metal bars covered the windows.

In the middle of the porch, right above the main entrance, was a
lantern, which managed to keep
the porch well lit.

Agminion
practically
sprinted onto the walkway and stopped beside the door. Several papers was attached there.

Heather did not follow him onto the porch, but instead stood at the edge, watching the shadows. “Well?” she asked without looking at the sorcerer.

There was a brief pause and she finally did look over.

Agminion looked ashen.  “She’s gone,” was all he said.

Chapter
6

“What?” Heather asked dully. She had been afraid of this, afraid they would be too late, but still the realization gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Well, at least we won’t have to worry about taking the ship,
she thought

“She’s gone,” Agminion said as he glanced over at Heather. “
The Willing Woman
is listed as having departed earlier today.”

There was silence between them for several moments and Heather spent the time thinking furiously. It had been a good plan and perhaps they could still use parts of
it
. Perhaps they could buy passage out of
Aramonia to another port town in
a different kingdom. After that, it shouldn’t be too hard to hire a riverboat to take them north. At least she hoped it wouldn’t be too hard. The real problem was did they split up or try to get rooms on the same ship. She was still wrestling with the dilemma when Agminion spoke again.

“It may not be too late,” he said simply.

Heather was confused. “What do you mean? I thought the ship was gone.”

“It is,” Agminion answered, “but Uncle Kapernum knows that this is important.” He saw Heather’s suddenly
wary
look and he hurried on, “
H
e doesn’t know the details, just that it’s important. There wasn’t any way he could have stayed in port any longer without raising suspicions, so he had to sail. However, it doesn’t mean that he would have left the vicinity
.”

Cautious optimism bloomed
within Heather. “You think the ship is still around close by?”

“Maybe,” Agminion said. “The problem is how do we find them?”

“That is sort of important,” Heather agreed. “Any ideas?”

Agminion didn’t answer right away, but he stood there thinking for several moments. Finally he sighed deeply, “
T
he only thing I can think of is the bars.”

“The bars!” Heather exclaimed. She thought back on all the overflowing bars and brothels they had passed. “Do you have any idea how long it would take to search through them all?”

“It might not take as long as you think,” Agminion said.
“The farther you go from the center of town, the seedier the businesses become.” He grinned. “I know my uncle. He’ll be in one of the better establishments near the middle of town.
”

A little over an hour later, Heather and Agminion entered the fourth bar. The first three had been reasonably respectable. Each of them had an abundance of guards armed with short clubs. Heather had no doubt the clubs would be extremely effective in the close quarters of the common room. She also got the feeling they would not be needed. Most of the clients in the first three locations had the appearance of wealth. These were the business owners and managers, and while they might enjoying strong drink, they were not going to get falling down drunk and start a fight.
Even the signs had been muted, lacking the brilliant colors that Heather had noticed earlier.

The fourth bar was slightly different.
There was a bright red stripe all around the outside of the sign that read
The Horny Troll
. That was Heather’s first clue that they had left the better taverns behind them. Her second clue was
the
overwhelming blast of sound that flowed into the streets from the front door and windows. There was a covered sidewalk that ran all along the front and several small groups of men were scattered around. Some were drinking, others were just talking, but they all watched the two newcomers as they approached.

“Not very friendly, are they?” Heather asked.

“It’s more like they a
re just overly cautious,
” Agminion said in a hushed tone. He nodded at the nearest group of men and then pushed his way quickly through the door into the common room.

The common room was a large room with high ceilings. The room was smoke filled and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the smoky air. They emerged into a sea of tables, most of which were occupied. Here and there were scattered an open table, although most of them seemed to be missing their chairs.

Most of the patrons were men and had the look of sailors. They had long hair and were generally unkempt. Not counting the working girls, there were a few women patrons as well.

Directly opposite the front door was a bar that ran the length of the opposing wall. Four men worked the far side of the bar dispensing ale and wine. A thick crowd of men stood all around the bar, some waiting on drinks and others just talking with friends.

To the right was a small stage where three men strummed stringed instruments and a woman was singing. Heather was standing less than ten yards from the stage and she could only hear every third word or so. There was simply too much noise to make out any more.

Off to the left, was a darker and more wide open area of the common room. There were more tables over
that way. T
he people sitting at these tables were playing various games
, cards, dominoes, etc
.

The entire common room did not have the high ceilings. About halfway back, stairs led up to a balcony that was lined with doors. All along the balcony were women in various states of undress. Here and there a man was busy talking to
one of
the women, although none of them seemed to talk for very long before they headed through one of the numerous doors.

This was the first of the bars that also had whores. It didn’t bother Heather. Being in the Guardians, she had become used to seeing the prostitutes, but their presence tended to mark the current establishment as less refined than the first three.

“I take it we’re done with the nice places,” Heather said, leaning close and
speaking loudly
in Agminion’s ear.
She smiled as she spoke.

He grinned and shook his head. “Not at all. This is one of the better
bars, people rarely die here.”

His words wiped
the smile off of Heather’s face and she looked around again. If this was one of the nicer places, she was dreading if they had to go all the way to the nastier locations.

Agminion motioned to a table off to their left. The table was near the gaming section and two men had just stood up and moved away. Moving quickly, Agminion slid between several tables and sat down. He looked back at Heather, but she hadn’t moved.

To be honest she was confused.
If he had to have a drink, why didn’t he do it in one of the better places?
She thought in irritation. After a moment, she followed Agminion’s path through the tables and sat at the small table. She made sure that her back was to the wall.

“For a moment, I thought you weren’t coming,” Agminion said, scowling. It was quieter in this part of the common room, and he didn’t have to speak as loud.

“I almost didn’t,” Heather replied. “Did you suddenly get thirsty?”

“No,” Agminion said, his scowl had deepened. “Must you question me at every step?”

Heather ground her teeth for a moment. She found it was sometimes easier to remain calm if she gave herself a moment before answering the sorcerer. He did have
a
way
of making
her angry. “If you’re not thirsty, then why are we sitting at a table in this miserable bar?”

“Because I found what we’re looking for,” Agminion replied coolly.

It took a moment for the words to sink in, and Heather sat blinking in confusion.

“You two sound like an old married couple,” a voice said from the table next to theirs.

Heather looked at the man who had spoken. Her irritation had gotten the best of her and she hadn’t noticed the man listening to their conversation.

He was an older man, in his mid fifties, with graying hair and thick bushy eyebrows. He had several days growth of a beard and he was tan. His hands were rough looking and he had the unmistakable look of a sailor. There was something d
ifferent about the man. He was
slightly better dressed than the average sailor and he looked better groomed, despite the beard.
His eyes flicked from Heather to Agminion. “You’re late
,
Minie. It’s a good thing I waited for you.”

Agminion’s look darkened even farther. “Don’t call me that. You know I hate that nickname.”

“Of course I do. Why do you think I still call you
Minie
?” His gaze moved to Heather. “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure, but judging by the description you must be the one they call Heather.”

A feeling of panic blossomed in Heather’s gut and radiated outwards.
She hoped Enton’s plan was a good one, as it looked more and more like he may have been right about this being a trap.

“Relax,” the older man said.
He must have been able to read the emotions playing across her face.
“You’re with friends.” He smiled but it did little to calm
her
nerves.

“He’s not frightened by me,” Agminion said to Heather, “but he won’t try anything. I already told you that he terrified by his mother.”

The older man’s eyes flashed angrily and Heather knew that Agminion had just scored a point. After a moment, he
turned from Agminion and
smiled at Heather
. He
held out his hand. “My name is Captain Kapernum
of
The Willing Woman.
”

They left the bar several moments later. Kapernum, or Kappie as he preferred to be called, led them westward. He waited until they had left the noise of the bars behind before he spoke. “What kept you?” He demanded.

“Had to be careful. Everyone’s looking for us.” Agminion said quickly. He shot a warning glance at Heather.

It was rather confusing, but Heather assumed that Agminion trusted his Uncle, but he didn’t want him to know
all
the details.

Kappie looked from one to the other and then shrugged. “All right, if that’s the way you want it. How many in your party?”
h
e asked.

“Eight total,” Heather answered hesitantly. Surely he already knew there were eight of them. After all the guards and soldiers had been looking for eight escapees
and described the eight fugitives in detail
.

“All right,” Kappie answered. “
The Willing Woman
is several miles south of here and a bit from shore.”

“How do we signal them?” Agminion asked.

“We don’t. They’ll send a longboat about an hour before dawn. If we miss it, then we’ll have to wait a whole day before they send
another one.” Kappie grinned, “C
ustoms officials might get suspicious if a ship just sat off of the coast, especially if that boat had just left port.”

Heather did the math silently. It was going to be close. “We need to pick up the pace.”

They reached the others about a half an hour later. Enton met them first, his eyes searching out Heather. She gave him the smallest of shrugs, it’s meaning obvious –
too early to tell if it’s a trap.

There wasn’t any packing to do and they set off at once. They headed south and slightly eastwards so that they would hit the shore just south of
Providence
Port.

The traveling was easy. There were a total of seven ports in the Aramonia portion of
Alandell
Lake
. A reasonably
well maintained road connected the ports alongside the lake shore. The road sat back a hundred yards or so from the water’s edge
and they made good time
.

The road was dark and they traveled as quickly and quietly as they could. No one else appeared to be on the road at this hour, or if they were about, they did not show themselves. More than likely the road was deserted. It really wasn’t safe to travel in the dark. A horse could break a leg very easily and there might be thieves about.

Heather wasn’t overly concerned about thieves. Only a fool would attack a party as big as theirs, unless numbers were on the thieves’ side. She was more concerned about soldiers. Soldiers might be hidden in the dark and the Guardians could stumble across them before they were spotted.

Kappie led the way and that also bothered Heather. A conniving man could run them right into a trap, but they would be prepared. When she had returned from the
port town
, there had been something different in the Guardians’ appearance. They were more alert, more ready for whatever might come.
At least Enton did his job.

It took them nearly
four hours to reach the spot on the lakeshore where Kapernum’s men were supposed to be.
Kapernum stopped them about fifty yards from the shore in several short and stunted trees.
The two trees leaned towards each other and their tops nearly touched. Waist high bushes grew all around, adding to the area’s natural concealment.