Free the Darkness (King's Dark Tidings Book 1) (26 page)

“But, where is he
from
, Frisha? What does he do for
money? Does he have family? Why does everyone think he’s a lord or soldier? Why
is he going to Kaibain, and what does he plan to do once he gets there? What
does he intend to do with his life afterward? Is he
married
?” Tam
rattled off the questions that always seemed to visit him when he was alone but
slipped his mind in Rezkin’s presence.

Frisha looked momentarily uncertain as she considered Tam’s
questions, but then shook her head. She waved her hand around as if to wash
them away and said, “I’m sure there is nothing to be concerned about. Nobody
who acts like him could have anything terrible to hide. I’m sure it is all
perfectly reasonable, and he doesn’t seem to be hurting for money. We’ll just
ask him and then you can be satisfied.”

Tam reached up and pulled at his hair in frustration. “But,
what if you don’t like what he has to say, Frisha? What if he lies?”

Frisha shrugged unconcerned. “It’s just a scarf, Tam. It’s
not like we’re betrothed. I’m sure it will all work out.”

Tam watched his friend as she preened in the mirror once
again and sighed. “For your sake, I truly hope so,” he said before he turned
and left.

The third day brought disaster. The ship was at a halt, and
it looked like they would not be going anywhere anytime soon. They had come to
a bend in the river, the captain explained, that was characterized by large, shallow
sand bars. There was only a narrow channel through the middle that was deep
enough for a riverboat. At the moment, that central channel was occupied by a
partially sunken riverboat. Luckily, the river slowed at this point, so when
the obstruction came into view, the crew had enough time to pull the sails
around to slow the vessel and drop anchor. Several attempts at hailing the
other boat failed, and the crew and soldiers were anxious to get underway.

The captain finally asked if Lieutenant Jimson was willing
to send some of his men over to the other boat to investigate.

The Lieutenant scratched his scruffy chin that was badly in
need of a shave and said, “I do not see that we have any other choice. It
concerns me that we have not seen anyone, and they have not answered our hails.
I believe it is either abandoned or everyone is dead.”

The captain looked at the Lieutenant sharply and barked,
“Dead? How might they all be dead? Yer thinkin’ this ain’t an accident.”

The lieutenant rested his eyes on the downed vessel and
said, “Captain, how often does a riverboat simply sink? And what are the
chances that one would do so right here where our passage would be completely
blocked?”

“Ye think this was done on purpose?” Captain Talwater asked.

Lieutenant Jimson nodded, “It is possible. It is a common
enough ploy for bandits along the roads. They block off the road with a fallen
tree or broken wagon and then attack when travelers stop to clear way.”

The captain grunted, “It’d have to be one mighty gang of
bandits to attack a riverboat, especially one full of soldiers.”

“Perhaps it wasn’t targeted at us,” Tam piped up. “Maybe
they just intended to attack
whoever
stopped here.”

“Or maybe they are after the cargo,” supplied Rezkin. Rezkin
and the lieutenant shared a contemplating look before the captain spoke.

“Bah, I am still not convinced this is an attack. It’s not
common fer a riverboat to sink, but if it’s goin’ to, this be as good a place
as any. It coulda struck somethin’ in one o’ these sand bars that busted a hole
in the hull,” the gruff man replied.

“Then, where are all the people?” asked Tam.

“They coulda gone lookin’ fer help,” the captain said. “It’s
a long way to anywhere from here.”

Rezkin had made up his mind. There was no point in standing
around talking about
what ifs
. “Lieutenant, I think it would be best if
you kept your men here to protect this vessel in case this is an ambush. I will
go investigate.”

“By yourself?” asked Tam in dismay.

Rezkin ignored Tam and stared the lieutenant down. It was
time to test how far the lieutenant was willing to believe he was more than he
said he was.

Lieutenant Jimson finally looked away and spread his hands.
“You are a civilian. You do as you please. If you were to go investigate the
vessel on your own, there is nothing I can do to stop you. I think my men and I
need to stay here for a bit to make sure things are secure and strategize.”

Rezkin almost felt a tug at the corners of his lips. He
mentally applauded the lieutenant’s creatively contrived method for discharging
any responsibility for Rezkin’s actions. As a result, he avoided calling Rezkin
out in the open and questioning his station. Of course, the lieutenant would be
completely within his rights to stop Rezkin from requisitioning the dinghy and
placing his life in danger while the soldiers stayed onboard. It was the
lieutenant’s responsibility to investigate such situations and protect the
citizens.

The young warrior nodded and went below deck where he
quickly donned his padded leather armor and armed himself with more than the
usual weapons he carried by default. When he returned to the deck, several
people stared openly including Frisha and Tam. Rezkin realized that neither of
them had seen him dressed for battle since he had forgone his armor when he was
with them in the city in order to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. He
shrugged off their surprise and boarded the dinghy.

Frisha leaned over the rail as the crew lowered the dinghy
to the water. “Rez, be careful!” Frisha wanted to scream and protest that Rez
could not go over to the ship alone. She did not want him anywhere near that
ship if there was a danger. The only factors that had stayed her protests were
Tam’s tight grip on her arm and her resolve not to make an embarrassing scene
in front of all the men. She could not help feeling baffled and bitter that,
out of all the people on board – the grizzled old captain, the burly
crew, and the kingdom’s soldiers – it was Rezkin who was sent into
potential danger to investigate the mystery of the sunken riverboat.

Rezkin rowed the dinghy over to the partially sunken vessel.
It listed to one side, resting up against a shallower sand bar. He could not
see any damage from his vantage, and his eyes continuously roved over the great
wooden structure looking for any hint of danger. A slight movement from a
window in the captain’s quarters caught his attention. He could have easily
played it off as a shadow or play of light, but given the circumstances, he was
not going to take any chances.

Drawing the dinghy up as close as possible, he could just
reach the deck rail with the tips of his fingers. He tied the dinghy to the
loose end of a rope dangling from the side of the vessel and then reached up to
cling to the rail by his fingers. He curled his body in on itself and swung his
leg up until his foot caught on the lip of the deck. From there, he easily
pulled the rest of his weight onto the lip and slipped over the rail. Having
donned his soft-soled boots used for stealth, his footsteps were smooth and
silent across the angled deck. He frowned at the sight of several score marks,
but could not tell what had made them or if they were recent.

Bladesunder silently slipped from its sheath. He held the
shortsword in his right hand while he drew a dagger from his belt. His blood
heated and his nerves tingled with the thrill of battle energy. The close
confines of the ship would make sword work difficult and it would be nearly
impossible with a longer blade. He padded lightly up to the captain’s quarters.
Anyone inside would have seen him coming from the other ship, but now that he
was aboard, the person could not know where Rezkin was unless the man poked his
head out for a look. He lightly tested the latch on the door. It was not
locked. Swinging the door open quickly, he was careful to keep it from crashing
against the wall.

A man lunged forward from the dark. Rezkin twisted to the
side, hooking his arm in the crook of the assailant’s arm and used the man’s
own momentum to swing him around. The young warrior brought the pommel of his
sword up into the back of the man’s skull with an audible crack. Glancing
around the room, he noted there were no other occupants. He lowered the man to
the floor slowly, not to prevent any further injury to the man, but simply to
reduce the amount of noise he made.

Rezkin tied the man with one of the numerous ropes available
on a ship and stuffed his mouth with a wadded rag. He quickly examined the
assailant. The man was strong and muscled, but his skin hung loosely as though
he had missed more than a few meals. He was scruffy and unkempt and smelled as
if he had not bathed in some time. The man did not look like he belonged to the
former crew, and he was certainly not a soldier. He carried only a long dagger,
which Rezkin knocked away during the scuffle, and a slender boot knife, which
the warrior subsequently removed.

Leaving the foul man where he was for the time being, Rezkin
slipped back out of the captain’s quarters and moved to the back of the galley
where he could peer through a small window. Hidden in shadows, he noticed
someone was already at the window, presumably searching for
him
. He
listened carefully from his vantage. At least two people occupied the room, and
they were both anxious that they could not figure out where he was. Neither
seemed keen on the idea of leaving their presumed safety to go in search of
him. One of them asked if “the others” were in position, yet. The other told
him to shut up and wait for the signal. Now, Rezkin knew for sure these were
not crewmen or soldiers stuck on the downed vessel.

Rezkin could see the first man at the window and could tell
fairly well where the second was by the sound of his voice. He slipped a
throwing knife out of its sheath and flicked his arm forward. The knife spun
through the air and sunk deeply into the man’s neck. Before the man even hit
the floor, Rezkin rushed forward and dove through the window. Luckily, the
galley was set up in exactly the same fashion as the boat on which he was
traveling, so he did not crash into anything. With the floor tilting at such an
angle, it was almost like jumping into a wall. He bounced and then swung his
legs out so that he perched between the floor and wall. Immediately, he flicked
another throwing knife into the chest of the man sitting at the table. Utter
shock seized the man’s features as blood burbled forth from his lips.

Once Rezkin retrieved his knives, he slipped out of the
galley and headed for the stairs leading below deck. Applying the
Skills
he learned through years of practiced stealth, he managed to descend the tilted
stairs with barely a creak. The first two berths were ransacked and one of them
was covered in blood, but they were otherwise empty of brigands. As he silently
approached the third berth from the shadows, he could hear them speaking in
hushed whispers. He glanced into the fourth berth to make sure no one would
approach him from behind and then drew Bladesunder and his dagger as he
approached the other doorway.

Rezkin listened carefully to their voices to gauge their
locations and then, with a running start, bounded into the room so fast the men
had little time to react. He ran up the tilted floor in an arc slicing deeply
into one man’s back with Bladesunder. He kicked the second man in the chest,
which sent him tumbling down the slanted floor. The first man fell forward as
he died and slid down the floor until he crashed into his comrade. Rezkin
slipped down the wooden planks on bent leg in a much more controlled manner and
plunged his dagger into the abdomen of the second man. Not wanting to wait for
the man to die, he drew his blade across the man’s exposed throat.

After examining the dead men and cleaning his blades, Rezkin
headed back out of the berth to check the cargo hold. He was careful to glance
back into the berths again to make sure no one had come up from the hold
already. The cargo hold was mostly under water and empty of brigands. Satisfied
that the riverboat was now clear of threats, he headed back to the captain’s quarters.
After tying a rope around the unconscious brigand’s chest, he lowered the man
into the dinghy and rowed against the current back to the other vessel. He knew
people were watching him from the banks, and while he was too far away for a
crossbow, he was still wary of arrows.

As he rowed, he checked himself for blood. Based on what he
knew of Frisha, she would be upset if she saw any blood on him. He did not want
to have to deal with a hysterical woman on top of an ambush. The crew lowered a
rope ladder while he tied off the dinghy, and he once again boarded the ship.
Tam and Frisha were waiting to one side. Frisha was worrying her lip fretfully,
and Tam did not look much better. He met each of them in the eye and said, “I
am fine.” Both of his
friends
released a pent up breath and nodded.

Rezkin motioned to the captain and lieutenant to meet with
him privately. “It was an ambush,” he said. “I brought one of them back for
questioning.”

“One of them?” the lieutenant asked. “How many were there?”

“There were five aboard, but I overheard them speaking and
expect more on the banks.”

“And the other four? Where are they? Do they know he’s
missing yet?” asked the lieutenant.

Rezkin shook his head, “They are no longer a threat.”

The ship’s captain and lieutenant stared at Rezkin for a
moment. Both looked like they were faced with a wild animal. The lieutenant
slowly nodded. “Rezkin indeed,” he stated flatly.

The young warrior cocked his head.
What did that mean?

The lieutenant said, “So, now we just have to worry about
those on shore.”

“I think not,” said Captain Talwater. “I think it’s time we
get movin’. Ain’t no point in sittin’ here waitin’ to get attacked.”

Rezkin shrugged and said, “That is true. That vessel is not
going anywhere. I am not sure what they did to the other boat, but there is a
massive hole in the hull. We are going to have to abandon this boat and travel
by land.”

“I’ll not be abandonin’ my ship,” the captain huffed.

Rezkin shrugged, “You do not have to, but I imagine it will
be at least a week before anyone can pass through here after it has been
reported. You can head back to Justain. My companions and I will continue on
our way. Whatever course the lieutenant chooses is up to him.”

Lieutenant Jimson rubbed his jaw in contemplation. “Our
assigned duty is to guard the cargo, but our first duty is to protect the
kingdom. If these brigands are willing to go to all this trouble and risk
attacking kingdom soldiers, then they are aggressive, indeed.” He nodded as he
came to a conclusion. “I will send half my men back to Justain under Second
Lieutenant Swin’s command, and the rest will accompany me ashore. We will flush
out the bandits, if we can, and continue to the fort at Lorelis to report. I
assume you will be heading to Lorelis, as well, sir?” he finished, turning to
look at Rezkin.