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Old Guard / Other Stories / Guildsport / The Mercenary Quarter - Agent's Office
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Emotions Legend
[quote][b]Solenis (Feb 06, 2005 03:52 p.m.):[/b] Saul woke up with his head still on his shoulders and immediately wished he hadn't. The knock came again and he sat up. His head was full of some vile semi-liquid substance that burned as it tried to escape, and he groaned and tried to remember where and who he was. The infernal knock sounded a third time and Saul lurched to his feet and stumbled to the door so he could open it a crack. Through it he could see Rhodos, looking annoyingly sober and collected. "What?" "The runner came by this morning, Saul. He says Fel wants to see you today." Saul shut the door without saying anything and rested his forehead on the rough wood. There was a nasty taste in his mouth, and he made for the pitcher of water and bowl that stood next to his bed and poured water, drank a little and washed his face. He had agreed with Rhodos and Vidon to pay Tatchi and Wexx their full share of the profits immediately and wait for their own in order to be rid of the plainsmen, but even so had found themselves with more money than they could easily spend. Vidon's despondency had returned once they were settled in, and Saul had taken the younger man under his wing, gotten him thoroughly drunk and put him to bed with a proper woman, a young, pretty girl who nevertheless knew enough to pretend a little innocence. Saul paid her well out of his own share and then set about following Vidon's example. He'd gotten as far as the drink and found he wanted nothing else. It had been a bad journey, and he drank until Rhodos intervened. He hazily remembered making it back to his room with the other man's help and calling Rhodos by Laro's name when he thanked him. He remembered fumbling through an apology and shutting the door, and then the knocking. He braced himself and poured the rest of the water over his head. Saul was still warm from the bed, and the water felt colder than it really was and helped to wake him up. The burning mess inside his head cooled a bit, and Saul felt alive enough to locate and pull on his clothing. It was clean now, and it went a good way toward compensating for the state of his head. Rhodos and Vidon were waiting downstairs, and Vidon was in a peaceably foul mood that made Saul forget his head. If Vidon could complain so about his head and still smile to himself when he thought no one was looking then he was doing well. Thanks to Rhodos, their horses were already saddled and waiting. They rode at an easy pace to Fel's, and by the time they got there Saul was feeling considerably better. The others waited by the horses while Saul went inside to collect the rest of their pay. His transient good mood soured abruptly when he saw that they were not alone. Standing next to Fel was a tall, thin man wearing dark green robes and a scowl. Fel himself looked irritated, but not with Saul. The box Saul had brought lay open and empty on the desk. The man in the robes wasted no time. "This is not the box we sent you for," he said angrily. Saul's face darkened, and Fel interceded. "You sent him for a puzzle box you believed to be on Alaran Cale's caravan," he said impassively. "That is what he brought you, and that is what you paid for." Saul noted the past tense of the word [i]paid[/i] and relaxed a little when the man did not argue the point. Fel turned to Saul and Saul stiffened again. There was a fiscal gleam in Fel's eye, and Saul grimaced. "Naturally, we would like to assist him in collecting the [i]correct[/i] box, provided that he can offer more explicit information," said Fel smoothly. "This box is apparently exactly identical - except for its contents, of course. It appears that it left Guildsport around the same time the caravan did, but in the hands of a pair of foreign couriers - a woman and a man." Saul did not particularly like the way this was going. His last trip out had been less than favorable and he was not eager to get back to the road so quickly. Gold was well and good, but there was something to be said for spending it. "No," he said at last. "Get someone else. We had trouble getting this box. Get someone else to find the other one. I've come for our pay, Fel," he added. The robed man glowered at Saul and then headed for the door, presumably so he would not see his gold handed over for no reward. Fel shrugged and headed for the back room, but he was still unlocking the door when the robed man came back through the entryway with an expression of angry astonishment. "Are those your two men outside?" he asked hoarsely, and Saul went and looked. Rhodos and Vidon had taken note of the man but were still standing by their horses. "Yes," said Saul shortly. "Why?" "Because that one on the left is standing next to one of the courier's horses!" the man choked out. "The one with the foreign bridle and rein! Where did you get it?" Saul blinked as events began to fall into place and then turned without speaking and headed back to Fel.[/quote]
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