Chapter 4 - A Bad Day Gets Worse

Anyone ever wonder why there is no god of money in any culture? I know why. Why yes I do. It’s because no sane person would ever entrust something as important as money to deification. - Corvain Okavae in his later years

Looking around as the bright red gates of his estate slid open, Corvain glanced over to where the damaged outer wall still connected with bottom half of Kern’s tower. The curve of the wall almost hid the damage from view as the road continued curving down around the hill. Corvain thought back to something his father had once told him. “Remember the streets of Kraylin in all transactions. White stones are never seen paving the roads because of all the blood which this town spills. The streets reflect the populace in all its dealings. Just as it is impossible to find a straight street in Kraylin, it is equally impossible to find an honest merchant with straight dealings.” True enough, the streets of Kraylin wound continually around the hills and estates of the rich.

Following the wall of his estate as it met up with the neighboring estate, Corvain was angered once again as he thought back to the incident which had delayed his needed return home just a few hours prior.

Such a corrupt city built on the idea of supposedly open commerce could not operate without being toppled from the inside with graft and corruption unless all that avarice had some release valve. If Kraylin had ever existed with a normal leadership, that time had been long lost from collective memory. Now the city existed with a plutocracy where the richest merchants ran the city much like a business. To be a member of the Guild, the leading government of Kraylin, one simply needed a fleet of sixty ships registered with the logs of the harbormaster.

Trade may be the lifeblood of Kraylin, but shipbuilding and transport of goods were the pumping heart. Kraylin had fifty-nine Guild Lords who oversaw the city. And they enforced their rule with the use of Judges.

Judges were little more than the recognized captains of mercenary bands hired out by the Guild to roam the city enforcing its edicts. Each Judge was the eponymous judge, jury, and executioner all in one empowered by both the mandate of the Guild Lords and the might of their mercenary force to back them up. Executioner was an appropriate description as death was the second most common penalty in Kraylin after enslavement. No court system existed inside of Kraylin except for a judicial system which oversaw contract business law and the trials of First Citizens. Judges handled everything else with decisions made immediately. As an extreme honor, a powerful position, and a lucrative venture, a Judge and his band took the job very seriously.

They were charged with the primary goal of enabling the rich to get richer through keeping the peace. Being too corrupt or terrorizing the populace with too many unjust accusations just wasn’t profitable for the Guild Lords. Judges which stepped too far out of their role as peacekeepers found themselves unemployed and usually dead. This didn’t mean Judges weren’t corrupt and self-serving, it just meant that they were savvy individuals who monitored their rackets and schemes carefully to make sure their master’s business was well in hand.

And it was a Judge which had caused the two-hour delay in Corvain’s return to his estate. If Corvain were to list the Judges in the order of those which he liked the least, and list all three hundred eighty-four Judges of Kraylin along with the names of their top lieutenants he could certainly do, Judge Slodan would easily top his list. And of course, it was Judge Slodan who stopped Corvain this particularly bad day.

Lilith usually chose to ride right behind Corvain’s coach. Her preferred horse, Sunrise, was a tall stallion with chestnut roan coloring. Sunrise was not a fast horse or of a breed known for its endurance, but the horse’s height did give her a good view of the city. With her rather diminutive size, her shoulder length black hair tied back in a single braid, and her choice of a simple light brown robe, she could easily be mistaken for a young kid on a normal sized horse. That is if two of Corvain’s twelve guards were riding abreast to her didn’t offer a perspective of how big her horse was or how small Lilith was as a person. Besides the two which rode beside her, two guards rode on each side of Corvain’s coach and another two rode on top the with one of them steering. The other four guards rode in front of Corvain’s coach at varying distances to help separate the crowd and watch for upcoming danger.

Looking down the road ahead, Lilith noted that the crowd was parting for something or someone approaching from the other direction. Quickly riding around the coach, she scanned the crowd one last time to make sure that an ambush wasn’t being set up then put her hands on the horn of the saddle and pushed herself up enough to lift her legs, then her feet above the saddle.

Securely letting her feet rest in the saddle, she stood straight up on her horse making one of the reasons for such a large horse evident. She was reasonably certain the commotion was one of two things. Either a Guild Lord was nearby or a Judge’s regiment was making its presence known riding through town in mass. Standing with sure feet on the back of her trotting horse, a stunt she and Sunrise trained often, she could see the source of the commotion before anyone else in Corvain’s party.

Forcing its way through the crowd were several large horses with black and red barding. The men riding the horses were wearing the same colors, clad in varying degrees of armor. Each of them rode with the confidence of being in charge, not caring if they trampled any of the commoners too foolish to get out of the way.

Lilith called a halt to Corvain’s party, hopped back down into her saddle, and leaned in toward the coach. “There’s a Judge’s regiment ahead, looks to be Slodan’s by the colors, and they’re heading this way. Haven’t verified yet if he is with them or not. Looks to be about twenty of them. Riding ahead now to check it out.”.

A muffled voice from within coach called out, “Be careful. If this isn’t chance, then Slodan already knows I am here. Hopefully, this is just him making sure I know my place and making sure I am properly scared of him. Play along. After everything else today, I need to be playing cowed to any new threats of Slodan’s caliber.”

“Understood,” and to everyone else, she ordered, “Stay put for now while I investigate.” With that, she rode ahead. When the lead of the Judge’s regiment saw her approaching, they stopped and formed up into a tight group. Even now they act like a well trained military unit. The rumors say that Slodan used to be a high ranking officer in the Borez army. That could be their greatest weakness. The Borez military relies so heavily on their officers that much like a snake, they are useless without the head. Such thoughts were her way, always analyzing for the greatest weakness. Lilith moved her horse to the side of the road at a respectful distance away.

One man in the unit definitely stood out. One could not fail to see he was massive compared to an average man and even next to the veteran warriors of his unit, all large men of violence, he looked immense. His hair was a long golden yellow and that was the only favorable feature of his appearance. The rest of his face was hideous. His oversized brow looked primitive, his nostrils and the bottom half of his nose rose up, giving him the very feral look of a mad boar. The two large canines attached to his slightly extended jaw only enforced this appearance. His black lacquered leather armor was sleeveless and did not cover his massive arms. The arms were more massive and longer than any human arms ever could be with definition few humans ever achieved. Slodan claimed his mother was an ogre, a claim few could doubt. Lilith shuddered at the thought of a man brought low enough to impregnate a female ogre.

Even his voice was feral. Rough and slightly slurred with occasional growls, but so low and quiet one could almost miss it. If one was not aware he was standing near, it would be easy to think he was talking from a tunnel a good distance away.

“Why, look who we have here boys,” his voice graveled, “It’s the child bodyguard of Corvain’s. Someday I am going out if she is actually a woman or just a child under those robes. What say you, boys?” The group as a whole barked a crude laugh. Every man of the unit was eyeing her, thinking the same thing. Though she might look like a girl, they also knew that Corvain would not choose a guard with no skills.

One of the soldiers lewdly called out a reply. “Be careful boss, I hear she’s tough. And she might not be a she under those robes at all. She might be a boy who has had his balls cut off. I hear Corvain likes little boys.”

“You are more than welcome to try,” Lilith said with the most menacing snarl she could muster. “I’ll show you all the tools I hide beneath my robes in the most pointed manner I can think of.”

Slodan growled out a deep belly laugh. “Believe me men, this girl is not one to trifle with. I saw her win a knife throwing contest a couple of years back. At a hundred paces, she hit the bulls-eye with all ten throws. And she did it in remarkable time. Before we could charge our horses over to her, I sincerely believe she could have a knife airborne toward each of us.”

Lilith just nodded and smiled. “Assuming I decline to let you check my gender, is there some other way I might assist you?”

“Why yes there is. I have received a complaint today. Seems a building on your master’s property exploded last night, and some of the fiery fragments fell into a nearby orchard, burning it to the ground. Duke Fellerton is seeking financial compensation. Would Corvain be nearby where I could discuss this with him?”

“Yes, he is. He is in the coach just down the road.” With that, Lilith turned her horse and galloped back to her own group not giving Slodan and his unit a chance to reply. With the choice of following or standing around doing nothing, Slodan ordered his men to follow.

They approached the black coach just as Corvain was stepping down. Straightening his purple vest, Corvain half bowed, half nodded toward Slodan as he galloped up. “Lilith here informs me that you wish to speak to me? How might I assist you.” He made it sound as if he was granting Slodan the privilege of speaking to him. So much for him playing meek, he can’t help but play with danger, Lilith thought.

“Quite easily, Corvain. I wish to investigate the explosion on your property. My men will be coming and going around the scene to investigate it over the next few weeks, be it day or night. It is my desire that they not be interfered with at all.”

“That is not possible. That would leave a gaping hole in my defenses, by allowing your men to come and go unchecked.”

“You are mistaken, Corvain. It is possible. And will be done. Failure to do so and I will see to it that you are brought up on charges of something,” Slodan slowed as he thought, “Treason sounds like good choice right now. Additionally, I will now tell you part of the outcome of my investigation. Some of the burning fragments from the tower, which I am sure exploded due to your negligence, fell upon Duke Fellerton’s orchard burning it to the ground. His entire crop of fruits for the year is ruined and you will make it right. He estimated the total value of this year’s crop, along with the value to replant and get it going again to be twenty pounds of platinum. I feel his petition for recompense to be conservative, and I believe he needs some sort of compensation for the burden of hassle. As such, my judgment after I investigate the matter will be you owe him thirty pounds of platinum.”

“You go too far, Slodan, thirty pounds could very well ruin me. Have I not been current with all my payments for protection. Do I not allow you and your men into all my fights? Do I not give you and your men free access to my brothels? Why would you wish to ruin me like this? I believe I currently pay you one pound a month in platinum for services rendered in the form of protection. If I double it for a year, would you see fit to find that Duke Fellerton’s orchard was already dead and just tinder waiting for any excuse.”

“Believe me, Corvain. This is not a business decision. Even if it were, the Duke has promised me half of the take. No, I will take the two pounds for continued protection and you will pay the Duke in two weeks what you owe him. This is a matter of retribution. If I tell you to rig a fight in the future, next time, you will listen to me Corvain. You are not above my law. Not now, not ever. Be nice to me and maybe in a couple of years I will reconsider and allow you to resume your payment of a single pound in platinum a month. Oh, and one other thing. Some of my boys are feeling a bit too restrained in your brothels. Just to make sure we are in each other's good graces, if my boys should get a little rougher in the future with some of the girls, you won’t be offended will you?”

“Of course not Slodan. It will be as you said.” Even Lilith, who worked with Corvain every day, was amazed at how agreeable and calm Corvain sounded. She also knew that when he was calm, he was the most dangerous. But if Slodan had it in for Corvain then she definitely needed to start looking for a new employer, which meant she would have to start displaying her talents again and risk someone taking notice.

“Let’s ride, men,” growled Slodan. “Clear the road Corvain, your blocking traffic and productivity..” Starting to ride away. Slodan then held up his hand, stopped his unit, and turned in his saddle. “Oh yeah, one other thing Corvain. I believe you are fighting in Carnath’s pits next in the next few days. Good luck with that.” And with that, Slodan’s regiment started moving through the crowd again.

“I really hate that man, Lilith. His spy network is better than I thought if he already knows I am sharing Carnath’s pits though I suppose he might just be making a logical guess. If I knew that you could really kill him without it being traced back to me, as you have offered, I would have you do it in a second. It’s just that the Guild Lords would do whatever was needed to make sure retribution was exacted for the deaths of one of their precious Judges.”

“Accidents do happen, my lord, accidents do happen. Perhaps we shall see that accident before my next wage review?”

Corvain gave a pleasant and genuine laugh. “The Guild Lords are good capitalists, and like all capitalists, they follow one rule above all else. Trust no one. And believing a Judge’s death to be an accident would be an unprecedented level of trust on their part. No, I can’t take that risk. I will pay Slodan and live with the results. However, you can do one thing for me. I would like to know someone perished for all the hell I have been put through today. Kern is dead else I could start with him. Find the runner, the one from Carnath’s, and perish him for me. I think today I break my rule. In a few weeks, once Carnath is no longer immediately useful, you can try your supposed skills of assassination upon him, and then we will see about that wage review?”

“Consider the first done. I will get right on it as soon as we return. Carnath will be dead within a day after you tell me to do it.” The wage review was a running joke. Lilith had a contract with Corvain for two more years of service and there was no way he was going to give her more pay before it expired. “Are we heading back now?”

“Nope, I need to make a few quick detours now. Slodan’s threat on my girls wasn’t hollow I fear. I need to move all my good girls to the other side of Kraylin out of his reach in the next few hours. If he is gonna mangle and kill some of my girls, he can just have his men play with the older ones who are about used up. I wonder if I can find any diseased girls?”

“Understood.” Lilith waited for Corvain to reenter his coach. Once done, she motioned for them to be off, this time toward the first of Corvain’s four brothels on this side of Kraylin. Fortunately for Corvain, Slodan’s authority ended at the river and didn’t extend very far toward the richest regions of Kraylin. That Corvain owned a brothel that far out there spoke more of his wealth than anything else he owned. It was also one of his greatest secrets. If Slodan even guesses that Corvain owned businesses outside his of jurisdiction, or even owned a small fleet of ships, he might give him some more respect, but more than likely would demand a greater tribute.

Looking forward to the night’s activities, Lilith smiled. Corvain had told her to hunt down and kill the runner. Corvain little knew that she had already killed the runner. Although Corvain prided himself on never having killed a runner with bad news, in truth, he had eventually ordered the death of every runner with a message he found disagreeable. Trust no one Corvain often said. Funny how he lied to himself many times over to inflate his own ego. Lilith had killed the runner with a slow-acting poison she had induced in his body with a seemingly accidental scratch from one of her fingernails as she passed him. This time tomorrow, the runner would be feverish, unconscious, and breathing laboriously. In another day, barring a major healing by some priest, he would be dead. And Lilith would use that excuse to leave her master’s estate tonight instead of sneaking out. She had a romantic rendezvous planned with a young noble from Drynthia who had just arrived who was here for the fights in two days.