Interlude – Skinner

Skinner tried to flex the fingers that were no longer there, his phantom arm itched mercilessly as of late, especially when he tried to sleep. There was magic in the world that could rebuild such appendages, but Skinner had neither the coin nor the connections to realistically consider such the option. He told himself he was lucky he lost his left arm and not his right, he told himself he was even luckier to simply be alive. The demon had slaughtered his men in front of him as if they were nothing more than soft kittens. It was fortunate he decided to stay in the rear of the troop, assume the last position in the line of death that proceeded that day. It was that elf, Theo, who saved him. He was lucky still that the elf had the brains to know what to do in the situation; to attack the wizard that conjured the demon, and not the demon herself.

He rose from the bed and reached fruitlessly for his rapier beside his bed stand. Nothing but the stump of his left arm reached out and Skinner grimaced at the sight. He took the rapier with his right hand and strapped it to his waist. It felt good to have its weight around his belt, felt good to have the slender sword tightly pressed against his thigh. The rapiers cold steel firmly wrapped in it sheathe felt as much a part of him as his cold heart, firmly wrapped within his chest.

Leaving the confounds of his bed-chamber, skinner walked down the darkened corridor and into his locked office. The office was a lot colder than his room and Skinner got to work building a fire in the hearth. He wondered if one day he would have enough money to hire someone else to do it for him. The coin had been good lately he could not deny it. The guild had grown both in members and in coin. The docks were more lucrative than he could have ever hoped and after the mother’s contribution; well the contribution was a hoard to say it best, but a hoard needing to be invested wisely to ensure the longevity of the guild.

When he took his place behind the hardwood desk, he opened the drawer to his left, extending his right arm across his torso to do so, and pulled the contents out. It was a pouch of considerable weight. Inside carried an extensive amount of gold, alongside a sprinkle of gemstones for good measure. It was what Skinner considered to be the value of his life. The life saved by Theo.

Theo was on time and knocked respectfully at the door to his office. Skinner looked up then concealed the pouch beneath his desk in one swift swipe.

“Come in,” he said, and Theo entered. “Have a seat.”

Theo took the seat opposite him, his lean stature moved silently, and he unfolded a smile when their eyes met.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” Theo asked.

Skinner went to lock his fingers together like he often did and felt irritation creep up his face, he gritted his teeth and smiled excessively at Theo.

“I did. I owe you a debt” Skinner said rightfully. He was not in the habit of thanking people but prided himself on a man’s honour. If a man saves your life, you owe it to him to at least acknowledge it and reward it if possible...

Theo shook his head nonchalantly and gave out a chuckle.

“Please, I—” he began.

Skinner raised his right hand.

“Enough Mr Wood,” he said, letting the sternness in his voice rule with authority. Theo went silent reluctantly.

“I have a few questions first if you don’t mind answering,” Skinner asked.

“Sure”

“The demon,” Skinner said in distain. “It wasn’t there when you gave us the ‘all clear?’”

“No sir,” Theo answered hastily. “When I climbed the window and peered inside, there was only the boy wizard. He must have conjured the demon just as you headed inside, because next time I looked, there she was.”

“An extreme case of bad timing” Skinner stated, not at all trying to sound sarcastic.

“Yes sir, when I saw her, I almost slipped and fell. That is when I started to climb in, to try and…save the situation” Theo said this with some shame, Skinner was beginning to like this elf a lot. He was handy as a rogue without a doubt, but also showed some initiative and bravery in dire circumstances.

“And if you hadn’t have tried to save the situation, I’d be dead,” Skinned stated, Theo did not respond. “Furthermore, we would have failed to retrieve the wizard and failed in our mission. It would seem to me that you’ve done more for this guild in one night, than any of my men can hope to do in their lifetime”

Skinner let the silence endure for a while, to permeate the room with this proud achievement.

“How did you convince the wizard to banish the demon?” Skinner asked when he was satisfied.

“He was as horrified as we were when she started cutting through the men like that. He was way over his head and realised it”

“And afterwards?” Skinner continued. “How were you able to get both me and him back to the guild. I assume he wouldn’t have come willingly”

This question took longer to answer Skinner noted, and for the first-time sensed doubt in the elf. Everything before now was loose and easy for the elf, now he saw hesitation and friction in the young elf’s eyes. Finally, he said,

“He was a coward. I said I would cut his throat unless he followed me to the sewers. I wasn’t lying either”

Skinner let the answer linger, considering it himself. It seemed plausible, after what the wizard had seen, it wasn’t hard to believe Theo managed to intimidate the boy into following him; all the while he carried my forsaken body over his shoulder.

“Very well,” he said. “Ask of me whatever you wish Mr Wood, and if it is within my power, I shall grant it”

Theo looked taken aback and Skinner saw his eyes move around in rapid succession as if processing all the things he could request.

“The girl,” he said suddenly, to the great surprise of Skinner. “Her name is Sabrina, I found her in the city the other day, she’s gifted. I want her to be part of the guild”

Skinner thought about the random request and tried to swat away the strangeness of it all.

“You found her? Can she be trusted?” Skinner asked.

“She’s an orphan sir,” Theo said as if this verified everything. “She has no ties to any family or, anyone in fact, and she’s gifted. I think the guild would benefit from her service”

Skinner tried to read behind those bark-brown eyes but saw only empty pages.

“Very well,” he conceded. “But she is your responsibility. Anything else?” Skinner was not about to turn away a potential member, especially not one vouched by Theo.

“I want to be closer to the operations from now on,” Theo said.

“You want a promotion?”

“After the last encounter, I want to be more informed about the ins and outs of this place, I want to play a bigger part in it”

Skinner had to admire the boldness of the elf, he reminded him of a younger self and forced a smile. Do not lift more than you can carry my boy.

It would help to have another partner around here, to adopt some of the extra responsibility and to help control the growth in membership. He wasn’t naïve enough to trust Theo fully, least not yet. The elf saved the guild, there was no denying it but having him in the smaller circles was dangerous and if the Mother found out. Well, he might as well have died at the hands of that demon.

“I believe we can find you a more official role for you here in the guild” Skinner announced, and Theo seemed content.

Skinner then reached below the office desk and retrieved the coin pouch, he flung it on the desk with a heavy ‘Flunk’ and watched as Theo looked at it intrigued.

“My personal reward on a job well done”

Theo didn’t take the pouch as eagerly as most men would, rather he pondered it wearily as if he half expected the pouch to contain a poisonous snake inside.

“Use the coin to outfit your recruit, and they’ll be plenty more where that came from, I can assure you. The Mother rewards those that serve loyally”

At last, Theo reached over and buried a hand in the pouch, making the coin jingle inside. Then he rescued a single golden coin from the pouch and inspected it, the coin reflected golden light on the walls and Skinner thought he saw astonishment in Theo’s eyes. He wondered if the elf had ever held a Golden Mark before.

“One last request before you go,” Skinner said revelling in Theo’s inspection of the Golden Mark “There’s a captain that goes by the name of Roguetooth. She said she is interested in losing some of the Empires cargo before she leaves port. Go conduct some business with her before the morrow”

Theo dropped the Golden Mark back in the pouch with a pleasant ‘clink’ and stood.

“Consider it done, sir”