201. Dark Knight: Tabitha.

Well, shit. That all collapsed like slime on a stick. How the hell does the assistant to a baron, not the baron, the assistant to the baron, have better guards than a Duke? Unfortunately, I will never know now because THEY ARE ALL DEAD! This mess is worse than a Troll in a glass merchant's shop.

I ripped some cloth from one of them and wrapped the cut in my arm. It is a weakness of my Syphon Consistution Skill in that it stops working when EVERYBODY IS DEAD. It is only a small townhouse. Four Guards and the assistant. At least one of the guards had a sensing skill that found me, and now I will never know what it was. It was a very quick and extremely vicious fight, and I very nearly died. I am fortunate to escape with the cut, and I will have a lot of bruising. After this, I will spend some time at the nearby stock sale yards and Syphon Constitution. Nobody will notice as the animals will recover in a few hours.

I searched the house and collected enough evidence to implicate the assistant in bribing Army Officers. This was more than just the Duty Officer on the night Modrica was attacked. She actually did it, so I wasn’t making it up. The poison and the coins all went through her. Through was the operative word. All the evidence of her backers pointed to George and Baron Anders, so they were obviously the sacrificial offerings because neither had a brain cell between them.

I had spent the last few weeks gathering evidence quietly. But now one of the key players was dead, so the quiet part ended. It was time to update the King and negotiate a pay rise while I was there.

The Kings Palace was huge and old. It was ridiculously easy to get in, I could almost have ridden Dusk in. The Kings living quarters were more secure. It still wasn’t as hard as Duke Terry’s place. He seriously needs better security.

About two hours before dawn, I snuck into the King's bed chamber, and the thrown knife sliced through my armour, drawing blood. Without my Spatial Awareness and Physical Agility, it would have been a heart strike.

“Shit! Do you greet all your visitors with a knife, Your Majesty?”

“Only the ones that sneak into my bedroom at 3 am.”

“I feel bad for the Dwarven mistresses.”

“Those I leave for my wife to deal with.” The moonlight glinted off a blade on his wife's side of the bed, and I could tell she was awake and armed.

“I guess that was why it was so easy to get in here.”

“Got to keep my skills sharp somehow.” He certainly had good senses and reflexes. I am guessing he was some sort of rogue assassin in his younger days. He is certainly used to living on the edge and is still sharp. So was his wife. I am betting they make a good team. “Is there a reason you disturbed my sleep? I do keep office hours, you know.”

I was using my Syphon Constitution on the guards outside his door. They wouldn’t notice, being the strong Physical builds. The knife had some sort of paralytic on the blade, which would have slowed my reactions if I didn’t heal it. My Poison Resistance went up a level. All the extra health benefits of working for the king.

“I thought I had better let you know bodies will start dropping, so you are ready for the pushback.”

“Well, in that case, you had better drink this,” he tossed me a small vial. I caught it and tossed it back.

“I am fine, thanks. I already healed the poison.”

“At least a Journeyman Level Stealth Class and a Stealth specialisation class if you thought it was easy to get in here. Plus, a self-heal ability. You remind me of me when I was a century younger.”

He tagged that right. What is he now if he was where I am a century ago? He has been a King for over 50 years, so that must have slowed him down. Before that, he was a Duke, so who knows what his skills are? I am thinking back to the throne room, and I think if I had struck at him when he was only two steps away, I would not have been successful, and not because of the guards. He was testing me.

King Thorbjørn sat up and swung his hairy legs over the side of the bed. He hopped to the floor. He was wearing a plain off-white nightshirt that came down to his knees. Did I mention he had hairy legs? He reached for a nearby dressing gown and put it on while slipping his feet into some slippers. He really did look like an old man. Old dwarf. A grandpa. I guess that’s exactly what he is. That is just not all he is.

“Follow me,” he said, walking out into the lit hallway with the guards. I followed, and he said to the guards, “This is Countess Skygge. You lot are buying the ale on Friday.” He turned to me, “Next time, let these guards know you are here, as you might not be so lucky dodging the knife.”

He led me into an adjoining room and lit the lamps. It was an office, and he indicated for me to sit.

“First up, I don’t appreciate being woken in the middle of the night, so this had better be bloody important. Secondly, when we are alone, you can call me Thor. All that Majesty shit gets bloody annoying.”

“If we are sticking to the important things, then the most important is, what are you paying me to do your dirty work?”

“Ha! I bet your class is Thief! Thieves are almost as bad as Merchants.”

“Actually, it is Thief and Merchant. What were your clues?”

“I am old, and I have seen a lot of upstarts. Classes usually follow personality. It is not a definite thing, but it is often the case. Even if someone has trained in the wrong Class, they drift back to the right class more often than not. Classes that suit the person also level faster. I bet you are not even thirty yet.” I shook my head, “Two journeyman-level classes and some specialisations. You are on the right track, lass. Now, what have you got for me?”

“You have some trickster or conman type class, don’t you? Trying to steer me away from my pay again.”

Thor smiled, “You are not far wrong, lass. What do you want to be paid? By the way, I am not helping your Trading company. At the rate you are going, you will own the kingdom in a decade anyway.”

“I have a list.” Always go into negotiations prepared, especially when negotiating with a conman.

He scanned down the list. His eyebrows raised. “Item three is not happening.” I just grinned. He read down a few lines, and then he said, “Who the hell is Wiremu Hunter? It sounds like a name from the Free Republic, and that is the other side of the continent.”

‘You have actually met Wiremu. You gave him a Decree to research the Lore Society restricted materials.”

“Ha! You slipped that one past me. My eyesight must be going. I did think there was something off about that girl.”

“Wiremu is on a mission. It is a mission against Slavery. We are heading into the Empire after this and, more likely than not, will die there. Wiremu is a Hunter. He loves the wilderness, but he is someone who needs a home to come back to. His village was destroyed by Empire slavers, hence his mission. Giving him a home to come back to is the least we can do for him.”

“So you want a farm next to a good fishing river on the outskirts of Duhovno and the Steam Lands,” Thor said. “That is Duchess Mojca. She is an OK sort and probably won’t mind. Why is he operating as a woman and not in his name?”

“The Empire had a contract out on him for capture or kill. I don’t know if it is still active, but the Empire was hunting him.”

“So giving him land, or even making him a noble under Mojca, will upset the Empire?” I nodded. “Will they come for him?”

“They have already tried. He killed the Lava affinity guy and the hawk lady outside Jern.”

“Actually, I think I might remember being told that. He has already done us a great service.”

“He won’t appreciate being made a noble.”

“No, I don’t suppose he will. I can only have one Count Auditor at a time anyway. Did you know the position was originally made to allow the king to chase reluctant nobles into coughing up their taxes? They got paid a percentage of the tax.”

“So I get paid a percentage of the tax, do I?”

Thor chuckled, “Yes, Lass, that you do. Haven’t you been to see the Royal Treasurer to organise it?”

“Somebody forgot to mention that. I suspect their memory is going in their old age.” I paused, then asked, “Why me? You don’t know me. I could be a dangerous criminal for all you know.”

“I would expect you to have a significant criminal past, being a thief and all. I suspect you still have strong ties to the criminal world. But you have honour too. Your list has a lot of things for people other than you. You understand people and help them. Wiremu Hunter is a prime example. Plus, you have been doing a good job so far.”

“How would you know that?”

“Because I had someone following you.”

“You have someone that can follow me?”

“He was getting frustrated. You lost him a number of times. He figured he managed to get about half your night visits, but he doesn’t know what you have found. He was impressed you got in and out of the Duke's mansion twice without being spotted.”

“I have been in four times. Why don’t you get him to do the job?”

“Because he is old like me, and my wife would hit me if I loaded more work on him.”

“You know, when we leave for the empire, we are probably not getting out of there alive.”

“Really? Then, getting a retirement farm for Wiremu doesn’t make sense. You realise when an assassin finally gets me, or I step down from the throne, you will need to apply to the new monarch to keep your position?”

“That slice of the tax would have to be bigger.”

“I might be only allowed one Countess Auditor, but you can appoint deputies. You need to pay them out of your very generous income, though. Traditionally, they are called the Knights of the Auditor and have some immunity from the laws when on official business. You should probably read up about the position in the Lore Society. There is a whole section on Kirghiz Kingdom politics.”

“No thanks. Wiremu has probably already read it and will tell me what I did wrong after I have broken all the rules.”

“Why don’t you tell me the second reason you came here tonight.”

I laid out the documents I had collected. “This is the trail of coins I followed regarding the bribery. You will see that everything points to either the Duke’s son George or Baron Anders.”

“That is not worth the paper you have there. Those two couldn’t organise their own birthday party, let alone the corruption of the army.”

“The corruption of the army is merely one of the means to the end. It is just the one that unravelled when it was used for personal use.”

“Go on.”

“The end, as far as I can tell, is to remove you as King and get their person on the throne.”

“That’s nothing new. How are they going to go about it?”

“To replace you, dead or senile, requires a majority vote of all the Dukes unless….”

“Unless we are at war. I know the rules, Lass. This skirmish with the empire has not yet been declared a war, but it is getting there. Especially the shipping losses in the Obalno Fleet.”

“And that is the reason they were getting key people of the army on board because this skirmish is not as bad as you have been told.”

“How would you know that?”

“One of my Knights has just returned from Northport. A plague is ravishing the whole city. Their fleet will be only half operational at best, and the effects of the plague will be felt for several years to come.”

“I hope you are paying this “Knight” well. So the reports of trade blockade through the Hrothgar pass are probably exaggerated, along with a strong force at the Sothern pass? I will go to the Communication Enchanters and communicate myself.”

“I told you weeks ago to get new advisors.”

“Communication takes time, lass. Those Communication Enchanters are expensive even for a King. It’s an emergency system only. Who are they going to replace me with?”

“There are a couple of layers to that. I am pretty sure they promised Duke Terry the throne, but I doubt he will be alive then. I have no proof, but I think the real candidate is his daughter, Harry.”

“So they kill off the Duke and the Heir as an Imperial Assassination, possibly at the same time they go for me. Better for them if I declare war before I die, but I am sure they have plans to fudge it after I am dead.”

“Basically. I have no proof, they have been very careful, but I think the mastermind is someone else.”

“What are you going to do about it?” The king asked.

“Nothing.”

“Why?”

“Well, the Duke was the one who interfered and had Modrica attacked, and in this plan, he dies. So, the most I will do is make sure their plan succeeds. I have warned you, and you are hardly helpless, and even if you are getting doddery in your old age, your wife is quite capable. Why would I do anything else?”

“Then why did you come to warn me that bodies are going to start dropping?”

“I had to drop some tonight. One of their middle women died. I didn’t say I was the one going to start dropping the bodies.”

“I would like to know who the mastermind is. What would it take for you to do more than just watch?”

“Well, you do have that list. Oh, and I would like enough coin to have more than just one Knight.”