My eyes burned as we neared the tannery. I’ve heard stories of the rancid smell, but haven’t needed to visit one and find out. Somehow, the entire area smelled worse than death. I could only imagine something died, and then everyone in the village took turns defecating on the carcass.

  Kiri walked beside me as we weaved around pits filled with murky liquids. She gagged a few times, almost losing the food we had just eaten.

  I led us to a small pit-house. Its gabled roof touched the mud on both sides. The straw used to cover the roof planks was stained from many winters of abuse.

  Layla spoke from behind us, causing us both to flinch. “Don’t open that door.”

  Kiri gagged again. “Why is the stench so bad?”

  “They use urine and feces to dehair and soften the hides. The process utilizes excrement from both humans and animals.”

  “With your sense of smell so strong, this must be nearly killing you,” I said.

  She shrugged. “Anything can become mundane if you’re exposed to it enough. While not an ideal spot for a picnic, this is the perfect place for a meeting. Nobody is here who doesn’t need to be. And the tanner knows better than to be out and about when I’m around.”

  Not wanting to be here longer than necessary, I said, “I don’t mean to be rude, but can we get down to business?”

  “The offer is 200 silvers for all the gems.”

  I scoffed. “There must be five hundred gems. That is barely four coppers per gem?” I paused. “They were worth at least thirty coppers.”

  “The important word there is ‘were’.” Layla held out a small sack and jingled it. “There won’t be other offers.”

  I snatched the sack, opened it, and pulled out one of the silver coins. After examining it, I put the coin back in the bag. “You wanted Kiri to come along to see how much of a pinecrow I am?”

  Kiri murmured, “Will we even get two horses with that?”

  “Two of the most stubborn horses, clinging to the end of their miserable lives.” I crossed my arms.

  The expression on Layla’s face didn’t change. “Do we have a deal?”

  Reluctantly, I nodded.

  “On to new business then.” A sly smirk flashed across Layla’s pale face, then quickly faded away. “I’m aware you required more funds, so I found a way for you to earn some coin.”

  “How convenient,” I uttered.

  “A man in town by the name of Tobie has done some horrible things. I won’t get into the particulars, but a client of mine will pay a handsome fee to ensure justice is served.”

  “Are you asking us to kill a man?” Kiri asked.

  I held my breath, waiting for an answer. As a soldier, I accepted that I might have to kill in battle someday, but I wouldn’t be party to a murder.

  “No,” Layla said. “If he dies before he’s turned over, the deal becomes void.”

  “Then we are handing a man over to be murdered?” I asked.

  “I can assure you, and will even make it part of our contract, Tobie won’t be murdered, at least not by the hand nor order of myself or my client.” Her eyes narrowed. “He wants him to live long enough to suffer for his crimes.”

  “If he committed crimes, why not turn him in for judgment?”

  “His fellow knights will shield him from such a punishment, and the royals would turn a blind eye to one of their own.”

  “Wait!” I shook my head. “You want us to capture a knight?” Feeling dizzy from the corrupted air, I leaned against the pit house, instantly regretting the action. As I drew my hand away, a string of goo stretched from the slimy hay to my glop-covered fingers.

  “I realize a group of petty thieves would have difficulty with such a task.” Layla glanced at Kiri. “That is why I asked you to bring the harlot.”

  “Not a harlot,” Kiri said.

  “Well,” Layla rolled her eyes. “You’re not a seductress either. You’ll need to succeed at seducing a man with ill intent to claim such a title.” She batted her lashless eyelids in a mocking manner. “I’m giving you such a chance.”

  “You want her to seduce him. Then I do what? Come up from behind and bonk him over the head?”

  “Normally, this is the point at which I say I don’t care about the method, only the result. But with a plan involving bonking a distracted knight over the head, interjecting might be the only chance we have of a positive result.”

  “Did you just call me stupid?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “If you have to ask...” Smiling, she added, “Get Tobie back to the room I had you rent. I’ll take care of the rest.” She locked eyes with me. “No bonking.” Then she turned her attention to me. “Boink if you must.”

  “Boink?” Kiri asked. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

  Layla sighed. “Once we take the package, we’ll leave behind an additional 400 silvers.” She grinned. “Tobie has a horse and likely some nice things back at his cottage. Once he’s removed from the board, take what you want.”

  I locked eyes with Kiri, trying to decipher her opinion. She nodded reluctantly. Part of me still wanted to say ‘no.’ Even though we weren’t killing him or delivering him for murder, I felt this task was the first step in the path to hired sword. But passing on the deal didn’t seem like a viable option. The silver could finance our trip to the capital. Not taking it could cause all three of us to be caught and eventually killed. “You have a deal.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Layla pulled a scroll from her pocket and unrolled it. After adding a guarantee that Tobie wouldn’t be killed, she handed it to us to sign.

  Layla put the document back in her pocket. “Tobie will be off his shift soon. He likes to unwind at the Majestic Well. When you have him, let Serena know.”

  Before I could answer, Layla shifted her gaze to Kiri. “Go ahead and ask.”

  Kiri looked surprised. “Ask what?”

  “Ask me what the pentacle in your pocket does.” She grinned. “You’ve been touching it through your linen since we’ve been speaking.”

  Kiri pulled out the pentacle and tried to hand it to Layla.

  She put out her hand as if to say, 'stop'. “I don’t touch a pentacle until I understand its power.” She leaned forward, getting close to the object. “It blocks magical tracking. But it will only work on the one who wears it.”

  I considered the implications. How did Lar afford such an item? Why did he need to block tracking? Who did he think was looking for him?

  “What is its value?” Kiri asked.

  “To a person who needs to hide, priceless.” She studied Kiri’s face. “You have more questions.”

  Kiri bit her lip. “What is needed for a tracking potion?”

  Layla’s eyes narrowed. “Depends on the recipe. But most require the name of the target or an item belonging to them.”

  Kiri nodded. “We also have a grimoire that is bound. How can we open it?”

  Layla rubbed her chin. “The easiest way is to reverse the binding spell, but you’ll need to know what spell was used to bind it. Alternatively, you can bind it yourself, with a spell stronger than the current one.” She crossed her arms as she shifted her focus to me. “After our deal is finished, perhaps I can find someone willing to sell a binding spell.” Her eyes narrowed. “But first you must get Tobie.”

  My stomach turned. If someone sold me a spell, I’d still have to craft it. Mixing potions was dangerous work. One wrong step could mean disaster.

  Without any type of farewell, Layla turned and walked away.

  Kiri and I glanced at each other, then scurried away from the stench. I feared the tannery odor would be absorbed by my skin and clothing.

  Kiri held out the pentacle. “You should take this.”

  “You don’t want to wear it?”

  She shook her head. “The people looking for us don’t know my name, and I didn’t leave behind any possessions for them to track me.”

  I took the pentacle, looped it over my neck, and tucked it into my shirt. Lar might not know how to perform a tracking spell, but he’ll eventually find someone who will. It made wearing the illegal magic worth the risk. What could they possibly do to me anyhow? Execute me twice?

  “Why did she insist Sani not come?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe she thought he was too honorable to agree?”

  “Do you think he will help if we ask him to?”

  “Let’s bring him to the bar and take it from there. If all goes well, we won’t need him to intervene.”

  ****

  From the outside, the Majestic Well didn’t look like a well or appear majestic. The plain wooden structure wouldn’t look any different from the cottages if not for the sign hanging above the front door. The tavern’s name was burned into the wood panel, which was hung almost straight.

  Kiri and Sani followed me through the front entrance. The inside was one large open room, with a long bar spanning the entire back wall. An old wooden well sat in the center with a sign above it that claimed wishes made while throwing in a coin would come true. I would have wished to keep what little coin I had, which I did by not tossing it into the well.

  We picked a table in the front left corner, giving us a view of the entire establishment while not drawing any unnecessary attention.

  The tavern-maid, a woman half as tall as me, approached our table. “Welcome to the Majestic Well. I’m Simone. How are you folks doing?”

  “Good,” I said. “How about you?”

  “I’m always well.” She grinned. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “A table beer for me.” I glanced at Kiri.

  “Wine,” she said. “Bottom shelf.”

  A man at a nearby table turned to face us. “I don’t mean to pry, but a woman as beautiful as you shouldn’t drink the swill on the bottom shelf. Please get the lady a nice red from the top shelf, on my coin.”

  “Very well,” Simone said.

  “Thank you,” Kiri flashed the stranger a quick smile, then turned back to us.

  Sani declined ordering anything.

  Simone practically skipped away.

  “That is one happy woman,” Kiri said. Then she whispered, “How will we know which one is Tobie?”

  “Why are we looking for this Tobie?” Sani asked.

  “We are going to get additional coin if Kiri takes him back to the room.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I thought you weren’t a-”

  Kiri interrupted him. “Don’t finish that sentence. I’m bringing him back there so someone can make sure he pays for the wrongs he has done. Nothing else.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to punch the next person who calls me a harlot.”

  I leaned closer to her. “Let’s stay focused. We need to figure out which one is Tobie.”

  “Can we just ask everyone if their name is Tobie?” Sani asked.

  “We don’t want him to know Kiri is targeting him specifically. It’d be hard for her to seduce him after that.” I thought for a moment. “What if Sani stumbles across the bar, pretending to be drunk, then says to one guy, ‘Aren’t you Tobie?’ If he says no, perhaps the real Tobie will identify himself. Sani can apologize after and claim he sought a different Tobie."

  Kiri moved her head as she considered the idea. “That could work, but he’d have to stay clear of us until my seduction is complete, or else Tobie might become suspicious.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “What if Sani tells our tavern maid he wants to send Tobie a drink, but doesn’t want it announced that it was from him? Since he’s a regular, she likely knows who he is.”

  “Or,” Sani said. “We could all split up and strike up conversations with the people here, starting by introducing ourselves. They will probably respond with their names. We keep going until we find Tobie.”

  A young Yaksha wearing fine pressed linen strolled through the front door. Someone sitting at the bar saw him enter and shouted, “Tobie, I saved you a seat.”

  “Or we just wait for someone to blurt out his name,” I said.

  Sani’s brow wrinkled. “No armor. He isn’t a knight.”

  “Knights don’t wear their armor when they go out to a bar,” Kiri said.

  “Besides,” I added. “Knights from Mallma don’t wear armor. Instead, they drink a potion that gives them skin like steel. All the benefits of armor, without the weight.”

  “I thought potions weren’t allowed in Mallma?” Sani asked. “Isn’t that why they want to execute us?”

  “Keep your voice down,” I said. “The royals determine what potions can be used and by whom. They are always provided for knights.” I shook my head. “But run-of-the-mill soldiers, like I was, normally aren’t authorized to use any. Making enough for the entire army would be difficult.”

  “Why didn’t you become a knight then?” Sani asked.

  “Anyway,” Kiri interjected. “I’m going to go do my thing.” She stood up, then sat back down again. “Perhaps I should drink the glass of wine first.”

  As if on cue, Simone returned with our drinks.

  “Can you bring me another right away?” Kiri asked.

  “Of course, darling,” Simone glanced around the table. “Anyone else?” After not getting a reply, she turned and skipped off.

  The front door swung open again. A young gentleman carrying a lute entered. He went right to the bar and sat two seats from Tobie. After ordering a drink, he plucked random notes on his lute as he waited.

  “Do you think the second glass will be enough?” I grinned.

  She picked up her drink with a shaky hand. “Two will loosen me up. Just don’t let me have a third.”

  Sani’s eyes widened. “What happens with the third? Do elves react to a specific amount of the mind-altering liquid?”

  “No.” She sighed. “I become too loose.” Her eyes widened. “Not like that.” Blushing, she said, “Shut up.”

  I held back a chuckle. “Nobody said anything.”

  “I meant I get too comfortable, which makes me a bit annoying.”

  Simone dropped off the second glass of wine. Kiri downed them both and then took a few long breaths. “Here goes nothing.”

  She roamed across the room, pretending to look everywhere except at Tobie.