23
While Tariel and the others went to the shrine to pray for gods-knew-what, Riann and Calrain took to the streets, determined to chase down some of the leads Lord Raffis had giventhem.
“The municipal guard captain might help us narrow down this list a bit,” Calrain said as he scanned the small scrap of paper Yarim had given them. “Do you think he’ll speak withus?”
“It’s certainly worth a try,” Riann said. He stopped by a street vendor selling skewers of grilled meat. “Excuse me, but do you know where the guardhouseis?”
“On Palisade Street, off Market Square,” the man answered. His bushy mustache twitched as he looked them over, then held out a skewer. “Hungry?”
Calrain and Riann each took one, munching on the flavorful meat as they followed the vendor’s directions. It was a good thing they were staying in the heart of the city—most of the municipal buildings were a short walk from the inn, saving them the expense of hiring acarriage.
The guards were a bit reluctant to let them in, especially as foreigners, but Riann managed to gain entrance easily enough with a copper or two. Once they told a lieutenant that they were here regarding a bandit kidnapping, they were quickly shown into the office of the guard captain, a middle-aged man by the name of Rillmire who listened to their story with no small amount ofincredulity.
“I find it hard to believe that anyone here would cooperate with such riff-raff,” Captain Rillmire said when they were finished. “Are you certain your information iscorrect?”
“Lord Traize’s son is the one who told me about it,” Riann confirmed—he had explained to the captain that he had been kidnapped and held hostage, and only narrowly managed to escape. “I had his confidence at the time and have no reason to think he was lying. And it matches up with what is currently happening to Lord Raffis. Please,” he said when the captain looked like he was about to dismiss them, “Lord Raffis is a cousin of the king, and has done a great deal of good for this city. Surely he deserves your help andsupport.”
The captain sighed. “Very well,” he said. “I will assign an ensign to help you interviewwitnesses.”
The ensign turned out to be a gawky young man called Lister, with large ears and an earnest, freckled face. Riann wasn’t thrilled about him, but he was close to their age, and Calrain seemed to bond with him, which he supposed wasn’t too surprising. They did share the same unruly red hair and pale skin, afterall.
“This is quite the list,” the ensign said as he reviewed the names Calrain handed him. “All noblemen with trusted positions at court. Are you sure you want to take themon?”
“We promised Lord Raffis we would look into it,” Calrain explained. “Against our better judgment, perhaps, but he did helpus.”
They took a cab across town, and knocked on the door of the first house. A stiff-backed butler opened the door, and he was about to turn them away until he spotted the ensign in his very official, albeit oversized,uniform.
“Sir Donoran is a very busy man,” the butler said as he led them into a drawing room. “He will be with you as soon aspossible.”
The three of them settled in to wait. While they were not served tea and biscuits this time, they also did not have to wait long—within a few minutes, the butler came back with a portly man dressed in a linen shirt, trousers, and a dark blue vest that somehow managed to stretch over his distended stomach. A monocle was perched in front of his left eye, and sable-colored hair was pulled back in a low, short tail from his roundface.
“My butler tells me that you are here to question me about my kidnapping,” Sir Donoran said stiffly as he took a seat across from them. “I don’t see why this is necessary—it was over a year ago, and as I understand it, Lord Traize has been vanquished. Unless you are here to tell me that the ransom my family was forced to pay is going to be returned tome?”
“I’m afraid I have no jurisdiction over the matter,” Riann said. “It is true that Lord Traize has been killed, but we are actually looking into a man that he worked with here in the capital. He goes by the name of LordM.”
“I don’t know of any such man,” Donoran said. “And I still don’t see what any of this has to do withme.”
“We have it on good authority that this Lord M was using Lord Traize and his band of robbers to take out his enemies, or at least make their lives very difficult,” Riann countered. “Can you think of anyone in your circle of acquaintances who would have had reason to have youkidnapped?”
“What a scandalous notion!” Donoran exclaimed. “Why yes, I suppose I have enemies, just like anyone else, but no one who wants medead.”
“Clearly this Lord M did not seek your demise, or the bandits would have killed you,” Riann pointed out. “Is there anyone who might have profited off yourdisappearance?”
“Why yes,” Donoran said. “Lord Raffis. He and I are both in the shipping business, and with me out of the way, he was able to make quite a bit of profit during those extraweeks.”
Riann and Calrain exchanged uneasy glances. “Is there anyone else who might have benefited?” Calrain askedcarefully.
“Yes.” Donoran gave them a few more names. “But Lord Raffis was the one who profited the most. Why do youask?”
“Because we are looking into this on his behalf,” Riann said. “He is the latest victim of Lord Traize andM.”
“I did hear about the kidnapping, but he seems to be safe and sound now,” Donoran pointed out. “Or has something elsehappened?”
“Never mind,” Calrain said, getting to his feet. He inclined his head respectfully to the man. “We appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions. If any new information comes to light, or if we have further questions, we will be intouch.”
Sir Donoran sputtered a little, but Riann and Calrain nevertheless took their leave, the ensign trailing behind. “Why did you end the interview so suddenly?” Lister asked. “It seemed like you were gettingsomewhere.”
“On the contrary,” Riann growled as he hailed another cab. “It seems as though we have more questions thananswers.”
