Taker Of Skulls(7)

They went out into the darkness. Kormak saw the door open behind them and the dark-haired young woman emerged. She ran down the track towards them. Kormak kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. Boreas had his dagger out. Beneath them, the lights of the town glittered.

“Wait,” the young woman said. Karnea turned, her kindly smile visible in the moonlight.

“Yes, lass,” she said.

“My name is Sasha, not lass,” the girl said. Karnea’s smile widened. She took no offence at the girl’s tone although Boreas was bristling.

“What do you want, Sasha?” Karnea asked.

“Did I just hear you offer Otto and his merry band a solar each to guide you to Khazduroth Forge District?”

“You have sharp ears, girl,” said Boreas. He did not make it sound like a compliment.

“You’re paying him a solar to slit your throats and take the rest of your money,” Sasha said. “He’ll take you up the Dwarf Road half a mile, out of sight of any witnesses and then he and his boys will show you their steel.”

Kormak concurred with that assessment. He had not liked the look of the prospectors at all.

“Oh dear,” said Karnea. “They are the only ones who have even come close to finding what we are looking for.”

“I doubt it. Otto hasn’t been underground in years. He and his boys wait on the Dwarf Road and waylay real prospectors when they come out. And that street of forges he was talking about has been in goblin territory for at least a year.”

“How do you know this?” Kormak asked.

“Because I have been into Underlands and I do know my way about.”

“And yet Otto has not cut your throat,” Boreas said.

“That’s because I know the trails to take to avoid him.”

“And naturally you are going to offer to show us them too.”

“It’ll cost you a lot less to pay me that solar than to pay all of them. And I am not going to stab you in the back either. There’s three of you and one of me.”

“You could always hire some friends,” said Kormak.

“My, you’ve got a nasty suspicious mind, haven’t you? Pity it was not you doing the negotiating with Otto back there.”

Karnea’s hand toyed with her shawl. Any minute now she was going to take off her glasses and polish them, Kormak thought. She looked lost in thought. Perhaps she was starting to think that she might have made a mistake.

“If she did lead us into a trap, she would be the first to die,” Karnea said. It did not sound like a threat, but it was all the more menacing for being spoken in her unworldly tones.

The girl swallowed audibly but her voice was firm when she said, “Yes, that’s right. And if I steer you wrong I will deserve it.” She paused and took a deep breath. “And I can show you where that rune comes from?”

“Can you now?” Karnea asked. Her voice was almost shrill with excitement.

“How can you do that?” Kormak asked, keeping his voice flat and bored.

“Because I am the one who found it.”

“Now there’s a coincidence,” Kormak said.

“Believe me or not, as you will, it makes no difference to the truth. I sold it to Joaquim of Northrock and I thought at the time the bastard cheated me. Now I am certain of it.”

“The merchant who sold me this was called Joaquim and he came from Northrock,” said Karnea. She glanced sidelong at Kormak.

“Why did you sell him it if you thought he was cheating you?” Kormak asked.

“I needed the money,” Sasha said. Her fists were clenched and there was a note of defiance in her voice. She clearly did not like exposing any weakness in her negotiating position. She took a deep breath, stared hard at Kormak. “Whatever we find down there I want part of it, prospector’s rules, equal shares.”

“I don’t think we can do that,” said Karnea. Her voice was hesitant and almost apologetic. Sasha looked as if she was about to storm away. “But I will pay you a quarter of the appraised value of whatever we find in gold. If you steer us true and we find anything.”

Sasha considered this for a while and then nodded slowly.

“Perhaps we should go back and explain to Otto that his services will no longer be required,” Karnea said.

“No need,” said Kormak. “We just don’t meet them in the morning. They are already a lunar each better off.”

“Meet us at the Axe and Hammer in the morning girl, and we’ll talk more,” said Karnea. Sasha nodded and disappeared into the night. Kormak kept careful watch as they walked back downhill. He felt many eyes in the night.





Sasha showed up at the Axe and Hammer at first light. Kormak and the others were already in the common room eating breakfast. Karnea studied her over the top of her glasses.