Dana Illwind and Sorcerer Lord Jayden are back in part 1 of A Fair Deal.


“Why do the ports we visit smell like something died?” Dana asked as she got off the boat. She’d been cooped up on the ramshackle fishing boat for five days, an experience made worse by the overpowering stench of dead fish permeating the wood vessel. Dana had assumed getting on land would relieve the problem, but the city of Pearl Bay smelled like a horrible mix of spoiled meat, rotting produce, manure and unwashed bodies.

“It’s a common feature of large cities,” Jayden replied. “Too many people, poor sanitation, add summer’s heat, and you have a recipe for olfactory offense.”

The captain sailed his miserable boat up to the long docks stretching out over the water and moored them to the nearest open berth. He and his three-man crew got out of the way as Jayden and Dana left their boat. The captain, a grubby man who’d seen better days, held an open out hand to Jayden.

“Deal was one gold coin going, one more on shore and no questions,” the man said.

Jayden went through the bags he’d brought along for the trip and paid the captain. “My word was given, and is kept. Good day to you, sir, and for both our sakes I suggest you forget meeting us.”

The captain grinned, showing off the few teeth he still had. “Smart men keep their mouths shut these days. They live longer that way.”

Jayden nodded to the captain and left with Dana. They headed down the dock to the stinking metropolis of Pearl Bay. Jayden swept his hands over the revolting city like he was presenting a rare prize.

“Behold, Pearl Bay, once known for rich pearl beds, excellent fishing and access to the spice trade. The pearl beds were plundered to exhaustion and poisoned by human waste, the spice trade was strangled by excessive taxes, and I’m told fishing is fair to middling. I’ve been here before and have friends we can call upon.”

Dana and Jayden left the docks and headed to the busy streets of Pearl Bay. Now that they were off the boat and away from its crew, Dana felt safe to speak. “Do you think the captain believed your story?”

“I think so,” Jayden said. The sorcerer lord was a tall man, handsome to behold. His yellow hair was perpetually messy and wore black and silver clothes that had suffered some damage in a fight with an elven wizard. He carried no weapons, but had a heavy load of baggage containing gold and minor riches. Jayden had a smirking, superior expression most of the time. Dana was actually glad to see that smug look on his face, because he was a terrifying force when he gave in his to rage. “Our trip should provoke little comment when I have a reputation for strange deeds.”

“Like trying to overthrow the king and queen,” Dana commented.

“Most men want to do that,” Jayden said. He smiled at a gnome leaning against a barrel, and resumed talking once they were far from him. “The difference is I carry out my plans. But I digress. The dear captain believes we were going to meet someone out at sea, and I hope you’ll agree I looked annoyed when no one appeared.”

“I think you scared those men,” Dana replied. Dana was a girl of fifteen with brown hair and simple clothes. She’d followed Jayden since spring when he’d saved her village from a monster. Joining him was risky, but she’d seen the good he was capable of as well as the danger he posed. Jayden needed someone to help steer him away from trouble and toward doing good. So far they’d defeated monsters and an elf wizard, and survived meeting the Shrouded One, a fairytale in Fish Bait City that was actually a mob of goblins.

Dana had a knife in her belt and carried nearly as much baggage as Jayden after their successful missions together. There was one item missing from their belongings, though, and God willing it would never be seen again.

“That might keep them quiet,” Jayden told her. “I dislike frightening people, but the fewer men who know we dumped the Valivaxis overboard during that trip the better. You did an excellent job distracting them while I got rid of it. Those men think we went for a meeting that didn’t happen when the other side didn’t arrive, a story that shouldn’t inform enemies of our real objective.”

“Is it safe, now?” Dana asked as they left the dock and went onto street crowded with men and a few dwarfs. The Valivaxis was a gateway to another world where the elves of old placed their dead emperors. They’d placed guards in the tomb, terrible monsters who’d survived the passing of centuries and could come out if the Valivaxis was opened.

Jayden smiled. “I selected that location to place the Valivaxis because there is a deep trench in that part of the ocean. The pressure of the water above it will create enough force to make it impossible for anyone to reach the Valivaxis, and that same force will help keep it closed. Our unwelcome guest is gone for good, and we may turn our attention to other goals.”

Dreading the answer, she asked, “Such as?”

“We’ve been busy for weeks dealing with the Valivaxis. I need to learn what events have occurred before making plan.”

Dana and Jayden slipped through the crowd as best they could. Their passing drew little attention, for the crowd included some men in very elaborate outfits. These included merchants hawking their goods, mercenaries from distant lands and entertainers playing music or juggling to earn coins. Dana stopped for a moment to watch an acrobat, but she hurried along when she saw a suspicious person.

“We’re being followed,” she told Jayden.

Jayden kept walking. “Describe him.”

“It’s a gnome with black hair, dressed in leather clothes. He was at the docks, and now he’s here.”

Jayden shrugged. “He could be a thief or an information broker.”

“A what?”

“Someone who learns important information and sells it. I once bought secrets from such a person, only for him to sell my location to agents of the crown. He and I had a discussion afterwards, which he eventually recovered from. If our new friend is wise he won’t make the same mistake. Ah, here we are. Welcome to The Hole in the Wall, a disreputable tavern with surprisingly good cuisine.”

The Hole in the Wall lived up to its obnoxious name. The building was dingy, dark, crowded and smelly. The tavern’s patrons were mostly human, but Dana saw two dwarfs at the bar and an eight-foot tall hairy brute of an ogre seated in a corner. Most of the rough looking men sat at small tables, drinking grog and eating unwholesome looking dishes. When Dana backed away from a man gorging what looked like skinned snakes in red sauce, he demanded, “What’s the matter? You never saw a man eat eels?”

Dana had been born and raised on a farm far from sea, and honestly replied, “I’ve never seen eels before.”

That earned her braying laughter from the man. Jayden ignored him and led Dana to a table near the back. He gestured for a waiter to come and ordered food for them. “Tell Charles I said hello.”

“He knows you’re here and wishes you weren’t,” the waiter replied tartly. “Try not to make so much of a mess this time.”

“Yep, you’ve been here before,” Dana said.

The waiter had barely left their table before a clearly drunken man stagger up to their table and asked, “Girl, what do you charge?”

Dana didn’t understand the question and was about to ask when Jayden shot to his feet and cast a spell. Shadows across the tavern stretched out to form a massive, clawed fist. Huge fingers wrapped around the man’s chest and threw him out of the tavern. Patrons across the tavern cried out in surprise and ducked under their tables. Jayden let the spell fade and addressed the crowd.

“The next man to insult the lady’s honor can expect far worse.” Jayden sat down as if the matter was settled. To Dana’s surprise, the tavern’s patrons calmed down and returned to their drinks. No one went to help the man Jayden had ejected from the building. The dwarfs even raised a toast to Jayden, and the ogre chuckled.

Confused, Dana said, “What was that about?”

“Don’t ask.”

Their food came quickly, a filling meal of grilled fish on roasted vegetables and bread. Their host came nearly as fast, a large and irate looking man with blond hair and worn sailor’s clothes.

“Ah, Charles, how good to see you,” Jayden said.

“You idiot, what were you thinking coming here again?” Charles replied through gritted teeth. “I have delicate business matters in this city, and I don’t need you drawing attention to me.”

“You run a tavern with good food and better gossip,” Jayden replied. “I’ve been gone a year and need to know what’s changed in the city. Who better to go to than you?”

“Anyone!” Charles roared. That drew attention from the patrons. Charles glowered at them until they went back to their drinks. He sat in a chair across from Jayden. “You want to know what’s changed? I changed. I have a side business that makes good profit. These men won’t inform on you, even the one you threw out. The crown doesn’t pay for information, and men who want their business kept secret deal harshly with informants. But if you make a disastrous mess like you always do, knights will search the city and might learn my secrets by accident.”

“You’re worried about your grain smuggling?” Jayden asked. Charles gasped. “I heard about that months ago. Farmers sell you their wheat rather than have it confiscated, and you sell it to smugglers who sell it in Nolod’s grain markets. That wheat would have gone to feed the king and queen’s army. I’m rather proud of you, Charles.”

Charles recovered quickly. “Then you know why I don’t want royal attention.”

“I’ll happily leave your delightful corner of the underworld alone. All I need is you to provide me current information on the king and queen’s doings. I’ll pick a target far from here, giving the loving royal couple somewhere else to send their knights.”

Charles grumbled and said, “It’s worth it to get you out of Pearl Bay. The city barely recovered from your last visit and doesn’t need your return. Who’s the girl?”

“Dana Illwind,” Dana said. “I’m his friend.”

Charles glanced between them. “I’ve never heard of you having friends, Jayden, only temporary help.”

“Dana is an exceptional woman.”

“She’d have to be to keep you in line. All right, I’ve help, for a price.”

Jayden and Charles began haggling over how much Charles’ help would cost, and Dana’s attention drifted off. The tavern was dark and dirty, so she looked out the windows where men struggled to get through crowded streets. To her surprise she saw a woman navigate the packed thoroughfare with ease. People made way for the simply dressed woman, greeting her warmly as if she was a blood relative to everyone on the road.

“Who’s she?” Dana asked.

Charles’ hard expression softened at the sight of the woman. “That’s Sarah Gress, wife of our old sheriff. The poor woman’s been on hard times since she lost her husband.”

“What happened to him?”

The question earned Dana surprised looks from nearby tables. Some men were outraged, but Charles waved them off. “She’s new in town, boys.”

The men calmed down, and one said, “Do yourself a favor and go back wherever you came from. It can’t be worse than here.”

Charles shrugged. “I’ve been in worse, just not often. Hural Gress used to be sheriff in Pearl Bay. Big man, strong like an ox and good with a sword. He upheld the law the same for rich and poor, and he was the first man to ask judges for mercy. He knew when to turn a blind eye when no harm was meant, and he could get most folks to talk over their problems rather than fight it out or go to court. He convinced men to do the right thing, or beat them down with his fists if he had to. In ten years he only drew his sword eight times. Those eight times, well, those men needed killing.”

Puzzled, Dana said, “You respected him.”

“I didn’t used to be a smuggler,” Charles replied. He sounded resigned to his situation. “Sheriff Gress was respected by all men and a fair number of dwarfs and elves. Too bad he wasn’t respected by the throne.”

Jayden scowled. “What did they do to him?”

Charles finished his drink with one swallow. “Five months ago the king and queen wrote new laws and sent copies to all the sheriffs on how to carry out their duties. Criminals were sentenced to forced labor no matter how petty the crime. No pleas accepted, no deals, no mercy. The more criminals sentenced, the more pay a sheriff gets. Sheriffs could cut men down at the slightest offense. It used to be they had to explain it to a judge when they took a life. Nowadays nobody questions when a man is killed.

“Sheriff Gress wrote a letter to the king listing why he couldn’t obey these rules, how they ignored laws hundreds of years old and the rights of men established by the founder of the dynasty. He said this would make more trouble than it would solve. He asked to be relieved of his duties on account of no man could act like that and still be called a man.”

The tavern fell quiet as customers listened to the grim tale. Charles stared down at the floor as he finished.

“Sheriff Gress got summoned to the capital. Good men told him to run, offered to help get him out of the kingdom, but the sheriff did his duty. Two months later his wife got a letter saying he’d died along the way from bone break plague.”

Dana’s jaw dropped. “There’s plague here?”

Charles held up his cup for another round, and the waiter filled it. “There hasn’t been plague in these parts for twenty years. Wouldn’t matter if there was, since Sheriff Gress had bone break as a boy and survived it. A man gets a sickness like bone break or red eyes, he never gets it again. We started hearing from other cities how men ‘died from plague’, plagues real specific about who they kill. You work for the crown and complain, appeal a ruling, question an order, and you get called to the capital to answer for it. You never seem to make it there.”

“How many times has this happened?” Jayden demanded.

“Dozens of times I can prove, hundreds more I’ve heard of.”

Shocked, Dana asked, “What did your mayor do when this happened?”

Charles scowled. “He didn’t want to end up the same way, so he kept quiet. Most folks do. Worse thing is those good men get replaced with bad ones. We got a new sheriff named Hemmelfarb a month later, and he’s got no problem with the new laws. He confiscates goods for the crown or for his own pocket, and God help anyone who protests. Sheriff Gress used to live in a house provided by the crown. That house went to Hemmelfarb, and Sarah Gress and her kids got put out on the street. We help her when we can.”

“Are you sure he’s dead?” Dana asked. “Maybe he was exiled or imprisoned.”

Charles watched Sarah Gress select fruit from a vendor. “Sheriff Gress loved that woman more than life itself. If he were alive, he’d fight through armies to reach her.

“It was a lesson to us all,” he continued. “Life was never easy here, but we got by. After what the king and queen did to Sheriff Gress, we don’t try to be honest anymore. There’s no reward for hard work when the throne can take everything you make whenever they please. As bad as the new punishments are, starving is worse.”

Jayden got up from his chair and marched out of the tavern to Sarah Gress. She glanced up from the fruit cart as he stopped in front of her. “Madam, I’m told you have suffered greatly. I would like to help.”

Most people were awed or fearful when they saw Jayden. Sarah Gress looked him in the eye. “Sir, it may surprise you to know that I have heard of you. You do not disappoint in your appearance. I hope you will forgive me, but while I am sure your offer is genuine, I have not yet fallen so far that I must accept aid from criminals.”

“You’re certain there’s nothing I can do?”

“I have lost much, sir. Leave me at least my dignity and good name.”

“As you wish.” Jayden bowed and returned to the tavern. He went to his table and looked at Dana. “I should have asked you to do that. She would have been more receptive.”

“I can try if you want,” Dana offered.

Jayden shook his head and turned to Charles. “I need a list of men she does business with, honest men I can give coins to discretely pay for her needs.”

“I know two men who can help,” he replied. He got up to leave, saying, “It’s best if we meet them quietly so your reputation doesn’t damage them. The first is Samuel Sti—oh no, not now, you fool.”

The street outside the tavern cleared as men ran to avoid a swaggering swordsman in a blue and gray uniform. He was tall and strong, healthy and young, handsome to look at, but his cruel expression showed how little he thought of the people around him.

“So, I heard a ship dropped off passengers,” the man sneered.

Jayden scowled. “Dare I ask, or is the answer too obvious?”

“That’s Sheriff Hemmelfarb,” Charles answered. “He’s as bad as he sounds. Ships he inspects lose a lot of cargo, and arrested men find their wallets a good deal lighter.”

Hemmelfarb pushed past a few men near the tavern’s door. He glanced briefly at Sarah Gress. Gress met his gaze the same way she had Jayden’s. Hemmelfarb went by her without a word as he put a hand on his sword hilt.

“We’ve been having too much of that,” Hemmelfarb said, his tone belittling. “Men seem to think they can come and go as they please without paying proper respect. That’s what this is about, respect. I’ve been here long enough I should be getting some instead of every yokel going on about a dead man who used to have the job.”

The waiter quickly poured a drink and set it on the bar. “No need for trouble, sheriff.”

Hemmelfarb made no move to accept the drink and instead drew his sword. “I think there is. Men I trust in this city said strangers came here with full bags. I’m wondering what’s in those bags. I’m wondering why they came here. I’m wondering why I have to keep making the same points to you halfwits about the law.”

Dana slid down lower in her chair, trying hard not to be noticed. When she saw the look on Jayden’s face, she reached out and took his arm to stop him. It didn’t work.

“Give me room,” Jayden said. Nearby men backed away until there was a clear space around him. Jayden cast a spell and formed an ebony sword rimmed with light. He stepped forward so the sheriff had no trouble seeing him before he raised his magic sword. Speaking loud enough to be heard outside the tavern, Jayden answered the sheriff’s challenge. “I am the man you seek. You have my undivided attention. Allow me to demonstrate why that’s a bad thing.”

“You…” Sheriff Hemmelfarb froze. His sneer disappeared and lips quivered as he took a step back. His face turned pale. Then he ran.

“What are you doing?” Sarah Gress shouted as Hemmelfarb raced by her. The sheriff tripped, dropping his sword when he landed. He left it there as he scrambled to his feet and kept running. Sarah ran after him a few steps, shouting, “Get back here!”

A few men in the tavern smirked while the dwarfs shook their heads in shame. The ogre burst out laughing. The waiter handed Jayden the drink he’d poured for the sheriff, saying, “That’s worth a round on the house.”

Sarah Gress marched over to where Hemmelfarb had fallen and picked up his sword. Her expression was so fierce that men got out of her way when she marched up to Jayden.

“You offered aid, sir, and you provided more than I could have asked for.” She held up the sword and called out, “Sheriff Hemmelfarb is supposed to uphold the law, to protect us from criminals. A wanted man with a price on his head stands before us now, and our sheriff ran! This is the measure of the man our king and queen sent to guide us, defend us, to rally us when the city is in danger! This is the man our king and queen favor after they took my husband! Tell your family, your neighbors, your friends and strangers you meet on the street! Tell them our sheriff is a coward!”

With that said, Sarah Gress stormed off with the sword. Jayden let his magic sword dissipate as he watched her leave, saying, “That is quite a woman.”

Charles slapped a hand over his face. “Of all the ways you could have ended that…go out of the back. I’ll meet you at the Kraken Hotel. God willing I’ll still have a business left in the morning.”

Dana and Jayden left, stopped only briefly when the ogre insisted on patting Jayden on the shoulder. They found the streets buzzing with gossip as men and women spread word of his showdown with the sheriff. A few men recognized Jayden and got out of his way, but otherwise their reactions were minimal.

Not sure how to begin the conversation, Dana said, “I’d never seen you cast that spell.”

“I found a spell tablet from the old sorcerer lords when I saved your town months ago,” he replied. “It took me longer than I’d like to translate and master the spell, but you saw its effectiveness.”

Hesitantly, she said, “And you thought a crowded city was a good place to use it?”

Jayden led her down a side street away from the docks. “The man at the tavern was a drunken idiot who needed a lesson, and the other patrons needed to see my abilities to prevent further insults. Throwing the lout out did both without killing him.”

“I wasn’t angry with the man, and you can do more good easily and quietly if people don’t know who you are,” she pressed. “Picking fights like that makes enemies and lets your enemies know exactly where you are.”

“I was angry with him, and I plan on being long gone before the king and queen learn of our visit.” Jayden pointed to a large hotel surrounded by rich shops. “Here we are, the Kraken Hotel. You’ll find the accommodations unusual, the prices high and the proprietor open to bribes.”

“How is any of that a good thing?”

Jayden opened the door for her, and she entered a place of dreams. Weird dreams, but dreams nonetheless. The entrance hall was bigger than her home and included a large bar, gaming tables, carpeted floors and gorgeous paintings. There was a huge beak three feet across mounted on the wall along with dozens of sharp spikes three inches long. The room’s décor was an underwater theme with shark skeletons prominently displayed above doorways.

An elf behind the bar smiled when they entered. “Ah, Sorcerer Lord Jayden. I’d heard you were in town and hoped you would grace us with your presence again.”

“Charmed to meet you again, Elegant Crane,” Jayden replied as he walked up to the elf. Jayden flipped two gold coins to the elf and added, “I’ll need a room for myself and another for the lady. The king and queen recently demanded inns and hotels report who stays with them.” Jayden tossed another gold coin. “I trust you can overlook our visit.”

“You needn’t worry about that,” the elf replied as he pocketed the coins. “Reports we send to the capital about our guests have no basis in reality. Dinner is at eight and the evening’s poker game starts at ten. Here are your keys.”

“What’s poker?” Dana asked as she followed Jayden out of the hotel’s main room.

“You must have games of chance in your hometown.”

“Sure. Pins and swings, clam toss, apples and angels. Poker is new to me.” Jayden opened a door for her and waited for her to go in. “We need to talk.”

“I see.” Jayden went in ahead of her and sat down on a large soft bed in the center of the room. Dana followed him and closed the door behind her.

Feeling nervous, she asked, “Charles wasn’t happy to see you. What did you do the last time you were here?”

“So that’s what’s got you worried. Last year I learned the king and queen were importing weapons. Namely a ship came to Pearl Bay loaded with a hundred thousand arrows. I found the ship before it was unloaded and encouraged the crew to leave.”

Dana rolled her eyes. “And by encouraged, does that mean you threatened their lives?”

“No, but your idea has merit. I offered them a bribe roughly three times their yearly salary. I’d take credit for being so generous, but I’d stolen the money from the mayor’s personal vault. Once the men were gone I burned the ship down to the waterline. I escaped without any great difficulty, largely because the late and much lamented Sheriff Gress was hunting bandits in the countryside.”

“Burning a ship is a hanging offense.”

Jayden smiled. “I commit hanging offenses every month, more often during summer.”

“It sounds like you made life harder for the people here when you burned that ship.”

Jayden looked more thoughtful as he answered. “I knew that could happen before I acted. It was a choice of which was the greater wrong. Charles and others here no doubt had their lives turned upside down when the king and queen learned what I did. At the very least security in Pearl Bay must have been tightened and citizens harassed by soldiers and mercenaries.

“But a hundred thousand arrows can kill a great many men, foreigners I’d never met and owed no debts to, but that doesn’t make their lives less important. I could greatly inconvenience many men or allow thousands or tens of thousands to die. I didn’t make the choice lightly, but given the opportunity I would do it again.”

Dana hesitated before she spoke. “There are ways to help these people and the kingdom without getting a bigger bounty on your head. They won’t be as satisfying, but you can save lives like when you closed the Valivaxis and dumped it in the ocean.”

“We sealed the Valivaxis,” he corrected her.

“There are threats out there just as big. I’ve heard of monsters, bandits, ancient curses, threats that make big parts of the kingdom off limits to everyone. If you fixed those problems you’d make the kingdom a better place. It might satisfy the king and queen since they’d have so much more land open for farmers, loggers and miners. They’d have enough land without going to war.”

“An idea I’m sure the dearly departed Sheriff Gress would agree with,” Jayden replied.

Dana’s heart sank at the mention of the old sheriff. She’d never met him, but he sounded like the kind of man she would have liked.

Jayden went on, his voice calm but his words relentless. “Dana, your idea is valid, but you used one word that ensures it won’t work. Enough. That word doesn’t exist in our enemies’ vocabulary. The king and queen control an entire kingdom. Taxes generated from these lands, if they were managed properly, should be enormous. For you and I that would be enough, more than we could possibly spend, but the king and queen want to conquer a neighboring kingdom. They seek land equal to the massive quantity they already possess. Giving them a few dozen square miles can’t compare to such a bounty.”

Softly, she asked, “Did you ever wonder if what the king and queen have done is a response to what you’re doing to them? You scare people, and scared people make bad choices.”

“I wonder a great many things, Dana. The king and queen may indeed be panicked by my actions. I hope so, although evidence to support the idea is sparse. But I have lived longer than you, traveled farther and seen more of our kingdom, and I have learned the offenses inflicted on this kingdom go back years before I began my crusade against the throne. Their misdeeds grow in number and cruelty, but they aren’t new events.”

“It’s just, this is the second city I’ve been two, both dumps, and I don’t see how what we’re doing can change that.” Dana pointed at the window and said, “Pearl Bay stinks and the people are miserable.”

Jayden kissed her on the forehead, making her blush. “Your concern does you credit. I admit nothing I do is going to help these people in the short term. Men in neighboring kingdoms deserve better lives, too, and I want the same for our people. For that to happen there must be no war. I’ve made hard choices to make that a reality. Not all those choices were correct, but they’re better than a hundred thousand arrows being fired.”

Their conversation ended when someone banged on the door. Dana opened it to let a very angry Charles into the room. He shut the door behind him before turning his fierce gaze on Jayden. “Sheriff Hemmelfarb came back with thirty mercenaries. It took some fast talking and a substantial bribe to convince him I don’t know you, so I still have a tavern.”

“I’ll toast to that,” Jayden replied. “I’ll have a bottle of wine sent to the room.”

“I’m going to need more than that.” Charles took papers from inside his shirt and laid them on the bed. He unfolded them and said, “My smuggling contacts are in port and eager for more business, but nearby farmers either had their crops confiscated or sold them to me long ago. I need product to move, the sooner the better. You want to hurt the king and queen? I need money to cover what I just lost. We can do both at once.”

Jayden rubbed his hands together. “Charles, you don’t disappoint.”

Charles showed Dana and Jayden a rough map of the docks and nearby streets. He pointed at an isolated dock and said, “A ship is scheduled to come to this dock tonight. New security rules demand ships send a cargo manifest before arriving at harbor, and this cargo is worth having. Get it for me and I’ll give you enough information to make you rich and the king and queen furious.”

Jayden shook Charles’ hand. “It’s a fair deal.”

“What’s in there?” Dana asked.

“One of my associates snuck the cargo manifest out of the harbormaster’s office.” Charles handed it to her and pointed at the middle. “The ship carries goats, sheep and one steed, all property of our new sheriff. There’s a high demand for livestock, so I can move those quickly, and I know men who will buy a horse no questions asked. But there are guards at the dock we need to deal with.”

Jayden looked at the map and asked, “Militiamen won’t be a threat. How many mercenaries are in Pearl Bay?”

“Normally none, but it’s gone up to sixty mercenaries, fierce, well trained and loyal if they’re paid on time. They obey Sheriff Hemmelfarb and no one else, and they patrol the docks at all times.”

Dana frowned as she read the cargo manifest: 34 sheep, 25 goats, 1 steed. “Why does a sheriff need sheep?”

“Livestock in the region have been commandeered to feed the army,” Charles explained. “No sheep, no wool. No wool, no clothes. No clothes, no money. Those sheep are worth gold.”

“Who else can you count on for this job?” Jayden asked.

“You, me, your girl, my smuggler friends on their ship and a dozen local boys.” Charles frowned and added, “I was going to write this off as too dangerous, but then you showed up.”

Dana held up the paper and said, “This doesn’t make sense.”

“What part?” Jayden asked.

She pointed at the manifest. “They list the animals but have one only as steed. Why not call it a horse?”

Charles looked annoyed. “The harbormaster is a barely literate drunk. Doesn’t surprise me he’d be sloppy. As for the horse, these are people with money. They can’t use simple words when they have fancy ones like steed.”

“What else is there?” Jayden pressed.

Charles pointed at other buildings on the map. “There are four warehouses nearby. Three are filled with trade goods, low value, high bulk, but still worth money.”

Jayden smiled at the news. “A distraction at one of those warehouses could draw the mercenaries away long enough to get the animals. How close are your smugglers?”

Charles pointed to a ship on a neighboring dock. “Here. We take off the animals, herd them onto our ship and send them off. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes if we do it right.”

“And what will the sheriff do when his animals get stolen?” Dana asked.

“Don’t know,” Charles said as he rolled up his papers. “Don’t care, either. It’s getting impossible to earn a living in Pearl Bay, and when the smugglers leave I’m going with them for friendlier lands. You can have your one-man campaign against the throne all for yourself, Jayden. I’m through.”

Shocked, Dana asked, “You’d abandon your homeland?”

The look Charles gave her made Jayden step between them. Charles regained his temper and said, “My homeland killed the one person I respected. Everything good here has been squeezed out. I didn’t used to be a criminal, girl. I don’t like being a criminal. And if there’s somewhere out there beyond the waves where I can go back to being a tavern keeper, where kings don’t make good men disappear, I want to live there. Think of me what you will.”

Charles headed for the door. “I’ll send for you when the ship comes.”

Once he was gone, Dana said, “I’m sorry if I made that worse.”

“Don’t apologize,” Jayden told her. “I’ve found most men can only be called upon for help a limited number of times. Ask too much and they grow weary or break under the strain. Charles has suffered much and needs time to heal.”