CHAPTER 5
Galen was in a most foul mood. Ever since he and his Harper associates had arrived in Amn, he had run into nothing but trouble; shifty characters, deceptive peasantry, ruffian scum of all sorts, and a decidedly single-minded government that had to be avoided at all costs. The Docks District of the city of Athkatla was no different, being almost legally run by a clever group of thieves under the power of one Renal BloodScalp. The Harper order had been keeping an eye on the Docks for just under two months now, as rumor had it that some members of their flock had taken up residence there. Of course, no Harpers had been assigned to Athkatla, and so the group at the Docks had become the subject of a small investigation. Jaheira, a Harper who had, for a time, resided within Athkatla, had been sent to assess the situation and had reported that the so-called Harpers were not what they claimed to be and that they were thieves working under BloodScalp. She had then reported back a few days after and notified her order that she was going to remain in Athkatla to investigate the Docks district 'Harpers' furthermore to see if they had tarnished the Harper name whilst using it. Approximately two weeks after that, Jaheira stopped reporting...and so it was Galen's turn to take a trip to Amn.
He stood, now, in the marketplace by the shipyard docks, eyeing a tall building to the left of the city staircase's base. This was where Jaheira had reported that the false Harpers were stationed. The was a beggar standing by the door. Galen sighed; he had been in the marketplace and around the area with his crew since mid morning and even by now, the end of the afternoon, he hadn't seen anyone enter or exit the suspicious building. Someone's hand waved briefly before his eyes and he was pulled from his musings.
"Maybe if you stare hard enough, Jaheira will burst out the door and come running." Riane, one of the Harpers in Galen's team, commented sarcastically as she left a merchant's cart and headed towards her leader. She threw her arms up and waved them dramatically, then half-ran towards Galen, "Galen! Oh Galen I am so glad to see you! It was horrible!" She wailed theatrically then laughed and shook her head, coming to a halt before the taller Harper. Galen was unimpressed.
"Shut up." He snapped tempestuously and shoved the girl out of his way so that he could see the 'Harper' building clearly again, "I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to. And I'll be damned if we have to spend the next few weeks staring at this godforsaken dump..." He signalled to the building with a jerk of his chin, "...so...why don't we just go over there and talk to them." He suggested. Riane raised a roan eyebrow.
"By 'talk to them' you mean 'cut them down', right?" She droned in a flat voice, then, when Galen turned a glare down upon her, she blinked, "Just wanted to make sure I could still speak your language, there chum. No need to jump at my throat." She paused and looked around for the other members of their group, "So...shall I gather the bunch or do you want to stare at the building some more?" She asked primly. Galen frowned.
"Gather the others." He replied and gestured back over his shoulder at the market, "We're gonna pay these guys a little visit." At this Riane nodded and strode past him. He knew very well it was not necessarily wise go the course he was about to go, but it was much more satisfying than endlessly playing spy. Jaheira had reported some specifics concerning the Harper Hold and its inhabitants, so it wasn't as though they were about to run in there blindly. They knew that the building had three floors: the first floor being that of a regular sitting-and-dining room, the second a more ostentatious ceremonial-type hall, and the third being some well-kept living quarters and a storage room. Jaheira had duly noted that the false Harpers must have been in the building for long, because nothing within looked new to its emplacement. Now as for the false Harpers themselves, there were nine of them constantly in the Hold; they were thieves of Renal BloodScalp's and, according to Jaheira, they were quite good at keeping their agenda hidden. To get this information, Jaheira had simply posed as one of BloodScalp's men, assigned to the same task as the others. It was Galen's suspicion that the woman had been exposed as a spy and dealt with accordingly...and if that was the case, then things would not go well for BloodScalp's men.
When Riane returned with the three other members of the party, Galen took a breath, "Alright, lads. Riane and I will take the front and see if our thief friends will cooperate and tell us what happened to Jaheira. Jace--" He looked to the elven man that stood beside Riane, "--I want you to go up on the roof and take a peek inside. Take a peek at the upper levels then get out the way you came, lest you hear that you are needed downstairs." He waited for the elf to nod before continuing, "Kazy, Dyrr," He looked to the two remaining men, a lithe druid and a tall ranger, "You two are backup. Stick by the side of the building and watch the windows. You see or hear trouble, you help. Understand?" He asked; the two men agreed and he took a final breath, "Right then. Spread out." He signalled for Riane to follow him as the others pretended to slip back into the market, slowly making their way to their designed positions.
As she headed towards the Harper Hold, Riane chuckled, "We are so obvious." She snickered and shook her head, "I bet you ten gold that the thieves in there have been watching us all day, laughing at us." Galen rolled his eyes.
"What is this, Riane?" He asked, irritated, "Is there a priestess of Illmater beneath the Harper I see?" He inquired sarcastically, referring to the Crying God of suffering and martyr. Before the girl could answer, he shot her a dark glare, "Just shut up, alright? You are depressing at best and I could do without your chatter." He snapped. Riane sighed heavily.
"I never liked you." She grumbled under her breath as the two of them stopped before the Harper Hold entrance. With her eyes she followed Jace, who slipped around the building and silently ascended the rickety wooden stairs that lead to a balcony on the third level. Once there, the elf tried the door that lead inside -- it was locked. Riane watched, engrossed and suddenly antsy, as Jace produced a curious set of iron key-sized tools and proceeded to pick the lock. When that was over, the elf disappeared inside the building. Riane turned her attention back to Galen, who had been watching Jace work as well, and managed a small smile. Galen smirked.
"He makes it look much too simple." He commented and Riane shook her head, "Now it's our turn." He declared and raised his hand to knock on the heavy door. He knocked and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, he knocked again. And waited. He gritted his teeth and knocked a third time. And waited some more. Riane bit her lower lip to avoid snickering.
"Maybe they're not home." She squeaked. The look Galen gave her was pure murder. Within a split-second, the taller Harper was pounding on the door.
"HEY! I know you're in there and that you can hear me!" He cried, making heads turn in the nearby marketplace, "I'm no beggar come to take your coin, fool! Open this door NOW before I open it FOR you!" He roared, teeth clenched and hands curled into fists. A little to the left, Riane grinned cheesily.
"Oh yeah..." She purred cynically, "...very eloquent, Galen." She clapped idly, "I'm sure they'll be up for a friendly chat NOW." She crossed her arms over her chest and tried not to look back at the people staring in the marketplace. Galen's head whipped to the side and he turned his angry visage upon her.
"Shut up!" He hissed and flexed the fingers of one hand. There was a slight creak and the door before them slid open a few inches. Just as a face appeared in the crack, Galen's arm lashed out and pushed the door open the rest of the way, effectively throwing the person behind it back into the wall. The heavily-irritated Harper stepped into the room; at the other end of the hall, near the stairs to go up were three men pointing crossbows at him. Beside him, Riane hurried to help the man that Galen had indirectly smashed into the wall.
"What's going on?!" One of the crossbow-weilding men called, "Who are these people?" He eyed Galen, who now stood stupidly in the middle of the room, then looked to Riane who had seen to the doorman's health and was now excusing herself profusely for the explosive entrance. The man who had been at the door frowned deeply and brushed himself off.
"What in blazes do you want?!" He growled, jerking away from Riane and quickly moving out to where the crossbowmen stood. Galen blinked.
"Why didn't you answer the door?" He demanded frustratedly, "I knocked FOUR times!" He showed four fingers, "FOUR! Can you count?!" He was getting angry again and decided to be quiet and get a hold of himself. After some slow breathing, he blew a curly black lock out of his face, "Alright listen. I am Galen and that over there--" He motioned vaguely behind him, "--is Riane. You have a friend of ours here and we would like to know how she is fairing. Jaheira is her name." He paused when the doorman's eyes narrowed, "You know...Jaheira. About this tall...brownish hair, rather ugly style...half elf." He smiled a nice, fake smile in hopes of looking sincere. The doorman's eyes remained narrowed.
"Jaheira...yes." He drawled, then cocked his head to the side, "Jaheira has been gone for a few days; but she was doing well when last I spoke with her." He paused, "Will that be all, Mister Galen?" He asked primly, his meaning clear. Galen frowned.
"Gone?" He echoed, "Did she say where she went?" He asked, then put on a dejected expression, "She said she'd be here!" He sighed heavily. The doorman examined him attentively, eyes flcking about quickly.
"No, she did not say where she was going." He replied dryly, "I would assume she's to return shortly, my dear man. You are free to return at a later date." He raised an eyebrow. Galen eyed him critically for a moment, wondering if the man was playing him or telling the truth.
"I am worried." He declared last, "She was supposed to be here...it is really strange that she is missing." He pretended to panic a bit and grow thoughtful, "May I see her quarters? There may be a clue as to where she's gone...or if anything happened to her." His eyes were hard. The doorman blinked and furrowed his brow.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, sir." He said quickly, "Perhaps you should just come back next week and see if she's returned." He raised a hand and offered the Harpers the door. Galen strode towards the doorman and the crossbows fluidly followed his actions; he stopped before the other man and shook his head.
"Listen, my lord." He said seriously, "I think something horrible has happened to Jaheira and I won't rest until I see her again. Dead or alive." He swallowed thickly, "Now tell me...do you know of anything strange that may have happened lately? Has Jaheira ever mentioned anything about having to go somewhere? Has she been acting normally as of late?" He grasped the doorman's shoulders, "Please, you must give me some kind of information!" He pleaded. At the back of the room, Riane silently applauded Galen's show. The doorman sighed heavily and backed away from Galen, then went silent for a moment.
"No..." He said at length, "...I can't remember Jaheira acting strangely or telling me about having to leave town. I haven't heard anything from the others here either." He shrugged, "I've nothing to say, really. I'm as dumbfounded as you are, I suppose." He went silent again then shook his head, "And not much happens here...our order is a peaceful one. You and your friend here are the only guests we've had in a long time -- aside from beggars and the like." He stopped, then looked to Galen, "Which reminds me, we had two visitors a few days back...hopefuls that wishes to join our cause." He nodded slowly, "They did us a favor in hopes of marking their good faith and we in turn allowed them to take a tour of the compound. Jaheira left that day." He held Galen's gaze. The Harper nodded.
"Alright. Do you think the two visitors had anything to do with Jaheira's disappearance?" He asked, eyes wide now. The doorman shrugged.
"I don't think so...but you never know." He replied evasively. Galen licked his lips.
"Can you tell me about these two people then? I'd be forever thankful." He asked kindly, in contrast to his attitude a moment ago. Either the false Harper was trying to throw Galen off, or he was telling the truth...it was hard to tell considering the secretive nature of the man's conversation. Either way, it was wiser to take all the info he could gather...besides, Jace was searching the other floors, and if he came up with anything or not, then it would tip the scales on the false Harper's claims. The doorman nodded.
"Sure. They were two men; a human -- a mage in green robes -- and a halfling...shifty-eyed fellow in warrior's garb." He thought a bit more, trying to dig up more information from his memory banks, "The human's name is Xzar, and the other's name is..." He frowned, "...Montaron, I think. I don't know if they're still around. They said they came down from the Umar Hills." Galen nodded.
"Thank you. I will look into this and will return to you at a later date if my research hasn't turned up anything." He said with a small smile. The doorman bid him goodbye and showed he and Riane to the door. Once outside, they headed back to the marketplace and turned back towards the Harper Hold in order to look for Jace. Both Dyrr and Kazy re-appeared from their own spots around the side of the building and headed towards Riane and Galen. After about ten minutes, a slim figure slipped out of the balcony door. The elf moved to join the others, which he pinpointed within the market after some time.
"Alright...now we find out if the guy I smashed into the wall was serious about Jaheira." Galen said apocalyptically, watching Jace approach. When the man was near, he called out to him, "So...anything interesting?" He asked. Jace stopped before him and pursed his lips.
"Nothing at all." The elf replied, shaking head, "I was rather put off. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary...sorry. I trust you had better luck, Galen." He looked up at the other man with a hopeful expression. Galen nodded gravely.
"Well lads," He said with a sigh, "looks like we've got a hunt on our hands."