Chapter 15: Murderer Most Foul
The rest of the party were a mere few hundred metres away, but for all they knew of what was happening to their comrades it may as well have been a few hundred miles. Anomen felt himself in dire need of some sane or less iniquitous company, as Minsc's ramblings, Haer'Dalis's incessant pointed and – from his point of view – cruel jokes, and Yoshimo's all-round brigand-like behaviour was starting to wear on his patience.
It was odd, he reflected, how this party, which had now spent a good few days together and embarked on a not inconsiderable quest in the Outer Planes, could still function as a group of individuals, rather than a team. Socially, at least. Minsc was a little too addled to form any deep attachments with anyone which weren't based on amusement, pity or indulgence on their part; Haer'Dalis… well, his wit was not quite appreciated by all, and Yoshimo seemed to go out of his way to avoid too close a connection with the group.
The closest two were clearly Harrian and Jaheira, and not only were they not there right now, the closeness was relative to everyone else. Anomen doubted quite sincerely that the druid was allowing anyone too far into her life, having pieced together everyone's stories from Yoshimo's limited knowledge and expansive speculation, not to mention the odd piece of information that tumbled from Minsc's lips.
The four members of the party left behind for the meeting with Mavek were seated at a table towards the back of the Five Flagons – the same one as last time which had slowly started to become their regular place in the tavern – and all were indulging in some none-too-light drinking whilst they waited for the return of the thief and the druid.
The massive ranger, who had his back to the corner and thus had a good view of the rest of the tavern, abused his onlooker's position by feeding Boo nuts, quietly listening to the conversation.
Or rather, it was less of a conversation than an argument, as Haer'Dalis returned with his pokes and gibes at Anomen's fighting style, with Yoshimo taking sides as it amused him, making whatever digs he thought could impact the debate.
The squire was glaring at the bard when Minsc finally tuned into the conversation, sensing that Boo was tiring of the nuts and setting him down on the table. The hamster sniffled around a little, before creeping across the wooden surface and setting about making himself a bed of paper scraps in front of the low candle.
"You may criticise my technique, Tiefling," Delryn was snapping as Minsc looked up, taking a sip of his beer. "But the facts are in my favour. Last summer was the Order's campaign against the hillgnasher giants, during which I slew twenty of the foul beasts. Not bad for someone who wastes time in combat with fancy moves and abandons opportunities, does it not?"
"Twenty?" Yoshimo echoed, a slight hint of amusement on his face. "I find that quite hard to believe, Anomen. Hillgnasher giants are ferocious beasts indeed."
The squire shifted a little. "Sir Ryan Trawl slew fifty," he added quietly. It had been a very long summer; the enemy horde large and the paladin army small but well-trained. Each knight or squire had achieved a high number of kills – twenty, whilst not inconsiderable, had not been a particularly outstanding total. Hillgnasher giants were incredibly strong, but incredibly slow and stupid. If a warrior was fast enough and smart enough, dispatching them one-on-one was no massive feat.
"Mayhaps, but may I then offer the possibility that your fighting skills have deteriorated greatly over the past few months?" Haer'Dalis asked, his face irritatingly open and frank. "Your performance in fighting the Cambion was not exactly… exemplary."
Anomen raised an eyebrow at the blade, mentally preparing a dozen of vicious retorts, but finding none suiting. This seemed to be his fate, this party, and they would be the death of him yet. Instead of continuing the argument, Delryn just glowered at the other two, ignoring Minsc, then stormed out of the inn.
He was starting to wonder what he had to gain from going along with these immoral fools. Harrian had struck him as a righteous man, but he was a thief, in Helm's name! Delryn was going on the quest of a thief, following a thief. It was not fitting of a squire of the Order… he was sure the Prelate would frown upon it, and anything the Prelate frowned upon was not to be taken lightly.
There was a campaign to Tethyr soon, to quell the goblin hordes uprising around there. Maybe he should abandon this fool's errand and join with the Order once again, even though he would probably have to serve under Sir Cadril, and not Sir Ryan as usual. It was a far cry from these blasted petty investigations of the city.
In his anger and deep thoughts, Anomen had stormed into a part of the Bridge District he didn't recognise, finding himself in quite a dark alleyway. He came to a halt, recognising that he was quite conspicuous in a dangerous place. He had little to fear from petty thieves, but they could still present a problem.
He heard footsteps coming up behind him, and whirled around, mace in hand but not threatening, peering through the darkness to see who was approaching him.
"Looking for a good time, mate?"
Anomen sagged. It was one of the local harlots on her rounds, approaching any low-lifes that might give gold for her company for the night. Not a threat, and generally they didn't remain in areas where people were liable to be attacked. "Begone, wench, I have no time for you," he snapped, though without the energy to input very little real venom.
The woman – more of a girl, he realised, his heart sinking – looked panicked in the dim light as she realised she wasn't going to make a sale here. "Please, sir… It's not safe to remain on the streets at night…"
Delryn frowned. "Then go home!" he exclaimed, turning to go.
She shook her head, rushing around to face him and grabbing his shoulders. "I need the coin, sir! But with the skinner murderer around here… I'm scared to stay out. Usually I can do my rounds once and be done for the night, but… please, sir, even just some coin so I don't have to go home empty-handed."
"I cannot help you," Anomen insisted. Her pleading face was illuminated by the sole street lamp over his shoulder, but he froze as darkness fell upon them both, and in the dim light could see a look of panic cross her face.
Before she could scream, as she was clearly about to, Anomen whirled around to find himself face to face with a hefty man, his features not clearly distinctive without illumination. But the knife he wielded was very obvious.
Delryn didn't have time to react as the metal thudded into his chest, and fell to the floor, surprisingly free of pain – his chest merely felt numb. But he could hear the harlot screaming, even above the singing in his ears… then the twang of a bowstring and a grunt, then running footsteps.
Shadows danced over him, then one came to a halt and strong arms gripped him, pulling him to his feet. "Is Anomen alright?" a voice, recognisable as Minsc's, boomed in his ears as the berserker warrior supported him.
The squire looked down. A knife was sticking in his armour, but as he reached down and plucked it from his chest, it was clear that, although it had pierced the metal most devastatingly – almost certainly it was an enchanted blade – it had not broken the skin. Or not enough to do any real damage.
"I believe I am alright," he managed to croak, quite shaken up. He looked around him. Yoshimo was running towards them from the end of the alleyway, bearing his bow. It was clear that he had been the one to fire the arrow he had heard. Haer'Dalis was nowhere in sight. Anomen presumed the blade had decided to work on his puns whilst the others came to… help him. "What happened?"
"The streets are a dangerous place to roam at night, my friend," Yoshimo answered, approaching them. Anomen chose to let the 'friend' bit roll as the bounty hunter continued. "Especially with the word about the murderer going around. Minsc decided –"
"Boo decided," the ranger interrupted, nodding proudly and displaying the small hamster, who squeaked in a way Anomen would swear was triumphant.
Yoshimo smiled humourlessly. "Ah, Boo decided that it would be best we went after you," he amended. "It seems it was a good idea. That was no simple mugger. No mugger worth his salt attacks a man in armour, and to operate in Athkatla independent of the Shadow Thieves, you need to be worth your salt."
Delryn thought he could hear a note of pride in the Kara-Turan's voice and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "My thanks," he declared at last, trying not to let it sound too forced. "Where is the tiefling? Off polishing his swords?" he asked disdainfully.
"This sparrow was off following your attacker," a new voice interrupted, and Haer'Dalis appeared seemingly from nowhere. "He did not detect me, and so proceeded to his hideout. He's in the tanner shop."
"That explains it!" the harlot, who had been ignored up until now, exclaimed, and they all looked questioningly at her. "This is the second time I've been attacked by the Skinner murderer. Last time, I got a whiff of him… stank of something, but I couldn't place it. Now I know – 'twas that stuff they use on the leather."
"You think this is the skinner murderer?" Anomen asked, his question not directed to anyone in particular.
"That would make sense," Yoshimo concurred, shrugging a little. "He has been the scourge of the Bridge District for many months, according to the guards. It would be best he were taken care of."
"The crimes he has performed are foul indeed!" Minsc declared. "We must bring this evil to justice, and administer a righteous butt-kicking! So say Minsc, and Boo!" He raised the Sword of Chaos above his head and nodded firmly and proudly.
"I must agree, my hound and hamster," Haer'Dalis's lyrical voice joined in. "Such a foulness –"
They got no further, for then Anomen interrupted. "Then are we going to do something about this murderer or are we just going to sit here mumbling our consent to the idea?" he demanded irritably. "We should move!"
The harlot's eyes lit up, and she sidled up beside Anomen. "Ooh, I likes a man who knows when to take charge," she purred.
Delryn's expression flashed through about twenty emotions, none too kind and one bordering on panic. "Quickly," he added firmly.