Aswon called Kai into the bathroom, to help check over the man and ensure that there weren't any additional injuries they hadn't spotted. After rinsing him off with warm soapy water until there was only a faint smell of petrol, and a quick examination by Kai, he was put back under the shower head and the water turned to cold and played over his body at full blast. Even so, it took several minutes and a dose of smelling salts to wake him up.
When he did rouse, Kai spread his hands in front of him, showing the man he meant him no harm – and coincidentally shielding the view of Aswon, who stood with his rifle held in the crook of his arms. It wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, but indicated that it was certainly an option if there was any funny business. Understandably, the man was confused – he was still the worse for wear from the beating he'd taken, and was somewhat distressed at being woken up by a strange man in his bathroom, and finding himself under the cold tap. He struggled out of the bath tub with a little help from Kai, and motioned that he wanted to leave the room. Aswon backed up and to the side, letting him pass, all the time watching him carefully.
The man ignored him and staggered to the front door, Kai racing to help him as he bounced off one of the walls halfway along the short corridor – it wouldn't do to have him knocked out again. Checking outside, the man was relieved to see his wife and children had been moved to a bench on the veranda, and all appeared fine – though unconscious. He saw the bodies of the attackers, laid out in the dirt before his house, hands pulled up tightly behind their backs and wrapped in plastic restraints.
The team were unprepared for what happened next. He turned, and moved towards Kai, kneeling before him, before beginning a long speech. Aswon's smattering of Azerbaijani was not up to the task, and he only caught some of the words – enough to determine intent – but not enough to catch the nuances and descriptions. No one could misunderstand the delivery though. Tears shone in his eyes as he thanked his saviours, for not only his life but his family's. He pledged himself as clansman or bondsman of some kind, swearing some kind of fealty to Kai and the team.
As he finished, Aswon leant inside the house and grabbed a coat, returning to drape it over his shoulders. The steadily dropping temperatures were wicking away heat from him at an alarming rate, and he was naked apart from his damp underwear. He was clearly not thinking straight at the moment, and if they weren't careful he would go into shock and their efforts would be for nothing.
Falling back on his previous experience, Aswon decided that what he really needed was a nice strong cup of tea, and headed into the house. Just as he opened the kitchen door, his brain caught up with the earlier barking and the sudden quiet now – just in time for him to raise his arm protectively in front of him. The large mongrel launched itself at his throat, but quickly found a large forearm in the way. Instinctively it bit down, the massive jaw muscles driving top and bottom jaw together with great force. The armour plates crunched together and compressed, trapping skin painfully, but saving Aswon from any real damage. He walked backwards, the dog trying to worry his arm and shake him from his feet as he did so. Getting close to the door, he called out, and the man shouted at the dog, who instantly let go of him and crouched on the floor, growling loudly and rolling the whites of his eyes at him as he resumed his journey to the kitchen.
Minutes later, Aswon returned with the cup of tea, and found the rest of the team still trying to communicate with the man, with limited success. Tadibya pulled Aswon to the side slightly and lowered her voice.
"Tell him, that I want to communicate with him, but I need his permission and acceptance, if you can."
Aswon nodded, and did his best to translate. He wasn't sure how well he came over, but the man nodded and smiled, and the intent was certainly there. Just behind him, Tadibya gathered her magical energies and shaped them into a spell, gently touching the man's mind and forming a link between them. Suddenly his words became clear to her, as if he was speaking her native tongue. She cleared her throat, and took over the translation duties from Aswon. The man seemed surprised at first with her fluency, but was distracted moments later by the questions – and the massive pounding headache that he was still suffering from. Slowly Tadibya gathered the story from him, and paraphrased it back to the team.
"His name is Rusudan Avalian, that's his wife, Naena, daughter, Eteri and son, Vardo. They're ranchers – they seem to run this place like a holiday cabin or something. They own a bunch of horses and all this land. A couple of months ago, these guys turned up and made threats against the place, and extorted a little money from them, making them pay a protection fee. They've been coming back ever since, but the fee keeps getting higher and higher each time. Last time, Rusudan couldn't pay, and they took one of his horses instead, and beat him up a bit."
The rest of the team stood quietly, asking the odd question here and there, but mostly listening to the story as it unfolded.
"They came back more often, took their car, and various other things instead of payment in cash. Rusudan tried to contact the police, but the person he got through to didn't seem to care – kept asking if there was any evidence of crime not just 'unreliable witness testimony'. It was enough that it was clear to Rusudan that these guys had someone inside the police force anyway. This morning they came back and wanted ten thousand – said it was late fees and processing fees for the other payments missed. They didn't have that kind of money, so the guys dragged them round the back to the stable block and…"
Tadibya listened to Rusudan as his voice grew thick, and tears started to stream down his face. Wracking sobs shook his body as he recounted the story, and the onlookers could see the raw emotional distress. Kai moved over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder and despite the language barrier gave him some very human support with a sad smile and a squeeze.
"They dragged them all around the back, at gunpoint. Started at one end of the stables, and bolted the doors with the horse inside. Threw some kind of incendiary in there, set fire to the hay. Burnt it to death." Her voice grew flatter and emotionless, until she was speaking in a monotone, concentrating on telling the story and trying not to be involved. Her hands gripped tightly into balled fists, and a small tic tugged at the corner of her eye.
"They went from one to another, burning them one by one. Driving the others mad with the smoke, the heat and the screams. Just murdering them. It took them hours, and they made them watch. Then they left them for a while, and said they would be back later, and that Rusudan had better have the money, or they'd take the Ranch and everything on it."
As Tadibya translated the horrific story, their faces lost all animation, and any sympathy they may have felt for them was gone. Several of the team wavered, and although they didn't want to get involved, they also didn't want to let scum like that go unpunished.
The team carried the family inside, setting them down on the settee in the main room and covering them with blankets and throws to help keep them warm against the cooling night. Shimazu and Hunter dragged the bodies of the mobsters around to the side of the house, away from the veranda, and laid them out in a row. They came back into the house and escorted Rusudan and Tadibya to the side, where Hunter pulled out one of the mobster's pistols.
He showed Rusudan how to load and chamber the pistol, where the safety catch was, and how to make the gun safe again, then passed the empty pistol over to him. Rusudan slowly repeated the process, his headache still slowing his movement, but the prospect of revenge driving him on. Once the weapon was loaded, he aimed at the first mobster, extending his arm in a straight line and then snatching at the trigger, flinching as he did so. His arm raised, and rather than shooting the prone figure in the head, the bullet went high and struck in the back of the thigh. A low moan came from the body, as the injury started to revive him from the stupor he was in, and Rusudan lowered the pistol for another shot.
Hunter motioned for him to wait, and then came to stand next to him, placing his hand over the top of Rusudan's, guiding and holding him steady. He pushed him closer by a few paces, making sure to stand mostly behind his body to try and avoid splatter, using his longer reach to push the pistol down at a sharper angle. Quiet words advised him to squeeze the trigger gently, not snatch at it, and to breathe slowly and evenly. The next shot rang out and flew true, striking the back of the head and killing the target. Slowly and steadily they worked down the line, killing the mobsters one by one. At the end of the process, Hunter helped him clear and safe the weapon, checking the barrel for blockages and showing him what he was doing.
Rusudan turned and staggered into the house, without a backwards glance at the bodies and rapidly expanding pool of blood, with Hunter, Shimazu and Tadibya in tow. As they entered at the front of the house, they could see Nadia and Marius standing by the truck, half hidden in the shadows.
Marius waited for the others to enter the building and turned his attention back to Nadia.
"So Nadia. What is it that you want to do? Where do you want to go?"
"Can I not come with you? I like you, you are nice…" Nadia smiled at him and gently laid her hand on his arm again. Now he wasn't jacked in, he could feel her warmth through his clothing, smell her scent on the wind. She was pretty, there was no denying that. And she had a certain exotic air about her. Almost as intoxicating was her demeanour – she was certainly interested in him, and his sense of caution battled with his ego.
"Where we go, it's not going to be safe. We're working, and the work we do is dangerous."
"But I would be with you, and you would protect me. I know you would. And I could be useful, and help. I can do many things, do much to help." She leant in close to him, both hands resting on his upper arms. He could feel her pressing against him, standing way inside his personal space, but all he could see were the dark orbs of her eyes boring into him, pleading with him not to send her away. Elsewhere, another part of Marius's body showed it's thoughts on the situation, despite his attempt to control himself.
"Well, look – I can understand that you want to be free, to live your own life and make your own decisions. We're heading to Constantinople next, to see about some business. I guess you can come as far as that with us, and maybe there we can help you set up a new life or something?"
Nadia considered for a moment, then agreed. It seemed to be a point far enough off into the future as to be not worth concerning herself about – and she could cross that bridge when she came to it…
Kai appeared at the doorway, and then broadcast to Marius over his commlink.
"Marius, when you're all done – can you get the two driveable vehicles round the back and parked up under cover, and then move the wreck somewhere out of the way?" Marius, grateful for the distraction, set to – grabbing the keys and moving the sedan and the pickup truck first, before returning and grabbing a tow line to run around the wrecked vehicle he had squashed with his ram. Nadia insisted on helping, passing the tow line over and around the wreckage. He wasn't sure if she was doing it deliberately, but he couldn't help but be attracted to her shape as she stretched over the bonnet of the car, grasping for the line, her breasts pushing upwards and outwards as she squirmed to reach.
Inside, Kai was making use of the translation spell that Tadibya was maintaining to talk to Rusudan. Firmly, but kindly he explained that no, Rusudan was not his serf or vassal, or beholden to him. That Kai and the team would really appreciate being able to stop by some time, in the future – and that it would be great if they could keep a low profile. But Rusudan was not to end up sleeping in the barn with his family to "make room for his lord" or any nonsense like that. In fact, if anyone was going to end up sleeping in the barn, it should be them – but they'd be ok with that. More than anything though, Rusudan was not to mention the team, or the death of the mobsters to anyone – keep it all a secret, and life would be quiet, and have a better chance of normalcy.
Hunter dug out one of the mobsters' phones, and grabbed the number, then passed that over to Rusudan, who was told to text or email them if needed – and only to call in the most dire emergency. Tadibya arrived with a massive jar of oats to donate to their kitchen stores. Kai gave a quick check of the wife and children, all of whom were recovering nicely and would probably wake up shortly. The keys for the two operational vehicles were passed over, along with advice to sell them reasonably far away from here, and keep the cash to help rebuild the ranch. The team gathered their gear, moving swiftly to be gone before anyone other than Rusudan got to see them, and they had to explain what was going on to someone else. A few minutes later, they – and Nadia – were back in the truck, turned around and on the road west again.
Kai seemed to be in a negotiating mood, and sat down near Nadia.
"So, I've been thinking. And I have an offer for you, if you're interested." He waited for Nadia to nod and continued. "We're looking to set up an office. Well, more of a base of operations. Somewhere near Baku. We'll be gone for periods of time, but need someone to look after the place, deal with business and such like. It will involve a wide variety of work – talking with customers, prioritising jobs, security, operations, logistics, and maintenance. You would need to live there, and look after the place, be responsible for the operations there. You would get some pay, but your rent and food would be taken care of. Are you interested?"
Nadia looked at the slumped form of Marius, then round at the team and back to Kai. She asked a few questions – what sort of work, how long between visits, how much responsibility would she have. Kai answered truthfully – that is was a massive variety of work, for unknown periods of time and it would be all down to her. She considered for a few seconds, then offered her hand to Kai, shaking it firmly when he accepted. Tadibya leaned in after she had agreed.
"You may want to consider changing your name – or thinking about a name to go by. You will be close enough to Baku that there is some chance of Nadim and Turul finding you – so having a different name to use will help prevent that." Nadia sat back at that, thinking, planning her life and contemplating options.
The truck fell quiet, each of the team members keeping their own counsel as the truck headed west on the E60 highway. They passed the large cloverleaf intersection, rumbling along the inside lane and being passed by a horde of fast-moving commuters, the tail end of the rush-hour traffic. Soon they were driving through farmland, wide expanses of pasture and arable plots, which the highway cut through like a scar. They reached a junction and turned off the highway onto the local road, then onto a side road, before finally turning onto a farm track.
They bounced their way along the rutted road, into dense woodland, the trees crowding alongside the road with the leaves brushing against the top of the truck as they passed. The road descended into a dip, then started to rise sharply. As they drove along, they caught glimpses of the land as the moonlight filtered through the trees. The land was relatively open, covered in mulch and detritus, the remnants of last year's growth. The oak trees looked massive, with trunks half a metre across and a height of fifteen metres or more. Stark branches thrust into the night air, lit by the pale moon, looking like questing fingers reaching into the sky. After they had gone a few hundred metres, they realised that the trees were widely spaced but in obvious rows, forming broad avenues that lay at right angles to the road. How long ago must they have been planted to have reached this stage of growth?
As they neared the top of the rise, they discovered a clearing, to the south side of the road. It contained a dilapidated looking windmill, built of wood and stone. It appeared to be old, very old, and built in the style of the English windmills of the middle ages. Marius pulled the truck in, following the faint trail in the grass, and swinging the truck around until he could reverse towards the windmill, stopping a good five metres from it, with a clear trail ahead of him in case they needed to leave at speed.
Kai, Tadibya and Shimazu got out of the truck, leaving the rest behind, and walked across the springy and moist moss towards the door. The air felt clean and crisp, and moderate in temperature. Around the clearing, the trees stood in a circle, forming a barrier around the windmill that even in winter screened it from prying eyes.
"Odd…" said Tadibya, "they can't get much wind here, below the ridge line – especially with all those trees around!" She shrugged and walked towards the door, catching up with Kai just as he raised his hand to knock on the heavy wooden door set deep into the stonework. With a squeak and a squeal of tortured hinges, the door swung open, into the darkness within, before Kai could rap on them.
Kai paused for a moment, then squared his shoulders and entered the windmill, closely followed by Tadibya and Shimazu. Inside they found a dark and shadowed interior. A winding wooden staircase followed the wall to their left, rising up the interior at a steep angle, cutting through the ceiling four metres above them. The rest of the ground floor appeared to be a single room, though lines had been run from hooks fixed into the wall, holding sheets up that subdivided the space into different areas. The area just to their right was kitted out as a combination of living area and laboratory, it seemed – several old and battered chairs were scattered amongst benches, tables, bookshelves and rails which held skins and parchment, all covered in runes and spidery handwriting. Glass jars and phials filled racks against the walls, and candles flickered and guttered as they burnt, casting yellow globes of illumination onto the interior. It felt like somewhere transposed in time – it was dark and primitive, organic and earthy. Out of touch with the modern world around it.
Sitting by a table covered in alchemical tools was a short and shockingly obese man. In his middle years at a guess, he stared at them from under a thatch of dirty brown hair, a small and upturned nose spreading to a wide base. He was sat in some kind of wheelchair – the only thing made of metal or looking modern that they had yet seen, and both of his legs were missing from just above the knee.
"Ahh, welcome. Germaine said you'd be along… this time."
Kai nodded, wincing at the reminder of their previous error and returned his greeting, apologising for the confusion over their previous appointment. Whilst Kai was chatting, Tadibya concentrated and examined the man, letting her gaze extend into the astral without quite letting her spirit leave her body. She could see the windmill with her normal vision still, but it was muted and dull, with the magical traces of the astral plane overlaid over the top. The area hummed with magic, with runes, sigils and wards everywhere, and nearly everything in the place glowing with background power. Her gaze slid over to their host, and she felt some power radiating from him – but not as much as she was expecting. He felt no more powerful than her, as she examined him. She didn't probe deeply, not wanting to be rude, trying to work out what he was. She felt some similarities to her magics, but couldn't see anything that tied him to a totem. Neither did he seem to favour the geometric or numeric foci that pure mages favoured. That made him something else… something a little out of the ordinary – as ordinary as one in a hundred thousand of the population could be anyway.
Shimazu meanwhile had been studying the building carefully. Something about the place felt… homely. It triggered something in him, a sense of calmness and tranquillity. It was as if the building was in tune with the earth and the world around it. Taking a step back, he gently ran a hand down a wooden beam, feeling the texture and naturalness of it. Closing his eyes, he could almost imagine being back in the Shinto temple near his village, feeling the building around him that had been painstakingly crafted from materials, worked by hand with patience, love and attention. He opened his eyes again, and turned to the centre of the building, and bowed deeply – acknowledging the spirit of the building. When he turned back, he found that Kai had finished his welcome speech, and the talismonger was watching him. When they made eye contact, the talismonger smiled at him, and nodded.
"Now then. Germaine says you have need of supplies. Aslick has supplies. Many fine things to trade and purchase. What do you seek?"
Kai took a step back and waved encouragingly to Tadibya, who pulled out a list written on a scrap of paper.
"Well, I'm looking for some hawthorn twigs, gathered by moonlight, and about a handful of dried spirit moss, a dozen beeswax candles, eight sticks of hand shaped chalk, the formula for a spell to probe a being's mind…" the list went on, and Kai and Shimazu stood patiently whilst Aslick and Tadibya discussed magical wares, spell formula and supplies.
Back in the van, Aswon was in the back of the truck, cleaning up the cups and plates in the tiny sink, whilst Hunter looked out of the windows, watching the darkness – and studiously ignoring Marius and Nadia. Nadia was sitting close to Marius, asking him about his previous life as a pilot, listening to his tales of flying and rescue missions. As he talked, Nadia let a hand stroke up and down the back of his hair, staring into his eyes.
Back in the windmill, after some discussion and a little bit of haggling, they had finally agreed on a list of supplies and a rough price. There were enough things to make two very powerful shamanic lodges where Tadibya could perform magic with her totem, some warding materials to protect the truck on a permanent basis, as well as buildings, boxes or other things, a spell formula to allow the creation of water by the bucketful – out of thin air, a spell to kill loose organic material in an area to prevent forensic harvesting, a powerful spell to mask the appearance of a vehicle, a similar spell to affect people, and a final spell to subtly alter and influence a person's mind. For this, Aslick wanted around seventy thousand Nuyen – which seemed like a lot. Kai started to psyche himself up to begin negotiations, but was interrupted when Aslick turned to Shimazu.
"What about you friend? What do you seek?"
"I don't know. What have you got for me?"
"Hmmm. Well, I don't think you're a Shamen, at least not one of a totem I recognise. And you don't have the look about you of a mage, that's for sure."
"Take a look, if you wish." Shimazu concentrated for a moment, and parted the mental veil that he normally kept in place. He imagined himself throwing open a shroud or curtain, revealing himself and allowing others to examine him, lowering the barriers that prevented idle examination. He watched until Aslick nodded and grunted in satisfaction, and then reversed the process, wrapping himself in the protective folds of the mental disciplines taught to him by his trainers once more.
"I don't think I have anything for you – at least not directly. But I think your weapon has a tale to tell, and I could perhaps help you with that."
Shimazu drew the sword carefully, and balanced it on his palms, approaching Aslick slowly. In turn, Aslick pulled out a pair of linen gloves, sliding his pudgy fingers into them before placing his hands under the blade and lifting it carefully from Shimazu's hands.
The examination took several minutes, and despite the primitive conditions he appeared to live in, it became obvious that Aslick was no stranger to the workings of a forge. He told them that the blade was definitely hand-made, crafted by a master artisan, using a folded and forge welded technique. He confirmed that the blade was made from tamahagane steel, the traditional and labour intensive material used by the highest class of blacksmiths that took weeks to prepare. He estimated that the sword was over a thousand years old, but could not date it tighter than that without extra investigation. However, he had felt that the sword had spirit, and would be receptive to enchantment – having been crafted by experts using nothing but hand tools and muscle power, it had not been robbed of its connection with Gaia.
Shimazu thanked him and received the blade from him, bowing over it, and then sheathing it by his side and stepping back. Kai began the negotiations, seeing if the price could be moved at all. During the opening phase, he mentioned they might be interested in an enchanting laboratory, mentioning that the one over in the corner would be of interest it seems – certainly from the amount of attention that Tadibya had been paying to it. Tadibya blushed, and averted her eyes – not having realised just how much she'd been staring at the complex kit of equipment.
Aslik surprised Kai though – he didn't seem interested in taking a down payment on it. He invited Kai to take a closer look at the bundle, and explained to him as he probed at the mass of equipment in crates and wraps, that he wanted to sell it, but he needed to get it out of the way – he couldn't make another until this one was sold, due to the space it took up. Kai instead tried another path – did he perhaps need anything taking by courier to Constantinople, where they were heading next? No, Aslick had no need of that. Ahh, how about some rare magical compounds then – some Rock Lizard blood? Aslick sat up straighter in his chair, and indicated that yes, he was interested in some things like that, and became very interested as they described the pincers and stingers from the Nova Scorpions, and the tufts of hair from the ludicrously fast goats they had encountered in the desert, as well as the herbal materials they had traded for in Iran. Kai called to the truck, and asked Aswon to bring in the various preserved parts of critter and the magical supplies for him to have a look at.
A minute or two later, Aswon entered the windmill and delivered the supplies, which Aslick soon sorted through. The Rock Lizard blood was still viable, but would soon turn it appeared, having needed to be kept under different conditions to last longer. The rest of the materials were of interest, especially as they had been killed by hand, with a natural weapon. It was all going well, and then suddenly the mood changed.
Aslick sat back in his seat with a start, and then rolled backwards until the chair bumped into the table. His voice went from being a calm and soothing tone to a higher pitched and panicked squeak, and he waved his hands in front of him.
"Get out, get out of here! Go! BEGONE! Get him away!" The temperature dropped in the room, and the candles flickered madly, the flames all bending at an angle away from him. They all stepped back in confusion and surprise, but only Shimazu saw what Aslick was staring at with frightened eyes the size of saucers. Aswon had smiled, and revealed the massive implanted teeth in his mouth, the oversize canines that were obviously not natural, glistening in the candlelight. He gestured for Aswon to close his mouth, and stood between him and Aslick, until Aswon reached the threshold of the windmill and could step outside, and out of sight.
Aslick calmed slowly, and they watched as he wiped away a trickle of sweat that was running down the side of his face. Kai read his body language, and saw the tension and fear still within him. It wasn't hatred or anger – it was fear, pure and simple. Interesting.
They spoke for a few minutes, trying to bring the negotiations back on course, and discussed the materials, the enchanting toolkit, the critter parts. Eventually they hashed out a deal – they would take the enchanting workshop, all of the magical supplies and the spell formula as previously discussed – but they would leave the creature parts, the lizard blood and a hundred and fifty thousand. Kai was just about to shake on the deal when Aslick spoke.
"And because your friend here showed such respect for my home," he nodded to Shimazu, "I will throw in one more service – I'll take a look at his spear and tell you its tale. But he can't come in! And I will need to hear the story of it's finding in return for the examination."
Kai nodded, and excused himself, then went to speak to Aswon. Aswon was unwilling to give up the spear, especially to a stranger, and one that had thrown him out of the house. But he was very curious to know what the artefact was. The conflicting emotions warred within him, and for a moment he looked like he was going to refuse. Shimazu told him that he'd been very respectful and careful with his sword, and told him of its forging, and that seemed to sway him back. Even so, he gave up the spear with reluctance, and stood at the doorway watching, frowning and staring at the talismonger whilst he examined the artefact.
The examination was slow and thorough, and Aslick talked throughout, discussing his findings. Whether by design or because he was concentrating, he didn't make eye contact with Aswon, or indeed even look in his general direction.
He did roll around the workshop several times though, gathering materials and crunching up some lichen with a pestle and mortar before setting it alight. As the flames died down, he tamped at it, and ground the remains up, then sprinkled it over the shaft of the spear, chanting as he did so.
Where the black sooty material fell on the ancient wood, a sparkling pattern emerged. Delicate writing appeared down the length of the spear, in a smooth flowing script. Aslick held it up to the light, and then sounded out the words, speaking in a reverent tone.
"Medaron Speren mes Bele se'Farad." He considered for a moment, his head slightly to one side. "An ancient form of Sperethial if I'm not mistaken, the language of the elves from the time before. I think it translates as 'Death Harmony, Path of the Great Hunt', though that probably does not do the name justice. This my friends is a relic of the 4th age, which makes it probably close to seven thousand years old. I can perhaps find out more about this, now we have a name – but suffice to say that this is an item beyond value."
Aslick handed the spear to Shimazu, and waved in the direction of Aswon, still avoiding even looking in his direction.
"It is of course a magical weapon, and as these things go, none too powerful. It has the advantage of being long of course, and able to keep your opponent at range, but it will add only a very small amount of power to the wielder. However, it has another aspect to it, one most cunning and unusual. It extends a form of magical protection around the mind of the one that bears it, and will aid them in resisting magical attacks and effects."
Aslick demanded to know how they came about the spear, and listened with avid interest as they described the inside of the tomb and the fight against the creature, and asked many questions about the inside of the tomb and the decorations – but did not query the lack of information about the location of the tomb itself. In this he did appear most honest – he wanted the knowledge of the thing, not to find the location of the tomb itself to further raid it.
Finally it was time for payment – and for this Aslick reached into a basket and pulled out a decidedly modern credstick reader. He poked and prodded it, and then swore at it when it refused to light up. Reaching down again, he pulled out a cable and plugged it in, then sat back in his chair and concentrated. There was a draught that made the candles wobble, and then a loud creak from outside as the sails of the windmill began to turn. Inside, previously unseen electric lights glowed, dimly at first, then brighter and brighter as the hidden generator turned the motion of the sails into electricity. After a minute the credstick reader made a 'TaDAAAA!" noise as it booted up, and Aslick and Kai completed their transaction, transferring over the money from the Charity bank account for the magical goods.
They loaded the truck, and then said their good byes to Aslick, and a few minutes later, they were bouncing down the trail again, Nadia sitting behind Marius with her hands draped around his neck, occupying the rear centre seat normally used by Tadibya. Tadibya was in the back of the truck, examining the various pieces of parchment, skins and moss, planning what she was going to use first, and already the back of the truck smelt musky as she lit a stick of incense to help her concentrate.
