Ephraim sat at his usual corner table in the Widow’s End and shuffled the deck of cards. He had won yet another night of Five Kings and was about to count his coins when a familiar figure entered the tavern, looked about at the crowd, and spotted Ephraim in his corner. Daisy, the Halfling barmaid that had served him his third tankard of ale, served him his fourth. She smiled at Ephraim with that special twinkle in her eye and a light bounce to her step.
“She seems to favor you,” Rook said as he approached Ephraim’s table.
Ephraim grinned. “Everyone favors me these days.”
Rook nodded and took his seat across from the Tiefling. “I hear many things, Eph, and I’m sorry I missed out. Care to get me up to speed?”
Another girl, a pretty human blond, was wiping tables nearby and smiled at Ephraim. She said, “Daisy taking good care of you, Eph? If there’s anything else you need, just ask. We’ll get it for you right away.”
Rook looked over his shoulder. When he turned back to Ephraim, he said, “Is that…?”
Ephraim nodded. “Rachel Miller. Old George’s daughter. Lady Clarys purchased her freedom, sort of. I mean, after we exposed the magistrate’s schemes, Clarys went to Par Aurelia and petitioned for the girl’s freedom. She is now back in the safe arms of her father and this fine establishment.”
Rook raised an eyebrow. “I’m impressed.” He gave a low whistle. “So that’s why you guys are all being celebrated across the city. Heroes, huh? You saved the girl, the dukedom, the Temple of Mystra, the underworld’s on the run….have I missed anything?”
Ephraim shrugged. “Don’t forget the Orcan army outside of town. We have them under wraps too.” He grinned. Then his smile slowly disappeared. “Actually, I don’t really think the underworld is on the run. We gave them a speed bump, but they haven’t gone away.”
Daisy came over and delivered a mug of ale to Rook. Rook offered her a coin and said, “Thank you, but I really didn’t order anything.”
“Don’t bother,” Ephraim said. “It’s on the house. All of us have kind of a free pass in here.”
“But I didn’t really—“ Rook looked confused.
Ephraim pulled out a pouch full of heavy coins. He pushed it towards Rook. “Oh, and here’s your share of all our salary and bonuses. We kept count.”
Rook smiled and shook his head. “I know I don’t deserve this…but I will take a few coins for some minor expenses. You keep the rest.”
They were quiet for a time, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the slow burn of the ale. Ephraim said, “So where have you been, Rook? What’s kept you hidden in the Great Library these past few weeks?”
Rook took on a distant look in his eyes. He stared into the fireplace before returning his gaze to his friend. “I’ve seen a bit of things, Eph. Forbidden things, I think. Ancient tomes and lore probably meant to be kept untold. But I have seen them. It has burned into my mind.”
Ephraim nodded. “I can see that it troubles you. Is there any of it you can tell me?”
Rook smiled. And shook his head. “I would not deign to burden you while you’re celebrating the spoils of victory. Anyway, it is of no moment. The important thing is that most of this knowledge is kept contained within the Library under lock and spell. This is a good thing. So please trouble yourself no longer.”
Ephraim furrowed his brow, but nodded. “If you say so, my friend. But you do look different. You actually look happy.”
Rook blushed. He shrugged. “I am happy. I…I’ve met someone.”
“Where? In the library?” Ephraim almost laughed, but stopped himself. He could see that Rook was serious. “You have. You’ve met a pretty librarian?!” He leaned forward. “Do tell!”
“Her name is Sister Narissa—“
“Sister? She’s a…a nun?” Ephraim’s mouth dropped.
“Well, she’s an acolyte. She has not gone through her True Calling yet and she has only recited her oath once. There is time yet for her to choose her mind and her path.”
“And you two have…?”
Rook looked shocked. “Oh no! No, we have not. I mean, we will do the right thing. When she is ready and we have spoken to the Mother Superior, we will be married and do things properly. I would not have her violate her vows and her oath.”
“Wow…” Ephraim said. “A lot has happened, my friend. Wow. Congratulations, Rook” He raised his mug and Rook returned the toast. “Can you tell me about that? How did all that work out?”
Rook shrugged. “I only came in to read a good book and she was there at every turn. She is young and pretty and smart and…well, everything a guy like me needs or wants. Not sure what else there needs to be. She loves me and I her.”
“So…you’re adventuring days are numbered, yeah?” Ephraim said.
“I suppose. Married life won’t really allow for such frolicking about. I mean, you’re my oldest friend here in Allentia, so I thought you ought to be the first to know.”
“No, of course. I’m really happy for you. Not happy for us and our team, but I can’t blame you for it. You’re doing the right thing for you. I’m glad.” Ephraim’s voice trailed off, remembering another girl in another place, another time.
Rook noticed the forlorn look on his friend and reached out to touch his arm. “You’ll find someone eventually, Eph. There’s plenty of time.”
Ephraim smiled sadly. “It’s not about me I’m thinking of.”
Rook remained silent. He would not press his friend if he was not ready to talk yet. Instead, he gazed into the fireplace and wondered how things would have turned out had he joined the group in their battles with the magistrate and the criminal world. The knowledge that he now possessed would have turned the tide in other directions. In the end, it seemed that Clarys, Ladiana, Guy, Mugul, and Ephraim had triumphed. They had overcome the odds and had put the city back in its rightful place.
Ephraim was watching him carefully, seemingly studying him.
Rook smiled. “Is this another game of Five Kings for you? Are you seeking the truth in my actions or inactions?”
“No, no. I would not do so to a friend. I was just wondering if you are entirely sure about your decision to settle down with Narissa? Have you seen through all the perils, if any? Are you thinking clearly and being prudent?”
“My dear friend, I have never been otherwise. I am sure. As sure as love is alive and well, even in Allentia City. But I must turn the questions to you, Eph. What is it that makes you so unsure of love?”
Ephraim leaned back and let out a long sigh. “Oh boy. Well, this might take a little bit. We definitely need more ale and more time.” He waved a hand and Daisy came scurrying over.
Rook noticed the distinctive smell of onions on the Halfling. He wrinkled his nose but made sure she did not see it. He gave Ephraim a wink. “Cute girl. She’s most attentive.”
When Daisy had brought two more tankards of ale for each of them, Ephraim settled down in his chair and lit a pipe. He took great care to separate and press the tobacco, before lighting it and puffing a cloud of grey smoke about them. Rook also settled in and glanced around, noticing there were only four other patrons in the tavern and they all sat far away from their musings.
Ephraim said, “You recall how we met on the road a few moons past. You recall how I had been nervous and suspicious about all things, men in particular.”
Rook nodded and grinned. “All men should be taken with pause and their actions measured accordingly.”
Ephraim agreed. “Well, it’s because I was on the run, as you know. I had made some, well, dangerous enemies and it was best I leave town. I did not tell you where I came from. I never told anyone. The fact is, I ran away from home. It had been a good home, one full of riches and abundance. And, although I had everything provided for me, my needs were fewer than most, I still chose to steal and make mischief, much to my mother’s and step-father’s chagrin.
“I was a petty thief back then and pretty damned good at it. The local constabulary had all they could do to keep up with me. I learned to disguise myself, voice and all. I studied people’s walks and their talks and I became so many different people. My takings were not aplenty. I took only from the wealthy and ensured I never took all of their coin. I left them with a livelihood yet.
“But my antics were not lost upon the local chieftains, the guild masters. They saw my worth and they hired me. They taught me better ways of stealing and pick-pocketing and blending in with the night.
“One such guild, the Shadowed Hand, promoted me to 1st class—which is an honor usually left for human descendants of the guild. I was and always will be a Tiefling. It did not sit well with most. I was taken aside one day by the local daimyo, the underboss, as he and his henchman forced iocane powder down a man’s throat. They were cruel like that. Always kidnapping and torturing. The biggest thug, Markon Lein, took great pleasure in showing me how he could make this man suffer. The man was some banker or other. I think he might have been a merchant. But it didn’t matter. He had crossed the Shadowed Hand and now this Markon fellow wanted to show how easily he could subdue an unarmed man and force iocane powder down his throat. The man struggled. His muffled cries for help went unheeded and Markon stared at me with a challenging grin the whole time. It was as if he were saying, ‘See this, Tiefling? See what you cannot do? You are not a made man and will never be. You are but a product of mixed breeding and are unclean.’
“I got the message. Loud and clear. The powder did its trick and the man eventually died in Markon’s arms. Then, they left him there in the alley for the people to find him in the morning. The following day, the underboss called me to have breakfast with him. Well, he called me so I could watch him have breakfast while he ate. He drank his beloved tea from Ylaruam and ate his eggs and bacon from Specularum. He made sure I could appreciate how wealthy he was and wanted to entice me to do good work so that I, too, would one day have riches. I knew that was a lie too. Again, a Tiefling had no place among the human guilds.”
Rook interrupted. “Where was this place, Eph?”
Ephraim look up from his mug, which he had been nursing as if he had been in a confessional booth. “Mystvale. I grew up in Mystvale.”
Rook’s eyes went slightly wide. “The Emperor’s city? I never knew that.”
Ephraim shrugged. “No one does. Not many ever leave Mystvale. As you have heard, it is surrounded by eternal winter. The lands all around the city are savage, a frozen tundra. Totally impassable for most travelers and for whole armies. It is kept that way by the emperor and his advisors. Shrouded ever in grey and white mist, the land is unhospitable and the city’s walls have never been breached.
“But inside the walls, is beauty and greenery. It is paradise on earth. The richest, wealthiest, most powerful city in all the known world. The Sarduvarr Legions keep it ever safe from invasion and the Sarduvarr Prime keep Emperor Thrawl well-guarded.
And yet, despite this law and order in the capital city, the emperor allows commerce in the black market. Could he squash it out completely? Of course. Of that I have no doubt. But he allows the trade because I’m sure he profits from it also.”
Rook nodded. “I have read such things. I have read that even if the world united against the emperor, his Sarduvarr Legions fight with legendary ferocity and cannot be stopped. Are they truly larger than most common men?”
Ephraim said, “I saw many in the streets and in the fields. The smallest I have ever seen was seven heads tall, clearly two heads taller than most men. Although Allentia boasts of 10,000 strong, they would be no match for the Sarduvarr. No match.”
“And so, you were saying about the Shadowed Hand and this Markon Lein?”
“Ah yes, Markon Lein was jealous of my skills at thievery. He mocked me at every turn and sought to draw me out into open combat. He knew that the guild masters were impressed by me and he was jealous of my clout within the organization. Me, a lowly Tiefling, who had no business in man’s world. But Mystvale is a cosmopolitan city and welcomed all races, all beings, if they live peacefully under the emperor’s rule. And so, my kind were aplenty in the streets of the city. But that did not prevent the prejudices of others, particularly like Markon Lein.
“When I could take no more of his taunts, I did accept a challenge of blades with him. He laughed at me, saying that I might have been a master thief, but I was no fighter. I was not worthy to hold a knife.
“This was, of course, meant to rattle me, to get me angered and off balance. It did not work, for I saw through his simple ruse. We fought. Hard. I did not win, of course. He gave me a scar on my back and on my leg that I shall never forget. But even as I bled upon the ground and his friends finally stopped him from continuing the killing stroke, I knew that I would win in the end.”
Ephraim finished his ale and started on his sixth mug. He glanced around and saw only two others in the tavern.
“You see, back then, the Shadowed Hand and other gangs sold Glantri powder. The stuff is addicting. Usually snorted, you could also break it down into liquid form and drink from it. It gave the user a sense of well-being and euphoria. It also enhanced your rate of movement also, gave you greater energy. For a brief amount of time. The gang leaders forbade all within the guild to use Glantri powder. We made it, distributed it, sold it, but we were not to take it. But I knew for a fact that Markon Lein was a user. A heavy user. And getting heavier by the weeks. He would not want the guild masters to learn of this, so he and his friends kept this secret hidden. But I knew he was using. I needed to either prove it or somehow expose him. He won our fight easily because he was influenced by the powder. Nearly killed me for it. I survived and I would have to wait my time.”
Rook said, “What did your family think about your associations with the thieving guilds? Did they know?”
Ephraim shook his head. “At the time, no. I was only a small player back then and something changed where I had plunged my life’s work to the guilds.” Ephraim looked down at his hands now. He fidgeted nervously and waited a long time before he spoke again.
“You know I’m pretty good at Five Kings, right?”
Rook nodded. “The best I know. Well, sometimes Dink beats me at it. But not often.”
Ephraim smiled. “Oh yes. Dink. Good fine fellow that. Anyway, I learned Five Kings from my step-father, a human. He had taught me the rudiments at a very young age, probably seven or eight summers old. My sister, Orianna, was only about five summers at the time and kept wanting to learn the game also. She had been so annoying back then, always getting under foot and wanting to be part of everything I did or played. I realize now how mean I had been to her. She was young and innocent and I was annoyed.”
Ephraim looked at Rook now with tears in his eyes. “What I would give to hear her laugh now, watch her play. Orianna was the light of my life and now…she’s gone.”
“What do you mean?” Rook asked carefully.
Ephraim took in a deep breath and held it, then sighed slowly. “My step-father thought he was good at Five Kings. But he was not. I don’t know the details, but he sold Orianna to some traveling merchant! A collector, I guess. Orianna had rare golden skin for a Tiefling and this collector knew she was valuable. Perhaps my step-father lost her in a card game. I never found out.” Ephraim took a large gulp of ale to recover.
“Did you seek out help from your guild masters?”
Ephraim nodded. “That’s the first place I went! I would not go to the constabulary. It had been a legal transfer. I could not say a crime had been committed. Tieflings were slaves in many countries. Mystvale was no different.”
“And your masters? What did they do?”
“Nothing. They did nothing. They offered no help and no suggestions. In fact, they thought it a trivial matter. I had been their favorite, I reminded them. I had been their most celebrated and accomplished thief. Surely they could offer aid in her release. Surely they could loan me the money to purchase Orianna from the collector. Nothing.”
“Ephraim, I’m so sorry. I…”
“There is nothing to be done, my friend. Orianna is lost. And since I was no fighter, I could not begin to think about attacking the collector and his guards. I felt powerless and small. It was the lowest moment of my life, Rook, one that I am ashamed of to this day.”
Rook reached out and squeezed Ephraim’s arm.
“I might have eventually accepted my fate, had I not discovered the truth.”
“What do you mean?” Rook said.
“I discovered that my guild master had orchestrated the whole thing. He had seen Orianna and had made a deal with my step-father for her purchase. Of course they would not aid me in her freedom! Of course! They had been a part of it. The underboss I had learned to respect and serve. He had helped in the sale of my only sister.”
Rook blinked. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Ephraim looked up with malice in his eyes. “So I waited. I plotted. I would wait until I could have my vengeance. Markon Lein’s addiction had finally come to light and the underboss had sentenced him to death. I had beaten my nemesis. As I stood over his failing body, bloodied and beaten by the Shadowed Hands’ bashers, I smiled wickedly at Markon.
“’Fool,’ said I, ‘your addiction had come from me. Every morning as you touched your chamber’s door knob, you felt the slow introduction of Glantri powder upon your palm. Day by day, your skin absorbed the minute amounts and, day by day, you grew to depend on the substance. You became addicted long before you began to purchase the material for yourself. And now, as your obsession bore fruit to the guild masters, it is I, a Tiefling, a non-human, a non-fighter, who stands over your soon-to-be lifeless body. How does it feel?’”
“Of course, Markon Lein could not answer. He had died, not by my hands, but by my plots. The underboss again invited me to breakfast, presumably to promote me to Markon’s position. As he drank his precious Ylaruam tea and ate his imported Specularum eggs, he developed a cough, a sort of constricting condition that left the doctors baffled. Again I was able to smile down at my former master’s still body and asked, ‘how does it feel? To be helpless, powerless, impotent. Such is your fate, oh master.’”
Ephraim met Rook’s eyes. “I had but one person left to take my revenge. The man who had raised me and my sister. The man who had cared for us, for my mother. The man who called himself Papa to us. He too would pay for Orianna’s betrayal.”
Patricide, Rook thought. He swallowed once. “You…”
Ephraim nodded. “So I left. I traveled beyond Mystvale’s walls and across the frozen tundra. It was forbidden to do so, but I had learned enough to escape most things. The mighty walls could not hold me back. If my sister was out there, I would find her. I left my life, my mother, my riches. I had a high position in the guild, yet I turned it all away. To me, my shame and powerlessness would never stop me again.”
Rook waited for a long time. And when Ephraim had finished his last mug of ale, Rook said, “You know I would help you in this. In all things that is noble and right, I would aid you in your search for Orianna.”
Ephraim smiled, baring dangerous teeth. “Of course you would, Rook. I know. You are my friend, my best friend. And I would do the same for you.”
Rook pushed his chair back and stood. “Let me help you to bed, Old Devil. The hour is late and our tales are at an end.”
Ephraim shook his head. “I don’t need your—“ He nearly lost his balance as he stood. Rook caught him. “On second thought. Yes. Perhaps you can help me to bed.”
The two friends’ laughter could be heard as they climbed the stairs of the Widow’s End. Tomorrow would bring a new day and a new challenge.