Chapter Five of Gathering Lead

Father Camden, now the Cardinal of justice speaks with a Mercenary named Diego Medluna.

Chapter Five

The floor length mirror in Father Camden's quarters reflected the brilliant blood red robes of his new office. Standing in his private sanctum he allowed himself a brief grin. The scars and remnants of his battle with the nova plaga tugged at his lips turning his smile into an unpleasant grimace. He snarled at his own face in the mirror. The f*****g imam khatib had taken everything from him, even the control over his own face. But with his new power he could he could start to change things. The lax attitude toward the imam khatib and mages everywhere would be extinguished. It was time for a new crusade, a new inquisition. All it would take was a little planning and a few nudges in the right direction.

Someone lifted the heavy Iron knocker at the door and a tinkling rattle of metal on metal preluded a firm knock. Father Camden looked behind him toward the door.

“What?” he inquired in a booming voice honed by years on the battlefield.

“Diego Medluna requests the presence of the Cardinal of Justice.” Replied one of the church guards which he had been assigned.

Cardinal Camden smiled again at the use of his new honorific, this time ignoring the leathery tug of his scars. He stepped over to the mantle which held his formal galero and slipped the wide brimmed hat onto his head.

“Enter.” The Cardinal replied as he turned to greet the long awaited guest.

The door was opened by a man in a gleaming steel chestplate and the brightly colored pantaloons of a the Valen Guard. The guard snapped to attention upon seeing the Cardinal and saluted by transferring his halberd to the left shoulder arms position and snapping his hand up to the brim of his morion.

The cardinal returned the salute in the manner befitting a member of the clergy holding his hands in front of his chest palm to palm with fingers pointing upward and bowing at the neck.

“A suo agio soldato” Ordered the cardinal as he released his salute, prompting the guard to do the same.

“Grazie Vostra Altezza” Thanked the guard in Marsia before reverting to Morish so as to not offend the cardinals Guest. “Aeron Halfmoon your Lordship.”

“Grazie” replied Father Camden gesturing to the door.

The Guard bowed before performing an about face and stepping out to welcome the newcomer.

A tall and slender Torrecillan man stepped into the room. Tailored for the comfort of a fencer; the man was dressed expensively but not lavishly. He had forgone the frills and trimmings of the noble classes although the quality and fit of the clothing was impressive in and of itself. He wore loose fitting shirt of scorpion worm silk under a black vest of alchemically treated leather the vest seemed to defy examination, subtly nudging the eyes away from the torso. A tight pack fit snugly around the man's back. An ornate rapier hung across the his left thigh in a style intended for lightning quick cross-draws. A pair of loose brown trousers tucked tightly into fencers boots duelist style. This was a man who knew the business of the sword and knew it well.

The Cardinal had known dangerous men all his life, from the brutal brilliance of the Morish soldiers he fought alongside in the Crusade of Roses to the professional expertise of the Valan Guard. This man was dangerous in a different way. Like an asp compared to a tiger. The tiger may be physically terrifying but the asp could kill you just as quick if not quicker. He was a dangerous blade to unsheath.

Diego Medluna placed his right hand on the hilt of his ornate rapier and bowed at the waist.

“Greetings your highness” He said with a hint of the torrecillain accent. “I have news”

“Excellent!” Responded the Cardinal. “Well?” he inquired after a moment of silence.

“Oh come now your excellency, let's not forgo the pleasantries. What would we be without pomp and ceremony?”

A grimace shimmered across the cardinals visage and Diego was hardpressed to determine if it was a flicker of annoyance or acquiescence. But when his scarlet clad employer produced a large leather purse and tossed it to a nearby table he decided he didn’t care.

The mercenary reached up to the pack straps around his shoulders and slid his finger to a mechanical release button which dropped the pack behind him. Before the bag could clatter to the ground he snatched it out of the air behind him and lifted the heavy bag to the table. Reaching into one of the bags outer pockets he produced a large round pendant the size of a Morish justice.

“ I Found this on one of the Sicarias your predecessor sent after the girl.” He said as he tossed it casually to his employer.

The cardinal deftly snatched the item out of the air and examined the small trinket.

“What is this?” he inquired of the Torrecillain.

“It’s a douser” explained the mercenary. “And its dead.”

The cardinal studied the item with renewed interest. A small white reservoir like a dinner plate was capped by a thin sheet of alchemical glass. The glass was pierced by a thin metal rod connecting the glass to the center of the small reservoir. A tiny splash of dark red liquid sloshed around in the tiny compass.

“I thought the blood was suppose to point toward the person it was attuned to.”

“That's how I know it's dead. When the life force feeding the compass is extinguished the compass dies too. Typically the blood forms a straight line from that little metal rod pointing in the direction of the target wherever they are.”

“Couldn't this be a fake?”

“Nah, had someone try to fool me with one once. But the blood in fake dowsers scabs up after a while. Even blood mixed with proper bleeders dry out after a few days, and that's expensive s**t. This is the work of a master alchemist maybe even a high master.”

“You're sure?”

“I'd bet my life this is the work of one of the guild's council probably Alarik.”

“Adalard Alarik?”

“Same, he's the man behind the mirror on all things alchemical this side of the Wingdam.”

The cardinal folded his arms and began pacing the room.

“Did you find the boy's body?”

“Well body is a bit of a stretch. But I Found The charred remains of a woman wrapped round the bones of a child. The woman had this sticking out of her.” The mercenary reached into his bag and produced the soot stained saber of a Sicarius.

“So, best as I can figure the girl brought the child to a dockside tavern known as the Fallen Hammer, possibly to wait for a ship. The order stepped in to apprehend her not realizing that the Hammer belongs to Martin Charbonneau. The city Righello. So a fight eventually broke out and one thing lead to another now everyone is doing a passable impression of roasted boar. Bad luck she chose the hammer and not some other inn.”

“It wasn’t bad luck.” The Cardinal interjected. “I just found out that Annettes last name isn’t Thatcher like she said when she was hired. It’s Charbonneau.”

“Oh f**k.”

“Indeed. . . and did you manage to complete your little task?”

Diego nodded slowly an uneasy look flitting across his face.

“I did, though I try to stay out of witches business.”

“Sensible, and I know it was a rather unusual job but that little trinket is going to spark a revolution my friend. One of the first steps on a journey to a better more pure world. . .Thank you for your efforts. Be back here in three days and I’ll have another job for you.”

The mercenary snatched up the heavy purse sliding it into the pack on the table donning it with a quick motion as he stood. “Pleasure doing business, your highness.

“You as well my son. Blessings be upon you”

The mercinary bowed and turned to the door slipping out into the night.

When he was gone the cardinal spoke softly to the Valan guard standing guard.

“Raphael a word”

“Yes your highness?”

“That man is attempting to blackmail me. He told me I have three days to give in to his demands or he will release information implicating me in the death of the queen. If he returns kill him.”

“As you wish, your highness”

Reviews

[Zibby]

That is good fun, I think I like this Camden fellow, but not a lot. Perhaps respect is a bit more accurate. This shows his nature and how far he is willing to go to get what he wants, and it makes it that much sweeter if/when the main character triumphs over him.