The Fenthrasher Enigma
Chapter Five
"Jail and Subterfuge"

 

 

Thrandorian :

JP leaped lightly to the running board of the glamorously appointed
carriage. He spun deftly and reached out a hand in a chivalrous
manner, surprisingly sophisticated for his years and background. He
was an unusual boy, Lady Alicia thought, as she watched him. He had
a true grace and nobility that was not supposed to be an attribute of
the low born.

JP was a wonder to her. Like some little prince who now had become
unexpectedly more important to her than she could have imagined a
week ago when she found the poor street child half dead in the
alleyway near the Golden Inn. He was amazingly intelligent and had
the ability to see complex analytical concepts that in her experience
many older and more educated people struggle with. He had the
potential to be anything he wished. She had worked with him for only
a few days and he could already read a little and had memorized the
multiplication tables to 12x12 in one day. She had no doubt that
given the education he would become a formidable man. At least she
would see that he got the chance.

Now he helped her into the carriage as smoothly as any noble born of
twenty years might. He seemed instantly attached to her and she
found all her formidable maternal instincts were directed his way. He
was no longer the object of pity but had become hers to protect, to
teach, to comfort. She was determined to see he never again felt the
blows of a bully, the bite of winters freeze, or the pangs of an
empty stomach.

During the ride back to the manor house they could speak freely
again. "Do you feel better now?" The lady eyed him with a slight
smile. "Well actually...Yes. I would have done more for them if I
could but at least now I have repaid them for the stolen purse. He
and his mates were seeking the man I saw in the courtyard the day
of the fire. The day we met."

"Yes JP, they will use your information to earn plenty of gold, I am
sure. Not to mention the pie. Did you see the look on his face? He
would have traded that bag of gold readily for the pie alone." She
laughed lightly and JP thought he would never hear a more beautiful
sound. He pulled a piece of parchment from his coat.

"Is he the last on your list?" The lady was referring to a list he
had dictated to her comprised of the names of nearly a score of
individuals whom JP was (at her suggestion and expense) making
amends with for past thefts and/or transgressions. The lady was trying
to make a good man of him and though JP was willing to do anything
to please her he was skeptical that this would make him any better in
the long run.

"No my lady, there is one more. But we must travel to see him and he
will be the most difficult to reason with."
"Why, who is it?" The she questioned.
"He is a very important man. He also lives in Fenthrasher. His name
is Fallowell and he is the Minister of Trade and I stole his favorite
walking stick. I heard he was seeking the head of the thief
responsible. I am not sure even your influence will be enough to
protect me."

"I know the man. I will find a way to get him to see reason. How did
you even get near such a man? He usually has at least one bodyguard?"

"He was in Razibor about a month back. I wouldn't even have known
who he was except that I remembered seeing him in a parade a few
years ago. He was in the dock area all alone. He looked nervous and
out of place so I followed him. He met a man who wore a full cloak;
like the monks wear, in a dockside tavern. I thought that was strange
since it was summer and very hot. While they were talking, I
snatched the walking stick and made off. Maybe we could just buy
him another one and send it to him?"

"No JP, it's ok. My father knew this man and he is far from a model
human. I know things about him he would wish kept secret. He will
accept your apology and the new stick we will pick out for him."

Reverend Zen :

Dragonus looked to the plate of bones sitting at Kyle's feet. He
hadn't eaten much; his mind was on other things, such as when they
were going to get out of the prison and back on the road with their
companions. He nibbled at the sweet roll he held, his mind working
overtime. He was curious as to what message would be at the bottom
of the pie pan, but his lack of appetite - and Kyle's love for the pie -
told him it would only be a matter of time before the message was
uncovered.

He glanced up to the large warrior beside him. Kyle had devoured
the chicken in no time flat; it was as if he hadn't eaten in days...or
like it was his last meal and he wanted a full belly before they
were... He fought to keep his mind off of an untimely demise.

Kyle had already begun on the pie. All that remained of the sweet
rolls was a small basket, the bones of the chicken had been picked
clean. Damn, but he could eat. No wonder he worked out all the
time.

In the blink of an eye, a good portion of the pie disappeared into
the warrior's mouth. Surprisingly, with the way he shoved the food
into his mouth, not a crumb fell to the floor, not one strawberry
escaped his gaping mouth.

Dragonus took another bite of his roll and chewed it with disgust. It
was as if the roll had turned sour in his mouth. Another portion of
the pie disappeared. He peered over Kyle's arm and saw something
at the bottom of the pan, but he couldn't make out what it was.

"Faster, you big lummox," he muttered. "I thought you liked
strawberry pie." The sarcasm was lost on Kyle, who shoved more pie
into his mouth despite the fact that it was already full. The rogue's
small hand slipped into the pie pan and grabbed the small envelope,
sliding it out from under the food...and Kyle's hungry grasp. He
figured if he didn't rescue the parchment soon, it would be
consumed with the rest of the pan's contents.

Curling into the corner, he opened the envelope, careful not to make
it obvious what he was doing. He pulled out a piece of parchment
and unfolded it. He quickly glanced over the scribbled writing. I
didn't know J.P. could read, let alone write, he thought, but with a
shrug, he began scanning the text, deciphering the words.

Nina Faulkner :

The ink must have still been wet when it was placed in the pie for
the juices from the berries had smeared much of the writting. But
from what Dragonus could take from the parchment read,
"The ma* *n clo** *** *ides *** in woo*sm**'s ca*in no*** **
**e ci**. *** *ile* **st ** **rea*."

Dragonus deduced that the man was hiding in a woodsman's cabin,
but could not decipher the 'where' of said cabin. He would have to
get to JP and learn what the message was unable to say before the
cloaked man moved on. So tonight, after the changing of the watch,
he would excape and find JP.

Dragonus whispered to Kyle the contents of the note and his plan.
Kyle gave him a look that warned of the dangers if he was caught, but
seeing the determination in Dragonus's eyes, flashed him a smile of
confidence, "If there be anyone who could, you be the one, my little
friend."

Dragonus whispered back with a smile of his own, "This I know."

"But how will you find where J the third is staying? He is now with
a woman of wealth and there be many fine homes and manors in
Razibor."

"I'll ask." Dragonus breathed back, then allowed Kyle time to show
his shock before continuing, "From any poor soul who wanders the
streets at night would know of such a woman, who takes in stray
boys and gives comfort to those imprisoned. Act such as these
would not go unnoticed by the lower classes."

With a thought Kyle had to agree. Showing false kindness of heart
in giving alms to the poor is done out of habit by the wealthy. Yet
to back up those simple actions by showing great personal care to
the less deserving is rare indeed. This Lady Alicia would be an
angel of light to the night people of the street, who would be happy
to share their stories of her to a stranger. Sharing the night's shill with,
who they would believe to be one of there own, Dragonus wouldn't
cause suspicion.

So the two of them talked of many things in voices that anyone
listening could hear, tho whispered their excape plans amongst the
chatter...



Von Romig :

The light slowly faded from the solitary window and the dancing
shadows were casted by torches in the hall. Dragonus laid under his
blanket while Kyle sat against the wall when the gaurd did his last
evening rounds. Both of the men made it a point to address the man
with good tidings of peaceful slumber.

An hour past until Dragonus removed himself from under the musky
cloth. Both men set about fashioning the appearance of someone
laying under the blanket. Then Dragonus removed several small
metal items from the inside sole of his boot, lockpicking tools, and
went to work on the cell's lock. With his shirt drapped over the lock
it's final release was muffled and Dragonus opened the door. Whereby
he exited the cell and relocked the door, while Kyle went back to his
sitting spot on the floor.

Dragonus moved silently down the hall to the door at its end. He
climbed the stone wall at it's side and wedged himself into the
corner, placing himself to the left of the entrance. With a chirp
Dragonus signaled Kyle, who then started to cough loudly. As the
noise reverberated throughout the prison cells, Dragonus's muscles
grew taunt and sweat beaded on him.

An eternity past before the door open and a guard enter the hall,
moving towards the noise Kyle was making. The guard was in a foul
mood and beated on the cell bars, growling, "Are you dying or is this
some trick of yours?"

Kyle continue to hack out barks from his throat, but shook his head
in the negative. Within a moment's time he settled down and seem to
choke out, "No, my good *cough* man. A bug of *cough* some sort
tried to use *cough* my mouth as his den."

At the laughter of the guardsman, Dragonus slid down from his hiding
place, and while the guard's back was still facing him he proceeded
out the door left slightly opened. Kyle, who was sitting close to the
bundle that was suppose to be a prone Dragonus, was saying, "Could I
trouble *cough* you for a cup of water? *cough* Thus my cell mate
will stop kicking me *cough*."

"Aye. And I'll bring you something to eat as well, to remove the
taste from your mouth." said the guard, as he felt these men to be
innocent of the crimes they were accused of. Why else would they be
so willing to forgo the truth ceremony.

Dragonus had placed himself on the opposite side of the guardsman's
desk, near the door to the outside. But it was to heavy and old to
open himself without making noise. Thus he waited until the guard
opened it to go to the well for fresh water and followed closely
behind him. But once outside Dragonus padded quickly to the
building's corner and hid behind the rain barrel placed there. After
the guard had gone back inside Dragonus ran down the alleyway...


Kasterling the Great :

Dragonus moved through the dark streets with speed and ease. At
times he played the drunk or homeless to bypass guards. He wanted
to get into the lower section of the city where the citizens may have
heard of this Lady Alicia and not become curious about the asking.
Upper class members of society may not trust giving out information
on one of their own to a rag-a-muffin such as he looked to be.

The best thing in Dragonus's favor was that no one really knew what
he looked like. He could even walk up to the magistrate and talk with
him and not be recognized. Dragonus didn't really needed to be
worried about being caught as an excaped prisoner now that he was
out. It was only in the leaving, and later in the returning, that he
had to concern himself about. But he raced against time to find JP,
learn where the cloaked man was, get to him before he changed his
whereabouts, and get back before he was missed.

Once in the proper district he started up conversations with those on
the street or in the taverns and directed the subject towards Lady
Alicia. It took longer then he first thought to learn where she
lived, and that was because many of her lower-class admirers felt
protective of her also. With the knowledge found he moved quickly
to get there and past it's gates. From the gardens he searched the
building for an open entrance. None was found and Dragonus had to
pick the lock on the cellar door to gain access inside. Movement thru
the basement rooms wasn't easy, but once on the main floor he
started to make better time. Little candles were strategically placed
for giving light if one of the household members had to walk about at
night. They also gave up great spots for hiding in the shadows if the
need was thrust upon Dragonus.

Once on the upper floor, small windows above the doors allowed
Dragonus to look in each and get an idea what laid beyond them,
after a small climb. It was at the fifth door where he spotted young
boy's clothing stacked, folded, on a chest. The interior door was
unlocked and Dragonus moved in quietly. From the door, light from
the street lamps and moon combined their glow to show a room
prepared and set up for a child of the male persuasion, but the bed
was empty. Although it had been used recently...

TSR Worshipper :

Dragonus was surprised to find JP's room empty this time of night.
The bed had been used and felt warm to the touch, so where ever
he has gone wasn't to long ago. Dragonus suspected that the boy
may have snuck out for a little fun, but should return long before
darkness gave way to the morning sun. If not, we would have little
time to rest up before the Lady dragged him around with her during
her errands. So Dragonus hid himself within the room to prevent
startling him when he did come back. But would leave if to much
time passed so he could get back into his jail cell before he was
missed.

Nearly two hours went by before Dragonus heard the smallest of
sounds coming from the window. Moving ever so slightly he
watched the glass panels open and in crawled a man wrapped in
a black cloak and robe.

Stunned by the appearance of an obvious thief at this juncture in
time, made even more suspicious by the absence of the boy.
Dragonus thoughts moved to accuse JP of setting up the Lady Alicia
for burglary. Until he noticed the bright red scar on his left cheek!

This was the man Dragonus and his friends had chased thru
Razibor's streets. The man Dragonus had cut with his dagger. What
was he doing in JP's room?

Dragonus let his hand go to where he usually kept his dagger, but it
wasn't there anymore. Dragonus found himself unarmed in the same
room with this magic-welding spy. The very man who could be the
serial killer they have been looking for. As the cloaked man moved
to the bed, Dragonus searched with his eyes for something in the
room he could use as a weapon. Just as his gaze settled on a pair of
ornate candleholders, the cloaked man started to glow a dull blue
color. Frozen by disbelief Dragonus watched as the dark clothed
man fondled a tiny green orb, flashed, and became a small boy.
JP now stood where the cloaked man once was. He had changed! Transformed.

As 'J the third' climbed into bed, Dragonus's mind worked itself thru
a barrage of questions. Was the cloaked man and JP always the same
person? I didn't meet up with JP until just after we lost track of
the wounded man. Did the cloaked one take over JP's spot? Killing or
kidnapping him first? Did I get this message about the woodsman's
cabin from the real JP or the disguised man? Is it to lead us into a
trap? When did the switch take place? Just now? Is the man returning
from securing or disposing of JP? Did J the third ever exist at all?

As the 'child' in the bed started to breathe softly, falling asleep,
Dragonus thought, what do I do now?


A Nasty Mouse :

Dragonus mind reeled with possibilities, it was a little
overwhelming. What he really wanted to do was to talk to someone
about it. Unfortunately the only person to talk to was Kyle, and
while his childhood friend was a great many things, a Towering
Intellect wasn't one of them. The person he most wished was around,
was Eli. Despite their past differences Dragonus had come to
recognize the Ranger's abilities and to admire the steadfastness of
the Elf. That counsel wasn't available now and Dragonus knew better
then to try and think of how Eli would deal with it and try to apply
it to himself.

So the question remained. What should he do now? It was question
that raised an interesting dilemma. At last he decided and hoped that
it was the right choice. Moving with all the skill he possessed he left
his place of concealment and moved to the door. As he reached the
door he was relived to see that JP hadn't moved. He was forcing
himself to think of the Man as JP, so as to do this with the least
chance of messing up. This was going to be hard enough as it was,
there were far more variables to this plan then Dragonus normally
liked to work with. Time was running out though. If they didn't
accomplish something soon another person would be murdered and
that would leave them with only one more chance to solve this before
it went up in their faces like a raging fire.

Dragonus didn't know how Eli and Silvana were doing but he
suspected that at the moment they were to busy trying to get the
cleric back here to track down any leads that they might come across.
That meant that no matter his misgivings on this Dragonus would
have to give this thread a tug, a very gentle tug, since he wasn't sure
he would be able to deal with it if the whole tapestry unraveled on him.
Especially with no one around to back him up. His last encounter with
the Cloaked Man had instilled a sense of caution into Dragonus. He
had to play this right or things could go very wrong.

Using the soft touch of his fingers he slowly turned the latch and
eased the door open. His eyes were locked onto the body that lay in
the bed. It was a painstakingly slow process. At last, the door was
open enough that it would be believable that he had just entered the
room. Now he took the step that he was certain would wake up JP,
nor was he disappointed in this thought.

JP rolled over and turned a bleary eye in his direction. Dragonus
realized then just how long it had taken him to get this situation
set up. JP had actually fallen into a very deep sleep and wasn't at
all sure what was going on. That might be to Dragonus' advantage, it
would definitely be better then having him thinking clearly. This was
one individual that could keep up with things really well. So the
drowsier he was the better it would be.

Dragonus moved quickly to kneel down next to the bed. "JP the note
that you gave to us was soaked and illegible. Where did you want me
to go, and will it still be worthwhile for me to go there tomorrow
night."

"What tomorrow?" JP shook his head and blinked his eyes
rapidly, "Dragonus, yeah he will be there tomorrow I don't think that
he is planning to leave anytime soon. I think that he has been sent
here to spy on you, perhaps more, but I don't think so, or he would
have moved on by now."

Dragonus was amazed at how quickly the mind of 'JP' worked, it was
a very believable reason. He listened as 'JP' gave the directions and
gave them in some detail and knew that he wasn't out of it yet. He
would have to go on, but at least that could wait until after he got
some rest, and he would have to do that back in the jail cell.
Thanking JP he quickly made his way back to the jail, his mind
racing with questions.


Thrandorian :Elsewhere

Shaking his head, he tried to clear his clouded mind. There was
something he needed to do. Now what was it? The angels were
singing backwards again and the monkey in the blue chain mail
was blowing great clouds of smoke into his face. That's what had
been making it so hard to see... And think! If the damn monkey
would slide down to the other end of the bar... No, wait he was
back in that room again. dark, silent and smelling of earth and
kerosene...

A sphere of light grew from a nearby lamp as it was turned up.
Beyond, a cloaked figure barely visible, appeared above and beside
him. For a moment JP thought he remembered something.
Yes... His life, the Lady Alicia, his new studies... JP tried to rise.
This wasn't right, he shouldn't be here!

That was it! He had been drugged or bewitched or something. The
cleric had come, supposedly to make a final check on JP. His manner
had been reserved as before and JP had given no thought to the fact
that it was late and that the Lady had not mentioned his coming. He
had entered JP's bedroom without comment and given him some green
liquid beverage which JP had drank without hesitation. Supposedly it
would help him sleep. Yes! That's when the mans true purpose had
been revealed.

Although JP had been unable to move, he was aware of his
surroundings. For a few moments prior to passing into that deep walk
through his subconscious he had seen two other men come up to the
bed. How had they gotten in? Through the window? What of the Lady
Alicia? His final thoughts had been of her. Oh God of Gods please no!
He cried with his last cohesive thought. He had to protect her.
Somehow he had to cut through this fog and get to her... but then the
monkey came over to sit next to him and all that smoke had made him
dizzy.

Now though, he would hold on to his focus, his memories, his sanity.
He must find a way to break free from the bindings at his wrists and
feet. Then he would find her, protect her. She must be alright. He
had to fight this mental fog.

"This one has more spirit than most, he is resisting." The floating face was speaking.

"Then give him another dose! Do I have to tell you everything?" Another voice was speaking from somewhere else about the room. One that was angry, furtive and anxious. "The leader will have our eyes if we fail! Now hurry, we need information and this whelp had better provide it."

Then the man had held JP's head back roughly and forced a vial
between his lips. More of the green liquid flowed down his throat.

The robed man above him was clearly visible now. Indeed it was him
again. That cleric with the stupid tattoo! He looked down at JP and
for a moment seemed to hesitate, sorrow seemed to cross his face as
if he had some regret for his betrayal. But then the moment passed
and so did this countenance. He now stared at JP with a fire in his
eyes and an almost mindless focus.

As the liquid began to take effect, JP fought to retain his grasp on
reality but the cleric kept droning incessantly, telling him to worship
some father or other and to let himself go.

And that damn monkey was back! Now he was wearing a yellow and
white flowered hoop skirt and playing the concertina. It was a funny
scene but JP thought he was supposed to remember something and it
was bugging him...

Oh yeah, that's right...Love the leader...Love the leader....Love the
leader...

Next Month
Chapter 6 "!!!!"