Lilliad 28

It took two days to find Elathor, by which time they were distressingly low on funds. Lilli begrudgingly gave a whole gold coin as a bribe to the prison guard, making intense eye contact the whole time. Only 3 of them were allowed in. The rest of the party waited outside in the wind when Lilli, Igni, and Ser Alcuin trudged into the darkness below the keep.

The guard gave her a weird look as she passed. Maybe she’d held onto the coin a little too forcefully.

Elathor was draped on the stone floor, tail stretched up the wall to curl across the air.

“You look terrible,” Lilli said, noting the paleness of his complexion.

“Absolutely dreadful,” Igni agreed. A chink sounded as Igni’s foot broke a chip of stone off the wall. “Shall I break the door?”

“Yes,” Elathor hissed, slithering upright.

“No!” Lilli said forcefully. She glanced back at the guard, who had definitely heard that suggestion and was scowling. “We are distinctive, we will just all get arrested. We aren’t here to fight. Elathor, has anyone come to talk to you?”

“I have,” said the woman from the market. Her voice appeared before she did. She tilted her head at the group, apparently unsurprised. “Have you come to bail your friend out?”

Lilli shifted uncomfortably. “No,” she admitted. “I doubt we can pay it. How much is that?”

The witch blithely listed off a number of gold coins so high that Lilli’s brain refused to process it.

Ser Alcuin sucked in air through their teeth, which was answer enough. “What sentence is Elathor looking at?” The knight sounded apologetic. “A fine, prison time, or…?”

“Capital punishment,” the witch answered. Her gold eyes were focusing on the knight with enough intensity that Lilli was very glad to be unnoticed. “However, the mage may be lucky yet.”

“What does that mean?” Ser Alcuin asked.

The witch straightened from where she was leaning on the wall. “Enough. Get out.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’ll find you again later.”

Lilli made apologetic eye contact with Elathor and made a strategic retreat.

“We need to make some money,” she announced, when the group was all together again. “Like; a lot of money.”

“The lizard could win in trial,” Igni suggested idly.

Everyone else dismissed that out of hand. “Good thought but Elathor already confessed,” Benk pointed out gently. “And has probably elucidated on that point many times.”

“Elucidated?” Lilli repeated quietly.

“The lizard does love to elucidate,” Igni sighed.

“Pontificate,” Arelt added cheerfully. “How will we make money? How much do we need?”

Lilli grimaced.

“Never mind that,” Ser Alcuin said blithely. “Let’s see our options first. Perhaps we can take a work request from the Church. There’s often something they don’t want to waste guards’ lives to kill.”

Benk looked exquisitely uncomfortable. “I would also like to not waste guard lives,” he suggested.

“You’ll be fine,” Alcuin dismissed.

‘He might not be,’ Lilli thought. She smiled at Benk reassuringly. ‘We could all die. Except Igni. Igni will be fine.’

There was no better suggestion. So they trailed to the biggest and grandest building in the city. Ser Alcuin went in alone, for reasons that were obvious. The knight came out brandishing a scroll.

“Good news, I have procured work,” Ser Alcuin announced. “If we succeed, the reward will be substantial.”

“How much?” Benk asked sharply.

“Substantial,” Ser Alcuin repeated cheerfully. “Off we go! We must leave city limits. Let’s go, no time to waste.”

“To where?” Benk pressed, scowling. He was walking fast at Ser Alcuin’s side as the rest of the group fell in at different paces.

“Oh, up a mountain and perhaps to a cave. Or it could be an abandoned temple. The description was a bit sparse,” Ser Alcuin said. The knight tucked the scroll away into the large red pocket tied at his waist. “We just need to go there and make sure it’s safe.”

“And why would it not be safe?” Benk asked, suspicious.

The shrug that the knight gave was not at all reassuring. “It might be full of ghosts,” Ser Alcuin admitted after a pause that was a little too long for comfort.

“Ghosts?” Arelt’s voice slid high in pitch.

“Something dead anyway, but I don’t think ghosts eat people,” Ser Alcuin continued. They were nearly to the gate to the next district by that point. “It sounds novel, I am looking forward to plunging the depths.”

“Aren’t we going up?” Igni confirmed mildly.

Ser Alcuin turned enough to extend a little half bow at Igni. “Quite correct, my mistake.”

“I am more interested in the detail about people being eaten,” Arelt said very loudly.

They suddenly had a wide berth in foot traffic.

“As you said, a mere detail,” Ser Alcuin rebuffed.

Lilli sighed deeply. “We are going,” she said firmly. “Keep up and complain less. This is important and you all know why.”

The complaints stopped, which left Lilli with the distinctively frightening impression that she might be the leader of their group.