The streets of Avernon raced by as I looked out from my current carriage. I’d been hesitant to get in upon seeing it, a Thieves’ Guild vehicles that looked like it needed divine intervention to even move. Instead, it was treating the problems of the snow and ice coated streets as if they were completely empty.
I resisted the urge to stick my head out and look down. The streets were emptier than usual, but even that ant quite a few, and an Infernal in a carriage would be more attention than we wanted.
“It’s a minor enchantnt on the wheels,” trill said with an amused grin, as if telling I wanted to stick my head out the window. The thieves’ guild cleric was across from , dressed in a grey wool skirt and shawl over multiple petticoats that made her look no different from any other lower-class woman on the streets. Especially with the bonnet covering her ears. “Just useful in case we need to make a quick getaway. People don’t expect carriages that look like they've got a foot in the grave to go this fast.”
It didn’t just look like it; my hoof had nearly torn the footboard off getting inside.
“Pointless if you show it off,” I observed, earning an eye roll from one of the two toughs in the carriage.
trill had brought them along, a half-orc and human who had that carefully cultivated look of bored disinterest ready to burst into sudden violence if you have them a reason. Their bodies had the look of those who had been both subtly biosculpted for that sa lethality, and understood they needed to actually keep those bodies in shape.
“Oh, we alter how they look in between outings,” trill said. “You need to have a keen eye to see the body beneath the altered parts made to look like junk. But also, I don’t want Rose to co to an unfortunate end before we got there.”
That, I had to admit, was a distinctly possible outco.
After discussing everything, trill had offered to take directly to Matilda Rose and take her into custody together, which had been the smart idea. I was relying on the churches and Intelligence for the others because I didn’t have the womanpower to track them down. That wasn’t a factor when you knew precisely where one of them was.
“Where are we heading anyway?” I asked, leaning further back in the coach as we sped by an incredulous nobleman’s carriage, barely avoiding a collision. That better not be Tagashin driving.
“Tilly’s been working with a group near North Point,” trill said while one of the toughs idly started cleaning his fingernails with a knife. “There’s a certain ship coming in that they had a plan for. I’d say more, but well,”
“I’m not in the guild,” I finished for her.
North Point was along the edge of the Nover, and was where riverboats from further inland ca to dock. Ships always ca from the west, where the Nover spilled out into the ocean. And occasionally warred on it.
“Yet. But yes, we’ll keep any more details on that under our hats. Mind you, job is probably scuppered if you’re right about her being a traitor for the Priestkiller.”
The thug next to shifted, eyes still fixed firmly on .
“I’m right,” I said, certain. “She visited Glee Street too often for it just to be curiosity, and from what you said she is very tight-fisted when it cos to her coin.”
trill didn’t reply, and neither of the two thugs did either. trill had seed confident when she’d agreed about Rose being the traitor, but that certainty seed to have waned since we’d gotten in the carriage. It seed like the elf wanted to make sure it wasn’t her own personal biases coming into play.
“So,” trill said into the silence. “Read any good books recently?”
One of the thugs snorted while I did my best to ignore the comnt. Too many people knew about my reading habits. I wasn’t adding anymore to that list if I could help it.
“Dry alchemical texts,” I replied. “As well as a couple of newspapers that deliver to the Quarter. Or rather, deliver to the edge of the Quarter, and I have to go get them and hope no one has stolen them. Honestly barely worth the effort.”
“Surely an opinion made for good reason and not personal offense,” trill said with a grin. “I think soone is a little irritated by how the good reporters of this city have chosen to talk about them.”
I rolled my eyes. “Listen, slander I can put up with. Criticisms of my character? Nothing I’ve never heard before.”
Well, so things I’d never heard before; I’d never had it implied I’d done profane things to the entire species of the humble potato before.
“A diatribe about how the moral character of Voltar and all his prior convictions must be reconsidered in the light of the fact that he associates with an Infernal? Expected, although I’m disappointed that just seems to be the fact I’m Infernal. You think being a mber of the Fla would be reason enough. But no, they seem dedicated to instead making personal accusations that are most certainly untrue.”
Honestly, I was convinced that the newspapers existed less to spread news and more to spread gossip about the sex lives of people. To a society that everyone said was far too prudish, and in fact definitely was, in my opinion. Except when it ca to speculating on certain people’s sex lives, specifically mine!
The fact that Gregory’s sister Elise had found employnt as a journalist only made that more true.
“Ah, yes, being in the eye of the public,” trill said. “Don’t worry. You’re new, and as an Infernal who’s made it almost into a position of maybe being within line of sight of Her Majesty at so point, you are definitely unique. You’re getting a lot of curiosity because of that.”
“Her Majesty does attend military functions with conscripted Infernals,” I replied, although half-heartedly.
I was pointing out fact. I really had no desire to protect the character of a monarch I’d never t, had tried to rebel against, and whose policies had resulted in the absolute hell of the Quarter.
“Yes, she knows about those ahead of ti,” trill replied drily. “You she might just stumble across and a lot of people are curious about what would happen.”
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Oh hells. I had no actual desire to ever run across Her Majesty, and I definitely did not want her stumbling across . Especially if it was arranged as entertainnt for so people.
Further discussion of that horrifying possibility would have to wait for later, as the carriage slowed, the driver bringing us to a halt. After one more near head-on collision.
I honestly couldn’t tell if that was Tagashin infiltrating the guild in the driver’s seat, or just the general quality of Avernon carriage drivers.
We pulled up to a single story building, a place that appears to be in the business of sellig supplies for fishing boats, hooks, nets, and other supplies for boats. Well-maintained, clean, with a welco atmosphere that you never would confuse with a criminal den.
The best ones were always like that.
“Hamil, go out and see if Daisy is in,” trill said pleasantly, and one of the two thugs opened the carriage door, heading to the front of the shop. “Hopefully we can just have everyone inside bundle up Rose and bring her out without a fight.”
Hamil had reached the door by now, rapping on it twice then opening it slightly. The thug stiffened, then quietly shut the door and ca to the carriage. Pale in the face, he paused, then bent over the railing to retch loudly before mastering himself.
I didn’t even wait for him to reach it before I was out, hooves landing in the chilly snow. Staying hidden wouldn’t be any use now. The Watch would have to be brought here. There was no need to guess what had happened inside.
“It’s bad,” Hamil said shakily as I moved past him.
“I’ve seen bad before,” I replied, then continued to the door. I’d added a heavier greatcoat on top of my normal one to stand out less, but honestly, it felt very warm in that carriage. The cold air of outside helped drive the stifling heat away.
Touching the handle, it was warm to the touch, and in a way that felt like a caress trailing across my skin. The magic inside eager to find it’s match.
Ah, The Imp said in my head. Soone had fun in here.
Oh, if that wasn’t the most warning statent it could have made, I don’t know what else could be. Still. I’d seen plenty of ss left over by the use of diabolism in the Fla and after. I gripped the handle and opened the door.
I took a look inside, paused, then did my best to master the sudden wave of nausea and disgust coiling around in my innards.
I failed, and my breakfast joined the guard’s by the steps.
“Hamil’s seen his fair share of bloody aftermaths and caused so too,” trill opined, having left the carriage, traveling towards the door. “When he says it’s grueso, it is very much so.”
“It’s been a while,” I said. “Besides, that sll-”
Thinking of it made my stomach recoil, and I dry-heaved a second ti. Bleh. I’d literally been reborn in a pile of my own lting flesh on top of a dead devil and a pile of hellfire-burnt giant insects a couple of days ago. I could master this.
“We’ll have to notify everyone else imdiately,” trill said, keeping a wary distance from the open door.
The sll was coming out, and it slled like rot, burnt flesh, and mold mixed into one delightful package. My tail reached out, grabbed the door, and slamd it shut.
“Imdiately might be a mite fast, especially in such poor weather as this,” I got out, my stomach still hurting as I wiped my mouth clean with a rag.
trill caught on. “How slow do you want my people to notify the others?”
“Not too slow,” I said. “They’ll think I examined this place beforehand anyway, but no need to raise their suspicions even more. And besides, I think Captain Walston would appreciate it if she were notified directly instead of the first copper on the street.”
trill nodded once and seed grateful to have a reason not to look at any of the bodies. “She’d appreciate that?”
“I already helped tread on her jurisdiction last night,” I said. “I think she’ll appreciate us making sure she is first on the scene. And she gets to be the one to notify Imperial Intelligence and the church officials.”
I paused. “Also, she’s despises and tried to kill once. She’ll appreciate the opportunity to try to rush here and find doing sothing that would get my head lopped off.”
trill grinned. “Well, you know the woman in question better than . Hamil, you heard Miss Harrow, skip the regular bobbies and go straight to the Coffin. Oh, and Tain? Knock the wheel off the wagon when no one’s looking, would you? Hamil’s going to have to make it on foot.”
Hamil responded with an agonized groan. “Seriously trill? That’s four bloody miles!”
“Better get a move on then,” trill said with an exaggerated eye roll as Tain moved to the carriage. “You’ll get extra pay, you know my coin is good, and honestly it’s better than getting in an actual fight, yeah? So co on, off you go.”
With much grumbling, Hamil set off on the empty street. What little crowd had been on the street by now had run from the very violent-looking trio and the very innocent-looking trill. So, Tain delivered a pair of kicks to an unstable-looking wheel at the front right of the carriage. To my mild shock, it didn’t shatter into pieces but instead popped off neatly.
The driver scrambled off, yelling curses at Tain, while I turned my attention to Tain, a very important word on my mind.
“I’m sorry, ‘bobby’? When did ‘bobby’ beco acceptable slang for coppers?”
“For decades,” trill said seriously, happy to try and not discuss what we both were going to walk into. “Since the Watch was founded by one Baron Robert Wilcox Hamilton the Fourth. They’ve always been bobbies.”
“Huh,” I said. “I should have guessed the Watch was ford by a noble.”
trill raised an eyebrow. “As loath as I am to defend him, he was very serious about judging everyone equally. Which is probably why he ended up with a chopped-off head so soon into his tenure. Although even he definitely had his biases. Also, ‘coppers’? What kind of word for a bobby is copper?”
“Not my idea,” I said defensively. “Versalicci called them that. Said it was based on etymology. ‘Cop ans to seize, catch, or capture, Malvia, and thus that is why I called them that.’”
“Really? I think it would have been those copper badges they wore for a few decades, including when your group was active?”
“That’s what I thought, and for it I had to endure four hours of a lecture on etymology,” I said, with a mock shudder.
“And what torture did he have ready to inflict on you after that one?” trill asked.
Cutting so Watch Officer to pieces and make bodies for imps out of the parts, and that thought put a damper on my mood again.
“So,” trill said, deciding to take my silence in stride. “Do you have anything so we won’t puke our guts out?”
I reached inside my coat, pulling out a pair of vials with a light blue liquid, passing one to trill.
“It’ll steady our stomachs and keep the nausea at a minimum,” I got out. “For the diabolism? Tildaen priestess or sothing similar, that I can’t help you with. They can cleanse you before it gets beyond the skin level. Depending on how bad it is, I’d suggest heading right to their nearest temple after.”
There were alchemicals that could stop so of the ambient corruption left from diabolism, but nothing worked as well as holy magic. Since I was immune to the corruption at lower levels, I generally didn’t make any.
I downed mine, which tasted foul but not as foul as the sll inside that place.
Tildeans, I’d learned, would do it for free without question about how you’d gotten it. Although if they suspected you had practiced Diabolism yourself you might sit through a very long lecture about the moral evils of practicing it.
I agreed with that part, but alas that holy purity would involve scorching my own flesh, so I was at odds with Tildae.
“So,” trill asked. “If you were to sit in a diabolism saturated room long enough, would you-“
“Change further?” I finished for her. “Yes, but not to this extent. What happened to a few days, was, well.”
I paused, considering how much exactly I wanted to share about what had happened.
“Rejected apotheosis,” I said. “Of a sort, anyway.”
trill shook her head, a slight grin on her face. “You don’t lack for pride, saying you almost beca a deity.”
“Of a sort,” I reminded her. “I think I would have ended up a powerful devil if I’d gone through with it. Luckily, I decided that would not be a good path.”
She nodded, then eyed the door. “We should probably head in.”
“Probably,” I agreed. “Stalling just ans less ti to actually look things over. You could stay behind?”
She shook her head firmly. “No. These are my people. Besides, I know what Rose looks like so we can confirm she died.”
I doubted there would be too much left of Matilda Rose to use to identify her, but I wasn’t going to argue. And a second set of eyes would be useful. If just to make sure nothing corrupted in here jumped while my back was turned.
I reached for the handle again.
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