Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (red queen free ebook txt) 📗

he spoke to Cooper, “The First said you’d paid him to watch out for me. That was unnecessary, you know.” Cooper nodded, “I know, but I wanted to make sure that Mardon assigned a value to what I was asking from him. Plus, I couldn’t know whether you had come away with coin enough to provide for yourself. It seemed the best way to manage the uncertainty. I knew I wasn’t going to need any coin for awhile.” Mardon was close enough to hear the conversation. Cooper addressed him, “I’ll ask that you retain my remaining balance on account for a little while longer. Do you happen to have a filled lantern I could buy, or borrow?.” Mardon laughed, “I do, and as for your balance on account, I’ll certainly ‘hold it’ for you. And I’m putting it to good use in the meantime.” Loryn looked from one to the other and Mardon laughed again, “Not to worry, Miss. While it isn’t a paltry amount, I am prepared to pay the balance any time the Kinsman requests.” Cooper directed everyone to strap their packs, “All of you come with me. I have something to show you.” He looked at Rukle, “And much to explain to you. You might not know it now, but you have a lot to do over the next few months.” As Cooper led them above, he turned to Mardon to receive the lantern being handed to him, “I thank you, sir. If the weather turns colder than I expect, we might return tonight. Otherwise, it might be several days before you hear from me again. I might need to send a messenger. Knowing that anyone can mention a name, any messenger I send will have this image.” He extended his hand to display his token for Mardon to see. “No one else has this. Right now, this is the only one of its kind. If you see or hear of someone displaying it, or describing it without my permission, I would consider it a professional favor to be informed about it.” Mardon’s expression turned serious as he nodded. It appeared that he understood the importance that Guild Assassins placed on their tokens. He wondered just how much the First Merchant understood about the Guild.

He joined the others on deck and led them onto the pier and into the Waterfront District. As they proceeded, a few of the Journeymen started to appear apprehensive. Rukle broke the silence, “Ah, Cooper? Why does it look like you’re leading us into the Ruins?” Cooper stopped walking and turned to address the group, “Because that’s exactly where we’re going.” He held up his hands to interrupt the protests, “There is no reason to fear. The Ruins are ours. We actually own most of the land, and we had the deeds to prove it; though those documents might be lost now. There is no longer a dangerous presence in the Ruins.” He turned and faced the fallen buildings and piles of rubble, “This is where we will rebuild. This will be our new home.” Rukle grumbled, “You mentioned we had a lot of work ahead of us. I didn’t think you had this in mind.” Cooper smiled, “Not to worry, Rukle. Your tasks have nothing to do with masonry or carpentry. Your tasks are suitable to your skill set. But first, as we walk the rest of the way, tell me about any Guild members that escaped but are still living in the city.”

By the time they’d reached the site of Jarell's remains, Cooper was excited by Rukle’s information. He’d already known that Dailen had escaped and had taken a position of a smith’s assistant in a Smithy that was primarily owned by the Guild. He now knew the location of that Smithy. He also learned that Birt had escaped and was now working in an Inn and Tavern here in the city. Rukle hadn’t seen or heard anything of Kolrem, and was still fairly certain that he’d seen Aden loaded onto a prison cart.

As for Jarell’s corpse, there was little remaining that could be used to identify the man. Scavenging animals and insects had stripped most of the carcass clean. The only tissue that remained were residual bits in the crevices of the vertebrae and many of the long bones had been pulled away and been gnawed upon. It looked like most of the bones were still present, or at least nearby, but the presence of a nearly complete skeleton did little to calm the nerves of his colleagues. Cooper spoke, “This is all that remains of Jarell. Our former Master of Coin, and traitor to the Guild. It is because of him that we find ourselves in this situation. I don’t want to trip over his bones as we rebuild, but neither do I want to provide him with anything that resembles a proper burial.” Spen interjected, “Not letting the soul rest. Might that not welcome him back as an evil spirit?” Cooper shook his head. He couldn’t explain any of it to them. Not now, and maybe not ever. He simply said, “There is no spirit remaining to haunt this place.” Having no desire to touch the bones with his hands, he shuffled, kicked and nudged the bones into a pile with his feet. He pointed out the excavated opening he’d noticed months ago, “I want to take a look to see what’s down there. No one need come with me, but I at least want someone up above who can pull a rope in case I need some help getting back up.” He rummaged through his bag as he spoke to Rukle, “Starting either tonight or first thing tomorrow, begin visiting the Houses. Inform them that the Guild is still functional. I doubt anyone should attack you, but some may resist. They might not be happy about paying dues again, since no one has enforced it for a few months. If you are physically attacked,