had gone as he’d expected, then his cousin and her army would be drawing near to Hulburg. She planned to encamp near Rosestone Abbey and await events; they’d decided that it was far enough from the town to discourage Rhovann from marching out to meet the Hulmaster army, but close enough for Kara to strike quickly once the runehelms had been dealt with.
Sentries ahead, Hamil said silently. Look sharp now!
At the foot of the road that became the Coastal Way, very near the place where Geran had passed a pair of runehelms in the Sokol caravan a few tendays before, a half-dozen runehelms now stood guard. There hadn’t been that many here the last time he’d left Hulburg. He frowned, hoping that his disguise was sound. This time he was dressed as an itinerant mage for hire, wearing a scarlet robe embroidered with arcane glyphs over a high-collared shirt of black silk and matching breeches. A great cowl-like cape protected him from the bitter weather, and he carried a staff across his saddlebow—although Umbrach Nyth was belted to his hip too. His hair he’d cropped brutally short, and he now wore a full goatee and an eyepatch. As they approached the runehelms, he made a point of giving them a casual glance, just as any newly arriving traveler might.
They were almost past the creatures when one on the right swiveled its visored face toward them and said, “Halt. Identify yourselves.”
They speak? Hamil remarked.
The first I’ve seen of it, Geran answered. He reined in and turned his one “good” eye on the creature. “I am called Jhormun. This is my manservant, Pirr.”
“What is your business here?” the runehelm said. Its voice was deep and oddly inflected, but still intelligible.
“I am a mage for hire. I have heard that some of the merchant Houses in Hulburg are willing to pay a wizard of my skill quite handsomely.”
There was a long silence, and Geran quietly tensed, ready to draw his blade or cast a spell as he needed to. Then another one of the runehelms spoke. “You may go,” it said.
Do you think they’re speaking to Rhovann? Hamil asked as they rode on past. Or are they simply following his directions and exercising their own judgment?
“Neither possibility is very reassuring,” Geran muttered under his breath. The sooner they dealt with Rhovann’s monstrous creations, the better. In an inner pocket of his robe he carried twin scrolls, carefully prepared days ago in Thentia, that held a ritual of shadowcrossing to carry him into the Shadowfell at the proper time. Sarth was also capable of performing the transition, but Geran couldn’t be certain that the sorcerer would be able to rejoin them by the appointed hour—in this case, midnight. That was still eight or nine hours off, and Geran had things to do before then.
Leaving the guardpost behind, he turned right on Keldon Way and headed for the Sokol compound. Hopefully anyone or anything watching wouldn’t be surprised to see a mage for hire presenting himself at the first mercantile establishment he came to. At the gate he informed the Sokol guards that he wished to speak with the mistress of the establishment, and he and Hamil were shown to the sitting room of Nimessa’s house. They waited for a short time before Nimessa bustled in, followed by one of her clerks.
“My apologies, Master Jhormun,” she began. “There is a fair bit of trouble in Hulburg today—”
“I know it,” Geran interrupted. He stood and removed his eyepatch, meeting Nimessa’s gaze.
She drew back in surprise, and stopped. Then she glanced to her clerk. “Allow us a few moments,” she said. The clerk raised an eyebrow, but gathered up his ledgers and let himself out. Nimessa waited until the door was firmly shut before she turned back to face Geran. “Master Jhormun, indeed. I would’ve thought you’d be with your army up on the moors! What in the world are you doing here?”
“Dealing with Rhovann and Marstel, once and for all,” he replied. He nodded at Hamil. “You remember my old comrade Hamil?”
“Of course, but I thought he had more sense than to follow you into Hulburg with the Council Guard and merchant costers and Rhovann’s awful constructs all watching for you.”
“My mother warned me to choose my friends wisely,” Hamil answered. He jumped to his feet and took Nimessa’s hand, brushing his lips to her fingers with a sigh. “She was always so disappointed in me.” Nimessa smiled, and inclined her head to Hamil.