The Fly Guild (18 page)

After studying what he could in the
flickers of the pale orange light from the fire, the camp appeared to be a
circle of wagons with tents set up in the middle. He heard voices, and some
sounded like women. Occasionally, a cry of a child rang out, but it was quickly
silenced. Whether it was the prisoner or someone else, he didn’t know. Quinton
started easing his way around the circle of wagons, looking for a better
vantage point while keeping an eye out for the inevitable sentries. He spotted
the first one maybe 25 paces from his original hiding place, staring blankly
off in the night, leaning heavily on his spear. 

Quinton waited for a few moments to make
sure he wasn’t spotted. He started to circle even further out to avoid the man
but stopped when he heard someone approaching. A few seconds later, he made out
another silhouette in the faint light approaching the sentry, who turned to
meet him.

“Craz, you still awake?” joked the new
man.

“You’re the one who falls asleep on duty,
you ass,” snorted the other, none too pleased about the joke. “Besides, we
should all go to sleep and forget guard duty. There ain’t nothing out there.”

“Yeah, once we get through the swamp and
the wild things that live there, things are pretty quiet. Nothing is coming out
of the city, that’s for sure.” 

“Except what we want to take out.”

The other man didn’t answer but shifted
from foot to foot. He wasn’t holding a spear like the other sentry. He turned
and looked out into the night alongside Craz. “Captain told me to pass the word
that we’ll be on the detail to escort the viceroy tomorrow. There’s some sort
of meetings taking place, and he has to go into the city.”

“That’s going to draw a lot of
attention.”

“We’re all going in undercover. We’ll be
dressed as commoners and merchants. A few of us will be armed as usual and
acting as mercenary guards. Everyone else will carry daggers only.”

Craz spat. “I don’t like that. Puts us at
a disadvantage if anything goes down, and word is Wren has the citizens all
stirred up.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll
blend in with the crowd, escort the viceroy to his meeting spot, provide
security while he’s there, then exit the same way. Easy in, easy out.”

Craz spat again. “Nothing is ever easy.
Walking an elf through the middle of an unfriendly town sounds like a bad idea.
Why can’t Wren come out here?”

Quinton nearly gasped aloud. An elf? Why
was there an elf here and why was he kidnapping human children? He filed away
the information and continued eavesdropping.

“Because it would draw attention to the
viceroy, and Wren is afraid to leave his safe portion of the city. Once he’s
outside his walls, he’s vulnerable to the gangs that roam about.”

“What about his own gangs?”

There was a few seconds of silence. “I
don’t know. My source didn’t know what the score was, other than the situation
was pretty fluid right now as Wren and the main gang try to strengthen their
positions.”

“See, you don’t know the score. What if
they find out what we are up to and set up an ambush? All we’ll have is a few
knives and some nice clothes to hit back with.”

“There ain’t going to be any ambush. No
one knows we’re here, and even if someone has seen us, we look like any other
merchant caravan that rolls into this hole.”

Craz pointed at the bush where Quinton
was hiding. “What about that bush?” Quinton froze. How could they see him? “It
just heard everything. What if it am-‘bushes’ us?” The other guard snickered
and Quinton relaxed. He hadn’t been spotted after all.

“Funny man, Craz, funny man.” He turned
and walked back to the camp, leaving the sentry to stare off into the night
again.

Quinton figured it was time to get back
to the guild. He knew who was in the camp and that they were coming into the
city tomorrow. That would put them on the guild’s turf, and it would be a lot
safer to work for more information in the city. He could try to find out more,
but with the guards about, it would be difficult to do so. The other problem
was what looked like a good hiding spot at night was often in wide-open ground
in the day. If the sun came up and he was out in the open, he was sure to be
spotted. He slowly crawled through the bushes and grass until he was back on
the small trail and trotted at a low crouch back toward the wall. He found the
pile of rubble easily enough, but hesitated going back up. Sands had warned him
once about never using the same route to return that you used to get somewhere.
He knew if he followed the city wall all the way around, there was a section
that was lightly guarded and full of deep shadows. It would cost him time, but
something didn’t feel right about the rubble pile. He continued on into the
night.

High atop the pile, a pair of
disappointed eyes watched him go.

Chapter 6

Quinton was extra cautious finding a spot
on the wall to climb. He watched for some time to make sure there were no
guards about, then made his way up and back in to the city. By the time he made
his way from one deep shadow to the next and back to the guild, it was nearly
dawn and he was exhausted. He had hardly gotten in the door when Huck greeted
him.

“Hey, you’re still alive,” he said,
acting half surprised and maybe a bit disappointed.

“Thanks for your confidence.”

“You better have found something.”

“What, are you Red eye now?”

Huck just laughed. “I’m just saying, for
your own good, you better know something.”

“I do. I need to find Red eye so I can
get some sleep.”

Huck pushed past him and back outside.
“Maggots don’t sleep. People take things away from you when you sleep.” He
smiled and walked away. There was something in the way Huck smiled that Quinton
found disturbing.

“Well, if it isn’t my young apprentice,”
came a familiar voice from behind him. Quinton turned to find Sands standing
behind him. His face had a few red welts on it and his hand was badly scraped,
but aside from that, he looked all right. Quinton couldn’t help but smile.
Sands was one of the few people who had helped him.

“I thought you were dead,” he told his
master.

“It was in doubt for a while. That was an
ambush all the way, and I got into a bit of a scrape but managed to escape, as
did you. Then I had to lie low in one of my hidey holes until they gave up
looking for me. Let’s just say I got to know some rats on a very personal
basis.”

Quinton nodded. “I know the feeling.”

“Enough of this chatter, I assume you
have some news?”

“I do.” Quinton proceeded to tell him
what he had seen at the camp and what the men talked about.

“An elf, and a high-ranking one at that,”
Sands mused, rubbing his injured hand. “I’m not sure what Wren is up to, but it
certainly doesn’t bode well for us. He’s obviously making some sort of power
play. Until we can figure out what it is, we are at a severe disadvantage.
Come, let’s share the news with Fist.”

Quinton was hoping Sands would take the
news to Fist on his own so he could sleep and avoid having to deal with the
death stares of the hulking giant. No such luck. They made their way to Fist’s
office and were granted an immediate audience. His response was similar to
Sands’ when he heard about the elf but involved a lot of profanity and pounding
of fists on the table.

“What is he up to?” demanded Fist to no
one in particular. “What’s he doing bringing in outsiders to our dispute?”

Quinton wondered why the master thief was
upset that someone wasn’t playing by the rules, but Fist’s tirade interrupted
his train of thought.

“We need more information.” Fist stood
up, and Quinton was once again amazed at the man’s sheer physical size. He
assumed that when he was actually out stealing things, he probably just kicked
in a door and everyone ran up and handed him their valuables. “Sands, you will
find out where this meeting with the elf is and report back to me immediately.”

Sands bowed and backed away toward the
door. Quinton did likewise and felt the pressure lift as soon as the door shut.

“I’ll be working this one alone. I have
an idea of where the meeting might be, but it’s on the other side of the wall
to Wren’s inner city. You are dismissed.” Sands voice was gruff and he was
already focusing on the task at hand. Not too long ago, Quinton might have been
hurt by his tone, but he understood what was at stake. Besides, he was so
tired, he didn’t really care. He headed down to the maggot pit, found a bit of
unoccupied floor space and instantly fell asleep.

***

Quinton woke up and wondered what time of
day or night it was. The pit was completely dark and mostly unoccupied. Maggots
could sleep whenever they wanted, as long as they hit their quotas. His stomach
was empty, but there certainly wasn’t anything to eat in the pit, so his only
option was to hit the streets and steal something. He made his way outside and
judged it to be less than an hour before dusk. He had slept longer than he
realized. He headed toward a busy section of town near the wall that he knew
would be teeming with people heading home from the market. It didn’t take him
long to spot the perfect target. There was a woman and a little girl who was
about four years old. The girl had an apple with a small bite out of it in one
hand and a small loaf of bread in the other. She was carrying each one up in
the air like she was trying to feed it to the sun as she tottered alongside her
mother’s skirt.

Quinton made his move. With several quick
strides, he closed the distance between him and his target, then broke into a
run for the last few steps. He slipped between the woman and her child,
snatching both the apple and the bread from her hands as he glided by without
breaking stride. He glanced back and saw the child with a stunned look on her
face, then once she realized what had happened, she burst into tears, her
wailing cutting through the crowded street. The woman yelled but realized no
one was going to help. Quinton was already safely away from her and
disappearing into the masses. One last curse was sent in his direction before
he was out of earshot. He found a nice dark alley to sit down in to enjoy his
meal. He looked at the apple with its tiny bite out of it.

“Sorry, kid,” he said to the apple. “But
I’m hungry.” He devoured the apple and bread, alternating bites between each.

After sitting for a few minutes, Quinton
headed back out on the streets. It was nearly dark now, and the crowd had
thinned considerably. He was making his way toward the inner wall to try to
find some easy marks when he saw Huck heading toward him from a side street.

“Hey, I want to show you something,” he
said as he approached.

Quinton looked at him, wondering what it
could possibly be.

“Trust me, it’s really great.”

“Sure.” He wasn’t really sure, but it was
better than looking for someone to pickpocket. Huck led him through the streets
until they were near the gate next to the Pink Lady. A few streets back was the
giant burned-out shell of what had probably been a spectacular church at one
point. Large buttresses and arches sprang from the building like water out of
leaky dyke. The walls and most of the exterior were intact, but the windows
were charred and soot climbed well up the side of every opening, showing where
the flames had broken free in the fire. When the two boys stepped inside,
Quinton was amazed by how far up the ceiling, or what was left it, soared above
him. Most of the ceiling was gone and was starting to reveal the stars, but
sections along the tops of both walls were still there. Most of the interior
was gutted. Charred wood and blackened marble sat in a large pile in the middle
of the floor, what was left of the ceiling that eventually fell. There were
some half-burnt pews and those corner pieces of paper that always somehow
managed to survive any fire.

“This place was probably amazing before
it burned,” said Quinton, more to himself than Huck.

“It still is. Follow me.” Huck led him
around the piles of debris until they were in back of what had been an altar. A
small headless statue with outstretched arms was lying on the floor, but there
was no sign of the head. A little beyond that was a doorway. The only thing
remaining of the door was a pair of hinges and one heavily charred board that
hung at an awkward angle. Huck pushed past it and led him to the base of a
large stone staircase that spiraled tightly upward.

“Is it safe?” Quinton asked, wondering
how much damage the building had sustained from the fire.

“Probably not,” said Huck as he started
up the steps at a trot. Quinton hurried to catch up.

The step were dizzying because they were
a very tight spiral and very high. It was almost like standing in place and
continually rotating until you felt sick. When they reached the top, there was
another door, but this one was untouched by the fire. Huck swung it open and
the cool night breeze hit Quinton square in the face. After the brisk climb,
the air felt good on his sweaty forehead.

He stepped through the door and looked
around. The doorway gave access to a very narrow walkway that ran along the
edge of the roof. The arching remains of the roof leapt up into the darkness to
his left, while on his right was a small ledge about a foot high and capped
with tile. Beyond the ledge was a steep drop.

“Look, you can see right in,” said Huck,
pointing over the inner wall. Quinton strained to see through the darkness. He
could make out the hulking shadow of the wall below them and the shapes of
buildings with their small square windows lit up in the night. A few lamps
burned in the streets, and he could see a group of about six soldiers marching
past. The streets of the inner city looked a lot cleaner, and safer, than those
on the other side. “It gets better,” Huck said as he motioned for him to
follow. They made their way down the ledge and Quinton could make out the dark
shapes of others sitting on the roof and the ledge ahead of them.

“Who is that?” asked one of the dark
shapes ahead. Quinton recognized the voice as one of the other maggots.

“Huck and Quinton, what’s it to you?”
Huck answered tersely.

“Just asking,” said the boy,
apologetically.

As the two of them edged closer and found
a somewhat comfortable place to lean on one of the roof arches, Quinton could
see at least five other maggots on the roof. They were all staring intently at
the building on the other side of the wall.

“Look over there,” Huck said, pointing to
the top floor of a large building just on the other side of the wall.

There was a large set of windows, all lit
with many lights from within. Inside, through the paned glass, you could see it
was some sort of large banquet or dining hall. A long table ran down the middle
of the room with chairs on all sides. Servants were busy setting the table and
were starting to bring out bowls of what looked like fruit and plates of cheese.

“You won’t believe how much food they’ll
have,” said one of the other boys.

“I hope they all choke on it,” said
another. The last one Quinton recognized as an older boy who never said much,
but when you’re a maggot, you don’t always have much to say.

A woman in a fancy dress walked into the
hall waving her arms at the servants, pointing to and fro.

“I’d like to put an arrow through her,”
said the boy who first challenged them when they arrived.

“If I had a bow, I’d do it for you,” said
the older boy.

“Right you could.”

“I’m serious. I’m a great shot with a bow. I was an expert
hunter before I ended up here.”

“There’s no way you could shoot that
nanny with an arrow from here.”

“I could, and I also could throw you on
top of her from here, as well. Would you like me to prove it?” The boys
scuffled for a minute as the older one grabbed the younger one and acted like
he was going to toss him over the edge, much to the chagrin of the younger boy.

“Knock it off, you’re going to ruin the
evening,” said Huck. “I’m sure if he had a bow, which he doesn’t, he could make
the shot. In fact, we’ll just call him Big Shot from now on. If we need someone
to shoot a mouse from two hundred paces, we know who to ask.” The other boys
chuckled, then went back to watching the never-ending parade of food that was
being placed on the table. “Let’s see, what would I eat first?”

“I’d get me a big chunk of that pig
that’s on the end of the table,” said one of the smaller boys.

“Yeah, that would be a good start,”
answered Huck. “But it looks like there are some pies or something there on the
side. I’d have to have me some of that, too.”

Quinton watched as people, well-dressed
and clean people, started coming into the room to take a seat at the long
table. “I wonder what the occasion is?” he asked no one in particular.

“Occasion?” snorted Big Shot. “It’s
dinner time, that’s the occasion.”

Quinton thought for a moment. “You don’t
mean they do this every night, do you?”

“Yep,” said Big Shot. “Every night, they
lay out a big feast on that side of the wall while we scrounge for scraps on
the street, most of which have to be paid to the guild.”

“And now people are stealing maggots
right off the street,” said one of the younger boys. Quinton wondered how many
people knew about that, but apparently it was common knowledge.

“All we are trying to do is survive, and
some people don’t even want us to do that. They’re dragging us off the street
to who knows where, probably to be tortured about where Fist is.”

“They already know where Fist is, most
likely,” Huck pointed out.

“Well, whatever, someone is grabbing us
off the street and taking us somewhere. And no one is finding any bodies, so
maybe they are chopping us into little pieces,” said Big Shot.

“Maybe those people are eating maggots!”
exclaimed the smallest boy.

“That’s dumb,” said Big Shot. “When you
have pig and pie, why would you eat a little kid? Look at them scarfing
everything down.”

The whole thought was depressing. Was
everyone on Wren’s side of the wall eating like that? No one said anything as
the people devoured all the food. As the plates started to be carried away, the
mood became more depressing. It was like watching your best friend disappear
down the road, knowing you would never see him again.

“Why don’t we just leave?” Quinton
muttered. 

“Leave? Go ahead, I’m watching every last
morsel of food disappear. Maybe they’ll throw their scraps over the wall or
something,” said Huck.

“No, I mean leave the city. Go in search
of some place where there is food and we can eat like them, too.”