Elwyn Shadowblade (Complete)

Chapter 10

Elwyn was glad when the ship finally pulled into port. The limbo of life on the ship, the endless days of planning, had left her chomping at the bit. She wanted to be moving. It was the hunt that set her in motion. That sharpened her instincts and her senses. It made her alert and wary and suspicious. Now, at least, there'd be a focus for all that energy.

She disembarked with the casualness of a traveler, her weapons hidden beneath her long coat, and carried her pack onto the dock and beyond into the bustling city. Her first goal would be information and she knew exactly where to look for it. Nothing happened amongst the nobility without someone hearing about it. You just had to know where those ears congregated and how to loosen the tongues attached to them.

She passed the wharves and the various inns and taverns who hosted sailors and dock workers. These areas weren't wealthy but they were full of the 'dregs of society' who had eyes to recognize an aristocrat. Anyone kidnapping Count Rhys' son wouldn't have dared enter such a place for fear of being seen by any of the myriad thieves, fences, brigands, mercenaries, and spies who did their business along the waterfront. They also wouldn't have gone further in where the nobles had finer accommodations.

The high-end inns were often supported by a wealthy merchant or low-ranking noble. To stay there would implicate the proprietor in the abduction and bring shame and disgrace to the proprietor's name. This would bring the combined power of king and aristocracy down on the proprietor's head should the abduction be discovered; at which point, the proprietor would be forced to find the actual perpetrator and bring charges to clear their name. There were too many political repercussions for that to be allowed. Furthermore, you don't use common thugs to kidnap a noble; you only give the task to trusted, trained, and cunning men who have no reason to betray you and every reason to follow your orders. Those men would only enter establishments they knew could be trusted.

Elwyn wended her way into the middling section of the city. This was where those who were neither poor nor rich lived their lives. Shopkeepers and vendors hawked wares while the crowds moved past. Elwyn blended easily as her clothing was simple but the cloth was sturdy and in good condition.

She sought out the areas where taverns or inns clustered because in this section, like in the wealthier areas, such buildings were placed together rather than being interspersed among the more ramshackle warehouses along the waterfront. It not only helped a visitor to find them but it also meant tavern brawls were contained to smaller, more easily patrolled, spaces and kept away from homes and other businesses.

Elwyn strolled along a row of taverns and inns. All were small and, though clearly well-aged, were kept clean and tidy. She walked past without bothering to go in. Her hunter instincts told her these were not the kinds of places a kidnapper would stop. They were too small, their patrons too few, and that meant barmaids and keepers would remember a stranger's face. So Elwyn kept going. That is until she found what she was looking for: one of the oldest and largest inns in this city.

The inn itself was in two sections: a tavern which abutted the actual inn. The place was old enough that it had a stable and yard for travelers with horses. It was also a little more run-down than its newer, smaller neighbors. The corners would be just the slightest bit shadowed. The riffraff doing business here would be of a high enough caliber to have heard of an abduction plot, but perhaps not high enough to recognize Count Rhys' rarely seen or spoken of son. Elwyn didn't let her steps falter nor her expression reveal her sudden interest. Her muscles tightened imperceptibly as her ears turned more sharply toward the snatches of conversation drifting around her as she crossed through the open doorway.