Allan passed through the main gate “protecting” the city of Stoneford.
It wasn’t a gate built to defend the city from attack, clearly. Two stone posts braced either side of the road that paralleled the West River. The posts were as tall as two men. Connected to the posts, leading away from the road, were two stone walls perhaps ten yards long. Each wall was half the height of the average man. Past the walls was open ground on the river side of the road, and farm fields on the opposite side of the road.
Two men in chain-mail coats and leather breeches sat on stools. Each man sat in front of a post. As Allan approached them, they stood up. He saw carving on the posts. As he got closer, he saw that the carving was the crest of the ruling family of this dukedom.
The guards stood up. They moved to the center of the road, blocking his path.“State your name,” the older of the two said.
“Allan.”
“Where are you from?”
“Elderwood Ford.”
“Why have you come to Stoneford?”
“To seek my fortune.”
The guard looked Allan up and down. Before leaving Elderwood Ford, he’d bought better clothes for himself. He didn’t need to appear to be a wealthy young man. A young man like that wouldn’t need to be searching for his place in life. A young man in modest, but clean, clothing would appear to be doing so.
The guard nodded once. “Very well. Welcome to the dukedom of Stoneford, and the city of Stoneford. The master here is Lord Jason. Obey the law, and you will do well enough.”
Allan nodded back. “Thank you.” He walked away from the guards.
He’d chosen to follow the West River when he left Elderwood Ford. Stoneford was one of his home’s few neighbors. Relations between them were pleasant enough, but that was more due to the sparsely-settled land at their border than anything else. People in the border villages either went up the river or down it for any needs they couldn’t fill themselves. The land they lived in had no value, other than having good soil for farms.
Since Stoneford was along the river, it had to have river trade. River trade, from Allan’s knowledge and experience, could lead to crime. Crime could lead to corruption, and that meant that Stoneford might need help from the Defender.
Allan took his time walking through the city. It appeared to be much like the city he’d grown up in. Residential districts sat on the outskirts of the city. Closer to the center was the business district and the docks on the riverside. Set back from the business section, and surrounded by residential neighborhoods, was the Lord’s Manor, the homes of the wealthy, the barracks, and the temples. The only difference between Stoneford and Elderwood Ford was that here, all but the poorest homes were constructed of masonry. Every structure appeared solid.
There were poor folk in the streets, but their situation didn’t appear as desperate as the conditions were in Elderwood Ford when Allan was growing up. There weren’t as many run-down structures, either. Pairs of guards did seem to be posted at every important street corner.
Allan searched for an inn that he could stay in. He passed by two of the nicest inns he saw. A young man trying to make his way wouldn’t have the coins for a room in such places. Besides, he’d have to make his coins last as long as possible.
Along the main road through the city, sitting between the central business area and a pleasant neighborhood, was the Gray Stallion Inn. The structure was a two-story affair with a plain front. Allan walked in front of it, and was struck by the aroma of baking bread.
I’ll try this place first, he thought.
He walked through the front door. The inside was ordinary. There was a dining area with half a dozen tables, each with four chairs pushed close to them. To his right was a counter, to his left an open stairway. Two candelabras hung from the ceiling. They weren’t lit, but a lantern on the counter was.
Behind the counter was a man with short dark hair washing mugs. He had a plain face and a solid build. He stopped what he was doing and looked at Allan. “Help you, young man?”
“I hope so,” Allan replied. “I’m looking for a place to stay.”
The man smiled. “I have rooms, young man. Single bed or double?”
“Single.”
“For the night, or longer?”
“Longer. I’m new in town, and hoping to make my way here.”
“Well, then, welcome to Stoneford, and the Gray Stallion Inn. My name is Gregory. A room with a single bed is three coppers a night, or a silver and a copper per week. I must ask that you pay the first night, or first week, in advance.”
“I can do that. Does that only cover the room?”
“I would be a poor host if it did, young man. The price includes a morning and an evening meal each day you stay. You’ll have to pay for extra food, and extra drink.”
“Of course.”
Allan went to the counter. He removed coins from his coin purse and placed them on the counter in front of Gregory.
“Thank you, young man. Might I get your name?”
“Allan.”
“Where you from, Allan?”
“Elderwood Ford.”
“Ah, yes, the city where that masked fellow fought the Lord and brought him down. Is it true what the say about that masked man?”
“That depends on what they say.”
“They say the man uses magic.”
“That was the word around the city, though I never saw it myself.”
“Interesting.” The smile faded from the man’s face.
“Why should that be interesting, Master Gregory? It seems just another story to me.”
“Yes, you are new in town, aren’t you? So you haven’t heard?”
I have heard odd rumors about Stoneford. Perhaps this is my chance to learn more. “I heard nothing. Tell me, Master Gregory. If I’m to make this city my home, I should know what’s going on.”
“Indeed you should. We are ruled by Lord Jason. A few months ago, towards the end of the winter, a fellow came to town, calling himself Malloria.”
“Malloria? What sort of name is that?”
“A strange name, young man, and for a strange man. Malloria said that he could see the future. Well, by then the rumors of that masked fellow in Elderwood had come. People wondered if the magic had come back. Anyway, one of this Malloria’s predications was that doom would befall Lord Jason’s younger son Kenneth. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, Kenneth died of fever.”
“Did people suspect this man of foul play?”
“No. Other children died around that time, about a dozen or so, all of fever.”
“That is strange.”
“Indeed. After that, His Lordship took this Malloria into his confidence.” Gregory shook his head. “Things have not been the same since.”
“How so?”
“Before the boy died, His Lordship was not a good man, but neither was he a wicked man. He was a tolerable master of the dukedom, you could say. After, well, on advice from this Malloria, His Lordship has certain men placed in jail.”
“Which men? Good men? Bad men?”
“More good than bad, I’d say. There was the owner of Stoneford Shipping, on a charge of not paying his taxes. Others who openly doubted Malloria’s talent. Then there was this young man from a town in the dukedom of Short Prairie. The charge was flight from justice, yet the fellow wasn’t sent back to face whatever he’d been charged or tried with in Short Prairie.”
“That does not sound good.”
“Indeed not.”
“What has His Lordship’s advisors have to say about this Malloria?”
“Nothing in public.” Gregory leaned forward. “Don’t speak this around the city, friend Allan, or you might get jailed.”
“Of course.”
“Word is that someone close to His Lordship likes this Malloria.”
“Why should that be a secret?”
“The suspicion is that this friend of Malloria is up to something.”
“With Malloria?”
“Yes.”
“What could that be? Crime? Theft of His Lordship’s treasury?” Allan lowered his voice. “Murder?”
Gregory laughed and shook his head. “It’s unlikely to be a scheme as dire as that. No, most likely money and favors. The pursuits of the nobility.”
“I see. Is this city safe otherwise?”
“As safe as any other. Property is stolen every now and again. There are fights, and men indulge in too much liquor. I daresay, young man, Stoneford is not the city you left behind, that’s for certain.”
“That is good to hear, Master Gregory.”
“Should you like to see your room?”
“Yes, please.”
Gregory came around the counter. Allan picked up his traveling sack. He led Allan up the stairway to a hallway. There were four doors on each side of the second-floor hallway. Gregory opened the door of the first door to their left.
“This is your room, young man.”
All thought it appeared simple but pleasant. There was a bed, a chest of drawers to one side of the bed, and a nightstand next to the other. A window stood opposite the door. Against the wall and across from the bed was a small square table and a lone chair. A lantern sat on the nightstand. The floor, furniture, and bedsheets appeared clean.
“This will do, Master Gregory.”
“Good. Dinner will commence when the evening bells toll. Most likely before sunset, rather than at sunset.”
“I shall be there.”
“I will see you then. Let me know if you need any more assistance. Again, welcome to the Gray Stallion Inn, young man.”
Allan closed the door behind Gregory. He opened his sack. He removed his spare shirts and leggings first. As he did so, he thought about what he’d been told.
Darien’s books mentioned that divination spells were possible, but by no means easy. They required a gift, if you wanted a simple vision, and a sacrifice for something more certain and powerful. He wrote that, even then, they could not always be relied on. That was the case when magic was known and common. Neither is true now.
That tells me that this Malloria fellow most likely cannot use magic, like I can. Since that’s so, the death of His Lordship’s son was either by chance or, more probably, by design. If it was by design, it must have been to make Malloria seem more trustworthy.
But that would be quite a risk for this Malloria to take. How could he get to His Lordship’s family to do the boy harm? What could he do to harm the boy that would not be seen as a sign of a known poison?
Allan paused and looked at his leather armor, neatly tucked into the sack. Like back home, this Malloria must have help from within His Lordship’s circle of close friends and advisors. He cannot be acting on his own.
To solve this mystery, I need to find a path that leads to His Lordship’s home. Yet, what would be the first step on that path?
There is crime in this city. Gregory said as much. It cannot be entirely random. There must be a man behind at least some of it.
Allan sighed. Well, I am here to search for employment. I can ask around, discretely, during the day, then at night do a bit of spying from the sky. I know how to do those things, so I’ll start there.