Late in the morning Hellrien resumed her hiding place in the alley. Redweed stepped out of the inn at midafternoon. Hellrien had no doubts about his identity anymore. His hair was very blond, almost white. Picture of Lily Honesty crossed Hellrien’s mind. But apart from the color of their hair Lily and Seyton didn’t share any kind of family resemblance, so Hellrien doubted they could be related.
Redweed was wearing dark yellow leather armor adorned with numerous metal staples. He was wearing dark hemp trousers and boots cobbled out of soft brown calf leather. His hat was light and flat-topped.
Redweed strolled at his leisure along the street, and Hellrien followed him from a safe distance. Her attention was fixed on the elongated object Redweed had strapped on his right hip, and she felt a leaden heavy churning in the bottom of her stomach when she realized he was carrying a heavy metal mace.
Ingrandor appeared, passing by Hellrien and giving her a polite nod, lifting his hat slightly as he found a nice spot to stand next to, keeping Hellrien in view. She nodded back at him and sighed in relief when Redweed strode across the street and headed towards the Soot & Stain tavern. When he entered, Hellrien walked over to Ingrandor. He took his hat off and kept it in his hands as she approached.
”All good?” she asked.
”Of course, nice day, good food. I am enjoying this pleasant wind. How about you?”
”I'm going to wait for ten minutes before I follow him inside. He's never seen me before, and I'm a regular there, so I can do that, but I think you should wait outside.”
”Don't worry. I'll be watching.”
”So, what you have been up to these past days? Have you learned anything?”
”I was playing and making friends. And watching. Oh here”, Ingrandor said, passing his sketch and notes to Hellrien. ”I was waiting for an opportunity but I haven't left the inn.”
Hellrien looked at the sketch, nodded, folded the paper and shoved it down her dress top.
A little later she followed Redweed into the Soot & Stain, head bowed and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. She had not seen a sign of Lily today and was hoping she would still be in her cabin. If she was there and wanted to introduce Hellrien to Seyton, that would surely complicate things.
She didn’t look around before she had reached the bar and noticed Redweed’s tow-head at one of the corner tables. Hellrien inched closer but then turned half-away, looking surprised.
It seemed Redweed was playing a game of craps with Bill Toadflax.
Three tankards of beer later a small crowd of curious spectators had gathered around the table. As the crowd kept growing Hellrien could finally move closer to peer along the heads.
They were playing a high-stakes game of craps, using pouches of 50 silver coins as bets.
Hellrien’s throat began to feel parched. She immediately understood the way it was. It was one of the oldest hustles in the book, with Seyton re-throwing all sixes and eights while Toadflax played the regular way. Grifters sometimes proposed this variant of the game to their gullible marks, who thought they were given better chances to win because sixes and eights were the easiest scores to get. But in reality the odds were on the side of the hustler, because he was giving himself more chances to score 2, 3 or 12, so in the long run – during a long game – the hustler always won. But not many people knew this trick or the maths behind it, and apparently none of the spectators here had fallen victim to it either, as nobody pointed out to Bill Toadflax that he was being ripped off.
Except, of course, that he wasn’t. It was all part of a perfectly executed smoke screen.
The game lasted for two hours. When it ended Redweed had won 2000 silver pennies. Toadflax had torn open his collar and appeared to be out of breath and desperate, but Hellrien noticed that his forehead was dry and hands still calm.
Seyton Redweed amassed the pouches from the table and stuffed them into his bag.
Two thousand. That should be a hefty portion of the value of what Redweed had robbed from the merchant in Bree, Bruner Stouttrush.
Suddenly it all made perfect sense. It had been Bill Toadflax – presumably a rival of Bruner Stouttrush – who had arranged the robbery. Redweed and his men had hidden the merchandise before the Bree Watch had arrested them, and while they were exiled from Bree into Ost Forod, Toadflax had safely secured the loot and sold it as his own. And now Seyton was back to collect his share of the deal. And Lily – Bruner’s spy – had actually been Toadflax’s spy all along! Toadflax was a very clever, very cautious man. That’s why he had arranged the meeting with Seyton here in Trestlebridge, and staged this sham dice game to erase all possible traces that would link Toadflax with the Stouttrush robbery. Toadflax must have been suspicious of Stouttrush sending his own agents in the area and needed to muddy all evidence pointing to himself.
”Have you had enough for today?” Seyton Redweed suddenly asked.
”I think so”, Toadflax replied, grinding his teeth. ”But surely you will give me an opportunity for reimbursement?”
”Naturally. I will be staying in town for a couple of days. Would tonight be all right for you?”
”Two hours before midnight.”
The men stood up.
Hellrien blended in the crowd, but she still got a good look of Seyton Redweed. He seemed sickly pale, even his eyes were pale like corpse’s eyes. Slightly protruding front teeth made him appear somewhat wily, but the shoulders covered by the leather armor were wide, and his slightly bandy legs appeared to be bulging with muscles. He had a habit of moving his right arm in a way that stirred dark echoes from Hellrien’s memory.
Redweed returned leisurely into his inn, and Hellrien followed and slipped into the alley to wait. Ingrandor joined her there, pulling the hat down on his face.
”All good?” he asked.
”All good, but he's going back there this evening. He won a load of money from a man I have met before in a game of dices, but the game seemed... fixed.”
”Not a surprise”, Ingrandor said. ”You'll go as well I take it. Do you know if he goes there late or early?”
”A couple of hours before midnight. The man... Mr. Toadflax said he wanted a chance to win his money back, but I don't think that's what's going on at all. I think there's some kind of transaction happening.”
Hellrien didn’t want to explain the whole thing to Ingrandor, not yet, as she was still figuring out all the details in her mind. Ingrandor nodded and scratched his chin.
”I will be there then, outside and armed.”
”Nothing to do but wait now. Do you want to sit here with me or go back inside?”
”I told him I'd be back, but there is no reason to go right away”, Ingrandor said and leaned against the wall, bending his right knee against it. ”I work hard. I deserve a break. What are you eating all day?”
”I pop out to eat at the stalls every now and then. I suppose I could do it now, as we both know he's likely not going out of his room before evening.”
”Why not inside then? I'll treat you.”
”I'd rather not risk Seyton to see me just yet. He might get suspicious if he spots me hovering around everywhere he goes.”
”As you wish”, Ingrandor said. ”But you should pop in at some point. You won't be the first woman from that place to come to the inn. Trust me.”
”Better safe than sorry. The food at the stalls is quite decent.”
”It is”, Ingrandor agreed. ”I eat there too when I want to get out. It's not too fun living in taverns. One would think it is.”
”Aye, too true.”
”That man over there was in love with his cousin”, Ingrandor smirked and pointed across the street. ”Her father sent her away to Bree for that reason. Now he's married to the schoolteacher.”
”Oh really? Tsk tsk.” Hellrien shook her head.
”They say his cousin became a seamstress and that she was sleeping with Bree's mayor's brother. Also, that old lady over there?” Ingrandor pointed at an old woman washing the clothes.
”Yeah, what about her?”
”They say she is a witch and if you stare at her while she is washing she will cast a spell on you. They say she used to eat newborn dogs under the full moon. Until a Ranger came and fought her. He banished the evil spirit that made her behave like that but her powers remain. Her sister is three years older and she pays visits to Bree every second Tuesday. She has a thing for hobbits... that's what they say. There is also a young couple that has been trying to have a child for two years now but they can't. Some say it's the man's fault, others say it's the woman's. The woman says it's wine's fault.”
”I knew a man in here who's daughter got pregnant with his half-brother, who also happened to be half-orc”, Hellrien said.
”An odd little town… we should have let it burn if you ask me.”
”I suppose they pay good money that we can spare so big and permanent garrison here.”
”The merchants are honest at least. One of them is trying to marry his son to the innkeeper's daughter. But she is too full of herself.”
”Weird town.”
”Seems so. That's some of the gossip I heard. Do you want to hear more?”
”Maybe you should save some for later. Who knows how long we have to lurk about here. If we're not careful, we turn Trestlebridgians ourselves!”
”With what I heard? Never!” Ingrandor pretended to be gagging. ”Disgusting.”
Hellrien chuckled.
”It’s worse than Bree”, Ingrandor pressed on.
”Yeah, and that’s saying a lot.”
”True, true.”
Soon after Ingrandor returned inside. A couple of hours before midnight Redweed returned to the tavern. This time he skinned a thousand silver pennies from Bill Toadflax before returning to his inn.
Three thousand silver coins in total. This time there was no more talks about reimbursement.
Bruner Stouttrush’s stolen merchandise had been converted into silver and shared between the partners in crime, and there was nothing Hellrien could do about it. Toadflax was one of the rich and powerful in Bree, protected by the law and the Watch, and Hellrien had no proof against him. If she tried going against him, she would wind up outlawed and exiled herself. Seyton Redweed, on the other hand… well, he was an outlaw and didn’t have any rights in Bree. Perhaps there was a way to secure some of the lost money after all. That, combined with the information about Bill Toadflax’s part in the robbery she would impart to Stouttrush, would be enough to justify their wages, Hellrien reckoned. Back in the alley she explained Toadflax’s and Redweed’s gambit to Ingrandor.
”So… the whole job's lost?” Ingrandor despaired.
”Maybe not... we have to keep following him. Perhaps there will be chance to retrieve at least a fraction of the money stolen from that merchant.”
”Or just rob them.”
Hellrien lit her pipe, looking ponderous. ”Perhaps, perhaps.”
”Share with me your thoughts, oh wise one!”
In the same instance Hellrien spotted a sneaky-looking fellow on the main street, rushing towards the Spick & Span inn. He half-ran, half sneaked to the door, looked over his shoulder, and slipped inside.
”Who, I wonder, was that?” Hellrien asked. ”Never seen him before, I'm sure.”
”I didn't even see...” Ingrandor replied. ”I should take a look. It's time for my tea before sleep.”
”Alright... I think it could have been one of Seyton's men.”
”Let’s find out”, Ingrandor said. ”You go get some sleep.”
”Oh no, not at a time like this!”
”Then I shall be your customer and I am bringing you to the inn.”
Their conversation paused when a light turned on in a third floor window. It was Seyton’s room. The window opened and the two sellswords down below could hear mumbling voices, fragments of a discussion.
”Thornley... Dogwood Farm... five bags... gold…”
Then somebody slammed the window shut and the voices disappeared.
”Five?” Ingrandor said in a low voice. ”Bags? Gold? What are we still doing here!”
”Wait… what are you up to?”
”Nothing”, said Ingrandor. ”I said they are talking about gold. We are here for gold.”
”Yes, but let's figure out what to do next first. Seyton only got about 3000 silver coins from Toadflax, and while that's a lot of money, I'm guessing it's just a fraction of the value of the stolen items. Not more than half in any case. So that's what he's carrying now. But did you here what I did? ’Five bags of gold?’”
”3000 is sure a lot of coins but five bags of gold could buy all Eriador...”
”Perhaps it's just small pouches. But anyway, it's a lot more than 3000 silver coins.”
”How do you want to act?”
”Hmmm... who's Thornley? And what's Dogwood farm? I mean... that's got to be one of the farms between here and Bree, no?”
”I think Thornley is close to Bree. I know that sometimes there has been late night meetings there”, Ingrandor mused. ”I don't know about Dogwood farm though.”
”Do you know where it is?” Hellrien asked. ”Thornley, I mean.”
”I do. I will need to tell the innkeeper I'll be gone for half a day then. It's about five hours ride from here.”
”There's no rush, I think. I don't think we need to act while Seyton is still here. But when he rides out, we know where to go next. And hopefully find enough money to cover the merchant's lost stuff - and more.”
”More would be preferable if you ask me”, said Ingrandor. ”I actually have a question, kind of irrelevant.”
”Okay, shoot.”
”Do you pretend to work at the brothel?”
”I don't think that's necessary anymore, we can't find the stolen goods. Toadflax must have sold it and turned it into money ages ago. But we can still steal from the thief, right?”
”That's what I am thinking. If we steal it back and return to the owner and make some profit... well, there's nothing wrong with that.”
”My thoughts exactly. So, I think we can both afford a good night's sleep and leave this town tomorrow. Head to that Thornley's place. Do you think we should report to Fion what we're up to?”
”I will tell the man I cannot work for him anymore then. I think at this time yes since things have changed.”
”So we keep an eye out for Seyton and his visitor there. I think they are going to spend the night here. Tomorrow I will send a note to Fion that there's been a change in plans. Wait for Seyton to leave, wait a bit more, and then head to Thornley's. That sound like a plan?”
”It does. I will make as much coin as I can here too, but I will let the man know that I will leave probably soon”, Ingrandor said. ”I'll keep an eye on Seyton even more now and I will have one of the maids tell me if he seems to be making ready to leave.”
”Sounds great. That means I can have a few hours of sleep tonight.”
”Where are you going to sleep?”
”In the boarding house. I have a room there.”
”I will send someone to wake you then if need be, get as much rest as you can.”
”Nellie Boskins' boarding house.”
”I will remember.”
”A few hours should do it.”
”Alright then.”
”Well, I best be off then. It's getting late. Good night, Ingrandor.”
”Good night to you. Be safe.”
Hellrien slept late, then went out to the town, keeping close the Spick & Span inn the whole time. Late in the afternoon Seyton Redweed and his guest came out. Hellrien followed them to the stables and watched as they rode out of the main gate towards Bree.
Hellrien stopped by the tavern for a pint and then returned to her room to write a short note:
Bruner’s merchandise is lost. We will follow Seyton south to Thornley’s. See if we can manage to repossess some of Bruner’s property in gold.
Hellrien
She opened the window and called the raven until it came and attached the message to it’s pouch. It was almost dark already, but there was no point for them to leave before a couple of hours after midnight, so they would reach Thornley in the early morning. There was still time for a short power nap.
