When Delioron woke up the sun had already climbed high above the horizon, though little of it’s light could penetrate through the cloudy, gray autumn sky and the dim, dirty window of his room. He was immediately aware that someone else was in the room with him.
The door. He had forgotten to bolt the door. And now whoever had killed Hodhion had come to finish the job. Served him right for being so stupid and careless.
He heard a low chuckle coming from the direction of the door. ”The sleeper awakens!”
Delioron turned his head slowly towards the voice. Navelwort was sitting in the chair he had moved in front of the door. He was holding a wooden stick in his right hand, gently slapping it against his left palm.
”That’s right”, Navelwort said. ”You’re not the only one who can work his way through locked doors. Look, but don’t make any sudden movements or I will crack your skull open. You’d best believe me.”
”I have no doubt about it”, Delioron said. ”What do you want?”
”Oh”, Navelwort chuckled. ”That’s not so hard to guess, is it now, southerner? I want the money. Ten silver pennies Hodhion promised me, so I’d wager you have at least twice as much. Twenty silver pennies, and don’t you dare deny it! Seeing as poor Hodhion won’t have a need for his share anymore, I reckon I’m just gonna take it all!”
Delioron closed his eyes. Twenty silver pennies. Navelwort wasn’t the brightest apple in the basket, that much was clear. Delioron opened his eyes and studied his opponent. Just a wooden club, it seemed. Nothing to worry about.
Delioron swung his legs on the floor and stood up. Navelwort bounced up from the chair too, startled.
”Get back on the bed! No sudden movements! I warned you!”
Delioron took a step towards the other man, and Navelwort swung the club towards his head. Delioron stepped in, grasped his wrist and twisted it. Navelwort shrieked and dropped the club on the floor. Delioron grabbed him by the shoulder and continued twisting until Navelwort fell on the floor. Delioron sat on his back, grasped him by his hair and slammed his face on the floor, hard. Navelword screamed. Delioron slammed his face on the bloody floorboards again. And one more time, just to make a point.
”Owww!” Navelwort howled. ”You broke my bloody nose!”
”That’s right”, Delioron agreed. ”It looks really bad. You should go see a healer right away or your face will be permanently ugly. All girls will run screaming at the sight of you.”
”You murderous bastard!” Navelwort screamed, blood squirting from both nostrils on his white shirt. ”You killed poor Hodhion, and now you’re going to kill me! Ain’t nothing I can do or say to stop you!”
Delioron considered that for a moment. He killed Hodhion. An interesting development. ”And why did I kill Hodhion?” he asked.
Navelwort stared at him, as if not believing his own ears. ”And why did you… you soulless assassin, you know that better than anyone!”
”Humor me. Why did I kill Hodhion?”
”Well, you… for the money, of course! You didn’t want to pay him, so you went to his house, tortured him for his information and killed him! Slaughtered him like a pig! Poor old Hodhion!”
”And what are you to Hodhion?”
”I know him. Have known him for years and years! I, uh… trade information to him. About the activities of some of my, uh, friends here in Bree…” Navelwort blushed and looked down, as if ashamed.
”I see”, Delioron said. ”And how do you know I killed him?”
”You stood me up last night. I waited, but when you didn’t come back I realized you had given me the slip, and Hodhion was so late from the meeting, so I decided to go see what was wrong. I went to his house, and saw you coming out of it and sneaking into the shadows, really sneaky-like. You left the door locked, but I have my own lockpicks and I’m pretty handy with them too. So I went inside and… saw what you had done to him.”
Navelwort stared at the wintry face of the Gondorian, trying to find something human, something relatable, an inkling of compassion behind those merciless marble-gray eyes. There was nothing there – no emotion, no sign that Hodhion’s fate had touched him in any way, or that Navelwort’s life mattered any more than a housefly’s life would matter to him. The gray eyes stared back, patient and still like frozen ponds.
”I had something to sell for Hodhion”, Navelwort continued blubbering. ”Something better than ever before. And he said to me he could sell it for some foreigners from the south, but that he probably needed my help a bit in setting up the meeting with them. That it might not be safe. Ten silver pennies he promised for it!”
Suddenly Delioron stood up and gave Navelwort a hand. He hesitated, but grabbed it and let the Gondorian pull him up. Delioron sat him on the bed and handed him a handkerchief.
”Here”, Delioron said, almost gently. ”Push it against your nose and lean your head back. The bleeding will stop in a bit.”
Navelwort did as he was told. ”You said I should see a healer immediately… you said…”
”Nah. You’ll be fine. Perhaps it will be a little flatter in the future, but that will only make you look more dangerous. Girls love that, trust me.”
”You sure?”
”Trust me”, Delioron repeated patiently. ”And tell me how you were supposed to set up the meeting.”
”I was told to be in the Prancing Pony, stay in the background, only intervene if something went wrong – if he made a sign for me. He told me what you looked like, and that he would be there by dusk. But then, hours and hours passed and he never came! So I decided to chat you up, to measure you out. I knew something had went wrong with Hodhion, but I thought that perhaps I could find a way to sell what I know to you directly somehow.”
”And there was nobody else in the deal besides you two? Just you? Nobody waiting outside, or in nearby buildings?”
”Nossir. Not that I know of.”
”Well then, perhaps you can still get your twenty silver pennies worth, Navelwort. If you tell me what you had to sell, what was good enough to get Hodhion killed.”
Navelwort leered at Delioron, eyes wide with terror. ”Uh, nossir, I don’t need the money! I will tell you everything, but… Hodhion didn’t tell you then, or…?”
”It’s not a concern of yours what Hodhion did or did not tell me”, replied the chilling voice. ”What I need to know is what you told him. And your whole past history with Hodhion. Tell me everything.”
