Part IV - The Journey Begins

The two friends walked together down an uncrowded street. For some reason, the streets near the Temple of the Dead are rarely crowded. The pair did not speak during the walk to the temple, and Jason barely spoke to the priest who took the body. They walked off, the picture of dignified mourning...until they were out of sight.

"Jason, I agree that we should get out of town. Being here is only going to lead to difficult questions. Our presence is likely to encourage someone to do something rash." Kendra said.

"Yes, I hate when people do rash things. Especially when they do them to me." Jason said wryly. "Besides, we've been handed a mystery. What is this ring, where did it come from, and how did Prince What-his-name get his hands on it?"

"Right, getting out of town ahead of the investigators is only part of our reason for running like scalded dogs."

"Ahem, I don' t think I would put it that way. Not that it isn't true, just that I wouldn't say it." Jason said.

They stopped briefly and bought a pair of sausages from a street vendor. They carefully avoided any speculation on the kind of meat in the sausage.

The two old campaigners knew how to pack quickly and lightly. Collecting horses and gear took less than an hour. Jason offered the thought that people heading out on a journey usually left much earlier in the day. Kendra reminded him of the fact that the investigators were likely to be very happy with two of them as guests of honor at the (short) trial. With good humor the two set off. They couldn't help but be memorable to the gate guards. There is little traffic by this time of day. So they simply rode out of the Northern Gate without explanation.

Of course, after they got out of sight of the city they veered and headed overland to catch the trade rode East. Hopefully, that would throw any investigators off the track.

Kendra asked "If they bring dogs to track us, they won't be fooled a minute."

"Not to worry, I dropped little black pepper about a mile or so back. When the dogs get that up their noses, they won't be able to smell anything else.", Jason said.

After a few hours they crossed the eastern trade road and followed it east. As the traveled they discussed the little they knew of the mystery so far. After two days of travel, the only thing their discussion had produced was the idea that the Collage of Wizards might have some information on the ring they were holding, and that Jason was 'getting too old for this kind of trip.'

Near the end of the third day of travel, they found themselves nearing the Meerkir River. There was plenty of barge traffic moving goods up, down and across the river. The Meerkir is too wide to bridge here, being nearly a mile across, so a ferry had been put in place. The collection of inns and warehouses had grown up around each end of the ferry's path.

"Well, Kendra, would you rather spend another night in the saddle? Or shall we see if any of these inns brew decent ale?" Jason said.

"Let's see if we can make it across the river tonight, and sleep on the other side. Then even if we are being followed, we'll have the river to slow 'em down" Kendra said.

"Sounds good to me."

The river crossing was routine. It was also a bit monotonous. Once or twice Jason stirred himself either to ask Kendra to pray for a little speed or to drop some herb on the rope to hurry things along himself. But he was too canny a campaigner to leave behind such evidence. He waited, with as much patience as he could muster.

Kendra spoke, "You know, the worst problem with a sitting a long time after a long day's ride? You stiffen up. I'll have to have a bed tonight." Jason nodded his agreement when the ferryman suggested an Inn named "The Busted Oar." They were known for a fine, big tub you can soak in.

With those words, the evening's plans were made: dinner and a bath at "The Busted Oar"

Part III - An Inconvenient Corpse

After quickly extinguishing the magical fire, Jason and Kendra looked at each other, then around the room. Everyone seemed to be very studiously not looking in their direction. Jason swept the ashes to the floor and the ring into his pouch.

"We've got to get your guest out of here, along with us." Jason muttered in low tones. "I'd bet my next meal someone will show up looking for him, and soon."

"I wouldn't take that bet." Kendra agreed. "But he's a pretty big fellow and there's not much we can do to hide the fact that he's dead, or unconscious."

"I know your Patron is a Goddess of Light and Life, but just how unhappy would she be with a brief Zombie Spell?" Jason asked.

Kendra winced, "I'd rather not ask."

"Let's go upstairs. We'd better get a good look at the problem." Jason said, then continued in a louder voice "Sure, why not? I'll flip him for Head or Tail!"
Kendra's dark eyes flashed with both amusement and anger. He'd scored in their long-running game. But she went upstairs without another word.

When they got to her room, he began laying a tracing of finely ground herbs across the threshold and the window. He muttered something under his breath that did not sound like human speech and then touched a candle flame to each line of herbs. They began to smolder and shortly a curtain of smoke stood where each line of herbs had been.

"OK, we won't be disturbed for a while. That smoke causes people and animals to find somewhere else to be. " Jason said.

"I'd almost rather drop him off downstairs and wait for someone to put him in the alley." Kendra said.

"I think it's time to hire a couple of strong backs and get him out of the city." Jason said.

"Of course we have to get him out of the city. The question is where do we put him? If we drop the body anywhere nearby the assumption will be that we killed him and left the corpse as an insult." Kendra said.

Jason began to pace. The room wasn't really big enough for pacing, but he paced anyway. "You know, maybe we don't need to get him out of town. Maybe what we need to do is get him out of the tavern and into the Temple of the Dead, like any other unclaimed body." he said.

Kendra paused in thought. "If he is being tracked the Temple of Death is a good place for them to find a body...As long as you and I aren't found, too. The questions asked would be awkward, to say the least."

"Yes, I always find being tortured into a confession awkward." Jason agreed wryly.

Kendra continued, "My patron isn't very fond of the Temple of the Dead, so you'll have to take him in. Now, the real problem is how to get a big, dead man out of here in broad daylight without anyone noticing."

Jason asked, "Since the Zombie Spell is off limits, could you ask Her to work a small miracle on our behalf? Would she drop a short don't-notice-me on him?"

Kendra smiled. "That, I think I can manage." She gracefully knelt on the floor in the middle of the room and began to pray softly. As she prayed, Jason brought a pair of unlit candles and placed them just in front of her. After a few moments of prayer, the candles began to glow softly. They looked as if they were lit by an unseen flame.

Kendra looked up at Jason and smiled with the same blissful look she normally got when she had been in communion with her Goddess. "It is done." she said. Then with more-than-human strength she lifted the corpse from the bed and headed down the stairs. Jason quickly cleared the mess they had made in the room and hurried after her.

Part II - A New Player

As the two old friends tried, without success, to douse the magical flame, a man who'd been steadily downing the strongest ale the inn sold unceremoniously fell over. That wasn't an unusual occurrence, but he hit a nearby table on the way down, knocking it over. He was sent out the door without comment by two of the larger and more sober customers. If those customers had watched more carefully as he staggered down the street, they might have noticed that he miraculously avoided the worst filth. As he wandered off into the afternoon, his walk became much straighter. Within a few blocks, he was upright and apparently sober.

As he passed through a particularly shadowy alley, he removed and reversed his cloak, changing it from a disreputable wool to a stylish silk. He also spat a small stone into his hand, carefully wrapped it in a cloth and stowed it in his belt pouch. By the time he came to the side door of a rather more expensive establishment with the unlikely name of 'The Unicorn's Rump', he was looking every bit a gentleman out for a bit of fun.

The guard at the front door admitted him without a word. He was obviously well-known here. He waved away a servant that offered to take his cloak and walked quickly to a private room in the back of the building. He passed no other patrons as he waked down the dimly lit hall. Unlike the tavern he had recently left, this dim light seemed to speak of old money and power.

When he got to the room he sought, he knocked twice, paused, and knocked again. Then he opened the door and walked in.

A tall, dark haired man was finishing his afternoon tea. He poured a second cup. "Well, did they get it?' he asked.

"Yes, sir. Just before I left I saw the fat herbalist do some kind of test on the ring. It caused a flame to jump nearly to the ceiling!"

"Excellent, my friend, excellent. Please sit down, I'm sure you've had a hard day and would like something a little better than the ale that dive provides. Did you eat anything while you were there?" the older man asked.

The younger man sat down, wearily. Playing the drunk could be tiring and he was both hungry and thirsty. "No, Lord Haversham, I saw the slop they called stew and decided that it would be safer to starve!"

Lord Haversham poured some honey into the cup of tea he had poured for his companion and stirred it. "Here, have some tea while I get our host to provide something more substantial than these bites." He gestured toward a plate with small cookies and coverage, half eaten. The younger man nodded and accepted the tea. Lord Haversan left the room and waited in the hall for a few seconds. A mute young boy accepted his order and ran off in the direction of the kitchen.

Lord Haversan watched patiently while his agent finished the platter of rare roast beef with onions and drank a small beer. "At last the game has begun," Lord Haversham said. His smile, while genuine, was a fearsome thing to behold. It reminded his agent more of a tiger bearing his fangs than a man in good humor.