The brothers were totally flabbergasted by what Akida had to show them.
“The Servant’s Book?” said Sefu. “Where did you get that?”
“It was on one of the refuse piles back at the White Temple,” said Akida. “I bribed one of the guards to get it for me, using the money they were going to pay us for that little stunt. And it worked!”
“I’ll be licked,” said Jabali, a wolfish smile spreading up his features. “Akida, you’re a marvel!”
“It will be even more of a marvel if we get away from this tannery,” said Kido. “It reeks.” But Kido nodded sternly, and said, “Excellent, brother. Did we win so quickly?”
“At least we won at all,” said Sefu. “Wait until father hears about this!”
Suddenly, Akida realized exactly how long it had been since they’d entered the city. “Fellas!” he said. “We’ve got to get to the Shull Fountain! Tranter’s probably going crazy waiting for us!”
The brothers all got the same feeling that Akida has just gotten, and, after making sure that the Servant’s Book was secured in Akida’s saddlebag, they rode off toward the fountain.
The Shull Fountain wasn’t hard to find, due to its large size and ornate trimmings. It was a large and imposing structure, sprinkling drops of water all over the pond it sat in, flecks of water spraying out into the paved square where it was built as a centerpiece. It no doubt provided a nice way to get a wisp of relief during a hot day, when a sprinkling of the fountain’s watery drops fell onto passersby who got close enough to it.
When the four brothers rode into the square, they looked around, before talking among themselves about who precisely they needed to be looking for. They had all had a vague idea that Tranter himself would be there to greet them, but they now realized that they hadn’t bothered to confirm the matter.
But just as they were beginning to get into a real argument about the subject, a crippled man who had been begging for alms off on the far end of the square began to move towards them. This man, a scrawny, dirty man with an unkempt brown beard and frizzy hair, doubled over with age, took up a crutch and hobbled towards the brothers. The brothers had dismounted their horses and were talking among themselves about halfway between the fountain and the building which the beggar had been sitting next to as he begged.
“You are the sons of Barden?” said the beggar in a raspy voice.
The beggar had surprised Akida, who turned toward the bedraggled man quickly. “How do you know who we are?” he said.
The beggar looked up at Akida, and Akida saw his fiery golden eyes. “In my line of work,” said the beggar, now in the dulcet, smooth tones of High Priest Tranter, “it’s my business to know a lot of things.”
Akida was astounded. First the miraculous recovery of the Servant’s Book, and now this from someone he’d assumed was a frail old man? What kind of wondrous miracle would happen next?
“Is that the High—” began Jabali, who was standing behind Akida, when Tranter interrupted in his loud, rasping beggar’s voice.
“Oh, good sons of Haim,” said Tranter in his beggar’s voice, “have mercy on a poor old man!”
Akida, whispering to Jabali, said, “Let’s keep quiet for now, eh?” He looked back at Tranter, who began hobbling off towards the north side of the square. “Shall we follow your lead, sir?”
“Yes, yes,” whispered Tranter in his regular voice. “Follow at a distance, and be discreet! Elmar’s spies are everywhere!”
The four trotted along lightly on their horses, following Tranter.
After turning around a corner of an alleyway a good distance from the square where the Shull Fountain was, Tranter stood up to his full height, tucked his crutch under his arm, and began running faster. The four brothers followed along, and Tranter eventually led them to a candle shop tucked away on one of the side streets.
“Bring your horses around to this shop’s back garden!” said Tranter, heading down an alleyway next to the shop. “The owner’s a friend! Your horses can stay here for now!”
Akida and his brothers followed Tranter through the alley, and they slowed down a little as Tranter carefully guided them to one of the several back gates which opened into the alley.
Akida was close enough to Tranter to ask him, “You really had us going with that beggar disguise.”
“I was part of a theater group in my youth,” said Tranter. “I was quite the actor then, albeit an amateur one. I still have a few tricks of the trade tucked up my sleeve. Now, continue this way!”
Akida nodded to his brothers to follow Tranter’s instructions, and the four rode their horses into the spacious back garden. There, an old, ancient woman with a gnarled face sat on a chair on the back porch of the house, looking grim and icy.
“Keep an eye on these horses, Nara,” said Tranter. “Have your houseboy give them feed and water. They belong to these fine young men.”
“It’s no trouble at all, Tranter, my boy,” said the old woman. She then shouted, “Creighton!”
A well-fed, waddling young man of perhaps twenty, with the fair skin of a native Sheman, came out of the house. “Yes, Miss Nara?”
“Feed and water these horses, will you? And don’t tell anyone that any of these fine young men came here.”
“Yes, Miss Nara.”
The chubby youth then led the horses away, while Tranter led the sons of Barden into the house. Before he entered, he stooped down and kissed Nara on the forehead. “God is with you, Mother,” he said, and the woman beamed.
Akida wasn’t sure what to make of that, but Tranter must have noticed the odd look on his face. “She’s my old nursemaid,” he said. “Every man needs to have a woman in his life he can depend on.”
“Are you married?” said Akida, as Tranter led the brothers down into the basement of the candle shop.
“I… I was,” said Tranter. A look of sadness passed over his face. “For exactly fifty years.”
“Mister Tranter,” said Akida, “we have something to tell you. We have the Servant’s Book!”
Tranter stopped still, before whirling on Akida, and Akida knew that the old man was just as surprised as he had been when he’d seen the book on the refuse pile.
“Where is it?” he said. “You say you have it?”
“Yes, yes,” said Akida, gesturing to their horses, whom the houseboy named Creighton was leading away. “It’s in my saddlebag. Should we wait until we’re able to talk in private to discuss how we got it?”
Tranter was still standing stock still, but shook his head wildly, before speaking again. “Yes, precisely,” he said. “Get the book out of your saddlebag and come with me! Is it the book I described to you all before we left your father?”
“It is,” said Akida.“I recognized it from the description you gave to Sefu earlier today.”
“Of course, of course,” said Tranter, walking into the house. “Be quick!”
Akida retrieved the Servant’s Book from the saddlebag, and brought it with them into the house, following Tranter.
Tranter took the book, inspected it, and nodded his head sagely. “This is indeed the book,” he said. He looked at the brothers, and said, “Well done!”
Tranter had resumed his stern expression, and he led Akida and his brothers down to the candle shop’s basement. The basement served as a storage area for the wax and string and tools and other supplies which the shop required. But Tranter led the brothers past these things to a door built into one of the walls. He produced a key and opened the door, revealing a long passageway lit by lanterns hanging from pegs mounted on the walls.
“Come this way,” said Tranter, and the brothers followed him into the dimly lit tunnel.
Tranter closed the door behind them, locked it, and then went ahead of the brothers. The brothers followed through the tunnel, the ground beneath their feet hard and crusty, and the sound of their feet crunching against the ground echoed through the tunnel. The tunnel smelled musty, and Akida suspected that there were plenty of rats and cockroaches to be found if one cared to seek out such things.
At one point, the five of them passed by a wooden door built into the right side of the tunnel, but Tranter went past it. Akida made a mental note to ask Tranter about that door when he could.
But eventually, after walking for a good half-hour, Tranter led them to another door, which he unlocked with another key, and led them through. They came into another basement, this one full of barrels, lying on their sides in racks, neatly arranged. There was a sanded, wooden table in the middle of the cellar with some chairs around it, and some piled-up straw in another corner. Akida was surprised to see a large portrait of Tranter on the wall, the oil painting depicting Tranter in full priestly regalia.
“Welcome to the guest house,” said Tranter, blowing out his candle and setting it down on a nearby table. “We are now in the basement of yet another friend’s home. There are three houses in the North Quarter of the city, all owned by friends of the Temple. I’ll alert our friend upstairs shortly. His name is Mister Arlo, and he is a brewer.” Tranter patted one of the barrels that rested on a nearby rack. “A bit of rum wouldn’t be a bad idea if all goes as well as we hope.”
Tranter pulled out the chairs which were resting around the table, and Akida and his brothers sat down. Tranter was still wearing his beggar’s disguise.
Tranter, who had been holding the book, took it over to the smooth, sanded table, and put the book down on the table, the brothers gathered around him. Tranter opened the book, removed the key which Sefu had found, and nodded. He then got up, went over to the portrait of himself which was on the wall, and took the picture down, revealing a crude wooden hatch. He then took yet another key out of his beggar’s robes and unlocked the hatch, before depositing the key inside.
Tranter then returned to where the brothers were, and sat down, breathing in and out slowly. “This all makes things remarkably better,” he said. “I had this plan in mind where we would conspire with one of our agents in the Ritchatower to disguise the four of you as slaves, who would then be sent to the White Temple on the pretext that they were to engage in looting on behalf of the king himself, during which you would seek out the Servant’s Book and smuggle it out.”
Tranter then let out a smile, shook his head, and laughed a little. “All that sneaking and skulking,” he thought. “And you four managed to get your hands on the book without any kind of plan being thought out. You must tell me how you did it!”
Akida looked to his brothers, all seated around the table, and looked back at Tranter. “Well, it’s all very simple,” he said, “and yet at the same time quite complicated.”
And so, Akida and his brothers told Tranter everything that had happened, and Tranter continued to marvel.
When the story was all told, Tranter sat back in his chair, still laughing to himself. “So much for my brilliant, ingenious plan,” he said. Tranter then got up, and walked up towards the door at the top of the staircase leading up out of the cellar. “I’ll alert our friend that we are here, and we’ll all have a well-deserved meal.”
Tranter had just opened the door, when a blood-curdling scream came through. Tranter, standing at the top of the stairs, slammed the door shut, and Akida and his brothers got up quickly, not sure what was going on. But Tranter acted even quicker, running down the small flight of stairs, grabbing one of the chairs which was in the cellar, and running back up the stairs. Tranter then used the chair to jam the entrance shut.
“We’ve been discovered!” said Tranter, hustling down the stairs to where the brothers were. The door at the top of the cellar stairs shook violently, the sounds of big, strong men slamming against it echoing around the room. “It’s the Red Serpents!” said Tranter. “They’re up there behind that door!”