The
Heroes of Fannen-Dar, Chapter 14
As Bedlam fled the
scene and the guards began to congregate around the warehouse, a lone
(and very short) figure on a rooftop who had been watching everything
unfold turned and walked down the stairs. When he reached the ground
of the alley below, he did not turn towards a street. He pressed his
hand into the brick wall of one building, and a hidden panel about
three feet tall swung to the side. The figure walked inside without
ducking.
Tunnels twisted and
curved beneath the entire town of Fannen-Dar, some made by the
underground river that provided the town with its fresh water, while
many others were made in secret by thieves planning ahead to escape
the guards, shopkeepers preparing an escape route in case of an
all-too-common robbery, or nobles who enjoy commissioning architects
to add that sort of thing into their designs. It had become a maze
that could (and had) kill a hapless wanderer who forgot the
breadcrumbs and twine balls. The halfling took out the dagger from
its hidden holster. The runic lines that covered the blade started
to glow red in the darkness, and the halfling began to rush through
the tunnels without ever needing to stop and choose which direction
to go next.
Finally, he reached a
brick wall with less dust on it than the others. He held the dagger
out, placing the blade flat against the stone three high and two to
the left from a particular scratch on the floor. The heat from the
blade hissed against the rock, and after a moment, there was a dull
rumbling inside the wall. The bricks slid aside, and there was King
Dom.
He lounged in his
throne (one of many scattered through the secret rooms he controlled)
as the halfling entered the room, and the hidden door slid back into
place. The room was lit by glowing golden baubles dangling from the
ceiling. King Dom had enough coin from his carefully arranged
criminal empire that he could spend it on useless items. That is to
say, they appeared useless, but they had a very specific purpose: to
flaunt his wealth, brag to his enemies, and intimidate his allies.
King Dom nodded, the
fingers of one hand lightly grazing his cheek. “Welcome, Kelvin,”
he said. The halfling bowed in return, and sheathed his magic
dagger.
“My liege,” Kelvin
replied. “I did as you asked, and the Firemen are none the wiser.
They still think I lead them in pursuit of our own goals...rather
than yours.”
King Dom barely
disguised the fact that he was trying not to roll his eyes, though
Kelvin remembered that he was only supposed to think that it was
barely disguised, when it was actually an act well planned out to
carry across a very specific meaning. Or maybe that was just
what he wanted him to think...King Dom had only spoken two words and
already Kelvin was confused. The King of Dominaurus was known to
maintain control over his every move for just that purpose.
“I do not care what
your minions think. They are too stupid to mess with my plans, no
matter what they know.” He waved a hand. “Then again, perhaps
they simply know not to interfere.” He leaned forward. “What I
want to know is, what happened at the warehouse?”
Kelvin wiped some sweat
from his forehead. He had a feeling the King already knew the
answer. “The Firemen thought...” He paused, gulped. “That's
to say, I made the explosives appear to be set, but made sure that
they din't go off.”
King Dom leaned back in
his seat. He said one word. “And?”
“Th-there was others
there,” Kelvin stammered, “in the w-warehouse. I dunno how they
got in, I was very careful to tell the Firemen to lock the doors
tight.” He shuffled his pint-sized feet. If King Dom seemed
larger than life to a human, imagine how he appeared to a
three-foot-tall halfling. “But they came out after the explosion
was supposed to go off, and they got away scot-free. I...I think the
town guard knew about it too, s-somehow.” He braced himself in
preparation for King Dom's ire.
King Dom, however,
smiled. “Perfect,” he said. This only caused Kelvin to tense up
further.
“What d'you me...I
mean, how so?” Kelvin said, trying to mimic King Dom's conversation
style to hopefully win some brownie points (There are no girl scouts
in Calemor. This expression, of course, comes from the brownies,
which are short fae beings related to leprechauns. They live in
hidden nooks around houses and do household chores in exchange for
gifts of food and shiny things. Leaving honey or copper coins by the
stone wall around your lawn earns you brownie points, as we know from
the very small tally books sometimes found in such places.).
“There is a new gang
in town, Kelvin,” King Dom said. “One in which I personally have
an investment. Yes,” he added, seeing the look on Kelvin's face,
“I have agents other than yourself, many of whom do not even know
they report to me.” He flourished a hand lazily. “Information
is the key to success. I made it a point to know everything about
everyone in Fannen-Dar. It is a community isolated just enough from
the rest of the world that it is possible to know everyone in it,
small enough to keep track of all that information, and yet large
enough that only one of such intellect as myself can manage it.”
He grinned. “So yes,
I did know what you had to tell me. Not because my other spies
already did, but because I predicted every move that everyone
involved would make.”
Kelvin scratched his
head. “What would you do if someone had a change of heart? Turned
around at the last minute?”
“Nobody,” King Dom
said, one finger pressing down on the arm of his chair, “ever
changes. They just become more like themselves.” He sat up
straight. “It can be seen a mile away, if you know what you're
looking for. I know what everyone in Fannen-Dar will say, what is
going through their heads, and where every step they take will be
placed.”
Kelvin almost let out
an involuntary scoff, but a stronger instinct suppressed it.
Survival is more powerful than disbelief. “You're smart,” he
said, “smarter than me, that's for sure...B-but even you couldn't
know something that random!”
King Dom's smile grew
by just a hair. A noticeable hair, of course, otherwise the action
would have been useless. As it was, Kelvin shut his mouth.
“All the pieces are
falling into place,” King Dom said. “Now, return to your
Firemen. You will know when I have need of you again.” As Kelvin
nodded and turned to go, King Dom added, “And you know the penalty
if you ever question me again.”
Kelvin turned back and
nodded so low that it seemed more like a servant bowing to his liege.
He then left the secret room underground and walked down the tunnel.
As soon as he was out of earshot, he began to run. Still, the only
thing he could think about was how each step he took had already been
planned out by King Dominaurus.
