Ticca took another bite before answering. "We need to hole up for a little bit and plan our next move."

"So ya bring yer trouble ta my place?"

"Come on Genne, you know as well as I that no one would dare attack us here. Any Knife that tried would be cut down by his own kind at the mere mention of the idea."

Genne just nodded. "Who di' attack you?"

"A Knife, and he is dead, but we are being watched."

Sighing, Genne looked at the three of them. Then an almost happy smirk came to his lips. "Not like dis' is da furs' time. An' dis' place is always watched."

"Is there a room close by we can have for say, three weeks?"

"Yep, two doors down, same side. Fourteen crosses fer a cycle, wi' meals an' such."

"Done." Looking at Lebuin, she said, "M'lord, if you will, please pay him now."

Lebuin pulled his coin purse out and handed over the silver coins.

"Ya need'n more?"

She looked at Lebuin and Ditani and sniffed the air. "Yes, I am pretty sure they'd like to clean up." Looking at them, both men nodded thanks. "Please provide baths. Also," she looked Genne square in the eye, "for what you overcharged them this morning, how about finding them something a little more comfortable to wear?"

Genne actually looked embarra.s.sed for a moment. "I dinna ask for dat. He put it out."

"True, but you didn't have to take it all." She winked at him. "This will make up for the misunderstanding."

Genne stood and motioned for Lebuin and Ditani to follow.

She leaned back with the sweet pastry and the arit. "M'lord, when you are done cleaning up, would you care to plan tonight or wait for tomorrow?"

Lebuin looked at Ditani, who nodded slightly. "I think we need to discuss some things tonight, if you agree?"

"That would be best. Please, when you're done come back here and we'll all share some stories."

The three men left her alone. With them gone, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfort of her own room. The pastries helped with that immeasurably.

It has surely been a busy few days. Remembering that she'd thought this morning she would take a few days to relax before putting her Dagger out, she laughed. Swallowing the last of the arit in her mug, she stood up and stretched. Grabbing her gear, she put away her belt and her pack in the armoire. Taking all of her knives, she pulled out a whetstone from her pack and went to the table.

She had just finished cleaning and sharpening the last knife when she heard a soft knock. Standing, she went to the door, knife still in hand. "Who's there?"

"Ticca it's us." It was Lebuin's m.u.f.fled voice.

She opened the door and let them in and checking the hall was empty, she closed and locked it behind them. Genne had been pretty efficient and had provided simple loose pants and some clean-smelling brown cotton shirts. They both wore their original belts and gear over the long shirts. Looking at Lebuin's belt, it was obvious he had only worn it a few times before today. He had a silly cloth coin purse dangling from it, screaming to be stolen by the most trivial of cutpurses. Of course he is a wizard, and if he was still dressed as I first saw him I think most cutpurses would think that was just bait. The knife Lebuin sported opposite the "steal me" purse was a laughable, cheap steel knife obviously bought more for show than for any real purpose. Lebuin was easily every bit the pampered and pompous rich kid. His original clothes were very nice, but, like the simple fare he was wearing now, still hung loosely from his near-skeletal frame. Still, there was something about his face and eyes that gave her pause. He would be amazingly handsome if he was a bit more filled out, with that brown hair and the piercing green eyes of his. I feel as if there is something potent hiding under that beard of his.

Turning her attention to Ditani, she was surprised by the mixed feelings she had about him. He looks like a typical Karkaian, but there is something more there. The belt he wore was of excellent condition and well-cared for. It was by no means new, but still looked in top condition. The two knives he had were the longer variety favored in Karkai which were almost dagger-length. They were also double-edged but with a shallow grip and narrow hilts. In spite of being a servant, she was sure he was more used to giving orders than taking them, although he affected no outward sign of this. He is much more than he lets on.

The two men stood there for a moment; Lebuin was just a couple inches taller than she was, while Ditani stood another inch or two taller than Lebuin. As they both stood there with a blank look, wondering what to do, she was struck by how close they looked to another pair of men she knew, and an idea began to form in the back of her head. "There is more arit and pastries if you want." She pointed at the larger comfortable chairs. "Come, let's figure out where we are and what you'd like to do next."

Ditani stepped over to the table and with efficient servant-style action moved the whole platter to the smaller table between the comfortable chairs. She just slipped into a chair with her back to the window and waited.

Lebuin didn't move; instead, his brows moved up and down and his eyes looked up at the ceiling as he thought things through. Ditani refilled her mug as well as two others and handed her another pastry. She nodded thanks, looking Ditani directly eye-to-eye, and waited. Ditani met her look straight on and didn't glance down like a servant would. Ticca got a feeling that he was appraising her and found her admirably acceptable. You are not what you pretend, old man, but I'll play along for now, until I know more.

Finally Lebuin looked at her. "Ticca, shouldn't we be finding a less conspicuous place to plan? This has to be the most obvious place to find us. If there are more a.s.sa.s.sins they'll come straight here first."

He picks up fast. She nodded. "M'lord, you are right in the details and incorrect in your conclusion. You must be unaware of what the Blue Dolphin is."

"It's an inn where Daggers hire out of, merchants stay in, and workmen come for drink at night."

She nodded. "Yes, that is all true. It is also a Dagger Home."

Lebuin's blank look told her he had never heard of that. Not really surprising, and, unless you work with Daggers, it won't really make sense. Ditani didn't say anything but he didn't have the blank look that Lebuin sported. Her Uncle's voice reminded her, 'There are only two kinds of people that understand Daggers: Daggers, and the enemy; everyone else has a second-hand opinion.' "M'lord, you may relax; a Dagger Home is guarded by all the Daggers who live and hire out of it. It will not be violated for fear of retribution. The last Knife who tried to kill in a Dagger Home was sent back in multiple small boxes and that launched an all-out attack by every Dagger in all the lands in every city against the Knives' Guild. Their entire Guild was nearly destroyed and most of the best Knives were dead before they apologized and swore to never again violate a Dagger Home. No soldier, Blade, Knife, guard, or spy will be anything but polite and respectful of privacy inside a Dagger Home."

"Are you saying Daggers are better than Blades, spies and Knives?"

"Most Daggers will tell you that Daggers are the best there are. It's true that Daggers are forged over years of training and experience; however, there are masters of other professions just as cunning, experienced and deadly. There are many more Daggers than there are of any other mercenary for hire. Also, Daggers have an ancient, traditional tie to each other. Our trainers instill a deep love of being a Dagger as well as a total commitment to the Dagger ideals of honor, courage and commitment. Daggers are more than friends or family, we are united by our commitment to each other and a history older than you would believe, going back into the time of legends. The soldiers, guards and Blades respect each other and talk about being a band of brothers. But Daggers mean it. We have a code, we have our secrets and we look out for each other. All others know this and tread lightly because of it."

Lebuin still looked unconvinced, but he walked over and sat down. As he took the mug of arit offered by Ditani, he stared at her. "You killed the mugger in the alley last night in mere seconds. You probably killed the Knife in the hospice too, didn't you?"

"How do you know about the alley?" She didn't bother to confirm the latter.

Looking a little embarra.s.sed, he took a drink before answering. "I was watching from the Guild library. I was going to help, but you killed him before I could cast a single spell."

Ditani was looking back and forth between them. "You mean you knew her before today?"

Lebuin nodded. "I knew of her, that is why I chased her in the marketplace. I wanted to meet her, I thought ..." he trailed off and didn't continue.

Amused, Ticca prodded, "You thought what, M'lord?"

Lebuin leaned back. "Well, I thought maybe I could introduce myself, I really hadn't thought much past that. It's just you dress so amazingly, and the way you went from victim to a.s.sailant... I knew you had to be something special. I felt a strong need to meet you. I was more right than I knew."

Ticca's cheeks felt warm and she knew she was blushing. She noticed Ditani had an odd look on his face, and was covertly taking in the size of her room. You know what this room and that table mean, don't you, old man? Why are you hiding it? "Thank you." Time for work, concentrate on the problem. "We have a murky situation. Let me summarize it and if anything is missing we'll all add in the missing pieces we know, nothing held back, no secrets, your lives may depend on it, agreed?"

Both men looked down and thought about it. They have almost the same habits, and given their features, they might even be family, Ticca mused. Finally, they looked at each other and said, "Agreed," in turn, Lebuin first. Agreed as far as you are willing to go, at least. Hopefully what you hold back won't be too critical. Ticca thought about it for a moment then looked at Lebuin. Digging into what she knew about the Guild from her training, she filled in a few gaps in what Ditani had told her earlier.

"You just earned your badge of Journeyman, and have to go work in the field for some time looking for interesting ideas or uses for magic, you have some more important or powerful rival at the Guild who is hiring Knives to do what he cannot be caught doing himself. You never expected to be out in the world, and haven't prepared for it in any meaningful way."

Lebuin nodded. "Magus Cune isn't hiring Knives, he placed a sizable bet that I would survive with a 'lower cla.s.s person of influence'."

"Which has the same results, just this would at least look like a friendly gesture. If you don't know the person is disrespectable or criminal, really a sinister move, cunning, too... and you," she continued, looking at Ditani, "just swept into town a couple of days ago with your master, and planned to have a pre-arranged meeting with a Duke about something, but he never told you what... Your master disappeared, without a trace, missed the meeting, and now has you, Lord Lebuin, and agents of this Duke out scouring the city looking for him."

Ditani nodded. "All of those things are true, and Master Lebuin offered to help, as he is in need of a path and hoped Magus Vestul might provide some guidance."

Interesting that you admit that you knew Lebuin's motives were not entirely altruistic. "Got it. Now as to myself, I have been working here at the Blue Dolphin for about six cycles for various merchants. I just finished a commission for my previous patron last night. Which, by the way, was why I was attacked and had to kill the Knife in the alley; he was involved with that affair and was going to try to capture and kill me. I was planning on taking some time to relax, when you were nearly taken out by that Knife in the market. From there I think we know the events pretty clearly."

"All except what you were doing today, and what happened to the Knife in the hospice."

"Yes, M'lord, true. Well we fought, he lost. I back-tracked the Knife to the location of his commission, and then I verified that this place was being watched by the elements who sent him. I pretended to be wounded so they would underestimate me."

Both Lebuin and Ditani leaned back in their chairs to consider that information. Ditani broke the silence first. "You haven't mentioned what you found out about Master Vestul."

"Ah, yes. Well I did track him. He did everything he told you he was going to do. Then on his way back here he was killed by a Knife, and his body was disposed of using Night's Fire."

Something pa.s.sed over Ditani's face. He doesn't look very surprised. Ditani's features degraded as he took in the news, shifting to looking stricken. Covering his face, he sobbed quietly with tears spilling down his cheeks. Lebuin put his hand on the other man's shoulder and simply waited. Lebuin suddenly looks very wise. These are a strange pair. The fresh recruit officer taken under the wing of the old sergeant friend, that's the basic relationship. But, there is more here. Ditani wept harder and fuller when he though Lebuin was dying, and this display for Magus Vestul is more like weeping for a friend who died after a prolonged illness. Not unexpected, but still hard to take.

After some time, Ditani regained his composure and sat drinking his arit and eating a pastry while Lebuin and Ticca swapped details of their recent experiences.

"I understand why you took those boots off the man, but I can't figure out why you just left them at the hospice."

Pointing at her boots that she still wore, she asked, "What are you talking about? These are the boots here."

"No, they can't be. The boots you had on in the hospice were patterned shades of grey that would have matched that cloak the attacker was wearing perfectly. These boots are amazing too, but they are tan and brown fur, which is a good match for what you have on now."

Ticca looked at the boots. Could they have yet another marvel? First they fit, then they climb, then they heal, then they move as silent as bare feet, and now he is saying they change to match what I am wearing? Lady, where did these come from?! Taking them off, Ticca tossed them to Lebuin. "You're the wizard, can you tell me? I swear these are the boots I took off the man, the same boots I have been wearing since last night."

Lebuin caught the boots. "These feel unbelievable..." He looked them over closely. "They are amazingly clean considering you have been wearing them around town." He turned them over and examined the making. "I didn't realize we had the same-sized feet." He slipped them on and stood.

"You're right, they are amazing to wear."

Ticca was watching in shock as the now obviously larger boots shifted almost imperceptibly to a darker shade of brown, matching well with the pants Lebuin was wearing. Oh my, they do change to match. I hope I can get them off him now.

Lebuin sat back down and took them off easily, handing them over as if he handled such marvels every day of the week. I guess he is used to these kinds of things.

"Truly useful." He watched her closely as she put them back on. "Must be a simple spell based on coloration sampling. They also have the same cleaning incantations I use. The resizing to match the wearer is a really interesting trick. When I get my powers back I would love if you'd let me examine them a little more closely."

"Only if you promise to not harm them. They might be simple for you, but to me they are a G.o.dsend and I thank the Lady for them."

"Oh of course, I just need to walk the enchantments for a few weeks to see if I can understand what they are doing, and possibly to learn a new pathway. That man who attacked you was certainly well-equipped. Do most Knives have cloaks that blend with shadows, boots like this, and burn to nothing when killed?"

Ticca snapped straight up, spilling some arit. "What do you mean burn to nothing when killed?"

"Well after you left, something in his pouch caught fire and it spread to consume his whole body. Leaving just the cloak, which being magical in nature might be a bit harder to damage than ordinary items."

"He had Night's Fire in his pouch? Is that what was smoking?"

"I'm sorry but I thought you said fire in the night earlier. What is Night's Fire?"

"It's a tool used by Knives that burns only the victim and any organic items, leaving almost nothing but some ash which is easily blown or washed away."

"Interesting, must be a rather unique set of chemicals. I'd love to get a sample. But, yes, I believe you describe exactly what happened."

Ditani had been staring silently past them both for some time. Standing up, he pointed and asked accusingly, "Where did you get that pouch?"

Looking back at her bed, she saw her pouch was sitting on the far side by the armoire. "I got that from the same Knife that attacked me last night. Same man who had these boots and the cloak Lord Lebuin has hidden in his room."

Ditani rushed past her and picked up the pouch, examining it carefully. "This is Master Vestul's pouch. I have put it away for him many times."

Standing up, Ticca stepped over and looked at the pouch in Ditani's hands as if new again. "Well it was on the Knife that I killed, he must have taken it from Magus Vestul when he killed him. I am very sorry, as he was a Knife, I figured there was zero chance of anything valuable being returned to a proper owner. So I took what I thought might be of use."

Ditani looked at the boots. "Those must be Magus Vestul's, too! They were a gift from an old friend of his. He treasured them and always put them up neatly."

Looking down, Ticca nodded. d.a.m.n. Well they were nice while they lasted. I can't keep them, though. "That explains why the Knife was so well-equipped; he had just taken all the best a powerful wizard had to offer. Ditani, I am truly sorry. These then belong to Vestul's kin, or to you as his servant." Taking the boots off, she held them out to Ditani.

Ditani looked at her for a moment and she could see in his eyes, he knew the code she had to adhere to. He shook his head and looked down to hide a smile of satisfaction. "Magus Vestul had no kin in the world and they would better serve you." He held out the pouch. "This pouch included. So by the right of blood revenge I give them to you freely. They are yours."

He is an odd fellow, for sure. Thank you, Lady, I really didn't want to lose these, and he has given me a clear conscience in keeping them. Ticca slipped the boots back on. "Thank you, truly. Yet I am still confused. I don't understand how a Knife could kill such a powerful wizard. Until today I thought, like everyone, that you were mostly invulnerable to weapons."

Lebuin was quiet for a few minutes and then he said quietly, "There are ways to penetrate a mage's defenses."

Ticca took the pouch back to the chair and cautiously opened it to the compartment with the papers. "If this is Magus Vestul's pouch then these are his notes, or letters, or something. They might give us a clue as to why he was targeted... for Ditani's sake." Handing them to Lebuin, Ticca sat down as he started to examine them.

Ditani sat back down too and looked over the papers with Lebuin. "These are the letters from the Duke. The others look like the master's quick notes, the ones he took before he would commit more careful notes to his research journal." As Lebuin moved through the papers, obviously able to read what they said, Ditani looked startled. "And those are the notes that Magus Gezu had me take to Master Vestul a few years back."

Lebuin looked up. "Well, these are intriguing hints at some significant discoveries. The letters from the Duke indicated Magus Vestul was coming here to share his latest research with the Duke for safety. Don't ask, I don't know what that means. It is just that the Duke in one letter agrees to ensure their safety. These papers were going to be handed over to the Duke."

"What about Master Vestul's key? He put it in the pouch when we left in the morning."

Ticca shook her head. "It isn't there now, most likely; it was left in the alley where the Knife burned up. It couldn't be destroyed by Night's Fire."

Lebuin shook his head. "No, it wasn't there. The rain washed the ash away almost instantly and I took the cloak. Are you sure it isn't stuck in a seam?"

Ticca shook her head, then stopped. I didn't pull everything out of the vial compartment. "No, not exactly, but I didn't search completely." She covertly shifted to the vial compartment while putting the pouch on the table between them. Opening it, she pulled the vial case out, as well as a few sc.r.a.ps of paper; and there under the paper was a Dolphin key similar to her own. Holding it up triumphantly, she exclaimed, "And here is his key then, as it isn't likely to belong to the Knife. Problem is we don't know the code to get in."

"I do," Ditani said.

Chapter 8.

Keys open paths TICCA AND LEBUIN BOTH LOOKED at Ditani for a moment before asking simultaneously, "Should we go in?"

Lebuin asked, "Would Genne care if we looked in that room?"

"Genne has a hard policy about spying and thieving, M'lord."

Lebuin looked uncomfortably at Ditani. "Weren't you staying with Magus Vestul here?"

"Yes I was, in Magus Vestul's room."

"Ditani, that is perfect! It isn't stealing, or spying because it was a shared room, and Magus Vestul is dead. You said he didn't have any relations that would claim his legacy, right?"

Ditani looked pained. "Master, he was more to me than just an employer, I knew him well and we grew to be good friends... to speak so plainly of his murder." Ditani's eyes watered as he spoke.

Need to pull him along a little. a.s.suming a commander's mannerisms, but with a gentler voice, "Ditani, wouldn't your friend desire that we live to find the meaning to his death?" Waiting for him to mull it over, she kept her eyes firmly on him. Ditani nodded finally, looking her in the eye. For a moment she thought she caught a flash of light deep in his eyes, like a wolf's reflecting the light, and they were slightly larger than normal now that she was looking into them.