Page 75 of Storms & Sacrifice
“What?” I think a vein on his forehead just startedthrobbing.
“He came home while we were in the middle of our search,” Ragnar answers for me. “But I don’t think he saw either of us. Right?”
“...Right.” Convincing no one, both sets of eyes stare at me. “Okay, there was asecondwhere I thought he might have suspected I was in the room, but it was only a second! Thenhe left.”
Khazak wipes his hands down his face while muttering a curse to himself.
“That’s how I saw his tattoo!” Time to bring this back around to the good news. “The bird claw, the same one Thog had, he has it on the inside of his left wrist. All we need to do now is get everyone else to see it.”
“And what better place to do that than at the very public event he’s throwing in just a few hours?” Ragnar helps me to convince Khazak this is a good thing. “We could end this tonight, sir.”
Khazak crosses his arms, staring down at his desk in thought. “I do not like this. It feels too easy. But...I am not sure we have many other options available to us. Meeting with the Grimrock family was completely useless. They only had good things to say about CouncilmanMurbank.”
“So, we’re gonna do it? What’s the plan?” Forgive me for sounding a little excited.
“Well, you have already convincingly tripped into the man once today. I see no reason not to do it again,” Khazak reasons. “You only need to pull back his sleeve this time. We will just make sure you do it in front of several sets of eyes, including mine. That should be more than enough to accuse if not arrest him for the other night’sattacks.”
“Sounds simple enough, but what do we do until then?” Ragnarasks next.
“Nothing. The event is in a few hours, and we will all need to go home and change. Will you be bringing Nylan?” Khazak shuffles some of the papers onhis desk.
“Yeah, he likes these sorts of things and gets mad if I don’t.” Ragnar nods. That does seem like Ny.
“Then we will not be able to discuss our plans once we are at the event, so I want to make sure we are prepared beforewe leave.”
“Understood, sir.” Ragnar nods, standing. “I am going to go make a copy of those papers you wanted and then return them to thearchives.”
“See that you do. And Deputy, David?” Khazak looks at the both of us.
“Yes, sir?”
“Sir?”
“We arenotfinished discussing your actions today.”
I spend the rest of the day feeling anxious, and I’m willing to bet Khazak and Ragnar do, too. I’m so nervous that someone else might notice me acting weird that I don’t speak a word to anyone. I barely leave Khazak’s office. When it’s time for the charity gala, Ragnar gives us a simple goodbye and goes to get ready with Nylan while we head back to Khazak’s placeto change.
He pulls out some dressy looking clothes for himself, a black collared shirt with buttons up the front and a pair of brown slacks that hug him in all the right places. Not that he’s in the mood for any flirting. He pulls out an outfit for me as well, notasnice, but it’ll do. After a final, brief pep-talk about the plan, we leave the house and make our way back to the tribal hall for the second time today.
Once we arrive, the first thing I do is look for a decent enough place to drop the keys for someone to find. After that, Sir leads us directly to the ballroom—not that I’m sure they even have balls around here. It’s a large open room, half-filled with people as well as tables covered in food lining the walls. There’s even an ice sculpture. Ragnar and Nylan still haven’t arrived, and I don’t recognize anyone else, though they are obviously well-off given how nicely they’re all dressed.
Our friends don’t keep us waiting long, and while I make small talk with Ny, more people arrive, including the councilman himself. On his arm is a young orc woman, her long brown hair shining in the light of the room’s torches. They are both dressed similarly, him in flowing purple robes and her in a purple dress.Must be the wife.I finish off the food I’ve been snacking on, eager to get things going.
Keeping Murbank in the corner of my eye, I follow him around the room as he and his wife mingle with the crowd, probably trying to raise support for himself as much as he is donations. He’s just so slimy. I make eye-contact with Sir and Ragnar, ready to move intoposition.
Murbank is currently speaking to a small circle of people, his wife on his right. Khazak and Ragnar move to stand behind the group, Nylan watching me for a moment to wonder why I’m not with them.Don’t worry. I’m on my way.I cross the room, Murbank and his group on my right. Just when it seems like I’m going to pass him, my leg gives out, and I stumble, tripping and reaching blindly to grab a hold of something—Murbank’s sleeve.
I don’t fall so hard that he’ll be dragged down with me, just enough to pull back his sleeve. I look down in mock surprise to see what I’m grabbing and to come face to face with the tattoo on his arm...that isn’t there.What!?I stare at the man’s blank green wrist, dumbfounded, then lift my head to meet a smug look of satisfaction on his face. Several of the people around us have stopped speaking, and behind him, Khazak and Ragnar are both staring wide-eyed, seeing (or not seeing) the same thing I am.
“Captain, I do believe that is thesecondtime your avakesh has tripped today,” he says as he removes my hand from his robes. “Perhaps he is not feeling well. Maybe you should takehim home.”
“I... Yes, I think you may be right, Councilman. I apologize for his clumsiness.” Khazak steps forward, caught off guard and doing his best to cover. “Come, David.”
Slowly, the people around us resume their conversations, and we don’t say another word before leaving. I barely have time to turn and see Nylan watching the two of us evenmoreconfused when Khazak’s hand on my wrist yanks me down the hall and away from the crowd. He’s completely silent until we’re outside.
“David, I—”
“I don’t know what happened. He figured out a way to hide it or something!”It can’t be that hard to covera tattoo.
