(no subject)
Molasses #18. Pull the Plug
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1272 (just after Kairn gets nabbed)
Word Count : 450
A mug slid across the bar. “Got mail for you,” said Otto, and a heap of papers followed, before the man resumed his seemingly perpetual tidying of the place. “Jobs, looks like.”
Lyssa pushed aside the drink halfheartedly to shuffle through the letters. The first few, stamped with guild insignia, slid to the bottom. She paused, the paper before her inscribed with her name in Kairn’s careful hand.
The barkeep eyed her over the mug he was wiping, one thick brow raised. “Something good?”
“Not likely.” She tossed the remainder down and cracked the seal on Kairn’s letter, bracing herself for the cryptic set of directions inside. It was like some horrible farce of a scavenger hunt, the series of landmarks transcribed in code. And always worse than solving the puzzle, was the worry at how close they might have come this time. Sometimes it was just a hunch, sometimes there were bodies, and Kairn was never fond of sharing, whatever the case.
Lyssa unfolded the paper and breath failed her as she stared at the near blank page. No games, no riddles, no gibberish, just three words, their meaning abundantly clear.
Get him out
The paper crumpled in her grasp as she snapped her fist shut, her mind reeling under a flood of possibilities, none of them pleasant. She forced a slow, steady breath. Kairn was alive; he had to be alive to send her the letter. Well, he had been alive when he sent it, anyway. She swallowed hard and forced that train of thought to a halt. “How long ago did this come?”
Otto shrugged. “Couple days ago.”
How much could have happened in a couple days? Add to that the time it took for the letter to arrive from wherever it was Kairn had sent it. Not that thinking about it was going to help any. She shoved the note into a pocket. Her fingers scraped the bottom, fumbling through the contents. “I’ve got to go.” She scooped up a few coins, tossed them on the counter.
“You haven’t even touched your drink,” he said as the coins clattered along the bar.
“Give it to Mel,” she said, sliding off the stool. “The jobs too.” Her hands raced up the buttons of her cloak. “Tell them I’ll be back. I don’t know when, but I will.”
It took all her effort not to break into a run as she made for the exit. The door swung open and she brushed past the startled form of her partner as he slipped inside. She muttered an attempt at an explaination as she passed, doubting, by the look on the man’s face, that it held much coherence at all.
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1272 (just after Kairn gets nabbed)
Word Count : 450
A mug slid across the bar. “Got mail for you,” said Otto, and a heap of papers followed, before the man resumed his seemingly perpetual tidying of the place. “Jobs, looks like.”
Lyssa pushed aside the drink halfheartedly to shuffle through the letters. The first few, stamped with guild insignia, slid to the bottom. She paused, the paper before her inscribed with her name in Kairn’s careful hand.
The barkeep eyed her over the mug he was wiping, one thick brow raised. “Something good?”
“Not likely.” She tossed the remainder down and cracked the seal on Kairn’s letter, bracing herself for the cryptic set of directions inside. It was like some horrible farce of a scavenger hunt, the series of landmarks transcribed in code. And always worse than solving the puzzle, was the worry at how close they might have come this time. Sometimes it was just a hunch, sometimes there were bodies, and Kairn was never fond of sharing, whatever the case.
Lyssa unfolded the paper and breath failed her as she stared at the near blank page. No games, no riddles, no gibberish, just three words, their meaning abundantly clear.
Get him out
The paper crumpled in her grasp as she snapped her fist shut, her mind reeling under a flood of possibilities, none of them pleasant. She forced a slow, steady breath. Kairn was alive; he had to be alive to send her the letter. Well, he had been alive when he sent it, anyway. She swallowed hard and forced that train of thought to a halt. “How long ago did this come?”
Otto shrugged. “Couple days ago.”
How much could have happened in a couple days? Add to that the time it took for the letter to arrive from wherever it was Kairn had sent it. Not that thinking about it was going to help any. She shoved the note into a pocket. Her fingers scraped the bottom, fumbling through the contents. “I’ve got to go.” She scooped up a few coins, tossed them on the counter.
“You haven’t even touched your drink,” he said as the coins clattered along the bar.
“Give it to Mel,” she said, sliding off the stool. “The jobs too.” Her hands raced up the buttons of her cloak. “Tell them I’ll be back. I don’t know when, but I will.”
It took all her effort not to break into a run as she made for the exit. The door swung open and she brushed past the startled form of her partner as he slipped inside. She muttered an attempt at an explaination as she passed, doubting, by the look on the man’s face, that it held much coherence at all.