A Dagger in the Dark : A Pillars of Peace Novella by Tom Dumbrell

Author:Tom Dumbrell [Dumbrell, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Later that day, they entered the tavern. The building was a tumbledown wood and brick structure on the quayside, the Red Rose looming ominously in the distance.

To Roscoe’s dismay, they were no longer alone. His time with the captain had been unpleasant to say the least, but even so, the return of Dirk was an unwelcome addition. The wiry old pirate took great pleasure in Roscoe’s missing tooth, but his own blackened eye had now blossomed to a shade of purple. Together they made quite the handsome trio.

Yet, their colourful appearance did little to turn heads. The tavern itself was scarcely different from those Roscoe had known in Aldsea. A quartet of musicians competed with the din of an unconventional company of drunken patrons, and the atmosphere had that characteristic sense of wild unpredictability one often finds in a lively tavern. Roscoe was relieved to continue through the masses and find a quieter group gathered around a large circular table, cards in hands. Dirk and the captain sat to join them. Narrowbone had already warned Roscoe before they entered the tavern that he was not to join their table, so he remained standing.

The plan itself was very simple. Roscoe was to wait on the captain and Dirk as they competed to restore some of the money that Roscoe himself had been responsible for losing. To the casual observer, it must have seemed entirely innocent. Roscoe would fetch drinks and tend to the needs of his superiors, never straying from the role of subservient lackwit. Ale would flow, and Roscoe’s presence would earn less and less attention, allowing him to move about the table like a phantom, unseen.

It was at this point that the captain’s plot began to take hold.

Through a predetermined series of winks and subtle hand gestures, Roscoe provided the captain with insight to the other players around the table and the cards they held. When to gamble or when to fold. Roscoe moved as anonymously as he had in the taverns of Aldsea when trying to find the very same pirate captain that had led him to this moment. Unsurprisingly, his efforts yielded the same success. The captain’s luck soared, and the pirate’s bullish self-assurance grew in accordance with his winnings. The plan delivered a lucrative winning streak, and players began to leave the table in frustration, until only four remained.

“Drink, Rollo!” the captain no longer asked but demanded. The hour for manners had long passed, and Roscoe felt his patience waning. His jaw ached, his feet hurt, and he was tired. He didn’t know how much money had been in Narrowbone’s lost coin pouch, but he surely had more than won the sum back by now. Roscoe had not seen Rowan and Marcos all day, and his imagination wandered with thoughts of their exciting day of freedom in the city, leaving him burning with envy.

To make matters worse, Dirk was still present. His pile of coins had dwindled, but he was still very much in the game and took great pleasure in ordering Roscoe to fetch a drink on his behalf.

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