Holmberg, D K - The Binders Game 01 - A Game of Tsatsun by Holmberg D K

Author:Holmberg, D K [Holmberg, D K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2016-02-14T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Smoke filled the tavern, mixing with the stench of ale and the scent of roasted meat and dry bread. A fire crackled brightly in a hearth in the corner, and lanterns hung from posts. Serving women hurried from place to place, dropping mugs of ales at tables, or steaming plates from the kitchen onto tables.

I sat alone, my back pressed into a corner, making a point of looking everywhere at once. A mug of ale sat untouched in front of me. Every so often, I made a half-hearted attempt to feign drinking, enough to make it seem like I was trying to drown myself in my ale like so many others in here. The serving women no longer bothered me as they had when I first came in.

What reason would Carth have for coming to Eban? And why had she drawn Orly’s attention? Did he know that she curated a network of spies? Did others?

That might explain the bounty, but I still didn’t know who offered it.

There was one person who seemed to know, if only I could find Natash again.

A younger woman came out from behind the kitchen and turned toward me. She smiled, and when she did, her eyes twinkled softly. Dark brown hair was tucked behind her ears and she wore a low-cut dress, revealing more cleavage than would have been proper in Elaeavn, though in Eban, it was still considered conservative. When she reached my table, she pulled out the stool across from me and plopped down.

“Galen. When I saw you sitting here for the last hour, I thought we were going to have some trouble.”

I smiled. I’d known Talia since I first came to Eban, long enough that she knew what I did, and long enough for me to learn how she was connected in ways that others were not. She could reach both merchants and the typical laborers coming through this little tavern, a place called the Brite Pot. With those connections, she usually heard more than I did, at least, more than I did until I was hired. Often times, she gave me a warning that I was about to be hired.

“Talia, I promised I’d never conduct any business here, didn’t I?” The tavern had the usual collection of people, mostly fishers or laborers, with the occasional merchant, though mostly they went to the fancier taverns. Nothing that I would ever be hired to handle. When I was hired, it was because the cost was worthwhile. Others could handle a place like this, stop in here long enough to slip something into a drink, or perhaps wait outside for the right time. They didn’t need me.

Talia coughed and glanced around. “So none of these men?” she asked.

Her eyes settled on a pair of men talking heatedly over a pair of dice. Neither seemed to notice how loud they were, or the fact that people sitting at nearby tables noticed their conversation. One of the men made a point of jabbing his finger toward the other, only to have the finger grabbed and twisted.

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