The Alchemist's Run by L James Wright & J Boone Dryden

Author:L James Wright & J Boone Dryden [Wright, L James & Dryden, J Boone]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ICOSA Entertainment, LLC
Published: 2015-05-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5, or, “Fort Kincaid: Firm and Friendly Arm of Outlet to the Frontier”

Penelope smiled serenely at the graying Ulleran military officer who accepted her gloved hand and laid his lips on the velvet. He smoothed his jacket, adorned with a row of gold and silver medals and pins, and seated himself opposite her at a small round table situated on the edge of an outdoor cafe that occupied the raised traffic circle in the middle of the station outside of Fort Kincaid. Bright morning sun lit the scene as carriages and steam wagons rolled around the circuit—depositing passengers and offloading goods—all under the stony gaze of the fortress’s moss-covered walls.

“Let me extend my thanks for agreeing to meet so soon after your arrival,” the officer said, running a thumb and index finger down opposing sides of his neatly combed handlebar mustache.

“On the contrary, Colonel Hargrove,” Penelope said. “Please accept my sincere thanks. Had you been unable to meet now, this meeting might never have taken place.”

“Well, I have to admit,” the colonel grunted, “after the wire message from your chaplain at Tinsdelve was brought to my attention, I almost disregarded it out of habit. Such claims as the one you were making have gone ignored before, you understand?”

“Rumors run deep where this topic is concerned, Colonel.” Penelope produced a single folded sheet of paper and laid it on the table.

Hargrove’s eyes hovered over the sheet of paper. “We’re always looking for that elusive piece of hard evidence to substantiate those claims,” he said.

“You needn’t look any further, Colonel,” she offered, gesturing again at the paper.

Colonel Hargrove lifted the paper and unfolded it. His eyes consumed what was written there. He spoke without looking up. “And the smuggler? You can deliver him to us?”

Satisfied that the colonel had accepted the copy she had had Bigby forge during their river trip, Penelope’s features softened. “Yes,” she said. “Him and the remainder of the evidence you seek. He’s travel weary and resting off the journey at a dockside inn. I have the address. You shouldn’t have any trouble picking him up.”

* * *

Bigby sat huddled against the back of a rickety barracks. The wooden bench had long since begun to rot, and the people sleeping above or beneath it—some snoring, some silent, some screaming—were little different: all transients and gutter trash culled from around town or elsewhere, held here for processing. But Fort Kincaid was not a prison. The old barracks, upon which the newer fortification was built, had been converted into an underground brig. He had surmised all this early on, due to the lack of light and trapped echoes that filled the place, for his captors had verily carried him shackled and hooded.

Bigby had been out of contact with Penelope for nearly a week. He could feel the aching numbness on his extremities and wondered if he was losing feeling at all. He moved his fingers and toes despite the shackles; they wiggled as they ought, and he smiled for that small miracle.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.