Chapter 6

THE ROOM WAS dark, save for the candles that hadn’t yet been smote. Bed sheets were tossed, clothes were lost, and the furniture was in shambles. The smell in the air was a mixture of scented candles, perfume, and sweat. The most beautiful woman in all of Vimiland rolled off him slowly and satisfied, and Roderick Casbury knew he was home.

Or at least as close to home as he would ever be.

Oh, Rory, how I missed you,” Tabitha Saris moaned gleefully as she nuzzled into the crook of Rory’s arm, tracing shapes on his chest with the tip of her finger. “Where have you been?”

“Out doing a service to the nation, my love,” Rory replied, kissing her on the forehead.

Rory adored Tabitha. They had met several years ago, before he truly invested himself into a life of piracy. She was the daughter of a shop owner, and now herself was the master of the café left to her by late father. Rory’s mother, Deidra, was always a loyal customer, and through what started as a business relationship became close to Tabitha, who now took care of the woman in the twilight of her life. Deidra introduced Tabitha to Rory, and since then Rory’s heart belonged to the barista-turned-café-owner.

“Services?” Tabitha smiled, looking up at Rory. “You mean running around being a thief?”

“A pirate, my dear, I’m a pirate,” Rory corrected. “There is a huge difference!”

“Forgive me, my lord,” Tabitha mocked, rolling to her back and pulling Rory’s arm around her to kiss his hand. “I forgot that I was in the presence of Roderick Casbury, famed Pirate of Vimiland, a force to be reckoned with!”

“Forgiven,” Rory smiled. “Just make sure it never happens again.”

“And how is it exactly that you are a pirate again? I mean, no hook for a hand? No peg leg? No bird? Where’s your fancy hat?”

“I lost the hat, but I’ll get a new one. As for the rest, they’re all details. Did you notice my new vest?”

“Yes, very nice. But what about the one detail you’re missing, my sweet Roderick?”

“Don’t say it…”

“A ship, Rory! You don’t have a ship! And do you know why? Because there’s no water to put it on! Vimiland is landlocked!”

“In theory, darling,” Rory answered. “I’m a pirate in theory!”

“Are you a lover in theory, too?”

“Oh, I believe we both know that to be a proven fact!”

Rory rolled atop Tabitha, wrestling with her and tickling her while still kissing her on any place his lips could find. With her, he felt the truest freedom, a release that even the greatest heist could not provide. Had he the fortune he desired, he would never leave her side again. Rising up on his arms to take her in, he found it was his breath that was taken instead. Her face looked as if fashioned after that of an angel, her emerald green eyes like magnets to his soul, and her long, fiery hair swept into a beautiful sculpture even when unkempt from hours of reconnecting with Rory. Her soft, pale skin felt like warm water against his body, her curves like an hour glass that stopped time itself. She was a dream made real, a sensuous beauty that knew no rival. Her voice was his siren song, her touch his master, her glance his greatest weakness. Tabitha was the sun and the moon, the land and the sky, the everything and the anything that Rory ever wanted.

“Marry me, Tabitha Saris,” Rory proposed, sincerity swimming throughout the tone of his voice.

“Roderick, don’t be silly,” she answered.

“I love you, Tabitha, you know this.”

“Well, I don’t love you, Roderick. You know this.” Her words, though hurtful, were soft, her smile gentle.

“I can’t imagine a life without you, my dear.”

“I can’t imagine my bed without you, surely, but I won’t marry a pirate,” she smiled.

“That’s just it, Tabitha,” Rory offered. “My piracy days are near their end. I have something that will align the stars for us. I can be an honest man for you.”

Tabitha took Rory’s face in her hands and kissed him deeply. “Oh, Rory, you are an honest man. You may have chosen a dishonest profession, but you are also a horrible liar. You are sweet and sincere, and I do know that deep in your heart, you do love me. Now show me what longing can do to a man who loves me so!”

“My dearest Tabitha,” Rory whispered, pressing his body against hers, watching the subtle change in her expression as her head tipped back and eyes shut. “I thought you would never ask!”

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING, Rory slipped out of bed and walked to the front of the building, where Tabitha’s café was. The mistress of the house was already busy at work, pulling fresh muffins from her oven and pouring her special brew of coffee for waiting customers. She still paused for a kiss with Rory, but quickly returned to work. He grabbed a muffin and coffee that Tabitha set aside for him, and walked over to a table to meet Bozius and Rafule, who were munching on a light breakfast.

“I don’t see why we always have to come to Octaria,” Bozius complained. “There ain’t a single whore in this town.”

“Good country air, good coffee,” Rory smiled, looking over at the counter. “It’s a good place…”

“If Tabitha weren’t here, you wouldn’t even think twice,” Bozius countered, nibbling on a muffin and some bacon.

“Is this where you’re from, Rory?” Rafule asked, sipping some coffee. “Bozy said your mom lives here?”

Rory was quiet a moment. “My past is not really all that important, Rafule. However, it seems that yours is quite intriguing.”

“Yeah, kid, spill it,” Bozius reiterated.

Rafule drained his cup before answering. It rattled a bit as he set it down, his hand trembling ever so slightly. “Okay, so I guess you know that Lord Wordsly is my uncle…”

“Guess?” Rory smiled. “I would say we’re right on the money with that one! Bozy?”

“Oh yeah,” his partner agreed. “If I were a gambling man, I would place a wager on that, for sure.”

“Okay, okay,” Rafule mumbled, wiping sweat from his brow. “Uncle Byron is the brother of my mother. As the oldest, he inherited their father’s estate when he passed. My grandfather was a fairly influential man, and acquired much wealth in his lifetime. My uncle took it all for himself, but allowed my parents and me to live on his estate, where we had already lived when my grandfather was still alive! Still, it was my uncle’s money that allowed me to study my gift with magic, and for this I am indebted to him. When he asked me to come along with him to Castletop, I couldn’t refuse.”

“And the Golden Baby?” Rory inquired, not sure how much of this story he was prepared to accept.

“I don’t know much,” Rafule admitted. “All I know is that some of his men appeared in the middle of the night, and there was much fuss about what they brought with them. The next morning, I was summoned and told that I was to accompany my uncle in transporting it to Castletop. I was excited! We were going to Appleton, I was going to see the country! All I had ever known was Dengalde.”

“Poor, poor rich kid,” Bozius cut in. “What a tragic life!”

“Hey, I don’t judge you!” Rafule shot back.

“I’m sure,” Bozius grumbled.

“Gentlemen, please,” Rory pleaded. “Rafule, here’s what I don’t understand: Who contacted your uncle? Who was he delivering the Baby to?”

Rafule rubbed his hands together; the kid was quite anxious the whole time. Rory felt that he was still withholding something. “A duke in Castletop,” Rafule replied. “Grey, I think?”

Rory and Bozius practically jumped out of their chairs. Patrons of the café stopped to stare at the men, but looked away and resumed their conversations and business after Rory and Bozius composed themselves.

“Grey?” Rory asked. “As in Calus Grey?”

“…that sounds about right…” Rafule answered, somewhat reluctantly.

“Duke Calus Grey?!” Bozius looked set to explode. “The Grey Callus of Castletop wants this baby? Great! Really great! Rory, I say we leave this damned thing at the side of the road and let some other idiot deal with it. Hell, I’ll give it to Sullivan! Hand it right over, have a nice day!”

Rafule looked very frightened. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know the name, nephew of a noble,” Rory piped in. “This whole time, you knew exactly where this Golden Baby was headed, and never thought about mentioning it? Time is of the essence now, boys. We might have a day, two at best, before word gets out. Calus Grey is going to want to know where the Golden Baby is.”

“If Wordsly is ballsy enough to admit his failure to the Grey Callus, he could be in Castletop by tonight,” Bozius figured. “Then whoever we try to shove the Baby off to will be after our heads, just for the reward. Dammit, Rory, we gotta move!”

“It was going to be hard enough pawning it off in the first place,” Rory contemplated. “And that was before we were in a time crisis. I was thinking about heading south, maybe even across the border. But now? Where can we go in a day?”

“There’s always Chaca Lacoco,” Bozius offered.

“No way!” Rory denied. “Not at least without being sure how much this thing is worth…”

“What? Who cares! You know we’ll get a good enough price from Chaca.”

“Not now,” Rory replied, refusing to make eye contact with his partner. “Not yet, at least.”

“I thought you and him were squared away?”

“I just don’t want to deal with him, okay, Bozy?”

“You’re the one saying we got a time crunch on our hands!”

“We’re not so desperate as to go running off to Chaca Lacoco!” Rory growled. Bozius actual backed off a bit, which was unusual. But Rory was furious at the thought, which was equally unusual. Rafule remained silent, likely happy to have the focus taken off of him. “We can go to Rande Bahn. It’s up in the mountains, but not all that far.”

Ocataria sat in the valley of the Crescent Mountains, far from the Bumps, some distance northeast of Appleton. It wasn’t accessible by way of the Queen’s Parkway, but instead by one of the many local roads cutting through the valley. A few various mountain trails would grant the party access to Rande Bahn, a small village of ill repute. If the Appleton Lows were removed on any respect or diginity and placed up in the unfriendly reaches of the Crescent Mountains, the result would be Rande Bahn. The town was run by murderers and thieves, but on the plus side was very unwelcoming to the Cache of the Hand, and therefore would likely be the safest place for Rory, Bozius, and Rafule, to get the Golden Baby off their hands. Another plus was that being a mountain town of ill repute, Rande Bahn wasn’t exactly the first place to get news, so the people there would likely be unaware of Calus Grey searching for the Golden Baby, when that time came.

“Isn’t that a dangerous place, Rande Bahn?” Rafule asked.

“Oh, now you’re suddenly wordly, kid?” Bozius asked. “What, they talk about the Pit a lot in them fancy schools back in Dengalde?”

The Pit was the name most people used to reference Rande Bahn, and it was a pretty accurate representation. The place was all scum, and it felt as if you were falling into a pit when you arrived.

“My uncle would sometimes talk about it,” Rafule said. “Something about it being a scab on the face of Vimiland.”

“One thing your uncle and I can agree on,” Rory admitted. “But it’s the best option.”

“Yeah, I always think of walking into the lion’s den as the best option for any situation,” Bozius mocked. “But I see your point. We’re gonna need weapons, more than what we got. I wish we still had the horses.”

“They wouldn’t make the journey,” Rory declared. “But a good pack mule would be nice. It’s not going to be a fun trip.”

“Thanks, kid, thanks a lot,” Bozius said, shoving himself away from the table. “I’ll go ask around. I’ll see you at lunch time.”

With that Bozius left, likely grateful to be alone for awhile. Rory sat in quiet contemplation, considering how best to go about this new plan.

That’s when Tabitha sat down.

“What’s this?” she scolded Rory. “Rafule, I hope you enjoyed your free breakfast. Now clean up my table and go busy yourself pouring coffee.”

“But I don’t know how,” Rafule tried, but Tabitha shot daggers at him with a glance. “But I can figure it out, sure…”

“What are you up to, Roderick Casbury?” Tabitha demanded, trying to keep her voice low. “Did I hear you say you were going to the Pit? Are you insane?”

“We’ve no choice, my love,” Rory pleaded. “We have to get rid of this last little treasure, but then everything will be okay—”

Tabitha grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him bodily back to her bedroom. “You come clean with me, Roderick Casbury! I want the truth! How little can this little grab of yours be if you have to go up to Rande Bahn to hock it? Some of those bastards come down here for a visit once in awhile, and they sicken me! You have no business up there!”

“Tabitha, we’ve got a bit of a situation,” Rory admitted. “Nothing to worry about, but we are on a tight schedule. It seems the newest addition to our team wasn’t very… forthcoming…”

“I’m not stupid, Rory, and I’m not deaf. I heard some of the things you were talking about. I saw you and Bozius jump. Calus Grey? Rory, if you are dead the next time I see you…”

Tabitha beat on his chest before she could no longer hold back the tears. Rory pulled her in close and held her very tight. He never meant to scare her, but the circumstances did call for a bit of fear. Still, if Rory could pawn off the Golden Baby before word spread for his bounty, he would win the day.

“I meant what I said last night, sweetheart,” Rory promised, pulling away just enough to look into Tabitha’s beautiful eyes. “This last heist could be the last one. We are a single sale away from retirement. This is a big thing, what we got. But we have to move quickly.” He kissed her deeply, and felt her kiss him back.

“You come back to me alive, Roderick Casbury,” Tabitha demanded, wiping her eyes and heading back to the café. “And visit your mother!”

* * *

THERE IT WAS, just as it looked when he was a boy. The house was quaint, small but cozy. The fence could use some mending, but the small holdings were sturdy. It was a good house, and Rory remembered it being full of love. His father had been a merchant, a hard-working man who traveled from town to town throughout the Crescent Valley, sometimes going beyond Appleton as far as Liebert, even having spent the occasional weekend in Heapsworth, selling pottery, cloth, tools, and the occasional knife or sword he came across. Seamus Casbury was a good provider, a faithful husband, and a loving father. Deidra Casbury was a stalwart rock in their family, strong against any turmoil. Quite loving and warm, as well, but sturdy as the house they lived in.

When Rory was a boy, a bit younger than Rafule was now, tragedy struck the Casbury family. Seamus was traveling for work, as always, and was attacked by bandits, killed for the handful of bobbies in his purse and cart full of knick knacks he was peddling that day. Slain for no other reason than because he was an easy target. Deidra was destroyed by the news. She was still loving and warm, but she became very distant. After several years passed, she finally emerged from the house and wandered Octaria again. Tabitha was the only person she really spoke to, hence what led to her introducing the woman to Rory. These days Tabitha stopped by to take care of Deidra, whose health was truly beginning to fail her.

When Seamus was murdered, Rory vowed to find the killers and deliver justice unto them. Somehow, this fruitless quest led to him becoming the Pirate of Vimiland. To find scum, he had to scour the underworld. To survive in the underworld, he had to emigrate to it. He considered himself above the petty bandits that slew his father, and hence took on the occupation of piracy. Somehow, adhering to a code of some kind allowed Rory to justify his choices.

His father’s killers were never found.

Now, he stood outside his childhood home, unable to enter. His mother was disappointed in his being a thief, and he could not blame her. Rory could admit that—despite entering the trade for the right reasons—he was no longer doing any justice for his father. If all went well with this final heist, he could finally give up piracy, and would have the financial means to pursue his original cause again.

Hand on the creaky gate, Rory lacked the strength to open it and head into the house. He had no idea how to face his mother, nor how to deal with her sickness. He wanted to walk in there with something to make her proud, but instead all he had were knee-high boots, tight breeches, lopsided belt, baggy silk blouse, leather vest, and a bandana. He was the personification of his trade, and his mother detested that. How could he visit her like this, with nothing to show for it but another mission to conclude another heist?

“There you are,” Bozius walked up, a donkey loaded with supplies in tow. “I got everything. You ready? Whose house is this?”

“This old place?” Rory said faintly. “I don’t know anymore…”

With that, he walked away with his friend, to meet up with Rafule and head up to Rande Bahn. Inside the house, an old woman stirred, peering out the window with a look of such longing: one hand to her heart and another to the glass, with a single sad tear rolling down her aged cheek.

Rory never saw this, and things may have been different if he had.