Paragon - Book I

The Things We Never Wanted to Know

News from the roads begins to trickle in and none of it is good; the Jarles, infuriated by the breakout, have begun gutting villages along the traveling roads, ashes and swinging bodies trailing behind them. The people of Solveigard are even surlier than usual, their paces clipped and shoulders hunched. The key stays hidden under a floorboard in the four's room, and they only refer to it as "the item" now.

"We'll need to restock our supplies soon," Ben adds one night, looking over a ledger of accounts and scores in his notebook. "Securing a ship in Thalassa will cost a good amount of gold."

"Why not just steal the ship?" Iaves suggests.

"It draws too much attention to us," Allayria interjects, placing a card down on the bed between her and Meg. Meg swears.

"Exactly," Ben says as he runs a hand through his hair. "One of our advantages is that very few people know who we are, much less what we're planning on. We steal a boat and suddenly people are on the lookout for four young people and a wolf..."

Iaves shrugs. "So what are you thinking?"

"Honestly, I was hoping Meg might have some suggestions."

"I do," she answers, and they all look over at her in surprise. "I think I have a neat solution that could solve several problems."

She rolls up into a sitting position, legs crossed beneath her.

"We need money for a boat, we need to get both Ruben and the Jarles off our tails, and we need a way to slip out of the city unnoticed," she recounts, flipping her fingers up one by one. "Maybe there's a way to take care of all of this in one swipe. Maybe there's a wealthy family in Solveigard—the Urilongs, let's say—who experiences a burglary and when the city guards come to investigate, maybe they find some incriminating items in that family's safe. Some explosives, masks...."

"And maybe the word gets out," Ben adds slowly, sitting up, pen tapping on the paper.

"And the great Skilling master staying with them will surely have to be brought in for questioning," Meg says with a smile. "What will the gossips make of it?"

"He might have to even leave," Iaves says through a mouthful of oats.

"They certainly are wealthy," Ben murmurs, looking around to the map of Solveigard City they had pinned to the wall. They had been tracking the movements of said "great Skilling master," Ruben, with it. They were trying to discern a pattern, but now Allayria watches as Ben's gaze lingers on the center city, on one of the wealthier districts that Allayria had passed but never been in.

"We'll need some help."

A day later, Keno looks at Meg, then Ben, then Meg again. They are all drinking sour, lukewarm beer in a dark corner of the Hanged Man, murmuring beneath the cacophony of drunken voices and clinking glass.

"You're serious," he states, and then he scoffs. "You see, this is the problem with you four: you come in here and you just blow things up. 'Let's rob a Jarles fort, let's attack one of the richest families in the city.' " His hands fly up around his face, shaking back and forth in sharp, jutting movements.

"And then you just roll out," he continues, waving his arms at the door. "It's no skin off your back. You just disappear, whatever. But guess who's stuck back here? Guess who doesn't get to disappear?"

He jabs a finger at his chest.

"Keno—"

"Look, we blew up a Jarles fort, busted out hundreds of criminals, and broke a couple of Jarles' faces—we bonded. But that doesn't mean I'm going to get misty-eyed at all of our beautiful memories and make a stupid business decision."