Free Pathfinder Tales: Lord of Runes by Dave Gross Page A

snag one of those street signs, but the place was already lousy with people. If I was going to steal one, it’d have to be late at night or not at all. I headed back toward the bridge and got a surprise.
    The boss strolled down Fort Korvosa Boulevard with Arni at his side. By his delicate posture, I knew he’d had a night of many cups.
    Sleepy-eyed, he didn’t notice me, but Arni did. The dog gave me the upward nod but didn’t give me away as I slipped up behind the boss. He wouldn’t let anybody else do that, but we were pals.
    In a frail voice, I said, “Spare a few coins for a war vet, milord?”
    The boss turned real slow, raising an eyebrow as if I was the one caught stinking of wine in Old Korvosa.
    “Radovan.” He spoke all careful. “I have discovered the most extraordinary thing.”
    “Me, too.” I pointed at a JEGGARE STREET sign.
    He blinked. He turned to look at the sign. He turned back and blinked again. “Very amusing. What are you doing here?”
    “I’m being discreet. What are you doing? It looks like you drained all the taps at Jeggy’s Jug.”
    His eyes got big, his face turning red. “Never refer to that establishment by that odious name.” He winced at the volume of his own voice. “As for my nocturnal activity, I was visiting an old friend. We spent the night reminiscing.”
    He had a bandage on his hand. “You got hurt?”
    “That is precisely what I was trying to tell you. Quite by accident, I have discovered the secret of the mysterious book.”
    Not another mysterious book, I thought. But I knew better than to say it. If the boss had a specialty—in a way he had hundreds, but if he had only one—it’d be books. Mysterious books, cursed books, books in foreign languages, books on scrolls and tablets and wood carvings, evil books, forbidden books, even sometimes naughty books with pictures, which I liked to peruse while I was waiting for him to come back to his library. Anyway, the boss liked books, all kinds. “Maybe you better catch me up.”
    The boss started talking, only he went in loops instead of his usual straight line. He started with something about a girl, then he told me about his old classmate’s library. He mentioned something about the girl’s sculpted hair, and he said his school chum had left him a blank book. He said he wanted to find out more about the girl, so that’s why he visited his old fencing master.
    I narrowed in on the important point. “So you like this girl.”
    “You will refer to her as Lady Illyria.”
    “She’s a looker?”
    “That is quite irrelevant.”
    “So she’s a hag?”
    “How dare you?”
    “So she’s a looker?”
    “I would eschew your crude lingo for a more fitting term like ‘beauteous’ or ‘exquisite,’ or perhaps— That is quite beside the point. What matters is that I do not trust her. I am not even sure I like her very much. She is impertinent.”
    “I’m impertinent.”
    “My point exactly.”
    If we kept on that way, I was going to irritate him. It was better he woke up all the way before I tested his patience. “How about we eat a bun and drink some coffee?”
    He covered his mouth to hold in a burp, or worse. “A splendid suggestion.”
    The boss looked impressed at the gnome’s crazy steam gizmo. It seemed like a lot of trouble to make such a little cup of coffee, but it was damned fine coffee, and hot. I bought sweet rolls from a street vendor, palming one to feed Arni under the table while the boss admired the coffee machine. He sent me back for more while he ordered more coffee.
    Four cups and six buns later, we strolled back across the bridge to the mainland. The boss looked better, but I still didn’t crack wise when we crossed Jeggare Circle. If I wasn’t careful, one day he was going to poke me with that sword. Instead, I got him to tell me his story again. This time it made more sense.
    “While I finish my inventory of his books, I want you to examine Ygresta’s rooms.”
    “Got