The Falconer's Stairs

2. Glad Tidings

2

Glad Tidings

Five days later, Tolburt walked into the Constabulary.

Julian and Raedrick's office was in a small one-story building a block north of Main Street in the heart of Lydelton. They had a little eight-room cell block in back, and a cozy little office up front. Julian's desk sat opposite Raedrick's, nearest the wood stove that stood in the left rear corner of the room.

It wasn't much, but it worked for what they needed in a quiet little town like Lydelton.

When Tolburt came in, clad in a faded brown shirt that he had left untied to halfway down his chest and slightly darker pants that hung loosely around scuffed black working boots, Julian was at his desk reading through a report the local judge's clerk had sent over about their recent case load, with recommendations on how to deal with the "rash of crime" that had befallen Lydelton in the last year.

Julian snorted and set the report down in exasperation. As though there was anything they could have done to avoid that. All of the major crimes the clerk wrote of were caused by elements outside of Lydelton's normal population, so what exactly did he think would be accomplished by his hair-brained schemes?

Julian suspected the judge was just jealous. Since many of the cases were severe enough that he was not empowered to hear them, Julian and Raedrick had to transfer them down to the court in Mangin City for final dispensation.

Had to rub the judge raw, come to think on it. And the gods knew he and Raedrick would prefer that their judge was fully empowered. But it wasn't up to them.

Well, that report represented half an hour that Julian would never get back.

When the door swung open, he for a second had hope that perhaps something interesting was about to happen.

Alas…

"What do you want, Tolburt?" He didn't try to keep the scornful "We don't serve your kind here" tone out of his voice. The rat deserved it.

Tolburt looked quickly around the room and frowned. "I'm looking for the Corporal."

Julian rolled his eyes. "Constable Baletier is tending to some personal business. So. Again. What do you want?"

"Lodge's built. I've kept up my side of the deal, so I've come to check out with him."

Well, maybe this visit would yield something worthwhile after all. "Leaving town then?"

Tolburt nodded. "Soon as…Constable…Baletier gives the ok." He flashed an eager smile. "I've got a treasure to find."

That again. The same convoluted bit of chicanery that had drawn the little weasel up into their town in the first place. Of course, there was nothing to go on to find that particular fantasy than a cryptic letter Raedrick and Julian had found in a magically-protected chest in the back of a cave upstream from…

Wait a minute.

"What do you mean?"

Tolburt just grinned broadly. "If you see him before I do, ask Constable Baletier to come by Mistress Klemins' shop after lunch."

"Wait. What - ?"

But he had already turned and walked back out the door.

Son. Of. A. b***h.

"I don't like the sound of this," Julian said as he and Raedrick approached Melanie's Mystical Crafts.

"Peace, Julian. At least hear him out before you assume the worst," Raedrick replied.

Julian frowned, grinding his teeth in irritation.

Situated on the east side of Lydelton, only a couple blocks from the edge of town, the shop resided in the lower level of a two-story building that resembled pretty much every other in Lydelton: sturdy construction, with a high-peaked roof designed to minimize snow accumulation in the Vale's lengthy winters.

But that was just the outside.

As they went within, the feeling of sameness fled completely. Mystical symbols and words of power were painted along the walls, just beneath the ceiling. The lighting was subdued by translucent shades over the windows, and the place smelled of a musky incense. An array of shelving stood in the center of the room holding various books on all manner of mysticism, charms, and trinkets that Julian presumed had some pseudo-magical significance. The far wall was covered in hooks, from which dangled pendants and other symbols of power next to various herbs that had varying degrees of medicinal utility. Off to the left, at the rear of the store, stood a long counter where Melanie kept court. Behind the counter, a doorway, partially blocked by dangling strings of multi-colored beads, led deeper into the bowels of the building.

Julian had no idea what lay back there, besides the stairs leading to the second level and Melanie's living quarters.

As usual, Melanie Klemins was sitting on a stool behind the counter, reading a small, leather-bound book. She wore a deep green, loose-fitting dress that was embroidered with yellow flowers on the bodice and along the ends of her sleeves. It was a far cry from the nearly-regal attire she usually wore, but Julian supposed allowances had to be made for the heat.

It was very warm outside. It was stifling within. But somehow it didn't look like she was sweating at all.

Mages and their tricks.

The bell mounted above the entrance jingled as they stepped inside, and Melanie looked up from her book. She arched an eyebrow and smiled in that almost sultry way she had sometimes. "You're late."

Raedrick blinked, then grinned back at her. "I didn't know we had a set appointment."

Melanie inserted a bookmark and snapped her book shut, then placed it down atop the counter. She shrugged, and the waves of her dark brown hair bounced slightly. "We didn't. But you're still late." Her eyes twinkled in the subdued light, and her smile grew a tad bit deeper for a second. Then it faded, and she was all business. "But Jared is, apparently, even later."

Julian snorted. Hardly a shock that Tolburt—he hadn't thought of the man by his given name in years—was proving unreliable. Again.

No sooner had that thought passed through Julian's head than the bell over the door rang out. He looked over and, sure enough there was Tolburt, wearing the same attire as before, as well as an eager but smug grin.

"Good, everyone's here," he said, rubbing his hands together as he approached. His eyes moved from Raedrick to Julian, then hurriedly to Melanie. "Ready, Mistress Klemins?"

Melanie sniffed softly. "We've been waiting on you, Jared." An arched eyebrow accentuated the words, and Tolburt's grin slipped ever so slightly. Then the moment of irony passed and Melanie's expression became all business. "You'd better grab a seat, gentlemen. This will take a while."