Page 69 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

“What?” Fen gasped.

Lirion almost reached over and smacked Gillea on the top of his head. He did not need the pot stirred. It had been hard enough getting Fenric to come in there. “Stop. He’s mine. You can’t have him.” He turned his attention to Fenric, who looked ready to bolt out the door. “This is Gillea, a very accomplished and secretive fence. He’s one of the best connected across Moorwood. I thought he might have heard something about the pieces of jewelry stolen from your mother.”

“Truly?” There was such a note of wary hope in Fen’s voice, Lirion almost pulled him into a tight hug.

“Yeah. No one is better connected than Gillea.”

“What is it you’re looking for?” Gillea prodded.

“J-jewelry. My mother. Her name was Katrina Lowell. She was killed by several heroes and all her valuables were stolen. I’m trying to get them back.” As he spoke, he reached into a pocket in his vest and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded it with trembling fingers.

“Ah. Good. You have a list.” Gillea stepped away from the counter and returned a moment later with parchment, quill, ink, and a lantern. He set up his items on the counter and started his list. “Now, tell me everything you know about each item you’re searching for. Every detail, no matter how small, helps me.”

Lirion wandered around the tea shop, which was just a front for Gillea to move illegally acquired goods, listening with only half an ear to the list of items Fenric was still searching for. Gillea, to his credit, was thorough. He asked about material, weight, size, and origin. There were only half a dozen items on Fen’s list, but each one he talked about seemed to be a weight coming off his shoulders. He knew those objects as if he’d held each one of them just yesterday. His voice shook and broke here and there as he described old scratches and wear that came from a lifetime of use. Where he could, he even described who gave the piece to his mother or even who had made it, down to the fucking year. These were all details he’d clearly burned into his brain over time.

Lirion wandered back to the counter and peered over at Fenric, his heart skipping at seeing Fen’s unexpected soft smile as he spoke about a set of earrings, even while pain furrowed his brow.

“Anything else?”

“No.” Fen sighed. “That’s everything.”

Gillea nodded. “It’ll take some time for me to check my sources. If I can’t get my hands on the item, I’ll give you a solid lead on who last had it. Anything I buy directly, you’ll have to pay me something for it. I have to break even on this venture. But I won’t charge you for my time or my network because you’re Lir’s friend.”

“No, no. I understand. Any help you can give me would be appreciated,” Fen replied promptly.

Gillea waved him off as he packed away his papers and ink. “Will you be around for a while?”

“We’re leaving for Baza in a day or two. We got a solid lead on my sister. Shouldn’t be away for more than a couple of weeks at most,” Lirion said.

A soft grunt left the old man. “Good. I should have something by then. Check in with me when you get back.”

Lirion dragged Fenric out of the shop before he could pepper the man with more thanks.

Their feet had barely hit the street when Fenric grabbed Lirion’s hand and pulled him into a tight embrace. Not a kiss or a grope. Nothing sexual in the slightest. It was an honest-to-gods hug.

“Thank you,” Fen whispered in his ear.

A hundred different ways to brush Fen off came to mind, but in the end, all Lirion could manage was a soft “You’re welcome.”

After a day of intense shopping, bartering, bargaining, and stealing, they’d gathered the supplies needed for the trip to Baza. A positive about a town like Björnkill was it moved so many people and products through all the time, so supplies were usually easy to attain—and at a good price. The unexpected bonus had been Lirion having a contact like Gillea who could potentially help him find the last of his missing treasures. His heart still skipped and bounced at the thought of new leads…all thanks to Lirion.

They were away from the docks with the morning tide, the sea breeze ruffling their hair and filling their lungs. The sun was high overhead, with barely a cloud in the sky. They were slicing through the water, the ship steady and true.

Fenric strolled down from the bridge, his eyes sweeping over the two towering masts with bright red sails standing out against the blue sky. Christened Dark Lady, the ship itself was a weathered dark brown, nearly black, while the masthead at the bow of the ship was a merman who suspiciously resembled Rain and held two drawn swords as if it were preparing to dive off the ship and into the fray.

The schooner wasn’t the largest vessel, far from it, but she was as fast and slippery as an eel cutting through the water. She possessed a good complement of canons and harpoons if they found themselves in trouble.

The Dark Lady was adequate enough in size to handle their party, their skeleton crew, and whatever loot they gained from a job. Rain had retrofitted the ship once he bought it, so there were individual cabins—a way for everyone to have their own privacy, which was highly important for long voyages. Granted, the cabins, for the most part, were little better than closets with beds shoved in, and being one of the smaller men of this bunch, Fenric had chosen one of the smallest cabins. Even so, the fact he had a proper bed on the ship was a godsend, and he had no intention of complaining. All he was doing was sleeping in there, anyway.

Well, on this voyage he’d be sexing up Lirion too.

Hapi’s skelebabies were at work, keeping the ship running. Truly helpful, that, even if the skeletons weren’t exactly intelligent. You could give them two tasks, but not three, which was why in an emergency, everyone else pitched in.

Since everything was going well, and they’d just started this voyage a few hours ago, what should he do with himself? They had a week to go until they were at their actual destination, and while they might stop for supplies here and there, it would be a quick in-and-out trip. His only other “task” per se while sailing was to have sex with Lirion, but he could hardly do that the entire voyage.

A scuff of a boot against decking made him glance back. Maxie gave him a small wave. “Um, Fen?”

“Shoot your question.” With his wrinkled brow, it was clear he had one.