Hell's Fountain: The Killing Sands

He never drank wine. "It was bad enough when our citizens were falling victim to this killer, but now that he has widened his prey to include visiting merchants…trade may suffer."

"When you speak such foolishness Khepri I am forced to wonder how you ever were elected Magister." Mai’ron slammed his wine goblet down on the table. "To which other oasis in the middle of the Great Desert will the caravans go? And it seems to me that a full third of the victims disappeared from the Inner Courts. Why hasn’t your own Guard-Captain learned anything of this killer?"

"Perhaps if my respected colleagues were to include me in there investigations, My Lord, I might be able to shed some light on this mystery." Menes glared at me from across the table. He had been glaring at me regularly all evening. I wondered who had been in bed with Guard-Captain when my trooper arrived to wake him and made a mental note to ask the man the next morning.

"You will forgive me, gentlemen, if I bring this dinner to an end." Evgenii rose from his seat at the head of the table as servants flowed in to the room to clear the tables. One of the reasons he preferred to have meetings at his home was the privilege of calling the meeting to an end at the first sign of squabbling. "There are things I must see to before I retire this evening. Let us gather here again tomorrow morning to discuss what we may do to catch this killer."

Lord Mai’ron casually seconded the suggestion and quelled any complaints from Khepri. Once outside Yosef and I turned make our way through the quiet streets of the Inner Courts to the city proper and our own homes. We had not gone far when I heard my name being shouted in the streets.

"Tage! Tage! Don’t you go just yet. I have a grievance with you." Menes was running down the empty streets. His ornate breastplate and metal shod boots gleamed even in the shadowless light of dusk. He gripped the pommel of his longsword almost as if he meant to use it…if he could only figure out how. Yosef and I, out of curiosity more than anything, waited for him to catch up with us. The Guard-Captain’s face was tight with rage and perhaps fear. That was interesting. "When that oaf of a Northman you sent to find me barged into my home he tracked camel dung all over my carpets. They were the finest Western carpets, made from silk, and now they are ruined! I expect the man to be punished."

"How very careless of him to have stepped in camel dung before going to look for you. I will scold him firmly in the morning." I turned to Yosef as if I had just noticed him standing there. "Perhaps you wouldn’t mind scolding him for me, Yosef? It may make a more lasting impressing coming from you."

"My mother always said there was nothing like a hundred generations of ugly ancestors to make a man afraid of water. It worked for her." Yosef scratched his beard thoughtfully. "Of course, me being the one hundred and first of the line I might scar your lad for life."

"It would be a small price to pay for clean carpets…of the finest Western silk." I nodded my head sagely as Menes began stuttering his complaints. "Let us handle this Guard-Captain Menes. I am sure you have some sort of errand to run for your master."

For a moment I thought Menes had swallowed his tongue.