Report

"And that's it, ma'am." Quinten was looking unusually subdued, his face haggard and drawn. He was still worn out from the ordeal in the Dead Lands.

Cassandra nodded, still not looking at the papers on her desk. "You have collected the reward, I presume?"

Quinten pulled a large pouch of gold coins from his pack and set it on the table. "We took care of it before coming back. I checked, we received 300 drobens, as promised." He ran a hand through his hair, sighing and shaking his head. "Minus the cost of the trip itself, and the healers when we got back, we made a profit of 190 drobens. I feel a little cheated actually, considering the trouble we've gone through." He laughed, a short, joyless bark. "Maybe we can repair the roof."

"Your connection to your previous employers have been completely severed?" Cassandra asked. She raised an eyebrow as Quinten started in surprise. "You didn't think I knew? That was the whole reason I allowed this little trip in the first place- it certainly wasn't for the payout."

"I spoke with my grandmother. They apologized for the behavior of their rogue angent most insincerely. They don't like people to get out of their clutches, but I think our destroying an entire tower of the secrets they were after has left a bad taste in their mouth. They probably won't try getting me to do anything for them, for a while at least."

"I guess that will do. I wasn't aware of the shadier end of the business of that organization." Cassandra admitted, "I was hoping that your involvement would grant us a valuable connection, maybe even more jobs, but this last venture- and with things my other contacts have been turning up, I think aligning ourselves with them would be a bad move."

"And me?" Quinten bowed his head. "If you want, I'll pack my bags. It was stupid, really, for me to think they would only want one last job. With them, its always one last job. I'm only lucky this one backfired so spectacularly, or they might think I was useful."

"Quinten, you are part of the Company now. That means you are one of my men. You may not be aware of my reputation," Cassandra said, flexing her mechanical right arm, "But I've never let a little inconvenience get in the way of victory, and I won't sacrifice one of my men because of his past. If I was that kind of commander, I wouldn't be where I am today." Quinten looked up, and she smiled. "You and Heljah will always have a place with us, but if you want to leave, it's your choice."

"Ill stay." Quinten said softly.

"Good." Again, Cassandra was all business. She stacked the reports and forms neatly on her desk and deposited the moneybag into one of the locked drawers for later safekeeping. "That last letter, from the specter, you still have it?"

Quinten stood and handed it over. Cassandra glanced at it, then picked it up and read the directions more carefully. Her sharp eyes glanced up at Quinten for a moment, and she nodded. "I'm going to deliver this myself. As it happens I seam to be acquainted with the recipient. You get some rest. For the next two weeks, I want you doing nothing more strenuous than regular training sessions with Bloodmane."

"You call that unstrenuous?" Quinten complained, showing a bit more of his old spirit.

"Don't worry, I've asked him to go a little easier on your sorry bones. You shouldn't recieve more than a few mild bruises a day. And you will be helping the new recruit get used to the way we run things here."

"The boy?"

"That was a good find. I'm sure you will find the recruit full of surprises." Cassandra's eyes glittered with amusement. "Dismissed, soldier."

"Ma'am." Quinten winced with dignity out of her office, and a minute later Bloodmane shouldered through the doorway, horns scraping the ceiling.

"He's really done it this time." Bloodmane growled. "We don't want people like the Gold Ring breathing down our necks.

"That is the least of our concerns." Cassandra handed the letter to the minotaur, who handled it delicately despite his huge hands.

He glanced at the name on it, then almost dropped the note, barely catching it before it hit the ground and hitting the desk with his horns, before straightening abruptly and handing the note, very formally, back to Cassandra. "Well, general, what do you intend to do?"

"We, you and I, are going to visit an old friend."

Bloodmane shook his head, heaving a sigh that gusted through the cramped quarters like a miniature gale. "I was afraid you were going to say that."