"Be at ease, Captain. I'm not here to detain you or delay your departure. I'm just seeking some men who may have bought passage on your ship, believed to be the assassins who murdered His Majesty the King, slain two weeks ago in the midst of the frost fair. Do you have your passenger manifest?"
"Aye." The captain whistled, and when a woman on the far side of the ship turned, bellowed, "Forter, bring me the passenger manifest."
"Aye, Captain!" She vanished from site down a set of stairs, presumably, then reappeared and hastened across the ship, presenting the thick, heavy ledger with a salute.
"Thank you, Forter. Back to task."
She bolted off as quickly as she'd come, and the captain opened the ledger, flipping through pages until the came to the most recent. "What're you seeking?"
Leonine handed of a slip of paper on which he'd copied all the names Edger had given him. "They could be using false names, but these are the ones I was given. Thank you for helping me, Captain…"
"Tolk." Taking the piece of paper, Tolk skimmed over it and the manifest. "They're all here. Stupid bastards. So they killed the king, eh?" His face said he wasn't sure the men shouldn't be thanked instead of punished, but when he spoke again, he only said, "Anything else I can do for you, Sir Knight?"
"Yes. Do you know where they're lodging?"
"Aye, had to have it in case of a change in departure." He took a pen that was wedged on top of the ledger, flipped over the paper that Leonine had given him, and jotted it down in brusque but elegant hand. "There. Try to keep your trouble away from my ship. We got cargo that can't do much waiting."
"Shouldn't need to trouble you again; this was all I needed. Thank you, Captain, and may the winds favor you."
"Good luck in your quest."
Leonine headed off, trying not to get overly excited. He rode steadily through the streets, mindful of the crowds and patches of ice. He had to stop to ask where the inn in question was located, but after that it took only a few minutes to find it in a seedy corner of the city where everyone gave him suspicious, if not outright hostile, looks before vanishing well out of his sight.
He still wasn't used to the fact it was him, and only him, that kept causing that reaction. Only a few weeks ago he'd still been a squire, the mostly-invisible shadow attending Cimar. Leonine had thought he'd be inured to the attention, given how long he'd served Cimar, but being the focus made the experience completely different.
He hung well back, not wanting to risk being spotted and causing them to bolt, making his job ten thousand times more difficult.
There were seven in all, which made this tricky. Well, six. His first mission was to get to the seventh one, Cole, and get him to safety. Then he'd deal with the rest.
So for now, Leonine took stock of the buildings surrounding the inn for a suitable place to watch. He finally settled on a bar with an open front, chairs and barrels arranged outside, small fireplace, and an awning, so people could sit outside at all times of the year. Even now, a few people were, smoking more than the fires keeping them warm.
Leonine secured his horse, ordered a pitcher of beer that wasn't watered down and a cup that had seen soap in the last day, and settled into his seat. He thanked the woman who brought him the beer and flipped her a coin to more than cover it, and settled into the uncomfortable seat as best he could.
Hopefully, he wouldn't be waiting long.
In the meantime, he was happy to while away the time daydreaming of all he'd do when they got home. As a royal knight, he was entitled to his own quarters in the palace, and he could easily pay the additional for larger quarters so Everard and Odilia could come stay with him comfortably whenever they wanted. Horses for them both, so they didn't have to walk everywhere when they didn't want. Would they accept rings if he offered them? He'd never be able to marry them, but…
Not a question he'd be asking anytime soon, not after all that had happened. They could easily change their minds again, decide he really was too much trouble. After the past few days, all the words and touches and kisses… he wanted to believe they were going to stay. Hoped they would stay. But old fears weren't quelled that easily.
He took a sip of the beer, which wasn't as terrible as he'd feared, but still wasn't very good. Across the way, people came and went from the inn, each one more suspicious than the last, but sadly none of them were Cole. Leonine really didn't want to have to go look for him directly, as that would send the others scattering, but if Cole didn't appear by nightfall, he wouldn't have a choice.
What shape was his castle in? His castle. Leonine almost laughed. All he'd wanted from becoming a knight was a place to belong, to never worry about being hungry again, friends, maybe a lover someday. Now he had all of that and an entire castle. Land. If only his parents and everyone else who'd ever thrown him out could see him now.
Movement caught his eye, drawing his attention fully back to the inn, and sure enough, there was the very one he was looking for. Even from here it was easy to tell Cole was tense, unhappy—troubled. Leonine uncurled from his chair and prowled after him, keeping far enough back not to draw attention while ensuring he wouldn't lose sight.
When they were well clear of the inn and anyone who might recognize him, he increased his pace until he was close enough to safely cast out his magic, turning the ground to ice and sending Cole toppling into a snowbank.
Rushing forward, Leonine caught him up and yanked him out of the snow, shoving back his hood as he said, "Hello, again."
Cole looked angry for a split second, and then looked ready to burst into tears. "He's dead, isn't he? Ain't no way you'd have found me unless Edger talked, and ain't no way he'd do that lightly."
"He's fine," Leonine replied. "Well, his leg is still troubling him, and he needs proper food and rest, but my companions are taking care of him as we speak. Come on, I'll take you to him."
At that Cole did burst into tears, and Leonine couldn't not hug him briefly before finally leading Cole back to his horse and getting him up on it.
It took only minutes to ride back to the inn where the others waited, where he handed off his horse before leading an anxious Cole up the stairs and down the hall to the very last room. He knocked three times, then twice more, and the door opened almost immediately. "You're back sooner than expected," Odilia said with a smile. "Come in, come in, the healer just left. Now you're here, I'll go get us proper food."
She kissed his cheek and hastened off, leaving Leonine to lead Cole inside, closing the door behind them. The door hadn't even finished closing before Cole bolted across the room to where Edger was lying in bed, already looking leagues better than when Leonine had left just a few hours ago.
"You're all right, you're all right," Cole said, bursting into tears again as he threw himself at Edger and wrapped tightly around him. "I thought you were dead, you stupid fucking bastard. I thought I'd have to go on without you."
"Never," Edger said fiercely. "Never, Cole. I'm sorry. I don't care about the fucking money anymore. We're done."
"Done," Cole replied, and kissed him. "You're one lucky bastard, and if I wasn't so happy to see you, I'd kill you myself for worrying me to death." He finally drew back enough to look Edger over thoroughly. "Your leg looks leagues better than when I left you."