Chapter 124: Setting up a trap
Daubutim watched as a group of badly dressed, dispirited people walked across the square towards Tensor's smithy. Three silver-eyed heart-carded guards walked with them. He stared at a petite woman in the third row, glaring at the ground as she trudged on beside Tanya, the sorceress that had helped him and Irwin long ago. Both had changed greatly, the sorcerers sporting a weary, sad look, new wrinkles around her eyes making her look older than she likely was. Twintin had grown, though she was still shorter than he had been at ten, but her sharp, angry features made her look older than she was.
Twintin, Daubutim thought as he watched her approach. Would she remember him? Probably, though, he had found that other people forgot the most odd things.
"Tssk, they look like they need a year to get back to any fighting shape," Indoutor grunted. "Are you sure our old friend can't send us some stronger carded? Some of those silver-eyed ones would be great."
Daubutim glanced at his cousin, noting the large pack on his back. Part of it was probably filled with cards that were deemed useless here, but compared to what was on Giard, it would be a great boon to the people.
If they are still there, he thought, wondering how much time had passed on Giard. He knew there was barely any time dilation between here and there, mostly due to the amount of portals, but even a few days could be troublesome.
"Just make sure you don't get into trouble with the demons inside the Esterdon ruins," Daubutim said calmly.
Indoutor barked a laugh. "Cousin, who of us has spent years guarding that place? Me. I'll get out of there safely, don't worry. Especially with this little trick," he added as he patted the back of his hand that held his newest cards. He had two full hands now, though he'd not yet managed to combine those in his right hand.
The group, led by the guards, arrived before them, and Daubutim saw a few angry glares focused on him and Indoutor. One of the guards moved forward, looking at them with a frown before turning to Daubutim.
"You are the Apprentice Librarian, Daubutim?" he asked calmly.
"I am," Daubutim stated.
"These are the serfs that are to be handed into your custody. I was told to escort you and them to a location of your choice. Are you ready to leave?"
Daubutim nodded. It had been two full days since he'd spoken with Gelwin, in which he'd scrambled around to create the stages of the trap. It was both simple, and convoluted, with multiple layers, and several roads to success. If he hadn't had the step-by-step process, he knew he'd probably been unable to enact it. All in all, he knew there was only a single way for it to completely fail.