“What is it Bear’s after?” asked James.
“Damned if I know, James,” replied Lucas. The old man sat down on a water cask. “I was going to help Knute fence the booty from his last raid. I guess Knute double-crossed Bear, because Bear and some of his men showed up at my inn and started killing everyone in sight. I barely got out alive myself after telling Talia and the others to flee through the kitchen.”
James and William exchanged glances. In a soft voice James said, “Talia’s dead, Lucas. Bear caught her and tried to get her to tell him where you were hiding.”
Lucas seemed to collapse from within. His face turned gray and his eyes welled up with tears. “Talia?” His chin fell to his chest. For a long while he sat silently, then said with a sniffle, “I lost my sons in the war, but never thought that Talia . . .” He sighed. After another long silence, he said, ‘This deal with Knute would have set me up. She wouldn’t have had to be a barmaid anymore. She would have had a proper dowry for a proper young man.” He looked up at William.
William also had tears in his eyes. “You know I cared for her, Lucas. I swear to you we’ll find Bear and Talia will be avenged.”
Lucas nodded sadly. “All this trouble, all this black murder, and now it’s pointless. I should just return the booty to Knute.”
“You haven’t heard about Knute?” asked James.
“I heard the guards picked him up night before last. He’s in jail.”
“Not anymore,” said William. “Bear broke into the jail and cut Knute to pieces.”
“By the gods! He’s gone mad,” exclaimed Lucas.
“We’ll deal with Bear,” William avowed.
“Thank you, William,” said Lucas, “but mind your step. Talia may be gone, but you’re still with us, and I’d prefer it if you stayed that way. This Bear is dangerous, and he’s got magic on his side.”
Jazhara said, “What kind of magic?”
“Dark powers, milady. Knute was terrified after he saw Bear work magic. That’s why he broke with him.” He shook his head. “You want to see what the bastards were after?”
James nodded. “I am a bit curious.”
Lucas rose and led them to a stout wooden door. He threw aside the bar on the door and pulled it open. Jazhara stepped forward with her lamp, and even James had to let out an appreciative low whistle.
The small room was filled knee-deep in treasure. Sacks of gold coins were piled atop several small chests. Solid gold statues and piles of jewelry were strewn about. Lucas stepped into the room and opened one of the chests. Inside was more gold, and a small statuette. Jazhara reached down and picked it up. “This is Ishapian,” she said softly. “It is a holy icon of their church, the Symbol of Ishap.”
James’s eyes grew wide. “They hit an Ishapian vessel! There couldn’t be a more dangerous undertaking for a pirate, by my reckoning.”
Lucas said, “Most men would say foolhardy. Bear wanted something off that ship, something specific. Knute was certain that, whatever it was, it wasn’t among the loot he’d stashed down here.”
Jazhara asked, “How did he know that?”
“Knute told me that Bear flew into a rage when the ship went down, despite having taken all this.” He waved his hand. “It’s one of the reasons Knute left Bear to drown. He was afraid Bear blamed him for the ship going down too fast.”
“A reasonable fear, considering what Bear did to him,” observed Jazhara.
William looked confused. “How does this help us? We still don’t really know who we’re chasing, and what he’s searching for.”
Lucas opened another chest, one that looked different from the others. It was made of dark wood, much older, and appeared never to have been cleaned. It was stained and the hinges were rusty. He pulled out a rolled-up parchment and handed it to James. Then he handed a battered, leather-bound book to Jazhara. “It’s all there. These papers list every ship that Knute’s crew have sunk over the years, including this last job with Bear.”
James looked at the map. “This will tell us where the Ishapian vessel was hit.”
“Knute was thorough, I’ll say that for the little gnoll,” admitted Lucas.
“It still doesn’t tell us what Bear is after,” observed Jazhara.
William said, “Could we bait him into coming to us if we spread a rumor that we know what he’s after?”
James said, “Maybe, but first things first. I must go to the palace first and report to the Prince.” He turned to Lucas. “You stay here with William. I’ll send Jonathan Means and some deputies down here to take charge of all this gold.”
“What will you do with it?” asked Lucas.
James smiled. “Give it back to the Ishapians. We may not know what Bear was after, but I’ll wager a year’s income they do.”
Lucas’s shoulders sank slightly, but he nodded.