Chapter 73

 "This is it?" Risha asked. "You are sure?"

Afternoon had just turned into evening, when she and Merees had left the theater. They had met up with Kyros and the aardvark, who had an empty burlap-sack tossed over one shoulder. At the moment, the four of them were standing in front of a wooden gate.

"Positive" Kyros said, in response to the lynx's question. "This is the address Fuchul gave me."

"Well, then" Merees said. "Let's head inside."

She opened the gate and having stepped through it, the four found themselves in an overgrown garden, surrounding a white house with a red roof. They began to make their way through grass that had not been cut for years, with Risha in the middle and the other two flanking her.

"Better check ourselves for ticks when we get back" the lynx observed. "I bet this place is crawling with the little buggers."

"Indeed", Kyros agreed. "Obviously, gardening was not high on Zevedo's list of priorities."

Risha turned to Merees.

"You've been awfully quiet. Something on your mind, hon?"

Merees stared up at the building they were headed towards.

"I spent five years of my life in that house" she said, in a pensive tone, as though she was speaking more to herself than to Risha. "And yet, this is the first time I  can remember actually seeing it."

"Are you going to be alright? If you don't want to go inside, just give me the keys. I'm sure I can convince 'your' servant that you trusted me with them."

Merees shook her head.

"Thanks, but I'll manage. Let's just get this over with."

Upon setting foot on the veranda, the trio found themselves faced with an obstacle none of them had foreseen:

"That's strange" Kyros muttered, his brow furrowed. "There's no door."

Indeed, in the place where a door would usually be found, there was nothing but a smooth wall.

"How is this possible?" Risha wondered, then a thought came to her. "Perhaps the wall isn't real? Maybe we can pass through it?"

"Let me try" Merees said.

She put her hand on the surface. As soon as she did, a voice could be heard inside her head:

"Identity confirmed. Welcome home, Master Zevedo. Is anyone else with you?"

It did not take long for the Princess to get over her initial surprise.

"Two guests" she said. "Allow them entrance, house."

"As you wish."

The Voice grew quiet. Where there had previously not been a door, one was now visible.

*****

After he had returned home, Rrelo the goblin had spent most of the day doing chores around the house. He was just about to sit down to a light dinner of hard cheese and bread, when he heard the door open. Immediately, Zevedo's servant left the kitchen and went out in the hallway.

"Welcome home, Master" he greeted Merees, rubbing his hands together. He then noticed the two males and gave the dragon a quizzical look.

"These are new business associates of mine" Merees explained, affecting a deliberately haughty tone. "They wish to take a look at my assets. Lead the way."

For a moment, Rrelo seemed to hesitate and Merees became anxious: Had he seen through her? It would be worse for him if he had. After all, she had no doubt that one of them alone would be enough to handle one goblin. Still, she would prefer to deal with this without having to resort to violence.

Behind Merees, Risha, Kyros and the aardvark all  reached for their blades. 

Before they could draw them though, Rrelo's face regained its usual sycophantic expression.

"Of course, Master. Follow me, honored guests."

Zevedo's study did not differ greatly from any other of its kind. It had a desk, a chair for visitors and a bookcase. It also had a tall, gray safe, standing in a corner. Merees took out the key and, remembering what Rrelo had told her, turned the handle of the safe upward, before turning the key. Its trap disarmed, the door to the safe swung open, revealing four shelves, each one containing neatly stacked piles of gold, pouches bulging with coins of several different values and precious stones.

"Holy shit!" Risha exclaimed in an awed tone. 

"You can say that again" Kyros agreed.

"It's like a dream come true" salivated the aardvark.

Even Merees was impressed. In all her life, she could not recall having seen a private fortune such as this. She wondered how Zevedo had managed to amass it? Probably not by honest means. Suddenly, found herself relieved that she was standing with her back turned to Rrelo, making it impossible for the goblin to see her face. Had he been able to, he would doubtless have seen through her subterfuge. After all, it was unlikely that Zevedo gazed on his wealth with the same dumbstruck expression.

Gathering herself together, the dragon turned to Kyros and the aardvaark

"Help yourselves" she said, stepping out of the way.

While Kyros and the aardvark began to transfer as much as the safe's content into the sack as they could, Merees gave instructions to Rrelo:

"Go find that Captain of yours. Tell him, I'm willing to offer twice what he wants, if he's got room for three dozen more passengers on his ship."

Rrelo nodded and was just about to leave, when Merees called out to him to hold on.

"Yes, Master? Anything else?"

"Tomorrow? You are not coming with us."

Rrelo's expression was that of a child who had just come down on Christmas, only to find that there were no presents under the tree.

"I need you to remain here for the time being" she said. "Don't worry, once I've secured my foothold, I will send for you."

"Master, that could take forever."

"Well, you just have to be patient. Now, run along."

Swallowing his disappointment, Rrelo left the house.

"You know" Risha said, once the goblin was gone. "You could have just let him go."

"You think so? Risha, I don't know what Zevedo did to make his servant so slavishly devoted to him, but I'm pretty sure that if I had told him that I had no further need for his services, he would have tried to rip my throat out."

"He'd be dead before that could happen and frankly, I'm not sure if that wouldn't have been the more merciful thing to do."

"Than letting him live?"

"Than letting him live with false hope, because there's no way you're going to send for him later on, is there?"

Merees said nothing. Not that she had to; Risha could see the answer written on her face.

"Let's help the guys finish and then get out of here" the dragon said, after a moment's silence. "This place makes my skin crawl."

*****

Those who happened to be in the harbor the next day, could not fail but notice that a rather sizable group of people had gathered at pier 43. If a curious passerby moved closer, they would notice that in that crowd, there were several members of the foreign acting-troupe that had come to town recently.

"We'll see each other again, won't we, sis?"

"Of course, Leo." Smiling reassuringly, Risha put a paw on her brother's shoulder. "Until then, you and Sara keep honing your craft. I'm looking forward to many new plays from the two of you."

"You can count on us on looking after young Leorin" said Eramus, who had stepped forward.

"I know and you have my thanks."

"Both our thanks" Merees said.

At this point, a sea-lion, whose headwear immediately identified him as the supreme commander of the vessel came up from the hold. 

"All aboard!" The Captain called out in a hoarse voice. "We have a schedule to keep! Hoist the anchor! All hands on deck!"

The Siblings embraced one last time and the passengers climbed aboard. As the ship began its long journey, Risha and Merees stood on deck, one arm around each other's waists, the other waving to the people on the pier.