The Office of Shadow by Matthew Sturges Read Free Book Online Page A

and he had no
time for his old regrets.

    When Ironfoot returned to his tent an hour later, there was a middle-aged
nobleman waiting for him, holding a cloth over his face against the smell.
Armin was nervously preparing tea over the small camp stove.

    "A Lord Everess to see you, Master Falores," said Armin.
    Everess bowed slightly toward Ironfoot. "A pleasure to meet you,
Falores. A genuine pleasure."
    He wasn't the first noble to come sniffing around the site. Most wanted
a tour of the wreckage and a brief talk with Ironfoot regarding his theories
about the weapon. Some of them appeared to have genuine concerns about
the Einswrath weapon, though some others seemed to have come out of
nothing more than ghoulish curiosity. He couldn't tell from looking at him
which one Everess was.
    "The pleasure is mine, Lord Everess," said Ironfoot, with the requisite
deeper bow. "How can I be of service?"
    Everess smiled. "Ah," he said. "That's the question, isn't it?"
    "It's certainly the one I just asked," said Ironfoot.
    "A scholar, and a wit as well." Everess smiled. If he was insulted by Ironfoot's somewhat insolent comment, it didn't show. "I can see that you're a
busy man, so I'll be as direct as possible. Come walk with me, won't you?"
He picked up a walking stick that had been leaning against his leg and
pointed outside.
    Ironfoot took Everess through the camp to the edge of the crater, and
waved him forward. "This is the best place to go down," he said.
    "Oh, I don't need to go down there," said Everess. "I've been here once
before, the week after it happened. Once was enough for me, I can assure you."
    Ironfoot was stymied. "Sorry, Lord Everess, but if you're not here to tour
the site, what is it you're here for?"
    "You," said Everess. "I'm here about you, Master Falores."
    "Please, call me Ironfoot, sir. Most everyone does."
    "Indeed," said Everess. "Well, where can we walk where it doesn't smell
like a tannery and we may speak in private?"
    "In the mornings the wind comes from the north; it smells nice down by
the river."
    "Lead the way," said Everess. "Ironfoot."
    They walked down the path toward the river, to the spot where the team
did their laundry. The river snaked around the wreckage of the city to the
north, and Ironfoot headed in that direction.

    "You're a very interesting fellow, you know," said Everess. "A study in
contradiction, as they say."
    "Thank you, sir," said Ironfoot. "I like to think myself unique."
    "A shepherd's son from a tiny village who managed to parlay a single
tour in the Gnomic War into an admission to Queensbridge. And now here
you are years later, a respected thaumaturge, and a tenured professor at the
most prestigious university in all of Faerie. That's beyond interesting. That's
damnably impressive."
    "Thank you," said Ironfoot. "Though fortune played a large part in it."
    "Fortune only takes one so far," said Everess. "You've got a fine mind and
you're a fine soldier."
    "I don't mean to be critical, sir, but I'm well aware of who I am and what
I've done. May I ask what it is you're leading up to?"
    Everess laughed, a barking noise that made Ironfoot uncomfortable.
Ironfoot smiled in return.
    Everess let his smile fade. He looked out over the river. The light from
the rising sun behind them skipped across its surface. "I'm aware of what it
is you're doing here, what it is you're trying to accomplish," he said.
    "Is that so?"
    "I also know that the dean of your college at Queensbridge thinks it's
impossible, and is attempting to have the project suspended."
    "It's expensive," said Ironfoot. "And for all I know it may come to
nothing."
    "For all your talent, son, you're not the best politician."
    "Not something I've ever aspired to be."
    They came to a steep rise in the path, and Everess stopped talking for a
moment to pick his way up it, using his walking stick to climb. When they
reached the top he stopped, admiring the view. The ruined city was behind
them,