The crowd seemed mildly embarrassed. The reaction made Jason relax a bit. They might manage to bluff their way out of this after all. Morley was temporarily at a loss for words. When he spoke, there was uncertainty in his tone. “We get word when talent comes in from abroad.”

“Depends on the talent,” Jasher scoffed. “My business was not with anyone in this room. This may astonish you, but in my line of work, depending on the stakes, I don’t always want my business known. And now I have a roomful of attention. I had heard better things of Durna than this. I want your full name, Morley.”

Morley put away his knife. Fear twinkled behind his eyes. “Don’t be that way. I was just having a laugh. Maybe the disguise worked too well.”

Jasher met eyes with many of the men in the room. “Is this space secure?”

He got a few nods and grunted affirmations.

Jasher turned back to Morley. “It better be. So help me, friend, if this sparks trouble, you’ll answer to fiercer men than I.”

Morley got to his feet. “These are good lads. You’re in safe company.”

Jasher gave a curt nod. “Then let’s pretend we never spoke and that none of us have heard of the Order of the Noose.”

At this last phrase Jason noticed many eyes widen. A majority of the men turned away. Morley set some drooma on the counter and hastily limped toward the door. Jasher posed like he was considering what to do next. Jason tried not to draw attention.

The bartender cleared his throat. “My apologies for your trouble, sir. You’re welcome to a room here, on the house.”

Jasher surveyed the area. Nobody met his gaze. “I’d prefer to pay,” he finally said in a lowered voice. “I’m more at ease when others are indebted to me.”

The barkeeper bobbed his head. “As you will. Ashley?”

A woman scurried around the counter, eager to please. She had reddish hair and a broad build, and wore a conciliatory smile. “Right this way, if you please.”

Jason followed Jasher, keeping silent as he tried to play the role of humble servant. Ashley led them into a comfortable room, closing the door behind them. She mentioned a couple of amenities as she handed Jasher the key. He thanked her.

“Did you have to mention the Order?” she asked.

Jasher shrugged. “The circumstances required intimidation. I had to sound like somebody to be reckoned with. You’ll notice I didn’t directly claim membership.”

“Well, you certainly got their attention,” Ashley said.

“She knows what we’re doing here?” Jason verified.

“Ashley and her husband are part of the resistance here in Durna,” Jasher said. “They’re harboring a third of our drinlings.”

“Sorry about the cold reception,” Ashley said. “The local smugglers have claimed the Salt Sea Inn as their own. The arrangement has advantages. Since most of the aristocrats smuggle goods to some degree, the smugglers keep the authorities from snooping around much. But the clientele can be unruly, and lately they’ve been more territorial than ever.”

“So the Order of the Noose is a smuggling ring?” Jason checked.

“A secret order,” Jasher said. “Most laymen have never heard the name. It is never mentioned casually. Even the boldest smugglers only refer to the Order with reverence.”

Ashley folded her arms. “Now every smuggler in town will be wondering what business the Order has here.”

“Better than them speculating about seedmen and drinlings,” Jasher said. “The Order seldom, if ever, crosses the emperor. If word trickles up to the local soldiers, it shouldn’t create much of a stir. Your patrons will be curious, but they won’t look too hard. The Order has too deadly a reputation.”

“Unless some of them decide you were bluffing,” Ashley warned.

“We’ll keep out of sight,” Jasher said simply. “There will be nothing to investigate.”

“Let’s hope not,” Ashley said. “Stay put for now. We’ll move you to your actual quarters after the inn gets quiet.” She exited the room. Jasher bolted the door.

“You were great back there,” Jason said. “Thanks for bailing me out. I was making a mess of things.”

“No harm done,” Jasher said. “It’s to your credit that you seem out of place among those men.”

“Now we wait?”

Jasher gave a nod. “We hope for a long, uneventful day.”

* * *

Jasher got his wish. It was the small hours of the night before a cloaked figure holding a candle jostled Jason awake. Wiping his eyes, Jason accepted a hand as the figure helped him to his feet.

The figure was more than half a head shorter than him. The hood flipped back, and Jason recognized Nia. Jasher stood behind her.

“I heard you were winning friends today,” she told Jason with a smile. Nia looked older, well into her thirties. She was as fit as ever, but her features had noticeably leaned out and matured. Nia had looked to be in her early twenties when he’d last seen her. He supposed that with a life expectancy not much more than two years, such changes were inevitable.

“I have a way with smugglers,” Jason replied.

“Me too,” she said. “It’s called hiding. Let’s get you to safer quarters.”

They moved out into the hall. The few undersized windows were tightly shuttered. Nia led them to some stairs, then down another hall. They stopped at a grimy window that overlooked a cramped, filthy courtyard with a single door. It looked like part of an alley that had been walled in by buildings.

Nia opened the window, climbed out, dangled, and dropped. Jason did likewise, followed by Jasher. Nia jerked her chin at the door. “Looks like a back door to one of the surrounding businesses. It’s actually the front door to a collection of rooms with no opening out to the street. Just this entrance and a hatch up to the roof. A perfect spot to lie low.”

Nia used a key to open the door. A pair of broad, heavily muscled drinlings stood guard just inside, swords ready. Taking a small oil lamp from a shelf, Nia led Jason and Jasher past the stolid guards, then up two flights of stairs and through a doorway to a windowless room.

While Nia closed the door, Jason and Jasher sat down on a cot. She flung her cloak over the back of a chair and sat as well.

“How are the others?” Jasher asked.

“Aram and Drake arrived safely,” she confirmed. “They didn’t pick any fights with locals.”