When Silver opened his eyes, the room had changed drastically in only a moment. The sturdy bedframe was up ended and Ryker was fiddling with the back upper leg. With a distinctive popping sound, the base of the leg came free revealing a hollowed out cavity about the size of the investigator's forearm.
Had that always been there or, as the Guardian suspected, had Ryker bored out the leg himself with the hand drill in his pack?
As Silver hadn't heard of this particular trick before, it was likely a trade secret of the Vipers. The Guardian would add it to his own arsenal as soon as he found the proper tool to store in his cloak.
'I have a saw and every manner of rope and twine, but no screw or drill…' he chided himself. 'Such a shame.'
Below, Ryker reached into the recess of the bed's leg and pulled out a cylinder made of leather. Brining the canister to the writing desk, the inspector dumped out the hidden contents onto the slightly tilted surface.
Ryker carefully examined the pile to make sure nothing was missing. Among the items was a writ from king Willric which Ryker opened briefly.
Silver was unable to read it all from his vantage point, but he did not need to. It was a letter with the king of Lakyle's seal. If worse came to worse, Ryker could use it anywhere in his own kingdom to get anything he desired in order to complete his missions.
Also on the table was a copy of King Rhodri's seal carved into a small wooden plug. 'Clearly a forgery and not a great one.' Silver scowled.
Another one lay beside it. While the Guardian was not skilled like his sister in recognizing seals, he could guess that it either belonged to a high ranking noble of Birle, or perhaps even Bratumil or Marek. Spies needed to move around freely after all. What better way to do that than to have orders from someone higher than the person trying to stop you?
There was also an expensive lockpick set, nicer than any Silver had seen among his bandit brethren many years before. And finally, there was a thick fabric badge identifying Ryker as one of Willric's men. It could be easily sewn on a sleeve and taken off as the need arose.
"All here," he mumbled, relieved. Nothing had been stolen.
'Quite a stash he has there,' Silver would have envied him in his thieving days. Those kind of tools would make stealing almost too easy. Why sneak in when you can swoop in, take it and disappear before anyone is the wiser?
Even the bad forgery of the seal would pass as genuine to the naked eye if flashed in a fit of official sounding nonsense. Few people would question it, especially if they were already intimidated.
'Yeah, he cannot keep that…' Slowly, Silver slipped out a long string with a sticky material on the end of it.
Although he hadn't used it in many years, the putty was still fresh. 'If it will pick up a metal key, then that little wooden plug should be no problem,' he reasoned. Now he just had to wait for the right opportunity to snatch it without Ryker noticing.
That moment came sooner than expected. For a knock at the door drew the Viper's attention. "Inspector Ryker, a word please!"
The spy turned his head toward the noise, missing the puttied cord flick down and back up like the tongue of a frog. Quickly, Ryker shoved the remaining items back into the canister.
"Just a moment," the inspector said as disinterestedly as he could.
After placing his notebook and a piece of writing stone on the desk, the man shoved the leather cylinder into the leg of the bed, closed it, put the bed back in place and disturbed the dirt with his feet to obscure the drag marks. It all happened in barely the blink of an eye.
'A true professional.'
But even that brief moment was enough to arouse the suspicion of the person behind the door. "Is everything alright?"
With a deep breath, Ryker brushed off his tunic and opened the door smoothly. He met the eyes of the colonel with a sardonic grin.
"I was just writing my official report. I did not want to leave anything out that might cause confusion."
Colonel Jay returned the man's acidic tone. "Funny enough. I have come on a similar mission. You said that you had some evidence which I might examine?"
Ryker's face changed slightly. "Of course. Wait here." The inspector went to close the door only to have Jay's hand stop its progress.
"Forgive me for the intrusion, but I do not want to compromise what you found any more than it already has been. I brought witnesses for the transfer." Jay pushed his way into the room with a sergeant and a foot soldier. The four men almost completely filled the small space with their large bodies.
Ryker bit his tongue to prevent a curse, and the taste of blood filled his mouth. "I appreciate your dedication," he managed at last.
The inspector went to his pack, dug out the 'evidence' and passed it to the colonel.
"You kept it in your bag?" Jay raised his eyebrows.
"I try to keep my room tidy." The inspector shrugged. It was none of the colonel's business how he handled his own affairs.
Jay looked at the braided twine. It was not frayed or even dirtied, almost like it had never been used. "Hm, interesting."
After passing the rope to the sergeant, he held out his hand again.
Ryker hesitated, trying to discern the trick. "What? I gave you what you wanted. You may go now. I would hate to have to add anything else negative to my report about how this was handled."
"That is why I am still here. I need the rest of the evidence. I only want to help confirm what you have already discovered," Jay said innocently. "So, where is the lock-pick?"
"Lock-pick? I don't have any lock-pick…" Ryker's eyes opened slightly.
"Strange. Didn't you say you found one that my men had missed?" The colonel stroked his chin. "Yes, you said you found it discarded in a corner. I need it to show my men what it looked like."
"One of your men took it already!" Ryker answered quickly. "I don't know which one. I don't have everyone's names memorized."
The quick excuse was a hard one to confirm or deny. And it would take time to disprove the claim. By morning, Ryker would have planted the right evidence on some unlucky soldier to confirm his claim. Silver balled his fists.
It seemed Jay was wise to his game as well. "Let us go now and you can identify whom you saw. I do not want to waste any more precious time."
"After I finish my report. It will only be a moment…" Ryker straightened his back. At the end of the day, Jay did not have official jurisdiction over him.
Jay pressed his lips together. "We will be waiting for you outside," he answered sternly.
'Don't leave.' Silver silently spoke to the colonel. As soon as the soldiers disappeared, so would any proof of wrongdoing.
It was a good thing the Guardian had a plan. Before Jay could turn to leave, something bounced off of Ryker's trousers and hit the colonel's boot.
The inspector dropped to the ground to grab the small wooden plug. "That's mine. Don't touch it! It's fragile!" he said quickly.
But it was too late. Jay had already scooped up the king's forged seal in his hand. His face darkened.
"Yours, you say? Very interesting…"