Hearts of Darkness by Paul Lawrence

foolish smile, revealing short, peg-like teeth, most of them rotten. He slumped inthe chair like his back was broken, and clutched its arms as if he feared falling from it.
    ‘Who are you?’ he slurred, grin intact. ‘You don’t look like one of Arlington’s agents to me.’
    ‘I am Harry Lytle,’ I replied. ‘And I am dressed so not to attract attention.’
    Captain Scotschurch belched. ‘I wasn’t talking about your clothes. What do you want?’
    ‘We have come to fetch James Josselin from Shyam,’ I answered. ‘Two of us will go in and find him, while Withypoll waits for us in Colchester.’
    Scotschurch shook his head. ‘Madness, but I wish you well. Rid us of Josselin and we can all go home.’ He rearranged his mouth and let his eyes hang heavy such that I feared he might fall asleep.
    I cleared my throat. ‘The town gates are all locked.’
    ‘Aye, Mayor Flanner insists, and I don’t blame him,’ Scotschurch exclaimed, eyes open wide for a moment. ‘They seek to keep the Pest at bay. He has walls and I have a river.’ He leant over the right arm of his chair and groped for a bottle. ‘He controls the road to Shyam besides. They know you are coming and plan to deny you passage.’
    ‘How will they prevent us?’ I asked, hopeful.
    Scotschurch snorted, spitting wine onto his shirt. ‘With fine words and sound argument. They have been practising.’
    ‘Practising? We received our orders just three days ago.’
    ‘Aye, so you found out three days ago.’ The captain lifted the bottle to his lips and took a mighty draught. ‘Doesn’t mean it wasn’t decided beforehand.’
    ‘But Josselin fled London only a week ago.’
    ‘Josselin’s been in there two weeks,’ Scotschurch replied, releasinga great sigh of strong fumes. He noticed me flinch. ‘Strong drink protects against the plague,’ he mumbled. ‘Which be why I encourage all my men to consume as much as they are able. Four have died since we came here, and none of them drank sufficient.’
    If the townsmen tried to deny us passage, then Withypoll might attack them. ‘Do they have arms?’
    ‘Aye, so they do,’ Scotschurch nodded. ‘And mad men commit mad deeds, but Arlington insists you must go to Shyam and so we will enforce it. My men will escort you to the barricade.’
    I scowled. ‘You saw Josselin yourself?’
    Scotschurch shook his bleary head. ‘Before we arrived,’ he answered.
    ‘You have men in the town?’
    He shook his head again. ‘The townspeople are terrified that any man who enters will transport the Pest with him, and that includes my men. If I needed to gain entry I could, but I don’t wish to stir them up. Flanner is an unpleasant fellow.’ He belched again. ‘So I leave them alone.’
    ‘How do you know Josselin isn’t in there with them?’
    The captain shrugged. ‘Because he is at Shyam. He cannot be in two places at once.’
    ‘The Mayor would deny us passage,’ I considered. ‘Suppose he denies us access for fear we would discover that Josselin is not in Shyam at all. Perhaps Josselin hides in Colchester. They talk of him as a hero in these parts. Of course they would shelter him.’
    The captain plunged his thumb up his nose and stretched out his nostril. ‘Aye,’ he conceded. ‘Could be. I don’t know where he is, nor do I much care, so long as you fetch him out.’
    ‘Then we must search the town and make sure he’s not hiding,’ I insisted.
    ‘Flanner won’t like it.’ The captain pursed his lips. ‘But that’s for you and he to debate. Tell Benjamin you wish to enter the town and that he is to take you there.’ He held up the bottle, half full of what looked like claret. ‘I will write it down as an order to give to him.’
    ‘Who is Benjamin?’
    Scotschurch scratched his groin and reached for quill, paper and seal. ‘You will find him on the shore.’ He took his time scratching out his command in loose, spidery hand. Then he waved a hand and settled back in his chair with