by David Oliver
Of course, she purred as she sandpapered my face with her tongue. Anatha had a great time leading you two around the city. Borza and I had fun exploring and scaring the drunks. For a primitive ape he can move surprisingly swiftly.
I coughed in shock as I heard the grudging admiration. Not as swift as you though, obviously, I replied after a moment.
Seya licked her paw. Obviously.
Where is Borza now?
With Anatha. She has been up for some time organising the journey.
What?
Apparently not all of last night’s activities were just for fun. She won seven horses and has traded four for supplies. She has visited where they are stabled and seen to it that they will be ready for noon. She is now eating breakfast in the room next door and invites you to join her when ready.
Cassius?
Her eyes twitched in amusement. Alcohol must really dull your senses, she replied before swinging her head over to the side of the bed. Confused, I dragged myself over to the side of the bed and discovered Cassius asleep on the floor. He was sleeping the kind of sleep that only a drunk person can accomplish, one that makes you wonder if the person is still breathing.
“Cassius?” I said gently, trying to wake him up softly. “Cassius, wake up.”
He snorted and rolled slightly under the bed. “Cassius,” I said more loudly, reaching out and poking him in the shoulder. “Wake up!”
Still nothing. With a heavy groan I swivelled my feet off the bed and walked to the basin on the far side of the room. A swift dunk of my head and I felt a million times better. Briefly I considered throwing the basin over Cassius but then my eyes landed on Seya and a better plan came to mind.
Seya, would you mind terribly giving Cassius a bath?
She purred in delight and rose to her feet, stalking over to the sleeping Imp.
I dunked my head again, ignoring the screaming, shouting and desperate pleas that emanated from the corner of the room as Seya held Cassius down with one gigantic paw and unleashed the full might of her tongue. Finally, I walked over and looked down at my disgruntled friend.
“Sleep well?” I asked.
“I hate you both,” he replied acidly.
Leaving Cassius to recuperate, I found Anatha in the next room. I had thought my room palatial but hers was gigantic, featuring a number of rooms and, most importantly, a heavily laden breakfast table.
“Come in boy,” she murmured as I stepped inside. “And close the door. Cassius can join us when ready.”
“Impressive rooms,” I said appreciatively as I sat down. “Where are we?”
“The Dulcet Feather,” she replied in between bites of toast. At the blank expression on my face she continued, “Word of advice boy, if you have the coin and want a good night’s sleep then spend the extra on a top-class brothel. The best ones are like palaces inside and they are always a great place to pick up a little extra information.”
I took a bite of sweet bread just in time for her words to make sense in my brain. Anatha calmly wiped the pieces of bread off her chest with a newspaper before fixing me with a bemused glare.
“A brothel?” I asked in surprise. “This place is a brothel?!”
“Of course,” she replied. “Slightly more expensive than a quality hotel but with many more additional benefits.” Her eyebrow raised at the look on my face. “Not necessarily those benefits Calidan, although they are certainly there for the offering. But the benefits of pleasant rooms, plump pillows and more importantly of all, information.” She looked at me drily. “Do you really think that the Emperor would send me off on this trip with you if there wasn’t an ulterior motive? Yes, I’m here to help train you and attempt to make sure that your tiny brain doesn’t get you killed, but at the end of the day information is what really makes the empire so respected and feared. Information lets the sailor know the bribed Iffian captain to contact to slip the blockade, it lets the merchants buy and sell at the best price possible.” She snorted. “It even lets the Emperor send a bunch of barely pubescent teens out to support tribes in a frozen wasteland.” She eyed me frankly. “Everything has to have a use, boy. When you’re sent on a mission there are likely a whole host of reasons why you are there and not just the one that you are going to be told. The Emperor is not one for keeping around baggage. You’re known to him now. Keep being useful. Go above and beyond. Otherwise…” she drifted off; her visage troubled.
“Otherwise what?” I asked tentatively.
“Otherwise…” she sighed and shook her head. “Just stay useful Calidan. Besides using brothels as hotels it’s the best bit of advice I’ll give you today.”
“Okay,” I said, sensing her need to change the subject, “what did you learn from this brothel and who did you learn it from?”
“A good question.” She paused for a moment to savour a sip of coffee. “I learnt many things. Like how many people it takes to carry a completely limp Cassius up a flight of stairs, how many drinks it takes to get someone bonded to Seylantha drunk and how quick that person’s recovery time.” She gave me a wink and whispered slyly, “It’s always good to know what you can about the people you work with.”
“Very funny,” I replied with a tinge of annoyance. “Anything particular from the brothel itself?”
She shrugged. “The usual; which ships smuggle cargo, the latest black-market goods, that kind of thing. Oh and the governor of Serenia is gearing for war.”
“War with who?”
Her eyes twinkled. “And now you see the benefit of information. If we knew that then we would be in a position of power to take advantage of it. As it stands the rumour is that he intends to march on Effifea, which might make sense as it is a small country that has a number of natural resources that Serenia would love to make use of, but that could be a counter rumour to hide the true target. Who knows?”
“Impressive,” I replied as the door opened and Cassius staggered in. “What happens next?”
“Next we let Cassius eat as much as he possibly can and then we can set about getting ourselves our horses,” Anatha replied. “Another rule young ones, always guard your tongues regardless of how safe you think you are. You never know who might be listening.”
Cassius took Anatha up on her offer with gusto, falling onto the food with a ravenous hunger and turning the carefully laid table into a battlefield.
“What about the others,” I asked softly.
“Others?”
“Our two...companions.”
“Ah. They will find their way after us when it gets dark. Both of them will be happy enough here and the staff have been advised not to enter the rooms until tomorrow. They will be respectful of our wishes. Madam Selene will see to that.”
“And if they choose not to stay here?” I asked carefully.
Anatha gave a craggy smile. “I’m very old Calidan and yet I am but a babe compared to our two friends. They will do what they think best and they both know the consequences if they are seen. That will have to suffice.”
✽✽✽
Seya
Seya curled up in the bed that Calidan had vacated, the wood groaning under her weight but deciding that it would be in its best interests to stay upright. She flicked an ear as Calidan and Cassius walked in to collect their gear but decided that ignoring them in favour of sleep was a much-preferred plan. When they were long gone and the sun was starting to go down she uncurled and stepped delicately off the bed and looked out of the window at the sights of Port Cambal.
What to do?
So many options.
In the end it was a simple thing. She could hear the big ape on the rooftop still snoring uproariously. The humans nearby must have thought that there was a localised thunderstorm on the rooftop. With a grin she teased open the window with a single, sublime claw and flowed her way out, twisting her torso through the tiny gap until she was facing up the building. Extending her claws she found purchase, pulled and began to climb.
Borza lay where he had bee
n the entire day, sprawled on the top of the roof with a newspaper over his head. He still snored, the newspaper rustling in the wind of his breath, and Seya was careful to pick her way over to him, splaying her paws out wide and missing the patches of rooftop that looked like they would creak. Step by delicate step she made her way over to her target, freezing every time the snoring stuttered, until she was within easy pouncing distance. For a moment longer she watched her target and wondered if she should awaken someone so deeply asleep before deciding that if she was awake then he should be too.
After all...she was a queen.
Unleashing the powerful muscles of her body Seya sailed through the air and landed both front paws directly onto Borza’s face. He stiffened and then a large orange furred arm shifted to tug on the paper that was under Seya’s paws. Slowly it slid out from under her feet until they were eye to eye.
“Ooook?”
Seya gave a little playful snarl and bounced on Borza’s stomach before dancing back to his face again. He tried to pull the newspaper back over his head but eventually gave up when she took the opportunity to try and squeeze herself onto the tiny square of paper, conveniently ignoring that Borza’s face was beneath it. With a snort the massive orangutan shifted, his arms coming up to lift the cat away from his face and shifting her over to the roof next to him, showing almost no hint of strain at her weight as he did so.
Seya chuckled to herself as Borza slowly sat up. His eyes held mild curiosity at her antics, as though he couldn’t work out why she would be deigning to bother him when sleep was available.
With a nudge of her head Seya indicated the city that sprawled out beneath them. Port Cambal in all its disgusting and entertaining glory. There had to be some fun out there for two Great Hearts, didn’t there?
There was a scream of pain as the man slapped the woman he had pressed against the wall. Her sobs going unheard as his hired muscle made any would be saviour move on. The pimp struck again, earning another wail of pain. Shadows shifted at the end of the alley and if he had been listening the man might have wondered at the strange diminishment of the usual sounds of the night such as those of the rats that usually scurried everywhere. He raised his hand again and a low rumble broke the night to stay his blow. Turning towards the rear of the alley he took a half step back.
“Did you-” he began to the woman, breaking off when he saw what stepped out of the shadows. Teeth the length of his forearm reflected the weak light and with a scream he turned and ran, fleeing down the alley to the rest of his goons. He made it perhaps five steps before a huge hand came down from above and plucked him into the sky, leaving a trailing scream in its wake.
“Boss?” hissed one of the guards, as he slowly made his way into the mouth of the alley. “Boss, where are you?”
A scream grew in volume as an object descended from the roof at speed. The pimp struck the floor and instantly howled as a shin snapped. The guard took one look at his boss and at the approaching orbs that he was rapidly realising were gigantic eyes before turning and fleeing as fast as his feet could take him.
Seya brushed up against the now frozen woman, trying to give her a sense of safety, but with a repressed gasp she fainted, terrified beyond reason at the sight of such a large cat.
Or awed into unconsciousness, Seya reasoned. Much more likely.
Stalking her way to the screaming man she lowered her head and then slowly opened her mouth, revealing all of her gleaming teeth in all of their savage glory. A rumbling growl that shook the man’s chest so hard he thought that his heart might explode and then the cat moved back into the darkness, disappearing as though she had never been.
The two chuckling creatures disappeared into the night as a crowd began to gather around the wounded pimp and terrified woman, eager to find more avenues for adventure. In the small hours of the night they stopped three more muggings, mistakenly terrified a couple who were rather physically enjoying each other’s company and threw a murderer into the sea. On the way back from the docks, Borza, with much encouragement from Seya, pilfered a barrel of rum from the loading bay of a Raledian freighter. Losing themselves once more on the plentiful rooftops of Port Cambal they cracked open the barrel and drank deeply.
The burning sunlight attacked Seya’s eyes with vicious abandon and the giant cat squirmed restlessly before blearily opening one eye. Urrrgh, she thought as a wave of nausea hit her, why do humans do this to themselves? Never again. Slowly she began to move before freezing in place.
Something was next to her.
No, she snarled in complete denial. No, no, please no!
Slowly she looked down at the orange furred arm that was wrapped around her and with a yowl of discontent she shot to her feet and stumbled her way out of the sleeping grasp of Borza.
You will tell no one of this! she growled at the unmoving orangutan, her canines out and bared. This never happened. I do not… she shuddered in horror.
I do not cuddle!
Chapter 30
Swamps
The horses that Anatha had obtained were impressive specimens. I’m not much of a horse person but even I could admire their gleaming coats and muscular physiques. Whoever she had won them from must have been sorely cursing their bad luck and I couldn’t help but wonder if Anatha had come to Port Cambal already knowing her target or if she had spent the exuberant night filling drinks and collecting stories until she learnt of the most likely person who would be willing to bet their horses. Knowing her she probably had a back-up plan in place and five more in case that didn’t pan out either.
The journey out from Port Cambal was relatively uneventful. The first day was hard work as Cassius and I readjusted to being back in the saddle; both of us nursing our aching thighs (and Cassius his aching head) every time we stopped. Seya and Borza joined us in the early hours of the first night, both of them strangely reluctant to discuss what they had got up to in our absence. I could only imagine that it was nothing good.
At the end of the fourth day of riding we arrived at the border of Mustovar. A bored, uniformed border control soldier waved us through without giving us a second glance as Borza and Seya took a more circumspect route. Less than a day later we were standing on the ridge of a large valley, overlooking a dank, dense mass of foliage that steamed gently in the air.
“That looks...wet,” murmured Cassius.
I turned to look at my friend, eyebrow raised. “Really?” I waved my hand towards the humid valley, “What gave it away? The humid air, thick foliage or the fact that it’s called a swamp?”
He gave me a grin and finished off taking his bags from the back of his horse. Anatha was adamant that if we took the horses down into the swamp below then they wouldn’t be coming back and so we had to progress down on foot. Anatha was already picking her way down the ridge, having barely spared the view of the valley a moment’s glance. Borza and Seya were lurking nearby waiting for the light to fade before they would slip down to join us in case of any observant eyes within the trees. Leaving the horses on long tethers we began the treacherous walk down, scattering loose rock and shale with every step. Anatha maintained that this was the same path that she had taken when she first went into the swamps but it certainly wasn’t a major thoroughfare, reinforcing the suggestion that the visitors in or out of the valley were rare.
At the base of the valley the rock and grass began to give way to clumps of reeds, bog and clouds of insects. As much as Cassius had been stating the obvious he wasn’t wrong; it was wet. Not just because of the floor underneath that was quickly becoming more of a lake but an intense humidity that had sweat pouring off us in seconds. It rapidly became clear that the Empire by and large resided in a temperate climate and whilst I am sure that fully fledged Imperators had a choice of clothing that best fit the climate they were visiting; our jackets did little but act as ovens; quickly getting removed to be packed away and trading protection for comfort.
Soon enough Anatha swung into the low limbed trees that hung with sw
ooping bows over the murky swamp water. She moved much like Borza, utilising efficient loping swings that had Cassius open mouthed in awe at the sight of the ancient woman flitting through the trees like a monkey. I could see why Anatha had mentioned the trees when we first talked about the swamp. Without them we would have had to build boats to navigate the brackish water, and considering the size of some of the creatures that I half saw in there I wouldn’t fancy my chances when on the water line, whether in a boat or not. Unseen creatures created ripples and waves within the waters and trees rocked in their passing. Whatever happened none of us wanted to end up in there - survival certainly wouldn’t be assured.
For half a day we fought our way through the dense undergrowth, hopping from tree to tree and doing our utmost to avoid descending too close to the water. Our hands were rubbed raw from clasping onto the sharp bark of the trees - well, Cassius and my hands that is, aside from the heat Anatha looked completely at home in the canopy. As night began to fall Anatha called a halt and we took refuge in the most comfortable trees that we could find and made ourselves as secure as we could. Whilst my eyes allowed me to see with perfect clarity in the dark both Anatha and Cassius didn’t have those same benefits and the risk was too great of an accident. If we had thought the swamp problematic during the day then it was much, much worse during the night. According to Anatha the resident inhabitants of the water below were much more active during the night hours, and she wasn’t wrong. I lost count of the number of roars, howls and screeches that plagued us through the small hours, of the scorpions that I carefully dislodged from the bark and of the silvery shapes that sailed, trudged and swam through the moonlight, some of which put Seya’s size to shame.
Thankfully, we survived the night.
The next morning found a tired, grumpy and altogether displeased trio as well as two Great Hearts in the surrounding trees. Whilst the rising of the sun made for a reduction in the activity of the creatures beneath us another hostile threat quickly made itself known. A creature that I thankfully hadn’t had too much close contact with up to this point.
