Alto's eyes widened. He turned and looked at his friends. "I wonder who he thought would find those the most enjoyable?"
Garrick scowled as one after another set of eyes fell on him. "I never said nothing," he protested.
Kar tapped out his pipe and chuckled. "Few things finer than a good brothel. Cheapest women you'll ever meet, all things considered."
"Father!" Karthor snapped. "I thought you met my mother in Mira. You mean to tell me she was a whore?"
The wizard shuddered. "Whore? No. A horse-faced woman, to be sure. You're lucky to have gotten my looks, that's for sure."
Karthor stared at the wizard and shook his head. He sighed and looked away.
Namitus picked up on the awkward moment and filled it. "The Shadows District, or just Shadows, is the name given to the illegal activities that take place. Most in the docks and merchant quarters, but I'm sure they reach into every part of the city."
"Guard your coins and your lips closely, my friends," Kar advised as he put his pipe away. "There are politics and intrigue enough in this city. The streets have ears, they say, as well as greedy fingers."
Namitus nodded. "It's true, everything has a price here."
"Where would they go?" Alto wondered aloud.
"Sulim and Caitlyn?" Patrina asked.
The warrior nodded and looked at the others.
"There's no way of knowing," Namitus answered. "Like he said, it could be anywhere they considered holy or particularly educational."
Kar snorted. "A dungeon, most likely."
The guards of a merchant wagon shouted at them as the wagon approached, forcing them out of the street. Alto scowled and turned to Namitus. "Take us to an inn. One near the river, I think."
The rogue nodded and motioned for them to follow him.
As they walked, Alto turned to Kar. "You've been here before, you said?"
Kar smiled behind his sharp mustache and beard. "A few times. There are many wizards of note in the region."
"Figures," Garrick muttered. "Only people as twisted as wizards would want to live in such heat."
"They do so because the dry weather helps their joints," Kar snapped at him. "Something you won't live long enough to appreciate if you don't mind your tongue!"
Garrick sneered at him and reached for his sword.
"Mind your manners, barbarian, or I'll turn you into a mouse. Imagine how much fun the snakes of the desert would have with you then?"
Garrick lowered his sword but continued to glare at the wizard's back. He turned to Mordrim and asked in a hushed voice, "Can he do that?"
The dwarf shrugged. "Maybe. But not if you don't let him."
Garrick nodded and thrust his jaw forward defiantly.
"These wizards you know, any of them you can trust?" Alto asked after Garrick had fallen silent.
Kar tilted his head as they walked. "Depends upon what the topic is, I suppose. I imagine they're all in deep with the various factions down here."
"Factions?" Patrina asked. "There are different forces at odds with one another?"
"Always!" Kar said. Namitus nodded emphatically ahead of them. "This royal family is upset with that one because they should be next in line if it weren't for a quirk of birth order. The guild of weaponsmiths is upset with the guild of armorsmiths for driving the price of steel up, even though they both belong to the blacksmiths guild. The river guards and caravan guards are coming to blows over who gets to guard what sort of merchants. It's endless."
"All of that is going on?" Alto asked.
"Hard to say. It's possible. Those were examples I've heard of in the past. Perhaps some exaggeration, but the fact remains that in this heat, tempers flare more quickly than elsewhere."
"All right." Alto accepted Kar's explanation. "What about the wizards. Are there any of them that could find out where Sulim went?"
"Unlikely. They're sure to be guarded, both from being followed or magically spied upon," the wizard said.
"Namitus, do you know anyone who might now?" Patrina asked.
"How would he know? He hasn't been here in years," Alto said.
"Because our friend is more than he seems," Patrina said.
"What?" Alto frowned and looked at the slender man guiding them. "What does she mean?"
Namitus shrugged. "She means the time I've spent on the streets. I know the Shadows because when I was here, I had to work with them or be branded an outcast. Outcasts don't live long."
"I still don't understand."
Namitus sighed and turned so that he faced them but was walking backwards. "I was a thief," he said. "I mean, I wasn't just a thief and I didn't do anything all that bad, like stealing from a needy old lady or anything."
Alto frowned. It made perfect sense but he'd never really thought about what Namitus had done before they'd become friends.
"I had a talent with people. Usually I could keep someone distracted while others robbed them blind. I have a talent for the dramatic."
Kar snorted as they walked. "Con artist," he muttered.
Namitus shrugged and spun back around to walk facing forward again. "I've been gone long enough few people, if any, will remember me. Even fewer are still around, I expect."
Alto scowled. His friend was an admitted criminal. Former criminal, he supposed, but still. He felt Patrina's hand brush his, drawing his attention. She glanced at Namitus and shook her head just enough to deliver her message. She didn't want him blaming Namitus.
Alto nodded. What was behind them was just that—behind them. He'd done some bad things in his past, too. Maybe he hadn't stolen from anybody but he'd killed when he didn't need to. Better to be robbed blind than to have your life taken away, he figured.
"It's okay," Alto said to his friend. "I don't hold your past against you."
Namitus turned enough so he could look back at Alto. He chuckled and said, "I'm glad, but it's not like either of us could do anything if you didn't. There's naught I can do about it now, nor would I change being who I am because of it."
Alto nodded. Practical wisdom from a former thief. He smirked and followed the rogue through the dusty streets towards the River district.
Chapter 6
"The Seventh Djinni," Kar mused as they gathered around a large table in the common room of the inn they'd decided upon.
"Seems like a decent place," Garrick said as he drank the chilled ale in front of him. "How do they get the ale so cold?"
"Magic," Kar said. "How else in a desert land?"
Garrick sprayed his mouthful of ale across the table in front of him. He put the mug down and stared at it, his eyes wide with horror. Mordrim was the first to react, slamming his hand into the table and bursting into laughter loud enough it sounded like it came from a man four times his size.
"Magic ale?" Garrick whispered.
"The ale's not magical, you dolt," Kar snapped at him. "They probably have blocks of ice created magically in a cold room where the ale is stored and it's pumped through tubes from there. Or perhaps an intra-dimensional portal is kept open to allow it to be stored on a mountaintop. No, probably not. That wouldn't be practical when it came time to change the keg. Ah well, there are many ways to do it and few, if any, of them involve the food and drink being magical."
"Cold food?" Alto asked, scowling. Garrick reached for his ale and stared at it, and then risked another sip.
Kar nodded. "If it's stored cold, it will stay fresh longer. Lessens the cost of buying fresh food every day."
"Like an elk shot in the winter, the body can rest for a few hours before its claimed and cut up," Garrick said while enjoying the chilled beverage again. Garrick ignored the dwarf beside him, who was wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Is the name of the inn something special?" Patrina asked.
"Special? Well, in this land, seven is a number of good luck. Many families try to have seven children, or if there are more, then seven sons."
"My parents had seven children," Alto mused. He
left unsaid that only two were still alive and of those two, he feared for his sister's life.
"Yes, well, then there's the djinni," Kar moved ahead without delay. "Djinn are beings whose origin is lost to time. Oh, I suppose if you had one as a servant you could command it to tell you, but that would be a waste."
"A waste? Why?" Patrina asked.
"Because there are only so many commands you can give one. Their powers are legendary but finite. That means they can only be called upon so many times to offer their aid," he explained. "And no one seems to know from one djinn to the next what that number is."
"But what are they?" Alto asked.
"Mind you, I'm no expert on the subject," the wizard was quick to explain, "but what I've read and heard about them is that they were once regular people, like you and I, who somehow became enslaved. Or perhaps they gave themselves willingly so that they might live forever. Whatever the case, they are bound to an item, be it a ring or an urn or a belt buckle. Whoever possesses that item control the djinni. That is the totality of ownership, another reason why the commands one can give a djinni are limited."
"I've never understood that. If you own the item, why can't you keep asking them to do things?" Namitus asked.
"Because they are so rare and powerful, everybody wants them. If it's suspected you have one, you stand a good chance of waking up with a knife in your back."
"Oh," Namitus said. He nodded. "I remember some rumors and how it got everyone excited the last time I was down here. Turned out to be false but there was a fair bit of blood spilled before the truth came out."
Kar clucked his tongue and drank from his cup of water.
"A djinni could help me find my sister," Alto mused.
"Indeed, one could," Kar said. "But you'll spend your time far better by looking in other places first."
"Namitus, these, um, thieves you mentioned. You said everything has a price here—would they know where to find her and Sulim?"
Namitus chewed on his lip for a moment. "They might," he said. "But it will take me some time to get in touch with the right people. And there will be many palms that need to be greased along the way. How much are you willing to pay?"
"I don't have much," Alto admitted.
"My father is the jarl of Holgasford!" Patrina snapped. "However much it needs to be, Caitlyn is like a daughter to him."
Namitus sighed. "An I-Owe-You from a distant kingdom is of little worth here. Give me some time. I'll slip away and see what I can stir up on my own."
"You want me to come with you?" Alto asked.
Namitus chuckled. "This, my friend, is not your place. No one doubts your heart, but I go to a place where a strong heart is a weakness and not an advantage."
Alto scowled but Patrina's hand squeezed his and made him bite his tongue. He turned to glance at her and noticed she still wore her armor even though the rest of them had changed into clothing poorly suited for the climate. Her armor was far more revealing than their clothing, allowing her to blend in with the local dress far easier.
"And I'll poke around some of the wizards I know," Kar offered. "Cagey lot, but I'll be careful not to let on too much. No sense in having Sulim or the people we're after know what we're after."
"Subtle," Patrina patronized the wizard.
Kar grinned and bowed his head.
"In the meantime," Namitus said, "I recommend you all find some proper clothing. Both to stave off the heat and so you don't stick out. You mark yourselves as targets for sticky fingers and inflated prices."
"You're dressed like we are!" Carson pointed out.
"Yes, but I plan to change as soon as I leave," Namitus said. "You definitely need to change. The savage hide look went out eons ago in Shazamir!"
Carson blushed while a few of the others laughed at his distress. Patrina eyed him with a raised eyebrow and nodded. "A bath, too, I think. You stink."
Carson's jaw fell open as he stared at her. She grinned and burst out laughing. He chuckled and nodded. "Ah, a little revenge, I suppose?"
Patrina nodded her head. He'd informed her several times on the island of Britanley where they'd found him that she reeked. The first time of civilization, drawing the beasts of the island to hunt her, and the second because she'd been abused and slobbered on by one of the giant apes that dominated the island.
"A good idea regardless," Namitus said. "The people of Shazamir value cleanliness. It's considered a mark of importance and wealth to be clean. There are bath houses that are cheaper and easier than trying to get a private bath here. I'll leave you to it and get started. Time, I'm sure, is of the essence."
Namitus drained his cup and rose from the table. He offered a quick wave and was off, winding through the common room and then disappearing out the door of the inn.
"Well, now what?" Karthor asked. "Does anyone know where we can buy clothes? Father? Mordrim?"
"The market," Mordrim said. Kar nodded.
"Can you lead us there?" Alto asked.
"Maybe," the dwarf said. "I know the main roads and the foreign district."
"Foreign district, what's that?" Patrina asked.
"Most of the dwarves, elves, and others are there."
"Others? What others are there?"
"Humans with some money but not enough to live among the Shazarim, half-breeds, ogres, splisskin, and anybody else."
"What's a splisskin?" Alto asked after he saw his confusion mirrored on Garrick, Carson, and Patrina's faces.
"That's right, it's too cold up north," Mordrim said. He took a drink of his ale before he glanced around the bar. In a voice hushed to keep from carrying, he explained, "Walking snakes is what they are, but don't tell them that to their face. Lizards, pure and simple, except they walk on two legs and they can talk the same as us."
"There are many varieties," Kar took over. "Some shorter than dwarves, others taller than even our savage friend here. They share a love of heat and sun, a taste for meat, and a fondness for things shiny and pretty."
"Gold," Mordrim muttered.
Kar chuckled. "Yes, gold, but also bright colors. Their bodies are covered in soft scales, like a snake, but they wear clothing as a matter of fashion and station. And like Mordrim said, they are cold-blooded so they prefer the warmth of the southern lands."
"Walking and talking lizards?" Alto mused. "Any relation to dragons?"
Kar raised an eyebrow. "That is an excellent question! It has long been theorized there might be some sort of relation between the two. Both have strong reptilian ties, although my own study of Sarya showed that her scales were not true scales but rather sections of thick hide. Her bones resembled a bird's, flexible and often hollow. Nonetheless, dragons and splisskin both bear eggs that must be protected before they hatch. I've—"
Alto held up his hand. "Enough. I've heard enough. It's not a lead like I'd hoped."
Kar tilted his head. "I was going to add that there are many tribes of splisskin that worship dragons, or at least in the past they have pledged their loyalty to them."
Alto's eyes narrowed. "How do they walk if they're snakes?"
"Arms and legs, of course!" Kar chuckled. "Snake is a poor term. Think of them more as a large lizard. Not as many fingers as we have, only four on each hand, but they do have a thumb so they can pick things up and wield weapons. They make decent wizards, too. I once knew one through a friend that could—"
Alto tuned the wizard out and looked at the others. "If Sulim is in the Order and these splisskin worship dragons, perhaps they might know something. Carson, this is not your concern or your fight. You don't need to come with us."
Carson chuckled. "As out of place as you lot are, you're the only friends I've got. I'd probably walk into a pit of snakes as soon as I found my way around this city."
"Come with us and it sounds like you're sure to end up in a pit of snakes!" Mordrim quipped.
Carson chuckled and took a drink of his ale. He made a sour face as he tasted it, and then looked at the liquid thoug
htfully. He nodded and drank again, smiling the second time. He glanced around and shrugged. "It's been a while since I've drunk anything other than water or the juice from a coconut."
Kar ignored the ranger and said, "I should warn you that there usually aren't many splisskin in Mira, and those who are here are emissaries from their clans. There are few better desert warriors and messengers than the splisskin. They can survive without water and function just fine for weeks at a time."
"Clothing first," Alto decided. "Take us to the merchant's district, then we'll decide what comes next."
"I think I'll keep this on," Patrina said while glancing down at her armor. "It's very comfortable, it's not all that unusual down here, and it's done a fine job of protecting me so far."
Alto's eye lingered on the swell of her breasts on display. He pulled his gaze up to her smiling eyes and felt his cheeks flush with heat. "It is the style," he conceded.
"And you like seeing me in it," she whispered.
Alto's cheeks confirmed her accusation. He cleared his throat and turned back to the poorly disguised mirth of his companions. "All right, drink up and let's be off. Remember, we're to blend in, not dress in the finest silks Shazamir has to offer."
Mordrim turned to Garrick. "Pity, you'd look good in pink silk."
Chapter 7
Alto waited until the hallway of the inn's third story emptied, and then he turned back to Patrina and smiled. She returned his smile, and then reached for his new loose-fitting shirt and pulled him into her room by it.
"Trina, I—"
She silenced him with her lips. The warrior stopped struggling and returned her kiss. In moments, he grew bold enough to slide his hands up her sleeveless arms and around her back, holding her close. Patrina pushed against him aggressively, spreading his lips with hers and teasing him before she backed away and detached herself from him.
Alto's eyelids fluttered open and he stared at her, his mouth still open and his brain not functioning. Patrina's fingers were on his lips but she dropped her arm to her side and smiled at him. "Good night, my thane."
Alto let a groan slip through his lips.
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