Chasing the Dragon

by Jason Halstead

  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 Patrin
a'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 thoughtfully. 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.

  Patrina laughed. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh. You're so adorable."

  "Adorable?" Alto said, the word helping to shock him out of his passion-induced stupor. "I wasn't going for adorable when I got these clothes."

  Patrina laughed again and gave him another kiss, albeit much quicker and less promising. "You are everything I've ever dreamed of," she said to him. "Adorable isn't a bad thing when it's mixed with everything else."

  "Everything else?" he asked.

  Patrina opened her mouth in shock and then shook her head. "That's enough, fisherman."

  Alto frowned. He wasn't even very good at fishing when he'd tried it in streams near his father's farm. "Fisherman?"

  "Yes, you're fishing for compliments," she informed him. "It should be enough that you've won my heart, or do you want more?"

  He shook his head quickly. "That's a king's ransom in itself. If I could, I'd let your father give Rockwood to someone else and just keep you."

  Patrina reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm. "I think I'd like that too, but a quiet life is not for us, my love."

  Alto nodded. "I'll take what peace I can have once Caitlyn is safe from Sulim."

  "Safe from him, but what about others? She's smart and pretty, Alto. There will always be men after her."

  "A normal man I don't mind. A decent man. Even Garrick showed interest in her. He'd scare away just about anyone!"

  "Garrick?" Patrina asked. She laughed and shook her head.

  Alto grinned with her. "Yeah, maybe not Garrick."

  Patrina stared into his eyes as their smiles faded. She slipped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer. "We'll get her back," she tilted her head up and whispered. She kissed him again, communicating her need for him through her lips without words.

  When Patrina stepped back, she took a deep breath and let it out. "Go, please," she said in a husky voice. "We must wait and I can't stop myself if you do that again."

  "If I do—what about the time in Holgasford when you were in my room?"

  Patrina shook her head and turned away. "I was weak and you were strong. I'm asking you to be strong again, for me."

  "And if I'm not?"

  "You are," she said as she turned her head back to glance at him over her shoulder. "You're the strongest man alive."

  Alto smirked. "Garrick's got me beat, I'm afraid."

  "Not the kind of strength that matters," Patrina said.

  Her arms moved but with her back to him he couldn't see what she was doing with her hands. A moment later the straps on her armor slipped off her shoulders. "Alto, please…"

  Alto stared at her as her armor began to slip down her body with each clasp she undid. He nodded and choked as he tried to talk. He backed away, stumbling over his own feet, and then managed to slip through the door and pull it shut behind him as he backed out. Alto stood there a moment and then bent his head forward to press against her door. "Goodnight, Trina," he whispered.

  Alto turned away and moved to the next door. He walked in and saw Carson sharpening his swords. The hunter looked up at him and smiled, and then his smile fell away. "What's wrong?" Carson asked.

  Alto shook his head. "Nothing's wrong," he lied. "I mean, other than my sister and all of us being down here."

  Carson stared at him a moment lon
ger. "It's Patrina, isn't it?"

  Alto sighed, answering without words.

  "She's a beautiful woman," Carson said wistfully.

  Alto turned and looked at him, a frown on his face. Carson caught his gaze and shrugged. "She is. I'll not deny it and you'd be a fool to expect me to."

  Alto nodded. "Fair enough. Garrick once had designs for her too."

  Carson chuckled. "Surprised he didn't just try to grab her and take her. Seems like the sort of thing his people would do."

  "It is," Alto admitted. "He told us as much when we met him. But Patrina's different. Even he admits that. Plus she beat him in a fight when we first met."

  Carson's jaw fell open.

  Alto nodded. "It's true. My hands and feet were frozen and worthless. His clan had given up on me but she demanded their shaman try to help me. They wouldn't hear of it until she proved we were worth considering by challenging Garrick to a fight."

  "And she won?" Carson asked.

  "And she won," Alto repeated.

  "And you got healed."

  Alto nodded. "That's another story."

  "I've got time," Carson offered.

  Alto shook his head. "Another time, perhaps."

  The woodsman shrugged. "Anytime. Like I said, you guys are the only friends I have who won't try to eat me."

  The warrior chuckled and kicked off his boots before sitting on his bed. "Then don't spend too much time with Garrick and Mordrim. There's no telling what they might do if they were trapped on an island like you were!"

  Carson laughed with him and went back to maintaining his swords. He'd replaced his dirty hides with plain clothing from the market that was anything but plain to him. Boots, loose-fitting pants, and a vest made him look like a normal man again. "Thanks again for the clothes," he said. "I'll repay you when I've had a chance to make some money."

  "You kept us alive on the island—you've earned it a hundred times over."

  "I kept you alive?" Carson asked. He snorted. "You kept yourselves alive. I nearly got you killed time and again. That woman of yours, she was the amazing one who made things happen."

  "You were the one to stop Bucky at the end. We'd all been knocked aside and were no threat. He could have killed us all."