“I suppose I should take that as a compliment. Why do you not believe it?”
“I’ve heard stories about what men are like when they do it the first time. All the girls say they’re like bulls; rough, hard, and quick. They’re eager to see what it’s like and in too big a rush to even think about the girl they’re with. It’s never any good for them; it’s almost like a chore.”
Waldo couldn’t help but smile. “I take it I was different?”
Alice giggled. “Darling, if you were any more different I swear I would have lost my mind. You were wonderful.” She placed another tender kiss on his neck. “There is no way this was your first time.”
“It was.”
“Oh really?” She propped herself up on one elbow so that he could see her face clearly. Her amethyst eyes had a playful twinkle. “How were you so good then? Natural talent?”
“No,” he said matter of factly. “It just comes from observing the sex slaves when they performed.”
“You… you actually watched people do that? Even at the Inn that was always done behind closed doors.”
“Really? So you never had people perform for the enjoyment and entertainment of others?”
“Entertainment?” Alice sounded scandalized. “You had people do that just to put on a show?”
“Certainly, we would also have plays performed, have singers, dancers, jesters, jugglers, and sometimes we would make slaves fight each other to the death. My mother wouldn’t allow any of us to leave the castle grounds until she was certain of our strength. Since we were confined she thought we should at least be properly diverted.”
Alice’s mouth opened, and then closed.
“By the way, do you like being tied up or spanked? Some of the slaves seemed to really enjoy that.”
Alice shook her head. “You would think by now I would know better than to ask you certain questions.”
Waldo raised a curious eyebrow. “I was being truthful.”
“I know, that’s what worries me.” She paused a moment. “Do you want children?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“It’s a normal thing for a married couple to discuss. So do you?”
“Well of course, I am heir to one of the Seven Great Families of Alteroth. Fathering children is one of my duties.”
“That’s not what I asked you. Do you want to have children?”
“You mean just to have them?”
“Yes.”
“I have never really thought about it. Becoming a father isn’t something I’ve had to worry about.”
“Well you’re married now and you’re going to be having sex with me, a lot, you should begin to think about it.”
“No,” he said firmly. “We can’t have children until my return to Alteroth.”
She frowned and he could sense her disappointment through their bond. “When will that be?”
“Not until I complete my quest.”
“You mentioned before that you need to beat a knight and find a treasure. What sort of treasure is it? Is it hard to find?”
“Are you sure that is a question you want to ask?”
She nodded.
Waldo thought about just how much to reveal.
“Be honest with me.” Alice told him.
“Didn’t you just say there were certain things you didn’t want to know?”
“Yeah, some subjects I’d sooner avoid. But this is something I need to know. Darling, what are you trying to accomplish? Why are you so determined to get these other monsters? Can you explain it to me so that it makes sense?”
“What if you don’t like the answers?”
“I won’t leave you whatever you tell me. I love you, and I am staying by your side no matter what.”
Waldo slid his fingers along her smooth back. Alice let out a slight gasp and he could feel her tremble slightly. The techniques and moves he had learned from the sex slaves, but he had paid attention to her responses. He liked knowing where to touch her.
“Love is a horrible weakness.”
Her eyebrows rose. “No it’s not. Why would you say that?”
Waldo let his finger trace a spot on her lower back. He could feel her legs twitch in response. My feelings are a weakness I cannot afford. Waldo thought. I am a fool.
“My mother is the head of the Corpselover family and I am her seventh child. I tried as hard as I could to be worthy of my position, but no matter how I struggled I was weak. Everyone but my mother and my sister Gwendolyn saw me as a failure.”
“How could anyone think that? You can do magic! You’re amazing!”
“Thank you Alice. From your point of view or that of most of the people of this land I am sure that is true. However, where I am from my abilities were seen as a disappointment. In Alteroth we respect bloodlines, but not in the same way they do here and in other countries. In barbaric lands people assume that your blood is everything. There are weak kings, mad kings, and incompetent kings that are allowed to rule simply because they were born from a queen’s womb. That would not be permitted in my homeland. Blood matters only because powerful abilities can be passed down through the generations, it is a matter of breeding, just like with horses or cattle. But the right blood is not enough; no weakling would be allowed to hold power just because of that.”
“You don’t respect royal blood? Really? Isn’t it proof of the gods’ favor?”
“I don’t know about your gods, but the Dark Powers don’t care. Blood and family ties do matter, but a person is not respected because of just that. In Alteroth power is what matters above everything else. Your reputation and your position have to be earned. You have to prove your own strength and ability; no one is given power because of their ancestors. You yourself have to be strong.”
“That’s very different from how we do it here. Knights may fight to get a better reputation and spoils, but they are still knights no matter what they do.”
“Barbaric and uncivilized,” Waldo told her. “There are no kings or nobles in Alteroth. The Seven Families conquered the land we rule. We remain in control because we remain strong. You are not allowed to hide behind your birth. Only the strong have the right to rule.”
Alice nodded silently.
“One of the ways to prove yourself is to go on a First Quest. Each child born into a head family is required to journey out into the world all alone. They are expected to prove themselves by returning with treasure and stories of people they have slaughtered.”
“That’s horrible!”
“It’s necessary,” he told her firmly. “It’s the only way to really test just how strong you are. I was the seventh child born into the ruling family of Corpselover. I was seen as an incompetent, but since no one ever expected me to lead the family I was tolerated. But one by one, all my older brothers and sisters were killed, and by default I became the heir. The other families did not want someone like me to become head of Corpselover, but my mother was adamant. I am sure they would have killed me if they could, but I was too well protected. So they did the next best thing.”
“What was that?”
“They forced me to go on my First Quest and set impossible conditions. Before I can return home I not only have to acquire three monsters and defeat a knight in combat, I have to get a dragon’s egg.”
Alice nodded sympathetically. “So that’s why you are so determined to get the ogre and this next monster.”
“Well, in a sense, getting three monsters is actually the easy part. I could have just bought three goblins and made contracts with them and that would have satisfied the first condition. I need to get three Great Monsters in order to defeat a knight and, most importantly, acquire a dragon’s egg.”
“How are you going to do that? All the stories I’ve heard tell that dragons are the most terrible of all monsters. They can burn down cities and slaughter whole armies.”
“For once the stories you’ve heard are true, if anything they underestimate what a dragon can do. Not only ca
n they fly, breathe fire, chew up steel plate, and tear down stone walls; their scales are harder than the strongest iron and they are impervious to most magics. If all that were not enough, their lairs are always well hidden and near impossible to find.”
“How will you get an egg then?”
He chortled a bitter laugh. “I have no idea. The men who assigned me this quest consider it impossible. As far as they are concerned I may as well be dead. They assume I will either die or simply give up.”
“But you won’t, will you?” She asked softly.
He shook his head slightly. “I mean to go home. I want to see my mother again and make her proud of me. No matter what it costs I mean to complete my quest and return in glory.” Waldo focused his eyes as he looked at her. “That is why I will do anything to get this ogre. Why I will then go and try and acquire another Great Monster. Why I am willing to risk my grandfather ripping out my heart. Why I will lie, cheat, steal, and yes, whore myself if it means that someday I can go home again. This may be a fool’s quest, and I may be as much of a fool as people think, but I have determined to follow it until the end.” He took a breath. “There, now you know why I am doing everything I am doing.”
He expected her to tell him he was an idiot, to demand he give up this path and try to find a safe place instead.
So Waldo was very surprised when she smiled and kissed him passionately.
“I am happy darling, I will do everything that I can to make your dream come true.”
She gave him another fervent kiss.
He started to slide his arms around her, but she sprung out of the bed and quickly began putting her clothes back on.
Waldo sat up and looked at her. “What are you doing?”
“Getting dressed of course, I am still in the middle of my shift. Tyrone will probably be angry with me, but I am sure I can get him to forgive. If we’re leaving tomorrow I want to get as many tips tonight as I can.”
She gathered up the cauldron and other items he had taken from the kitchen.
“So you’re not angry with me or going to call me a fool?”
“For what? Wanting to go home and make your mother proud of you? I think it’s wonderful and I am really happy to know the truth.” She hurried to his side and gave him one more swift kiss before going to the door with both arms full. “Don’t look so upset, I promise to wake you up as soon as I finish my shift.”
With that she was out the door and gone.
Waldo sat there in the bed and slowly shook his head. Women make no sense at all.
XXX
From downstairs there was a sudden loud cheer and applause.
Chapter 43
A Simple Plan
Everything was packed.
He had purchased a new map and travel rations.
The runes up in their room had been inverted and could not be seen. That was just in case they were forced to stay here for some reason.
Waldo was ready to leave as soon as he had the ogre. He wanted to go before night fall; every mile would improve the odds of avoiding his grandfather. Waldo was eager to be as far away as possible.
He was down in the common room and it was late morning when Alice returned from her errands. She carried a bottle of wine with a fancy seal. Alice did not look happy.
“Well? How did it go?”
Alice set the bottle down in front of him. “It cost me an entire silver dalter, for one bottle of wine! I could have bought two kegs of ale for that much.”
“I am sure if you had used your Charm you could have gotten a much better price.”
He missed her scowl as he carefully inspected the wax seal on the bottle.
“An Illsyrian Red,” he nodded. “Perfect.”
“Why did I even have to buy this? Wouldn’t the potion have worked in ale?”
“It should work in any drink. The point is she needs to swallow some of it. Illsyrian wines are the best in the world; they’re the only sort we ever drank in the castle. I can’t take the chance she would refuse to drink the common swill that is served here.”
"You’ve drunk the ale here.”
“I know, that’s why I had you get the wine.”
Waldo again missed the look Alice sent him.
“Did you deliver the message that I wanted to meet with her here at noon?”
“Yes, I went to Baden Hill and told the soldiers there. One of them went to tell her.”
“Wait, you didn’t go and tell her yourself?”
“I don’t know where she lives darling. Anyway, I am sure she will get the invitation.”
“True, but I would still have liked it to be confirmed.”
“Do you want me to go and track her down and tell her in person?”
“It will be noon before long; I can’t have you on your way back when she arrives.” From one of the many pockets in his robes he produced the vial with the love potion and placed it in her hand. “You know what you need to do?”
Alice slid the vial into a skirt pocket. “As soon as she sits down with you I bring two goblets of wine over. One goblet will have the potion in it and I will place it in front of her.”
“Make very sure the one with the love potion is the one you give her. It will be embarrassing, to say nothing of inconvenient if you give it to me instead.”
“No need to worry darling, I’ll keep them straight.” Alice put her hands together and fidgeted slightly. “Are you really going to sleep with that old woman?”
“Yes, but only if I have to. I’ve told you, I don’t know how the potion will work or even if it will. If it doesn’t have the right effect I will have to come up with another plan.”
“I really don’t like the idea of you having sex with her.”
“Do you dislike it enough to use your Charm to rob strangers?”
“No.”
“Then if it comes to that you will just have to accept it.” Thinking of Carin’s features Waldo made a face. “I’m sure I will suffer much worse than you will. In any case, as soon as she agrees be ready to leave. We will go straight to Baden Hill then to the west gate. The sooner we are gone from this city the better.”
A couple men entered and took one of the open tables. The Inn was not usually that busy during the day and the common room was close to empty.
“All right darling, I am going to start my shift.”
Alice took the bottle and placed it carefully behind the bar. She then went over to the newly arrived customers.
Waldo didn’t hear what she asked them but he heard the response.
“Yeeeeeeeeeeeesssss!!”
For some reason he felt a sudden burst of embarrassment come through the bond. He couldn’t guess why.
XXX
“Have the midday meal brought out.” Carin said.
“Have you forgotten?” One of her servants reminded. “That White Mage asked you to have lunch with him.”
Carin frowned. “No I haven’t forgotten, I just have no intention of accepting such a presumptuous request. Even for a White Mage it’s just rude. He wants me to go to some dirty place in the middle of the poor quarter of town, and with no more than a couple hours’ notice. Am I a servant to come running at his call?”
She was painfully aware of her social status as a merchant. Even poor nobles talked down to her and made unreasonable demands. But they were at least respectful when they needed something.
“He should be inviting me to the baron’s palace, or at the very least to one of the finer establishments. I should be given a day’s notice, expecting me to just show up at the snap of his fingers is nothing but an affront.”
“Then are you going to just ignore his request?” Her assistant asked nervously. “Won’t he take that as an insult?”
Carin wanted to ignore him, she really did, but offending a White Mage was very dangerous.
“I never said I was going to ignore him, but I am not going to just run at his call either. I will go when I have time. Now bring me my lunch. I need to see Vio
l about a wool shipment afterwards.”
XXX
“You’re sure it was a White Mage with a woman with red hair walking with him?”
“Course I’m sure, they’d be hard to miss.” The soldier told her.
The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) Page 40
