by Philip Blood
That got a smile out of him; it was one of the first she had seen since the tragic loss of his parents two days ago. "Like those priests of The Hand?"
"You stay clear of them, OK?” she cautioned, fixing him with a hard gaze for a moment.
"I will, I promise," he answered.
"Good!” she exclaimed, tousling his hair before getting down from the wagon.
Aerin noted two young boys about his age sitting on the outer wall of the Inn and wondered what it was like growing up with all these people around, he couldn't imagine it.
As she climbed down from the wagon Mara decided to test the young boy. She fished out a Kingdom Crown coin and pressed it into his palm. "Tip the stable hand for me," she explained and then headed for the Inn's front door. As she passed the approaching stable hand she said. "The boy has your tip; please give him ten pennies in change."
After the horses had been detached from the wagon and the two trailing mounts they had brought from Aerin's wagon were all boarded in the stable, Aerin tipped the stable hand the silver and received his ten pennies in change. A few minutes later Mara returned.
Aerin held out his hand. "Here is your change, Sen Mara."
And so you are an honest lad, she mused silently in thought. "Well thank you, Aerin, and for your good work these two pennies are yours. I noted a sweets shop a half block away... why don't you go and see what they have? Perhaps you could buy something you like."
Aerin looked at the two pennies in his hand; he had never had money of his own before.
"Th-thank you," he stammered.
She smiled and pointed down the street the way they had come in. "It's right down there. I have some business to arrange, but when you get back, come to room three, that's where we’re staying."
Two others had noted the coins changing hands and as Aerin headed for the gate the two children who had been perched on the wall jumped down to the street. One boy had short curly red hair while the second had straight black hair, cut like an upside-down bowl. The dark haired boy gave his partner a nudge with an elbow and approached Aerin.
"Hello, and welcome to Strakhelm!” the street urchin said, sweeping a low bow before Aerin. "My name is Lor, but you can call me... Lor," the youngster finished with a sly smile.
"Hello, I'm Aerin. How did you know I was new here?” he asked, assessing the two as boys of about his age.
Lor laughed and said, "It's written all over you," then he pointed to Aerin's chest, "See, right here it says, `Greenie'."
Aerin looked down and Lor's finger came up to poke him in the nose.
"Caught ya lookin'," Lor teased.
Aerin scowled a little.
"Now don't be cross Merris, after all, I'm your only friend!" Lor said, putting a friendly paw around his shoulders and leading him out of the Inn courtyard and into the jungle.
"My name is Aerin," he corrected.
"And my name is Lor; didn't we go over this already? Or are you a little touched in the head? Maybe you need to be put over on Netter Street with the other crazies?" Lor asked Aerin in a playful tone.
Aerin tried to regain his ground. "No you called me Merr... never mind."
"Well, Aerin, since you and I are buddies now, and as buddies we need to share things, I was wondering, I happen to be extremely hungry, but alas, I have no money. You wouldn't happen to have any so we can share a meal and really put the glue to our new friendship?" Lor asked, gesturing behind him, where Aerin couldn't see, for the red headed boy to follow.
Aerin had never had occasion to lie to anyone in his whole life and didn't even consider not answering truthfully. "Well yes, I have two pennies."
"Two pennies, ‘tis not much," Lor began, but seeing the crestfallen look on Aerin's face amended, "but it is two pennies more than I have, and we can certainly get something to eat for both of us!"
"Mara told me to go to the sweets shop down the street here," he explained.
Lor shook his head wildly, punctuating each of four direction changes with a word. "No, no, no, no. A bandit runs that shop; he'll filch you blind and laugh his way to the bank. I know a much better place where we'll get twice as much... and better stuff! And you'll get just as much as you would have, even after you split it three ways."
"Three ways?" Aerin asked, now totally confused.
"Dono, here," Lor explained, grabbing the redhead by the shirt front and dragging him before Aerin, "is hungry too, doesn't he look pitiful?"
Dono had been smiling at his friend’s antics, but at Lor’s suggestion, his face expertly dissolved into a pitiful and hungry look just as Aerin turned to look at him.
"Well, I don't know," Aerin began frowning.
Lor slapped him hard on the back. "That's the sport! I knew you and I were going to be good friends, and friends always share!"
Aerin sighed. "All right, I suppose."
Lor immediately stuck out his hand. "Ok, then give me the money, after all, I'm the one who knows this city, and there are pickpockets everywhere! We don't want anyone stealing," and here he shuddered at the word, "our money from us, now do we?"
Aerin looked at the open palm blankly for a moment.
"Come, come, or don't you trust me?" Lor asked in a hurt tone.
Aerin reached for his pocket.
The voice of another boy spoke from nearby. "I would keep hold of my own coins if I were you."
Lor whirled around to see whom it was that had spoken. His gaze landed on a well-dressed boy of their age who was standing with crossed arms a few feet away. He had long brown hair and light blue eyes and a devil may care grin on his face.
"And what have you to do with a transaction between my friend and me?" Lor asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Absolutely nothing, I just happened to overhear the conversation." Then he turned to Aerin and continued, "You'd best keep your money in your own pocket if you wish it to still be yours."
Lor gasped in theatrical surprise, eyes blinking rapidly and hand touching the center of his chest. "You imply that I am a thief!"
Aerin glanced between the two sparring children.
"Nothing of the sort, I am merely giving a little advice for the future. However, if it will please you, to show I meant no offense, may I have the pleasure of buying you all something to snack upon?"
Lor again noted the wealthy dress of the boy, and suddenly his anger evaporated and he delivered a smile. "Well, that's different!"
"But," the boy noted, "I will carry my own coins."
Aerin was a little startled by the swift changes and he felt like he was losing Lor's attention to the well-dressed boy. "I have my own money so you needn't pay," he explained.
"Ah!” the new boy exclaimed. "I'll tell you what; the last person to the end of this block does NOT get to pay!"
Aerin had to laugh. "All right, you're on!"
The other boy said, "By the way, my name is Darel, and yours is?"
"Aerin."
"Well met Aerin… and… go!" Darel exclaimed.
The two boys broke into a run, both headed for the end of the block as though the Togroths were after them.
Lor looked at Dono with a frustrated sigh. "Two frippen Greenies and they're running a race away from us… what are we, amateurs?"
Dono shrugged. "You win some, you lose..."
Lor interrupted him, "I never lose anything!" And with that proclamation Lor leaped onto the back running board of a swiftly moving coach and soon passed the running competitors; he was waiting for them with a smug look at the finish of their race.
Having purchased a bag of boiled hard candies, the four children left the sweets shop and went further down the street. They stopped where an old building had been demolished and the framework of a new one was going up on the lot. The construction site was squeezed between two other four-story buildings. The children perched themselves on a pile of rubble and dug into the bag of sweets like starving horses with feed bags over their heads.
Darel looked over the other three children
, noting the coarse material and loose fit of both Lor and Dono's clothing and the tidy, yet simple and well-fitting clothes of Aerin. "So which part of the city do you two call home?” he asked, addressing Lor and Dono.
Lor answered him, "Everywhere and nowhere!"
"My that's a big house," Darel noted with a grin. "But where do your parents reside?"
"I have no parents," Lor proclaimed.
Dono looked at Darel defiantly. "And I know where my mother is, but she has no use for me. My mother doesn't fuss over me and make nice clothes like Aerin's here must do."
At the mention of his mother a wave of pain crested over Aerin's body. The waves had been coming on and off ever since his parents had died. He tried to hold it in, but his eyes misted over and he averted his face from the others.
Lor noted the sudden emotion. "What's the matter, Aerin?"
Aerin took a deep breath, trying to regain some control. "My parents were both killed two days ago," he stated flatly, barely holding onto his voice control.
That silenced the other children for a moment.
"Here," Dono said, holding out two pennies to Aerin.
Aerin looked at the two coins blankly. "I have my own money still."
"I warned you there were pickpockets around," Lor said with a small smile.
Aerin reached into his pocket and found his coins missing.
Dono looked sheepish as Aerin reclaimed his two pennies.
Lor leaped to his feet. "Here, you wanna see something great?"
Aerin smiled wanly and said, "Sure, I guess."
Lor winked and replied, "Then follow me, if you can." Then he took two bounding steps and leaped toward the nearest metal pole of the scaffolding. He sailed the five feet head first with his hands outstretched. He grasped the pole and let his momentum swing him around gracefully and when he released his body doubled over and he flipped through the air and landed on his feet on the next platform. The move had been so fluid and graceful that it had almost seemed easy, yet it showed a control of balance and skill beyond Aerin’s belief.
Darel and Aerin were both gaping at Lor so he placed his hands on his hips and laughed at them. "Come on, start climbing up here! Last one to the roof is a horse's butt!"
Dono bounded up after Lor only slightly less spectacularly. Lor waited until Dono had passed his level and until Darel and Aerin started climbing before continuing. Leaping, swinging and climbing without the slightest pause or misstep, Lor reached the rooftop ahead of Dono, and minutes before Darel and Aerin arrived.
"Hello, Horse Butt!" Lor greeted Darel, who was slightly behind Aerin as they arrived.
Darel started to scowl but then shrugged and laughed.
Lor swept his hand horizontally, taking in the sea of varied rooftops across the city. "You asked where I live, this is my home!"
Aerin looked out over the rooftops of Strakhelm; from this view, the city was a veritable maze of endless shapes and textures. There were high spiraling towers, churches with fantastic statuary decorating the corners and plumes of smoke rising like shifting shafts of dark billowing cotton. In the distance, to the west, the towering battlements of the Seat of Stone overlooked all. It was a sight he would never forget.
"This is what we call the High Road, and here I am King! Come on." Lor encouraged, and with a running start, he leaped across the six-foot gap between the newly constructed building and the edge of the next building's roof.
Aerin looked at the long drop below dubiously, but Lor yelled across. "Come on, Greenie, you too scared?"
Aerin swallowed hard, and then took three running steps before leaping for all he was worth. He landed far past the edge.
"You'll need to work on that if you're going to travel the High Road," Lor noted, then ran along the thin roof edging. The long drop was to his left and the slope of the roof went up on his right.
Dono and Darel leaped across, and then the three boys followed Lor.
Darel called from the back. "Where are we going?"
"To the ends of the earth, but today we’ll just do the grand tour of Strakhelm!" Lor called back theatrically, not realizing the prophecy of his words.
Aerin's heart was pounding in his chest from the nearby drop to the far ground, but he wasn't about to let the other three know, so he kept moving.
Lor brought them to a corner ledge where they could look down on a market square; the sales booths were in full swing. They could see all the multicolored tent tops covering each seller's area. People were milling around in shifting eddies and tides that were only evident to the boys watching them from high above. It was a strange feeling to travel above the world; no one looked up or took any notice of the kids. Aerin suddenly had the impression of people going through their lives without ever knowing what they missed; focusing on their little world while events and opportunities they didn't even notice passed them by.
After a little time observing the market, Lor motioned for their attention, "Follow the leader," was all he said.
For the next hour, they traveled the rooftops. Each time Lor leaped across a building each boy followed in single file, or when he slid down a smooth sloped roof to a lower area they slid down behind. It became a game to follow exactly. They tried to place their feet where the person before them had stepped, and little did Aerin and Darel know, but their instruction in the art of the High Road had begun.
Aerin and Darel both found themselves becoming more accustomed to the height as they spent more time leaping between buildings, scampering along edges and jumping up and down varying levels of roof heights. They passed tall churches, walled in gardens surrounding impressive villas, narrow streets with stores packed in tight and even the large gladiator arena.
Exhilarated from the danger and flushed from their exertions, Lor eventually took them to a place where a series of shorter and shorter buildings brought them back down to nearly the street level. He finally found a place where the new boys could jump down to some crates in an alley and reach the street level.
Dono looked around and then motioned to Lor, pointing out a scratch in the stonework on the corner of the alley. The mark was a rough circle with three dots, two above and one below.
Darel noticed the look that passed between the other two boys so he poked Dono in the side with a finger. "What's that mark?"
Before Lor could stop him Dono said, "Skull mark."
"It's nothing," Lor muttered.
Darel looked skeptical and said, "Tell me about 'nothing'."
Dono ignored him and spoke to Lor. "Let's clear out over the roofs before we're spotted."
Darel crossed his arms and scowled at the two boys who were ignoring his questions. "Spotted by whom?"
Lor ignored Darrel again and answered Dono. "Don't sweat about it, they can't catch me."
Darel had enough. "Look, are you going to tell us what's going on?"
Dono shrugged at Lor and then turned to face Darel and Aerin. "We're in the Skull's claim. They must have made a move yesterday, this was notown last we knew. We best get out before one of their vultures spots us."
Aerin was confused, "What do you mean, what are vultures?"
"We're in Skulls Town now, but don't worry, I know the ropes, so if you stick with me you'll be ok," Lor explained.
"Skulls Town?" Darel exclaimed with a puzzled frown. "I've seen many maps of Strakhelm, there's no quadrant called Skulls Town."
Lor kicked a piece of stone at a nearby rat, which scampered into a hole in the wall. "Skulls Town ain't on no map, nor could it be as the lines keep changing, but you're in it now, that’s a Skull mark."
Dono looked toward the alley entrance nervously, watching the occasional person passing the opening. He spoke without taking his eyes from where he watched. "Ratpacks, they rule the streets around here; certain areas are notown and other places are claimed. It's ok to drag your butt around if you don't do nuthin' wrong, but the Skulls recruit pretty young."
Darel scowled. "Recruit? What are these 'ratpacks'? Wh
at do they do?"
Lor shook his head at Darel's naïveté; "They exist, that's their purpose. Oh sure, they organize ratfights, where other ratpacks meet to decide who owns what street this week. They steal but have to turn in their loot to the leaders. They have wars that no one knows how they started, but in the end, they do nothing but get us kids hurt, killed or arrested."
From the rote way Lor spoke, Aerin could tell he was repeating something someone had told him nearly word for word. "Who taught you that?"
Lor rounded on him quickly. "Who said anyone taught me anything?"
"I was just asking," Aerin replied.
"Well don't, I speak my own mind."
Dono suddenly hissed and they all looked up the alley just in time to see someone disappear around the corner.
"It was that jackal, Berver, and he spotted you, we're in for it now," Dono said fatally. "He's running to spill his guts to Eddo, no doubt." To the other boys, he added. "Eddo has had this craving for Lor all of a sudden, wants him to be a Skull in a bad way."
"Let's fade, I don't belong to no Ratpack, and never will… I'm freelance!" Lor exclaimed. "Come on, no one knows these streets better'n me! We'll lose them faster than a Wiggin’s honor." He turned and headed the opposite direction from where they had been spotted.
They ducked down a smaller alley and popped out two streets south next to the hanging pot of a Tinker's shop. There were a couple of high-pitched warbling whistle sounds from a street away.
Dono scowled. "That sounds like a full-scale hunt! There must have been a group of Skullers just down the street. Come on, Lor, get us out of this."
Aerin picked up the worry in Dono's voice and knew that this wasn't a game anymore.
Lor bit his lower lip for a moment and then spoke, "We'll head over the roofs to Mucuck Street, then past the Keper Cathedral and we'll be in Drake Town, they won't bug boys our age there, and Skulls won't dare follow."
Dono started across the street. "Let's move then!"
