by Ian Rodgers
As Captain Roche had predicted, we arrived at the shores of Drakon less than two weeks after initially setting out. The enchanted sail, combined with the assistance of the Sovereign Whale, pushed the ship faster across the Bluestar Ocean than I’d thought possible. It was exhilarating, dashing across the waves.
But it wasn’t something I’d want to do again anytime sooner. The salt within the water stung whenever it touched my jiggly flesh, and since the Striding Fish and the Sovereign Whale created massive waves and sprays I often got drenched. If I hadn’t been wearing clothes and stayed as far from the edges as possible, I would have shriveled up into a tiny raisin before we docked.
As it was, when we did slide into the port I was the first person off.
“Finally! Dry land! Praise Cynthia for small mercies!” I gasped as I darted down the gangplank.
Perched on my hat, Rosa threw her hands into the air, mirroring my joy. She was a Carbuncle, a Jeweled Fairy. She was attuned to the earth and stone and soil, so being surrounded by water for so long hadn’t been the most pleasant experience for her, either.
“Awww, what’s the matter. Jellik? I thought you’d finally gotten your sealegs. Why so eager to get of the boat?” Katherine asked with a teasing tone. “Do you perhaps not like the company you kept?”
“Oh, no, the captain and the crew were great,” I said, waving to Coal and the other sailors as I hurried away from the dock. “Although I could have done without a certain dwarf trying to splash me all the time.”
“It’s all in good fun!” Katherine retorted and I shook my ‘head.’
“Maybe if I was a being of flesh and blood, but salt is one of my weaknesses.” I held out my right ‘hand’ to her and discreetly pulled off the glove, revealing a purple goopy pseudopod, shaped into a vague approximation of a humanoid hand.
“See this? I’m like a slug, in that I react badly to the presence of salt.”
“Ooo, squishy,” she chuckled poking my ‘hand.’ I grunted and slipped my glove back on.
“Point is, your playfulness was more akin to bullying.”
“Fine, I’ll keep that mind,” the dwarf maiden said with shake of her head. “Anyways, where are we going?”
“We’re going to find a place to stay,” I said. “Liliana told me she’d make arrangements for the two of us at a place while we make preparations for the next leg of our journey.”
“The princess is paying?” Katherine gasped.
“Yeah, but don’t worry, it won’t be an upscale hotel or anything. She understands our need for discretion. It’ll likely be a hostel, or high-quality inn. Of course, we’ll have to find the local Guild house, first. She left the money and reservation info with them, under my name.”
“Gravel below, I never thought I’d be sleeping in a bed bought with royal gold,” Katherine murmured under her breath.
“Don’t get too used to it. This is a one-time treat,” I advised, and I opened up my magical senses to the world around me. Instantly I was surrounded by pulsing glowing auras and vibrant, seething lines of color that danced through the air. Magic was everywhere, and it was beautiful.
I put aside my awe for a moment and scanned the area, trying to find the largest concentration of magical energy in the town. Odds were that that would lead me to the Adventurer’s Guild, as many adventurers had a commandeering presence through my magic-sight.
Finding the bonfire-like amalgamation of magical energy was easy. It rested close to the center of the town. I shut off my magic-sense and the world returned to normal.
“Follow me,” I declared, and took off down a street. Katherine kept pace easily, her training in the Dark Guild to be light-footed and quick easily translating to keeping up with my speed.
As we powerwalked through the streets and avenues of Pollastra, I took in the sights. It was a large, walled town, and was constantly expanding. From the information I’d gleaned from the sailors back on the Striding Fish, it was a little bit over three hundred years old and had the distinction of being one of the first permanent human settlements on Drakon.
Most of the buildings were wooden, with only a few stone and brick structures. Lumber was cheap, as the dense forests along the unveiled continent’s coast provided a steady source. The buildings were also packed tightly together, the roofs joining with each other to create nigh unbroken lines of tiles and slates. A person could run atop them all the way from the docks to the boundary walls. The streets themselves were cramped and narrow as well, only wide enough for three people or so to pass by shoulder to shoulder.
I kept my eye out for pickpockets. Passersby pressed so closely together made for excellent theft opportunities. Not that I had anything in my pockets. I stored everything inside my Dimensional Pocket, only removing items when necessary. To an outside perspective though it looked like I had pockets on my robes that were magically enhanced to hold more.
At my side Katherine experienced the very thing I had been worried about, as someone tried to slip a hand into her pocket. Her own training kicked in and she lashed out, pinching the offender’s hand painfully.
I snickered as the wannabe thief yelped and quickly retreated. “Good job there, Katherine.”
“That’ll teach him not to try and mess with a real thief,” she whispered back, a smug grin on her face.
Rosa perked up as a familiar crest appeared on a signboard hanging over a two-story building, and she leaned down and patted my ‘face’ in an effort to get my attention.
(Look, we’re here!)
“That we are, Rosa. That we are,” I said, having spotted the sign around the same time my Familiar had. I glanced down at Katherine to inform her, but to my surprise she had deftly slipped through the crowd and arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild’s doors before us.
“Kinda slow, aren’t you?” she joked.
“Compared to you, I suppose I am,” I replied easily. I opened the door for her. “Shall we?”
She nodded, and we stepped inside. It was stuffy, and more than a little smoky. The Guild house was bustling, with people clad in armor and carrying sheathed weapons walking here and there, turning in quests or picking one up.
The layout was almost identical to all the other Guild houses I’d been in over the years: the ground floor was a combination bar and dining hall where the adventurers could kick back and relax and spend their hard-earned coin on food, drink and a small selection of supplies.
The second floor was where the real adventuring was done. Guild clerks checked job details, registration numbers, and more. Here, at a number of booths, rewards were paid for bounties and missions, and one could even sell any items or monster parts they’d acquired out in the field.
The Guild’s second floor also acted as a liaison with the Golden Global Bank of Erafore, the largest bank in the world. You could send money and items to and from the various branches as well, and many adventurers kept their money and loot in the Guild through this arrangement.
After pushing through the crowded first floor, I ascended the stairs and approached the nearest open booth.
“Excuse me, I’m here to pick up a deposit that was made in my name,” I announced, showing her my silver C-ranked badge. The teller, a middle-aged woman with greying hair done up in a bun, took it from my grasp and examined it closely before passing it back.
“You are Jellik, correct? Here to pick up a deposit from a Sir Blaine ArLeon in Sanc Aldet?”
“Yes ma’am,” I stated, and she nodded after a beat and rose to fetch the delivery.
“I thought the princess was the one sending the money,” Katherine whispered to me and I gave my ‘head’ a minute shake.
“That would attract too much attention. I am, after all, merely a C-ranked mage of no noteworthy background. Having royalty try to contact me in any way would be suspicious, and I don’t want that. As such, we have to use an intermediary.”
“Yeah, but the guy she mentioned is the commander of the freaking Dire Swords, the most badass royal g
uards in Orria,” the dwarf shot back. “That’s also rather suspicious, don’t you think?”
“I’ll be sure to mention that to her when I see her next,” I admitted after thinking it over.
The clerk returned soon after so I turned my attention back to her as she set a leather purse down in front of me, along with a letter. I took both, slipping the coin purse into a pocket, and then into my Dimensional Pocket. It made a hefty ‘clink!’ as I handled it, so there was probably a decent sum of money within.
As for the letter, I opened it and scanned the contents before shoving it into my pocket and giving the clerk a nod of thanks.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” she inquired politely.
I responded with a shake of my head, and thus concluded our transactions.
“Where are we staying?” Katherine asked as we descended the stairs.
“The letter said Liliana made a reservation for the two of us to share a room at the Wood Duck inn,” I replied, relaying the information. She stiffened slightly and looked at me with an incredulous expression.
“Wait, we have to share a room together?”
“Yes. Why, is that a problem?”
“Oh, for the love of Gaea,” Katherine muttered under her breath as she dragged a palm over her face.
“Remember that incident back with the caravan last fall, when I snuck into your tent?”
“I recall you had a knife, and wanted to threaten me to spill my secrets. You thought I was a spy for Baloron, the Dark Druid, as he tried to chase after the Soul Oozes,” I replied, lowering my voice so not to let the surrounding adventurers overhear our conversation.
The matter was a sensitive one. Partly because Baloron was an internationally wanted Dark mage and part of the Shadowspell Alliance, the most powerful group of Dark mages in all of Erafore. Having his name bandied about was just asking for trouble.
“Yeah, that. So, remember when I left the tent, and the next morning, everyone started to have assumptions?” she asked pointedly.
“Oh, right, that,” I said, rubbing the back of my ‘head’ sheepishly. “They thought we had slept together.”
Atop my head, Rosa cackled with laughter. (I remember that! It was so funny! Katherine’s face was so red and livid!)
I coughed, silently glad that the dwarf maiden beside me couldn’t hear the Carbuncle’s words. I had a feeling she would take umbrage with the sentiment and kick me in the ‘shins’ in retaliation.
“Indeed. Now, what do you think people will assume when we have to share a single room together?” Katherine demanded after Rosa’s laughter faded away. I winced as I realized the sort of talk this matter could generate.
“Ah. I apologize on behalf of my owner. She sees me as a Royal Ooze, and her pet, not as a person, and certainly not as the male that I impersonate. In fact, before I left, I used to sleep in her room all the time.”
“A lot of people would be jealous of you admitting that,” Katherine said with a shake of her head after staring at me for a moment, no doubt trying to see if I was lying or not. “And besides, don’t you feel strange referring to yourself as someone else’s pet?”
I shrugged helplessly. It was what it was. I was Liliana’s pet. It made sense for me to spend my time around her and refer to her as my owner. And, even after experiencing the world so much this past two years, I didn’t really mind thinking that way. I could never repay the debt I felt I owed to the princess of the Roan family, so this state of affairs was fine to me.
Katherine just sighed in defeat and more than a little bit of exasperation, before nudging me in the side as we stepped out of the Guild house.
“Listen, I have to head off to speak with my contacts in town. You head to the inn, I’ll meet you there after I find out the details for the burglary. When I get back, we’ll discuss on what we need to do next.”
“Got it,” I replied, snapping a jaunty salute towards her as we parted ways. She rolled her eyes at my antics and went down one street, no doubt headed for the less reputable side of town, while I continued on towards the central market place and shopping district. Directions for how to get to the inn from the Guild had been enclosed in the letter.
The Wood Duck Inn was hard to miss. I had only just entered the central plaza, which was a nice, cobblestone square filled with a fountain and various shops and stalls, and already I could spot the building. After all, how many other buildings would have a giant, wooden duck perched atop their roof? Rosa certainly loved it, and she flew up to examine it.
The inn itself was three stories tall, but because of how closely packed the other buildings were around it, the place looked stretched out, and taller than it actually was. It was wood, like most of the town’s structures, and had pale yellow shingles on the roof. The large wooden duck was also painted a similar shade of yellow, making it look like a massive duckling. It was unique and eye catching, I’d give it that.
“Hello, how can I help you?” a young woman behind a counter inquired as I stepped inside. The interior was clean and had the feel of an inn used by the middle class, especially merchants or well-off travelers.
“First off, I have a reservation under my name; Jellik, room for two?”
She flipped through a thick ledger and nodded at something written down within. “Yes, we have it confirmed here. Do you know how long you’ll be staying in Pollastra?”
“Less than a week,” I declared after thinking it over. Stealing the deed from the noble shouldn’t take too long.
“Do you want to pay now, or when you leave?” the receptionist asked.
“I’ll pay for two nights up front,” I decided, pulling out two gold coins. She accepted the payment and passed back six silver coins in change. I then slid the silver right back to her.
“Um, we don’t accept tips,” she said hesitantly.
“It’s not a tip, its insurance,” I said, a note of weary acceptance in my voice. “See, I have a very rambunctious Familiar, and she often gets into trouble. I thought I’d just give you the money now and save time.”
“I see,” the receptionist said slowly, taking the money and making a note of it under my entry in the ledger. She glanced up, discreetly trying to spot where my magical companion could be. “May I ask what sort of Familiar you have?”
“A Carbuncle. And right now, she’s fascinated with your giant duck statue on the roof,” I said, resigned.
The receptionist turned a little pale before coughing to clear the mood. She reached under the desk and removed a bronze key, the number 11 etched onto it. “I see. Well, try to rein her in if at all possible. Also, here’s the key to your room.”
“Thank you,” I replied, taking the key and moseying up to the room. It was the first one on the second floor, and the interior of the room was just as nice as the rest of the building I’d seen.
Desk, dresser, a washroom off to the side, a nice window with a view of the plaza below, a swanky silver mirror hanging on the wall next to the washroom, and of course, a bed. The fact that there was only one made me feel self-conscious.
I mumbled a half-hearted curse to myself. Darn that Katherine! If she hadn’t pointed out the problem, I would have been blissfully ignorant of it! And now I couldn’t stop thinking about it!
I could rent a new room, but that would be a waste of money as we’d only be here for a few days. And odds were Katherine and I wouldn’t run into anyone we knew who could make this a problem in the future.
A rapping sound on the window broke me out of my thoughts, and I glanced over. I could see Rosa waving at me through the glass.
“Did you have fun? And not cause too much damage?” I asked as I opened the window and let her inside.
(Lots of fun! The giant duck was so awesome! I want one of my own!) Rosa exclaimed. She then folded her arms and pouted. (And how rude! Thinking I did something bad!)
“Your track record speaks for itself,” I replied playfully, before bopping her on the forehead with a ‘finger.’ She
tumbled through the air before righting herself, a giggle escaping her lips. The jewel-studded fairy flew over to the top of the dresser and perched on it, legs crossed daintily.
(When will Katherine be back?) Rosa asked.
“Don’t know. Probably before nightfall if I had to guess,” I said.
I looked around the room, feeling somewhat bored. What to do while we waited?
~You could always study for the alchemy exam. It’s tomorrow, by the way,~ Tara reminded me. I winced.
“I completely forgot!” I whined. I strode over to the desk and pulled several glass beakers and vials out of my Dimensional Pocket, placing them down. Next, I removed several basic alchemical reagents, and laid them out.
“What should I make to practice? A healing potion?”
~Can’t go wrong there. Always good to have a few extra, in any case,~ the resident Spirit of Knowledge noted.
I bent over the alchemical equipment and began to work. Rosa quickly lost interest and went off to explore the washroom. The Ruby Carbuncle thankfully had enough common sense to not play around with potentially volatile substances.
I was at it for close to three hours. At some point I had slipped off my clothes, and reverted to my typical spherical shape. I would be performing the test in this form when I possessed my clone, so it was better to mimic the upcoming testing conditions as closely as I could.
“Hey, Jellik, you in there?”
Katherine’s voice, muffled by the door, broke my concentration, and I frowned. Without taking my attention off of the current potion I was working on, I extended a tentacle all the way over to the door and grasped the handle, opening it for her.
“Come in, but close the door, I’m working on alchemy stuff in the buff,” I said. A choking sound came from the other side of the entryway, and Katherine all but stumbled in, face red.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” she demanded, slipping inside and closing the door behind her quickly so no one could peer inside and spot me in my natural form.
“Consider it payback for ruining my innocence,” I shot back, voice heavy with snark.
