The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) (12 page)

Even from a distance Stratford’s buildings looked to have a bewildering assortment of sizes and styles as well as colors. It was as if people had deliberately decided not to make any two look exactly the same. Many of the houses were somewhat similar but one was slightly taller or wider or had a slightly different framing or had a steeper roof. Some of the houses were pressed right up against each other, others had yards between them and in still other places was nothing but empty ground that stood out like a gap in a row of teeth.

To Waldo it spoke of poor planning and chaos. It might be interesting to look at but how could such a place even manage? Life here had to be pure anarchy.

On the other end of the bridge was a guard house where a dozen soldiers wearing chain mail and carrying an assortment of swords and axes. Casually they stood around and watched him as he approached. Waldo was surprised at their lack of discipline and the way these common soldiers were looking straight into his face. Hadn’t anyone ever taught them how to show respect to a superior?

As he came to the end of the bridge and set foot on the damp ground the oldest of the guards came shuffling up to him. He did not bow or bend his neck, but stood there and spoke as if the two of them were equals.

“Welcome to Lothas stranger, all visitors are welcome here and free to do business. Just remember to follow our laws. We don’t put up with folk breaking them, especially foreigners.”

“Do you know who I am?” Waldo asked feeling offended. He could not believe a commoner would talk to him this way. Even public slaves had better manners!

The soldier looked him up and down. “I’m guessing you’re a black wizard, we’ve seen your kind before.” By his tone he might have been referring to cow droppings. “Don’t cause trouble or you’ll regret it. Now move along.”

Waldo stood there for a moment in simple disbelief. Some ordinary soldier was giving him orders? There were so many things wrong with that he could not even count them all. He was tempted to explain to this man exactly who he was and the sort of respect he was due.

The hostility of the other guards made Waldo change his mind. He was going to have to fight men like this, but he needed it to be on his own terms. Once he had a Great Monster bound to him he would be able to deal with rude idiots like this. First things first.

He headed down the dirt road and into the city as the guards watched him go.

XXX

If the guards had been suspicious and rude the people were openly hostile. They stared and gawked at him and hurried to get clear of his path. A couple old women spat in his direction and made hand signs that he recognized as rudimentary curses.

In an odd way he preferred this sort of treatment to how the guards had acted. The guards behavior had smelled of contempt, while these folk were obviously afraid of him. Mother had always said that fear was the best sort of respect. They were however sadly lacking in good manners. None of them bowed or bent their necks. Even the ones who spat and cursed him looked him brazenly in the eye.

“What an uncivilized folk,” he muttered.

Well he hadn’t come here for their company. Motioning his hands in a specific pattern he spoke one of the spells he’d memorized. The people stared as he did so and several fled. “
Taranos evel monstri desu noratal est aki est avaratos
.”

When the detection spell was completed he was surprised to see four distinct targets appear. To his eyes there were now four sources of reddish light glowing. None of them were right at hand; two were to the north, one to the west, and one to the east. So there were four monsters living here. Most importantly the one to the east was giving off light akin to a bonfire whereas the other three were lamps.

“Enver was actually telling the truth.” Waldo said. Up until this moment he had more than half expecting to find nothing, but it looked like his efforts were going to be rewarded. He turned in the direction of that beacon and began to head towards it.

Behind him people were whispering to one another. Some ran off while a few followed behind Waldo.

Chapter 5

I Have Come To Make You Mine

In the middle of th
e river Mainz was a small outcropping of bare rock about sixty yards long and twenty yards across at its widest. On it was a single building. An old foot bridge connected it to the rest of Stratford. The building was two stories high with a slanted roof and a dozen shuttered windows packed together up on the second floor. It was trimmed all in fiery red and had a wooden sign that depicted a snow white dove with black smudges on its wings.

This was the Inn of Lost Sighs. It was a place where a man could enjoy a good meal or a drink or a woman’s warmth. The women who worked here and occupied the rooms up on the second floor were politely referred to as ‘Soiled Doves.’

The less polite called them whores.

It was not the only place of its sort in Stratford, but it was certainly the best known and most popular.

The first floor was the common room. It had tables with wooden chairs as well as a bar that ran the length of the far wall. The kitchen entrance was located behind the bar. Here the customers would eat and drink and relax, and the women would sit and talk to them and try to separate them from their purses.

On the side opposite from the bar was a set of stairs that led up to the second floor. Twelve doors led to twelve rooms; there was an open walkway with a railing so that everyone downstairs had a clear view of the upstairs. Men could peek up and see girls draped along the railing smiling and inviting them up. When a man went upstairs it was always to cheers and jealous shouts.

Nancy Sanders was not surprised to see the place empty when she came downstairs. The only other person was the owner, Elsa, who was standing behind the bar. It was noon and they had just opened. This was their slow time. Things would just start to pick up around sunset and they would be busy until the early morning. All the other girls were still in their rooms sleeping. They would get up some time in the afternoon and wander downstairs or simply stand by the railing on display. Elsa didn’t care, so long as everyone was working by the time things started to get busy.

Nancy, seventeen and the youngest of the soiled doves, managed with less sleep and was more than happy to get first dibs on any straying customer that happened by. She was five foot tall with auburn hair and freckles, she had a small bust and short legs. The customers found her cute and friendly and she did well enough at her work. Nancy knew how to please and how to get a man’s attention. She’d put on a long skirt that was slit down one side to show off her smooth legs. She had a lacey top that revealed her belly as well as her shoulders. Outside the Inn women didn’t reveal more than their ankles. A lot of men got excited just at seeing so much of a woman’s body. She had also colored her face with blush and painted her lips. Outside the Inn that too was frowned upon.

Nancy strolled across the vacant common room. The wooden floor had been swept and mopped. All the chairs were in place and all the tables as well as the bar had been wiped clean. No matter how neat the place was there was always the same odor hanging over everything; a stale mix of ale and sweat and cheap perfume.

“I see Alice has cleaned up,” Nancy said as she leaned over against the bar. “Where is she right now?”

“In the kitchen helping,” Elsa said.

The rotund woman was the owner of the Inn of Lost Sighs. She was a thick, plump woman with more grey in her hair than blonde. Her arms were ham hocks and her breasts shapeless masses of fat. Looking at her now it was hard to imagine she had once been a beauty, but she’d made enough money on her back to buy the Inn and had made a healthy profit with it. Every meal and mug of ale that was served was a coin that went straight in her pocket. The girls were allowed to bargain for their services and charge whatever they pleased, but every time a man went upstairs the accompanying girl owed Elsa thirty copper traks. On top of that, the girls had to pay a monthly rent for their rooms. Elsa loved to tell people she had never lost money on any deal.

“So the slave is in the kitchen is she?” Nancy asked with an impish grin. “Any chance she can stay back there?”

“We don’t keep slaves.” Elsa said. “She’s an indentured servant.”

“What’s the difference?”

“They’re less expensive but more trouble.”

Nancy chuckled at just how seriously Elsa had answered. “I really wish she just stayed back there.”

Elsa shook her head slightly making her double chin wobble. “Better for you, but not for me.”

“I don’t see what’s so special about her.”

“In that case you’re the only one.”

“She’s just the barmaid. Why does she get so much attention?”

“You’d have to be blind not to know the answer to that.” Elsa sounded bored. “Just be grateful she’s too stupid to put that body of hers to proper use. There’s food ready, do you want to eat now while we’re empty?” Elsa charged her girls full price for their meals too.

Nancy was considering it when the front door opened and their first customer of the day arrived. He was dressed in work clothes and a pair of worn leather boots. He was clearly not a big spenders. The Inn of Lost Sighs got its share of commoners who could afford a girl’s services perhaps once a month. They would mostly come by just to look and to drink.

Recognizing the man, Nancy straightened up and offered him an inviting smile. His name was Harold Brauer, a cooper who owned his own shop and employed a few workers. He wasn't rich by any means, but could afford to share some of his silver with a pretty girl now and again.

This was the reason Nancy liked to get up early.

Harold closed the door behind him and walked up to the bar. His eager eyes went right past her. “Is Alice not here?”

That simple question soured Nancy’s mood and made her resentment rise up like bile in her throat.
Every damn time! It never changes!

“Alice!” Elsa shouted. “We have a customer! Come out and serve him!”

“Coming!” A voice answered from the back.

Harold jutted out his chest, sucked in his gut, and did what he could to wipe off the sawdust from his work clothes. It made Nancy want to scream.

She slid over to him and fanned her fingers over his chest. She leaned in and asked huskily, "Don’t you know Alice won’t do anything for you? Why not spend your time with me instead? You won't regret it. I promise."

Harold pulled away from her, and took a couple steps along the bar, as if afraid of being caught. “No, it’s all right; I just want to see Alice.”

“Of course you do,” Elsa said with a knowing smirk. “Who can blame you?”

The kitchen door swung open and out stepped the twenty year old Alice. She was dressed as a barmaid, with a proper skirt with a hem down her to her feet, and a plain cotton blouse that seemed to strain just to contain her large and magnificently firm bosom. Her clothes did not expose any skin, but fit tight and revealed a set of shapely curves. She had long straight hair the color of fire and eyes the color of amethyst. Her skin was alabaster, and her face almost angelic in its flawless beauty. Her hips swayed slowly and rhythmically with each step and her tread was utterly smooth and graceful. Alice was simply stunning, with a figure and face that put Nancy, and every other girl who worked here, to shame.

Nancy stood on the tips of her toes, arched her back, and flouncing her hair, it was still not enough to distract Harold as his eyes gorged on the barmaid. If she suddenly burst into flame she doubted Harold would even notice.