Chapter 7
The morning for Ruby and I came before the sunrise. A stable hand working with the horses below woke us. Fortunately, he didn’t see us as he pulled down some of the hay. After he left, we quickly left the building and headed out to find food for breakfast. Our edible berry collection was down to nothing. As we wandered the narrow streets, the citizens stirred from their homes. By the time the sun broke through the early clouds on the horizon, we found ourselves among crowded streets, bustling with people, animals and carts. I asked Ruby to look for a place where we could sell off some of the heavy coil of rope I carried. It wasn’t long before I got rid of half of the rope, and we had a few pfendings to get breakfast. Another stall got us to food. I’m not a fan of old rye bread, cracked open with a greasy, half cooked egg inside, but starving people will eat anything.
I noticed a few people eyeing my makeshift grappling hook, so I spent a few minutes separating the sickles before sliding them into my belt. We continued on in our search for a magic shop. I expected something like a large alley filled with magic shops, like in those wizard books my kid liked to read. However, we failed to find anything close to a place which sold spells inside that part of the city. We found a potion shop, but it was mostly items that reminded me of those stores selling various exotic herbs for your health. It reminded me of those stores in my past world where you can buy pills to lose weight or grow your hair back.
“I guesseth yond’s not unexpected,” Ruby said with a frown. “I knoweth commoners seldom receiveth a chance to seeth magical things. Our priest warned thee from such things.”
Putting my arm over her shoulder, I told her not to worry.
“Look on the bright side,” I replied. “I’m having a great time seeing this new city. Let’s find the adventurer’s guild. We need to earn money.”
During our time with the merchants, I overheard them talk about adventurers and the other guilds. Here, the adventurers aren’t like the portal fantasy novels my son used to read as a kid. According to the merchants, adventurers typically work for the businesses. They end up doing odd jobs from finding material and guarding. There are no monsters or dungeons to worry about in this world, much to the disappointment of my young son when he read manga stories in the past.
We found the building housing the guild among several on the main road through the city. It wasn’t like anything I expected. First, there was a line of people waiting outside the small building that didn’t look large enough to hold them all. After waiting in line and speaking with some others, we determined it would be tough to become a guild member. According to the others in front of us, those who can fight and have proven hunter skills get priority. After that, it’s the luck of the draw for those who might become trainees. That was the reason for the line.
When we finally got to the building, a brutish-looking woman in leather armor stood by a smaller man who appeared to be a scholar. He held a scroll, on which he penciled in the names of those wishing to join the guild. He asked several questions, just our names and skills, which I had Ruby answer. She already had my thoughts about what to tell them. I got a glance from the large woman when she overheard Ruby say my name.
“Is the lady thy servant?” the scholarly-looking man asked.
“Nay, the lady’s mine own partner,” I replied in my best attempt at this strange language.
The man hesitated, then lightly shrugged and wrote something down before they pointed to the next one in line. As we walked away, they told us to return in a week to see if they had picked our names.
“Well, on to a magic shop,” I tried to keep my hopes up with a smile to Ruby.
As we went into another section of Morum, the streets became cleaner, and the merchant shops were classier. Passing one shop, we noticed something through the windows which looked like magical items. To my surprise, everything looked focused on children’s toys and gadgets. A type of airplane whizzed around the room, swooping down at a row of toy soldiers that shot at the plane with their rifles using blasts of air. I could feel the small blasts of air from a couple of feet away.
Damn, kids would love this stuff!
The lady behind the counter frowned at us before putting on a fake smile. I let Ruby take the lead, asking about a place to find more information about the magic appraisal. She told the woman I carried an item from my lands which might have value.
After a sigh, she replied.
“Obviously, we art not the right lodging. Thee can tryeth speaking with the wizard Mardoh down the street. I warneth thee he is difficult.”
“Great! Another wizard,” I thought.
Nodding, Ruby thanked her and turned to leave. That’s when I noticed a wood blowgun on the table by the toy soldiers having their magical war. It looked like a child’s toy but was hand carved and varnished. Since I had one as a kid, I picked it up and looked it over. The memories came back, including the pain of a dart striking your flesh at close range.
“How much for this?” I asked.
Since it was only one copper coin, I bought it. Ruby glared at me, but I smirked and put it in my pocket.
“Now, I just need a translator spell so I can quit talking like a Shakespeare character.”
The woman who took my money looked at me oddly, then told me about a child’s spell as she pointed to a dusty shelf. It only cost two pfendings and I immediately grabbed it.
The glare from Ruby became too intense for me to ignore as we left the shop with a scroll in hand.
“Yeah, I realize it’s the price of a meal. But we’ve already run into people we can’t understand,” I quickly explained when I opened the scroll.
A flash of light struck me and I felt a way of indistinct voices filling my head. The growing headache made me stop as Ruby took my arm.
“Covan, are you alright?” She asked.
I stared at her as my headache immediately retreated.
“Say that again,” I told her.
“I asked if you are feeling well,” her expression betrayed her growing concern.
I felt the smile on my face at her words.
“This is great! No more Shakespeare!” I announced, then diverted back to our plan.
“Let’s find this Mardoh guy!”
With an annoyed look, Ruby slowly nodded, and we headed along the street. A carriage passed us with armed guards on horseback escorting it. We didn’t pay any attention to them as we continued along the street. After we reached the building showing a sign with a magical symbol, we tried to enter but an invisible wall kept away. I tried to push my arm through to pull the rope hanging with a bell attached, but the barrier was too strong.
As I grew frustrated, I didn’t notice the men approaching. Only when Ruby said something, I turned around to see several men in uniforms with swords attached to their leather belts. A punch came from out of nowhere, and I fell back against the invisible barrier. Two men grabbed my arms while the bastard who punched me did it again. Ruby yelled for help, but someone held her.
“Our lord Gilbert now employs this wench as his servant,” the man holding Ruby announced.
“Like hell!”
One of my arms broke free from a guard’s grasp and I slammed my fist into the guy who hit me. I paid for it with a shot from another guard into my ribs. Dropping like a wet noodle, I heard Ruby scream. She escaped from the man holding her. When she wrapped her arms around me, I felt her slide the dagger into my hand. As I struggled to breathe, the men pulled Ruby away, for which I received another punch in the belly.
“When this wench carries the lord’s bastard child, she’ll return.” The noble’s guard smirked when he threw a few pfendings on the ground at my feet.
When I tried to get to my feet, one of them kicked me in the back. I collapsed, and they marched away with Ruby between them.
“I’ll kill you bastards!” My growling threat came out as a wheeze since I couldn’t take a breath.
Stumbling to my feet, my feet couldn’t walk a straight line. I saw Ruby’s desperate expression as she’s dragged to the carriage. One thug smiled at the chance to hit me again.
“No, Covan. Leave me!” she yelled out.
Of course, my wild swing just glanced off the guard’s leather breast plate. The guard’s counter punch sent me down. Stars cascaded across my brain as I took another couple of punches to my face. Finally, the guard kicked me as I lay there. The sound of the carriage leaving, along with the mocking laughter of the other men, washed over me. The guards got back on their horses and rode away.
It took me a while to get my senses back. A small crowd gathered around me, no doubt gawking at my bloody face as I rolled around on the ground in pain. Finally sitting up, I did a quick review of injuries. I’m guessing I had a probable broken nose which still bled. But there were no other broken bones. Squinting my eyes because of the headache, I guessed some type of head trauma or a concussion. Still, I got to my feet before I stumbled over to a building. As I leaned against the building to keep me on my feet, I noticed a young girl as she pushed through the muttering crowd. She held out the coins the guards threw at my feet. A woman wearing a brown merchant’s cape behind her spoke to me.
“We’re sorry for your loss. The lord takes pretty commoners to his estate.”
Nodding, I spit out the blood gathered in my mouth. The action made me realize how much my busted lip hurt. I took the money with a shaky hand. Then, I handed one coin back to the girl. Her eyes widened in fear. No doubt, she felt the rage in me despite my battered appearance.
“Just tell me where he lives!”
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Stephen Jay Ward's Fractured Fairy Tales on steroids & SPEED, maybe some other UNUSUAL ingredients, I'm thinking.....