I glared up into the rising sun. The heat of it on my face. I resent the very sight of it. My head begins to pound terribly as I turn away for the blinding angle of the sun. The alley way I have found myself in reeks of cat piss, feces, and rotten meat. I work to block out the overwhelming odor as I cut past the beggar who resides behind this butcher shop. I don’t have time for his simpering today I have a schedule to keep, and I could already feel I was running late.
I found my way to the back door and dutifully smacked the center three times with the side of my knuckles, a hard resounding knack-knack-knack.
“Whacha want now!?” boomed an irriate voice from behind the door. The door swung open quickly with a whoosh of air in the very next second. The butchers cragged and pock scarred face greets me with a familiar scowl twisting his flawed features.
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist Morty. It’s just me. Looks as though your pariah has gone and sloughed off a good one this mornin’. Get me the usual will ya? I’m in a bit of a hurry. I’ll tip ya good for the rush.” I shoulder past the broad man to go sit on the stool left for backdoor orders. Tossing down a small pouch onto the counter next to the stool I settle myself to wait as Morty grumbles to himself as he sets to work wrapping up my order.
“Come on now Ulf, you always say you’re in a hurry, but you always bring me somethin’ to tide me over for da mornin’.” Morty grumbled more coherently and loud enough for me to hear this time.
“Now, now Morty. With that kinda attitude I’ll miss my appointment and end up livin’ the rest of my miserable life here. Not that I don’t love ya Morty. But i’ve got business to take care of in the South.” I lightly chaste him. We have talked about this day for months now. He knows how important today is for my future plans.
“ Besides” I state, “I’ll leave you a little good luck bottle on my way out the door. Now let’s go Morty. I need to get movin’.” I fluster my arms up and down a bit as I get off the stool and remove the Ace In The Hole vodka from my inner cloak pocket.
I set it down in time for Morty to finish with the final package of meat. I shake his hand firmly and give him a side hug, which he returns with vigor. “ You just get yourself that there apprenticeship boy. It’ll all be worth the pain and shame once you’ve got your feet under ya. I don’t agree with what your doin’. But I understand that you need to. Just promise to take care of yourself Ulf. My Barbra would never forgive me if she knew what I was letting you walk into.” He gruffed out against my shoulder. I gave him a firm pat and pushed off from him.
“I know what I’m doin’ Morty. Don’t you worry about me. I have all the cards in my hand.” I give him a wink and take my packages. “Give Aunt Barb my best Uncle. I will try to send word as to how it goes.”
With that I left my uncles butcher shop for the last time. I knew deep in my gut as I walked away that I wouldn’t be back. I would try to send him word every now and again that was true. But I knew he would not want to know the things I would have to do along this slow and laborious journey. The true end goal only known to me. This was but a step along the path I needed to take to regain my birth right. No man would stand in my way from what was destined to be mine.
The glare of the day greeted me as I left the stench of the alley way behind. At least it would be on my back as I headed to the old observatory. The mountainous trek was long and windy. I would need the whole day to make it by sundown. The landscape was rocky and cramped in this overcrowded section of town. The lower income houses that were thrown up hap hazard and with whatever materials they had on hand. Looked doomed to topple down the crevices and overhanging’s onto which they were so precariously balancing. Just last week the most recent earthquake shook loose at least a half dozen homes. Killing almost everyone inside when they finally fell free. As I walked past, I could hear and see people picking through the remains of the homes, which were carelessly pushed aside to make room for thorough traffic. Damned vultures, they probably weren’t even members of the deceased’s families. The only people who are sanctioned by law to look through the rubble. A rule that is rarely upheld. Times were tough. The mines were turning out less and less ore as the winter months drug on. The shortage led to rioting and looters. The desperate and deprived becoming fed up with the limited rations. Everyone turned to violence and theft in that last hard month. Leaving extraordinarily little for the rest of us who chose to stand by the dwarven way of honor and respect.
I was pulled from my pensive thoughts when a pack of screaming children darted in front of me in the narrow rocky path. They must have been hopping the tops of the rock cliffs to get up this high. The last child jumped past but lost her footing. My hand darted out instinctively and caught the unbalanced thing before she could hit the rough ground. She weighed so little it took truly little effort to lift her back up onto the rock cliff from which she had slipped.
“Th-Thank you, M-Mister.” She stammered quietly.
I grunted and continued trudging up the path as I watch her skidder away and back to her friends.
Hopefully, her childhood was kinder to her than mine was. At least this random child appeared to have friends. Though looks can be deceiving. None of them seemed to be particularly concerned when she fell from the precarious path. Perhaps she was in some sort of initiation run. Not unheard of for children around here. Most neighborhoods were tight knit. Thick as thieves some of these lot could be. She didn’t look like a dwarf child, a fact that would not work in her favor in the years to come around here. If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll get out of here and to somewhere more open and excepting of other races. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that poor child was human. A hard life was ahead of that unfortunate thing.
At about mid-day I stopped to build a quick fire. I been gathering materials all the way up the mountain and lunch sounded appropriate. After the small section of steak, I pulled from my package’s was cooked through enough I began eating it with vigor. No sooner then I had taken my third bite, a quick snap and a series of crashes proceeded the presence of a small body falling headlong from the treetops about twenty feet from my fire. A small familiar form hit the ground with a dull thud. I quickly swallowed my bite and set my meat back down and waited. But the child did not move. It appears the fall knocked her unconscious.
I heaved a deep sigh and got up from the fire. I quickly removed the pan so the steak wouldn’t burn and kicked some dirt over the remaining flames to smother the fire. Once I was satisfied that it was properly extinguished, I proceeded to the still child.I placed a finger under her nose and felt the gentle breath of life emitting from her. Well, she wasn’t dead, yet. After another deep sigh, I began to gingerly test her neck and spine for any signs of damage. She appeared to be fine, just out cold. I replaced her arms on her chest and sat down to finish my steak. She had until I was done eating and then I would be on my way again.As I sat there eating my bloody steak, periodically licking the trails of blood from my fingers. I looked over the child once more. She was definitely human. There was no dwarven or elven features to speak of, and she was far to small to be of orc descent. Her cloths were worn in and patched. Coming up short on her legs and arms.
As I predicted, I didn’t have any spar time to make dinner as I finally neared the top of Witch Mountain. The path was obvious once you knew the trick to it. Every few meters there would be a rod hammered into the ground, surrounded by a patch of mushrooms. It looked like there was a large portion of the mountain dedicated to the growth of mushrooms. And what was worse, every time I accidentally trod on the vile things, the child would scold me for my carelessness. The nerve of this child.Finally, the journey came to an end as I crossed through a path in a four-foot cobbled wall, just beyond it I could see a modest cottage and a well-tended garden around the side. An old bent man stood inside the cobbled wall, preventing me from proceeding further. I stopped and bowed slightly.“It is a pleasure to see you again Sir FreeForde. How have you been getting on in the last fore moon?” I inquired dutifully as one does with the elderly. Politely and inquirin
After completing the so-called tasks, more like chores, he finally instructed me to meditate for the next four hours. When asked if we should sleep tonight, I was met with mirthless laugh. “We got things to do in four hours boy. We don’t have time for you to falling into a deep sleep. Here starts your training. Now meditate or do without even that.” He stated with a harrumph. He then settled himself into the floor and gestured for me to mimic his posture. I sighed, crossed my legs, and sank to the floor. I watched him closely as he loosely placed his wrists above his knees, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. I sighed one final time, accepting my fate and copied his actions. As I closed my eyes he began to speak.“Take a deep breath through your nose, hold it for a moment, and then exhale fully. As you exhale, allow your mind to become blank and serene. Push all your angst and worries away as you take another deep breath. Exhale fully again.
This morning has been anything but basic. I didn’t understand what any of this had to do with training. I could feel my skin start to sluff off the bottoms of my feet. Only a few hundred feet left to go and I would be done with this new task.You would think conjuring a mage hand would be easy. But it had taken me the better part of the morning to be able to even get it to appear. It took the rest of the afternoon to make it move. Now it was well past nightfall and I have finally gotten it to carry the damned rock up the mountain. Every time I dropped it, I had to start all over again. I was completely worn through when I blissfully placed the rock on the pedestal atop the mountain.I collapsed as the old man harrumphed behind me. “About bloody well time boy. Took you all day to do a task that took a seven-year-old fifteen minutes to complete. Blessed be I sure hope it doesn’t take you this long to learn all your cantrips. Just to be on the safe side
I woke the next morning to the chill of the wind hitting my face. I felt cold, sore, and alone. I rubbed my eyes as I rolled into a sitting position. I looked about me only to see trees and brush. I was fully clothed, and I had been laying next to the pedestal.If my rough guess at the time was correct, it was about three in the morning. I groaned as I got to my feet. I dusted off the dirt and grass, and I straightened my belt buckle. I began trudging down the mountain. It had been hours since the old man had left me up here to regain my strength to leave.That was definitely not the reason I had stayed so late but I was hoping he’d buy into it. He sure hadn’t mentioned anyone else being up on this mountain. And my skin was dark enough to hide the ‘hickies’ I could feel on my neck and chest. My face began to burn as I recalled the last few hours. Everything that woman did to me had set me on fire and craving more. What a woman. I hoped she would
The next few days were pure torture. Every moment I spent around her pulled my concentration in two. But by the end of it, I knew how to control my mage hand without it being so much strain on my mind and body. I could only manifest fully manifest it for about a minute. If it got more than thirty feet from me, it would vanish all together. And I could only get it to carry up to ten pounds. Sir FreeFord and Nyphiria kept assuring me that these things were completely normal, and most people were bound by the same restrictions. But apart of me felt like I should be able to achieve more.This feeling of unmet expectations continued to plague me through the rest of Nyphiria’s visit. Not once did she come to me or request my time that didn’t involve training. And what made matters worse, the old man was always tagging along to “watch my progress”. He refused to step in and offer any advice, but he watched me steadily throughout the entirety of my training se
My brother. He had found me despite my best efforts to disappear without him knowing. My father may be convinced that I was dead. But Ultnar knew. He heard rumors of a dwarf being brought back from the dead shortly after I had “died” and he knew it was me. He had narrowly found me at Yana’s. She lost her home and her business when he found out she was hiding me. He burnt them to the ground to set an example to the surrounding healers, of what would happen when they went against the wishes of a Head clan member.I was wrenched from my reminiscing by the sound of brush breaking nearby. He was trying to sneak up on me. But he didn’t really know where I was.“For the love of the Goddess.” He swore viciously. He must have stuck himself in some of the bramble bushes. I kept completely still. And began slowing my breathing down like I do with my meditations. I recited a spell to myself and into existence popped a hand. A mere five fee
“Curses above.” I swore to myself. I was dripping sweat and the morning was off to a bad start. I had managed to get all of my things together and out of the cottage in less than fifteen minutes but that was the last stroke of luck I had all morning.I snagged my pants on a tree I was trying to wrestle myself past. It tore the material and broke the skin. Damn it to the bog. I couldn’t stop to fix it. I had at least ten miles left before I was completely clear of the forest surrounding the mountain and dawn was quickly approaching. The blood worried me though. Not because the cut was bad. But my brother would use it to find me if he found my trail and scented it.I hadn’t released him as Sir FreeFord had instructed me to. Perhaps if he had been unconscious when I went back I would have. But he was awake and raving about all the ways he was going to kill me. I couldn’t kill him. I simply walked over to where I had stashed his belongings, ru
I walked out of the cellar and into the fresh cold night air. It was crisp on my face as the temperature dropped dangerously low. I looked around at the ivy wondering what kind of temperatures the invasive snarl enjoyed the most. Mistress Anon sped away to talk to the surrounding hunters as I continued back to the Enclave. Her instructions to me after I finished my questions were clear.I needed to check in on everything and report back on the status of The Widows Enclave. She informed me not to judge the girls for what I see. Some of the clientele have specific tastes. I had three people I needed to talk to in specific.Mistress Anon wanted reports from the patroness on the bar, from Cynthia on the “back room”, and Bethany who was the gal in charge of the upstairs while Madam was away. If I saw any disturbances on the way while in the Enclave I was to “help in whatever means necessary”. When I asked her to elaborate on that, I received a harsh
“That can’t possibly work Anon.” Lucy stated. “It would take exceptional control to keep the storm from taking him too.” She folded her arms and leaned toward Anon in a clearly hostile pose.Mistress Anon laughed at her friend, clearly unfazed by her anger.“I believe in you Lucy. I have seen you do exceptional things that no other sorcerer could even dream of doing.”“You should have seen my grandfather. You would have taken him for a husband with how powerful he was.” Lucy replied solemnly. It seemed her anger had fizzled with the mention of her power. “Oh, come now.” Mistress Anon muttered as she shifted uncomfortably. “You can’t think so little of me. Mere power would not entice me into such an abominable union.”And with that Lucy let out a laugh that would put most men to shame. It boomed off the distant walls and echoed back to us with a surprising vol
“How do you know they’re doppelgangers?” I asked curiously. They looked human to me. But with a weird blue undertone to the skin that even normal dead people wouldn’t have.“Because they are reverting to their true forms.” He said as he pulled the sheet back from their feet. Each was proportionally larger than the rest of the body, with thick wrinkled dark blue skin.“What in blue blazes is that?!” I exclaimed with a start. “What’s wrong with their feet??”“Nothin’s wrong boy. Get ahold of yourself. The lucky part is getting two at one time. That fact that they look like twins is curious and a subject I have informed the local Hunters of.” He said with a wheezy cough at the end. “Do me a favor boy and go make sure this is what she wants.” He waved me off as another bout of coughs overtook him. I grabbed his elbow and steered him to the ledge to take a seat. He smacked
The ceremony finished as suddenly as it started. Mistress Anon informed the crowd of its conclusion and invited everyone over to enjoy a drink or companion over at The Widows Enclave. The level of confidence this woman had was astonishing. As addressed the crowd while still stake naked. Not even batting an eye at the open nudity she was displaying. It was only after she had finished speaking that she turned to her sister and began donning her cloths. Her boots snapped shut and she adjusted her bodice as she turned to me with intent in her eyes.“Go to the rectory across the street and speak with the father of Our Unblessed Fallen. Ask him to purchase a casket of the most recent departed. If he informs you that the most recent is more than two days old, ask him to place an order for the newest arrival. A corpse of that decomposition would be to far out of your depth right now.” She ordered as she grabbed out a coin pouch and proceeded to hand me three platinum coin
As evening began and nightfall loomed in the distance, I sat and waited. I cleared my mind and then partitioned it. I sat in my mental room of magic in my mind and took a catalogue of all the information I had accumulated up until that point. After I felt everything was in order, I branched my concentration out to the outer rooms of my metaphysical house. I studied my thinking and resolved some of my mental walls. The others I gave plywood of thought and consideration. I tried my hardest to bring the quality of my internal mind “up to standard”.I reeled myself back to consciousness after two hours of being in my subdued meditative state. I felt like I had made progress with the work I had put in. But as a precaution I began laboriously setting my mental barrier back into place. I had to be at the top of my game if I was going to take my magic any further.I was doing my finishing stretches and breathing techniques when I got a firm knock on my door. I open
I returned to my room to find Flora leaning against my door. She had on a ruby red kimono with two large emerald, green serpent dragons embroidered across it. Her hair was pulled up into a mock geisha with dangling chop stick and a hair comb to boot. Her feet were shoved into a pair of high heeled wedges that made her feet look small and dainty.She looked like a fantasy come to life, but I didn’t have time for her sensual distractions. I could easily lose all the time I’d been allotted for training by giving in to this succulent woman.“I was wondering if you were ever going to show up.” She simpered as she pushed off the door to come stand in front of me. “I was thinking,” she said as she sashayed up to me and ran her long fingers up my stomach and threw the buttons of my shirt. “that I could have a little bit of your time. I can let you have me in any way you want. That way you can do your tasks and be satisfied at the same
After shutting the door behind me, I turned to find both women respectfully waiting for me.“That’s quite kind of you but I know the way.” I began softly.Jessabelle just gave me a small smile, but her companion spoke in the most beautiful, honeyed voice. It drew me to her face, and I really noticed her features for the first time. She had sun kissed mocha skin and a lusciously picked black afro. Her eyes were as dark as her hair and her cloths were picked to match. From top to bottom she was either black or tan. Her tubed top was black with a tribal print across the breasts and her skirt looked like a section of fabric made from the same material and design. She had it split clean up to her hip and she had no shoes on. The only accessories she adorned were simple gold chains that had had strategically placed to emphasis her curves, ankles and wrists.“It could just be that we wanted to get to know you better.” She crooned as she wa
I dressed and quickly grabbed what few supplies I figured I would need. I locked my room and jogged up the stairs. I didn’t need to give this woman the impression I wasn’t listening.I turned the next corner and walked into a giant expanse of flesh. The moment my face smacked, two hands on my shoulders were violently shoving me away and down. I was flat on my ass when I looked up to see the patroness herself starring down at me.“First looks free my boy.” She chuckled playfully at me. “Touching is going to cost you though.”“I-I I am so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention-“ I struggled to explain, I was becoming increasingly more flustered as I realized what had happened.“Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist honey. It was only an accident.” She cut me off as she helped me up from the floor. “You can call me Dot. My sister has already informed me of your position.” She repli
The light streaming in through the window woke me with a stabbing pain behind my eyes. You would think a place like this would offer better curtains then this. I groaned and rolled over to find the bed blissfully empty and smelling of Flora.I groaned as more immediate needs began to make themselves present. I stumbled out of the bed, finding the chamber pot in a dazed desperation.It wasn’t until halfway through my morning piss that I realized someone was sitting in the chair next to my bed. A very robust someone.As my trickle petered out, comprehension finally dawned on me. It was the patroness? But it couldn’t be. She had darker red hair pulled back into a sever bun. Her cloths were tight, black, and shiny. She had tall, buckled boots on that came clear up past her knees.“Who are you?” I demanded as firmly as I could muster. “What are you doing in here?” I hissed at her.She stared me down with the cruelest