by Sami Dougish
The sensation of falling back into the bed felt strange, but still I decided to try laying down completely. As I did, the feeling of sinking into the floor got worse, and I quickly sat back up, and climbed out of the bed. I shook my head in disgust at the thing.
“How could anyone find that comfortable?” I growled in disbelief as I stared at the bed. Instead of laying back down on the bed, I reached out, and pulled the large wool blanket off the bed, and pulled it down to the sanded wood floor. I laid down and pulled the blanket over me.
“Ahh much better,” the hard floor felt so much better, and I suddenly felt my eyes getting heavy as I enjoyed the firm feeling of the floor under my body. I guess seventeen years sleeping on the floor now made it feel natural. As I drifted down into sleep, my last thoughts were of the killing to be done tomorrow, and the chance to rid the world of a few more humans.
Chapter 10
I rose before the sun the next day, as per usual, and stretched feeling rested. Excitement replaced the early morning drowsiness, as I remembered that I was going to be leaving this town today, and with new gear, weapons, and a mount.
I pulled myself up off the ground, and quickly moved over to my sack. I pulled out one of the clean pair of pants and shirt and quickly slipped them on. After doing that, I moved over to where I had stored my armor, and began the process of slipping all of my armor on. The leather was much easier to slip on then the heavier metal armors, and it took me only a few minutes to get all the latches locked into place, and the small knots tied.
The armor felt as good as it had yesterday, and I took a moment to admire the design in the mirror, before I began equipping my weapons. I placed the pair of hammers on either side of my belt, quickly followed by two of the daggers. The third and final one went into my boot. I also slipped the compass through one of my belt loops, as I knew I would be needing the useful tool soon enough. After all of that was done, I went around and made sure the rest of my gear was in the sack. This included all of my rations, medical supplies, clothing, coin, flint, and finally my blanket. The old sack was definitely getting too full, and was on the heavier side, but I was strong enough to carry it around without too much difficulty. Still, it would be nice to have a mount to hold all of this for me instead. Satisfied that I had all of my gear, I quickly tied the bloody rag around my face, I hopped it would be the last time I had to wear the thing for a while.
Lastly, I reach out, and grabbed the naginata that had been resting against the wall. The weight of it was comforting in my hands, and I was eager to test it out against real enemies. I had a feeling my wish would turn to reality soon enough.
I unbolted the door and strode out into the hallway and down the steps. When I reached the common room, I saw that the inn was currently closed for the morning, with only a one of the boys who had brought me water last night asleep at the bar. I assumed he was here to let people like me out this early in the morning. I strode up to him, and knocked on the wood in front of him. He jerked awake, and when he looked up at me, he nearly fell out of his chair.
A few moments later, after the kid seemed to be able to breath normally again, I told him to let me out of the inn. The boy nearly tripped over his own feet in a rush to let me out of the inn. I didn’t say anything to him as I brushed past him, and stepped out into the cool morning air. The streets were, to my relief, nearly completely empty and quiet. The crowds that walked the streets in the middle of the day were nowhere to be seen. Just a few drunkards, and beggars from the look of things.
I didn’t waste any time though, instead I made my way over to the blacksmith. I made it there faster than I had yesterday as I no longer had to navigate the crowds of people. True to Owen’s words, I saw a red glow coming from the forge, and soon enough I was able to see the man in question hammering away at a hot piece of metal.
Instead of bothering to go to the store front, which I knew would be locked, I opted to just leap over the small fence that ran around the forge. It was only three feet high and was easy enough to clear even with all of my gear.
“I am here for my head piece,” I said without waiting for him to notice me.
The smith shouted in surprise, and I watched with amusement as he nearly smashed his own hand with the hammer. He spun around and gave me an irritated look as he realized who it was.
“Valyn’s fangs man, did you have to scare me like that! I nearly crushed my damn hand!”
The only thing he got from me in way of response was my typical deadpanned stare. He rolled his eyes in frustration, until the fight seemed to leave him, and instead he just threw his arms up in exasperation and said, “Well now that you are here, yes I finished your mask about twenty minutes ago, and just applied a light coat of oil. One second and I’ll go and get it for you.”
He quickly began to hang his tools up and made sure to quickly quench the heated piece of metal he had been working on when I had arrived. Once satisfied his forge was in order, he bustled off muttering to himself. He reached a cupboard built into the roof of the forge’s enclosure. A few seconds later he was walking back with the leather mouth piece in his hands. His previously irritated mood seemed to have vanished as he held the piece out to me. If anything, he seemed excited to see my reaction.
“That is some fine work, if I do say so myself! At first, I was going to make it plain and identical to the original, but I decided after seeing how you handled your weapons, you would appreciate a more warlike design. So, I decided to make some improvements!”
Curious to see what he had done; I took the mask from him. It had been made in the same design as the other had been, with slits on the bottom of the nose piece to allow air to pass through, as well as a slit to allow me to breathe through my mouth below that. Even so, it looked a lot more, well, predatory.
Instead of a plain piece of leather, Owen had etched a design all along the mask. Rows of long fangs had been etched on the top and bottom of the mask, making it seem as if a monster was growling at you. He had even somehow managed to etch what looked to be like streams of blood running down from the jaws, along the neckline of the mask. They were all dyed with a darker color then the rest of the face mask, similar to how the designs of the chest piece had been made. Overall, it made for a what I imaged would be an intimidating sight in a fight. I grinned under the bandage, this would make for a nice addition to my new armor, and I was eager to see people’s reaction to it.
“Well what do you think?!” Owen asked nearly bouncing on his feet.
Though I didn’t feel like complementing the human, I couldn’t deny it was good work on his and his brothers part.
“The changes will do just fine,” I said simply in reply.
Even though my answer was dry, he still seemed elated, and clapped his hands together in excitement.
“Well then my friend, it looks as if you have everything you will need from us. I am glad that my armor is going to one with your capabilities. May the armor and weapons serve you well in your tasks ahead of you. My brother and I will be happy to replace any pieces that become worn or damaged over time. We will even give you a discount as you did us a favor by getting us some money from the work in then end. Will you try the mask on before you leave though? I want to see how the set looks on you!”
Though I wanted to try it on as well, I held back, as taking my cloth off, and exposing no wound might lead to awkward questions.
“No, I will have to let my face heal first, and then I will try it on.”
Owen sighed, but brightened and said, “Well it is your armor now, so it is yours to do with as you wish. It is good enough for me that you are pleased with the armor.”
Without replying, I turned around, and walked to the fence and hopped it again on my way out. I quickly moved away from the forge, and down to the cobbled roads until I found a suitable alleyway for me to duck into. Eagerly, I ripped the rag off my face, and tossed it to the ground, glad to be rid of the piece of cloth.
The leather face piece was alr
eady unclipped in the back, and I quickly wrapped the piece around my face. The neck guard fit perfectly with my chest piece, and I was able to attach the bottom portion to the chest pieces studs, to hold it in place. This leather however was flexible, and still allowed me a full range of motion with my neck, while providing protection from the elements. The part that covered my face, just to the ridge of my nose was hardened like the rest of my armor. The chin area had been widened slightly and made to accommodate jaw movement so I would be able to speak with the mask on. The leather on the inside of the mask had lined with a soft cloth to keep my face from chaffing against the leather. It fit my face like a second skin, and I took a few experimental breaths through the mask. I found that I was able to breath easily enough, and out of curiosity, I tried pushing my long tongue through the slit at my mouth. The tongue was able to easily slither through, and I was glad that it wouldn’t interfere with my ability to tastes scents on the air.
The face mask had been worth every coin I had paid for it, and I was eager to test the full set of armor out in a real fight. Hopefully in a few hours I would get what I was hoping for. I stepped back out into the main street, now fully equipped, and took a deep breath, enjoying having the armor and face piece now.
I looked up at the sky, and saw that while it was still dark, I saw a slight lightening of the sky, and figured I should start making my way to the meeting place Orizmad had told me about. I pulled the compass from my belt and looked at it to get my bearings. I had never used a compass before yesterday, but the shop keeper, who had sold it to me, had given me a quick explanation of how it worked, and how to use it. The needle spun to the north, which fortunately, was the direction the dwarf had said his house was located. Damn this thing would have been useful when I was in the forest. Well at least I had it now.
Now that I knew which way I needed to head; I quickly made my way north. The streets stayed blissfully empty as I walked, and I continued to eat up the ground as I made my way north. Orizmad hadn’t been particularly specific about where to meet him, but he had said that the house was large with a red thatched roof. I glanced up at the houses and buildings I passed, and saw most were a dark color and looked to be roughly built. He had said he had used a noble’s seal to buy the house, so I assumed it would be better looking than the rest of the buildings.
The cobbled road I was currently walking on had been moving in an upward direction for several minutes, and when I reached the crest, I saw that I had risen about fifty feet over the northern part of the city in front of me. I looked out at the smattering of buildings before me, and tried to pick the one that had a red thatched roof. After several minutes of sweeping my eyes over the area, I spotted the building in question. It was a two story house that was located nearly in the middle of the northern part of the town. It looked to be several hundred meters away, and I quickly moved down the slope in front of me that led back down the buildings.
The northern part of the town seemed cleaner than the rest of the town, and I guessed it was due to the proximity of the towns keep. I had caught sight of it on the rise. It was a stone building, almost like a castle, that had a second wall surrounding it. I assumed this was where the town’s full garrison was stationed. More soldier meant more patrols, which meant more order. With the town’s main garrison in this area, we would have to worry about more troops during our raid. We would need to be quick so as not to be overwhelmed. The keep apparently wasn’t too far from the northern gate, where Orizmad said the guard post where his men were located.
I planned on mentioning this to Orizmad before we set off. I refocused on finding the house, and it took me a bit longer than I would have liked, but eventually I found my way to the front area of the house. The door was made of a sturdy looking wood that had been polished and looked to be well kept. That was strange, as the dwarf, had claimed this house was only in use occasionally. The care the door looked to have been given told another story. I quickly studied the rest of the building, and I grew more and more positive the dwarf wasn’t telling me the full truth.
I would confront him about it once I was inside the house. The sun wasn’t quite up yet, so we still had some time before the meeting, but I had no intention of waiting out here, so I leaned forward, and banged loudly on the door with a fist. I waited for about fifteen seconds before I raised my hand to knock again even harder this time, when the door cracked open slightly, and I saw a man peak out at me warily.
“Who are you, and what business do you have here? This is house is property of lord- “
I cut the man off and said, “The smuggler dwarf Orizmad. He is expecting me, and I don’t plan on waiting out here. Go and tell him the person he spoke to in the market is here to fulfil his end of the bargain!”
The man behind the door looked shocked, but nodded, and closed the door, He was gone for several minutes, and when he returned, he smiled at me as he opened the door all the way this time. His smile fell away though as he got a good look at me. His eyes widened as he took in my appearance, as I now stood at my full height, fully armed and armored.
Not waiting for him to finish gawking, I pushed my way past him, and into the house. I quickly glanced at the interior of the house and saw that it had been built with marble walls inside, and multitudes of paintings, and sculptures lined the walls. It was certainly an expensive collection, and not something someone would have displayed if this were just a safe house of sorts for the smuggler.
The man who had answered the door seemed to have gotten over a bit of his shock, and quickly slammed the door behind me. He moved around to get in front of me, and said, “I’m sorry for the mishap, but you are early, and I didn’t know who you were. One can never be too careful when dealing with strange people, especially when you work for one of the largest smugglers this half of the continent. I am Micah by the way.”
I raised my eyebrows at that, so it seemed Orizmad had more resources on hand then I had originally thought, if he was considered one of the largest smugglers on the continent. Just another piece of evidence proving there was more to Orizmad then he had let on.
“This way, Orz is havin his breakfast.”
“Orz?”
“That’s what we call the boss, well we call him Orz or boss, now that you are working for him, you can call him either as well.”
I grunted, and said, “I do not work for him, this is a one-time deal, after which I doubt, we will ever see each other again.”
“Well, whatever you say mate, either way follow me.”
I let the topic go and followed the human through the house. I found it strange that a human was working for a dwarf in Thuum borders, but I guess the dwarf was a smuggler, he probably had contacts and people of all kinds of races working for him. I scoffed at the thought, as I was sure that those workers didn’t include any drayzraac.
“The dwarf is a slippery one vessel, be wary about how you deal with him.”
I agreed with the dragon, anyone who rose to power, especially in a criminal element had to be ruthless, and capable. Orizmad had seemed to carry himself with an air of confidence, and I now knew he had good reason to.
Micah led me to a large set of doors, which he quickly pushed open, and called out, “Here he is boss!”
I stepped into the room, and glanced around, scoping the area out. It was an impressive room, with a large hanging light source, which I had seen in several noble houses before, never knew what they were called though.
“Chandelier,” Raskorian provided without even being asked. He was becoming extremely useful in the vocabulary department.
Orizmad was sitting at the far end of the table talking to another dwarf who sat opposite to him. I felt a tingle in the room when I focused on the other dwarf. My hackles rose slightly under my mask. Mage!
My kind had a natural resistance to magic. While we were by no means immune to magic, we certainly had a better chance of surviving a magical attack then most other races. We could also sense when a mage was near, by t
he feel of the mana in the air that always swirled around them. The fact that we were naturally resistant to magic, had apparently sorely hurt the pride of mages. They were generally powerful people and believed themselves to be better than anyone who lacked magical ability. The fact that a race was naturally resistant to their gifts, had infuriated them. Mages had taken great pleasure in tormenting drayzraac, and I had been on the receiving end of a number of such attacks, when I had been a slave.
I narrowed my eyes at the mage but did my best to hide any sort of recognition. Drayzraac were known to be able to sense mages, and if I gave it away that I knew he was a mage before Orizmad told me, it could lead to a fight.
Orizmad looked up and smiled broadly when he saw me. He pushed his chair back and stood up to greet me. He came around the table and was followed closely by the dwarven mage. Orizmad looked quite a bit different then he had in the streets of the town. He now wore a set of expensive looking clothing, that were fitted to him far better than the cloak had been. I could see the stocky dwarf had large, corded muscles underneath his clothing, and carried himself with the air of a man who liked a fight. He also had a number of gold rings on his fingers, and a matching silver pendant around his neck. His large beard had multiple braids now, with large iron looking bands holding the ends of each. The dwarf behind him, was thinner, and nowhere near as muscular as Orizmad, but was an inch or two taller. While Orizmad was bald, the mage had a fiery head of hair, which was shaved on both sides, leaving a long strip of hair down the middle. He had a matching color beard that was trimmed shorter than Orizmad’s but was less decorated. He wore dark red robes, a matching pair of pants underneath from what I could see.
Orizmad stopped in front of me, and looked me up and down with interest, “Well and here I thought you had looked impressive in that dirty shirt and pants. Ya look downright intimidating in that there armor! New weapon too eh? Well, I’m sure you will be gettin a chance to use that beauty soon enough.”