by Logan Jacobs
“Uh … thanks?” Penny yawned. “Wade, come in, please.”
“I’ll see you both for the show, right?” Rindell widened her light eyes.
“You will,” I replied as I stepped inside the girl’s room, shut the door, and then faced both Penny and Cimarra.
“Damn it,” Penny said as she tied her green hooded cloak that hugged her curves perfectly. “I wouldn’t have opened the door if I knew she was out there like some fucking vulture.”
“She surprised me, too,” I chuckled.
“She never sleeps,” Cimarra said as she brushed her long black hair along her shoulder. She wore an elegant blue and white dress with two thin straps that criss crossed along her back.
“Penny?” I asked.
“No,” Cimarra turned around and smirked. “Penny snores like a grizzly bear. The Madame is a soulless creature who wanders the floors all night.”
“I do not …” Penny blushed as she averted her eyes from mine.
“I’ve heard you,” I added with a smirk.
“Well, fuck.” Penny turned to face the open balcony door and watched the sun continue to rise.
“I’m probably not the most peaceful sleeper either,” I said as I tried to make the pixie feel better.
“Damn right, you’re not.” Penny glanced over her shoulder as she tried to hold back a smile.
“I’m nearly done here,” Cimarra said as she looked at me through the mirror. “I can get you the coin you need in a second.”
“No rush,” I said as I moved over to Penny’s bed and sat along the edge. “You both sleep okay last night?”
“I did,” Penny said as she walked out onto the balcony, turned around to face us, and leaned her back against the railing. “But I’m sure my grizzly bear snoring kept her up all night.”
“Penny…” Cimarra rolled her eyes, and then she turned to me. “I slept fine, how about you? Any more dreams or visions from the keys?”
I loved how that was just a normal question to ask me now.
“Naw,” I replied. “Just a good old-fashioned sleep for me.”
“Too bad,” Penny sighed as she tilted her head up toward the sky and the sun’s light kissed her sweet face.
“Alright, I’m all done,” Cimarra said as she ran a hand through her hair and let it settle along her shoulder. “How much coin do you think you’ll need, again?”
“I’m thinking twenty-five hundred at the most,” I said as I looked to Penny for input. “I know you haven’t seen it yet, but you’re good at pinpointing value.”
“It’s hard without knowing what it looks like, though,” Penny said as she scrunched her lips to the side. “I think that could be a good down-payment for a high-quality building, though.”
“It’s good, not great,” I added. “I want to buy it for twenty-five hundred total.”
“Well,” Penny smirked. “I better get my negotiating hat on for this.”
“Huh?” I cocked my eyebrow.
“It’s a joke,” Penny huffed. “I’m just saying, if you buy a building for that much, then it’ll be nothing short of magical.”
“Well,” I held my hands out at my side. “I’m a magical man.”
“Whatever you say,” Penny said with a smirk.
“Alright magic man,” Cimarra clicked open the safe near her bed and started to gather the coin we needed. “I’ll give you three-thousand just to be safe, but then we are empty.”
“Penny, do you have your satchel on you?” I asked.
“Sure do,” the pixie said as she tapped her side where the leather bag rested.
“Do you mind taking fifteen-hundred on you, and I’ll take the other half?” I asked. “It’s going to be a lot of coin.”
“That’s a good idea,” Cimarra remarked as she filled a pouch with coin.
“Yeah, not a problem,” Penny said as she walked in and sat on the bed and leaned over to watch the dancer.
Cimarra tied a pouch shut and handed it to the pixie. “There’s the first fifteen-hundred.”
“Fuck,” Penny breathed as she held the pouch in her hands. “Even as a thief, I never thought I’d see this much gold.”
“We never would’ve seen that much,” I added.
“Shit …” Penny’s emerald eyes locked with mine for a second as she bit her lip. “I know we’re gonna make even more, but I can’t even imagine it.”
“Well,” Cimarra began. “You’ll see it soon enough, especially if we continue to expand.”
“She’s right,” I chuckled. “But I know what you mean, Penny. A few months from now even this amount will feel like a pauper’s earnings.”
“Fucking crazy,” Penny smirked as she secured the coin pouch inside of her satchel.
“And here is the second,” Cimarra said as she tied another sack shut, turned around, and handed the sack over to me.
“Thank you,” I said as I put the coin into my own leather satchel and secured it shut.
“Not a problem,” Cimarra said as she turned around and shut the screeching safe door shut. “Now, I’m off to meet with the count.”
“If you need Dar or Selius for anything, just wake them up,” I said as I gestured toward the stables.
“I will,” Cimarra said as she kissed her fingers, touched my lips, and then headed toward the door. “You two be careful with the three-thousand gold, and I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Sounds good,” I replied as I watched her leave the room and then turned to Penny.
“What if I treated you like that?” Penny asked as she raised her hood over her head and moved aside a few loose strands of her red hair.
“Like what?” I asked.
“How Cimarra treats you.” Penny strutted over, pressed herself against me, kissed her fingers, and caressed my lips.
My heart beat quicker, and I felt a rush of warmth flood my face.
I’ve thought about kissing the pixie every day since we last shared one in the middle of the river and I wanted to have another now.
“Don’t like it when I do it?” Penny lowered her eyes, pulled her fingers off my lips, and turned toward the door.
“No,” I said as I reached for her hand and pulled her back into me. I could smell her sweet flowery scent, her hand was soft against mine, and her mouth opened slightly. “I like when you are simply being you. Does that make sense?”
“It does.” Penny’s eyes softened as she squeezed my hand and then pulled away toward the door. “Ready to go buy ourselves a bakery?”
Fuck, she knew how to drive my senses crazy.
“After you,” I said as I pointed to the door.
“Ah, shit,” Penny turned around as she held the door handle. “I hope Rindell isn’t still lingering around out there.”
“If she is, just ignore her,” I smirked. “I knew you hated her, but I didn't realize she was your ultimate weakness.”
“What do you mean?” Penny sneered.
“I just need to send Rindell on you if you ever piss me off,” I chuckled.
“If you send that bitch near me on purpose, then …” Penny rolled her eyes as she opened the door.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m not even gonna waste my breath on tellin’ ya,” Penny said with a smirk. “I’d just surprise you with my wrath if you ever did that to me.”
“Well,” I breathed. “I know that I never want to see a scorned pixie.”
“Damn right, you don’t,” Penny added as we walked down the hall and heard the clinking of plates and utensils from the kitchen.
“Then, let’s get the fuck outta here,” I said as we turned down the stairs, walked down the first story hallway, and then out the back door.
“Where exactly is this place?” Penny asked as we walked through the theatre’s side alley.
“Near Guilder,” I replied.
“So …” Penny paused. “Close to the guild that’s currently trying to hunt us down?”
“Exactly,” I said as I put my hood up
. “Better keep your hood up too. That hair of yours can give you away for miles.”
“Shit,” Penny muttered. “I hope we hear from Ava soon.”
“Me too,” I answered as we walked toward the main road that was covered in ‘Eclipse Festival’ banners, signs, and decorations. Everywhere I looked was a reminder of the elves and their fucking fake pride.
Penny and I quickened our pace until we passed the gallows, turned left, and headed toward the Halfling District. The streets were growing busier since the morning rush was just about to be in full swing.
As we walked in between wagons, people, and food carts, I caught her up on the last conversation I had with the bakery owner. I told her he was selling because he wanted to try to buy his son's freedom from an elven labor camp.
“Shit,” Penny hissed. “So, he’s in a desperate situation?”
“I think so,” I breathed. “I hate to take advantage of it, but I’m confident he’ll take our offer. The longer he waits without a buyer, the bigger the probability that his son is dead.”
“Is there anything else we could do?” Penny questioned as we walked past the wooden gates of the Halfling District.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I kept my eyes open for any elven guard or hint of an assassin tracking us.
“Can we find his son or something for him?” Penny questioned. “I just … fuck.”
“I know,” I said. “I tried to convince him it was a lost cause, as much as it hurt, his son belonged to the elves now.”
“Would Skam know something?” Penny asked.
“I dunno,” I said with a shrug. “There are a countless amount of labor camps sprawled across the realm. The kid could be anywhere.”
“I know,” Penny replied as she moved out of the way of a galloping centaur delivering mail.
“We’re gonna give him a lot of coin, though,” I said. “That’s the best thing we can do for him, and we just have to hope he doesn’t blow it all for nothing.”
“Sure,” Penny muttered. “Fucking elves.”
“Fucking elves is right,” I added. “Their time is ending, though.”
“I hope so,” Penny sneered and then looked at me. “How much further until we get to the place?”
“Not far now,” I said as I pointed up ahead. “We are gonna turn down the street before Guilder, just to be safe.”
“Good,” Penny replied. “We could’ve been followed, even as we speak.”
“I know,” I muttered as we turned down the road that led to Eloy’s. “Alright, it’s just down this way.”
I hated that we could’ve been followed, but for now, I just had to trust Ava was right in that the assassins would go after her first then worry about us. I just hoped we could figure something out where we can help Ava since she couldn’t be on the run forever.
“Is that it?” Penny nodded toward the building on our right. “Eloy’s?”
“That’s it,” I confirmed as I stopped in front of the building and saw the “closing soon” sign was still up in the window. “Looks like he hasn’t sold it yet.”
“So far so good,” Penny said. “You have any ideas, or you just want to sweet-talk your way to a deal?”
“I was thinking of just talking my way to the price I want,” I said with a smirk.
“Works for me,” Penny said with a slight nod. “Lead the way.”
So, I walked up to the front door, opened it, and took a big whiff of the smell of fresh bread and cinnamon. My mouth began to water as I held the door open for Penny and a halfling customer in a rush to leave the bakery.
“This is a nice place, Wade,” Penny remarked as she walked in and took a seat at one of the open tables near the window.
“Be with ya in a second,” Eloy said with his back turned as he finished cleaning the counter. He wore a large white apron tied loosely in the back, a white chef hat that flopped to the side, and a red-checkered shirt.
“No problem, Eloy,” I said as I walked up to the counter.
“Do I know ya?” Eloy said as he folded the cleaning rag and then turned around to face me. When he did, he recognized me and began to snap his fingers as he tried to remember my name. “Ah, it’s you … uhh …”
“Wade,” I answered.
“That’s right!” He clapped his hands together. “I’m no good with names, but I’ll never forget your face after the night you came.”
“Those kids haven’t come back to bother you, right?” I knew they hadn’t, but I wanted to make sure he knew I stayed true to my word.
“It’s been nothin’ but peaceful over here since you handled those bastards,” Eloy chuckled as he adjusted a thin pair of spectacles on his face. “Is she with you, too?”
“She is.” I opened my hand toward the pixie who stood up and walked over. “This is Penny, my business assistant.”
“Ah, so nice to meet you, Penny,” Eloy glanced at Penny and then back to me. “You said business assistant, does that mean you’re here to talk business?”
“It is,” I replied. “If you have the time.”
“Time?” Eloy untied his apron, placed it on the counter, walked over to the front door, flipped over the ‘open’ sign to show ‘closed’, and then locked it shut. “I’ve wondered if you’d come back or not every minute of every day. I need to sell this place as soon as possible, so I can get going.”
“Have you found the location of your son?” I questioned as I watched the old halfling move back over to the counter.
“Aye,” the chef said with a solemn nod. “He’s far away, and I need to start my journey as soon as I can to save him.”
“Did the elves say they’d take coin for his release?” I asked.
“No,” Eloy replied. “But, I never thought I’d know where he was, and now I do, so I have to try to offer whatever I can.”
“I understand,” I said. “Well, as you know, we are interested in buying your store and apartment.”
“Excellent, oh, that’s just excellent,” Eloy clasped his hands together. “Before we talk price, lemme show ya both around, eh?”
“Please.” I nodded toward the kitchen.
“Follow me, then,” the chef waved us over and then stopped and gestured out in front of himself. “Well, first, here is the sitting area and front counter. The counter is new and the same with the wood floors.”
“I thought so,” I said as I moved around the counter and saw multiple baskets of bagels, muffins, cookies, and other exotic breads stored underneath.
“Will you keep this place a bakery if you buy it?” Eloy asked as he saw me looking at the different breads.
“I think we would,” I replied. “Maybe we’ll tweak it a bit, but I like the idea of a bakery. Plus, it always smells good in here.”
“That’s a benefit for sure.” Eloy grinned. “Do ya have a chef in mind to do the baking?”
“Not yet,” I replied.
“No hurry,” Eloy said as he opened the swinging kitchen door and held it open for us to continue the tour.
“This is where the baking and cooling takes place,” He said as he opened his hand out toward the stoves along the wall with the cooling racks. “The wrap-around counter provides more than enough space to cook a large quantity at once.”
“Is the counter new as well?” Penny asked.
“No,” Eloy said as he shook his head. “The counter top has been here as long as I have, but I’ve kept it in pristine condition as you can see.”
“You’ve kept everything in pristine condition,” I added.
“Thank you, Wade,” Eloy began as he lifted his chef hat a bit and scratched at his head. “I’ve tried.”
“We can tell,” I said as I gestured to Penny next to me.
“Well,” Eloy continued into the next room. The room I was most interested in. “This here is where I make the dough, stir it up, and form it in these giant cylinders that I created.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as I looked over the contraption. I hadn’
t noticed before, but he had two ropes on each side of the cylinder. Both of the ropes were attached to a pulley system on the ceiling and somewhere inside the two giant cylinders. “How does it work?”
“There isn’t anything like this throughout the entire realm.” Eloy smirked as he walked over to one of the dangling ropes and gave it a pull. When he did, I could hear something moving inside the cylinder. “I grew tired of having to make small batches of dough every single night, so I bought the two giant cylinders, attached ropes to each side of a dull blade, and then attached the blade to a weighted nozzle in the middle of each cylinder. The nozzle keeps the blade securely in place but allows it to spin freely. So, with a tug, each end of the rope moves in the pulley, the blade spins in place, and mixes the large amount of dough much faster than I ever could by hand.”
As unique as the device was, I’d take it apart to make these our new stills.
“Wow,” Penny commented as she tapped the cylinders. “That’s fucking genius.”
“Ain’t it?” Eloy widened his eyes, but then he lowered them as he dropped the rope. “My son and I both came up with the idea, actually.”
“Well, it’s brilliant,” I added.
“Thanks,” Eloy said as he pointed across the room that led to the back of the bakery. “As you know, back there is nothing but storage space and the exit, but it also leads to the apartment’s entrance. Would you care to see the living space, too?”
“Very much so,” I replied.
“Excellent,” the baker walked through the hall full of boxes of ingredients, supplies, bowls, and other random things. Then he opened the door and waited for us to follow. “It’s just up this way.”
“Perfect,” I said as I followed him out along with Penny.
“Up these stairs here,” the baker gestured to the iron stairs bolted on the building, and then to the white door on top. “Hang on to the railings if you’re afraid of fallin’.”
Eloy climbed one step at a time as he searched his pocket for the key. Then he stepped up to the top of the last stair, inserted the key into the door, and opened it for us.
Then Penny and I stepped inside and looked around the humble apartment. Just like the bakery, everything was clean and put in order. The carpeted floors were plush, and the small kitchen to the right had everything we’d need, and there was also a bed placed near the far window facing the street. Bookshelves lined the wall to our left where the door that led to the bathroom was.