The plants heavy with strange fruits and vegetables, they had enjoyed the morning sun as it rose. Currently midday, a pleasant shade covered the area, keeping the air significantly cooler than the rest of what they had seen.
To the left lay an entrance into her two-room apartment. Holding back the brightly colored blanket that covered the door, she permitted them to enter. Inside, their eyes adjusted to the darkness as only a pair of small lamps burned, located on opposite sides of the room from each other. Rey placed her jug on the table that sat squarely in the center of her kitchen as he looked around.
The wall on the left formed the corner of the door, so that the entrance opened up straight back and to the right. On the far wall, a long table served as her workspace for preparing meals and caring for her plants. On the wall to the right of the door, a long, cushioned bench served as a place to sit or lie down. In the right wall, they could see another door that led into the bedroom, but they could not discern what it held through the narrow gap as a thin swath of material hung over to give it privacy.
“Your place is nice,” Piers offered, smiling at her with a squint to his eyes.
Looking him up and down, the woman did not return the grin. Instead, she demanded in earnest, “Why have you come to Whitefair?”
“We told you. We’re just passing through,” he assured, holding up his hands in a form of surrender.
“And our tongue happens to roll off your lips,” she accused, crossing her arms as she glared at him evenly.
Rocking his jaw slowly, the Mate studied her, then asked, “Have we done something to offend you? I thought we were being neighborly, carrying your jug for you and all.”
“Neighborly,” she smirked. “No one is neighborly in Whitefair, and no services rendered without a price,” she wheezed, taken with a cough. Serving herself a cup of water from her new supply, she cut her eyes over at the younger man, then drank the liquid in a few quick gulps. “How long have you been in Eriden?”
Clearing his throat, Piers growled, “All right, that’s enough. Sorry we bothered you, ma’am.” Grabbing the younger man by the arm, he pushed him towards the door ahead of him.
“No, wait!” she hissed, holding up her hands as he had done only a few moments before. “Please, I do not mean to be ungrateful. It was kind of you to provide your aid,” she added with a hint of a smile. “Would you like some of my water?” she offered, hoping to appease the newcomers.
Accepting the cup, the pair each had a drink, their eyes roving as they studied her small home further.
“You live here alone?” Piers asked in a relaxed tone, removing his bag from his shoulder and dropping it on the bench, next to the door.
“Yes,” she agreed with a nod. “I have been here many years. It belonged to my husband, and we shared it before he died.” Her lids heavy, his passing brought her obvious pain.
“I’m sorry,” he said more quietly, lifting his chin towards the exit, indicating for the other man to go out.
Doing as he had been silently directed, Reynard dropped the curtain over the outer door into place and took a seat on one of the chairs. Propping his feet up in a second, he hunched over and prepared for a nap, as he felt certain the Mate would soon make his first conquest of Whitefair, so he was going to be there a while.
Hiding Places
“Would you like something to eat?” Meena offered, keeping the table between them as she moved around her small kitchen.
“No,” the Mate replied. Removing the protective layers of mangled quilt he had added to his clothing, the cooler air of her home felt nice. “We really need to find a place to settle for a day or two,” he confessed.
“As I said, there aren’t many such places to be had here,” she informed him. As he came around the table towards her, she took a few steps counter clockwise, keeping the distance between them. “I could show you a bit of hospitality,” she offered, then added, “for a price,” more softly.
“Hospitality,” he repeated, frozen in his pursuit. He had been working his way around, hoping to get close enough to put a few moves on her that would make her more receptive to giving them aid, but her mention of payment had him on edge. “You mean, hospitality,” he slurred the word, raising his eyebrows at her a few times.
“Of course, for a fair sum,” she replied, clasping the leather bag that hung at her waist, the few coins inside tinkling against one another.
His eyes wide with horror, he made the connection at the same moment she realized her mistake. “Oh, shit. You’re a –” He caught himself before he said the word.
Pressing her lips together, she raised her chin defiantly. “I’m a what?” she spat. “A woman working hard to make ends meet in this God-forsaken hell hole?”
Her words sharp, he could see the pain in her eyes. Pressing his hand flat against his chest, he stammered, “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… ” His voice trailed away as he searched for the right words. Exhaling loudly, he straightened himself and tried again. “I need to find a place for us. A place for a few days that we can rest and prepare for the next leg of our journey. I’m not really interested in… anything else,” he faltered.
Her cheeks flushed with indignation, she tightened her jaw, then spat, “I’ll rent you the patio for the night if that’s all you’re after.”
“That’s very generous,” he agreed, smiling with relief that she was at least still speaking to him after their misunderstanding. “But we have other friends,” he explained, chopping the air with a stiff hand as he clarified, then swinging it wide as if indicating the others through the city walls. “We really need a little more protection.”
“What kind of friends?” she eyed him warily, dropping the pouch and moving slowly towards her collection of knives, not sure what to make of the stranger and his odd behavior.
His demeanor less than his typically collected self, Piers fidgeted with his clothing for a moment, then laid it on the line, “I have a few friends hiding outside of town. The kind I wouldn’t want to see injured. How much to have your bedroom for a few days to hide them in? No hospitality required.”
She had reached the back table, and he could see her fingers sliding towards one of the blades.
“You’re not going to need that,” he clipped with a sigh. “If you say no, we’ll go and look elsewhere. We don’t want any trouble. We just want a few days to rest up before we head back out.” Leaving her to think about his offer, he darted out the door, dropping the curtain back into place and plunking down into one of the unoccupied chairs.
“Wow, that was quick,” Rey observed, removing his feet from the other seat.
“Hardly,” Piers spat, holding his face in his hands, his elbows digging into his knees. “She comes with a rate,” he informed him quietly. “I told her we just want to rent her room for a few days, and I’m giving her a minute to decide. If she says no, we’ll go back to the spring and try someone else.”
“You’ll get yourselves killed, more like,” she informed him from the doorway. Glaring at him with her deep brown orbs, there was something intriguing about his behavior. Nothing fit with the two men; not their clothing, their demeanor, and certainly not their ability to speak her language.
Joining them, she took the seat next to Rey and rested her arms on the table before her. “How many friends?”
“Five,” Piers spat. “And we need a way to get them into the city unseen.”
“Unseen,” she laughed. “You do like a challenge. That will cost you. But I know someone who can arrange it.”
“Fair enough.” Opening his pack, he produced the second of their elven goblets. Placing it on the table before her, he could see her eyes grow wide, but she didn’t ask where he got it. Relieved, he exhaled loudly, then asked, “Can it be done tonight?”
“Do you have another one?” she cut her eyes up at him for a moment, then returned them to the treasure he had presented.
Growling under his breath, he opened the pack and placed a second b
y its side. “That’s it,” he grunted.
“It will do. At dark, my associate will take you to retrieve your friends, and they can hide in my bedroom. You get two nights, and then you must leave. After that, there’s too much risk of detection. I have regulars who will notice…” she informed him quietly.
“Aye,” he nodded, gazing at her dolefully. “I understand.”
His face taking on a hot flush, Rey also understood. “Well, now that that’s settled, do you have a place around here to have a pint? Or is beer out of the question?”
Laughing again, Meena studied the younger man. “Whitefair is filled with pubs,” she informed him curtly. “It’s about the only thing we do here. Go back down to the path and hang a right, then follow the noise. But watch yourself and keep covered as much as you can. We have few men of the rim in the oasis, so you’ll stand out like a sore thumb.”
“There are other mortals here?” Rey asked in surprise as the Mate recovered himself with his wrap and hood.
“Yes,” she affirmed with a nod. “About a dozen, along with elves, dwarves, a few satyrs. And most would cut your heart out for what’s in that bag of yours,” she sneered, certain that wasn’t the last of his trinkets.
“We’ll be careful,” the Mate agreed, standing beside his young friend as he hung his pack over his shoulder. “Make the arrangements, and we’ll meet you back here at dusk.”
Following his leader, Rey marched down the stairs, and they turned onto the path as she had directed. Arriving at a bar a few blocks down, they made their way inside, where they took a table in a dark corner and prepared to stay out of sight until they could make their next move.
“Are we all set?” Piers demanded, arriving on Meena’s patio as the last golden rays disappeared.
“We are,” she replied with a crooked grin. “This is Geoffrey Tabard and Humphray Heron, fellow mortals of the rim,” she introduced, presenting each with an open palm. “They are going to help get your friends here to my quarters, safe and sound.”
Nodding at each in turn, the first mate quickly assessed the pair. Geoffrey stood near his height, maybe an inch taller, with short spikes in his near black hair. His build slender, his beady blue eyes watched around him anxiously, and the Mate felt certain he was the brains of their duo.
Humphray on the other hand stood about five-foot-ten and nearly as much around the middle. His fingers stubby, he offered his hand, and Piers wiped the sweat from his fingers after he accepted it. His hair and eyes dark brown, his round face held a vacant expression, and the Mate flicked his gaze back and forth between the unlikely pair for a moment before he decided they would do. Satisfied, he announced, “Fine. Let’s go before anything crazy happens.”
Her eyes wide, the woman glared at him, “Is something wrong?”
“Nope,” he clipped, shaking his head firmly as Rey came stumbling up the stairs behind him. “Rey, you stay here, out of sight,” he instructed, pointing at one of the chairs under the canopy.
“Aye, aye, captain,” the younger man replied with an exaggerated salute, then spitting as he broke into a loud laugh.
“Shh,” Meena hissed, grabbing him by the chest and pulling him to the furthest point before shoving him into a chair. “You’ll be heard!”
Nodding his agreement, Rey leaned against his fist, propping himself up against the back of the chair and closing his eyes.
“He’s drunk!” Geoffrey observed.
“Aye,” the Mate agreed with a disgruntled scowl. “Hours we’ve waited, so the sooner we get the others here and under cover the better.”
“We’ll get them here,” Humphray promised, clamping him on the shoulder as he hoisted a large coil of rope. “Which direction are we headed?”
“East,” Piers replied more calmly as they scurried down the stone steps. “There’s some large boulders…”
“Yeah, yeah, we know the ones,” Humphray agreed, turning to Meena as she brought up the rear. “We’ll get them over the wall, but you must keep watch,” he whispered so that only she could hear.
“Right,” she replied, pulling her hood up to cover her head as they followed the first man through the narrow passages.
The sun gone, the only beings out would be those up to no good, so they did their best to avoid contact with anyone. Arriving at the east wall a short time later, Geoffrey scaled the rough surface with ease, then dropped the rope back for his cohort to join him.
A much larger man, Humphray huffed loudly as he pulled himself up, only making it about three feet off the ground before he lost his grip and crashed into the soft sand below. Shaking his head in disgust, Piers smacked him on the arm, “Forget it. We’ll get them. You go find us some food and deliver it to Meena’s. I’m sure my friends will be hungry when we get them there.”
“Food? At this hour?” the fat man grunted.
“Aye,” the Mate replied tartly. “You don’t look like you miss many meals. Food for five and some broth if you can score it.”
“Broth,” the other man laughed, dropping the rope before he strutted away. “Fine, I’ll bring the meal, but it’s going to cost you,” he called over his shoulder.
Shaking her head, Meena sighed, “Sorry, Piers. Everything costs, but don’t worry. We’ll see that they’re fed.”
Taking hold of the rope, he hoisted himself up, straddling the wall next to Geoffrey, who had been anchoring it for him. “Do we leave it here?”
“Naw, you go down, and I’ll join you, then I’ll bring it back up when we’ve gathered the rest,” he stipulated.
Using the line to walk down the wall, Piers observed as the other man seemed to know where all the hand and foot holes were without looking as he followed. “You boys do this often?” he asked, concern growing in the back of his mind over what might happen if they were caught.
“Once or twice a month,” the other man sneered. “We have a guy who makes regular deliveries for us, so sometimes we use this wall. Sometimes we use the west.”
“What sort of deliveries,” the Mate insisted, squaring his shoulders and folding his arms across his chest as he waited for the reply.
“The secret kind,” Geoffrey laughed. “Which way?”
Seeing that a real response was unlikely, Piers pointed, “Over there,” leading him through the boulders. Without lights or torches, he feared that they would have a difficult time finding the group, but his companion seemed to know the maze of rocks well, and they found the rest of his friends sitting on the ground, watching around them anxiously when they arrived.
“Piers!” Ami squealed, leaping to her feet and throwing her arms around him.
Getting up as well, Baldwin followed, observing, “We weren’t sure you would make it. We realized after you left we really hadn’t come up with a backup plan in case you didn’t.”
“No need,” the Mate observed, giving the girl a squeeze before placing her feet back on the ground and handing out orders. “We don’t want to take most of this stuff in with us. Take only what we’ll need while we gather our supplies. Is there somewhere around here we can hide it until we’re ready to leave?” he asked, addressing their guide, who was inspecting their gear.
“Sure,” Geoffrey shrugged. “I know about a cave over on the north side of these boulders –” He stopped, noticing the mermaid. “What the hell is that?”
Staring up at him with wide eyes, Oldrilin sidled around behind Baldwin so that only a sliver of her small form could be seen.
“A friend, so leave her be,” the Mate growled, selecting the items they would carry over the wall. “We’ll want to fill these waterskins and the wine bottles. Most of the rest we won’t need, except a few empty packs for carrying food and such.”
Nodding, the local man agreed, his eyes still trained on the siren. “Yeah, bring some empty packs, and we’ll get you stocked up.”
Fitting her pack over her shoulders, onto her back, Amicia placed Lin’s carrier on her chest and offered to hoist her into it.
�
�I’ll walk,” she replied, pushing her hands away.
“That ain’t right,” Geoffrey chuckled, her words indecipherable. “I’ve learned most of the languages that come in here, but I never heard that one.” He looked from one group member to the next, awaiting an explanation.
“Show us the place,” the Mate insisted, carrying their poles and weapons with folded arms.
“This way,” the other man grunted, waving his hand for them to follow. On the other side of the band of large rocks, he located one with a hollow space underneath so that a small cave was formed. “No one’ll see them in here,” he promised.
Immediately realizing that could be a lie, the Mate said in a low voice, “Leave nothing of value.”
“Aye,” Bally agreed, stacking their blankets on top of the poles. “I’ll take my sword and ax.”
“I’ll bring Amicia’s bow and quiver, along with mine,” Animir volunteered.
Sorting their belongings quickly, the six friends quickly grouped for their departure and followed Geoffrey back to the wall, where he climbed once again and dropped the rope below for them to use.
“Let me take her,” Piers instructed, pointing at Oldrilin’s bag, which still hung in front of Ami.
“I shall climb,” the siren insisted.
“Look, we let you walk, but if you fall, you could be hurt. This isn’t something easy, like swimming, so let us help you,” he replied, bending over so he could keep his voice down. Accepting the pack, he placed his arms into the rope supports and offered her his hand.
Wearing a full pout, she accepted his digits, and he hoisted her up and placed her firmly against his chest. Using the rope, he made quick work of the climb, and the rest of the group followed, Bally bringing up the rear.
On the other side, Meena still waited, pacing anxiously as they each landed on the ground with a heavy thud. When Amicia turned, standing before her, the older woman stared at her with wide eyes. Her hands trembling, she seized the edges of her hood and pushed it back, dropping it onto her back as she searched the girl’s eyes for some hint of recognition.
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