Adventures on Terra - Book 2: Escape

by R. A. Mejia

  Kitsune looks up at me, her eyes slightly unfocused, and answers, “No, I want to stay up a while more.” Then she raises her empty glass towards Bob and says, “More beer my good man…errr…good orc.”

  I wonder if I should postpone my bath to watch over Kitsune. when I look over at Mary. She’s looking longingly upstairs as if imagining herself relaxing in the hot steamy bath. Her gaze turns to me, sighs regretfully, and says, “I’ll stay here with Kitsune. You guys go to bed if you want.” At hearing that Mary will stay with her, Kitsune says a little loudly, “Looks like it’s just you and me Mary. It’s ladies night!”

  Trusting Mary to look out for Kitsune, Vrax and I head upstairs.

  Chapter 5.7

  Vrax and I walk up the wooden staircase to the second floor and see a row of doors with numbers on them. Lanterns mounted between doors light up the hallway. We walk to room two, and I open the door. The room is rather nice if sparse. On the far wall is a window that lets in the cool night air. There’s a bed that’s large enough for Vrax and me to share. Next to it is a small nightstand with a lantern that’s already lit and is illuminating the room. On the wall to my left near the door is a waist-high wooden table with a mirror mounted above it. There’s stout looking chest at the foot of the bed that’s meant to secure any valuables we might want to leave in the room. In front of that is the large copper bathtub taking up most of the room between the bed and the table.

  We enter the room and close the door behind us. I squeeze past the tub and find the bed turned down. Vrax climbs onto the bed and starts to jump up and down. Watching him, I’m reminded of a childhood rhyme that I modify in my mind, “One little kobold jumping on the bed. He fell off and bumped his head. So Momma called the doctor, and the doctor said ‘No more kobolds jumping on the bed!’”

  Just as Vrax reaches his peak jump, there’s a knock at the door. Vrax yips once as he lands and quickly scrambles off the bed looking guilty. I laugh at the sight. Guess jumping on beds is universally frowned upon by mothers everywhere.

  I answer the door, expecting to find Geoffrey with the hot water and instead find a little green kid with thick black unkempt hair wearing brown overalls over a light brown long sleeved shirt, standing there with his arms full of sundries, “Hey mister. My Pa told me you were staying here and I thought I’d come talk about what stuff you might need after you were done eating. My brother’s right behind me with the hot water for your baths. You mind moving so we can get through?”

  I move aside and let the two into the room. The younger boy puts thick fluffy white towels, two small wash rags, and a bar of soap on the tall table below the mirror while his brother sullenly lugs in two buckets of steaming hot water and pours them into the copper bathtub. Geoffrey leaves with the empty buckets and his younger brother pulls out a small piece of paper and a pencil from his pocket and asks, “So, while my brothers off getting more hot water, how about you and I talk business?”

  I laugh inwardly at the kid’s attitude, “Before we do business, tell me what your name is.”

  The kid smiles and puts out his hand, “That’s right. My Pa says ‘Never do business with a man if he’s not willing to tell you his name.’ I’m Jessie.”

  I shake the kid’s small hand and introduce myself, “I’m Armon. Nice to meet you. Now tell me what ‘business’ you can help me with.”

  The little businessman puts on a serious face and says, “You seem like a smart fellow who needs supplies. You also seem like the kinda person who values his time and money.”

  I can’t help but smile. This kid has probably practiced this pitch a thousand times. It doesn’t make what he’s saying any less true, but it sure is cute coming from some kid.

  I nod my agreement, and he continues, “Well, I know all the major merchants in town, and I can get you just about anything you need for your journey. Even though I’ll charge you a ‘finder’s fee’ for my work, I’ll save you time and get you better prices because of my unique relationships with vendors.”

  I’m rather impressed by the kid’s spiel. He approaches tired Inn customers and offers to do all the work of getting supplies for them and says he can save them money too. The kid would do great on one of those investor shows like GuppieTank.

  “Well, that’s quite the sales pitch, isn’t it? If I give you a list of what we need, can you give me an estimate of what everything will cost if we use your services?”

  Jessie gives a gap-toothed smile and gestures with the paper and pencil in his hands, “Of course. That is if someone sells what you’re looking for. We’re not exactly a major trading post. Just a place people stop by before or after they cross the border.”

  I list off all the things our group had talked about needing: Spare clothing, pots, and pans for cooking, cups, rope, soap, bandages, bedrolls, and a tent.

  I also give him a wishlist of things we’d like but don’t need: Paper and pen, wood working tools, spell books, skill books, crafting tools and material for magical engraving. From his seat on the bed, Vrax says he wants materials to make better traps.

  Jessie furiously writes down all the items I list, and once I finish, he says, “Well, the stuff from the ‘need list’ are doable. If you don’t mind some of them being used, it won’t cost you that much either.” He scratches his head with the pencil and sticks out his tongue slightly as he adds up all the cost of everything, “I don’t know if anyone has a tent, but everything else from the need list will cost you about six silver. Mind, I’ll negotiate for the best price, but that’s about what it’ll cost. For the extra stuff from your ‘want list,’ it will be harder to find some of it. The spell and skill books are going to be a hard to find at a reasonable price. But someone might have something stashed somewhere. Wire, paper, pen, and ink are easy enough to find, as are the woodworking tools if you don’t mind them slightly used. I don’t know what you need for magical engraving though.”

  I have to think about what I want to do with magical engraving before I answer. In addition to a new tool set, I’ll need something to practice on, “I’ll need a set of engravers tools. If you have some plates of metal or wood or some squares of leather that will work for me to practice on.”

  Jessie nods and adds the items to the list and says, “Oh, I’ll see what I can do about that then. The stuff I know I can get from the ‘want list’ will cost four or five silver. While I’ll ask about for the spell and skill books, I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

  He hesitates for a moment before continuing, “While no one around here knows much in the way of magic, we do have hunters, warriors, and craftsmen who wouldn’t mind transferring some skills to you for a bit of coin. Was there any skill, in particular, you were looking for?”

  Well, I hadn’t even thought of that. I remember Lilliandra teaching me some specific spellwriting skills by holding my head in her hands and transferring the skills to me. The process made me pass out, but when I woke up, I had the knowledge I needed to find the mana in my body and manipulate it for spellwriting. I still had to practice, but the knowledge of the skills was in my head. I also remember Lilliandra telling me that some people sell skill transfers and make good money at it.

  Jessie’s question is too broad for me. I’d love to buy all the skills in the world. I imagine learning all the basics of crafting, fighting, and magic from skill trainers. Then I remember that we have a severely limited amount of money and think about the skills we need that would cover the cost of learning them in the long run.

  We’ve been fighting alot and learning some new combat abilities would be useful, “I’d be interested in learning some new fighting abilities. I have skills in the spear, shield, knife, and can fight unarmed. So any abilities for those would be great; although I wouldn’t be opposed to learning new weapons skills. I especially lack any ranged weapon skills.”

  Thinking about our limited funds I recall that our group only has a total of eleven silver and five copper in coin,“ Thanks, Jessie. I know our group will purchase eve
rything on the ‘need list’ so you can get started on getting that stuff together, but we’ll have to talk about the stuff on the ‘want list.' If you could check on the prices of those things, it’ll help us prioritize what we want to get.”

  I thank Jessie again, and he nods in acknowledgment. Before he can leave I hear a splashing sound behind me. I turn and see a naked Vrax in tub splashing water and cleaning himself with soap. While we’d been talking Geoffrey had been bringing in buckets of hot water to fill the copper tub, and I guess Vrax got tired of waiting to start his bath. I laugh at the sight of my scaly friend floating in the tub and squirting water from his mouth like he’s a fountain.

  Jessie laughs at the sight as well and comments, “Looks like your friend gets first go at bathing. Just let us know when the two of you finish, and we’ll empty the tub and take it from the room. You can pull that cord by the door, and it will ring a bell downstairs that will let us know you want something.”

  I see the cord he’s referring to and assure him we will let someone know when we finish. The darn tub takes up most of the free space in the room.

  Jessie leaves, and I shut the door behind him. I have to wait for Vrax to finish his bath but when he’s done, I’ll have a chance to soak in the tub all by myself. Even though Kitsune has the [Cleanse] spell, there’s nothing quite like a nice hot soak in a tub.

  When Vrax finishes bathing, he dries himself off with a towel but doesn’t put back on the armor he was wearing. Instead, he dawns one of the cloth robes Jessie brought up. I laugh at the sight of him wearing it since it’s not kobold-sized. The sleeves hang over his arms, and the bottom drags on the floor when he walks, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

  The water had gotten a little cool by the time Vrax finished, but I spellwrite the symbol for ‘fire’ over the water and heat it right back up. Getting undressed, I put my toes into the steaming water and wince a little at the heat. But I put the rest of my body in the tub and sigh as the hot water relaxes me. The tub isn’t big enough for me to lay down in but I can sit comfortably as I clean myself up with the wash rag and soap. I follow Vrax’s example and put on the robe instead of putting on my dirty clothes. I pull the cord by the door and hear a knock a few minutes later. Opening the door, I see Jessie and Geoffrey. Jessie has two bundles in his hands, and Geoffrey has an empty bucket.

  Without comment, Geoffrey enters the room and uses the empty bucket to throw the water from tub out the open window in the room. I watch the teen for a moment. I’d wondered how they were going to get rid of the bath water. I’d heard the phrase, ‘throw the tub out with the bathwater before’ but now I get what they mean. Wait, is it a tub they throw out or a baby. Who throws out a baby? Or a bathtub for that matter?

  Jessie coughs politely to get my attention, then offers the cloth bundles to me and says, “Thought you’d like some clean clothes after your bath, only five copper.” I look at the clothes in my hands and see that they are two sets of cloth pants and shirts. One is for me but looks made for someone taller and broader of the shoulder than I am. The other set of clothes looks child sized but is perfect for Vrax since he only comes up to waist height.

  Seeing me examine the clothes Jessie comments, “The larger set of clothes are an old set from my Pa. The smaller ones are some clothes I outgrew. Figured you could cut a hole in the pants for your friend’s tale. I can get more clothes for your lady friends at the same price whenever they finish downstairs.”

  I gladly hand Jessie the five copper for the new clean clothes. Sure they won’t protect anyone in battle, but they’re just fine for everyday wear. I can tell you first hand that wearing armor every day produces some funky smells.

  After taking our coin, Jessie adds, “We can take your dirty armor and clothing and have them cleaned and ready for you in the morning. Only five copper a person for the service.”

  Well, that also solves the problem of armor funk. I hand Jessie my clothes, Vrax’s red leather armor, and the ten copper to have them cleaned. By the time we’ve finished talking, the tub is empty of water and Jessie helps his brother take the tub out of the room.

  Having had a nice hot bath, a great meal, and some relaxing beer, I feel very drowsy and head to bed. When I get there, I find Vrax already asleep in the bed wearing the clothes we just bought. I put on the large clothes I just bought from Jessie, blow out the lantern, and slip into bed next him and fall asleep almost immediately.

  I partially wake up in the middle of the night and hear our room door open and close but am way too tired to open my eyes or light the lantern. A body climbs into bed with me and I move over to make room. In my sleepy state, I think to myself that Vrax needs to remember to use the restroom before he goes to bed, so he doesn’t wake me up when he gets up to relieve himself.

  Chapter 5.8

  I open my eyes the next morning feeling great. I’ve missed sleeping in a real bed these last couple of weeks. I pull the covers down, sit up and stretch. I have a feeling that today’s going to be a good day.

  There’s a knock at the door, and the lump under the covers moves slightly at the sound. Thinking that Vrax must be trying to sleep in, I sneak out of bed and answer the door. Standing the doorway is a familiar reptilian holding two plates of food. He says, “I bring breakfast.”

  I stare at Vrax for a moment then turn around and look at the lumpy form under the covers of the bed. If Vrax is here then who’s that?

  A muffled voice from the bed whines in a loud whisper, “Why do you have to be so loud?” A bedraggled looking Mary staggers from under the covers. Her normally pristine looking black pixie cut hair sticks out in every direction, and she’s wearing small purple pants and a long sleeved top with pink polka-dots. She puts a finger to her lips, “Shhhhh. My head hurts. Lower your voices.”

  I’m relieved to know it’s just Mary. Then there’s more movement under the covers.

  “Mary..” I start to say, but Mary makes a pained face at me and puts her finger to her lips again.

  I continue in a whisper, “Mary, there something moving behind you.” She turns around slowly and gives the moving lump a squinty look. Then peeks under the covers and giggles. She grabs the corner of the covers and flies up into the air towards the foot of the bed taking the covers with her. She reveals the sleeping form of Kitsune curled into a ball. Unlike Mary though, Kitsune is only wearing only her birthday suit.

  My eyes widen, and I quickly turn around. I can feel my cheeks burning.

  Vrax looks up at me with curious eyes and still holding the plates of food in his hands tries to peek around me to see what has me so flustered.

  I feel the heat in my cheeks and look down at my kobold brother, “Vrax, it’s not polite to stare at…umm…a woman in a compromised state.”

  Vrax looks up at me innocently and asks, “Is that why you face so red?”

  I hear a distinct fairy laugh behind me then a groan, “Ow, you shouldn’t make me laugh so loudly. It hurts my head.”

  I smile. At least Mary is feeling some of the discomfort I’m feeling at finding not one, but two women sleeping in my bed. I mean, sure it’s every guy's dream to wake up that way, but they could have at least…Nope. Can’t let my thoughts drift in that direction. There lies danger.

  “Mary, why are you and Kitsune in our bed? Your room is next door.”

  I hear her “Shhh.” Me then she answers in a groggy voice, “We’re in your room? I don’t know why we’re here.” Then as if she just remembers something she continues, “Wait. I remember now. Kitsune and I were drinking and talking last night. We were among the last people to leave the bar downstairs. That nice girl who was playing the oboe. Or was it a harp? Maybe it was a ..”

  I sigh with frustration and interrupt her, “Mary, I know who you’re talking about, it was a mandolin. Please continue.”

  She shushes me again, and I whisper through clenched teeth, “Please continue.”

  “Well, the nice girl playing the mandolin helped us up to our room. Kitsune could
barely walk straight, and I guess the girl put us in this one thinking we were all together. She gave us some spare clothes to change into and helped us undress. Said she’d make sure to launder our clothes for us.”

  “If she gave you some spare clothes, then why is Kitsune naked?”

  Mary shrugs and gives me a lopsided grin, “She said she doesn’t like to feel constricted when she sleeps and just climbed under the covers. I mean, what do I care if she likes to sleep in the nude?”

  I sigh heavily after hearing the story. Then, I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and quickly pull Vrax into the room. He puts the food down on the table near the door, and I see him move past me and hear him sit on the bed.

  “Vrax. What are you doing?”

  “Oh, stop it, Armon.” Mary says, “Not everyone has your hangups about nudity. He’s just sitting here.”

  The footsteps move past our door and stop. I hear a knocking on the door next to ours. Then a pause and more knocking. I hear the door open and close then the footsteps sound again and stop directly in front of our door. Someone knocks.