Herald of Shalia 5

by Tamryn Tamer

  Frost was surprised by how tall many of the buildings were. The average structure in Goldsail was at least a floor or two taller than the average structure in Blackwater. Many of them appeared to have started as stone but gradually became wood as the people decided to build vertically.

  Frost also noticed nicer neighborhoods as they walked through the city but Jasmine would frequently turn to avoid the luxurious communities. He started to realize that the area surrounding the castle was where most of the fancier homes were located but they also continued west toward the coast. He imagined that the nobles had to build where the land was available and there wasn’t land available near the docks.

  It seemed to him that the city was generally structured in lines as opposed to sections like it was in Blackwater. The docks were the first line of the city followed by the blue-collar area where dockworkers and laborers lived. He imagined that the further from the coast you got, the better off the citizens were. Although that was more of a general observation and not a hard fact since there were some gated neighborhoods near the poorer areas. He imagined that there were also poor areas near the luxurious areas simple for the slaves and servants.

  Frost began to notice that more people on the street were staring at him than before. Nobody paid attention to the group when they were near the docks but he gradually felt more people glancing at them. He suddenly realized that there were fewer humans on the streets and that the group must have wandered into a demihuman part of the city.

  “They’re just curious,” Iris said reassuringly as she clung to his arm. “While humans pass through this part of town, they’re normally not as well dressed as you are.”

  “They’re typically dishonest merchants or loan sharks,” Jasmine said.

  “It’s not just him,” Erena sighed. “Look at how you’re all dressed compared to other demihumans.”

  Frost looked around and realized that Erena was right. All of the demihumans in the area were wearing poorly constructed clothing that appeared to have undergone several repairs to make it last. They looked even more disheveled than the exhausted dock workers unloading ships.

  Comparably, his party was dressed like nobles on their way to a banquet.

  “Also, there’s Cas…Mitty,” Zinnia said, catching herself before she said the wrong name. “Elves normally don’t come to this district because of the smell.”

  “I noticed that too,” Frost said as he inhaled the air. “Smells a bit like a butcher shop.”

  “That’s because the meatpacking warehouses are near here,” Jasmine said. “It’s why nobody wants to live here if they can help it. Don’t worry, we’re staying somewhere way nicer.”

  “Lookout!” a child’s voice yelled.

  Cassia appeared in front of Frost before he could respond to the warning. A wooden ball was flying toward them like a bullet. The white-haired elf swatted the ball with the back of her hand so hard it shattered and instantly all of the demihumans on the street froze in fear.

  “Our ball…” a Myrran boy holding a metal rod said while staring at the scattered wood chips that used to be their ball.

  “Shh…” a Diathen boy shook his head at the Myrran. The reptilian boy then smacked his friend and pointed at Cassia and Frost.

  A dirt covered Durra boy stepped in front of the other two and bowed his head.

  “I’m s-sorry my l-lord,” the brown-haired Durra said as he trembled. “It was an accident. I-I accept all the b-blame.”

  The adult demihumans looked away nervously, opting not to get involved as Cassia walked toward the children. Jasmine, Zinnia, and Iris all tensed up nervously as they watched Cassia approach. She was a bodyguard for a human noble and needed to behave as such.

  “Is she going to punish them?” Erena quietly asked while looking up at Frost. “I’m not judging. Just wondering.”

  “I have no idea what she has planned,” Frost sighed while shaking his head. “Lady Mitty, let’s just get a move on. They said it was an accident and we don’t have time to be dealing with children.”

  “It’s just a game,” Jasmine said, trying to block Cassia only to be pushed aside. “It’s not as though anybody got hurt.”

  “I’m just going to take care of this quickly, Lord Sebastian,” Cassia said reassuringly while continuing to walk toward the children. She stopped in front of the bowing Durra boy. The brown-haired boy winced as she pulled out a large wooden cudgel. “This should do.”

  “I’m so sorry…” the Durra boy said as tears dripped onto the ground.

  “Now, tell me,” Cassia said, crouching down in front of the boy. “What goddess do you pray to?”

  “Mitty,” Frost said sternly as the elf ignored him.

  “Please don’t kill me,” the Durra boy shook his head as he continued to cry. “I don’t have any god to pray to. I’m not really good at going to temple miss.”

  “I see,” Cassia said while pulling out a knife. The demihumans watching the interaction winced and covered their eyes as they prepared for the worst. They didn’t know if she was going to cut off a finger or an ear but they knew they didn’t want to watch. “I know Niri is popular here. Tell me, what would one of those human followers of Niri do to you if you attempted to strike one of them?”

  “Mitty,” Frost groaned.

  “My lord, please, there’s no reason to involve yourself,” Cassia said, flapping her hand at him as if silencing a loud child. “Now, little boy, answer the question.”

  “Th-they w-would…” the boy wept.

  “Please miss,” the Myrran boy interrupted with tears streaming down his face. “I’m the one that hit the ball. Punish me instead.”

  “Lady Mitty,” Iris said nervously. “Nobody got hurt so there’s really no need to…”

  “Just a minute,” Cassia answered in a sing-song voice while maintaining her focus on the children. “Now boys. I’m sure you all know what those evil, vile, horrendous followers of the nasty awful putrid greedy Niri would do to boys just playing a game. They would beat you and break your bones and maybe even cut off a limb. Now, that doesn’t sound like much of a god, does it? It sounds more like an evil monster! But I want you to know that I’m not like Niri or one of his evil wicked followers. I’m a Shrine Maiden for the one true goddess who loves all of the children of the world and wants everybody to be happy, Shalia.”

  “Sh-alia?” A kid asked. “Who’s that?”

  “She’s the nicest and kindest goddess in the world!” Cassia said cheerfully while holding the large cudgel in one hand and her dagger in the other. She began quickly carving the wooden weapon into chunks and shaped them into wooden balls identical to the one she destroyed. “Now, you might hear some adults talk badly about Shalia. They might lie to you about her and if you say you’re a follower of Shalia you’re cursed. People might even be mean to you for talking nice about Shalia. But that’s because they’re wicked evil people that want you to be wicked and evil like them. So, whenever they say something like that, I want you to think about today and remember, a follower of Niri would have chopped off your little fingers but a follower of Shalia is giving you three wooden balls for the one she destroyed. Then I want you to decide who the evil one is.”

  “What?” the Durra boy looked up at her as she smiled and handed him a new wooden ball. She finished carving the second and third balls and handed them to the other children. “But…we could have…”

  “You’re such handsome and strong little boys,” Cassia said joyfully, patting the Durra boy’s head and stroking the Diathen’s scaley chin. “The power of your swing was really impressive!” Cassia said as she smiled at the Myrran boy with the metal rod. She tossed him the third wooden ball. “If I had time I would love to learn about your game and play with you because Shalia is all about love, kindness, fun, and everything good. Because unlike all of the monsters pretending to be gods and goddesses, she’s the one true goddess! I want you to remember that, okay?”

  “Yes ma’am,” the boys said while
nodding.

  Cassia smiled and stood up before returning to Frost and the others.

  “Really?” Frost asked as she returned to her spot beside him. “Preaching to children in the street about Shalia? You know that’s going to draw unwanted attention, right?”

  “I am fulfilling my role as a Shrine Maiden,” Cassia answered. “What kind of Shrine Maiden wouldn’t use this opportunity to spread the message of their goddess? But if you’re worried about drawing attention, we probably shouldn’t be sticking around dressed like this, right?”

  “Lord Sebastian,” Erena smiled as they continued their walk through the streets past dozens of confused demihumans. “Don’t you think that mentioning an association with Shalia is reckless?”

  “I don’t see why it would be,” Frost smirked. “I have business in both Pluma and Zira. I have no issues with followers of Shalia or Ziralia or the goddesses.”

  “Ziralia’s not a goddess. She’s a putrid fake woman,” Cassia grumbled. “Disgusting, nasty, violent, vile woman.”

  “That makes one of you,” Erena said with a smug grin.

  Jasmine continued leading them down roads as Frost took in his surroundings, creating a mental map of the area to find his way around. It was a good thing too because before long everything started to blend together. Every wide street consisted of combinations of houses and shops while the narrow streets and alleys seemed exclusively residential.

  Eventually they arrived at the area of the city Jasmine had referred to as the menagerie. It was a large open area with nice homes and several colorful shops.

  At the center of the menagerie was a large market square where demihumans were selling fish, vegetables, meats, and various handcrafted goods.

  Frost watched as a family of Florenne searched through clothing racks stuffed with second-hand clothing. The mother and father occasionally held items in front of their children to check the size before tossing them in their baskets.

  A pair of Myrran women sifted through an undergarment bin, occasionally stopping to snap at young Myrran boys teasing them. Based on their sizes the women were a little younger than Jasmine but their untidy appearances made them appear much older.

  Out of the corner of his eyes Frost noticed a group of women consisting of different beastkin wandering around the market chatting while carrying baskets full of fruits, vegetables, meats, and breads. He also observed several working men lined up in front of an elderly Roden cobbler doing shoe and boot repairs.

  He did a quick discreet scan of the area and saw that virtually all of the resident’s levels were in the single digits. It shouldn’t have surprised him since they weren’t going to be hunting monsters in the city.

  Surrounding the market square were larger establishments and proper stores. It reminded him a bit of Pluma’s market where small stalls were rented by inexperienced crafters and the veterans rented out shops. It also had several buildings that looked like nightclubs as well as two fancier looking restaurants.

  “That’s where we’re staying,” Zinnia said as she snagged Frost’s arm and began dragging him toward a white mansion on the northside of the square. It appeared to be three stories tall and was about twice the size of the next largest building in the area. “That’s the Ivory Lounge!”

  “Nicer than I anticipated,” Cassia said while following the other women.

  “There are much nicer places to stay in other parts of the city,” Erena said while sticking close to the group. “It really isn’t an acceptable place for a lord to stay.”

  The people in the square started to notice them as they walked toward their destination. Frost could feel their eyes on them and knew that they were scanning him. The number of people staring and scanning slowly increased as more and more people took notice of the group.

  “So fancy,” a young Myrran girl whispered while staring at Jasmine.

  While the people were better dressed than those in the areas they passed through, they still weren’t wearing expensive clothes like the women accompanying him. Even Frost was overdressed. While his black shirt, vest, and long coat were simple, they were crafted from Arachne silk and tailored to fit him perfectly. At a high-end tailor shop, his outfit would have cost thousands of rel.

  Frost started to hear the people exchanging questions and gossip as they looked on.

  “Do they belong to a company?”

  “Maybe they’re from another country,” a Florenne whispered to a small Roden woman.

  “They must be lost.”

  Frost ignored the comments and stares as they made their way to the Ivory Lounge. Once they arrived on the front porch of the white manor, Jasmine loudly knocked on the door. Then they waited for somebody to answer patiently for somebody to answer but nobody came to the door and Frost saw a curtain move out of the corner of his eye. Jasmine knocked again, but more loudly. Still no answer.

  “Hey!” Jasmine yelled while pounding on the door angrily. “Anybody home!”

  “Jasmine,” Iris grabbed the orange-haired woman’s arm and pointed at the crowd watching them. “People are staring.”

  “Maybe we should just wait a minute,” Frost said as he saw another curtain move, this time from a different window. There were definitely people inside. “They’re probably nervous.”

  “Excuse me. Might I inquire as to your business here my lord and ladies?” a dark-skinned Florenne asked while approaching them from behind. The cinnamon-eared woman smiled politely as two large nervous-looking Durra males escorted her. Both of them were barely over level ten, making them some of the higher levels in the area.

  “Fuck,” Frost said, quickly covering his nose as he reached into his satchel. His head almost immediately became foggy as he suddenly had the urge to wrap his arms around the woman and never let her go. Intrusive thoughts of laying naked in bed as he stroked her furry ears and tail began to overwhelm him as he attempted to hold his breath. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  “Um,” Iris was the first to realize what was happening and nervously stepped toward the woman. “Can you back up a bit miss…my master is a bit…well…”

  “Please don’t get any closer to Miss Aelanna,” one of the large Durra said while holding his arm out.

  “I’m afraid that I will need you all to back away immediately,” Cassia said sternly as she gripped her sword. Frost could feel her murderous practically steaming off her and it was clear the others did as well. “If you don’t take several steps back, I’ll be forced to make you.”

  “Mitty,” Frost grabbed Cassia’s arm while trying to focus on anything but the Florenne and how much he wanted to feel her body pressed against his. Her beautiful body and those fluffy ears. He suddenly wondered how soft her small cinnamon-colored poof of a tail was and wanted to just cuddle against it as he buried his face in her ass. “Fuck. Dammit. It’s not her fault. Just give me a moment. I prepared for this.”

  “What’s going on?” Elena asked while taking several steps back. “He looks like he’s going to lose consciousness.”

  “Um,” Iris bounced nervously while wondering what she could do to help.

  “Maybe this will help,” Zinnia said as she pulled out a large piece of fabric. She grabbed the corners of the sheet and started waving it up and down like a fan at the cinnamon-eared Florenne.

  “Yeah!” Jasmine said while grabbing another side of the blanket. “That’s a good idea.”

  “Excuse me?” Miss Aelanna gave them a confused look as the girls attempted to fan her.

  “Found it,” Frost said while pulling out a small vial of dust. He uncorked the vial and placed it up to his nose and snorted the powder as if he’d done it a hundred times before and felt a jolt as his mind cleared and he came crashing back to reality. He stared at the beautiful dark-skinned Florenne standing in front of him and waited for a few seconds to see if he needed another dose.

  “Oh dear,” the woman giggled and blushed as she stared at Frost and took several steps back. “I apologize my lord. I was not awar
e I could still have that effect on anybody, let alone a human.”

  “What type of effect?” Erena asked while giving the rabbit-eared woman a confused look. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s not my place to say,” the woman said. “But, allow me to introduce myself. I am Aelanna and this is my establishment. Might I inquire about the business?”

  “Your establishment?” Jasmine glared at the woman. “What happened to Miss Velela?”

  “Oh?” the woman smiled. “Did you happen to know my mother? She regrettably passed away late last year and I’ve since taken over.”

  “Wait a damn minute…” Jasmine’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the brown-haired bunny woman. “Caramel?”

  “I personally think I’m more of a burnt sienna,” Aelanna replied playfully. “Have we met before?”

  “No, everybody’s heard of you!” Jasmine said excitedly. “Everybody used to talk about what an amazing singer you were! I wasn’t ever able to go, but lots of people used to sneak out to listen to you sing!”

  “Oh dear,” Aelanna’s ears folded in front of her eyes. “That’s really embarrassing to think about. I haven’t done that in years. So, you must have grown up around here then. But based on your clothing and the company you’re keeping I assume you’re all doing well for yourselves. I imagine you’re here looking for somebody then?”

  “Actually, we’re looking for a room,” Frost said while pushing out an invasive thought of him and Aelanna in bed together. “Haru Bloodtail said that we should find the owner and…”

  “Lady Haru’s here?” Aelanna said excitedly. “I haven’t seen her in ages! She was always so nice when she came to visit my mother! How do you know her?”

  “Haru and I are business associates,” Frost answered while taking another small snort from his vial. “I’m Lord Sebastian.”