The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 2

by William D. Latoria

  After an hour had passed, Tartum grew bored of waiting and returned to his room. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep his curiosity in check and had no intention of being maimed or killed today. Upon returning to his room, he heard the sounds of conversation. Looking inside, he saw Savall and Elizabeth sitting at his table, talking about a woman and something about a ransom. Elizabeth noticed Tartum’s arrival first and gave him a friendly wink. Savall followed her gaze and jumped right into explaining Tartum’s next mission, once he saw it was him.

  “Ah, good you’re here, son. Your next mission will be a pilfering mission of a different sort. You’re to go into the city tonight and visit The Star; it’s an inn on the outskirts of that district. It seems that our client would like to see the doors of The Star to close indefinitely, so that they can buy the building and combine it with their own existing business. It would give them the largest inn in Saroth, and it would be useful to have a grateful entrepreneur like that in our pocket. So you and Lizzy are going to head over there, kidnap the woman that owns the place, and bring her back here to one of the holding cells, until she agrees to close down her bar. The client was very specific to NOT kill her, and that was the only specification he made. He’s paying us a lot of money for this mission, so I’m counting on you to not mess this up. The name of the inn’s owner is Adonna Chastilight, and she’s a petite woman with fiery red hair, a hideously pock marked face, and teeth the color of butter. You will know her the minute you hear her by the sting of foul language she’ll be spewing from her vile mouth. Snatch her up, get her locked up downstairs, and come see me for your payment.” Savall said.

  Tartum thought it over and asked a question. “Who’s the client? Why doesn’t he just have us kill Adonna and burn the inn to the ground?”

  Savall smiled, “Well, who the client is, is none of your concern. As for why we don’t just kill her…well son, not everyone can stomach death like you or I can. It’s as hard for some men to sign a death warrant as it is for them to take the life themselves. Also, assassination contracts are a lot more expensive and sometimes the mark gets killed before the ransom is paid. In this case, however, I think the client is just one of those people that can’t stomach death but is greedy enough to stomach kidnapping and extortion.” He shrugged, “I don’t claim to understand the clients, I just understand it’s a lucrative venture for the guild, son. We get paid a good amount of coin, and another major business owner in Saroth is in our pocket for when we make our move against the bishop.”

  Tartum took this all in and nodded. He didn’t follow everything, but he did understand where Savall was coming from. “Ok, boss! We leave tonight, then!” Tartum’s excitement began to rise.

  “Glad to see you’re excited, son! Keep your mind focused on what you have to do, and listen to what Lizzy here has to tell you. You’ll be back as fast as you were from your first mission! Good luck, son!” he said and left Tartum’s room.

  Sitting down, Tartum began to flip through his spell book. Since he had the day to kill before his mission began, he decided to spend the day relaxing and studying his spells. Maybe he would take Elizabeth back into town a little later, and they could do some more shopping. He had been meaning to visit Shu-Shu’s shop and see about buying a spell or two from her. He was just putting his feet up on the table, when Elizabeth spoke.

  “What are you doing, Sweetie?” she asked.

  Her question confused him completely. “Umm, I’m killing time before the mission. Why? You want to do something, babe?” he asked. He was wondering what she was getting at.

  “Yes, I see that, Sweetheart, but you do realize we could be using the time before we’re supposed to make our move to stake out the inn?” Tartum just looked at her, dumbfounded, Elizabeth rolled her eyes and smiled before continuing, “My love, listen, there’s more to a kidnapping than just walking into a dark room and walking away with someone. You need to get a feel for the environment and the target. Have you ever met this Adonna? Do you know if she really fits the description that Savall gave you? Does she have any bodyguards? If so, how many? Are they well trained, or lazy and stupid oafs? How do you plan to get her from her inn to the guild dungeons?” she asked. Tartum remained silent. He had not thought of any of this and had planned to simply walk in, use his magic to grab her, and walk back to the guild with this Adonna person over his shoulder. Now that he thought about it, he realized how foolish his thought process was and took his feet off the table. He leaned towards Elizabeth.

  “Ok, babe. You have a point; I don’t know any of those things. What do you suggest?” he asked.

  Elizabeth smiled at his question and replied, “Tonight we will need to make our move silently, and more than likely, we will only get one shot at getting her out of there unseen. Of course, we will also need to stake the place out, so grab your coins; you’re taking me to The Star for the day.” With a wink, Elizabeth stood up and began to leave; Tartum grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  Elizabeth looked down at where he had her by the arm and looked back up at him, amused, “Sweetheart, I’m going to get ready for our date. Let me go, you can’t expect me to go out like this, do you?” with a deft twist, she was out of his grasp and out of his room before he could ask another question.

  Tartum didn’t know what else he could do, so instead of pondering over it, he sat back down and began studying his spell book. After an hour had passed, Tartum began thinking about heading to The Star on his own when Elizabeth returned. She had on her usual black leather outfit, but she had added a long leather coat and the workers hat he had bought her a few days prior. She always looked stunning, but now she was breathtaking.

  “You…you look…wow!” Tartum said. All thoughts about the mission left him, as his mind was completely overtaken by her image; his words, as ill-spoken as they were, seemed to be exactly what she wanted to hear, and she favored him with a seductive smile.

  “What? This old thing? I just threw a little something on, it’s no big deal.” she teased. “Well, if you’re ready, let’s go!”

  Tartum walked over to join her; as they were walking towards the exit of the compound, he marveled over how easily she was able to take control of him, and how much he liked it.

  It took them a little under thirty minutes to get to The Star, and the whole way, Elizabeth showed him potential areas to hide in or stash a body if the need arose. Tartum was fascinated by the way Elizabeth saw the world. What looked like a drainage ditch to him was a secure hiding spot to her. What he saw as a simple crack in a wall, she saw as a place to stash items for others to recover later. Boxes and debris he wouldn’t have looked twice at, she saw as perfect cover to avoid prying eyes. It was alot to take in as they walked, but he made as many mental notes as he could. He was beginning to think he had bitten off more than he could chew.

  When they arrived at the inn, Tartum saw it hadn’t changed from the first time he had seen it. He still thought it seemed like a cozy place to stay. The building was a two floor structure made of solid brick and a tarred, wooden roof that was well cared for. A sign hung from the roof depicting a large, freshly painted, black and white star with the words “The Star” written across the center of the sign in bold, bright yellow writing. It was still strangely silent inside, and it made no sense to Tartum why more people weren’t staying in the inn. As they made their way inside, the answer was immediate.

  A short, scrawny woman with a mess of red hair, awful teeth, and a face that looked liked it had been boiled in acid, twice, greeted them from across the room as they came through the large double doors.

  “Hey thar! Welcome to The Star, best Gods damned inn in Saroth. Plant yer asses where ye see fit, and I’ll be with yer.” the woman yelled to them.

  The inside of the inn was as well kept on the inside as it was on the outside. The walls were lined with wood and had pictures of random people and events hung over every square inch. The tables an
d chairs were of decent quality and seemed to be in good repair. There were only two other groups of people in the common area, and they were as dishelved as the red head that had bellowed her greetings when they entered. Both groups sat away from each other but were eating from a platter of breads and cheeses that had been laid out for them. Neither group paid him any interest, they were all far too interested in watching Elizabeth. She lead him to a table in the corner where they waited. There was an odd smell of dried spit heavy in the room, and it made Tartum’s stomach turn. He was thankful he hadn’t eaten much this morning, he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to keep it down.

  Looking up at Elizabeth, he whispered, “This place smells awful! Do we really need to stay here?” he asked.

  Elizabeth gave him a sympathetic look, “Yea, it’s pretty bad. Toughen up though, sweetheart. Remember, we’re here for the mission, focus on your surroundings. Tell me what you have noticed so far.”

  Tartum began to look around the inn, but before he could begin to analyze it all, the red head was back and talking far too loud for her proximity. Her breath was like rancid death, and Tartum had to focus all his will to keep from puking. He hadn’t wanted to leave anywhere this badly since he was inside the Null Box.

  “Hey! What can I be gettin ye from the kitchens? If yer be wantin a room, ye’ll be needin to show me yer coins! I won’t be havin no cockless freeloading asslickers sitting around me joint counting the flies on their tits. Show me yer money, or I’ll show ye out on yer asses!” she said. She was absolutely repulsive. Her voice was ridiciulously high pitched and screechy, he thought it might be what a seagull would sound like if it was being brutally strangled. Her accent was thick, but Tartum couldn’t tell if it was because she was still learning the language, or if she was just that ignorant. He was too disgusted to speak and motioned towards Elizabeth. She placed a couple coins on the table and replied.

  “We’ll take whatever you have that’s hot and a couple glasses of wine, please.” she said with an unusual sweetness in her voice.

  The redhead rounded on her like she had just slapped her in the face. “Well, well! Looky at miss fancy fucking panties! Well, miss yer shit don’t stank, I happily oblige yer request and will be right back with yer order!” She barked at Elizabeth, the scent of her rancid breath was getting stronger with every word, and Tartum was forced to put his sleeve over his nose and mouth or risk succumbing to the stench. He watched Elizabeth closely; positive that this woman had just signed her own death warrant. As the red head left with Elizabeth’s coins, however, her demeanor was as calm and sweet as he’d ever seen her.

  “Ummm, you ok, Elizabeth?” Tartum asked.

  She smiled at him through clenched teeth. “Yes, I’ll be fine, sweetie, which is more than I can say for that wretched bitch once we get her into the dungeon. I don’t care if she sells this inn or not, I’m going to take great pleasure in making her scream.” The fire in her eyes, as she whispered her words, caused a cold trickle of fear to run down his spine.

  “So that’s Adonna, you think?” he asked, trying to keep her rage focused on her. He didn’t want to be the target of her anger even for a second.

  Elizabeth simply nodded. She seemed to be deep in thought, and Tartum could almost see the pain she was planning to bring into the foul woman’s life. He did not envy her fate. Looking up, he saw her coming back with two tankards and a foul look on her deformed face. Tartum steeled himself, this was his mission, afterall, and he didn’t like that Elizabeth seemed to be doing all the work.

  “Ere’s yer fucking wine, yer highness! Sorry, we’re all out of glasses, I guess yer just gunna have to deal with mugs like the rest of us puss licking poor folk.” She said as she slammed the tankards of wine down on their table, sloshing red liquid everwhere. “Anything else ye be needin, Huh?”

  Tartum saw the muscles in Elizabeth’s jaw tense and her hands moving under her coat. The redhead seemed oblivious to the fact that she was about to die a slow gurgling death. Tartum was very tempted to let Elizabeth do it, he wanted this foul woman dead as much as she did, but this was his mission, and he didn’t want to fail. Half jumping out of his seat, Tartum addressed Adonna.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get your name, miss…?” he began.

  The woman looked over at Tartum and seemed to be apraising him. A smile spread across her face that gave him a close up view of her horrid teeth; he wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a boil on her tongue. “Ye be wantin my name, do ye, pretty man?” she asked. Tartum shot a glance towards Elizabeth and immediately wished he hadn’t. Her fury was plain on her face, and Tartum worried that it would only be a matter of moments before she gutted the woman.

  “Yes…yes, my…uhhh…dear…I see it as my mission in life to learn the name of every pretty woman I meet.” Tartum half choked on the words as he said them. He had hoped Elizabeth got the hint when he worked in the mission part. He didn’t want to chance another glance.

  The red-haired troll was eyeing him very closely now, and Tartum began to feel slightly violated by the look in her eyes. “Well, aren’t ye a charmer! Trying to use yer silvery tongue to get a look at my diddies, are ye, lover? Well, I tell ye true, my name be Adonna Chastilight, and I be the owner of this ‘ere inn. I call ‘er The Star cause when yer fucking me, Stars is all yer’ll be seein in me eyes.” Adonna said. She was winking at Tartum and gyrating her hips at him suggestively. It was all Tartum could do to keep his composure. He wanting to vomit and cry at the same time.

  “Adonna Chastilight, what…what a beautiful name. I thank you for your kind words. I may…may…take you up on those stars later.” He said. He was proud of himself for swallowing the bile that rose up in his throat as he affirmed her advances.

  Adonna lit up and ran her fingers through his hair, tusseling it in the process. She leaned in close, and Tartum saw every deformity of her face in it’s unhidden glory. “When yer ready to lose that weedy bitch yer with, I’ll be in the back room wet and ready fer yer lovin’. She whispered, just loud enough for Elizabeth to hear. Adonna favored Elizabeth with a triumphant smile and skipped away to tend to a new group of patrons that had just entered.

  Tartum lowered his head and tried to get the contents of his stomach under control. The hand she had run through his hair had left him feeling oily and tainted all over. He wanted to use fire to purge himself of the feeling. He heard Elizabeth lean towards him.

  “That was very well done, sweetheart. I think you just made an opening for later tonight to get her alone and vulnerable. I hope you don’t actually have to sleep with her in order to capture her.” Elizabeth teased.

  The thought got his stomach to start doing back flips again, and in response, all he could do was moan. He heard Elizabeth giggle at his discomfort, and for some reason, knowing she was in a better mood helped to settle his stomach. After a few minutes, he sat up and reached for his tankard. Elizabeth put her hand on his before he could grasp it and pointed to Adonna. Tartum saw her at the bar cleaning tankards that closely resembled the ones she had served them with. She was spitting into them and wiping them out with a rag she kept under her blouse. The pungent scent of dried spit in the room suddenly made horrific sense, and Tartum pushed the tankard away.

  “Some date, huh?” he joked.

  Elizabeth shrugged, “I’ve been on worse. At least this date will end happily for us. I look forward to getting her back home.” Her eyes blazed as she replied to his joke. The thought of what she would do to Adonna when they got back made Tartum feel much better about the situation. He decided to use the time they had and look around the room.

  The inn’s common area was decent in size and, minus the terrible odor from Adonna’s cleaning skills, it was in very good shape. There was a large firepit in the center of the room that kept the patrons comfortable and tables arranged so there there was plenty of space at the tables and for other patrons to get around without having to worry about running into everyone else. The bar was large and seemed
to be very well supplied. There was an elegantly crafted wooden staircase that spiraled up to the second floor. The doors to the rooms could be seen from the common area, and all of them were rounded at the top with bold, bright yellow numbers stenciled on each of them. If it wasn’t for Adonna, this inn would be nicer than even The Crenshaw. Tartum took pride in knowing that soon the cancer that plagued this inn would soon be removed. A building with this much potential deserved to be ran by someone that could make people feel welcome rather than repulsed.

  “So what do you see, Sweetie?” Elizabeth asked.

  Her sudden question startled him out of his reprieve. “Well, I see what could be the nicest inn in Saroth if it wasn’t for Adonna. The building is well maintained, and the patrons seem to be as digusting as our host. I don’t see any guards, nor do I see anything from stopping us from simply walking over to Adonna, cracking her on the head, and dragging her back to the dungeon.” he replied.

  Elizabeth leaned back and smiled, “Look under the stairs.”

  Tartum did as he was told, and at first, saw nothing. A bit of movement caught his eye, and he could see what looked like a man in all black and wrapped in a cloak sitting under the stairs watching everbody. Tartum strained to see if the man was armed or not when a platter of meat was slammed down on their table.

  Tartum almost jumped out of his skin at the sound. Looking up, he came face to face with Adonna and immediately recoiled. How a woman that smelled that bad had snuck up on him was beyond him.

  “On the house, lover. I wants ye to keep yer strength up…cause yer gonna be needin’ it when I gets ahold of ye!” Adonna was cackling with delight as she winked at Tartum and walked off back towards the bar. Looking up at Elizabeth, he saw her trying to hold back a bought of laughter.

  “Oh my, Sweetheart! You could have told me you had another woman!” She was shaking with barely contained laughter. Tartum wasn’t amused and tossed a small piece of meat at her that she easily avoided.