"Clearly."
Still holding his arm, Azalea practically dragged Ean over to the bar. As they walked, Ean could see Azalea shimmer, the air around her appearing to his eyes as if she was walking through the steam from a cook pot.
"You don't have to use your tricks--" Ean began.
"Hush. You're here for support. Not to question my bargaining tactics. Just stay quiet."
Ean clenched his fists but complied. It would be a waste of time to argue with the Yulari anyway.
"Good afternoon!" Azalea wore her brightest smile as she approached the women behind the bar. "I was wondering who I might talk to about renting a room for the night."
One of the women turned and moved back through the door behind her without giving Azalea even a look. She paused in the open door as a sudden coughing fit wracked her body. Ean caught a whiff of baked goods escape before the door swung shut. The second woman, a little shorter than Ean but built as thick as a Crux, gave Azalea look from head to toe. When she spoke, her voice was filled with enough baritone that Ean almost considered that she might have some Crux in her.
"My sister and I own the inn. I'm Bora Greyweed. A simple room will cost you three silver coins."
"Well, there are three of us, so a larger room would fit us better."
"Eight silvers, then, for one of our group rooms."
"Eight silvers seem like a lot . . . "
"Then go someplace else."
Azalea's mouth dropped slightly at the remark, but she recovered in an instant.
"We've been traveling quite a distance and have seen some hard times. I'm sure a shrewd businesswoman like yourself could offer a bit of a discount. A room filled with people after all is much more profitable than one left empty."
"Strangers to this village mean you could mess up my room and cause more trouble than you’re worth. Ten silvers for the large room."
"But . . . " Azalea didn't hide her shock any more. Her mouth moved but she seemed at a loss for words. All Ean could feel was confusion flowing freely through their bond.
"Ten silvers. Take it or leave it before I decide I don't want you staying here at all."
"We'll take it," Ean said before Azalea could find any words. He pulled out the coins from his own stash and placed them on the counter. "Thank you."
Bora snatched them up, even going as far as to bite one of them before giving a satisfied grunt. Reaching into her apron she pulled out a key with the number one-hundred-ten engraved into the metal and placed it on the bar.
"Upstairs at the end of the hall. I expect to find it in the same condition when you leave in the morning.
Before Azalea could get them kicked out, Ean snatched up the key and grabbed the Yulari's arm. This time, it was his turn to drag her back through the common room. As they passed by some of the tables, the men and women turned and directed annoyed and even hostile looks at them. No, not both of them. Just Azalea. Ean moved them at a hurried pace to a table far from anyone else in the room and plopped Azalea down in a chair before taking one for himself.
"What in the Abyss is going on here," Azalea growled. At least she had enough sense to keep her voice low enough that only Ean could hear her.
"The people here don't seem to like you at all. Are you a different shade of blue than the rest of them and I just don't see it?"
"No, I took Dao's exact skin color. It can't be that. And I've been giving off enough of my charming scent that they should be falling over themselves to make me happy, not giving me looks like I just torched their crops."
"That has to be it then. Maybe because of the Plague, your little trick has the opposite effect on these people."
"You think?" She glanced back at the other tables. Ean followed her gaze and saw that although most had returned to their own conversations, a few people were still turning to look at Azalea with sour or outright malicious expressions. Turning back to Ean, Azalea shook her head. The shimmering effect around her faded away. "Well, this trip is turning into one big disappointment for me. Didn't get to drain that Seeker, feels like I'm getting constantly punched in the gut while we are in this cursed land, can't charm or seduce anyone here even if I wanted to, and the worst part is, I can't even get a decent snack from any of these people."
"You can't feed either?" Ean couldn't decide whether that was a good or bad thing.
"Not off of them. It’s just a giant tease. I can smell all of the emotions wafting from them, but anytime I try to take even a nibble, it’s like . . . well, for you it would be like grabbing ahold of a bright red, shiny apple, taking a bite, and finding everything under the apple skin has rotted. I might be able to take a few bites so to speak, but I'd be more likely to get sick from it than to satiate my hunger."
"Azalea, we don't know how much longer we are going to be in this land. Are you going to be alright?"
"Aww, worried about me?" She reached across the table and patted his hand. "Not to worry, Yulari are made of sturdier stuff than you humans. I could go quite some time without a good meal, although I might start to get a little cranky. Besides, you gave me quite the snack when you and Dao fought before we crossed into this land."
"I thought we agreed you wouldn't snack off of me without my permission."
"No, I agreed not to intentionally rile you up just so that I could snack on your emotions. Big difference."
"Not that big."
"Big enough," she said. She gave his hand another pat then leaned back in her chair. "It's not like you can feel it when I'm feeding like that anyway."
"Azalea . . . " Ean paused, not knowing what he could really say in response. She was right after all. "Why do I always feel like I'm on a completely different world when it comes to understanding you?"
"I have no idea, Ean. It's not like we're from completely different worlds . . . " She didn't even try to hide the smirk that spread across her face. "Oh wait, actually we are from different worlds. And it probably doesn't help that you're a thick-headed man who knows practically nothing about women of any species."
Instead of responding, Ean held his tongue and glared at his companion.
"See?" Azalea said, letting out a musical laugh. "I'm not feeding off of your frustration right now because I'm the one that intentionally caused it. That's the big difference."
Ean was about to respond but Azalea continued.
"Oh look," Azalea continued turning towards the door. "Here comes our tour guide. He seems more jovial than usual."
She was right. Dao approached their table with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. When he reached them, Dao dropped into a chair and put his feet up on the table.
"Finally, we get to relax in a respectable establishment, although I expected a cup of ale to be here waiting for me."
"We haven't exactly received the best service," Azalea grunted. "Got a little beat up over the price of the room and we haven't seen a server since we sat down."
"Oh? How much did they charge you?"
"Ten silver coins."
"Really?" Dao gave a chuckle. "I would have expected more from a charmer like yourself."
"Yes." The smirk disappeared from Azalea's face. "Disappointing."
"No matter." Dao grabbed a small leather bag from his belt and tossed it onto the table. It jingled as it landed on the wooden surface. "My treat, then, for our food and drinks. I've come into more than enough coin now to keep our bellies full and our mouths from going dry."
"What?" Ean cocked his head as he looked at the man. "How did you make money in the short amount of time since we left you outside?"
"Sold all of our food, of course. After a few seasons of not having any fresh food from your lands, I could charge a premium for that cartload that we brought with us. Might have gotten even more if I had waited until we reached Novufyr, but I didn't want to press our luck."
Ean's hands moved to the edge of the table. He gripped it so tightly he thought he might break the wood.
"You told me that we didn't want anyone to know w
e had fresh food. That it could be dangerous if people knew that we had it. And now you've gone and sold it off?"
"It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I mean, we really didn't need any of that food. I would imagine your magic protects you enough that you could eat anything that was grown or butchered in these lands. Zin might get a little stomach ache but should be fine, and Azalea doesn't even need to eat food like we do. I didn’t sell any of the dried meat or those slices of slug that you still haven't finished."
"So, the real reason you bought all of that food in Lurthalan was to make a huge profit here." It was all Ean could do to not to flip the table.
"Yeah, sorry for the deception. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, my father always used to say."
There was a light crunching sound as a crack appeared in the wood where Ean had a death grip on the table.
"Now, now, buddy," Dao said, raising his hands defensively. "Don't want to make a scene over something so small."
"Small? Was the comment about the danger we could be in if people knew we brought untainted food a lie too?"
"Well, no. But I was very discreet about selling it. I made the man I sold it to swear up and down that he wouldn't repeat where he got it from with the promise that I could get him more in the future. Nothing to worry about there."
Ean stood so fast that Dao pushed his chair back, one hand going to his side where he kept one of his many knives.
"I need some air," Ean said in a flat tone. He had taken only a few steps when he caught something from Azalea through their bond. "Really?"
"I didn't cause you to go into such a rage," she purred. Her eyelids had started to droop and she wore a belligerent smile. "Can't let such a powerful emotion go to waste, especially when I wasn't the one to cause it. Big difference."
Ean stormed off, almost taking the doors off their hinges as he threw them aside and stomped out of the building.
Chapter 23
The same humid air Ean had dealt with since entering the Deadlands greeted him as he stalked out of the inn. What he wouldn’t give for a cool breeze for both his body and his temper. The scarf covering his face felt like an oven. Not slowing down, he stormed over to the open market, hoping to find anything that might distract him from his own anger. While the light outside seemed to be fading, the market grew busier.
Ean noticed the stalls of food first as most of the shoppers were elsewhere. Laid out across the stands, some in boxes while others piled together, all of the usual staples Ean would expect from a farming community were there, with one small difference: Each food, while recognizable, was different from its counterpart grown in the south. Fresh ears of corn had kernels of a golden orange instead of a light yellow. Vegetables that were normally a lush green now wore shades of blue or purple. Apples and oranges had taken on a similar dark blue hue and were only distinguishable by the texture of their skin. Moving closer to the stands, Ean noticed another discernable difference. Nothing gave off a smell. No citrusy aroma from the orange, no bite to the senses from an onion, not even the earthy smell of the corn was present.
Curious, Ean walked up to one of the stands with a large pile of apples sitting in a wooden crate.
"How much for an apple?"
The woman behind the stand gave a noncommittal shrug. "Three for a single copper coin. This batch is almost a season old and I would just be happy to be rid of them before they start to turn."
"They haven't started to rot after a whole season?" Ean’s specialty was in medicinal plants, but he did have some knowledge about the edible kind. "That seems strange."
The woman's face scrunched up as if she had bit into something sour. "Strange? How so? Everyone knows most food grown in our lands keeps longer. Where exactly are you from?"
"Just a joke," Ean blurted out. "Long day of traveling and I suppose my humor is suffering from it. How about three coppers for five apples?"
The offer seemed to placate the woman and she held out her hand. When Ean put the coins in her palm, her expression softened.
"No harm done," she said. "The question just caught me by surprise. Take at least six apples. I would feel guilty and you are doing me a favor by lessening the load I'll have to pack up and carry home, even if it’s just by one extra apple."
"Thank you," Ean replied as he picked out six apples at random. After he had tucked them away in his pockets he gave the woman a nod. "Have a good evening."
"May you ever walk in the grace of silence."
Ean turned away and moved down the rows of stands. He had no idea if there was a normal response a native person could give here, but he had already shown his ignorance enough in one conversation. Maybe wandering around without Dao wasn't such a good idea. But even the thought of the selfish man's name brought back a flush of anger. No, it was better to keep his distance from Dao for now.
Moving past a few more food stands, he came upon one covered in dozens of different wooden carvings. There were soldiers, some animals he recognized while others he didn't, and even a few creatures from the Abyss. It was the final set that made him pause. Sitting behind this particular stand was a girl in simple clothes, her age barely into the double digits if that, with short black hair and an innocent smile. When Ean stopped in front of her stand, her smile widened and she jumped to her feet.
"See anything you like? Maybe something you can give as a gift to a family member?"
"These are all excellently made. Did you carve them all?"
"My pa did the more detailed ones, but I contributed my fair share. Maybe interested in buying one for your girlfriend? My pa tells me all the time he won over my ma with the things he carved for her."
"My what?"
"Your girlfriend. You know, the woman hanging onto your arm when you went into the inn. She's very pretty."
"Yes, she is." Ean's eyes widened as he realized what he was saying. "But we're just friends."
"Friends like carvings, too. I can sell you a couple of birds. The grownup girls go wild for them, for some reason."
"Show me one you made," Ean said, trying to move the girl along to a different topic. "One I might like."
"Alright. Boys seem to like the monsters more than the animals. Here, take a look at this one." The girl grabbed a humanoid figure with four arms and placed it in front of him. "Do you know what this is called?"
Ean certainly did. "It's called a Crux."
"That's right! Carved it myself just from looking at a picture. Lots of people seem interested in creatures from the Abyss."
Ean's mouth went dry. "Because of what happened in Ulundkin?"
"Yup. Lots of people got worked up over that. When word got out about my Pa's book on the Abyss, a bunch of people came around wanting to buy it. That's how I know what a Crux looks like–got it from a drawing in the book."
"I can understand the interest. I wouldn't mind getting a look at that book sometime as well."
"I'd tell you to get in line, but it would be a waste of time. My pa says he's going to hold onto the book a while since interest in the Abyss is on the rise. He thinks the information in it will be worth more in the near future."
She took on a deeper tone which Ean could only assume was a mimic of her father’s voice.
"Why make a quick profit and have the books gone forever when I can use them to make figures that will only increase in value."
The girl tapped her head. "See. Smart, right? If what they say is true, people will pay much more for wood carvings if they have something to do with the Abyss."
Ean could feel a few drops of sweat running down his back and knew it wasn't because of the humidity. "And why is interest about the Abyss on the rise?"
"You been hiding in a cave?" Leaning forward she waved him closer. Ean leaned across the table until his head was right next to the girl’s. "They say the Plaguebringer has returned."
Ean's stomach twisted and churned. He pulled back and took a step away from the stand.
"Wait!" the girl sai
d, a hint of desperation in her voice. "Don't go. I didn't mean to offend you. Was it the comment about living in a cave? It was only a joke."
Ean stopped, although part of him wanted to run. Wanted to leave this village, this land. Instead he steeled himself and moved closer to the stand. It wasn't the girl's fault after all for answering a question he had asked.
"Sorry. I just thought of something . . . " He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "The Crux is nice, but what else do you have?"
"Well, I have some other things having to do with the Abyss," she said hesitantly. "If you are interested in that. Or maybe I can show you something else."
"No, something from the Abyss would be fine."
"Ok, something from the Abyss . . . " Some of the nervousness left her voice as she looked around the tabletop. "Well, this isn't something I carved but it seems to be the most popular. This figure is often sold as quick as Pa makes it."
Grabbing a humanoid figure, she handed it to Ean. It was bigger than his hand but not by much. Nothing stood out to Ean at first about the carving. The clothes carved on him looked like anything a villager here might wear, a simple sleeveless shirt and long pants, and his face seemed plain. The man was standing straight, arms crossed in front of his chest. When Ean looked closer, he began to realize what made this man special. Hundreds of small groves were etched into his arms, patterns that sometimes went with the grain of the wood and sometimes against it. There was no rhyme or reason to the patterns but they still struck a chord that made the knot in his stomach tighten. Taking a better look at the figure's face, the knot seemed to twist his insides ragged.
He might as well have been looking into a mirror.
"Do you like the detail put into it? Much more interesting than those flyers of his likeness going around."
"And who is this?" As if he didn't know.
"The Plaguebringer. I'm sure a wooden carving doesn't produce the same awe as the real thing, but people seem to like it."
"I'll take it. How much?"
"Well, like I said, that's Pa's most popular piece. Puts a lot of time into it and only produces one every so often. He would be mad if I sold it for anything less than two silver coins . . . "
Enemies and Allies (Bound to the Abyss Book 3) Page 19