by K Hanson
Eventually, a tall, broad-shouldered man entered the bar. He still wore his uniform, apparently stopping by for a drink or two after the end of his shift, judging by the tired look in his eyes. A chest full of medals indicated a storied career. Then, she noticed the captain’s insignia on his shoulder. A captain of the guard. Someone who could deliver her note to Brynja and open a hell of a lot of doors to let them in and out.
Of course, she still had to figure out a way to get him to do what she wanted. A simple bribe would never work on someone like him. If he could afford to drink in a place like this, his salary was certainly high enough that he wouldn’t be tempted by a show of money. It would only serve to buy her an express trip to the mines. She needed something better.
An idea dawned on her.
Hoping that the guard captain would still be in the tavern when she returned, Nereyda left her seat and walked out of the building. She got her bearings and found the apothecary across the street that she had seen earlier when making her way into town. She walked over and gently pushed the door open. A bell jingled above her head to alert the shop owner that someone had arrived. A wrinkled old man with gray hair sat dozing on a stool on the other side of the counter. His head jerked up as she approached and cleared her throat.
“How may I help you, young lady?”
“Excuse me, sir. I’ve been struggling with nightmares lately. Do you have anything to help me sleep?”
“Why yes, I think I have just the thing.” He reached into the counter and rummaged around to look for the right vial. As he pulled out a small bottle of purple liquid, he said, “This is very potent stuff. Just a couple of drops should be enough to make you drowsy. Four will knock you out cold. Any more than that will kill you, so please be careful.”
“Thank you. That’s just what I need. How much is it?”
Five gold pieces, miss.”
“Very well.” She set the right amount of coins on the counter, then tucked the vial into one of her pockets. “Thanks again. You’re a lifesaver.”
“It’s what I’m here for. Please do come again.”
Nereyda turned away and walked out of the shop. As she walked back onto the street, she looked left and right for someplace that might have the next thing she needed. She spotted a tailor’s sign and headed in that direction.
She entered and found a woman, not much older than herself, focusing on working a needle through a dress on a form. “I’ll be with you in a minute,” she said without turning her attention away from her needlework.
Nereyda waited quietly and patiently, watching the tailor with her face scrunched up in concentration. The woman finished the seam and turned away from her work.
“That looks like it will be a lovely dress,” commented Nereyda.
“Oh, I’m sure it will be. There’s a reason all of the officers’ wives, girlfriends, and mistresses come to me for their dresses. Or, all of the ones who can afford it.” She looked up and down at Nereyda. “You certainly look like you could use some new clothes yourself.”
Nereyda bit her tongue on a comeback. She didn’t have time to waste trading jabs with this arrogant tailor. “Actually, I just wanted to see if I could buy a dress.”
“How soon do you need it?” the tailor asked.
“If you have something handy, I’d like it now.”
“Now? You can’t expect the perfect dress on demand. It has to be made for you.”
“I just need something that fits and looks good.”
The tailor let out a huff. “Fine, let me measure you, and I’ll see what I can do.”
She quickly measured Nereyda, then walked to the back of the store. She returned a moment later with a box, which she gave to Nereyda. “This should do, I think.”
Nereyda opened the box and pulled out a long, violet dress. “This looks perfect.”
The tailor gave a quick nod. “Of course, it does. Now try it on so I can adjust it.”
After Nereyda changed into the dress, she felt that it mostly fit, except that it was loose in a few spots. The tailor moved in a flurry with her needle as she made her corrections. Nereyda winced a few times as the needle pricked her.
Once the tailor had finished, Nereyda examined herself in a mirror. The dress was quite low cut and tight enough that it left little to the imagination. “Exactly what I need.” Nereyda found her coin pouch and held out a handful of coins. “Is this enough?”
“Double that.”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Nereyda set the first coins on the counter, then grabbed another bunch out of the sack. She didn’t want to waste time haggling. “There, is that good?”
“Yes, that’s fine. Now I need to get back to work.”
“I’m sure you do.”
Nereyda changed back out of the dress, folded it into the box, then left the tailor shop. One final stop to make.
On the way back to the tavern, Nereyda passed a butcher shop. Inside, the butcher stood over an animal that Nereyda couldn’t quite see, carving off the meat. Next to the shop, a shed stood with its door cracked open. She looked around to see if anyone else was nearby. When she felt certain that nobody could see her, she pushed her way into the shed.
Immediately, the scent of blood hit her nose as if she had walked into a wall.
In the center of the shed, a pig hung from the rafters, dripping blood into a bucket below. Nereyda forced herself to ignore the stomach-churning smell and stepped further into the room. She rummaged through the tools and random junk that lined the walls of the shed, searching for any sort of container. Nereyda was careful to avoid making noise, but at the same time wanted to get away from the stench as soon as possible. Her next meal would definitely be a salad. Eventually, buried in a pile of rags, she found a large empty jug.
Nereyda uncorked the jug and set it on the ground near the center of the room. She lifted the bucket and slowly tipped it until a stream of blood poured into the container. When the jug had been nearly filled, she stopped pouring and set the bucket back in its place beneath the pig. She placed the cork in the jug and stepped out of the shed.
With a deep breath, she took in as much blood-free air as she could. She continued to enjoy the fresh air on her way back to the tavern, her arms full of the items she had gathered.
When she arrived, she scanned the main room to search for the guard captain. Spotting him with a mug of ale next to the fireplace in the corner, she let out a sigh of relief. At least she hadn’t totally wasted her time so far. Taking a seat across the room from him, she ordered another drink. From her new position, she could casually observe him without being noticed.
As he casually sipped his drink, he kept eyeing one of the ladies of the inn. She had long flaming red hair and a naturally seductive look to her green eyes, with a hint of a flirtatious smile etched across her face. She wore a tight fitting black dress that flattered her figure.
Leaving her drink on her table, Nereyda stood up and walked over to the prostitute. “Hey there,” she whispered. “I have a proposition for you.”
The red-haired woman raised an eyebrow. “Usually I’m the one doing the propositioning.”
Nereyda laughed. “Yes, this is probably a bit of a change. But I have a lot of coin for a special request.”
The prostitute narrowed her eyes with suspicion. “How much coin? And how special is this request?”
Opening her jacket, Nereyda showed her the large purse of coins she still had. Then, she leaned in and whispered her idea to the woman.
“Oh, I see, this is just some sort of prank on the guard captain,” responded the prostitute after hearing the plan. “I can play along for the kind of money you’re offering. You’re sure I won’t get in trouble for this?”
“I’ll make sure of it, don’t worry. Do you have someplace that I can change clothes?” Nereyda asked.
“Just use the room upstairs. That’s where we’ll have our fun.”
“Great. I’ll be back down soon.”
“Okay,
then. Go talk to him when you’re ready, and I’ll be waiting right here.”
After changing into her dress and leaving everything else upstairs, Nereyda returned to the common room and walked over to the guard captain. She slid into the chair across from him and fixed him with her violet gaze as he looked up to see who was joining him. His own eyes did a quick, but noticeable, journey up and down her body. Perfect.
“Hey there. You must be a pretty high-ranking officer to be in a place like this.”
The captain puffed himself up. “Yes, I’ve done pretty well in my career, and I’m lucky to serve a generous empire that rewards loyalty.”
“Well, I think such duty should be rewarded. Why don’t we go somewhere, and I can show you my gratitude for your service?”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m afraid I couldn’t do that.”
“Oh, why not?” Nereyda pouted. “Do you think I’m ugly?”
“Of course not. It just seems improper.”
“What’s improper about a little fun? Besides, she’s willing to join us.” She gestured to the red-haired woman.
He looked over at her, and she waved to him.
“I couldn’t possibly afford her company.”
“Don’t worry about that part, because I can. What do you say? You can have the two of us for the rest of the night.”
He shrugged and set down his glass before rising. “I suppose I could. I don’t have another shift for a couple of days so I can spare a night of fun.”
“That’s the spirit, soldier,” Nereyda smiled as she stood up. “Just come with us, and we’ll make sure you’re taken care of. I’ll get some wine for us before we head up.”
Nereyda ordered a bottle of wine and three glasses, then carried them as she and the guard captain followed the fire headed lady. She led them to the largest bedroom in the inn, with a large four post bed in the center. It even had its own washroom attached. She would certainly be getting her money’s worth if she actually planned on having a threesome. The setup would still be useful for what she really had planned.
“How about we have some wine and get to know each other before the main event begins?” Nereyda proposed.
“Sounds good to me,” the captain said. “I’ve never done anything like this, so I am a little bit nervous.”
“Don’t you worry, captain,” said the prostitute. “You just relax, and we’ll take good care of you.”
Setting the bottle and glasses on a small table in the corner of the room, Nereyda opened the bottle and poured the wine. After slipping the vial of sleeping potion out of her pocket, she put three drops into one of the glasses.
While she poured the drinks, the prostitute helped the soldier out of his uniform, then undressed herself.
When Nereyda returned to the other two, who were seated on the edge of the bed, she gave each of them a glass. The captain received the one that she had spiked.
“To new friends and exciting adventures,” Nereyda said with a wink. They clinked their glasses at the toast, and all took a drink.
As they chatted and bantered with small talk, the captain became more and more drowsy. Eventually, as his eyelids became too heavy, his glass slipped from his hand, and his body fell onto the mattress. His chest slowly rose and fell as he slipped into a deep slumber.
“Now,” said Nereyda, “the next part.”
“So now I need to pass out, too?”
“That’s right. Here,” Nereyda passed her the vial of sleeping draught. “Take four drops of that. No more. That will keep you out until well after I get him out of here.”
The red-haired woman nodded and took the bottle. She tapped four drops into her mouth and passed it back as she swallowed. After she lay down on the mattress, the potion soon had taken its effect. Nereyda would now have several hours to make the rest of the plan come together.
She grabbed the jug of blood and got to work. First setting the woman in a sprawled out position, Nereyda then poured the blood over her. Both her skin and the mattress were colored a deep crimson. It was as if someone had been gutted right on the bed. Which is exactly the effect Nereyda wanted to create.
Once most of the blood had been used, she took the knife from the guard captain’s belt and wiped it in the blood. Then, she set the handle in his hand. Next, she applied some additional blood to the prostitute’s neck. By rearranging the angle of her head, she made it seem like her neck had been sliced.
She stepped back to examine her work. It definitely looked like the guard captain had murdered the woman right here in bed.
Now she just had to wait for him to wake up so she could see how he’d react. She hid her blood-soaked gloves, then stood next to the window to watch the city crowds go by.
As she watched the merchants and townspeople go about their business, she reflected that it was strange how this town only flourished due to the nearby mines. The city thrived on the suffering that took place not too many miles away. Even her own rescue efforts had contributed to the local economy. Nereyda wondered if the people here somehow remained oblivious to the reason for their success or if they just didn’t care.
Eventually, she heard the captain moan as he began to stir. Nereyda slipped into the washroom to wait and listen for the right moment to come out. She pressed her ear to the door after she had closed it.
A yawn, then a rustle of sheets as he moved around.
“What is this?” she heard him say. “Why is there blood on me?”
Another sound as the bed groaned while he moved.
“Oh no. No. No, no, no! Oh gods, what happened?”
At that moment, Nereyda stepped out to find the captain sitting up in bed and staring at what he thought was the bloody corpse of the prostitute. She let out a scream. “What did you do?” she asked, feigning shock. “Why would you kill her?”
“What? You think it was me? I didn’t touch her.”
“Who else would it be? I wasn’t even in the room. And that’s your knife, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t do anything like this. I don’t even remember what happened.”
“You don’t remember? That’s pretty convenient. You just wake up next to a dead, blood-covered woman, holding a knife, and you think it wasn’t you?”
“I…I don’t know what happened. What do we do? I can’t be seen like this,” he pleaded.
“Here’s what we’ll do. First, you’ll get cleaned up and come with me, and we’ll get away from this mess. Then, I’ll come back and clean it up. I’ll make it go away.”
“How?”
“You don’t want to know. And you can’t know.”
“Fine. Where do we go?”
“Just follow me. We’ll go to another, quieter inn on the other side of town. I rented the room for the whole night here, so nobody should come up to check on things. We have a few hours to get this sorted out. Just come with me and trust me. Before we leave, though, you need to head to the washroom and get rid of that blood.”
The captain didn’t stand up. Instead, he just stared at the still body of the prostitute and started shaking hysterically. “How did this happen? We were just here, about to have some fun.”
Nereyda walked over to him and yanked him to his feet. She forced his head to turn away from the blood-covered woman. “Listen, you have to get it together. Now, I’m going to take you into the washroom and get this blood off of you. Can you walk?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, try. If your hands are covered in blood, it’s going to get some looks as we walk across town.”
“If I killed her, maybe I deserve to get caught. What kind of guard am I if I get away with murder?”
“Like you said, you don’t remember what happened, and I didn’t see anything. Maybe it was an accident, but if someone comes in right now and sees this, with you and your own knife covered in blood, they will think that you did it. I don’t think you did, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that there is a dead woman in that bed and at
least one of us is going to end up in jail or in the very mines where you’ve been stationed. Now, pull yourself together and come along.”
Nereyda shoved him toward the washroom on the other side of the bedroom, practically dragging his feet across the floor as his legs refused to respond. He continued to hold a thousand yard stare as his mind struggled to process the bloody trauma that had befallen him. His whole body shook in shock from the confusing and overwhelming events.
For a moment, Nereyda felt bad that she had to put him through this. It seemed cruel to make a man think he had murdered someone. Then, she remembered the stories that she had heard about what the slaves in the mines endured. If he had done enough to rise to the rank of guard captain, he must have done a lot to participate in the suffering of those people, possibly including her own crew. Anyone who could get involved in that deserved some punishment.
She finally managed to get him to the washroom. He was still helpless to do anything himself, so she placed his hands under the faucet and turned it on. This deep in the Empire, this town actually had indoor plumbing. Nothing like this had made it to Freyport yet.
The water ran red with pig’s blood. It took several minutes of scrubbing his skin raw to get all of the color out.
“That’ll have to do. Now, we just need to get you dressed.”
Still, the man just stood and stared at his hands, as if they were still coated in unseen blood. Nereyda sighed and rolled her eyes, then slapped him across the face.
He jolted up and looked at her in surprise. “What the hell was that for?”
“Seriously? You were just standing there doing nothing. I can’t do all of this myself, and I’m not going to baby you. Get your ass in gear, throw your clothes back on, and let’s get out of here. You can stand around and mope, cry, stare off into oblivion, or whatever else you need to do later. Now, though, we need to get out of here. So move, soldier. That’s an order.”
The guard captain seemed to find himself, at least for now. “Okay, I can do that. Can you help me gather my clothes?”