Metal Mage 5, page 14
I stretched my arms with a loud grunt and popped my neck in a few places while the Aer Mage languidly tousled her curls and yawned.
Then I carefully slid a few golden discs passed the sleeping metal man.
From the bed, Cayla followed me with hooded eyes and smirked when she saw Stan.
“Poor little guy,” she sighed before she brought herself to the dirt beside him and sat down to get a look at what I’d made.
“Now,” I told Shoshanne as I held out a deadly golden star, “this is called a shuriken, but you can call it a throwing star as well. Which gives you a good idea about what you’re gonna do with it.”
Shoshanne’s eyes lit up as she reached out, but I snatched the disk back. “I know you’re a healer, but for the sake of saving a lot of injuries, you don’t wanna touch the edges,” I chuckled, and I pinched a spike between my thumb and index finger. “Hold it like this.”
The Aer Mage’s face became the same studious mask she always wore when she flipped through Wyresus’ volumes as she gave a nod. “Okay,” she said. “How do I throw it?”
“That’s the thing,” I replied, and a giddy smile came to my face. “Normally you’d chuck the thing like this--”
I turned toward a tree and raised my arm so my elbow pointed directly where I wanted it to go. Then I lifted my other arm into a plank in front of me, and as I threw the star, my forearms met to steady my aim, and the shuriken spiraled through the air and embedded itself deep in the bark of the tree.
“But,” I continued, “you’re an Aer Mage, so I want you to try a different approach.” I brought myself behind Shoshanne as I handed her a star.
The caramel beauty held it between her fingers exactly as I’d told her, and then she sent an eager smile over her shoulder.
“It’s so pretty,” she giggled.
“I thought you’d like it,” I said with a grin. “Now, tilt your wrist to the side, and I want you to send it out sideways. I’d tell you to aim carefully, but if my guess is correct, you don’t even have to. Let your magic steer it and see if you can’t bury this sucker in the trunk of that tree over there.”
I gestured to a large trunk tucked behind a few others.
Shoshanne nodded and took a steadying breath before her curls began to sway ever so slightly. Then she pulled her arm back and sent the shuriken sailing like a lethal frisbee into the jungle. As I watched the light glint on every razor-sharp point, the golden disk caught on Shoshanne’s breeze and suddenly lifted a couple inches.
It flew out in a wide semicircle, sliced straight through the fronds of a giant fern, and impaled the trunk of the tree from the far right.
“Hell yeah,” I called out, and Shoshanne gave a giddy little hop as the shuriken hit its mark.
“I love it!” she giggled, and she turned to throw her arms around my neck.
I gave her a kiss and gestured to where Cayla sat beside the neatly stacked piles.
“Good, because I made you forty of them,” I informed her.
The Aer Mage’s eyes sparked with excitement, and she ran to inspect them all.
I shook my head as I watched her go, and then I turned to the sleepy half-elf who was lazily stretched out on her belly to watch the demonstration. I went to join her on the bed and stroked a few rogue braids from her shoulder to lay a kiss on her neck.
“I have a proposition for you,” I muttered against her smooth skin.
“Hmm?” she purred.
“I need a way for Shoshanne to carry the throwing stars, and you have a thigh strap that would work perfectly,” I admitted. “If you wanna temporarily move your dagger sheath to your belt, I’ll pick up an elf-made one for you in Rhoemir today.”
Aurora turned her head and sent me a little smirk. “Really?” she asked excitedly.
“Hell yeah,” I assured her. “I’m determined to have you decked out in elf-made gear from head to toe before we leave Nalnora. This is only the beginning.”
The half-elf laughed as she rolled over and pulled me against her. “You really are just looking to start trouble now, aren’t you?”
I raised my brow innocently. “Not trouble,” I said with a smirk, “Just … adjusting my mindset.”
Aurora rolled her eyes and gave me a kiss. “Well, I’m in,” she chuckled as she reached over to the edge of the bed to pull her thigh strap from the ground. Then she pulled the dagger’s sheath off the slim leather strap.
I gave her another kiss, and then I headed over to where Cayla and Shoshanne sat.
The Aer Mage held a throwing star up to a stream of sunlight to admire the glint of gold. “I like these so much more than that rifle,” she sighed. “Who do I get to throw them at?”
“Anyone,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe not Rhys today, because I’ve got a meeting with him, but in general we’re changing our game plan.” I dropped down and pulled the slender carrying case from my pocket and focused my magic on the back panel. Two small slits appeared in the gold, and I threaded the leather through them before I handed it over to Shoshanne.
“What’s the game plan now then?” Cayla asked curiously.
“Well, to be honest,” I began as I scratched my beard, “we’re going rogue. I need six Houses on my side to get those fucking elves to give us the time of day, but … they also wanna kill us. So, you three have full reign. Kill anyone who’s up to no good, and don’t get in the way of Shoshanne’s shuriken. Other than that, have fun.”
Cayla raised her brows to Aurora. “Seriously?” she asked me.
I saw a devilish smirk come to the half-elf’s lips.
“Seriously,” I said with a wink. “You saw how much the dead are worth here. I don’t have any intention of becoming one of them. I’m gonna meet with House Fehryn today and if everything goes well, none of them will have to die, and we’ll be that much closer to getting the elves to focus long enough to tell us something useful.”
An amused smile came to the princess’ face, and she gave a small shrug. “Good enough for me,” she chuckled.
“Me too,” Shoshanne agreed as she filed her throwing stars into the little metal case.
I turned to the half-elf who had finally managed to get her legs moving. “Their number one target is going to be you,” I told her cautiously. “Keep your ears sharp and don’t let your guard down.”
“No problem,” Aurora yawned. Then she added, “But we’re coming with you to that meeting.”
My face must have made it clear how crazy I was about the suggestion, because the half-elf rolled her eyes as she stood up. “You’re worried they’re gonna kill me, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Well, yeah … ” I told her uneasily.
Aurora propped her arms on her hips. “Has it not occurred to you that I might just burn them all alive?”
“That’s what I mean,” I insisted. “That’s really the only two options. Either we all die or they do.”
“Oh really?” the half-elf chuckled as she turned to Cayla. “Are those the only two options?”
Cayla smirked. “Well, if they are that’s just shit diplomacy,” she said and sent me a coy smile. “You have more than enough to bargain with. Do it right, and we’ve got loads of options.”
I sighed and stood up. “Well, I can’t argue with that,” I admitted. “I’m going to Rhoemir to pick up a few things. Why don’t you guys get some of those bacon eels cooking, and I’ll be back in less than an hour.”
Aurora wrinkled her nose at me.
Shoshanne wiggled her new thigh strap up her leg, and then she stood to strut around a bit as she admired the slim golden case. “What do you think?” she asked.
I eyed the taut strap and the plush thigh it clung to. “I think I could postpone my trip for a little bit,” I mused as I dragged my eyes across the curve of her inner thigh.
The Aer Mage smirked. “No way, I wanna play with my shuriken,” she laughed, and her smile reminded me of a kid on Christmas morning.
“That’s adorable,” I admitted as I raised my arm toward the trees. Then I sent the slightest stream of magic out to pull the two discarded throwing stars from their marks, and Shoshanne held her hand out as they drifted back to her.
“Thank you,” she said.
I nodded and turned to the other women. “Everyone locked and loaded?”.
Cayla already had her rifle strapped to her back, and Aurora sent a wave of flames across her palms. Then the princess sauntered over and dropped a pouch of coins into my hand.
“Get the most expensive strap they have,” she told me.
I chuckled as I headed to Bobbie, but another idea occurred to me, and I used my magic to carefully disconnect the sidecar. It had been ages since I’d had a minute alone with the old girl, and I was in the mood to see what she really could do in these lands. I put my belt back on, slid the dwarven sword into the sheath on my left hip, and checked the barrel of my revolver before I slipped it into the holster on my right. Then I kissed each of my women before I mounted up, and as Bobbie kicked into gear, I winked to Shoshanne.
The Aer Mage bounced on her toes and sent me a little wave before she turned toward the trees with a shuriken already poised.
I felt ten times better than I had after I’d left House Natyr the night before, and as the birds in the trees above me scattered, I revved the engine and let her go at top speed.
The terrain shifted at my will and rose to send me straight up and over the felled logs in my path, and the ferns quickly became a blur of green while the river flew past my right side.
I let out a satisfied sigh as I parked Bobbie in the tree line beside the road, and I was honestly a little bummed it had only taken fifteen minutes to get to Rhoemir. With a solid plan under my belt, and no revolver digging into my hip, things suddenly seemed to fall into place. I strolled out of the trees and down the road, but as I passed the stone huts of the marketplace, my eye caught on something between the buildings. I slowed and ducked behind a hut, and then I carefully peered around the edge toward the town square.
Four turquoise clad elves argued with a merchant near the leather shop, and I furrowed my brow. The marketplace was much less crowded at this hour, so there was little chance I’d be able to get by without being spotted. I watched the four warriors turn away from the merchant, and just as they broke off into two groups, Onym walked into sight.
“Shit,” I cursed.
The black-eyed elf’s jaw was set in a furious line, and from the looks of it, he hadn’t woken up in a very forgiving mood. His hand was like a vice on the hilt of his sword, and he glared at every elf who passed.
I ground my jaw as the meeting with House Natyr flashed into my mind before I took a deep breath and refocused.
The important part was that I got what I came here for. As I scanned the merchants of the market, an idea finally came to me.
I crept along the back of the huts until I came to the one I wanted, and then I slowly brought myself along the stone building and flattened my back against the wall.
The little old elf with the dull purple hair sorted seeds into several jars, and I was relieved to see that there were no customers at the moment.
I cleared my throat, and the serpentine eyes of the elderly elf snapped over her shoulder. Then they narrowed.
I gestured for her to come over, but the woman only glared in my direction without moving a muscle, so I sighed and dug a coin from the pouch in my pocket.
With a careful glance around, I quickly flashed the gold around the edge of the wall.
The serpentine eyes finally relaxed a small degree as the elf slowly set the jar in her hand down. She looked briefly to the square before she came to the back corner of her stand and dug through a box on the other side of the wall I stood against.
“You come to cause another brawl, young man?” she muttered, and her sharp eyes snapped to mine.
“Trying not to,” I said with a grin.
The little old elf hmphed and held out her hand.
I dropped seven golden coins into her crinkled palm.
“Keep anything you don’t spend,” I told her, and the woman’s serpentine eyes widened.
Then she gave a small nod.
“I need a decent strap to hold a dagger on a thigh,” I told her in a low voice. “Get it from the leather shop, and don’t skimp on the quality if you could.”
The elf gave another little nod and turned to go, but my eye caught on a peddler that crossed in front of her hut, and I called her back.
“Are those for eating?” I asked as I gestured to the strange green eggs that nestled in little crates on the rickety cart. When the elderly elf nodded, I instructed her to grab me a few as well before she made her way into the square.
I watched her shuffle across the marketplace for a moment before I turned my sights to the elves who roamed from one stand to the next, and I carefully took stock of the weaponry I saw in their sheaths.
Onym had found a replacement for the serrated saber I’d bent all to hell for him, and it was twice as long as the last. He’d also replaced the handle of the strange dagger that almost cost him his life, and I scanned the sheaths of the other elves to see if any of them had similar blades.
I saw one sword made of the same material on the hip of an elf who wore colors I didn’t recognize. His simple gray tunic wasn’t tattered at all, and he was one of the few elves in the square who didn’t move in a small pack. He also didn’t wear any vambraces, but he eyed the elves around him warily as he went and seemed to keep out of the way of others. I furrowed my brow as I studied the glaive on his back and found it was also made of the same strange material.
The elves who passed him didn’t seem to look at him so much as at his weaponry, but he ignored them as he went from one stand to the next. I watched him buy several pouches full of gods know what and a couple of dark green vials. Then he gave a shifty glance toward the marketplace before he quickly disappeared between the huts.
The moment he did, I saw Onym turn his head and mutter under his breath to two of his comrades.
They smirked and nodded before they swiftly made for the trees where the elf with the gray tunic had been.
“Fucking rat,” I breathed as I watched Onym turn back to the merchant he dealt with. He really was an underhanded little shit, and I briefly considered high tailing it in the direction his henchmen had gone, but the little old elf just turned away from the leather shop to shuffle her way back to her stand.
I ground my jaw at the thought of the ambush probably taking place well within the apparently neutral bounds of Rhoemir, but I tried to focus. The truth was, if the situation were different, the elf in the gray tunic probably would’ve let the elves of Natyr snatch me without a thought.
I sighed and scruffed my beard as my conscience continued to flare, and the elderly elf rounded the table of her stand.
She quickly made herself busy and sold three jars of seeds to a few customers, but eventually her stand was deserted once more, and she casually turned to dig through the box in the far back corner.
The strap dropped to the grass at my feet, and she discreetly passed three eggs around the wall. Then she gave a little nod to the contents of the box and turned her back on me without another word.
I grinned as she went and whispered a thank you before I disappeared back around the hut, and as I jogged up the road, I had to chuckle. In Chicago, it was the old ladies you could count on not to screw you over, and it was kind of awesome that a similar rule applied in this world, even in Nalnora.
Bobbie roared to life as I lowered the wall of boulders around her, and I held the eggs gingerly in my lap as we sped back toward the river. Within twenty minutes, we were at the campsite, and the smell of fresh cooked magenta things drifted to me through the trees with the low voices of the women.
As I dismounted, I glanced to the trees around me and saw every one of them was impaled with small golden stars.
“Looks like you’ve been practicing,” I told the Aer Mage.
Shoshanne sent me a glowing smile and hopped up to lay a kiss on my cheek. “They’re so fun,” she told me as she wound her arms around me. Then she noticed the green eggs in my arm. “What are those?”
I grinned. “Ever had an omelet?” I asked.
The caramel beauty looked instantly confused.
“Good. ‘Cause bacon eel and omelet are on the menu.” I strolled over to the pan with sizzling black meat in it and nudged Cayla as she eyed the eggs. “Look out, I’m taking over breakfast, and I’m gonna need anything that resembles an onion and salt.”
Cayla chuckled and scooched over. “Okay, but I’m making more of that jam.”
By the time the heat of the day had settled in the jungle, we stuffed ourselves with fresh eggs, bacon eel, and toast with hot pink jam, and I honestly felt like a new man.
“Well, ladies,” I sighed as I stood and stretched the last few kinks out of my neck. “What do you say we see an elf about some runes?” I sent my magic to the trees around us to remove all forty of Shoshanne’s throwing stars, and she held the little case open as they filed themselves neatly into place.
Aurora grinned at the soft leather of her new thigh strap as she slid it up her leg and strapped the upper portion around her waist. It had three slender sheaths on it, with one on her thigh and two on either side of her waist, and as she secured her dagger and sword, she looked incredibly proud.
Then the half-elf eyed the empty sheath on her waist. “Guess I’ll just need another dagger,” she said with a shrug, and I nodded my agreement.
“Well, you know the protocol,” Cayla replied as she checked her bullets. “Kill an elf and his wares are yours.”
Chapter 10
House Fehryn looked like its own small village and consisted of a series of huts made from densely woven vines. The structures were built around the trunks of massive trees, so the vines wrapped into a point at the top of each roof before they spiraled outward to form the main living space. Small round windows were cut out here and there, and the floors were raised on log platforms at various heights with steps made of stumps that led to small arched entrances.
There were at least forty of these strange huts littered throughout this part of the jungle, and as we approached the small village, we could see a single giant structure that rose up in the center of the group and looked like it had been growing larger for many, many years.
Then I carefully slid a few golden discs passed the sleeping metal man.
From the bed, Cayla followed me with hooded eyes and smirked when she saw Stan.
“Poor little guy,” she sighed before she brought herself to the dirt beside him and sat down to get a look at what I’d made.
“Now,” I told Shoshanne as I held out a deadly golden star, “this is called a shuriken, but you can call it a throwing star as well. Which gives you a good idea about what you’re gonna do with it.”
Shoshanne’s eyes lit up as she reached out, but I snatched the disk back. “I know you’re a healer, but for the sake of saving a lot of injuries, you don’t wanna touch the edges,” I chuckled, and I pinched a spike between my thumb and index finger. “Hold it like this.”
The Aer Mage’s face became the same studious mask she always wore when she flipped through Wyresus’ volumes as she gave a nod. “Okay,” she said. “How do I throw it?”
“That’s the thing,” I replied, and a giddy smile came to my face. “Normally you’d chuck the thing like this--”
I turned toward a tree and raised my arm so my elbow pointed directly where I wanted it to go. Then I lifted my other arm into a plank in front of me, and as I threw the star, my forearms met to steady my aim, and the shuriken spiraled through the air and embedded itself deep in the bark of the tree.
“But,” I continued, “you’re an Aer Mage, so I want you to try a different approach.” I brought myself behind Shoshanne as I handed her a star.
The caramel beauty held it between her fingers exactly as I’d told her, and then she sent an eager smile over her shoulder.
“It’s so pretty,” she giggled.
“I thought you’d like it,” I said with a grin. “Now, tilt your wrist to the side, and I want you to send it out sideways. I’d tell you to aim carefully, but if my guess is correct, you don’t even have to. Let your magic steer it and see if you can’t bury this sucker in the trunk of that tree over there.”
I gestured to a large trunk tucked behind a few others.
Shoshanne nodded and took a steadying breath before her curls began to sway ever so slightly. Then she pulled her arm back and sent the shuriken sailing like a lethal frisbee into the jungle. As I watched the light glint on every razor-sharp point, the golden disk caught on Shoshanne’s breeze and suddenly lifted a couple inches.
It flew out in a wide semicircle, sliced straight through the fronds of a giant fern, and impaled the trunk of the tree from the far right.
“Hell yeah,” I called out, and Shoshanne gave a giddy little hop as the shuriken hit its mark.
“I love it!” she giggled, and she turned to throw her arms around my neck.
I gave her a kiss and gestured to where Cayla sat beside the neatly stacked piles.
“Good, because I made you forty of them,” I informed her.
The Aer Mage’s eyes sparked with excitement, and she ran to inspect them all.
I shook my head as I watched her go, and then I turned to the sleepy half-elf who was lazily stretched out on her belly to watch the demonstration. I went to join her on the bed and stroked a few rogue braids from her shoulder to lay a kiss on her neck.
“I have a proposition for you,” I muttered against her smooth skin.
“Hmm?” she purred.
“I need a way for Shoshanne to carry the throwing stars, and you have a thigh strap that would work perfectly,” I admitted. “If you wanna temporarily move your dagger sheath to your belt, I’ll pick up an elf-made one for you in Rhoemir today.”
Aurora turned her head and sent me a little smirk. “Really?” she asked excitedly.
“Hell yeah,” I assured her. “I’m determined to have you decked out in elf-made gear from head to toe before we leave Nalnora. This is only the beginning.”
The half-elf laughed as she rolled over and pulled me against her. “You really are just looking to start trouble now, aren’t you?”
I raised my brow innocently. “Not trouble,” I said with a smirk, “Just … adjusting my mindset.”
Aurora rolled her eyes and gave me a kiss. “Well, I’m in,” she chuckled as she reached over to the edge of the bed to pull her thigh strap from the ground. Then she pulled the dagger’s sheath off the slim leather strap.
I gave her another kiss, and then I headed over to where Cayla and Shoshanne sat.
The Aer Mage held a throwing star up to a stream of sunlight to admire the glint of gold. “I like these so much more than that rifle,” she sighed. “Who do I get to throw them at?”
“Anyone,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe not Rhys today, because I’ve got a meeting with him, but in general we’re changing our game plan.” I dropped down and pulled the slender carrying case from my pocket and focused my magic on the back panel. Two small slits appeared in the gold, and I threaded the leather through them before I handed it over to Shoshanne.
“What’s the game plan now then?” Cayla asked curiously.
“Well, to be honest,” I began as I scratched my beard, “we’re going rogue. I need six Houses on my side to get those fucking elves to give us the time of day, but … they also wanna kill us. So, you three have full reign. Kill anyone who’s up to no good, and don’t get in the way of Shoshanne’s shuriken. Other than that, have fun.”
Cayla raised her brows to Aurora. “Seriously?” she asked me.
I saw a devilish smirk come to the half-elf’s lips.
“Seriously,” I said with a wink. “You saw how much the dead are worth here. I don’t have any intention of becoming one of them. I’m gonna meet with House Fehryn today and if everything goes well, none of them will have to die, and we’ll be that much closer to getting the elves to focus long enough to tell us something useful.”
An amused smile came to the princess’ face, and she gave a small shrug. “Good enough for me,” she chuckled.
“Me too,” Shoshanne agreed as she filed her throwing stars into the little metal case.
I turned to the half-elf who had finally managed to get her legs moving. “Their number one target is going to be you,” I told her cautiously. “Keep your ears sharp and don’t let your guard down.”
“No problem,” Aurora yawned. Then she added, “But we’re coming with you to that meeting.”
My face must have made it clear how crazy I was about the suggestion, because the half-elf rolled her eyes as she stood up. “You’re worried they’re gonna kill me, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Well, yeah … ” I told her uneasily.
Aurora propped her arms on her hips. “Has it not occurred to you that I might just burn them all alive?”
“That’s what I mean,” I insisted. “That’s really the only two options. Either we all die or they do.”
“Oh really?” the half-elf chuckled as she turned to Cayla. “Are those the only two options?”
Cayla smirked. “Well, if they are that’s just shit diplomacy,” she said and sent me a coy smile. “You have more than enough to bargain with. Do it right, and we’ve got loads of options.”
I sighed and stood up. “Well, I can’t argue with that,” I admitted. “I’m going to Rhoemir to pick up a few things. Why don’t you guys get some of those bacon eels cooking, and I’ll be back in less than an hour.”
Aurora wrinkled her nose at me.
Shoshanne wiggled her new thigh strap up her leg, and then she stood to strut around a bit as she admired the slim golden case. “What do you think?” she asked.
I eyed the taut strap and the plush thigh it clung to. “I think I could postpone my trip for a little bit,” I mused as I dragged my eyes across the curve of her inner thigh.
The Aer Mage smirked. “No way, I wanna play with my shuriken,” she laughed, and her smile reminded me of a kid on Christmas morning.
“That’s adorable,” I admitted as I raised my arm toward the trees. Then I sent the slightest stream of magic out to pull the two discarded throwing stars from their marks, and Shoshanne held her hand out as they drifted back to her.
“Thank you,” she said.
I nodded and turned to the other women. “Everyone locked and loaded?”.
Cayla already had her rifle strapped to her back, and Aurora sent a wave of flames across her palms. Then the princess sauntered over and dropped a pouch of coins into my hand.
“Get the most expensive strap they have,” she told me.
I chuckled as I headed to Bobbie, but another idea occurred to me, and I used my magic to carefully disconnect the sidecar. It had been ages since I’d had a minute alone with the old girl, and I was in the mood to see what she really could do in these lands. I put my belt back on, slid the dwarven sword into the sheath on my left hip, and checked the barrel of my revolver before I slipped it into the holster on my right. Then I kissed each of my women before I mounted up, and as Bobbie kicked into gear, I winked to Shoshanne.
The Aer Mage bounced on her toes and sent me a little wave before she turned toward the trees with a shuriken already poised.
I felt ten times better than I had after I’d left House Natyr the night before, and as the birds in the trees above me scattered, I revved the engine and let her go at top speed.
The terrain shifted at my will and rose to send me straight up and over the felled logs in my path, and the ferns quickly became a blur of green while the river flew past my right side.
I let out a satisfied sigh as I parked Bobbie in the tree line beside the road, and I was honestly a little bummed it had only taken fifteen minutes to get to Rhoemir. With a solid plan under my belt, and no revolver digging into my hip, things suddenly seemed to fall into place. I strolled out of the trees and down the road, but as I passed the stone huts of the marketplace, my eye caught on something between the buildings. I slowed and ducked behind a hut, and then I carefully peered around the edge toward the town square.
Four turquoise clad elves argued with a merchant near the leather shop, and I furrowed my brow. The marketplace was much less crowded at this hour, so there was little chance I’d be able to get by without being spotted. I watched the four warriors turn away from the merchant, and just as they broke off into two groups, Onym walked into sight.
“Shit,” I cursed.
The black-eyed elf’s jaw was set in a furious line, and from the looks of it, he hadn’t woken up in a very forgiving mood. His hand was like a vice on the hilt of his sword, and he glared at every elf who passed.
I ground my jaw as the meeting with House Natyr flashed into my mind before I took a deep breath and refocused.
The important part was that I got what I came here for. As I scanned the merchants of the market, an idea finally came to me.
I crept along the back of the huts until I came to the one I wanted, and then I slowly brought myself along the stone building and flattened my back against the wall.
The little old elf with the dull purple hair sorted seeds into several jars, and I was relieved to see that there were no customers at the moment.
I cleared my throat, and the serpentine eyes of the elderly elf snapped over her shoulder. Then they narrowed.
I gestured for her to come over, but the woman only glared in my direction without moving a muscle, so I sighed and dug a coin from the pouch in my pocket.
With a careful glance around, I quickly flashed the gold around the edge of the wall.
The serpentine eyes finally relaxed a small degree as the elf slowly set the jar in her hand down. She looked briefly to the square before she came to the back corner of her stand and dug through a box on the other side of the wall I stood against.
“You come to cause another brawl, young man?” she muttered, and her sharp eyes snapped to mine.
“Trying not to,” I said with a grin.
The little old elf hmphed and held out her hand.
I dropped seven golden coins into her crinkled palm.
“Keep anything you don’t spend,” I told her, and the woman’s serpentine eyes widened.
Then she gave a small nod.
“I need a decent strap to hold a dagger on a thigh,” I told her in a low voice. “Get it from the leather shop, and don’t skimp on the quality if you could.”
The elf gave another little nod and turned to go, but my eye caught on a peddler that crossed in front of her hut, and I called her back.
“Are those for eating?” I asked as I gestured to the strange green eggs that nestled in little crates on the rickety cart. When the elderly elf nodded, I instructed her to grab me a few as well before she made her way into the square.
I watched her shuffle across the marketplace for a moment before I turned my sights to the elves who roamed from one stand to the next, and I carefully took stock of the weaponry I saw in their sheaths.
Onym had found a replacement for the serrated saber I’d bent all to hell for him, and it was twice as long as the last. He’d also replaced the handle of the strange dagger that almost cost him his life, and I scanned the sheaths of the other elves to see if any of them had similar blades.
I saw one sword made of the same material on the hip of an elf who wore colors I didn’t recognize. His simple gray tunic wasn’t tattered at all, and he was one of the few elves in the square who didn’t move in a small pack. He also didn’t wear any vambraces, but he eyed the elves around him warily as he went and seemed to keep out of the way of others. I furrowed my brow as I studied the glaive on his back and found it was also made of the same strange material.
The elves who passed him didn’t seem to look at him so much as at his weaponry, but he ignored them as he went from one stand to the next. I watched him buy several pouches full of gods know what and a couple of dark green vials. Then he gave a shifty glance toward the marketplace before he quickly disappeared between the huts.
The moment he did, I saw Onym turn his head and mutter under his breath to two of his comrades.
They smirked and nodded before they swiftly made for the trees where the elf with the gray tunic had been.
“Fucking rat,” I breathed as I watched Onym turn back to the merchant he dealt with. He really was an underhanded little shit, and I briefly considered high tailing it in the direction his henchmen had gone, but the little old elf just turned away from the leather shop to shuffle her way back to her stand.
I ground my jaw at the thought of the ambush probably taking place well within the apparently neutral bounds of Rhoemir, but I tried to focus. The truth was, if the situation were different, the elf in the gray tunic probably would’ve let the elves of Natyr snatch me without a thought.
I sighed and scruffed my beard as my conscience continued to flare, and the elderly elf rounded the table of her stand.
She quickly made herself busy and sold three jars of seeds to a few customers, but eventually her stand was deserted once more, and she casually turned to dig through the box in the far back corner.
The strap dropped to the grass at my feet, and she discreetly passed three eggs around the wall. Then she gave a little nod to the contents of the box and turned her back on me without another word.
I grinned as she went and whispered a thank you before I disappeared back around the hut, and as I jogged up the road, I had to chuckle. In Chicago, it was the old ladies you could count on not to screw you over, and it was kind of awesome that a similar rule applied in this world, even in Nalnora.
Bobbie roared to life as I lowered the wall of boulders around her, and I held the eggs gingerly in my lap as we sped back toward the river. Within twenty minutes, we were at the campsite, and the smell of fresh cooked magenta things drifted to me through the trees with the low voices of the women.
As I dismounted, I glanced to the trees around me and saw every one of them was impaled with small golden stars.
“Looks like you’ve been practicing,” I told the Aer Mage.
Shoshanne sent me a glowing smile and hopped up to lay a kiss on my cheek. “They’re so fun,” she told me as she wound her arms around me. Then she noticed the green eggs in my arm. “What are those?”
I grinned. “Ever had an omelet?” I asked.
The caramel beauty looked instantly confused.
“Good. ‘Cause bacon eel and omelet are on the menu.” I strolled over to the pan with sizzling black meat in it and nudged Cayla as she eyed the eggs. “Look out, I’m taking over breakfast, and I’m gonna need anything that resembles an onion and salt.”
Cayla chuckled and scooched over. “Okay, but I’m making more of that jam.”
By the time the heat of the day had settled in the jungle, we stuffed ourselves with fresh eggs, bacon eel, and toast with hot pink jam, and I honestly felt like a new man.
“Well, ladies,” I sighed as I stood and stretched the last few kinks out of my neck. “What do you say we see an elf about some runes?” I sent my magic to the trees around us to remove all forty of Shoshanne’s throwing stars, and she held the little case open as they filed themselves neatly into place.
Aurora grinned at the soft leather of her new thigh strap as she slid it up her leg and strapped the upper portion around her waist. It had three slender sheaths on it, with one on her thigh and two on either side of her waist, and as she secured her dagger and sword, she looked incredibly proud.
Then the half-elf eyed the empty sheath on her waist. “Guess I’ll just need another dagger,” she said with a shrug, and I nodded my agreement.
“Well, you know the protocol,” Cayla replied as she checked her bullets. “Kill an elf and his wares are yours.”
Chapter 10
House Fehryn looked like its own small village and consisted of a series of huts made from densely woven vines. The structures were built around the trunks of massive trees, so the vines wrapped into a point at the top of each roof before they spiraled outward to form the main living space. Small round windows were cut out here and there, and the floors were raised on log platforms at various heights with steps made of stumps that led to small arched entrances.
There were at least forty of these strange huts littered throughout this part of the jungle, and as we approached the small village, we could see a single giant structure that rose up in the center of the group and looked like it had been growing larger for many, many years.
