Chapter Twenty-One

Bolin had no walls. It was spread out over the land and across the river like a sticky drop of human industrialization, a blight on the world. Between the many smattering of buildings, placed haphazardly wherever they could fit, were well-trodden paths turned into a muddy slurry from heavy boots and wagons and the deep, melting snow.

Towers of wood, poking up above the other buildings like prairie dogs on patrol, dotted the town in a somewhat orderly fashion. It looked to Nia and Mister Greeny that the towers were the only thing about this place that had any level of thought put into it. They were only large enough for two people to stand abreast and held large bowls with meticulously polished brass backings.

The backings were concave and rested an what looked like a swivel of some kind. Neither one of them could guess what they were used for, even as they managed to get a better look at one as the passed by. An oddity to be sure.

“M—My Lady…” A man interrupted their walk into the town, standing respectfully off to the side with his head bowed and a helmet nestled in one arm.

His accent was thick and his tone sounded forced, either because of fear or unfounded respect. Nia couldn’t tell, but she still held her head high and replied with as much faux confidence as she could muster. “Hello.”

She decided to keep her answer short, attempting a different approach than the one she had taken with the woodsmen.

“What brings you to Bolin, My Lady?”

Nia looked to him, then to the two other men standing behind him to either side. They to had their helmets crooked under one arm, their heads down and their eyes finding something interesting on the ground in front of them. Swords hung at their waists, ones much different from the few she had seen in the village, -metal was hard to come by in the forest- and worn, padded armor hung off of their thin frames like too big clothes passed down from an older sibling.

She watched them warily but was eased by their obvious nervousness and the fact that Mister Greeny was sitting on his haunches next to her, seemingly relaxed. “I’m looking for… elves. I had heard that there were a… few that came by here.”

She wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out, her guts churned with nervousness, making her quite nauseous, and she was fearful that the stuttering of her words would give her away. Although she was hard pressed to think of what they would give her away to.

“Weeks ago… My Lady.” The man added the last few words as if he had forgotten them. “In cages, they came from the forest. It was a sight, for sure.”

“Where are they now? Did they say where they were going?” She did her best to hide the anger in her voice, but the thought of her mother being pinned like an animal made her seethe.

The men arrayed in front of her picked up on her raw emotion and cowered like fawns before a hungry wolf. It would have been amusing if it weren’t for the circumstances. “Forgive me, My Lady. I don’t know. The men that came were hard and prickly, bearing the colors of many different lords of the land. We didn’t dare approach them, doubly so, due to the men of magic at their sides.”

“So, you don’t know anything.” She stated forcefully, her words were hard, surprising even herself. “Who might know something? Surely, there would be at least one person.”

“Uh…” The man flinched like he was suddenly hand-shy. “Innkeeper Carmickle might know something… My Lady. A handful of the men stayed there before and after their foray into the forest.”

“An inn?” She asked, a word unfamiliar to her. The language they spoke was the same as hers, and those inside the village, but the man’s dialect and odd cadence made a few of the words difficult to parse.

“Yes, My Lady.” He ventured a look toward her but immediately put his eyes back on the ground when he caught sight of Mister Greeny’s glowing eyes. He couldn’t stop the shudder that ran up his spine. “It’s… it’s uh… further into town, the big building this side of the river, right next to the bridge.”

“And this… Carmickle knows something?”

“He’s the only one I can think of that might.” He answered quickly before something suddenly came to his mind, “Of course, there are a few other inns in town that might know of some things as well. There were plenty of men that came through, and many of them had coin to spend.”

Nia chewed on his words for a moment, thinking quickly about what to do. The answer was obvious: She had to go and speak to this ‘Carmickle’ and find out what he knew. “Thank you.”

She turned to face the city, the buildings rising to meet her head-on. She remembered the man’s words, “further into town, by the river, next to the bridge”. She felt as if she had already wasted enough time. She took a few steps, only to stop when she noticed the man and his two companions following closely behind her.

“Wh—what are you doing?”

The men were no longer looking at the ground but still refused to meet her eyes. “Escorting … you? My Lady.”

Nia looked at him for a long moment, “Al…right. Lead the way, then.”

With a nod, the man carefully stepped past her, the other two flanking her on either side. She would have thought she was in trouble if the men didn’t look so nervous. It was as if they were the ones on the verge of being chastised for some slight she wasn’t aware of. She wondered what Mister Greeny thought of all of this.

People parted for them as they walked down the muddy streets. Nia tried to keep her eyes on the road in front of her but found the sights of the city, no matter how grungy compared to the forest, irresistibly exciting. For a few moments at least, until she remembered her purpose for being here. It was strange, she thought, how easily her mind wandered away from her purpose; she had to do better.

The inn was one of the largest buildings she had ever seen. A lot of the structures in Bolin were huge compared to what she was used to seeing deep in the forest; the villagers were no grand architects and could only use what the forest gave them, but this building threatened to strain her neck as she looked up at it. It was three stories tall and had a shingled roof so coated in moss that it looked carpeted in the stuff. A solitary door faced the street, made from the same dark wood as the plaited siding, and shuddered windows marked each available room.

The inn overlooked the river, which would have been a pleasing background if the waterway wasn’t bloated with a continuous parade of floating logs marching downstream.

“The Whispering Mule, My Lady.” The man motioned toward the imposing building.

Nia looked at the man and nodded, keeping her opinion of the name to herself. “Thank you.”

Taking that as a dismissal, the three guardsmen gave her a final, respectful bow and scampered back down the road they came from.

An acidic smell assaulted Nia’s nose as they entered the inn; it reminded her of sweat and packed bodies mixed with spilled vinegar; it was totally unpleasant and almost caused her to turn around to get a final breath of fresh air before going inside. Oil lamps hung on the walls and the few pillars holding up the floors above, they were cold and unlit, with large pools of soot spreading out on the ceiling above them. Tables and chairs were scattered throughout the room, stained and polished by the passing of time and countless spilled drinks.

A set of stairs loomed ominously toward the back of the room, leading to a yawning, dark abyss created by the lack of light. Just looking at the dark upper floor made her skin crawl; for some reason, it reminded her of the forest at night when she was a child. Shuddering, she took her eyes off of the stairs and focused them on the large countertop spanning half of the room, the many empty stools in front of it, a few men gazing into half-empty cups sitting on the few that weren’t, and the old man standing behind it all.

“Sit anyplace ya like,” he said in a gruff voice without bothering to look over as a little bell announced their arrival. He had his back turned to the front door, busy with something that Nia couldn’t see from where she stood. “I’ll be with ya in a bit.”

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Suddenly struck with too many choices, Nia took a moment before deciding on a table as far away from the stairs as possible. She took her seat quietly, fearful of breaking the somber atmosphere of the inn. There were other people sitting at the long bar, but none of them spoke to each other or themselves, making the silence awkward and uncomfortable.

Mister Greeny, staying true to his word and remaining silent, took position next to her. His green eyes glowed brightly in the dim light of the large room, moving imperceptibly as they kept watch on everything around them; they were the only thing that gave any hint that he wasn’t a statue.

Heavy thumps echoed throughout the room as the man behind the bar moved toward her. He walked with an obvious limp, listing from side to side and creating a sharp tap with each step. Nia’s eyes naturally moved to what was making that odd noise and found that one of his legs was no longer flesh and bone but carved wood and stained cloth wrapped around what was left of his leg above where the knee should have been.

“What can I get…” His voice trailed off as he spotted the unnatural wolf sitting on its flanks, staring at him with its cold, emerald eyes. He immediately bowed his head and forced as much respect into his rough speech as he could. “I’m sorry, Lady Mage. I didn’t know ya were the one walking in my door.”

“I’m not a ma—” She started to say before Mister Greeny hit her leg with his tail. “I mean, that’s alright.”

“No, no. I have-ta apologize. I don’t got much, but I can offer ya a room for no coin, and food… I’m not much of a cook, ya see, but my wife is decent enough. Whatever ya want… please…”

Nia felt pity for the man; his eyes were wet with unshed tears, and his breathing came in ragged pulls as he struggled to remain upright. It was as if he was afraid she was going to kill him where he stood. She got up from her chair and went over to the man. This seemed to frighten him even further as he cowered before her, pulling into himself for protection.

“Are you alright?” Concern was in her voice as she placed her hand on his trembling shoulder. The man was much larger than her, at least two heads taller, with an unkempt beard that clung to his face like a brush and thick, bushy eyebrows that made him look angrier than he probably was. Still, he was like a terrified child in front of her, and it broke her heart to see him like that. “Shhh, shhh. It’s okay, It’s alright…”

She comforted him as best she could, only feeling a bit awkward when she noticed the few men sitting at the bar had all turned toward the commotion and began to stare. Nia tried not to let that bother her as she continued to comfort him like her mother did to her when she was little and after the other children had finished with her. Eventually, the man seemed to collect himself, clearing his throat excessively as he wiped at his eyes and beard with a cloth he pulled from a pocket.

“Oh dear…” He mumbled. “Please, don’t think less of me for that.”

“Of course not,” Nia reassured him, her hand still lying comfortably on his shoulder. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“I—I shouldn’t speak foul of no one.” He said after a moment of thought, straightening his back and pulling away from her slightly, attempting to regain at least some of his dignity.

Nia was just as curious as she was concerned and pressed him only slightly. “I only wish to know so that if it is something I can help with, I can. Whatever it is, I won’t judge you.”

“It’s just that… Well,” He looked to be struggling with his words. Nia let him work out what he wanted to say. “Few weeks back, loads of men came into town, a few of them mages like yaself. None of us has ever saw mages b’for, didn’t know how to behave. Some got punished… punished somethn’ awful…”

He sucked in a deep breath and held it in anticipation, and all Nia could say was, “Oh… I’m so sorry.”

She didn’t know why she was apologizing, it wasn’t her that had done anything, but it just felt like the right thing to say. Her empty platitudes seemed to have an effect on the man, his body relaxed only slightly, but it was enough to let Nia know that he wasn’t as frightened of her as before.

“Enough of that,” he forced the change in conversation. “What can I do for ya? The offer of free room and board is still on tha table, if nothin else because of my poor showing.”

This was far from how Nia envisioned this conversation going. She had thought that… well, whatever she thought, it wasn’t this. Still, she wasn’t even sure that this man was Carmickle, the one she was looking for. “You are Mister Carmickle, right?”

“I am, Lady Mage.” He admitted, letting a bit of apprehension crawl back into his voice. “How’d ya come by my name?”

“The guards told me about you.” She quickly amended her statement when she noticed that he took a step back from her. “I’m looking for the men that came through here, with the—the cages.”

“Will never forget ‘em. What ya want to know?” He asked her.

“Where they went. I need to find them.” Nia looked at him pleadingly, her brown eyes searching his face for the answer before he could even speak.

“Well,” he started before pausing for a moment. “They didn’t talk much. Tight-lipped about everything really, but I do know there were plenty of different colors amongst them, following different lords ‘n such.” He dug his fingers into his wiry beard, scratching as he looked toward the door. “They came into town all together but split up when leaving. Taking the cages with ‘em.”

“They split up?” Nia asked in frustration. Did that mean they took the villagers to different places? Where would she even begin to find the right path? “Did you see a beautiful woman -an elf, I guess- with long, golden hair and eyes? Well, her hair might look grayer now, but she should have been wearing something colorful, like what I’m wearing… but maybe not the same… Did you see where they took her?”

She started to ramble as she motioned to her paisley dress, expertly embroidered with small flowers and thorny vines along the hems. She had been making dresses with her mother for a long time now and hadn’t stopped even during the lessons Mister Greeny had been giving her. She found it to be superbly relaxing and became quite good at creating truly stunning dresses, especially while using magic to help her craft.

Mister Carmickle shook his head, “I’m sorry, Lady Mage. They wouldn’t let nobody near those cages and didn’t stay only but a day. Seemed like they were in a it of a hurry.” He looked at Nia’s face as it scrunched in anger and frustration. Misunderstanding her expression, he hurriedly added to his statement. “I’m sure if you’re looking for one, ya could find ‘em at the slave markets in the bigger cities…”

“…what?” Now she was angry.

“I—I mean, that’s why ya here, right? For them elves?” He stuttered, falling back into his state of fear as his mouth churned out whatever his mind wandered to. “They’re rare, I hear. Worth their weight in gold. I even hear that mages can use their blood somehow to make themselves as pretty as them…” He saw Nia’s face morph into something that reminded him of a rabid dog, minus the drool. “I—I’m not saying ya ain’t pretty… I—I… I’m just saying what I’d heard, is all… Oh, gods…”

The man, Carmickle, swayed on his one good leg as the color drained from his face. He looked on the verge of passing out, and Nia knew she wasn’t up to catching him if he did. Her fury at his words and the entire situation faded as she realized what effect she was having on the man. Whatever the mages had done to punish the townsfolk was enough to make him into little more than a sniveling mess before her; it must have been something exceedingly cruel. The battered and violated bodies of the villagers flashed before her mind…

“It’s fine. I’m not angry.” She said as she forced a smile onto her face. It wouldn’t do her, or him, any good if his mind broke from just looking at her. “Please, can you tell me where they might have taken them?”

“I—I’m sorry, Lady Mage,” He started, gaining a little bit of control from his panicked mind. “All the bigger cities have markets. They could have taken ‘em to any one of ‘em. Or even all of ‘em.”

The little bell above the entryway jingled, followed by the raucous laughter of several gruff-sounding men. Nia turned her head to them, noticing their silhouettes outlined by the fiery light of the setting sun. It was almost dark.

“You can’t tell me anything else?” She asked, turning back to him.

He shook his head, “Only the merchants might know something else, but they’re just as prickly as anyone else. Well… they’d very well give you the time of day, Lady Mage.”

“And where are they?”

“Ya’d find ‘em in the market.” He answered, “but it won’t open up till sunrise… I’m sorry, Lady Mage.”

Nia nodded before looking at the fading light streaming through the tightly closed shutters. An older boy, maybe a young man, scampered out of a small door behind the long counter with a long, flickering candle in his hand. He did his best to blend into the walls of the room, moving about with his head down and his shoulders slumped to each oil lamp, igniting their saturated wicks with the feeble flame. A chiming bell rang out.

“Not until morning?” Nia clarified.

“No, Lady Mage.”

Her eyes fell on Mister Greeny’s, searching for advice but finding none. She was on her own for right now. A lump formed in her stomach as if a rock had teleported inside of her, quickly followed by a deep, mortifying rumble. She did her best to keep the blood from rushing to her face, “I suppose some food wouldn’t hurt… and a place to stay for the night.”