Social conditioning is a strange thing. When I awoke several hours later, I really needed to fully relieve myself, if you get what I’m saying. Using the chamber pot for urination wasn’t a problem, but squatting over it to finish the job, I locked up. I had to go, but I couldn’t because it just didn’t feel right. Thanks mom and dad for all that early life emphasis on potty training. I hoped I could find an outhouse later in the day.
If I had any dreams while I slept, I couldn’t remember them. Nobody had tried coming into my room during the night. The door was still locked and the chair was just where I left it.
I opened the window to get some fresh air. It appeared that I had slept in. The sun had obviously been up for a couple of hours, but the air was chilly and the wind biting. As there was no source of heat in the room, I quickly shut the window again.
My mind wandered a bit as I realized that I had no idea what season it was. Did this place even have seasons? I knew that seasons on Earth were caused by the planet’s axial tilt. Add that to my list of things to discover.
I needed to go out and sell some jewelry, but not too much because it would crash the small local market and make me look suspicious as hell. Without some coins, I doubted I would be able to obtain the clothing and other supplies that I needed or find a better place to stay. I slept well the previous night, but that was only because of my total exhaustion. I doubted that I would sleep half as well with another night of drumming and chanting.
I started getting dressed, but cringed when I realized that my clothes were still damp and now thoroughly chilled. It’s not like I could strut around town in my birthday suit, though, so I pulled on the clothing and then wrapped myself up in the blanket that I had slept under the previous night. My body heat dried the clothing a little, or at least took the chill off. After half an hour or so, I gathered my gear and left the room, stumbling down the stairs to face the day.
When I arrived in the main room, I was somewhat surprised to see that several of the tables were still full of guardsmen, although their demeanor was far more subdued. Glancing over the groups at the tables, I noticed that two of the orcs were my escort from the previous night. That’s the nature of shift work, I guess.
One of my previous escorts, the quiet one, noticed me as I entered the room. He raised the mug he was drinking from to me and smiled, although the smile looked more like a grimace. Then he turned his attention back to whatever was going on at his table. I assume he was an orc of few words.
Glancing over at the bar, I saw that the inn’s staff had also changed. Gramman was gone, and in his place was a smaller female orc. I walked over to her and slid the key to my room across the counter.
“I’ll be leaving today,” I said.
“How did you sleep?” she asked me with a wink.
“I was so tired I fell right asleep, but I’m not sure I could have taken the chanting and drumming if I wasn’t completely exhausted.”
“Yeah, we don’t rent a lot of rooms here,” she replied. “And when we do, it’s rarely for more than one night, and even then there are usually complaints. But when the customers are the guard, who is there to complain to?”
“That’s a good point,” I said with a laugh. “Take care.”
Turning, I headed towards the door. I kept my head down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone else in the room. I was getting low on money and couldn’t afford to buy the whole room a round of drinks.
Exiting the door, I noticed that nobody was hanging around outside. It was probably a bit too cold this early in the day. Turning down the lane, I retraced my steps out to the main road and headed towards the square.
The next few days passed quickly. I secured a new place to stay on the square, the Two Sisters Inn. When I arrived at the inn, the staff on duty were a little dismissive due to my appearance but when I proved to them that I had funds and told them that I was going to immediately go get new clothing they were much friendlier. The proprietors were, in fact, two older human sisters. It was quite a bit more expensive at ten coppers a night but it was much quieter. I paid for three nights with one of my silver coins and was pleasantly surprised when I received seventy coppers in change. In the evenings, a man played a stringed instrument that resembled a lute or a mandolin and sang. The clientele was appreciative, keeping their conversation to a low murmur. The food was good and the room was comfortable and clean, and the common room shut down a few hours after dark. I had nothing to complain about. They also had an outhouse with a seat in a walled courtyard behind the building, so that was a plus.
After checking in, I went to three different jewelry shops and unloaded one piece of jewelry at each one. I didn’t sell the more expensive things that I had acquired, instead parting with a couple of simple rings and a gold necklace. In total, I netted two gold coins and five silver ones. I should mention that when I looted Levan’s stuff, I was able to recover the ring that I had traded him. I didn’t sell it here, though, as it appeared to be fairly valuable. The first ring gained me the least amount likely due to my bedraggled and disreputable appearance. The proprietor likely thought I had stolen it, which in a way I guess I had. A man of keen instincts, that one was. Then, I went shopping for some new clothing.
The selection of clothing was somewhat limited as there were only two tailor shops in the small village. Sure, there were some people selling clothing at the market, but much of it looked used and since I had some money, I didn’t want clothing that someone else had worn. One shop specialized in work wear for a day in the mines or the field. Although well made from sturdy fabrics, it prioritized function over form. In that shop, I picked up what I thought of as my field gear, a set of utilitarian clothing made of thick cloth and leather that would serve me well when I was out in the wilderness. Even this clothing was fairly expensive, setting me back four of my silver coins, but because I was purchasing a whole set I was able to get a nice black hooded cloak thrown in for free.
Stolen novel; please report.
The other shop produced much finer garments, more akin to what I saw people wearing in the more upscale establishments around the square. For men, this took the form of frilly tunics with hose-like leggings and leather shoes. I purchased a full set, which was more expensive still at almost one gold. The first time I donned this outfit, I felt like I was ready to stroll down to my local renaissance fair and eat a smoked turkey leg and drink some mead. In other words, I felt like a total knob. It was worth it, though, because other people’s reactions to me improved markedly. It’s amazing how looking like you have a little wealth makes other people more receptive, even though changing clothes does not change who you are as a person.
With each purchase, I made sure to pick up a set of matching six-fingered gloves. Then, I went to a blacksmith and purchased some wire, running it up the stuffed length of the sixth finger and along the side of my pinky, looping it around the first joint below my fingernail. It was uncomfortable and awkward, but it allowed me to produce some movement in my nonexistent finger, stilted and unnatural as it might be.
After a lifetime of soft cotton and synthetic fabrics, the itchy woolen underwear these people wore took a lot of getting used to. I constantly had to fight the urge to reach down and scratch my nether regions, even though there didn’t seem to be any social proscription against it because I saw many men do the same, some lingering at it more than others.
My hair was already starting to look shaggy and unkempt when I left for New Orleans and I had grown several days worth of beard, so I went to a barber and got that sorted out. Having a complete stranger hold a keenly sharp straight razor to my throat was something that freaked me out, but everything ended up fine.
I replenished my food and other supplies at the market, obtaining provisions that were significantly more tasty than any I scrounged up on my trip to the village. My money was flowing through my hands like water, and I knew that unless I wanted to trade more jewelry and potentially arouse suspicion, my time in Sleetfield was limited.
I made the most of it though, attempting to find out more about the world I was stuck in. Afraid to ask questions and betray my ignorance, I sat in the square at night or the common rooms of inns or taverns during the day, slowly nursing a drink or lingering over a meal, and I was able to obtain some small amount of information. Of course, I did have to deal with the scowls of serving staff as I occupied one of their tables for inordinate lengths of time. I didn’t know if tipping was a thing in this world, but I left some money anyway to try to make up for any inconvenience I was causing.
Apparently, Clan Galwick’s holdings were on an isthmus of land surrounded by ocean on three sides. The capital city was named Westfield, located a couple of weeks of travel to the northeast. Bordering the Clan’s territory to the northeast was another province belonging to Clan Curris. Galwick and Curris pledged fealty to another tribe, Clan Galligon, which was a much larger territory to the north. All three were orc clans. There was war on the eastern border of Curris and Galligon, and the opponent was the Pargossian Empire. Several people noted that they considered that strange as both Galligon and the Empire were sworn to the same lord further up the feudal food chain.
In my wanderings, I did encounter a few other five-fingered humans, but I never got a chance to talk to them because they were all either servants or slaves. I didn’t think that boded well for me if my true identity ever slipped out.
One day, when I was in the market, I saw a bunch of armored and armed orcs with wagons loading up a variety of supplies. They looked pretty similar to the orcs that I had fought with and seen back at the resource camp. Let me just say that I didn’t linger in the market that day.
I thought about absorbing my last essence crystal while I was in town, but there always seemed like there was something better to do. After all, I could absorb the crystal anywhere but I could only gather information inconspicuously in a place where a lot of people congregated. And eating and drinking and shopping was a lot more fun. Therefore, I never got around to it.
Three days passed, and I paid for the room for three more. Plentiful food and a safe place to sleep was growing on me, even though I knew I would have to hit the road soon. I tentatively had decided to head towards the capital, stopping at any settlements I ran into along the way.
On my sixth day in the village, I was hanging around just outside the market when I noticed some guards moving with purpose towards the government building. I had learned their office and barracks were located there. Trailing along behind them were a woman and two younger children, a boy and a girl. The woman was crying and trying to talk to the guards, but they were ignoring her. The children were looked around wide eyed, as if they had rarely seen the inside of a village before. When the boy glanced towards the market and I got a good look at his face, I froze for a second. His physical features, his dress and demeanor were all pretty similar to a couple of boys I had left for the scavengers on the side of the road.
Great. Levan hadn’t returned home as scheduled and now his widow was in town looking for justice. Had these people seen me when I was drugged and unconscious? If so, it wouldn’t take the guards long to piece together what had happened, given my appearance and the timing of my arrival. I also had to consider that I now lived in a world where magic existed. Maybe the guards had access to someone who had powers that would aid them in their investigation.
I could be jumping at shadows, and perhaps my fears were nothing more than my own guilt catching up to me. I couldn’t take the chance, though. Standing up abruptly, I headed towards my inn. Quickly reaching my room, I changed into my field gear, grabbed my packs, left the key on the bed, and headed downstairs. I stopped at the bar and told the bartender than I wanted to do a little exploring to the south to look for business opportunities, but I would be back to use the room tomorrow since it was already paid for. Then I hustled towards the gates.
It was pretty late in the day to be leaving on a business trip, but nobody gave me any trouble. Exiting the gate, I kept a steady walking pace until I was out of view from the village. Then I started jogging, once again lamenting that instead of spending my days resting, eating and drinking I should have been training and getting stronger. When I reached the main highway, I looked around to see whether I was being observed but I couldn’t see anyone.
Pulling up the hood of my cloak, I turned and hurried through the valley to the north as fast as my legs could manage, the terrain rising as I moved away from the ocean. From time to time, I again encountered other groups of travelers. Once more, I kept my head down and grunted out what might pass for a polite greeting to them. All the while, I wondered whether I was being pursued.