In the distance, the city of Pulton crested the horizon and Vaela straightened up in her saddle out of her slump. The past few days had blurred by. Two to three training sessions throughout the day that left her bruised and drained. Hours of riding down the dusty road, trying to recover before the next beating. And all the while, the constant gnawing in her chest. Every lesson Hermit taught her, every ounce of strength she gained under his tutelage–was it really for her own good? To gain strength for her travels, like she wanted. Or was she just a pawn, caught up with forces beyond her understanding.

Worse. If she was a pawn, was she even on the right side? The side of “good”. She shook her head and stroked her thumb over the notch in her stick. Good. Evil. Just words. Let the philosophers and other drunks worry about those things. She’d be lucky to survive the training, let alone an actual fight.

Her eyes drifted to Hermit, as they had often during the quiet moments on the road. There was no way he was some high priest of the Twisted. He’d never fit in with any sort of organization… or even stick around long enough to see a plan to fruition. For the same reason, it was only slightly less unlikely he was on the side of “good”.

Hermit turned in his saddle and waved Vaela, Surah, and Adyr closer. They nudged their horses into a trot and came up alongside him. He pointed to the city gates with his staff. “Once we’re in Pulton, we’ll get a few rooms at an appropriately seedy inn.” He nodded to them. “You kids will camp out there. Daddy has business to do.”

Vaela snorted. “First, why does it have to be a seedy inn? And second, no. Just no.”

Hermit laughed and shook his head at her, pity in his eyes. “So innocent. I wish I could see the world through your eyes. Like a baby bird drinking its first cup of wine.” He held up a finger. “Point one. Always stay at seedy inns while on an adventure. It is from those seeds that opportunity sprouts!” He held up a second finger. “Point two. I’ve got to talk to an old friend about private matters.” He flicked his fingers towards them. “You all go wander around the city. There’s illicit Hoops arenas, dirty taverns, smutty comfort houses–everything you could ever want.”

Surah clapped his hands to his chest. “Truly, it sounds like a paradise.” He wiped a fake tear from his eye.

Adyr squirmed in her saddle, rolling her staff between her fingers. “Um, does it all have to be so… shady?”

Hermit let out an offended hmph! and pulled his cloak around himself.

Adyr’s fingers flew to her mouth. “Oh! No offense. I didn’t mean… uh, I like your Shadows!” She looked at Vaela for help. “I just… do all the activities have to be dirty?”

Hermit settled back down and directed his horse next to hers using his knees. He gave her a fatherly pat on the shoulder. “Yes. Yes, they do.”

Vaela swatted at him with her stick. “Hermit!” He smacked the stick away with a laugh and kicked his horse forward. Vaela pulled up beside Adyr and offered her a smile. “Big city like this, I bet there’s all sorts of interesting things.” She glanced at the city, far larger than Xufont. Her heart sped up, excitement swirling in her stomach. “Musicians on every corner, food like you’ve never tasted.” She swept her stick towards the city. “My dad used to tell me all about it! Music that would make you cry just from a single note. Food that would make you cry from a single taste.” She laughed and shook her head. “Big crybaby, my dad.”

Adyr perked up and ran a hand through the ends of her hair. “Oh, that sounds fun! And I wouldn’t mind getting cleaned up.”

A hot bath. Vaela almost salivated at the thought of it. Adyr slipping her robe off her shoulders, easing into a steaming marble bath, groaning as her skin soaked up the warmth. Vaela swallowed hard. “Uh, yeah, a bath sounds great.”

Adyr tilted her head. “What?”

“Huh?”

“You were staring at me.”

Vaela flushed and whipped her head back to the gates of Pulton. “Sorry. Just tired.” She forced her thoughts back to Hermit. So he wanted to go on a secret mission? Fine by her. It was the perfect opportunity to find out what he was really up to.

They stabled their horses and Hermit led them to an inn. They passed several respectable establishments that Hermit didn’t spare a second glance. After walking several blocks, he stopped in front of a grubby building with boards nailed over a window.

Of course.

He secured two rooms for them and he and Surah disappeared into their shared room to put their things down. Vaela clutched the key to her chest, Adyr waiting behind her. It had been the natural decision. Surah and Hermit to one room, she and Adyr to the other. Just the two of them. Alone, in a dark room.

She fumbled the key into the lock and jerked the door open. They stepped inside the room. It had two beds and Vaela bit back a surge of disappointment. The room was sparse, a single table opposite the beds. Wooden shutters let in the afternoon sun, illuminating the knotted wood of the floors. Despite the two beds, only one chair rested under the table. On the far end of the room was a wooden basin, large enough for a person to sit in and sponge themselves off. Beside it, a bucket full of water rested. Vaela nudged it with a boot, stirring up the silt that had settled on the bottom.

Absolutely not.

She’d find a hot bath if it killed her.

Adyr laid her belongings on one of the beds and hugged her staff to her chest. “I don’t suppose I can walk around the city with this, can I?”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Vaela tossed her stuff on the other bed and raised her stick. “Don’t know, but I’m taking mine.”

Adyr laughed and nodded to the stick. “It’s always with you?”

“Oh, yeah.” Vaela tapped it on her shoulder. “Tell you what, if we run into trouble, I’ll let you borrow it.”

Adyr sat back on the bed and the springs creaked in protest. “You’d let me use it?” She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and looked up with a small smile that made it just slightly harder for Vaela to breathe.

“Of course.” Vaela grabbed Adyr’s hand and hauled her towards the door. The faster they found that bath, the better.

They joined Hermit and Surah back on the first floor. Hermit’s eyebrow jumped up upon seeing Vaela leading Adyr down the stairs by the hand. Heat burned up Vaela’s neck and she released Adyr’s hand. Once she and Adyr reached them, Hermit tapped his staff on the floor. “Well, I’m off. You kids have fun.”

Surah pulled out a pouch with a modest amount of coins in it and hefted it. “Oh, we will.”

Vaela’s pockets suddenly felt very empty. “Hey, where’d you get that?”

He raised the pouch to his face and nuzzled it. “From my stuff, of course. While you were lazing around the Healer’s tent all day, I got my belongings.” He kissed the pouch. “Every penny I ever saved, all the scrimping I ever did–here it is.”

Vaela licked her lips and eyed the pouch. Not that she’d had money back in Xufont… She whirled and stabbed finger at Hermit. “Wait, what happened to my Hoops winnings?”

He shrugged. “If you didn’t bother to pick it up, someone probably did.”

“I couldn’t! I was unconscious.” She clenched her stick. The first time she’d ever had money in her life and she didn’t even get to spend it.

Hermit chuckled with a shake of his head. “Ah, such naivety. You’ve still so much to learn. To see the world through your eyes.”

She glared at him. In the back of her mind, the steaming hot bath drained away. The marble crumpled inward until only a dirty basin filled with the dregs of cloudy water remained.

Hermit walked to the door while rummaging through his pockets. “You’re like a baby bird who won a Hoops match, earned a ton of money, and forgot to collect it.” He pulled the door open and stepped outside. From beneath his cloak, he extracted a pouch of coins and jangled it at her. “Come to think of it, you’re almost exactly like that dumb bird.” The door swung shut, his smirking form disappearing before Vaela could respond.

Surah stepped in front of Vaela and Adyr. “Alright, where to, ladies? I’m thinking food first, then maybe Hoops?”

Vaela pushed past him. “You two stay here. Or go out and do something.”

“Where are you going?”

She spun and pointed her stick at Surah. “That was my money.” She flung the door open.

Surah caught up to her and grabbed her shoulder. “Come on, he was just messing with you. Forget about it.” He scooted around her and held up his pouch. “We’ll do our own thing.”

Vaela glanced down the street. Hermit strode away, already half a block away. He turned a corner and disappeared. She patted Surah on the arm. “I’ll meet up with you two tonight.” She hurried after Hermit, carrying her stick instead of letting it tap against the streets. Yeah, maybe it was her money, maybe it wasn’t. More importantly, she needed to know: what was he up to?

Food, games, even Adyr could wait. This was a matter of survival.

She crept through the streets, hugging the wall and peeking at Hermit from behind cover. He never so much as glanced back. Through twists and turns, she followed him deeper into the city. The disrepair of the buildings around them, even more than the inn they were staying in, told her enough about what part of town they were in.

At last, Hermit stopped in front of a building with a large wooden sign hanging from an eave. From the distance, a faded flame and lightning bolt were barely visible. Hermit pulled the door open and stepped inside.

What was that place? A fighting ring, maybe. Some sort of rebellion headquarters full of powerful mages.

Surah’s voice popped up from behind her. “Yep, that’s a brothel.”

Vaela spun, hand clutching her chest. Surah stood several paces behind her, ducked in the alcove of a building’s door frame. Beside him, Adyr shyly poked out. Even further back in the distance was a hooded figure.

Surah clapped his hands, jerking Vaela’s attention back to him, and he strolled into the middle of the alley. He pointed towards the sign like a teacher gesturing to an interesting bird. “See the flame? That means Warmers work there. Pretty common for a brothel.” Vaela peered down the alley, but the other figure was gone. Just a passerby–she hoped.

Surah’s finger slid over. “Now the lightning bolt, that’s more exclusive. Tinglers.” He nodded appreciatively. “This place must be good.” He fished his pouch out and held a few coins out to Adyr. “Well, let’s see what they’ve got.”

Vaela stomped up to Surah. “What are you two doing here? It could be dangerous.”

Surah rolled his eyes. “Like we were going to sit around at the inn while you and Hermit went off and had fun.” He nodded to the brothel. “Kinda rude not to invite us, don’t you think?”

Adyr stared at Vaela with wide eyes and Vaela’s cheeks burned. She crossed her arms and glared at Surah. “I didn’t know he was coming here. I didn’t even know it was a brothel.”

Surah’s eyebrows jumped up. “Uh huh.” He stashed the coins back in his pouch and walked past Vaela. “Look, it’s okay. We’re here now. Let’s just see what they’ve got.”

Adyr scooted out from the stoop, standing in front of Vaela, eyes on the ground. “I, uh, can go back to the inn.”

Vaela grabbed her hand. “I promise I didn’t know!” Adyr met her eyes. After a moment, she slowly smiled and Vaela let out a sigh of relief.

Adyr giggled and looked past Vaela. “You think Hermit is up to something?” Vaela nodded and Adyr stepped forward, turning Vaela back to face the brothel. “Then let’s go.”

“Really?”

Adyr swallowed and her eyes flicked to Vaela. “Yes. And… well, I am curious.” She blushed and averted her eyes.

Vaela bit her lip, suppressing a grin. The priestess wasn’t as innocent as she looked. She pulled Adyr along, following Surah to the door. If she had it her way, Adyr would be a whole lot less innocent by the end of the night.

They stepped into the brothel and were greeted by a sultry room, adorned in hanging silks. A large man with a sword on his belt stood by a doorway that was obscured by red curtains. There were no other doors in the room and Hermit was nowhere in sight. Vaela walked up to the guard, trying to peek through the curtains. Hermit had to have gone down there.

“We need to get back there.” Vaela moved towards the doorway and the man reached for his sword.

Surah pulled Vaela to the side and extended a handful of coins out to the man with an apologetic smile. The man pocketed the money and stepped to the side. Vaela rubbed the back of her neck. How was she supposed to know? It wasn’t like she’d ever been to a place like this before.

Beyond the curtains, a hallway was filled with doors with names and symbols engraved on them. At the far end, a set of double doors with no name on them loomed. Hermit stood in front of the doors.

Vaela ducked down, but there was no place to hide. She held out her arms, stopping Surah and Adyr from going further. It still wasn’t time to confront him. Subtly was key here.

Hermit smashed a boot into one of the doors and they flew open. Vaela sprinted down the hall. In the room, two men scrambled under the sheets to face Hermit. A slovenly, rotund man scooted up to the head of the bed, sheets clutched to his chest. Beside him, a muscular specimen vaulted out of the bed. He bent down to his pants lying on the floor. Belted to them was a scabbard and he whipped his sword out.

Hermit strode into the room, lowering his staff into a fighting position. “Knock knock, Jace.”