It didn't take long for Val to wash up, getting the muck off himself and his clothes and to gobble down some leftovers from the tavern's breakfast. By the time the sun was past midday, Val found himself back on the streets, sitting underneath the exterior staircase of a empty building belonging to a now bankrupt merchant. Leaning up against some old, rotting barrels, Val was busy munching on a meat pie he had bought from a vendor, as he watched the busy crowd in the street nearby. It seemed no matter the world, lunchtime was always a busy time.

  For the past him, this would have been the best time to go begging or hunting for something to steal. However, the mix of bronze and silver coins he had gotten from Bernice in exchange for one of his gold Tals were carefully stuffed in a pouch hanging from his neck, inside his shirt. The parting gift from Bernice had been accompanied with a suggestion that he show back up close to sun down. So, he decided to go back to his old routine of wandering the streets. He had thought about going back to the livestock district to see if he could find out more clues and had even considered trying to track down the bald man again.

  However, ever since this morning, Val was starting to doubt everything that had happened since last night. He kept thinking about why he followed the man out of the blue and about all the coincidences so far. The past him would have chalked it up to luck, but the chances of everything happening the way it had so far was what worried him. Just being considered for disposal by the gang was one thing, but then surviving the culling, running randomly into a flunky carrying the bones of dead children, and then hearing Bernice say that someone was looking for news of missing people, was all too good to be luck. He had compared it to a maze with some unknown exit, but it seemed more and more like some twisted story.

  Crouching, he ruffled his hair in frustration, taking a deep breath to calm down and looking back to the ground. In the dirt, he had been trying to organize his thoughts. That reminded him of another thing. He didn't know how to read or write the trade language. So far, he had been speaking it, but other than in English, he had no clue how to write even his name in this world. He snorted remembering how thieves in all those fantasy books on Earth had been glorified. 'Street rats' like him couldn't even read or write, much less afford exquisitely made weapons or tools of the trade that was common for the so called master thief.

  Tossing away the piece of wood he had been fiddling with, he decided on next his move. It was the second thing Val had originally planned on doing today, but he had been putting it off due to the idiot it would have him dealing with. Just thinking about the man made Val want to scream, but he swallowed his frustration, some part of him aware he was running out of time.

  Slipping out of his resting spot, he mingled into the crowd, staying as far away from any other shady looking individuals in his way. They were easy to spot with their eyes always moving about, trying not to miss anything or lazily lounging about on the side of the streets. They were Val's competition, but staying out of their range meant he didn't want to challenge them for their hunting spot.

Stolen story; please report.

  The well paved streets of the merchant district led to a couple other city districts, including the noble district and the workshop district. The place he was heading to was the where the merchant district, the workshop district, and one of housing districts intersected. It was an alluring place, especially for most men, and the older Val had gotten, the more his curiosity had grown about the place. Of course, he had been told he wasn't 'man enough' yet to enjoy things.

  Entering what would have been considered the 'red light district' in Earth terms, Val ignored the women, advertising their wares from open windows and in the alleyways. Even with it being so early in the day, there were still 'customers' wandering around the lust filled street, casually mixing with the women, with avarice written on all their faces. This was probably one of the few places in the city, where nobles, freeman, and slum dwellers alike mixed together for the same purpose. If it had been the past Val, he would have been gawking at the surroundings and getting embarrassed by all the overtures and propositions being shouted out to those interested, but the relatively rough and 'normal' looking women he saw on the streets didn't hold much of a comparison to the 'beauties' he remembered from the memories of Earth.

  Also, the 'glorious' images some fantasy books and movies made prostitutes out to be didn't exactly match up with reality here. Some of the women were coughing heavily, while others with pale faces just sat on the side of the streets, listless and with almost dead eyes. Maybe for the first time since waking up the night before, Val felt there were people, whose life was more miserable than a 'street rat's.'

  The establishment called Henna's Fairies was as gaudily decorated as the rest of the street with colorful etchings on its signboard and bright curtains hanging in its windows, but Val grimaced as he approached the thug standing near the entrance. Built like a walking wall, the man was even bigger than the bald man from earlier in the day. A scraggy, black beard, along with a deep scar running down the right side of his face gave the man a threatening aura that served him well as the doorkeeper. Val tried to walk past the man before a deep voice stopped him. “What bisnez you got here, rat?”

  Val usually would have been afraid, but he just casually replied, “I came to see Devin. He had work fer me to do.” The thug scowled when he heard the name, but waved Val in, almost in disgust. “That damn worm... If it wasn't fer... Get going rat. I haven' got all day.” Slipping into the brothel, Val felt mixed feelings about being connected to someone like Devin. It was like going from having no choice but to walk in mud to swimming in mud for the fun of it.

  Inside, Val saw a shrew like woman sitting behind a counter off to the side, but the woman only briefly glanced at Val before going back to her work. The thick smell of incense and cheap perfume filled the building, and Val entered a small open hall, where women and men were mingling. If he had to compare it to something, it would have been like one of those saloons from a cowboy western movie, except with more women, who were wearing loose blouses that advertised their assets along with long skirts slit up one side. There was a doorway on the other end of the hall, in addition to a staircase leading to the next floor. Val skirted around busy couples and entered the doorway, which led further into the brothel. There were rooms on either side, some occupied with closed doors, while others open, providing a view of ruffled sheets on wooden beds and partially opened windows. He had been here before, so he wasn't surprised by the knocking and moaning sounds permeating the hallway.

  Even so, he picked up his pace until he finally reached the far end of the hallway. A single door was left slightly ajar, and Val heard the flowing sound of a harp, sometimes poignant and other times relaxing. A poisonously sweet voice accompanied the music. “Come, my sweet, kiss me deeply...” Val felt like gagging but pushed open the door, revealing the scene on the other side.