Daughter of Treason Ch. 07

Kei looked at her again, surprised. "Jenny, you don't have to-"

"Nonsense! I've already made a fool of meself. If I don't do somethin' to make up for it, I'll feel like a fool all day." The cheerful Northrendian, never one to waste time, was already turning to sift through jars. Kei shifted uncomfortably; on the one hand, she didn't want charity, and would rather avoid any awkwardness. On the other, she didn't want to upset Jenny further and, loathe as she was to admit it, her purse was rather light and she really needed that Cragsweed.

Her train of thought was momentarily derailed as Jenny bent over, practically crawling into a cupboard and presenting an excellent view of her backside, with the material of her dress stretched tight. No wonder she has the boys drooling over her, Kei thought with a smile. Shaking her head, Kei tried again to decide what to do only to find the decision again taken out of her hands.

A muffled "Aha!" came from within the cupboard, and with much clanking of glass as Jenny extricated herself, the redhead emerged clutching a large jar filled with dead brown leaves. "So, seven doses, you said?" Mutely, Kei nodded, eying the long-dead plant incredulously. Jenny noticed, and laughed. "Oh, don't you worry about its age none. The water drains out of 'em quickly, but nothin' likes to eat the part you're wantin'."

She pulled out an old bronze scale and some weights, her hands absently measuring while she gave Kei preparation instructions. "Now, you'll probably be wantin' to brew this into a tea. It tastes awful, but divide it equally and see to it that everyone finishes their share. It doesn't really matter if you brew it concentrated to get through it quick, or dilute so that it doesn't taste as bad, just so long as you divide it up evenly.

"You could try cooking it into a stew or some such, but unless you really spice it up, it'll likely end up tastin' off. Don't, and trust me on this, don't try to cook it into food. These leaves burn easily, and their smoke is poisonous, y' understand?"

Kei, who had only been listening with half an ear, perked up. "Poisonous?"

Jenny nodded. "Makes you sick to your stomach for days, plus the usual nastiness you get with breathin' in smoke."

"Oh." That was substantially tamer than she had been hoping. "Are many herbs poisonous when you burn them?"

Jenny thought for a moment. "Nearly all of 'em, a wee bit. But really the smoke causes more problems."

"Are any more dangerous than just regular smoke?"

"Oh, with certainty. Take, for instance, Silver Barb. Dwarves used to mill it for dye, 'til they found out they could export it as a fever-reducer. Trouble is, you set it on fire and it gets much, much nastier."

"Oh?" Kei was listening, rapt, committing the name of this herb to memory. "How so?"

"Well, for starters, it causes some nasty hallucinations. Some folks thought it might be fun t' smoke it for that, only to discover that smokin' even a touch more is enough t' make it hard t' breathe." Jenny shook her head. "Nasty stuff, that."

"Hard to breathe how?"

"Like a drowning man, who dies an hour after being rescued; air moves easy in an' out, but they go blue in the face all the same."

Kei blinked. "Why would anyone smoke that?"

Jenny laughed. "Why'd anyone decide brewing Cragsweed into tea was a good idea? Folks try things, sometimes on accident, sometimes for fun, sometimes just t' see what'll happen. How were they t' know it might end badly for 'em?" When Kei didn't look convinced, Jenny frowned. "Oh come on, haven't you ever done something stupid?"

Yes, thought Kei, I've leaped onto a pirate ship and catapulted myself off, I've started a relationship with a man who could very well get lynched by the ignorant masses, I've drawn the ire of the Rat gang and, quite possibly, the guards, and on top of all that, I was stupid enough to take responsibility for seven abused girls.

Mutely, Kei shook her head. Jenny looked momentarily put out before saying, "Well, not everyone is as level-headed as you are. Some folks just... try things." Jenny gave a shrug and a smile, and Kei ceded the point with a nod. Jenny smiled and said, "Well, then. Now that we've gotten business out of th' way, I did have a few more questions about Shino..."

An hour later, Kei left the shop with a bag of Cragsweed and a smile. Jenny's definition of 'a few' turned out to be a few dozen, and with the Northrendian's tendency to interrupt and go on tangents, it took a while.

Not that Kei minded. To the contrary, it was quite enjoyable; the more Jenny talked, the more of her proverbial hand she revealed without Kei having to do a thing. It was, in many ways, the social equivalent of watching from the shadows; learn much without having much learned about you.

Though, thought Kei absently, I did reveal quite a bit about Shino. She blushed at remembering how much; to the Northrendian's disappointment, Kei did not have a 'before' assessment of the state of Shino's manhood to go with the 'after' of the Bloodline Potion. Though that didn't stop the redhead from teasing the Fractorian mercilessly about it.

Kei might be more uncomfortable with the interest, and upset with the inquiries, if Jenny wasn't so transparent about her enthusiasm. Some folks smoked random herbs, and some folks thought that bloodlines were just the coolest things ever.

Jenny could go on at length about this, even going so far as to review her own genealogy, annotating it with notes about which ancestors just might carry some nonhumanoid blood. Kei had only managed to escape by pleading an appointment. While not entirely true, she did have one more stop to make. Loathe as she was to do it, she needed coin.

<<<<<Malefactum malefactoribus beneficiumque bonis face>>>> >

Kressik's shop was cluttered as usual. Even looking into it from outside, she could see the tall shelves and unfinished earthenware crammed together. She paused at the entrance, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

She had been expecting the sound of work from the back room, the narrow aisles between shelves, having to knock loudly to get his attention. What she did not expect, after hearing Kressik growl something and raising her hand to knock a second time, was a young, black-haired face to peek out from behind a nearby shelf and, with a huge smile and no small amount of enthusiasm, say, "Hi! Welcome to Kressik's! How can I help you today?"

Kei jumped, but irritation helped her regain composure. "I'm here to speak with Kressik."

The boy, for now that he'd rounded the corner Kei could see that the Miasian couldn't be more than 14, took a while to answer, on account of staring at Kei's breasts. Honestly, Kei thought, you'd think he's never seen a bust before. Her top wasn't even that revealing; its neckline was high, and the fabric covered all the curves that came from her filling the dress out nicely. Of course, the fact that the fabric conformed to her contours so well might be part of the problem. "Ahem."

With the quickness of guilt, his eyes darted up to meet hers, a flustered, almost panicked expression on his face. "I'm sorry! Uh, you want to see Kressik? Is this about an order?"

Kei regarded him through slitted eyes. "No."

He stared at her, wide-eyed and waiting for an explanation, but she'd be damned if she admitted she was going to take clerical work twice, especially if one of them was to this pipsqueak.

After a a few moments, he stammered a, "I-I-I'll just go get him for you then."

As he scurried off, she looked down at her chest. They're not THAT distracting, are they? For a moment, she briefly entertained the idea of not binding her chest for battle, just to see if she could render opponents helpless by the apparently hypnotic power of her bust, but dismissed the idea on the grounds that it would hurt too much to have them bouncing all over the place. Chuckling to herself at her little joke, she almost didn't notice Kressik approach until he said, "Ah, lass, what brings ye over?"

"Who was that?" Kei was still off-balance and, although not a conscious decision, that demanding question was designed to put Kressik as off-balance as she was.

Kressik, being a dwarf with a lower center of gravity and all the manners of roadkill, responded with an agitated, "He's me apprentice. What spider crawled up your stockin's?"

Kei blinked. "You have an apprentice?"

"Aye, but I usually keep 'im in th' back. Thought he could use some face-time today. O' course," he said eyeing the taller woman warily, "I didn' think I'd be throwing 'im ta th' wolves."

Kei gave a dissatisfied exhalation, but otherwise ignored the jibe; it was a fair point. Instead, she gathered what dignity she could, swallowed her pride, and announced, "I've decided to accept your business offer."

"Hm?" Kressik cast a suspicious eye over her before he parsed the sentence without the wounded pride. "Oh, y' mean you'll handle th' books and I'll give ye half the profits? Good. I got an order for crucibles in yesterday, and could use the extra time. I'll have Leo here show you th' books. Leo!"

Kei winced. She really would rather not have the gawking apprentice show her anything, but the boy had already approached and Kressik was saying, "Show Kei here th' books an' explain how it all works. She'll be handlin' the sums from now on, so we'll spend more time actually workin'."

Kressik slapped him on the back and strode back to the workshop, leaving the black-haired, dark-skinned Leo standing there looking nervous while Kei pointedly crossed her arms and held his gaze. After a moment, he stammered out, "Uh, p-p-please follow me, ma'am."

Grudgingly, Kei complied, and after picking their way through the shelving, the stammering Miasian boy pulled out a thick, leatherbound volume. "Th-th-this is the ledger, where we mark down each p-p-p-purchase. It's v-v-v-v-very important that you don't take any pages out of the ledger. In th-th-this book," he said, pulling out a leather journal, "we mark our own p-p-p-p-purchases of materials. Now you're allowed to t-t-take pages from that one; it's only for our own p-p-p-personal records. All K-k-k-k-k-kressik-"

Kei, who was growing more exasperated by the second, snapped, "Do you always stutter this much?"

From the way his face fell, his shoulders slumped, she could tell what had been intended as a simple prod to set him moving struck much closer to home than she intended; it was like shoving someone to get them off you only to find they had a cliff at their back.

Quietly, he said, "It gets worse when I'm n-n-n-n-n-n - when I'm n-n-nervous."

Kei's expression softened. She almost felt like apologizing, but instead prompted him to continue with an almost gentle, "The smaller one is for the shop's purchases of materials. Kressik...?"

He looked confused for a moment before recovering his train of thought. "K-k-k-k-kressik just wants to know how much money is c-c-coming in and g-going out, that's all. N-n-nothing fancy."

"You did all the books before me?" she asked, and he nodded. Smart kid, she thought idly, but out loud said only, "Well, I better get to work."

As Kei took a seat on the stool behind the counter, it looked like Leo wasn't sure if he didn't want to go, or was grateful for the escape. Either way, he took the out, and went back to Kressik, leaving Kei to work.

The work was somewhat slow going; the light in the shop was bad, and by the way Leo's gaze was on her every time he came by, she'd wager he was making excuses to come over.

The more time she spent in the shop, the more she wanted to leave, but when she asked Kressik if she could take the ledger home with her, he asked, "What are ya, daft? If you take the ledger, how will I write things in it when we sell somethin'?"

Kei crossed her arms and exhaled forcefully, a sound somewhere between a sigh and a harrumph. "Well, what if I leave some parchment for you to write on instead, and I copy it into the ledger? My writing is neater than yours anyway."

"That- well, alright, that's not a half-bad idea," admitted Kressik grudgingly. "Fine, go on and leave us t' work, then.'Least this way I can keep Leo's tongue from draggin' on th' ground."

As Kei finished gathering her things, Kressik's words appeared accurate enough; "Who is she?" she heard Leo ask in wonder from the back.

"Kei? Oh, she's all right. Fierce one, she is. Not one t' be trifled with unless y' want a belly full o' steel, or..." The rest of the words were lost as she strode out of the shop, but she walked home with a smile.

By the time she got home, the day was nearly spent which, for Kei, was just fine; she had an appointment to keep an hour after sundown. With any luck, it would be a quick one and the last one of the day. As she approached the door, she felt something was off. Glancing around casually, she took in the street and its waning traffic. Movement in an alley across the street caught her eye; a young man had looked away, and now was looking all over the side of the building. He didn't move from his spot, just found an uninteresting corner and stared at it. That, and the fact that his laborer's clothes were far too clean, made it hard for him to be anything other than a spy. He was clean-shaven, and didn't strike her as a Rat gang member, but whoever he worked for, she didn't like being watched.

Turning back, she breezed through the door, pushed it shut, and locked it. The windows still presented a weak point, but at least anyone on their way in would make some noise.

Shino was working at the forge on the first story. He had an iron in the fire, and waved her over with a smile. She approached gingerly, the heat rolling off the forge being a bit uncomfortable to her, and Shino did her the favor of meeting her halfway. As he put himself squarely between her and the forge, obstructing the view and acting as a barrier between her and the heat, she sighed with relief.

"Welcome home!" he said with a smile.

She returned it. "It's good to be back." The smile faded. "Have you noticed anyone suspicious about?"

"Suspicious? No, why?"

"Someone's skulking about out front. I don't know what his allegiance is, but it makes me nervous."

A pause, as Shino digested this. "Do you want me to go out and talk to him?"

"No! I don't want to give him any excuses to get closer. So long as we keep the doors locked and our profiles low, it should remain nothing more than an inconvenience." A big one, she thought; going out the front in her hunting clothes was out of the question; even a glimpse of her by the wrong person could quickly spawn rumors, the likes of which have a way of reaching the wrong ears. Already, she was considering alternative routes out of the building. The second floor windows open; perhaps I could rappel out of those? I'll have to check and ensure that the coast is clear, though. Perhaps if I-

"Are we in danger?"

The earnest way Shino asked it made Kei chuckle. "As long as we seem to be unremarkable, we should be fine." Several contingencies flashed across her mind. "It may not hurt to be prepared, though. Do you still have that knife I gave you?"

He looked confused for a moment before clarity crossed his face. "All the way back in Islandport?" He smiled. "Yeah, I still have it. Why?"

"Keep it nearby, just in case."

Shino gave her a look that seemed to say, 'You don't give me enough credit.' He hiked up his tunic, revealing the dagger hilt and a bit of sheath at his hip. "I don't even really need that, you know. I am a wizard."

She chuckled. "That a fact? You know, I don't think I've seen you cast a harmful spell, out of anger or otherwise, even once so far."

"Oh?" Shino grinned. "Maybe I should put on a show for you some time." His grin widened. "When I first set off on my own, I'd have fun shooting off magic missiles into the sky after a long day's work, just to see the- oh hell!" He hurried back to the forge, pulled out what looked like a long piece of metal with a dull red glow, and started hammering on it.

The forge was hotter than usual, and the metal was glowing as brightly as Kei was used to seeing. Curious, when he reached a stopping point, she asked, "What are you making?"

He slid it back into the furnace and looked up with a panicked look before grinning bashfully. "Oh, uh... it's a secret."

He seemed so pleased with himself, so harmless, that she merely quirked an eyebrow and changed the subject. "I spoke to Kressik today."

"Yeah?" Shino smiled his thanks for not pressing the point. "What about?"

"I decided to take him up on his offer." She said this with feigned nonchalance; she still felt ashamed of working as a clerk, and was reluctant to even use the word 'employed' as the implication of a power imbalance.

Shino, on the other hand, seemed to think this was excellent news; beaming, he said, "Oh, wow, that's great!" He gave a laugh. "Gods, that's really going to help out around here; maybe we'll even be able to afford a table for the kitchen now, eh?"

Kei looked more uncomfortable than excited. Seeing this, Shino said more gently, "Hey, thank you for this. I get the feeling it wasn't easy for you, and I want you to know that it means a lot to me."

"How does me stooping to accounting mean a lot to you?"

"Well," his face turned thoughtful, "before it kind of felt like a client relationship, you know? Like, if I made sure we have food and shelter, I'm allowed to be around you when you're not... out."

"Shino," she said, stung, "that's not how I see it at all-"

"But now," he continued, ignoring her, "you'll be helping with the house in your own way. Now, instead of being like a toady, it feels more like we're partners."

"Yeah," she said, the string and residual shame ebbing, fleeing before the warm, fuzzy feeling she got whenever Shino gave his unmitigated approval to something she did. "I like that." She smiled, feeling the words on her lips. "Partners."

<<<<<Malefactum malefactoribus beneficiumque bonis face>>>> >

As far as meeting places went, it was hardly original. The alley across from the old guardhouse was far enough away to be beyond the sight of the few guards still investigating the mass murder, but still close enough to be familiar. Although Thomas was helping her, Kei did not yet fully trust him; he had already seen her operating in this area, and she didn't want to give him any more information about how widely she roamed than she had to.

Sure enough, he was waiting near the alley's mouth as she approached. Again, although she wasn't expecting an ambush, she opted for caution and slunk up behind him noiselessly, hidden in the shadows. If pressed, she might also admit with a small smile that she did it in part to see Thomas jump out of his skin when she casually tapped on his shoulder.

"Shining One! Don't scare me like that!"

"Why?" she asked dryly, "is there some way that I should scare you?"

"What? No, that-" he shook his head violently, then started moving deeper into the alley, motioning her to follow. His movements were jerky, and he was trying to go farther into a dark place in the company of an individual who was not known for her qualms about taking a life.

She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before asking, "What is wrong?"

"What the hell isn't? I just had to sit in a room with a Zone of Truth spell active and answer questions about the murder of close to a dozen people in the guardhouse I was on duty in!"

The mention of the spell caught Kei's attention; the humor fled instantly, and as Thomas, apparently satisfied at being well enough away, began pacing, she stood stock still. "What did you tell them?"