TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 03

He found a large open tent covering long tables with equally long benches. Capping each side of the tent were some family-run food vendors. After a few minutes standing in line and listening to his stomach growl at the delicious smells from the outdoor kitchens, he took an oblong, plain ceramic dish containing his food and sat down. Calling Ria, he started in on his lunch.

"Find anything?" he asked, talking around a mouthful of food. Lunch consisted of stewed meat and green leafy vegetables wrapped in the soft, thin flatbread which appeared to be a staple of the city. The inside of the bread was covered with a surprisingly delicious paste made from round yellow beans he had never seen on the other side of the mountains.

Ria spent the next few minutes sitting on his shoulder and explaining what she saw from the richer merchants on the other side of the Bazaar. A loud yell interrupted her as Kal was suddenly shoved forward by a hand on his back and someone nearly landed on top of him. At the same time, a ceramic dish similar to the mage's skidded across the table, disappearing off the other side before dumping its contents onto the ground. The stranger apologized profusely telling them he was just looking for somewhere to sit as he gingerly stood back up. Holding his arm from where it hit the side of Kal's table, the man cursed his luck at the lost meal and made his way back to the line for food. As soon as he left, the mage quickly checked he had all his pouches and to be sure no pockets were empty that shouldn't be.

Kal rotated his shoulder where the man landed against him, "That didn't feel good, but I don't think he did any damage." He looked at Ria, "You were saying?"

"Essentially, the closer I got to the slave market the lower the prices for gems were. They probably depend on people needing the money fast during the bidding for slaves. I don't think any of them would give you as good of a price as those over on your side."

After a quick discussion, Kal had to agree with the sprite's assessment, which left the ones he had visited already as his best option. Once he had finished his lunch, he and Ria made their way back toward the eastern side of the market. With a definite plan in mind, Kal started to pay more attention to some of the shops they were passing. Handmade jewelry and clothing were the most common stalls with random trinkets following close behind. Next, were the people selling various vegetables and fruits imported from the city's southern holdings. It was obvious the people manning these shops were not farmers themselves. A few blacksmiths plied their trade among the rows of shops as well as several potters.

He came across a stall near the Palace wall which sold much higher quality clothing than the normal fare around the Bazaar. As he got close, his ability to see the flows of magic picked up on a number of enchanted items in the merchant's stock.

"We don't have enough, Kal," said Ria as he started walking in the shop's direction.

The mage frowned, "Damn."

Giving a final, longing look toward the magical wares, he continued his way to the eastern side of the market where the bankers and gem traders were.

---

Their return visit to the merchant with the best price for gems nearly turned into a disaster. This trader had a full tent protruding from his building where most of the others only had awnings for the improved airflow. Kal was curious why until they began haggling over a few sapphires and the merchant called in a slave girl to dance for them as "entertainment." If the gem dealer felt he was getting the better side of their negotiation he signaled the woman to take off a piece of clothing and if the discussion leaned Kal's way she would put clothing back on. While the slave was quite beautiful and a delight to look at, it only pissed Kal off. After a few minutes of the woman dancing fully clothed. The merchant sent her away and brought up a handsome young man dressed in a uniform who launched into his own dance.

"Send him away," growled Kal.

"You didn't seem to enjoy the girl. I thought—"

"You thought wrong," he interrupted. "I have no desire to see slaves prance about naked while I'm trying to conduct business. Especially him," said Kal, nodding toward the dancing man. Seeing the slave's hurt expression, he added, "No offense intended, I prefer women." He then glared at the merchant again, "Only women, and free women at that."

"Ah, you're one of those. I see now."

"Those?"

"Someone who hates the way we live here in Fazal. You should not judge—"

"I didn't come here to discuss the merits of keeping other thinking, feeling creatures as slaves. I came here to sell some gems, which I am about to take elsewhere," said Kal, cutting him off again.

The man's eyes flicked to the sprite sitting on Kal's shoulder. A split second later Ria was hovering in front of his face. "Don't you fucking dare compare me to a slave!" she screamed. "He goes out of his way to treat me like a person! Like a woman! Like... his family," the sprite finished quietly.

Kal reached out and pulled the bag of holding's avatar back to his shoulder. "Peace, Ria. There's no way he could have known, and I prefer to keep my head attached to my shoulders," he said glancing warily at one of the merchant's bodyguards whose sword was half drawn.

"Like a woman?" asked the gem dealer.

"Ria has some interesting tricks normal bags of holding can't do. Before you ask, I won't be telling you what those are other than saying it's not as awkward as you think. Can we get back to business now?" said Kal, waving at the sapphires sitting on the table.

---

"Sand Boots," said the owner of the shop with the magical wares, referring to the footwear Kal was currently inspecting. "They have some fancy name, but I can never remember what it is. Sand Boots makes just as much sense."

"What do they do?"

"Allow you to walk on top of the sand instead of sinking into it, a must-have if you are planning on going out onto the dunes. More importantly, walking up a dune is no different than walking up a hill on solid ground in those. They also shrink to fit the wearer, which is why they seem so big."

Kal stared at the bottom of the boot for a moment and was able to see enough similarities between the runes buried in the heel of his Boots of the Traveler and these to believe the shopkeeper was telling the truth.

Kal set them down on the counter as a gust of dry, dusty air whipped through, leaving one side of his face feeling gritty. Grimacing as he brushed off the dust, he said, "I'll take them, and what else do you have to make a trip across the desert more comfortable, and possibly safer?"

The man smiled. Plucking a few items from his stock, he put a small brooch, a waterskin, and a bundle of sticks about a pace long and sharpened on one end next to the boots. "If you are heading out into the desert, you will be needing these."

---

"Ugh, I spent way too much there," the mage said to Ria as they walked away from the stall.

"I don't think so," said the sprite, "maybe if you are well prepared enough, you and Ikuno won't have to worry about a caravan on the way back."

"That would be nice, I'm certainly in no hurry to be around slave owners any more than necessary."

A shout of "Stop, Thief!" erupted from behind them. The man yelling was too far away for Kal's translation spell and he turned to see what the commotion was about. A small figure in a tan cloak leapt toward the mage, grabbing his arm and using him as an anchor to turn sharply before darting off between the stalls and shops. The thief's sudden maneuver threw Kal off balance and he took a couple of stumbling steps before falling flat on his back. He tried to get back to his feet but the arm the thief grabbed had gone numb. There was also a deep scratch just above his wrist.

Assuming the thief had something nasty on their hand which got into the cut, Kal pulsed the rune on his back for curing poisons. He immediately winced from the pain of the wound as the numbness faded. The gash on his arm closed and smoothed over a moment later as he activated his healing rune.

A couple of people came over to check and see if he was alright and help him up as Ria hovered nearby looking worried. Thanking them for their help, he went to brush himself off to find he was completely free of dust. Kal looked down at the brooch he purchased just minutes ago pinned to his shirt. Energy flowed out of a large topaz with swirling designs of gold and silver around it as it removed and warded off the ever-present dust in this arid city. Smiling, he hoped the rest of the items he purchased proved to be as useful.

---

A man stood staring out a second-story window at the mass of people milling about the Grand Bazaar while staying far enough in the shadows to keep his face hidden. A short woman in a light tan cloak stepped up next to him.

"Did you miss, Kashka?" he asked.

"No, it's done," replied the cat girl. Despite Kashka's impressive reflexes, Bozun's fist smashed into the side of her face, sending her flying into the wall beside her with a yowl of pain. When the world stopped spinning, she looked up to see him standing there with his arm still extended.

Bozun turned his head to look at the feline woman, the scar on the side of his head appeared bleached as the rest of his face turned red with fury. "Don't ever lie to me again," he growled before pointing out the window. Kashka crawled over on her hands and knees, not trusting her ability to stand with how badly her face and head were throbbing. Peering out the window, she stared in disbelief as the enchantment on her eyes went to work and the handprint on her target's cloak lit up like a lantern in a dark cave. Not only was the man still alive, but he was moving between the shops of the Grand Bazaar as though he hadn't just been poisoned.

"Fail me again and I'll give you to the Bull for the night," said the assassin. "Come, we have other jobs to take care of, we will return to this one in a few days."

Kashka winced at the mention of the Bull. The minotaur-like creature was the failed attempt of a Lord to produce a means of sating lusts of the city's many bovine-type monster girls. It not only cost him his fortune but also his life when the first batch of bulls proved much stronger than anticipated and broke their shackles immediately after waking.

Bozun was inside the estate on an assignment when it happened. As he hid in the kitchen, two of the creatures entered and got into a fight over a scullery maid unfortunate enough to get trapped there. Once it was over, the assassin emerged from his hiding spot and put the surviving Bull to sleep with a poisoned dart. He then snapped the neck of the scullery maid the creature was trying to fuck, it was bad form for an assassin to leave witnesses. With the help of a strength potion, he dragged the beast into the sewers and back to his hideout.

Now the Bull lived in a tiny cave below the city, its voice box cut out to silence its constant bellowing. Bozun was in charge of two other cat-girls besides Kashka, and those who displeased him were given to the creature for the night. After a single time with the bovine creation, Kashka made certain she never failed the assassin again, until today.

Before following the retreating assassin, the cat-girl held a hand up to the light coming through the window and shifted her arms to their black-pawed, feline form. The tips of her claws were light yellow, the poison she used was clear when applied but lost its potency quickly upon exposure to the air, becoming harmless and leaving a yellow residue. The very tip of one claw had a slightly red tint from the mage's blood. The poison was supposed to take effect quicker than someone could drink a potion and numbed the hands to prevent the drawing of a spell. Confused, she looked out across the bazaar and saw the glow move over to another stall.

She scowled at the sight and the tightness in one side of her face reminded her of her recent punishment. With a final look at where the mage was standing, she darted after the assassin. By the time she caught up with her master, the cat-girl's eye was swelled shut.