TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 02

"Hey! Wait!" Kal yelled as the man walked beneath him. Growling in annoyance, he carefully walked up the side of the tower to the window above and pulled himself inside. He made no attempt to be discreet or quiet, so it was no surprise when the old man came stomping up the stairs, waving his wand at the young magic-user.

"How dare you come into my tower uninvited!"

Kal raised a questioning eyebrow but made no motion to defend himself, "Honestly I'm surprised I'm standing here, I would have suspected you would have some kind of defense over the windows."

The older man's face fell, "I used to, but Rose loves to look out over the forest. I couldn't figure out a way to do it without taking that away from her." Without his anger to keep him going, the man looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Why did you walk away? Our business wasn't done yet," asked Kal in an attempt to steer the man away from breaking down.

"Yes, it was," snapped the wizard, "you didn't take her and don't know where she is. You're useless to me."

"Hardly, just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm worthless. Besides, since I first came here, I've come to think of Rose as a friend, so I have an interest in finding her too."

"And what makes you think you can help?" the man sneered.

"Because you haven't found her yet."

The old mage was clearly taken aback, "What...?"

"I know how locater spells work, they take you the most direct route to whatever you are trying to find. I also know from the high court in Carriston that you are a dreamwalker, I have to imagine that finding her that way was one of the first things you tried." The man's expression steeled as Kal's points hit home. "Finally, you think she was taken because none of your divination attempts were successful, which means you think she is hidden and warded."

"Fantastic deduction, but that doesn't explain how you can help me."

"Because up until a few years ago I was a farmer and needed to trap and hunt a portion of my food, especially during winter. The trail may be a few days old, but I should still be able to track her, from there we might be able to figure out who took her. Once she's back we can talk about teaching me about dreamwalking."

"I'll not waste my time teaching some youngster."

Kal shrugged, "So be it, but remember, I'm neither a pile of ash outside or pinned to the wall of your tower. Your time may not be as wasted as you think. Enough of that, the trail grows colder even as we speak, change into something more suited for traveling quickly in the forest and meet me outside." Kal momentarily considered walking through the wizard's house and leaving through the front door but decided that he had invaded the man's home long enough. A quick hop sent him over the sill of the narrow window, the feather fall rune slowing him so coming to rest on the ground was no more jarring than stepping off the bottom step of his front porch. Without looking back, he made his way to the clearing edge to wait for the older mage.

Once there, he groaned with annoyance, he'd forgotten to ask the old man his name.

------

Kal hoped that Kelthor's assessment of there being few natural dangers within the forest was accurate since the older mage had no concept of moving quickly and quietly through the woods. After almost an hour of traveling, he honestly felt like having a large boulder rolling along behind him would make less noise. It wasn't just the snapping twigs underfoot or walking into low lying branches from not paying attention, it was the incessant chatter that was slowly driving Kal insane. He simply did not need to know the man's entire life story. On the other hand, hearing that he had grown up in a large city far off to the east as the son of a wealthy merchant did explain his sorry excuse for woodsman's skills.

Kal's ordeal came to an end just a little over an hour into the journey, heralded by a strange angular bird that came flapping directly towards them. Kal watched with fascination as the little bird fluttered in front of Kelthor's face for a moment before unfolding into a piece of parchment that the old mage snatched out of the air, his eyes widening with each line he read.

The wizard looked up at the younger mage, his eyes full of fear, "Slavers took her, they want a ransom."

"I guess we're heading back to the tower then, unless you would rather stop by my camp, it's actually not far from here."

Sadness crept into Kelthor's voice, "No, I need to go home so I can look through my coffers. I won't have much left after this," he said handing the parchment over.

After reading the letter, Kal whistled at the figure they were asking, that was a lot of money. He looked up at the other mage, "Seems like a lot to pay just to get a slave back."

Kelthor turned around and drew a rune in the air, a wispy line of light visible only to him pointed the way back to the tower. "Rose has never tasted gondas weed," he said over his shoulder.

Kal gave him a questioning look. That was certainly an odd way to start a conversation but it already sounded more interesting than the inane prattle he had listened to on the way out here.

Seeing the question in the younger man's eyes, Kelthor continued, "She's never needed it. My early years were taken up with study. Occasionally I'd hire some company for the night but never pursued anything serious with the womenfolk. In my birth city of Laramin the first son gets most of the business, the second son gets the rest, the third son is given to the church. Since I was my father's fourth son I was going to either find a trade or depend on the goodwill of my older brothers for the rest of my life." His sardonic smile and mirthless chuckle told Kal that his brothers were not the types to be looking after their younger siblings.

"I threw myself into the books, and therein lies my mistake. I learned enough to get the attention of the church. As you know, they don't like us mages. A group of squires around my own age cornered me by a church and nearly beat me to death, they took special pleasure in making sure that I wouldn't have children I could teach my 'heathen magic' to. A cleric came out and stopped them, but once they told him I was a magic user he only healed me enough to keep me from dying, from the look on his face it disgusted him to do even that. I believe that the squires accomplished their goal, I have taken many lovers over the years but not one of them gave me a child.

Until Rose's mother showed up on my doorstep, that is. Wracked with pain from her slave collar's punishment for running away and holding a small bundle with the daughter she had just given birth to. Her only words to me were that she couldn't let her daughter be born into slavery and asked me to watch over her pup. After handing me Rose she ran off into the forest. A couple of days later I followed some circling vultures and found her body, she had managed to tear half-way through the collar before finally passing."

He glanced over at Kal, "Rose is the closest thing I've ever had to a daughter, I take care of her heats because, like most dog girls, they can be so intense they cause her pain when not sated, nothing more. When she got old enough to hear the story of her mother she came to her own conclusion that she's a slave. I simply never corrected her, it makes it easier to keep her safe." His voice dropped nearly to a growl, "Then some snot-nosed mage comes along and tells her that she is more of a companion based on how I treat her. Do you have any idea how that felt? Your daughter coming up to you and asking you to treat her more like a wife and everything that goes along with it?"

"Not yet," Kal replied calmly. It wasn't easy but Kal was managing to largely stay next to the older man as they returned to the wizard's home

There was a long pause between them, "What do you mean, 'Not yet'?"

"I have daughters with an alarune, butterfly, and a couple of rock girls. I've been warned that when they reach maturity, at least for a while, they won't see me as their father, just another man who can give them a child. Keep in mind, these are my daughters by blood, not ones that I have adopted. That's why I said, 'Not yet', your situation is just something I'll have to deal with in the future."

"You expect me to believe you have that many children with that many women at your age?"

Kal shrugged, "It's more than that actually, you can re-cast your lie detection spell if you like."

"I think I'll just let you have this one. You say that you will have to deal with this in the future, what about now? What would you do in my situation?"

"First off, I would never have let her think she was a slave. Really though, your situation is easy. She's not blood-kin so I'd do whatever would make her happy."

"What if Rose was your daughter by blood? Would you take her as a lover just to make her happy?"

"If she were my daughter...," Kal looked over at the older mage, "In all honesty? I don't know," he said shaking his head. "However, that's really a conversation for you to have with her when we get her back."

"We? I don't see you offering up any money for her return."

"No, but I still need those lessons. How about giving me the chance to rescue her first? The slavers gave you a week to produce the money. I can pose as someone in the market for a slave, find out where they are and what it will take to get Rose out of there."

Kelthor looked the young mage up and down, "I'm seeing huge problems with your plan already. I think I'll just pay the money."

"That hurts," said Kal, frowning, "care to tell me why?"

The wizard stopped and turned toward the young man, "You have a presence more akin to a snow hare than a slave owner and you hardly look like you'd be able to kill a den of armed slavers and thieves."

"Rabbits can be dangerous! They have big sharp pointy teeth!" Kal paused for a moment but just got a raised eyebrow in response, "Fair enough, on one of those you are right, I'm not too keen on killing anyone, even if they probably deserve it. I was thinking more along the lines of a sleeping spell, I'm familiar with it and have plenty of dust."

Kelthor shook his head, "I applaud your sense of morality, but you have made a poor choice in professions if you think you will get away with never taking a life. I certainly wasn't so lucky."

Kal smiled, "I understand that, but I still hope that the first time is worth what I will lose when it happens. I'd rather it be someone worthwhile instead of some filth-ridden slaver."

The older mage thought for a moment before nodding in acceptance and starting back towards the tower. "What about the fact that you look nothing like someone who would purchase or keep slaves?"

"You can thank the merchants I've run into on my journey so far for teaching me how to look like someone who will likely kill them if they give me a bad deal. The acting part is the least of our worries," said Kal as he came up beside the wizard. "I think the biggest concern is that they have a mage working for them."

Kelthor gave him a questioning look, "Where did you come up with that?"

"You can't find Rose when dreamwalking and their ransom note flew to us and unfolded itself for you to read."

The older mage chuckled, "In a city like Carriston wards and messenger parchment are both easily available from the mage's guild for a bit of coin. Most wizards wouldn't stand for the conditions of a slavers' or thieves' den, they tend to be just a hair better than a cesspool."

"That's a relief, I wasn't looking forward to having it out with another mage so soon."

------

"What can you tell me about the slavers in the area?" Kal asked, sitting in front of the Chief Constable's desk. On his second day in town, a couple of ruffians had thought to relieve the newcomer of his coin. A short time later Kal had dragged them into this man's office by their collars, bruised and beaten but still breathing, while the young man doing the dragging hadn't broken a sweat.

"Not a lot, they are well hidden and well-funded. Their leader, Kogen, supplies the elite around here with a variety of 'toys' but the dogs are the only ones I know of that he keeps on hand. If someone wants a cat, harpy, goblin, lamia, he'll go get one for a price, from what I understand some of the lords and ladies enjoy the novelty. It also means that even though slavery is technically illegal in Carriston, that only applies to human slavery and we've been told to turn a blind eye to his activities," the Chief looked like he had just bit into something sour.

Kal couldn't blame him, the situation sounded unpleasant. Unfortunately, that wasn't quite what he was needing to know. "What can you tell me about Kogen himself?"

"Great beast of a man, a couple of hands taller than me. Carries around a giant sword and unless you're one of the local whores you'll never see him without his armor, rumor has it that he doesn't even take it off and just removes the codpiece. He's traded quite a few slaves for various enchanted weapons and such, if you see him carrying something, assume it's magic. When people put in special orders for monster girls, he personally goes and fills it, alone I might add, so I'd bet a silver that he knows what he's doing with that sword of his.

"If you have some time I can go over everything we've learned about him."

Kal gave the Chief a questioning look, "You're being unusually forthcoming."

The leader of the constabulary leaned over his desk, dropping his voice to a whisper. "I want them and their whole business gone. It's a stain on what I do and a stain on this city. Even the town guard and the night watch want Kogen and his ilk gone. Problem is, if I take him down I lose my job because I've pissed on the upper houses' fun. I've got a wife and kids, I can't do that. However, if you go and rescue this pup and happen to kill Kogen, me and the captains of the guard and watch are in the clear."

Kal scowled, "I'm not an assassin, I've never killed anyone."

"Of course, you're not!" said the Chief, "You're a young man going off to rescue a woman from slavery. Then again, your rescue just might put you in a bad situation with a man who I'd be happy to be rid of. If that happens, I'll do what I can to make sure you come out on top. Besides, assassins get paid, and I'm not giving you a copper.

"No reward for taking Kogen down?"

The chief constable shook his head, "That reward would have to come from the Lord's coffers, I understand that he has put in a couple of those special orders."

Kal grimaced, "I'm having a hard time believing that the Lord and his court would do something so... vile."

The Chief shook his head, "You need to remember Kal, your situation is different from a lot of people. You see monster girls the same way as you do humans. Most people out here in the world see them as less than human and more like livestock. The rest of them go along with the church and consider them abominations, more than ready to kill the monster girls and anyone who sleeps with them, whether it was willing or not. Even I have a hard time listening to you talk about having kids with your women of your own free will. I don't think I could do the same."

Kal was taken aback by the Chief's words, they'd talked about monster girls before, but the man had never spoken of his own views. The moment didn't last long, when he thought about it he wasn't really that surprised. Kal was just disappointed because he thought he had found someone more understanding of the girls.

He pushed those thoughts aside and drove the sadness from his expression. "If you have more information on Kogen I'd like to hear it."

------

The door to the shop swung open in complete silence revealing shelves filled with knick-knacks and other novelties on either of the walls and a counter in the back of the room. Off to one side on the back wall, a gray, torn piece of cloth hung over the doorway that led further into the building. Instead of replacing the broken panes, boards nailed over windows let in a pittance of light. The merchant behind the counter could have been mistaken as a seller of dust and cobwebs with the thick layers that coated his wares. The man who just entered ignored all of that and stepped up to the counter, which happened to be the only spot in the room that appeared clean, he was well aware that the items on the shelves were not what people bought here.

Rist didn't look up from his scales as the cloaked man walked into his shop, "You're on the wrong side of town to be wearing that finery sir, people might think you have too much money."

"Those that think so may find themselves dead in the street. If I'm on the wrong side of town then the constables won't care."

The merchant snorted, "Constables? Here? You see yourself as a joker."

"Neither you nor the men hiding on either side of me are laughing."

Rist's eyes narrowed in suspicion. With their stealth enhancing magic items, few people were able to see the assassins-turned-bodyguards he'd hired away from the thieves' guild. "No, they are not," he said waving the men back into their shadows. Beneath the stranger's cloak, a light blue glow trapped between the man's arm and the inside-out leather vambrace he wore faded as the men disappeared into the darkness on either side of the room once again. "You have my attention, now you must choose whether or not to use it wisely."

"I'm looking for a bitch."

Rist sighed, for such a promising start, he had hoped the man might prove to be slightly interesting. "Madame Tufa's whorehouse is just up the street," he said, his voice filled with disappointment. The information wasn't even worth charging for.

The man leaned down producing a gold coin that he proceeded to roll back and forth across his knuckles. "I'm looking for something more permanent, something I can take home with me, and something that nobody is going to yell if I break her." He flipped the coin into the air and fast as lightning Rist reached out and snatched it. Something felt wrong and he opened his hand to find it empty.

Across the counter the cloaked man was still casually rolling the coin over his knuckles, a smirk playing at a corner of his mouth. "You don't get paid until I get something of value."

The information broker scowled, "There's a pauper's grave just beyond the fields on the south side of the east road. Tomorrow morning be waiting on this side of the small church at the grave. A black wagon will stop and pick you up on their way back to the city. If you are lucky, they won't have hauled anything yet."

The man in the cloak nodded flipping the coin in the air letting it fall into his open hand, with a slight flourish he laid the gold piece on the counter, a second appearing next to it. "I wasn't here."

Rist passed his hand over the coins and they vanished without his fingers moving, "I've no idea who you are talking about good sir but perhaps you would like to check out some of my wares?" he called after the cloaked man who had spun on his heel and was already on his way out the door.

When the man had left, Rist jotted a few words onto a small piece of parchment and held it out over the counter. The note let the slavers know they had a customer and made sure he received his finder's fee, the best jobs were the ones that paid twice.

A shadow detached itself from its place next to a set of shelves, the darkness dripping off him like water as he walked out into the meager light. The information broker felt the paper taken from his hand. Three years the man had worked for him and Rist still wouldn't look him in the eye, it was like staring into the face of death itself. "Deliver that to Kogen," he instructed the assassin, "No, wait. Give it to Sylus." While the man in the cloak talked a good game, he didn't have the air of a killer about him, unlike the apparition that was now silently making his way to the rear entrance of the shop. There was no sense in involving the slavers' leader when it was likely the boy was just in the market for a new toy. Rist smiled, never underestimate a young man's drive to get his dick wet.