Chapter 19

James expertly landed the ship in the massive cavern.

The shallow bowl-shaped floor was a bit rocky but he was able to set the Gunna down softly. The cavern seemed to have been caused by a massive and very hot explosion sometime in the past. The mountain had withstood the test of time so far and the cavern’s melted and sealed roof and walls still held.

The large crack to one side and halfway to the rear of the cavern may have happened as a result of the explosion but the side of the mountain that had moved was still firmly held in its grip. Some rocks had fallen and filled the bottom of the thirty-meter high and five-meter wide at the base fracture so that the floor of it was only a step higher, with the cavern floor at the opening.

The narrow stream had managed to gouge its way free of the mountain and into the fracture. The water had compressed the fallen rocks into a floor that sloped up and away from the cavern. Water would always find a way. The water had eaten along the crack in the floor to that side of the opening to the cavern.

Water flowed steadily down the side of the mountain hidden by the heavy growth of trees and tall shrubs that greedily sucked at it. It was evident that the stream only overflowed into the basin of the main cavern in extreme rain events and that it had not done so for some time. The sediment had smoothed it out some but it was still uneven in places.

“Nice digs,” Dusty said to James as they checked out the cavern.

James chuckled, “Close the door, wife.”

Dusty grinned and formed a shield and a glamour over the entrance. Anyone looking in would get the impression that the cavern had recently collapsed and was inaccessible. The shield would also compel them to go away because it wasn’t safe for them to enter with all the loose rubble.

“Want to go see if they have anything resembling a restaurant? I’ve not taken you out to dinner for ages,” James suggested.

“Where do you recommend, Zed?” Dusty asked aloud.

“Well, I do suggest a change of clothing first, mistress. The new low orbital probe you released over the nearest settlement can see through their shield better. Our understating is that these people wear a form of Roman styled short dress,” he replied.

“Shit, do I really have to bare my legs like that?” James asked as he looked at the vid displayed in a hologram that hovered over his vambrace, of several people walking in the street in the late afternoon sunshine. It was interesting to note that they had a very human look about them and many were all on the taller side like him and Dusty. They should fit in fine.

Dusty giggled. “You may need to fix your tan, gorgeous. We don’t want to blind the locals with your lily-white legs.”

James lifted an eyebrow at Dusty, “It won’t be my legs they will be looking at. Some of those dresses are a bit short and seeing you in one will cause my tunic to tent.”

“Oh handsome, you do say the nicest things to me,” she said sweetly.

James didn’t miss the flash of desire either. From that look alone, he’d be tenting a tunic if he was wearing one right now. “I think we may need to go and change,” he said and started dragging a very willing Dusty back to their bedroom in the ship.

It was a lot darker out when they headed to the village. The climate was warm during the day but Zed had informed them that the locals were now wearing a light knee length cloak with a hood and clasped on one shoulder unless they wanted it to cover both shoulders. James liked this idea very much and they soon had cloaks that would pass as a local covering.

Once attired, Zed blinked them to an alley near the centre of the town. Dusty had them shielded and they kept the shields up as they observed the locals for themselves. They watched for a while and let Zed and Ada pick up the local dialect. They knew that they would alter their speech, so they sounded like a local. The longer they listened, the better.

After ten minutes, they stepped back into the alley and dropped the shield. They then strolled out into the throng. The central area was set up as an open market. Most of the locals had opened their shops for late evening trade after having been closed during the afternoon heat.

Those who served food or who entertained were now frequenting the market. Many of those who sold fresh produce, livestock and meats had gone home. They dominated the markets in the early morning. People who sold items such as crafts, tools and clothing opened during the two market sessions.

Couples were prominent in the throng. Dusty and James noticed that several permanent establishments had seating and tables set up outside for their patrons. One was obviously a form of tavern and the business next door sated another need of the drinkers. It seemed to have as many workers in male form as female.

They watched as a couple approached one of the men who only wore a silver coloured loincloth with front and rear flaps and a very short vest that barely covered his pectoral muscles and the sides were linked together in front with a small chain. They talked for a few moments before the three of them disappeared inside.

“Oh, they are Shifters,” Dusty whispered to James.

He nodded as he too realised that the sellers of sex all wore similar garments, as if it was the uniform of their occupation. He had seen one man change to female for his customer to entice him in. It had worked, as they had disappeared a few moments later.

Dusty drew him deeper into the throng and they paid keen interest in the goods for sale to determine the level of development of these people. James stopped at one booth and frowned at an object on the counter before picking it up to examine it.

“Evening, fine folk,” the woman greeted them politely. “Are you interested in purchasing a fertility charm for your lovely wife, sir? I have it on good authority that they do work. Only ten coins. If you are successful, bring it back and I’ll buy it back for half.”

Dusty was surprised by the look on James face as if he was really thinking about it. He looked up at the woman and gave her one of his most charming smiles. “Not right now, thank you. Do you charm them yourself?” he asked.

The woman shook her head and looked at him oddly. “Master, you know such as I can’t do this. Only the Shapers can do magic. Noble Demetri does the charms for me. He is quite skilled at this type of charm being a healer, as you well know.”

James gave her that butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth smile again, “I was just making sure that they had been charmed by the best.”

She nodded, pleased that she was offering goods that were worth buying. “He is such a good noble and he only takes one coin of profit in ten from me.”

Dusty casually asked, “Do other nobles here take more?”

The woman looked around quickly. “Some do, Mistress but I don’t deal with them. It is well known that Teha Symone asks more since she is so gifted. She doesn’t specialise in my types of gifts and a lowly person such as myself, wouldn’t ask our Teha for such a boon.”

Dusty nodded and smiled. “Thank you for your time...”

“Gail, mistress. You come and see me when you’re ready for that babe. You will be sure to conceive using one of these charms,” Gail replied.

They both thanked her and moved on. They found a table and seated themselves to watch and learn. A woman came to their table wearing a form of apron over her clothes and asked if they wanted a beverage. They asked for the house’s white wine and she nodded and left.

‘Dusty, those people are not from here,’ James sent to Dusty.

She casually looked around and noticed the people crowded around a large table with two long bench seats either side. It was outside the tavern that was two shops down from them. She noted that the other tables near them were vacant.

They were loud and speaking in a Pigeon Arabic-English and not the local dialect. It was obvious the four men and two women were well into their cups. The men were groping the woman that sat between them on their bench.

One man even had his hand under the woman’s skirt and he was lustily thrusting his hand under it as he sucked on one boob. The other man squeezed her other exposed breast as he kissed her. The other men were cheering them on as they groped the woman between them.

People were walking around the group as far as they could get without toppling a row of market booths that impeded them from moving even further away. The tight looks suggested that such debauchery was not considered in good taste in a public location.

Dusty nodded and was then distracted by the waitress. She glared at the table they had been looking at and muttered, “Disgusting intruders.” She returned her interest to Dusty and James. “Sorry, but they do not abide by the customs of our people. I don’t know why the Nobles put up with them and don’t deal with them.”

“Do they hurt the people here?” Dusty asked.

The woman grimaced and nodded as she put their drinks on the table. “Please be careful. I know not what business you have in visiting Amber but if you see any of those people, steer clear of them.”

“Don’t walk around alone, as they have been known to take men and women off the street even in daylight. Many people don’t let their children out at night or without supervision during the day as they go missing too. It’s a bad business, they stopped for a while but they are getting bolder again.”

“We will try to be careful,” James assured her. The waitress shuddered and then offered them the menu. James asked her what she would recommend and they agreed to have her suggestions. She left to take their orders to the kitchen.

When Dusty glanced over at the revellers again, it was to see one of the women was now kneeling on the end of the seat. One of the men had happily straddled her lower legs and he was fucking her from behind. The other man had turned and straddled the seat. The woman held onto his thighs as she sucked on his cock.

The other three were still offering catcalls as they drank their beer, generally fondled each other and watched the show. They just ignored the locals until one of the tavern’s barmen brought out fresh drinks. One of the men demanded that the other pretty slut came back but the barman informed him that she had quit and no longer worked for the establishment.

The tight look on his face suggested that he wasn’t happy that he had lost one of his workers and was having to serve the group himself. The drunken man was distracted by the woman and forgot about the barman, letting him escape.

Dusty and James ignored them to enjoy their meal when the next disturbance happened. They heard the ‘thucker-thucher’ noise first and then realised that the Linger was landing in the clear area between their tables and that of the tavern. The fans used to drive the Linger into the air blew the dust and grit from the ground and showered Dusty and James and their meals.

Two women wearing sand cameo-pants and cream t-shirts got out and went over to the other group, “Fuck you’re disgusting. Izmir. Let her loose and get in the damn Linger,” a woman’s voice could be heard in accented English.

“Ooh, come on Boss, we’re just letting off a bit of steam,” one of the men also grumbled in English.

“I’ve told you lot that things were getting tense around here. You lot drugging and fucking the tavern’s hired staff was not smart and letting me catch you at it, was even less so. You’re going into the brig for the rest of this rotation and you’re confined to camp for the next. As soon as a settlement ship comes we’ll get some more sluts for you men,” she told them angrily.