Chapter 8

Note: A question about money came up. There are the four standard coin types in the fantasy stories. Copper, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. I add the twist of the Gold and Plat Royals as a higher denomination.

10 Coppers to a Silver.
10 Silvers to a Gold.
10 Gold to a Platinum.
25 gold to one Gold Royal
25 Platinum for one Plat Royal
Also, cost of products vary from region to region. In some places a few silver is good money, in others it is not. Think of rent in New York city verses in a small town away from the urban centers.

A Brief History of Terin’s Crossing

Terin’s Crossing is a seaport city on the eastern end of the Storm Sea. It was founded as a safe port nine hundred years earlier by a group of Storm Sea pirates looking for safe portage during the winter season. The pirates controlled the waters of the eastern third of the Storm Sea. In the first three hundred years, it was invaded and burned over a dozen times by competing groups and inland invaders. It was only after the arrival of the Western Kingdom of Cove that the city was brought into an age of reason and peace. The King knew his kingdom was now too large to control from Fairhams Cove, so he seated a nephew to rule the western realm as the prince and heir apparent to the Western throne.

Even with the western armies as a support backing the forces at his and his successor’s command, the city was razed two additional times before the barbarian lands out to the eastern Ocean were under their rule. Each time the Crossing was rebuilt, the port was expanded to handle ever-growing amounts of sea traffic. A new road network was built to support the land traffic of cargo the local farmers were bringing to market to sell. As the city grew, a wall was built around the core of the old city core. It protected an area several miles across, including the central castle of the ruling prince. A new city quickly grew outside the walls. This was composed of the markets, Inns, shops, and small businesses that any growing city needs to expand and survive. The kingdom forces had been barely able to defend the city from the invaders from the north. The Ice Spine Kingdoms had wanted to seize the southern lands as their own but had been driven back each time. They continue to push all along the mountain ranges that separated them from the warmer lands to the south.

The last invasion led to a new fortifications wall being built around the outer city. This wall encompassed an area fifteen miles across. This size alone nearly matched Fairham’s Cove at the time of the raising of the new defensive fortifications. Just as before, more people moved to the Crossing and set up shops outside the walls. This time, several massive caravan yards were built to support the road traffic west to the Cove, and east to the Desert coast cities. New factories to process the incoming goods and materials soon sprang into being. Mid-spring through early fall, several dozen caravans composed of hundreds of carts and wagons would be moving east and west. Smaller caravan runs serviced the northern border regions. At the time of this historical writing, no known kingdom settlements occupy the southern half across the Storm Sea. The last caravan west had to leave at the end of summer. If they didn’t roll out before them, they risked being trapped on the wrong side of the Rampart Mountain Ranges for the winter. Aco had hoped to travel with the last run when she arrived at Terin’s Crossing. She had missed it by two weeks.

Aco, Robin, and Betty started towards the city after getting the news from the outer watch post. Though not happy, they knew they could rest and prepare for the spring. The only problem they had was a lack of funds. After they had passed through the East gate, being questioned once more by the guards at the post, they followed the road inwards. It was approaching full dark now as they walked through the now quieting city. Tall poles with oil lamps provided only a little light along the wide, paved streets. As they came to a section that was not yet lit, a group of a dozen young children from five to fifteen years came into view. The largest two would stand next to the pole the lamp was on and hold a smaller child on their shoulders. The smallest child would climb up on them and open the oil lamp. He or she would pull out the empty oil can. It was dropped to be caught by a waiting hand, then a full can would be tossed up. It would be slipped into place, the wick was clipped so it had a clean-burning point. A long stick with a burning tip would be held up for the child to light the lamp. Once it was putting out the maximum amount of light it could, the little one would slide down the others, then they would run to the next pole in line. The teams of children would race to see who could get the most lit in the shortest time. Aco had stopped and watched this, smiling as she had spent some time doing this job for a few coins in other cities along the way. Betty watched and was amazed at how fast the kids could get each lamp set and lit. By her estimate, it took less than a minute to light each one. They did see one little girl fall, but she was back up and on the job in a few seconds, even if she did have a limp from a leg that may have been broken in the fall.

As full darkness set in, Aco spotted one of the markers they had been told to watch for, an Inn with a rusted shovel over the door to the street. They passed it by as they didn’t have the money to pay for a room for one night. At the inner city wall, a single guard just nodded to them. When they passed under the old stone archway to enter the oldest part of the city, Aco felt as if something cold had started to crawl up her back. As they came abreast the Temple of the Brotherhood, she knew they were watching her. The feeling of dread faded as they moved away, but the feeling of eyes on her did not.

It was another fifteen minutes of walking before they came to a building with a picture of a bed over the door. Robin opened the door enough to look inside before entering. She didn’t want to risk being ambushed. The only person in sight was an old fat man at a table inside the door. He had a small lantern to provide light, though it was dim and murky as the chimney had not been cleaned in recent memory and was coated in soot. The front room also presented them with another thing found in cities that most people in the out-lands avoided, Filth. The floor was covered in dirt, the air was feted with an odor that was more than a little bit unpleasant, to say the least. The man was dirty as well. They could see that his clothing was long un-washed and his hair and beard unkempt. The man reeked. Robin gagged slightly as the smell hit her. It had been many months since she had last encountered anything so foul.

The man looked up at the open door and yelled at her to close it. Robin stepped in, her nose rebelling with every breath she took. Betty and Aco followed her in and received a quick education on what was causing Robin’s problems. Betty gagged and wanted to run back outside but resisted the urge. If the older women could stand it, so could she. Aco just snorted in disgust. She had smelled worse, but not by much. Robin finally spoke for them, “We need a room for a few nights.”

“Four copper each per night. I have one room the three of you will fit in,” he replied.

Robin pulled out her coin pouch and counted out the coins. She had enough for three night’s stay and nothing else. Aco had a few coppers left, so they had enough combined coppers for two nights. She would find work right away and get out of this filthy hole as fast as possible. He pointed to the inner opening and said it was the far door on the right, left exit was to the pits. They got the meaning and left the front room. They very quickly wished they had set up camp right there at the front door instead.

As they entered the main sleeping room, several dozen bodies lay on every available flat surface. These were the dregs of the city, and it smelled like it. Take a bucket of raw sewage, set it out in the sun for a few days, then boil it. They hurried to the door in the right rear corner and slipped into the small room beyond. It was pitch black inside. Robin did see a small lamp on a shelf in the dim light before the door closed. She felt for her flint and steel and soon had the dirty lamp sputtering, giving them a faint light to work in.

Betty checked what passed for a bed and stepped away from it hurriedly enough to bump into Aco. “I am not sleeping on that pile of rotten hay. It has fleas crawling all over it.”

Aco looked closer and could see the faint movement of the insects. She quickly stepped back as several jumped for her. “I am in agreement. This is truly beyond nasty.”

Robin looked at it now and blanched, having spotted a rat’s head poking out of the hay. “Do we really have to stay here? I think the street would be safer than this.” They used the ground cover for the tent to roll the sack of hay into a corner, then used the small amount of bug killer they had left to keep the bugs in that corner of the small room. The room itself was only ten feet by ten at the most, with a low ceiling at just over six feet. Aco kept having to fight the urge to squat down to keep her head clear of the ceiling. They laid the tent on the floor, then added the sleeping rolls over it. Aco took Betty to the pits as they were called and she was quickly able to complete her bodily chores as the smell in the enclosed space was slightly worse than in the common room. Aco took Robin next and they both emptied their bodies and went to return to the room. What they didn’t expect to see was half a dozen men trying to break into their room.

The two women looked at each other, not sure they believed what they were seeing. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Robin. She pulled out a dagger, Aco seemed the flicker as she changed masks. Robin blanched, she had gone to the dragon mask. She was going to kill if they resisted. “Try to avoid too much bloodshed Aco,” she whispered. Aco nodded but didn’t change to a less lethal face. The women closed on the group and each grabbed one from behind. Robin did her best to not kill, but she still seriously injured her target. Aco had no reservations, she grabbed one, shoved him into the rest, and began hammering them with her fist. Her strikes were lethally fast and precise. The other five were down and groaning in pain in seconds.

She grabbed the largest and pulled him around to face her. Robin didn’t hear what she whispered, but he pissed himself on the spot, struggling the escape her grasp. She tossed him aside and he crawled away across the dirty floor, only rising up when he reached the exit. She didn’t know it yet, but Aco had just announced herself to the local Thieves and Brotherhood chapters. He had to report that The Claw was in town, and she just might be looking for work from the looks of things.

It only took a few minutes to make the others return to their cots. This done, Robin had to convince Betty it was safe to unblock the door so they could get in. Betty finally let them in and wanted to barricade the door again. She had used the heavy packs to hold the door shut, it had worked so long as she kept her weight in place to keep them from moving.

“No need Betty,” said Aco. “They will not return, at least not tonight.” Aco spread out her sleeping roll and Robin did the same. With wide grins, they grabbed Betty and pulled her robe off, then laid her out on the rolls and had their way with her. Betty was a soaking wet wreck when they finished with her. They wiped Betty down with a damp cloth to clean her up a little bit. Aco turned the lamp down as low as it would go and stay lit, then cuddled down to her friends and sleep took her.

The man that had run met with the Nightmaster of the local thieves guild chapter. “You are sure it was her?” he asked the terrified street thief.

“She had a mask. It was something out of a nightmare that I have never seen before. She was so fast, could hit so hard in spots that caused pain without cutting the skin. It has to be her.” He shivered and walked away without another word. Rather than go back above, he slumped down in a dark corner and soon slept an uneasy sleep. Dreams of a monster chasing him haunted his sleep for many nights.

At the chapel of the Brotherhood, a senior legate questioned the street boy that had been brought in. “You are sure of what you saw and heard?” he asked once more.

“Yes sir, she was called Aco, and the other is called Robin.” The boy was shivering in fear. He felt the eyes of the Lady on him, like cold fingers reaching in and touching his heart.

The old man sighed, “We have no reason to send them away as they did out in Planes Guard. Tell the others on the street to watch but not interfere if at all possible. Now go.” He made a shooing gesture and the boy fled as fast as his feet would go. As he exited the chapel, it was now daytime. He had entered in the early evening, now it was daytime. He wondered how many days he had lost.

The Bard had been silent for a week now. Then again, having one’s jaw wired shut while it healed had seen to that quite nicely. He had mouthed off to a patrol guard and had paid for it the hard way. The other two were thankful for the break from the insistent whining and crying from the spoiled asshole. They had not realized that they had closed to within half a day of the women. Now they knew it. The guard at the road to Terin’s Crossing said that the women they sought had arrived just before sunset. He also informed them they could not enter the city until sunrise, City Security rules and all.

The big man grumbled but turned around and dragged the whimpering Bard along. The smaller man thanked the guard and followed the other two. The big man didn’t go far, just off the path away from the guardhouse. He slammed the bard into a tall tree stump and thumped down, smacking his back into the thick trunk, not noticing it sounded hollow. The smaller just stood and watched the shack as the guard had watched where they had gone. When the bard had hit the stump, the guard could just be heard saying, “Oh shit.” He ran to his shack, slammed the door, reached out of the windows, closing the shutters. They found out why a minute later when a swarm of large hornets came out to find out what had the nerve to slam into their home in the middle of the night.

Several folks down at the Broken Wheel said they heard horrible screams coming from the east, to fade away as if running very fast.

Morning came as it always did, bright and miserably cheerful. Betty woke Robin and Aco and wanted to go to the backroom as quickly as she could. They agreed with the need as well. Aco opened the door to look around the room, it was empty of all the sleepers from the night before. She figured it would be safe for them to all go together this time. They wasted no time and soon were dressed and ready for the day. Betty wanted to look at the Tavern/Inn with the Rusty Shovel over the door. Robin wanted to check the public stages and see if anybody needed or wanted an entertainer. Aco just wanted to find a place she could workout and stretch each morning. They left the room, worried that they would be robbed. The old man at the door had promised that their stuff would be safe. Aco had put on the mask that was all fang and red eyes and explained what would happen to him should their stuff be disturbed. He was wide eyes, sweating, and breathing hard when she left. Terror was always a good way to get the point across. What Aco didn’t realize was he knew who she happened to be. Their stuff would be safer in that room than in the palace treasure vault.

Aco had changed into her black exercise suit. She had her masks and a small bag with her. The fat man told her a public stage could be found at the western market. She headed out that way and hoped the others would have a good day. It took over an hour of rapid walking to reach the market she wanted. The stage was fairly large and seemed solid. She wouldn’t be able to run and do high flips, but she would still get a good workout and maybe make a bit of coin. She set the bag down and propped it open. This would give anybody interested a place to toss or drop a coin or two. She walked to the stage ladder and climbed up to see that the floor was not clean. It was covered in dirt and leaves, along with an assortment of other junk left from other visitors. Aco sighed and took a few minutes to clear several spots so she wouldn’t be sitting in the garbage. ‘What is it with this place,’ she wondered. ‘It’s like nobody cares and they just dump everything anywhere they want.’ She sat and began doing her basic warm-up stretches, then once she felt ready, she began to flex and move around. Once on her feet, she lifted her left leg and brought it up so her foot was over and behind her head. She lowered it halfway, then began to slowly spin around. As she turned, she lowered it and soon had switched so the other leg was up. When she brought it down, she sat and bent both legs around so her feet were interlocked behind her neck. Using her hands, she walked around the stage, then flipped herself over so she was in a full hand-stand. She released her legs, straightening them. She lifted her left arm and remained in place being held up by one arm. She brought her arm back down and did a full walkover back onto her feet. She stood for only a second then leaped into the air, doing a back-flip before coming back down. She then did a cart-wheel, another flip, this one forwards, then spotted on the center of the stage, coming down from another leap, landing on her feet, both arms up and out from her body. She lowered herself to her knees and waited for a full minute before rising back to her feet. This had been the best workout she had, had in weeks. Her body told her so too, it hurt.

Several folks applauded and some coins landed in the bag, a few missing landed on the stage. She stood and recovered the loose coins and thanked everybody for their generosity. She didn’t count the coins then, she would wait. She had always been told it was bad form to count your money while on stage, or at a game table. She left the stage went around the back. Most places had a bench behind the stage for the performer to wait and rest. She reached up to switch to a neutral mask. She froze when her hand came away empty. She stood and looked at the stage to see if it had fallen away, it had not. She had just performed without a face, and nobody seemed to notice. She was shaking, not in fear, more shock at having done this, exposing her disfigured and scarred face to the world. She sat back down and pulled out the mask she wanted and slipped it on. She felt better having done so, less exposed. She checked the coins and found a few silver and a dozen coppers. ‘Well, at least I won’t starve right away,’ she thought.

She went out into the market and was able to purchase a meat roll and loaf of fresh bread. This would last her today and part of the next. So far, today had been a good start to her stay in Terin’s Crossing.

Betty opened the front door to the Rusty Shovel was surprised at how bright it was inside. The next thing that caught her attention was the smell. Bad Ale, rotting food, stale urine, and a touch of much worse. She could see the floor was wood, but it was covered in dirt and rotting debris she couldn’t identify, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Despite all that, she was caught by the fact this Inn had glow stones to light it. ‘This place has the potential to be so much more. It just needs to be cleaned up,’ she thought. Betty looked around the front room, noting things that needed fixing and cleaning. She wrinkled her nose at the smell coming from one corner saw that it had become a dump for human waste. The patrons were an ill-mannered bunch from the looks of this place.

As she looked around, a well-endowed woman came out of the back, where Betty figured the kitchen might be. She caught a glimpse before the door swung shut as saw piles of dishes and cookware. She looked at the woman and asked, “Who is the owner?”

The woman had seen Betty looking around. She wasn’t certain what this girl wanted, but she could see that the girl was not pleased by what she was seeing. “Why do you want to know?”

Betty knew right then this woman was the owner. “Where are the rest of your staff? This place looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in weeks.” Betty picked up a mug, glanced inside, blanched, and set it back down.

“They quit,” snapped the woman. Betty looked her over a little closer. She was in her thirties at a guess, large breasted with wide hips. She wasn’t fat by any means, just big bodied. She could tell that this girl wanted more than a brief answer. “They quit because I wouldn’t let the little whores turn my place into a whorehouse for them to use.”