World of Ranice B. 03

Theik leaned back in the chair. "I can't tell you much about me since I somehow lost my memories. The first real memory I have is from several weeks ago when I woke up next to the road I came in." That was safe enough to say since whoever might be listening wasn't going to get much from it. "I will tell you that though my memories only start a short time ago I have learned much about myself. I am skilled with the axe and have been taught how to use a knife as well as my body." He stopped to see what Zephara had to say.

He slowly nodded and based on what he had experienced it sounded reasonable. "For the moment I am not going to ask much since I am sure that you would like to get a bath. From the sounds of it your slave is almost done." He sipped on the watered down wine. "I..." Zephara frowned and leaned forward. "There is a sleeping area up there which is technically for my slave. If you don't mind sleeping there for a few days I would appreciate it." His voice was very quiet when he said that.

Theik gave the young man a slight nod. "I can do that and I am going to go for a stroll once she is out." He looked at the section Zephara was looking at and tossed his bag up there. Unless told otherwise his axe and heavy knife were staying with him. Since she was almost done he grabbed a couple of the items on the plate and nibbled. He really needed to talk to the boy as well as the guard captain about a few things which were bothering him.

From what he had picked up while traveling here as well as in the court this was a cesspit of corruption. If not outright corruption then intrique. Theik could be horribly wrong but it was a feeling he was getting simply by how the population reacted to the guards. As he was munching on the food he turned when she came out of the bathroom and smiled. The clothing was still rather plain but she looked far more like a kid than she had before. "You look better and definitely cleaner. Come here for a moment hun." He kept his voice quiet as he was talking.

She kept her eyes down as she had been trained and slowly moved over in front of him and stood there. He didn't sound angry or feel angry with her thankfully. When he touched her face and then lightly stroked the soft feathers covering her head she did twitch. She briefly looked up at him and then immediately back at the floor.

"Relax Z'nala, I just wanted to check on you and make sure you weren't hurt." Theik's voice was concerned as he gave her a quick check over before he gave her a light hug. "For the moment we are going to be sleeping in here. There is a sleeping pad up there in that alcove. Go and curl up after you have something to eat and drink. I am going for a walk to stretch my legs." He found the almost feathery covering of her scalp to be fascinating.

When he said he was going for a walk she started getting scared. Though she didn't really trust him a great deal he had tried to protect her and hadn't done anything to her. She looked up at Theik and the fear was obvious.

"Relax hun, you will be fine. Zephara will take care of you and won't let anyone hurt you." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a light hug. "Remember he protected you in the market and didn't hurt you. I trust him for reasons I don't understand but I do. Now go crawl into bed and I shouldn't be gone too long." One last hug and he turned her towards the alcove.

She gave him a semi-trusting look and briefly leaned into the hug. "Yes master." She turned towards the alcove and crawled into the pallet and pulled a cover up. Z'nala tucked her back against the wall so she was facing the opening. It was going to take her a while to fall asleep.

Theik sighed before he gave Zephara a slight nod. He opened the door and stepped out after looking both ways. At the moment he wasn't going to stir any waves but he wanted to know the layout of the section they were in. After he became familiar with this section he would expand his wanderings. The best part was he could be as obvious as he wanted since he was new. Even better if he worked it right he could also make a few female friends which would also give him reason to wander.

~~~

The last couple of weeks had been very interesting for Theik. He had pretty much become Zephara's shadow during the day. In the morning was the education and that was actually rather interesting. It had required his starting to learn their written language. That had ended up including Z'nala as well since Theik was damned if she was going to remain a slave girl for the rest of her life. What the boy was learning was extremely impressive and he had to wonder of Zephara's father had any idea just how intelligent he was.

In the afternoon was training for both Theik as well as the young man. For this time Z'nala was acting as a slave and cleaning Zephara's rooms. If he had even considered getting her any fighting training in public both of them would have been killed immediately. He was giving her some training at night in the rooms. It was only hand to hand and knife fighting but it would, or should, keep her safe till one of them could get to her.

The guard captain for the boy had been very helpful as well. Between the two of them they had come up with a very good training schedule for Zephara. It wasn't just weapons training but intrigue, plotting, dealing with spies, and anything else they could think of. This was because the longer Theik was there the more he could see the empire was starting to fall apart. The current Emperor was slowly destroying it for his pleasure. Theik felt that the boy was to be the saving grace for the kingdom as long as he was well trained. He had to be carefully trained and groomed though he couldn't explain why he felt that.

~~~

Theik glanced at the two kids and had to grin. He and Z'nala had been there for a while and she had come to accept Zephara as someone she could trust. "Zephara I am going out for a while. I am not sure how long I will be gone but I should be back by the morning." He had a few plans to set in motion not to mention a visit or two to make.

Zephara had to raise an eyebrow at him. "Why do I get the feeling this is going to be something I don't want to know about?" It was much like when his former slave had vanished. One evening Theik had gone out and the next morning his slave hadn't come to wake him up. Z'nala had stepped in and started working as his slave.

Theik gave him a rather malicious grin. "I am going to visit an old friend who happens to be a slave trader. I simply want to say hello and have a discussion with him about a few things." He pulled his short sword out and checked the blade and put it back in the sheath.

Z'nala looked up and a number of emotions went through her expression before she settled on pleasure. "Master would you please say hello for me? I would like to thank him for bringing me to you." Her smile was on the angelic side for a moment. "Then if you would make a eunuch out of him." She kept the sweet expression though her eyes were hard.

He shook his head as a grin crossed his face. "Girl I should spank you for talking that way but instead I will just have you go to bed without your snack." He picked up his axe and with another shake of his head he walked out the door.

Leaving the palace grounds wasn't a problem since he had gone over a wall. Early on he had found many of the guards were open to looking the other way for a small price. They had told him of a few places where one could get in and out of the palace without being seen. This was again for a small fee.

Once he hit the ground on the other side of the palace wall he flipped a light cape over his shoulder. He secured it to his opposite shoulder so it covered most of his body. The only thing really showing was his axe handle.

Since it was still relatively early he took his time making it to the market he had found the girl in. Even though he chose not to eat anything he stopped at a few of the open air bars and had a beer or two. He didn't drink the entire steins of beer since he didn't want to get drunk. On top of that the drink was rather nasty. As far as he could tell they were both brewed with rancid Malok urine and poured while still green and not fully fermented.

Eventually he made it to the market section and settled in a corner. A rougher crowd was out and about and the wares were far less reputable. He could hear crying, and screaming from the slave section. There appeared to be a fine trade in special 'spices'. That term made him snort since everyone knew they were selling drugs. He had passed at least a dozen fences and other things he didn't recognize. With a shake of his head he settled down to watch the fun.

Theik had been there for a while when he heard some sort of ruckus which he didn't want to get involved in. Since it was approaching he moved from the spot he was in and was quickly up the wall and perched on the roof. As he was looking in the direction of the ruckus he noticed a number of torches which stuck out. The vast majority of the people at best had a tallow taper to allow just enough light by which to see the merchandise.

After he looked around the roof area he was on he didn't see anyone who might question his being there. With that he started moving down the roof towards the lights. When he was close enough he realized it was an imperial party as he had suspected. He couldn't tell which imperial member it might be since there wasn't enough light. Theik noticed they were heading towards the tents he had been aiming for and sighed. This was going to ruin his fun probably. With a mental growl he lowered himself off the roof and headed over to the tent. At one point he had found a guard but he was easily dealt with since he had obviously had more than a few cups of the Malok piss. A good rap to the skull resolved that issue.

Theik worked his way as close as possible and settled down to listen. Since his cloak was dark he flipped the hood over his hair to keep it and his face from being seen. Inside the tent from the sounds of it the conversation was starting to wind down. All he really heard was something about a 'special delivery' and 'several more days'. The voice of one sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it. Now he had to wonder what the special delivery was and why someone had to come to the slave market for it.

He had to sit there and mentally growl to himself since he really wanted to kill this bastard. Now he was going to have to wait for a few days. Once the conversation was finished he carefully moved away from the tent and headed for the nearest wall. He was going to keep an eye on the tent and see if he could see who might be involved. Frankly he didn't care what the special delivery was but if it was someone high up in the court... Depending on what it was he might be able to subvert him and use him.

Once he was on the ceiling again he crouched down to watch. That didn't last long since something made him move and when he did the tink of a blade hitting stone could be heard. Theik kicked out and connected with the other person. There was a decided grunt as his heavy studded sandal hit. That gave him enough room to roll to his feet and run away from the attacker.

The running wasn't so much as to get away from him as to draw him away from the market. If he did follow Theik and they ended up fighting he didn't want it to be heard. If it was that might screw up the special delivery. As he was running he could hear the almost silent padding of the other. They obviously had leather shoes or sandals since they were relatively quiet. Theik's were okay if he was moving slowly but running they made a distinctive noise.

By the time he made it back to the palace it had been a long night. The attacker had followed him a fair way and they had fought several times. In the end it was blind luck that Theik hadn't been hurt worse than he had. The blind luck was as they were fighting a stone which had been badly laid shifted and the other stumbled. Theik had kicked as hard as he could and the other went down over the side and landed with a thud.

Before he had come over the walls of the palace Theik had been forced to do some rough dressings on his wounds. The last thing he wanted to do was to be bleeding as he headed inside. As it was he was going to have a long day since he wasn't going to get a great deal of sleep. Add that to the wounds and he was going to be rather grumpy the next day. If anyone pissed him off heaven help them.

~~~

Lak-Non had been there for about four days and he and Erma had been enjoying their time together. While she was working he was wandering the town and carefully checking on what they wore around here. From what he could see much of the clothing was loose and light. For that he couldn't blame them since it was a fair amount warmer and more humid than in Cerule. The men tended to have low leather boots with loose pants. They were bloused around the ankles and tucked into the top of the boots. The shirts were loose as well and secured around the wrist and neck with ties. Some people had hats and others didn't.

For the women the shirts were similar to the males but they tended towards loose flowing skirts and wide cloth belts. They also had soft boots on as well and most people had some sort of knife on. Since he was a warrior he did carry the short sword and axe which garnered him a few odd looks. Since he had the leather skirt and vest they knew he was a stranger and gave him a bit of space. One morning after doing some wandering he walked into the bar and had to stop.

His ears were being assaulted by something that could at best be classified as music. "Good god, what the hell is that crap?" He muttered to Erma as he listened to the lyrics. For some reason they sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place them.

She rolled her eyes and growled. "He is a wandering bard who occasionally stops by and plays for room and board. Normally he is decent but this time while out and about he discovered some new form of music. I have to question the music part though." Erma had to shudder before laying her ears against her head.

Lak-Non stared at the male who was trying to play something and suddenly with a slight surge of pain he knew the song. When he suddenly realized it he growled. "No wonder it sounds so bad. He is using the wrong tuning. That and his instrument isn't meant to play the range needed." The item in question resembled something which was a cross between a harp and gitturn. The strings were between the necks of the harp and went from the tuning keys to a circular resonating chamber.

She had to quirk an eye at him when he said that. "Do you know how to play? I would like to hear what you can do." It was something that had never crossed her mind. Lak-Non was obviously a warrior and though everyone was required to learn an instrument most didn't keep up with it.

He grimaced. "I do play and am fairly decent but trying to carry an instrument across the ocean is not a good idea. I don't suppose you might have a few lying around I could take a look at." The male hit a particularly bad note and he cringed.

She snorted. "You wouldn't believe some of the things people leave behind. Come with me." She lifted a section of the counter so he could come behind. "The junk room is over here." Erma waved one of the Inn-Keep's kids over to take over as she led him to a different room. "Feel free to take a look and see what might interest you." She leaned against the door jamb to see what he would do.

Lak-Non shook his head at her comment. "Oh I don't know, I would probably believe more than you could imagine." He followed her into the room and had to raise an eyebrow. "I might have to talk to the owner about letting me pick through here. It might save me a bit of cash." He had plenty of coin as well as a large stash of gems which were supposed to be valued here. When he started looking he found most of them were in one section and after digging through he had to grin. "How the hell do you have a Corwith here? I have had master Songsmiths curse these things." He pulled the case out and opened it.

It was obviously old and well used. The strings were going to need to be replaced soon but that wasn't a huge problem. Lak-Non flipped the shoulder strap over his shoulder and quickly had it tuned. Even though it was old it had an excellent tone to it. "I might have to see about purchasing this." His thick fingers danced across the strings and gently coaxed a mellow tune out of it.

Erma couldn't help but flip her ears back in shock. That instrument had been in storage for ages. "The owner actually passed on a number of years ago. He was an old, old man and passed away in his sleep." As his fingers caressed the strings she was very impressed. "Damn, if I thought you might be willing I would seduce you into staying around here and become my mate." He was very good with his playing.

Lak-Non felt another small surge of pain in one temple and had to shake his head. "Erma you are a beautiful woman and I couldn't ask for a better woman to spend my life with but I can't. The worst part is I can't tell you why since I don't know myself. I could never ask you to leave your life and travel with me since I don't know where I am going or when I might be able to stop. That isn't a life you would be comfortable with." After one last stroke of the strings he grinned. "Now for the fun part..." He walked past her, after pausing for a slow kiss, and out to the main room.

Erma had to lower her ears and curled her whiskers at him. "Lak-Non when you find the woman you are searching for I think you will know. There is someone out there for you and I trust in your spirit animal that you will find her." She had to admit she was almost tempted to go with him simply because he was a wonderful man. On the flip side of the coin she had to admit that he was right that she wasn't one who really liked to travel other than to the pack and back occasionally. When he moved past her she snorted and followed. "Go get your parents hun. This is going to be interesting." She told the girl who had taken over for her.

She followed Lak-Non into the main room and settled down. This was going to be rather interesting though she couldn't really say why.

He approached the bard and settled down on a stool near him. "I hate to tell you this but you have seriously mangled that song old boy. The lyrics are badly translated and that instrument you are using is totally wrong for the scale needed." His fingers were lightly fingering the strings on the Corwith.

The bard almost glowered at him when Lak-Non spoke and then looked at the instrument he had. "And how would you know stranger. Just from looking at you I know you are from Cerule. This is from this continent."

Lak-Non stared at him for a moment before a slight smile crossed his face. "Try this on for size old boy and try to keep up." He strummed the strings and the strains for As Good as I Once Was by Toby Keith started. After the first round of music Lak-Non started singing. It was much clearer and sounded far better than with the odd looking instrument the other was playing.

By the time Lak-Non was done the Bar-Keep, his mate, and a number of others were standing there listening. "That is how it should sound. Much of the problem you have is the instrument is totally wrong for this type of music. As far as the lyrics it is because whoever you got them from... Well they..." He winced at a surge of pain in his temple. "They are just wrong. I can't really tell you why but they are."

The bard was staring at him with an almost slack jawed expression. "Oh god you are a master songsmith? Did you write this? Please forgive me my poor playing." Songsmiths were the song creators and bards simply learned the songs and repeated them. He could tell this human was very skilled.