I've been suffering a bit from writer's block while working on my third Garokh story, so I decided to write something else as a palette cleanser. While my orc barbarian is a good person at heart, the same cannot be said for this story's MC Simon. The story contains elements of noncon, mind control, betrayal and bimbofication and inflation, so if that's not your thing, it might be better to skip it. If this disclaimer does not stop you, I am, as always, thankful for criticism and commentaries.
***
An unkind person might have said that Simon was staring like the naive country bumpkin fresh out of the academy that he was, as he took in the first sights of Dragonfort. It wasn't a big city by any means. With its scarcely 3.000 inhabitants, it would hardly be called a town in the Old Empire. But here, on the Borderlands, it was the biggest civilized settlement within weeks of travel.
It had a certain rugged charm that endeared it to Simon. Its people lived only days away from the wilds and any moment, a mob of monsters might descend on the city, forcing everyone to take up arms and defend it, no matter their rank or station. That knowledge somewhat loosened the chains of social hierarchy that bound the citizens so tightly even a month's ride south of here. From his vantage point under the great arch of the city gate, he could see humans mingle with demihumans, merchants with craftsmen and lowborn laborers with nobles in a way that would be considered scandalous elsewhere.
What's more, the city had everything that Simon could have wanted from his first posting in the Adventurers' Guild. From where he stood, he could see the thane's castle towering above the rest of the city, protected and separated from the rest of Dragonfort by its own inner wall and moat. The only structure approaching it in height was the cathedral of the Holy Fire, where the local matriarch resided. From what he had read before he arrived, the castle had been erected first, built by the late lord Zertimon Abraxas I., an adventurer who had first tamed these lands about a hundred and fifty years ago. Simon had the sneaking suspicion that this had not been the guy's original name, but there was nothing in the archives to prove it. Be that as it may, the town had slowly grown around it, first as a marketplace for the surrounding farms and villages, then as a permanent structure. The market had brought wealth, and, as always, wealth had brought the Church and the Guild. Finally, the Guild had brought all the hangers on that usually came with it: a general store, a weaponsmith, a tavern and a magic shop. All in all, everything that an enterprising journeyman wizard could want if he wanted to make a name for himself.
Simon was shaken from his reverie when a tiny hand slapped him on the head with enough force to actually sting.
"Hey there, doofus. You are staring! I know you are a clueless rookie, but could you at least try not to look like a tourist? You are embarrassing us both!" His tiny companion admonished him, though her good natured tone contradicted her stern words.
Kiki, as the small woman was called, was currently riding on his shoulder and enjoying the afternoon sun. The fairy, for that was what she was, was about as tall as his forearm was long. Her blonde hair was cut short, only reaching to her neck in most places, a bit longer in others. His small companion had tried to cut it herself, using a tiny and rather dull knife. Whatever her talents were, being a hairdresser was not among them, though he had been smart enough not to say so. Her only "clothing" were two pieces of green cloth that she had found and wrapped around her bust and hips. While one of them made a passable approximation of a dress that ended slightly above her knees, the other one could barely be called a bandeau, revealing much of her generous (for her size) breasts. The rest of her was completely unclothed, revealing a nicely toned, tanned figure.
The two companions had met about two months ago, after Simon had left the academy and joined the Adventurers' Guild. He had just started the journey to Dragonfort, braving the Duskwood in the hope of shearing off a few days of the long voyage. Kiki had been caught in the web of a giant spider - a deadly opponent for a fairy, but in no way a match for a wizard, even one as green behind the ears as Simon. After he had dispatched the creature, the tiny fae had taken a liking to him and they had traveled together ever since.
"What was that?" Simon mused while rubbing his temple. "I think I got stung by gnat."
"Ha, ha. You are so incredibly funny," his small companion fumed. She really didn't appreciate jokes about her size. "If they have no free positions at the Guild, perhaps you could branch out and become a stage magician? Or even better: Get a job at one of those massage parlors. Last I heard, tall, scrawny guys are all the rage at the moment."
They continued in that vein, trading jabs while making their way towards the nearest guard. Simon didn't have any problems navigating the crowd, for while he was not scrawny, he was, in fact, very tall for a human, towering a head above most other people. This combined with his unruly shock of dark brown hair made him stand out among the citizens of Dragonfort, whose hair was mostly black or red.
With his looks, he could have been quite popular among the female half of the student body at the academy, if he had known how to make use of them. His shoulders were broad and while he did not have the corded muscles of a warrior or war priest, he liked to stay in shape. Unfortunately, when it came to interpreting the clues of the fairer sex, he was as illiterate as any northern barbarian.
When they finally reached the armored warrior, the man looked the pair up and down, sighing deeply and pointing down one of the roads branching off the plaza.
"Another pair of new adventurers. Of fucking course." His voice oozed a mixture of tiredness and scorn that told the two companions that this scene had played itself out more times than the guard could count. "Before you ask, the Guild is that way, right next to the Angry Dragon - that's the tavern, if you couldn't guess. Don't kill, don't steal, don't summon extraplanar entities within city limits without a permit. Sacrifice of sentient beings to inhabitants of the Aether is punishable by burning at the stake. If you have any other questions, please contact a clerk at city hall. It's open from dusk till dawn. If you belong to a nocturnal species...tough luck."
Inspecting Simon's wizard robes the guard added after a moment. "Oh, and before I forget: You may not put more than one pound of magically created silver or an amount equal to its worth into circulation per month. If you exceed that, you'll lose a hand. If you run out of hands...well, nobody's been that stupid. Yet."
Simon blinked a few times. "That...seems like an oddly specific regulation."
The guard shrugged. "Inflation's a bitch. And you guys always believe you're the first one who thought of summoning money to get rich."
Having said his piece, the guard obviously dismissed Simon from his mind, turning away and ignoring any further questions from the young wizard.
"They do not seem to have a very high opinion of adventurers around here, do they?" Kiki remarked. "Well, do not let that deter you! This town has surely been waiting breathlessly for a spellworker who knows all of two spells and is freshly out of his diapers," she continued sweetly.
Simon actually struggled a bit to keep up his good mood after such a reception. The fact that Kiki was not completely wrong did not help.
"I'll have you know that I am actually able to cast
three
spells," he retorted, working hard to keep the annoyance out of his voice. She did not have to know that, while he had mastered
acid arrow