Osa And The Orangemen Pt 05

Oh little town of Brinkham

By the time Osa reaches the village of Brinkham, the sun has set. Four cross roads divide the town in the same pattern of a children's game that she played when she was young. The first thing Osa passes as she enters the town is a corral and stables, with half a dozen horses lodged for the night. Across from that is an Inn, and connected to the Inn is a Tavern.

Osa steps into the Tavern and immediately every one stops to look as the unusual looking woman dressed in the enchanted liquid silver Zentai of an unmarried noble. Osa sits at an empty table, and a serving girl walks over to her. The serving girl runs threw a very short list of every thing that is available in the kitchen then asks, "What would you like to eat?" Osa informs her, "I have no currency to pay with, but I am very hungry." The girl calls for her mother, An older pudgy woman comes out of the kitchen and approaches Osa's table, "How can we be help to you my lady?" Osa explains to the mother her situation about being taken from her land and escaping from the castle.

It doesn't take long for the tavern to return to the normal chatter and goings on, albeit the new chatter seems to be about Osa and every body seems to be keeping one eye on her and one eye on the door. The serving girl returns with a plate with two eggs and a biscuit, and a glass of warm goats milk. After Osa finishes her meal, the serving girl collects the dish and cup and says, "follow me please, my lady." In the kitchen, the older woman asks, "What can you do to help out?" Osa says, "I can fill the water casks and the soup pots so they are ready for tomorrow." The older woman chuckles and gives Osa how to get to the well in instructions on how to use it. Osa grins, then closes her eyes and concentrates on summoning water from the well and directing it into the proper containers. In less than three minutes, both soup pots, all three large casks, and the dish washing tub are filled to the top with clean water. Impressed with the feat of magic, the older woman tells the serving girl, "Take the lady over to the Inn and tell your father that her night is paid for in the big room."

Over at the Inn, Osa is shown to an old worn cot in a large room with 29 other cots, over half of them are full with drunks from the tavern, a couple homeless people, and a few passers threw, all of whom, like Osa, can't afford a private room. Osa can't tell if its the room that stinks or the people sleeping in it, between the stench the strange noises they make and the very uncomfortable bed, it takes hours before she is able to fall asleep.

Osa wakes up as the first rays of sunlight stream across her face. She sits up and realizes she was probably the last one to sleep and she's now the first to wake. Unlike the people in her village where everybody shares there excess freely with everybody else, the people in these lands place value on every thing and use a currency systems. Osa decides she is going to need to find a way to gain some local currency in order to obtain food, but first commands her Zentai to transforms into something that looks more like what the local women are wearing, a long loose fitting dress.

After exploring the town for an hour, Osa decides to put on a show on the corner of the busiest intersection in the town. She goes to the well, fills the bucket and takes it to where she wants to preform. She wiggles her fingers and causes the water to take the form of a small dancing girl who dances across the top of the water. She does this for several hours and collects 42 small copper coins, and three apples. When she has finished, she returns the water and bucket to the well then goes to the brothel where she buys a bath and bathing girl for 7 coins, and a real dress that she can wear on top of her Zentai for 20 coins. At the tavern she pays 3 coins for the carrot and potato stew, which also has scallops, mushrooms, and bits of meat. The in keeper tells her that it is 1 coin a night to sleep in the common sleeping hall, 3 coins plus 1 additional coin for each extra night to share a room with no door on the second floor, and 5 coins plus 2 additional coins for each extra night for a private room on the third floor. She pays for the private room and still has 7 coins.

After a good nights sleep and spending 2 coins for a decent breakfast, Osa head back out to do her water dancer show. However, after 2 hours in she has only made 7 coins. Half way threw the third hour, she is approached by an older man with golden hair that is beginning to turn silver, he is dressed in a tan and white suit. He says to Osa, "My lady sorceress, I am the village master. May I besiege you with a request? I have 200 coin to offer for your service. If you are interested, please follow me to my office," and she does.

Back in his office, Osa asks, "What are the details of this job you ask of me?" The mayor explains, "I believe there is a supernatural creature of some kind that haunts in the woods. I asked the local huntsman, a man named Johnathon, to watch out for anything unusual since he is already out there killing predators that would feed on the local herds of sheep and goats, and keeping the population of other animals under control in the absence of those predators so that those don't eat the crops of the farmers. He spends most of his time in the forest but he comes into town every three days to report to me, resupply at the general store and, and bring in the carcases of those animals to the butcher. He stays his nights at the inn." The mayor opens a drawer from his desk, pulls out a small box with a lock, that he opens with a key, and hands Osa five silver coins, and explains "Each silver coin is equal to 10 copper coins, this should be enough to support you. When you finish the job, I will award you the remainder of the reward."

In Osa's exploring of the town, she took note that the butcher's shop was on the edge of town, like the stables and the inn, just on a different road across from the brothel. So Osa makes her way to the butcher's shop where she asks, "I'm looking for the huntsman named Johnathon, when is the last time you seen him?" The butcher tells her, "He was in here not long ago, I paid him for two deer, and a wild bore then he left out. Where he's off to I have no idea, but he's in town somewhere. If it were me I'd either be getting a bath at the brothel or a shave at the barber. His horses are probably at the stable."

Not wanting to chase the huntsman all over town, Osa goes back to the Inn and pays for a room on the third floor that over looks the street and stables. Even when she eats at the Tavern she sits so she can look out the window to the street. After the day fades and the dark has settled in, Osa is sitting in her room when she finally notices a rugged looking man, dressed in cloths made of deer skins, rather than the typical dingy gray and off whites of most of the townsfolk. He is accompanied by a young golden haired woman in a tan and white dress, reminiscent of the village master.

Osa commands her Zentai to stretch out in a thin line down to the room that the huntsman and his female companion are in, then she magically extends her hearing threw that line so that she can listen to what they are saying.

( kissing sounds, "oh John, I missed your smell and your touch." more kissing sounds. "Um mm... Becka, I love you so much." the sounds of cloths dropping to the floor followed but the sound of bodies dropping onto the bed and more kissing. "I want you in me." )

Osa stops listening and recalls the tendril from her Zentai. She undresses, commands her Zentai to pour off of her body and into an empty wash basin on the small stand in her room, then lays down to sleep, figuring that she will be awake before the huntsman.

In the morning, while Osa is eating breakfast, the huntsman enters the Tavern alone. Osa guesses that the mayor's daughter must have returned to her family home in the middle of the night. After he places his order with the tavern girl, Osa gets up from her table and sits at his table, across from him. She says to him, "Johnathon the huntsman, I am Osa the mystic. I was hired by the mayor to investigate rumours of a unusual creature that lives in the woods. He said that I should ask you for assistance." He looks at her and says, "Well, here is what you can tell the mayor, there is nothing out there, it's all just superstition and old wives tails. Now your investigation is done, you can leave me alone." Osa narrows her eyes and asks, "Judging by the way she was sneaking about, I am going to guess the mayor does not know you are bedding his daughter, Becka, and you would probably like it to stay that way." Johnathon stops eating and looks Osa in the eye with the glare of death, Osa doesn't flinch, "Fine," he continues eating, "You will need a survival pack and proper riding cloths. I assume you have a horse?" "I have coins to get what I need." "Fine, pay for my food, and meet me at the general store." he gets up and walks out. Osa put 2 coins on the table and follows him.