The first days travel was wholly uneventful. We stopped to rest the equinininys mid morn; some people had brought snacks to eat while others including us took the air.
My mistress declared that eating was bad for the digestion when one was thrown around on the track, which had turned to bare earth outside of the town.
We stopped at an inn at lunch time to change equinininys, and allow us to eat a filling meal. Mid afternoon we rested again, pulling in to the night stop with a full sun above the horizon.
We were to have a room in the women's wing, a peculiarity of the travel stations, used by a goodly number of travellers a night.
There was a communal bath room at one end and jugs of hot water; I saw some sights there as Sissy made me scrub her back.
I slept on the cote provided, much to Sissy's surprise, my bum ached from the road and it took me awhile settling.
After an eggs, bacon and sausage breakfast we were on the road, and another day passed much the same as the first.
The final night was the same, excepting that the landlady supervising was a real harridan. When I dropped the pot she gave me a stroke across my ass with a cane, to hurry me up, as I cleaned the shards. Sissy held her nose tight to stop herself laughing; truth is, I had the last laugh, turning rigid my pinafore to absorb the blow.
"Tif we are here," she exclaimed, as we alighted the next day around mid morn.
'So far so good', I thought. Perhaps I was being overcautious. But, being in disguise felt more comfortable despite the hard work it entailed. It was a real adventure; given that we had experience no real danger so far, it had been a remarkable journey. What new circumstances would we find here?
We wandered, away from the milling crowd at the coach station, and I began looking for a quiet corner to change out of our disguise.
Yipell was an old port city grown large; it was in a great crater, about a mile and a half in radius. There was a central island, occupied these three generations of kings, by a magnificent palace built around a central mound of hot springs. There was a breach in the rim wall that allowed access to the sea, creating the perfect harbour. The dock had built out around the entire shore line, and it held ships both grand and small, private and commercial. There had been attempts to build a bridge to span the two hundred yard gap, which was the entrance to the port, with bridges replacing attempt after attempt of late.
With its monopoly on overseas trade to the eastward isles, and to the great southern continent, the city was the funnel to all these strange lands. It generated such profit for its merchants that it was the dominant kingdom by means of its wealth, amongst all the kingdoms of our lands. All that was important came from or to here.
Up on the wall facing the entrance was the old palace, now the base of the grand council of wizards. Scattered left and right were the generations of buildings with the larger dwelling tending to the top of the gentle slope of the rim.
There are all sorts of fables and tales of, and, about it.
We dumped the costume in the gloom of a deep passageway, assuming our normal visage, and the clothes of a country townie.
Accommodation and rest were the first order. I enquired of the seamen of a comfortable inn at reasonable rates and was directed to one along the docks.
The 'House of the Rising Sun' was an old slate roofed stone walled corner building, with the wooden bat wing door giving entrance, set on the corner itself.
As we entered there was a bar to the left and an eating area right. Modern iron steps replaced old wooden stairs along the outer wall, with new windows set incongruously in old walls.
"Good day to you sir. We are enquiring for a room."
He looked at us. "Sharing?"
"We are brother and sister, and know and tolerate each other well. Besides it saves us funds."
"Room with a view?"
"Room at the back."
"That will be nine coppers a night."
I paid over a silver and took the penny change.
Our room was well proportioned, with a generous double bed. We both lay on the bed, clothes off, just resting.
"Let's get some real clothes, merchant quality, something with comfort built in?"
"And a pretty dress for me to wear here."
"To match the stockings," I said smiling.
She clapped her hands.
Asking where we might find a market, the receptionist told us of the best one in the third ring.
We strolled up the slight incline past offices and warehouses. The third cross street had the low end shops, pubs and a variety of stalls, the fourth was a better class, the fifth was where we reassumed the guise of gentlemen to purchase a dress for her.
She took a long time and three shops before she found the perfect thing. I was thoroughly bored by this time, and didn't examine the final garment before it was neatly packaged, with even a fancy bow. We picked out fine linen shirts and cotton clothes as well as undergarments. With hers done mine took no time at all, we got the shoes, shirt, coat trousers, underclothes and accessories all in the first tailors I came to.
We took our parcels home, washing and changing into the new clothes in the safety of the room. We then went down to eat.
The looks at our improved status said 'dressing up to impress', and turned heads here in this dockside inn as we sat for our meal.
We then took a turn around the upper streets with the grand houses, clubs, theatres and the like. There were restaurants from the other lands with strange smells, and corner stands selling snacks, of which we sampled more than a few.
In the courtyard of one of the houses, at the end of the commercial district, we came across a small casino. Card games under shaded tables, a roulette wheel under a canopy. We wandered in for a look round. At the back was a small bar.
"Would you like a glass of wine?" I asked.
"Yes," came the reply, "why not."
I went to the bar and purchased a bottle of wine, and a plate of small savoury fancies. We retired to a table shaded by the wall.
Sissy pulled our chairs together and leaned to my side; making a game of guessing the professions of those we observed gambling. It was refreshing just idling the time away, no rush to go anywhere or do anything.
Finally with the sun setting, and the gas lamps being lit, we headed back.
Making a guess where our inn was situated, I tried to take a shortcut down one of the alleyways. It was just as well I had magical powers or our venture might have ended there.
As we walked the darkening path, two villains emerged from the shadows in front of us. Sissy, who had her arm loosely linked through mine drew closer to me and cast a wary look behind.
"There are three more behind us."
"It's ok Sissy, don't worry, they won't be expecting magic .... Do you want to have a little fun with them?"
The two in front were now only ten paces away, so I steered Sissy to the garden wall, where I stood with her behind my back. We must have looked easy marks for they continued sauntering, steering a path straight for us. I waited, wanting all five in front of me before I acted.
"What shall I do with them?" I asked over my shoulder.
"I don't know, what can you do?"
The centre of the three from behind pulled out a long knife and pointed it at us. I looked around at the group surrounding us, then inspired I focused on their footwear. I made the soles burning hot. They started hopping about and screeching.
"There I've made them dance for you."
She was beginning to laugh loudly as they sat and tried to pull their boots off, but they were too hot for their hands as well. I let the heat go, and seized on the knife, making it dance as well. Then I brought it off the ground and started it swooping on them, like an angry bird.
Trapped on the ground they were rolling left and right trying to avoid it. Sissy now had to lean on me she was laughing so much. Letting the knife drop to the floor I scrunched them together and lifted them into the air.
