Ria floated in front of Kashka's face in the tent's main room.
"What. The. Hell," the little sprite seethed. She was so furious parts of her body faded in and out. "I listened to you whine about 'from slavery into slavery,' yet when Kal releases you, you throw yourself back into it!"
Kashka lifted her chin and pursed her lips before answering, "I was not taken as a child and forced into this. Serving Kal is my choice and ends when I have repaid my debt to him. It's the honorable thing to do."
"You were an assassin up until two days ago. Where was your honor when slaughtering your targets?"
Kashka winced at the avatar's harsh words.
"Peace, Ria," said Kal from where he sat on the floor with his morning meal. "I'm sure she—"
"No, Master. Thank you, but I think she deserves an answer," said the cat-girl. She walked into her room for a moment and returned holding her belt. Pulling the dagger from its sheath, she held it up in front of the avatar. "How much honor does this have?"
"The dagger? It can't think. It doesn't have any," Ria replied.
"Exactly, and until two days ago, this was me. I had to be a weapon, without honor, soul, or remorse. I didn't think, I acted, much like this dagger in my hand. I did what I needed to survive. Too much thinking was... bad for me."
"From now on, you refer to me by my name, not 'Master,'" said Kal as he stood up. "How could too much thinking be bad for you?"
"When Bozun took the job to kill you, I got excited. I actually looked forward to a challenge since most of my assignments were easy." Kashka looked away, "I saw that my thoughts were turning dark that night and tried to just... stop thinking about anything."
"Your assignments were easy?" asked Ria.
"I don't miss," said the cat-girl. "It's easy to kill someone when you can throw a poisoned dart from two buildings over and be out of sight before it strikes the target. The thought of going against a mage with spells and protections was an interesting challenge, one I was looking forward to." She blushed slightly, "Things didn't turn out as I expected, but I can't say I'm complaining." The slight smile creeping onto Kashka's face vanished when she glanced over at Kal. His expression was cold as steel.
"Who hired you to kill me?" he asked. The question had been eating at the mage since yesterday.
"A—A Knight of the Lion," the cat-girl stammered under the intensity of Kal's stare, "young, maybe a few years older than you. I can't remember his name, but he said he fought you."
The mage cursed under his breath.
"The only knight you've fought is Galen," said Ria.
"I didn't think his hatred of me went this far," Kal replied.
Kashka shook her head, "It wasn't you but one of your lovers he really hated. Galen made it sound like she passed away."
"She did... kind of. I'll explain once we are traveling again," said the mage upon seeing Kashka's confused expression. "I want to check on Shakri and her family before we leave." He looked at the belt in the cat-girl's hand. "Ria, Kashka is now one of my party. Kashka, ask Ria to store your belt."
"Put it on first," the sprite told her. "If you hold very still, I can put it on you when you ask for it back."
Nodding, the cat donned the belt and was buckling it as a sharp pain ran through her. She fumbled with the buckle in her haste. Once it was secured, she looked wide-eyed at the avatar and said, "Riastoremybelt," the words spewing out in her rush to follow Kal's command.
After watching the brief scene, Kal stormed over to his room's door and summoned his cloak to his hand. Throwing it over his shoulders, he stomped toward the door while grumbling in frustration over the collar punishing Kashka. "It's time to go," he barked at the women. Kashka darted into her room, running back out a moment later affixing the clasp of her tan cloak.
Outside the tent, the cat-girl spent the next minute watching in wonder as the canvas shelter collapsed and folded up into a hand-sized square that Kal rolled up and dropped into Ria's bag. The sprite disappeared afterward, but not before informing Kal that he could kindly go fuck himself until he got Bozun's dead body out of her.
A few rooms down from the mage's, they stopped to bid Shakri farewell. The waitress was extremely disappointed to see Kal leaving and wished he could stay longer. She wanted to show her full appreciation for saving her son and sister. Understandably, that wasn't an option last night as her family needed her more. The mage did promise to visit the next time he came through the city on his travels. He didn't have the heart to tell her he hoped never to set foot in Fazal again.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he took a moment to imagine Ikuno's reaction upon learning of his fling with the woman. He stifled a groan, knowing the oni would want to see his cock sliding in and out of the dark-skinned server firsthand. Though denied another night of passion with the mage, Shakri did get in a very heated kiss that earned the pair some hoots and catcalls from her recovering sister.
Out on the street, Kal flagged down a cow-girl pulling a two-person rickshaw. Scooting over to make room For Kashka, he looked back to find her shaking her head at him.
"I'll run behind," she said quietly. "Only human slaves are allowed to ride with their masters."
"Then it's a good thing you are a servant and not a slave. Get in," he ordered. Looking up, he smiled at the cow-girl who was watching and listening to the exchange with interest.
It occurred to him that if he ever needed eyes and ears in Fazal, the cow-girls would be a fantastic place to start. If he upgraded the stables to make them more comfortable and tried to get more palatable men to take care of their physical needs, it might work. Of course, that meant he would need to purchase the women first. Kal shook his head, chasing away the thought. Why would he need a spy network in Fazal?
"Do you want me to get in or not?" asked Kashka, freezing in place a moment before sitting down while wondering why he was shaking his head at her.
"Random thought. Yes, get in."
Once the cat-girl was seated, the rickshaw driver leaned into her harness to get them going.
The trip was blissfully short compared to Kal's walk to the inn on his first day in Fazal. He had the cow-girl pull into a secluded spot just before the large open area in front of the eastern gate. News of his antics must have gotten around as there was no hesitation and excitement in her eyes when he asked her to open her mouth. Ria gave her one of Ikuno's "treats" as thanks before making their way to Toba's stall. After her passengers left, the bovine woman stood there savoring the flavor until jolted by her collar. Keeping her mouth tightly closed, she moved out onto the main road in search of another fare. Even then, the look on her face was euphoric.
The market by the eastern gate was nearly the size of the grand bazaar. Unlike the vast trading center in the middle of the city, the merchants here kept to the perimeter. The central area remained clear for staging the large caravans crossing the desert. Even now, palace officials were checking the camel trains. Some used magic, while others performed a physical inspection. Once everything was to the officials' liking and any tariffs paid, they were sent out the gate.
The constant movement of animals kicked up a horrendous amount of dust. Kal could feel some of the grit getting past the magic of his topaz brooch and into his mouth. He risked pushing a tiny amount of magic into the bauble and the dust clinging to him dropped to the ground.
A small herd of camels stood off to one side, their handlers going animal by animal and making sure each was healthy enough for the coming journey. Kal resisted his curiosity to strike up a conversation and discover how the hump-backed animals differed from horses. That was probably information he could learn while crossing the desert and he had more pressing concerns at the moment.
A group of destitute and downtrodden Fazalans shuffled around near the camels. The air of depression surrounding them prevented others from approaching, and the people shopping in the surrounding market ignored their existence. Considering the constant noise and bright colors all around, the group seemed woefully out of place with their ratty clothing and sad faces.
As Kal and Kashka approached the rotund and garishly clothed Toba, Kashka tugged on his arm. "Kal, that was the man who reported you to Bozun."
"How do you know?"
"Because I delivered his finder's fee."
Kal felt his anger rising but quickly pushed it back down. "I've already paid the man, and I doubt he's the type for giving refunds. I may discuss his actions with him when I come back this way, but I have nothing to gain by it now. Thank you for telling me."
If the Caravan Master was surprised to see Kal, it didn't show in his face as the mage stepped under the sizeable yellow tent's awning where Toba conducted business. During their brief conversation, the Caravan Master informed them the returning caravan had not arrived yet, and he would need to come back after midday. The mage already didn't like the man, and after Kashka's revelation, Toba's voice grated on his nerves. Kal did his best not to stomp away.
The cat-girl followed close behind as the mage made his way to one of the jewelry shops in the ring of stalls surrounding them. Picking out a golden necklace, he held it up in front of Kashka's neck.
