“No, no. The Brotherhood of Mercenaries. They’re a reputable organization that issues contracts to warriors for coin. Riyan says they have branches throughout the Known World in every country, including the Pagan Order.”
“Huh…” Vir wasn’t aware of such an organization existing. He was realizing that he didn’t know very much at all. The words country bumpkin came to mind.
Maiya led him up the stairs, almost accidentally holding his hand as she usually did. Luckily, she stopped herself at the last minute. Vir resisted smirking at her, which prompted her to huff and stomp away. Vir followed quietly behind.
Maiya inserted a key with their room number on it into the door, then pressed her hand against the Magic Lock embedded next to it. The mechanism clicked softly and disengaged.
Inside, they found a modestly sized room with wooden floors, log walls, and a low log ceiling. Hung from the rafters were more Magic Lamps, which Vir assumed the staff kept continuously charged. Unlike the grandeur of the main hall, there weren’t a lot of adornments. Just a pair of small, clean beds, a wooden desk in a corner, and a simple chair.
Maiya threw open the glass windows on the far wall, allowing the hustle and bustle of the evening city traffic into the room.
“Well, it isn’t much, but I think it’s pretty nice!” she said, kicking off her boots and jumping onto her bed. She squealed in delight as she stretched her arms and legs, melting into the soft down mattress. “Most towns are like Brij. They don’t even have inns, so we’re pretty lucky that Saran’s big enough. They’ve got several.”
“This is pretty darn luxurious, if you ask me,” Vir said. “Beats sleeping on a sand dune, right?”
Maiya glared at him. “Anything beats sleeping on a dune, Vir.” Then she smiled, hugging the soft pillows to her chest.
“Make sure you don’t ruin your makeup again,” Vir said.
“Don’t worry! I’m not a chal. Mmm, we’ll have to be careful when we take our baths, though. Best to go late at night, when no one’s there.”
“Right,” Vir said, yawning. “Just hope I can keep my eyes open that long.”
They hadn’t slept very well in the desert, and the hard day of travel had taken its toll. He so badly wanted to explore the city, but that would have to wait until the morrow.
“By the way,” he said, looking at his blissfully smiling friend. “The Suvir family we’re using for our cover story… Who are they? Any risk of being called out using that name?”
“None,” Maiya replied. “Doesn’t exist. Made it up.”
“Uh…”
Maiya rolled to her side and looked at Vir, propping her head up on her hand. “There’s a bazillion Sawai families, Vir. Many of them are unknown, especially the low ranking ones. We’re not gonna get called out unless we run afoul of the law. So long as we don’t, we’re good.”
“Okay. So what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“I think we can afford to spend a couple of days in the city,” Maiya said. “No reason we have to do all of our shopping tomorrow. I think we can take the morning to explore, and maybe buy some stuff in the afternoon?”
Vir nodded. “Sure, sounds good to me. I’m itching to explore, too.”
“Hehe, bet you are!” Maiya said smugly. “Did you know that Saran’s got multiple districts? Riyan made me copy maps of the place until I memorized them.”
“Wait a minute… He’s got maps?” Vir said. “I distinctly remember him saying he didn’t have maps.”
“Oh yeah, he’s got loads of them. City maps, regional maps, the works.”
Vir’s lips grew taut. “That grakking chal. Of course he does.”
“Anyway, there’s the trading district, the residential district, the temple, and the harbor. The harbor’s a bit of a way from the rest of the city, though. We don’t really have much to do there, so I figure we can drop by when we’ve finished buying everything.”
“Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Definitely.” The mere thought of laying eyes on a real, actual ship filled Vir with so much anticipation, he thought he’d burst. He wanted to go visit right now, but after a fierce battle against temptation, his iron will—and his tiredness—prevailed.
Dinner was bland compared to Maiya’s usual cooking. The flatbread was stale, and the brown rice curry simply didn’t have the depth of flavor Vir was used to.
The two snuck downstairs right before the kitchen closed for the night, hoping to dodge the crowd. Even then, the hall was more than half full. Thankfully, they ate in peace. No one bothered them at their corner of the table.
After briefly returning to their room on the second floor, they headed to the baths, conveniently located just down the hall and around the corner.
Maiya breathed a sigh of relief to find the place empty, but Vir was left disappointed. “No soaking tub, huh?”
“Look at you, rich boy,” Maiya said. “Spoiled by the lap of luxury! Vir, did you forget you didn’t even have bathing facilities in your old home?”
“Of course not,” Vir said with a scowl. “How could I possibly forget that? Just… I thought this place might, being a big city and all.”
Maiya rolled her eyes. “Maybe the top tier inns do. But only aristocrats have easy access to bathing facilities, even in cities like these. And they’re expensive. Very expensive.”
“Did Riyan tell you that?”
“Nah, that’s what Dad would always say. Said we were incredibly privileged to have a bath in our house, and that I oughta be thankful.”
The bathhouse had a Magic Tap that belched hot water. Buckets and ladles lay positioned nearby, and an array of stalls with wooden doors lined the far wall.
Maiya activated the tap, filling buckets for both herself and Vir, before they went to their own stalls.
Rudvik would’ve found the stall cramped, but for someone of Vir’s stature, it was just perfect. He sat on the small wooden stool placed inside and washed his makeup off, enjoying the soothing sensation of hot water running down his head and onto his back.
The soap bar thankfully didn’t require magic to use, so he lathered himself off, cleaned up, toweled off, and changed into his spare set of clothes. He emerged from the shower a new man—clean, and blissfully sleepy.
Maiya had already finished and was waiting for him. After staying back to let a man pass through the hallway, they darted to their room, ensuring that no one saw their faces.
Vir stumbled inside and crashed onto his bed, not realizing that he’d picked the wrong one. Maiya promptly fell onto him, also asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Neither cared enough to move.
They slept well, blissfully unaware that in just a few short hours, they would face the biggest crisis of their lives yet…
32UNTIL THE END
“You can’t be serious! This is highway robbery,” Maiya exclaimed. “Ten coppers for these vegetables? You understand what’ll happen if my father finds out about this, yes? Eight is the highest I will go. Not one copper more!”
The flustered grocer bowed repeatedly, apologizing, but standing his ground. “Young ser, I assure you these are the freshest produce you’ll find in the city. If I sold these any lower, I wouldn’t turn a profit. Please, I have to put food on the table for my children. Please understand!”
“Then I suppose I shall have to do business elsewhere,” Maiya said, stowing her coin sack and turning her back to the man.
Vir quickly followed. “This doesn’t sit right. We can afford those vegetables, can’t we? It isn’t right to take advantage of people like that.”
“It’s all just an act,” she replied quietly. “Watch.”
“Young ser, I have reconsidered!” the grocer said as they began walking away. “Please, I accept your offer.”