Wet Fire

Demands (E14)

Adair

"And that, Slim, is how I singlehandedly defeated the unstoppable Uraki in combat with nothing but a rusty butter-knife." The horseman said proudly. He had a low, gruff voice that distinguished him from the other riders. "He was out of the business for weeks! All thanks to me."

Adair couldn't see anything through his blindfold, only a deep blackness. However he could hear the voices of the people around him. Since he had stopped using his eyes, the rest of his senses had heightened. "Thats...quite an achievement." Adair honestly doubted that the horseman could even challenge a fly in a duel. Cass and Kade would each tear him to pieces. Of course, that was if they weren't tied up. Somewhere among the bandit caravan, they were riding blindfolded with a chauffeur like his own. Adair wanted to go to them and find a way to get them out of this. To protect them.

"What's your story, then Slim? Surely a prince like yourself has some good tales to tell." The man laughed, "Go on. Entertain me!"

Adair cleared his throat, "Adair! That's my name--and the earliest thing I remember is waking up on the shore--"

"No! You've already told me that, boy. Tell me a different story. I don't give a care of what it is, just say something you haven't already." He was forced to yell over the loud clopping of the horses' hooves. "Go on."

From what Kade had told him, Adair figured they were somewhere on the edge of the Pillars maybe heading north. The ground sounded hard and dry--harder than the sandy ground of the Pillars. Maybe they were in the Dustlands now.

"I don't remember anything before the shipwreck!" Adair said, annoyed. "Would you like me to tell you about the Haze again?"

"You'd better not." The man grunted. "If I hear that again, I might have to throw you off this horse and let the scorpions nest in your sandy hair. Damn grimeflower..."

Grimeflower. Why had he mentioned that? "What is grimeflower?" Adair asked.

"Oh. Well, there's a story, Slim!" The horseman cleared his throat, probably delighted to engage his captive in another long, boastful narrative. "Long before I became a nomad, or a melee fighter, I worked for a lovely lady named Haidi--a jeweler. You are probably wondering: Now how did such an athletic, witty man like Faiman stand working in a jewelry shop? My answer to that would be that I, like with many things, was quite a talented jeweler's apprentice. My nimble fingers were suited perfectly for weaving thin wires of copper and silver and brass, and I was incredibly precise with estimating the measurements of wrists, ankles, and necks." Faiman paused, as if expecting a reply out of Adair. "Now you know why those ropes around your wrists are so snug, eh Slim!"

Adair did not find that amusing, and said nothing.

The man sighed, and continued with his story, "Now for seven good years I spent my day at the jeweler, learning the trade, and by night, I was a salesman at Ki End. Now, Ki End was the safest place in Sandscape for selling illegally possessed goods. Namely, goods like grimeflower.

"Not only was grimeflower bought and sold in Ki End, but it was also used there. Traders such as I used it to wipe the memories of the the city watchmen who would wander down into the heart of the black markets where they shouldn't be lurking. We would administer it through the water pumps, as it creates a colorless tea that is indistinguishable from water. Those unfamiliar with the...business...we did down there would unknowingly use the contaminated wells, and they wouldn't remember a thing. Those who are familiar with our business know only way to be certain that the water has been drugged with grimeflower tea is to recognize its slight citrus flavor. And, of course, we know to not drink from the wells in Ki End. Its standard protocol for all salesmen of my nature.