The Blade Witch: Songs of Eldrin, Book 0.5

Chapter Five - A rose in the mud

The slums were the part of town that everyone who didn't live there liked to pretend didn't exist. The once cobbled streets had long since fallen out of repair, turning into paths of caked mud that pulled at Estra's feet with every step. She followed behind Lency, keeping a close eye on both the girl and anyone who hazarded a look in their direction. A hand resting lightly on the pommel of her sword made it clear what they would get if they tried anything.

So far, Lency had provided her with a good deal of information on the current state of Wulfdonria. Helena the Defiler and her broken pillar heretics had given up their world tour of wanton chaos and heresy spreading to return to the city nearly a year ago. Helena had quickly begun working her way to the top of the criminal underworld and once she had that firmly within her grasp she'd used bribes, blackmail, threats, and every other means at her disposal to overtake Wulfdonria's government. The only true opposition she'd met along the way had come from the city's guard captain.

Heston had proven to be a man of unshakable character, going as far as to declare the Guardsmen an independent force, solely devoted to ridding the city of its newfound corruption. They funded themselves by rounding up a protection tax from the city's citizens, by force if necessary. So far, this tactic was working for the time being, but didn't exactly put them in the good graces of the citizens. Still, the guardsmen patrolled Wulfdonria's streets night and day, making it as difficult as possible for Helena's followers to go about their tasks.

On the other hand, was the resistance. Due to some long-standing feud between the guard captain and the resistance leader, the two groups maintained a hostility towards each other that often got more violent than their disputes with the heretics.

While the guardsmen did their best to maintain order in the streets, the resistance did their best to strike back in the shadows. The small group stirred up the criminal underworld, hindering the Defiler's progress as they worked towards some goal that Estra could only guess at. She didn't have much solid information about the resistance and its motives, but if they were her fastest path to the Defiler's doorstep, then Estra was fine with stomaching her unease for a while longer.

"You sure this is the best place for us to be right now?" Estra asked, once again questioning the girl's sense of both wisdom and direction.

"Where would you rather go?" Lency asked. "No chance of us finding Brennan until night falls and staying out on the streets with the broken pillars after us would be a death sentence."

Estra avoided stepping in a pile of feces that she didn't want to guess the origins of. The girl was right of course. Whatever her experiences, she'd come away with an appreciable amount of urban survival skills that Estra was increasingly finding herself lacking in. Hunting a cult of backwoods demon worshippers was one thing, but navigating the innerworkings of a largescale city where human contact was nearly unavoidable had proven to be an area that Estra was woefully out of depth in.

"Yeah, but who's to say the people here won't just take our tokes and go right to Helena with our location?" Estra pointed out.

Lency stopped in front of a rickety building that slumped tiredly to the side, leaning on its supports as if it were more drained than the sundried beggars lining the alleyways around it. She approached a boy playing with a badly whittled toy knight on the front steps, whispering something in his ear that made him spring to his blackened feet and scurry into the home.

"The people here have suffered under Helena more than anyone," Lency said, turning back to Estra. "With all the elites of the city in her pockets, the guard captain is the only one bold enough to stand against the Defiler, but even he's made it apparent that he doesn't give a shit about the slums. Guess he doesn't see a point in guarding an area where everyone's too poor to pay the protection tax. The way I see it, that makes him just as bad as the sorceress."

"Lucky enough for us, Helena doesn't seem to find any value in the slums either," Lency said, tapping her foot impatiently as they waited. "That makes it resistance territory by default and that means the people here are more than happy to help anyone who's a friend of the resistance."

"And why is that?" Estra asked.

"Because the resistance leader is the only one helping them," Lency answered. "Last I'd heard from Pa, Brennan is trying to put a team of sorts together. A group of people who can take down the Defiler once and for all," she looked Estra up and down. "From what I've seen, I think he'd be glad to have you."

The sound of heavy footfalls ringing out on rotting wood turned the women's attention back to the doorway. A raggedy, musclebound man appeared in the doorway, wearing a torn shirt and oversized patchwork pants that half-hid the little boy hiding behind him.

"Can I help the two of you lasses?" The man asked, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of Estra.

"I hope that you can sir," Lency said, sporting her best smile. "A good friend of mine once told me that if I ever found myself in trouble I should search for a flaming rose," she paused for a moment, eyeing the small painting displayed above the entryway. "He said it's a symbol of those who support of our cause. You see, it just so happens that my friend and I find ourselves in need of a place to hold up at until nightfall..."

She trailed off, letting her meaning sink in. The man crossed his tattooed arms, ignoring Lency entirely as he entered a staring contest with Estra that the Bade Witch knew he'd lose.

A grumble from behind the man interrupted their match of wills. The three of them turned in unison to the boy who stood frowning down at his stomach. The man let out a defeated sigh, wiping a hand across his forehead.

"Fine, you can stay the night, but I've got a price," he said.

"Of course," Lency said, still smiling warmly. "What would that be?"

"Fifty tokes and nothing less," the man said, not taking as much as a moment to think it over.

"Fifty?" Estra frowned. "We could find an inn in the trader's district for nearly half the price."

"Then go stay there," the man shrugged.

Estra balled her hand into a fist, taking a step towards the man, before Lency blocked her path.

"No need for that, I actually prefer the slums," Lency said digging her hand in a deep pocket. "People here are more earnest. You're just as likely to get gouged anywhere in Wulfdonria as you are in the next," she gave the man a pointed look. "At least when someone here does it, they're doing it to feed their family, rather than to fatten their pockets." With that, she handed the man her last silver toke worth twice his asking price and received a half-smile in return.

"You'll have to share a room," the man said, motioning for them to follow him in.