Half Magic | Book 2

One: Sulls

I am Wren.

Witch.

Elf.

Bonded to Schula.

Daughter of Bryn.

And I was hot.

The sun had been down for maybe an hour, but it wasn't enough time to cool off the desert yet. Despite the winter we left behind in the mountains, the desert was always hot no matter what time of year it was. The Sulls air was boiling, and it didn't help that I had to remain in my cloak. Unlike Nassir and Schula, who could glamour and pass as human, elves had no such abilities and I had to hide my ears and any unusual features that might give away my secret.

The humans, I was reminded on our trip here, didn't take too well to the things of the Wyldes. I nearly gave a traveling merchant a heart attack, just by showing my face on the road. I've been in the cloak ever since.

Puko seemed somewhat familiar with the trip we made so far, but despite our prodding he wouldn't lead us anywhere. I thought maybe he would know where the witches went, but if he did he wasn't saying. Every time I asked, he looked at me with that white eye and gurgled out a strange croak. It sent shivers down my spine, and eventually I stopped asking.

We had been in Sulls for a couple weeks now. The brown clay dome-shaped buildings that Sulls was known for did a decent job at keeping cool in the sun, and they held up to the occasional sandstorm that swept through.

We weren't staying in the best part of the city, but we weren't particularly worried about danger from any humans. The few valuables we had we kept on us when we left, but the location was good for our pockets and good for picking up information. Particularly since I was the only one with human currency. Very few places, no places of good reputation certainly, were willing to exchange the gold from the Wyldes that Eberon had sent with us.

But tonight was different. Tonight we were hopeful on a lead for information.

I pulled my cloak down a little more as we all entered a public eating house, except for Puko who usually stayed in the room or took to the skies. Schula and Nassir went in first. Schula's pale skin wasn't white in her glamour, but it still stood out enough to earn a few glances. Nassir fit right in, even before glamouring he was all the same brownish tones as someone from the mountains I grew up in. After glamouring, I would hardly recognize him among any other human in Sulls. He had even worked enough with his strengthened magic to be able to walk without help, but he still held Schula's arm when the humans were around to avoid suspicion.

We sat at a table against the wall and I spread the cloak off my body as much as I could while still keeping the hood over my face. Even in here, it was hot.

"What can I bring you, travelers?" A pock-faced girl asked with a cheery smile as she came up to the table.

"Three ciders and three specials," Nassir said with a grin.

I had coached him and Schula before bringing them into any of the public spaces of Sulls. They knew enough to order the most inconspicuous meals and act the part of passing through the city with no trouble. We let Nassir do the talking, because frankly he fit in the best, even with his blind eyes.

When the girl turned away with a nod, Schula and I looked to Nassir.

"This is the place?" Schula asked. "I don't see a stage."

I shook my head. "The storytellers here don't sit in one place. They make a show of it, walk around. If this eating house has a storyteller we won't see them until they begin."

"It is this one," Nassir said. "The woman I talked to said this house had the most fantastical tales to tell. It is at least better than the others we have tried so far."