Dralin

Chapter 16

Uncle Bobbell wasn’t well liked in the Guard.  He was quieter than most and tended towards sullenness.  It didn’t stop him from being one of Pelya’s favorite people though.  Bobbell was one of those individuals who was destined to be a private all his life and preferred it that way.  He did the job well, but not enough that someone would notice him for a promotion.  His personality was such that nobody really wanted to be around him if they could avoid it.

He was only five foot seven, a couple of inches taller than Pelya.  His thin mustache and goatee were black like his oily hair and he had a grin that rose a little higher on the right side of his face below a cheek that jumped with an involuntary tic now and then.

Frath and Bobbell had both been raised in Dralin’s miserable orphanages and entered the Guard’s Program for Criminal Youths.  They developed a strong friendship despite being completely different in just about every way.  They were no longer in the same squad, but kept the friendship.  Bobbell belonged to a squad that handled law enforcement among wizards.  It was by far the most dangerous job in the City Guard because the wizards of Dralin tended not to obey many laws.  The fact that wizards in Dralin tended to be especially powerful and crafty compounded that problem.

“What shall we do today, my little viper?” Bobbell asked Pelya in a voice that sounded like a tiny hammer tapping a sheet of metal.  It was early morning, two days after Pelya had come back to the barracks from Lady Pallon’s estate.  They sat on a bench outside a small café a distance east of the Guard District, eating fruity pastries to start out their morning.

“Why do you call me your little viper, Uncle Bobbell?” Pelya asked out of curiosity.  He had done so ever since she could remember.

“Because you’re quick as a snake, just as deadly and nobody notices you until they’re right on top of you,” he answered with a grin that twisted the right side of his mouth upward more than usual.  “You didn’t answer the question,” he pointed out.  “What do you want to do?”

Pelya leaned in and whispered, “I was hoping you’d teach me more about picking advanced locks.”

“Hush.  Let’s do something else.  You already know almost as much as me.”  He stuck his tongue out at her

She returned the gesture.  “Fine.  I want to go to Wizard’s Mall.”  Pelya knew he would never take her there, but she wanted to go anyway.  Wizard’s Mall District contained shops with just about every single type of magical item possible including the rarest artifacts in the world.  As with everything in Dralin, it was dangerous.  The streets were crowded and curvy and there were endless alleyways, making it easy to get lost.  In Dralin, people who got lost generally stayed that way.

Amazingly, Bobbell didn’t say no right away.  Instead, he stared into the distance, the tic in his cheek working double time.  The sky was clear and the air was cool from overnight thunderstorms that had washed the streets clean.  Birds sang in the branches of green trees that lined the street.  The Blossom District was a large residential area with nice houses, quite a few parks and gardens, and a relatively low crime rate considering it was in Dralin.  In any other city, the rate would be appalling.

“You have to stay by my side the entire time.  If you go off on your own, I’ll bend you over my knee and paddle your butt no matter who your father is.  Are we clear?” he asked seriously.

“Yes, Uncle Bobbell.  I know to stay with you at all times,” Pelya said immediately and earnestly.  There was no way she would disobey.  She couldn’t believe he might actually take her.

“Unless I fall.  Remember, the code of the Guard requires at least one person to report.  If a unit is ambushed, one member must always report,” Bobbell recited.  It was a Guard policy that someone must remain alive to report the death of comrades.  They had to drill it into each and every member because most had a natural instinct to fight to the death.