Awoken

Mara:CH9: Take Two

The dark streets are quiet, the tall bio-luminescent trees lighting the way, guiding me along the connecting paths. I've got a couple of stops to make tonight. The first being a visit with Vanessa DuPont. Her opening hours are over, but I'm sure I can persuade her with some coin. Everyone has a price, hopefully, hers isn't too high.

Vanessa's house stands out amongst the rest, while the mostly uniformly built stone buildings are all covered in flowering vines, lines of trees separating each one with numbered obsidian letterboxes but Vanessa also has green jade gnomes and not just in the garden. They're everywhere; all varying in size with a couple sitting at four feet tall.

Hoarder much!

Knock, knock . . . knock. I tap my feet impatiently. The bitch is trying to ignore me.

"I'll make it worth your while, I only need five minutes of your time," I say through the door, trying not to shout. Her neighbours are nosey, and everyone knows Vanessa's specialty is conception and women's fertility. Rumours travel fast in a small town.

I knock again, "I'll double your rate and give you a generous tip. I'm not going to wait out here forever."

A large exasperated sigh sounds before Vanessa opens the door. Guessing I would put her at sixty years old, well when comparing her face to an ordinary. Crows feet accompany mauve coloured eyes, light brown skin splattered with sunspots. Graying blonde hair bunched together, sitting atop her head in a messy bun, the yellow daffodil in her hair matches her silk slim fit dress.

"My names Mara, I need to know if I'm pregnant."

Digging into my tight pant pocket I pull out a small black coin purse, giving Vanessa two gold. That will be enough to include a few tonics if needed.

Vanessa steps aside and ushers me into her home. I'm surprised, there are no gnomes and the hallway is rather bare, only a few abstract uterus paintings hanging on the wall. Every door we pass is closed except for the last one on the left. The room is just as bare; a tall closet, table, and chairs. I'd bet a hundred gold it's a completely different story behind the closed doors. There's probably a room full of newspapers and moldy books.

"What do-"

Vanessa places a hand against my stomach and the other on the base of my spine. It's called boundaries woman, I'm guessing you've never heard of them.

"You're not pregnant, but if that's what you really want, I can help," her hands return to her sides.

Damn it.

"Yeah fine, I need a potency, prenatal and a stimulation tonic," I grab a 20 cent silver coin, and place it on the table. All coins are double-sided, one engraved with ten symbols tied to each class of magic, the exception being casters which share a symbol, and the other side a map of the continent including the small islands mostly occupied by the water elementals.

Waiting, I watch Vanessa open the wardrobe, looking through labeled vials sitting on a shelf. The prenatal tonic is for me, the others for Wesley. He's my third stop.

"I have to go," I place the vials in my pocket, and show myself out.

"You're welcome," Vanessa calls after me.

Whatever, I paid. It's not like she did me a free favor. Why are some people so dramatic?

Having already scouted the pub and den, there were only locals. No visiting serial killers or morons were willing to blindly follow me into the woods. That's not going to stop me from reaching out again with my light, to draw in Zankou.

The bio-luminescent trees border the town, but once I enter the forest the darkness descends rapidly, the moon offering little aid amongst the night. Conjuring my light, I keep the glow low. It's probably unnecessary considering how thick the clustered trees are, but I can't take any chances of being seen from within the town.