Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
“What town in this disgusting kingdom doesn’t,” Nova growled. She was our baby-sitter for this foray. She was the dependable, trustworthy one who’d probably be dragging me out of the pub later and asking if I wanted to try girls. She thought pushing vagina was hilarious. Very strange sense of humor.
“We’ve seen a couple, but, yeah.” I tsked. It was a damn shame. “Well, okay. It’s been fun walking with you all. If you need me, I’ll be in a tavern down the way. Hopefully they have a juggler or singer or someone I can incite into a bar fight.”
“Don’t draw attention to yourself,” Nova warned.
I put out my hands, indicating my drab attire. “I’m wearing the equivalent of a brown sack, aren’t I? I know what I’m about.”
“You disprove that statement every time you open that mouth,” Burt mumbled.
“I know you love me, Burt, but tone it down a little, will ya? The others will get jealous.”
He frowned at me.
“I’ll go with you,” Nova told me, her hand on my arm to steer me right.
“Don’t water down my fun.”
“Do I ever?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” I groused.
“Sylvester, you’re on supplies. Have Arcadia help. Dina, Marc, you guys stick together and wander the town. Make sure no one is talking about Aurelia. We’ll meet back in the square in three hours.”
“Is that enough time?” Burt asked. “We’re supposed to be looking for Aurelia thoroughly.”
“It’s a needle in a haystack in this place.” Nova shrugged. “We can’t search inn rooms and we don’t want to raise suspicion, right? If we go back with that explanation, the alpha will have no choice but to move on. Not even Tanix will be able to scrutinize us.”
“Someone just needs to sit that wolf down and explain this situation clearly to him,” muttered Dina, a small, spry wolf who was good in a pinch. She’d been chosen over Dante for that reason. She didn’t talk to me much. I was pretty sure she thought I’d get her into trouble. Given trouble was my idea of a good time, she was probably right.
“Someone just needs to give that wolf a hug,” I said, linking my arm in Nova’s. “Time’s wasting. Where to?”
The inns were all located in one section of town, not far from one of Granny’s stalls. They positioned it in plain view, not even down a back alley or in a seedy corner. This town had no qualms about the drug trade.
We settled on an inn with a large tavern and a bad carving of a roaring lion on the sign. A few people dotted the space, filled with worn furniture on a scraped wooden floor. The little stage area in the corner was sadly bare, though it was probably too early for any sort of spectacle. At least the ale was absurdly cheap.
“Why is this place so cheap?” I asked the barman, eyeing my drink. “What’s in it?”
The barman, a grizzled old fucker with a nick taken out of his ear and more whiskers than hair on his head leaned a fat palm against the bar. “This ain’t that kind of establishment, and if you go on accusin’ me of anything more, you can see your way out of it.”
“Great, fine, awesome, good chat. But why is this place so cheap?”
The barman grabbed a cup from below the bar and spit in it before rubbing it clean. “The mayor gives the inns a stipend to make staying in town cheaper.”
I took a sip of my drink and winced a little at the bitter taste. They didn’t put much love into their craft here. “And why is that?”
“This a game of twenty questions? Drink your ale and mind your business.”
“You get a lot of repeat customers, don’t you? You have a real old-world charm.”
His eyes narrowed and I winked at him before following Nova to a table in the center of the room. The other drinkers were spread out around us, all within easy hearing distance if we were so inclined.
We were halfway into our pint when the guy behind Nova, a man with a mangy, slightly reddish beard and a gross looking glass eye, leaned back a little, getting closer to her.
“They made the beds cheap so people will come to the town,” he said in a low voice, talking to us but not facing our way.
I perked up. I loved people eager to chat. They usually had a lot of stories, knowledge, and gossip, and hardly ever a clue when to shut up about it all.
“What’s the attraction?” I asked, taking a gulp. I didn’t have much time. I needed to get happy fast.
“What else? Granny’s Delight. The mayor gives the inns a stipend so they can lower the prices. Then, in turn, they jack up the price of the snacks.”
“Why is the mayor—ah.” I nodded. I’d heard of this before. “The mayor is getting a cut.”