Chapter 13 The Search

I left my room and went to the bar to find the barkeep cleaning a mug with a small towel.

"I was wondering If you had enough coin to exchange this gold coin for silver and some copper."

The barkeep said nothing. He was a burly guy in a nice suit. He reached his hand out. I removed a coin from my pocket and I placed it in his hand. He put the coin under the counter somewhere and began digging with both hands. I could hear coins clinking together. He brought out a small sack and handed it to me. I opened the sack to look inside. I pulled out one of the silver coins and placed it on the counter.

"Thanks."

The barkeep looked like I just insulted him. I watched him take the silver and slip it into his pocket on the chest. He went back to cleaning the mug.

I left the hotel with ease. Since Atouk already got the lay of the land himself. I figured I should do the same. I left most of the gold as well as the bracelet and pen-sword with him in the room just in case of pickpockets.

I looked up and down the streets. The quality vastly improved going up the hill. It was the opposite going downhill. There was more space to cover in the slums before me and downhill but, uphill had more guards and roaming patrols. I feel like a stranger could get reported for suspicious activity up that way. Since the slums before me were so close to where I was staying, that meant I could visit them any day. I decided to go downhill.

The path around the mountain was like a giant screw thread that grew wider the closer to the base you got. Many buildings were near the center while few were near the edge, like my hotel. At the base of the mountain was where most of the buildings were. They were all lower-class buildings. There were several blocks of buildings spreading from the base out toward the forest. My best guess was about half a mile out in a half-circle around the base of the mountain on the north, east and south sides.

After about an hour's walk, I managed to reach the bottom without incident. I looked up toward the top of the mountain and saw the western overhang. I saw what was under the overhang now. There was a circular opening into some sort of room inside the overhang. Chains were hanging down. Some sort of torture chamber?

I walked closer to the edge of the town to the southwest end. There is a large chasm directly below the hole in the overhang. The fall must be twice as long as it looks from further away. You would miss the mountain screw path entirely and go straight into the chasm if you fell.

Before I turned around, I spotted something in the forest. The edge of a building? I can't see any path going to it. A hidden location? It may be worth mentioning to Atouk.

I wandered back into the city at the base of the screw-shaped mountain. Before I start asking around and drawing attention, my first objective was to look around and listen.

I looked for landmarks and listened for names of importance, unusual locations, and conversations. I made mental notes of several locations that interested me.

For lunch, I stopped by a reasonably clean establishment. I may not need the food, but If someone started to follow me and noticed that I ate nothing, I may become a person of interest.

Eating was a camouflage for me now. It was no longer a necessity. I paid for a sandwich. It was pretty bland but tolerable.

I was ready to get up when I suddenly heard a familiar name.

"Butkis been askin strange questions 'gain. Will ee' ever leave. Erry time I sees him, I cringe."

That was reaffirming for me. He didn't just take the gold and sit on his ass.

"I saw em leavin' tha slave stables earlier. Ne'er saw em thar 'afore."

Slave stables? Not a bad place to look. He may have gone there already but he has a reputation. Maybe someone unknown can get more than someone known.

"Hey, I heard you talkin bout slave stables. Where's it at?"

"Who askin'?"

They both had grumpy faces now. I reached into my pocket and pulled out 3 coppers for each of them. I hope it's enough.

"Copper is askin."

They both grabbed the coin and pocketed it right away.

"Right o'er in thaa direction. It's a yella buildin so ye caint miss it."

The mean-looking one was the one to answer and pointed to the north.

"Thank'ee. 'Twas a pleasure."

I began my trek north.

I traveled several blocks before I found a yellow building.

"Is this it?"

I whispered to myself.

I walked into the only place that looked like an entrance. It was like a warehouse with cages. Maybe three stories tall. Some cages were covered and many live oddities were on display. Right up front were two large panthers on either side of a large countertop. They were stuffed and arranged in a frightening attack pose.

After making my new friends, this was a sorry sight.

"I don't know you."

A short angry-looking man walked around the counter from behind the left, stuffed panther.

"I don't know you either but, I know what I am looking for."

He let out a short deviant laugh.

"You know what you want, do you?"

I made sure I put on my bored face. The one that I almost always had in my homeworld. I tried to not let any sort of emotions show.

"I do. I am looking for something a bit more... rare. These displays are an excellent example of rare."

I pointed at the panther on the right.

"They aren't very lively though."

He gave the same short laugh as before.

"You don't know what you want if you be looking for something like that. Leave."

"You won't even let me browse?"

"I said leave. Be gone."

I was tempted to flash more gold but, the coin I handed out already was dangerous.

I might already be a target for theft.

"I will be back another day."

I notified the old man. He was already behind the counter again. I couldn't see him anymore.

"When you know what you want, I'll be waiting."

I left.

I searched around until it was getting close to dark. It was probably a good time to head back. It was maybe an hour walk. It would be dark before I got back.

I let out a sigh of relief when I made it back to the hotel without any problems. I entered the bar and the barkeep waved at me like he saw a good friend. I awkwardly waved back at him and continued to my room.

Atouk was awake and looking out the window.

"Anything?"

"Not really. I overheard someone talking about the owner of this hotel asking around at a slave stable. I feel like he is doing the work I asked of him."

"That's good but, what is a hotel? You mean the Butkis Brothel?"

I facepalmed in my imagination.

"This is seriously a brothel? I had no idea."

"How did you not know, It says so right on the outside of the building. I thought you came in to get girls. I was surprised when I found you alone in here."

"Har har. I can't read the language of this world. It's very different from my own."

Atouk walked up to me.

"I can teach you. There is paper and ink here, you can practice when we have extra time. Even if the Princess is in danger, we won't be able to find her if we rush things and get caught. You may even find more clues if you could read."

I walked over to the work desk and pulled out some paper. I inked up the pen and wrote out a few words.

"Do you recognize anything in what I just wrote?"

I held up the paper so that he could see.

"It just looks like scribbles to me."

"This is my name, Lake. This is the word, panther. And this last line is just numbers. 1, 2, 3 and so on, up to 10."

"That looks nothing like how it should."

"Exactly my point. It won't be a simple task. If you are willing to teach me, I will try to learn."

"Maybe we can teach each other. If I learn to read your language, we can have a secret language to write in for situations where talking would be dangerous and we can't leave clues."

"That's a good idea. Spend some time, morning and night when we swap shifts learning each other's language."

"It's a deal."

"Atouk. Before I forget, I did notice a building on the southwest side of the mountain. It was in the forest off of any path I could see. Maybe you could look into it. I would stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of the day."

"I understand. I will check there first thing tonight. Let's start our lessons tomorrow. I got a late start tonight."

"Okay, see you tomorrow morning."

He leaped out of the open window and disappeared into the dark of night. I closed the window most of the way. I left it open a crack, just in case. Since he was gone for the night, I decided a bath would be a good idea. I went into the bathroom. There were no faucets. I thought I could do it myself but I guess I need help. I went over to the tiny rope Butkis said to pull for assistance. After a minute or two, a pretty, young woman knocked on the door. She looked to be in her early to mid-twenties.

"Can I assist you, Sir guest?"

"Yeah, I was wanting to take a bath and ..."

"Say no more, I shall have some water boiled for you. In the meantime, could I get you something to drink while you wait?"

"Do you have any sweet alcohol? And a glass of water too please."

"As you wish. I shall be back shortly."

When she turned around, I could almost see up her dress. I told myself it was an accident. I was making excuses for myself, for whatever reason.

A few minutes went by and the young girl was not back yet. I began to wonder about the sweet alcohol. I never drank a lot in my old world. Only every once in a while. I had a sweet tooth though.

*Knock knock*

She was back. The burly bartender from the front brought two huge buckets of steaming hot water in and poured them into the bath. The young lady gave me a fancy glass with some green alcohol in it and a large mug with drinking water.

I flipped another silver to the bartender. I thought he would catch it but he leaned back and pulled his pocket open with his index finger. The coin went right in.

"Nice catch."

He looked upset again. I don't get this guy.

After the bartender left, the young lady said nothing. She simply stood still.

Oh crap.

I flipped that silver to the bartender right in front of her.

"Ah sorry, I almost forgot to tip you as well."

I grabbed hold of another silver.

"A tip? A tip of what? I was just waiting to help you bathe."

"Oh. Well, you did help me so I'll send something your way too."

I pulled out the silver coin and put it into her hand. She looked ecstatic at first. Then, almost sad.

"So... You would like some extra services from me? Is... is that what this is for?"

"Hmm. Actually yes. But, not right now. After I finish my bath."

I whispered into her ear. She understood and walked away.

I dipped into the bath, grabbed the bar of soap on the side, and cleaned up quite nicely. I finished the green alcohol. It was like a sour apple flavor, one of my least favorite flavors. After I got out of the now cold and dirty water, I looked into the mirror.

I think this is the first mirror I've really seen myself in for a long time. It was also the first time I had a sudden realization. While my weight changed, my hair and whiskers did not. My beard was exactly the same as it was the day I died. Freshly shaven.

I did a stupid little dance and pumped my arm in triumphant success. No more shaving. Ever!

My happiness turned to slight worry. An earthquake hit. It's one type of feeling to be on a flat area when it happens, it's another entirely when you are living on a cliff. After the quake and my excitement died down, I pulled the plug on the drain in the tub and dried off. I left the towel around my waist and pulled the rope to summon the young girl again.

I felt naughty for what I wanted her to do. I just couldn't help myself. She let herself in and said nothing. I stood up on the bed and fell down onto it. I felt kind of dumb as if I was acting like a kid.

She immediately went to work. Her hands were so soft and warm. She brought some lotion. She was so gentle but firm. It felt amazing. She worked the skin like it was hers to tame.

"You are tense, just try to relax."

She sounded a little nervous herself.

"Is this your first time doing this?"

"Yeah, It feels good though. I like how you feel. So firm."

She felt like a pro. I had this done before in the past, but it was nothing compared to this.

"Uuh."

She was really putting effort into it. It felt like something was about to pop.

"Ngh."

"I'm sorry, was I too rough?"

"Nah, that was good. Ohh yeah. Mmph"

She was going faster for a bit but decided to slow down. She got up and walked around to my other side and continued.

"Ahhh. So good."

"You like this?"

"Amazing."

She sped up again. Her breathing got more intense.

"Let me know when..."

"Just a bit more. Please."

"Okay."

She had a bit of a happy tone to her voice. I just can't believe what is happening right now. I felt a drop of sweat fall from her. I think I'm about done. Just a tad longer. I think I heard a pop.

"Oh wow. That was great."

She got much more gentle as if to say she is about to leave.

"Thanks for that."

"Did you like my service?"

"It was perfect."

She was breathing heavy still. I was beyond relaxed.

"You can go. I'm about ready to sl..."

I think I heard a voice say, "Goodnight. Call for me again." But it seems like a distant memory. By the time I was conscious enough to expect the darkness again, I heard Atouk's voice.

"What are you doing? Why do you look like that? Why are you on top of the covers?"

I must not have moved an inch after I fell asleep last night. I was tempted to look at Atouk's face but, mine was still buried in the pillow.

"Oh man, I had the most amazing back massage last night. She got some gnarly knots out. I was so relaxed I just fell asleep with the towel still around my waist. They say magic is dead in Eyse but, she has magic fingers."

"She has magic? How is this?"

"No, no. It's a saying in my world. I was just impressed with her ability to work on my back with her hands."

"Oh. Well if you want to start the language lessons, we should start sooner than later."

I wanted to grunt in annoyance. Though, I knew it would be better if I gave it a positive attitude.

"Did you feel the... What did you call it? Arth-quack, last night?"

My annoyance spiked. I stood up and walked over to the work desk and wrote a word on a piece of paper. I held it up to him.

"This is your first word. ERR THH CUU AYY CUH."

"Earthquake."

"Good job. Try to retain it."

We spent about an hour showing each other words that neither of us could recognize. We did this, morning and night, every day for about a week. After, we started doing sentences. Simple ones but, sentences nonetheless.

Atouk checked out the building that I had seen in the forest. He said it was some sort of secret bar that is only open in the dead of night.

He also told me that the earthquake caused a slide along the road down to the lower slums. Not only did a couple of buildings go down, but seven or eight were also crushed on the layer below. Multiple people died. There was enough street left on my layer to get by the gap. This meant I could still get to the bottom without trouble. I continued my searching for another week and a few days.

We were here 20 days now. Atouk woke me up that morning.

"We need to do more. We have been here for a long time. She could have been alive when we got here and died a few days later. I fear the worst the longer this search takes. Didn't Butkis say he would search for you? Has he said anything?!"

"Calm down Atouk. Getting all worked up won't help. Calmer minds prevail. I haven't heard anything from him yet."

*Knock knock*

"Lake, my good sir, are you awake yet?"

I swear I have some good karma following me. I got close to Atouk so we could whisper.

"That's him, maybe he found something. Is there somewhere you can hide?"

I did not think he could but he squeezed under the bed in the blink of an eye.

"Okay then. YES! Come in!"

Butkis let himself in.

"Lake. Have you been enjoying your stay here?"

"Yes, It has been a lovely stay thus far. I have even suggested your fine establishment to a few potential guests since I have arrived."

I think I heard Atouk let out a sigh. I kicked the bed on 'accident.'

"Are you okay? That looked painful."

He looked a bit worried for a moment.

"Oh no, I'm fine. I have thick toe bones."

He raised an eyebrow. Did he call my bluff?

"As long as you are okay. Well, I have some good news. I am not done searching but, I may have a lead. There is a special bar off the beating path. I hear that someone who frequents this place may have the information you are looking for. I am looking for this bar as hastily as I can. As of yet, to no avail."

He gave a face of defeat, then brightened up again.

"While I don't know where to go yet, I know how to get in. You need a password."

He pulled out a shimmering piece of paper.

"This paper has ink on it that is made from a WoM object. The ink changes words every so often. Supposedly it matches the password that the bar uses. While it may say one thing now, It will not say the same thing in a little while. You will need this to get in if you find the bar. I happened to get my hands on two papers so take this one just in case."

"You do good work. I appreciate you more than you know. It may seem silly to find this creature just to look at it, but it means something to me. To see it will be special for me."

"I, Sir Butkis the Third, serve those with coin most faithfully."

I gave him coin before. That line still felt ominous though.