City in the Swamp

“Welcome to Wayfaire!” said the scruffy-looking man standing atop the wall. Though calling it a wall was being generous. It looked more like a mish-mashed pile of bricks and wood. The man scrambled off of said wall, meeting us down at the gates to the city. Like the rest of the place, the gates weren’t proper gates at all; they were merely a wrought-iron set of doors set in place in an opening in the wall. Dour men in mud-stained clothing guarded the gate, each of them armed with a heavy crossbow and sword.

“Welcome, gentlemen, welcome!” the man continued to say as we passed through the gates. Up on the wall, he looked normal-sized, but down on the ground, I could see that he was quite short. He couldn’t have been more than five feet tall. But he was a well-built short guy, with muscles almost ripping out of his simple shirt and breeches. He also had a scraggly black beard, one that covered most of his face and half of his chest. He was armed with two vicious-looking hatchets, one strapped to each side of his hip.

“You the welcoming committee?” I asked.

“Something like that,” the short man said. “I’m Brogund. I’m in charge of the city guard, who are, in turn, charged with keeping the peace.”

I nodded in understanding. “Looksh like you boys been busy,” I said, pointing to the tree and all the corpses hanging from it.

“Well, this town’s got a reputation, you see,” Brogund explained. “A history. A lot of people think that because of that history, they can just come into this town and cause as much trouble as they want. That there,” he indicated the tree with his chin, “is to dissuade them of such false notions.”

Lee chuckled. “That’s certainly one hell of a warning.”

The short lawman nodded. “Serves its purpose. Now, how about you gentlemen? What’s your purpose in entering our town?”

“Business,” I told him. “Lookin’ for some jobsh.” It was true, to a point. I couldn’t very well tell him my ultimate goal was to find a way back into Heaven. Besides, after losing so much money in the river incident, I definitely needed to get more funds.

Brogund looked me up and down. “Well, someone of your stature is sure to find no shortage of work. Your friend, too.”

I snorted. “I’m shurprised you’re letting me in with so little fuss. All the towns to the south threw fits when I wanted to get in.”

The short man smiled. “Well, Wayfaire’s different. We ain’t got ties to nobody. Not the Empire, not the Association, not Tamrun, and certainly not Wargul. We’re probably the only fully independent town in the whole of the continent. Our history makes us more… openly hospitable to people of different persuasions. Besides, we’re in your kind’s territory. It’s in our best interest to play nice with the lizardfolk.”

I nodded. “Makesh sense.”

“You’ll find plenty of your kind here,” Brogund continued. “They’re mostly fugitives and runaways, but they’ve settled in nicely. All except for the trouble makers, of course.” He glanced up at the tree again.

“Well, you’ve certainly sold us on the place, Sherriff,” Lee said. “I almost feel like stayin’ permanently.”

“Please don’t call me sheriff,” Brogund said. “We don’t go by titles around here.”

“Ah,” Lee rubbed his chin, his grin wide. “Gotcha.”

Just as we were about to leave the short man’s company, Brogund called out to us once again. “Oh! If you’re gonna look for work, I suggest heading down to the Tawdry Maid. It’s a pub, but also where the Wayfaire Adventuring Guild works out of.”

“The what?” I asked.

“Adventuring Guild. It’s where folk post up jobs that they need people in your line of work for.”

“I shee.” I really didn’t. Not unless people are posting up notices for bank robbers and hired killers, I very much doubt they were looking for people in my “line of work.”

Lee and I bid farewell to the not-sheriff, then made our way deeper into the ramshackle town. Despite the heat, there were many people busy in the streets. Most were human, with the occasional short, bearded folk that were the same race as Brogund. Surprisingly, there were also a fair number of lizardmen around as well. It was strange seeing these green, sharp-toothed monsters going about their business among regular people, but then again I guess that was a good thing for me.

There was a small, two-story hotel named the Ivory near the entrance gates. Lee and I booked ourselves a room each; the price for the room was 50 copper a night, which sounded fine to me. I paid an advance of seven nights for my room since it looked like we’d be staying in Wayfaire for a decent time.

“So, what’s the plan, partner?” Lee asked after we settled into each of our rooms.

“Jobsh,” I said while sitting on the bed, testing the mattress. Hard as a rock, ugh. “I wanna shee what that Adventuring Guild is about. We losht a lot of money and gear crossing that damn river. I wanna make sure we ain’t gonna run out of it shoon.”

“Sounds good,” Lee grinned. “While you’re doin’ that, I’ll go run some errands of my own. I lost a lot of necessities that I need to replace.”

“You don’t wanna shee what jobs they have?”

He shrugged. “I’ll leave that up to you. I’m up for whatever.” With that, he waved goodbye and left.

I left not too soon after him and headed for the Tawdry Maid pub, the place the Adventuring Guild apparently operated out of. It wasn’t hard to find since it was one of the larger buildings in the town. It was a full four stories high and took up an entire block. There were also armed guards watching the entrance, which was strange for a saloon. The two armored men didn’t stop me from entering, only giving me a cursory glance when I stepped through the doors.

Inside the building was the saloon, which took up a large open space right by the entrance. Numerous tables and chairs took up most of the space, and a bar serving drinks was located in the back. There were dozens of patrons in the establishment right now, either seated drinking or milling around, most of whom turned their attention to me as soon as I entered.

Any lesser man would have shrunk back at the unified scrutiny; I merely returned it, looking over the crowd with my golden eyes narrowed, checking the room to see if any of these low lives were worth a damn.

The vast majority of the people in the room were an uninteresting bunch. Just the same sword-wielding, dime a dozen adventuring types that I’ve seen since coming here. What surprised me was that there were women among them; quite a lot. They weren’t whores or waitresses, either, but patrons. In the living world, any woman of worth wouldn’t be caught dead inside a saloon. But then this was Hell, after all. I doubt any woman that wound up down here would be the fair maiden type.

One of the patrons caught my eye though, and I instantly pegged him as dangerous. He was seated in the back sipping on a mug of ale. His face was scarred to hell, with several slashes criss-crossing his forehead and cheeks as well as a heavy gash on his chin. He had unruly black hair with thick mutton chops framing his scarred face. His most stand out feature was the armor he wore. Colored blood red, it was made of heavy plate that looked to weigh a ton. The fact that his large body could move around at all in this heat with all that gear was a testament to his monstrous vitality.

The man had given me the stink eye when I came in, but was now currently averting his gaze and concentrating on his drink. Smart man.

I made my way to the bar and signaled to the tender to get me a drink. “A glass of whiskey.”

“A what?” The man asked, confused.

Jesus, they didn’t have whiskey here? This really was Hell.

“Just give me a mug of the good stuff,” I grumbled.

The barkeep nodded, then poured me a mug of some brown liquid. I downed a bit and had to force myself not to choke; it tasted like hot piss.

“We don’t see much of your kind around here,” the barkeep said. “Usually the lizards keep to themselves up in the north end.”

“With the piss you’re serving, I don’t blame them,” I muttered. Out loud, I said, “I ain’t like most lizardsh.”

“I can see that,” the man replied. “What brings you to Wayfaire, anyhow?”

“I’m looking for a job,” I told him.

The man smiled. “Well, you’re in luck, friend. There’s plenty of jobs for adventuring types here. You a member of the Guild?”

“Do I have to be?”

“Nah, anyone can take jobs, member or not,” he said. “The Guild just takes a bigger cut of the rewards, though.”

“I shee.” I took another sip of the drink. Ugh.

“If you wanna take a look at the jobs, just go over to that signboard,” the barkeep pointed to a large, framed notice board where various sheets of parchment were stuck to.

“I think I will,” I placed five copper on the bar next to my half-finished drink, then stood up and headed for the signboard. I read through the various notices, seeing all manner of requests from killing simple rats all the way to assisting the guards in apprehending some outlaws. After a few moments, I finally settled on one of the notices. It was a request to go search a nearby ruin to bring back some archeological equipment. Apparently, some scholars went to study the ruins only to find out that it was a nest for a tribe of troglodytes. The scholars had managed to flee but left behind some of their expensive equipment. They were asking for adventures to go retrieve them.

The job sounded simple enough. And the listed reward was three hundred silver. That’s 150 silver shared by Lee and me. Now, I didn’t know what a troglodyte was, but it didn’t sound too mean. I doubt it’s something me and my six-shooter couldn’t handle. I ripped the notice sheet off of the board, then headed back to the bar.

“I’ll take thish job,” I told the barkeep, showing him the paper.

He read over it, then nodded. “Alright then, sounds good. Just bring the lost equipment back here and you’ll get your payment.”

“Understood.” With that, I left the pub and made my way back outside. The hot, humid air met me as I stepped out from the much cooler shade from inside the building.

“Excuse me!” I heard a voice shout from behind me just as I was walking away. “You! The lizardman!”

I turned around and saw a devastatingly beautiful woman walk out of the Tawdry Maid. She was a brunette wearing tight leather pants and a billowy purple shirt. She crossed the way between us with a confident stride, her hips swaying quite noticeably. As she drew closer, I saw that she was wearing an eyepatch over her right eye. The left one shone brightly, a green so deep it seemed to draw you into it.

“You talking to me, lady?” I asked.

“Yes, indeed.” Once she reached me, the woman flashed a brilliant smile. “Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Marienne Voss, adventurer.” She reached out her hand in greeting; I took her dainty fingers in my large, clawed grip and gently shook it.

“Nero,” I said simply.

“Pleasure to meet you, Nero,” she said after the handshake.

As easy on the eyes as this broad was, I still eyed her warily. Women this gorgeous usually wanted something from men like me. And they can be just as vicious as any gunman in order to get what they wanted.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Ah, straight to the point. I like that.” She gave me another smile. “I overheard you and the barkeeper in the Tawdry Maid talking. It seems that you have accepted the quest to deliver the archeological supplies back to their wayward owners.”

I nodded. “What of it?”

“Well, I was wondering if you would allow me to accompany you? I have my own business at those ruins, and it would be much safer to travel with someone else.”

“I already have a partner.”

“Oh. Well, then. Three would be best of all. I hear troglodytes can be quite fierce, and there will be a number of them at the ruin site. If you’re worried about having to watch over me, fear not. I can handle myself very well.”

“Humph,” I mumbled. I eyed her up and down, noting her thin limbs and lack of weaponry. “What could you possibly do?”

She didn’t take offense to my skeptical tone; instead, she smiled. “See that piece of refuse over there?” She pointed at a discarded boot with numerous holes in it which was lying in the street some yards from us.

I nodded.

Marienne waited until all passers-by had moved away, then raised her hand towards the boot. “Za!” She shouted, and a thin bolt of lightning flared out of her hand and hit the boot. The leather instantly caught on fire.

She was a magician! If she can cast spells as destructive as Tycho’s, then the job would definitely go a whole lot easier.

“Fine, you can come,” I told her. “But you don’t get a cut of the reward money.”

“Of course,” She said with an innocent smile. “I have no interest in the quest itself. I merely have business in the ruin to take care of.”

Marienne and I roughed out a few more details of our temporary partnership, before leaving each other’s company with an understanding to meet at the city’s front gates at 6:00 am the next morning. That was when she, Lee and I would begin heading out for the swamp ruin.

I was walking through the streets of Wayfaire on the way to an alchemist to buy some gunpowder ingredients when a nearby building caught my eye. It was one of the nicer structures in town, one that was well maintained, with its white paint unchipped and its tall steeple still straight.

“Hey,” I said to a man passing by on the street. “What building is that?” I pointed to the white structure.

“Oh, that’s the church,” he told me. “For the worshippers of Rekorim.”

I nodded and thanked the man. I then continued to stand there, staring at the building. A chill went down my spine.

On the front of the building, right over the twin doors that were the entrance into the church, was a steel sign. It was shaped in a stylized “V” symbol; the same one that was on the back of my left hand.

It was the same symbol that deranged captain of the slave ship had shown his crew. The mark of Rekorim, so-called god of the humans. I didn’t know very much about him. Was he a demon? Perhaps he was the devil himself.

Whatever. I needed to learn more about this religion, and why exactly I feel the shakes whenever I see its symbol. I also needed to know what the symbol being on my hand meant. According to the captain, it meant I was marked by his god and chosen. Chosen for what, exactly?

I shook my head, clearing it of such thoughts. Right now I needed to focus on tomorrow and get some sleep.

I looked back up at the church’s symbol, staring at the thick and curving shape of the stylized “V.” Then I walked away.