Richard

I held the coin bag through my satchel. My face was practically glowing red, as I helped Oswald through the streets. Like most Brothels that were above ground, the Bearded Lady was located in the slums' red light district. The area was a neutral ground between all the gangs in the underground. While there were three main gangs, there were far more smaller gangs that cropped up now and then. Most working under one of the larger three, or offering very specific services to get by. The main reason this place got that reputation, was because any gang trying to start something here, was quickly broken by every other gang.

It was such a safe place, that people were actually allowed to live in the district and pay a rather expensive rent. No assassin was allowed to practice their trade. I even knew of some aides from the nobles coming here to discuss negotiations, and setting up purchases themselves. With the orphanage being under the Guard's protection, it was an unspoken rule that no children were allowed here. The entire area had webs guarding the alleys between the walls. Other guards lingering in the area, a display of power, showing what gangs were going strong. Especially if they had the manpower to let some thugs idle and keep the peace.

One of the thugs stopped us right at the threshold, "Hey, isn't this kid a little young to be entering?" He looked me over.

Oswald chuckled, "He's actually a half dwarf crossbreed. I promise he's old enough. Taking him to the brothel, after he came back from exile."

The thug didn't seem convinced until I showed my stomach scar. "If I'm old enough to be exiled and come back. I'm old enough to see my first pair of tits. Let us through."

The man finally nodded and moved aside. There was no need for names here, no need for status. We were all here for one of a few things; company, business, pleasure, or shelter. The thug we were walking by, probably didn't even care if we lied. He just had a job of not letting kids through. Which I wasn't anymore. We walked through the large alley, as the road seemed to change into beautifully cobbled stone with different colored rocks. The buildings all made from different kinds of stone as well. More than a few rising with stairs going down in divots around them. The red light distract was a well known gateway to the underground. Three buildings stood taller than the rest however; The Raven's Nest, The Minotaur's Labyrinth, and Mal's Spider Shop.

Every building was beautiful in it's own way. People moving and exchanging coins freely for goods they couldn't get in the markets. Some of them were stolen, which made them cheaper. Brothels taking up their own section while all being in the same place. Each one catering to unique tastes. I could see restaurants offering exotic meats, likely made with forbidden spices. There were drugs being exchanged, and crates laying out in the open with tarps over them and a sign depicting who was taking them and where. The red light district was probably just as active, if not a little more active than the markets.

Even when I followed Oswald to the noble area, the buildings were not quite as vibrant. Well built, yes. Though this district had a certain life to it, as if the only thing that mattered was what you needed, and wanted. The gangs themselves were providers, even with woman dancing outside those same brothels to provide their services. I followed Oswald, a bit surprised that he seemed to know the way. It made sense, everyone had needs in the end. I started to ask how many times he had been here, but stopped when I saw the sign.

The Bearded Lady was not like the other brothels with scantily clad woman outside it's doors. Even it's sign was on another level from what I understood. The sign itself was just the name of the place, studded with different crystals that seemed to sparkle with the sunlight. The name spelled out with soft loops, and made from polished metal. The front of the building held stained glass, that was enchanted with magic to depict different scenes to slowly tell a story.

At the front door, on either side was a pair of meticulously carved statues. The first being an androgynous angel with six wings and long flowing hair. The second was a demon that might as well have been the angel if it were corrupted and fell. They were both stuck in a welcoming curtsey holding the hem of their dresses to reveal their calves. They seemed so life like, I wouldn't be surprised if they started talking. Which they did as we reached the double doors. A soft humming voice came from the angel, "Please be sure to read the rules."

The demon responded, "If not, someone will have to drag you out." They had the same voice, but the demon sounded more ominous somehow.

Oswald just chuckled, "Don't be so surprised lad, I know you've seen golems before."

I blinked at the two statues, "These are nothing like those hunks of rock you showed me before."

"Aye lad, but this is why the Bearded Lady is special. They take pride in presenting masterfully crafted works of art. It's a museum, a bank, and a brothel all in one. Hand me two silver from the coin bag lad."

I nodded, reaching into the bag to grab two silver coins. I handed them to Oswald as he pressed the two to the door with runes etched upon it's surface. It was beautiful, like everything else on this building. The coins seemed to disappear and the door clicked, before opening for us. I saw marbled floor, with streaks of other rare stones swirling between them like veins. The walls were covered with a darker marble with paintings hanging from each wall. Even the ceiling had velvet on it. I had never seen such a huge display of wealth before. Walking behind Oswald, I noticed the rules hanging just to our right.

The rules basically said no touching allowed, since there were magic gloves to let us feel if we wanted. We would get our two silver deposit back when we left. That we could drink in the private rooms, but are expected to keep things tidy. Most of it was really common sense stuff, likely put there because some idiot or another.

Then I saw an ethereal blue glow coming out of a wall. I blinked, before looking at Oswald, who was already smiling. The glow continued to come out of the wall, taking the shape of a ghostly dwarf. His arms were crossed, and he had a magnificent beard. His beard was studded with bands made of silver and gold. Precious gemstones lining the center of these bands. No matter how you looked at it, this was a spirit. It seemed to look both of us over, and smiled warmly, "Welcome to my humble lady. It's been a while Oswald."

Oswald smiled back at the spirit, "Aye it has. I always knew you'd kick the bucket and dive right back into work. How are you Avon?"

Avon laughed, "Dead for one! But! I have never felt better. Who's this boy beside you?"

There were a couple seconds of silence, before I realized I needed to introduce myself. "My name is Richard Adams, sir. I'm Oswald's apprentice."

Avon let out a hearty laugh, as Oswald slapped my back, "The lad's not used to proper customs yet. He's my soon to be brother!"

Avon grinned, "Not only an apprentice, but a brother!? You wound me Oswald, after all those times I tried to welcome you into my family. You go and find yourself a young lad!?" He didn't seem very upset about any of this. If anything he seemed happy for Oswald.

"Oi! I told you, I'd die before joining your family." Oswald was smiling as well, "Which, might become a reality before we know it my friend. Who did you end up hiring to help you become a spirit?"

The two chatted as we walked through the halls. The owner's spirit guiding us to the VIP area. It was nice to see Oswald enjoying himself, and Avon himself seemed to glow a bit brighter as the conversation continued on. There were a few other dwarf spirits going about. Most of them taking the time to clean this or that. Others carrying mead to rooms. There were display cases with masterfully crafted hammers and other tools. I even saw a few glowing, which meant they were the binding that kept these spirits in this world. I noticed Oswald whisper something to Avon, and couldn't make it out myself.

Avon seemed to give Oswald a serious look, before nodding. We arrived at a room, where Avon started smiling once more. "Welcome to the VIP room lads! The walls have crystals to keep anyone from eavesdropping on you. The ale of fellowship shall be brought to you in half an hour. I have other duties to take care of. If you wish to speak to me some more Oswald, feel free to send the young lad home. We can talk well into the night!" He laughed cheerfully.

Oswald smiled back, "I'll take you up on the offer, my friend." The two shook hands before Avon disappeared into the walls. The two of us entered the VIP room. Which was a very ornate room covered in the finest paintings I've seen. There was a glass table with a single hammer inside. Four seats circling the table itself, and ornate gloves with crystal on the tips and metal running towards the wrists. The gloves were black felt, and seemed to have runic stitching on the palms.

Oswald moved to one of the soft chairs, before sitting on it. I followed his lead and took the one opposing him. I felt a bit stiff, since I had never experienced something so fine. I looked at the hammer inside the table, not knowing what else to do. There was a pitcher of water floating above us, slowly swirling with a set of cups. Made out of elvish wood, and enchanted with some kind of magic or another. I raised my hand towards it, to see the pitcher pour me a cup of the best water I ever tasted. The cup seemed to clean itself after I was done, using the water to make steam and filling the room with a warm scent.

Oswald had his hands in his lap, probably struggling as much as I was for how to start this. The door was closed, and we were alone together. The whole situation was awkward, and I realized something. If I were still the same me, that I was when I was exiled. I would have said something stupid by this point just to break the silence. I was noticing others when they were struggling now, I knew it wasn't my place to start this conversation. Oswald was paying for everything, and I was his guest. Everything about this place was too establish a sense of formality. I closed my mouth, waiting for Oswald to speak first.

The old man finally looked at me with a small smile, "You've really grown lad. If you were still the same kid, when I first met you. You would have said something by now." I winced a little as he seemed to have read my mind. Oswald laughed a little, "Enjoy that uncomfortable feeling lad, it reminds us of how far we've come. I'm not one for waxing about values and beliefs, leave that stuff to the bards. What I will talk about is what it means to be my brother."

I nodded, "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean... I'm a no body. I wasn't born fancy, and my dad never told me anything about his blood line."

Oswald gave me a bitter smile, "You are my apprentice lad, and you will soon be my brother. This is a long way to go, just for a joke. Which it isn't. Do you remember why I let you become my apprentice?"

I nodded, "I had to pay for the equipment I tried to steal..." I looked down recalling it.

"Aye lad, you did the same thing I did when I was younger. You said you were going to sell them for coin, but I saw that spark in you. You even admitted later, that you just wanted to get decent at alchemy." I could only nod at Oswald's words. "You were made an orphan recently, at that time. Your father kicked you out, and he died the next day. You had no choice, but to go to the Orphanage, because you had nothing. You decided with what few years you had as protection from the law. That you would steal anything you could to try and survive."

I looked at him, unsure of where he was going with this. It disturbed me, that he knew what happened underground, to me of all people. That he was able to see right through everything I did. I nodded slowly, "Yeah... you're right. I never told anyone about what happened to my old man, how did you know? What do you mean you did the same when you were younger?" I couldn't be sure if this was some kind of test or not. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Oswald seemed to smile warmly at that, "At first, I wondered if you were a spy sent by the gangs underneath. I looked into your past, through my contacts. I might seem like a hermit, but I know you've seen me talking to more than a few nobles. I needed to be sure, and for that I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I..." He raised a hand to stop me.

"I'll tell you about my life in a bit, to answer your second question. As for the why," he stroked his beard gently. "To become family, we have to know the uncomfortable truth about each other in a sense. It is a tradition, and it's much more than drinking ale from the same keg. If it were as simple as drinking from the same keg, everyone would be family at any gathering. The truth is that we're going to tell each other about our lives. I know there are some things you would rather not talk about, but you need to tell me. I promise that I probably know all the important ones. There should be no secrets between family, unless it benefits the other to not know."

I blinked, looking back at the hammer, "You want me to tell you everything?"

I could see Oswald's reflection nod, "Yes lad, everything as you understand it. Then I'll tell you about my life while we drink. It is proper for the younger one to start. Especially when the older is paying for everything."

I swallowed hard, "My mother died giving birth to me. She was one of the Fiend's eye gang. The group that casts hexes and stuff on others. Dad worked under the Minotaur, as one of it's offshoots. I was supposed to be the bridge between the Minotaurs and the Fiend's Eye. Something to get them to work together, though the leader apparently didn't feel the same way. I'm not sure if it's because I was born a boy, or something else. Point is I was a failure from the start."

Oswald drank some water himself, "You aren't a failure lad, but keep going."

I grabbed my knees, looking at my own reflection. "Dad did his best to teach me what he could. Where to go underground, how to spot gangs, what I needed. Each passing year though... he just started drinking more. I tried running with some gangs, but I was too young to actually be let on. I found out I could do alchemy when I was mixing a drink for my dad. I dropped the flagon and got my ass kicked. Finally he chased me off one night, telling me to never come back. When I came back, my home was burned to the ground. There was nothing keeping me underground anymore. The people that were friends with my father, got me out of the underground and told me to find mother Oak. By this point, I had gotten decent at picking pockets, and knew how to skin a rat."

I took a drink from the cup, letting it calm me down. Oswald nodded, "You weren't a part of any gangs?"

I shook my head, "Couldn't be. The Minotaur doesn't let kids do any running, or anything. The Raven doesn't have any problems, but if they think you're spying. Well, let's just say you are better off not taking chances. Plus everyone knows that kids working under Mal just seem to disappear. There was no where for me to really go. Sure some members taught me how to use a knife, and pick pockets, but that isn't enough to actually get anywhere. Mother Oak taught me how to read and write, woman's a bloody saint. I feel like I owe her more, than anyone underground. Hell, I owe you more than those same people."

Oswald nodded, "I'm not questioning your loyalty lad. I just needed to know what you went through."

I nodded, as a knock came at the door. Oswald told them it was okay to come in. A dwarf came in carrying two flagons of dark ale. They were large enough to be their own pitchers, and the ale itself seemed to bubble. The Dwarf discreetly placed the flagons on the table, before bowing and plodding out. Closing the door behind them.

Oswald grabbed his flagon, "You've had it rough lad, and despite all that you wanted to learn more didn't you?"

I grabbed the handle of my flagon, "What else was there to do?"

Oswald laughed, "Roll over and die? Give up? Hurt others, because they were shitty to you? No one would have blamed you, if you came out hating the world. Yet, you didn't lad. You were given the tiniest hint of kindness. You were given the barest glimmer of knowledge and realized you had a thirst for it."

I tried to tell him, that he was wrong. Though I realized that was a wasted effort. Then I thought about it, how others succumbed, or were content with where they were. I swallowed hard, "You're right. I want to know everything there is about Alchemy, but I also want to keep Mimi safe."

Oswald smiled, "I can't protect her from the king, but I will do what I can lad." He held his flagon out, and I tapped mine against his. "Now we drink and become brothers."

We drank, the black ale making me shudder from how bitter it was. It had some kind of spice added to it, that made me shake my head and hold my gut. It was potent stuff, and my head felt a bit fuzzy. I looked at Oswald, "What does being your brother mean?"

"It means, you can use what tools I have lad. Dwarves never share, unless it's with family. I have a book hidden, and if you ever need to run away from the city. I want you to take that book and practice. It has everything I know about alchemy and how to improve your focus. Some people would kill for my journal, so make sure no one knows about it."

I nodded, "I guess you need to tell me your life story now?" I probably wasn't going to remember it, but Oswald seemed to laugh a little.

"Of course lad, listen carefully since I won't be repeating it to you again. I started my life in the Northern Kingdom. A small family, that owned a smithy. Problem was, that I was an alchemist and not a rune smith. My family wanted me to take up the hammer regardless, and I struggled. Finally I got my hands on some powder, and tried to hone my alchemy. Learning how different things reacted and responded. Back then, there were no potions, everything was just powder. You could mix it in water, and drink it down. It was awful. I ended up stealing from a larger family, and was cast out by my family. Just in time for the tribute."

I tilted my head, "The tribute?" Oswald took another swig, and I sipped mine.

"Yes, the tribute was a tradition back in the day. All the kingdoms gave a tribute to the Western kingdom. They sacrificed people, to the kingdom fighting monsters. Back then, monsters were much more rare. A strange thing that popped up in the kingdom of Dark Fall. To combat them, fresh hands were sent there. Which meant every thug, murderer, and any other criminal was all sent to Dark Fall. It didn't matter how big or small the crime was. Just that Dark Fall needed more people, to keep the monster population back. To protect the other kingdoms. Problem with that, was you soon had a melting pot full of all the races and the worst of them to boot."

"Is that why Dark Fall fell?" I took another sip, as Oswald chuckled.

"No lad, it was actually much better than a lot of us hoped. What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room lad. You can tell no one else, and you must carry it to your grave. I'm only telling you, because we're supposed to be family now."

Oswald took another swig, as I nodded. "I can see why you want me drunk while telling this then."

He grinned at me, "You're starting to learn lad. Most of the people that live here, are those people that came from Dark Fall. Dark Fall fell, not because it had the worst people there. It fell, because of one idiot with a talent that let them control monsters."

I could only blink at that, "One idiot? How did that happen?"

"It's a long story lad, and maybe I'll explain all of those details to you one day. Though it's more the king's story than anyone else's. I knew him, when he was human. I loved him, but he couldn't return that love. The lad couldn't trust people, and that's why he loved our queen. She was the monster that ruled Dark Fall." Oswald looked at his reflection in the flagon.

I swallowed hard, "I thought our king ruled Dark Fall before it fell. I don't understand, are you making this up? Is there a secret I'm supposed to figure out?"

Oswald slowly shook his head, "I wouldn't dare lie to family lad. Not to trample on this tradition, held most sacred to our people." He softly rubbed the silver spider on his cane, "She was too great for this world, and I still do not know what became of her. Though this isn't about the history of a kingdom I watched fall. This is me telling you every secret I can. Most of which, lies at the bottom of the flagon lad. Drink with me, my brother. Let me tell you how I came to be known as, Oswald the Creeping Death."

I drank with Oswald, not remembering a thing after that. His words slurring, or my words slurring. All I knew, was that I was finally had a family again. That Oswald, and Mimi were the two most important people to me in this world. I cried, I laughed, I let everything pour out. Then I passed out, to be sent home while Oswald stayed for a few more drinks.

I stumbled home as asked, my vision and memories seeming to come and go. I wasn't sure if someone was following me or not. I was safe when I made it back to my bed, passing out.