243. Almaeadin: Tabitha.

I am getting sick and tired of leaving Modrica and Težka out in the wilds. I can sneak Težka into the city, especially at night, but then what? He is confined to a small back yard so he is not recognised. He is better in the wilds to roam. I have to think of a solution as it will be tough enough for Modrica in empire cities, let alone an instantly recognisable bond. If I can’t hide her, I wonder if I can start rumours about dire bear sightings being an ominous warning or something. I am not sure what benefit that would have.

Almaeadin is like Waiouru but wilder, and more lawless. Lizardkin and Avion dominate. I often envy Avion and their ability to travel easily. Being stuck with a pair of wings would be species-limiting when masking my identity. I could probably fake some wings with my Mimic Skill. That’s a thought. Up until I needed to fly.

The market wasn’t as large as the Waiouru bazaar, but there were always caravans and nomadic tribes moving through, so things were constantly changing. The smell of exotic spices and the yells from the hawkers was almost relaxing. I moved through the market, selling my goods at different stalls, picking up bits and pieces for resale in Janub. I was mostly trying to pick up gossip both for here and in Janub, and the purchases for Janub were an excuse to ask questions.

Janub, being the southernmost city of the empire, had a large army contingent based there. It is situated at the northern tip of the great desert as it transforms into rolling grasslands. This makes the imperial cavalry the largest part of the army in Janub. From what I was hearing, their patrols are spread out wide, and there are frequent random checks on caravans, as well as key static checkpoints. Most of the merchants I talked to dealt in Janub with Empire traders and went no further into the empire, which was ‘strongly encouraged’ by the empire authorities.

Our plan was to basically bypass Janub and head directly to my home town of Yelets. This was going to be very difficult. Open grassland and extensive patrolling, with two Imperial Inquisitors there. One Inquisitor is permanently in the city, and the other patrols. The Empire’s southern army scouts are renowned for tracking down and picking up illegal immigrants.

A border city would always be tough, hence the plan to bypass it. From what I am hearing here, bypassing it would not be easy. I put out feelers for ways to ‘avoid Imperial import duties.’ Contacting the local smuggling operations would take some time. I had Runa and Astrid with me, so I wouldn’t get up to too much mischief with a King’s Guard in tow. Astrid was born and bred adventurer, which is how she came across. Runa was born and bred army, and there ain’t no changing that. I did feel tall beside the two dwarves.

Once I had a good feel for the market, we headed out to the races. Runa was keen, and it was another source of information for me. The races were the main form of entertainment here, and there was a good betting system in place. The track we chose was on the edge of the city. There were two main tracks, a shorter one for the lizards and a longer one for the camels. The public stands looked over both, and then there were private viewing areas. It was hot in the afternoon sun, and a light breeze was enough to lift the dust into the air. We were dressed as the locals with long flowing robes and a cloth face mask to keep out the dust.

The Horned Lizards were domesticated and favoured by the Lizardkin. Almost everyone else favoured the camels as beasts of burden and for riding. The Horned Lizards were usually only waist high but long with the trademark horn on the forehead. They are wide and have four strong legs with claws. Lizardkin are generally shorter than humans, often no taller than dwarves, depending on the subspecies. Only the smaller Lizardkin ride the horned beasts. Usually, they are loaded with packs like camels taking loads around the city. It is the donkeys that usually pull the carts. All of the beasts of burden in this city are bad-tempered, and the Horned Lizards are the worst.

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Camel racing was the biggest sport, with Horned Lizards close behind. Obviously, there are Horned lizards bred for racing, just like the camels. They are quite different from the ones seen carrying loads around the city. They have longer legs and are thinner on average. The Lizards are sprinters, so the races are short. Camels generally race for 10km or more. We arrived for the evening races, and there was a reasonable crowd, even with it being midweek. I discovered there was a smaller section of horse racing happening that weekend. Horse racing was not nearly as popular as Camel and Lizard racing, but I briefly entertained entering Dusk. She shouldn't really have any competition here as there were significantly fewer horses here than Camels and Lizards. The prize money was less, and the betting was much less, so it would not be worth it. It might be fun, though.

I moved around the bookies once the races started, as the bets had to be in by then. I gradually got a picture of who was who. There was one official betting organisation at this track. The city had three main tracks, each with its main operator. The others and independent bookmakers were allowed to operate here as long as they paid their cut to the establishment. The other tracks reciprocated this. There were six or seven main stables, along with a number of smaller breeders entering beasts into the races. It was the jockeys that were the celebrities.

Runa and Astrid went off to get food and alcohol and place some bets. I worked the bookies and then tried to get in with the main stables. The owners had their private balconies, which were off-limits to people like me. They were mostly empty anyway, as the mid-week races were nothing important. The stables mostly employed the jockeys, and the beast handlers and trainers were all busy preparing animals and wiping them down after the races. I got to know the main livery of the key stables and where they were. I would go visit later.

My aim was to move stock in and out of the empire. I had some uniquely identifiable beasts to move in and out of the empire, and these people had to move animals around, especially breeding stock. I wasn’t sure about Janub, but Yelets, where I grew up, was almost exclusively horse racing. Some of my favourite memories as a young teen were working the crowds at the races, upskilling my pickpocketing, trying scams, running from the guards, etc. Good memories, mostly.

One of the ideas that developed that evening was a way of us moving through the empire is to establish Dusk and myself as a racing team. Then moving covered animal wagons is not unexpected. Prized breeding stock is valuable. It is almost a shame Dusk is a mare. If she was a stallion, I could run a stud business. If I buy a few reasonable stallions, I can probably scam something together. I need to know more about the business before I can know if it might work. Horse racing might not be big here, but the horses they breed definitely have stamina.

I ran the idea past Runa and Astrid as we exited the races that night.

“You just want an excuse to race Dusk,” Runa accused.

“It is not just an excuse,” I said. “I could enter Dusk in the races anyway.”

“So you want to have fun racing Dusk and make money,” Astrid piped in.

I think they are picking on me. “I thought you would be too drunk to see through my master plan?”

“Bah! The weak camel piss they sell couldn’t make us that drunk,” Runa said.

“How much did you lose?” I asked.

Runa felt her coin pouch, “Not that much,” she said defensively.

“If you came away with less than you went in, you are definitely drunk. I only placed a half dozen bets, and I made a tidy profit,” I said.

“I bet your profit didn’t come from the betting,” Astrid piped up.

Maybe they are not all that drunk. “I was just reminiscing about my youth,” I said.