Getting a room turned out to be a bit harder than Jaeger anticipated. Turns out, inns that cater to high-class traveling merchants, and even the occasional down-and-out noble, don’t want to rent to a highwayman and his chaos elf companion. No matter how much coin he offered. Kaeleth didn’t help matters by toying with an ever-expanding array of weapons.
“Two rooms.”
A spike dripping with black liquid slammed down in front of the coins Jaeger had placed on the counter.
“One room.”
His eye twitched as he saw the innkeeper’s expression shift from vague contempt to outright disgust and dislike.
“I think not. We are quite full. Now I think you two had best leave before the guard shows up.”
Jaeger sighed and turned, only to be stopped by Kaeleth.
“Oh yeah? And you think you’ll get a chance to call them?”
The immaculately tailored elf straightened his cravat and gave a nasally laugh.
“I rang for them the moment you two darkened my doorway. A foreign bandit, albeit well dressed, and a twitchy, chaos elf.” He practically spat the word. “The only reason I did not send you running was that your bandit friend here was not rude.”
From the entrance, a loud stomping could be heard. Entering the inn was a patrol of five overly dressed guardsmen. Their uniforms were reminiscent of the guards the pair had at the docks, except extravagant. The steel was gold, and the leather something magical. Jaeger could recognize noble troops when he saw them.
“Ah, just in time. Serjeant, if you would escort these two from my store.”
The lead guardsman nodded his helmeted head.
“Right-o, sir.” Turning to Jaeger and Kaeleth, he gestured for them to leave. “Get out of you two, no room for riff raff here.”
Jaeger took Kaeleth’s arm and dragged her out. He clapped a hand over her mouth as she seemed ready to continue speaking, then leaned in close and whispered.
“No more speaking.”
She glared at him, but stopped trying to speak and allowed him to drag her out. As they left, the guards followed before taking up position outside the inn. The Sarjeant stepped towards them.
“If you two are looking for room and board, you’re best served heading to the port or lower merchant district. Almost no one up here will room you looking like you two do.”
Jaeger nodded.
“We’ll take that under advisement.”
The Sarjeant shook his head.
“No, ya won’t, but that’s no matter to me. If we’re called on you two again, I’ll be escorting you from the district, though. Understand?”
“Aye, I hear you.”
The Sarjeant waved them off before rejoining his men. Jaeger took Kaeleth and led her away from the guards. Once they were out of sight of the guards, he let her go and leaned against a nearby wall.
“That’s the sixth inn that’s rejected us.”
“Maybe if you stopped looking like a highwayman and more like a merchant, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
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He looked at her, catching her eyes as he did.
“That was the first innkeeper to mention me looking like I do. Everyone either rejected us because we weren’t nobles or because of you. Specifically, because you’re a chaos elf, I did not realize your people had such a poor reputation.”
“Undeserved.”
“That was also the fourth innkeeper you threatened.”
“Deservedly.”
He sighed deeply before drawing a cigarette and lighting it. Taking a few puffs, he considered what to do next. The guardsman was right; if they left the district, they’d most likely find a room in no time, but being in this district was almost necessary for keeping an eye on the flesh trader.
“We’ve tried it your way, no, let’s do it mine.”
Jaeger looked at her and considered it.
“Is your way liable to draw attention?”
“Not the bad kind.”
Snubbing his cigarette out, he stepped off the wall and gestured.
“Lead the way.”
“Gladly.”
With that, Kaeleth strode away. She moved with purpose and confidence, sliding through a growing crowd and down side streets they hadn’t been down before. She moved with the grace of a hunting cat and the assurance of a local. Jaeger was impressed.
“You could’ve said you knew the area.”
“I don’t, I’ve never been here before.”
Even as she said that, she side-stepped an open doorway and pushed through a bickering merchant. Jaeger hurried to catch up, and on they went. It was only after they passed a restaurant that she finally stopped, coming to a halt before a bland-looking building.
“The Smoking Succubus? Why are we here?”
“The signs led me here; it caters to those like us.”
Signs? Jaeger hadn’t seen any signs like that. They’d passed a few buildings, businesses, and even road signs, but nothing that led them here.
“What signs?”
“Can’t you read Blackguards argot?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s the informal language that’s used by those of us in this thing of ours.”
She says the last part with a side eye towards him, which he ignores.
“You could’ve just said it was a criminal shorthand.”
He says as he pushes through the entrance, his response is met with a huff from her. As he enters, he finds himself in a well-worn taproom, with booths and tables littering the floor, with a large bar towards the back. There are a fair number of people, but no one pays the pair any attention as they move towards the bar.
“Hello, hello. Welcome to the Smoking Succubus. How can I help you?”
Greeting them is a blue-skinned man with a large horn in the center of his head, an oni. He makes an odd gesture with his hand as he welcomes them. Kaeleth takes a step forward, returning a few hand moves in return.
“We’re looking for a room for a few nights.”
The oni grins, revealing massive teeth, and leans forward.
“Well, I could see about doing that.” The man nods towards Jaeger.
Kaeleth nods.
“He’s new.”
The oni smiles, turns away, and pours three mugs full of frothy liquid. He gives one to each of them and lifts his mug.
“Well then, let me be the first in this city to welcome you to this thing of ours. The name’s Hayate. Now drink up, Kanpai!”
Kaeleth lifts her drink, and Jaeger follows along, draining his glass in a cheer. The drink is surprisingly cold, clean, and crisp. As he drinks it, he tastes a rich and roasted malty flavor.
“Good man. Now, what are you two about this city?”
Jaeger decides to let Kaeleth take the lead; she’d led them here and would know what to say or not to say in this situation better than he. She sets her mug and eyes the bartender.
“An out-of-town client sent us here. Nothing permanent if you catch me, a bit of second-story work. You know anything about a flesh trader?”
That catches the oni off guard.
“You’re here for that one? I’d advise you to drop the job and get out then. That’s not one to mess with.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. No one knows their name, gender, race, species, no permanent physical characteristics. That’s bad, but the real problem is that they’re dangerous and no one knows how.”
The oni poured a round of drinks before taking a sip of his own.
“There’s a standing bounty on their head, and fifteen assassins have tried. Each was found flayed, and all but one was dead.” The oni pours another drink and shoots it down before shuddering. “One of them managed to escape. The lucky bastard was a Skipper; those are always hard to lock down. Unfortunately for him, he only managed to escape halfway through whatever magic, whatever the flesh trader was doing to him. He came out missing half of his skin. The man looks like someone just took off his skin, easy as you or me does a shirt.”
Everything they’d been told had been noted by Jaeger, but this was the first thing that caught his interest. It reminded him of something he’d wished to forget.
“It’s not regrowing or healing.”
The oni raised his eyebrows in shock.
“Exactly, no amount of healing magic has brought back his skin. He’s been to every kind of healer you can imagine: cleric, druid, wizard, alchemist, all useless. The last one he went to was a necromancer, figured it was a curse, I’m guessing. Still nothing, all that came of it was information. The necromancer put the word out about what she thinks the flesh trader is actually doing. That resulted in a warning bounty and the flesh trader finally getting a title: Skin Stealer.”
