Looting the 13th Floor 2, page 17
part #2 of Looting the 13th Floor Series
“That sucks,” I said. “So people can’t even buy medicinal stuff in the city?”
“Nothing really helpful,” Cleo said with a shake of her head. “Banshees hoard all the good potion ingredients for their own personal stash. But they can’t stop the nixies from gathering what they need from the sea.”
Kali leaned against me as we waited, and it was clear that there was high demand for medical supplies as the line moved slowly. It was upsetting to think that all these people didn’t have access to what they needed in their own homes. The High Society really were a fucking plague on Hollowfell.
We finally got to the table, and the nixie with the starfish smiled at me as she showed off her sharp teeth. Now that I was closer, I could see she had gills on the side of her neck that twitched every time she took a breath. She was pretty in a slightly scary way, and her blue eyes darted down to Kali’s leg.
“Deep sea slime,” she said as she grabbed a yellow jar. “Yes. Have a seat to apply. Run the slime along the wound to clean and seal it. Bandage after. Six golds, please.”
The nixie grabbed a strip of white cloth and cut it with a sharp knife. She handed the material and jar over to Cleo, and the cat-girl rummaged in her bag for coins.
“You’re a busy stall,” I said. “You must do pretty well for business.”
“Things have gotten so hectic,” the nixie grumbled. “High Society is hoarding more and more, and it’s making some of our healing creams impossible to make. Our family has always helped people, but I don’t know how much longer we can take this.”
“But you can still gather from the sea,” Cleo said as she handed over the coins. “The gargoyles can’t follow you down there.”
“Yes,” the nixie sighed. “But there are supplies on land that are needed for many serious ailments. If the rich keep hoarding them, then we cannot help people anymore.”
“You’re doing amazing,” I said. “Thanks for this.”
The nixie gave me a brief smile before she waved the next customer forward, and we stepped to the side to get out of the way.
There was a wooden stool beside the stall that I guided Kali to as she whimpered in pain. She slowly took a seat as I crouched down beside Cleo. The cat-girl unscrewed the jar of slime as I carefully peeled off the hastily-made bandage. Then I threw the filthy rag into a wooden trashcan as the smell of blood filled the air.
“This will sting,” Cleo said. “But only for a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Kali nodded as she gripped my hand. “I’m ready.”
The nymph’s eyes welled with tears as Cleo slathered yellow goop onto the wound. I watched in amazement as the ointment slithered around the cut as if it was alive, and the blood was eaten up into the slime. Then Kali’s skin slowly began to drift back together as she crushed my fingers.
“You got this,” I said as I stared at the magical healing process. “You’re doing amazing.”
The ointment smelled of citrus and seaweed as it slithered around her vanishing wound. In a matter of minutes, all of the blood from Kali’s pale skin gradually vanished, and she was left with a pink scar over her leg.
It looked like it had been healing for weeks.
“Holy shit,” I murmured. “That’s amazing. It just drifted back together.”
“This stuff is powerful,” Cleo said. “I think they will raise prices soon if ingredients keep being hoarded.”
“How does it feel?” I asked. “Any better?”
“It stings,” Kali whimpered. “But it also feels much less fiery and sore.”
I kissed the back of her hand before letting go, and I ran a finger over her new scar.
“This is going to look awesome,” I said. “What a badass token of our first werewolf fight.”
“It won’t be ugly?” Kali asked nervously as she studied her leg.
“That’s impossible,” I snorted. “Nothing about you could ever be ugly.”
The nymph smiled as she got to her feet, and she warily tested putting weight on the injured leg.
“Perfect,” she said. “It’s a bit weak, but not too sore anymore.”
“Great.” I nodded. “Let’s get going.”
“Oooh,” Kali pouted. “Can we have a look around first? I’ve never been here before!”
“It has been a long time for me,” Cleo said with a slight smile. “There are some very delicious teas.”
“I can see a stand with jewelry,” Kali said. “Maybe we can have a quick peek at that?”
The two girls looked up at me hopefully, and I had to admit that an illegal magic market was something I wouldn’t experience every day.
“We got some sleep,” Kali added. “So maybe we can spend some time browsing? We wouldn’t be looting until morning anyway.”
“I guess.” I grinned. “We still need to be careful, though. Keep your eyes peeled for anyone that looks like they might recognize us.”
“Of course,” Cleo purred. “Now we get to show Liam how shopping is in our world!”
We started to wander around the underground market, and I got the feeling I was experiencing what Hollowfell used to be like. I had always wondered how the magical realm would operate without the evil bastards at the top, and people seemed much happier down in this cavern than they did in Stormgulf. Nobody cowered away in the corner, and products weren’t hurled around by asshole gargoyles.
“This is so great,” Kali said as she pulled me over to a book stall. “We can browse without the Sobblers looking over our shoulders.”
“Why is this illegal?” I asked as I looked at the books.
“Knowledge is deadly,” Kali said as if this was obvious. “The less working folks know, the less trouble they can cause.”
The nymph studied the dusty books as Cleo examined a knife stand to our right. She purred happily as an old dwarf showed her his newest creation. It was a pocket blade with a leather handle, and it came with a beautiful sheath.
I was impressed with how many of these creatures were risking their lives by working illegally. If High Society got word of this place, then I had no doubts there would be fatal consequences for them all. It was like seeing a different side to the people I had only perceived as scared servants so far. They came alive down in the hidden cavern, and I wondered if they would ever use this courage to stand up against the evil that crushed their society.
There was so much to look at that I knew we could spend all night in the cavern without much effort.
I tried not to stare at people too much while we browsed, but there were creatures that I had never seen before wandering around. There were some women who had a tinge of green to their skin along with pointed ears that stuck out of their blonde hair. They walked gracefully over the ground as they browsed the various stalls silently.
“Forest elves,” Cleo whispered. “They are very smart, but a little bit stuck-up.”
A creature with the head of an eagle on the body of a lion trotted past, and I felt lightheaded as I watched its fur and feathers rustle with each step. Its thick talons clicked against the ground as it walked with its bird head swinging from side to side.
“Griffin,” I breathed. “Holy shit.”
Cleo nodded. “Not very common around here.”
Then we passed a stall that looked like it was for fortune telling, and an old woman sat behind it with a crystal ball in front of her.
“Oooh,” Kali whispered. “Maybe we should have our futures read!”
“She can do that?” I asked. “Really?”
“Only with some things,” Cleo said. “Mostly she can see if you will meet your true love, and if you will have a fruitful harvest.”
“Those are quite specific,” I snorted.
“Yes,” Cleo agreed with a smirk. “She is not very helpful really. I already know my true love anyway.”
The cat-girl gave me a kiss on the cheek as Kali’s eyes hovered over the crystal ball. I wanted to tell the nymph that she didn’t have to ask if she was loved. She meant everything to me.
Then Cleo pulled us over to a table that had deliciously sweet-smelling teas, and she ordered us each a cup full. The tiny woman behind the stand gave me a wooden mug of purple liquid that tasted like cherries and sent warmth right through my body.
“Mmm!” Kali squealed as she sipped her drink. “This is delicious!”
“It really is,” I said. “Do you want to get some food? Or are you still full after the fish?”
“I could have a small bite,” Cleo said. “They have very good stew and sweet bread here. It is not illegal, but shoppers always need food.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “This is way more exciting than L.A. shopping.”
“Do you think so?” Kali asked as she cocked her head to the side.
“For me it is,” I chuckled. “But everything’s exciting when I’ve got my two girls by my side.”
The women giggled at this, and I smirked at the blush on Kali’s cheeks as I glanced out into the strange and magical crowd.
My eyes fell on a figure nearby who was standing oddly still in the bustling flow of beings. He was a well-built man dressed in black with a bald head. His pale eyes darted around the cavern like he was looking for something, and I got a crawling feeling in the pit of my stomach.
The last thing we needed was someone looking too carefully through this crowd while we were in it, but maybe he was just some local seller who was looking for his kid or something.
“Excuse me,” I said to the tea stall owner. “Who is that man in the black? Does he work at a stall?”
The short woman turned around to glance at the bald guy, and she sighed as she went back to steeping tea leaves.
“He’s a strange man,” she said. “I’m not sure what his business is, but he sneaks about with that scowl on his face, like he’s constantly looking for something.”
I glanced back to find the man had vanished, and I couldn’t see him anywhere in the crowd.
“Shit,” I whispered mostly to myself.
“There are lots of strange people here,” Cleo said with a shrug. “He is probably trying to steal something.”
“Maybe,” I muttered. “Just stay close to me. I got a weird feeling from that guy.”
“He was talking to Neema earlier,” the stall owner said. “Asking her odd questions apparently. She might be able to tell you more. Head over to the farm animal section if you want to find her.”
I nodded at the woman as she turned back to serve a customer, and I felt uneasy as I scanned the crowd as thoroughly as I could. The cavern was full of bizarre-looking beings, but none of them had made my skin crawl like that guy had.
It couldn’t hurt to go and find out what we could about him.
“Let’s head to the farm stalls,” I said. “Which way are they?”
“Back left,” Cleo said. “Where the animal cages are.”
The cat-girl led us through the market toward the far side wall, and an unpleasant stench filled the air.
“It smells like shit,” I whispered.
“That is because of all the shit,” Cleo said matter-of-factly. “The animals do not smell very nice.”
The whole back wall of the cavern was filled with caged animals, and they all looked like they had been sedated with something. Some of them were recognizable as sheep and pigs, but others looked like they had been plucked right out of a Sci-Fi movie.
There were tiny crocodiles with eyestalks sticking out of their heads, brightly-colored rabbits that huddled in a pile, and some six-legged reptiles that had a single eye in the middle of their scaly faces.
“Wow!” Kali gasped. “Look at all these little cuties!”
“Cuties?” I looked at a huge frog with two heads. “I’m not sure that’s what I would call them.”
“This is the farmland stalls,” Cleo said as we wandered past the cages. “Some of these things can be used as guards, and some are just pets. Maybe some for eating, too.”
There were several male farmers tending to the animals, but I wanted to find this Neema. I kept searching the crowd for the bald man, but he seemed to have moved on. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I definitely got a bad feeling about that guy.
Then we stopped beside a middle-aged woman who had her dark hair tied into a plait. She was the only woman in this section and had grubby brown overalls that were stained with grass and animal shit, but her cheery smile overshadowed the unpleasant odor.
This had to be Neema.
“Hello, folks,” she said happily. “Looking for a pet are you? Or maybe a guard lizard for the house?”
“We’re just browsing right now,” I said. “But someone said you had spoken to that bald man earlier?”
“Bald man…” the woman muttered. “Do you mean the one who bought seven rabbits? He was strange, but I think he was just lonely.”
“The one in dark robes,” I clarified. “I saw him in the crowd, and he just looked like he might be up to something. We wanted to make sure he wasn’t causing any problems.”
“Oooh,” Neema said with a nod. “I know who you mean. Yes, he said I had a good spot over here to watch the whole market from. He stayed here for a while to just stare out at everyone.”
“Did he say anything else?” I asked. “What was it he was looking for?”
“He never said what he does.” Neema gave a careless shrug. “But I’d bet he’s a trophy hunter.”
I felt Kali stiffen next to me, and Cleo tugged her hood down right over her golden eyes. The two monster girls busied themselves with a nearby cage to make sure they weren’t facing the farmer.
“Really?” I asked as airily as I could. “Why do you think that?”
“The way he was watching folk,” Neema said as she lowered her voice. “That man there is quite focused, I’ll tell you that much. I got the feeling he was looking for someone in particular. That could just be my imagination running wild, though!”
There was a strange honking noise from behind the cages, and something shuffled around behind the boxes of rabbits.
“Oh, dear,” Neema sighed. “That will be Hobble. He’s a snuffler we won’t be selling any time soon.”
“Aww, why not?” Kali asked as she tried to peer behind the cages.
“Because he’s not a cute bunny,” Neema snorted. “High Society doesn’t want his kind because he’s ugly, and snuffler meat is well-known for being foul to boot. So nobody else will buy him for food, either. Not much to do about it.”
“Nobody wants him,” Kali whimpered as she frowned. “That’s so sad.”
“I agree,” Neema said. “He’s not the prettiest, but he’s a damn loyal companion to have around. If his master calls, then he’ll come running. Hobble’s a good little thing like that.”
I was about to reply when something trotted around the cages, and I decided “little” wasn’t the best descriptor for Hobble. Ugly was kind of accurate, though.
I felt like I was looking at the product of a hippo breeding with a boar and then also a sheep. It was a creature roughly the height of a Shetland pony, but way wider, and his dark brown fur was curly and thick. Hobble had a wide snout with flaring nostrils, and his yellow eyes blinked at me. His tail was thin and matted, but it started to wag uncontrollably when Kali reached out a hand to stroke his snout.
“Hellooooo,” the nymph cooed. “Oh, you are so sweet!”
“Is it?” Cleo asked as she eyed the sticking out teeth.
“He’s faster than you think, too.” Neema smiled. “Snufflers can carry heavy loads on their backs. A great farm companion if you have any land that you need help with. He could plod about all day with tools strapped to his back and wouldn’t give you any trouble about it.”
“Liam,” Kali said as she pressed her cheek into Hobble’s neck fur. “Oh, look at his face! Can we keep him?”
“What?” I asked and blinked in shock. “You… want that?”
I looked into Hobble’s ugly face and tried to imagine sneaking him past the twelfth floor. There was no explanation I could offer to Stan for why I had a giant pig-beast with me.
“We can’t,” I said quietly as Neema turned to clean out the rabbits’ cages. “There’s no way we can take a live animal back through the portal. It would be cruel and dangerous.”
“He could stay here,” Kali said as she clung to the beast’s neck. “He can wander and graze while we’re away, and then we’ll just call for him to come back! She said he can help with heavy loads.”
“That would be handy with extra loot,” Cleo murmured and examined the creature’s wide shoulders.
“Exactly!” Kali said eagerly. “Oh, Liam! Look at his beautiful face. I can’t bear to leave him here to never be rescued.”
I looked down at the ugly animal and pictured loading him up with loot-filled saddlebags. If he was fast and strong, then he could really be a business transaction more than anything. Besides, Kali looked like she would explode with sadness if we left him behind.
“Fine,” I sighed. “Let’s get him.”
“Really?” Kali cried, and she leapt up to hug me.
Her small frame pressed against me as she flung her arms around my neck, and her head nestled into my chest. I chuckled as Hobble waddled over to be closer to her, and the nymph stared adoringly into my eyes.
It took every scrap of willpower in my body to keep a firm tone as I spoke to the winged beauty.
“He can help with loot,” I clarified. “But we can only keep him around if he proves to be useful. I can’t bust my ass saving you two only to have a pig-sheep thing slow us down.”
“Of course,” Kali said happily. “Thank you ever so much, Liam!”
Her dazzling blue eyes flickered down to my lips, but Neema returned before the moment could develop any more. The nymph slid down my body as I placed her on the ground, but her sweet scent lingered around my face.
“Sorry about Hobble,” Neema said as the creature licked Kali’s arm. “He doesn’t normally get so attached to folks.”
“We’re going to take him,” I said. “The lady’s heart is set on it, so he’s coming with us.”
