Magic Girls of Multiverse Inn 3, page 8
“Ooh, strange,” Kaz mused.
“Does that mean he made this map?” Prinna asked.
“It sure looks like it,” I said. “It definitely doesn’t have the production quality of the other maps we’ve found.”
I scanned the labels Wersnop had written in his slanting cursive.
Crocodile Lagoon, Thunder Cove, The Last Stop, and Crog’s Spot were the only labels on the entire map. A hastily slashed red X marked Crog’s Spot as where we would enter the realm.
Suddenly a burst of voices filled the room around us, and I knew we’d crossed into Ebon.
But the sounds were completely different than anything we’d experienced previously.
The voices were loud and filled with irritation, and a loud thump sounded like someone had been shoved against a wall. Then there was a sharp crash of shattered glass against a hard surface.
“Ah!” Kaz squeaked.
Chapter 6
Another, louder crash followed quickly behind it. More thumps of bodies against walls came, and several male voices combined to make a loud cacophony of shouts and curses.
“What is happening here?” Prinna asked with wide eyes.
“I’m not–” I started to answer.
But the sounds from downstairs that reminded me of a Hollywood movie brawl shifted gears so fast that my head spun. In an instant, the anger and violence became boisterous drunken laughter.
My entire face warped into a baffled expression just in time for a fiddle to start playing a rowdy jig.
“What?” I asked sharply.
“I’m so confused,” Kaz mumbled.
“Prinna, what are you getting?” I asked.
The white-blonde witch furrowed her eyebrows with confusion as she walked closed to the door. She paused next to it for a long moment and closed her eyes like she was listening.
“They desire a good time,” Prinna said in a baffled tone. “Many enjoyed the… fight I think.”
“They enjoyed the fight?” Kaz repeated in an utterly astonished tone.
“I believe they found it to be entertaining,” Prinna said with wonder in her voice and on her face.
“Should we go down?” Kaz asked me.
“Well, we have to at least leave the room to get back to Earth,” I said, and I listened again to the joyful voices that filled the room downstairs. “Let’s have a look. If we feel that it’s too dangerous to continue, we can come right back up and leave.”
“Okay,” Kaz murmured.
“I will keep my senses alert for trouble,” Prinna assured us.
“Good.” I smiled. “Thank you.”
I took a deep breath as I opened the door, and the rowdy voices became much louder. My ladies followed close behind me as I walked into the hallway.
The whole place seemed to be made from the same rough lumber as the door, and there were sword marks all over the walls like people repeatedly fought with blades in this exact spot.
The stairs were a short distance away, and I led my lovers down the uneven planks. They felt old and warped under my feet, so I walked slowly and held onto the railing that was just a narrow tree trunk anchored directly on the wall with loops of rough ship rope.
Another round of boisterous laughter greeted us as we came down the last step and into a taproom filled with bright sunlight.
The half-dozen tables, chairs, floors, and the long bar on the left side of the room were all made of the same rough wood that looked like it was splinter city. Three large-breasted women who were the very definition of wenches hurried around the room. They were covered in pockmarks, and their skin was leathery from far too much sun exposure. One with wild red hair and very poor lipstick smiled at me as she hurried past with six tankards of ale, and I saw she was missing at least half of her teeth.
The tables were crowded with the most piratey-looking people I’d ever seen in real life. I saw at least three peg legs, and two missing arms among the bearded men who all wore cutlasses and rapiers on their hips as they sank deeper into their cups. They all wore large, ragged, or elaborate hats, some of the tricorn style, in various shades of brown and gray, and about half the grimy-looking men wore black patches over one of their eyes. One man, who seemed to have fallen into a drunken stupor in the corner, actually had a fucking parrot perched on his left shoulder.
Holy fuck. We’d walked into a goddamn Pirates of the Caribbean film.
I clamped my teeth together to keep from outright gawking at the literal pirates before me, and I gestured for Kaz and Prinna to follow me to the bar.
Two more fat wenches bustled around behind the rough wooden bar as they raced to serve all the dirty-looking men in the taproom.
“Be right wit’cha dearies,” one with greasy blonde hair said in an almost comical accent.
“Yeah.” I nodded slightly.
She smiled saucily at me as she carried more drinks out to the men at the tables, and I saw that she too was missing several teeth.
I started to lean my elbows on the bar, but I pulled back when I realized it was far from clean. The surface was covered in something wet, and it looked mildly sticky, so I kept my arms at my sides instead.
“Ahoy, dears, name’s Phyllis,” the greasy blonde wench greeted. “What can I do fer ya?”
“Hello, Phyllis,” I said in a friendly tone. “We’re new to Ebon, and we were hoping you could give us a little insight to the island.”
“Sure, dears,” Phyllis said, and she leaned her hands on the bar. The movement pressed her huge tits forward, and I caught sight of several more pockmarks near the left side of her collarbone. “Ebon be a small island. Not ter much ‘appenin’ ‘ere, Imma ‘fraid. Hardly even a port town, ya see.”
My brain worked a bit faster than normal to translate her pirate speech, and I felt like I’d sunk into an old Hollywood film.
“Travelers dun come ter port often,” Phyllis continued, and she jammed her left pinky into her ear to pick something out and flick it away. “Not much gold ta be ‘ad ‘ere, ya see. We be a small place, but it’s ‘ome.”
My head tilted slightly with confusion. I started to wonder how people paid for things like all the drinks that were flowing like waterfalls behind us. Just then, a man who was blithering drunk stumbled up to the bar beside me. He grumbled something that might have been words and dropped five red stones on the bar.
“That’ll do’ya Herb,” Phyllis said in a dry tone.
I arched an eyebrow at the red stone for a second and wondered if they might be uncut rubies. Phyllis must have seen my confused look because she shrugged at me as she scooped them up.
“Ebon’s lousy with gems, ya see,” Phyllis explained.
My brain perked up like a dog who’d been offered a treat.
“We’ve not much need for ‘em,” Phyllis said. “But when them travelers do come, they like ‘em plenty. It’s become kinda a currency ‘round ‘ere.”
“Interesting,” I said.
“Yessir.” Phyllis nodded. “We make do. Us folks tried ta barter fer things, but that dinna work so good. Ya see, Bert wants some new shoes, and Renni needs a knife, but Renni ain’t got no shoes to give ’em.”
“I can see how that would be problematic,” I said.
Phyllis narrowed her eyes curiously at me. “Yeahmm, folks needed something we could use when travelers do come, so we got dem gems workin’ fer us now.”
“I don’t suppose there’s a market of any kind on the island?” I asked. “It’s quite small isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Phyllis pushed her lips out and nodded. “Sometimes folk’ll gather nearby ta trade fer thins, though.”
“I think we’ll check it out,” I said. “Thanks for the information, Phyllis.”
“Sure thing,” Phyllis said. “If ya go outside an’ turn left, yer’ll get there.”
“Thank you,” I said again.
“Can I getcha anythin’ else, dearies?” She asked.
“No, thank you.” I smiled. “You’ve been very helpful.”
“Welp, come back if ya need anything more,” Phyllis said with a gap-toothed smile.
“Thank you,” Prinna said in a friendly tone.
We wove through the crowded tables toward the swinging double doors that led out into the bright daylight. The shift in light was blinding for a moment, and all I could tell about Ebon was from sound and smell.
The heady smell of salt air filled my nostrils, and I could hear crashing ocean waves very close by. Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, and I saw a huge ocean of vivid blue spread before me.
Crog’s Spot sat close to a sandy beach where the clear sea lapped up in regular waves. Huge palm trees pushed up toward the sky among large boulders that bordered the edge of the sand. There was a walking path of packed dirt that led out from Crog’s Spot’s front doors, and it forked in both directions. Crab grass, small bushes, and tropical ferns grew up wild all over the place, and there were brightly colored wildflowers everywhere. They added tiny bursts of yellow, orange, and purple to the overwhelmingly blue and green landscape.
I turned around to have a look at the rough tavern we’d come out of, and there was a black flag waving in the wind. The flag was completely torn at the edges, and the tavern’s roof had been patched several times during its life.
The place looked as worn as the people inside, but it was almost charming. It made me think of a well-loved hoodie. There were small holes, the image might have faded into nothingness, but those were always the most comfortable items of clothing in my opinion.
“The market is this way?” Kaz asked as she pointed left.
“That’s what Phyllis said.” I nodded. “Let’s get a better look at the island.”
We started down the path and walked around the side of Crog’s Spot to find we could see most of the island from this spot.
Apparently Crog had placed his spot at the bottom of a small hill. The beaten dirt path sloped up slightly from one end of the island. More tropical trees and brush filled most of the narrow island’s land, but a few dozen wooden buildings popped up in little clumps all over the place.
We walked along the path for a while and enjoyed the feelings of a tropical vacation. We passed Crocodile Lagoon after a bit, and I scanned the water with curious eyes. I couldn’t remember if crocodiles or alligators were saltwater or freshwater creatures, but I also knew Earth entomology held no bearing on the members of Ebon’s animal kingdom.
I didn’t spot any animals living in the lapping waves along the shore, and we kept walking for a bit.
Then I could see a small gathering of people about a mile down the road from us, and we continued making our way there at a leisurely pace.
The squawks and songs of maybe a hundred different birds filled the air, and there were a lot of flying insects that buzzed around the wildflowers, too. A sharp howling sounded through a copse of tall trees nearby, and it was such a primal sound it sent a shiver through my brain.
“What was that?” Prinna asked with a shudder.
“I’m not sure,” I said.
Then a group of eight tan-furred monkeys swung from one tree to the next. They hooted and hollered as they passed over our heads, and my jaw nearly hit the dirt between my feet.
“What are those things?” Kaz’s voice trembled, and she clung to my arm.
“Monkeys, it looks like,” I said.
“Are they violent?” Prinna wondered in a more curious tone.
“I don’t know,” I scoffed lightly. I thought it was cute they expected I had more information about this place than they did. “Monkeys like that on Earth can be aggressive if you invade their space. Let’s leave them alone.”
We walked on, and I spotted some kind of large rodent scurrying through the brush. I only caught a quick glance, but it looked like a groundhog or something.
This island was rough and untamed, and there was something really appealing about that.
I gazed up toward the sky and realized the sun was much closer to the horizon than I’d thought it was. I could have sworn it was midday or maybe midafternoon when we’d arrived, but by the time we reached the edges of the tiny market, it was creeping toward sunset.
Maybe fifty people were mingling together in the small market, and most of them seemed to be trading and dealing directly from their pockets or leather bags slung over their shoulders. Three or four rickety wooden booths that reminded me of a child’s summer lemonade stand were set up as well, and there was a small crowd at each of them.
All the people here were dressed in similar pirate-style garb as the men in the tavern had been. There were tricorn and wide-brimmed hats, eye patches, and so many layers all over the place. Both the men and women wore flowy shirts with puffy sleeves, a lot of leather, and belts with swords.
A shriek sounded from somewhere nearby, and I turned to locate the sound.
I found a group of children running around a grassy field nearby. They were chasing some kind of leather ball around and kicking it like a soccer ball. It looked like boys and girls of every age between four and fifteen played together.
I realized I hadn’t seen many children in the other realms. It seemed logical to think they were kept safe at home in places like Kohvra and Ryvem. I wondered if the people of Amirma even had children after the Consumption had made life so difficult, and the youth of Bioniin probably spent a good chunk of their days learning either in schools or with private tutors.
I guessed the crowded little stands would have the best or maybe most diverse goods here, and I led Kaz and Prinna toward the nearest one.
“There appear to be no muses here,” Kaz said in quiet observation.
“I have a feeling this place is very different from the other realms we’ve seen,” I said softly.
The bearded brown-haired man behind the small booth was completing a sale with an older woman who carried a woven basket propped on her hip. She passed him a small handful of uncut sapphires and emeralds, and he gave her a steel pan.
“‘Ave a fine day,” the bearded man said.
“And ya, Jack.” The old woman nodded and shuffled away.
The bearded man turned to my ladies and me with a casual smile.
“Ahoy, strangers,” Jack said in a friendly greeting, and his steely-gray eyes landed on the venturer’s badge on my chest. “That a venturer’s badge, sir? I ain’t seen one of ‘em in ages.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “We’ve just come to shore, and Phyllis at Crog’s Spot told us this was a good place for gathering.”
“Right she be,” Jack said with a nod. “Phyllis always be sendin’ folk my way. She’s a bit sweet on me, ya see.”
That felt adorable to me, and I suddenly hoped he was right and not just delusional about the huge-breasted wench.
“Would ye be interested in somethin’ particular?” Jack asked, and he started to gesture to the assortment of items on his booth. “There be compasses, wittlin’ knives, I’ve some parchment ’n charcoal… Some leather… sewin’ needles.”
I scanned over the items, and they all looked like incredibly useful items for this kind of island life. For a few seconds, I considered purchasing a compass. It could be a very useful tool for the kind of lifestyle I’d stumbled into.
I picked one up and inspected it to see if it worked the way I would have expected an Earth compass to. Instead of an N, E, S, and W on the compass face, there were one, two, three, and four little dots like the ones on gaming dice. The single dot seemed to behave as the indicator the way an Earth compass would point toward the north pole.
“In my realm, a compass points north,” I said in a casual tone. “Does this behave that way?”
“I’ve not ‘eard north in many years,” Jack said with wonder in his gray eyes. “I think it be the same as this.”
I realized I didn’t have any gems to pay with, but maybe Jack would be interested in trading for it. Then I remembered Phyllis had said there wasn’t much gold here, and I wondered if Jack would be very interested in a few gold coins.
“I have to apologize,” I said. “I’d like to buy this from you, but I’ve only just arrived. I do have gold solars, though…”
I let my voice trail off as Jack tried to control the excitement that rushed into him. It almost looked like he was going to start drooling, and I gave him a relaxed smile.
“That–” Jack stopped to clear his throat. “That be fine, venturer. F–five solars…”
His voice lingered in uncertainty for a moment like he wasn’t sure if it was a fair price or if he was underselling himself.
“Wonderful,” I said, and I quickly counted out six to ingratiate myself among the locals.
“Thank ya, sir,” Jack said in an almost awe-struck tone of voice, and he quickly bit one of the solars between the four teeth he had on the right side of his mouth. “If ya ‘ave any needs ‘ere, ya come ta me first.”
“Well, how about this?” I said, and I pulled my rucksack around to rest on my chest. I dug through it for a moment before I pulled out a crisp green apple and a nice dagger with a bone handle and leather sheath. “I have some things that might be desirable to the people here. Would you like to have first pick of my goods?”
“Whatcha ‘ave there, venturer?” Jack asked with a curious expression on his bearded face. “What be that green thing?”
“It’s a food from my realm,” I said with a salesman style smirk. “It’s called an apple. It’s crisp and juicy. I’ll let you have it for a sheet of that fine leather you have here.”
“Hmm…” Jack hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
His gray eyes flashed between the piece of leather that was only big enough to cover a small journal and the firm apple in my hand.
“Ye won me over with curiosity, venturer,” Jack said with a wry smile. “It’s a fair trade, me thinks.”
“Great.” I grinned, and I handed the apple to the pirate.
I gave Prinna a small nod, and she lifted the sheet of leather from the booth and rolled it up. She slipped it into the waistband of her pants while Jack sunk his remaining teeth into the apple.
