Chapter 13
Carina and Sarina were absolute geniuses. The uniform fit me perfectly, and despite not taking measurements, Carina had been able to perfectly guess my size for tights, shoes, and even a cute little black and white headband. Sarina had managed to figure out what it was about my hair that was rejecting dye and had adjusted her formula. She had my hair jet black in only about half an hour, and even after a couple of vigorous washings it actually stayed black. She did try to explain it to me, but I didn’t fully understand it. The important part was that my hair was now black and it was staying black. For the moment, at least.
With a little help from Gilliam’s magical makeup brushes, I looked like a totally different person even to myself. Koreo and the rest all did a double-take when I finally made my way downstairs.
“I can’t believe that’s actually you,” Koreo said, marveling at the makeup.
“I can’t either,” I admitted.
“Well, you’re in luck, the trio of buffoons are here,” Tori informed me. She waved a slip of paper in my general direction.
“Is this their order?” I asked.
“Yep. Cheapskates,” she grumbled. They’d ordered eggs and toast and only water to go with them. Gross.
“Alright. I’ll bring them their order,” I said. “Hmm… I think while I’m doing this I need a name, don’t I? What about Seri?”
“Sounds good,” Tori said, amused. “You can be our honorary oldest sister.” She turned to the rest of her siblings. “Hear that? Seri here is our oldest sister. She’s been on vacation for a while, if any customers ask.” The younger four siblings all replied with a chorus of affirmations.
“Here you go, three plates of eggs and toast,” Meri informed me. I turned and took a tray from her.
“Thanks, little sis,” I said with a wink, and the berry-haired girl giggled in response. I turned back to Ari. “Any chance I can get three glasses of milk instead of water?”
“Why?” she asked, truly baffled.
“It’s a crime to eat eggs and toast with water,” I started. “And hey, maybe it’ll help loosen up their tongues a little." Ari nodded. Soon enough I had three wooden mugs full of milk on the tray along with the eggs and toast, and I was ready to make my debut as Seri, the mysterious eldest sister of the breakfast girls, wearing the black uniform of Healing Spirits. I stopped just inside the door to collect myself, cleared my throat, plastered on my biggest grin, and prepared myself.
“Good mornin’, y’all!” I greeted the trio as I approached their table. All three of them looked up in confusion, but the woman, the one that had attempted to fight me with the whip, looked back down at her newspaper immediately, apparently disinterested.
“Oh, you’re a new face,” said the scrawnier guy.
“I sure am,” I said, my southern Curian accent thick. Inwardly I was a little relieved and a lot amused — none of them even vaguely recognized me. Not that I could blame them. “Here’s y’all’s orders, and I hope ya don’t mind but I brought milk instead a’ water!” That got the woman’s attention. She lowered her newspaper and blinked at me.
“Oh? Why, that’s so nice of you,” she said. “But will it be on the bill?”
“Nope, it’s on me,” I said, setting each plate and mug down carefully in front of them according to the ticket — each of them had ordered their eggs differently, and gotten different jam for their toast. Breakfasts dispersed, I tucked the tray under one arm and grinned at them. “So, my sisters tell me you’re tourists from Kiiren! I’ve always wanted to visit! What’s it like?”
“Oh, it’s great,” said the big guy around a mouthful of eggs. He’d ordered his scrambled, with plenty of salt, pepper, and some hot pomona sauce in them for a little extra kick. He swallowed the bite. “Big city, full of people, packed full of shops and restaurants.”
“Yeah, what he said,” the scrawny guy added. “None of the bars even hold a candle to this place, though, if you don’t mind me saying so, miss...um?”
“I’m Seri, it’s nice to meet ya!” I greeted, with a bow.
“Seri, it’s a pleasure,” he said. “Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners? I’m Ban,” he introduced. “The big guy is Kichi, and this lady here is Fyri.” The big guy had gone back to eating his eggs and the woman, Fyri, had started eating her eggs as well. She’d ordered hers as an omelet, with what looked like cheese and netti leaves cooked in it. “Seri, you said younger sisters? So you’re the oldest sister of all of the lovely ladies that work here?”
“I sure am,” I replied. “I’ve been off in south Curian for a while, just got back last week.”
“Ah, that explains the accent,” he said.
“So you’ve only been in town for a week, you say?” Fyri finally spoke up. “You haven’t seen anyone from Kiiren here, have you? A woman with purple hair and a man with black hair?”
Well, that was certainly proof that they had no idea who I was. Good.
“Can’t say I have, ma’am,” I replied. She sighed.
“Friends of yours?” I asked. The woman glared at me, and I did my best to look taken aback. “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be nosy…”
“Nonono, it’s fine!” Ban interjected, frowning at Fyri before looking to me, apologetic. “They aren’t so much friends of ours as, uh, acquaintances. While we’re here in town we thought we’d look for them, but I guess they aren’t here.”
“A purple-haired lady and a black-haired man,” I said. “I’ll keep an eye out for them, I guess. Can you be more descriptive?” I knew I was playing with fire, here, but I had a feeling that I could at least get Ban to trust me if I agreed to ‘help’ them.
“Oh, sure,” he said, looking back to his two companions. “Well, the woman was… around your height, maybe a little taller? And she had purple hair, though I’m sure I’ve seen her with other colored hair too… you know how it is, there are so many ways to change your hair color and that’s fashionable right now in Kiiren…”
“Really? Wow! I had no idea!” I made a show of reaching up and taking some of my newly black hair in one hand. “I’ve been thinkin’ about changing my hair color… maybe I should? Oh, but it wouldn’t match my uniform…”
“I think black hair suits you, Miss Seri,” Ban said, and I knew I had an advantage, now. I blushed and giggled.
“Oh, well thanks!” I said. I noticed Kichi roll his eyes and Fyri glare at Ban, who was either utterly ignoring them or utterly oblivious. “So, what brings y’all all the way out here to Milin anyway?”
“We’re sightseeing,” Fyri said in a somewhat exasperated tone.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, here I am chattin’ y’all’s ears off and you’re just tryin’ to eat!” I said, looking sheepish.
“No, it’s fine!” Ban said, again glaring over at Fyri. Kichi was just patiently, steadily eating. “You’ll have to forgive Fyri, Miss Seri. She hasn’t had any coffee and she tends to get a little testy—”
“I do not!” Fyri protested, glowering.
“We have some fine coffee here, if I do say so myself,” I replied. “Shall I go get you some?”
“Is it on you, like the milk?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not,” I said, as apologetic as I could muster. “I can only get away with so much here…”
“I’ll pay for it,” Kichi finally spoke up, looking tired. “Three coffees. I’ll take mine black, Ban likes his with sugar, and Fyri likes hers with extra creamer and sugar.”
“Alright,” I said, with a nod. “I’ll be back with those soon. Can I get you anything else?”
“More jam?” Kichi asked, and I nodded.
“More jam,” I confirmed. I gave them a friendly wave and headed back to the kitchen. The two youngest sisters were steadily cooking up more breakfast, and though Tori was missing, the other two sisters were leaning against one of the walls, chatting. Jiri noticed me walk in and turned to me, looking eager.
“How did it go?” she asked, and all three of the remaining sisters all turned to me, expectant.
“They have no idea who I am,” I said. “And I convinced them to order coffee.”
“Great!” Jiri said. She pushed off of the wall and headed for where the three large kettles were kept perpetually hot.
“I haven’t been able to get much of anything out of them yet, but one of them is flirting with me, so I’m thinking I can definitely get some info out of him.”
“Oh, the scrawny guy?” Tori asked, and I nodded. “Yeah, he’s flirted with all three of us so far.” Jiri poured coffee into three mugs and motioned me over. I got them all onto the tray and scooped up a dish of sugar cubes, a small pitcher of cream, and a small tub of barberry jam.
“Wish me luck!” I said, and all four present sisters waved me off as I returned to the dining room.
“Alrighty, y’all,” I said as I approached the trio yet again. “Three coffees, and I brought plenty a’ sugar and cream for ya.” I set the three mugs down in front of them and also put the sugar, cream and jam down in the center of the table.
“Thanks,” Ban said, reaching for the sugar. Fyri emptied the entire little pitcher of cream into her coffee and snagged a couple of sugar cubes. Kichi simply sipped his own black coffee with a pleased look on his face.
“Anyway, to answer your earlier question,” Fyri said as she stirred her coffee. “The woman is a little taller than you, I think, and she has long hair that could be any color for all we know.” She seemed quite irritated, and I did my best to keep a warm smile on my face and not let it turn into a triumphant smirk. “And the man has about shoulder length black hair. He’s only a little taller than her. And, let’s see… blue eyes on the man, not sure what color the woman’s are.”
“And what are their names?” I asked.
“The woman’s name is Spikora Mori,” she said, and I gasped in what I hoped was convincing shock.
“Oh, you’re looking for the Spikora Mori?” I asked. “The Spikora Mori that helped build this here bar?”
“The one,” she confirmed, scowling. “Everyone here seems to know her but nobody’s seen her.”
“She’s been gone a’while,” I drawled. “I’ve never met her, but I sure would love to! She’s a bit of a local legend.”
“So we’ve heard,” Ban chimed in.
“We don’t know the man’s name,” Kichi said. He was spreading the barberry jam over his remaining slice of toast. “Only that he’s traveling with the Mori lady.”
“Oh?” I asked, managing to sound quite confused. “I thought they were friends of yours?”
“Acquaintances,” Fyri corrected. “They are. Er, she is. We, uh…”
“We heard she was, uh, eloping with him!” Ban exclaimed. I barely kept myself from barking out a laugh. “Yeah! And we figured we’d congratulate her if she was in town, but I guess she isn’t?”
“Well, I’ll be sure to let you know if I see them come through,” I said, barely managing to keep the laughter out of my voice. “How long are ya’ll gonna be in town for? And where are ya staying, just in case she does come by? I’ll send her over to see ya.”
“Oh, um, we’re not quite sure how long we’ll be in town,” Fyri said. “There are… so many things to do in this little town. It’s surprising!”
“It sure is,” I replied, and it was easy enough to inject some pride into my voice at their praises of Milin. It was like a second home to me… or had been, at least, until I’d gotten too busy to visit. If I could help it, that would never happen again. Once this business with Rasha got settled, anyway.
“We’re staying just down the street at the Woodwinds Inn,” Ban said.
“Oh? Well, thank ya for choosin’ us for breakfast and not eatin’ there!” I said, with a giggle.
“We heard the food and drinks here are top notch,” Kichi said. He took a sip of the coffee. “And so far, you haven’t disappointed.”
“Glad to hear,” I said. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the front door of the bar open, and glanced over to see none other than our friend the Astorian enter and head for one of the smaller tables near the front. “Oh, looks like someone just came in. Better go get their order! Just let one of us know if you need anything else, ya hear?”
“Oh, wait, one last thing, miss!” Ban said, and I turned to him with a nod. He was blushing a little.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Forgive me if I’m being presumptuous here, but, uh, would you perhaps be interested in meeting me after your shift here is done?” he asked. I grinned. Bingo, I had my lead.
“As a...date?” I asked, trying my best to act shy. He nodded, and I pretended to hide behind the tray. “Ah, well, I… I suppose I could. This afternoon, perhaps?”
“That would be lovely,” he said. “Meet me in the lobby of the Woodwinds?”
“I.. I can do that, yes!” I said. He grinned, and I nodded and scuttled away toward the Astorian. As I walked away, I heard Fyri grumbling at him.
“Ban, what are you doing? We’re here on business!” she chastised.
“Can’t I have a little fun? It’s not like we have any leads anyway!” he defended. I managed to school my expression back to the friendly, polite waitress persona I’d crafted as I approached the Astorian.
“Welcome to Healing Spirits, sir!” I greeted. He looked me up and down, taking in my appearance with a critical eye, before nodding to me. “Can I take your order?”
“Is it too early for the lunch special?” he asked.
“I think I can get the cooks to accommodate,” I said. “Will you be having that all the way?”
“Yes, and could I get a coffee? No sugar or cream,” he said.
“That’ll be all?” I asked. He nodded.
“For now,” he said. I nodded and did my best to look curious.
“Um, I hope this isn’t impolite, but I’ve gotta ask, sir. Are you western Astorian? Your accent sounds like it,” I said. He nodded. “Oh, I was right? Yay! I fancy myself as pretty good at tellin’ where people are from based on their accent. Real bad at doin’ accents myself, though.”
“Is that right?” he asked, looking amused. I nodded.
“Yep! Why, there’s a table full a’ Kiirenese tourists over there,” I said, gesturing intently in the direction of the trio. “I knew as soon as they ordered where they were from.”
“Really,” he said, looking interested. “Tourists, you say?”
“Yeah, guess they’re here to see the lights like all the other tourists,” I said. “Anyway, sorry to bother you about your accent.”
“It was no bother,” he answered. I turned to leave, but he continued. “Hold on, just a moment.”
“Yes?” I asked. “Did you want to change your order?”
“No,” he answered. “Did those three tourists happen to be looking for someone?”
“Now that you mention it, I think so,” I replied. “They asked me about two people, but I haven’t seen ‘em.”
“Great. Thank you. I’m looking forward to that special and coffee,” he said. I nodded and headed for the kitchen, but took the long way so that I passed close enough to the trio that they could flag me down...and, as I predicted, they did.
“Miss Seri!” Ban whisper-shouted at me. I did my best to look surprised and went back to their table.
“Yes? Did you need to add anything to your order?” I asked.
“No, no, sorry,” Ban apologized.
“That guy you were just talking to,” Fyri asked, managing to keep her voice low. “Did he ask about us?”
“He did,” I answered.
“I knew it,” she growled. I did my best to look concerned.
“Is something the matter?” I asked. “Is he another friend of yours?”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” Ban quickly replied. “Thank you, Seri. Um, see you after work?”
“Sure,” I said, blushing and giggling again. I retreated to the kitchen.
“Well, I have a date with the scrawny one,” I announced as soon as I was behind the closed kitchen door. All four sisters present looked at me with shocked expressions.
“A date? Why?!” Ari asked. I laughed.
“I should be able to get plenty of information out of him that way,” I said. “Also, the Astorian guy is here again, too. He ordered a lunch special and a black coffee.”
“It’s too early for lunch.” Rina groaned, sounding exasperated.
“I’m ordering two more lunch specials, one for me and one for Rasha,” I said.
“Fine, fine,” Rina said. “I’ll do it for you, Miss Spikora.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I know for sure he’s watching the three of them, and now they know that he’s watching them.”
“What good will that do?” Tori asked.
“Well, if they give up and go back to Kiiren, he might follow them,” I said. “And that’ll get him and hopefully the rest of the Astorians out of our hair.”
“I can’t believe you’re going on a date with Ban,” Ari said, rolling her eyes. “I’m gonna tell Rasha.”
“Okay?” I asked. “I was going to tell him myself, and Koreo and the rest, just so we’re all on the same page.”
“Won’t he be mad?” she asked, and I actually was confused and didn’t have to fake it for once.
“Rasha?” I asked for clarification. She nodded, one eyebrow up.
“Yes, Rasha, aren’t you two dating?” she asked.
“No?” I replied. “Are we...acting like we are?”
“Well, no,” Ari said, frowning. “I just… I mean, you bought him, right, so why wouldn’t you?”
“I didn’t date Koreo after I bought her,” I pointed out. “And no, Rasha and I definitely aren’t dating.”
“Huh,” she said.
“Anyway, I’d better get this special out to Mr. Astorian guy,” I said, noticing that Rina was almost done assembling the saringer.
“You two should be dating,” Ari said. “You have good chemistry!”
“I’ve known him for all of two days now,” I said, with a roll of my eyes. I approached Rina, who put the finished saringer on my tray. I poured a mug of black coffee and put that on the tray also. Tori was still frowning when I passed her on the way out to the front of the bar. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound dismissive…”
“No, no, I do this all the time, butting into people’s love lives,” Ari apologized. “It’s just… I’m really, really happy with Maki, and I guess I want everyone else to be happy too…”
“You’re dating Makkin?” I asked, and Ari blushed, nodding. I smiled an actual, genuine smile. “Hey, good for you two! He’s a good kid, you could do a lot worse.”
“That’s…” she started, trailing off, in awe. “That means a lot coming from you, Miss Spikora. Thanks.”
“Sure,” I said, with a nod. I continued back out into the bar area, carrying the saringer and coffee over to the Astorian. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to get any more information out of him. As Sarien had discovered, he was very tight-lipped about basically everything.
The hours ticked by, the trio left before they could be pressured into ordering lunch, the Astorian followed, and I retreated upstairs to get ready for my “date”.
“A date?” Rasha asked, incredulous. “With one of that trio of goons?”
“Yep,” I said, hauling open the Infinity bag and grabbing for the inventory book. I had some nicer clothes but were they too nice for a simple date, I wondered?
“Isn’t that really risky?” he questioned further.
“They all looked right at me and didn’t recognize me at all,” I said. “It’ll be fine. And I’m sure if I ask the right questions I can get plenty of information out of him.” I found a cute black dress and pulled it out of the bag, only to realize that it was too big for me now. I’d lost weight since I’d bought it, apparently. I shoved it back into the bag with a sigh and continued to dig around. One of these days I really needed to clean it out and give away the clothes I didn’t need. Maybe the breakfast girls or Rina would want some? It was something to consider. Koreo probably wouldn’t mind if I left some stuff here in the guest room, too, now that I was thinking about it…
“Well, if you’re sure,” Rasha said, shaking his head. I found another black dress and pulled it out. The hem was a little short on me and it was sleeveless, so I’d need to wear a coat or something else underneath it, not to mention some leggings. It was a contender. I turned to Rasha and held up the dress.
“Is this too nice for a casual date?” I asked. Rasha blinked.
“Well, I mean… no?” he asked. “I guess it depends on what you pair with it?”
“Good answer,” I replied, with a laugh. I returned to the bag, this time in search of leggings and some kind of bolero or nice sweater. Rasha was quiet for long enough that I thought for sure that the conversation was over. I’d just managed to find a nice pair of white leggings and some old black boots when he spoke up again.
“Is he your type?” he asked. I looked over at him with a confused look. “The scrawny guy. Is he your type?”
“No,” I answered, truthfully. Rasha frowned a little.
“Well, then, what is your type?” he asked.
“Wait, are you jealous?” I asked. Rasha shook his head.
“No, just curious,” he said. I didn’t know if I believed him, but didn’t want to push the issue. I turned to face him fully, settling the dress and leggings over my lap.
“I don’t really have a ‘type’ per se,” I answered, and that was the truth...mostly. “I’m more interested in what’s going on up here than anything,” I continued, gesturing to my head. And that was true, too, to an extent. I didn’t exactly mean that I was attracted to smart people, it was more of a… personality kind of thing. It was… complicated. Very complicated. My taste in men, in people in general, was and always had been kind of all over the place.
“I see,” Rasha said, looking confused. “You’re a very complicated person.”
“What about you, Rasha? Do you have a type?” I asked. He shrugged.
“I like someone who is confident, who knows what they’re about,” he said. “I guess I’m like most people in that regard.”
“Hmm,” I answered. “I kinda thought you’d be an ass man, myself,” I joked, and Rasha looked surprised for a second, and then burst out laughing.
“Well, a nice ass certainly doesn’t hurt,” he said. My grin widened.
“Truer words have never been spoken,” I said, teasing.
I checked and double checked and double-double checked to make sure the dye wasn’t coming out of my hair, but it was just as black as it had been when I’d left the salon that morning. Good. I wondered if Sarina could sell the dye in bottles. I touched up the makeup with Gilliam’s magical paint brushes, tossed on the black and white outfit I’d managed to assemble from the bag, and headed downstairs just after the lunch rush was over.
“Good luck on your date, Seri!” Tori called after me with an exaggerated wink. I rolled my eyes and blew her a kiss.
I really, truly didn’t think I was going to be in any kind of danger. None of them suspected me at all, none of them recognized me at all, and even if it was a trap I could fight my way out of it with no issues. However, I had agreed to it when Rasha had suggested that he should be nearby just in case I needed assistance. He looked sufficiently different in borrowed clothes and with blonde hair and a full face of makeup from Gilliam’s brushes. And I was actually really glad he was watching, because as I approached the Woodwinds I absolutely noticed the Astorian at one of the outdoor tables, sitting behind a newspaper.
“Oh, well, if it isn’t Mr. Astorian!” I greeted with a wave, approaching where he was sitting. He looked at me over the newspaper and nodded in greeting. “Oh, sorry, I guess it’s rude to call you that. Never did get your name?”
“Yuri,” he said, and it was absolutely a fake name, but I couldn’t fault him for it, of course.
“I guess you’re stayin’ here too?” I asked.
“Too?” he asked.
“Yeah, those Kiirenese tourists are stayin’ here, what a coincidence!” I said. I leaned in to him and whispered, conspiratorially. “I’ve got a date with the cute one.”
“And which one would that be?” he asked. I giggled.
“Oh, I bet the lady’s your type, huh?” I said. He didn’t look amused. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and turned my head a little, discovering that Ban was making his way through the lobby toward us. “I’m sure I could set you up on a date with her if you want! Do you want me to?”
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Yuri replied, frowning.
“Suit yourself,” I said. I turned and waved at Ban, who had frozen at seeing who I was talking to. He looked conflicted for a second, then moved forward at an even faster pace. “Well, sorry for botherin’ ya, Mr. Yuri. Hope I see ya at the bar again.” I headed toward the lobby doors, and Ban practically burst out of them.
“Who is that you were talking to?” he asked, looking between Yuri and I, paranoid.
“Oh, he’s a tourist from Astor! He was at the bar earlier, so I thought I’d say hi,” I explained, with a giggle. “Why, are you jealous?”
“Uh, um… y-yes,” Ban stammered. “Why don’t we finish this conversation somewhere else?”
“Ooh, did you have somewhere in mind?” I asked. He looked sheepish, ducking his head a little.
“Er, not really. I’m sure you know Milin better than I do,” he replied. That was definitely true.
“I know just the place!” I said, praying that it somehow hadn’t been destroyed to construct more houses or something. “It’s not far, c’mon!” I set off down the road away from Healing Spirits, and Ban hastily followed. Predictably, as soon as we were far enough away from the inn, he turned to me looking nervous.
“That tourist from Astor… uh, I think he’s been following my friends and I,” he confessed. I looked shocked. “Was he asking about us?”
“Oh! I think I get what’s going on,” I said. “I’ll bet he likes your lady friend, Fyri. He was staring at her across the bar aallll morning, y’know?”
“No, no, that’s not…” Ban started, tripping over his words and nearly over a rock in the road. He looked like he was starting to hyperventilate.
“Oh, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked, and some of the concern in my voice was real. Yes, the three of them had been kind of a headache for me, but they weren’t nearly as bad as anyone else that was looking for Rasha and I… and none of them held a candle to anyone that had been chasing Koreo and I down ten years ago, anyway.
“That guy followed us from Kiiren, I think,” Ban said.
“What does he want?” I asked, looking around. “Hey, there’s a bench a little ways down the road there, do ya need to sit down?”
“Yeah, yeah that would be great,” Ban said. He staggered his way over to the little bench and basically collapsed on it, hands on his knees and head bent. He was definitely having a panic attack. I felt bad for him.
“Hey, everything’s fine,” I said. I hesitantly put a hand on his back. “Here, I’m gonna take some deep breaths, match me.” He nodded and with some difficulty did as I asked. I took loud, exaggerated breaths in and out until his breathing had evened out to something more natural. “Okay, now, do ya wanna talk about it? Can ya talk about it?”
“I, uh…” he bit his lip and shook his head. “I could get in a lot of trouble if I say too much.”
“...so, I guess you’re not really a tourist then, are ya?” I asked. I sat back against the bench and tried to look troubled.
“To tell you the truth, I’m...well, I’m, uh, employed by a rich and powerful man back in Kiiren, and I’m here on business with my two… I guess you’d call them coworkers?” Ban explained.
“Ohhhh,” I said, trying to sound in awe but a little bit scared. “You work for the Curadon?”
“What?! No, no, definitely not!” Ban protested. “It’s nothing like that. My boss isn’t nearly that powerful.”
“What is your job then?” I asked. “You’ve gotta be important if that Astorian guy is following you, right?”
“Well, kinda?” Ban asked. “My boss is a pretty important guy, don’t get me wrong, but me and Kichi and Fyri? We’re the bottom of the totem pole in his organization. I’m pretty sure he sent us out here because there’s no way we’d actually find Spikora Mori here.” So I’d been entirely correct in my assumptions.
“How awful,” I replied, hoping I actually sounded sincere. Either I did or Ban didn’t notice.
“Yeah. Well, at least we’re getting paid for this wild goose chase, but we’re gonna have to head back sooner than our boss wants because Fyri keeps wasting our travel budget,” he complained.
“...I guess you’re not actually looking for Miss Spikora just to congratulate her on her elopement, huh?” I asked. He shook his head.
“I can’t say too much about it or Fyri will kill me,” he answered, sounding mournful. “And it’s not even her that we’re really after, it’s the guy she’s traveling with…” he sat bolt upright and looked at me, panicked. “Forget I said that! That’s way too much information!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, I swear!” I answered, and he sighed in relief.
“Thanks. You know, Miss Seri, you did a really good job at talking me out of that panic attack,” he said. I nodded.
“I have them sometimes too, I get it,” I answered, and that was actually the truth, too. Granted, they happened a lot more when I was younger and much more helpless, but that wasn’t something you ever forgot about.
“Really?” he asked. I nodded. “Well, thank you.” He took a breath and stood up, and turned to me looking apologetic. “Sorry. I guess I’m not making a very good impression, am I?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, also standing. He gestured for me to lead the way and we started down the road again. I decided to push my luck just a little further.
“So, do you think that Astorian guy is following you because you’re looking for Miss Spikora?” I asked. He nodded, grimly, and I grimaced. “She must be in a lot of trouble. I hope she’s alright. I’ve heard all kinds of stories about her, but I’ve never actually gotten to meet her before.”
“Like what, if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked. I relayed some of the things that the sisters and Rina had told me, embellishing them a little here and there. Ban listened, fascinated. We eventually made it to the place I’d been thinking of — it was one of the many little tributary streams that flowed into the much larger Milin river that cut through the valley. There was a huge waterfall in the southern part of the mountainside at the head of the river, but that was miles away. This spot in particular was a place I’d gone to a lot back when the bar was being built. Whenever I got stressed or needed to be alone I’d come here, and apparently in the intervening years the spot had been turned into a little garden with stone benches set up right at the edge of the little stream. We made our way over to one of the benches and sat down. Ban was silent for a few moments before speaking up.
“Y’know, I’ve been thinking about quitting the mercenary business lately,” he said. “It’s just… I make good money in Kiiren, and I don’t know where else I would go, really. But this trip out here has really opened up my eyes.”
“I can think of worse places to start a new life,” I replied. He laughed, but it was sad.
“If I bailed on the mission I wouldn’t get any money,” he said. “That, and Fyri would kill me.”
“She seems...intense?” I replied.
“That’s one way of putting it,” he grumbled. He sighed and leaned back on the bench. “Sorry, there I go complaining about my problems again. Not much of a date, huh?”
“I don’t mind,” I lied.
“Well, it’s not like this was going anywhere anyway,” he moped. “We’re leaving to go back to Kiiren soon anyway. Hopefully that Astorian guy doesn’t follow us all the way back…”
“Maybe you should go to the guard and tell them about him?” I suggested.
“Maybe we should,” he replied, staring down at the stream. He heaved a sigh. “Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about you, Miss Seri?”
“Oh, well, I was studying at a university in south Curian long enough that I picked up the accent,” I said, with a laugh. He laughed too. “I decided to come back here until I get a real job somewhere. Dunno if I’ll stay in Milin or go to a bigger city.”
“You should come to Kiiren,” Ban said, looking a little excited. “I don’t even know what you studied, but I’m sure you could get a job there.”
“Oh, Kiiren’s too big, it’s really intimidating,” I replied, parroting what every single person I’d ever met said after I told them I lived in Kiiren by myself.
“Yeah, it is really big, but once you get used to it it isn’t so bad,” Ban replied. “Though I’ve got to say, Milin is definitely not bad either, at least what I’ve gotten to see so far.” He looked a little sad. “Which isn’t very much. We’ve been sticking to the inn and going to your bar as often as we can afford to look for Spikora Mori and the guy she’s traveling with. To tell you the truth I don’t think they’re here. We would have found them by now.” I nearly barked out a laugh, but managed to turn it into clearing my throat.
“It’s a shame you’re leavin’ soon,” I lied. “There’s a whole lot of Milin to see! Did you know there’s a farm here where they’ll let you go pet all of their animals?”
“There is?” Ban asked, looking very interested. I couldn’t help laughing that time.
“A tough mercenary like you wants to go pet animals?” I asked. He nodded. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, Mr. Ban, but you really don’t seem like you’re cut out to be a mercenary at all.”
“You’re not wrong,” he said, with a big sigh. “I’m really not. You know, I’m the only one out of the three of us that hasn’t, uh, actually killed anybody,” he said. “Kichi’s the brawns and Fyri’s the brains, and I’m just the third wheel.”
“I don’t know, it seems like you’re the brains,” I replied, without even thinking. He blinked at me, and then gave a halfhearted chuckle.
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” he said. I shook my head.
“No offense, but that Fyri lady doesn’t seem like she could be the brains,” I said. He snorted. “So, I’m right?”
“Don’t tell her about any of this,” Ban said. “She’s already furious that I’m out on a date.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” I said. I stood up. “Wanna go pet those animals?”
“Miss Seri, I have never wanted anything more in my entire life.”
“Alright, it’s not too far of a walk, maybe fifteen, twenty minutes?” I hazarded. I just hoped the farm was actually still there, and they still allowed visitors. Ban nodded and stood up as well.
“Hey, just out a’ curiosity… what would y’all do if you found Miss Spikora, anyway?” I asked as we walked. He let out a surprisingly bitter laugh at that.
“Probably get our asses handed to us again,” he grumbled, with a little pout. He was a little cute like this. Only a little.
“Oh my gosh! Did y’all fight her?” I asked, acting surprised. He nodded. I could practically see the metaphorical rain cloud settling over his head.
“That lady is… seriously terrifying. Kichi, the big guy, he has this ax, right? It weighs a ton, I can barely lift it — I mean, it’s not like I’m a pushover or anything, I can lift a lot!” He made a show of rolling up his sleeve and flexing and, well, he did have some muscle at least… “But I mean it’s really really heavy, and she lifted it like it was nothing! She definitely could have killed us, no question!”
“That don’t sound like the Miss Spikora I’ve been told about,” I managed to reply, somehow schooling my face into a shocked expression and keeping the laughter out of my voice. Not that Ban would have noticed, as he currently had his head in his hands.
“She took out one of our toughest guys, too, and word has it she even beat a Pacted magic user before she skipped town! Honestly, I’m a little relieved she’s not here…” Ban continued. I made a thoughtful noise. So, Conrad was working for Byars, and word of my accomplishments had, unsurprisingly, gotten around. Interesting.
We walked in silence for a while. I was, to my own surprise, hatching a plan to try to help this guy. Fyrik was obviously a bitch and I could care less about her, Kichi I had nothing against, but this guy… well, he was pathetic, and definitely not cut out for this mercenary lifestyle.
Eventually, I heard a sniffle. Ban was crying. Oh no, if I hadn’t wanted to try to help him before…
“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” I said, trying my best to sound soothing. We stopped walking.
“Sorry,” Ban whimpered. I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Miss Seri, I didn’t want our date to go like this…”
“It’s alright,” I lied. He wiped at his face and shook his head.
“Look at me, out on a date with a cute girl like you and all I can do is complain about my job and start crying… I’m such a loser…” he said. Well, I couldn’t disagree with that, so I just decided to keep my mouth shut.
“Forgive me for saying this, Mr. Ban, but I really think ya should just quit and start a new life somewhere else.”
“It’s not that easy,” he muttered. “I may not know very much, but I do still know a lot about Mr. Byars’s organization. There’s no way he’d let me leave alive, and even if he did I couldn’t exactly get a job anywhere else, you know?”
“You’d have to completely disappear,” I agreed. “Change yer appearance, change yer name, completely drop off the face a’ the planet.”
“...yeah?” he asked. He was starting to sound pretty confused.
“What if I could help?” I asked. Now Ban looked up at me. Really looked at me. I began to wonder if he was figuring it out, but then he sniffed.
“Why are you being so nice to someone you just met?” he asked. I shrugged.
“Ya seem like a good guy, an’ I like helpin’ people,” I answered, truthfully. His eyes were getting watery.
“C-can you really help me?” he asked. I nodded.
“I can, but I need ya ta’ promise me two things, Mr. Ban,” I said. He nodded, his eyes getting even more watery. “Three things, actually. First, please don’t cry on me.”
“O-okay,” he said. He reached up to wipe his eyes again and take a deep breath.
“Second, if I help ya you’ve gotta promise not to ever go back to Kiiren or try and get in touch with any of yer coworkers or yer boss, kay? And if you’ve got any family in Kiiren, ya probably shouldn’t try contactin’ ‘em either,” I continued. Ban nodded again.
“No family to speak of, not in Kiiren anyway,” he sighed in response. I nodded.
“And third, I need ya t’ keep in mind how easy it would be for Miss Spikora to kick yer butt,” I continued. He looked puzzled at that, but nodded. I glanced around quickly, making sure that nobody but Rasha was around, before I continued.
“Okay,” I said, dropping the accent. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but everything I’ve told you since this morning is one hundred percent a lie.” Ban looked bewildered now. “That was an act, I’m not related to those girls at the bar, my name isn’t Seri, and this isn’t even remotely my real hair color.”
“Wait…” Ban said. “Wait a second, hold on…” I could practically hear the gears turning in his head. “If you’re not Seri then…” Ah yes, he was finally getting it, time for the big reveal…
“Who are you, then?” he asked. I paused, opening my mouth and then shutting it again.
“Are you serious?” I asked. He blinked at me, like a confused puppy. A confused, stupid puppy. I sighed. “You really don’t even have a guess?” He shook his head. I considered the pros and cons of saying ‘just kidding’ and going back to the lie. Just how much did I actually want to help this guy?
“Well, uh,” Ban started, reaching up to scratch at his head. “Um…?”
“Why would I lie about being related to those girls, dye my hair, put on an accent, and agree to go on a date with you?” I asked, trying not to sound too exasperated.
“Because I’m…super attractive?” Ban asked. I had to take a deep breath.
“Because I’m getting information out of you, Ban!” I exclaimed. He blinked. He seemed to be thinking hard, his brow furrowed and his mouth in a little frown.
“Because you’re trying to help Spikora?” he asked.
“Because I am Spikora!” I finally revealed. He blinked again, leaned forward and squinted at me.
“No you’re not,” he accused. I put a hand to my forehead and sighed. “There’s no way! You look nothing like her!”
“I’m wearing makeup,” I replied. He frowned.
“Your hair is black!” he accused.
“I said I dyed it!” I snapped.
“W-well, Spikora’s taller than you! Nice try!” he exclaimed.
“No she isn’t, because she’s me!” I huffed. “Look, do you want my help or not?!”
“Um, well, that depends,” he said, finally starting to look wary of me. I glared over at him.
“I’ll put it this way, Ban,” I grumbled in response. “I can get you out of the mercenary business without it costing you your life. I have connections. I know people. You could leave the whole life behind and start over somewhere else far, far away from Ixan Byars. But in order for that to happen, you have got to trust me, and that’s got to start with you believing that I am actually Spikora Mori.”
“O…okay…” Ban replied, and it was starting to look like he understood the situation he was in, if the way he was suddenly leaning away from me and trembling a little was any indication. He cleared his throat. “So, if you’re actually her then… how did you evade us for so long?”
“No offense, but it wasn’t difficult. You three aren’t exactly the most observant,” I replied. Or smart, I didn’t say out loud. Or competent. Or… you know what, I’ll just stop there. “The fact that you still don’t fully believe me is proof enough, right?” Ban’s only reply was a nervous sounding laugh. “Exactly.”
“Um, so, alright… why are you so willing to help me, then, if you really are her?” Ban asked.
“I meant what I said earlier. You seem like a decent enough guy and I like helping people,” I explained. “I especially like helping people get out of the Kiirenese crime syndicate business when I can.” It wasn’t like Ban here was the first person I’d helped like this. He probably wouldn’t be the last, either.
“...okay,” Ban said, after a moment. It looked like he was starting to loosen back up a little. “So you like helping people. But what’s in it for you?” I grinned.
“I’m glad you asked, Ban,” I said, grinning. “See, and again I really mean no offense here, but you three aren’t my biggest problem here in Milin by any stretch of the imagination. The real problem is that Astorian spy that’s been following you guys.”
“That guy you were talking to earlier?” Ban asked, suddenly very interested. I nodded. “Hah! I knew it, he is an Astorian spy! I was right!”
“I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious…” I replied. Ban nodded.
“And so did I! But Fyri kept insisting that there was no way a government spy was following us around!” Ban replied.
Yeah, that checked out.
“So the thing about that guy is that if he suddenly goes missing or leaves without a good reason to, his government is immediately going to suspect that we’re here. We need to get him to leave with some kind of lead as to my ‘whereabouts’,” I said with physical quotations around the word whereabouts.
“Okay?” Ban asked. I nodded.
“That’s where you come in, my friend. I need you to report back to Fyri and your boss that you got a lead on where Spikora Mori might be, thanks to the cute waitress you took out on a date today,” I said. I started walking again, motioning for him to follow. He did so, and eagerly at that.
“Sure, but how does that—” he started, but I shook my head and continued.
“If you leave, the spy will follow you, and that’ll get him out of my hair,” I explained.
“How will that get me out of the mercenary business?” Ban asked.
“I’m going to send you to a friend of mine. His name is Rutger, and he lives in a town a little bit west of here, south of Mt. Arpasso. He’s a good guy, he’ll help you disappear without a trace and start a new life somewhere else, if that’s what you want,” I explained.
“What kind of a new life?” Ban asked.
“He’ll hook you up as an apprentice to some kind of trade, I’m sure,” I said. “Smithing, leatherworking, something like that. Nice and low-key, somewhere out in the countryside. Is that something you’d want?”
“Well…” he started with a sigh. “It’ll be hard to give up life in the city…”
“That’s the best I can do,” I said, with a shrug. “Lay low for a few years and you can probably move to one of the other cities, but I’d stay clear of Kiiren at least.” Ban sighed.
“There’s not much for me in Kiiren anyway,” he complained. “Merc money is decent, but I end up spending it all on rent and alcohol anyway…”
“Well, that’s the spirit,” I replied. He laughed.
“What the hell, okay,” he said. “If I never have to see Fyri again or get called an idiot by the boss, I’m down.” I grinned.
“That’s the spirit!” I said. “Okay then. Like I said, You went on that date with the cute waitress, and she eventually told you that she remembers that Spikora has a friend in Yora. The village blacksmith. Seri thinks she might have gone there. That’s actually true, so you won’t even have to lie!” Ban nodded, and I continued. “When you get there, ask for Rutger, and tell Rutger that Milina Faustus sent you. He’ll know what that means. He’ll find a way to get you away from Fyra and Kichi, but you have to trust him, and you have to act like you don’t know what’s going on.” Ban laughed.
“Oh don’t worry, I’m really good at that,” he said, a touch self-deprecating. “Right. Okay. Milina Faustus sent me. Ask for Rutger.”
“Now, are you ready to pet some animals?” I asked, and Ban looked up only to be startled by the fact that we’d already arrived at our destination. His surprise quickly morphed into something approaching childlike glee.
“I am so ready,” he said. He started off for the gate to the farm we were approaching with an honest to gods spring in his step. I looked behind us and found Rasha watching us from behind a nearby tree. I winked at him. He looked confused and exasperated. And maybe a touch jealous. Did he want to pet the animals too?
I actually went with Ban to the train station the next day, still in my Seri disguise, accent and all, to see him off. Well, it was less to see him off and more to see if my suspicions were right about the man definitely not named Yuri, the Astorian spy. It also helped add a layer of legitimacy to Ban’s claims that he might have a lead on the whereabouts of the now infamous Spikora Mori. Fyri looked impatient as they boarded the elevator platform, Kichi looked bored, and a few feet behind them, mixed in with the rest of the crowd, was “Yuri”.
“You’re welcome back here any time, Mr. Ban,” I said, my accent thick. “You and yer friends. I do hope you find Miss Spikora! And when you do, you tell ‘er there’s a whole lotta folks here in Milin that miss her somethin’ fierce!”
Was I laying it on too thick? A quick glance at Fyri and Kichi told me that, no, I was not.
“I’ll never forget you, Miss Seri,” Ban replied. I had to hand it to him, he was actually selling the lie quite well. It seemed like they actually believed him. There was a whistling sound, which signified that the platform would be moving soon. Ban reached down and took both of my hands in one of his. “Thank you so much for this.”
“Make the most of it,” I said, my voice a low whisper. “Most people don’t get a second chance.” He let go of my hand and I stepped back. Ban and his coworkers retreated to the middle of the platform as the station engineers urged them to. I waved and Ban waved back as they ascended out of view.
Rasha fell into step beside me as I headed for the shortcut back to Healing Spirits.
“I can’t believe that worked,” he said. I laughed.
“Honestly? Neither can I,” I said. We were silent for a few minutes as we made our way through the streets of Milin.
“So, what now?” he asked.
“Well, there won’t be another train until this evening, so we’ll have to wait until at least then to head out for Nixian,” I said. He nodded. “But now that the Astorian guy and those three are gone we can relax a little. There’s a small possibility that they might come back here once Ban ditches them, but I seriously doubt it.”
“And you don’t think he’ll tell them anything?” Rasha asked, looking concerned.
“Probably not,” I said.
We arrived at Healing Spirits not too long after that, and it was a huge relief to be able to use the front door like a normal person would. Tori greeted us at the door, and then did a double-take.
“Oh! Well, if you’re using the front door, I guess the coast is clear now?” she asked. I nodded, and she grinned. “You’ll have to tell me what you did to get rid of those clowns and that Astorian guy.”
“I will,” I promised. “But first, can we get an early lunch?”