It was getting late in the day, when Marsh walked out the main gates of the city and into the Fest. The first thing he did was look anxiously around. He didn’t feel anxious, but just wanted to look like any other roughneck mercenary making his way home after work.
There was nothing in the Fest to frighten Marsh but he didn’t want to be noticed tonight, so he wore his mercenary get up. Dirty overcoat, knee high leather boots, dusty wide brimmed hat and notched old sword hanging from his belt.
The Fest was filthy. Rumours were that the name came from a massive infestation of roaches in its early days, although, there were no roaches there anymore. They had been eaten by all the rats a long long time ago.
And the streets were full of filth despite the Fest having been connected to the city’s sewer system over seventy years ago. No-one, it seemed bothered to find a latrine. It was far easier to just lower your trousers and leave a small gift on the street. And as well as the sludge and stench, the Fest had a reputation for being a very dangerous place, especially after dark.
Marsh walked up the main street, glancing over his shoulder now and again to maintain the disguise, but despite appearances, Marsh was not alone. Gel was with him.
Gel was Marsh’s best stealth affine with an unmatched ability to meld into the shadows. He was virtually impossible to see at night. The only reason Marsh could see Gel was because he wore an artifact earring that gave him nightvision and enhanced sensory perception. With the earring, Marsh could spot, if only momentarily, Gel’s movements in and out of the shadows, and then follow on behind.
The earring was probably one of the smallest artifacts Marsh owned but it was definitely one of the most useful. And without it, he would no doubt have fallen prey to a stealth affine from another House a long time ago.
A door slammed across the street and three thugs came out. They spotted Marsh immediately and headed straight for him.
Marsh sighed, and gave a look towards where he had last seen Gel. It was hardly Gel’s fault but Marsh had hoped to avoid any kind of encounter tonight.
“Where the heck do you think you’re going?” the big one in the middle said, “This is our street. We say who goes here.”
Marsh looked at all three of the thugs. None looked like an affine, although the middle one was of a fair size and obviously pretty strong.
Marsh noticed Gel moving around behind the three of them, but shook his head slightly as a sign to the Sneak. No need for Gel to get involved.
Instead, Marsh looked at the big fellow and said in a soothing hypnotic tone, “I’m sorry. I was looking for my daughter. Have you seen her?”
The thug in the middle stopped immediately. “What does she look like?” he said, concern showing clearly in his face.
“Who gives?” one of the other two shouted from the side, “Let’s do this clown.”
“He’s not very nice,” Marsh continued in his singsong voice, looking straight at the big man in the middle. He then pointed at the man who seemed to think he was a clown, “I think he’s the one who took my daughter.”
At which point the big man in the middle grabbed the one that Marsh was pointing at and started to choke him.
“You are doing very well,” Marsh continued in a soothing tone to the big man.
The big one smiled and squeezed the neck of the other man harder and harder.
The third looked on in amazement at what was happening. He seemed on the verge of doing something when Marsh turned his attention to him and said, “I think it’s time for you to go home, don’t you?”
The third man’s face took on a slightly vacant expression before he nodded his agreement and left.
Meanwhile the one that wanted ‘to do Marsh’ was thrashing wildly in the big fellow’s grip, trying desperately to escape.
Marsh looked on with a smile and offered some more encouragement to his new big friend. “That’s very good. You are a very good boy.”
The big man beamed with pride and continued squeezing. When the other man eventually went limp, the big one held out the lifeless body to Marsh, like a puppy offering a stick to its master.
“You have done very well,” Marsh said, smiling at the big man. "Now I want you to take this man and hide him where no-one will ever find him. And after you’ve done that,” Marsh smiling a big broad smile at the man, “I want you to kill yourself.”
The big man nodded eagerly before dragging the other man back across the street and back into the house.
Marsh carried on quietly down the street. He actually felt better despite having wanting to avoid trouble. He hadn’t used that particular enchantment for a long time and it was good to keep your hand in. And he was particularly pleased that he hadn’t needed to tap into the energy of his spark to do it. What just occurred was all pure natural talent. Just his natural affinity to sound. At the end of the street, Marsh watched for signs of Gel’s passing and followed.
Gel was weaving a wavy roundabout route tonight but Marsh could tell he was getting closer to his destination. A couple of buildings across the street looked familiar and, of course, the smell was getting stronger. Wearing an artifact earring that boosted your senses had many benefits but an enhanced sense of smell in the Fest wasn’t one of them.
Jira’s house, if you could call it that, was right in the middle of the Fest, where illness, poverty and death were never too far away. For every ten beggars you saw curled up sleeping rough in this area, at least one of them would be in permanent state of repose.
Beggars were generally not tolerated inside the gates, so the best place to beg was outside the brothels in the Fest. These were pretty much the only places outside the city gates frequented by nobles, and so naturally, the beggars tended to congregate there.
The bigger more affluent brothels were like little mini fortresses, guaranteeing their clients security. They even provided safe passage through the Fest, from main gate to front door if so desired. But most nobles brought their own guards.
Marsh noticed a group of three nobles and at least eight guards leaving one of the larger buildings up ahead, their business seemingly completed for the night.
Marsh knew where he was now. He waited for the group up ahead to disappear before slipping into a small alley off to his left. He continued under a small arch before turning to face an iron gate on his right. It smelled dank and fetid in the small covered area. The mixture of decay and sewage confirmed he was near Jira’s home and the added smell of burning told Marsh that Jira was in. Not that she ever went anywhere. She was completely blind and in the care of her daughter.
Marsh rattled the metal grid that did for a gate.
“Get lost, we’re shut,” came the predictable reply.
“Ahhh. Mona, is that your beautiful voice I hear,” Marsh replied using a little of his affinity to encourage her to listen.
He then added, “Won’t you open the gate, so I can speak to your mother a while.”
When there was no reply Marsh added, “As always, Mona, I will make it well worth your while.”
The grid slowly raised. Marsh saw Gel duck underneath and he followed too, ducking low when the gate was half open.
He hadn’t taken more than a couple of steps inside when he felt Mona, take him by the arm and whisper in his ear. “My mother is not well, today. I fear for her, so please be quick.”
Marsh nodded. He started to head into the back room where he knew Jira would be sitting looking at the fire. But he felt another little tug on his arm.
Mona looked at him with wide enticing eyes, “Payment first,” she said.
Marsh flipped a gold coin from his fingers up in the air towards Mona. She caught it dexterously and slipped into a breast pocket
“Oooh, so much,” she cooed. “You should get more than just a conversation with my mother for that,” her finger gently tracing its way down Marsh’s chest.
Marsh was about to reply, when a shout came from the other room. “Stop bothering the man you harlot and just send him in.”
Mona leaned closer and whispered in Marsh’s ear, “My offer still stands,” before yelling in the same breath, “Stuff you, mother.”
Marsh, smiled inwardly at the special bond between mother and daughter, before going through the doorway into the back room.