Chương 324: 5.3

Gem stepped lightly on the wooden planks of the docks as rain fell over her with just the faintest hints of ice mingled in to sting even her scaled skin. Her toes only warm because of the current of wyrmflame running through them. She welcomed the cold despite its sapping of her store of inner flame. For all the awfulness of the weather at the turn into proper autumn she would rather be out here on the streets than cooped up with Lord Ogien and his family.

One of her was having to navigate the constant overtures of Gem's marriage to his grandson. There was no point to suffer twice over for that. At least one of her would have refreshing memories to share. And the City Ogien was a wonderful place to make some fine memories. She wondered if she was going to ever find the end to the many and varied ways a city could be built upon the water. Gem was familiar with Kaeketeh, the shore and three isles in the Vah.

with almost all of its docks and piers and other wooden constructions for tying up barges and ships on the south side of the city, where the rest of the intrusion into the river sheltered it from the currents. On this trip she had also seen up close the substantially smaller and yet still distinct way that Fishwell Bend used the turn of the Vah to make ferrying a routine enough affair to be a major crossing.

Gem rather liked the dried fish she'd traded a haepenny for, the salty crispness of the brittle bones reminded her of pork. She had then seen the deep throat into the world that was Light's end, its many spears of stone jutting into the greatly widened underground river that the Vah became. The way that the entire city had crawled up and into the cliff faces to bridge that river and how it had extended into the darkness of the world with lighthouses and minor outposts and settlements.

Alas the Lord Mayor and his court made it difficult to explore very far at all, she'd not even gotten out of the grounds of that over-decorated palace of a dwelling on her own. Still she saw it in the official tours made of the docks together with her larger self. All the places she had seen on the waters of the world were different. The City Ogien now was proving that pattern as an entirely different sort of place where men had built upon the water.

For one the flooding of the old banks in the years since the gentling of the river had been adopted by enterprising folk on the city-side of the river with quite the industry. Where the villages across the river had been mostly abandoned as their centers had to move inland? The city of Ogien simply built upon its old structures and refused to surrender. Great pillars of wood anchored in the foundations of the former docks. Supporting new buildings over the drowned ruin that others had once occupied.

Canals replaced streets where the river now washed over the old routes. Bridges of wood and some recently cut stone crossed over these watery passages. Whatever they had been in their place before the flood the buildings were now changed into docks and piers seamlessly. Some of the storage houses were built like bridges themselves, sheltering the water where barges and other craft could be unloaded under shielding from the rain and sleet, or provide shade in summer.

Pity that no one had chosen to build roofs over the 'streets' surrounding each structure though. She moved among these wooden docks with two footmen originally raised in Kaeketeh. She would have preferred to not drag the poor men into this rain but she had been overruled. Muriel insisted that the daughter of the Countess could not simply wander the city unescorted. Which annoyed Gem just a twinge, but not without acknowledging such wanderings had literally started a war between Arva and Viznove.

That thought moved strangely in her head. She'd not thought over much of that time as both of herself together. Gem huffed and shuddered in her heavy cloak and multilayered winter dress. If not for her supply of wyrmflame she would have been utterly miserable and had stayed indoors like almost everyone else in the city. Even if that meant suffering the awkward courting of Lord Ogien's grandson. The poor footmen sadly were having to suffer the full brunt of the sleet.

And she didn't 'know' any safe or quick spells from Tsulogothulan to ease their pain. Gem had better get all three of them somewhere out of the weather or they might catch their deaths. That thought could not even be entertained. But where to go? The docks were mostly shuttered and closed down due to the autumn storm. Quite a number of buildings looked warm and inhabited but not welcoming.

The warmth of firelight through the shutters and a murmuring of a jovial crowd over the rain drew her attention to one of the larger houses in the sprawling docks/canals of Ogien. The carved sign in wood showing what might have been a depiction of a fish drinking 'something' from a jar was also promising. Her path decided Gem mustered another rush of wyrmflame down through her bare toes and claws then strode confidently over the soaking timbers. Her guards flanked her, although the left one was sighing in relief.

Good, she thought they would appreciate a hot something to warm them. And it smelled like there was probably a stew in the kitchen inside. Mulled cider too? Oh that would be excellent! It was one of the few ways she could enjoy fruit! The door opened with only a bit of effort on her part to reach the latch and press her way in. The crowd inside was not precisely packed but still quite full around the two tables in one corner.

More than half were huddled by the fire with hot soup, broth or in the case of the richer looking probably merchant a cider. The proprietor was a large man wide around the shoulders and waist, with a bright smile that was missing two teeth on his left side. His voice reminded her a lot of Dariusz' mother.

"Hoh-oh there little waif! Be right with you. Just have to get this lot their pottage!" The man that was easily twice her height and about as big around as she was tall lumbered off with six wooden bowls balanced on top of each other and a far too small plate. The itch of wanting to know if sorcery was afoot and the pang of not being able to sense it rose up. But she quickly pushed the feeling down. Still that reminded her. Gem was not her larger self. But it did not mean she lacked any kind of magic either.

With the rain no longer soaking them down she began the soft murmuring in Uloghai and the subtle little dance and shimmy that called the spell forth. It took most of the time for the proprietor to weave his way through the crowd by the fire to get it fully up and working. And it was not as total as the Bog Weird could do with not even a glance. It was not even as effective as her larger self could manage with wyrmflame alone. But it didn't call on her own limited store of flame and it did work.

The water soaking Gem's cloak and that of her escort's clothing seeped out. Bringing a dribbling off their bodies heavier then was entirely natural but not particularly notable. Working out from that closest to their skin. The relieved sigh and shift of the two men was thanks enough while they were out in public. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

And the simple working was just about enough that by the time the large man had returned they had gone from a dangerous wet to a merely clammy damp.

"Well then, what can I do for you three? I'm all full up on rooms for the night but we're properly in with the cooker's guild so I can offer you a hot stew if that would please you." Gem rolled back her hood and noted the way that the man finally recognized that she was not in fact a waif. Although he mustered himself admirably. Not even a glance to the two men who would ostensibly be the 'adults' in this situation. She spoke with a wide smile on her snout.

"Thank you! Whatever's hot and fortifying for my poor guards. And a smaller portion of mulled cider for me! The sleet's coming down rough out there!" It was a dubious boon that the prevalence of waifs in Kaeketeh and then further abound in Viznove seemed to have prepared the way for Gem all through Viznove. The sight of what she still thought looked like children acting in roles for grown men and women was distressing.

But at least it had managed to pry open some expectations so that despite her stature Gem was treated more like the adult she felt she was. Although her more wyrmish features still caught some off guard.

"Well, certainly! That'll be-" He looked her over, then the two guards, she could see his eye going over the lines of her clothes and the quality of her cloak. The obvious black leathers and heraldry of Viznove and Rochford on the men.

"Six Pfennig for the lot." Which Jewel was happy to provide, she honestly was rather pleased, last time she visited a random ale house in this city it cost twice that. But maybe her cloak or the miserable weather was dulling the image of her wealth. Coins handed off, the proprietor waved her to the somewhat crowded common room with its hearth.

"Let me just get those from the pots, have whatever spot by the fire's free and I'll find ya!" And Gem did as he offered. Making sure to pick a path her two guards would be able to follow her without having to shove over much. She found a spot in a corner of the room, leaned against the wall and listened. Her hearing was nowhere near as fine as her larger self's. But Gem was hardly deaf. And she had been practicing this in every city, demesne and town she could slip away.

There was a knack to letting the conversation of a full room wash over you. Not let it either overwhelm you or be lost to an over focus on any one speaker. Just soak in the murmuring details." Hear about that robin hood down south?"" Heard he robbed all the nobles in Light's end blind then just gave it all away."" Hah! Yeah, left a river of silver wide as the Vah in his wake I heard."" I heard he faced the countess himself twice and escaped both times from his charm and wit."" I heard he paid gold for an apple!

Sounds like an idiot."" Nah, I heard he just pays more to those that got too much pride for charity."" Who's gonna turn down silver, or gold? I'd have taken him up on it. Still taking on all that wrath from the nobles and then giving it away? Stupid man."" Eh he's gotten away from the Shining Countess herself twice! What can they do that she couldn't?"" I heard it was three times he got away." Gem did not sigh, but the urge was still there, she'd heard this gossip before.

It had followed them and swelled around her entourage since leaving Light's End. And the rumors and stories had only grown more outrageous with each town and season of distance from Light's End. The letters from the Lord Mayor did not even make it sound like it was necessarily the same bandits. But the story of some figure willing to fleece a noble of his due silver and give it to the most desperate?

That caught attention, already there were songs being sung of the many exploits of this robin hood far beyond the one (maybe two) cases of his actual crimes. Claims of having met him were popping up all the way to Kaeketeh according to Adelyine's letters. And Gem had sat in enough places simply listening to the murmur of voices to believe there was no exaggeration. Her people adored the idea. If only she had not somehow ended up so tightly wound up in the story of it she would not have minded. It was embarrassing.

There had been stories about her before, stories about Gem in particular as the supposed love child of her Nurse Knight, or whatever local hero or legendary man was in the particular song of the night. And the old ballads about the Tyrant Wyrm being bested by clever men had never quite entirely disappeared. Not even in Kaeketeh where more than one fight had been had over such impinging her honor.

But the rumors and claims about this Robin Hood and his exploits against herself in particular had begun to spin all the previous stories into something that stung far worse for being almost true. It made her want to make a declaration on the matter herself. But Muriel and Paul had both advised against it. The story was just a passing fancy of the people. Such stories rose and fell, it was just the act of a few bandits that were quite rightly driven off.

And it's not even like all of the stories painted a picture of her in a poor light. Again especially in Kaeketeh Adelyne claimed the songs spoke of how wicked the lords that this Robin Hood had stolen from were. Astonishing and blatantly false crimes of all manner. Some even claimed they were evil men seeking to revive the old blood countess.

Robin Hood's besting of Jewel herself (three times in most stories) was brought less as triumph of his wit over her but a demonstration of his goodness and her mercy and foresight in his goodness. Which was a different sort of problematic but at least it didn't focus on the fact Jewel had failed to stop a mere bandit! Here in Ogien? It was less clearly flattering. At least not conventionally so.

Jewel was not sure how to feel that at least in song so many of her people seemed at least intrigued in 'bedding the beast'. Or willing to laugh about it. Ugh and now that was Gem dwelling too much on things as her larger self instead of trying to distract and enjoy herself away from the troubles of the Wyrm and simply enjoy the streets as only she could. She had been doing so well! Gem hadn't mixed up which head she was thinking her thoughts with closing in almost three years! But there she made the mistake again!

She was going to be so disappointed with herself when she returned tonight. Especially because she should have just been enjoying these absurd songs and a good cup of mulled cider. Tsulogothulan warned her about how much stories simply were not a thing you could hold in once they were loose." Like Eels, The tighter you squeeze them the faster they slip away." Not even Urul The Written had a solid grasp on controlling stories and he was for all practical purposes made of them!

Gem was so consumed in her thoughts the poor proprietor had to nudge her shoulder to get her attention. Offering a warm smile to the wyrm spawn and a wooden cup full of wonderfully hot and steaming cider.

"Here ya are. Hot Cider to warm the chill from your bones." She took the wooden cup between her hands and breathed in the hot air scent off of it.

"Thank you, good sir." He gave her a nod, then hurried off across the room to see to the louder guests in his house. Gem took a gentle sip, running a bit of her wyrm flame through her tongue and lips. Shivering a bit at the spice, heat and sweet tang of cider and spirits. Whatever magic there was to cider her larger self never found any more faux flame or miracles in most of it. A few of the temple's had wines that were cut through in the heaven's touch. But it was not something that seemed precisely of sorcery.

Cider and beer and wine were all wonderful things. Especially a nice hot mulled kind on a cold autumn day. Gem liked them best when they still would normally burn her tongue. It took a trick of course. A little bit of her wyrmself's fire through her mouth and Gem could drink her cider hot as glowing coals!