Chapter 49

After his first go with Black Burrow Stout the other night, Luke had declined to participate in the end-of-the-night celebration. He’d scarfed down half his winnings in food, much to the amusement of the other fighters, and then left to find a place to sleep. The last thing he wanted was to spend another night in a dwifkin-sized hotel.

At Zea’s recommendation, he headed for the north side of the docks. The places there were rough and ugly, both the buildings and the people. It was mostly sailors and dockworkers, and the kinds of people who dealt with them. The first streetwalker to take a pass at him left Luke completely flabbergasted.

Eventually he found a place, though he couldn’t begin to guess what it was called. There was a sign, but at this point it was just a slab of wood with some random spots of faded blue paint on it. Either way, the room was cheap. Once he got in though, he knew why.

“Okay, this is disgusting,” he said, surveying the bed. Thanks in large part to his high perception, he could see the bugs crawling on it, and the stains of questionable origins. It would be cleaner and probably safer to sleep in an alley. There would definitely be less chance of him catching something.

Luke marched right back out and demanded his money back, which got him laughed at until he hauled the asshole over the counter by the collar of his shirt. “Let me make this clear. I’m not staying in this diseased shithole. Give me back my money before I break your fucking nose.”

A bouncer tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m not looking for a fight here,” Luke said without taking his eyes off the manager, or whatever he was. “I just decided not to stay and I’d like my money back. I was in the room for all of thirty seconds. This shouldn’t be a fight.”

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” one of the sailors sitting at a nearby table said. “That’s the guy who beat Tantoro earlier tonight.”

The bouncer, one fist cocked back, hesitated and glanced around for help. There was another guy across the bar, but he just shook his head. The manager, seeing no back up coming, fumbled the coins out of a pouch and passed them over to Luke. “Here, take it. Just get the hell out of here if you’re not staying!”

“Thanks,” Luke said. “And don’t worry. You couldn’t pay me to sleep here.”

Now in a foul mood, tired, and already feeling hungry again, Luke stalked out of the Shitheap Hotel and into the cool evening air. He scoured the streets for another place to stay, but now that he knew the signs, he walked right back out of every single one he tried without a word. Eventually, he decided to settle on just a place to eat. It would hardly be the first night he spent outside, after all.

Evening gave way to night, and the streets emptied out. Lamps and candles were visible in most of the unshuttered windows, not that it mattered much to Luke. He had no trouble picking out fine details in the dark anymore, especially on a night with the moon so full in the sky. He settled down on a side street, back against the wall of some sort of workshop. He could hear a few people in there, talking about something while they worked, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

As uncomfortably small as the dwifkin place had been, he was half-tempted to go back there. At least it was clean. He’d probably already be on his way, if he knew which direction to go. He kind of missed being back in the valley, where he at least knew where everything was. He didn’t miss those damn goblins constantly trying to murder him though, or having nobody to talk to except System.

That reminded Luke, he needed to have a conversation with that bastard about the whole XP madness thing. He’d find somewhere more private than a random street though, just in case anyone was nearby listening. That wasn’t something he wanted to try to explain, that he was apparently talking to himself.

The door to the workshop he was leaning against opened, and a young woman stepped out. She looked like she was about Luke’s age, pretty, wearing the same kind of rough homespun look that so many people on this side of the city sported. Her hair was black and wavy, and tied into a braid that hung halfway down her back.

She turned in Luke’s direction and immediately flinched back. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize there was someone out here. Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Luke said. “Just passing some time while I decide what to do.”

“You should probably go home and get some dinner in you.”

“If only. I’m afraid I’m new to the city and don’t have a home yet. I tried finding a place to stay, but let’s just say the quality of the beds for rent around here aren’t up to my standards.”

“Well you know what they say about inns. Cheap, clean, available. Pick two.”

Luke snorted. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Did you try the places over by the temple district?” the girl asked, sitting down next to him.

“I, uh… no. I’m working over by the docks, so…”

“Yeah, well, no surprise everything is lousy over here, right? The inns over by the church are a lot nicer, and not too expensive. Probably more than they cost here, but how much are a good meal and a clean bed worth to you?”

“More than I would have thought an hour ago,” Luke said with all honesty.

He didn’t love the idea of skulking around churches and temples, but then again, he was just some random guy looking for a place to sleep. It wouldn’t be too suspicious if he rented a room over there, and besides, it was the last place any pursuers from the church would expect him to go. Maybe if they were circulating his picture and description, it would be different.

“There you go then. I actually live over that way myself. Do you want to walk with me? I’ll point out some of the good inns.”

“Are you sure that’s okay? You don’t even know me,” Luke said.

“Well that’s easy enough to fix. What’s your name?”

“Aldrick,” Luke lied. He’d been called it enough times over the past day that he didn’t even have to think about it this time.

“Nice to meet you, Aldrick. I’m Myla. Now come on, I’ll show you the good inns.”

* * *

“You’re an idiot,” Zea said. “What the fuck made you think finding an inn near a church was a good idea?”

“I was thinking I didn’t want to sleep in a bug-infested shit hole and have to pay for the privilege,” Luke replied.

“There are plenty of places to get a room for the night outside the temple district that don’t have lice.”

“Can I do it for eight copper a night or less?”

Zea thought about that for a moment. “Well, no. Probably not.”

“Then you tell me where I’m supposed to sleep.”

“Ugh, come with me after tonight’s match. I’ll show you where all of us homeless people sleep.”

Luke stopped walking and stared at her. After a few steps, she noticed and turned around to face him, hands on her hips. “What?” she demanded.

“Why are you still sleeping on the streets? I thought you were making good money as my manager.”

Zea just started laughing. “It’s going to be a few weeks before I can afford to get a place of my own. Lots of places won’t rent to a dwifkin, you know?”

“I don’t,” Luke admitted.

“Oh, right. Doesn’t matter. Point is I’m not keen on blowing half my wages on a room every night. I’ll save up for a bit, then find a place to rent by the month.”

“How much would that cost?” Luke asked.

“Depends on the place, but probably two gold up front and another one each month. Maybe two and a half, depending on how they prorate the month.”

“And a room is a silver a night for something clean,” Luke said. “So about three gold a month. Okay, let’s go find rooms.”

Zea regarded him skeptically and said, “Just like that, huh? You earn some gold last night I don’t know about?”

“Less earned and more already had it,” he said. He’d gotten his own neck pouch the other night after he’d caught a pickpocket going for the one on his belt. Thank God for high perception. Myla had almost screamed when he’d spun on the guy and clocked him. Fortunately, it had been easy to calm her back down.

Luke fished two gold out of it and handed them to her. “You got anything pressing to do right now?” he asked.

Her eyes glittered as she regarded the coins. “You tricky son of a bitch. You know I was talking about the rate for one room, right?”

“Will they care if we share it?”

Zea’s head snapped up and her face colored. “Sh- share it?” she gulped.

“Is that a problem?”

“It’s… No. It’s fine. You’re paying for it after all.”

“I feel like it’s a problem.”

“No, it’s just… not customary to share a room with someone you’re not betrothed to unless they’re family.”

“Ah, yeah, I get that. But, desperate times, right?”

“Don’t mock my people’s customs,” Zea snapped.

“Whoa there.” Luke held both hands up. “I’m not trying to make fun of you. I’m just saying, we’re both tight on money. We both need a place to sleep. It’s not ideal, but I’ve been sleeping under trees and in caves for most of the last month. I don’t mind a floor.”

“That’s… no, you’re paying. You should take the bed.”

Luke shrugged. “Maybe we’ll share it. Switch who gets it each day or something.”

Zea’s face somehow got even redder. She just nodded sharply once and started walking again. After a moment, Luke hurried to catch up to her. Fortunately, it wasn’t hard given how small her legs were.

“So we’ll find a new place to stay. I’ve got a fight this afternoon and then another one this evening. Anything else we need to take care of?”

“Nope,” Zea said, picking up the pace and keeping her eyes pointed down at the street.

“Zea, are you sure this is okay? I didn’t mean to do something inappropriate here.”

“It’s fine. Let’s not talk about it anymore. In fact, if you trust me, I’ll go find a place and you can head over to the Harbor so you’re not late for your match.”

Truth be told, he was a bit hesitant about giving her that much money, but she hadn’t screwed him over yet. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll see you later.”

* * *

His match was against a human this time, but Luke beat him pretty easily. He drew it out for a few minutes, just to please the crowd. That was Zammin’s recommendation, and it made sense to Luke, but he didn’t like how hard he had to fight against his skills to pull it off. [Counter]especially wanted him to beat the guy’s ass with every bad punch he threw.

Luke was walking out of the back room, having just stuffed his fee into the neck pouch, when he spotted someone he recognized. “Myla!” he said with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“You made the fights sound so exciting last night, I had to splurge a little to see this one,” she said. “You were amazing.”

“I don’t know about amazing,” Luke said. He lowered his voice, “I don’t think the guy I was fighting had much experience. He made me look good.”

She slapped a hand against his shoulder and said, “Don’t be modest. Hey, do you want to get lunch?”

“I… sure. That sounds good.”

“Great!” She grabbed his arm and pulled. “Come on, let’s go!”

Luke let her lead him across the room. He caught sight of Zammin over by the bar, watching them thoughtfully. He grinned at the dwifkin, who just shook his head and smirked back.