Downtown Druid

Book 3 Chapter 4: Two-Legs and Their Problems

Dantes was floating above the table at which sat the man in dark blue and the woman in green. They had ceased their sewing of the tapestry and had since then began to play a number of different games with one another. He'd seem them throw dice, shuffle cards, and even stack sheep vertebrae. They didn't play for stakes, but instead seemed to be practicing something. There were two empty seats always at their table, but so far he'd not seen any other gods in them. Away from the table, closer to him, stood the man with the axe. He was no longer just a silhouette as he had been when he first appeared. He was wearing dark Iron armor, clear of any embellishment, his face was hidden completely behind a featureless helmet, and his axe was that of a headsman, and it sharpness of it contrasted with the hazy nature of the rest of the dream. He could swear, the man was getting even closer as he looked at him, though he never took a single step.

...

He woke late the next morning next to Tieara who was snoring peacefully, her thick dwarven hair spread across half of the bed. He silently untangled himself from her and stretched. Then he moved to the nearby drawer and took a single gold coin which he placed on the nightstand. He left the room and headed for his inner garden. He started by climbing his tree, pulling himself up easily with his powerful grip. Once up, he changed into a rat to climb the rest of the way through the foliage, then he leapt off and changed himself into a pigeon to fly toward the ceiling, gaining just enough momentum that when he began to turn into a roach it carried him to the ceiling which he clung to for a few moments before running across the glass at full speed. He continued shifting between forms quickly, while winding around the garden.

He’d started his regular exercise when he was back in the pit, and aside from a few justifiable breaks, he’d done his best to keep it up since then. It had changed and adapted into something new though. The exercise had an impact no matter what form he took, and by shifting into each of the shapes he could take he was able to make the time between shifts almost instant. At this point the gains in shifting speed were minimal except in the case of his newest pigeon shape, but the increase in strength, speed, and endurance were still worth the effort.

By the time he was done, he was sweating heavily, and so made his way to the bath. Hot water was already inside, prepared for him. His routine had become established enough at this point that his needs were anticipated. Jacopo was luxuriating in his own, smaller bath nearby. His schedule was a bit less set than Dantes’s, but he’d already eaten.

After he lowered himself into his own tub, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, extending his senses throughout Midtown and parts of the rest of the city. A fresh shipment was being unloaded at the docks. There was a guard nearby, but he was pointedly avoiding patrolling that area, as was promised when he accepted his bribe. In Uptown there was still an increased guard presence. Since Magister Mariska and her husband had been killed all those months ago, there had been a half-dozen similar murders. Dantes had been unable to determine who was the cause of it, though he of course suspected that it was changelings, perhaps even Syn herself, though her note had seemed to indicate to him that she intended to make her way far from the city. In the Guild District Steel was selling another portion of the jewelry Dantes himself had sold to him. In Midtown he could see a number of his dealers making late morning sales of dust to men and women scratching scabs on themselves. No real surprises, at least not so far.

Dantes dried himself off and dressed in a dark green silk shirt, black trousers, and a long black coat, pushing his dark hair back. Now that he wasn’t on the run he’d had time to actually have it cut short.

“Want to join me today?” he asked Jacopo.

“No. Tired of two-legs and their problems. Going to eat from alleys and hunt for a mate.”

Dantes walked downstairs, following the smells of Zilly’s cooking. He exchanged good morning with the girls, the goons, and Zilly herself who had a plate waiting for him.

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“Thank you.”

She nodded, not really looking up at him.

He took the plate and took it up to his VIP booth where Jayk, Jayson, Zak, and Vera were waiting for him.

“Morning”, he said as he set his plate at the head of the table and sat down. He looked at Vera, she always went first since she preferred to eat most of her breakfast with the girls.

“Profits were good last night. The girls all kept busy, though Andressa was short. I think she let a young man from your crew have a taste for free.”

“If it’s because she wanted to then take it out of her cut, if it was because he implied he worked for me and she had to, let me know who it was and I’ll take it from his pay and have him roughed up.”

She nodded. “Food and drink are getting more expensive because of the slowing overland trade.”

Dantes sighed. “Jayson, talk to Clay about what fruits and veg are in my gardens. Take that list to Zilly and see what she needs. We can cut some costs there. Maybe see if we can find someone who can brew something with the fruit.” He thought briefly of Mez the Kobold’s crooked smile. From what he’d heard Mez had not been one of the people that had escaped the Underprison and was likely dead. Probably his fault. He pushed that thought to the side.

“Good idea. I was also going to talk with some of the fishing ships to see if we could get some of their stock fresh straight from them. Fishmongers always upsell things too much.”

“Good plan.” He smiled. “Thank you, Auntie. You can stick around if you want to hear me talk a lot about murder and mayhem.”

She chuckled. “No, I’ll leave the simpler stuff to you boys.” She stood and walked downstairs to talk to her girls.

Dantes turned his attention to Jayson.

“Bets were good last night, though Felix is in the hole again.”

Dantes smiled. “Good, when he shows up tonight to gamble with no money, send him to me. What else?”

“Dust demand is up, for the same reasons that food prices are. Whatever that plague is is fucking everyone. Sand wants to talk to you about fixing some Arena fights. Daisy says there’s an increased demand for guns and wands from her people in Uptown. Easy to guess why on that as well.”

“As long as we have the stock, let her sell it and take the profit. Just make sure to keep some of it to the side for us, as always. Set a meeting with Sand for tomorrow, that’s mostly Guild District territory, but I’d like to hear what he has in mind.”

Jayson nodded, and took a sip of milk from his cup.

Jayk spoke next. “Your meeting with Niklas is set for tonight. As I said yesterday the rest of the Fingers have been cooperative. They know Argenta is on your side. Godfrey hasn’t moved, and we still have no indication that he can specifically track our purchases, at least he still hasn’t acted on anything if he does have that power. Nothing else from me, we went over most everything last night.”

Dantes looked to Zak.

Zak finished swallowing a large helping of egg in his mouth. “No trouble right now that we can’t handle. Vampa is going to be your escort today during rounds.”

“Huh, why?”

Zak shrugged. “Says he needs some extra scratch. Figure you wouldn’t really care. It’s not like you actually need to be guarded.”

“True.”

With that, the usual informal briefing he got from everyone was done, so he tucked into his, as usual, tepid food. It was a mix of sausage, eggs, bread, and some small red grapes. He usually didn’t notice much about how the food actually tasted, his mind was already starting to work on the problems of the day.

When he was done, he stood up and walked out the front door onto the streets. The cool air from the docks was twisting through the alleyways and bringing the smell of salt to his nose. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of it as well as the bracing air that brought it to him.

“Fancy a walk with me?” he sent to his hounds who had been taken by Sera on a walk of her own.

“Yes!” they said in unison with the tone of sailors responding to a captain’s order.

She nearly fell over as they tugged on their leashes in an effort to reach him.

She rallied quickly. “Ed.”

He smiled at her. “Mrs. Dunning.”

This greeting had also become part of their day. She would greet him with the name his father had given him that he’d used while attempting to be incognito as a kind of dig, and he would return the favor by referencing her recently failed engagement. He bent down to remove the leashes from the dogs, he didn’t need them, and handed them to her.

She took them with her nose upturned at him and walked into the club.

He’d been surprised when Sera had volunteered for the job, but he supposed he’d want an excuse for some fresh air in her position, and she had a soft spot for dogs in particular. He’d grown a bit more fond of them himself. They had very simple needs for their loyalty, which meant that he had almost total control of those he took in even without a blessing from their god.

He scratched one behind the ears as Vampa approached quietly. He smiled at the muscular bald elf. “Ready to help me break some legs?”

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