Feral Mage Book 2: Chapter 13

Bryce was surprised by the size of the morning market within the small town. As soon as the sun was up, dozens of stalls appeared along the main road, selling everything from food to weapons.

“The girls don’t know what they’re missing,” Bryce said as he paid a copper for a wheat roll. The stall even had butter and honey with it.

Both Vex and Janna had chosen to stay in bed instead of accompanying him. Bryce couldn’t blame them for that. They would be heading out for Witchbrook later today, after all, and their next night would be sleeping in the wagon instead of a bed.

He took a bite of the wheat roll after putting some butter on it and looked around at the stalls, planning which one to visit first. He spotted one that had magic lanterns on display, and Bryce figured it would be a good one to see if they had empty mana crystals.

“Empty ones?” the stall owner asked, scratching his beard. “I’m afraid all the ones I have already are imbued with Fire Magic.”

“Do you know anyone selling some?” he asked.

The stall owner thought for a moment, then pointed toward the end of the street.

“The old man’s stall might have some. He sells a variety of things, no telling what you’ll find there.”

Bryce thanked the stall owner and began moving in the direction he pointed. He figured out which stall belonged to the old man when he spotted one covered in everything from high-end clothing to weapons and even some pieces of jewelry. The odd assortment told Bryce exactly what the old man was.

He’s a fence.

Bryce approached the stall and looked around at the assortment of items for sale. The fact that the prices were much lower than the stuff was worth just reaffirmed Bryce’s belief. It wasn’t uncommon to find fences in the smaller towns, selling stolen goods from the larger cities. They were less likely to be caught selling the items, and the guards in a smaller town were more easily bribed. There were even rumors that all the fences were part of a massive network that some called the Thieves Guild.

“How can I help you, sir?” the fence asked with a practiced smile.

Bryce broke his gaze from a dwarven crossbow that was resting in the corner of the stall.

“Do you have any empty mana crystals?” he asked.

The fence turned and lifted a small bag from under the counter, opening it and pulling out several plain colored mana crystals of varying size.

“That crossbow is dwarven-made. The limbs are steel, and it has a draw weight most find difficult, but it’ll send a bolt through plate armor.”

Bryce looked at the mana crystals, picking out a few medium-sized ones. He had been thinking about how to keep them close to Janna’s hands to pull out the Fire Magic, and kept going back to the same idea.

“How much?” Bryce asked.

He had a small pile of those he selected.

“For the crystals or the crossbow?” the man replied.

Bryce looked up from the pile to him.

“Both,” he answered.

The old bastard grinned, but that fell from his face when he caught the steel dog tag around Bryce’s neck.

“That depends on your name,” he said softly.

Bryce eyed the old man, his hand moving to rest on the hilt of his sword.

“My name is Bryce,” he answered, waiting for the old man to make his move.

The old man turned around and retrieved a letter from a lock box.

“Both are free as long as you take this letter,” he said, holding it out.

Bryce could smell the perfume coming off the letter as he took it from the old man.

“Why is a fence playing messenger?” he asked, holding the letter up. “And knew I would be in this town?”

The fence’s eyes widened, and he leaned across the counter, looking both ways to see if anyone had heard Bryce.

“Because who requested it be sent is someone I really want to stay on the good side of!” he said in a low growl. “Last time I and others in my line of trade went to Witchbrook we each were given one of those letters. They told us if we encountered a steel tag mercenary with dark hair and going by the name Bryce, we were supposed to give the letter to him, along with whatever else he might need.”

Bryce arched an eyebrow and gestured to the stall with the letter.

“So if I decided I wanted everything in your stall, you’d have given it to me?” he asked with a chuckle.

“If it keeps me on her good side, then yes.”

The fence started to move as if he was about to leave the stall, but Bryce stopped him with a wave of the letter.

“Just the mana crystals and crossbow,” Bryce said, then pulled two silvers out and placed them on the counter. “I’ll pay for some information, though.”

He eyed the two silver coins nervously.

“Not related to the sender of the letter,” Bryce said, guessing what was going through the old man’s mind.

“I’ll tell you what I can,” the man replied.

Bryce watched as the old man took the coins and slipped them into his pocket.

“Have you heard anything about a red-eyed monster in the area?”

The old man gave a grim look.

“Another in my line of work told me they were checking out a cave between here and Witchbrook. As a temporary storehouse.”

A smuggler’s den.

“He said he saw red eyes staring back at him from within the cave. Now he refuses to camp near that section of road when he comes this way, will even risk traveling at night.”

Bryce eyed the crossbow once more. The weapon would be helpful against a flier like the red-eyed monster, and its flying would be less useful in an enclosed space like a cave.

“Can you give me more details on where this cave is?”

As he left the fence’s stall, Bryce opened the letter.

I’m bored. Come spend some time with me! I’ve met some very interesting people who are looking for you. One even helped me write this letter, such a sweetie!

-Your Isabelle

There was a kiss under the signature in red lipstick, but the hue of the ink was what caught Bryce’s eye. The ink was the same color as dried blood, and Bryce had little doubt what it was, given the sender. He folded the letter back up and slipped it into his coat’s pocket, cursing as he did. It seemed he was still very much on the mind of the gang boss from The Rim. He also didn’t like that people were looking for him.

He pushed the thoughts about the letter and the monster from his mind as he continued shopping. His next stop was a stall selling clothing and a sign offering repairs, which looked to be run by an elderly married couple. He bought a pair of riding gloves for half a dozen coppers and for the wife of the couple to stitch the mana crystals into the gloves.

He examined the gloves once she was done and made sure the stitching would hold up to life on the road. When he was satisfied with them, he moved through the rest of the market, looking for the most expensive purchase he hoped to make.

“Time to haggle for a horse,” Bryce said with a sigh.

He returned to the tavern an hour later, eighteen silvers poorer and with a pounding headache. The horseseller had been a stubborn bastard, but relented for fourteen silvers. The mare was young and seemed to have a good temperament, but Bryce wasn’t going to hand over twenty silvers for her.

“Check the shoes on her and keep her beside our other one so they start to get used to each other,” Bryce said to the stable boy as he handed him the horse's reins.

He then made his way back to his room in the tavern that he shared with the girls. He wasn’t surprised the girls were still in bed when he unlocked the door and walked in, though a sleepy Vex looked up at him, sniffing the air. He figured she smelled the sweets he got at the market for her. The gloves were necessary for Janna, but Bryce knew Vex well enough to know he’d have a grumpy puppy if he didn’t bring her anything.

Sure enough, Vex crawled out of bed and moved toward him, sniffing the air. Bryce held out the bag of sweets to Vex.

“I figured you’d smell them—”

Vex slipped past the candies and started sniffing his coat, then she reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter, frowning at it.

“Vex…” Bryce started to say.

She opened it up, read it, then let out something that was a cross between a scream and a growl.

“What?” a half-asleep Janna exclaimed as she jumped out of her bed at the sound.

The kitsune stared at Vex as the wolfgirl fumed at the letter before tearing it up into dozens of little pieces and throwing it into the air. She then turned and buried her face into Bryce’s chest, rubbing herself against him.

“My Bryce!” Vex’s muffled voice said.

***

“Thank you for the gloves, Bryce,” Janna said to him as he loaded up the wagon.

He checked to ensure their gear was securely fastened on the back, then turned to face her. Janna’s tails swished as she gave him a warm smile.

“Not a problem,” Bryce said, looking at the riding gloves on her hands. “Do they feel alright with the burns? We have time to get adjustments made before leaving town.”

Janna’s hand touched one of the mana crystals on the glove.

“No, they fit just fine.”

Bryce nodded, then scratched the back of his head.

“Sorry… about Vex…” he said, stumbling at the apology.

Vex hadn’t wanted to just stop at rubbing her face on his chest, and had half stripped him and herself before Janna fled the room.

Janna’s face turned red, and she cleared her throat.

“She just really wanted to get her scent on you,” she stated, then became crimson red as she thought about what she just said. “I mean, she just wanted to claim you as hers… I mean… I’m just going to go sit in the wagon.”

Bryce watched as Janna climbed into the driver’s box, then stared straight ahead, her face still red. He finished the last few checks on the wagon, scratched Omelet’s head, and then climbed into the driver box himself.

“We have to go back to Witchbrook?” Vex asked in the back.

Bryce turned to see the wolfgirl’s ears canted and a frown on her face. She was still mad about the letter, even if her scent was thoroughly on his body.

“We need to grab a new contract, and don’t you want to see Alice?” Bryce answered.

Vex’s posture didn’t change.

“Alice, yes,” Vex declared before letting out a low growl. “Isabelle, no!”

Bryce sighed and pulled on the reins of the horses, setting them into a trot. He wasn’t excited about seeing the gang boss again either, but with what her letter had said, he knew he would have to.