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k_a_webbPart 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 4, continued
Part 5
Part 5, continued
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
For the first time in days Lucille was alone. She’d taken room 8, because it was the single, and it was a relief to have some time away from her companions. As much as she liked them it had been months, maybe even years, since she’d spent so much time with other people, so she hadn’t really had a chance to deal with what had happened. The last thing she’d been expecting when she stepped into Sheepshank was to get involved in anything, especially not trying to bring an end to a crime syndicate. Breathing a deep sigh she pulled out her communication crystal.
“Good afternoon, Lucille,” a cheery female voice greeted. “What news do you have?”
“I’m finally in Seahorse Port. We’ve been asked by the guard captain, a vulture named Hereward, to stay and help them to find any members of the crime syndicate that might be using the city as a base.”
“That’s not unexpected.”
Lucille nodded. “We’re staying in a bed and breakfast called the Sleeping Chimera, which is run by a deer named Meriwether, who is finding us a guide to show us around the city. From what I can tell they have an interesting communication chain that leads from Sheepshank to Seahorse Port, that not even Peric knew about, and one within the city itself, so rumours are passed from one end of the city to the other faster than it’s possible to walk that far.”
“Do you have any new information about the crime syndicate?”
“Not yet, but we’re meeting with a group of raccoons who’re the night guard at sunset. If I find out anything new I’ll contact you and if I don’t then I’ll leave the next contact until something does happen.”
“That’s fine. I’ll send the Council your latest report and if they have any instructions for you I’ll pass them on.”
“I’ll talk to you soon.”
The crystal dulled and Lucille stared at it. She tapped her finger on it, thinking once more about destroying it. Keeping hold of it, knowing that the crime syndicate might want to send their counterfeits to other parts of the Web, felt like it was a mistake, but at the same time she was worried that the Council might send another Walker if she didn’t keep in contact. It wasn’t as though she wasn’t keeping secrets from the Council, because she was feeling protective of Peric, Bertram, and the other people she’d had contact with, which was something she knew was going to affect her ability to be detached in the future. Shaking her head she made a decision. Whether she kept the crystal or not wasn’t just her choice.
Hearing a knock on the door Lucille put the crystal into her pocked and called, “I’m coming.”
Standing, she checked her reflection in the mirror that was above the chest of drawers. After quickly pulling a hairbrush through her hair Lucille headed for the door, wondering who their guide might be and trying to work out how she was going to explain the crystal to her companions, to find Peric and Bertram standing outside her door waiting for her.
“Are we ready for this?” she asked, looking at them.
“I honestly don’t know, Lucille,” Peric replied. “Right now all I know if I want to get started as soon as possible, so we can get this all sorted and I can go home.”
“You still suffering?”
“A little.”
Not quite believing Peric Lucille glanced at Bertram. The raven shook his head, telling her that Peric wasn’t really feeling any better, but the mouse was determined to keep going, even though he was having trouble, and she wasn’t going to try to convince him otherwise. She knew that if she was trying to convince him that he shouldn’t continue if his empathy really was hurting him then she should be convincing herself that she shouldn’t be either. As a World Walker she should be impartial, which was already going to be a problem because of her love for Sheepshank and its inhabitants, so the longer she stayed on Quiar the tighter her links with the world would get. Everything had seemed so simple when she was studying for her tests.
“Okay, well, let me know if it gets any worse. Maybe we can find someone who makes charms and get you one that will help.”
“That will be expensive.”
“If it helps, Peric, then does it really matter how much it costs?”
Peric smiled at her, nodding, before leading the way back down to the reception. Lucille followed, with Bertram behind her, and when they entered the room they found Meriwether talking to a… She bit her lip, staring for a few moments before realising that the person Meriwether was talking to was a chimera, which just made her want to stare more. In all her travels through Quiar she hadn’t yet met a chimera, they were very rare and meeting one had become one of her goals, and to have one right in front of her was a lovely surprise.
“Peric, Bertram, Lucille, I’d like to introduce you to the best tour guide in Seahorse Port, Sina.” Meriwether smiled. “Sini, this is Lucille, the Moonjumper you’ve been hearing so many rumours about, Peric, from the council of Sheepshank, and his PA Bertram.”
“It’s lovely to meet you all,” Sini said, smiling at them. “Before you ask I am a chimera. My mother was a parrot and my father was a quetzel. I’ve been very lucky to have been welcomed here, so I will do my best to help you in any way I can.”
“You know why we’re here?” Peric asked, sounding a little suspicious but unsurprised.
“Yes, Peric, I do. I may not be one of the guards, but I probably know more about the city than they do, and working with you to find the counterfeiters will be a pleasure.”
“How do we know you’re not working for the counterfeiters?”
“There’s no way you can be certain who is and isn’t, but I give you my word that I’m not.” Sini took in a deep breath,as though she was preparing for something, and Lucille thought she knew what the chimera was going to say. “My half sister bought one a few months ago. We don’t know if she’ll ever fly again, because both her wings were adversely affected by whatever they’d done to it, and if I can stop that from happening to anyone else then I’ll be happy.”
Peric could feel the pain Sini felt as she told them about her half sister and guilt welled up inside him. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t feel guilty. You couldn’t know and it was the right question to ask, but don’t believe everyone who tells you a sob story. They may be lying to you.”
“I’ll know.”
Sini looked at him for a moment, head tilted to one side, before understanding filled her eyes. “Yes, you’re a mouse. Of course. Your empathy is strong?”
“Sometimes too strong.”
“There are a couple of charm makers I know. I’m certain if I introduced you to them they might help you out for a reduction of their normal fee, because every importer and counterfeiter you get off the streets is good for them.”
“You think so?”
“Yes, I do.” Sini smiled at Peric, although it was sadder than the first. “They know of the work you did in Sheepshank and Hereward would probably put in a good word for you. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could all get a couple of useful charms to help you with your enquiries.” She sobered. “I know you have a meeting with the raccoons at sunset, so if you want to see some of Seahorse Port before then I suggest we get a move on. There’s a lovely place not far from here that would be good for you to have dinner.”
“Let’s go then,” Lucille said. “Thank you, Meriwether, for finding us a guide.”
“It was my pleasure,” Meriwether replied. “I wanted to be certain you had one who knew what they were doing and Sini is the best.”
The chimera led them out of the bed and breakfast. “The thing you need to know about Seahorse Port is the speed at which news can travel.” She pointed with a wing to the balconies above them. “Anyone who can fly has an advantage here and there are a few birds who travel around the city passing on information. If you know the right people to talk to you can find out almost anything, but you have to be discerning. Rumours spread as quickly as actual news, and the counterfeiters have been doing their best to spread as much disinformation as they can.”
“Can you take us to those people?” Peric asked.
“Of course I can. That’s part of the reason Meri asked me to be your tour guide. I gather information myself and I have been listening our for as much as I can to do with the counterfeiters. Anything important I pass onto Hereward. The rest I keep until it becomes important, because small pieces can add up in time.”
“Have you found out much?”
“Not enough to catch them. They obviously have someone on the ground listening for rumours too, so by the time I’ve passed it onto Hereward they’ve already done something to make whatever I’ve heard useless.” Sini shrugged. “Maybe you being here will force them into a mistake.”
“It’s possible,” Lucille said, and Peric glanced at her. “I think it was my arrival that made Dubrana react in a way that led to us finding her.”
Peric nodded. “Lucille’s right. One thing you may not have heard is that there are rumours of the syndicate wanting to spread to other worlds. During the theft a record book was taken from the Moonjumper’s Bureau in Sheepshank and we’re trying to find out information about it, because it is a real worry.”
“I had heard that, but I thought it was disinformation from the counterfeiters. Who would dare to take on the Council?”
“It’s not unheard of,” Lucille replied. “There are races who, if they thought they could win, would attempt to take the Council out, but they know they’re unlikely to get very far. In general the Council aren’t liked, but the Moonjumpers are. We’re the face of the Council, we do our best to be open to anything, and…” She laughed. “No matter how often the Council repeat the first rule it’s too easy for us to connect with worlds, with people on worlds, and then we do our best to give them a voice. Plus some of the strongest mages are on the Council and even if they aren’t liked no one would dare to take them on.”
“How many Moonjumpers do stick to the first rule?” Sini asked, sounding curious.
“That’s an impossible question to answer. We appear to follow the rules that we’re given, because it we don’t the Council wouldn’t have anything against stopping us from travelling, but it’s likely that there are more Moonjumpers who don’t that there are that do. It’s hard to keep disconnected from everything.”
“Why does no one know that the rules aren’t being followed?”
“It easy to pass on the information the Council needs to know and nothing more. They’re fae, mostly, and as much as I hate to generalise a lot of the fae are disinterested in the worlds they created. Some are different and they’re the ones we talk to about the worlds we travel to, but mostly they don’t really want to know. What they care about is feeling like they’re in control of everything.”
“The more I hear about the Council the less I like them,” Peric said. “Why did you chose to be a Moonjumper when it meant you had to deal with the Council?”
“I wanted to travel to other worlds more than I disliked the Council.”
Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.
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Date: 2013-02-25 09:27 pm (UTC)Comma splice; I suggest ...
"In all her travels through Quiar she hadn’t yet met a chimera. They were very rare and meeting one had become one of her goals, and to have one right in front of her was a lovely surprise."
>>“Peric, Bertram, Lucille, I’d like to introduce you to the best tour guide in Seahorse Port, Sina.” Meriwether smiled. “Sini, this is Lucille<<
That should say "Sini" both times.
>>I have been listening our for as much as I can to do with the counterfeiters. <<
Should that say "listening out" maybe?
>>“It easy to pass on the information<<
That should say "It's" above.
>>“I wanted to travel to other worlds more than I disliked the Council.”<<
Good answer!
I love hearing more about Seahorse Port and its culture.