said.
“Follow Broad Street past the Fountain of the Traveler and you’ll see a bar on your right beneath the sign of a blue dragon. At the counter will be fat man with a face like a beaten mutt. Tell him to tell Ling Chi I sent you. Tell him to tell Ling Chi that I’m going to be snooping around his territory tomorrow. Tell him it isn’t related to business. Tell him I’ll consider it a favor. He won’t say anything to you—they’re a cagey bunch—but he won’t need to. Just deliver the message andreturn here.” Wren nodded and slipped out the exit. “And get me something to eat on the way back!” I yelled, unsure if he’d heard me.
I turned on the giant. “Quit telling the boy war stories. He doesn’t need his head filled with nonsense.”
“Nonsense! Every word of that story is true! I can still remember you smirking as he walked away.”
“What happened to that lieutenant?”
Adolphus lost his smile. “He slit his wrists the night after he forced that charge at Reaves.”
“We found him bled out when he didn’t show at reveille—so no more about the good old days. They weren’t any fucking good.”
Adolphus rolled his eye at me and stood. “By the Firstborn, you’re in a mood.”
He wasn’t wrong. “It’s been a rough day.”
“Come on, I’ll pour you a beer.” We adjourned to the bar and he drew me a tall flagon of ale. I sipped at it while we waited for the evening rush to arrive.
“I like the boy,” Adolphus said, as if he had just realized it. “He doesn’t miss much, for all that he keeps quiet about what he sees. Any idea where he’s sleeping?”
“In the street, I assume. That’s where street urchins tend to live.”
“Don’t be so sentimental—you’ll get tearstains on the counter.”
“You have any idea how many lost children there are in Low Town? There’s nothing special about this one—he’s no kin of mine. I didn’t know he existed until yesterday evening.”
“You really think you believe that?”
The day wore heavy on my shoulders. “I’m too tired to argue with you, Adolphus. Quit beating about and tell me what you want.”
“I was going to invite him to sleep in the back. Adeline has taken a liking to him as well.”
“It’s your bar. You can do whatever the hell you want. But an ochre says he makes off with your bedroll.”
“Deal. Tell him when he comes back—I’ve got work to do.”
Customers were trickling in and Adolphus returned to his trade. I sat drinking my beer and thinking maudlin thoughts. After a short while the boy returned, holding a small cup of beef with chili sauce. He had sharp ears—I’d remember that. I took the crock and began eating. “Adolphus feed you?”
The boy nodded.
“You still hungry? When I was your age I was always hungry.”
“I’m fine. I lifted something from off a fish cart on the way back,” he said, as if this was something to be proud of.
“I gave you money this morning, didn’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“You spend it already?”
“Not a copper.”
“Then you don’t need to be stealing food. Degenerates steal when they don’t have to—you want to go that route, you can get the hell away from me. I don’t need to give errands to some freak who snatches purses because it gives him a thrill.”
To judge by his grimace, he didn’t much care for my comparison—but he didn’t say anything in response.
“Where you bedding?”
“Different places. I was sleeping under the quay when it was warm. Lately I’ve been bunking in an abandoned factory near Brennock. There’s a watchman, but he only checks once after dark and once before dawn.”
“Adolphus says you can sleep in the back. Adeline will likely make up a bed for you.”
His eyes contorted into little blips of fury, domestication the ultimate insult to a feral youth. “I asked for a job, nothing else—I don’t need your charity.”
“One thing you ought to know about me, kid, if you’re too dumb to figure it
“Follow Broad Street past the Fountain of the Traveler and you’ll see a bar on your right beneath the sign of a blue dragon. At the counter will be fat man with a face like a beaten mutt. Tell him to tell Ling Chi I sent you. Tell him to tell Ling Chi that I’m going to be snooping around his territory tomorrow. Tell him it isn’t related to business. Tell him I’ll consider it a favor. He won’t say anything to you—they’re a cagey bunch—but he won’t need to. Just deliver the message andreturn here.” Wren nodded and slipped out the exit. “And get me something to eat on the way back!” I yelled, unsure if he’d heard me.
I turned on the giant. “Quit telling the boy war stories. He doesn’t need his head filled with nonsense.”
“Nonsense! Every word of that story is true! I can still remember you smirking as he walked away.”
“What happened to that lieutenant?”
Adolphus lost his smile. “He slit his wrists the night after he forced that charge at Reaves.”
“We found him bled out when he didn’t show at reveille—so no more about the good old days. They weren’t any fucking good.”
Adolphus rolled his eye at me and stood. “By the Firstborn, you’re in a mood.”
He wasn’t wrong. “It’s been a rough day.”
“Come on, I’ll pour you a beer.” We adjourned to the bar and he drew me a tall flagon of ale. I sipped at it while we waited for the evening rush to arrive.
“I like the boy,” Adolphus said, as if he had just realized it. “He doesn’t miss much, for all that he keeps quiet about what he sees. Any idea where he’s sleeping?”
“In the street, I assume. That’s where street urchins tend to live.”
“Don’t be so sentimental—you’ll get tearstains on the counter.”
“You have any idea how many lost children there are in Low Town? There’s nothing special about this one—he’s no kin of mine. I didn’t know he existed until yesterday evening.”
“You really think you believe that?”
The day wore heavy on my shoulders. “I’m too tired to argue with you, Adolphus. Quit beating about and tell me what you want.”
“I was going to invite him to sleep in the back. Adeline has taken a liking to him as well.”
“It’s your bar. You can do whatever the hell you want. But an ochre says he makes off with your bedroll.”
“Deal. Tell him when he comes back—I’ve got work to do.”
Customers were trickling in and Adolphus returned to his trade. I sat drinking my beer and thinking maudlin thoughts. After a short while the boy returned, holding a small cup of beef with chili sauce. He had sharp ears—I’d remember that. I took the crock and began eating. “Adolphus feed you?”
The boy nodded.
“You still hungry? When I was your age I was always hungry.”
“I’m fine. I lifted something from off a fish cart on the way back,” he said, as if this was something to be proud of.
“I gave you money this morning, didn’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“You spend it already?”
“Not a copper.”
“Then you don’t need to be stealing food. Degenerates steal when they don’t have to—you want to go that route, you can get the hell away from me. I don’t need to give errands to some freak who snatches purses because it gives him a thrill.”
To judge by his grimace, he didn’t much care for my comparison—but he didn’t say anything in response.
“Where you bedding?”
“Different places. I was sleeping under the quay when it was warm. Lately I’ve been bunking in an abandoned factory near Brennock. There’s a watchman, but he only checks once after dark and once before dawn.”
“Adolphus says you can sleep in the back. Adeline will likely make up a bed for you.”
His eyes contorted into little blips of fury, domestication the ultimate insult to a feral youth. “I asked for a job, nothing else—I don’t need your charity.”
“One thing you ought to know about me, kid, if you’re too dumb to figure it
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