"How may I be of service, my lord?" She positively gushed. Mika was hard pressed not to cover his nose. The perfume hit you a good minute before the woman got near you. He carefully controlled his breathing and asked about the silver haired girl working in her establishment. "You must mean, Tarla. She is my finest lady. She is not available at the moment. She had a long evening with a special client last evening." She paused obviously expecting Mika to offer her a bribe to see the girl.
"I don't wish to hire her for the day, my good woman. I am looking for a girl who matches her description." He went on to describe Greyfox as he remembered her.
"You say that this niece of yours would be about twenty five years now?"
"Yes. She is quite small for her age. She would probably look like a child of half that age."
"I am sorry, sir. Tarla is not the woman your looking for."
"If I could just see her?"
"All right," she waved to the girl who brought her his message earlier. "Sanni, child. Please go and tell Tarla I need her for a moment." She turned back to Mika. "I'm sure she is not the girl your looking for."
After a few minutes the girl Sanni came down the stairs with a silver haired figure dressed in a sheer robe. Mika was hopeful for a moment until the figure stepped into the light. The madam was correct, this wasn't his niece. She was much too tall and as he got a better look at her it was obvious that she was only partially elven. A quarter blood at best. "You're right. This is not the girl I'm looking for. I'm sorry to have bothered you so early in the day." Mika took the madam's hand and placed a gold coin in the palm. "This should take care of any inconvenience I caused." With that he bowed and left the establishment.
The madam turned to the girl standing quietly by her side. "Now you see why I will always deal with elves. The always pay well for what ever service you give them. Remember that my gem." She gave the coin to the part-elven girl and sent her on up to bed. She was definitely one of her best money producers. She deserved the coin.
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Mika returned to the inn in quiet contemplation. That was the sixth lead that hadn't panned out since he returned to Greymer. It looked as if this trip was going to be like the last five he had made. It was becoming very frustrating. It was like the girl just vanished. How was he to keep his promise to his sister's shade if he couldn't find the girl. He had a good lunch and returned to his room to ponder the information he had.
It was mid-afternoon when a knock came upon his door. He put down the papers and walked over to let in who ever it was. His mind was preoccupied and he had lost track of the time. He was pleasantly surprised when he opened the door. "Hello, Mika." Standing before him was Levy, looking very pleased with himself.
"Levy! Long time no see. How have you been?" Mika embraced his human friend and gestured for him to enter the room.
"I've been fine and I have news for you." He stood by the window and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.
Mika looked him over. The boy had grown a bit in the last few years. Never really tall for a human he had an unfinished look when he traveled with Mika ten years ago. Time had taken care of that. Time and confidence. Levy had grown a beard to help make him look older. Even at thirty the mage looked like he was barely out of puberty. "Well, don't keep me in suspense, what's the news you have for me?"
"I believe I now know where Greyfox is."
Mika's whole body came to attention. "What!"
"I have found the place your niece was sold to."
Mika stood in shock. If Levy was willing to say he knew where she was then he must. "That's fabulous. Where is she?"
"According to my sources there is a private house on Maple Street that is known in the trade as the House of Elven Pleasures. Your niece has been in this house since we lost track of her."
"The House of Elven Pleasures." Mika mused aloud. Turning to Levy, "why haven't I heard of this place?"
"Its very exclusive. Only the richest and strangest of the human lords use the place. It caters to the 'baser' instincts of those men." Levy had a look of distaste on his face. He didn't want to explain just what the girls were expected to do. The men preferred girls they could terrorize. Girls who would not under any circumstances fight back. He had checked the place out himself a week ago. He had been disgusted by the psychic aura radiating from the place. A few discreet mind taps on the men who entered and left the place gave him the information he needed. He sent out the message to Katlin to have Mika come in to town.
"What is it?" Mika knew his young friend well. There was something he didn't want to tell him.
Levy looked out the window. After a moment he cleared his throat. "Your niece....um, she is one of the favorites there."
"What else?" It was like trying to pull teeth to get the mage to talk.
"There is little of her mind left. The rumor is that she is the favorite because she only responds to the terror. Anything else and she just hums a quiet little song." Levy turned back to face Mika. "I'm sorry. I tried to reach in the house and touch her mind but there's some type of shield over the place." His eyes showed the concern he had for his friend. He knew how much Mika needed to have his niece back.
Mika was quiet for a moment and then he spoke calmly to his friend. "Don't worry. There are mind healers in Mer'Beryl. If there is anything to save they'll be able to find it. I just want to get her out of there."
"We'll do that. Don't you worry." Levy walked over to Mika. "Has Katlin checked in yet?"
Mika smiled. He knew that the mage and his swordswoman friend had gotten very close over the years. Like himself Katlin found that the elves of their home city were too stratified for her taste. She wanted someone with a bit more life to them. "No, she hasn't come in yet but Karleen believes that she should be hear this afternoon."
"Karleen does? Since when has she been predicting things?"
"Its a little talent she seems to have developed in the past few months. Very handy to have around, our little healer." Mika let out a low chuckle. Levy smiled, he knew just what Mika meant.
"When Katlin shows up we can work a plan for getting your niece out of that place and back to Mer'Beryl where she belongs."
"Have you had anything to eat yet?" Mika asked.
"Not yet."
"Then you must go down and ask Sari to make you something."
"I wouldn't want to bother the woman. Surely she's busy making the evening repast."
"No such thing. If Sari knew that there was someone standing in her inn who hadn't been fed yet she'd be right here with a try. She has a real thing for feeding people." Mika steered Levy out of the room and down to the inn's kitchen. Sari was more that glad to make up a few sandwiches for the mage. She was always glad to do anything for friends of Samis.
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Half way through the meal Katlin showed up. She was greeted with open arms by Samis and immediately brought her into the private dinning room to talk with her friends. Levy gave her the news and the three worked out a fair plan for getting the elf maid out of the House of Elven Pleasures.
First they planned on having Levy enter the house as a paying guest. He would request the services of Greyfox and after a short while he would offer to buy the girl out of her contract. Mika had amassed a large amount of gold for just this purpose. They hoped that would be all that was necessary. If the madam refused to sell they had a backup plan. With Mika and Katlin causing a commotion at the front door Levy would sneak the girl out under an invisibility spell. Which ever way they should have the girl free by the time the night was over. They would take her to Karleen's healing house and hope that she could heal her mind. If not she should be at the very least able to get the girl healthy enough to travel to Mer'Beryl. On that happy thought they parted at sunset to prepare for their various roles. Levy back to his inn to put on his very finest garb and Mika and Katlin to case the house. They followed Levy's directions carefully.
When Mika and K
atlin arrived outside of the House of Elven Pleasures they were at first unsure that they were at the right place. The house looked like any other respectable house on the street. There was a stable to one side and stairs leading up to the front door. The only thing to give it away for what is was, a single red lantern in the front window.
"This must be the place." Katlin said. "I wonder where Levy is?"
"He'll be here any moment." Mika scanned the street behind them. He ducked down an alley as he saw the first patrons of the night walk up to the house. They all seemed to be overdressed fools. Each with a look on their faces of anticipation. One in particular had a swagger to his step. When Katlin got a good look at him she stifled a giggle.
Mika raised a brow at her levity. She sniggered again and then brought herself under control. Quietly she said. "Mika, Levy's here."
"What? I don't see him."
"Yes, you do. You just don't recognize him."
"What are you talking about? All I've seen so far are a pair of drunken fops and that swaggering fool with the rapier."
Katlin smiled and touched the tip of her nose. She couldn't mean the swaggerer, could she. Mika took a longer look. The man was at least six inches taller than Levy and thirty pounds overweight. His hair was long and blonde and he had a dueling scar under one eye. He looked nothing like the slender, short mage with his short dark hair and beard. "Good disguise, don't you think?"
. "How?"
"Levy's been working on that particular spell for the last couple of months. I talked him into the dueling scar. He thought it was too much but I think it adds just the right touch, don't you?"
Mika was amazed. The amount of detail in the disguise was amazing. Levy was definitely an adept class mage now. To make yourself look taller and heavier took lots of power. "Well, here's hoping for the best."
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Inside the house Levy was encountering some difficulty. The girl he asked about was no longer here. He stood for a moment in shock. How could she not be here? She had been here just a few days ago. He was sure of it. What happened?
"No, Madam Ursa? I believe." The woman before him nodded. "I was told that your very best girl was this little elf. I didn't come here to be put off on some other slut. What happened?" Madam Ursa calmly told the man in front of her that the girl hadn't worked out and she had been sold.
"Can you tell me where to?" With that question Madam Ursa became suspicious. There had been a couple of others asking about the whereabouts of the little slut but they had been house regulars. This man had never been to the house before. With a raised brow she called the bouncers forward.
"I'll have to ask you to select a girl or leave. The one you have asked for no longer works here and we do not give references to the others houses."
Levy took one look at the two men flanking him and bowed deeply and apologized to the woman in front of him.
"I am also sorry. I had been given the impression that a man could get whatever he asked for here. I see that isn't true. Too bad. I will have to take my business elsewhere. Good evening, Madame." He handed her a small coin for her troubles. When their hands met, he whispered a word and tried to pry into her mind. He was met with a wall. Someone had put a very strong spell about this woman's mind. That was going to be a problem. He bowed again and released her hand. Turning, he left the room with a flourish of the cape he had donned for the costume. Madam Ursa whispered to her men and sent the larger of the two after the man. Her suspicions were roused and she wanted to be sure that the man did go to another house. She had to be sure that Elvenbane hadn't found out that she had sold off his little prize.
He had been visiting a lot less in the past three years. Busy with his conquering of one of the outlying kingdoms. This man could have just been a fop who wanted the best or he could be a spy sent by Elvenbane or worse, his uncle, Madeth.
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Levy caught on to the man tailing him before he got a hundred yards from the front of the house. With a smile he touched the brim of his hat to signal his waiting friends and turned down the first alley that opened near him. With a flick of his fingers he dropped the spell changing his appearance and continued down the alley and out the other side.
Ursa's thug followed the fop at a good distance but lost the man when he entered the alley. He entered the alley just a few moments after the fop but when he did there was no one there. He jogged quickly to the end but he saw no one matching the height and dress of his quarry. Madam Ursa would not be pleased.
Levy joined the others and filled them in on what he had been told. "I don't know what's going on here. The madam running the place has some very powerful magical shields around her mind. I tried to look into her mind to check if she was telling me the truth and got stopped cold. She also got real suspicious."
"Yeah, we noticed your little friend." Katlin looked back over her shoulder. "Wonder where he went?"
"There he is." Mika pointed back toward the alley. The man was just leaving it with a worried and puzzled look on his face. It was obvious that he had no idea were his quarry went. He re-entered Madam Ursa's house and the street fell quiet. It had quite a bit of traffic during time that Katlin and Mika had been waiting for Levy. In the distance could be heard the calling of the watch. It was close to midnight and those wanting services must all be at their destinations. "Its time to regroup. Lets get back to Samis'." The others agreed and they scooted away from the house.
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After a few hours of trying to brainstorm someway of getting the needed information out of the madam the friends separated and went to bed. In the morning the discussion resumed in the main dinning room over some of Sari's fine cooking.
"You say that the madam had a spell shielded mind?" Karleen had rejoined the group earlier that morning. "That is highly odd. There's no reason for a woman of her profession to need one. I wonder just why she does?" She turned to Levy, "Did you recognize the signature? Could it have been put on by Elvenbane's mage?"
"No, I assure you that is one signature I would recognize." He responded with a shudder. He still had nightmares about the fight for his mind. He could sometimes feel ghostly fingers prying into his mind. He always succeeded in fighting them off but he never wanted to come that close to becoming a mind slave ever again. "This mage has a flavor much more human. She probably had one of the locals put it on her."
"Again, why would she have a spell shield?"
Katlin thought for a moment. "Maybe she had something to hide from one of her partners?"
"She has partners?" Mika was surprised. Most of the houses where owned wholly by their madams. Maybe she had some financial difficulty.
"Yep. It seems our target has a tendency to play the game." At the others puzzled looks she elaborated. "She makes investments in new businesses, shipping firms and the like. She has abysmal luck when it comes to such things but she just has to play. It the status of being in the game that keeps her making such mistakes.
"That's all very interesting but it has nothing at all to do with my niece and her whereabouts. We need to get that woman alone and find out where she sold Greyfox." A glint came into his eyes as he thought about the girl he had seen briefly ten years ago. He couldn't see her features but he remembered the long flowing silver hair. So much like his departed sister's. He had to get the girl free. No matter if she was a drooling idiot he would bring her home and somehow find a why to bring her mind back. He would no longer be alone in the world. An elf without family was an elf only partially alive. He needed to find that child almost as much as she needed rescuing. "Just how suspicious do you think the woman is?"
"No idea. Want me to try going in again? Maybe a different costume." Levy flicked his fingers and his normally fine boned frame filled out. His hair lightened to a dirty blonde and he was now clean shaven. When he next spoke his normal tenor had dropped to a deep baritone. "What cha think?"
Katlin chuckled. She had gott
en used to Levy's trying out various shapes and colorations in his training toward his new skills. Mika and Karleen had both been out of contact with them for the last couple of years. Karleen busy in the healer's hall and Mika in his search. The looks on her friends' faces was priceless. "Stop showing off, you jackanapes." She threw a roll at the smiling face across the table from her.
"How long have you been able to cast spells so easily?" Mika cocked a brow at the now familiar face.
"I finally got the knack down about six months ago. I'll tell you it wasn't easy. The teachers you and Katlin found for me are real task masters. They didn't want to admit that a human could do what they could. Never mind a human who was so young." Levy was rightly proud. Very few beings made his level of ability, even less of them were humans. It was a very rare human who survived the power fluxes that came at puberty if they carried the potential that Levy had. That the boy had and then left his home and picked up knowledge enough to use his powers without formal training was simply amazing. Mika's mage acquaintances were all elves and didn't think that the young man had the discipline to become a great mage. He had proven them wrong.
"Well, that ability will come in quite handy when you do return to the place. Do you have any other little things to tell us?"
Levy laughed once again and launched into a tale of his training. He had learned much in the last two years and after the tale was finished they cleared out of the dinning room and went upstairs to work on their new plan. The dark mood of earlier had been lifted and spirits were high. They expected that the quest for the girl would soon be over with a happy ending or if not happy at least an ending.
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Ursa sat like a spider in the middle of her web. She dismissed the guard after he told her that he had lost the trail of the foppish visitor. With another flick of her finger she sent one of her specially trained little gifts after him. It settled quickly on his collar and waited. Sometime during the early morning the slack guard would find himself quite dead. Ursa disliked incompetence. Sighing she turned her thoughts to her enemies. There were only two beings in the world she feared. One was Samuel Elvenbane and the other was his snake mage. The creature had given her the little gifts and she had wisely only used them rarely. The local mage guild has ties to the peacekeepers. If a suspicious death had the scent of magic on it they would send a searcher out to find and detain the caster. There were many deaths every night in Greymer but few ever had a taint of magic. Besides being too expensive for the common peasant or street thug, the lower mages who would be willing to work of pennies had not the power to cast such a spell. The rich had little to fear if they used magic in their 'business deals'. They could just pay off the judiscars. It was those of the middle class and those of the 'underclass'. Those like Ursa herself. They had to be very careful. Luckily the little gift given to her only contained enough magic to implant itself on the target, drop its poison and then to dissolve. The actual death came from a very slow acting poison.