The old man heard the rising pitch of his daughter's voice. He turned and stared at Josef while rustling his glasses back onto his face. "What is it Sahva? Is everything alright? Does our guest need a special fitting? Slight around the waist is he?"
"No, father," came Sahva's quivering voice. "It's—it's him, the goo-drinker." She didn't look at Josef as she spoke, but immediately Claudius's gills expanded and Josef took a step backwards. He was about to get booted from his first shop.
"The goo-drinker!" cried out the clothier. "In my shop!"
Claudius stared at Josef with a look that said I-can't-take-you-anywhere and what-the-hell-did-you-say. Claudius stepped forward, dropping the grey doublet in a rumpled pile and heading off the clothier. "Let me assure you, this fine young gentlemen goes by the name of Josef and while, yes, you are correct—"
But the clothier bumbled by Claudius and stepped up right in front of Josef. He was holding his suspenders, his pipe's smoke wafting everywhere and half-obscuring his face. "Sahva, go make us some tea, my darling. Use the finest, the Mountain Perigoss from Brunbath. Spare no expense."
The clothier extended his hand to Josef. "A goo-drinker. A goo-drinker in Gangdrup. I never thought I'd see the likes of your kind again. My name is Mercure Dulwess and I welcome you to Dulwess & Daughters."
Josef glanced at Claudius, who then urged Josef to shake the man's hand, which Josef promptly did. "Josef," said Josef, awkwardly bouncing along with the Mercure's prolonged and intimate handshake.
The tattoo. Josef realized it was pressing against Mercure's palm. The thought was that quick, a rapid blaze of hesitation igniting and expanding throughout his body — he needed to be careful. Claudius had warned him about revealing the mark.
"You caused quite the ruckus last eve," said the clothier while refolding the grey doublet Claudius had haphazardly let fall to the table. As he did so, he glanced over his shoulder at Josef, awaiting a response.
"My intention was not to ruin the music," Josef said slowly, feeling like he was being asked to explain himself. "I simply wanted to continue living. I had no idea how much time remained before Moonsneeze ended."
"So we've heard. No judgement here, I assure you" Mercure said, giving the doublet a quick pat before he turned to face Josef. "The news spread quickly, very quickly. It's only us old-timers who recognized the coiling grip Mal brought upon you. The youngsters, my daughter included, thought you were about to become a little snack for our Mal."
So this clothier had seen the last goo-drinker, Josef thought. He then wondered what he might be able to learn from him. The clothier himself seemed to be hunting for information, or perhaps angling to provide some tidbit himself.
"It's surprising that it's been so long since the last goo-drinker arrived here," Josef said while taking in Mercure's reaction.
Mercure's eyes peered into Josef's in turn. "And what makes you say that?"
The clanking of cups on a tray preceded Sahva's return to the room. Hot steam billowed up the spout of the teapot. Mercure motioned for his daughter to set the tray down on a nearby stool without taking his eyes off of Josef.
"For a city this big," Josef began, putting into words what he knew about the world, "it seems a tad out of the ordinary, especially with the Ba'ha Grotto so close and all."
Mercure eyes sharpened. "The Grotto, you say. Word has it you came from The Crow Meadow. You aren't affiliated with The Ba'ha Company are you?" Mercure's hand rested on the handle of the teapot, waiting.
But Claudius spoke first. "Josef was a private birth. Near Goosh. He's barely had a chance to get his bearings. His caretaker thought The Crow Meadow would serve well enough, but as many know, the crows are much diminished. Isn't that right, Josef?"
Josef nodded slowly, wondering what exactly a 'private birth' entailed. Claudius obviously didn't want the clothier knowing he was an escapee from The Ba'ha Company.
Josef followed Claudius's lead. "I didn't know what to expect, but yes, quite the sight. All of the manacles. The poor crows. I had no choice but to come here or risk the lengthy journey to Bouldershore."
Mercure poured four cups of tea and handed Josef the first steaming cup. "You made a wise decision. I for one am honoured to have a goo-drinker within our city. There are others though…" His voice trailed off as he handed Claudius the next cup and motioned for Sahva to grab hers. He took his last.
Josef treasured the warmth of the tea in his hands. He had no idea where Brunbath was, but the smells flowing up from the Mountain Perigoss tea were spectacular — an enlivening bouquet of rose, honey, and sparkling mint.
"You were saying that others…?" Claudius said, picking up Mercure's previous thread of conversation.
"Yes, there are others who take a different stance." Mercure said cautiously, glancing at his daughter. "Sahva tells me of her friends' families who've only heard the stories, and the bad stories at that. They hear 'goo-drinker' and all they can think of is death, war, and revolution. Those Gangdrupians who've educated themselves know that's only half the truth." Mercure gave a slight bow in Josef's direction.
"And what is the side of the truth that you know?" Josef inquired. He sensed Claudius looking at him out of the corner of his eye.
Mercure inclined towards Claudius. "Are you his keeper?"
"I prefer the term Goo-whisperer, or perhaps Pathmaker…but yes," said Claudius stroking his chin, his gills fluttering, "I like the sound of that. Pathmaker."
Mercure arched an eyebrow while adjusting his glasses. Sahva giggled while taking a sip of tea. "Careful, Sahva. It's still hot," her father said as his gaze returned to Josef. "You hear stories about the goo-drinkers knowing nothing, being altogether clueless, but it's something else in person."
"I've been carefully doling out the life advice as needed," Claudius explained while patting Josef on the shoulder. "He's a gleeful sponge, this one is. A few drops never cuts it. He wants the entire sewer."
"That doesn't surprise me in the least. I can remember how curious I was as a youngster and I wasn't even a goo-drinker. I remember the first time I heard the tale of Wainsop the Hushkeep Liberator. Couldn't sleep for a month, I was so amazed."
"Was he a goo-drinker?" Josef asked, curiosity overtaking him.
"Yes!" shouted Sahva before she quickly covered her mouth as tea sloshed onto her wrist, "Shit! Ouch!"
"Sahva, darling! Manners, manners please! We have a reputation to work against. Us sewerfolk are already in a deep enough pit as it is."
But Sahva was already running to the back room, whether in search of aid or to hide her embarrassment, Josef had no idea.
As Sahva disappeared into the back room, Mercure scratched the grey hairs at the side of his head and puffed eagerly at his pipe. He then shook his head and sighed. "Wainsop the Hushkeep Liberator is her favourite story concerning the goo-drinkers. I think she got a little excited. When she was younger, she made me read it to her before bed every night for a full septujinny."
Josef was all ears, indicating to Mercure with a nod of his head he wanted to hear more. He could well understand Sahva's interest.
"I've piqued your curiosity, I see. Well, the story goes that one of the Adherents of the Red Moon snuck a goo-sac into Hushkeep, hid it within the castle's walls, and then carefully brought in fresh goo whenever they could."
"Eventually, the goo-drinker hatched and was taken for a new apprentice by the first attendant to spot him and sent to work in the stables. After only a week, he'd subverted the stablemaster, and then the general, inaugurated a mock court, had the false king tried, and created a democratic alliance with three neighbouring villages, all the while inventing a new supplication to the Red Moon, which Adherents say is still practiced and highly effective."
"What happened to Wainsop?" Josef asked.
"That's all there was to the story I first acquired. But after reading it to Sahva so many times I became curious, so I did some digging. What history we have says he slowly perished. He started to turn on himself, became remote, until eventually he fled to the Swamp of Forgiveness in the middle of the night. That's where they found him, dead as a rotted log."
Dead as a rotted log. Josef felt his mind contract. He turned and looked at Claudius who was nodding solemnly.
Josef had to ask. "Why did he die like that?"
"There have been an untold number of tomes devoted to just such a question. Some more lucid than others. I read more about all of that stuff in my youth. Now I concern myself with matters more close at hand," Mercure said and gestured towards the pale blue tunic which had first caught Josef's eye. "It's not every day a goo-drinker walks into one's shop. One's fancy inevitably goes for a spin, but then we come back, don't we? Here, come feel its fabric." Mercure held out the pale blue linen for Josef to inspect.
"That's a fine tunic," Claudius said quickly, "much too fine for my spendthrift goo-drinker here."
"I think it would suit him just fine," said Mercure, smiling, "especially when it's free. Savha!" called Mercure over his shoulder, "measurements are needed!"
Sahva immediately trudged out from the back holding her wrist to her chest like a wounded animal. Mercure pointed to the tunic with the seaweed swirl and Sahva nodded, folding the tunic carefully before taking it with her over to Josef.
"Free?" Josef said at Sahva whipped out a measuring tape as if unsheathing a longsword.
"You'll be a walking advertisement," Claudius explained.
"Sea Gwell's aren't known for their business sense," Mercure said slyly, "but you seem to have captured my little whim succinctly."
Claudius bowed. "My senses are on heightened alert when it comes to this little guppy." Claudius then turned to Josef. "So? What do you say? Do you accept his offer?"
"Ugh, I, ugh…yes" Josef said. He was bamboozled. He could've sworn Sahva just sniffed his neck while measuring his shoulder width.
She then measured his waist. "Scrawny for a goo-drinker," she muttered under her breath.
Josef adjusted his step, sucking in just a bit of air to expand his chest. He had only achieved consciousness a few days ago, but his self-consciousness was just now picking up steam
"Breathe out," Sahva commanded, "no puffery." Josef released a morsel of air, maintaining a high degree of chest inflation. But Sahva sighed and tapped her foot. "It'll just make it look flabby in the end. You already look silly enough wearing this putrid rag."
Mercure raised himself on his tiptoes, glaring at his daughter. "Speak kindly to the customer, Sahva. Thank you."
Josef relented and released a steady flow of air from his lungs as Sahva quickly leaned forward, took his measurement, and curled her nose. "Did you go for a swim? In the sewers?"
"I was offered a chance at salvation. I ended up passing on the offer," Josef said while suppressing a shudder. Claudius appeared to be angling to have Mercure throw in the grey doublet as well.
"Don't know why you were looking for salvation at the bottom of a sewer. I see more than a few gujai bites here, here, and here," Sahva said as she poked at various locations on Josef's arm.
"Hey there, watch it!"
"So you do feel pain."
"Yes, indeed I do," said Josef, resenting her proddings and her seeming lack of empathy.
"I heard my father tell you about Wainsop the Hushkeep Liberator," she said excitedly, but then her voice plummeted to a whisper: "He always forgets a key part."
Josef watched with curiosity as Sahva quickly measured the pale blue tunic and inserted pins in key locations. "And what did he forget this time?"
Sahva paused for effect. Josef saw she was relishing his ignorance. "Wainsop wandered for weeks seeking guidance. Weeks! He didn't just sit there and wilt and wait. He tried his best to seek out an answer for why—wait…what's that on your hand?"
Josef froze. He'd opened his arms out wide for the measurements. She'd seen the tattoo.
He had to say something. "Just some dirt. I haven't yet had the chance—" But she grabbed his arm and pried at his palm. She was shaking, her blue eyes glancing up at Josef and then down at his palm again and again.
"How did you get that tattoo?" she hissed.