As I left The Velvet Vineyard and wandered the streets, I went over everything in my head again. I had to slow down and not get too eager at the thought of gold, this still could be a trap. I was a bad choice for someone to try and rob, I had little on me and I could defend myself. It wasn't worth the risk or effort to try and take from a man with so little on him. Besides, Alistair was clearly well off. Maybe Alistair wanted me dead? Or maybe it was someone he was working with? I decided that if this kid had some plan to try and harm me, I'll take my chances. He's definitely clever, but I like to think that I am too.
That didn't change how I felt about this job, the whole situation was strange. Why would Alistair risk his neck and go into The Sleeping Bog to grab some herbs? Was he really just a stuck up rich kid who thought he knew better than the people living here? Maybe he knew what this place was and came there for a reason. He's starting to sound just as crazy as I am.
That doesn't explain the bandits though. Criminals don't just set up ambushes in places where nobody ever goes. My guess was that they just happened upon Alistair while he was sniffing the flowers, and took the opportunity to snatch a ride. That still doesn't explain why the bandits were even there to begin with. There was still one big problem to address, besides my paranoia. I didn't really know anything about The Sleeping Bog.
All I had to go off of was Alistair's story, and aside from the possibility that he's making all this shit up, he could be misremembering things. I was basically walking into the place blind, and despite my many questions; I was okay with that.
As I walked down the road of the Farmer's Market my ears perked up at the sound of a familiar name, on a street corner stood a young boy on a crate shouting to the people passing by. He held a wooden sign in his hands, on it were the bright green letters; 'Fortune Reader'.
"Come to Celeste's Tent of Psychic Readings! There's fortune in your future!" The boy recited, sounding rehearsed like a bad stage performer.
It couldn't be a coincidence, surely there weren't two psychics named Celeste in this world. If she turned out to be the same woman I met a year ago, she could help me with this job. We had met only once before, it was shortly into my life as 'The Drifter'. I did a job for her and at the time she didn't have much coin to her name and what she did have she needed more than me. I did my work free of charge and told her if we met again I'd ask for a favor, not actually expecting to ever run into her again. Her contract was a messy one, the kind that revealed ugly secrets she'd rather keep buried. When I did the job for her, it meant I had to learn those secrets whether she wanted me to or not. After how emotionally taxing it was for her, and learning what I did, I decided to label it as charity work. I wasn't so sure Celeste would be happy to see me again, given what I knew, but she could tell me what I needed to know about The Sleeping Bog. I figured it was worth a shot and I approached the boy, he seemed nervous at the sight of me.
"Hello mister." He greeted me. The boy was short and stocky for his age, he wore a white tunic tucked into his brown wool pants. He kept his hair short, with trimmed bangs above his eyebrows and nice leather shoes.
"Hello. You know where Celeste's tent is right?" I asked him, trying to sound friendly.
The boy hesitated before asking "You're not gonna hurt her are ya?"
I raised an eyebrow. "No. Why do you ask? Did someone try hurting her?"
"No. You just look like a scary man. No offense."
The kid was right, I was a scary man. I covered my armored attire and my sword with a long black trench coat, but that only hid so much. The kid had a keen eye on him, he saw I was dangerous and he decided to look out for her. He cared enough about this Celeste to speak up to a grown man twice his size to protect her. I had to respect that.
"No offense taken kid, I think I know your Celeste. Black skin, black braided hair with gold in it. That ring a bell?"
The boy didn't speak right away but the look on his face told me what I needed to know; he recognized my description, meaning this was my Celeste. But what was she doing in Knightbreak? I suppose it was safer to live here than it was in Stonewolf.
"I'll take you to her." The boy finally responded.
"Lead the way."
I walked beside him as he guided me through the bustling streets. He led me to the outskirts of Thorneglade, the quality of the buildings here diminished quickly. That told me what Thorneglade and the baron running the place thought about her. It didn't surprise me they were cold to her, Celeste was an immigrant woman from across the sea. As if the different skin and accent wasn't enough to make people distrust her, she also practiced magic.
"How has Celeste been doing these days? It's been a while since I've seen her."
"She doesn't get many customers. Usually just boys wanting to gawk at her."
"People here not interested in finding out their fortune?"
The boy stopped and turned to me with a puzzled look on his face. "You know her act is just a sham right?"
Ah yes, still doing the 'hiding in plain sight' act. Celeste took the role of a fortune teller, giving readings and premonitions to customers for money. She made her services look unconvincing on purpose, if people thought she was a scam they wouldn't suspect her of actual magic. Make no mistake about it though, Celeste was the real deal. And as far as mages go, she might be the most gifted I've ever met.
"Where's your sense of wonder?" I asked him.
"Wonder doesn't get me richer." The boy shook a purse full of coins at his beltside, this little brat might be richer than I am.
"That how you pay for the nice shoes?"
"Mhm."
Our walk led us to a corner of Thorneglade littered with tents selling services, the kind of services the town guard would arrest you for anywhere else.
"Over here pretty boy." a woman shouted to a tent with a bed inside. "I'm yours for the night if you got the marks."
"Don't get distracted." The boy chided.
"I'm not!"
We approached a tent with a green and black pattern. Purple beads dangled from the entrance. The boy stepped in front of me.
"What's your name again?"
"Cassian. Cassian Nightwater."
"What kind of name is Nightwater?"
"Mine. Now go inside and let her know I'm here already."
"Fine damn, just don't run off with a whore while I'm gone." He got the last word as he marched into the tent.
I waited outside, a bit frustrated at myself for losing my cool in front of a kid like that. I watched the colorful characters that inhabited this place, from street performing jesters to drunk soldiers boasting about their kills in war. Of course there were the drug peddlers and armed ruffians that kept an eye on them. I learned to stay out of the way of people like that, it made my work less complicated. The beads at the entrance of the tent rustled, and the boy walked out.
"Celeste is ready to meet with you."
I nodded to him and walked into the tent. Inside was what I could best describe as theatrical. I smelled the burning of incense immediately, and was greeted to a small room with purple drapes, lit candles sprawled about and a big blue crystal ball sat in the middle on top of a colorful rug. Also on the rug was Celeste herself, sat cross legged. She wore a piece of blue fabric on her head, her hair was curly and black like the feathers on a crow with beads and gold looking coins hanging from it. She had soft features, a round face, full lips, big brown eyes and darker skin than anyone in Knightbreak or Stonewolf. When we first met she was shocked that I recognized her accent, she was from the Isles of Matrovia. I only knew that from my childhood growing up on a ship, you learn a lot about cultures when you're a sailor.
"Nightwater." She spoke, her voice soft and quiet like a whisper. "I thought you'd find me sooner."
"You wanted me to find you?" I asked her, a tad flirtatious. There was something about her that made it hard not to.
"There's a lot of strangers out there. Few friends." She responded.
"And you knew I was here?"
"Yesterday a man warned me about 'The Drifter' being in town, he said you were a danger and I'd be safe if I went home with him for the night."
I let out a chuckle and sat down on the rug across from her.
"I think the boy outside is more than a match for me."
Celeste laughed. "He'd make for an excellent bodyguard. Speaking of boys looking for gold, did you need something? Or just come by to chat with me?"
I wanted to tell her that I did come by to chat, that she has fascinated me ever since the day we met. We didn't have time for a long conversations then, it was just the
circumstances we found ourselves in. Today was looking to be the same.
"I'm working on a job and I could use your talents."
"Hard working as ever." she remarked. "What talents do you seek?"
"The magical kind. I need to go to The Sleeping Bog, I've only heard rumors about the place and I want to know what I'm getting into. I figured since you still owed me for Sunken Crest you could cast a spell and help me out.
"You know mages never work for free, correct?"
Caught off guard by her statement, I gulped.
"Don't look so worried, Nightwater. I wouldn't go back on our deal." she smiled, amused at my awkward expression. "Tell me more about your mission. A monster needs slaying? Or perhaps another haunting?"
My mind flashed back to the night I first encountered Celeste, she was so different then. Her demeanor was much more secretive, and when things progressed she became more and more distraught. Given all the shit she had gone through I understand why she was like that. It was pleasant to see her in a happier, more vibrant attitude. I hoped the year since our encounter was good for her.
"That's the thing, I don't know what to expect really." I admitted. "I'm fetching a missing horse for a rich kid."
Celeste stared at me with a dumbfounded look on her face. "A… a horse?"
"Yes."
"I just, I pictured something more, uh, exciting."
"Maybe the bog will be filled with blights or boggles. You never know, excitement always finds me."
"That is certainly true. I can show you what's inside this 'Sleeping Bog'." She did finger quotes with her hands. "My crystal ball can do it actually, I just need something from the Sleeping Bog to do the spell."
"So the crystal ball is real?"
"If everything is fake, why wouldn't they assume the ball is fake too?" she smiled at me as she explained.
"That's clever. So you need a tether to cast the spell?"
"Ah that's right, you do know a thing or two about magic." Her voice raised in tone like she was amused.
Celeste was right, I knew the fundamentals of how magic worked and I could perform basic rituals. I mainly used them to bait monsters, talk to spirits and even banish some weaker ones. What I could do was nothing compared to the experts.
"I learned a few tricks from my father." I told her.
"Your father practiced magic?"
"Yeah he was a wizard, it's a long story for another time. I can get you a tether."
"I look forward to hearing your story. I'll get the ritual ready for when you return."
I gave Celeste a nod and stepped out of the tent, the rascal boy wasn't around anymore. Off making more customers for Celeste I assumed. My mind started to wander, I had a way to safely discover what was going on in that creepy bog but the only way to use that method was to go in there, grab an acorn and come back. I suppose I didn't have to go deep inside, I could stay on the outskirts of the bog and leave. Still, the whole thing started to feel pointless.
That's when a better idea came to me.
I quickly walked through town, back to The Velvet Vineyard, and approached the bartender to ask him where Alistair had gone. He was now in the room he was renting, deluxe suite A2. I knocked on the door, Alistair opened it and looked surprised to see me so soon. I explained that I needed a plant or root from the bog for the investigation.
Alistair didn't question it, he simply shrugged, opened his leather satchel and pulled out a small yellow flower with five petals and a little bulb in the center.
"Primrose." Alistair explained.
"This will help a lot. Thank you."
"Don't sweat it."
It took me another ten minutes to reach the tent again. Inside she sat waiting for me. A circle was drawn on the rug using a blue salt-like substance. The crystal ball was active, milky clouds swirled inside.
"Give me the flower." Celeste ordered.
I placed it in her hand.
"Sit down."
I followed her instructions.
"You will be the one who sees what's inside the bog. I will be a guide."
I gave her a nod, I had never done anything like this before but I trusted her. She had me sit cross legged inside the drawn circle, I closed my eyes and felt her thumb trace a symbol over my forehead. She spoke in a softer tone.
"Try to imagine yourself on the road. You're traveling, think of the sounds and the smells. Forget about the tent, you are in the bog now focus on that."
I did my best to follow her instructions, not sure if I would succeed. A few seconds later I stopped hearing Celeste's voice. When I opened my eyes I wasn't in the tent anymore.