By the time he walked out between the stone jaws of Alvadas' only entrance Roland was panting with the effort. His right hand cupped his side, massaging the muscles still sore from his use of Flux a couple days before. The gods-forsaken city had forced him to walk longer than he'd expected, and the sun was high in the sky. Despite the pain and his tired limbs, Roland smiled.
There she was, down the road, standing a safe distance from the walls. "Girl!" Roland broke into a run, his face stretched into a grin. His core burned, sending spasms of pain that Roland happily ignored. By the time he reached the horse it was dancing out of reach, whinnying playfully. The glum-looking fellow holding her reins jerked after the animal, yelping in annoyed surprise.
"Come off it then, ya' hulking beast!" Roland took the lead from the man's calloused fingers. "She's more trouble than she's worth, I'd say." The man spit a wad of chew into the road.
"I wouldn't. How are you Girl?" Roland pulled himself in to the prancing animal, reaching out a hand in an attempt to calm it. "No more tricks now, not today! Hey! No, no, no..." He placed a firm hand on the bridge of her nose and pulled it down to look her in the eyes. "I won't stand for no shyke. Not right now." His harsh language was offset by his smiling features. The gildling blinked back, eyes glowing with a mischievous light. The other man rolled his eyes, picking some grit from his fingernails.
"I'll never understand the love people like you have for those animals. It's creepy, you ask me. Which nobody does."
"Almost as creepy as a sailor's love for his ship, huh Russ?" Roland dug into his pocket and retrieved five golden mizas. "There's the rest, like we agreed." But Russ shook his head.
"We agreed on the price for a person. This beast was a whole different story. Kicked my mate something fierce--twice!"
"What, if a passenger did that you'd raise the price?"
"A passenger did that we'd give him a dip in the Suvan to cool his head." Russ said with a glint in his eye, his hand dropping to the pommel of a wicked looking shortsword. Roland didn't like where this was going.
"So. What's the new price then?"
"Well, another 10 I'd think, plus an additional five for my mate's suffering."
Roland took a tick to do the math in h is head. "You're saying... what, 20 total? That's crazy. You won't cheat me here Russ." He pulled Girl's lead in close, his other hand steady on her neck. Russ's bald face quirked into a frown.
"That's business, kid."
"Well I won't pay it. You'll take what we agreed on and your mate can go stuff your mast up--"
"Such colorful language. You'd make a crackin' sailor, kid. You won't though. If you don't pay me the money I think I'm owed, I guarantee you won't find passage back across the Suvan. Not in my lifetime. You'll be stuck in that cursed city the rest of your life."
Roland followed Russ's glare up to the Gaping Maw. "What... you don't like Alvadas?"
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't step foot in that place if the gods themselves--wait, what the Hai are you doing?"
Roland planted a boot in the stirrups and threw himself up into the saddle. Girl neighed in complaint and surprise, rocking under his sudden weight. Roland grabbed the reins, nearly losing his seating as she bucked under him. "C'mon Girl, go!" The horse only listened when Russ's sword caught the light of the sun as it scraped free of his belt. She wheeled around and bolted towards the walled city, Russ's curses on their heels.
"Woah! Slow it down, he won't keep up." He pulled back on the reins, but Girl was acting on her own. Roland cursed his lousy skill as a rider, giving up on the reins to hug her neck. It was that or be thrown from her back!
But maybe Girl understood the situation better than he, for she pulled up short just outside the open mouth of the stone face. Roland breathed deeply, inhaling the rich smell of her mane. Unsure, he lifted up slightly, his hands white-knuckling the reins. Tipping his head, he found that he and Girl were ten paces ahead of Russ. The sailor was frozen still, his face contorted into a mixture of rage and fear. Roland sat up slowly, then looked between the angry man and the rocky gaze of the Gaping Maw. A smile grew on the thief's face.
"What's the matter Russ? Don't you want your money?"
"You petching coward," Russ swore, his sword extended in a shaky hand. "Cheat! I'm owed my money! And your hide, for this!"
Roland laughed, enjoying the feeling of being in control of a situation for once. "You're right, you're right. I'm sorry, Russ. Truly." His bravado growing, he lifted his coinpurse from his pockets and held it out. "Here. It's all yours, honest. Everything you're owed!" The sailor's eyes narrowed. "It's not a trick. All you have to do is walk over here and take it." Russ shifted on his feet, the sword dipping slightly. "Come on, it's just a petching wall innit?"
Russ took a step forward. “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” Russ leapt back, nearly dropping the blade from his hands as the massive face spoke. Swearing in every tongue he knew, the man turned tail and ran.
"Oh come on!" Roland said with a laugh, though his own eyes flickered back to the magical edifice. It was clear Russ would not be coming back. "Oh well. Hey Russ!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Thank you for saddling up Girl for me! It must have made the walk easier for you!" He stroked the horse's golden mane. She stamped her hoof twice and exhaled in a huff as if to say, that's that.
"Hoo, gods that was close. Come on Girl!" The Gaping Maw was still and open once more. Roland had already overcome its questioning. "You're going to like this place. A lot more than I did, I'll tell you that."
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