“We should be able to get some news too,” Cat pointed out. “Right now, we don’t know enough to make a plan.”
“True,” Emily agreed. The inn didn’t look very inviting, but they were short of choices. It was probably too much to hope for a bath, or anything remotely resembling a shower. There would be buckets of cold water for washing and chamberpots under the bed. And that was if they were lucky. “Let’s go, shall we?”
Chapter Two
“BUSY PLACE,” CAT COMMENTED, AS THEY drove up the driveway. “I can hear the drunken singing from here.”
Emily nodded, tersely. The inn seemed to grow larger with every passing second, large enough to pass for a hotel on Earth. Someone had paved the drive with cobblestones–she was amused to note that they’d paid more attention to their drive than the Royal Road–but it was clear that hundreds of horses and carts had passed through in the last few days. The sound of music–and glasses clinking–was growing louder too. She felt a lump form in her stomach as she looked up at the forbidding building. It felt…unsafe.
Stout heart, she told herself, as Jade pulled the wagon to a stop. You’ve been in worse places.
“Ho!” She looked up and saw a young boy, around ten years old, running towards them. “I…welcome!”
Emily’s eyes narrowed. The boy was young, wearing a cap, a brown jerkin and loose trousers that seemed to be a size or two too big for him. No, for her. The disguise was a good one–and Emily probably wouldn’t have seen through it if she hadn’t had plenty of experience with women dressing as men–but it wasn’t good enough. The clothes were just a little too loose for peasant garments that could be resized on the fly. She wondered, as the girl reached the cart and bowed deeply, if Jade or Cat had seen through it too. She’d known plenty of people who’d see someone dressed as a boy and assume ‘he’ was a boy.
“Ho,” the greeter said, again. She wouldn’t be able to pass for a boy for much longer, not if her voice didn’t grow deeper. “Rooms for three?”
“Yes,” Jade said. He jumped down to the cobblestones and motioned for Cat to pass him the trunk. “And a place in the stables for our horse and wagon.”
The girl bowed, again. “My mother will handle the details inside,” she said, pointing to the door. “I’ll take your horses to the back now.”
Emily watched her scramble up with all the ease of youth, feeling an odd mixture of emotions. Children in the Nameless World were different. They were expected to make themselves useful from a very early age. It still felt odd to see children with adult responsibilities, but she had to admit it was the making of them. The kind of psychosis that had been all too common back home, where children were not allowed to grow up until the appointed time, was rarely seen on the Nameless World.
But she also knew why the girl was wearing male guise. It would keep her safe in a world full of threats. Hundreds of people would be passing through the inn every day and some of them would be dangerous. A young girl might look vulnerable…she felt sick at the very thought. The Nameless World had its downsides too. Someone with enough rank or wealth or power–or magic–could get away with anything.
She scrambled down to the cobblestones, slung one of the bags over her shoulders and followed the men to the main entrance. A handful of older men were sitting outside, swapping gossip and smoking something that smelled sickly-sweet. Emily had no idea what it was, but she doubted it was doing their lungs any good. Their eyes flickered over her as she walked past, then looked away. She wasn’t remotely surprised to see, as they walked into the inn, that a middle-aged woman was sitting behind the table. Greeting the guests was woman’s work. The flintlock lying on her desk, on the other hand, was a considerable surprise. She’d known handheld guns were starting to spread across Zangaria–everyone wanted one, no matter what the king said–but she wouldn’t have expected to find one here.
And too many people won’t know what it is, she thought, wryly. A weapon wouldn’t deter anyone if they didn’t realize it was a weapon. Or maybe they’ll believe it has supernatural powers.
Jade did the talking. “We want a single room for the three of us, with the proper facilities.”
The woman looked at Emily with a hint of disdain before frowning up at the blackboard behind her. Emily felt her cheeks heat. Passing for a kept woman was embarrassing, even though she was fairly sure no one would be able to penetrate her disguise. Even if they figured out that she wasn’t some peasant girl who’d run off in search of adventure–or to escape an unwanted marriage–they’d never guess the truth. But it also meant dealing with society’s contempt. Prostitutes were right at the bottom. The innkeeper would feel free to look down on her.
She turned away, allowing her eyes to roam around the hallway. It was dark, illuminated only by a handful of flickering lanterns. Someone had placed them very carefully, ensuring that the innkeeper could see her guests while making it harder for the guests to see her. The walls were cloaked in shadow, probably hiding the remnants of previous guests as well as the dirt and grime that was omnipresent in the Nameless World. Music echoed down one corridor: a man bellowing out a bawdy ballad, accompanied by something that sounded vaguely like a guitar. The lyrics were explicit enough to make her cringe.
The innkeeper coughed, loudly. “Women are to eat in the upper hall,” she said, stiffly. “Men are to eat in the lower floor.”
Emily nodded, keeping her face impassive. It was a wise precaution. The inn appeared to be bursting with guests, most of whom would probably be mercenaries. Better to try to keep men and women separate than risk a fight breaking out over one of the girls. She shifted her bag, then followed Jade and Cat through a low-hanging door and up a narrow flight of wooden stairs. It was so dark that she wanted to cast a night-vision spell. Someone was likely to have an accident if they had to sneak down in the middle of the night.
And we’re going to have real trouble if there’s a fire, she thought, as they reached the top of the stairs. A pair of heavyset men with swords were standing at the top. Getting everyone out in a hurry will be difficult.
She tensed as she saw Jade’s hand resting on his dagger. Drawing his sword in such a confined space would be difficult. Hell, the inn might have been designed to make fighting difficult. She’d been in castles built to make life harder for anyone trying to fight their way up the stairs. She touched her own dagger, hidden in her sleeve, as the two men looked at them, then stepped aside. Her skin crawled as their eyes wandered over her chest. She was showing nothing, but it didn’t matter. The men hadn’t seen a young woman in far too long.
Her back itched as they made their way down the corridor, careful not to show any sign of fear. Jade and Cat had plenty of experience–she knew she’d never be a swordmaster herself–but fighting without magic was always chancy. The men were mercenaries, judging by their clothing. They had probably fought in wars where the rules of warfare were nothing more than sick jokes. They might well be experienced enough to make up for Jade and Cat’s youth.
And if we reveal we’re magicians, we will draw too much attention to ourselves, she reminded herself. We must pass unnoticed.
Jade stopped outside a wooden door and inserted a large iron key into the lock. Emily wasn’t remotely impressed. She could have picked that primitive lock with her eyes closed, without magic. The smell of…something…wafted out as the door opened, forcing her to breathe through her mouth. Inside, it was dark and uncomfortably warm. Cat stumbled into the room and opened the shutters. It didn’t look as though anyone had bothered to clean the room before renting it out again.
“It could be worse,” Cat said, as light streamed into the room. “At least we have some air.”