The question has been asked since time immemorial – what do you do with a drunken sailor? Less commonly asked but much more perplexing is what do you do with a cat that has the mind of a human lady? And exceptionally fantastic human ladyat that ? The fact is that there’s any number of time honored methods of dealing with a drunken sailor where so far as I know no one has weighed in on the other issue yet. There’s probably a monk contemplating it somewhere because they’re like that but what good does some bald jerk sitting on a mountain peak do me? Josta ran out of conversation early and I was so bored I started wondering where Fiestia was. I knew that Scarlet and Bru had probably gotten themselves killed trying to help out the guy with the smashed genitals but I had no clue where Fiestia had gotten to.
Probably she found a brothel to work in. It’s a funny thing. A pipehead going back to the pipe makes sense, they’re addicted. A wife going back to her drunken abusive husbands makes sense, where else is she going to go? But sometimes when someone gets free they go right back into their prison like a bird flying back into the cage. Why? Because freedom can be a terrifying thing. The familiar, even when the familiar is awful, holds a certain amount of comfort – it’s known. The unknown? Well that could be even worse right? The devil you know and all that. Logically you’d think that Fiestia’s pimp getting killed (in a justified and righteous way by someone nice) and her getting a new chance at life would be a great thing. But, and I don’t know her background, if hooking was the only life she’s ever known suddenly being left to decide for herself? That can be a lot. She probably wanted to get loose at a time, but once you have it the experience can be a lot of handle.
It’s like the old fable of the fox and the wolf. The wolf is bigger and stronger than the fox and he makes the fox do all the work. The fox doesn’t like that so he, being a crafty fox, engineers the wolf’s death at the hands of a farmer. But then there’s no one to stop a badger from kicking the fox out of his den because he’s not strong enough to fight a badger. And then he’s unprotected out in the world and a pack of dogs gets his scent and comes after him. And as he’s running for his life the fox wonders – is freedom worth the danger? People have been struggling with that one for a while now. Everyone hates when the tax collector for the King, or Queen now I guess, comes around but they run to the guard when someone robs them. They don’t want to deal with dangerous thieves, they want someone else to do it for them. But you can’t have it both ways. It’s a real pickle.
These are the kind of thoughts I have when I have nothing to do. Josta wandered her way down in the mourning and took up her standard post behind the bar drinking what little was left. Things livened up marginally when the Kostelos woman from before – you know the murder day – came calling. She’s even more laconic than Josta though, so in order to move things along I felt I had to step in.
(translated from Kostelos)
“Is there something we can do for you?”
“Kichwa.”
“She’s gone and I don’t belief that she’s going to be coming back for a while. My friend Josta and I are looking after the place for now. You used to bring her food for the kitchen?” She looked like she was about to say something but then just nodded. “Well unfortunately until we hire a chef I don’t think we need your services. Josta isn’t much of a cook, we’re still getting things settled here. You’re welcome to stay in one of the rooms upstairs if you want, totally free of charge, I could use the company.”
She shook her head slowly “No.”
“I don’t blame you I suppose, I assume you don’t like to spend too much time in town unless you have to. May I ask you something? I know that your people have magic that we city folk don’t, do you know a wise woman or anything like that? Are you still in touch with your tribe?”
“You ask too many questions.”
“I don’t mean to pry, I was just thinking that maybe you could help me. I’m not normally a cat you see, I was turned into a cat by a witch. I seem to run into witch-curses with startling regularity.
“Uenabo.”
“Pardon me? I don’t know that word.”
“A kind of dark luck, black magic flows to you like water down a hill.”
“That sounds accurate. My friend said that there was a wolf shaman in the area, do you know anything about that? I don’t know one hundred percent what a wolf shaman is but it sounds like a Kostelos thing. I can’t imagine us cityfolk worshipping a wolf or whatever exactly goes on there.”
She thought about it for a long while before speaking “Maybe.”
“Maybe? That’s all you got for me? Look, I realize that you have a strong silent persona you’re working on here but either you know what I’m talking about or you don’t. I grow weary of your prevarication.”
With that she turned on heel and left. Some people. Josta raised an eyebrow.
“What was all that about?”
“Since Scarlet and the girls have been hanging around here she thought you were turning this place into a brothel. She was looking for a job. I told her with her look she’d have to be willing to do some pretty disgusting things to make money and she asked that kind of things I meant. Long story short she wasn’t into it.”
“Should I turn this place into a brothel?”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.”
“That’s all you have to say about it? Usually you talk for ten minutes any time anyone asks you anything, or even if they don’t.”
“That’s not a fair assessment. Your perception is warped because getting three words out of you is like getting an honest day’s work out of a rich man. I talk exactly the right amount. Anyway, do you really need me to explain why I don’t think exploiting women sexually for money isn’t the right thing to do?”
“I guess not, but I’m surprised to hear that from you.”
“Why?”
She shrugged “Just am.”
“Well, as long as you have a good reason.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hair regrowth progress : NA
Funds: 800 gold (held in trust)
XP: 348,051
Inventory: Animal Totem Tattoo (Lion), Enchanted Tattoo (Storm)
Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler, Alice Kinsey , “Patch”, Heroes of the Lost Sword, Claire Conrad, Erist priest of Strider, Riselda owner of the Sage Mirror, Eedraxis, Skin-Taker tribe, Kartak, Królewna & Bonifacja Trading Company, Hurmont Family, Androni Titus, Greasy dreadlocks woman, Lodestone Security, Kellgale Nickoslander, Beltian Kruin the Splithog Pauper, The King of Spiders, Auraluna Domiel, mother Hurk, Mazzmus Parmalee, Helgan van Tankerstrum, Lightdancer, Bonder Greysmith, Pegwhistle Proudfoot, Lumbfoot Sheepskin, Lumber Consortium of Three Rivers, Hellerhad the Wizard, Forsaken Kin, Law Offices of Office of Glilcus and Stolo, Jey Rora, Colonel Tarl Ciarán, Mayor Baras Haldmeer, Rindol the Sage
The Errant Endeavors of Ela the Expert 