GOING BOSTAL
2. Out on the Town (part c)
If there was anything Wolfson hated, it was the feeling that he was being watched. Especially in busy marketplaces like this one, where there were about a hundred different places for criminals to hide – in plain sight being the simplest and most convenient option. Too many faces, too many different styles of dress. From the crude tunics and rope-belted pants of the peasantry; to the richly-dyed robes of upper-class merchants; to the seemingly innumerable neck scarves that indicated membership in the Mariners' Union: the crowds were an indistinguishable melange of anonymous strangers.
If he'd been alone, or with Darkling, Wolfson wouldn't have been quite so bothered by the sensation. A would-be thief would have to be pretty stupid to peg him as a target. His athletic build, along with the longsword girt at his waist and his confident, self-assured manner, hardly screamed 'potential victim', after all.
But there was Anna. It wasn't the same anymore, not like in the carefree old days...
How can they be 'old days' already? Wolfson wondered, marvelling at the irony. How long have we had the girls, anyway – three weeks? Four? Have they really made that much of a difference?
He smiled to himself, even as he turned to cast a sharp glance back over his shoulder. They had. Like it or not, he and Darkling had charges to protect now, which at least justified Wolfson's current paranoid behaviour. Before Anna and Kana had come along, he wouldn't have been caught dead checking behind himself for stalkers. No, he and Darkling would have just continued on their way, maintaining apparent obliviousness, before finding a way to turn the tables on their unwelcome shadows.
Where was Darkling, anyway? Where had he gotten off to? It wasn't like him to just up and leave without letting Wolfson know where he was going...
But then again, Wolfson realised with a pang of conscience, Darkling hadn't been acting like himself for a while now. Wolfson had meant to talk with his friend about it, but they'd both been distracted by other things over the past few days.
Tonight, Wolfson promised himself. When we get back to the inn, we'll send the girls off to the baths, and I'll see if I can get to the bottom of what's bugging him. It's not healthy, after all. All that brooding, and no way of blowing off steam.
Yes, that was the best way to go about it. And then, in another couple of days, they could leave Port Bostal, and hopefully Darkling would leave his preoccupation behind as well. And if whoever-it-was decided to follow the travellers out into the Goblin Hills, well... out there in the wilderness, would-be stalkers could suddenly find that they were the prey.
Wolfson grinned, rubbing at his goatee in order to hide the smile. Yes, that would definitely cheer Darkling up. Darkling loved a bit of cat-and-mouse more than anyone. He never had been the kind for an up-front, toe-to-toe battle, not if he could help it.
Satisfied with the plan, Wolfson turned his eyes forward again. For the moment, he had a purse full of coins and a beautiful, hot-blooded teenage girl on the end of a leash. Life, he had to admit, was pretty good.
"You there! Little girl!"
"Huh?" Anna turned in surprise as a dirty-faced hawker with skin the texture of leather called out to her. "Me?" she asked, confused.
"Sweet little girl, I have pretty things for you!" the hawker enthused. "Come see my wares! Many shiny beauteous objects to enhance your angelic loveliness!"
"I'm... I'm not a little girl," Anna protested, half-heartedly, apparently swayed by the hawker's shameless compliments.
"Of course not!" the hawker agreed, without skipping a beat. "You are a beautiful woman! Come, precious lady! Come view the many fine adornments that Kassim has to offer you! You and your strong, handsome master! You wish to please him, do you not? With these items, you will most certainly win his heart!"
"O–Oukami-sama's heart is already mine!" Anna informed him, indignantly.
"And how could it not be? One as precious and winsomely beautiful as you? Then make yourself more beautiful for him! See what Kassim has to offer, precious jewel of your lord's eye!" He gestured down at the assortment of earrings, pendants, hairclips, bracelets and other trinkets on the cloth-lined display trays in front of him.
"Ohh!" Anna sucked in her breath as she reached out to pick up a pair of gold hairclips with colourful butterflies at the ends. "So pretty!"
"Yes!" the merchant crowed. "An excellent choice, beautiful lady! The finest gold, with inserts of rare lapis lazuli and turquoise!"
"More like thinly-gilt brass with chunks of blue and green rock," Wolfson said, coming up behind Anna and looking down at the hairclips. She turned around, looking up at him with her brown eyes sparkling.
"Get these for me, Oukami-sama, please?" she begged. "The butterflies are so pretty! Look, they have wings and everything!"
The hairclips were actually half-decent work, Wolfson had to admit. Rather than just being roughly etched impressions, the butterflies were separate worked pieces in some sort of precious metal – even if it wasn't real gold. Their wings were formed of tiny chips of blue and green stone, painstakingly inlaid and buffed to mirror brightness. Flecks of quartz dotted the butterflies' feelers, making them sparkle in the sunlight.
"Your master knows quality when he sees it!" the hawker assured Anna. "See the mark of wisdom and discernment on his noble features! Note the way he carefully appraises the craftsmanship of these valuable items! For you and your lord, beautiful lady, Kassim will offer his best price! One-and-six!"
Wolfson nearly choked on his laughter. "One-and-six? You've got to be kidding!"
"But... but I really want them, Oukami-sama..." Anna said, a mite sulkily, tugging at his sleeve.
"Hush, Chiisai-chan," Wolfson said, reminding himself to educate Anna in the finer points of haggling later on. He turned to the merchant disparagingly. "I'll give you eight pence for the two of them, and not a penny more."
"I truly wish I could lower the price that much for you, mighty lord," the hawker said, his tone vaguely wheedling, "but for items of this quality, of such exceptional workmanship, there is always a certain cost. One shilling is as low as I can go."
"That's a bit better," Wolfson agreed, looking around the market airily, "but this is a competitive marketplace, my friend. There was another stall just over there which was offering similar items..."
"My cousin Abul? Pah!" The hawker spat on the ground. "His children breed with camels and he would sell our grandmother in the Plaza for a handful of pence! He has no eye for quality! I would sooner give you my goods at cost than allow you to be taken in by his nefarious ways!"
"So... what is the cost price?" Wolfson asked, slyly. The merchant just looked up at Wolfson, his eyes narrowing shrewdly.
"Twelve pence," he said. "That is the lowest I can go, even for one as obviously noble as you, my lord."
"Fine," Wolfson said, trying not to let his startlement show. He dug in his purse, counting out twelve pennies, which he tossed to the stall owner. "A pleasure doing business with you."
"Please do come again, generous lord and beautiful flower," the merchant said, bowing so low to them that his head touched the trays in front of him.
"See ya!" Anna said, excitedly, tossing her hair back as Wolfson led her away from the stall. "That was so great, Oukami-sama! You really backed him down!"
"True," Wolfson said, frowning a bit. "What worries me is how easily I did it..."
"Put them in for me!" Anna squealed, placing the clips in his palm and running her hands through her hair, holding it back so he could snap the butterfly clips into place. They clicked shut, holding her hair back from her face and making her look even younger, if that were possible. Anna beamed up at him. "How do they look?"
"They look... very good, Chiisai-chan," Wolfson said, letting his anxiety fade. Who on earth worried about getting a good deal in the marketplace? This place was really making him paranoid.