Chapter 31 - An Intriguing Succubus (2)

Interesting, I thought. It was rare to see a town where a woman was in charge. Perhaps only skills and efficiency mattered, especially when a town was at the dangerous edges of the kingdom. Also, what had she meant by “the ground is always free?”

I reflected upon this as I walked around town, trying to find an inn to stay at. It was only a matter of time before I finished inspecting the whole town and realized what the woman had meant by her final words: there were no inns in this town.

I saw many small dwellings large enough to accommodate good-sized families, a few larger buildings for businesses, and a few bars, but no inns. I suppose I should have realized this fact since this was a frontier town in a hard-to-reach location. The danger factor also made this place highly inhospitable to visiting merchants or travelers, which was another reason for the lack of inns. Yes, this place was most likely only good for people who wanted to forget their pasts or for those seeking something dangerous and exciting in their stale lives.

Very well, I thought, it was nigh time I got in touch with the ground anyway and bonded with nature. Strictly speaking, though, that would be my last resort. I still had a few ideas I could try out.

1) With my not inconsiderable amount of gold coins, I could probably pay my way into sleeping at a stranger's home. There were benefits and negatives to that; one benefit being that I could observe the reactions I would elicit, and another being that I could see the inner dwellings of a frontier family. Two negatives, however, could be unforeseen hostility and raised suspicions.

2) I could outright buy a house from someone or a family and then stay there for two days. I was sure that a hundred gold coins would be well worth their house and their lives here. Still, I did not want to go around asking to buy a house; it would only increase suspicions, and the family would likely be averse to moving, as the roads at the edges of the kingdoms were most likely fraught with danger.

3) There was a shady-looking brothel I had seen at a corner of the town, and I was quite sure my gold would be welcomed there. I had only seen a few people there, so I could probably easily reserve a room for two nights. It would also provide a good cover for me and lessen suspicions.

After thinking for a few more moments, I decided to go with option three. Turning around to head toward the brothel, I found myself face to face with the man who had shown up on the rampart to argue with the effeminate guard.

“Hello there, good sir. My name is Dan Gojer,” the tall man said in a deep, baritone voice, giving a little tip of his hat and hinting at a strange accent. His appearance was unlike anything I had seen before, and his height was perhaps an inch or so taller than me—about five feet seven. His peculiar attire consisted of a strange, loose-fitting vest that showed off his chest and arms, and tight black pants that cut off abruptly near his knees before continuing down toward his booted feet.

“I can tell, my good stranger, that you are looking for a place to spend a night or two.” He gave me a small smile, a glint in his eyes. “If I am correct in presuming that, I have just the place for you.”

The man named Dan Gojer had piqued my curiosity. “Lead on,” I said indifferently, not letting any interest inflect my tone. It would do the man no good to learn of my curiosity, as it would likely be costly to my wealth, ill-begotten as it was.

After following the fast pace the strange man had set, I arrived at a house that seemed to be double the size of the other dwellings nearby. The house was certainly set apart, with walls furnished in bright, random colors—red, green, and pink.

Seeing this, I felt myself even more intrigued and wondered who would live in such a strange place.

“We have arrived, good sir,” the strange man said, the glint of greed in his pale blue eyes now unmistakable. “That will be fifty gold coins, my good stranger.”

Propelled by curiosity, I tossed him a hefty coin purse from the inside of my green tunic and then took out twenty more gold coins from a second purse to give to the man. I knew I was being too generous in giving him what he wanted, but I did not particularly care for money.

The man who called himself Dan probably also knew that and had most likely been watching the guards who had searched me in town.

“Thank you, my good sir. The house is now yours for however long you wish to stay until you leave. There is also a guest already staying there, so do try to be accommodating.” With another small smile, he left the area, but not before handing me a small key from the inside of his hat.

I held the silver-tinted key in the palm of my right hand and proceeded to unlock the door. Inside, I saw that the living room was barely furnished, with a huge table in the middle and a couple of chairs. There was also a small carpeted rug beneath the table.

The guest Dan had mentioned was not in the living room, so I went up the stairs, which were in good condition. Inside the hallway, there were about four doors, most likely leading to bedrooms.

I chose the closest door to me, and once inside, I found myself looking at a woman who was entirely naked and sleeping on a feather bed. She had porcelain-white skin and an hourglass figure that would have made her the envy of most women. Long black hair that appeared to shine in the candlelight cascaded down in curls, covering her breasts—two large hills that ended in faint tips. Her face had high cheekbones, full lips, and delicate eyelashes that framed her closed eyes.

But what was most interesting to me was the long, slightly thick red tail that ended in a sharp arrowhead tip. The tail lay wrapped around her stomach, making me consider it a quite flexible appendage. It also looked dangerous, and I could sense that the tip of the tail was probably as sharp as a sword's edge. Interestingly enough, the creature was hairless everywhere else on her body.

My observations of the sleeping creature were suddenly interrupted by a loud sound that seemed to have come from a horn. I felt a little annoyance at this disturbance to my curiosity, as I had never before seen a humanoid with such a tail. Still, it would be wise to figure out the cause of what was most likely a warning sound.

No matter, I thought, I would certainly have more time to figure out what sort of creature “the guest” was. And if it was a threat, I would kill it.

As I headed out of the bedroom, I did not give even a backward glance, since I could tell that the creature was still deep in sleep, even with the loud warning sounds from the horn reverberating everywhere.