Mastery Is Earned

Splash!

A basin of murky wastewater was dumped onto the ground, and the splash hit Teddy in the face. He had been in the middle of an encounter with a beautiful woman when his eyes flew open.

It took him a while to realize she had only been a dream. What a pity. He had been so close—just a little longer and they would have been together. Annoyed, he looked up at the person who had thrown the water.

A short, stocky man in an apron stood over him. His arms were unusually broad, and the soot on his face made him look like a blacksmith. He held a dripping wooden basin and stared at Teddy as if daring him to complain.

Teddy had been about to leave, but then he saw what the man had poured out: a basin of excrement. “You splashed that filth on my face,” he said quietly.

“So what? You think this is a place to sleep? Get out of here, you penniless bum!”

Teddy stared at him. “What did you say?”

“Come to Brightwater to beg, have you, you stinking outsider? You don’t belong here. Get lost.”

Teddy’s stomach tightened. He put a hand on the weapon at his waist.

Instead of looking frightened, the man burst out laughing. “You think you can start trouble here? Get moving. I’ve got a business to run!”

Teddy glanced at the guards who had turned to watch them. He spat, muttered a curse, and walked away.

*What kind of world is this, where a son gets to scold his father? Honestly...*

He found a bucket of clean water and cupped some in his hands to wash the grime from his face. He had barely started when someone shouted from inside the building, “You damned bastard! You’re washing that filthy face with our water?”

“Ha ha!” Teddy laughed. He scooped up several more handfuls to drink, then sauntered off.

As he walked toward the inn where they had eaten the night before, his thoughts returned to Raymond. After dinner, the brat had gone off to get himself a room without a thought for where Teddy would sleep. Teddy could not bear to spend so much on a private room, but he could not bring himself to sleep in the stables with Derek’s mercenaries either. He had waited until everyone left, wandered through the streets, and finally settled down in a pile of straw.

*Damn him. Some of that money is mine! So busy sucking up to that half-breed he’s forgotten everything I did?*

The thought of Henk always made Teddy’s temper flare. Those outsiders had taken plenty of work from him and made a mess of Blackstone’s mercenary trade. They drove prices down so far that Teddy’s own life had steadily become harder.

And Teddy had known Raymond longer than Henk had. Now the two were always together and left Teddy out.

*All that bounty money and all those spoils, and they won’t give me a share! Would they have found the bandits’ camp without me? Would they have held out until the town guard arrived?*

Of course, he would never say any of this to Raymond or Henk. The two were heroes of Blackstone now. Even the respected Sheriff Marcus treated them courteously, and the Mayor himself had bestowed the title of Hero of Blackstone on them.

*Teddy, Hero of Blackstone. Has a nice ring to it.*

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Teddy sighed. By then he had reached the inn. As soon as he stepped inside, he spotted the skinny server from the night before. “Come here, boy.”

“How can I help you, sir?” the server asked as he approached.

“The two who were with me yesterday stayed here. One’s a half-orc, the other’s a young man with black hair. Are they still in their rooms?”

“No, sir. They left early this morning.”

“Left? Where did they go?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know.” The server shook his head.

“Never mind.” Teddy waved him away. “Get back to work.”

Teddy left the inn and headed for the warehouse. If Raymond and Henk were not at the inn, they might be there.

*Those two never tell me what they’re doing. How am I supposed to find them?*

The warehouse was vast, but neither Raymond nor Henk was in sight. Instead, Teddy found Derek and his three companions sitting outside the entrance, chewing on strips of salted dried meat.

“Have you seen Raymond or Henk?” he asked.

“No.” Derek shook his head. “What, they didn’t tell you where they were going? Aren’t you three together?” The others chuckled under their breath.

The laughter grated on Teddy. He gave a dismissive snort and looked down his nose at them. “That’s between us. None of your business.”

Derek and the others smiled but said nothing.

Teddy sat with them. After eyeing their meat, he sighed and pulled a hard strip of his own from his bag. He tore off a small piece with his teeth and asked as he chewed, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be looking for work?”

“We will,” Derek said with a smile. “But someone has to watch the cargo. Technically, our job ended when we brought it into the city. Business is business, though, and friendship is friendship. Raymond trusted us, so we’ll make sure his goods are safe.”

“Five silver coins for all four of you, and you’re willing to go that far?” Teddy asked, puzzled.

“That’s different. We were coming to Brightwater anyway, so we earned the fee along the way. And Raymond treated us well throughout the trip,” Derek said. “We’ll find work, but we’ve only just arrived. Raymond and Henk have been here before. They might even be able to point some business our way.”

Teddy thought it over and could see Derek’s point. He said no more.

Once he had finished his meat and taken several long drinks of water, his stomach felt a little better. The warehouse was bustling, and Teddy soon found himself wandering around.

It was too busy for him to stay there long. He went back out to explore Brightwater’s streets. This was his first visit, and if he could not find Raymond and Henk, he might as well see what the city had to offer.

Brightwater really was nothing like Blackstone. Everyone seemed to be hurrying somewhere, though Teddy had no idea what kept them so busy. Many mercenaries wore full gear, leather armor or mail, and looked too fierce to bother.

He even spotted a group of three half-orcs in the crowd. One looked almost human apart from being somewhat taller and having prominent canines. The other two were much more rugged, as though the strength of their orc blood varied even among half-orcs. All three were large men, but none came close to Henk in height or build.

Something soft pressed against Teddy’s back. He turned and found a mature woman with a seductive look on her face pushing herself against him. She leaned close to his ear. “Want to find out how wet Brightwater can get, sir? Just one silver coin.”

One silver coin?

Teddy’s budding excitement vanished. He looked her over. She was tempting, certainly, but not as tempting as the coin.

His gaze lingered regretfully on her breasts before he shook his head. “Too expensive. Can’t afford it.”

“Three coppers if you just want a good squeeze.” She pushed out her chest and whispered in his ear, “And if you only use these, it’ll cost less than a silver.”

---

Teddy returned to the warehouse feeling refreshed, though inwardly he felt as if his heart were bleeding.

Those women were more vicious than gnolls. He had only meant to spend a little for some fun, but that wicked woman had lured him in. By the Holy Light, he had spent an entire silver coin and forty-three coppers. Only after he was completely spent did he realize he might have been cheated. He gave up on lingering with the woman and stumbled back toward the warehouse.

Derek and the others were gone from the entrance when he arrived. He stepped inside and immediately spotted Henk’s enormous figure above the crowd.

Picking his way through the tightly packed goods, Teddy hurried over. Raymond was there, speaking quietly with a red-haired woman. Derek and his men stood with Henk nearby, keeping a wary eye on the people inspecting the ore.

When Teddy saw the red-haired woman’s face, the clamor around him seemed to fall silent.

Her beautiful face, alluring figure, and captivating voice put the woman from earlier completely in the shade. Next to her, that woman might as well have been a serving girl.

Teddy had thought all his desire was spent, but at the sight of the redhead, the fire inside him seemed to flare up again.