Shadows in the Smoke - Chapter 1 - A Letter and a Bath

"Every citizen of the People's Republic of Itria knows its words: 'To each according to his needs, from each according to his abilities.' The Republic's enemies say that this is a recipe for slavery and exploitation, but they do not understand the devotion that true freedom engenders in a populace. The citizens of the Republic, men and women, work hard not because they are forced, but because they know that their work benefits them and every other citizen of the Republic, rather than being siphoned off to fuel the debauched practices of a parasitic noble class."

The Struggle for Freedom by Bjarne Midthun

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"Ready?" Ester looked at the squad of Watchmen gathered around her. She could practically taste the tension thrumming through the grizzled men. It wasn't surprising really. When she'd first come to Vass Karan, less than a year ago, she hadn't really grasped how uncomfortable the men were with magic. She understood so much more these days.

"We're ready my lady." Sergeant Cino answered for them. The middle-aged man was focused, ready for anything and his tone was respectful rather than fearful or dismissive. Another change since she'd first come here.

Ester smoothed down her dress, so much more comfortable than the Watch's scratchy, ill-fitting uniforms, and stepped out onto the street. The squad would be a little way behind her.

At this time in the evening the streets were relatively quiet, but the Great Cities never stopped entirely. As it was, no one spared Ester a second glance as she headed straight for one of the many shops that fronted onto the street.

Its wooden facade looked well kept, but it was difficult to see much inside. Only the very richest of places in the city had glass fronts. Nevertheless, she knew it was the right place.

Ester glanced up at the shop's sign, the scales and hammer of a jeweler, and pushed the door open. The inside was as she'd expected. Rough shelving with cheap looking ornaments on it and a wooden counter with various scales and other devices. That and the bored looking workers made for a convincing cover story.

"Can I help you," one of the workers stepped forward and looked her up and down. He hesitated and then erred on the side of caution, "my lady?"

Ester ignored him. The informant had said this was the place. She couldn't see anything out of place, but there had to be more. She focused, extending her senses beyond the edge of reality.

There!

In a smooth movement she turned towards a cabinet at the back of the room. To the mundane eye there was nothing to distinguish it from anything else there, but to Ester it had a faint blue glow.

"My lady?" The shop worker hurried after her, reaching out as if to grab her and then hesitating. "What are you doing?"

"That cabinet, what is in it?"

"I uh…" The worker trailed off. As he did, another man stood. He'd been sitting behind the counter, big, but unassuming. Ester hadn't spared him a thought.

As he got to his feet, he suddenly flared magic, sheets of runes crawling over him.

"None of your fucking business, girl!" His voice was a low, threatening rumble, matching his size. He wasn't just big, actually he was huge. He could probably look Sir Vitaly in the eye. He must have had five different Schemas on him too. At least five. Crude ones though, exactly what she'd expect when a group of untrained witches set up business.

Ester looked back at the cabinet. "You are under arrest, goodman. All of you are." It was warded, that was actually quite impressive, given what was going on. Despite the crudity of the man's Schemas, the whole place was more sophisticated than she'd expected. Perhaps they were half-trained witches.

With a thump the man stepped towards her. "Do you think you're funny?! I'll rip your arms off!" He didn't sound entirely sane and he was distracting her from the ward. Did they have a rogue Adept helping them? That might explain things.

"Sit down and be quiet please." She didn't even look at him as she said it.

"For fuck's sake!" He lunged towards her. Ester jumped and scrambled back. He was fast! Faster than she'd expected.

"Gan." The spell flared as her power slammed into the magic covering him. For a brief moment there was resistance and then, with an audible crack, whatever Schema was holding it off broke and he was sent tumbling back through the counter in a crash of breaking wood.

"For goodness sake." Ester muttered to herself. She glanced at the man and raised her voice, "stay down!" Now she was going to have to move fast. Everyone else in the building would have heard that. The cabinet and its wards would have to wait.

She hurried over to the door at the back and pushed it. Locked.

"Daabru." Runes swirled momentarily and the lock gave way with an audible crunch. Behind her Ester could hear Sergeant Cino's squad running up to the front of the shop, but she was already moving.

The back of the shop was bigger than she'd expected. With workbenches laid out and cheap knick knacks on them, along with work tools. As Ester burst in men and women were throwing back their chairs, leaping to their feet in a panic.

"Sit down, you are all under arrest." Ester tried to make her voice as commanding as possible. Not for the first time she wished she looked a bit more frightening.

Most of them froze, but one middle-aged woman, her dress adorned with beads and colourful streamers, raised her hand in a poor imitation of the third casting position.

"Gan boruwa'fa." The green light of the Weiryd flared around her and the room lurched. One of the runners stumbled and fell, taking out a workbench with a crash. The rest would run into the Watchmen waiting at the back.

"Dachaid." With a word Ester's magic tore the witch's spell apart before it was fully formed. She dismissed the woman. If she was flaring Weiryd for such a weak spell she was less than skilled.

"Sit down and be quiet! You are all under arrest in the name of Her Eternal Majesty." Ester scanned across the room, there'd be someone more skilled than the witch here. There had to be to have warded the cabinet. But who?

Weiryd flared around the witch again. "Sai…" Before Ester could do anything, the witch was cut off by a man's shout.

"Stop it, for the love of the Throne, just stop you fucking idiot, do you know who that is?" The green light slowly faded from around the woman as she blinked at the man who'd spoken. He was tall and a bit better dressed than the rest of them. "That's the Watch's Mage, that is. Do you think you're gonna go winning a duel with a fucking Chartered Mage?"

The woman paled and sank to her knees. "Forgive me, my lady. I didn't know."

Ester spared the woman one last glance, at least she wouldn't have to hurt her. "Do not move!" Now, what had they been doing with these ornaments?

Ester's attention was yanked back up by a clatter. By the time she registered what was happening, the man who'd told the witch to stop was halfway out the door, followed by several others.

Ester frowned and then started after them. Why couldn't they just do as they were told?! They were just going to run straight into the squad of Watchmen waiting behind the building anyway.

She shot the remaining men and women an irritated look. "Do not move or things will go badly for you."

She'd be getting made fun of for this, no doubt. It was a coin toss whether it would be 'Lady Ester's so scary people run away rather than be in a room with her' or 'Lady Ester's distracted by shiny things'. She pursed her lips as she walked. It wasn't funny.

Ester pulled the door at the back of the room closed behind her, no point in making it easier for the people there to follow her. Then it occurred to her. If the operation here needed someone with a decent amount of Talent, where were they? What if they were one of the men that had run?

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Great Spirits! She broke into a run herself.

Ester shoved through a half open door and sprinted through an empty room. There! She swerved and practically skidded out into the alley behind the shop.

She ignored the filthy slop under her feet and charged forward, just in time to see magic flare and the world twist as runes swirled through a green haze around a figure at the end of the alley.

"Do'aelt!" Ester slammed her will and magic against the man's, pulling apart the spell he'd been forming.

He glanced behind himself at Ester and then looked back to the Watchmen round the corner. Presumably he thought he had a better chance of getting past the Watchmen than turning round to fight her. Well not if Ester had anything to say about it!

The world lurched as he pulled harder on his magic, flaring Weiryd and starting an incantation. Ester stumbled, only just staying on her feet, but she kept moving, barreling towards him. He shouldn't have turned his back on her! She was going to end this fast, not with a magical duel that might hurt innocent bystanders.

With a thought, she didn't need to speak, she twisted her magic into his spell, stopping it from coming together and then she was practically on him.

He was a big man, much bigger than her. Perhaps she should have thought about that before, but it was too late now. Just as he started to turn towards her, Ester leapt, flinging herself at him.

He went for his belt knife with surprising speed, but Ester was already too close. She crashed into him with her shoulder. It felt like running straight into a wall, but it was enough. Her hand closed on his bare arm and he was hers. No bystanders would get hurt today.

He had Talent, more than she'd have expected. Enough to resist for a fraction of a second. Nowhere near enough to stop her. Her will and her magic crushed his. Then, with a thought, she sent him sinking to the ground, already fast asleep.

Ester barely had time to squawk as his far greater weight flopped onto her, dragging her down underneath him.

This was bad, very bad. Ester struggled for a couple of seconds under his unconscious body. No no no! She couldn't let him just pin her there. It took her a second longer to remember that she was a Mage and could just push him off with magic. Unfortunately it was a second too long.

A shadow fell over them and a moment later the sleeping man was hauled off her by a smirking Sergeant Metie.

"Having a little trouble my lady?" He didn't offer her a hand up. It was a brave man that would willingly touch a Mage, never mind the social barrier between them. Ester took a moment to quickly count to ten in her head. Metie. Of course it would be Metie. She'd learnt a lot of curses over her months with the Watch, even if she couldn't quite bring herself to use them. Right then she was tempted.

"None at all, thank you Sergeant." She primly brushed some of the dirt off her dress and clambered to her feet with an undignified wince. Perhaps launching herself into the witch hadn't been the best plan after all. It had worked though, and no one else had gotten hurt.

"Of course not." Did he have to sound so sardonic? "Lovely day for a rest. In an alleyway, but who am I to question the wisdom of a Mage." Ester heard one of the Watchmen gasp at his temerity, a new recruit she didn't recognise.

She settled for giving Metie an unimpressed look. The man was going to get himself into trouble some day. Not today, not with her though. She'd take gentle mockery over fear or contempt any time.

"There are more inside. I will come with you to make sure that none of the witches cause you any trouble." Ester tried not to visibly wince at the way her body ached. Running into the man had definitely been a bad idea. "First bind his hands and gag him though." She pointed to the snoring man.

They'd get all of the prisoners secured, dump them at the Watch Headquarters and then she could go home and get clean.

She'd probably ruined her dress and no doubt Commander Savate would have something to say about her tactics, but all in all it wasn't a bad day. An organised gang of witches brought down, dangerous magic taken off the street and even a bit of excitement thrown into the mix.

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The painted wooden door was several feet taller than Ester, framed by two elaborately carved columns, made of the black stone typical of Vass Karan. Ester reached out to push the door, only for it to swing open just before she could touch it.

"My lady." Pupli bowed low.

"Thank you," Ester resisted the urge to sigh as she nodded to her steward. She had no idea how he always seemed to know when she was going to arrive. It had been a few months, but she still struggled with the idea that she had a steward. Even if that was a rather grand title for the head of a small household staff of three.

Still, she couldn't help but look around her as she stepped through her front door and into her lobby. It was the first place she'd truly been able to call hers. Just the lobby was as big as any room she'd ever slept in and more nicely decorated too. She particularly liked the black and white patterned mosaic on the floor.

Before the Academy she'd shared a single, completely undecorated room with her brothers and sisters. She'd had her own room at the Academy, but it had been tiny and plain. Even in Vass Karan she'd lived in the Watch Headquarters in a small room kept for unmarried officers. Now, things were different though.

"The bathtub has been prepared for your return my lady." Pupli's voice broke Ester's train of thought.

"Thank you Pupli, a bath sounds like a good idea."

"Indeed." Ester was fairly sure she wasn't imagining the tiny hint of disapproval in his voice as he looked her over. She wasn't going to let it annoy her though. There was a tub full of water waiting for her and it was just what she needed when half her body was aching like she'd run into a large man and had him fall on her. "There is also a letter for you."

Pupli produced a thin, folded sheet of paper from somewhere, Ester wasn't quite sure where and handed it to her. "Again, thank you."

Without another word she started making her way up the stairs, letting herself limp now that she was safely inside her home.

Like the rest of the house, the stairs weren't particularly grand. More suitable for a well-off merchant than a high ranking lord, but they were hers. A reward for helping the Inquisition's operation to stop Vass Karan's ruler's treason and necromancy. Or, as she preferred to think of it in the privacy of her own head, for almost single-handedly saving the city.

Ester reached the top of the stairs and turned into the bathroom, it was still hard to accept that she actually owned a bathroom, to be greeted by Sethra, her maid. The young woman curtsied deeply. Pupli was always fastidiously correct, but he didn't seem to hold Ester in awe. Sethra on the other hand most certainly did.

"My lady, the bath is full, but the water has cooled. We did not know when you would return and…"

"Do not concern yourself, Sethra." Ester cut her off. "I will manage."

"But my lady…" Ester resisted the urge to scowl at her. If she did Sethra would be even worse for at least a week.

"Thank you Sethra, I am sure it will suffice."

"Yes my lady." She curtsied again looking crestfallen.

Ester took a few steps towards the bathtub and then realised the woman was still standing there.

"Thank you Sethra." She jumped and fled, leaving Ester to her thoughts.

Having servants definitely had its advantages, but sometimes it was all a bit much. With a sigh, Ester dipped a finger into the bathwater. It was utterly tepid. They couldn't help that of course; it wasn't like her movements were always predictable. Luckily that wasn't a problem for her.

Ester glanced at the letter, feeling a tiny flutter of excitement, before putting it down on a table. She'd sort out her bath first.

Ester slowly started to unbutton her dress, fumbling with tired fingers. Sethra would have wanted to do it for her, but there were limits to what she'd put up with. Moving to pull the dress off herself sent spikes of pain through her body. She really shouldn't have tried to throw herself at that man. She'd had worse though.

Once she was undressed she focused her will. "Fa'taalsoi tàccrir."

A shimmering reflective surface appeared in front of Ester, allowing her to study herself. She frowned at the sight. It really had been stupid of her; she should have just blasted the man from a distance rather than playing at being a Battle Mage. There were already bruises coming through in several places, painting angry green-blue patches across her bare, olive skin. She poked herself in the shoulder where it looked worst and winced at the pain. Then poked herself again just to check. It still hurt.

With a huff Ester let the spell fade and looked over to the bath.

"Tànga'ir." Magic flared over the water, simple runes swirling, only visible to those with enough of the Talent. It hardly took any effort to keep the spell going. It would take a minute or so to heat that much water to the almost scalding temperature she wanted, but that was fine. The first time she'd done this she'd dumped rather more power into the spell and shattered the bathtub. Anyway she wanted to read the letter.

Ester picked the slip of paper up and unfolded it. As soon as she saw the crude, poorly formed script on it she knew who it was from.

"My deerest Ester,

I hope you are keyping well and will marry soon. Pleas do look after yourself, your muver and I think of you often. Latif has been taykan on as a servant at Lord Zareii's cuntry home now and Nassim is going to marry Kareem the blacksmiff's son, we are very pleasd they hav dun well for themselfs. Be sur to thank Her Eternal Magesty for your gud luck every nite.

Thank you for the muney you sent. We hav given it to the orphan hous on Goodapple Lan, they are very gratful for your help.

Saeed Mazar"

Ester slowly shook her head and put the paper back onto the table. She'd put it somewhere safe later.

Why did her family have to be so proud and proper? She'd only seen her parents once since she'd graduated from the Academy and it had almost been like seeing strangers. They'd been so formal and awkward. Her father had even called her 'my lady'! This was only the third letter he'd sent since she came to Vass Karan.

With a sigh, Ester released her spell and climbed into the bathtub before sinking into the wonderfully hot water. There were so many other things to think about, but she couldn't get her mind off her family.

Her father wouldn't even take her help. She knew they needed the money, but he just gave it away for charity. He wasn't destitute, he had a trade, but her entire family of seven had lived in two small rooms. How could she lie there in her own private bathroom and not try to help them? Great Spirits, even during her indenture she received far more money from the Throne every month as a salary than her entire family made in a year!

Ester sniffed and rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. The vast majority of Mages were nobleborn. Their families understood them, they could still see them. Every day took her further away from hers. She hadn't even seen Nassim since she'd gone to the Academy when she was 12. Nassim would have been nine then. Sixteen or seventeen now. She couldn't even remember!

She'd write back to her father, but she never really knew what to say. He didn't respond to her anyway. He'd write back, of course, but it was always the same. Whatever she said, he just wished her well and gave an update on the family.

With another sniff Ester sank deeper into the bath until only her nose and eyes were above the water.

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