Wind Blown Ashes: Episode 3 Hired Muscle

Working for a gnome had more drawbacks than Ashes planned for, as well as some benefits.

The sun was long past zenith when the caravan pulled into the commons of a smallish town little bigger than Cold Fork. Driving the third wagon back had distinct advantages. It took little effort on her part to start or stop the wagon, as the mules just followed along, starting when the wagon in front did, and stopping when it did, unless she did something. She breathed in far less dust than she had when walking chained to a wagon.

The right-hand mule dropped a load approaching the commons, reminding her of an advantage of riding that Stone hadn’t mentioned while teaching her; not stepping in, and dodging, mule and oxen shit.

As if her thought summoned him, Stone climbed up the side of the moving wagon as she drove into the commons, surprising her.

He hadn’t stayed on the wagon long this morning. After all she had been through these past moons, she found it strange a youngish man not wanting anything from her, but he had been in a hurry to get away from her as soon as he knew she knew how to start and stop the wagon. Still, Ashes found it strange. The four other women in the caravan were married, as well as one of them being a gnome.

Nor was there a whore wagon for the unmarried men to visit. Gnomes didn’t own slaves, and Golden Needle would not let wagons that had slave join his caravan. But the moment Stone had been sure she knew what to do, he got away from her.

“Move over. I’ll park it,” he said with the same clipped accent Rockhammer used, and she became more certain that he didn’t like her. She was unsure if his dislike was because she was a sorceress, or a Westerner. Either was possible. As a whore, she’d learned how many Easterners felt about Westerners. Hanging the reins as he had taught her, she made room for him and he sat, taking them up.

Getting mules to back a wagon up is far more complicated than just making sure they follow the wagon ahead. But he did it with ease, set the brake, then hit the side of the wagon with his hand. “All set, Ississine. You can come out.”

Without another word, or even a glance at her, he jumped down and started helping Rockhammer direct the incoming wagons. There were a lot of those, as this caravan was twice the size of the last one she had been part of.

On hearing the bar on the back door being drawn, and it opening over the noise the incoming wagons made, she climbed down, using far more caution than Stone did.

“Ah, good,” Golden Needle said as she came around behind the wagon. The gnome’s deep voice rolled, croaked and hissed this time, making him hard to understand. He pointed to a fold down chair mounted on his wagon side next to the steps up into his wagon. “Change into something with more flash and more intimidating, then you sit there, and you escort in any customer who wants to enter my wagon. You make sure that only one person comes in at a time. We close up when the sun is still a hand above the horizon as no one buys jewelry that late. Then you follow me around as I visit the different wagon. This close to Lowford, I don’t expect many, if any, buyers for my goods. None of the wagons with more expensive goods will do well the first two stops.”

She let out a sigh. “I don’t own anything with more flash. If you want me wearing such, then buy me the material and I will sew and enchant it, but I keep that as a bonus for wearing what you want. Keep in mind, serious players assume the more flash, the less power the mage has after a certain point. This robe tells them I am a sorceress, and little more on purpose.”

“You need to look more impressive,” he said in almost a cough.