Downtown Druid

Dantes was floating above the table at which sat the man in dark blue and the woman in green. They had ceased their sewing of the tapestry and had since then began to play a number of different games with one another. He'd seem them throw dice, shuffle cards, and even stack sheep vertebrae. They didn't play for stakes, but instead seemed to be practicing something. There were two empty seats always at their table, but so far he'd not seen any other gods in them. Away from the table, closer to him, stood the man with the axe. He was no longer just a silhouette as he had been when he first appeared. He was wearing dark Iron armor, clear of any embellishment, his face was hidden completely behind a featureless helmet, and his axe was that of a headsman, and it sharpness of it contrasted with the hazy nature of the rest of the dream. He could swear, the man was getting even closer as he looked at him, though he never took a single step.

...

He woke late the next morning next to Tieara who was snoring peacefully, her thick dwarven hair spread across half of the bed. He silently untangled himself from her and stretched. Then he moved to the nearby drawer and took a single gold coin which he placed on the nightstand. He left the room and headed for his inner garden. He started by climbing his tree, pulling himself up easily with his powerful grip. Once up, he changed into a rat to climb the rest of the way through the foliage, then he leapt off and changed himself into a pigeon to fly toward the ceiling, gaining just enough momentum that when he began to turn into a roach it carried him to the ceiling which he clung to for a few moments before running across the glass at full speed. He continued shifting between forms quickly, while winding around the garden.

He’d started his regular exercise when he was back in the pit, and aside from a few justifiable breaks, he’d done his best to keep it up since then. It had changed and adapted into something new though. The exercise had an impact no matter what form he took, and by shifting into each of the shapes he could take he was able to make the time between shifts almost instant. At this point the gains in shifting speed were minimal except in the case of his newest pigeon shape, but the increase in strength, speed, and endurance were still worth the effort.

By the time he was done, he was sweating heavily, and so made his way to the bath. Hot water was already inside, prepared for him. His routine had become established enough at this point that his needs were anticipated. Jacopo was luxuriating in his own, smaller bath nearby. His schedule was a bit less set than Dantes’s, but he’d already eaten.

After he lowered himself into his own tub, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, extending his senses throughout Midtown and parts of the rest of the city. A fresh shipment was being unloaded at the docks. There was a guard nearby, but he was pointedly avoiding patrolling that area, as was promised when he accepted his bribe. In Uptown there was still an increased guard presence. Since Magister Mariska and her husband had been killed all those months ago, there had been a half-dozen similar murders. Dantes had been unable to determine who was the cause of it, though he of course suspected that it was changelings, perhaps even Syn herself, though her note had seemed to indicate to him that she intended to make her way far from the city. In the Guild District Steel was selling another portion of the jewelry Dantes himself had sold to him. In Midtown he could see a number of his dealers making late morning sales of dust to men and women scratching scabs on themselves. No real surprises, at least not so far.

Dantes dried himself off and dressed in a dark green silk shirt, black trousers, and a long black coat, pushing his dark hair back. Now that he wasn’t on the run he’d had time to actually have it cut short.

“Want to join me today?” he asked Jacopo.

“No. Tired of two-legs and their problems. Going to eat from alleys and hunt for a mate.”