The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) (54 page)

“Of course, it couldn’t be that easy,” he muttered.

“I beg your pardon?”

He looked at her hopefully. “I don’t suppose there is a man I could discuss this with?”

She placed her hands on her slender hips and tried not to sound irritated. “I am the owner of all those who labor here. None of them may be sold without my permission, if you are uncomfortable dealing with me I can have one of my subordinates speak to you instead. However any agreement you come to with him will not be valid unless I approve it.”

“Wonderful,” he sighed.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. She had dealt with a few White Mages before. They usually demonstrated much better manners. “I am not in the habit of negotiating with strangers. It is customary to introduce yourself
before
trying to do business with someone.”

“I am Waldo Rabbit,” he nodded to the woman at his side. “This is my… wife, Alice Rabbit.”

Despite the slight hesitation, his wife smiled radiantly and performed a graceful curtsey. “I am honored to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Carin lied. “I am Carin Anders, owner and head of Merchant House Anders.” She lowered her head respectfully to Waldo. “Now Master Rabbit, would you be more comfortable discussing this matter with a man instead?”

“That depends; if your man wanted to just give me the ogre at no charge would you allow it?”

“No, and if he did I would fire him. I run a business Master Rabbit, not a charity.”

He nodded. “Then I suppose I will just have to deal with you. Do you know you are the first person in this country to call me, ‘master’ without being told to?”

“Some of us try to have good manners.” Carin noticed his wife grimace but there was nothing from the husband.

“I agree, most of the people here are very uncivilized.”

Carin quirked an eyebrow.

“Darling, you might want to get off this topic now.”

“So what would be the price for the ogre?”

“Fifteen ducats and not a trak less.”

The wife paled.

“Fifteen? That’s all?” Waldo exclaimed. He turned to his wife. “I really overpaid for you didn’t I?”

Smack!

Carin was amazed to see the White Mage slapped on the back of his head. They were usually figures of immense dignity and self-respect. You didn’t expect to see one getting knocked about in public.

“Ow.” He rubbed the rear of his skull. “Well in any case, that sounds reasonable.” Waldo nodded to his wife. “Pay her.”

“Darling, a word in private please?” She grabbed her husband’s arm and physically began dragging him away. “Excuse us.”

XXX

“What are you doing?” Waldo demanded when she finally let go.

“That is what I wanted to ask you.”

“Isn’t it obvious? Since you can’t Charm her I will just pay her price. I was expecting it to be near what I paid for you. Having it be just fifteen is a bargain.”

“Just fifteen? You can buy an estate for that! Darling, I know you come from money, but you really need to understand just how much gold is worth. Most folk never even touch a gold coin in their lifetime! They deal with silver and copper. If they have saved up enough to have the value of just one ducat they’ve done very well for themselves. The hundred gold coins you gave Elsa was a small fortune! A lot of noble families aren’t even worth that much!”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“I really overpaid.”

Alice narrowed her eyes.

“Not that I regret it even slightly.”

“Keep that in mind.”

“So how much do we have?”

Instinctively she put a hand to the fat purse tied to her waist. Their money was always with her, and she always kept a careful track of just how much there was.

“We have a bit more than eight and a half ducats worth in coin.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all?!” Alice screeched. “We could buy a nice house and a large farm with that, and have enough left over for some pigs and chickens and a couple cows.”

He motioned for her to calm down. “All right, I understand, it’s a vast sum. But we need more.”

“Maybe not, maybe I can bargain her down some. I have always been good with dealing with people.”

“I know, but that is usually with men who are staring at your breasts.”

“Well I admit that helps, but I am good at bargaining. Just don’t say anything and let me handle things.”

XXX

Carin watched as Alice strode back, her husband trailing behind. The girl smiled brightly and brought both hands together.

“Is there any possibility you could lower your price just a bit?”

“No.”

“Not even for a White Mage?” Alice asked sweetly.

Carin crossed her arms over her chest. “White Mages always have lots of gold; I would think he would have no trouble at all with my price.”

Alice spread her hands out before her. “Well even if that is true it doesn’t mean he should pay such an extravagant amount.”

Carin frowned. She was suddenly reminded of her many dealings with the, ‘smith wives’ at the market. They were the wives of the blacksmiths and iron workers. While their husbands concentrated on working their forges, it was the women who handled the money and all the transactions for the family. They were fierce negotiators who acted as though every trak they spent was taking food from their children’s mouths.

“Iron costs,” Carin quoted one of her favorite sayings. “So do healthy monsters. I have quoted you a fair price.”

“Fair?” Alice sounded as if she were choking. “Fifteen is an absolute fortune! I would think five…”

“Five!” Carin barked. “That is an insult! A healthy, strong goblin would cost you at least three ducats. And an ogre is worth at least five goblins. Plus, I happen to know I have the only ogre in this city, maybe this country. They are very fierce in the wild and almost impossible to take alive. What is rare is always precious.”

“I’ve seen him; he doesn’t look that precious.”

“If you want something pretty to gaze at I can direct you to a painter I know, he does lovely portraits. If you want raw muscle you can’t do better than an ogre.”

“Actually that’s not true,” Waldo put in. “Giants, vampires, and dragons are all stronger.”

Carin gave a rude snort. “Good luck finding any of those. Better luck trying to buy them if you can’t even afford an ogre.” She peered at him more closely. “Why do you want this ogre anyway? I know you believe all monsters need to be gotten rid of.”

“The reason doesn’t concern you. We have our little conspiracies and plots that don’t involve you common folk.”

Alice sighed and put her hand to her face.

Carin felt insulted, but also a little bit unnerved. Some people claimed the whites had their own secret agenda. The ones she had met always declared they had nothing to hide. Meeting a white who was arrogant enough to actually admit to it worried her.

“Are you really a White Mage?” Carin asked.

In reply Waldo held out his hand. “
Pyro
.” Fire burst to life on his palm.

Carin took a step back from him.

Seeing the reaction made Waldo grin. He deliberately held his hand out towards her and took a stride in her direction. “We White Mages do not like to be questioned. Do you have any further doubt of what I am?”

“No! None, I apologize for questioning you Master Rabbit!” She quickly jumped back to keep the flames well away from her.

Waldo nodded. “
Nunc
.” The flames died away instantly.

To Carin, and to all the guards who had been watching, there was no doubt at all that he was a White Mage. They never even thought to wonder if he might be a different sort of magic user.

“So might we get a slight discount?” Alice asked. “I know my husband would appreciate it.”

“I would.”

Carin was torn between her desire to turn a profit and her inclination not to upset a White Mage. “Out of my great respect for your noble order I will lower the price to twelve. That is absolutely my best offer.”

Alice held out her hand with index finger and thumb just barely apart. “Any chance you could drop it just a bit more?”

“No, that is already much less than I would normally accept. If he does not have twelve ducats then he cannot afford an ogre. If you like I could sell you some strong goblins at a good price instead.”

Alice looked hopefully over to Waldo.

“I don’t want any weak monsters, I want the ogre.”

“Then the price is twelve.”

“Could we work a trade?” Waldo suggested. “Would you like some soulwood? I could make it rain for you. If you have any people who are sick or injured I could see about healing them.”

Carin shook her head. “I don’t want or need any magic. If you have any gems or precious metals I would consider taking those. Magical weapons or armor are always valuable.”

“I have none of that.”

“Then we are back to gold. Twelve ducats and he is yours.”

Alice came over to her husband’s side. “Could we have a few days to try and work something out?”

“You can have all the time you wish. I don’t expect to have any other buyers suddenly appear. Please feel free to contact me should you have the necessary funds.” She gave Master Rabbit a respectful curtsy. “Good day to you.”

At his nod she withdrew and hurried back to her home. Her guards would all have quite a story to share.

Chapter 39

Alice’s Great Idea

“So what do we do now?” Alice asked.

They were on their way back to the Inn.

“We only need four more ducats. Then the ogre will be legally mine and we can leave.”

“Right, with a monster that likes to eat human skin. Sounds perfect darling.”

“I’ve already told you, I will definitely get the contract right next time.”

“I hope so. I really don’t want to wake up one night and find myself being spitted and over an open fire.”

“I’m sure if you were spitted you would die almost immediately.”

“That doesn’t really make me feel better.”

“I’ll control the ogre, the problem is acquiring him.”