WIP/Teaser: Upcoming Aphronus Short Story

Something a little different for you guys today.  I thought I'd give you a little sneak peak into the next short story I am working on.  It is set in my D&D style high fantasy world of Aphronus.  I am not entirely sure when this one will be completed, though it shouldn't take too long as it is a very contained story idea.

This is a Work In Progress so it might be a little rougher around the edges than usual.  Enjoy.

A beautiful halfling woman of noble bearing strolls casually down the clean cobbled streets of the sprawling port city of Toldon.  She seemed to have no particular destination and walked with unhurried steps.  She is the Lady Wynnefreede Dellblossom; baroness, heir to the Fernburrow Brewing fortune, and wife of General Tendletan Dellblossom.  

Despite her small stature she stood out from everyone around her.  Toldon was a cosmopolitan and multicultural metropolis with a vast racial variety among its inhabitants.  Almost all of them much larger than the tiny halflings.  And yet Lady Winnefreede shone out from the throng like a glittering diamond atop a pile of coal.

Her high stature was easily obvious from her look and attitude.  She moved with the easy grace of a woman of good breeding and the finest schooling.  She wore an exquisite shimmering pearl white gown.  It had a high collar and hung down to below the knees.  From the thighs up it was tight and form fitting, a tear drop shaped window at the upper chest showed off her ample cleavage.  The impossible delicacy of the lace over her shoulders and at the hem, as fine as a spider's web, instantly spoke to its elvish craftsmanship.  It was a work of art.  A garment more appropriate at the queen's ball than a stroll through the city, even for someone as wealthy as she.  But today was special and she wanted to look her very best.

She wore long elegant silver chain earrings and a matching hair chain that sat around the top of her head.  She wore two rings on her left hand, one was a plain platinum wedding band and the other was gold and clasped a row of three small emeralds.  Her wrists were adorned with a matching set of slim silver bracelets.  Her finely etched blue dragon leather slippers padded her feet against the bumpy cobbles.  Her ruby lips, subtle coloring around her eyes, and lightly powered face accentuated her natural feminine beauty.

Her heritage was that of the Hillfolk people.  Unlike the slender Riverfolk halflings her subrace had thick round soft bodies.  They were a plump people, the men generally having fat bellies and the women being of the voluptuous variety.  Their faces were broad and cherubic with gentle friendly features and huge expressive eyes.  The Lady's large breasts hung heavy, her hips were wide, her ass round and full.  As the dwarves would say, she had some meat on her bones.  Due to her diminutive height, just a shade over three feet, her hourglass proportions were exaggerated compared to that of a human woman.  Her hair was long, reaching to just past her rear with flowing curls of auburn.  Her large eyes were an intense shade of hazel.  By human standards she looked to be in her early forties, though thanks to her life of luxury she bore few signs of the wear and tear of her years.

She walked with a proud erect gait and a cool and detached expression.  Her interactions with those that dared talk to her were dismissive and terse, not overtly unfriendly but definitely aloof.  She seemed distracted by something, her eyes seemed to take in little around her as she walked.  This was a woman who knew her station and carried herself appropriately.  While she and Tendletan may have bought their aristocratic title, she had taken to being a blue blood naturally.  Everything about her set her apart from the common masses.  It was odd to see a woman like her on the street and not in a carriage or sedan, but today she wished to walk.  Lady Dellblossom didn't mind rubbing elbows with the rabble from time to time.  Besides, she wanted to keep knowledge of this trip to those within her estate to a minimum.  In fact, there was only one in her employ who knew of the good Lady's occasional special outings.

One step behind her was a tall lithe human woman in a simple blue cotton dress with an equally plain darker blue cloak flung back over her square shoulders.  Though the dress was simple in design it was of the highest quality.  The well defined muscles of her neck and forearms were at odds with the fine ladies clothing she wore.  She walked as a servant behind her master, but the alert darting eyes, the easy confident bearing, and the plainly obvious magical short sword at her side that she wore openly and comfortably spoke volumes.  This was the Lady Dellblossom's handmaiden and bodyguard Raesha.

The pair of them casually stroll through the bustling streets and byways of the merchant's district.  The crowd instinctively parts before the short noblewoman as she makes her way, those that do not give her space are quickly moved by the swift, ever watchful, and surprisingly strong Raesha.  While it appeared as if they were wandering at random, showing little interest in the shops and vendors they were passing, there was a pattern to their route.  They were getting ever closer to the docks and ever closer to the bad part of town.

The shops and stalls were getting ever more rundown as they went.  What were initially bright gleaming facades with real glass windows are now faded or bare wood exteriors.  The pedestrians along the sides are now of a more common ilk, tradesmen and laborers and the like.  The cobblestone makes way to wooden walkways and packed earth roads.  New and interesting smells filled the air.  The smell of industry and hard work and the tell tale pungent aroma's of gnomish cooking.  The pair continue on unperturbed.

Raesha steps off to the side to look down a small blind alley.  Seeing it is suitably empty of occupants she turns to her master.  “My Lady.  In here please.”  Her eyes scan the street for signs of anyone taking particular notice of them.  She is glad to see everyone was hurrying about on their own business.

Lady Wynnefreede nods and enters the alley.  With Raesha watching the entry point the halfling twists her emerald ring and mutters a command word.  Where once stood a sexy noblewoman in a perfect pearl gown now stood a human girl in a simple white cotton dress.  From a distance the illusion had many similarities to the baroness.  The color of her clothes and long hair along with her height was roughly the same as before, but now she looked as common as those they'd been passing.  Raesha reaches back and pulls her cloak around her, its roughly woven coarse exterior making her look far less refined than she had, as well as hiding her sword.

Within a few moments they are back on the street and blending into the crowd, now walking side by side as mother and daughter.  They continue their meandering course for a few more minutes.  However, once they cross over the King's Road, the largest thoroughfare in the city, and truly pass over to the dark side of Toldon their route becomes direct.  No more casual wandering, now they walk with direction and purpose.  Even with Raesha's considerable skills and Lady Dellblossom's various magical protections it is not an area they wished to tarry in for too long.

Raesha puts an arm around her lady and hurries them along.  This was her least favorite part of working for the baroness.  The other special trips they would take to scratch her ladyship's various itches were far less risky.  Hell, a visit to the summoner Astorias Se-suan was barely a ten minute walk from home, and all he asked was to be allowed to watch.  Not only was this particular trip the most dangerous of Wynnefreede's escapades, for Raesha, it was also the most confusing.  She truly did not understand what her master got from this particular activity that she could not get elsewhere.  Or why she would want it at all.  But Raesha's place was not to judge, it was to aid and protect.  She was paid very well for her services and the pair of them had become close companions over the years.  It was also a fair exchange.  Raesha would help her lady get what she needs, and in return the lady would allow Raesha to satisfy her own particular needs from time to time.

The areas they find themselves in as they go continues to degrade.  They were soon surrounded by true squalor.  The smell of fish guts and wood smoke and human waste, all mixed together in the briny sea air, permeated the place.  Drunken brawls spill out from the ramshackle taverns, children are wailing from open windows as their mother's try to attract any passing man with a few spare coins, beggars lie asleep in any bit of shelter they can find.  Wynnefreede takes it all in, hungrily absorbing every detail of this completely different world than the one in which she existed.  It was as strange and alien to her as traveling to a different Plane.  For her this destitute place was her stage, and she was an audience of one.  It was fascinating.

Without incident, thankfully, they soon find the building that was their destination.  As it comes into view Raesha could feel her lady's shoulders tense and her breathing pick up.  She was getting her usual nerves before the big event.  As much as the noblewoman looked forward to this it was not an experience for the meek.  From experience Raesha knew it would be months before her master built up the courage to do this again.

They make their way to a plain side alley door.  Raesha performs the special knock.  After a few long moments the sounds of various locks and latches being undone can be heard through the thick oak door.  A large muscular dark man wearing a chain mail vest opens the door just enough to allow them in before closing and locking it once more.

He nods to Raesha with professional respect.  “Hey Rae.”

She nods back.  “Hey Bren.”

He motions over towards a table where he and another similar looking warrior were playing cards.  Raesha turns to her lady.  Lady Dellblossom, who had now returned to her true appearance, nods and allows her handmaiden to leave her.  Raesha goes and sits at the table.  With hardly a word she is dealt into the game and the three begin to play.

The small curvaceous Wynnefreede stands a moment gathering herself.  Her heart was beating fast and her hands were clammy.  She takes a long fortifying breath, swallows hard, then makes her way through the only other door in the room.  Raesha watches her Lady leave and settles in to make herself comfortable.  She knew that she would not see her again for some time.