He emerged into an area that was comparatively well lit by flickering torches over the alley mouths and red-lanterns over the doors of the cathouses. Big men with hard-looking glances inspected him as he passed. Girls called for his custom. They smelled of alcohol and cheap scent. The cleaner, better looking ones were all in the bars and brothels. When they saw he was not interested, they left him alone and went in search of more attentive clients. There were plenty of those. Vandemar was where the Holy Road met the Great Silk Route. From its harbour ships bore the spices of Marathay and the silks of Vendalaya all the way to Taurea and the kingdoms of the Sunlanders. From here Oathsworn Templars set out along the Holy Road to defend the Sacred Lands of the Sun.
The red light district was full of men from half a dozen Solari kingdoms. He saw massive Taurean warriors with full golden beards, garbed in the heavy armour of Templar Knights. There were dusky skinned magii from Skorpea and the hot lands of the Far South, robed in silk, carrying staffs carved from human bone. There were men wearing the silver crescent signs of moon-worshippers and the golden disks of those who followed the Holy Sun. A snake-charmer from Far Kothistan played his pipes in the street while his iridescently scaled pets danced to his wailing music, their poisoned fangs clicking shut close to the naked ankles of the fakir’s diaphanously clad twirling wife.
There were more than just men present. Two green-haired elf-women walked passed. They studied him with huge almond shaped eyes, arms around each other’s waists. One beckoned to him enticingly. He shook his head. A giant strode along, a noble-woman’s palanquin strapped to his back, and a retinue of fork-bearded desert-born guards trailing in his wake.
Kormak saw two monstrous grey-skinned orcs, a head taller than he was and twice his weight. Just the sight of them made his hackles rise. He had fought in the orc wars and the idea of being able to pass them in the street was alien to him. One of the creatures saw him staring and grinned, showing its tusks, wrinkling the multi-coloured scar tattoos on its face. There was no mirth in the expression. To an orc a smile was a challenge. Kormak looked away, and heard the orc grunt contemptuously to its companion. A gobbet of spittle landed on his boots. Kormak forced himself to keep his hand away from his sword hilt and walked on.
A girl grabbed at his arm as he passed. “Looking for some company, mister?”
Kormak turned. The girl did not look like a typical street girl. She was not dressed so revealingly. Her face, though thin, was pretty and there was no makeup. Her eyes had a glint of humour in them and an alertness that made Kormak wary. “You know Ana?”
“You thinking of a threesome?”
“You know her or not?”
“A regular of hers, eh?”
“You seen her?”
“Big Ana: tall girl, red hair, white skin, freckles? Getting a bit old for the game?”
“That sounds like her. Can you tell me where to find her?” Kormak jangled his purse. “There’s something in it for you, if you can.”
The girl looked up and down the street. She did not seem particularly busy. She stuck out a slender hand with bitten nails. “Hand it over.”
Kormak gave her one of his silver pieces. It was the ancient type, with a hole in the middle, meant to be strung on cords around the neck. She looked at it in the torchlight, held it up to her eye and laughed. “This is three hundred years old,” she said. “Reign of Albigen the Third. Where did you get it?”
“Give it back if you don’t want it?”
“I want it. I could sell this to a collector. Got any more? We could split the difference on what Miser Tala pays me.”
“I am looking for Ana,” Kormak said. “Tell me where she is. It’s important.”
The girl looked at him and shook her head. “You got it bad for her, eh? Who would have guessed?”
“Yes. I really want to find her,” said Kormak. “You going to tell me or you going to give me the coin back?”
“You said there was more if I could tell you.”
“If you tell me true, I’ll give you another of those but I need to find her fast.”
“I’ll show you where she is then and you can hand over the gelt.”
The girl turned and walked along ahead of him, pausing occasionally to make sure he was still there. Kormak wondered if he was making a mistake trusting her. After all, she could be making this up or she could be thinking of the wrong girl entirely. He shrugged. What choice did he have? This was the only lead he had and if it was wrong he would need to find another way to pick up the trail. He had already followed it too long. One way or another he was going to end this tonight.
“Where you from?” the girl asked. “Not from around here, I can tell.”
“Aquilea.”
“That’s somewhere far west, isn’t it? An island on the verge of the Outer Ocean where the great waterfall drops of the Edge of the World.”
“It’s a mountain land north of Taurea, keep heading north from there and you’ll reach the Plains of Ice.”
“The way I heard it,” the girl said, “head north from anywhere and you’ll hit the Plains of Ice eventually.”
“I heard that too.”
“So you’re a westerner then. You’re a long way from home. Trading in spice and silks I suppose, looking for a ship back.”
She was fishing for information, he knew. Trying to figure out how much he was worth. A thought struck him. “Lead me into a robber’s lair, girl, and you and your friends will all die.”
She laughed in his face. “You’re that tough, eh?”
“Tough enough,” he told her.
She stopped laughing and looked closely at his scarred face. “Yes, I believe that,” she said. “You’re older than I thought at first and I’m guessing you did not get those grey hairs and those scars by being anybody’s easy mark. What you do anyway? Mercenary?”
“Soldier,” he said.
“You sworn to one of the Warlords then?”
“You always ask so many questions?”
“Only when I like the look of a man… or I think he’s wealthy.”
“Which is it in my case?”
“A little of both.”
It was his turn to laugh. “You’re honest at least.”
“You still want to find Ana?”
He nodded.
“Then here we are.” They had paused outside a three story caravansary inn. The sign of some long sort of blue-scaled dragon hung over the doorway.
“The Blue Wyvern,” the girl said. “Ana always goes here when she has some money. Scar the Orc deals her glitterdust and other things. I saw her head this way earlier. She looked a little dazed so I guessed she was coming down and looking to score again.” She held her hand out. “Well, it’s been sweet,” she said. “Pay up and I’ll be heading along.”
“I still haven’t found Ana yet. Wait here and I’ll go in. When I come back out, you’ll get paid.”
“Oh yeah, sure I will. Maybe you would like to sell me the Pale Wizard’s Tower while you are at it.”
“You don’t get paid until I find Ana.”
“Then I am coming in with you.”
“That might not be the wisest thing.” She tilted her head to one side.
“Like that is it? You going to give her trouble, big man?”
“She inside or not?”
“I’m going in. You owe me another coin.”
Kormak shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“What’s your name, big man? In case, I need to find you again?”
“Kormak. What’s yours?”
“Nuala.”
They walked up the stairs and through the swing doors of the tavern. The bouncers looked at Kormak but did not say anything. They looked harder at the girl. It seemed as if one of them recognised her and was about to say something.
“She’s with me and I have gold,” said Kormak. He slipped the man a coin.
“The customer is always right,” said the bouncer. They went inside.
“You go into these places a lot?” Nuala asked.