Ageless

Chapter 10

As I made my way toward the edge of the square, a small man jumped out in front of me, scaring me half to death.

His stomach was round enough to block the entire path, and he wore a long orange overcoat that was too big for him, the sleeves bunching up around small manicured hands, and the bottom falling all the way past his knees. The coat was much more vibrant than the average peat-colored tunic worn by most others in the square. I did not have any idea where this man was from, but I could tell almost at once that he was different from the rest of them; he stuck out like a flamingo in a flock of geese.

"Hello miss, come look at Anton's wares." He gestured at himself, to show that he was indeed Anton, and apparently also speaking about himself in the third person.

He's an Outsider too.

I was surprised with how easily the term had already ingrained itself into my subconscious. I looked down at my own clothes, embarrassed that I was still in my pajamas, and wished I was wearing a leather tunic too. This is how I must look to them.

Without waiting for a response, he reached out to put an arm around me. "Anton gives special discounts to other Outsiders, our little secret."

I glanced back towards my companions. Ko'sa was continuing to haggle with some old lady over the selling price of one of the wooden figurines she had carved. Dalton was waiting at the food stalls for a second lunch. "Sorry, afraid I don't have much money to spend."

"Sure, sure, yes Anton hears this lots, but after one look at his fine prices, one finds that it would be wrong not to buy. He will make you a deal you cannot refuse. One look, yes?"

"Alright, fine," I said, more to satisfy his persistence than anything else. He led me over to a carpet on the ground covered with a variety of goods and knick-knacks.

I browsed through the odd assortment of items. There were mismatched pieces of clothes, rags of cloth that I guessed were some sort of scarves, a rusty knife, a few bits of jewelry, several old leather bags and...

A hand-gun?

I stared down at the last item in his display in disbelief. Alongside the other items, the sleek silver weapon looked ridiculously out of place.

"How much for that one?" I said, pointing at the gun.

Anton's face brightened. "Ahh, excellent choice miss. That is a great antique, crafted by the ancestors, of this I am sure. Very decorative- will pull any room together. Or, one can melt down the steel to use for tools...endless possibilities! Anton will sell you this for say...ten gold?"

I picked the gun up and turned it over in my hand. I didn't know much about pistols, but it sure looked like a real, functioning fire-arm, not a decorative antique. "Where did you get this?"

He frowned. "Anton does not remember. But that is great price, yes?"

"I don't know. Does it come with any bullets?"

"Bullets? Do not know of this."

I put the gun back down. "Sorry," I said. "Not today. I don't have ten gold right now."

"Well, come back later then," he said, with a wink. "Anton always sells his wares right here, so you know where to find him."

I turned away from him and started to walk back towards Ko'sa and Dalton, my mind racing.

What was a modern hand-gun doing in a medieval city? What the hell was this place, anyway?

***

Once we left the square, the streets twisted and turned, jutting in and out at odd angles and re-converging at weird junctures, as we made our way towards the palace gates in the center of the city. I scanned each of the street signs as we passed. Most of them had odd names that meant nothing to me, but one of them caught my eye.