Merchant Crab

“Oh, dear,” said Velvet with a mischievous smirk. “How embarrassing.”

Balthazar’s face scrunched up at the witch as the last bits of iron rusted off his chitin.

“But don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal,” she continued. “I have that kind of effect on men all the time.”

“Men like that commander outside your door, or Onion Jake?” the crab said with a frown.

He didn’t exactly have a plan before, but at least he had the confidence of a body covered in iron. Now that he had lost that, suddenly the merchant felt a lot more exposed and in need of a new plan. Keeping the adventurer talking was the beginning of one.

“Those two fools?” Velvet replied with laughter. “Please, they were practically begging to be manipulated.”

The crab and the witch started walking slowly in a circle around each other as if in a standoff. Balthazar carefully measured each step and kept his distance from her, while Velvet casually sauntered with unburdened grace.

“What for?” asked the crab. “Why go through all this trouble? What was your big plan?”

The woman in the black dress stopped on the spot where Balthazar had stood a moment before.

Ah, damn it, she got me…

“But,” the witch continued, “I don’t see why I shouldn’t indulge myself for a moment. A girl deserves her gloating from time to time.”

“Is that a type of candy?” Suze asked from the back of the room, where she and Olivia were still bound by the animated curtains.

Velvet ignored her and instead picked up the wig Balthazar had dropped on the floor moments before.

“You know…” she said, contemplating the strands of black hair draped down from the wig. “Your pet really did a number on my hair back when we last met. For a while I could barely stand looking in the mirror. But now? I think I’m growing used to it. Maybe I should even ditch this thing. What do you think?”

Using her other hand, the woman touched up the sides of her natural hair, which was now much shorter, cropped around the sides and back, the tips of its locks barely touching her neck.

Balthazar found it quite suited her, for some reason.

“I’m a crab, what do I know or care about hair?” the merchant claimed, making an effort to sound extra crabby.

“Looks good!” Suze shouted from the back. “You’re rocking that pixie haircut, lady!”

“Suze!” Olivia grumbled. “You’re not supposed to compliment the bad guys!”

“Oh, sorry,” the little girl said. “Your hair sucks, lady!”

“Hmph,” Velvet scoffed, rolling her eyes at the two girls while keeping a confident smirk. “The people of this city are just so… rude. That’s how it started, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Balthazar inquired, still trying to think of a way to defeat the witch that wouldn’t involve getting too close to her and her nasty witchcraft.

“I entered Marquessa a while back, not too long after our fiery encounter,” the black-clad woman said. “I was still looking for a solution to my hair… problem. I went straight to the city hall building, but everywhere I turned I could see them, the locals, the dirty peasantry. Staring, snickering, whispering, pointing at my head—they all mocked my misfortune.”

“All of them?” the skeptical crab said with a cocked eyestalk. “Most people I passed on the streets barely slowed down to look at me. And I’m a giant, talking crustacean. Are you sure you weren’t just being paranoid?”

“Quiet!” the dark witch yelled, her eyes widening as she raised her voice.

The flames of the candles flickered for a second at her outburst, and a wind chill ran through the stuffy bedroom despite all windows being closed.

“I am regaling you with the tale of my accomplishments in this city,” she continued, her smile and calmer demeanor settling back onto her expression. “Do not be rude by interrupting it to call me paranoid.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Yeah, sure, monologue away, don’t mind me,” Balthazar sheepishly said, the bristles on the back of his shell still standing from the sudden chill that passed through him at the witch’s command.

“The worst of all was that… baroness,” the adventurer said, with bitter contempt dripping from her every word. “Atop those stairs, looking down at me. I could see her eyeing my hair. The very face of mockery. Thinking herself superior, with her overly bright dress and excessive jewelry. So… gauche.”

“You wish you had half my aunt’s class!” Olivia exclaimed from her restraints.

“I warned you to be quiet while the grown-ups talk, girl.”

With a flick of her wrist, Velvet commanded the curtain to wrap around the young woman’s mouth too.

“So, what, you decided to steal the city’s harvest because the mayor looked at you the wrong way?!” Balthazar quickly asked, trying to take the witch’s focus away from Olivia and back to himself.

“Something like that,” the woman responded.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“You’re very petty, you know that, right?” the crab said.

“Thank you, darling. It’s good to be appreciated from time to time.”

The smirking adventurer tossed the wig onto the bed and started circling around again, making the crab do the same to keep his distance.

“I simply took it upon myself to knock that pretentious woman down a few notches,” Velvet said with a tone of haughty disdain. “And what better way to take down a mayor than to undermine her control over the city? It was all so simple, so easy. Practically child’s play. Fun, too. I should have started doing this kind of stuff a lot sooner!”

Balthazar had circled all the way back to where he started, between the window and the fireplace.

“So, who came first, the bandit chief or the commander?” he asked, still trying to buy more time.

“Neither,” Velvet responded. “It was a city hall office worker. So pathetically easy. A single drink one night at the tavern and a few sweet words and he spilled all the information I needed about this city. Who was who, the ins and outs. Even told me all about this wonderful abandoned manor for me to take over.”

The crab listened to the woman’s gloating while his mind raced for a way out of that predicament. If he tried to free the girls, the witch would surely react faster than he could cut. If he charged at her that would mean getting close, and he did not want to risk falling to her charms again. The hex kind of charms. Not her natural charms. Not that Balthazar thought she had any, of course. She was a despicable witch. And her new haircut definitely did not look good on her.

Damn it. Focus, Balthazar!

“From there it was just a matter of finding some muscle to do the dirty work for me,” Velvet carried on. “That disgusting bandit chief was hard to stomach, but a girl does what she must to reach her goals. The only good part about his stench was it made it easy to mask my own perfume.”

That explains it! That’s what blocked my attempt at convincing him. And if it wasn’t for his strong onion smell I would have probably noticed that damn perfume on him when we first met and figured this out a lot sooner!

“But those bandits were just so incompetent!” the witch bemoaned. “I had to step in to clear the way for them. So finding a guardsman commander was my next move. Poor, lonely man. Practically threw himself at my feet as soon as I approached him. I honestly think I could have just done it without a hex. He got enough guards to fall in line to clear the road for my new bandit playthings, and I got an extra set of men at my beck and call. So wonderful.”

And I probably didn’t notice the smell of her perfume when I met him because that prison stank of sewage!

The crab frowned. “And to top it all off, you got yourself a whole shipment of mangoes to yourself.”

“Those disgusting fruits?” Velvet said. “Bah! I hate their taste. And the things these people make with them? Repulsive. Just the smell of those mango pies that Margo woman makes nearly turned my stomach when I first passed her bakery.”

Balthazar gasped. She’s a monster!

“I’ve just been leaving them to rot in the cellar,” the woman continued. “I only cared that the people of Marquessa wouldn’t have them, to expose their mayor as the incompetent leader she is. Just in time for the next part of my plan.”

“Which is?” the merchant asked. He knew he couldn’t keep her talking forever, and no idea had yet sprung to mind. Reaching into his backpack would take way too long. Even if he found something else to use his Imbuing skill on, his measly mana pool hadn’t recovered enough yet to activate it again.

“I will swoop in and save the day, of course!” Velvet triumphantly declared. “The people will cheer for the hero who found their stupid fruits, the guards will back me up, and the bandits will conveniently retreat. I’ve always wanted a city to rule over. It’s going to be simply wonderful!”

“Pfft,” Suze scoffed, next to Olivia’s muffled protests. “Your girlfriend isn’t very clever, Balthazar. She just told us her whole plan. We can just expose it now.”

“Hey!” the suddenly flustered crab exclaimed. “She’s not my…”

His words trailed off as his eyes caught a glimpse of something over the witch’s shoulder.

“And who says, child,” Velvet whispered, “that you will leave this place?”

Balthazar’s eyes squinted, focusing on something outside the bedroom window behind her. Something hovering in the dark. Like two glowing lights. Two golden eyes.

Blue!

The merchant couldn’t help but crack a smile at the sight of his drake.

“But now,” said the adventurer, taking a step toward the crab, “I think it’s about time we finish our more intimate chat from last time. I haven’t forgotten about the leg you owe me…”

The witch’s figure loomed over the crab, the shadow cast on her face making her wicked smile all the more sinister.

But as her eyes met his, her gaze flickered. She had caught a glimpse of the smile on his face.

Glass shattered with thunderous clatter as a blue-scaled beast flew into the room through the window, screeching and charging talons-first at the witch.

“Not this time!” Velvet ferociously yelled.

With a swift twirl, the wicked woman dodged out of Blue’s way, a purple glow erupting from her fingers as she weaved magic around her hands and aimed them at the drake.