The Unsuspecting Mage - Brian S. Pratt [125]
They enjoy a quiet dinner of roast fowl, bread and ale. After downing the last of his ale, James says, “I think I’ll go for a walk” Glancing toward Miko he asks, “Like to come with me?”
“Sure, okay,” Miko agrees. “Maybe we could find some more tarts?”
“You never know,” replies James, smiling at his friend.
They leave the inn and stroll through the streets. During their walk they get propositioned by several women, all of which look rather skanky to James.
After turning down the fifth offer of cheap sex, Miko says, “There’s something I’ve noticed about you.”
“What’s that?” asks James.
“You are never with a woman. Don’t you like them?” Miko inquires. “Or is it because you were mutilated?”
“I like women, most definitely,” he replies, then comes to a stop when the last little bit Miko said finally registers. Turning a quizzical look to Miko he asks, “What do you mean ‘because I was mutilated’?”
Looking a little embarrassed, Miko says, “Well, when we took our baths the other night, I couldn’t help but notice that a part of you had been cut off.”
“What are you talking about?” James asks confused. Then it hit him, he was circumcised. He starts laughing and says, “What you are referring to was done when I was born. It’s a custom with my people that when a boy is born, such is done to him.”
Looking aghast, Miko asks “What for?”
“It’s the common belief that if it’s removed then there will be less chance for infection during his life,” answers James. “In fact there is one religion back home that mandates it.”
“I’m glad I wasn’t born there,” Miko states with conviction, unconsciously covering himself.
“There are times when I wish it hadn’t been done to me too, but there’s not a whole lot I can do about it now. But rest assured, it still works as well as anybody else’s and it doesn’t affect my desire for sex.”
“Then why don’t you go after the women?” he asks.
“I was raised to believe sex is not a casual thing,” he explains. “And it’s definitely something you should never pay anyone to do. Also, there are certain diseases that you can get from such activities that really mess you up bad, even kill you.”
“The boys I used to hang around with, whenever they got hair between their legs, started going after the girls,” says Miko.
“Yeah, I knew guys back home that were like that too,” admits James. “But you should always do what you think is right, no matter what others may think or do.”
James resumes walking and Miko is silent for a while, thinking about what he just said. They eventually arrive at the main marketplace which is still surprisingly busy even though night has already fallen. Several performers scattered around, one is a juggler who has several different objects coursing through the air simultaneously. Next to him sits a chair with a knife sitting half on and half off the seat. At one point the juggler adds the knife to the dance of items in the air with an upward kick of his foot. As it flies up from where it had sat upon the chair, the onlookers ooh and ahhh. When he catches it and incorporates it within the pattern of the other items, they erupt in applause, several tossing coins into a hat resting on the ground before him.
They remain to watch as the juggler continues keeping the items airborne while twice people tossed other objects which he also incorporated into his aerial display. Miko is completely fascinated by the man so they stay there for a little while watching him. By the time they move on, the juggler had seven items in the air and didn’t look like he was going to stop anytime soon. James gave Miko three coppers to drop in the hat.
As they make their way through the marketplace, they momentarily stop to observe