(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

with you in your travels."
"Thanks, Aelwyn. I..." I tried searching for the right words, something to lay
to rest whatever had been between us. Lost love, guilt, regret, shame...
there was no way to compress all that into a single sentence. In the end I
could only offer a tepid reply, and hoped that that was enough.
"I wish you well."
Aelwyn nodded, neither happy nor sad, neither relieved nor anguished, and
said no more.
~~~~~
It was still early in the day in the Clerk's Ward, and I took my time sampling
its wares. Street performers and acrobats carved out little domains,
brightening the hodgepodge urban sprawl with life and color. I chewed on a
fried lizard on a stick, the skin salty and crispy, its flesh tender and moist.
The smell of sweet herbal tea from the cafes perfumed the air. There didn't
seem to be such a thing as Carnival Season in the Clerk's Ward... who
needed a day of festivities when there was celebration at every street
corner?
I was picking the meat from the lizard's bones when we came to the
“Curiosity Shop”. Rumors had abounded of this place. Not the nasty kind,
mind you, just vague mentions passed through the grapevine that this was
the place for talismans and spells.
I wiped the last bits of grease from my fingertips and entered.
Something was funny about the air, sickly-sweet like honey laced with
poison. The alluring fragrance masked any venom that lay beneath I could
almost taste it.
A downtrodden little man scurried about the shop, dusting, cataloguing, and
moving things about for the place's proprietress. He smelled faintly of
onions. He glanced up at me nervously, "Please, sir... I cannot speak with
you. I've work to do, and my mistress simply won't allow it..."
"I just had a few questions..."
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