Down in the market (Colt)

"Now, my young apprentice," Colt said with a theatrical flick of his wrist, brandishing his silver chalice. The eyes of the fifteen or so kids watching him went wide, along with more than a few parents and other adults who were paying attention. Colt set the Chalice down on a short table he had commandeered for his impromptu performance, and repositioned the little eight year old girl who had volunteered for his trick so that she was standing right between him and the table. "I need you to hold your hand over the Magic Chalice of Kat-man-di. Yes, just like that. Now hold the other one one your forehead, palm out. No, the other side- perfect."

Colt looked out as he audience. It had grown slightly, more adults stopping their shopping and market browsing to see the culmination of the trick. A beautiful redheaded town girl was watching with rapt attention, and when he met her eyes Colt gave her his rakish grin and a wink. She blushed wonderfully under her freckles and bit her lip. Good, I haven’t lost it, he thought, thinking back to how that innkeeper had shrugged him off.

"Now, my powerful apprentice," Colt continued. "Repeat after me, can you do that?"

"Yes!" said the little blonde girl.

"Good. Say it just like me. Mecka-lecka Hi, Mecka-hiney Ho!"

The little girl cleared her throat and shouted, "Mecka-lecka Hi, Mecka-hiney Ho!"

"Again," Colt urged her.

"Mecka-lecka Hi, Mecka-hiney Ho!"

"She needs more power!" Colt said to the crowd. "Her little body can't control it all. You all need to help her! Mecka-lecka Hi, Mecka-hiney Ho."

The crowd, and the little girl, repeated the words three more times, chanting the absolute gibberish in a rally of positive energy.

"Parva Magia," Colt said beneath the sound of the crowd chanting, turning his hands over and waving in a quick circle at his chalice. "Here it comes!" Colt shouted.

A burst of sparks, completely harmless except for a small warmth, began to burst out of the top of the chalice in a fountain, dancing around the little girls hand as she screamed in delight. The spray of sparks grew for a few moments, then in a final swollen burst they burnt themselves out.

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, and the little girl spun around and hugged herself tightly to Colt. "That was so cool! I want to be a sorcerer when I grow up, now!"

"Oh," Colt said in surprise as he was hugged, then patted her head delicately. "Well, uh, sorcerers are born. Wizards are trained. If you study very hard, you might be able to find someone to start you down the path."

"I will, and then you can train me," the little blonde girl said, beaming up at him.

"Ah, uh..." Colt stumbled over his own words, not wanting to make promises he couldn't keep. He looked out at the crowd that was quickly dispersing. "Can someone please come claim this little apprentice, please?"

Thankfully a parent, a very comely townswoman with a generous smile and the same golden locks as her daughter, came to collect the girl and provided him with a kiss on the cheek to boot. As they departed, Colt snatched up his chalice and stowed it in his belt pouch, then stood back up and found himself confronted by the beautiful redhead he had winked at during the show.

"That was very sweet of you," the redhead said, stepping close. Her hair was a wonderful copper orange, lightly curling to cascade over her shoulders and end just above the swell of her breasts. She had a cute face, and a playful smile, and Colt could immediately tell this girl was Trouble with a capital T. Just the way I like them, he thought.

"Oh, it was nothing. All for the kids," he said, giving her another flash of his special grin.

"Just for the kids?" the little mink asked, moving closer. She put a hand on his upper arm, squeezing lightly as she practically breathed out her words. "I was hoping for another, more private, adult show."

"I do have a few more tricks up my sleeve," Colt said. "Of course, I’ve heard the best magic rituals are performed in the dead of night, without a stitch of clothing."

"Interesting. Not a stitch?" the redhead said. She bit her lower lip in another smile, and Colt felt his heart (or maybe it was his cock) flutter. "That sounds like it might get a little chilly. You'd need to warm me up."

"Oh, I would take care of every nee-"

"Shayliss!" A man barked, and the woman stepped away quickly, hands dropping behind her back as she stood properly. A man was crossing the marketplace, and the crowd was parting before him. He was big, though thankfully not as big as that absolute giant Colt had seen earlier in the day, with a broad head and a barrel chest that spoke of a life of hard, heavy work. He had a coppery strap of a beard, leaving his upper lip bare and open to snarl at the sight of Colt standing next to the woman.

"Yes, Papa?" Shayliss said. "Did you get to see the magic show? It was wonderful, the children from the Turandarok Academy loved it."

The man stopped, planting himself like a tree, arms across his chest disapprovingly. "No, I certainly did not. And my daughter shouldn't be wasting her time with..." He eyed Colt up and down, and looked like he was trying to come up with either the most polite, or filthiest, insult he could.

Colt decided to strike first. He stepped forward, stuck out his hand to the man, and smiled widely. "Colt Caudex, sir. You've got a wonderful town here, and a delightful daughter. May I ask, sir, where do you get that comely beard done? You might have the closest shave I've ever seen. You have got to tell me the barber you use."

The compliments and the weird personal question did their trick, the man clearly reeling from conversational whiplash. "Ah, uhm, my wife does it. Thank you. Shayliss, it's time to go, we need you at the store."

The shopkeeper took his daughter by the arm and started moving her away. Shayliss looked back over her shoulder, tossing her hair out of the way with a flick, and winked at Colt. Then licked her upper lip suggestively.

Colt sighed as the pair disappeared in the crowd, trying to decide whether tracking down Miss Shayliss later on would be the smart or stupid thing to do.

"Little of both," he muttered, and shook his head. "This town just gives, and gives. Let's hope my luck holds out."

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