Sole Wolfess and Kid
© 2021 by M. Mitch Marmel and Walter Reimer

(The Sole Wolfess and Aedith ‘Sunny’ Winterbough are courtesy of E.O. Costello. Thanks!)

Part Eleven.


The price quoted for the two dresses was ten stars. I thought it was a fair price, but both Lisbet and Dorotea demurred when I tried to pay them immediately. “We trust you,” the anteater said, which I thought was very nice of her.

Lisbet had started sketching almost as soon as she had finished taking Aedith’s measurements. The reindeer femme was quite a good draftsfur, and my daughter pointed out the two she thought were good. I approved, and they told me that the dresses would be fitted the next day, and ready the day after that. That was acceptable, and I swallowed what was left of my pride and asked Fjordsdottir and Duarte, “Do either of you know if there are any post-ball matches today?”

The two tailors looked at each other. “Um, the public house on the corner has this season’s schedule posted,” Fjordsdottir replied. She flicked an ear at the brief look of distaste that washed over my face, and the other ear flicked when she saw Aedith smile happily.

We took our leave of the two tailors and headed for the public house. Situated at a road intersection, it appeared clean, and as Lisbet said, they did have the match schedule posted.

On a pillar outside the establishment, which I thought was rather interesting. If one were, say, in either of the two Capitals in Faerie, the schedule would be indoors by the bar, the better for the proprietor to persuade potential patrons to partake.

Just my luck, there was a game scheduled at a ground that was a brief walk away (the schedule included a map). The Eastbourne Suns, versus the Westbourne Stars, with Eastbourne being the home team.

Seeing the gleam in Aedith’s eyes, I knew there was no way I could avoid it. We were going.

[Note appended to manuscript: “Try it, you’ll like it!”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Oh, go take some physic.”]

Making a note of the ground’s location, we started down the road and soon joined a gathering crowd of people, some wearing their team’s colors, who were headed in the same direction.

The tickets were cheaper than they were in the Capitals, and I ensured that we got good seats on the Eastbourne side of the ground (since they faced east, so we could have some shade and be comfortable). The Eastness-style ‘sun tea’ that Nippy had given us was quite refreshing, so I got some cool drinks for the two of us, and we settled down for a boring afternoon.

Maybe not at all boring as that, as there was one aspect of an Eastness post-ball game that the Master failed to report on. Namely, the game was opened by a group of dancers from the Temple of the Brilliant Light, offering prayers for a good game. It was a warm day, so they didn’t have a stitch on, and I felt my tail wagging.

I called myself to order quickly. My mission was to keep my daughter safe during her visit and lead a delegation back to Elfhame, and I wasn’t going to put my relationship with Ooo-er further in the hole.

Still, there was no harm at all in just looking.

I bought a program, and helped Aedith sort out who was who on the field, and finally sat back to watch.

The Eastbourne side came out wearing white and gold uniforms, and as the Westbourne players trotted out in their black and blue shirts and trousers, the home field fans started to chant, “We’ll beat you / Black and blue!” Aedith laughed and clapped her paws at that.

“Which team do you think will win?” I asked her.

Sunny’s ears went flat and she frowned. Putting her paw to her chin in a pose of deep contemplation, she stared out at the field for a moment before pointing. “Eastbourne!” she declared, and a few of the fans seated near us congratulated her on her sagacity.

I have watched games at the Capitals, and seen the matches that the bucks play in Elfhame. The teams in the Tors have been known to stop play and debate arcane points of the Rules on even the slimmest of excuses. One time, they even stopped play when a feral otter ambled across the ground, and when it accidentally dislodged one of the posts the home team claimed that it was Fuma’s Will that they were the automatic winners. The argument about that lasted two days.

In Elfhame, however, hardly anything apart from does or darkness can stop a game. I have seen games played in ferocious downpours and ankle-deep snow. One of the bucks was notable for catching a fly ball with his beer tankard, with his only regret being that the ball made his beer taste “funny.”

[Note appended to manuscript: "Bartender! There's a fly ball in my beer!"]

[Note appended to manuscript: "That joke wasn't funny five hundred years ago, and time has not enhanced it."]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Phhbbfft.”]

The play here appeared to strike a middle position. The players seemed very professional and concentrated not only on playing well, but on putting on the best possible performance for their fans. The fans reciprocated by cheering or booing enthusiastically depending on the action.

East’s bowler, a tall, lean tod-fox (no monocle, I noted – and I was looking) was getting a lot of Aedith’s attention. She watched his windup and throwing technique intently, her lips moving. Occasionally, her paws moved as if she was trying to match his grip on the ball.

And no doubt planning on striking out the side the next time she and her friends play.

Watching my daughter having fun made me relax just a bit.

Grilled meats were on sale, so I bought more sun tea and some meat that had been marinated in wine and spices before being skewered and grilled. The snacks were delicious, and I was glad that paper serviettes were included. The tea was sweet, but not cloying, and some lemon had been added.

Aedith’s ears dipped and she pointed. “Look, Mommy.”

I looked, and my ears dipped as well. Only momentarily.

For some reason, the Eastbourne uniforms, which as stated before were white and gold, suddenly looked like blue and black. The Westbourne players’ clothes were having the same problem, but in the opposite direction.

Aedith looked up at me. “Magic?” I put a paw to my chin and thought for a moment before casting detect-magicks. No one was playing fast and loose with the Rules, as far as I could tell.

One spectator, a feline with slightly grayish-blue fur saw what I was doing and chuckled. “This happens all the time, and there’s no Gramerye involved.”

“What is it?” I asked.

He grinned. “The same fellow designed both uniforms, and when the sun’s at the right angle it looks like they change color.” He took a swallow of his beer. “It was his way of saying that we’re all the same under the Light.”

“That’s actually very clever,” I said.

He nodded. “Caused a lot of confusion when they first started using them, though,” and he laughed as the game went on.

Sunny’s disappointment at Westbourne’s late rally that saw them defeating Eastbourne 3-2 was more than made up for by me buying her a souvenir cap. I think her grin started somewhere behind her ears as we left the stadium, and she wore it proudly.

When she wasn’t holding it in her paws and admiring it.

Finding a decently-priced hotel about midway between the Temple and the Council building was interesting, as I was spoiled for choice. I finally narrowed it down, and we relaxed in our room for a short while before freshening up for dinner.

Across the Blue Onoob River, I knew from hearing Tessie Ring’s account of our previous adventure in Eastness, there was a place that offered fresh fish on the menu. We found a place closer than that, and the fish was definitely very tasty.

Dessert was some sort of confection called cheesecake, and Aedith thoroughly enjoyed the small slice that was served to her. I liked my piece as well, and after dinner we went back to the hotel. It’d been a very long and eventful day, and my daughter’s eyelids were starting to droop.

Father Cellini has been trying to teach her to be a proper Mephitist, and Aedith will simply smile and nod at his attempts, and then go bask in the sunlight. Being a Wild Priestess of the Light, she seems to be completely unmoved by appeals from other faiths. So as you might guess, she didn’t say her prayers.

She was yawning widely by the time I tucked her in, and I placed a few wards around the room to awaken me if anything happened while we slept.







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