Anilyia (14 page)

They stopped at different stalls, looking at
the items for sale. Liselle purchased a new shirt for traveling.
When she pointed at a shirt she thought would look good on Vevin,
he explained to her that all his clothes were magical
constructions.

She did purchase a small, well-crafted,
silver dragon statuette that had purple gems for eyes. Vevin liked
it, as it was the opposite of his purple hair and silver eyes. He
did a dance with a somersault when she gave it to him, causing her
to laugh. The merchant who sold it watched the display in
astonishment.

Sir Danth arrived while Vevin was pointing
out design flaws on a dragon’s head staff to a craftsman who was
becoming cantankerous. “You aren’t going to bite that merchant if
he doesn’t get it right are you, Master Vevin?” the knight boomed,
startling the craftsman. Sir Danth put a friendly hand on Liselle’s
shoulder and smiled at her. She smiled back and wondered how the
knight smiled when he didn’t have a face.

Vevin sighed and gave the craftsman a
frustrated look. “No, I’m not going to bite him, though it’s
tempting.” Turning around, he grinned at the knight. “I’m not
allowed to nibble on people, though I want to sometimes. Speaking
of nibbling, I’m hungry.” His stomach roared in agreement, causing
the craftsman and a few others nearby to jump in surprise. People
suddenly gave the three of them a wide berth. Liselle giggled. She
was used to the fact that his stomach roared instead of rumbling,
though she had jumped the first time she heard it too.

“I saw a vendor with those drumsticks you
like so much, Milady,” the knight informed them. While in Garrrn
Caverns, Liselle had eaten drumsticks from a flightless bird. They
were extremely juicy and she became fond of them. She was chagrined
when Hulda didn’t have any at the inn.

Her face lit up. “Where?! I must have some,
Sir Knight! I charge you with leading me to them,” she ordered,
pointing her finger imperiously. If everyone was going to call her
‘Milady’ she would act like one. However, a giggle broke the
commanding tone, which was made worse when the knight and dragon
burst into laughter.

“Aye, Milady!” Sir Danth said between
laughs. “I shall heroically lead thee to drumsticks. Any who
attempt to stop me in my holy quest shall fall beneath my great
blade.” The few remaining bystanders instantly moved far out of the
knight’s way after seeing the great sword attached to his back.
They didn’t know if he was joking, but wisely chose not to find
out.

The three marched arm in arm the short
distance to the stall with the drumsticks. Liselle was delighted to
discover the merchant had added different kinds of seasonings to
some, giving them new flavors. She tried each one, finding she
liked Rojuun seasonings the best, but there were a few others that
tasted delectable as well.

Vevin ordered five batches of different
flavors for himself. The vendor looked at his thin frame
doubtfully, but shrugged and handed them out. Sir Danth helped the
two of them carry their food to a small, tree-shaded fountain at
the edge of the plaza. Vevin and Liselle sat down on a bench and
began eating while the knight scanned people walking by.

Sir Danth handed a silver uun to a young
woman who walked by with a new baby in her arms and two young
children in tow. “To purchase treats for your children, good
woman,” he told her.

“Uh . . . Thanks? . . .” The woman took the
money with a frown and hurried her children along a little faster.
She looked back over her shoulder at Sir Danth as though afraid he
might try to follow her.

A great sigh escaped the dark armor as he
watched the retreating woman with her children. “There just aren’t
enough impoverished peasants suffering in this city,” he pined with
a sorrowful tone that rang from his metal body.

Liselle and Vevin exchanged glances to see
if the other understood that statement. Their shrugs were in
perfect unison. “Yes, it’s terrible,” Vevin said empathetically.
There was a solemn expression on the dragon’s face as he tried to
understand the knight’s position. “People should suffer in the
streets and live in poverty . . . umm . . . why?” Understanding did
not shine through as he had hoped and Liselle shrugged once more
with arms out. She had a drumstick of different flavor in each
hand. Vevin took a fast bite out of the one nearest him and was
rewarded with a glare.

Sir Danth ignored their play, gesturing
toward the plaza and the people bustling about their business.
Liselle had always wondered what people looked like when they were
bustling. There just wasn’t any of that going on in the valley
while growing up. The knight sounded exasperated as he explained.
“They are all doing well, some better than others, but nobody in
Puujan is suffering. Every city I have ever been to had peasants
begging for food and hoping for relief from injustices of cruel and
evil entities.”

“Oh yes, I’ve heard of those things,” Vevin
said eagerly. “Cruel and evil entities, peasants suffering, cities
and that sort of thing. It’s terrible that Puujan doesn’t have any
of that.” He scratched his head, thinking about what he just said.
“Except cities. Puujan is a city, so it has . . . I mean Puujan
doesn’t have cities. That would just be silly, cities can’t have
cities, because they wouldn’t fit . . . unless it was a big city,
then other cities could fit in it . . . although why you would want
to put other cities in one big city is beyond me . . .” he trailed
off, staring at Liselle in hopes of clarification. She just
shrugged and bit into another drumstick, making sure to keep it
away from her food-thieving lover.

Sir Danth was silent for a moment before
turning to Vevin. “What?” he asked in confusion.

Vevin composed his thoughts and said, “It
would be silly to put other cities in a city, which would have to
be large in order to fit the other cities . . .”

The knight waved off the explanation and
interrupted Vevin. “That’s not what I’m talking about,” he said
with exasperation in his voice. “In fact, I don’t even know how you
got going on that.” Sir Danth shook his head as though trying to
shake off Vevin’s random confusion. “Anyway, the point I’m making
is that I am a knight,” he said definitively.

“Ahh yes, that clarifies things,” Vevin said
with his finger in the air. He pulled it back down and stared at it
with brow furrowed. “No . . . actually, no. It does not clarify
things. Sorry,” he said, letting his finger fall in his lap
dejectedly. Liselle giggled unhelpfully.

“It is my job to help the poor and
downtrodden,” Sir Danth informed him, leaning forward with arms
spread wide while staring at Vevin to get the point across. “If
there are no poor and downtrodden, I can’t very well help them, can
I?”

“Oh no! You definitely can’t help poor and
downtrodden people if they refuse to be poor and downtrodden.”
Vevin nodded seriously then changed it to shaking his head. Liselle
giggled unhelpfully again.

It was amazing how deeply Sir Danth could
sigh without a body to clog up the air in his armor. “I have all
this money and nothing to do with it.” He pulled his money pouch
off his utility belt and rattled it at them. “I have no need for
wealth. I do not want a home or treasure.” There was despair in the
dark knight’s voice. “I do not need jewelry, food, lodging or
anything else. Therefore, the money is useless to me.” He put it
back on his belt.

Vevin considered everything the knight was
saying then summed it up. “So you want all of these people to
become poor and homeless so you can buy them food and homes. I
definitely understand now . . . It still seems very silly, but I
understand,” he said with a frown. Liselle progressed from giggles
to outright laughter. Sir Danth sighed again and folded his arms,
glaring at Vevin who sat there staring innocently. Liselle’s
laughter became harder and she gasped for breath.

The knight gave up first and turned back to
stare at the people in the market. Vevin looked to Liselle with his
arms spread to see if she knew what the knight was upset about. She
was still too busy gasping for air to be of any assistance.

“It is my duty to deliver wrath upon those
who would trod upon the downtrodden,” the dark knight said to them,
though he still faced the plaza and the inconveniently un-suffering
people who went about their business, blithely ignorant of how
inconvenient they were being.

Liselle had just about caught her breath and
was wiping her eyes when Vevin said, “Trod up-on the down-trodden?”
sending her into a new fit of laughter. “There seems to be a lot of
trodding in the world,” he finished with concern in his voice.

Sir Danth completely ignored him this time
and continued his explanation. “If this were a normal city with
peasants wallowing in the mud, begging for food and relief, I would
draw my sword and find the oppressors and thieves of happiness.”
His voice was becoming louder and louder. “Then I would cleave them
from their unholy bodies and cast their souls to the skies.” At
this point, the knight had drawn his sword and was holding it above
his head as he swore his warning with booming voice reverberating
through the market plaza.

Liselle was standing and had her hands on
his shoulder and arm. “Sir Danth, please put away your sword.
You’re terrifying the people.” Indeed, there were people running in
every direction and a few of the vendors looked to be packing their
stalls, though it was only just after noon.

The sword lowered slowly until the tip was
touching the ground. Liselle moved around to face him. “I cannot
imagine what you have gone through, my noble knight,” she told him
with a gentle hand to the side of his helm. “Peace, Sir Danth of
Morhain. You will have opportunities to right injustices within the
world. Save the money for those times and let this city remain
happy.”

Sir Danth turned to her and sighed again. He
put his sword away and nodded. “Aye, Milady. You’re words are wise,
gentle and true. I will heed them.” The knight sat down and seemed
to relax somewhat. The vendors who had been about to close their
business also relaxed and reopened the stalls. People avoided the
three of them like the plague however.

“What about Athron, the boy we met the first
time we came into Puujan?” Liselle asked. “He seemed poor and
downtrodden.”

“I looked for him the first night after we
came back from Garrrn Caverns,” Sir Danth replied. “It is a tragedy
I must say.”

“Oh? What happened?” Liselle asked in
trepidation.

“The lad’s parents were miners who lived in
a village in the hills not far away. They died in an accident a few
weeks before we met him. The lad ran away here to Puujan when told
about it.” Sir Danth’s words were heavy and slow as he relayed the
information. “A few days after we left to the caverns, he tried
picking someone else’s pocket and the guards were called. The boy
knew the penalty for stealing, so he ran from them.”

“His name is Athron. Please use it.” Tears
began to well up in Liselle’s eyes as she feared how the story
would end.

“Of course. You are correct, Milady. Athron
ran to the top of the southern wall. Guards came at him from both
directions. He jumped from the wall in despair, shocking the
guards. When they reached his body a short while later, he was
already dead.” The final words fell heavily. Sir Danth hunched
forward with elbows resting on his knees. It was clear the news had
affected him badly.

Tears ran down Liselle’s cheeks as she
covered her face in her hands. She knew how badly it hurt to lose
parents and knew exactly how Athron must have felt. Tathan had
helped her through the worst of the grief and even at the darkest
moment, Liselle would never have considered leaping to her death,
but she understood. The flower in her hair drooped sadly in
empathy.

Vevin put his arm around Liselle’s
shoulders. “That is so very sad. I wish he could fly like me.”

“Aye, I wish he could too. I wish we had
helped him at the time. My instincts have dulled from disuse,” the
knight said, obviously upset. “The guard I spoke to informed me
that the boy . . . Athron would not have been put to death.”

“Oh? I though death was the penalty for
everything,” Liselle replied with a puzzled frown.

“It’s not common knowledge, but the Rojuun
have been avoiding the death penalty lately,” Sir Danth informed
them. “They are now taking each individual crime into consideration
and coming up with punishments that fit the crime. In Athron’s
instance, they would have found him a new home.”

“That’s really nice,” Vevin responded. “I’m
glad. I want to like the Rojuun, but it’s hard sometimes. That
makes it easier.”

“It brings me that much more regret that I
did not help Athron,” the knight stated.

“You didn’t know, Sir Danth,” Liselle said,
wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Vevin’s touch made recovering from
sadness a great deal easier than in the past.

“None of us knew. I didn’t see it even with
my great vision,” Vevin said with an encouraging smile. He gently
shoved the knight in an attempt to bring up his mood.

Liselle reached over and put a comforting
hand upon Sir Danth’s gauntlet. He took it and brought it to where
his mouth would be as if kissing it. Then he straightened, the
burden leaving his shoulders. “I did not speak of it until you
asked so as not to spread melancholy. It is not a pleasant
tale.”

“Truly it is not,” Liselle agreed. “I thank
you for telling us though. I’ll remember it the next time I see
someone so unhappy.”

“As will I, Milady. As will I,” the knight
agreed with resolve in his words.

“I’ll try to make a new vision to be able to
see it better next time,” Vevin said with a nod. Liselle and Sir
Danth stared at him for a moment before they realized he was
serious. He grinned uncomfortably at their stares.