Rojuun (20 page)

“Why is it called the winged city?” Liselle
asked.

“You’ll have to see for yourself,” Sergeant
Soam said. The guards gave each other knowing looks.

“Probably because of all the bugs,” Vevin
said.

“Anyone I should talk to, or can you
recommend a good inn?” Tathan asked, ignoring their purple
friend.

“The White Tree Inn is a good place. The
sergeant made turning motions with his hand as he gave directions.
It sounded as though it would be easy to find and there would be a
large wooden banner with a white tree in front.

“White Tree Inn. Got it,” Tathan said. “That
sounds like a human name for an inn. Do the Rojuun use human names
for inns and that sort of thing?”

“Rojuun don’t name or even build inns. It’s
a human thing,” the sergeant said. “Most everything here is human
built. The Rojuun don’t care as long as they get what they
want.”

“What do they want?” Liselle asked. “Why do
they need humans to work for them?”

“Well, they don’t like building things,
foraging, hunting, or . . . well anything really,” the sergeant
said running his fingers through his hair. “They can do all of
that, but prefer making music, painting and stuff I don’t
understand. They want humans to take care of them so they can do
the things they like.”

“That sounds nice. I wish someone would take
care of me so I could do the things I want!” Tathan exclaimed with
a laugh. “They sound like an odd folk if you ask me, but if they
pay . . .”

“Aye, they are odd, but they pay well and
leave humans alone for the most part. Just don’t make them mad.
Don’t cause trouble and they won’t bother you too much.” The
sergeant looked at them warningly.

“We won’t be causing trouble.” Tathan
reached out and shook the sergeant’s hand. “Thanks for the
information, Sergeant. It sounds like there’s adventure to be
had.”

“Aye, that there is. Good luck to you.”
Sergeant Soam stepped aside, waving them in through the postern
gate to the city.

Chapter
18

The Companions walked into a plaza with
people going about their business along cobbled streets surrounding
a beautiful, multilevel fountain. Mothers watched their children at
play in grassy areas. It was early evening and the air was cooling
after a warm day.

The sight of so many buildings awed Liselle.
The myriad of people with different colored skin and wearing exotic
clothing was a shock to her. She listened to their voices mingled
with numerous other sounds of the city.

The most amazing thing was the surreal sight
of multicolored wings sprouting from the buildings. They were like
fairy wings of gossamer and lace. Each building had a set of wings
upon it, each set was different from the rest. Many were
multicolored, glistening as rainbows would in the light.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Tathan
said. There was awe in his voice and he was staring at them just as
she was. It made her feel better about gawking. Tathan outlined the
shapes of them with his finger in the air. “They’re attached to the
buildings, but they serve no actual purpose that I can see.”

“Bugs!” Vevin somersaulted in the air before
doing a buggy version of the happy dance.

“They
are
beautiful. I traveled in my
time and saw many ordinary cities,” Sir Danth stated after glancing
at Vevin. “I liked the cities of Morhain, which were one with the
forest around them. They were beautifully built using nature as
inspiration. The wings of this city make it interesting and . .
.”

Tathan cut Sir Danth off. “But they aren’t
part of the buildings! The buildings are plain stone and the wings
are attached to them as an afterthought.”

“Hmm, I suppose you are right,” the knight
responded.

Vevin continued his dance, waving his arms
about. “I like them! They’re pretty and shiny. I think I’ll put
wings on the building above my lair.”

Liselle looked around. The buildings were
solidly made of stone with slanted slate roofs. No wood or thatch
was used. “I like them too. “The wings are beautiful and they fit.
It’s the buildings that don’t fit, regardless of which was built
first.”

Metal rods had been placed against the stone
and something like wax had been melted to hold them. There were
two, sometimes four wings on the opposite sides of each building.
They were constructed of gossamer materials that fluttered in the
breeze, making it appear as though the entire city were alive.
Colors and metallic filaments ran throughout the wings, glistening
in the sunlight. It was a beautiful spectacle that made the
buildings they were attached to appear mundane.

“I would love to see it from the sky!” Vevin
exclaimed. “I’ll fly over the city the first time I get the chance.
It will be so wonderful!”

All of a sudden, Tathan’s sword was at the
neck of a lad. The boy’s arm was outstretched and his fingers an
inch away from Tathan’s money pouch. “You’ll not be picking my
pockets, Boy.”

The lad appeared to be about twelve years of
age. He wore ragged clothing and had dirty brown hair. Small silver
earrings hung from each ear. He looked out of place among
well-dressed citizens. In fact, the boy was the only person in the
plaza who looked poor. There was fear in his brown eyes.

“In Morhain, we cut the hands off of
thieves. I can take care of that for you, Master Tathan, should you
wish,” Sir Danth suggested.

The boy’s eyes grew wider and tears began to
well up. Liselle intervened. “Nobody is going to cut his hands off!
Cousin, put away your sword.” She stepped between Tathan and the
thief. He moved the sword away, sheathing it smoothly.

Then she turned to the urchin. “I would not
recommend upsetting my cousin. He tends to be jumpy. Perhaps you
can help. We’re looking for the White Tree Inn.”

The lad kept Liselle between him and Tathan.
“Y . . . Yes. I can take you there.” He put out his hand as though
waiting for something to be put in it.

“Are you putting your hand out to be cut
off, Boy?” Sir Danth asked. “I would be willing to oblige.” The lad
hastily pulled his hand back.

“What is your name?” Liselle asked him after
glaring at the dark knight.

“M . . . My name is Athron. I live here,” he
said nervously. “I didn’t mean any harm, I promise.” The lad
brushed an escaped tear from his dirty face.

“Well then, Athron, as long as you didn’t
mean any harm you’ll be just fine. Don’t mind my cousin and Sir
Danth. They’re just trying to scare you,” Liselle reassured him. He
relaxed a bit.

“BOO!” Tathan yelled with his arms raised
like a monster. Athron stopped relaxing.

“Tathan! Enough!” Liselle scolded. “He’s not
going to try to steal anymore, and he’s agreed to show us to the
inn.” Liselle turned to the terrified thief. “Come now. Show us to
the inn and tell us about the wings on these buildings.” She moved
him toward the nearest street, glaring behind her at Tathan and Sir
Danth.

“It’s this way.” Athron pointed toward a
street at the far end of the plaza. The party followed while
Liselle walked next to him. “I wasn’t going to steal anything. The
Rojuun kill people for stealing,” he explained timidly.

“They just kill thieves? Is there no trial
or prison?” Tathan asked sharply. Liselle looked at him with a
raised eyebrow. Her cousin had admitted to being a thief.

“They don’t have any prisons. They just kill
anyone who breaks the law,” Athron said in low tones. Tathan became
very silent, frowning darkly.

“So tell me about the wings, Athron,”
Liselle suggested. “They look like they were attached to the
buildings.”

“Yeah. The Rojuun did it,” he said. “They do
all kinds of things like that. Sometimes they paint stuff or just
start playing music somewhere.” He pointed to a pair of rainbow
colored wings on one of the buildings. “Those are my
favorites.”

“They’re very nice,” Liselle agreed. “I
don’t understand why the Rojuun put them there though. Do they do
something?”

“Nah, they just look pretty I guess,” he
said with a shrug. “They say that after the buildings were put up
in the city, Rojuun came out of the caves and said the buildings
needed wings.” Athron shrugged again. “Rojuun are really weird if
you ask me.”

“How are they weird?” Tathan asked from
directly behind the lad. He had moved closer to listen.

Athron jumped forward in surprise. “Mother
of . . . I . . . They just are.” He moved to the other side of
Liselle, watching Tathan warily. “They do weird things.”

“Like what?” Tathan persisted. “I mean
besides the wings. What else do they do that is weird?”

“Well . . . The way they walk is weird. It’s
more like gliding. And then . . . well, they don’t really do any
real work. They always want to sing, dance, paint or . . . stuff. I
don’t understand them.”

“Hmmm,” Tathan responded with an unsatisfied
frown. “Are there any in this city or are they all in the
caves?”

“They don’t come out by the gates very
often, but there are some in the city,” Athron said. “There’s a
Rojuun district along the mountains. They have large estates with
big, colorful gardens. Say, you don’t know anything about them?”
Athron asked suspiciously.

Tathan narrowed his eyes. Athron moved away
as though to run before Liselle replied. “We just arrived. That’s
why we need an inn. How close is it?” she asked with a reassuring
smile.

“Oh, it’s not far away, we’ll be there in a
minute.” Athron pointed up the street. “It’s a nice place, not too
crowded.”

“Why isn’t it crowded? Is there something
wrong with it?” Sir Danth asked.

“Nah.” Athron looked nervously at the
knight. “It’s just that most people here are from the Empire of
Iynath or the Kingdom of Klizania and they have their own inns and
styles of food and stuff.” He indicated a couple of people as he
spoke. One of them looked like desert folk and the other was
dressed colorfully in the ways of Liselle’s parents. “The owner of
the White Tree Inn is Hulda. She’s from some kingdom in the west
and there aren’t many people from there in Puujan.”

“Any idea what country in the west?” Tathan
asked.

“Nah, I didn’t pay attention,” Athron said.
“Hulda keeps her place real nice though and she gives me a little
food sometimes.”

“That sounds nice, Athron.” Liselle smiled
at the lad who returned the smile, obviously smitten with her.
“Where would we go if we wanted more dangerous work? I hear there’s
good money to be made.”

“Well, there’s not much work for that sort
of thing here. You would have to go through the Cavern Road
underneath the mountains to Alluu. There’s a lot of work down there
from what I understand,” he answered.

“Thank you.” Liselle noticed holes in the
gutters along the streets. “What are those, Athron?” she asked,
pointing to one.

“Those? They’re called drains,” he answered.
“The water runs down them and into sewers below. It helps keep the
streets clean and makes it so they don’t flood.”

“They’re common in most large cities,”
Tathan interjected, “especially where it rains a lot or
floods.”

“Oh.” Liselle realized that her naiveté was
showing. After living her life in a secluded valley cut off from
the world, this city with its walls, buildings and variety of
people was overwhelming to her.

There were new aromas everywhere. It was
dinnertime and she could smell cooking food from the windows of
dwellings around her. The scent of the forest drifted over the
walls, mingling with scents from people. Many wore perfumes, a
thing Liselle had never experienced before.

A cacophony of sound assaulted her ears. The
valley had birds, animals and elements of nature such as wind and
rain. Here though, were people talking and making the noise of city
life. Liselle could not help but look at all the sights of the
city. This was what she had been dreaming of experiencing for
years.

“I had forgotten that you haven’t been to a
city,” Tathan said softly next to her. She turned to see him
looking at her with a mild smile. “I remember my first time in a
town. It was smaller than this, but the sight awed me.” He chuckled
at the memory. “The first real city was an experience for me.”

“It must have been exciting,” Liselle
remarked. “All of the sights and sounds. It’s so much to take in
all at once!” Her eyes sparkled and her smile was bright.

“It truly is,” he admitted, though he didn’t
share in the enthusiasm. “It’s also dangerous. The first time I
explored a city I was mugged and left for dead. I won’t allow the
same thing to happen to you.” He looked pointedly at Athron.

The boy’s eyes widened and he shook his
head, thoroughly cowed.

Liselle put a gentle hand upon Tathan’s arm.
“All is well and I know you’ll keep me safe. I’m also not quite so
foolish as you of course.”

“Wha . . .” Tathan he saw the mischievous
grin on her face and glared playfully as she laughed out loud.
Vevin and Sir Danth laughed as well. Even Athron joined in a little
bit, though he did so warily.

“Alright, Cousin. I’ll remember you said
that.” Tathan grinned at her and gave her a playful shove in the
shoulder. He continued in a more serious tone, “I truly will keep
you safe and do everything in my power to protect you. I swear to
that.”

She smiled at him, realizing how strongly he
meant it. “I know. You’ve already shown that,” she said, playing
with the flower pin in her dark hair.

“I will protect you with my life . . .
existence? . . . I will protect you as well, Milady,” Sir Danth
stated nobly. He stood straight and tall in his black armor and
banged his gauntlet to his chest for emphasis.

“Oh yes! I will too,” Vevin joined in. “I’ll
eat anyone who harms you!” he said doing a dance that probably had
something to do with eating people.