As the sun set, we trudged our way towards the city. While we walked, I kept wondering if Premier had come this way too. He couldn’t have known about the trap. He might have been forced in this direction. I clenched my fist in anger, aching to kill him for what he did to Krystal.
Off in the distance, we glimpsed groups of people heading toward the city, but it was going to be another hour before we arrived there. I kept glancing around as we walked. I felt as if we were being watched. I never saw anybody and I couldn’t sense any magic, but I couldn’t shake that feeling.
A wall surrounded part of the city, but it was crumbling from age and years of neglect. Fallen stones were piled on top of each other, waiting to be repaired. A group of small children played around them. They climbed on the rocks and poked their heads out between the holes. As we approached, one of the older ones looked up at the sinking sun and gathered the others together, leading them off home.
There were guards posted near the rubble where the children had played. They reminded me of those I’d seen when entering Alexandria or Erlam, except these guards looked tired and weary. Their rumpled red uniforms almost matched the color of Jastillian’s armor, but theirs were a slightly lighter shade. They chatted to each other, slouching and leaning on their spears. As we approached, they halted their conversation and glared at us. We kept our heads down and avoided eye contact, hoping they wouldn’t stop us. They didn’t, but I still felt their eyes on my back.
There were stables about a hundred feet from inside the demolished wall.
We passed them and went on to the marketplace. The stalls were closing, the vendors packing their wares to go home.
The flat wooden structures were dull and unpainted, and some of them were rotting. One stall had carefully placed bracing, keeping the structure from falling down.
I noticed that over half the people we saw wore red. They had red tunics, scarves, cloaks, and headdresses. I had gotten used to emblems and colors being worn by guards in other cities, but here it seemed that everyone wore the same colors.
We passed by a young couple. They whispered sweet nothings to one another, with their arms wrapped around each other’s waists. The woman laughed at what the man said, but she soon had to stifle a yawn. A man walked his young boy home, holding him by the hand. But he seemed to drag his feet as he did so.
We traveled the dirt-covered streets, searching for an inn. I kept my wizard senses open, seeking to find any hint of magic in this crowded city. Even if I found a wizard, I wasn’t sure how I would approach them or if they would even help us. Until I figured that out, we would pretend to be simple travelers.
We stumbled upon a bustling inn and went inside. The aroma of roasted pig flooded my nose, and the sight of a baked potato on a nearby plate made me salivate. I blew into my numb hands and rubbed them, letting the warmth of the place seep into them. I quietly thanked the gods that we had a reprieve, but I wondered about the others. How did they fare and what were they going through right now?
I surveyed the room, wondering who we could get information from without sounding suspicious. My gaze lingered when I spotted centaurs at the tall tables. Their half-horse and half-human bodies were astonishing. I had heard stories, but always thought them too strange to be real. It was as if the gods couldn’t decide on what to make them.
At other tables, I spotted a few gnomes. They were similar in stature to dwarves, with similar strength. Physically, it was their noses that differentiated them—twice as big as a human’s nose. From what I’d been told, they had far grumpier personalities too. A pair of them gambled and argued over the outcome.
Two human men in the corner caught my eye. They wore big, simply cut robes like mine, but theirs were different colors—a dark forest green and an earth-toned brown. Like most of the people in the room, they had red scarves around their arms. I turned my head away before they caught me staring at them. I also suppressed my magic in case they might be wizards.
We swooped down on an empty table on the other side of the room. It was up against the wall and gave us a good view of everything. Jastillian left to get us food and secure us lodgings, while Rebekah and I kept an eye on everyone.
I drummed my fingers on the table, staring at the gnomes and centaurs while becoming lost in my thoughts. We would resupply and stay here for a day or two, but then what? Where would we go? The others could be anywhere and they could be in trouble. It was all my fault.
“It’s not your fault,” Rebekah said, reading my mind. “You couldn’t have known what would happen.”
I clenched my teeth and shook my head. “I should have known. I’m a wizard. I’m supposed to be the magic against magic.”
“I should be with her instead of here with you,” she said. “I have faith we’ll see them again. The princess and Prastian are very resourceful people.”
Rebekah was right. Krystal, Prastian, and the others were very resourceful. However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t worry about them.
Jastillian returned and sat back down. “I talked to the innkeeper, and he hadn’t seen anyone matching my descriptions of Prastian, the princess, or the others. He also said that we’re about two weeks away from Fairhaven.” Jastillian leaned in close and whispered, “I also got the feeling that we shouldn’t go there.”
“Why not?” Rebekah asked.
“The innkeeper seemed surprised that I should ask about it and made it sound dangerous.”
“Did you find out why?” I asked.
“I tried, but I couldn’t without rousing suspicion.”
“By the Inferno,” I said. “We need to find out why. The others may be heading there and may stumble upon whatever’s wrong.”
“First, we resupply,” Rebekah said. “We have some coin on us, and it should be good here. Next, we ask questions, find out more about Fairhaven, then search for the others.”
Our food and drinks were served, and we ate and drank until our bellies were full. We drank so much ale it sloshed in our stomachs. We had several helpings of everything. I ate plenty of vegetable soup and bread while the other two tore at legs of boar.
Afterwards, I leaned back in my chair, feeling guilty over how full I felt and how we would get a decent night’s sleep. Were the others experiencing hardship, or had they stumbled upon a village? Worse yet, did they run across another magical trap? Or were they at another inn in the city? Before we left, we were going to have to scour this city just to make sure.
The door to the inn was flung open and a young guard scanned the room. His eyes widened when he spotted us. They lingered, then he glanced away and kept his head down. He made his way to the robed figures in the corner.
The guard gestured wildly. One of the men he talked to leaned to the side. He smiled at us and nodded. I did the same. He returned to his position, and the young guard blocked him again.
“I don’t like the looks of this,” Rebekah said.
“Shall we find another inn, or is it too late?” I asked.
“It’s too late for that,” she said. “We’ve already paid, and leaving would look suspicious. They would track us to the next inn. I know I would. We’re exhausted. We need sleep. Let’s go back to our rooms. I’ll take first watch.”
We left our table and headed for the stairs, wading through the sea of drinking, eating, gambling people.
The door to the inn swung open, and an ogre strolled in. This one was well-dressed and armed much like the armor and weapons Premier had given Baal. For a second, I thought it
was
Baal and that Premier was going to stroll in right after him. Others in the room didn’t do more than glance at the door before going back to their food, conversations, or games. But my two companions didn’t.
Jastillian and Rebekah drew their axe and sword respectively. Half of those in the room pushed aside their chairs and stood up, drawing their own weapons. The rest of the people in the room got up and crept away.
The noise in the room ceased, and we three stood back to back, surrounded and outnumbered. I created a fireball and prepared to hurl as many of the simple spells as I could. Those warrior instincts of Rebekah’s and Jastillian’s were about to get us killed.
The two possible wizards rose from their table. They strolled over to us, and everyone parted around them. The green-robed one put a hand up, and the surrounding warriors lowered their weapons. I crushed the spell with my hand and reabsorbed the fire mana.
“You’re a wizard,” the brown-robed one said. The color of his robes matched his skin, but I couldn’t see the features of his face with his hood up. All I saw were his unusual gray eyes, trying to assess me.
I nodded. “Are you?”
The two ignored my question as they whispered to each other. The green-robed one asked, “Where are you from?”
“We’re from the south,” I said.
“You lie,” a woman said from behind.
Her skintight black leather body suit looked enticing, but the spiked mace she cradled said otherwise. It was pointed directly at me. She glared at me with fierce blue eyes. Magical energy surrounded her, and she poked me with it, trying to delve into me. I pushed it off with my will.
“You will answer my question,” the green-robed one said.
The woman chanted and the green-robed one joined her. They worked in tandem, their incantation piercing harder, digging into my mind for the truth. I flared my nostrils and focused, mumbling a spell to dismiss theirs. I created a shield for the three of us. Their power cracked at it like a hammer, but my shield held firm. The gray-eyed one didn’t join in.
“Hellsfire, what’s going on?” Rebekah asked.
“They’re performing a spell.” The muscles on my temples flexed. “I’m doing my best to block it, but I’m worried about all these armed people.”
“Don’t worry, lad,” Jastillian said. “We’ll hold them off.”
I latched onto my strongest mana and focused on that. The flame burned and all the light in the room grew brighter. Their attempts weakened, devoured by my fire.
“Enough,” the gray-eyed wizard said.
The wizards ceased their magic. The gray-eyed one drew back his hood and smiled. It was a kind smile, despite his strange eyes and rough face. His smile widened when he met Rebekah’s eyes.
“Forgive us,” he said.
Rebekah nodded, but didn’t lower her weapon.
“Malik, why did you stop us?” the green-robed wizard said. “We were just about to break them.”
“No, you weren’t, Dylan. This one’s strong.”
Dylan pulled back his hood, exposing a clean-shaven face and stern gaze. “He doesn’t look like it.”
“Things are rarely what they appear to be,” Malik said. “You should know that.”
Dylan spit in disgust. “Don’t go quoting me the old rules. I know them all. What should we do with them?”
“Stop being rude for one,” Malik said. He looked at me and said, “We know you had lodgings for the night, but if you would please come with us, Wizard…”
“Hellsfire,” I said.
“Hellsfire. We’ll show you and your friends around Romenia and place you in much more secure lodgings. There are also very important people who want to meet you.”
“Who?”
“The Elemental Council.”
My back stiffened and I gasped. They weren’t in Fairhaven. They were here. Out of all the things I’d expected, this wasn’t one of them. This changed everything. They could help us, but what made them abandon Fairhaven? Renak’s warning floated through my mind.
I regained my composure and nodded. “All right. We’ll go with you.”
Rebekah and Jastillian put away their weapons. Everyone else in the inn did the same, yet their eyes never left us. The three of us exited the inn and followed Malik and Dylan. The woman with the mace trailed us.