by Lan Dang
Chapter 11: Questors
Time passed but because there was no clock, Eric was not sure what time of day it was. He did not fall asleep because he was not used to the bed and he kept tossing and turning. All he was aware of was that he was hungry and his stomach growled loudly to confirm this. As if in answer to an unspoken question, a knock sounded. He got up and opened the door cautiously. To his surprise, a young boy, about ten years of age, dressed in ragged peasant clothes and standing there barefoot, bowed before him. Despite his youthful appearance, the odd striking feature about him was that he had hair, white as snow, but his face looked very young.
He did not meet Eric’s eyes as he said, “Dinner is about to be served. Please follow me.”
Eric was surprised to hear such a mature and deep voice emanating from this boy but since this planet was alien to him, the people were also very alien as well. He would actually be quite shocked if he didn’t see any green slimy aliens with big heads running around.
He nodded his head and followed the boy down the hallway. There was a clanking sound everywhere the boy walked because his feet were bound together in metal chains. Other than that, the boy’s steps were very quiet and agile, almost soundless. They passed several silver doors and down a flight of stairs and made a left turn where they entered a large room, whose wide double doors were open.
The spacious room was lit up by a magnificent crystal chandelier which sparkled with dozens of candles. There were five rows of tables and he noticed that a majority of the seats that lined the tables were still empty. Some of the seats were occupied by guests who had come in before him. Others, like himself, were beginning to file in, one by one, led by little boys with white hair. Food was already on the tables. There were grilled chicken, slices of ham, poached eggs, bread rolls, baked potatoes, raw vegetables, apple pies, and a variety of fruits all in shiny silver bowls. The utensils consisted of silver spoons, forks, knives and they all looked new. The plates and cups were made of fine porcelain.
Two of the tables were occupied by men in suited armor and one of the tables had guests who wore silk robes. The table at the far end remained empty and the table he was being led to was already occupied by people who wore cloaks like himself. The young boy drew out a chair for him and politely bowed before departing. He sat down and saw the name tags placed on the napkins and realized that all of the seats were specifically designated for each guest. He glanced around at the guests already seated at his table but their faces were all covered up by the cloaks that they wore. He had a feeling they did not want to be bothered for their faces did not turn at all when he sat down. He smiled anyways but no one seemed to acknowledge his friendly gesture. They all kept to themselves and their eyes were all downcast as if inspecting the spotless silverware for dust particles.
Eric respected their need for privacy so he turned his head around to examine the other guests sitting on the other tables. The men who wore silk robes looked like upper class politicians. Their mouths were constantly chattering happily away as they greeted one another and quickly engaged in conversation. They were all rather plump and pale, some tall and some short, but they all seemed to be having a good time. In contrast to his quiet table, Eric did not mind switching seats and joining them for company. The other table that seated the men in suited armor was relatively quiet except for an occasional clanking sound as the metal rubbed against each other when they shook hands. He guessed them to be some sort of guard but they looked different than the guards he encountered earlier in the day. They were well-mannered and serene. He guessed them to be higher ranked, maybe even knights.
As he glanced around at all the guests, he realized there were no females. He thought to himself. “This is odd.”
The guests were not particularly interesting and the atmosphere felt oddly cold and overly unpleasant. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way but there were no signs of laughter or fun. It was not at all as he expected it to be. If it wasn’t for his hungry stomach, he would have opted to be in his room instead. Eric watched with slight envy as the politicians chatted endlessly and smiled at one another. That was when he noticed the table at the far end remained still empty.
No one had touched the food on the tables yet. He thought to himself. “They must be waiting for the last guests to arrive.”
He was right for at that moment, a huge group came pouring in. They were tall and heavy built, appearing like giants to him. They were at least seven foot tall and they all had tanned skin and wore clothes that looked like they were made from animal hides. Their hair was dark and unkempt and long, extending down their waist. They were loud and expressed jubilation at the amount of food on the tables and each took their own seat, paying no attention to the name tags. He couldn’t help but stare at them and then, one of them caught his eye and grinned. Eric, rather embarrassed to be caught gawking, immediately turned around to his own table.
Everyone politely waited as the few remaining guests arrived and the seats were filled. Suddenly, all heads turned to the front as a loud bell chime sounded. As if out of nowhere, the two Elders appeared, dressed in the same dark cloak, that they wore in the afternoon. All was silent, conversations were dropped, and all eyes were focused on the two Elders.
One of the Elders stepped forward. His voice echoed throughout the room.
“We would like to thank everyone for coming to today’s dinner. It is an honor to be in the presence of your company. You have all been invited to stay here for a special reason, which with your patience, will come to light soon. Some of you have traveled from far places and one of you, in particular, just arrived this very day.”
There was a slight pause as his head turned to Eric’s direction. He continued. “So please, enjoy yourselves and share in the plentiful food that was graciously prepared for your pleasure.” With that, both the Elders vanished in the same manner that they had appeared.
Conversations gradually filled the room as everyone turned around excitedly and started to eat. Eric, himself, was so ravenous that he gathered enough food on his plate to feed three people. He wasn’t bashful like the others who sat at his table. He had not eaten for several days and he was going to make up for it today. He helped himself to everything and even had room for seconds. He only stopped to look at his cup which was filled with a dark liquid. He decided to taste it a bit, out of caution, but it tasted so addictive, that he drank the entire cup within seconds. It tasted sweet, not sugary sweet but the raw, organic sweet that fruits had. There was no alcohol, which he feared at first. As soon as his cup was empty, the white-haired boys would come and fill his cup. He smiled politely, not used to being waited upon.
As time wore on and dinner was finished, the guests started to disperse, as they were individually led to their rooms by the same white-haired boys. Some of the guests stayed to talk with each other but Eric sighed as he looked at his rather empty table. He motioned for one of the boys to escort him to his room. When he arrived at his door, he politely said, “Thank you” and walked inside. Fatigue overtook him and he immediately fell fast asleep.
Eric didn’t know what time he woke up. The thick drapes, covering the windows, prevented sunlight from seeping through. But he didn’t care. He didn’t have to go to school here and his mom wasn’t going to wake him up so he could sleep all day if he wanted. He stretched lazily on the soft fur comforter. He felt like he had never felt before, well-rested. The bed and the food last night, especially the sweet drink, must have done wonders for him. He looked at the scrapes and cuts on his hands; they were almost completely healed.
He muttered to himself. “Yet another oddity.”
Eric ceased to be surprised at all the unusual things that seemed to happen here. He yawned and stretched as he finally resolved to get out of bed. The first thing he noticed was that someone had delivered breakfast on the round table near the window. There were even fresh flowers on a vase which he
knew wasn’t there yesterday. He smiled to himself as he opened the drapes covering the window and the bright sunlight flooded the dark room. He sat down and helped himself to fresh rows of bread, which he smeared with the chunk of butter and silver knife provided. He also ate slices of ham and poached eggs, probably leftovers from last night. On top of that, he laughed happily as he saw the dark, sweet liquid from last night which he drank in several quick gulps.
He remarked, “This tastes so delicious. I wonder what it is.”
When he had finished breakfast, he looked outside the window at the nice weather and the crowds of people bustling about, as they went around their daily business. He opened the window and noises filled the air and a gentle breeze came wafting through. The breeze brought the smells of fresh food, flowers, and many other scents he couldn’t quite make out, into the room. He smiled happily, thinking that this place might not be so bad after all. He went into the bathroom where he noticed fresh cloth wipes and a new pair of clothes hanging on the walls. The water was warm and inviting as he took a quick bath, soaking in the bath salts that were placed in the water. The warmth of the water made him feel comfortable and relaxed.
He thought to himself, “I wonder who’s in charge of room service here. I have to really thank this person. All this must have been done this morning when I was sound asleep and didn’t hear anyone coming in.”
He came out of the tub, dripping wet, and wiped himself with the cloth wipes provided. He changed to his new pair of clothes and tossed the old clothes on the floor, including the cloak. He walked out of the bathroom and decided to venture outside of this castle.
He didn’t quite remember the way out but he was willing to give it a try. It was better than staying inside his room all day. He walked down the hallway, past several doors, and down several flight of stairs until he was sure he was on the bottom floor of the castle. When he opened the door he thought was the door that led outside, it opened into a room instead. Several pairs of eyes stared at him as he muttered an apology and closed the door. Fearing that he was lost, he kept walking back and forth down the hallways, hoping to run into someone. He was lucky. He ran into one of the cloaked figures walking by and asked him for directions to the outside. The cloaked figure did not speak but led him to the exit of the castle. He thanked him and went outside.
The bright sunlight made him blink as his eyes grew accustomed to it. He happily walked out and immersed himself in the crowd, although some people stopped to stare at him.
One person said, “He looks familiar. I thought I saw him yesterday but he was wearing different clothing.”
Another person asked, “Are you sure that’s him?”
Eric quickly went elsewhere to avoid the spectators that were gawking at him as if he were an alien.
He made several turns and accidentally bumped into a young boy, who looked about his age, but was taller with short, brown, curly hair, and big, brown eyes.
The boy exclaimed, “Hey, watch where you’re going.” He rubbed his shoulder.
Eric said, “Sorry about that. I was in a hurry.”
The boy looked at him curiously, his expression going from fury to interest.
The young boy said, “I’ve never seen you before. Where are you from?”
Eric had to quickly come up with a lie. It wouldn’t make sense to say he was new since they never have any visitors from outside the kingdom. He decided to tell a partial truth that he was one of the visitors that were invited to stay in the castle. But before he could say anything, the young boy continued.
He smiled as if he was on some secret. His voice was lowered to a whisper. “Are you one of the Questors? It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything if you are. Just nod your head in case they’re listening. I’ll keep your secret. I promise.”
Eric had no idea what this boy was talking about but it would save him from coming up with a believable lie. He simply nodded his head and decided to play along.
The boy smiled with joy. “I knew it. That’s why you seem different. You know, like you’re not one of us, the common folk. Is that why you’re in a hurry? Are you trying to escape from your Questor pals?”
Eric had no choice but to continue with the lie. He nodded his head.
The boy bit his lip. “No wonder you guys usually don’t talk that much. And you’re all very secretive but don’t be afraid, I won’t say anything. So why are you out? You usually don’t go outside of that castle and you guys usually are in uniform.”
Eric looked at him questioningly. “Uniform?”
The boy rolled his eyes. “You know, the dark cape with the hood and that odd symbol? That’s what all the Questors wear.”
Eric realized now what he was talking about. The boy was referring to the cloaked figures in the castle who worked for the Elders. They must be called ‘Questors.’ He smiled now, comforted by this piece of information.
He replied, “I am out on personal leave. That’s why I’m out of uniform.”
The boy stared at him, up and down, and asked, “But why were you in such a hurry? It looked like you were being chased by someone. Are you sure you’re not trying to escape? Like maybe you did something wrong…”
Eric shook his head vehemently. “Of course not. Do you think I could escape my fellow Questors if they really were after me?”
The boy looked Eric in the eye and thought it over. He finally said, “That’s true. I believe you.”
Eric smiled, relieved that the worse was over. He smiled in a friendly way and said, “My name is Eric. What’s yours?”
The boy smiled back. He was quite nice and friendly when he wasn’t so suspicious. “My name is Emmers.” He laughed out loud. “That’s funny. Both our names start with the same letter. What a coincidence.”
“So Emmers, since I’ve been cooped up in the castle for so long, can you show me any places worth seeing here?”
Emmers grinned. “Sure thing. The kingdom is rather large so I can’t show you everything. But I can just show you where I live and the familiar places that I usually go to.”
Eric nodded his head and replied, “That’s fine with me. Lead the way, tourist guide.”
Emmers looked at him and asked, “What does ‘tourist guide’ mean?”
Eric had forgotten that the people here were not always familiar with all the vocabulary words that humans used. Although he could translate into their language, there were certain words that could not be translated.
He explained, “It just means that you’re the person who is familiar with the territory and can show me different places to see.”
Emmers smiled. “Oh I get it now. Come, follow me.”
Eric walked behind Emmers as he showed him the school he attended. It was a relatively large stone building but the odd feature was that it was a skyscraper. It had multiple floors which Emmers explained, was sectioned off, according to their ages. Each room on each floor taught a different subject, appropriate for that age level. It reminded Eric of a one-stop mall which sold everything except the concept was being applied to schools. He had a feeling Mr. Hayden would not approve of this.
Emmers asked, “So I’m curious. What is it like being a Questor? It must be a big responsibility. I mean working for the Elders. That’s like a dream come true. Of course, you know that since you were chosen as a little kid. I wasn’t chosen though.” He looked down in disappointment.
Eric tried to console him. “Seriously, it’s not at all what you think it is. I’ve never seen the Elders before. I am lower ranked than most of my fellow Questors so I just do what they tell me to do. There is no freedom, nothing. I feel like I’m locked up in prison.”
Emmers looked at him in disgust. “Don’t say that. Everyone wants to be a Questor. They are hand-selected by the Elders, themselves, and trained to fight. They have powers too, I heard. And they get to live in that grand castle.” His voice ha
d a tint of jealousy.
Eric shook his head. “Seriously, that castle is so scary and dark. It feels really gloomy and I always get lost with all the different rooms and floors.”
“But don’t you get really good food and servants too? I know, because my mom works in the castle as one of their cooks. She says it’s really nice inside but then again, she’s only allowed in certain rooms and there are always servants escorting and watching her.”
“So your mom works there? I never knew that. How about your dad? What does he do?”
Emmers puffed out his chest as he proudly answered his question. “He works in the stables. He takes care of the horses for the knights. Sometimes, when I don’t have to go to school, I help him out.”
Eric was interested. “Really? Can I see the horses right now?”
Emmers looked at him, curiously. “Sure. But what’s so interesting about them? They’re just horses.”
Eric had a feeling he would need a horse if he was to escape from here. There was no way he could run out of here if the Elders sent their knights after him. He had to have a horse, a fast one and if it had wings, that would be even better.
Emmers led him through the crowds, stopping once in awhile to talk to his friends. Eric noticed that there were many guards stationed at every corner. He saw their suspicious eyes following him around. No doubt that word had spread among the guards that a stranger had entered from outside the kingdom’s stone wall and was now living among them. Even some of the common folk here were aware of this information and news had spread fast since yesterday. Whatever the case was, the guards were very suspicious of him and were determined to keep a close watch on him. Eric gulped nervously, not daring to wonder what would have happened to him had the Elders not intervened.
Emmers came back and led Eric to the back of the castle. The stable was further away from the castle and beyond that, there was a green pasture that they were led to graze. Emmers told Eric to wait there while he walked up to one of the keepers, who was in his forties, rather slender and tall. They talked for a bit before they both came to him.
“This is my dad. Dad, this is Eric. He’s a new friend of mine. He wants to see the horses.”
Eric smiled and held his hand out in a friendly shake. Emmers’ dad smiled and shook his stretched hand. “Sure.”
They followed Emmers’ dad to the stables where he proudly showcased the horses. There were about twenty horses in the stables. They were all good-looking horses, well-fed and taken care of. Their coat was sleek and glossy but unfortunately, none of them had wings. Eric sighed, thinking about his escape. It might be more difficult than he thought, combined with all the guards watching his every movement.
Emmers’ dad talked about the horses and Eric nodded politely. Eventually, Emmers and his dad went off to talk privately, leaving Eric alone to inspect the horses. One horse, in particular, caught his eye and it seemed to stare at him, almost as if it knew him. Eric went over to look at this horse, whose black, shiny coat was captivating. He reached over to stroke its head and it stood there, calmly and patiently, as he patted the horse.
Eric smiled. “This is the horse I want.”
He leaned over to whisper in its ear. “I shall name you Ebony.” The horse responded by licking his outstretched hand.
Just then, Emmers and his dad came over.
Emmers’ dad said, “That is one of the few remaining ancient horses. When I started working, it was already here. It still looks the same as the day I first laid my eyes on it. Unfortunately, I have changed.”
He laughed as he ran one hand through his thinning, grey hair. He continued, “No one knows its age exactly. Some people say it has a spell on it. It should have died a long time ago but yet, it still has the body of a young, strong horse.”
Eric stared at the horse and he believed Emmers’ dad when he said this horse was ancient. It looked very wise and given its age, it should be one of the smartest horses in this stable. Eric remained confident with his choice. He politely thanked Emmers and his dad for showing him the horses and hoped they could meet again sometime. Eric walked back to the castle and to his room to lay out his plan for his escape.
