by Eric Vall
If we got involved in this uprising against the king, it would assuredly delay our travels. We gained nothing from this act, and I wasn’t the type to be selfless, but perhaps it would be fun. My mind went back and forth on the matter, and before long, I drifted off to sleep still unsure of what path to take.
All that I knew for certain was that the fate of this continent rested in my almighty hands.
Then I realized something else.
If I unseated the king from his throne, I could take his place.
Chapter 11
We awoke the next morning to brilliant sunlight streaming through the hole in the top of our tent. After a quick morning meal, we broke camp and set out for the next city. The unremitting chill had been replaced by the all too familiar desert heat, but before Rana could launch into another one of her comical but long-winded complaints, Carmedy passed around our daily cooling powders and salve which kept the fox relatively quiet.
The hours crawled by, and as the sun climbed into the sky, the outline of the oasis city began to come into view. When I first laid eyes on the large city, I thought it was a mirage for a few moments. Tall buildings with dome-shaped roofs stretched across the sand, surrounded by bent palm trees that wriggled before my eyes. The myriad of colors blurred together in the heat shimmer of the horizon. It was a beautiful and welcome sight to behold something, anything other than endless hills of sand, but was it truly there or was the heat showing me what I wanted to see?
I rubbed at my eyes. blinked several times, and my vision began to focus. The buildings and trees that laid before us began to settle, and the sounds of the city soon replaced the silence of the desert. We had finally reached the oasis city of Ficcha.
As our party rode through the streets, I gazed around and took in my new surroundings. This place was such a stark contrast to the harsh desert that we had left behind. Ficcha teemed with life and energy, and the surrounding buildings were so tall that they seemed to reach into the sky. The material from which they were crafted seemed to be some sort of clay designed specifically to withstand the heat of the desert environment. The walls were colored a wide variety of shades. Pink, red, yellow, orange all mixed in my eyes. Women leaned out of windows above our heads and flapped their sheets, dumped buckets of discarded food and wastewater, and called out to people whom they knew in the street. Camels plodded by lazily as their riders urged them on and riding lizards slunk in and out of the crowds.
“Does anyone see anything that looks like a place we can sell our loot?” Rana frowned as she raised a paw to her eyes and looked back and forth between the rows of buildings. “I can’t make anything out, all the signs are written in Valasarian.”
“There’s a place,” Annalíse said casually and pointed to a shop a few buildings down from us.
“How did you--” the fox began to say.
“I’m good with languages, remember?” The swordswoman shrugged as she steered Scylla over to an available hitching post.
“Right.” Rana stretched out the word to indicate her suspicion. Carmedy and Morrigan steered Xerxes and Tiberius over to the hitching post and the five of us dismounted and discuss our plans.
“Alright, so who’s going to stay behind and watch the lizards this time?” Annalíse asked as she looked around at the rest of us. Carmedy opened her mouth to speak, but Rana held up a paw to stop her as she shook her head.
“Don’t even think about it, pussycat.”
“But I--” the feline started to say.
The fox gave the cat a knowing look. “Save it, not gonna happen.”
“Actually, Rana, it’s been a while since you’ve taken a turn,” Annalíse said. “Why don’t you do it?”
“But you need me to help trade the loot,” the fox-tailed woman whined. “I’m the haggling expert.”
“And that’s always your excuse for why you shouldn’t be the one to stay outside,” I said with a chuckle, and the fox squinted her blue eyes at me.
“We can manage without you just this once,” Annalíse said as she moved to pick up one of the treasure chests from the back of the sand sled.
“Oh, alright, you guys go ahead and have all the fun,” Rana moaned and puffed her bangs out of her eyes.
“We won’t be gone long,” I said with a smile and made my way to the sand sled to pick up a few of the wooden boxes. Carmedy and Morrigan retrieved the ones that remained, and we began to make our way to the trade shop.
“You better not, or you’ll never hear the end of it!” Rana called after us as we strode away.
It didn’t take us long to sell off our goods. The proprietor offered us reasonable prices which sped things along and kept us from launching into an extended battle of bartering, and within half an hour, our haggling was done. Once a deal had been struck, we traded our loot for some of Valasara’s native currency called Yaraa. The shopkeeper counted out rectangular pieces of paper of various colors, each color indicating a different monetary value.
This form of currency was new to me, and I quickly deemed it favorable. The paper bills were thin and lightweight, far lighter than gold coins. The Yaraa was not only easier to transport than gold pieces, but they were also less conspicuous. When paying for various goods and services, I always had to remove bulging bags of coins from my void pocket. This act drew unnecessary attention, not only from those nearby but from the person whom we were paying. While anyone who was foolish enough to try to rob us would have their body and soul crushed with my dark powers, it was an annoyance that could now be avoided. As we walked back to the hitching post where we had left Rana with our riding lizards, sounds of music began to fill the air. The music was pleasing to the ear, and I glanced around to see where it was coming from.
My eyes soon rested on a crowd that had started to form on the other side of the street, and I saw that in front of the crowd was a group of performers. A tall lanky man swayed back and forth as he played a sprightly tune on a wooden flute and a short bald man sat cross legged beside him and banged on a large drum that looked to be almost as big as he was. A woman with long blonde hair accompanied them on a tambourine. As she danced to the rhythm, she spun with glee and twirled the colorful skirts that she wore around her creating a mystifying dizzying rainbow.
The lively show was entertaining, but Rana was waiting for us to return, so I turned away from the music.
I noticed that Morrigan and Annalíse had also paused to watch the performers, and I gestured to them to get their attention. Annalíse turned to go, but then she stopped again.
“Wait, where’s Carmedy?” the swordswoman asked as she looked up and down the street.
“She cannot have gotten far,” Morrigan said as she studied the people that bustled in the street. I too began to search the area for the small black cat.
“Not again,” Annalíse groaned as she stood on her tiptoes to see over the heads of the people. “How many times do we have to tell her--”
Morrigan cut her off as she pointed. “There she is. I should have guessed as much,” the elf said under her breath.
No sooner had my gaze followed the direction in which the pale elf indicated, I spotted Carmedy and I did my best to stifle a laugh. To my amusement, the cat had joined the street performers. In the short time that it had taken us to find her, the feline had taken up a tambourine and proceeded to dance. Carmedy giggled and tapped her tambourine on her hip and attempted to follow the dance steps of the blonde woman. It didn’t take the petite feline to pick up the steps and soon, she and the female performer were dancing in sync to the jaunty tune.
My heart skipped a beat as Carmedy moved her hips to the music. I somehow found her dancing alluring even though I knew she hadn’t meant it to be. As I watched her, my thoughts drifted to Isolda. She had loved to dance and had often goaded me into joining her even though I was unskilled in such things. That hadn’t seemed to matter to her though. Isolda had seemed satisfied enough just because I had tried.
A sad smile came to my lips, an
d I forced my mind back to the present. Carmedy was quite talented, and I wouldn’t have expected the messy scatterbrained alchemist to be such a good dancer. The crowd that watched them laughed and clapped in time to the music and tossed coins as the entertainment ensued.
Morrigan raised a white eyebrow, her usual blank expression still in place that made it near impossible to tell whether she was amused or annoyed. Meanwhile, Annalíse sighed, shook her head, and then began to weave through the crowd. Once the freckled woman had reached Carmedy and the group of performers, Annalíse wasted no time grabbing the green-eyed cat by the wrist and pulling her away.
Carmedy barely had time to hand her tambourine back to the dancer before Annalíse steered her back toward us.
“Carmedy, what have we told you about running off?” Annalíse said with the cat in tow as we made our way back to Rana.
“Um, you said I should never do it, and that it wastes time or something like that,” Carmedy tapped her chin, “but I promise that I only meant to stay for a second. I just wanted to watch, and then that girl handed me a tambourine and invited me up there to dance. I couldn’t say no, that would have been rude,” the cat said innocently and shrugged her shoulders.
Annalíse mumbled something under her breath and continued to pull Carmedy along the way that a mother did a child. When we finally made it back to Rana, the fox was leaned against the side of the sand sled with a look of extreme boredom upon her face.
“What took you guys so long?” Rana said once we reached her. “Did you have trouble trading our loot? I told you, you should have brought me along.”
“No, someone decided to have a little adventure.” Annalíse nodded to Carmedy who gave the fox a sheepish grin.
“What did you do this time, Carmedy?” Rana said with a wry grin. “Chasing after pies again?” I chuckled at Rana’s speculation and was reminded of the last time that Carmedy had run off. We had scoured the streets for the little feline and had found her devouring desserts in a bakery.
“No, there were some really cool street performers, and they were playing music and dancing… but now that you mention it, I am getting kinda hungry,” Carmedy said as she rubbed at her stomach. “Did anyone see any places to eat around here?”
I chuckled at the feline. “Why don’t we find a place to stay first and put our things away? Then we can find somewhere to eat.”
“Okay, I guess I can wait till then,” Carmedy said with a thoughtful glance down at her belly.
“What was the name of that inn Makar told us about? The Golden something?” Rana asked as she ran a paw through her messy red curls.
“The Golden Lamb.” Annalíse nodded. “Makar said it was near the center of the city.”
“Well, this place is pretty big,” Rana said as she glanced around at the towering buildings that lined the busy street. “I’ll ask around and get some directions to save us some time.” The fox quickly disappeared into the crowd that filled the sandy road, and within a few minutes, she returned.
“So, is it far from here?” Annalíse asked as Rana approached us.
“Just about a fifteen-minute walk,” the fox-tailed woman said as she thumbed over her shoulder toward the center of town. “The guy I talked to also said the Golden Lamb has a stable to keep our riding animals, so we don’t have to worry about leaving them outside or anything.”
Rana then turned to Carmedy with a grin. “And you’ll be happy to know that the Golden Lamb offers some of the best food in the city.”
“Oh, yay, I can’t wait!” The black-haired cat clasped her hands together excitedly and licked her lips. “I’m going to order everything on the menu.”
“Carmedy, does anything else occupy your mind besides food?” Morrigan raised a white eyebrow.
“Well, of course, silly,” the petite feline waved her hand. “I think about herbs, and medicines, and chemical reactions and…” Carmedy prattled on, and relayed her extensive list to Morrigan, but my attention soon shifted to Annalíse. The female warrior squinted her as she stared into the crowd of people a few yards down the street.
Suddenly, her eyes widened with fear.
“Let’s get going,” the freckled swordswoman said hastily. “Rana, which street do we need to take to get to the Golden Lamb?”
“It’s always rush, rush, rush with you Annalíse.” Rana sighed as she shook her head. “You always have to hurry on to the next place. Don’t you ever just want to slow it down for a bit and enjoy the journey? You know, stop and smell the roses or whatever.”
“Just tell me what direction we need to take Rana,” Annalíse said impatiently as she glanced back into the crowd nervously.
“Alright, alright no need to get testy.” The fox raised her paws in the air defensively. “We just need to take this street until we get to that yellow building and then turn right.”
“Fine, then let’s--” Annalíse stopped speaking, and her freckled face turned pale as she stared past me.
I turned to look over my shoulder to see what could have caused her to react so. It only took me a moment to find it. There in the crowd were the two soldiers from the glacial continents, and they were headed in our direction. The two men carried their fearsome looking bear’s helmets as they looked up and down the street.
Suddenly, one of the men’s eyes rested on Annalíse. He grabbed the arm of his companion as he spoke to him and then pointed our way. The other man turned his head in the direction in which the soldier had indicated and his eyes narrowed upon seeing the tall female warrior.
Like me, Rana had turned to look, and when she saw the soldiers, she gave me a quick glance before she turned back to Annalíse and opened her mouth. Before the fox could speak, Annalíse hurriedly turned on her heels and took her first running step.
Then my fingers closed around her bicep.
“Let me go!” she hissed as she tried to yank her arm out of my grip. The warrior woman was incredibly strong, but she might as well of been trying to lift a stool into the air while she sat on top of it. My fingers could crush coal into diamonds if I so desired.
“Stay here,” I said. “I will take care of them.”
“No, I--” the warrior woman started to say, but then her eyes darted toward the two men. They were a few dozen yards away, but she still reached for her weapon.
“Annalíse!” Rana hissed when the warrior pulled Bloodscale from her back.
The surrounding citizens screamed at the unexpected sight of the weapon and panic spread. People rushed this way and that, clutching their shopping bags and their children’s hands as they ran away. Some tripped over one another as they fled. Others rushed down the street to seek sanctuary while some concealed themselves within the confines of the buildings.
In mere moments, only I, my minions, and the soldiers remained in the street.
“Who are you, and why do you pursue her?” I shouted to the men as I nodded to Annalíse.
“We’re here to reclaim the princess and return her to Tamarisch,” the tallest of them yelled back to me.
Carmedy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Princess? Wait, you’re a princess, Annalíse, like with a crown and everything?”
Rana and Morrigan also wore shocked expressions, but Annalíse didn’t respond to the small feline. Instead, she addressed the men who pursued her.
“I’m not going back!” Annalíse shouted as her eyes darted back and forth between the three groups of soldiers. She pointed each of her weapons at one of the different groups as they approached, and I realized that I was still holding onto the arm that didn’t hold the sword. I let go so she could have freedom of movement, but then she just reached for her second sword.
Watching for a brief moment, the tall soldier who had spoken before raised a hand to signal the other men to stop. Seemingly satisfied by something, he then made a quick hand gesture and the soldiers began to walk forward with caution, their weapons still sheathed.
“We’ve been given strict orders to return you to our kingd
om,” the lead soldier explained as he and the others tightened their formation around us. Both he and his men had the same chestnut colored hair as Annalíse. “Stop this nonsense and come with us this instant.”
“If you want to take me, you’ll have to kill me,” Annalíse seethed, “because the only way I’m going with you is if my body is cold, and my soul has left this world. Otherwise, I’m not going anywhere.”
“We were ordered to bring you back unharmed,” the head soldier replied, but from the way he narrowed his eyes at Annalíse, I suspected that he was considering disobeying his orders.
“If she doesn’t wish to return with you, she stays here,” I said firmly.
“You dare to interfere, peasant? Stand aside, this matter has nothing to do with you.” The tall man drew his sword and pointed it at my chin. The other soldiers drew their weapons as well and pointed them at Carmedy, Rana, and Morrigan.
“Gee, pointing swords at women, you really know how to treat a girl,” Rana snorted in disbelief.
Carmedy squealed, and her green eyes widened with fear at the threatening weapon. “Y-you wouldn’t hurt us, would you? We’re Annalíse’s friends.”
“I don’t care who you are,” the tall lanky soldier sneered. “If you attempt to stop us from taking the princess, we will cut you down without question. We were instructed not to harm the princess, but this courtesy has not been extended to you. I won’t tell you again, stand aside.”
As the man spoke, he attempted to shove me aside, but I grabbed hold of his upper arm and yanked him toward me so that we stood eye to eye. The soldier looked at me in surprise before the glare returned to his eyes.
“And I won’t tell you again,” I hissed, “she stays here.”
Before the soldier could offer up a retort, I punched him square in the jaw, and felt most of his teeth crumble into dust along with most of his jaw. The hit sent him flying backward, he crashed into the soldier who had accompanied him, and they both crumpled to the ground in a clumsy heap of limbs.
