by Tj Dixon
“Thank you Hinata. I’m counting on you.” Peter says and I feel the mental link get cut off.
Now how am I going to manage this? Getting out of the tent should at least be easy, since I am near the exit and it isn’t unusual to leave the tent to get water. If I go to the water tent and then leave it with a bucket of water I should avoid the guards’ suspicion. That should then let me leave in any direction I want to, because the guards have no idea which tent any of us are from.
If I head for the far end of the camp hopefully I can slip away unnoticed. The guards mostly seem focused on keeping the peace rather than keeping us here so they are mostly around the large central tents like this one. Perhaps that’s because there’s nowhere to go, but right now I have somewhere I need to be. I get up and Lena looks at me questioningly.
“I’ll be back in a bit.” I tell Lena.
“Where are you going?” She asks quietly.
“Just to the water tent. I can’t sleep so I may as well make myself useful.” I tell Lena.
“I’ll come with you.” Lena says but I shake my head.
“There’s no point getting up just because I am. Try to get back to sleep. I’m sorry I woke you.” I tell Lena softly, trying not to wake Sarah or anyone else.
“Ok.” Lena says sleepily and to my relief I realise she is quite happy to stay here where it is warm.
I try not to wake anyone as I step over the few people between me and the exit. Even at this time of the day, just after sunset, the water tent looks as busy as ever with the usual queue. When there are thousands of refugees all in need of water and only a dozen water mages at a time it is no wonder that the tent is always crowded. We managed to get enough water for our tent during the day so I shouldn’t really be going there now but the guards don’t know that.
Although the water tent is within sight of our tent the end of the queue is not. I had hoped the queue would be a bit smaller at this time of day. If I queue for an hour or two Peter will be in even greater danger as he waits outside the gate. But what else can I do?
Without any choice I follow the winding queue and join the end of it, even though I don’t really want the water. I can’t waste the precious water though, so I’ll have to drop the bucket off at one of the tents near the far end before leaving the camp. I’m in the queue for over an hour before the water tent is even in sight again.
I am almost at the water tent when I see ten mages in dark robes enter my people’s tent. They leave the tent a few minutes later looking very unhappy. I don’t sense any magic used though and they were clearly Contractians so they don’t seem to have harmed my people. Perhaps they were looking for me, but right now helping Peter comes first. I’ll find out what they wanted later.
Finally I enter the water tent. The twelve exhausted water mages are sitting behind their usual wooden desks in the middle of the tent. There are huge stacks of wooden buckets at the entrance. Between me and the water mages there are about twenty people still but that shouldn’t take long. I take a bucket and continue queueing. Like I expected it really isn’t long until it is my turn.
“Next.” The tired young mage calls out. I feel really sorry for her as I put my bucket on her desk. Water quickly fills the bucket. “Next.”
I quickly pick up the bucket and take it away as the next person puts their bucket on the desk. I leave the tent and notice those ten dark robed mages seem to be searching the water queue. I leave before they can spot me if I am who they’re looking for, which seems likely. I make my way as planned to the far end of the camp and put my bucket of water near the entrance of the furthest tent. I then hurry out of the camp before anyone notices me.
I don’t know my way around the streets but my earth sense comes in handy here and the gates are both obvious. It is also obvious which gate Peter must mean because most of the guards seem focused on one of the two city gates. So it must be the other gate since he said he was furthest from the enemy.
I walk through the streets quickly. I want to run but I don’t want to attract too much attention. The few people that I do pass are all walking, so I keep to a walk too. I am grateful for my earth sense because the city streets are a bit like a maze. Finally though, the gates are almost within sight. As I turn this next corner they will be right in front of me.
The question will be how to convince the guards to let Peter and everyone in. I stop just before turning the corner and consider my options. As I am thinking I feel a hand on my left shoulder.
Chapter 29 (Peter)
“It’s safe now, but be quick.” Hinata tells me through the mind stone.
“Thank you!” I tell her very gratefully. I then look up at everyone and smile. “Hold my hands. We can enter the city now.”
“We made it.” Rin smiles weakly and takes my hand first. Midori quickly holds my other hand and then Hermes holds onto the same one as Rin but closer to my wrist.
I port us right in front of the gates. They quickly open outwards slightly, with a gap of about two feet for us to pass through. There are twenty mages standing on the other side in plain green mage robes, alert and ready to fight. Behind them is Hinata. Her aura seems a bit odd, darker than usual, but now is no time to worry about that. We walk quickly through the gates. I would have run, but I don’t want the guards panicking and attacking us.
As soon as we are through the gates they slam shut behind us. To my shock every one of the twenty mages then bows deeply to us and remains bowed for a good three seconds before standing tall.
“Welcome back from your mission, Lady Fleetfoot.” The mage at the centre of the line says and she appears to be looking at Hermes. Hermes blinks in shock but after a moment recovers and nods.
“Thank you.” Hermes says with a smile, trying to sound confident but actually sounding a bit hesitant.
“Lady Hoshi will escort you and your employees to your accommodation. I hope this is acceptable but under the circumstances we can’t leave the city gates undefended.”
“It is acceptable. Please keep up the good work.” Hermes says sounding a bit more confident now.
“Of course, Lady Fleetfoot!”
“This way please.” Hinata says beckoning to us.
Hermes nods politely and follows Hinata away from the gates along the main street. We follow a few feet behind Hermes. I get the impression this is what a real noble might expect from her employees and from their expressions it is exactly what the mages guarding the city gates expected.
We turn into a side street and get halfway down it before Hinata turns and grins at us. From her aura it is forced, but given the circumstances I could hardly expect her to be happy. Her people have been uprooted and forced to become refugees. She has now not only lost most of her family, or if you count Asuna as lost then her whole family, but she has now lost her home as well.
“How have you all been?” Hinata asks with forced cheerfulness.
“We’ve survived.” I tell her with a shrug. “You don’t need to put on a brave front for us though. What will you do now? Head back to your people?”
“I found an inn that actually has a room spare. Right now spare rooms are about as precious as water in a desert. It isn’t cheap or fancy but if you want to stay there I can show you where it is. Oh and it’s already been paid for so the next three days starting from the morning are free.” Hinata tells me with that forced smile still on her face.
“That would help.” I admit.
“I’m amazed you managed to find a spare room for us, let alone one that had already been paid for.” Rin says and so am I. I’m amazed she even looked for a room. I’ll assume that isn’t why she took so long letting us into the city though.
“I know the person who was staying there. They don’t need it anymore so I thought you might want it.” Hinata tells us.
“That was handy.” Rin says with a genuine smile.
“Where will they be going?” I ask.
“I didn’t ask.” Hinata says with a falsely cheerful shrug.
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“Where will you go?” I ask.
“Back where I was staying when you called for my help.” Hinata tells me.
“How did you convince the guards that Hermes was a noble by the way?” I ask.
“She was a noble and one of them had seen Hermes before so they knew that it was her. Her family are infamous. They just didn’t know she wasn’t a noble anymore. Her mother’s sister lives in Utopia Camerona and has quite the reputation too. Of course she is still a noble and the thought of refusing her niece entrance to the city would be unthinkable even with the enemy threatening the city.” Hinata explains. I look at Hermes who looks even more pale than normal at the mention of her aunt.
“How do you know all of this?” I ask.
“That’s a secret.” Hinata tells me with a grin. “So do you want the inn room or not?”
“Yes please!” I tell her and everyone nods eagerly in agreement. I just hope it isn’t too expensive.
“Then this way please.” Hinata says with that fake grin that is really starting to irritate me. I already told her she doesn’t have to act strong for us!
We follow Hinata silently down the street and through a maze of streets until we reach the inn that she told us about. Ironically it is called ‘The Drake’ and has a drake’s head over the front door. It is also huge at about five hundred feet wide and just as high. It is about three hundred feet deep. It is made from magically reinforced stone. Rin chuckles for a moment as she sees the sign and then her aura goes dark. I suspect mine does too as I think that The Drake we are used to is gone forever.
“Just tell the innkeeper you’re the friends that Saya was talking about. She’ll give you the key to the room. Good luck everyone.” Hinata tells us and then ports away. I can’t trace her port, because there is too much background dimensional energy around. Not least the port barriers around the city.
“I hope Hinata and her people really are ok.” I sigh.
“She did seem a bit odd, but it’s to be expected under the circumstances.” Rin tells me and puts her right hand on my shoulder to reassure me. I sense Midori’s aura darken immediately.
“Let’s go inside and get our room.” I say, shaking off my doubts as much as I can.
“So we’re back to sharing a room.” Hermes says with a wry smile.
“Except with Rin and Midori this time.” I say and force myself to appear cheerful as I say it. I don’t want to worry everyone. Perhaps I’m no better than Hinata for doing so but it doesn’t stop me.
“I’m looking forward to it.” Midori grins.
“Perhaps a bit too much.” Rin laughs. I kind of expected a glare from Rin, but perhaps they’re getting on better now that they’ve been through so much together.
“Let’s go.” I say and lead the way into the inn.
It is crowded, though not as much so as The Drake we knew was. Almost every table is taken but there isn’t anyone standing. What hits me first though is that everyone’s aura is incredibly sober and what spoken conversations there are, are without exception whispered. Some people even appear to be using mind magic to keep their ‘conversations’ private.
We walk up to the bar on the far side of the inn. There are five women, two old and three young behind the bar. There are also ten young men carrying food to tables. They are all typical Contractians. We approach the oldest looking woman.
“We need to talk to the innkeeper.” I tell her with a smile.
“You already are.” She tells me with a frown.
“We’re the friends Saya was talking about.” I tell her.
“Oh, you do look just like she described. It’s room 709 on the seventh floor.” She says and hands me a key. How did this Saya know what we looked like? I suppose Hinata must have told her, which means she only just left the room.
“Thank you.” I say as I take the key.
“It’s up those stairs. It’s not going to be very big for four people, but it beats the camp.” She tells me.
“By the way, have you seen a woman who looks a bit like Rin here, but older?” I ask and point at Rin.
“I see a lot of people. If you have a picture it might jog my memory but then again it might not.” She tells me.
“I’ll draw a picture in our room and show it to you later.” Rin says.
“Is she family?” The innkeeper asks sympathetically.
“She’s my mother.” Rin says, keeping her voice strong though her aura wavers.
“Is she from the city?” The innkeeper asks.
“No.” Rin answers with a shake of her head.
“If she’s a mage or a soldier she’ll probably be enlisted into the city guard and be in the barracks when she’s off duty. If not she’ll be in the refugee camp, unless she knows someone who can put her up or unless she’s rich and really lucky. There aren’t many rooms that are as cheap as a gold a night anymore.” The innkeeper tells us.
“Is that what ours cost?” I ask, more than a little shocked. We can’t afford to stay here long if that is the price!
“Yes and even if you can pay a lot more than that, rooms that aren’t taken are hard to find. I don’t have any spare rooms at the moment and haven’t had more than a couple spare at any point since the siege began.” The innkeeper tells me seriously. Given how big this place is, if it’s like that here then it is unlikely to be better anywhere else.
“My mother’s an alchemist.” Rin says and the innkeeper frowns.
“Perhaps try the alchemist shops and the alchemy workshop in the city barracks.” The innkeeper suggests. I had been thinking more or less the same thing, though I didn’t know that there was an alchemy workshop in the city barracks.
“Thank you.” Rin says sounding a bit more hopeful now.
“If my daughter were separated from me I’d want someone to help her at least this much.” The innkeeper says with a shrug. “Anyway, show me and my employees the picture when you’ve finished it. If you’re an alchemist’s daughter hopefully it should be fairly accurate.”
“It will be and thank you again.” Rin says. The innkeeper just shrugs this time.
“Let’s go check out our room and get that picture drawn.” I tell Rin and the others.
“Yes, let’s hurry.” Rin says enthusiastically now.
I lead the way to and up the stairs. They seem to be straight stairs up each floor and then along the corridor to the next set of stairs. Each set of stairs seems to be directly above the previous one and exactly the same right down to the very smallest of details. I suspect that like the stone shell of the building even the wooden floors and stairs were probably made by earth mages, because I doubt non magical craftsmen could have made it exactly identical. Close enough for all intents and purposes, yes, but identical, no.
Finally we reach the seventh floor and quickly find our room along the same corridor as the stairs. I can’t sense anyone inside and it is our room so I unlock the door and open it. Inside the room is smaller than a normal single room at the academy and unlike in Beach Town there is certainly no room for any extra beds. There is a small single bed with a small bedside table. There should be room for all of us if two of us sit on the bed and the other two stand but it is going to be tight.
“It’s tiny. This wardrobe of a room is a whole gold a night!” Rin exclaims in shock.
“It’s paid for already though.” I remind Rin.
“But we can’t all live in here!” Rin protests.
“Not at the same time, but if we take it in turns to sleep and only use the room for sleeping we should manage.” I tell her.
“I suppose.” Rin admits grudgingly but she isn’t very happy and to be honest neither am I.
I consider what to do next. Even if they are getting on better I don’t think it wise to leave Midori and Rin together on their own for too long. They’d only end up getting on each other’s nerves and we have enough worries already without adding an unnecessary one even if it is minor.
“For now Midori and I will stand insi
de whilst you and Hermes sit on the bed. Take the table end though Rin, so go in first, because you have a picture to draw.” I say and soon we are all inside this little wardrobe of a room.
“It really is cramped in here.” Hermes laughs as we hardly have space to breathe!
“Rin, I’ll help you search for your mother once you’ve drawn it. We can check all the inns in the city during the night and then Midori and Hermes can check the alchemy workshop and shops during the day. I don’t want anyone to be on their own in the city if we can avoid it. Hermes next and Midori, go in after me.”
“Why not have Rin and Hermes work together?” Midori asks me unhappily as she stands beside me with her arm pressed gently against mine.
“You left the academy with Hermes, so I would have thought you’d get on ok with Hermes.” I say with a frown.
“I do, but I’d rather work with you.” Midori says.
“Right now Rin’s mother is more important than that.” I tell Midori seriously.
“Why only Rin’s? Almost everyone at the academy must have family and you never even asked if I had family to look for.” Midori reminds me. I think back for a moment and realise she’s right. I never did ask about her family.
“I’m sorry. We should look for your family too.” I apologise.
“As it happens they’re dead, but it wouldn’t have hurt to have asked.” Midori sighs.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I should have asked.” I say with a big wince and I really should have thought to ask. That was thoughtless of me and hearing Midori say that her family are dead so casually really hurts too.
“I also need to perform the ceremony tonight to allow me to use magic to hide again. Who knows when we might need it?” Midori says.
“What does the ceremony involve?” I ask.
“It’s very simple really. I just need somewhere outside but private to perform it.” Midori tells me.
“Ok, fine. Hermes, stay here and get some sleep. Rin, Midori and I will go for now. We’ll look for somewhere to perform the ritual and look for Rin’s mother at the same time. Once you’ve done the ritual though Midori, you’re to head back here and get some sleep too.” I say firmly.
