It’s hard to tell, she said. I’ll take credit for it, if you don’t want it though.
The sound of gold hitting the counter made me turn back to make sure Burt wouldn’t try any last minute tricks. When he counted out all the money and Aaron nodded to me and headed out the store.
“Have a good day, Blacksmith,” I smiled to Burt before I turned to the door and followed Aaron.
“I never want to see you in here again,” Burt called out as the door shut.
Like I would come back.
I don’t know, it was pretty fun to mess with him, Cathy said.
In the centre of the market, Aaron turned around to face me. “150 gold?” he said. “We could buy ten tickets to the capitol if we needed. I can’t believe he would agree to that.”
I shrugged. “I think he just wanted to get rid of me.”
“We didn’t even need to sell the two short swords either,” he said excited.
“Use them to trade for getting your tools fixed,” I suggested.
“Or we could keep them,” he said excited. “You never know when they will be handy.”
“Should we go grab our tickets?” I asked.
“Yes, but let’s leave tomorrow,” Aaron said rubbing his hands. “It’s been a long walk. We need to grab some ale.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Oh, you’ll find out,” he smirked.
Chapter 13
It took a lot of effort to open my eyelids; more then usual. The sight of brass was different as well. I tried to recall the night’s events but drew a blank. The last thing I remember was ordering a couple of rounds with Aaron. I closed my eyes again and groaned as a weight descended on my mind.
Make it stop, Cathy groaned.
What happened last night?
I don’t know, she answered. Everything went fuzzy. What the Void was that stuff you were drinking?
I don’t know but let’s stay clear of it in the future.
I opened my eyes again and dragged myself up to my knees. I recognized the brass as a bathing tub and that only added to my confusion.
How did we get in here?
First make the head stop hurting, Cathy groaned.
I raised my fingers to my temples and moaned as the pain drained away.
That’s better, she said. Now, why are we cold?
I looked down and sighed.
Because I’m naked.
Searching the room, I found my robes and under clothes in a heap by the bathing tub. I climbed out of the tub, doing my best not to trip, and dressed myself. I went through the door into the next room and saw a figure sleeping in the bed.
“Aaron,” I called to him. “It’s time to wake up.”
He stirred, groaned and sat up in the bed revealing that he was actually a she. Her blond hair was messy and she was very naked from what I could tell. When she saw me, she quickly covered herself up.
“What are you doing in here?!” she screamed.
“What are YOU doing in here?!” I asked. “This is my room!”
“This is MY room!” she yelled. “Get out!”
She grabbed a pillow and threw it at me shouting ‘Get out’ repeatedly. I quickly opened the door and threw myself out of the room, shutting the door behind me to make sure nothing else flew towards me. The number on the door read ‘4’ and I stared at it confused. I WAS in the wrong room. I was supposed to be in ‘3’.
“How the…?” I asked silently.
I felt Cathy searching through my memories. I can’t find any reason, she said.
I headed for Room 3 and opened the door. Laying half on the bed, half off, fully clothed was Aaron. I entered the room and shut the door. The sound from the door made Aaron wake up with a long groan.
“Who’s there?” he asked with his eyes still closed.
“Andy,” I answered.
He opened his eyes and dragged himself into a sitting position. “Where did you end up last night? You weren’t in the room when I got back.”
“What happened?” I asked.
Aaron grabbed his head. “I’ll tell you as soon as I can think straight.”
I walked over to him and placed my two fingers on his temples.
“What are you doi…” he started but then closed his eyes and sighed pleasantly. “Now that’s a handy trick. How are you Mages not loaded all the time?”
“How much magic did you see my use last night?” I asked sitting down on the bed beside him.
He laughed. “You couldn’t even stand.”
“So, what happened?” I chuckled.
“You are a total light weight, that’s what happened,” he smiled. “Three pints and you were complaining that you were hot and wanted to take your clothes off. It’s understandable seeing as you Mages like to wear those crazy robes but public displays of nudity are frowned upon so I had to convince you to keep your clothes on. You left early in the night to go back to the room but when I came back here I couldn’t find you anywhere. Where did you end up?”
“In the room next door, naked in the bathing tub,” I answered.
Aaron exploded into laughter. I couldn’t help but laugh myself.
“You are alright, Andy,” Aaron said as his laughter subsided. “Maybe we’ll go out drinking more often.”
“I don’t know if I can handle that again,” I said unsure.
“The more you drink, the more tolerant you become,” he said with a dismissive wave. “You’ll be fine next time. At what point of the day is it?”
A good question, I haven’t even thought of that. I looked out the window and tried to find the sun. It was a little higher then I would have expected.
“It looks like we are closing on midday,” I said.
“Whoa, we have to hurry then,” he said. “Grab your pack and let’s go to the waterfront. If we don’t catch the midday ferry, we are stuck here till tomorrow.”
I stood up and crossed the room to the corner where we had left our packs. I picked up mine and slung it onto my shoulders while Aaron stood up and wobbled.
“That spell of yours did nothing for the queasy feeling,” he said as he stumbled over to grab his pack.
“What queasy feeling?” I asked.
“Just don’t sit next to me on the ferry,” Aaron warned as he threw his pack onto his shoulders.
We left the inn as quickly as we could. I did my best to avoid the lady from Room 4 and was happy to not have to deal with that awkward situation. Everyone else in the inn didn’t seem to know what had happened. Or they did and they chose not to care.
You got lucky then, Cathy said. She would have embarrassed you with a butt whooping like you would have never believed.
I have magic. I could have calmed her and worked out the situation.
So why didn’t you the first time? Cathy pointed out.
It was hard to think at the time.
Yes, pillows are very frightening, she said sarcastically.
We reached the ferry in time and bought two tickets for the capital. The ferry was actually a small converted fishing boat with benches in the hold. The smell of the fish from the ships former role clung to everything, including the merchant who was trying to get me to buy a rug. He pressured me the entire time until I caved in a bought a wide brimmed hat made from rough, black stained leather. It was comical to look at but it seemed to go with my robe so I bought it. I handed the merchant a couple of gold and he stopped pestering me. Aaron just shook his head and tried to stifle a laugh when I put it on.
I can’t believe you are making us look like this, Cathy said.
It will grow on you.
Judging by the guy you bought it from, Cathy started. I’ll be shocked if something doesn’t literally start growing on you.
I took the hat off.
Good point. Maybe we should get it washed.
Or cremated, Cathy said.
Thankfully, the ferry docked and I was able to get off before another merchant, who thought I was an easy target, started
pestering me. I fled the boat and stopped at the end of the dock to wait for Aaron to catch up. He walked out of the crowd towards me with a goofy smile on his face.
“I can’t believe you bought that,” he said pointing to the hat.
“He wouldn’t leave me alone,” I explained.
“It looks terrible,” Aaron chuckled.
“It works,” I said confidently.
No it doesn’t, Cathy said.
“So, here we are,” Aaron said spreading his arm out to point at the whole city, “Thurlborn Peak.”
I could see why it was called ‘Peak’ now. The city rose up on four levels around a large hill with a shining white castle at the summit. With the sun low in the sky, the castle and upper level cast a shadow over the rest of the city. It was intimidating to look at the weight of my task slowly descend on my mind.
What if I can’t do this? Why was I chosen for this?
“The blacksmith and shops are down here on the lowest level,” Aaron explained, interrupting my freak out. “The next two are residential and the last level before the castle is a more high ends market. All the rich people stuff is up there.”
“Do you think I could make it to the castle before the sun sets?” I asked keeping a steady voice.
“If you don’t dawdle,” Aaron shrugged. “The Stairway of Kings is at the end of this market. Take it right to the top. It saves you from working out this maze of a town.”
“Thanks Aaron,” I nodded.
“No problem,” he said. “I’ll get my business done then meet you back here. We might as well travel back to the farm together.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said.
But you need to head down to Nesqa after this, Cathy pointed out.
I promised Mary I would bring Aaron back safe. Besides we will be close to the Szwen Forest. We’ll just go visit the Nao next.
Very well, Cathy said. Are you done freaking out now?
I don’t know. I’m calm but not. It’s very confusing.
Just relax, Cathy said. We have a long road ahead of us. Trust in my calming, confident personality to help you through difficult parts.
I’ll try.
I followed after Aaron as he headed to the market. When he found The Steel Anvil, he walked towards it without saying a word and I just continued on looking for the Stairway. As I passed by a Tailor, I stopped and looked at the hat I was carrying.
Think they can help?
Nobody can help you with that, Cathy answered.
I entered the Tailor’s shop and the clerk smiled at me before noticing the hat. His smile twitched as he curiously waited to see what I would say.
“Uh, hi,” I started.
“How may I help you?” he said pleasantly.
“Is there anything you can do for this?” I asked placing the hat on the counter.
“Yes, the blacksmith is just down the street. I’m sure they could throw it into the forge for you,” he answered still in the pleasant voice.
“No, actually,” I said nervously scratching my head, “I was hoping you could, maybe, clean it up for me.”
“Clean it up?” The clerk asked confused.
“Yeah,” I answered. “And inspect it to make sure it is safe to wear.”
He looked at the hat, then back up at me. “I’ll... see what I can do.”
“How much would it cost?” I asked.
The clerk shrugged. “A couple of gold.”
I opened up my coin purse and pulled out five gold coins.
“Here’s five,” I said placing them on the counter. “Make it quick.”
“I’ll do my best,” the clerk said not looking up from the money.
I turned and left the shop in a hurry. I pressed on towards the stairs but slowed as a pressure in my mind started to grow stronger. It felt like a feeling of sadness but it was on the very edge of my mind and was difficult to be certain.
Are you alright?
Yeah, she answered. Why?
It felt like there was sadness in my mind but it felt far away. I thought that maybe it had come from you.
My mind grew quiet and the feeling on the edge of my mind disappeared.
So it was you. Are you alright?
Cathy chuckled. You really are stronger then you let on. It’s incredible that you could feel that after only two days together.
Let’s call it good intuition.
Up ahead I could make out the Stairway of Kings. Two guards stood nearby guarding the way.
Be calm, Cathy said. You don’t need to tell them everything. Just who you are and that you need to see the King. Something tells me that too much information would make you look like a crazy person.
I’ll keep that in mind but afterwards we are talking about why you are sad.
Fair enough, Cathy said.
I approached the stairway and the guard on my left raised his hand to stop me. They wore heavy plated armour with the symbol of a dragon on top of a mountain. The symbol must have been the official symbol of the Balendar Kingdom.
“State your business traveller,” the guard with the outstretch hand said to me.
“I am Second Keeper Andrew Holcombe from The Tower of the Watchful Eye,” I said confidentially. “I am here to speak to the King on behalf of Keeper Jacob Anderson.”
“A Keeper, here?” the guard said lowering his arm. “What business does a Keeper of the Order have with the Great King of Balendar?”
“That is for his ears only,” I said looking the guard right in the eyes.
“Very well, Ser Mage,” the guard said. “Proceed to the Castle.”
“You better hurry,” the second guard said. “The sun almost sets and the King will be heading to his evening supper.”
I started climbing the steps then stopped and smirked as an idea came to mind. I turned back to the guards who were still watching me.
“The sun will set when I am ready for it to set,” I said before turning away from the guards and continuing up the stairs.
Cathy chuckled. ‘The sun will set when I am ready for it to set’?
I thought you would appreciate me messing around with the King’s guard.
Don’t get me wrong, I do, she said. I’m just wondering where that came from.
I think I read it in a book at sometime. Anyways, why were you sad?
She sighed. Just this town. I possessed a young Mage here a long time ago.
What happened?
He was an orphan, she started, a street urchin. I don’t know how he didn’t get picked up and brought to your Order but he didn’t. He fell to my trap in his first Demon Dream. He had no idea how to protect himself from it. As soon as I took over, I searched his memories and saw the life he had led.
Did you pity him?
Cathy chuckled. No. He was just a human. Humans are weak. He had all this power and no desire to use it. It was like he lived his life that way because that was how he wanted it.
So what did you do?
I challenged myself to make his life better, Cathy answered. If I could turn him into a success, it would prove that I was right about Human weakness.
I take it things didn’t go well.
She chuckled sadly. Not at all. I started to gather some other street urchins and form an underground criminal empire. Two days into it, a rival gang raided our headquarters and killed every kid there, including me.
I continued to climb the stairs in silence as I thought over the story.
I’m going with - the reason you were sad is because you could never get the criminal empire off the ground. Not because of the death of the children.
Cathy laughed. I was expecting you to ask about the children. Yes, I had huge plans for the empire and I underestimated the other gangs. I had learnt a lesson about Human strength.
I’m sure if you were to tell this story to a lot of people, most of them would have expected you to have regretted the deaths.
Most people don’t realize that as an immortal soul, all I want is to expe
rience the Physical Plain, Cathy said. Seeing Humans that waste their life really gets to me. What’s worse is that after I finally get a body, Humans try and kill me as fast as they can. You can’t expect me to be in a big hurry to feel pity or regret their deaths.
I thought it over as we drew near the top of the stair. I see what you mean. That’s why I couldn’t choose a School after my Demon Dream. Why bother joining the people who spent their whole childhood making yours suck.
Yeah that’s not quite the same, Cathy chuckled. I’ve been killed 32 times. It doesn’t fall into the same category as being stripped naked and hung upside down in library.
I sighed. And here I thought I had repressed that memory.
Not very well, Cathy said playfully.
I reached the top of the stairs and stood in front of the large white castle. Guards were patrolling the courtyard in front of it and flags bearing the same symbol as on the guards armour lined the path to the front of the castle.
Back to business then.
Chapter 14
Walking into the castle, the intimidation feeling was amplified. The tall ceilings and grand architecture made me feel small and like I didn’t belong. Like a child apprentice walking into a Master’s bedroom. It probably didn’t help that I was slack jawed gawking at everything around me.
No. Don’t worry, Cathy said. I’m at a loss for words too.
That’s rare.
And what does that mean? She asked.
You don’t shut up.
A large man in plated guard armour minus the helmet walked up to me with his arms crossed and a weak smile on his face. “I’m Ser Larson, Captain of the Guard, and you are in the White Castle, home to the Great King Victor the 2nd. Do you have business here or do you need directions back to the market?”
“Huh,” I said snapping back to reality. “Sorry, I am Second Keeper Holcombe from the Tower of the Watchful Eye and I seek an audience with the Great King.”
“Oh,” Ser Larson asked with a raised eyebrow. “What is this about?”
“My request is for His ears only.” I said.
“I am in charge of His Majesty’s security,” Ser Larson said. “If your request is important, Mage, then it is important enough for me to hear.”
You might as well go for it, Cathy said.
The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 Page 11
