by Eric Vall
The forest green and silver flags billowed high about the towers and turrets. I could just barely make out the boar’s head painted on each, and I knew that soon, once Baudouin was dead, they would be replaced with the Tamarisch flag once this land was mine. I gripped the reins in my gloved hands and moved my eyes over the outer walls. Tiny soldiers in the distance roamed over the stone as they protected the wall and the city and palace behind it. We rode our Bantams on the only path that led straight to the wall, and when I looked back at Annalise, and a single bead of sweat dripped down the side of her face as she took inventory of each soldier outside the wall.
Jemmets Landing was huge, and a massive towering wall made from red and gray bricks surrounded the whole city. In another time, if the High Queen hadn’t run away, she would have been the wife of the ruler of this land. Her chocolate brown eyes brimmed with tears but her jaw hardened, and she wiped them away with her sleeve as she brought her narrowed eyes back up. Annalise glanced at me once, and I could plainly see the burning determination in her eyes. She was my wife now, and no one could take her away from me, not even the audacious man who started this war between our nations. I used the reins to bring my Bantam beside hers and waited for my warrior queen to speak. “
“They’ll recognize me,” the swordswoman whispered softly without making eye contact with any of us.
“Then we must disguise you somehow,” I said confidently as I reached out and placed a steady hand on her shoulder. The High Queen gave me a small nod and a ghost of a smile.
“How are we going to do that?” Rana questioned as she spurred her own bird forward and closer to the two of us. “We only have the clothes on our back.”
“Uh, guys?” Carmedy started as she rummaged through her bundles with feverish hands. As we turned to listen, she began to mix a few liquids and powders together. “I may be able to help, but it will only work for a few hours.”
I leaned my head out and watched as she combined ingredients in a larger bag, then tipped in a few drops of three different colored liquids. Her paws moved deftly and quickly as she whispered the names of the ingredients to herself. Once she’d finished, she pulled out a small swatch of fabric and spilled out the grainy powder onto it. It looked almost like sand but a bit thicker from the liquids she’d used. The powder was a light pink color that reminded me of the inside of some seashells I had found on a beach with Isolda a long time ago. The alchemist offered it to Annalise with a bright smile, and the swordswoman took it tentatively.
“Do I take it now?” my first wife asked softly as she looked at the powder
Carmedy nodded vehemently. “It’ll take a few minutes to kick in, and if my calculations are right, it will be ready before we should reach the wall. Just enough time for you to transform and get through without anyone noticing.” She motioned to Annalise with a brush of her hands for the swordswoman to take the potion she made.
My wife looked down at the swatch of fabric and the sandy looking concoction resting in the middle, then threw back her head and let the grains fall onto her tongue. Annalise closed her mouth, blinked a few times, then grimaced at the taste. All of us in the party chuckled softly as she moved her tongue in her mouth and made smacking sounds.
“Ugh, that tasted awful!” the warrior queen cried out loudly as she reached for her flask of water at her side, but the feline quickly swatted away her hand.
“No, don’t drink anything!” Carmedy cried as she thwarted yet another pass of Annalise’s grabbing hands. “If you do, it’ll dilute the potion, and it won’t work properly!”
“You could have warned me!” the High Queen groaned as she swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. The feline gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged.
“Master,” Morrigan stated emotionlessly as she walked her Bantam closer but kept her eyes on the waiting wall ahead of us on the path, “are you sure they won’t recognize us too? Baudouin may not know what we look like, but the soldiers who fought against us might have spread our descriptions through the ranks.”
“Doubtful,” I told her as I took looked forward towards the wall and the soldiers outside the perimeter. “We killed all the soldiers who saw our faces during the battle, and even back when we first met the Decathmor brothers and the soldiers attacked you in the dark, we wiped them out too. None of them know our faces, and if they do, I will know immediately by listening to their thoughts.”
“Of course, Master,” the elven woman said as she bowed her head to me. “I was simply worried that we would be caught the moment we stepped foot through the gate.”
“There is no need to explain. I understand your worries, my dear.” I smiled to her as I reached out and stroked her long white hair. The elf’s cheeks blushed pink, and her delicate hand reached out to brush against mine. We were interrupted from our small private moment from a loud cough, and we whipped our heads to Annalise.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise as her small nose elongated and curved slightly down. The High Queen’s hands went to her face, and she ran her fingers over the length as her eyes attempted to examine it, but the effort only made her go cross-eyed. Rana covered her mouth as she stifled giggles and then my wife hiccupped loudly. Her lips pulled out at the corners then filled in plumper than they usually were. Annalise blinked rapidly as if she had something stuck in her eyes and slowly the color in her dark brown eyes changed to a brilliant dark blue.
My minions and I watched on in awe as the High Queen’s whole body transformed. Her legs in the stirrups shortened, her hips widened, and her bosoms blossomed out to twice their normal size. Annalise turned her head to me as the freckles across her cheeks faded then disappeared altogether. Suddenly, her hair came loose from the braid, and her much shorter fingers grabbed at the tie that floated away on the wind. Her plait came undone in a puff of wispy smoke the same color as the powder she’d taken and the deep brown color lightened until it was a honey blonde that shone in the light as she moved.
The High Queen lifted her newly transformed hand into the air and examined the flesh that was three shades lighter than her usually tanned skin. Even the shape of her nails had changed, thinned and elongated to a much longer length than she usually kept them. Though Annalise looked so much different, I still knew if I saw her in a crowd, I’d know it was her immediately. The swordswoman’s face was pale, and her expression confused as Carmedy reached into her pack and held out a small hand-held mirror. Annalise peered into it for a few passing seconds as she took her new face in then her expression broke as she roared with laughter.
“This looks so much different; thanks, Carmedy.” The High Queen chuckled as she ran a hand through her new blonde locks.
“You look great!” Rana breathed as she reached out and tapped the swordswoman’s cheek with one finger as if testing if it was real.
“You look presentable enough not to be recognized,” Morrigan uttered coldly as she moved her dark eyes over Annalise’s face. “I prefer how you look normally, but this will do for now.”
“Thank you…?” Annalise chuckled as she tilted her head to accept the elven woman’s indirect compliment.
With that settled, I turned my attention back towards Jemmets Landing, and I spurred my Bantam forward towards the giant wall. My minions followed after as Annalise’s transformation took complete effect. The ride was smooth as we spurred our Bantams into a brisk run and the towering wall came closer. As we neared it and leaned our heads back to take it all in, its height utterly blocked the city and the palace from view. The wall had to be at least eight or nine stories high and ten feet thick. The stronghold had only one door, a massive archway formed from stone and brick like the rest of its structure. Five soldiers stood guard outside the grand entrance and glanced at us warily as we came into sight.
Annalise tensed from beside me but quickly relaxed as she remembered her well put together disguise. I reached out a hand to her as I slowed my Bantam and she took it gingerly in her own and gave it a squeeze.
The gate was busier than I expected as people and citizens came and went through the massive archway without even glancing at the guards. We moved forward in a group, and despite Annalise’s transformation, we created a protective barrier around her with the bodies of our birds. I kept my eyes straightforward and listened to the thoughts of each of the guards, even the ones stationed high above us, but heard nothing out of the ordinary or anything that would cause alarm. We pushed our birds forward through the crowd and made it through the archway with no interruptions. The soldiers barely paid us any mind, and I heard my first wife breathe a sigh of relief as we made it completely through into the inner part of the city.
Tintagal was a beautiful city but not as beautiful as Tamarisch or Valasara in the slightest. The squat houses were either one or two stories and made of white plaster and exposed brick that matched most of the wall surrounding the whole city. Short chimneys stuck up from each home and belched gray smoke into the bright blue sky.
My minions and I moved our birds down the streets and took all of it in at once. The road below our Bantams’ clawed feet was made from smooth brick, and we moved to the right side of the street as grand carriages pulled by large muscled horses trotted past. Rana’s eyes widened at the intricate detail on the outside of the carriage’s shell, and her mouth moved silently, but I chuckled at the words she struggled to speak.
“Look at all the gold,” the fox whispered under her breath.
Tintagal seemed to be a very wealthy country. All the homes had some type of gold detailing either on the doors or windows. Even the food carts cooks and street vendors wore gold necklaces and gilded rings on each finger. Fortunately, the Tintagal citizens bustling around the street paid us no mind and even seemed to ignore us. A few eyes passed over us, did double-takes, then huffed as they moved on.
Their reactions were such that I glanced down at our clothes to see if there was anything wrong with them. Each of our coats was a little dirty but nothing too bad that would make the residents react to us like they were. Carmedy raised a confused eyebrow as a woman walked past and gave her a nasty look.
“Some people!” the passing woman said to the man with her as she turned up her pointed nose and hurried on away from us.
“What’s going on?” the feline whispered over to me as her silky black ears lay tightly against her head. “Do we smell bad or something?”
“Never mind that,” Rana said with a wave of her hand as her bright blue eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “Look at all that gold, just out in the open and begging for someone to steal it.”
“I would like to point out the gold but for another reason than the one that Rana is thinking of,” Morrigan interjected as she stopped her bird and looked around the busy street and the people ignoring our presence. “It seems we are not wearing any gold or jewelry, and that is why they are acting adversely towards us. I believe it is customary here to wear something of value for all to see. Not a practice that I find admirable, but what can I say in regard to someone else’s customs?”
“Master,” the fox said hurriedly as she pawed at my coat, “give me two gold coins, quick.”
“Why?” I asked as I knit my brow, but the eager look on her face caused a small smile to spread over my lips.
“I have an idea, please. Just two gold coins,” Rana begged, and finally, I reached into my void pocket and retrieved two for her. I held them out in my palm, and the fox quickly snatched them from my grasp.
I sat back in my Bantam’s saddle as Rana leaned backward, closed her eyes, and placed both gold coins over her eyes with a flourish. Annalise’s cheek puffed out as she held in her laughter, and Carmedy blinked rapidly at the fox as Morrigan stared at her unamused. The redhead took her reigns in her hands and gestured wildly in the air for one of us to take them. The petite alchemist took them and tied them off to her own bird as she gave the fox an amused expression.
With that done, our party moved on through the city as we searched for somewhere to rest and stay the night. We got fewer looks the deeper we went into the town, but the ones we did receive were shocked and strange as their eyes landed upon Rana and the two gold coins resting over her eyes.
“Rana, you do know that they only place coins over the eyes of the dead, right?” Annalise snickered softly in the fox’s ears, but Rana didn’t move a muscle. “They must think this is some sort of really messed up funeral procession with you posed like that.”
With that being said, Rana shot forward, and the coins fell from her eyes as they burst open. The fox deftly caught the falling coins in her paws and gave the disguised High Queen a lopsided smirk.
“I thought maybe for a second they’d think my eyes were gold, but since you said that, it just makes it creepy.” The redhead shrugged as she slipped the coins in her pocket and joined us in the search for an inn.
We were pretty deep in the city, and as we reached the main square, the massive palace came into view. We’d been able to see it from far away on the path, but as we got closer, the wall completely obscured it from view. The structure was magnificent and beautifully constructed despite the horrible man who lived and ruled there. Soon enough, it’d be mine and under my control.
Amos and Adam informed us that Baudouin was preparing to marry another woman and this woman probably would join the Rusalka as all his other wives did. The Tintagal colors and flags flew out high above our heads, but there were banners, and flower wreaths hung across every surface. The wedding and celebration after were just a few days away, and from the bustling streets, I could see that the citizens were busy getting ready for the festivities.
When I turned my eyes away from the castle, my minions were farther down the street from me, and Carmedy waved for me to follow. Rana had already slid off the back of her Bantam as she pointed to a small squat building with a sign out front advertising rooms. I looked in the direction the fox pointed and nodded once.
The building looked like all the others except for slightly larger than the regular homes along the street. I stopped the redhead as she started to head off and reached into my void pocket for some of the leftover treasure we hadn’t sold from some of the dungeons. I pulled out piles of gold rings and necklaces and placed them on each minion. From the looks we received when we entered the city, I didn’t want to go into the inn and be denied a room because we weren’t adorned in gold and jewelry.
I took a step back and took in my handiwork. Each minion was covered head to toe in gold, and I nodded pleased to myself. I turned once more to go in the inn but Annalise’s brow furrowed, and she stopped me with a light touch on the arm.
“Master,” the High Queen whispered, “aren’t you going to put some on too?”
I chuckled loudly then reached back into the void pocket as I grabbed for more gold. I pulled out a long-gilded chain with a sigil shaped pendant on the end. I took the sigil in my hand and examined it for a moment. I barely recognized the lava god’s symbol pressed into the metal and wondered how it hadn’t been sold off by now. It must have gotten lost in the folds of the void pocket when we’d sold off all the items long ago. I dropped it nonchalantly then reached back in the pocket for some rings that would fit my avatar’s fingers. Soon, I too was adorned in glittering gold, and we headed off towards the inn.
When we stepped inside, the front room was small but homey, and it branched off to a much larger room to the left that looked like a dining room. From the sweet and savory scents that wafted through the open double doors, I knew my assumptions were correct, and my stomach grumbled hungrily. The last few things I’d eaten had been more strips of dried meat and those peaches a few days ago. I was ravenous, and from the looks on the rest of my minion’s faces, I could see they were too. My minions and I headed for the front counter, and a tall man stepped up behind it with a tight smile. He was a nice looking man, but he had the uptight and pious Tintagal look about him as he moved his dull gray eyes over our party.
“How many rooms?” the manager asked in a deep
voice as he looked to me as the leader, and I stepped up to the counter as my minions huddled around my back. Annalise kept close to my back but kept steady eye contact with the tall man over my shoulder.
“Two,” I answered back while my minions nodded in agreement. “One bed in each.”
“Of course, sir,” the manager said as I slid over the coins for the night, and his thin eyebrows raised as the corners of his eyes crinkled. “Will you be staying for the Lord’s wedding? It takes place in two days. I can give you a deal on the rooms.”
“How much will it be for three days then?” I inquired with a tilted head and narrowed eyes as my whole demeanor changed. Rana had been a good teacher when it came to the ways of making deals, and I put what I learned to good use whenever we journeyed to a new town.
“Nine hundred gold, but that’s for both rooms for three days, sir, an excellent deal in this bustling town,” the manager said through a tight smile. From the way his eyes flashed, I knew he was attempting to swindle me.
“You’re saying that it’d be nine hundred gold for two rooms for three days?” I repeated back to him, and the manager smiled widely as he nodded twice. “Then that means that you’d be charging me three hundred gold for each day and that each room is worth one hundred and fifty gold per night. Sir, can you tell me if your rooms are worthy of my one hundred and fifty gold? Looking at the inside and outside of your establishment, I’d say your rooms are maybe worth fifty gold, but since it’s a ‘special’ occasion, you’re attempting to hike up the prices?”
The manager looked taken aback as his eyes widened, and his thin lips parted as he searched for words. A moment later, he quickly closed his mouth with a snap and rested his clenched fists on the counter.
“Since it is a special occasion, and many people have come to see it from not only out of town but all around the world,” he explained, “there are very few inns and pension houses for you to choose from, good sir.” He spat out the last two words sarcastically as his gray eyes bored into my face.
