Watching him for a long moment, the dark man finally nodded politely and sipped at his tea. “Very well, Aiden. I understand. If you do think of something, please let us know immediately. I suspect finding out what happened sooner rather than later may be the wisest choice. Until then, go enjoy the baths. Sorry to have caught you before you could use them.”
Aiden stood, turning to go and missing the glances the professor and headmaster exchanged. Before walking out the door he turned back to the two men. “Um… sirs? Can you tell me which student turned that plate in?” Aiden asked curiously. “It may help me to remember anything.”
“It was Ashrak.” Professor Reivus supplied. “But I don’t think he’s even read his primer, much less had the ability to make his plate. If that helps, let us know.”
Aiden nodded, turning before they could see the anger cross his face. Ashrak again? He was the one that took the plate and turned it in as his? Was there anything that Ashrak wasn’t involved in that was causing him trouble? Aiden left the headmaster’s office, his face red and contemplating very uncomfortable things to do with the far too arrogant noble.
First, however, he needed a bath. He went back to the orphan dorm and found not only a clean pair of clothes but Jessop lying on his bottom bunk. The simple boy looked interminably bored until he saw Aiden, and his face lit up like a bright festival as he bounced up and gave Aiden a hug.
“Aiden,” Jessop exclaimed, pulling back a bit as he saw Aiden flinch from the fierce hug, “Are you okay? I missed you. Did you hear about what happened at the cutter fish races? Someone said that a big light burned up a bunch of fish things and people. I think it was a fire, but how can that happen on an ocean?”
“Jessop,” Aiden said, holding Jessop back at arms-length carefully. “Yes, I am fine but my skin still hurts a bit from the fire. Just be careful with the hugs, is all.” Aiden patted his friend, making sure he knew it was all right. “And yes, I did hear about what happened at the races. I was there. It wasn’t a fire, it was some weapon on the duke’s skimmer and it killed a huge trench serpent.”
“A trench serpent,” Jessop said, awed. “Was it a big one? They scare me. I always think there’s one under me if I go in the water and I can’t see the bottom.”
Aiden nodded. “Yep, biggest one I’ve ever seen. If it were in any of the ponds you swim in, it would be sticking out of them by a good fifty meters or more, so pretty sure you would see it. Come with me to the baths and I’ll tell you about it. I need to get clean from practicing at the arena.”
Jessop nodded, eagerly grabbing his towel and soaps as well as a change of clothes for himself. It was about that time that Glowby finally floated into view, bobbing much less energetically than he normally did towards them. Aiden was concerned, but couldn’t actively check on his friend without looking strange, so he settled on just keeping an eye on him. The important thing was that he was back.
The three friends made their way to the baths, taking a shower to wash off the more immediate grime before Jessop and Aiden climbed into one of the large communal tubs. The heat felt wonderful on Aiden’s sore limbs. They’d begun to stiffen up after his workout at the school’s arena, and he was becoming thankful that Markam hadn’t insisted on heavier stones.
Over the course of the next hour, Aiden told Jessop a somewhat altered version of the events from the previous day. Still, despite him telling the story as if he were an observer rather than an active participant, Jessop was suitably awed. That a serpent of that size had attacked the teeming docks at the races and more importantly been killed by a strange light from the duke’s skimmer, made a truly fun story to tell.
Aiden had always loved to tell Jessop stories because he not only was a good listener, but he was an honest listener as well. Unlike other’s his own age who might act indifferent or unimpressed, Jessop let the full gambit of his emotions play out over his face at the goings on.
In addition, it appeared as if Glowby regained his color and verve in the presence of the two friends which was a great relief. Before he realized it, Glowby was flitting in and out of the bath or around the bathing chambers like his old self. He had been worried about his friend and was glad to see him doing well.
Aiden wound down with his story and then encouraged Jessop to share how his day had gone. He’d missed Aiden, having gone to see him in the infirmary every day he could, but otherwise, the time had passed quiet and serene. Jessop was particularly keen to tell him about the many chivnel he’d seen roaming and working around the school grounds. It was a common report from his friend, but one that Aiden enjoyed listening to since Jessop was so passionate about them.
The usually shy insectoid people liked Jessop, and on many occasions would take time out of their usual duties of caring for the campus grounds to come and visit with him. Jessop’s favorite one, an older purple Chivnel that usually had a slew of younger ones in tow, had even sung to Jessop at dusk. Aiden loved to see the look on his face when he spoke about the impromptu meetings, and it relaxed Aiden just to hear Jessop’s stories.
“I’d love to hear it sometimes,” Aiden said, smiling wistfully up at the ceiling, “It sounds nice.”
“I’ve told them about you, Aiden. I think they would like to meet you. They are afraid of people usually since we are so big to them, but otherwise they like us. They tell me how they listen to stories, and watch all the time when people walk through town. I tried that once, to listen, but people didn’t like that. They said I was being nosy.”
Aiden patted Jessop’s arm. “Well, they’re probably better at it, since they live under people’s houses and such. Who knows how deep the warrens go? Terek’s been here a long time. I’m just grateful they keep the place so clean. I’ve heard of places that don’t have Chivnel for one reason or another, and they sound filthy.”
“Yes, they do eat all the bad stuff,” Jessop made a face, grimacing at the image. Both of them had seen Chivnel eat pretty much anything organic and while thankful for the service, it still didn’t make it easier to think about.
The two friends finally felt compelled to leave the bath, with Jessop giggling about his wrinkly fingers. Glowby floated around them both, seemingly happy with their company. It was nice to be clean and in dry clothes again. He was thinking about how nice a nap might be so he walked with Jessop back to the orphan’s dorms, stretching slowly and feeling his muscles still sore from the morning’s workout. He dreaded how they’d feel tomorrow.
As he climbed up onto his bunk, still chatting amicably with Jessop, he spotted a note tucked halfway under his pillow. Curiously, he pulled it out and laid back to open it. The paper was well made, better than that normally used in school and it was even scented. Curiously, Aiden opened it and read what was inside.
Orphan Boy,
Meet me at Tarbanks Tavern just after dusk. I think we have much to discuss. Don’t worry, I’ll pay since I know how poor and destitute you are. No need to thank me. Just don’t make me wait.
Ashrak.
Aiden laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes with Glowby settling down tiredly on his chest. Impossibly, he’d almost forgotten about Ashrak and everything else in his pleasant time with Jessop. His anger came crashing back down, erasing his fatigue and making his mind whirl once again.
At least he’d be able to verify if what had happened last night was shared or even remembered by Ashrak. He wanted to talk to him about that terrifying vision. He was hoping against hope it was just a bad nightmare, but knew it probably wasn’t. Still, it would be good to get verification. Then, though he knew he’d never do it, he fantasized about beating Ashrak over the head with his dinner plate. After Ashrak paid for it of course.
Aiden vowed to get one of the biggest platters they had.
Chapter 19
Aiden decided that finding Gavin and Chari before going to meet Ashrak at the tavern was probably a wise idea. There was so much going on that they all needed to talk and making Ashrak pay for two more was only
a small level of revenge. Also, if he did end up trying to beat him with a plate, it would be good to have backup. It wasn’t ten minutes later that he was fortunate to run into his two friends just about to enter the school dining hall.
“What’s wrong, Aiden?” Chari asked cautiously. “What did the headmaster want? Don’t tell me something else happened? It’s only been a few hours.”
“Well, yes actually,” Aiden sighed, “doesn’t it always? It’s amazing I get any sleep. It turns out that Ashrak had the plate and he turned it in as his own work.”
“Dammit! What was he thinking?” Gavin cursed, balling his fists together as Glowby buzzed around him, glowing with an equally-irritated dull red.
“He was thinking about himself, of course.” Chari frowned, and then a thought occurred to her. “Why did they need to talk to you about it?”
“They wanted to know if I’d seen anything odd in the workroom that day,” Aiden said, shrugging. “I don’t think Ashrak even cared to notice any of the impossible things about that plate. He just told them he used the basic calculation. They know it wasn’t him, and I think they suspect something. I played dumb, though. Do you think I should have told them? It was Headmaster Bing and Professor Reivus.”
Chari and Gavin exchanged glances, uncertainty clear on their faces. Gavin sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, Aiden. Father is asking all sorts of questions about you after those men tried to get us on the docks, and now Headmaster Bing and Professor Reivus. If these other men weren’t out to get you, I’d say keep playing stupid, but with them in the picture and us not having a clue why…” Gavin shrugged helplessly. “It’s your call Aiden, I’ll stick by whatever you decide to do.”
Aiden looked glum. Great. He had to make up his mind. And he hadn’t even told his friends about his weird visit to the castle. “About the men, I may have more information on that but it’s not good news. It just makes everything much worse. I don’t know how to explain it but Ashrak’s involved in that, too, and I wanted to talk to him about it to make sure it actually happened. He invited me to the Tarbanks Tavern in town and I hope it’s because he wanted to talk to me about it.”
“I don’t know, Aiden,” Chari said, her eyes flashing. “Do you really think we should involve Ashrak more, or trust him at all? He’s been nothing but trouble from the beginning, and now with the plate, I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell him anything more.” Gavin nodded along, clearly not wanting anything to do with Ashrak, either. He could feel a note of disagreement off of Glowby, however. His friend seemed to think it was a good idea to speak to Ashrak.
“I know, but trust me, he’s already neck deep in this in several ways. I think we should talk to him, and I want you both to come along. Once you hear why I think you’ll agree.” Aiden gave them both a grin, “Besides, he said he’s paying for dinner.”
Chari and Gavin reluctantly agreed, and all four of them headed for the gate into town. On their way out, Stelios stopped them with a friendly smile. “Hey Gavin, out for a stroll? Where are you going? Your father wanted to make sure we kept an eye on you and your friends.”
“We’re just going down to the tavern in Central Circle,” Gavin answered. “It’s in the center of town so should be safe. We’re going to meet someone down there and be right back.”
Stelios nodded but frowned. “Ok, but let me send a man with you since Markam is being given additional instructions back at the castle. I’m not happy he let someone sneak up on you. Maybe next time he’ll work harder to notice stalkers instead of pretty faces.” Stelios held his hands up at the look of protest on the young man’s face. “I’ll have him trail a ways back and wait outside once you get to the tavern. He won’t interfere with your skirt chasing or trouser chasing in the case of Chari.” Chari stuck her tongue out at him to which he only grinned back. Gavin sighed but agreed before the three friends continued on their walk. They could see the guard behind them, but thankfully he wasn’t close enough to make out what they were saying.
“I also want to go by where the fire happened and check on something, if you don’t mind,” Aiden said, with the two others agreeing and Glowby in tow. It wasn’t that far out of the way, and when they approached the street that the fire had been on, most of the debris had been cleared, though the house itself was still a black ruin. First, however, Aiden led them over to a tree, studying it intently.
“What are you doing, Aiden? It’s just a tree,” Gavin said, curious as to what he might be looking for. Aiden didn’t answer at first, but after a few moments, he straightened up and pointed to some odd discolorations on the tree’s bark.
“There, see that,” Aiden said, excitedly,” Right there is where I touched the tree when I went into the dream realm for the first time. I think I almost killed the tree, somehow. I wanted to see if anything had happened to it on this side, and there it is.”
Chari and Gavin leaned in while Glowby buzzed in and out of the trunk, and Chari gasped. “Are those hand prints?” she asked.
Aiden nodded, putting his own hands where the discolorations were. They were a very close match, and even as he touched it he could feel a very faint echo of the incident. After a moment, he backed up feeling a bit uncomfortable. The tree was clearly afraid of him, though how it felt fear or how he could pick it up, he didn’t know.
“Yes, I think they are my handprints, and…well, it's odd. I think I almost killed it by trying to pull it into the dream realm. So now it’s afraid of me,” Aiden finished, frowning and unhappy with having anything afraid of him. “Yay me, I can say that I’ve terrorized a tree.” Slowly he turned and they all began walking back towards the tavern.
“What do you mean, it’s afraid?” Gavin asked, “Forgive me for saying so, but isn’t it a bit odd for anyone to feel a plant's emotions?
“Well, yes, but most of my life for the past two weeks has been pretty outrageous,” Aiden said unhappily. “I suppose I should put the fact I’ve made a tree deathly afraid of me as just typical for how things have been going lately. I’m not happy about it, but… I guess it’s a good lesson. I need to be careful. I really almost did kill it, I think, or at least something equally horrible.”
The friends continued on their way, each lost in their own thoughts as they made their way to the center of Terek City. Tarbanks Tavern, as its name implied, was situated on the banks of the large tar pools that were found in the center circle of Terek. The tar pond was a naturally-occurring phenomenon and had been contained by a small stone wall with a wooden walkway on top. The tavern itself was found on the southern shore and one of its open-air decks stretched out over the shiny black goop.
The Tarbanks Tavern was well-known for its service and quality of food, but it was also a favorite place for the morbidly curious when they performed public executions. A large board with time units was erected along one of the railings, and bets would be taken on how long it would take someone to disappear beneath the surface. Many of the participants would cast imprecations at the unfortunate soul, or sing rousing songs to drown out the mournful wails of those unlucky enough to not be thrown in head first.
The tavern was well-attended this evening though, not overly crowded. Still, there were enough people that it was difficult to see across the interior of the three-story building. Despite its size, the crowded main hall was open up to the roof and gave the already large building a cavernous feeling, but they managed to find Ashrak sitting at a booth towards the back.
He nodded when he saw Aiden but wrinkled his mouth up unpleasantly as Gavin and Chari came into view. He obviously wasn’t pleased to see them but didn’t protest. As they sat down, Aiden gave the too-pretty boy an uncertain glance, matched only by the one Ashrak returned to him.
“So, I take it by that look that neither of us was…dreaming last night?” Ashrak gave Gavin and Chari a sideways glance before continuing. “So, how much do they know? They think badly enough about me, I’d rather they not think I was insane.”
“Oh, don
’t worry, Ashrak,” Gavin sniped. “I’m pretty sure we couldn’t think worse of you. What were you thinking? Turning in the plate as your class assignment? They totally know it wasn’t you, you know.”
Ashrak blinked in surprise and then embarrassment. “Oh? Ah… you know about the plate? Well, I didn’t want it to go to waste. How did you find out and what do you mean they know it wasn’t me? I thought it would take the heat off of you, Aiden.”
“The Headmaster called me into his office, asking me about it,” said Aiden, his face troubled. “The reason they know it wasn’t you is that the plate, for whatever else it is, isn’t normal. I didn’t realize it either, but it’s the glow and curves it was made with. Not even a master engineer could have made that plate. Dammit, Ashrak, if they catch me I’ll be swimming in the tar outside. I don’t really want to have the problem of them taking bets on how long it will take for me to sink, you know.”
“Master engineer, you say,” Ashrak grinned, ignoring Aiden’s look of fear and reaching across the table and poking his arm with one of his fingers, “My goodness, what are you Aiden? I thought last night was unusual enough, but you are so full of surprises!”
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 23