Kingdom of Magicians

by Timothy L. Cerepaka

  Chapter Nineteen

  That night, Keo slept soundly due to the sheer exhaustion from using Gildshine. He slept in a very nice, soft bed, while Dlaine slept on the sofa in the room they were given. In fact, Keo slept so soundly that he did not even dream, which was a common side effect of using Gildshine's ability.

  In the morning, when Keo awoke, he felt rested and refreshed, while Dlaine seemed groggy and worn out, probably due to the stress from yesterday's fight with the demon. They did not make their own breakfast this morning; instead, they were provided with breakfast by the Fallsman's men, who said that the Fallsman wanted to give them this meal as a final reward for their help. The meal was good, but they did not spend a lot of time eating it because Keo and Dlaine wanted to leave Castarious as quickly as possible.

  Thus, it was an hour later that Keo, Dlaine, and Jola stood outside of the Fallsman's mansion, their packs slung over their shoulders and Gildshine at Keo's side. They were about to leave before a voice from the top of the front steps of the mansion said, “Wait!”

  Keo and Dlaine looked over their shoulders to see the Fallsman standing at the top of the front steps, with Takan standing silently by his side. The Fallsman looked like he had not gotten much sleep last night. Even from a distance, Keo could see the bags under the Fallsman's eyes, as well as the silver ring from Sadia's letter, which was still wrapped around the Fallsman's finger. Keo did not know why the Fallsman had apparently stayed up late last night, though he decided not to ask any questions about it, because the Fallsman didn't seem like he would answer those questions.

  “Yes?” said Dlaine with a yawn. “What is it?”

  The Fallsman glanced at Takan, who nodded, and then looked at Keo and Dlaine again and said, “When will the demons rise again?”

  Keo and Dlaine exchanged puzzled looks before Keo said, “In about six months, according to the first demon I killed.”

  “And where will they rise?” said the Fallsman.

  Keo shrugged. “We don't know. That's why we're going to Capitika. If we can get the Magical Council to help, we might be able to locate the demons and stop their return before it's too late.”

  “I see,” said the Fallsman. He sounded and looked troubled at that thought. “Well, Keo of the Sword and Dlaine of the Fist, I wish you both the best of luck in your quest. And if you ever need any help, do not be afraid to send me a message.”

  “All right,” said Keo. Then he hesitated, and asked, “What will you do about the return of the demons in the meantime?”

  The Fallsman shook his head. “Now, now, Keo, I cannot tell you about all of my plans, even if we are now allies. The only thing I can tell you is that I—and my men—will survive, one way or another.”

  That was infuriatingly vague to Keo, but then, he supposed that he didn't really need to know what the Fallsman's plans were, because he was quite sure that he had nothing to do with them.

  So Keo nodded once more and said, “All right. Well, this is good bye, then. May peace and luck be upon you and your men.”

  With that, Keo, Dlaine, and Jola departed, leaving behind the Fallsman and his stately mansion. Still, Keo did look over his shoulder one last time before they left, but when he did, the Fallsman and Takan were nowhere in sight. He wondered if they had gone back inside the mansion to prepare for the return of the demons or if they had gone back inside to do something else.

  -

  It took Keo, Dlaine, and Jola a couple of hours to reach the back part of the city, where the ruins of Castarious met the Silver Falls themselves. Here Keo discovered that part of Castarious had been built directly into the cliffs of the Falls themselves, which was how the top and bottom halves of the abandoned city were connected. According to Dlaine, the top and bottom halves of the city were connected through a series of roads and tunnels carved into the cliffs, along with an old lift system that could carry hundreds of people at once. Unfortunately, the lift system was currently out of order due to the fact that no one had kept it in working condition for years, so the trio were forced to travel up the roads and tunnels built into the cliffs' walls instead.

  That journey took them roughly three hours, with a couple of breaks in between for lunch and resting, and it was one of the strangest parts of the journey yet. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the roads and tunnels were damp from the Silver Falls outside, making them slightly slippery. The light from the sun outside shone through the Falls, casting strange shadows and light patterns on the walls. Even the Falls themselves were not very loud, but that was probably more due to Jola's spell still being active than anything.

  Once they reached the top half of the city, Keo got a good look at the two massive Towers he had seen yesterday when he had first seen Castarious from a distance. They were truly gigantic, almost like giants or gods rather than towers, and the bridge between them looked equally massive. According to Dlaine, these Towers had once been the most popular way for the inhabitants of the city to cross the river without needing a boat, although apparently boats had still been in use. They were called the Crossing Towers in their heyday, but nowadays were completely abandoned. It was a miracle that the Crossing Bridge had not yet fallen, which meant that it was either designed brilliantly or it was being held up by some kind of magic. In any case, Dlaine told Keo that their journey was not going to take them up and through the Crossing Towers, so they would not need to test the Bridge's stability. Keo was glad about that, because even though he was certain that the view of the Silver Falls and the surrounding area were fantastic from the Bridge, he really did not want to find out if the Bridge was still strong enough to carry the weight of even just a few people on its surface.

  By late afternoon, the ruins of Castarious were far behind them and Keo, Dlaine, and Jola found themselves once more in the hilly countryside of South Lamaira. They kept walking until they found another road, which Dlaine said would take them to their next destination—a town called Carrk—if they followed it.

  So they followed the road until late in the evening, after the sun had fallen, and thus they decided to rest for the night. They found a grove of trees just off the main road that kept them hidden from the road and decided to camp there for the night. It was hard to go from sleeping on the nice, soft, comfy bed of the Fallsman's mansion to the hard ground, but Keo was used to it, so he did not complain.

  But as he and Dlaine lay down on their bedrolls, while Jola sat in the treetops somewhere above keeping an eye out for any possible threats to their safety, Keo found his mind wandering back to what the demon back in Castarious had said to him. He looked at Dlaine, who had pulled his blanket over his body and was already closing his eyes, and said, “Dlaine?”

  Dlaine's eyes snapped open again and he looked at Keo in annoyance. “What is it? Can it wait until morning? I'm wiped out from today's journey.”

  “I know, but there's something the demon said to me back in Castarious that got me thinking,” said Keo. He rested his hands behind his head and frowned. “It said that I have no way of knowing just how 'hopeless' our 'little quest' actually is. What do you think it meant by that?”

  Dlaine rolled his eyes. “Just a psychological trick. Obviously the demon was trying to crush your morale by making you believe that our journey to Capitika is hopeless. I hope you know better than to believe whatever nonsense that demon is spouting.”

  “I do,” said Keo. “But—”

  “But nothing,” said Dlaine. He turned on his side, his back toward Keo, and said, “Good night. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, so let's both get as much sleep as we can.”

  With that, Dlaine immediately started snoring. Keo wanted to keep talking about the demon's words, but he knew better than to wake up Dlaine when he didn't want to talk, so Keo just pulled his blanket up to his chin and stared up at the dark trees. Through the gaps in their branches, he could see the stars in the night sky, which looked much the same as the sky back home in the Low Woods. It was a clear summer night sky, but that hardly co
mforted Keo.

  That demon seemed too confident that our quest would fail, Keo thought. And I'm not sure it was just lying. What if there is something about our quest that we don't know of, something that will make it pointless, like the demon said?

  Keo knew that he should have ignored such thoughts and gone to sleep, but he found it difficult because the demon's words had burrowed into his mind and would not leave him alone. He figured that the demon probably meant that some of its fellow demons would come after him, Dlaine, and Jola at some point before they reached Capitika, although that didn't seem like the correct conclusion to draw from the demon's words.

  Eventually, Keo drifted off to sleep, but this time he had terrible dreams, dreams about the demon's lupine face glaring at him from the darkness and going on and on about the sheer hopelessness of his quest.

  That was why Keo was happy when Dlaine shook him awake early the next morning and made breakfast for them both. Dlaine seemed grumpy, like he hadn't slept well either, but Keo did not ask him why, nor did he offer to tell Dlaine about his nightmares. He decided that he was going to focus on getting to Carrk, and from there, Capitika, regardless of anything that demon had said.

  After breakfast, Keo, Dlaine, and Jola continued on their journey to Capitika. They walked along the main road all day, taking only the occasional break to eat or rest, and did not talk much, because Dlaine seemed distracted by something and anytime Keo spoke to him, Dlaine would snap at him like he had insulted him. Thus, Keo was alone with his thoughts for much of the journey, although he occasionally found himself looking over his shoulder just to be certain that they were not being followed by any demon.

  In the late afternoon, they crested another hill and this time saw another town, similar to New Ora and Torgan, but twice as large as either. Keo estimated that there were about a thousand buildings altogether in the town below, including the large Magician's Tower that rose from the center. High stone walls surrounded the town on every side, with several Enforcers patrolling the ramparts or guarding the gates. From the north came a thin but steady stream of travelers, although they were too far away for Keo to make out many details, except that some of them rode horses and others had large wagons that appeared filled with goods for commerce.

  “That's Carrk,” said Dlaine, pointing at the town below them. “It is overseen by Magician Enira.”

  “Is she a good Magician or a bad one?” said Keo.

  “Frankly, I don't know,” said Dlaine with a shrug. “Last time I was here, she was just put in charge after the last one had his title forcibly removed from the Council.”

  “Why did the Council remove his title?” asked Keo.

  “I don't know all the details, because the Council doesn't usually like us peasants know their reasoning behind such decisions, but I heard that he was removed because he apparently had refused to do something they told him to do,” said Dlaine with a shrug. “And then he disappeared, though where to, I don't know. But frankly, I'd rather not know.”

  Keo nodded. “Then let's keep going. I'm already tired of sleeping in the wilderness.”

  Keo only managed to take one step forward, however, before one of Dlaine's strong hands rested on his shoulder. He looked at Dlaine, who was looking at him in annoyance.

  “What?” said Keo. “Why'd you stop me? Don't you want to get to Carrk as quickly as possible?”

  “Yes, I do,” said Dlaine. “But remember what happened in Torgan when we told the gatekeepers who we are? They nearly arrested us, and would have if Sadia hadn't intervened. And I doubt Sadia followed us all the way from Torgan, unless she's that obsessed with you.”

  “Why would Sadia be obsessed with me?” said Keo, arching an eyebrow in confusion.

  “That's not the point,” said Dlaine. He pointed at the guards at the town's front gates below. “The point is that the Enforcers of Carrk probably know about us and what we're wanted for. Therefore, we can't just march up to the gates, tell 'em who we are, and expect them to let us in without causing a scene.”

  “What should we do, then?” said Keo. “Go around the town and head straight to Capitika?”

  “No,” said Dlaine, shaking his head. “We need to stop in Carrk because there is someone there who I need to speak with.”

  “Who?” said Keo.

  “An old friend of mine who I haven't spoken to in a while,” said Dlaine, somewhat vaguely. “Won't be long. But if we're going to enter Carrk, then we need to come up with a convincing lie so that the Carrk gatekeepers won't realize who we are and arrest us.”

  “Just like in Torgan,” said Keo. “What were the false names Sadia made up for us?”

  “She didn't make up any names for us,” Dlaine pointed out. “Remember? She convinced Torgan's gatekeepers that we were mixed up with the 'real' criminals, Ceo and Flaine, but I don't think that will work here because the Enforcers in Carrk are probably still looking for a couple of prison escapees named Keo and Dlaine.”

  “Then why not call ourselves Ceo and Flaine?” said Keo. “It would be easier than coming up with some new names, wouldn't it? It's not like the Carrk gatekeepers know what we look like, anyway. They wouldn't recognize us, so they wouldn't know we were lying.”

  Dlaine opened his mouth, like he was going to criticize the idea, but then he closed it and looked like he was thinking about it. Then he nodded and said, “Actually, that is a good idea. Wish I'd thought of it first.”

  “All right, then, Flaine,” said Keo with a smile. “Why don't you lead the way to town?”

  Dlaine nodded and then the three of them made their way down the path to Carrk's southern gates. Upon arriving at the gates, they were met by the gatekeepers, a couple of Enforcers who asked them to identify themselves and state their business. Keo and Dlaine identified themselves using the fake names that they had agreed upon and were let inside without any issue. Neither did the guards ask for Keo or Dlaine to give up any of their weapons, which was good because Keo did not like being separated from Gildshine for very long.

  Upon entering Carrk, Keo looked around at the town. It was similar to Torgan in appearance, except there was a large water fountain in the center of the street they walked upon, a fountain in the shape of a massive flower. The fountain sprayed beautiful, crystal clear water in the air, while many people stood or sat around it, talking and socializing among themselves. Children tossed coins into the fountain, while nearby parents kept a careful eye on the kids to make sure they did not get into trouble or hurt themselves. The water looked nice and cool in the hot summer sun, especially with the way the sun's rays reflected off its surface.

  The streets themselves seemed a lot wider than in Torgan or New Ora. They were flatter and better paved, but they also looked a lot more used, like they got a lot of traffic. In fact, Keo saw a horse-drawn carriage parked in front of one building and through the carriage's windows he could see boxes full of what looked like glowing stones, though he had no idea what those stones were or what they did.

  And a large banner was strung across the street, depicting two Magicians dueling each other, though Keo was unable to read the large, glittery words written on the banner and so had no idea what it was advertising.

  “So,” said Keo as the gates closed behind Dlaine and him. “Where is your friend? The one you said we needed to meet?”

  “Nearby,” said Dlaine, who was now looking around Carrk like he was afraid that people were watching him, even though as far as Keo could tell, none of the town's inhabitants seemed to be paying any attention to them. “Come on. We won't stay here long.”

  Dlaine immediately started walking down the street to the right and Keo followed, saying, “Okay, but what do you want to talk to your friend about? Is it related to our quest to go to Capitika?”

  “It's related to my quest to save my daughter's life,” said Dlaine, glancing over his shoulder at Keo in annoyance. “And as I said, we won't stay for long. I just need to ask her one question and then we can head straight to Capit
ika, which should only take us a couple of days at most.”

  Keo nodded and then looked up at the large banner, which they passed underneath on their way down the street. “What does that banner say? It looks like an advertisement for something.”

  Dlaine looked up as well before returning his focus to the street before them. “It's advertising Carrk's Tenth Annual Magician Charity Duel.”

  “Carrk's tenth what?” said Keo, picking up his pace to keep up with Dlaine, who was walking rather quickly for a man his age.

  “Carrk's Tenth Annual Magician Charity Duel,” Dlaine repeated, this time without looking at Keo. “Clean out your ears so I don't have to repeat myself again.”

  “I heard you, I heard you,” said Keo. “But what is this charity duel thing? I've never heard of it.”

  Dlaine sighed as they walked past a man sitting on the street, strumming a guitar, with a hat nearby that was clearly where you were supposed to put donations for him. “I keep forgetting that you haven't gone anywhere past the front porch of your house for your whole life. Well, the Magician Charity Duel is part-tradition, part-government-enforced entertainment.”

  “That doesn't really clear anything up,” said Keo. “At all. If it's a duel, does it involve fighting?”

  “Yes,” said Dlaine as they stopped to allow another horse-drawn carriage to pass them before they continued on. “See, the people of Carrk have always loved duels, whether between normal people or between Magicians. In the old days, prior to the Kingdom's fall, Carrk was where all of the best duelists in the Kingdom would come to fight, including King Riuno himself whenever the dueling bug bit him. So about ten years ago the people of Carrk decided to put this reputation to use by creating the Magician Charity Duel, in which two Magicians are invited from different parts of South Lamaira to duel for the entertainment of the people in order to raise money for the poor.”

  “Is it to the death?” said Keo with a gulp.

  “Death? Nope,” said Dlaine, shaking his head. “It goes on until one of them is knocked out or gives up. But the duels can get pretty brutal, depending on what kind of spells the duelists use and how much they dislike each other.”

  “You also said that it is part-government-enforced entertainment,” said Keo. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean that the government of Carrk is in charge of running it,” said Dlaine as they passed a shop that seemed to be selling carved statues of Magicians. “Originally it was just run by the citizens themselves, but then the Magical Council caught wind of it and demanded that the charity duel be handed over to the government of Carrk because those sorts of things are supposed to be overseen by them.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” said Keo.

  “Sort of,” said Dlaine. “While the charity duels haven't exploded, the fact is that they aren't doing nearly as well as they used to. Then there's the fact that the Magical Council is taking part of the money received during the charity duels and using it to fill their own coffers, which I think is the main reason they demanded that the government of Carrk take over the event more than anything else.”

  “Oh,” said Keo. “Where does the duel usually take place?”

  “Usually in the town square, which isn't too far from here,” said Dlaine, gesturing down the street. “But we don't have time to stay and watch a couple of Magicians beat the stuffing out of each other. We're here to speak with my friend.”

  “Why don't we split up?” said Keo. “I think the charity duel, government corruption notwithstanding, sounds like a great way to pass the time. You and Jola can go to your friend's house and talk to her, while I go and watch the duel. We can meet up at the northern gates and head to Capitika from there.”

  Dlaine frowned, clearly not enthusiastic about the idea. “I don't know. I don't like the idea of splitting up, even if no one here knows who we actually are. Too much could go wrong and I, for one, am tired of things going wrong.”

  “I think you worry too much,” said Keo, shaking his head. “I promise not to get into any fights with anyone, nor will I reveal my real identity. I'll just watch the duel, and once it's over, I will immediately head over to the northern gates and meet you there. I promise.”

  Dlaine looked at Keo with skeptical eyes, but then he sighed and said, “All right. You go and do that, while Jola and I go to my friend's house. Just be careful, all right?”

  Keo smiled and nodded. “Sure. Now where's the town square again?”

  Dlaine gestured ahead. “Just go left at the corner of that street up there and you should eventually reach it.”

  “Thanks,” said Keo. “See you later.”

  With that, Keo dashed across the street, passing by a group of Hasfarians who were talking rapidly among each other in the Hasfarian language, and was soon on his way to the duel, leaving Dlaine and Jola behind and hoping that the duel would be exciting and interesting.

  ***