The Rokkaia Chronicles

by Rhys Thomas

I had never helped her when she pleaded for it.

  I knew the guilt I felt.

  The dead look in her eyes as Michael- I shook away my tunnelling memories. I dammed them and walled them in, this place brought them to me like bizarre little gift’s, except these gifts still gave me nightmares.

  “Now, what was it that Aria wanted? A tunic, I’ve got one somewhere,” I murmured and heard my voice travel out filling every corner of this strange plane. With a mental command, I summoned forth all clothing I held in inventory, which wasn’t much really, I barely used the dimensional plane back on earth because I was most definitely scared someone would see or find out.

  Images of being strapped to a table as scientists prodded me with needles, screwed bolts in my head and monitored brain waves as I struggle fatally, rolled through my thoughts.

  From the ceiling strands of black fluid drooled as if they glassy black sand pouring down a funnel, they lowered various item’s of clothing I’d recently collected and hung them there for me. I picked the beige tunic I had taken from the farmhouse.

  Holding it in my hand, I clicked the fingers of the other and a moment later I opened my eyes feeling the light material manifest in my hand.

  “It’s not much, just what was left from that farmhouse—before I bunt it to the ground I mean,” I said to Ariana’s stunned expression as she I eyed the tunic, I held out to her. It was a little dirty but wearable at the least.

  “But- how do you- do it?” She gestured to the tunic.

  “You put it over your head-” I started to say, when she scowled at me. I shrugged, not fully understanding it myself. “Just do and always have been able to,” I replied with a thoughtfully look.

  See, to Ariana I had simply closed my eyes for four to five seconds and then a dirty beige tunic materialised into my hand. It’s like watching the building blocks form and making the item I warped to me, as if microscopic molecules were forming together to remake the tunic outside of my inventory.

  The process was practically instantaneous, I knew it on a personal level even if I didn’t understand the science or lack thereof. The brain just can’t seem to compute the correlation between something forming from nothing, and something actually forming so fast we can’t detect it.

  Looking passed her to the mirror at the make-up table. I moved closer to examined myself, to see If I would recognise the man staring back at me.

  I took a deep breath and bent at the waist, being too tall for the mirror and too worried my weight would crush the dainty looking wooden chair at the table.

  I looked remarkably the same, though I was dirty and sweat coated my darkly stubbled hair and the frame of my face. Somehow falling into Viria had given me a haircut.

  What really caught my attention though; were my eyes. Half circles like incomplete haloes encircled my pupils. They were of a golden hue but misted slightly by my greyish-blue iris. I blinked several times; as if unsure if the eyes reflected back at me were my own. They were. Having the mirror also reminded me of the runes I’d seen behind the shell of my ears. These were smaller runes and number seven in total, following the curve directly behind my ears.

  Ariana cleared her throat from behind me, I glance to my right and saw her, still in her half-undressed state. Not that I’m complaining mind you, her body rivalled even athletes and supermodels alike. “Are you going to get dress?” I asked and she threw me a withering look.

  “I was about to ask you if you have had any sword training?”

  My eyebrows shoot up, “none at all,” I answered truthfully.

  She nodded as if expecting such. “We can’t exactly train out in the open here - in this village, but once we’ve left, I’ll help you.” I looked towards door of our room, and noticed a shelf just to the right, a lit candle flickered, sat on a wax filled plate.

  I walked over feeling curious and saw the lines marking the times of day, a number stood by each one. From where the wick was burned down to, we had about over three hours remaining till five; or the 5th strike of the candle.

  I nodded and turned back to Ariana, she had decided to spare my meagre man-brain and donned the tunic. It hung loosely from her body flaring out and wide because of her breasts and untucked.

  She had the sleeve rolled up and I saw that her gaara tattoos had formed into two black discus shapes on her forearms. “Come. We should sleep and none of that lying on the floor nonsense either—we’ve a bed and need rest. So, we’ll take it- both of us.” She practically commanded me, beckoning with a crook of her finger.

  I moved over without complaint and led down on the bed on my back, instantly closing my eyes and breathing a sigh of relief at the comfortable feathered pillow beneath my head.

  I felt Ariana set down beside me a moment later, her knees just slightly brushing the tips of my fingers. I wanted to turn and see her face, to observe the look she held but sleep won me over more quickly.

  Chapter Seven

  I tipped down, tripping into the sweet sombre darkness of my dreams.

  My few hours of rest were spent dreaming of Marisa and Ariana, it wasn’t anything sexual either, just one of familiar comfort. An idyllic life on a farm, but the dream ended with a familiar wrongness.

  The door as it slowly creaked open, a room where terrible things happened. A boy trembling in terror, hiding beneath his blankets as a man with a prosthetic leg thumped into the room drunkenly.

  I woke bolting up right, prepared to scream and fight my phantoms away when the door pounded under an insistent knocking. I looked about blearily, trying to retrieve my baring. The knocking came again.

  “Alright!” I shouted, “god. Knock any harder and you’ll come through the bloody door!” I said grumbling and extracting myself from Ariana’s firm entwining legs. They tighten slightly, almost possessively; but I knew the knocker would just try again till I opened the door.

  So, shooting off the bed; I quickly made my way across the room and swung the door open with a growl.

  “What do you want?” I snapped; a small boy, his hand raised to thunder against our door flinched away with a squeak. I blinked several times and wiped a hand over my face, “M-Mistress Horrigan said to wake you for the 5th strike- for dinner- uh, s-sir.” He rattled off quickly and before I could even reply; he sprinted off down the hallway not looking back and fearing for his life.

  I sighed and closed the door resting my forehead against it afterwards. I heard a groaning yawn behind me and looked back to see Aria stretching like languidly and then she sat bolt upright. Her hair was mushed around her face and a line of drool leaked from the corner of her mouth, she blinked blearily at me and I gave me a sad smile.

  “Some boy,” I croaked. “Came to tell us about dinner - I think?” I explained yawning and lying back on the bed face down beside the Valakhari scout.

  Ten minutes later saw Ariana and I arriving in the common room down stairs. Aria still wore my spare tunic and it was now tucked into her tight black leather breeches. Our boots clacked against the wooden floor as we crossed the room. A few other people were present, local’s I thought. Some eyed us with curiosity and a few with suspicion.

  “They’ll probably report to Jessel if they see anything they don’t like,” I muttered quietly, though loud for Aria to hear.

  We decided to leave our weapons upstairs, all the same I told Aria I had my falchion in my inventory just in case.

  Catherine was by the cooking-pot at the fireplace, pulling ladles of musky smelling stew and filling bowls. The old man I’d seen down by the river who Catherine called Len, her husband I guessed. Was retrieving the bowls from his wife and taking them around to the occupied tables.

  Catherine saw us and waved us on to the corner booth we’d occupied before with a smile.

  I gave her a grateful nod and followed after Ariana, quite a few of the male percentage were ogling her tight swaying ass as she moved, and I was proud to count myself amongst them.

  The boy who had been pummelling our door a few minutes
ago came over to us. He seemed surer of himself now and walked determinedly to our table his eyes focused to our faces.

  “My sir and lady, with your renting of a room at the Honeyed-bear Inn your meal and drinks are packaged in the with cost of your room,” the boy informed us professionally. I raised an eyebrow at Aria, and she shrugged, but before I could response the boy resumed talking.

  “Mistress Horrigan has informed me, that said cost has been discounted for two reasons. The first being your removal of the bandit Scar-eye, and the second your recent run of bad luck.”

  “Okay sure, that’s fine kid, but what is the total for our stay then?” The boy nodded and cast a glance over his shoulder at Catherine and Lenard as they spoke to a few people leaving the inn.

  “It’s- I mean, the total cost of your stay is 3-silvers 4-copper piece’s.”

  With that the boy turned on his heel and strolled confidently over to another costumer. I flashed her three fingers and then four for the cost of our stay, she nodded and retrieve her coin pouch from the pockets in her breeches. She slid the coins over, and I held on to them as Catherine came over holding our bowls of lamb stew.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Horrigan you’ve been very kind to us.” I held out our fee for the room, meal and drinks. It was the first time I had seen the silver and copper coins; the silver coins were a small silvery band much like the gold coins but without the golden banding around the silver.

  The coppers coins came in three different shapes, a circle, triangle and a square. The circular copper coins had a square hole stamped into their centre. The triangular copper pieces had a circular hollow. The square piece with a triangular stamped hollow.

  I hid my fascination. Earth’s currency rarely awed people but seeing the creative lengths Viria populace went to differentiate their coinage variety, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of respect for them.

  I knew this would eventually become mundane to me, I just wished I’d remembered my wallet the day Ra’al beamed me up.

  “Well the money always good with you adventuring types, but myself and the whole village should be thanking you. Scar hadn’t just been plaguing us but a few others smaller settlements as well.”

  I grinned at the older woman, “reckon there’s any chance that if I arrive at their gates, announcing that I killed Scar they would give me the same generous treatment you have?”

  She smiled and shook her head with an amused expression, “I’m afraid they’ll think ya mad dear. I’ll have Len drop ya your drinks. They’ll be a basket of fresh bread and butter, once everyone finished.”

  I raised my eyebrows at the Valakhari scout, she gave me a stoic shrug of her shoulders and reached for her bowl. The meal lasted a few breath’s, Ariana and I devouring the lamb stew in breathy gasps.

  After we sipped our drinks as the time past with us sat in a comfortable silence. Aria still kept her gaze to the door, I knew she felt naked without her axe, such as I felt naked without Marisa. I had send her a mental call on the way from our room and she actually replied with an irritated growl and hissed on about the people of Melancholy being so very active during the day.

  It had made returning to a proximity where we could talk a pain in the ass.

  I just reassured her that I would see her tonight and that in the meantime she should hunt as much as possible.

  My thoughts of Marisa fled as Ariana eyes flickered rapidly and gave my shin a slight nudge with her boot. I gave an affirmed nod, feeling like eyes were drilling into the back of my head.

  Jessel, I guessed. Shifting my eyes to the right I confirmed that neither Catherine nor Lenard were present in the commons room.

  Off in the kitchen I imagined readying that freshly baked bread, licking my lips in anticipation of more food.

  Everyone had gone eerily silent with the arrival of the self-proclaimed Captain Jessel. The older man’s heavy boots thumped loudly as he came closer to us. Obviously one of the attendees had snitched when that Catherine and Len were in the back.

  “Well, if isn’t Melancholy’s newest and uninvited guests,” he said with false friendliness, I looked at Aria in confusion.

  The prick was now in front of our booth, “sorry. Did you say something?” I asked the Valakhari scout. She paused her eyebrows creasing in similar confusion and shook her head. “Are you sure? I can smell bullshit you know,” again she shook head more amused now than actual confusion.

  “Oh, hello Captain. How’s your evening?” I said with feign surprise. He was about to reply in blustering indignation when I held up a hand as I actually yawned. “Sorry - you were saying?”

  “Don’t think for a second you’ll get away with what you’ve done, to me, to this village. I’ll have you and your whore hanged the moment I get my chance.”

  Seriously? What. The. Fuck was this guy’s problem. I don’t even think he knew what his problem was. Maybe I just have one of those faces, I mused internally.

  I snorted into my tankard as I drained the last few dregs. “Ooh, and how are you going to do that then Captain? I think your arrogance has gotten the better of you, it’s made you ignorant of the unknown,” I said sarcastically, my hand dropping beneath the table.

  I saw the slight shift in his stance as he pivoted his shoulders and hips, broadcasting the punch he was about to let fly. I instead patted his inner thigh with the tip of my falchion.

  He froze as I continued the patting and looked on the verge of the angriest shit I’d ever seen, as his face went paler and bright red. “Be carefully now dearie,” I said mimicking Catherine’s voice and tone.

  The Kitchen door banged open and Jessel flinched at the sound, sweat beading his forehead as he starred at me, indignation, fright and anger boiling on the surface of his strained features. I warped my sword back into inventory.

  “Jessel!” Catherine snapped upon seeing him by our table. He didn’t move though, and I guessed he still believed my blade was mere inches from his curlies. “St-stay back Catherine,” Jessel exclaimed hoarsely, his eyes blinking rapidly at me.

  “What did I tell ya, ya dumb idiot,” Catherine said moving over to us.

  “No! Catherine please this man; he has his sword pointed at me.” I heard the few remaining customers chair’s pull back in shock, spoons and tankards thumping down onto bowls and tables, each sound making Jessel flinch.

  It was a pitiful sight in all honestly, this man was all bark and no play. I leaned forward across the table, so that Catherine could see my confusion. “I don’t actually. I have no idea what he’s on about, nevertheless if I had He’d be dead already, after threatening to hang my companion and I.”

  Catherine marched over and straight up slapped Jessel across the face, causing the him to splutter and take a step back.

  “No!” he shouted at her and the imaginary sword giving him a thigh rub caused everyone to stop at his outburst. He recollected himself and snarled at Ariana, Catherine and I.

  “He has his damn blade, you stupid bitch,” Jessel yelled at her and I stood up and stepped out from the booth.

  Jessel backed away bumping various tables and chairs, and I showed my empty hands. Catherine looked past me and into the booth, no sword.

  “I believe the good captain is trying to spread false rumours,” I said, hiding my smirk. The Innkeeper looked at the guardsman’s with shock and disgust plain across her face.

  “Why would he do that?” A man covered in grass stains and dried mud on his sleeves asked.

  “To have us thrown out obviously, out of this inn and out of your village. Where once we’re outside he can hunt and hang us like he just threatened to,” I shook my head sadly. “I guess he hated being denied his theft at your gates.”

  Jessel growled in irritation, “can’t you see this man and his woman are murderers they admitted as much themselves at the gates.”

  “Don’t you mean ‘whore,’ that is what you called her in your threat to me.”

  “And they admitted to killing bandits,” Catherine supp
lied helpfully.

  “They killed my brother. I will not stand for this!” He screamed, it was then that caught the scent of his breath, strong spirits fouled the air between us.

  “Did I kill your brother?” I asked and he paused. “You haven’t even send anyone to check have you?” I sighed. “So, instead you get piss-wet-through-drunk and decide to pay us a visit. You’re not married, are you?” I asked and the man swayed about in confusion, the first signs of his drunkenness I had noticed.

  “No!” he spat at me.

  “Good, okay.” I replied calmly, cooling my anger with an exhale. “The true is you don’t know if I killed your brother or not, and the won’t you know until you actually check.”

  But, Jessel just stared at me with a disbelieving wobbly gaze, “you’re a liar,” he hissed indignantly.

  “Well, there is just no pleasing some people, even with the true as it happens.”

  Jessel sniffed and his expression turned dark, or was it sour from smelling his own breath. Anyway; the asshole left after that.

  Catherine apologised profusely, but I just shook my head telling her, “we’ve all got bad-shit rooted somewhere within us, it’s just thicker in some people.”

  Afterwards we ate freshly made warm bread rolls, each came in a miniature basket placed on tables where the occupants still remained.

  Five slices of bread and a small plate sat at the centre with a thick square of butter on it.

  After eating once again we had our final drink and said goodnight to Catherine and her husband. Making an early exit for our room. The candle marked the 7th strike. It was still light outside of our, but the clouds and day were slowly receding into the evening and night.

  I felt Ariana fingers brush the bare skin of my back. “You know your clothing is ripped to shreds right?” She asked me and I frowned, shook my head. “Here, take it off.”

  “Uh-huh, sure. You did show me yours after-all, I might as well return the favour,” I said giving her a wink as she rolled her eyes.

  It wasn’t; as it turns out only my tunic but also my undershirt had the same diagonal slash going down it as well.