“I am very sorry that my father is making all of you stay in the city until tomorrow,” Kellia apologizes. She sighs as she steps off the lowered drawbridge and takes a look at Aedyn, who is watching the sharks in the moat. A double-fin black belly shark erupts from the water, launching a squirrel that had fallen in. The terrified rodent lands on the ground and races up the nearest tree.
“That is no problem. I assume he has his reasons,” Aedyn politely states.
“He is going to scry all of you to make sure you aren’t spies. Uh . . . where are the others?” asks the heiress with a touch of concern in her voice. She had left Luke, Nyx, Fizzle, and Aedyn on the city side of the moat when she went to meet with her father. Now, the priest is the only one waiting for her.
“Luke said he was going to find an inn and Nyx went to check out some magic shops. Fizzle seems to have vanished as usual,” Aedyn replies before finally turning to Kellia. “You would think that they would stay with the group at the end of our journey.”
Kellia smiles with amusement. “I don’t think Nyx has ever been to Gods’ Voice and Luke always wanders off. I guess that leaves the two of us.”
“I guess so.”
“Don’t sound too happy about it.”
“I apologize, but I am just tired and thinking about other things.”
“I see . . . follow me.”
“Where?”
“Don’t question me,” Kellia orders, stomping her foot. “You’re still one of my bodyguards until you personally deliver me to my father. So, pick up the pace, priest.”
Aedyn watches Kellia walk away from the castle, but she stops to turn and glare at the priest until he starts following. He catches up to the heiress before she turns a corner and enters the crowded food market. The smell of fresh fish and spiced chicken catches the priest’s attention immediately. Kellia follows his gaze and tosses a gold coin to a nearby vendor before taking two of the small, cooked chickens. She tosses one to Aedyn before tucking her arm through his and practically dragging him down an alley. A child-like grin is plastered across her face.
“Where are we going?” Aedyn asks. They reach another street and Kellia twists him to the right. He can feel his shoulder nearly pop from the force of her pulling.
“There is a temple that I try to visit every week when I am home. I want to go today,” the heiress announces.
“Which temple?”
“Lorvis.”
“The god of necromancy?”
“The one and only.”
“This is where I leave,” Aedyn nervously declares. He stops walking and gets his arm out of Kellia’s grip. The sun priest turns to walk away when an unfamiliar noise catches his attention. It starts softly before rolling into a loud mixture of gasping, wheezing, and snorting. Aedyn turns to witness Kellia laughing for the first time since he had met her. The heiress is on her knees with tears trickling down her cheeks.
“You are . . . so . . . gullible,” she wheezes.
“That was not funny,” he says with a sigh.
Kellia finally settles down and looks Aedyn in the eye. “I disagree. I never knew you could make a face like that. Your eyes were huge and your nose twitched. It was like a mouse looking at a hungry cat.”
“I am glad that I amuse you,” Aedyn mutters.
“Just try to cheer up, Karwyn. Our grand adventure is over and we’re safe. After all of the dangers and stress, you should be happy to relax and have some fun. You’ve been moody ever since we left Freedom. Now come with me,” Kellia demands with a surprisingly warm smile. “We’re going to the Cessia temple.”
“Very well,” he sighs.
Kellia grabs him by the hand and leads him down the street to a building made of red marble. The columns at the entrance have silver pictures of coins, dice, and cards etched into their smooth surface. A crystal fountain with sapphire water sits in the middle of the entrance, which opens to the main room of the temple. An enormous coin with the jester cap symbol of Cessia is embedded in the ceiling where it emanates a soft, white glow. Sandstone statues of famous gamblers and jesters stand in alcoves kept high above the floor of the crowded room. The priests of Cessia and their guests fill the vast room where everyone is encouraged to participate in games of chance from every region of Windemere. Aedyn notices that a lot of people are surrounding a large, upside-down triangle construct composed of three gold and blue roulette wheels. Each wheel is connected to each other by a flexible star of metal, which Aedyn realizes is the source of a dull clicking noise. He is about to wander over to the game when Kellia tugs on his arm.
“That’s not an easy game,” Kellia warns him, her voice low and cautious. “You can play it one of two ways. One way is to pick three numbers. You get some money for each of your numbers that the metal pieces stop on. The other way is to pick a number from three to ninety, but that is harder to win. You only get money if the three numbers that the metal star is pointing at add up to the number you chose. I never thought about trying my luck, so I don’t know what the trick to winning is. I come for the fortunes and an occasional game of dice wars.”
“Dice wars?” Aedyn inquires out of mild curiosity.
“You sun priests are so naïve,” Kellia sighs, rolling her eyes. She regrets her tone once she sees Aedyn’s brow furrow. “Sorry for being rude. In dice wars, you are given four dice. Two are placed on your side with their six-dotted sides facing up. The other two dice are rolled in an attempt to get a higher total than your opponent using the stationary dice as a base number. It is legal to hit the stationary dice with your own dice in an attempt to lower your opponent’s score. Unfortunately, your own dice can hit your stationary on a ricochet, so you have to be careful. It’s an easy and fun game once you play it two or three times.”
“I bet,” Aedyn mumbles.
“Here we are,” she announces. An orb of gold with a wide hole in its center is embedded in the wall in front of them. A few people are standing near the orb, but none of them are paying any attention to it. Kellia moves toward a yawning man in colorful priestly robes and nods to him in silence. The man smiles as he steps away from a marble fountain that he was blocking from Aedyn’s view.
Kellia rolls back her sleeves and starts giving Aedyn instructions. “First, you wash your hands. Then, you put your off hand into that hole while focusing on a specific question. You see, there is a dark room behind the orb where an elder priest sits and reads palms entirely by touch. You pull your hand back when you feel a piece of paper pressed into your palm. The paper has your fortune on it. The fortune is open to personal interpretation, which is how I think fortunes should be.”
“Interesting,” Aedyn says with a yawn.
“You don’t have to get one if you don’t want to,” Kellia claims, the excitement on her face dwindling slightly.
Aedyn thinks for a few seconds and eyes the gaping hole. “I would prefer not to.”
“I thought you might want to ask some of those questions that you have been obsessing over,” Kellia admits, her voice quivering slightly. “If you would rather keep brooding about them then I won’t stop you.”
“Is that why you brought me here?” Aedyn asks suspiciously.
“No. I brought you here because the others walked away and I require an escort while I’m in the city,” the heiress bluntly states. “Besides, I find that I am a lot less stressed and temperamental when I’m with you. You’re a very calm and passive person, Aedyn, which makes it easy to be around you.”
“I pride myself on my self-control, but even I can be reckless,” admits the priest as he washes his hands.
“Everyone acts reckless at some point,” Kellia declares. She is about slap Aedyn on the shoulder until she realizes she would have to wash her hands again.
Aedyn is about to agree with her when Kellia puts her right arm into the golden orb. She closes her eyes as a cool, wrinkled hand gently clasps her wrist. A shiver runs up the girl’s spine when a long-nailed finger touches her open palm. She tries
not to laugh as the finger softly traces the grooves of her palm. After a few minutes, Kellia can feel her wrist being released and a folded piece of paper placed in her hand. She pulls her arm out of the hole and flexes her shoulder before unfolding the blue paper.
Looking up from the paper, she notices that Aedyn is staring nervously at the gaping hole. She gives the priest a small stomp on the foot and nods her head at the fortune teller. Aedyn rolls back his sleeve and unceremoniously jams his left arm into the hole. He feels a nimble hand hold his wrist before another hand strikes him on his closed fist. Aedyn mutters an apology before letting his tense hand unfurl.
“This is oddly soothing,” Aedyn whispers.
“Uh-huh,” Kellia says while she reads her fortune a second time. She runs a hand through her ebony hair before releasing a sigh.
“Is everything okay?” asks the priest.
“My fortune says that I should not procrastinate or else I will miss the perfect opportunity. My destiny line has become thin and shallow, which means that my path will become easier,” Kellia replies, her voice sounding low and disappointed. “Also, my lucky number is eight.”
“I guess they want you to lose some money here,” Aedyn mentions, looking around the bustling temple. “Cessia temples can only accept donations that are lost in games of chance. I have known many Duragian priests who have a habit of losing their monthly tithe to Cessia. Some days, I think Cessia is more dangerous than any of the malevolent gods.” He winces when he feels the long-nailed finger on the other side of the wall press into his palm. The half-elf yanks his hand out of the orb and rubs the sore spot on his hand.
“Priest of Durag, you would do wise to think before you speak,” cackles an elderly voice. A crumpled piece of orange paper flies out of the hole. Aedyn catches the paper and politely bows his head toward the wall. He carefully unfolds the balled paper, but stops before he can read any of the fortune.
Kellia gets on her toes to peek over his shoulder. “Somebody seems to be scared of his future.”
“I already know where my path will lead me. There is no point in reading about what I already know,” Aedyn claims, throwing his fortune into a nearby pail.
Kellia smiles at the half-elf before she turns on her heels and walks to the temple doors. Aedyn calmly trails behind the heiress as she pushes her way through the growing crowd of gamblers and fortune seekers. Once she gets outside, Kellia slips out of the mass of visitors and wedges herself between two of the marble columns. She pulls her knees to her chin while Aedyn leans against the column to her right.
“Something on your mind?” he asks.
“I’m just realizing that all of you are going to leave soon. I got used to having friends who weren’t nobles. All of you treated me like a real person instead of the future ruler of a kingdom,” Kellia happily replies. She stops talking to wipe her nose on the back of her hand. Aedyn hands her a yellow handkerchief before sliding down to the ground at her feet.
“You fear that you will be left alone and treated like you are different,” he guesses in a kind voice. “You will no longer have someone who treats you like an equal instead of a superior.”
“No. I fear that I will be bored,” she admits with a crooked smile. “I guess being treated differently might become an annoyance at some point though.”
Aedyn grins as he pats her on the foot. “Everyone seems have a battle for identity and acceptance at some point in their lives. I changed my identity to escape my father’s influence. Luke risks his life to prove that he deserves the adoration he gets from his name. Nyx is finally seeing the world and is trying to find her place in it. I guess the pursuit of an identity is our fate as mortals. There is nothing that you can do about it.”
“Stop patting my foot,” Kellia whispers before blowing her nose.
Aedyn removes his hand and crosses his arms. “Sorry.”
“When I take the throne, I will have to appoint my own council. My father’s closest advisors must retire with him. So, I need to have my own circle of trusted advisors when the time comes,” Kellia quietly explains with her eyes locked on the passing crowd. “I don’t know many people who I would listen to when it comes to big decisions. It would be nice to have a future advisor in the city now that I am staying here.”
“I think it is time for us to find the others,” Aedyn mentions, fighting to hide his discomfort.
“Stay with me, Aedyn!” Kellia blurts out, sounding more desperate than she intended.
The priest sighs and stares at the distant sky. “Your request does not make any sense, Kellia.”
“I trust you and you’re my friend. It isn’t like I’m asking for you to marry me or have a child with me. I just want to have a friend in Gods’ Voice who I can trust and talk to about things,” Kellia requests, her confidence growing. She blows her nose again before she can bring herself to look at Aedyn. “I’m sorry if this gets in the way of your plans, but I have to let you know what I want. I already feel bad about asking you to choose between me and Luke. I know that it isn’t right. All I ask is that you give me some kind of answer before you leave the city.”
“I should go find the others before they get into trouble,” the priest announces, getting to his feet. “You need to go back to the castle where it is safer, so I will walk you home first.”
Aedyn avoids eye contact with Kellia as he turns to walk away. She squeezes out from between the columns and rushes to walk alongside the priest. An air of awkward silence remains between them and it gets worse when they reach the castle. Kellia takes a step onto the drawbridge, but finds that she is unable to go any further without trying to say something to the priest.
Kellia clears her throat and blushes. “I wanted to thank you for what you did in Hero’s Gate. I heard that you fought until you passed out and you used the last of your magic to protect me. I never thought that anyone like you would go that far for someone like me.”
“It was only a doppelganger,” Aedyn contends.
“You didn’t know that at the time. Have a good night, Aedyn,” she whispers softly. Aedyn remains where he is after watching Kellia walk into the castle. He sighs and shakes his head before finally heading towards the nearest inn to begin his search for Luke.
“I do not need this right now,” says the priest.
*****
Nyx wanders the aisles of the small magic shop and lets her free hand glide along the piles of dusty tomes and crinkled scrolls. She carefully balances several scrolls, two potions, and a jar of meditation salve in her other arm. A few rings and crystals catch her attention, but she notices that the enchantments are not worth the money that she would have to pay. Even with the store’s high prices, Nyx is easily distracted and entertained in what many would call a caster’s playground. She spends fifteen minutes staring at a full-length mirror that changes the color of her clothes to whatever she wants. It is a fun activity until Nyx realizes that the color change is only a complex illusion that she effortlessly disperses.
With a deep sigh, Nyx turns down the last aisle and finds the same types of items that she had been ignoring since her arrival. She was hoping to stumble upon a unique item in the store, considering she had to use aura sight to find the entrance. Nyx makes her way to the counter while making a final scan of the room. A cloud of dust chokes the air when she drops her purchases in front of the elderly woman, who is napping at the counter.
“I must say that I am disappointed in your choices,” the white-haired woman mentions. She pulls her dark red robe around her as a small breeze passes through the store. At first glance, Nyx thought that she was an old halfling, but she soon realizes that the woman is an old human caster.
“Why is that?” Nyx asks, surprised at the woman’s statement.
“You must have talent to find my shop, but you only wish to purchase simple scrolls and potions,” the woman replies, tapping her chin her long-nailed finger.
“That’s all I could find. Everything in your store was either too e
xpensive or nothing more than minor enchantments,” Nyx says. A hopeful gleam appears in her eye as she leans over the counter. “I don’t suppose you have anything special on your side of the store.”
The woman grins and shows a mouthful of yellow teeth “I may have a few items that I keep here for special customers.”
“I’m special!” Nyx bluntly exclaims, placing her hand over her heart. “I’m the prodigal apprentice of Cyril and Willow. If anything, I think I have a right to . . . Great. Now, I’m acting like Luke.” Nyx takes a calming breath and composes herself. “I apologize for my outburst, ma’am. I have no excuse for acting like a child in front of a caster who is my senior.”
“Don’t worry, dear,” the woman says, patting Nyx’s hand. “I like your enthusiasm. My name is Kalu.”
“My name is Nyx. How do I prove that I am worthy enough to see the special items that you carry?” the half-elf inquires. Her violet eyes lock with the deep blue pupils of Kalu. Almost immediately, a shiver runs up Nyx’s spine and she has the sudden urge to look away.
“I check the aura of all who enter my store and decide who is, as you say, worthy,” Kalu answers, her voice cracking slightly. “I judged your aura long ago and have been waiting for you to ask permission. Here are the items that you may choose from, but you may only purchase one.”
Nyx watches as Kalu disappears under the counter and returns with five small treasure chests. One by one she opens the chests to the anxious squeal of Nyx who can barely contain her excitement. The dim candlelight of the store stretches toward the magical shine of the items placed before her. Nyx’s eyes suddenly become orbs of amber light as she silently casts an aura sight spell and analyzes the five items. She immediately pushes away the chest holding a golden gauntlet with three sapphires in it. After several minutes of examining the items, Nyx rejects a silver medallion shaped like a feather and a three-inch tall marble gargoyle. Her eyes return to normal as she rubs her chin and stares at the remaining items. One of them is a star-shaped crystal filled with smoke and the other is a shawl woven out of ruby and amber threads.
Legends of Windemere: 03 - Allure of the Gypsies Page 7