The Choosing

by Jeremy Laszlo

  Seth limited his input to the group’s conversations, preferring to just listen as they walked. His mind wandered and he found himself thinking over the last several days, taking in all the events that had come to pass, that had brought him to this point. Though he had nearly lost his life, he could not believe the tremendous luck that had so obviously filled his life. He and his twin had traveled from home, accompanied by a man blessed with the gift of healing. A man he was now proud to call his friend. They had arrived in Stone Haven, and due to Ashton’s gift had been given free food, and free goods to include the crossbow. It was also Ashton who inevitably led them to eat outside the inn that morning he first met Sara. Seth was extremely grateful for this part. Not only had he met her, he had protected her and in doing so, had laid the foundation for their relationship. A relationship he now knew he could not live without. Joined now by the woman he would come to love and adore, they had set out from Stone Haven along the road to raven’s hold. Sara had slowed them, causing them to fall a day behind, but this too was as if it was meant to be. Because of their delay, they had fallen into the path of the goblin that had nearly killed him, but as it had turned out, Sara had instead played a vital role in killing the creature that mortally wounded him. If not for her, Seth would have died, and probably his twin and Ashton as well. Again Seth had been blessed by Ashton’s friendship, being healed by his friend’s control of the Goddess’s gift. Their delay had run their stores of food dry, and this had lead to Garret’s meeting with the knights of Valdadore who had rewarded them not only with the food they so badly needed, but also with enough coin to deliver them safely, and comfortably to the castle city of Valdadore with what should be several days of time to spare and enjoy the city. All this Seth felt had to be more than just pure luck. No one on the face of Thurr could possibly have ever been this lucky. Seth felt as if someone watched over him, guiding his life safely to some predetermined end. He felt thankful for it, he felt blessed. He now looked at Sara and realized if they had not met, he would not be here to look upon her this day. She, in his greatest moment of need, had come to the rescue just in time to save his life. As he had vowed to protect her, she had in turn protected him, his little guardian angel. The thought made Seth smile, and returning from his daydream found Sara’s eyes watching him. The small twin suns, that were her eyes, were filled with love for him. Seth hoped to himself that she too could see his love for her in his own eyes.

  The group marched along through the evening much the same as they had through the day. They talked occasionally about nothing in particular, and Seth had started at one point to relay the dream he had had the previous night to them, but then thought better of it. This he would keep to himself at least for the time being.

  The flat, bleak, shrub infested plains had slowly cleared as they walked, and now had been replaced by slightly rolling hills. The hills were covered by tall grass that for the most part remained green. Occasional groves of trees dotted the hills, and eventually the group could see fenced pastures on the horizon filled with animals. This they knew marked civilization. Before long they could see the roof tops of several farm houses over the hills and as they grew nearer, the buildings themselves came into view. It was not long before they were passing down the road between those very farm houses. Occasionally they would see someone in one of the fields, tending animals or crops, and each time they spotted someone the person would wave or nod to them in greeting from a distance, and they too would in turn wave back.

  The farms continued for a long time, and eventually as the sky began to grow dark on the horizon, they no longer noticed people in the fields. It was when they were approaching a large gray farmhouse that Garret stopped abruptly in his tracks, and placing his hand above his eyes peered off into the distance ahead of them. He had stopped so suddenly that Sara had actually run into him, but Garret seemed not to notice as he tried to focus on something just out of sight. Garret stood frozen searching the horizon as his companions stared at him in wonder.

  “I think that’s it.” Garret stated matter-of-factly.

  “What’s what?” Seth asked his twin.

  “That.” Garret said jabbing his finger toward the horizon in front of them. “I think that’s raven’s hold.”

  All four companions studied the horizon, and after many moments all but Ashton could discern, barely, the massive complex of buildings that was as of now just a smudge on the horizon.

  “How far away do you think it is?” Seth asked his brother.

  “It’s hard to tell.” Garret began. “I think I first saw this house about three hours ago.” Garret now pointed to the large gray home only a stone’s throw away from them. “I would assume, that if that is the city, then it is much bigger than the house here, so probably can be seen from farther away. If I had to guess I would say four maybe five more hours give or take.”

  Seth nodded his agreement to his brother’s calculation, and turned his gaze to the sun.

  “We only have a couple hours of light left, three at most.” Seth stated, knowing as he did three hours was being very generous.

  Almost without thought the four began walking once again, a new urgency to their pace. They agreed shortly after resuming their trek that they would not stop until they reached the city, even if it took them until well past dark. The road was level and wide here, accustomed to frequent use, and easily discernable from the fields around it. It would not be hard to keep to the road even in the darkness.

  Just over two hours had passed since Garret had spotted the city on the horizon. Now however the sun began to shrink past the horizon to the west. They had traveled a great distance in the last few hours, their pace much faster than it had been throughout the day. Now, in the last minutes of sunlight the city was much more easily discernable in the distance. It was apparent that they would indeed need to continue a few more hours into the night to reach their destination, but at least now they knew they could see the destination they sought. Raven’s hold was not what they had thought it was previously. From a far distance it appeared to be several different sized building jumbled together, creating a broken silhouette. However now that they could see the city more clearly it was apparent that it was actually several rows of buildings, each row taller than the previous, growing ever taller towards the center of the city. The whole thing it appeared was surrounded by a great wall of stone, with enormous towers at each corner. This much the group could see in the last moments of light, however, any more details they might take note of were lost as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.

  The group was in luck it seemed. They did not walk on in endless darkness towards their destination as they all thought they would have to. Instead, both moons had appeared full this night, lighting their way in a yellow-green half light that was plenty enough to see the road clearly. They could also see their destination in the darkness. The city itself was obscured, but above it shone the light of the hundreds of lanterns and torches that must have been lit within the city, creating a dome of light in the sky above it. The four walked on at a brisk pace in the half light, hurrying towards the city that seemed to grow larger with each step.

  All four companions stared at the high city walls as they approached. They could see from here the gigantic towers that made the corners of the city, and the enormous stone walls that surrounded it. Directly in front of them was a large gate in the wall, where they could see on the road well ahead of them that people walked, and carts rolled though the massive gate. As they neared the gates, the group could see guards posted to either side, who would occasionally stop a person and speak to them before letting them pass. Raven’s hold was bigger than any of them had imagined, and it occurred to Garret that there very likely would be more than one inn in the city. They needed to find the inn where Sirus had said would have a room and horses awaiting them. Garret figured he would have to ask for directions from someone familiar with the city to see if they knew Sirus.

  As the twin’s and their companion
s neared the gate they fell into line behind the mass of people waiting to gain entry to the city. In front of them was a large cart of turnips and carrots, drawn by a mule, lead by an old man. They waited patiently behind the cart, moving forward as it did ever nearing the gates to the city. Finally as they neared the entrance through the massive stone walls, Garret led them directly towards one of the guards posted at the gate.

  “Excuse me sir.” Garret spoke to the guard standing to the left of the large gate. “The Knight Sirus said he would have an inn room and horses awaiting myself and my companions once we arrived, do you know perhaps at which inn he might have made such accommodations? Garret asked trying to sound as if this were a normal conversation for him.

  “Yes young sire.” The guard responded immediately as if talking to a superior officer.

  “Please visit the Stamping Steed. It is most certainly where Lord Sirus would have arranged your accommodations.” The young guard stated knowingly, and quickly related to Garret directions to reach the inn.

  The group was back on the road walking through the city in no time at all, with a bed and a hot meal just around the corner. They walked still with purpose, though not as fast as they had the last few hours, here the buildings were closer together than in Stone Haven, and the streets narrower. As they had noticed from a distance, the further they traveled into the city the taller the buildings became. They realized that the city had basically the same design as Stone Haven however, with rings of buildings starting at the center of the city, working their way outward, and a single street running through it from north to south, and another east to west. Each of the rings of buildings had a small street between them that intersected these two larger roads making the city fairly easy to navigate. They had only passed seven or eight rows of buildings when Garret led them down one of the narrower side streets, and then stopped in front of a tall, wide building with torches burning all along its front. The building was made of some sort of clay brick and stood several stories tall. Windows were spaced regularly throughout the front wall and from each window shone a lantern. Above the wide double door swung a sign carved into the shape of a stallion rearing up on its hind legs. The four of them approached the large door together, each imagining a warm bed and hot food that would be behind the door in front of them. Seth released Sara’s hand for the first time that day, and pulling her closer to him he placed his arm around her waist as they followed Ashton and his twin brother inside.

  The inside of the large building was just as well lit as the outside. Coming through the door the small band of travelers walked into a huge room that spanned the entire length of the building. The room was filled from end to end with tables of varying sizes, and many of them were attended by groups of men and women. Between the tables brick pillars jutted from the floor to support the building above it at regular intervals. At each end of the room there stood a large staircase leading up to the higher levels. This inn was unlike the one in Stone Haven in more than appearance however. Here no one looked to see who had come through the door. It was as if no one had even noticed them enter. No one hollered a greeting to them either as they entered. They walked into the room allowing the door to close behind them and stood, unsure, looking the room from end to end. This inn too had a large bar directly across the room from the door, and so Garret again taking the lead, walked towards the bar. The massive bar appeared to be made from a single enormous piece of wood, cut smooth at the top and polished to a shine. The front of the bar was an intricately carved scene of two armies facing one another across a field of battle. In front of the bar were dozens of stools from one end to the other, though none of them were currently in use. The twins and their companions approached the bar and seeing that it was unattended, seated themselves upon the stools and waited. A few moments later a young girl, perhaps in her mid teens came through the door behind the bar. Spotting them, she turned and thrust her head back through the door and shouted.

  “Whalen you have customers!” The girl yelled then turned back to the four at the bar and smiled.

  The girl walked right past the quartet at the bar and walked to a table across the room and seated herself there with two other people. A few moments passed and the door behind the bar swung silently open again and a short, older man came through carrying a tray of glass mugs which he sat on the bar. He approached them then from across the bar, a comfortable grin on his face, and flickering light from the lanterns hung behind him shining off his bald round head.

  “What can ol’ Whalen get for ye M’lady and gentlemen?” The Short man asked all the while managing to maintain his grin.

  “Sirus said you would have a room and horses waiting for us when we arrived.” Garret stated matter-of-factly to the short balding innkeeper.

  “Ah yes.” The man replied in his jolly voice. “You must be Master Garret then.” The man stated one of his white eyebrows rising as if it were a question more than a statement.

  “Yes sir and these are my companions.” Garret said motioning to the other three.

  The old man seemed to be taken aback for a moment as his small grin faded for just a moment, and then returned.

  “Well Lord Sirus did not mention that there were four of you, only that you would need a room. The room I had prepared for you only has two beds so let me see if I have another room near it still available.” The old man stated.

  Without waiting for a reply the old man knelt down and from behind the bar he brought out a large tome bound in leather. He unwrapped the leather expertly and flipped through the pages of the large volume, and finding his desired page ran one stubby finger down the page nodding to himself all the while. The man made a few mumbled notes to himself then closed the large tome and again wrapped it in the leather, and returned it to somewhere behind the bar. He turned then back to Garret, again with the grin on his face, only this time it looked less natural.

  “Well it seems Master Garret that I have no other rooms available on the second floor, but if you are so inclined I can send someone up to prepare another room for you on the fourth floor, or if you wish I can have them prepare you two rooms on the fourth floor, and I can give the one I have prepared now to another customer.” The man looked at Garret expectantly awaiting an answer, his forced grin still on his face.

  “That won’t be necessary sir, we would not want for you to go out of your way for us. The one room you already have prepared will be quite enough for us for this night.” Garret said hoping his companions would feel the same.

  “Well then young Master Garret, consider your room ready for you. The horses will be delivered here in the morning from the stalls across town. Is there anything else you require? Whalen asked the group, his natural grin reappearing once again.

  “Some hot food would be welcome as well as cold drink.” Garret stated, all his companions nodding their agreement.

  “In that case.” Whalen began. “We have a nice Beef roast with garlic, onion, potatoes and carrots with some bread rolls baked only a couple hours ago if that suits you.”

  None of the companions spoke, but they all nodded their acceptance of the food to Whalen who then stated he would soon return with their food and drinks. Whalen was true to his word and returned only moments later carrying a large wooden tray loaded with bowls of food and mugs of ale. He placed a large bowl full of roasted beef and vegetables in broth and a mug of cold ale in front of each of the four companions and without a word again disappeared, waddling on stubby legs through the door behind the bar. He returned again this time carrying one large platter piled high with buttered rolls and placed this on the bar between Ashton and Seth who passed them to either side to both Garret and Sara. The four thanked Whalen graciously, who accepted their thanks, then turned and walked back through the door again leaving them to their food. All four ate vigorously devouring the food down to the last roll, and washing it all down with the strong dark brown ale. No one spoke as they ate, all too eager to finish the food while it was hot. As they all
finished they each complimented the food and the drink and waited patiently for Whalen to return.

  It was not long when the short balding man again came abruptly through the door. His apparently permanent grin remaining, greeted the companions and asked them how the food was. Accepting their praises on the quality of the food and drink he had provided, he assured Garret they could pay in the morning when they had eaten again and received their mounts. Whalen had told them that any friend of Sirus was a friend of the Stamping Steed and he trusted them to pay in the morning. Stating that he needed to return to his duties in the kitchen, Whalen informed them they were staying in room twenty seven on the second floor, and wished them a good night’s rest. The companions bid him good night in return, and collecting their packs from the floor, strode together across the room and up one giant staircase to the second floor.

  They found their room easily and quickly went inside. The room was much larger than they had expected. Inside were two large beds, one on either side of the room. Beside each bed sat a small writing table equipped with quill and ink, and a stool. Directly between the two beds was a long wooden table with two large wash basins, several towels, and a hair brush upon it. Across the middle of the floor sprawled a decorative rug, brightly woven in contrasting patterns, and upon the walls hung several paintings depicting the city itself from different views within its walls.

  After entering the room and taking in all its contents Ashton, the last to enter closed and barred the door, then stood with his companions waiting to see what it s they would do.

  Garret first tried to reason with his brother, asking him to accept a bed, knowing that he above all of them needed to rest. Seth, denied the offer, knowing well that he would much prefer spend the night propped against a wall with Sara in his arms. Seeing this battle was lost, Garret then tried to reason with Sara, pleading with her to accept one of the beds, saying something about a lady should never have to sleep on the floor. Sara too declined his offer, if Seth was sleeping on the floor, so would she. Garret tried to reason with them each once more saying they should at least share a bed, he would sleep on the floor and Ashton could use the other bed. This proposal was replied to by Seth with a look that could have melted the walls around them. Garret quickly gave up his protests after the look from his brother and went to wash his hands and face in one of the basins on the table. The others joined him, each washing their face and hands. Garret and Ashton quickly washed and climbed into their beds, each blowing out the lanterns near their beds. The only light remaining in the room was a small candle upon the large table holding the basins. Sara stopped Seth before he left the table, and pulling his head low to the water, she rinsed the dried blood from his hair that still remained as best as she could and helped him to dry his hair. Smiling in satisfaction at Seth’s hair Sara then took up the brush, and began to brush the tangles from her hair. As she brushed, Seth stood watching her practiced strokes through her hair. He stepped behind her as she worked a knot from her hair and placed his hands upon her hips. Hearing his brother’s and Aston’s light snoring he pulled her into himself, and reached around her waist. Taking the brush from her hand, he returned it to the table. Raising one hand Seth gently pulled her hair back over her shoulder, keeping the other hand firmly around her waist. As he exposed her neck, he bent slightly bringing his lips to the warm flesh of her neck he kissed her softly. Sara trembled with the kiss. Seth kissed her again, this time a little higher than the last. Again Sara’s small frame quivered. So he kissed her neck again and again working his way up her neck to her fragile jaw and continued to kiss her all the way to her ear lobe. Here he exhaled slightly, blowing warm air into her ear, sending a powerful shudder through her small body, and she spun in his arms, turning to face him.