Browen had taken the last watch and was standing up to his knees in the river water where he broodily tossed stones downstream. His hair was wet, and his chest bare with droplets of water that raced down his defined frame. He was as clean as the river could get him. Miri then noticed his tunic drying on a nearby tree and decided to do the same. The bottom of her cloak was caked in the nastiness of the sewers and she worried that the awful smell tickling her nose was her.
She joined Browen at the river edge and submerged her cloak into the cool water. He paused in his stone throwing to greet her half-heartedly then reached into the water by his feet to collect more stones to throw.
“Browen, are you alright?” She felt compelled to ask, as she worked the fabric of her cloak in the flowing river.
Browen shrugged and threw a particularly flat stone against the water in such a way that it bounced against the surface several times, then sank.
“I am sorry that you had to give up your ring.” She offered as she pulled her cloak free of the water, confident that the worst of the dirt had been washed away. “But now we are safe in Esper, one step closer to our goal.”
He ignored her as he tossed another stone.
She sighed and hung her cloak next to Browen’s tunic and prepared a fire nearby to help dry their garments faster.
Soon everyone was awake. The lure of the river was too strong to keep them away and everyone took a moment to wash away the worst of yesterday. Amri had joined Browen in what had become a stone throwing contest while Ralis and Ezra tried their best to wash away the dirt, sweat and mystery substances from their clothes, skin and hair. Miri had quietly slipped into the fields of the neighboring farm and gathered some of the vegetables that were growing. It was the best breakfast that she had ever made.
“Are we still going to Frellan?” Browen asked as they dried off around the fire after breakfast.
“I have had no other visions. At least none regarding our destination.” Miri sighed. “The Human capital is the only clue we have.”
Ezra ringed the water out of her long black hair. “It’s about two days away by carriage. There is a roadhouse further up the road where we would usually stop for the night, then we would be in Frellan the next evening.”
“And by foot?” Amri asked.
“I don’t know.” Ezra squeezed her hair and somehow even more water dripped from her lengthy locks.
“Three days at worst by my estimate.” Browen answered pulling out his map. “That road we were on goes directly to Frellan, if we follow it, we’ll be there before long.”
“But roads are dangerous.” Miri pulled her arms tight against her torso. She felt trapped between the busy wide-open farmlands and the well-travelled road.
“Do you want to cut across the farms?” Ezra asked incredulously.
“No.” It was Ralis who answered with wide eyes, then he offered a nervous smile. “We won’t get lost if we stay on the road.”
“We’ll keep to the edges and hide in the brush if we see anyone coming.” Amri offered. “Also keep your hoods up, and Browen maybe you should keep my facemask.”
Browen nodded. “But we don’t want to look too suspicious if we’re travelling in plain sight.”
“I wonder what we’re supposed to find in Frellan.” Ezra wondered aloud as she flipped her wet hair over her shoulder. “Or if it was just a landmark.”
“I cannot imagine that we’ll find any clues about the Shrine in a city.” Miri stoked the fire with a nearby stick. “It must simply be a landmark, a step along the way to the Shrine’s location.”
“Do you think it’s in the swamps?” Browen asked. “You started sinking in your vision.”
“Perhaps.” Miri replayed the vision in her mind’s eye and shuddered.
“I thought Esper was all swamp.” Ralis asked, gesturing around them.
“It was all swamp.” Browen recalled. “But I was told that Humans developed technology that made some of the land usable. Now only the worst of the country is swampland.”
“Great, so we need to travel to the worst of it.” Ezra sighed.
“The sacred powers needed to be hidden where they could not be accidentally found.” Miri huffed. “And after what we experienced in the mountains; I would expect wherever the next Shrine is hidden to have its own challenges for us.”
Chapter Twenty Two
Amri
With nothing but open farmlands as far as the eye could see, aside from the occasional patch of small manicured woods, the five travelled along the road. Amri hoped that they would blend in as regular travelers. Regardless, Miri and Ralis both kept their cloaks and hoods pulled tight around them and Browen slipped on Amri’s face mask the second they returned to the road.
As the sun crept higher into the cloudy sky the road became busier. Some walked, some rode horses and others drove wagons, but then they were approached by a strange carriage that rumbled loudly. It looked like any other carriage but had a plume of thick gray steam rising from a compartment on the back and it had no beast of burden or other obvious means to propel it forward. It seemed to move on its own somehow. The man who drove it tipped his tall hat as he passed. Amri had never seen such strange magic before and it reminded her of the odd boats that moved with an unimaginable speed, even upriver.
“What was that?” Browen asked as the contraption passed them by.
“I think they call it a buggy?” Ezra recalled. “Apparently it’s the most stylish mode of transportation in Esper right now, but only the very wealthy can afford them.”
“How does it move?” Ralis questioned as he watched the strange machine continue down the road.
“It must be very powerful magic.” Miri mused as she forced her attention away from the buggy. “But how? Human’s cannot use magic.”
“Not magic.” Ezra confirmed. “It’s Human engineering of some sort, I don’t know much beyond that though.”
They only passed a few more of the strange buggies as they followed the road towards Frellan, but each was unique in its design. Some were small and could only fit one or two riders, but moved very quickly, and others were larger for either many passengers or cargo, those moved slowly. They were made of polished wood and brass with soft leather seating. Amri wondered what it was like to ride one, except she thought the constant rumble and hiss of whatever powered it would drive her mad if she did.
They had not been walking long when they encountered the roadhouse that Ezra had mentioned. None of them bothered to suggest resting there and they moved onward down the road. It was just after noon when they spotted a patrol of Esper soldiers walking down the road and scrambled to hide in the bushes just in time. Thankfully the danger passed without incident and they were able to move forward again.
Further down the road they all paused to watch another strange machine. It moved at an unnatural speed in the distance with a massive plume of smoke rising as it sped past them. Amri had noticed the machine when a loud whistle sounded from it. Ezra had said that it was called a train but again she knew little else. It was yet another example of that strange Human engineering.
They travelled all day and even into the night before they decided to pause for camp. Like before, it was a challenge to find a safe place to set up. Eventually they came across a small cluster of bushes and hid amid them while they slept.
The next day proved to be much of the same and Amri was starting to feel nervous about how easy their passage through Esper had been so far. Their only trouble had been finding food without stealing from farmers. Every inch of Esper seemed to have been tamed, as they saw no sign of wild animals, fruits or vegetables. Only the farmlands as far as the eye could see. There were certainly more rivers than in Madaria, and almost once an hour they passed over a small wooden bridge. Amri wondered if that had something to do with the former swamplands, she had heard so much abou
t.
It started to rain in the afternoon and Amri flipped up the hood of her tunic to cover her head, as she walked to the crest of a small hill. She gasped at what she saw on the other side. Larger than Endar, maybe even larger than Verta was a sprawling city of brilliant black rooftops and towering structures. Like Verta a massive wall circled the edges of the city, but unlike Verta, this wall felt protective. Deeper in the city, perched atop a hill of its own was a magnificent castle of white stone. Even from such a distance Amri spotted the banners of purple and gold that waved at the tops of the towers.
“Frellan?” She asked in a revenant whisper.
Ezra nodded wordlessly.
Amri did not expect to feel such awe at the sight of the city. It was beautiful, especially when compared to the crumbling and despair laden streets of Verta.
“Your parents used to live here?” Amri asked Browen as they walked towards the grand city.
“Before the Queen, yes.” Browen answered in equal awe at the sight.
“Why would they leave? This city is beautiful.” She wondered aloud.
“I think it might have something to do with my father serving the Queen.” Browen bowed his head in shame.
They continued in silence and approached the city gate. Massive purple banners emblazoned with a golden tree had been draped over the walls of the city and soldiers in the same colours marched along the top of the wall. Amri concluded that the symbol must be the mark of the King-Regent. It had been made clear that this was his city, not the Queen’s, even if he ruled it in her name.
Before they entered, the five became one with a massive crowd that hurried through the main gates and the soldiers paid them no mind as they entered the city. Many of the people dressed in the same pretentious fashions that the Esper side of Endar had, but many also dressed in the simple clothes of common folk. It was interesting to see them both intermingled in the dense crowd.
Trapped in the flow of bodies Amri and the other let themselves be directed through the city. There were more people than Amri had ever seen before and they crowded every inch of the large streets. The flow of bodies moved as one towards the castle that always loomed above even the tallest structure within the city. The situation was ideal for a thief like Amri, who could have so easily stolen enough to feed herself for a whole month or maybe more, from only the pockets that passed her directly.
With each new street they flowed through Amri was further amazed by the beauty of the unique architecture, glowing lamp posts, and strange mechanisms that decorated the buildings. Yet despite the city being the most beautiful she had ever seen, Amri could not help but notice that its people moved as if burdened by heavy chains.
“Where are we going?” Browen asked as the crowd took them deeper into the city.
“I don’t know.” Amri looked behind her to ensure that her friends had remained close, it would be easy to lose them in the crowds. “Miri?”
“Perhaps we should follow the crowd? Maybe that is what my vision wanted me to see?” She offered as she struggled to keep her place near her friends.
“Stay close together.” Ezra noted under her breath as the crowd thickened with each passing street.
Unable to think of a reason not too, Amri continued to let the flow of people lead her through the streets. The crowd had a grim air about them, as if they proceeded to a funeral. She heard the hushed whispers of two people further ahead and strained for some clue as to their destination.
“How about you? Anyone you know?” The first asked, with a hopeful glint to his voice.
“My niece.” The other responded, his tone devoid of emotion. “She’s a bright girl, but not very pretty, if I’m being honest. I… I think she’ll be fine.”
The first man spat in disgust. “This damn festival!”
“It’s been twenty years of it, how are you still mad?” Amri realized that it wasn’t a void of emotion in the second man’s voice but a hollow defeat.
“The fact that you and so many others just accept it as normal, is what makes me mad.” The first voice grumbled.
The dense crowd spilled into a large open courtyard where a massive tower had been built in the center. At the top of the tower was an ornate circle of runes that Amri couldn’t read. A pair of arrows which originated from the center, were about to both point at the topmost rune. On the other side of the courtyard from where Amri spilled out, was a tall iron gate that connected to a massive white wall decorated in more of the purple and gold banners. And just beyond that, was the castle that had been omnipresent since they arrived. It loomed imperiously from a small gardened hill within the protective boundaries of the wall. Amri recalled briefly what Miri had said about her vision and realized that this must be the place where she was supposed to be.
The cobblestone yard had been decorated with streamers and colourful banners for some sort of festival. Nestled against the tall stone wall that protected the castle, was a large covered structure with several tiered benches. The benches were nearly full of well-dressed, mostly young, aristocrats who waited impatiently for something to happen. The covered benches were thoroughly surrounded by soldiers, but they were all wearing different colours. Some wore black and gold, some green and black, there was purple and silver, bronze and teal, others in orange and blue, green and silver, and finally a set in red and bronze. None of them bore any indication that they were servants of the Queen, and none of them wore the purple and gold that had been all over the city.
Set at a right angle to the noble’s seating and elevated on its own covered platform, sat a magnificent throne and four equally extravagant chairs on either side of it. The stage was adorned in the purple and gold colours that the entire city had been decorated in. More soldiers surrounded the empty platform, all dressed in the same purple and gold.
Around the outside of the crowded yard were several stands and stalls. They were prepared with games, treats and other delights to be enjoyed. And yet they were all emptied as everyone looked towards a massive fenced area that rested before the King-Regent’s stage and the noble’s platform. Amri felt her teeth grind together at the sight. Confined within the fence were young women, all around her age. They looked like cattle that were waiting to be slaughtered as they milled about the restricted space, each with a look of either terror or resigned dread on their faces. More of the purple and gold clad soldiers watched the fenced area but they allowed some of the people of Esper to crowd to the edges and speak with tear filled eyes to the girls inside.
“What is going on?” Amri asked the air, as her fists balled tightly.
An older man who was standing beside Amri looked down at her in shock, but his surprise turned to terror as he responded. “You need to either flee, right now, or get into that pen.”
She turned to him, slightly shaken by the urgency in his voice then asked the question again. “What is this?”
“You must be new in Esper.” The old man shook his head, and Amri could have sworn she saw a tear covertly slide down his cheek. “This was once our glorious Summerfest, a celebration unlike any other. It has been tainted now; the Mad King is set on fouling everything we once held dear.” He rested a hand on her chest, as if he needed to steady himself for the next part. “The King-Regent… in the days approaching Summerfest, he collects all of the eligible young women of Esper. All of them. He holds them in his dungeons until this day. Soon he will come from his castle and force them to compete in the games that had once made Summerfest a joy. Then at the end of it all he will choose one of them… to be his.”
“To be his?” Amri stepped back in shock and bumped into another person. “What does that mean?”
“It means whatever the Mad King wants it to mean. You’re the right age. You need to either hide or join them. You’ll be punished if they see you out here.” The man removed his hand and looked back towards the caged women.
“They’re free to return to their families, until next year’s Summerfest.” The man answered coldly. “That is, unless they are married before then.”
Amri turned to look at her friends with a determined frown, they needed to do something. This was surely the reason that Miri’s vision had brought them here. Yet when she turned around, she saw that she was alone. She tried to stand on her tiptoes to get a better look at the nearby crowd, but it was no use in the dense throng of people. Instead she looked to the old man.
“When does it begin?”
The man looked towards the tall tower. “At noon… very soon.”
Amri knew what she needed to do, and she couldn’t wait until she found her friends again. She wormed her way, like liquid, through the solid blocks of people towards the pen of young women. It was easy for her; she was small and very skilled at slipping through crowds. Before long she found herself with the weeping families, saying their last goodbyes just in case their daughters, sisters, cousins, or nieces were chosen. She pushed past them all towards the gate that held the women inside. Her lockpicks were ready to work but she was startled to find that she didn’t need them. The gate had no lock.
The women inside the pen ignored her but the weeping families on the outside gave Amri a pitying look as she flung open the gate. Amri had expected the women to run the second freedom was available to them, but instead the parted and allowed room for her to join them.
“Run!” Amri insisted as they all stared at her. “We can lose the soldiers in the crowd!”
The girls looked between each other in confusion at Amri’s request and she grabbed the arm of the nearest to pull her towards freedom.
Sunken Wind Page 22