by Brian Nyaude
After following the strange citizens for quite a while, we stopped and rested for a few minutes. The city was so big, there was no direct route to the castle. It would have been easier to fly there, but we didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves yet. I glared around and caught no sights of any guards in the city. Despite having people, this city looked almost lifeless. It was quiet and crowded and yet nothing was sort of ordinary. What did she do to these people to make them this way? Facing a Rainku was definitely going to be the most difficult task I ever faced. Their power and cruelty was on another level, almost inhuman. Truth be told, no one really knew how they acquired these terrible weapons. Each of them held a unique and dominant weapon, as powerful as the trident. But right now my enemy was Katarina. I had to focus on her first before anyone or anything else. She was no ordinary lady that much was for sure. She possessed a powerful trident plus another power Ebi was rather reluctant to tell. I suspect it was what led to his undoing.
“Where to now Rid?” Dashe asked rudely like always. “I mean you know where to go right? Or do you even have a plan that doesn’t involve getting us caught or killed?”
I stared at him thinking for a second. Nope, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. All the time we had Suzanne to guide us through, but now that she wasn’t here. Now, they were all looking at me to make the decision and direction to take. Did I mention that I am bad with directions? I looked at them unsure of what to say. I mean I knew where to go, but not the route to get there. The roads all zigzagged and led to different directions like a maze all over the city. Whoever designed this city definitely did not like me. My stomach growled at the thought of it all. The fact was that we were in trouble if we continued on without caution. The foul stench around us only made me feel even worse. There was no fresh air in this city, trying to breathe carelessly was an extremely uncomforting experience. I truly couldn’t have picked a better scenario to battle one of the planet’s most deadly tyrants.
“Let’s find some food first,” I said scratching my head. “There is no use fighting on an empty stomach and besides we need to gather information.”
“Are you serious?” Dashe bellowed at me with wide eyes. “We might as well let them catch us without a fight. They know we are here so we need go ahead and fight them now.”
Typical imbecile, he did not realize what he was suggesting to all of us. Everyone was worn out and tired from the long day. This was no way to go into battle. It would surely mean defeat if we charged in on the enemy in our current condition.
“Let it go Dashe,” Ogana stopped him. “Rid is right, take a look at everyone around you. They are clearly exhausted from our encounters with that skeleton army and that foul water creature. Do not be so reckless to rush to your doom.”
I am glad Ogana got my hidden message and supported my decision. However, it wasn’t truly my first intention to let everyone rest and recover before battle. I had only suggested we stop for a while because my whole body itched insanely after our encounter with the swamp creature. It would literally kill me if I didn’t do something about it now. I just had to take a bath no matter what. Otherwise, it would spell trouble for me when I encountered Katarina Fox which was likely sooner than I thought. We walked through the city and were fortunate to find an isolated small inn close to the east wall. It was a little bit run and in a less populated area; however, it was a great place to hide out for the night. There were people quibbling normally and loudly inside the small building. Even in this terrible city, it sort of made me happy that some people were still barely holding onto their sanity. If it was me, I would have lost my mind a long time ago. This city was too brutal and horrible for words to describe. It was loitered and full of reverting objects I had never seen before. Danyen was proving out to be more than I bargained for. Although, I would have thought there would be screaming and terror everywhere. The city was nothing like that, it was too quiet and almost peaceful, in a freaky way sort of way. Nevertheless, I wasn’t buying the act. Deep down, I knew that this had to be an act or illusion to try to catch us off guard.
“Over there,” I said pointing towards the inn. “We can stop there for the night before we head for the castle.”
So close to her castle, this looked like a very bad idea. If anything, this place was too exposed and could play to our disadvantage if they ambushed us. The others didn’t argue at all, they followed behind me slowly towards the small inn. In the corner of my eye, I saw Dashe roll his head in disapproval. Under normal circumstances, I would have agreed with him, but right now all I cared about was taking a bath. My mind was in a state of scramble from the unbearable itching pain. No matter how much I despised water, today I would make an exception and jump in carelessly. After a few yards, we stood outside the inn and memorized our surrounding in case we needed to make a swift retreat from our enemies. I sensed the uneasiness in everyone, they didn’t like this place at all. This was indeed a bold move to make on our part. Resting on the enemy’s doorstep was definitely a fool’s undoing. Even I had to admit, I felt jittery and also uneasy just being inside this dark city. Looking up, I could’ve sworn the sun had set by now and yet I saw it in the sky. It was a strange shaded grey color, surrounded by portentous clouds in the sky. I would have never believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes. To my right, I caught a glimpse of four outlandish moons rising into the sky. The weird wonders in this city never ceased to amaze me. Was there no limit to the power of her trident?
A few strangers walked past us into the inn and yet none came out. It wasn’t that strange so I put the matter aside and sighed out loudly.
“Clean up this mess you lazy bum,” a voice inside yelled.
“I’m not moving, this is my inn and I do what I want,” another voice yelled back.
There seemed to be an argument going on inside. We could hear clashing sounds of small and large objects hitting the floor.
“Do we go inside?” Ogana asked trying to peep inside from the small opening near the door.
“Good question,” I scratched my head.
Even I was not sure going inside was a good idea. Whatever was going on, I didn’t want any part of it. I looked around and realized that this was probably the only place open to strangers at this time. The sun was almost over the horizon so we had no choice, but to proceed in. I bravely took the first steps and walked towards the door. The others paused over, watching me silently. I felt a bit of fear and anxiety crawl down my spine from all that commotion inside. Slowly, I opened the door and instinctively dodged a pot which nearly hit me on the forehead. That was a close call. There was an older man and woman throwing staff at each other near the reception table. After one quick look at me, they proceeded back to throwing staff at each other haphazardly in every direction. They didn’t seem to care about my presence which I found relatively rude.
“Who are you stranger?” the old man stopped throwing furniture, starring me in the eye. “Don’t try anything funny or I will show you horror.”
His words didn’t scare me at all. Instead, they made me laugh on the inside at his threat. Somehow I had a feeling he wasn’t joking as he kept looking at me straight in the eye with a serious face. I sensed his energy and stopped laughing. Apparently, he was all talk.
“Oh no sir,” I said raising my hands up in front, “I didn’t come to fight you at all, I just need to get some rooms for my associates and I for the night.”
The expression on his face was truly solid. Something told me he didn’t trust me at all. I took my eyes off him and looked around the inn for a moment. It was made of wood from top to bottom, separated by hidden corridors that led upstairs and down to the basement.
“I don’t like you,” he gulped, walking towards the reception table in a limping manner. Something was wrong with his legs; I dared not asked him because he seemed to be the type with a short temper. “But since you are a customer, I can’t refuse. As long as you have money we have no problem.”
Phew, I was glad that I had
avoided an unnecessary fight with the old man. The older lady stared politely at me with a warm light smile.
“How many of you are lodging in?” the old woman finally spoke to me, picking up the utensils that were scattered all over the floor.
“About nine or ten people,” I replied counting Suzanne and Dien who were not here the moment. “Give us two rooms please, we will manage for the night.”
Deep down, it bothered me that Suzanne hadn’t shown up yet. I mean I was glad she was not here in city; however, not knowing where she was worried me even more. Maybe, Dien’s injuries were far worse than I had imagined. The driver was still outside the city with the carriage, possibly they had taken him with the carriage to Jura for medical treatment hopefully.
“Are your friends going to come in?” the old lady asked looking through the window. “It’s getting cold and it’s almost night time.”
Oh yeah, the others were still outside waiting. I hunched down and scratched my head and face as hard as I could. The itching pain all over my body was maddening. Unhurriedly, I opened the door and signaled the others to come inside. They walked in looking disgusted by the mess on the floor from the broken furniture.
“What is this disgusting mess?” Dashe commented wiping fluids off his boots with the slit end of his cloak. “It looks like the circus stopped by.”
Oh no, Dashe had done it again. He had opened his rude mouth and quite possibly angered the old man. My heart raced slightly as I looked at the old man’s reaction to Dashe’s remarks. Seriously, Dashe’s mouth would lead to his undoing one day, provided if not today.
“Do you have a problem boy?” the old man lashed back, his veins almost popping out of his neck. “This is our mess and has nothing to do with you. What a rude child. Didn’t your father ever teach you any manners?”
His eyes were blood red and his breathing was hard and intense. I could clearly feel the intensity of his killing instinct, he truly was angry now.
“What did you say old man?” Dashe roared and moved in closer. He took off the hood off his cloak and smiled menacingly. “I was simply trying to point out that this place needed some work.”
“Dashe please shut up,” I said to myself. “You are going to get us killed.”
My skin felt rough and irritating. It was either from the massive pressure rising in the room or from the dried up swamp water stuck on my skin. I would bet my gold on the later.
“Then what do you suggest we do boy?” The older man asked him, moving away from the reception table. He never took his eyes off Dashe the whole time. “I’m open to ideas, but the wrong opinion could be your.”
“Since you asked,” Dashe replied quickly not allowing him to finish his sentence. He reached for one of his swords and unsheathed it halfway. “I suggest you clean up.”
Darn! I had hoped he wouldn’t say those exact words, but unfortunately he did. The older man smiled and then laughed looking at each of us. We all stared at him confused by his reaction. Suddenly, I felt a sinister presence in the air, erupting out of him. It was truly evil energy the likes of which I felt from that metal dog in Saza. Who was this man?
It was safe to assume that he might possibly be an ally of our enemy. He shifted his stance and clenched his fist, preparing himself to attack Dashe. This was not the time, I took off and moved in closer to them. By any means necessary, I was going to stop them before they made a scene and drew unwanted attention towards us. Dashe stepped in closer looking at the old man with one sword unsheathed. He somehow conjured up even greater energy than before into his body, emitting it into his palms calmly. Dashe had gotten stronger, he was now in control of his mist powers. Oh man, this was not good at all. If those two fought, I wasn’t sure I would be able to stop them both at the same time.
“Dashe please stop this,” I pleaded with him, “Put your sword back. We didn’t come to fight in here remember?”
They weren’t listening to me at all as they stared each other down. It felt like my words were not getting to them at all.
“Wrong answer,” the old man bellowed out loud. “And it’s your last.”
He clenched his fist and limped quickly towards Dashe with amazing speed. He moved faster than my eyes could see, almost like a raging wind.
“Ow my back,” he unexpectedly screaming as his spinal cord let out a small crack.
It seemed he hadn’t done any type of exercise in a while and it had played to his disadvantage in the end. I sighed out loud hoping it would be the end of it.
“Why the sudden crack?” Dashe laughed mocking the old man who had fallen on the floor with his right arm on his back.
Dashe was pushing it, he had gotten lucky before and now he was rubbing it against the owner of the inn, truly a bad idea. How anyone could be so dense and stupid was clearly beyond me.
“Watch this,” the old man whispered and got back to his feet. His posture was misaligned like a hook, but his was smiling. I heard popping noises from his back as he corrected the problem in the most bizarre way. Some of the moves he made me crunch in pain from disbelief. If I tried that, my back would surely break. How was he was he even doing that? Maybe, he was triple jointed or something. Dashe stopped laughing finally realizing the danger he had put himself in. A little too late if might say.
“Here please,” Ogana spoke quickly handing the old lady some money. “We don’t want any trouble, we just want to stay here for the night. Please forgive our rude friend; he is just a little tired from our journey.”
“Brilliantly done Ogana,” I thought to myself looking in his direction.
This was what I should have done in the first place instead of waiting for this situation in front of us to perspire. The old man’s dark energy rose even higher to almost epic proportions, intensified by his fury. No doubt, he had been granted the powers of the white water mist by Katarina Fox. Fortunately for us, he didn’t seem to know that we were fugitives of his master. Had he know, this outcome might have played out a whole lot different than it was now. I felt sweat building on my forehead, pouring down out of me from sheer anticipation. It was too intense, the force to two strong fighters grappled the air around us powerfully. Kaya was shivering scared and I truly didn’t blame him considering the circumstances that were about to unfold.
“That’s enough Jerad,” the old lady mumbled counting the money Ogana had given her. “These are paying customers after all. Give them the keys to the two rooms in the back.”
Nothing happened at first as the old man and Dashe were in a stare down ready to pounce on each other like two savage beasts. Without any warning, they attacked each other. I had only blinked once before I had realized what had happened. Left and right, they moved swiftly through the confined space making short work of each other. The walls cracked and trembled from their sheer force alone, enough to make us all move back for cover. They were just so fast, I couldn’t tell who had the upper hand. Dashe unsheathed two of his swords and swung them both horizontally at the old man, aiming for his chest. Amazing, I had never seen Dashe attack so violently, it was like he was a whole new person. The old man jumped out of the way quickly and landed on the tip of the reception table. Smirking lightly, he bounced back and went on the offensive, coming at Dashe with a high dive kick.
“I said that’s enough Jerad,” the old lady yelled in a high voice that echoed the whole inn.
I felt a tremendous jolt of fear, her voice was not normal. I think she was even scarier and more powerful than her husband. I felt it for a second, a drastic rise and drop of her energy when she yelled. She was no ordinary person too. Just who were they? Using her voice alone, she had stopped those two idiots from ripping each other apart.
“Fine, just this once” the old man said halting in his steps. “But if he says something smart I will rip his head off.”
Trust me, his threat looked very real. He was definitely counting on Dashe to say something smart to get an excuse to beat the living lights out
of him. Oh no, Dashe was certainly going to say something to provoke him like he did with everyone.
“You old,” Dashe said; however, Glazer moved in quickly and put his right hand on his mouth, shutting him up.
Glazer the swift, it made sense now. To be able to move like that without even alerting anyone of your presence or invoking noise was certainly impressive. He held Dashe’s mouth tightly and dragged him back to the other side of the inn. As much as he struggled, Dashe could not get free from Glazer’s grip. I was somewhat impressed. Glazer was now not only fast, but also incredibly strong too, far much more reliable than Ogana and Dashe. I was just happy he got there just in time to stop Dashe from saying something stupid and rude.
“What was that boy?” the old man blabbered as he got closer to hear him speak again.
“He said nothing,” I interfered quickly. “Please show us to our rooms. We are very tired from our long trip.”
He took his glare off Dashe and stared at me with such piercing eyes for several seconds. It felt like he was staring into my soul and could tell what I was thinking at that time.
“Okay then,” the old man lightened up and began to move towards the left corridor. “Follow me gentlemen, right this way.”