by B J Hanlon
Edin emptied his pack for the new purchases he wanted to make and strapped his sword to his belt. A half an hour later, Edin and Master Horston were walking down the street.
They could barely see past the bobbing heads in front of them, though high above a four-story building, he spotted the gray palace tower.
Their inn was close enough to the palace to enjoy it, but far enough away that it didn’t cost per night what a tradesman would make in a month.
Edin reached back and touched the tender bump on the back of his head. It hurt still, though he pondered trying the two weapons again. Though in a more private setting next time.
More wooden buildings lined the streets, the shades of them varied from a light brown to a dark chestnut. Some were painted in friendlier colors. The size, shapes and probably age changed with each new building. Drying clothes and gawkers hung over railings above the street.
Master Horston and Edin were in no rush, though some people pushed past them while others seemed to be out on an easy stroll. The worst were the blotards who stood in the middle of the street chatting and stopping the forward movement.
They were so self-absorbed they didn’t seem to see the angry looks being shot their way. A part of Edin wanted to smack one of the idiots in the gut and slip away. Maybe later.
The city was home to more kinds of people than he ever thought, all different races and colors, some were dressed in drab, almost ragged clothing, others in tunics, trousers and silky vests that seemed to shimmer, brilliant forest greens, flower yellows, ocean blues and beet reds. A few men wore large brimmed hats with colorful plumage sticking out of the bands like peacocks.
On the back of a woman’s shoulder, Edin saw a tattoo of the sun. In Yaultan, women didn’t get tattoos. These were different type of people.
Edin spied others, people of all ages, shapes and colors, pushed off to the side of the streets. Some held their hand stretched out, though they kept their face downcast and hidden between their knees or in their tunics. Others just had their legs pulled up close to their chests trying to make themselves small.
Ahead of him, he saw a pair of silver helmed guardsmen fighting the crowd near the right side of the avenue. The leader, a golden-haired giant of a man held a thick wooden stick and seemed to be threatening the discarded human refuse against the buildings.
“The forgotten,” Master Horston whispered as a guardsman passed them whacking a kid around ten. He cried out and ran down a thin alley next to a butcher shop.
A young man, probably Edin’s age rushed through the crowd toward them. He bumped into a man with the large brim hand and a velvety blue tunic.
“Watch where you’re going, rat,” the man shouted. The young man kept his eyes down, turned and scooted past Edin and into the alley the child ran.
Edin shrugged at the sight and kept walking.
Suddenly the velvet wearing man stopped, “thief,” he yelled and turned around. The man wore a small thin mustache just over his mouth and his skin was much tanner than Edin’s. He looked on as the man ran the way he’d came, pushing through the crowds.
“Pickpockets,” Master Horston whispered, “keep the purse close.” Grent had given him a small purse with a few golds, silvers and coppers in it for clothes. It was his mother’s money after all.
They entered the square; wooden stalls and open-door shops dotted the grounds. Merchants were calling out their offerings from every spot but next to the outer walls of the castle.
Edin walked closer to the monstrous structure. It was the largest manmade thing he’d ever seen. The stone walls were huge, thirty or more feet and taller than the exterior walls of the city. The gates were black iron and almost as tall. A portcullis hung open, ready to drop at a moment’s notice.
On each gate was the Duke’s sigil, the blue stag on a gray field. Edin thought the field may have been made of actual silver the way it shinned.
Edin stared up at the palace. It was immense. The towers seemed to be as wide as his manor and were capped with slate cones. Windows looked out on him and he wondered if someone was staring down at him from one of them at the moment.
He let his eyes follow a single tower that appeared to come from the center of the palace and reach higher than he’d ever thought possible. Edin wondered what the view would be from there. Could he see the Great Cliffs? The Mountains? The Sea? What would the people look like? Ants most likely, though that thought caused him to feel slightly queasy.
“Come now,” Master Horston said grabbing his shoulder, “let’s get our supplies and be off. I’d like a bath and a wine.”
They started to walk through the mass of stalls, pausing to glance at some here and there. He stopped at a weapon stand with more blades than he could count. Some were the same longsword he used, others had curved blades, there were knives like Dephina’s, short hand axes, shields, partially curved blades on the end of heavy poles. He saw bows and arrows and quarterstaffs. None of the metal works seemed to hold the dark hue of eluvrian steel.
There were weapons from the islands that had hooked blades, and chain whips consisting of four-inch metal cylinders interlocked with each other ones.
The foreign merchant with a hearty throaty accent showed him the correct height for the chain whip would be from his waist to the ground. He desperately wanted one, even though he had no idea how to use it.
Finally, Master Horston pulled him away from the stall and they made their way to the clothing stalls.
He found tunics that fit, green, blue and black. He grabbed a new cloak and a few of pairs of dark brown trousers. Better to hide stains.
Master Horston picked out new robes. Little variation in his choices. Brown or gray. As the old man haggled, Edin ran his fingers through some of the clothes feeling the fabric, a soft wool, like his new tunic and trousers, though he had no more need for anything else.
A smell twitched his nose. A waft of something delicious met him like a good memory.
Barbequed pork like the chef made at home. A soft thud hit his heart, he didn’t want to think about home anymore. Edin remembered the previous night. Before he fell asleep, he cried under his pillow. He wouldn’t cry anymore, he couldn’t.
After so many weeks, over a month of traveling, the world before was like a dream or someone else’s life. Edin’s feet were moving toward the smell before he knew what he was doing.
In front of a grill beneath a thick iron spit was a large man with a stark white beard covering a belly as big as the pig he was roasting.
On a small table sat piles of shredded meat, cubed chunks skewered on sticks and large cuts of hock or ribs. The man used a horse hair brush and wiped a reddish-brown liquid over it slowly, methodically, as if it were a precise application of his talents.
Edin’s stomach rumbled and his mouth watered and up close, the food smelled even better than the chefs at home.
The man saw him approach, there was a twinkle in his eye and smile beneath the large white beard. He wore a smaller brown hat and had a red apron with numerous stains covering his body. At chest height was an elaborate embroidering of a pig on a spit with the words ‘Delber’s Master Barbeque.’
“Greetings young sir, may I offer you some of our delectable eats? Everything is smoked for hours over a cherry wood fire back home. I have been awake watching the meat since well before midnight.”
Edin’s mouth watered as he’d never had before and he reached into his purse and started to grab some coins.
“Make it two,” a woman’s voice said next to him. “The brisket.”
Edin glanced over and saw the red-haired girl, the cackler from the Drunken Boar. She smiled at him showing dimples on her cheeks. Her face was long and thin and he could see a few freckles peppering her nose.
“Yes, my lady,” the man he assumed was Delber said.
Edin didn’t know what to say. The way she just came up and announced herself. Slowly, Edin’s mind started working, and he shook it off.
“That’d
be four copper,” Delber said.
The woman grinned at Edin.
Wait, she expected him to pay? Edin opened his mouth and looked at the cheery chef. A big grin was under his beard and he winked. What did that mean? Edin returned his attention to the purse and grabbed the coin. The girl grabbed both skewers as Edin paid.
“Thank you, come back anytime.”
She handed him his skewer and looked away. “These things are messy, but so delicious.”
The smell was intoxicating, he could make out garlic, some type of pepper and maybe cumin. He was about to take a bite when she interrupted.
“Why don’t we head to the park? There are guards that make sure it’s quiet and peaceful. None of this riffraff and chatter.”
Edin glanced back toward the stall Horston was at. The old man was still talking, quite animated now with the proprietor of the robe stand.
“Sure,” he said and followed.
She wore a tight yellow dress that billowed out at the hips and stopped just above the ankles, her shoes had heels higher than the toes and seemed to be very uncomfortable to walk in. As she swayed her hips in front of him. He couldn’t help but stare. It was mesmerizing.
They were a hundred or so yards away when she stopped in front of a small green section that seemed out of place. Manicured grasses, newly budding petunias, fruit trees just beginning their seasonal blooms. People were spread out everywhere, families with children sat on blankets with wicker baskets at the center. Young lovers, old lovers and friends aimlessly walking or sitting on the few benches. Guards were patrolling casually through the green space though they barely batted an eye toward any of it.
She dropped down underneath a burgeoning tree and motioned for him to sit. Edin did. “I like it here; the view is always so pleasant,” she said. “You get nothing like this on the road. All warm fires and dusty food.”
He paused with the skewer half way to his mouth and looked at her. Edin agreed, nothing on the road seamed this peaceful. His stomach growled, it was aching for the meal only inches from his mouth.
The girl was still admiring the surroundings though and he didn’t want to be rude… if eating before she did was rude.
Edin held in a sigh and took a quick look around the park. The tall trees and large hedges did their best, but he could see the tops of buildings and the palace towers. So many people were situated all around them, but the commotion from the square was all but unheard here.
“Are you going to eat that or what?”
Edin looked at her and saw rather large globs of the sauce trickling down the side of her lips. Her skewer held two less meat squares than his.
Edin rolled his eyes and quickly took a bite, the meat was more tender and delicious than he’d ever tasted. The sauce was thick with a little sweetness, spice and heat.
He gave a pleasure filled, “ohhh.”
The woman giggled and took another bite, was she always laughing at him? For a second, he thought about it then realized he didn’t care. He quickly finished the skewer and leaned back holding himself up with sticky fingers pressed to the soft grass.
“Now all I need is an ale,” Edin said.
She pulled out a small white cloth and wiped the excess sauce from her mouth then turned to him offering. He took it. The reddish-brown spot was much larger when he’d finished wiping his face and he felt like he’d turn as red as her hair.
“Don’t worry, every time I come to the city, I run to Delber’s. I’ve seen sloppier eating at his stand by nobles. They were sloppier than the savages of north Resholt.” She laughed and folded the cloth stuffing it into a small satchel on her hip.
Edin forced a smile as he realized he was one of those northern Resholtian savages…
She stopped grinning for a second and looked at him with an eyebrow raised as his brain tried to start working again. Would not laughing at the joke give him away?
He needed to think of something fast, something that would keep her from suspecting too much.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her brow furrowed.
“I don’t know your name? And the first time you saw me I…” His voice trailed off.
“Knocked yourself out?” She guffawed again. “Honestly, that was exactly what I needed after the trip. My name is Falicia, but most people call me Fali.”
“Edin,” he said offering his cleanish hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” she took his hand. She moved to get up and stretched her arms above her head accentuating her curvy figure.
Edin tried hard not to stare but couldn’t help himself.
“An ale does sound good right now, but I have a few purchases I need to make. Come walk with me.” She started to walk off without him and suddenly, Edin felt as if he had no choice and it seemed that she knew it as well. What would it hurt? Edin thought. A free day and time with a woman… for a little while he could be a young man again and not a fugitive.
Through the next few hours he half-heartedly looked around for Master Horston but he much preferred her company.
She told him she came from Alestow. Her father was a merchant and had dragged her all around Dunbilston and the southern islands for years. They sailed all the way to Porinstol once bypassing all of Resholt.
Edin told the same lie Grent said, he was heading to the university to study history. Though he wasn’t sure she believed him.
“I’ve never seen the sea,” Edin said when she told him about it.
“You must… It’s vast like the sky over the plains. You can go for weeks, months even without seeing land or another ship. Though I’ve only ever been through the Mirasa. The Crimson Ocean is much more dangerous, hurricanes and waves as tall as that tower.” She pointed toward the castle. “And supposedly sea monsters like the corrinbomon. Though I’m not sure I believe that.” A corrinbomon was mythical… a giant squid like beast according to legend.
Edin nodded, it was good to be able to talk with someone other than his companions for once. She was well traveled, smart and pretty. Just being in her company, seeing other men staring at her before they made eye contact with him and turned away made him feel good.
Fali was picking her way through a stall with glass balls filled with a liquid. Edin could see a small castle inside one and when she flipped it upside down, little flecks of white dropped. It reminded him of snow.
“It always fascinated me, thinking about the old world, monsters and magi of the kingdom. Powerful wizards…” Fali turned her head sideways to look at him, her hair glistened with an orange tint in the sunlight as a breeze blew a few strands over her eyes. Fali brushed it back from her face. “In some lands magi still walk the streets… can you believe that?”
Edin felt his heart flutter as his hands went clammy. He was barely registering what she said.
“I suppose you’re probably fascinated by it just as much, going to school to be a historian.” Grent had said archeologist but he didn’t want to interrupt.
“Maybe we could discuss it sometime.” Her smile was thin and soft, her lips a light shade of pink.
“It would be my pleasure,” Edin said trying not to stare at her full lips. All he could think about was leaning in and kissing them. Then his mind went to Kes… to her sad look as she left him. Her walking away and not looking back… her screaming.
Fali looked over his shoulder, “here’s where I wanted.” She grabbed his clammy palm and yanked him through the crowd to an open doorway.
Edin didn’t have a chance to look at what it was. The room smelled of ammonia and it stung his eyes.
Servants at the manor used it sparingly for that reason. He rubbed his eyes, letting go of her hand.
As he opened them, he saw large glass cases circumventing the room. A bearskin laid on the ground at the center, it’s jaw and eyes open staring at him. Jewels sparkled, white, red, green, purple and blue. Gold and silver chains and rings sat in a different case, everything shined. It was a rainbow of beauty like watching the last
of the sun after a brief rainstorm.
“Out of here children,” a gruff voice said from next to him.
Looking over he saw a tanned man, about Edin’s height. He remembered Kanti from the night before and thought this could be his twin. Though he was shorter, he made up for it with even thicker arms that were crisscrossed with veins and scars. He wore conical helm on his head that was a bright green and shined almost as much as the inventory.
“I am a paying customer thug,” Fali declared, her eyes staring at the imposing man as if he were nothing more than a nuisance.
Edin glanced down and saw a large sword strapped to his waist, it was bigger than his and curved slightly outward. He wasn’t sure it was the best idea to antagonize him.
“Don’t touch, unless you’re going to pay for it.”
She didn’t answer and walked toward a small man at the back of the room. He was bent over a black cloth. Even the man’s bald head and polished red nose seemed ready made to blind any patrons.
“Hi there, I’m looking for a ruby about this big.” She made a circle with her index finger showing a small hole not bigger than the nail on his little toe. The man looked up, his eyes looked huge behind thick glasses. It almost made Edin leap backwards at the sight.
Beneath the bald head his facial hair was bushy and mixed gray and black. The mustache was pointed straight out from his head like a bird’s wings as they soared.
He lifted the spectacles to his forehead and sighed.
“If you do not want my business, I’m sure Nols would be willing to show me his stock.”
The owner snorted. “His stuff is all worthless.” The man then shuffled over toward the left side of the room. “That’s about one carat I think.” The man reached into one of his cases and grabbed a small black box with multiple red stones in it. “There is different quality; size matters some, so does clarity and the cut.” The man said squinting at her.
Edin began to ignore it as Fali leaned over them and took a close look, she stared at a couple. They talked about the style and negotiated price. She undoubtedly was a merchant’s daughter.