Walking ahead of the two women, he caught snippets of their conversation as they ascended to the upper level of the cave. Crystal kept repeating the same questions incessantly, yet Lidea accepted her fretting with grace. Offering her the same response over and over:
“I will be fine Crystal. I promise to be careful.”
Reaching the infirmary, Warchief paused, allowing them to catch up. As they did so, Crystal's sight fixed on him.
“Remember, don’t you bring her into danger. Got it?”
He chuckled, earning him a disapproving glare as he responded with an extravagant bow.
“Yes, my lady!”
Behind Crystal, Lidea smiled at his antics before reassuring her again.
“I will be fine. Who knows? It might be me who keeps him safe.”
“No doubt. Trouble follows him wherever he goes.”
Feeling Lidea’s inquisitive gaze upon him, he shrugged. Not wanting to give the demoness an opening to talk about his exploits. Especially as he was eager to feel the sun on his skin. They could entertain Crystal’s rambling on another occasion.
“We should really get going or we won’t be back before nightfall. Our ‘mommy’ wouldn’t forgive us in that case.”
His tongue-in-cheek remark was paired with a playful grin, only he had forgotten that the demoness hated it when he took her concerns lightly.
An imperceptible shift in the air was the only warning he got before a dagger was pressed to his jugular. He had been barely able to track the blade, leaving him exposed to her attack.
Crystal’s sapphire eyes, so stark against her russet skin, revealed no emotion as she pressed the blade firmly to his neck. If she had wanted him dead, then he would have been. Luckily for him, the woman was just sending a warning to stop playing and keep the girl safe.
A gasp marked the exact moment when Lidea’s human eyes caught up with what had just happened. As if her reaction broke a spell, the tension dissolved from Crystal’s stance, and Warchief’s shoulders relaxed. With a deft flick, the demoness gracefully turned the handle of the blade toward Lidea as if it had been her intention all along. Her expression brightened and she let out a chortle.
“You should see your faces. Come on, take it. It will do you no good to venture out with him if you have no weapon on you.”
Warchief rubbed his neck, ensuring himself that she didn’t nick the skin. Of course, she hadn’t. However, his gesture seemed to please her as her grin grew wider, causing a shiver to run down his spine. He had never condemned Crystal or any other demon for their nature, but that didn’t mean that moments like these didn’t fill him with a sense of trepidation. Would she one day turn that blade at him for real?
“Thank you. I will take good care of it.”
Lidea had paled but didn’t falter as she accepted the blade. An astonishing feat for a young human.
Somehow, her instincts must have told her that the older woman was no threat.
“Good. Go then! I have a lot of cleaning up to do, now that you aren’t here to bother me for a while.”
Acting though she hadn’t just thrown them into emotional turmoil, she disappeared into the infirmary. The door fell closed with a thump.
I will never truly understand her.
He turned and proceeded to briskly walk up the hill towards the eastern end of the cavern. Trusting that Lidea would keep up, now that she wasn’t being considerate to the much shorter woman.
“Is she often like that?”
Looking to his side, he could see her playing with the dagger in her hands. Keeping them busy as her mind tried to digest what had just taken place.
“Depends on what you define as often. Most people don’t annoy her as much as I do.”
“Still, wasn’t that an overreaction? I doubt that you were going to endanger me on purpose.”
Guilt filled him at her show of trust. He couldn’t blame that she thought this way, she was naïve and didn’t know him as well as Crystal did. She knew how blind he could be to the hurt he caused others.
“Not on purpose no. Though I have a bad habit of not thinking before acting and dragging others into trouble.”
As they approached the eastern wall of the cavern, their path ended in a pitch-black hole in the wall. It was the entrance to the catacombs, the labyrinth of tunnels underneath the city that functioned as a mass grave of ages past. It was one of the two known entrances to the underground city which was protected from intruders by an invisible barrier. He could barely feel its presence, and solely because he knew it to be there. No one had ever been able to find the crystals powering it, or the mechanism through which it worked. They only knew that it kept those with bad intentions out of the shelter while letting anyone else through.
Knowing so little of such a critical part of their defense, worried Warchief. Any day now the magic source could run out and they would be left defenseless. Worse was that they wouldn’t even detect it until it was too late.
Entranced by his own musings, it took a couple of steps for him to notice that Lidea had stopped following. Looking back, he could see her standing in front of the entrance, and for a split second, he thought she was able to see the barrier. Belatedly realizing that with no magic, that was an impossibility.
“Everything alright?”
Her body was rigid except for the hands which fidgeted nervously.
“I’m sorry, I will be fine.”
“You will be? So you aren’t fine now. What is the matter?”
“It is just… It is very dark.”
She sounded hesitant, her pride making it hard for her to admit to such a childish fear. It was so incongruent with her tough, no non-sense attitude, that he started to grin and almost cracked a joke. Only to catch himself, as he noticed her trembling. It brought him back to their first meeting, when she had trembled, sitting in that dark hole, they called a prison.
You ass, no wonder that she is scared.
“It is, but you are in luck as you have your personal lantern with you.”
Using a light-hearted tone to comfort her, he reached inside himself toward that ever-present mass of vibrant energy and coaxed it to move toward his right hand. At first, it felt viscous as it slowly trickled through his veins. His lack of use had made it stiff and stubborn. But as if those first drops were a plug, the flow of energy suddenly turned into a rapid rushing forward. Leaving a warm and tingly sensation along its path. Raising his palm, only a mental cue was needed to spark it into a fire. His body shivered, thrilled by the feeling of power that coursed through him.
Lidea’s eyes widened as she stared in wonder at the conjured flame.
“Just stay close and I will lighten our path.”
Her trembles lessened and relief filled her eyes. She smiled thankfully and nodded before following him into the tunnel. Leaving the cavern behind, the bare stone walls enlightened by his flame became all they saw. Entering ever deeper into the catacombs, the first skulls started to appear along the walls. Stacked in an increasing amount of orderly rows until they covered both sidewalls completely.
The first time he had seen it, Warchief had felt uneasy. There was something about seeing human bones arranged in patterns that didn’t sit right with him. Since then he had used the passage thousands of times and grown accustomed to the sight as if it was just a macabre way of decorating.
Glancing in concern at his companion, he was taken aback to see her looking at the skulls with disinterest. As if they were merely a feature of the landscape, no different from a rock or tree.
“Have you been in the catacombs before?”
She looked over at him with confusion marring her expression.
“No. Why’d you ask?”
“Just that most would be scared to walk in a place like this.”
She snorted out laughing. The sound felt oddly misplaced in the eerie silence and Warchief send her a look of confusion of his own.
“I hadn’t seen you for the superstitious kind. The dead are just that. Dead. It is more dangerous to walk through the woods than through these tunnels.”
He had a hard time preventing himself from laughing, not wanting to hurt her feelings. It was just that her response had been so utterly human. Only someone with no grain of magic within themselves could fail to perceive the energy that covered a place like this. It must be blissful to be so unaware.
“What if I was?”
She gave him an incredulous look, but her answer never came as they had arrived at their destination. An old rusty door, which was to be their exit for that day. The tunnels opened in many locations throughout the city, but this was one of the safest ones. Perfect for her first outing.
“The steps behind this door will lead us to the cellar of the Traveler’s Rest, an inn in the northern part of town. It is not open yet, so nobody should be in. Except for maybe the innkeeper but he is a friend of ours. I don’t think I have to tell you, but if we hear any voices we might have to turn back and try another route.”
As she confirmed the plan with a nod, he opened the door and led her to the cellar. It was filled mostly with wooden beer barrels, except for some crates beside the door that contained a limited amount of fresh produce. Like expected, nobody was there and Warchief fished the set of keys from his pocket as he walked up the set of stairs. On the highest step, he paused, laying his ear against the door and focusing his inhuman hearing. Nothing but for the scurrying of some rodents within the walls.
Good.
“Seems like no one is in. We will be leaving through a door on the left. The alleyway should be deserted, but it would be better to hide your face before you step out.”
She nodded along impatiently as if she knew all of this already and just wanted him to hurry.
Seemed like he had been right that she was itching for fresh air.
Opening the door, they entered a modest-sized kitchen with two fireplaces and a series of workbenches along each wall. He banked his flame as daylight filtered through the small windows all around the room. Stopping the energy flow, left him feeling frigid but he ignored it as he pointed them towards their way out. Pulling on the hood of his coat, he looked over his shoulder to ensure that Lidea had done the same, before grabbing the right key and opening it. Light blinded him as he stepped aside to let Lidea out first. She staggered, blinking rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the sudden onslaught. Not wanting to rush her, but knowing that they couldn’t be seen. He gently laid his hand on the small of her back and pushed her forward enough for him to step out beside her.
Apart from them, the alleyway was empty. It wasn’t a place anyone would go unless to transverse between the two bigger streets at each end of it. Even then, many preferred the broader streets to a narrow path in which the houses on both sides could be touched simultaneously.
Having locked the inn behind them, he waited for Lidea to recover with a sense of concern. Had her eyes not healed enough to handle the bright light yet?
“Are your eyes well?”
“Yes, I just forgot what the sun is like.”
She smiled brightly, and he could see the enjoyment of feeling the warmth on her skin. He was no different. The summer sun was welcome, especially after the cold using his magic had caused.
“A known problem for us cave-dwellers.”
As they left the alleyway, they arrived at one of the bigger roads that led all the way to the center of town. On both sides, tall buildings in different shades of brownish-red brick towered over the mostly deserted street.
“It is so empty.”
She whispered quietly and he could feel the sadness radiating from her, as she gazed at the buildings they passed. Some were boarded up, others clearly abandoned. Here and there, one of the many inns or shops had managed to survive. A lonely spark of life on the otherwise dead street.
He had never been in Lynoës before the purge of magic, and could only imagine what it looked like before.
“I have been told that the church cleaned the city of all who was impure and that those who left are the ones chosen by god.”
He would never understand how people could be so idiotic. The pleberien faith sounded great when you didn’t ask any questions. Who didn’t want a world that was more equal for all?
However, nobody seems to wonder, how one would achieve such a world when nature is inherently unequal. They had started with those of magic, then they came after the scholars, and now they hunted down the outcasts of society. The prostitutes, the beggars, and even artists, all seen as undesirables in their man-made utopia. He predicted the next group to be those with money. That king was an idiot if he believed he could keep his throne.
He wasn’t the only one to find the situation ridiculous, as laughter filled with bitterness sounded from Lidea.
“Cleaned the streets they did. Increase the taxes until nobody can afford to live, and then prosecute those that live on the streets.”
A deep seeded anger showed on her face, even if she tried to hide it behind a smile. Her passion stirred his soul, he had never seen a noble show such care for those of lower rank to them.
Many spoke of compassion or in understanding, but few really cared for the lives of the poor.
More often than not, they disregarded their fate as soon as it didn’t align with their own interests. When he came to find her in that prison, he had expected her to be no different. It was why he had no qualms about using her as a tool of war. He needed her to rally the people and gain the support of the nobles. Never had he intended to crown her, until they spoke that first time.
Who knew that there was a noble out there with principles?
As they walked along toward the inner ring of the city, it started to become busier. Shops were open and customers mulled from one to the other. An increasing amount of inns and pubs had their awnings out to protect their customers from the blazing sun. The closer they got to the center, the more grandiose they became, painted in wild colors of golds and blues. Eventually, they covered the whole street and Warchief mourned the sun’s radiating warmth.
Before long, he noticed people staring at them. Some paused, others gave them a wide berth. He knew why they did so. Next to him, Lidea must have noticed as well, as she drew the hood further over her face. Keeping her eyes on the ground as the uncomfortable stares became too much to bear.
The sight made him feel sad but her treatment also angered him. Sparks of energy rushed through his veins, making his fingers tingle. A single wrong thought and all around them would be gone in a blaze. Then they wouldn’t stare anymore.
“We are almost there.”
He couldn’t mask the roughness in his voice completely, yet Lidea didn’t notice. Forcing himself to think happy thoughts, he tried to keep the flames at bay but only succeeded after they turned off the main road onto one of the smaller side streets. Soon after they had left the crowd behind and entered one of the smaller market squares.
As with all markets, it had been converted to a casual ground for punishments and executions. A central pillar had been erected which carried several iron cast cages. One of them contained the remains of what once had been a human, the flesh picked off their bones by the local birds. He had been told that the person would be locked inside while still alive and left to starve and weather in the elements. The screaming pleas must have lasted for days. It was no wonder then, that none of the shops around seemed to do business anymore.
Poor bastard, what could he even have done to deserve such fate?
“At least you were right. They don’t recognize me.”
Lidea was staring at the same corpse he was, her words oozing with a hollowness masquerading as amusement. He could only imagine the pain this realization caused her and didn’t know better than to try and console her with a partial truth.
“Most don’t care for others than their closest relatives and friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if none of them have an idea of what you looked like. They didn’t cheer that day because you were going to die, but just to forget their own misery for a short while.”
“I don’t think that is the solace you thought it was. I prefer to believe that they don’t recognize me due to my disfigurement than they never cared for any of the deeds I did in the past.”
He cringed, peeved at himself for not grasping how hurtful his words were. Lidea seemed to take it in stride though, smiling her now crooked smile, as Warchief coughed awkwardly and turned away from the ghastly scene.
Behind him, he could hear her chuckle as she turned to follow and they both walked toward one of the only shops which hadn’t been boarded up. A sign posted outside depicted a hammer hitting on a piece of gold.
“How odd to see a goldsmith outside of the inner city.”
Lidea’s remark followed his own thinking after he had discovered the small shop. Finding someone to make them a seal had caused him a considerable headache. After all most goldsmiths were located near to the city center, so they could be close to their main clientele of wealthy aristocrats. With such tight ties to the nobility, requesting their services would have been too risky. They knew every noble house in Lynoës, and the creation of a new familial seal would have caused a lot of questions to be raised. Instead, they needed someone that wasn’t as tied to the elites or who could be trusted to keep a secret.
“He has his reasons.”
She directed an inquisitive look at him, but he didn’t explain further as he entered the establishment. The ring of a bell announced their arrival into a front room that was empty except for a chest-high standing desk which prevented anyone from entering the back without a key. An understandable safety feature to keep thieving hands from the shop’s precious merchandise.
The sound of coughing accompanied by the rhythmic ticking of a walking stick, informed him that the owner was aware of their presence. Soon a grey-haired man ducked through the door, his impressive height barely affected by age making it impossible to avoid the head jamb otherwise. He appeared grumpy as he narrowed his already squinty eyes even further at them. Coming closer, recognition finally lighted his gaze and he broke into a sugary smile that would have made any salesmen jealous.
“Aren’t you timely, Sir? I got the boy to notify you mere yesterday.”
“Of course. I don’t like to waste anyone’s time, surely not my own.”
Lidea flinched slightly at his sudden change of accent but cleverly hid it by shifting her weight from one foot to the other. In hindsight, he should have warned her but to their fortune, the older man didn’t seem to notice or care. His shifty eyes focused on Lidea, another potential customer.
“Very right you are. It seems like you brought company today? Does the lady…”
He stumbled over his words as he got a closer look at her face. The charming smile changed to a frown. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them as his pity was clear as day. That was until recognition flickered into his eyes. Seemingly at least someone was familiar with the young hero’s face. Without missing a further beat, he continued his sales pitch.
“Does the lady maybe need anything as well?”
Warchief remained composed, reassured by the presence of magic crystals in the back room that the shopkeeper would have no reason to betray them. He couldn't help but suspect that the man was also privy to his own abilities, as his lingering gaze lasted a tad too long on the supposedly invisible scimitars on his back. Lidea was unaware of these facts but the only hint at her growing nervousness was the subtle shifting of her weight to both feet. Her chosen stance when preparing for an attack.
“I have no need for gold. Thank you though, I suspect that all your work is lovely.”
She responded unwavering but in such a graceful fashion, that anyone would have taken her to be a noble from that reaction alone. The smith exchanged a knowing look with him and Warchief made a mental note to discuss with Lidea how she should behave in public. It would do her no good, to always be this obvious.
“What a pity, maybe in the future. You might change your mind if you see that seal I made. Let me get it for you.”
Shuffling back painstakingly slow, Lidea turned to him as soon as he had disappeared.
“He recognized me.”
Her breath hitched as she whispered in a rush.
“Good catch. He did.”
She flinched when he didn’t follow her example and replied in his normal speaking voice.
“Isn’t this a problem? What if he tells anyone about us? Or about the seal?”
He shook his head, gaining him a confused and concerned look from Lidea who seemed to be ready to take off at a second notice. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, he replied in a hushed tone.
“He won’t. There is magic in this house, either his or a family member’s.”
She calmed down as her understanding grew. Sharing an annoyed look, probably because he had allowed her to get worried without reason. But Warchief hadn’t been sure himself until the older man had recognized her but chosen to act as if he hadn’t.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He didn’t get a chance to reply to her angry words, as the shopkeeper returned with a little blue box in hand.
“It is one of my nicer pieces, far more intricate than those of the nobility here. I made two as you requested.”
Accepting the box, he opened it to see the two tin seal stamps inside. Giving one to Lidea to inspect, he grabbed the other and checked if the stamp was like the one they had seen in the book. To him, the seal looked to be perfect, or if not, a similar enough copy. Still, he waited for Lidea’s judgment, knowing that her memory and eye for detail were stronger than his. Finally, she nodded in approval, causing him to grin at the shopkeeper.
“They look perfect. Thank you for your hard work.”
Placing the payment on the desk, they waited patiently for the goldsmith to inspect every gem within the burse. With every new gem, Lidea’s eyes widened further but Warchief barely noticed in his excitement. They finally had the seal. Even if all the recipients of their letters, still decided to ignore them. There was a good chance that they would attract the attention of the biggest fish out there. Prince of magic, will you be able to ignore your name being used like this?
Even if he didn’t care, the dragon order would not allow anyone else to claim their greatest weapon. They would for sure contact them and when they did, it was up to him to find a way to convince them to join their cause.
A satisfied smile broke on the shopkeeper's face as he finished his counting.
“It was great working with you both, don’t hesitate to return if you need anything further.”
Seems like they had gained a new ally.
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