Chapter 2 - A Quiet Road
Chapter 2
A Quiet Road
The previous night had been a long one, action…excitement…adventure. These were the things that young men lived for in this day and age. Why then did Tel always feel so tired the next day?
“Stupid guards…they shoulda just let me go by! Nobody would have gotten hurt then. No, that would have been too easy, they just had to get in my way.” Mutters and quiet curses follow him down the road as he lazily rides his horse away from the town Friesen; a town with a suddenly poor church.
A cool wind came from the South Sea at his back keeping the heat of the summer sun at a reasonable level. The clouds in the sky also did much to ease the temperature. With the copses of trees along the road side and the sounds of farm animals in the distance it proved to be a beautiful day.
Slowly the morning slipped by and Tel fell into an easy rhythm of riding, the miles passing by. Soon the sun was directly above the young man and his stomach told him that it was time for lunch. Another mile passed by and he found a small clearing amongst the trees, a clearing often used by travelers for camp and rest breaks by the looks of things. A tree near the front of the clearing bore numerous rub burns from the tether ropes of horses. In the centre of the clearing was a small fire pit.
Tel cautiously approached the small clearing, it would be in easy spot for an ambush after all. When nothing out of the ordinary caught his attention he lowered his guard enough to dismount and tether his horse, Storm, to the nearby tree. On second thought, he undid the tether and instead looped the leather strap loosely around the horses neck. Out of the saddle bags came some cheese and travel bread for a small lunch. A log near the fire pit seemed to be the seat of choice for this rest spot so Tel made himself comfortable.
The change from saddle to log was a drastic one, and he managed to stretch out his legs in front of himself while he began to idly nibble on the cheese. Laying the bread down on the log beside him he looked up at the lazily moving clouds and thought about the trip ahead.
About two days travel would take him to his destination, the grand city of Ra’ Suun, or First Council in the common tongue. Nobody ever used the common name for cities in these parts though, the Old Elvish seemed to be more than sufficient. Though there weren’t many elves in these parts, let alone First Elves, there seemed be to a certain respect for the people that were said to be the fathers of civilization. Whether or not any of the Stories of Creation were true was beside the point. They were mankind’s histories, not to mention the histories of every other race in the land, or so the Stories went.
In Ra’ Suun, Tel would be meeting up with his long time and childhood friend, Anaderin Malhuun. Anaderin, or Anad as all his friends called him, was almost the exact opposite of how Tel viewed himself. He was big and muscle bound with short cropped light hair in the fashion of the military. Standing a pace taller, he was one of those people who always walked around with an easy going smile and a helping hand for those in need. Though at first glance his size was often intimidating, within minutes his charming smile and sparkling blue eyes would have even the most frightened child laughing and playing with him. This calm demeanor was partially a facade though; put a sword in his hand and a duty in his mind and he was a demon made flesh. Tel had rarely ever seen such innate skill in a swordsman, and he had done a fair amount of travelling.
This skill with the sword was the reason Tel was heading to Ra’ Suun to meet up with Anad. The always right-minded boy had decided to join the fabled Dragon Knights, an order of soldiers almost as old as humanity itself. The Dragon Knights were renowned across the land for their good deeds, not to mention their absolute mastery of the sword. These two aspects were what drew Anad to them unsurprisingly. These two traits were also things that were found in the young lad in abundance.
Ra’ Suun housed the main Dragon Knight training and recruiting ground, occupying almost the entire north-western corner of the city. Tel had left Anad there a week ago to begin his “tests” which were a number of trials to see if he was worthy to join the Knights. Hundreds of people flocked to join them on a monthly basis, but they only actively recruited once every four months and even then only took in ten to twenty new members. While Anad was completing the first week of trials Tel had decided to go off on “business”, but now he was returning while Anad still had another week to go before he found out if he was accepted into the order.
Though the two of them often didnt agree on Tel’s lifestyle, they had been companions for the last fifteen winters, and the thought of Anad going off to join some do-gooding order for the rest of his life gave Tel a queasy feeling in his stomach. What if one day the two of them met under different circumstances, where Tel was the “bad guy” and Anad tried to arrest him? Would he fight back? Would he try to kill his long time friend? Could he even kill him? These were bothersome questions that always snuck into his mind when he had nothing else to do but think. Questions that he really did not want to have to answer. So instead of dwelling on them, his thoughts moved, as they usually did, onto something else. In this case, he thought of the more lavish sections of Ra’ Suun.
Being one of the wealthiest cities in the human nations, it was thought of as the ultimate gold mine for those of the darker professions. Sadly, the presence of the Dragon Knights made that an unlikely, or atleast very dangerous business opportunity. The crime rate in the city was phenomenomly low. Only about one in one hundred crimes went away unpunished, and those that were captured rarely committed another crime there. All were given fair trials and punishments if found guilty, which all were not. The fact that they were caught so easily is what detered them from trying again. Some believed that there was an Insubstantionalist in the city watching over it. While Tel agreed that there is likely some sort of omnipresent magic residing over the city, he doubted that it could be the work of one man. Likely it was a magic failsafe put in when the city was first built. The power that it would take for one person, or even a council of people to watch over a city of this size was mind boggling. No, power like that didnt seem to exist anymore. It had to be something else in the city.
Tel had just found something to do for the next week while he waited for Anad to complete his trials. As he sat straighter on the log, his mind now more alert to the upcoming challange as he saw it, he began to formulate a plan. He liked making plans, it made him feel more comfortable going into a situation knowing what he was going to do. The only problem was that his plans always fell apart minutes into any endeavour. That didnt stop him from planning though, he knew the one day he didn’t plan would be the day he got caught.
This was not a time to get caught though, not for something of such little monetary value. He wanted to know what made the city tick, and although the information might be worth something in the long run, Tel much preferred the tangibility of coins or jewels to give him the urge to take risks. He would have to be very careful, he couldnt use any of this little “tricks” while in the city, they would be sure to set off whatever force was surveying the city. General stealth would be useless as well against a force that was believed to “see” everything that happened in the city. He would have to rely on his wit and charm this time.
As he tossed the last bit of cheese into his mouth he picked up the remaining half loaf of bread and got up. He must have eaten more then he realized while he was lost in thought. Stowing the remaining bread in a saddle bag he scratched Storm’s nose just the way the horse liked it and took an apple out of the magical bag at his waist.
“I told you I would find a little treasure for you didnt I?” Tel said softly to his four legged friend. The horse whinned happily and nuzzled up against Tel before snatching the apple out of his hand. Chuckling, Tel remounted and once again took to the open road before him.
* * *
About two days later, the outline of Ra’ Suun began to appear over the rolling hills in the distance. The country side nearby was spotted with large farmsteads and fields for both animals and produce. A number of rich land owners had taken over the area decades ago and continued to expand their wealth by being the chief providers for foodstuffs to the nearby city. Grain, meats of all kinds from cattle to pigs, and various vegetables were all shipped into the city in vast amounts as there was no room to grow and prepare such things within city limits. Most of the farmsteads had their own shops in the grocery distract to sell their wares to civilians instead of to the city as it were. About half of the yearly gross would be sold to the city to feed its government workers, officials and soldiers. Some of that was also leaked over to the Dragon Knights, as they were an official organization in the eyes of the human nations. The other half was sold to the general populace, at a surprisingly fair rate. The city had implemented pricing guidelines with the stores within its limits. If ever the city felt that the common people were being gouged, they would cease all business transactions with the transgressor. Those who thought this was an empty threat soon found themselves out of business.
The large farms were only one of the common sights on the road to the big city; the other being the hordes of travelers going to and coming from Ra’ Suun. Even now at midmorning the road was relatively congested with people and wagons. None of these people were the general merchants found within the city, most were buyers come from other cities or new merchants hoping for a chance to set up shop in such a rich city. Others were some of the less fortunate looking for handouts along the road. The city did its best to take care of those who didn’t have much within its wall, but they were required to work for their food, clothes and shelter. The council always seemed to have work that needed doing, and if one was willing to put in a day’s work, they would be fed and taken care of.
For all intents and purposes this was the ideal city to live in. Crime was non-existent, food and shelter were attainable by all, and there was little to no threat of outside invasion. That could be said about almost every major city in the human nations right now though. It was looked on as a golden era by most. Those werent the people who were actually looking though. One of the borders was heavily fraying as the orcs, goblins and ogres slowly started banding together more and pressing on the human defenses. There were whispers that somebody was organizing them, but that was said every time somebody saw an orc and a goblin in the same forest. The human’s eastern most border was with the dwarves. Their mountains protected the humans from anything beyond, but at the same time, any relations with the dwarven people were few and far bewteen. As much as the humans tried they had not been able to reach a trade agreement for the wonderfully well crafted mithril treasures that the dwarves created on an almost daily basis. As fas as heavy plate armour and weapons went, dwarven mithril items were top notch.
Then there was the more northernly border, that which nestled up against the Great Forest, home of the Va’ Shiin. The Va’ Shiin, more commonly known as the wood or tree elves were quite friendly with the humans. They had adopted an almost parental respect for the humans and watched out for them as well as considered them allies. There was free trade between the two nations as well as a mutual respect. The wood elves used no metal but made most of the things humans would have made from metal, out of wood. This specially treated wood was often almost as strong as steel but somewhat lighter. Whether or not the wood was treated with magic or some mundane but secret technique, was unknown. The bows especially were prized amongst archers in the human lands. No other bow could launch an arrow as straight and as far as a Va’ Shiin crafted one. That left only the western most border free of other peoples.
This border was with only the ocean. The human nations used sea travel a great amount to take their goods from city to city along the coast line. Although the land travel between the human cities was likely safer, it tended to take much longer. The hazards of the sea were many, mostly consisting of storms and pirates though. Human pirates had sprung up about twenty years prior and had yet to be squashed. Sea ‘monsters’ as they are called were rare and usually ignore the large and sturdy human boats. Then there were the shy Qua’ Shiin; the sea elves. The fourth and final, or so it was said, race of elves dwelled somewhere in the oceans. None of their cities had ever been found but it was common speculation that they existed. Very little contact had ever been made with this reclusive people, only the occasional sailor in the last forty years could ever claim seeing one, and even fewer to have talked to one.
As his thoughts wandered, Tel slowly rode closer to Ra’ Suun, passing through crowds of people begging for money or food or some other ‘necessity’ in life. From his vantage point atop his horse he could see the main gates of the city, standing wide open allowing people to go in and out. Like most major human cities, Ra’ Suun was surrounded by an immense wall, a throwback to the more war like days that had passed. This wall, standing over fifty paces tall and almost fifteen paces thick was not only of supreme human craftsmanship, but it was also enhanced by magic. It would take a near act of a God to put a dent in this wall, one of the reasons this city had never fallen to an attacking army.
The main gate that Tel would be passing through was well guarded, if not terribly strict about who it let come and go. With the apparent enchantment found within the city, the council did’nt feel the need to police those who entered the city. Thankfully the magic seemed to ignore wrong doings that took place outside the city, else Tel might have had a very unpleasant stay. None the less, the guards would ask him the usual array of questions; name, profession, and reason for coming to the city. Without a merchants or citizenship pass, answering these questions was required.
The lingering beggers soon got the hint that Tel was not the giving type and moved on. His getting closer to the city also helped this. Within another twenty minutes he was within ear shot of the gates and heard the people ahead of him answering the bored guard’s questions. With so little ‘action’ inside the city the guards were often bored, though the ones who thought to take it out on the innocents coming into the city soon found themselves looking for a new line of work. Tel always found it odd how ‘good’ this place was. The council was well beyond fair, the guards were in general polite and helpful, and merchants did not gouge cutomers for every penny they had. There was no dark underbelly to the city, no shady dealings and hardly even a nasty word being said. Tel really didnt like this place.
As his turn to talk the guards approached, Tel dismounted and took Storm’s bridal in hand to lead the horse forward. If Tel didnt like this place, he was sure his horse wouldnt either. The last thing he needed was his opinionated horse making a scene and getting him into trouble This horse had a real habit of doing that.
“Name?” droned the guard as Tel stepped forward.
“Tel Harrad at your service good sir.” piped up Tel, feigning a cheery disposition. He had decided on his cover profession and had to make it look good.
Giving Tel the ‘im not happy so you shouldnt be either’ glare the guard continued, “Profession?”
“Why actually i am a travelling story teller and mapmaker. Cant really have one without the other if you know what i mean. Really! Whats a location without a good story to go along with it? Nothing! Its nothing more then a piece of dirt or rock. Add a story into it though and it has a life of its own. It breathes!”, Tel spits all of this out within the span of a few seconds.
The guard’s eyebrows raised at the nonsensical verbal onslaught as he tried to get a word in edge wise to ask his last question.
“Just look at this city for instance,” Tel continued without taking a breath “there must be a hundred stories to go along with it. I bet you have a few great ones to tell. Here let me get a pen out and we can have an interview. Oh im so excited! The things im sure youll be able to tell me. We can just sit right down here for a few hours and chat up a storm! You can tell me all about this wonderful place and i can add it to my map!”
The sheer fear that began showing in the guards eyes almost make Tel burst into laughter. It was obvious that he wanted nothing to do with this obnoxious and long winded visitor.
“Er, as much as i would love to….there…is..a big line behind you. Yes, a big line. Please continue into the city and have a pleasant stay.” The words barely leave the guards mouth before he is moving past Tel to the next set of visitors.
Tel makes a mental note; Plan A: getting into the city, a complete success.
* * *
Clip clop, clip clop; Tel could barely hear his horses foot steps over the racket that was city life. Just coming from a small town then a quiet trip on the road, the noise of the city was almost overwhelming. Dozens of people passed him on the street every minute and there were over a hundred different and distinct conversations going on around him. To him though, it was nothing more then a loud hum. A loud annoying hum that is.
He urged Storm forward with a gentle squeeze of his legs, hoping to get to a nice comfy inn as soon as possible. He would have to find one close to, or in the north western pasrt of the town so he could go see Anad without having to pass through crowds like this every time he went out. The thought of that alone almost made him leave the city. Usually he was a city boy through and through and it was the quiet and solice of the small towns that drove him nuts. There was just something about the noisy hum in this city that bothered him. That had been one of the deciding factors in his little ‘business excursion’ a week prior. No matter where he went, he could not find any peace here.
The street that Tel was on was one of the few where horses were permitted. The city had strict laws about horses and wagons. Only the streets designated by the council could be used by riders and merchants transporting goods. This gave a safe and free reign to pedastrians on all the other streets in the city. It also made for a cleaner city.
A merchant’s wagon was pulled over to the side of the street up ahead, obviously unloading goods into the adjacent warehouse. The men and women unloading the goods were all big and burly, even the women looked to be about twice Tel’s size. The warehouse was like most of the other buildings in the city, very square. Human architects seemed to love corners and blocky buildings. They were sturdy and strong, if not particularly pleasing to the eye. That was probably the only complaint anybody could ever make about Ra’ Suun. Though wonderous by human standards, it did leave a lot to the imagination. Numerous times the council had attempted to hire dwarven craftsmen to design and build a building in the city. Each time they were flatly turned down. Another reason the council keept working on the human-dwarven relations.
Tel figured that he might as well stay at the inn he had a week prior. He had only been there a very short time, just a night, but the inn seemed to be clean and comfortable. The hum of the city was still present there, as it was everywhere, but atleast the talented bard that played in the common room could drown it out with story or song. The Rowdy Cow, as the inn was called was also only a few blocks away from the Dragon Knight’s training complex where Anad was staying. His friend would be happy to see him after a week of hard work and testing, Tel thought.
As his thoughts occupied him he quickly passed through the city towards The Rowdy Cow. Rarely were there any sort of hold ups along the commercial streets and travel was fast and effecient on horseback . When Tel’s mind finally left its inner workings he found himself in front of a building with a sign of some sort of bovine creature with a lute in one hand and large tankard of ale in the other, decorating the wall above the door.
Tel dismounted and walked Storm around back to the stables. As soon as he rounded the corner a small boy appeared in front of him, almost by magic it seemed.
“Planning to stay at the inn mister?” asked the small boy blocking the path to the stable.
“Why yes I am. Would you see to it that my horse, Storm, is taken good care of. Brush him down, feed him some dinner and make sure he gets an apple for dessert.” Tel instructed the boy as he pulled out a pair of silver coins and handed them to the boy. A single silver was the standard tip for such a job, but when Tel had been here previously the boy had done an exceptional job.
The boy’s eyes lit up at seeing twice his usual fare and beamed a smile at Tel, ” You betcha sir! Ill take right good care of Storm here! Dontcha worry ’bout a thing.” The boys usual pronunciation was lost in his excitement to reveal the more common street slang found amongst the younger city folk.
“Thank you very much young man” said Tel as he handed over the reigns to the boy and started for the side door into the inn. As soon as he passed through the door the hum of the city lessened and was replaced by the crooning of somebody obviously pretending to be a bard. The racket that was apparently music battered Tel’s sensitive hearing and he felt for sure that a harpy had taken over the inn and was now trying to turn his mind into mush. Quickly he scanned the room for the innkeeper, a large man by the name of Angus. Tel had never learned the man’s last name, so the first would have to do. Seeing Angus behind the bar, vehemently cleaning a mug and grimacing with every missed note, Tel hurried over.
“By the Gods Angus, what happened to your other performer?” Tel almost shouted to be heard over the racket coming from the side stage.
“Ah, Master…Harrad isn’t it? Good to see you again! Uh..about Ronald,. our usual entertainment, he needed the night off. So, as you can see…i was forced to look elsewhere for the evenings show. Sadly, i found Mister Jonothan O’Mally.”
“Jonothan O’Mally is it? What kind of name is that? Have you considered calling the city guard? If they dont want him and his phoney name for anything, let them listen to his playing for a minute or two and i assure you they will arrest him and haul him away for a long time!” Tel offered.
The large innkeeper chuckled and seemed to relax a little. “So Master Harrad, will you be needing a room again?”
“Yes, for about a week I think. Im going to be staying in town while my friend completes his Dragon Knight test things. Oh, and preferably a room not above the stage.”
“Ah yes, how is your friend doing with the Knight’s tests?” Angus said as he began to head for the stairs to the left of the side entrance.
Following, Tel answered, “Well, ive just now gotten into town so i haven’t had a chance to check in on him yet. I think ill go over tomorrow after ive had a warm meal, a bath, and a good nights sleep in a nice bed.”
“That sounds like a good plan Master Harrad.” Angus agreed as they reached the top of the stairs and the hall with the doors to the rooms. “The rate is the same as when you stayed here last time, two gold a night and that includes two meals of your choice. If you wish to eat any other meals here you will have to pay for them as you order them, but you know this already.”
The innkeeper opened the third door down on the left, near the back of the inn and as far away from the stage as possible and stood off to the side.
“I believe this room should suit your purposes Master Harrad; as far from the stage as i can offer, though i assure you Ronald will be returning tomorrow night and you’ll regret this choice!”
“Thank you Angus, and no, this will do just fine. I think id rather sleep at all tonight then have to listen to that …that…i dont even know what to call it. Either way, am I too late for dinner?”
“Well, the main course has been finished, but im sure i can convince Marie to throw together something for you. Come down after you drop off your bags and clean up a little, there is fresh water in the bowl on the table. Ill go down ahead of you and talk to Marie.”
“Ok Angus, its appreciated. One more thing though.” Tel said as he began to enter the room.
“Hmm, what would that be?” Angus replied from the top of the stairs, one foot already on the top step.
“Please just call me Tel, this Master Harrad stuff makes me feel old” Tel offered with a fake disgruntled look.
The innkeeper smiled from the top of the stairs, ” Well, if that’s what you would like to be called, then thats what you will be called. I’ll see you downstairs shorty, Tel.” With that Angus turned and headed down the stairs, leaving Tel to wander into his room.
The innkeeper had suggested that Tel drop off his bags, but Tel wasnt carrying any. He figured it was all just part of the man’s common guest welcoming speach. The thought of the fresh water to wash off the dirt of traveling on the roads outside of town was very appealing though. Taking off the cloak that he was wearing and throwing it onto the bed Tel realized that he was still wearing the fancy dagger he had aquired from the church. He had completely forgotten about it and hadnt even noticed its weight on his belt. What an odd dagger, he thought as he unsheathed it and closed the door to his room.
In the darkness of the room Tel wandered over and lit the small lamp on the table next to the bowl of water while studying the dagger in his other hand. He hadnt gotten much time to look at it in the church or in the ensuing struggle at the town gates. He had just drawn it instinctually in that fight. Now though he had the time to actually look at it without worrying about being stabbed by something pointy.
As in the church, the dagger was an odd shade of blue. A dark metallic blue Tel finally conceeded to himself, which would make sense since the dagger was some kind of metal. He couldnt decide if the tint was from the metal itself or from something that was done to the dagger after it was forged. It was incredibly light weight and well balanced, and the writing or glyphs along the blade suggested magic was somehow involved. There was no way to know what the glyphs meant though. Were they a spell of enhancement on the blade? Or, were they merely the signature of the smith who forged it? The hilt was set with a number of precious gems making for what Tel thought would be a very uncomfortable grip. As it wrapped his fingers around it though he found, not really to his surprise at this point, that it was indeed very comfortable with no gems digging into his palm. An emerald adorned the end of the hilt, while four rubies rested where Tel’s hand was, two on each side.
The sheath also had a few gems on it, mostly rubies and emeralds again. They were set on the sheath in a geometric pattern. More magic, Tel wondered. He resheathed the dagger as his rumbling stomach reminded him he was hungry and placed the dagger back on his belt. On second thought he took it back off and hid it under his pillow. Not really the safest place for something that looked to be worth so much, but he would make sure nobody would get into the room while he was out. He walked over to the bowl of water and quickly washed the dirt off of his face and hands then dried himself off with the towel beside the bowl .
Giving the small room one last look over before he left he checked to make sure there were no surprises. The bed gave the impression that it would be comfortable; the window overlooking the street in front of the inn was secure and there were no easy hand or foot holds to climb to or from it. The rest of the room, other then the desk, was unadorned but practical. Tel couldnt tell what type of wood the floor or walls were made out of, he didnt know that type of thing, but they looked solid and he found no trap doors. He left his room and closed the door behind him, letting his senses flow gently into the door knob and the door itself. From there he jammed the lock and even managed to expand the boundries of the door ever so slightly so that it was jammed in the frame. Nobody but Tel would be getting into that room very easily. He let his senses come back into himself and backed up, looking at the door, nodding, then moving down the hall towards the stairs.
“I hope Marie made something hot, i could really go for a warm meal…” he muttered to himself as he descended back into the cacophony of one really bad bard.
