This is from Chapter 5... Enjoy! Give Feedback!
Dawn light burst
through the thin cloud layer, lighting the new day with rays of warm sunshine,
and although the days were getting colder, Cael’s heart couldn’t have been
warmer. He strode in front of his two companions and looked over past the
rolling landscape towards the hub city of Airtein, the City of Stone. It was a
beautiful sight.
Its foundations had
been built long ago in the uneven, shifting earth that sat at the bottom of the
inland sea, but Airtein could not be moved, even by the winter storms that
caused the normally calm waters to churn. The city itself was actually three
cities, with each section having a long bridge connecting it to the main
section. Each part had its purpose, the eastern city having the military hub
where the Clans met and did their part to survive the ever-growing onslaught of
dracionic foes. The western side was where the Council, the ruling body of all
of Orcion, imprisoned, judged, and executed criminals, while the middle city
held the Grand Forum, where the Council deliberated.
Cael glanced behind him as Brenna
and Soran crested the hill. Brenna gasped as she sighted the city, Soran was
impassive as ever but Cael could see his good eye widen as he saw Airtein.
“Stop staring you two.” Cael said cheerily. “We need to get going; we’re
wasting time just looking. Besides,” Cael’s eyes sparkled
mischievously, “It’s
even more amazing on the inside."
With that tidbit he
winked at them and started running down the hill towards the gigantic front
gates. The outer walls towered over the companions as they approached the
heavily guarded gate, for although there hadn’t been many dragon attacks this
close to the capital, these were times of uncertainty and danger, and
complacency meant death.
Brenna thought all this as she,
Cael, and Soran passed by the guards and into the city. The guards didn’t even
notice Cael, and they passed through without harassment. Brenna gasped as they
entered through the long stone corridor that lead from the gates and into the
city, Cael had been right, Airtein was even more impressive inside. There
seemed to be no dark colors, everything was built from white stone, cut with an
artisan’s skill, and mined from the mountains to the west, far back in the
annals of history.
The arrangement of
everything seemed to branch out from the Center Road, in almost perfect
symmetry; this had obviously been painstakingly planned and built. The main
road led out from the gates and up. The city seemed to be on levels, with the
highest level being the Council’s headquarters of Pathon, and the roads leading
to the bridges to the military base of Ballum, and the inescapable prison of
Carcerous.
The first thing Soran noticed was
the guard on the wall; they were well armed, and highly trained never to let
their guard down. Dragon attacks were becoming increasingly bold and frequent,
so even Airtein wasn’t safe. “And yet, two, heavily armed men, and a
high-ranking MacKenna walk into the city without so much as alerting their
interest.” The thought almost made him smile, but that would ruin his image
of being a silent brooder that he had so carefully crafted for his new
companions over the past two weeks of travel, so he hid the smile behind his
ever-present scarf.
Cael noticed the momentary change in
Soran’s disposition and the attempted concealment of his emotions, and smiled.
He had once tried to be like that, always hiding his feelings, but with someone
like Cael, emotion had the tendency to slip out. He shook his head to clear it,
those were not times he wanted to remember, instead he gazed past his
companions to the many shops that the market district boasted.
The sounds and the
smells were enough to make one’s head spin and one smell in particular caught
Cael’s undivided attention. A meat seller, Cael could smell the meat smoking
and being cured or dried. The aroma seemed to carry him towards the shop. Cael
loved meat, almost too much, Cael’s love of meat bordered on obsession, and he
didn’t know why, all he knew was that he was hungry. Soran and Brenna stared
quizzically at Cael as he sauntered towards the meat shop, a dreamy look on his
face, and with a shrug they both followed.
“Cael, aren’t we going to look
around for some leads?” Brenna asked, Cael nodded absentmindedly and stopped in
front of the shop owner. “We’ll start looking as soon as I’ve eaten.” He said.
“Why don’t you guys find something to eat as well? We’ll meet over by that
fountain when we’re done.”
He pointed past them and they followed his finger to one of
the large, and rather ornate fountains that lined the center of the Center
Road, there was a different fountain every two hundred feet or so, the one Cael
pointed to was the depiction of three men standing tall and holding their
weapons aloft. The fountain glittered with spray and seemed to sparkle in the
sunlight; it was a beautiful piece of masonry, and all-in-all a good meeting
point.
*******
Brenna arrived at the meeting place
about an hour after they had left each other’s company. She had been impressed
with the sheer amount of diversity among the shops in the market district. She
sat on one of the stone benches around the designated fountain and waited for
her companions. She took her moments alone to do some hard thinking.
“Am I really this naive?” she asked herself, “To trust two people who I barely know to
help me find my brother?” Her thoughts trailed off. Lost in the
darkness of her own mind she didn’t hear someone behind her and only noticed
his presence when he grabbed her arm and muffled her mouth.
“Don’t scream, that could make
things difficult for me.” A harsh voice whispered in her ear, then she felt
something strike the back of her head, and all was darkness.
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