The Gift, page 18
part #2 of Realm Wardens Series Series
The Walled City was a bit remote, weeks from the closest trade routes and with Misandria Region’s borders so close there must be tensions.
“Good day, sir. How may I be of assistance?”
Niviel once again showed his tattoo. “I’ll need a room. I’m uncertain for how long.”
“Of course, sir. I have some temporary accommodations if you like. Will it be just you?”
“Yes.”
“Business or pleasure?” the concierge asked, his eyes sliding over Niviel’s shoulder.
“Neither. I’m merely seeking rest before moving on.”
“I understand, sir.” Niviel watched as the concierge checked his name on a list on his desk. If Ren was dead and a contract had been issued it would appear on that list. “May I offer a hot bath and food to be prepared for you?”
Niviel released a mental sigh of relief. Ren was still alive, no contract had been issued. “Yes, and I’ll be needing a bird.”
“Just one?”
“Make it two. Send them up when they arrive.”
“Yes, of course, sir.” The concierge placed a key on the counter then lifted a book with a quill. He pointed to a spot on the page and Niviel signed with a triangle and a line through it, indicating his main chapter and that he was not on a contract.
“I’ll need to make a note for the birds.”
“Yes, of course.” The concierge pulled two pieces of paper from under the counter and placed a bottle of ink and a quill in front of Niviel. He wrote two identical notes, placed the quill on the counter, grabbed the key, and headed for the large arched staircase behind the concierge desk.
The key fob read 1125. The room was at the end of the hall. He liked that it would be quiet and private being this far down the hall. He unlocked the door and stepped in. The room was well lit, the curtains all opened wide. It was a simple room, normal for a temporary traveler. A bed, a table to seat two, an armoire for his belongings, and two armchairs facing a hearth.
He sighed and dropped into one of the armchairs. Even though he had slept through the night he didn’t feel overly rested. His mind wandered as he wondered if Jardeth and Zaden had made it to the city. Jardeth was more than capable of handling himself, but he was unfamiliar with this region and if he accidentally crossed the border into Misandria they could be in trouble.
Few unattended men in that region got through without issue. The problem for Jardeth and Zaden was that they were neither High Kingdom soldiers nor dwarves on a delivery to the High Kingdom. He started pulling his boots off when there was a knock on the door.
When he opened the door he saw the boy from the stable laden down with all his baggage. “Just drop it there.” He pointed to the empty floor space by the door.
The stable boy did as he was told and waited with wide eyes. Niviel retrieved his money pouch from his jacket and pulled out two copper pieces. “This is for carrying up my things.” He dropped another copper piece into his hand. “This is to make sure my horse gets an extra apple today.”
The boy smiled and scurried down the hall. Niviel closed the door and took two steps when there was a second knock. He opened it again and a woman in an apron bowed her head.
“The bath is ready for you sir.”
“Great, thank you.”
“Would you like some assistance?”
Niviel contemplated her offer for a moment, but he was just too tired. “No, I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Very good, sir. Towels and a robe will be waiting for you. Just leave your dirty clothes in the bath house and we will have it laundered.”
“Thank you.” He closed the door and grabbed his bag off the floor. He pulled out several garments, all filthy from weeks of travel, then a cloth pouch with his cleaning supplies. When a third knock came. He sighed and went for the door.
A young woman in rags stood before him and a young boy in the same type of rags next to her. He contemplated the girl. “You’re a bit old for a bird, aren’t you?”
“Don’t let my age fool you, brother. I go unnoticed just as much as the children.”
“Very well, come in.” The two entered and Niviel closed the door behind them. “I’m looking for two gentlemen. They should be traveling together. It is possible they are in a brothel. One is a dryad—” Niviel stopped when he caught the look between the two. “Do you know of a dryad in the city? Have you seen him?”
“I believe I may have seen your dryad. What is her tree?”
“She? No, I’m looking for a male oak dryad. He’ll be traveling with a gentleman sporting a mohawk. When you find them give them this message.” Niviel handed them the notes he had scribbled down at the front desk. “I’d also like to know if there is any word of mercenaries or bounty hunters in the city that are working for Ren Froliegun.”
“Do you seek anything else?” the boy asked.
“No, that’s it. Your payment will be waiting for you when I get my information.”
“Yes, of course,” the woman said and nudged the boy to follow her from the room.
He grabbed all his dirty clothes and headed for the bath house. A nice long hot soak was exactly what his body needed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Niviel sat in the lobby of the Great Walled City’s Luxury Inn, a glass of whiskey in front of him and along with a small stack of hit papers. He was pretending to read through one of the lists as he listened in on the conversations around him, looking for a hint of some kind that a possible hit was put out on him or Jardeth. Most of the chatter was inconsequential, the agents that lived here preferred to brag about their conquests.
Specific information of the contract was never mentioned, but if the other agents had read the lists they would know exactly which ones were being spoken about. It’s possible the bragging started because so few major contracts came through this inn. The city was so far out of any area contracts would consist mostly of runaway husbands, thieving goblins, and cheating spouses.
He also noticed a lot of the contracts were for procurement of items or information, much like a bounty hunter but the pay was better because the holes the agent had to crawl down were deeper. A great many of them were contracts to other realms. The constant crossing of the veils payed a toll on the body, especially for a human. The agency in this area appeared not to house many assassins but rather other parts of the trade instead.
“You’re new,” a seductive, husky voice said. The woman it belonged to slid into the chair next to Niviel’s. Her hair was snow white and cropped short, her skin glistened like she had just stepped out of a bath. She wore linen pants and shirt that flowed with her movements, all covered with a long tunic, likely for warmth.
“You’re far from home,” Niviel said placing his right ankle on his left knee and dropping the contract list on his bent leg. “You’ve been on this side of your veil for many centuries. Were you trapped or was it by choice? Are you on your own or should I expect the rest of your trio?”
She set a sweet smile on him. It gave her the appearance of a human, further evidence she’d been far from home for a very long time. “I think you’re the first person to figure that out. Not many humans know the history of the Shadow War.”
Niviel pushed back the hair to reveal the point of his ear. “It was four millennia ago.”
“Ah, I apologize. I should have known you were not from this realm either. Are you trapped on this side as well?”
Niviel covered his ear back up. He debated giving her the additional information, but regardless of how long she’d been in the Totriga Realm she was still a fae. With fae, knowledge was power, power she could use against him. He’d already given her enough, perhaps a major mistake. She could easily track him now. “If you’ve been here since the war than you must know that not all the veils were sealed. You’re testing me. Why?”
She leaned back in her chair, dropping her smile. “There’s been a shift. Being an elf I thought perhaps you’d know what it was.”
“If you wanted information such as that then why pretend to not know what I am?”
“Sometimes it’s just nice to dance.” Her eyes drifted to the door, a young woman and a boy had entered the lobby. “Our disgraced brother and your dryad have been found.”
Niviel drew his eyes from the fae to the birds. “Destiny Custodian.” He wasn’t asking; only the custodians could tell the future.
“Ex-custodian.” She stood and leaned into his ear. “Without my trio my visions are riddled with holes and confusion.” She straightened, looking down at him. Placing her hand under his chin and tilting his face up she said, “I try not to play in riddles, but sometimes old habits are hard to break. When you reunite with your friends, seek me out.” She released him as the birds approached.
“Not here,” Niviel said to the young woman when she opened her mouth to speak. He got to his feet and led them back to his room. When they were all inside and the door was closed he turned to them.
“They’re in the Knolnt Woods,” the young woman said. “They moved there two days ago.”
“Why? Were they being followed?”
“No, the brothel they were staying in kept their secret,” the boy said.
“From what the owner said, the dryad did not look healthy when they left. She feared he was dying. When I checked the front gates some of the farmers say they haven’t gone too far into the woods. Just enough to remain out of sight.”
“Mercenaries and bounty hunters?”
The young woman shook her head. “None. The front gate has logged only three strangers coming and going. Two assassins and a dryad.”
“Magical channels haven’t reported anything?”
“No, not for a Ren Froliegun.”
“Then for who?”
“The request came from an elf clan. They set a new bounty and hit price for a young woman living in Theakredel,” the boy said.
Niviel nodded, grabbed his money pouch, and gave five copper pieces to each of them. They thanked him and left. Niviel moved to his window. He could see the tips of the trees from his room. The thought of Zaden not surviving never crossed his mind. Even if they had been caught, Ren would still want Zaden alive. His magic was no good if he was killed before the king could gather it. Had he been poisoned? When were they attacked? Maybe the Steernalds had someone else working with them and they were the decoys to separate the three of them.
Niviel crossed the room and started cramming his belongings into his bag. He strapped his sword, and blade sleeves on, swung the pack onto his back, and left.
He made his way through the partially crowded streets of the Walled City. He refrained from running but he was desperate to get there as quickly as he could. If Zaden was still alive it was possible he could save his life. As he reached the gates the guards stepped out of their small shacks but stayed out of his way. Niviel was giving his best threatening face to be left alone.
He picked up his pace when he crossed the gate’s threshold. Farmers and the guards hiding among them stopped to watch as he rushed by. He checked over his shoulder several times to see if anyone may be following. It was not lost on him that even though they weren’t following they were still watching and at this moment many people were watching.
He stepped off the road when he was twenty feet into the woods. Not certain if he should go left or right, he decided he would go right first and search for a short time before turning back and going in the other direction. He was about five steps in when he spotted an odd shape in the distance.
It was hidden well but there was a bit of a breeze and this object didn’t move like the surrounding area did. It was a shelter. He picked up his pace, but as he moved closer he couldn’t hear any talking or snoring. Drawing two knives from his sleeves he crouched low and scanned the area. He looked into the trees and at ground level.
When his search found nothing he crept forward, heal-toe to muffle any noise from his approach. He rounded the shelter and found Jardeth with his back to him and a slight of a female in front of him. Standing about five feet tall she wore what looked like large leaves placed strategically about her body. When she spotted Niviel she took off at a run.
Jardeth turned and Niviel stepped closer looking past Jardeth to see the girl but she was gone.
“Niviel!” Jardeth stretched his hands out to embrace him. He wrapped his arms around Niviel, but he didn’t reciprocate. When Jardeth released him, he replaced his blades back in their sleeves.
“How are you?” Niviel asked.
“I’m great! Better now knowing you survived, brother. Would you like some tea?” He crouched by the fire ready to pour water from a pot. “It’s a bit weird at first but you’ll—what’s wrong?”
Niviel stared at his old friend. Jardeth was typically a cheerful man but given the circumstance it was inappropriate. “I’m sorry for your loss. I wish I had been here. I may have been able to help, prevent it. You don’t need to put on this show.”
Jardeth’s brow wrinkled. “What are you talking about?”
“Zaden.”
“What about him?”
“My birds told me when you left the city he was ill. I assumed you brought him here to die.”
“Oh.” Jardeth laughed. “Well, it’s touching, I didn’t realize you cared so much, brother. But Zaden is fine. Once I got him out here, he perked right up.” He lifted the pot in his hand. “Tea?”
“Then where is he?”
“Communing with nature,” Jardeth said with a wide sweep of his arms. He poured the water into a tin mug and handed it to Niviel who hadn’t moved from his spot. “He’ll be back.”
Niviel took the offering, removed his pack, tossing it toward the shelter, and sat across from Jardeth. Jardeth laid back on his elbows and stretched his legs out in front of him. He had a stick in his mouth, and he was gnawing on it.
“What are you chewing on?” Niviel asked squinting at it.
“What this? Oh, its a type of bark. Tastes like mint.”
“May I?” Niviel reached out for it and Jardeth shrugged, handing it to him.
“I can get you some if you want.”
Niviel inspected it then sniffed it. A smirk crossed his face. “No, thank you, I’ll pass.” He handed it back to his friend.
“Suit yourself.” Jardeth put it back in his mouth and leaned back.
“Your little friend with the leaves give you that?”
“Yeah, why?”
“It’s a hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac.”
Jardeth sat up and tossed the twig into the fire. “Damn nymphs. I knew I couldn’t trust her.”
Niviel sniffed the tea. “And this?”
“Oh, come on, seriously?”
Niviel laughed as he tossed the liquid from his mug. “Don’t feel bad, brother, you don’t come this far southwest, how would you know. The closer to the Knolnt River the more mystics you’ll find. It’s where the fae and my people, the elves, veils are found. Being close to those realms help them with their magic.”
“That explains Zaden. He’s been so strange since I brought him out here.”
“He’s probably been more himself since he’s been in the woods. He belongs in nature. So, he wasn’t dying?”
“I don’t know. He was in pretty rough shape. We stayed in the brothel for several days and each day he just got worse. I finally clued in when I found him in a ball on the floor and he refused to eat his sticky buns. You didn’t by chance bring any with you, did you?”
Niviel shook his head. “No, I thought he might have been dead.”
“Niviel,” Zaden shouted as he approached. Although he was always a little pale, he looked much better. The oak circle markings on his face seemed to have deepened and become more prominent, and he was smiling. “You made it! I was worried you may have been harmed. You weren’t harmed, were you?” He sat next to him and smiled. “Do you have any sticky buns?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“Oh.” Zaden turned to the fire and pouted.
“We’ll need to pick some up before we continue on to Theakredel,” Jardeth said. “When were you wanting to do that? Tomorrow? How long have you been in the Walled City?”
“I’ve been here for about a day, not long. I would like to get moving again. I checked the contracts at the inn and there aren’t any official calls for us, I had my birds check other channels and we seem to be clear. But I met a woman.”
Jardeth smiled. “Yeah, you did.” He leaned back on his elbows and pulled a blade of grass to chew on. “What do you think Prydwen will think of that?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Oh, no. Of course not, you’re classier than just a simple romp.”
“She was fae.”
Jardeth bolted up. “What? Where did they come to you?”
“She was on her own; she had no trio. She wasn’t talking to me from across the veil, she’s here in this realm.”
“How is that possible?”
“The Shadow War.”
“The what?”
“The Shadow—what kind of schooling did the Puk Dragon Clan have?”
“We’ll discuss my lackluster school lessons another time. Besides, I have street smarts. What Shadow War?”
“The highlights: It was about four millennia ago. The shadow creatures crossed their veil and entered this realm ready to invade. So, the twelve races crossed their veils to fight them and force them back into shadow. When the war was over a great deal of magic was used to seal the veil, but there was a side effect, most of those realms sealed shut along with it. They’re all connected, to open one of those veils would mean all would open. The magical net would collapse, and our realms will collide. The veils would be no more. Nothing would be left to divide the different magics, peoples, environments.
“The fae were one of the twelve races. They actually came and helped seal the Shadow Realm. They were also one of the veils that was sealed because a great deal of their magic was used in the spell. Their realm is the closest to the Shadows. This female was caught on our side when her realm closed. She’s been living here alone for four millennia.”
