Sairek moaned softly in discomfort, being aroused from his sleep from the intense rays of the sun beaming directly onto his eyelids. Grumbling incoherently out loud, he shifted and rolled in his sleeping bag, aiming his body to be mostly on his stomach. He tried to return back into the gentle bliss of sleep, but he just couldn’t reach that nirvana again.
Begrudgingly after trying to get back to rest after five minutes, he stretched his body inside his sleeping bag and opened his eyes slowly. Unsurprisingly, Nayleen seemed to have already gotten up before him. He decided to leave some food out before he went to sleep last night and she seemed to have taken most of it, but left some for him still. He shimmied out of his bag and had what was left as his breakfast; some bread that was starting to get stale from age at this point, some berries and room temperature water to wash it down.
Not a great meal, but Sairek had never really been picky. Food and eating to him was kind of like a necessitiy like breathing. He just... did it, so the hunger would go away. Honestly, he couldn't understand why Nayleen liked eating so much. Sure, better food made it more bearable, but he never really looked 'forward' to eating.
Regardless, after he finished his breakfast, he packed up the containers the food had been in and his sleeping bag, dusting it off from the bed first before putting everything inside of the jewel. Then he went around the back of the building to do some 'morning chores', such as relieving himself and using 'waert' to wash himself a little bit and using 'wuaie' for a bit of wind to blow any part of him that was wet back to being dry. Then he combed his hair as best as he could with his fingers. His hair wasn’t entirely cooperating with him this morning though, and it was pretty difficult to put all of his hair back into place completely without having a mirror for reference.
“Good morning.”
Sairek jolted in surprise and spun around to look up at the roof of the building. He saw Cyial staring down at him, knelt on top of the edge of the roof. “Geez…!” He breathed.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I just figured keeping watch here was a good way to overwatch during the night.” Cyial explained.
“You, uh… didn’t see me just now… did you…?” Sairek began with a frown.
Cyial blinked his garnet eyes once, then pressed his lips together. “Sairek, I’m a boy too, you know. I understand the woes of what it’s like to get up in the morning with a full bladder. And no, I didn’t look... not that the puddle there is hiding much of what you did.”
Sairek flinched. “I, I washed my face too, I'll have you know! W-Whatever. Where’s Nayleen?”
Cyial shifted his posture on the roof slightly. “She wanted to check out the mines herself like you did last night, so she went on ahead. That was only a few minutes ago, you just missed her. We can go meet up with her if you’d like, unless there’s anything else you want to do here?”
Sairek nodded in understanding, then watched as Cyial sat with his legs draped over the edge of the roof, before just pushing himself over the edge and landing back down in a crouch before righting himself up. “Not that the building is that tall, but isn’t that a bit reckless?” He asked.
“Not for me.” Cyial answered. “Well, race has only a small amount to do with it, to be honest. If you were to compare me to someone like Nayleen, though…”
“Yeah, she’s a species all of her own.” Sairek chuckled in agreement. “Let’s go find her.”
They walked together to the back of the town once again to the entrance of the mine, where Nayleen was already seemingly waiting for them. She had been sharpening her daggers with a whetstone to pass the time it seemed, but put the items away seeing them approaching. “Heeeey~ Ready for yet another entire day of walking mostly underground?” She chimed as they got closer.
“I guess. Hopefully this is the last one. At least last night got us to nearly the halfway point. When you think of it like that, we’re making pretty good on time.” Sairek answered.
“That’s true.” Nayleen agreed. “Hopefully there aren't any twists or turns and stuff that’ll make us get lost.”
“Only one way to find out.” Sairek replied, holding his staff out in his right hand as he channeled energy into it. “Balinzer.”
Leading the way in, he stepped back into the mineshaft where it split into two directions and turned towards the one that clearly pointed them to Shimira. In comparison to the tunnels before, which were already narrow, these tunnels were even more narrow and far less built. Unlike before, which had supports and brickwork all throughout, this tunnel was just essentially that—tunnel. No stonework, just basic wooden supports leading deep into darkness. Occasionally, Sairek saw little alcoves dented into the stone which held lamps or torches, but they had long been burnt out, it seemed.
“Geez. Why do you guys in Ceareste have to make everything so narrow? What would happen if you bumped into someone else going in from the opposite direction?” Nayleen complained.
“Uh, that would be… unfortunate?” Sairek responded. Though he supposed in the argument of fairness, while the tunnel was functional for moving a small group like themselves underneath the ground quickly, it was far from complete or refined, unlike the previous tunnel. Even that tunnel had been “scaled back” in size of width before it was finished. Building such extremely long tunnels was extremely time consuming and taxing, especially the further along the tunnels got. One did have to walk all the way back, with the newly mined stone and all of the equipment cramped inside to boot.
As they walked, Sairek took note of the tunnel occasionally winding around here and there, but there were no alternate routes to confuse them, so to speak. Minutes turn into an hour and the constant narrowness of the tunnel was only relieved occasionally by larger alcoves that Sairek guessed were built so people or the miners could rest or pass each other by during the digging of this very tunnel, but the idea of even resting down here was something Sairek would prefer to avoid as much as possible.
“How long is this thing?” Nayleen asked in a low hushed tone.
“Not as long as the tunnel before, but… still long.” Cyial answered from the back. “Four or five hours of walking at least, I think?”
“Lands…” Sairek sighed. “I’m picking up the pace then if you guys don’t mind. This place gives me goosebumps.”
With Sairek’s increased pace, the other three followed in kind, and "four or five hours" of walking was instead three and a half, though Sairek’s leg muscles felt fairly sore afterwards. Finally however, he saw the literal light at the end of the tunnel. It had been cool down here, but Sairek realized that it was actually getting even more cold the closer to the exit they got. When they stepped outside, it was not a sight they were expecting. In fact, his stomach dropped in dismay and his voice was almost that of horror.
“S...S...Snow–?” He breathed out past his lips.
Nayleen shivered visibly, rubbing her arms with her hands up and down. “Okay… s-so let me get this straight,” she began, hooking a thumb back behind her, “A few hours away, it’s hot and dry as a desert almost,” she moved her hand to point down at her feet, “Yet over here, despite it still being summer time, it’s so cold that there is snow? That makes no sense!”
“Well, if the ethereal balance is out of check then it actually makes perfect sense. Back over there has all of the fire and none of the water and over here has all of the water but none of the fire.” Sairek answered.
“...Oh.” Nayleen surrendered simply. "Well, that sucks."
“We’re also further north and at a higher elevation, though… not by that much…” Cyial mumbled. He looked pretty comfortable despite the cold, though the robe he wore was fairly thick and probably good for such conditions anyway, and that was beside the fact that demons as far as Sairek knew, didn’t quite care too much for temperatures as much as humans did, which was why even in such summer heat, Cyial was also fine, though extreme conditions could still be problematic for him.
“Either way though, she’s right, this is very abnormal.” Sairek replied. “I… have to admit, I didn’t think we’d have to deal with snow. We’re… not equipped for this. Last I heard of reports from Shimira, there was no mention of snow. I knew about the drought in Doran, but this is new to me.”
“Do… we just head back?” Cyial asked.
“Screw that. I ain’t walking back through both of those tunnels again.” Nayleen snorted.
“Well, I did have something for rain. It won’t be much, but it’s the best we have unfortunately.” Sairek grumbled, turning back towards the cave, whisking out the energy for 'balinzer' to bring out a sack from his jewel and he began to rummage through it. Really, he didn’t think he was going to use this due to Nayleen’s eccentric behavior, but he was glad he brought it anyway. He found the cloak and mantle he spoke of and handed them both to Nayleen.
“This… is not gonna do much for me.” She sighed. “Oh well, at least the wind won’t dig into my bones as much. Man, this is gonna make me look stupid.” She grumbled as she began to put them both on.
“Sorry.” Sairek apologized.
Cyial looked up ahead as he spoke. “We should hurry. Shimira isn’t close, but it’s still about an hour away… and that's without snow slowing us down. At this temperature, Nayleen could have serious problems by that time if we don’t get going now. We should walk close together with her in the center to keep her warm. At least the weather’s clear right now.”
“Okay, just stick between us Nayleen and keep that cloak wrapped around yourself as best as you can.” Sairek said.
“Hey, I’m the one with the survival training here, not you.” She frowned.
They were in a low narrow valley, which at least helped limit whatever wind that did blow to be not too cold as the gusts could have been, though the temperature in the air itself was still freezing. Sairek was certainly feeling it and even Cyial was keeping his book tightly wrapped around his arms more than usual when he was walking.
The valley curved around like a very large ‘S’ from where they emerged from the tunnel, heading upwards on a slight incline as they walked, but indeed, in about an hour, with them moving as quickly as possible through the snow that at times was deep enough to nearly reach past all of their boots, man made walls eventually had become visible over the valley walls
“Finally,” Nayleen sighed in relief. “I’m beginning to feel like my legs are starting to get numb. Maybe we can find a coat in there for me. ...Feels stupid to have to get a coat in the middle of summer though.”
“Can’t be helped. You’ll freeze going anywhere else like this.” Sairek answered as they began to approach the gap in the walls leading into the encampment.
“Halt!”
Nayleen and Cyial flinched, but Sairek despite the words being called out, kept walking. He was not quite used to such words being directed at him, despite his shenanigans in the castle. He was usually stopped by force if anything else. It was only the second time the word was repeated in a more demanding, threatening tone, that he realized his mistake and stopped in front of the other two in front of the opening to the wall. He looked around for a sign of the voice and saw someone standing on top of the wall, which compared to both Marid and Lamen, the wall was dwarfed in height, but still equally as sturdily built.
Sairek concentrated his sights on the figure up above them, holding his staff tightly. To his amazement, the figure just abruptly vanished from the wall, only to reappear and “solidify” into view a dozen paces in front of him a moment later, causing him to step back in surprise. The figure was wearing a long black cloak and cowl over their head, although, as they pulled the cowl back to reveal themselves, he saw the person was a young woman with dark red hair and ivory-colored eyes which glared back at Sairek, looking… quite annoyed.
“State your business. What is a trio of children doing all the way out here by yourselves?” She demanded.
“Sairek Ceareste, son of the deceased Queen, Melina Ceareste.” Sairek stated, doing a bow with only his head before looking back up at her.
She still stood there looking… unimpressed. After a few seconds realizing Sairek wasn’t going to speak anymore, she responded tensely. “...Are you deaf? I asked what you are doing here, not who you are. State, your, business.”
Sairek tightened his jaw angrily. He snorted back, and returned the tone she was giving him in answer. “Okay… we plan to stay for the night, and then will be passing on through tomorrow. Is, that, enough?”
“Passing through and going to where?” She asked without a moment of hesitation, her tone even more annoyed.
“What is this, an interrogation?” Sairek growled, not having the patience to continue this 'game'. “I’m the Prince for crying out loud!”
“I don’t care what you are or who you are or where you are from. Here in Shimira, you are but a common citizen.” She chastised him as she hooked her left thumb behind herself to point at the town. “I don’t know if you’ve done your research ‘Prince’, but this is a very, very popular crossroads for many people, both in Ceareste and Kior and even sometimes Masirean. Almost everyone here won’t know who you are or care for who you are and you won’t hold any authority over most of them, so you better get used to the tough treatment. Nobody here will look up to you with respect and will probably laugh at you if you run around declaring you are the Prince of the kingdom. That little jewel of yours is going to be an attractive target as well, with so many people here and the weather as of late making travel difficult, security is at an all-time high. Now, state your business.”
Sairek’s mouth was left a little bit agape at her rather… direct attitude. It definitely wasn’t something he was used to. Even when he was punished, and the punishment was usually deserved, he was still treated with at least some respect... until recently, anyway. But this wasn’t even provoked in any way.
Sairek inhaled deeply through his nose and clenched his jaw tightly. He narrowed his eyes angrily at her. He tapped deep into that royal mask, shifting his casual self he had been for the last few days into one of command and authority that was not-at-all impressed of the subject in front of him. “First of all, I already answered your question, and do not appreciate the egotistical attitude you are displaying right now. Second of all, I do not care what you think. If you work as security here, then you work for the kingdom. If you work for the kingdom, then that means you work under my family’s name. If you work under my family's name, it means you work for not just my father, but for me as well. So you would do well to be on your best behavior and to not talk down to any of your employers again. Do I make myself clear?”
The woman glared at him and she opened her mouth to speak in protest, but before she could, another figure appeared behind her and yanked her back abruptly with a firm yank of her cowl. This woman looked to be nearly as young, but her hair was more wavy with longer locks of hair, and held a more brighter, but richer red than the other one that was antogonizing them. Her eyes were a jade color instead and watched Sairek intently, concern etched in them. “Little sis, that’s quite enough.” The newcomer said.
‘Little sis’ struggled for a moment to recover her footing at the unexpected tug. She spun around. “But—Bryn…!” She started to protest.
“Aisha, enough, I’ll handle this. The north gate has visitors that need to be investigated. That’s more your thing, right?”
Aisha as she was apparently called, scowled, but seemed to give up easily, walking back into the town without even a glance back at them. The newer woman in front of them bowed herself in apology. “I’m so sorry for my younger sister’s behavior, Master Apprentice. It’s been a tough time trying to keep security clean around here. I don’t mean to make excuses, but it’s stressful and we’re all extremely overworked right now.”
“I understand, I hold no malice.” Sairek said, moving his tone back to his more casual self.
“...She could do with learning some manners, though…” Nayleen scoffed from behind Sairek.
“Pff. Says’ you.” Sairek countered, turning slowly to look back behind and sticking his tongue out at her. Nayleen smirked and winked back at him.
Sairek's apology and daemenor going from threatening to more jovial seemed to ease Bryn's expression a fair bit.“The three of you must be cold to the bone, please follow me. It may not be the most comfortable place, but it’s plenty warm inside the barracks and I can get a coat for your friend that’s of her size.” Bryn offered them.
“Yeah, I’d appreciate that.” Nayleen nodded with a shiver, as if she remembered that yes, she was indeed freezing out here from wearing nothing but shorts and a low cut sleeveless shirt, besides the mantle and cloak.
Bryn led them inside Shimira and Sairek led after her, but kept a fair considerable distance, as they walked, Sairek turned back around to whisper. “I’m a little wary after that… gracious welcome we got. It may be true that we need the extra security around here, though.” He glanced back forward, looking down at his jewel. He was not ignorant of how important it was, but still, Shimira was usually well guarded as it was and higher security probably meant he shouldn’t need to worry…
As they passed through the opening in the wall, they got their first look into the town properly. Aisha had not been fibbing; there was a lot of people around. Everyone looked different, yet the same all at once. Many people, many cultures, but everyone was dressed the same way—for travel, one way or another.
However, despite how many people there were, Shimira was a small town, not all near the size it needed to be to house this many people passing through it. That said, there was a skyscraper of a building which the trio were looking at that towered even in height past even the walls. Every other building was tiny in comparison, what few there were. Bryn glanced back at them, saw the direction of their gazes and smiled. “That’s the inn.”
“Excuse me?” Nayleen blinked.
“That thing is several floors taller than even the Lamen monastery!” Cyial gasped.
“It used to only be three floors, plus a basement I guess. Eventually though, Shimira became more and more of an adventuring hotspot due to the location, so they just kept adding floors to it to house more and more people. Well, I guess you can say Shimira is a 'coldspot' now with the snow, eh?” She joked, laughing.
“Aha...hah…” Sairek cleared his throat. Ah, ice puns… yes. Clever.
“...Ahem! A-Anyway, Lamen isn’t too far away, so traders are always going in and out of Shimira to Lamen, or vice versa. Shimira has gained a lot of economical power to expand the inn so it can house more people. Would you believe it’s still not enough to house everyone, though? People are having to share rooms with their entire traveling group or with other total strangers. It even has two bars, now!”
“...Two bars?” Sairek frowned. “How is there even enough drinks or food for everyone?”
“That’s where some of the traders come in.” Bryn explained.
“Ah, I think I get it, then…”
“Probably where they make most of their profit from, too.” Nayleen guessed offhandedly.
“That’s correct.” Bryn nodded. “The bedding isn’t that expensive on the bottom floors because the noise is constant, but the higher up you go, the more expensive it is, because the quieter the noise is. They’re not glamorous rooms or anything, but some people pay a lot for a private room or some peace and quiet.”
Sairek frowned more. This bode ill for being able to find a place permanently out of the cold. Still, he was the Prince, so there were probably a few strings he could pull, perhaps…
“Here we are~” Bryn announced cheerfully, leading up to an iron door that was built into the wall of the town itself. She dug into her coat pocket to fish for a key, which she used to unlock the door, where she gestured the three of them inside afterwards, which they did with mutterings of thanks.
It was still below room temperature inside the walls but it wasn’t cold enough that a coat was necessarily required to keep comfortable. The whole design of having literal living quarters inside a wall confused Sairek a little bit, though. Bryn seemed to read the confusion he expressed on his face. She locked the door back up behind them before speaking to him. “The barracks for all the soldiers has been built inside the wall. Shimira originally wasn’t such a booming place where people came through often, but ever since the alliance with Masirean, trade went up a lot. Since the town has already been built inside the walls though, there is no way to expand the original barracks for more soldiers except for building up, but the barracks didn't need that many soldiers in comparison to the amount of travelers coming through. So the barracks was refitted to be the inn and the walls were hollowed out for the soldiers instead to fit troops for security.”
“Isn’t that risky? What if a group of bandits or whatever had siege weaponry?” Cyial asked.
Bryn smirked at the question. “That would be a foolish thing to do indeed. Shimira may have weaker walls due to them being hollow now, but it more than makes up for it with the power of the troops we have here. After all, adventurers, traders and other merchants come and go on a daily basis, sometimes a lot of them. A strong workforce is needed to keep the peace around here in order to maintain the operations this place makes in its weight of seru.”
“There’s enough food to feed everyone?” Sairek asked, blinking.
“Well if we’re talking to feed the workforce, then yeah. It’s not that we have that many people working, it’s that all of us are very good at what we do.” Bryn answered. “Many of the people here were once your fathers’ personal guards at some point most likely.”
Sairek nodded. That sounded about right from what he had remembered what Laure had told him at some point.
“And you lead all of them?” Nayleen asked.
“Oh, no, no. We are all equal here.” Bryn clarified, leading them up to a round wooden dining table and gestured for them to take a seat, which they took beside one another. Sairek felt relief being able to finally rest his legs from the weight of the past couple of days of constant walking.
“May I get either of you anything to eat or drink? Tea, perhaps?” Bryn offered.
“A hot tea sounds fantastic right now, if you wouldn’t mind.” Sairek answered
“Me too, please.” Cyial followed afterwards, which surprised Sairek a little.
“I’ll take tea and food~” Nayleen chirped. Sairek gave her a disapproving look with a dull expression on his face. “What? I’m hungry.” She said defensively.
“But we already had breakfast only a few hours ago… and you ate almost everything I left out for you…” Sairek frowned.
“But that was like, five hours ago! It’s past lunchtime and I haven’t had anything to eat since then!”
“Yggdrasil, give me strength…” Sairek groaned, leaning himself forwards until his forehead thumped gently against the table’s surface.
Bryn released an amused laugh at his reaction. “Please, it’s not any trouble at all. I’ll be right back to service you.”
Sairek only lifted his head back off the table after she left and he took a quick glance around. Unsurprisingly, being inside the wall, the interior consisted of mostly dark gray bricks for the walls, floor and ceiling, though there were steel frames along the corners of the walls to support the weight of the stonework. Aside from that though, at least the room they were in could almost be mistaken for a home that lacked windows. Even the table they sat at had a quilted carpet in a diamond shape underneath it. Pictures and other decorations were hanging from the walls as well so it didn't look so bland. It was well maintained, too. Sairek couldn’t even spot a single chip on any of the bricks, it was all clean and 'smooth' in its own way.
“So… um, what are we going to do about all of this snow?” Cyial asked, breaking their silence.
“I have no idea…” Sairek grumbled, prying his gaze away from the stonework of the room. “I guess we just… push on through it? It would be scary if we got blindsided by a blizzard, though… I don’t even know which direction we should leave town.”
“We’ll probably have to ask around for information.” Nayleen said. “At least we’re in the best place for that. Who knows how big of a zone the snow is occupying. We could push out of it within a few hours if we’re lucky. I’ll go ask around once we got our rooms reserved.”
“If we can even get any rooms.” Sairek frowned.
“You said you’d pull strings. That’ll be your job for the day.” Nayleen reminded him.
“Erm, right… I mean, I’ll try my best, but I’m not going to just kick people out of their own rooms so we can have them instead. That’s inhumane and probably illegal.” Sairek muttered.
They hushed back into silence as sounds announced Bryn’s return and half a moment later she reappeared carrying a tray which had four cups and homemade cookies. Sairek stole a glance at Nayleen who he swore had eyes lit up brighter than a duo of streetlamps. He shook his head slightly in amusement. The trio offered their thanks as they each took their respective cups and Nayleen happily began to scarf down her baked treats while the rest of them sipped at their teas in unison. Sairek purred quietly within his throat. He wasn’t one for tea but the warmth the drink provided right now was gentle and blissful. Bryn left again without a word, placing her cup on the table, but returned again a moment later, carrying a white-furred and brown coat. "Here, I think this should fit you just fine."
Nayleen's eyes lit up and Sairek was almost surprised that she set down her cookie for the coat. She held it out at arms length to examine it, and happily tore off the mantle and cloak to slip it on around herself as she stood up from the chair. She examined herself when she slipped it on while Sairek quietly gathered the mantle and cloak why she was distracted before returning back to sip it while watching Nayleen.
“So Prince, how long do you plan to stay in Shimira for?” Bryn asked.
Sairek lowered his cup from his lips. “At least for today, but we’d like to move on tomorrow if possible.” Sairek answered. “I guess that all depends on if the weather permits it.”
“Ah, I see. Well in any case, I have a package for you that was sent from the castle.” Bryn continued.
“The—The castle...?” Sairek flinched in surprise. He slowly settled his cup down onto the table, eying her in great curiosity. He supposed it wasn’t surprising that he would go this way, but at the same time… package for what and why?
“Sorry! I should have told you earlier but I only just remembered now. Ah, hmm… where did I put it…?” Bryn muttered to herself as she stood up from the table and walked out of the room. She didn’t go very far. Sairek could still hear her rummaging around from the other room in some compartments, then some rustlings of paper. He had the feeling that Bryn was perhaps not the most organized person, She did return a couple of moments later though, holding a sealed envelope and she handed it over to him.
“A letter…?” Sairek asked out loud, moving to begin unsealing it.
“Ah, no no, don’t open it now.” She cut in, giving him pause. He removed his fingers from the seal of the envelope. “It was meant for your eyes only. Open it once you have secured a room at the inn.”
“Huh…?” Sairek allowed himself to breathe out. He was so confused at the secrecy but he shrugged and pocketed the envelope underneath his shirt for now. His curiosity was gnawing at him but he supposed playing this game wasn’t much to ask.
“Yes, I’m sure you’re curious to know what’s inside,” Bryn smiled knowingly, which Sairek nodded in confirmation, “but after you warm up here and finish your tea, you should get rooms at your earliest convenience. It will make sense soon.”
“Mm, alright then…” Sairek acknowledged, taking another sip of his tea.
They drank and made a little bit more small talk about Shimira and the snow until they were finished ten minutes later. “Thank you for your help and hospitality, Bryn.” Sairek said gratefully, and Cyial bowed in agreement as they made their way towards the steel door.
“Of course. And I'm glad you like the coat, Nayleen!” Bryn smiled.
* * *
Sairek placed his left hand on the door of the inn with the intention of opening it, but Cyial released an “Umm…” that caused Sairek to pause and look at the demon.
“What’s up?” Sairek asked.
“Well… it’s just that… it’s going to be crowded in there, isn’t it…” Cyial mumbled.
“Yeah?”
“Well… I’m worried about my hair and my eyes… they’re rather unnatural and might draw… unwanted attention. My tail is hidden safely under my robes, but...” Cyial trailed off.
Sairek thought for a moment... as did Nayleen, apparently. She spoke next after a few seconds pause. “I don’t think it will be a problem, Cyial. Lots of people are travelers inside there, right? So what if you have different hair or eye color. I bet that’s one of the more mundane things they’ve seen. Even if they notice you’re a demon, I wouldn’t doubt that it’s natural around here to see the odd demon passing through now and then. Even if they're probably pretty uncommon in Ceareste.”
“All the same… many travelers come in different packages… Some may be okay, but there are also other Balgiras out there, if you know what I mean…” Cyial mumbled, nervously rubbing his left arm with his right hand and holding his book tight to himself with the other.
Nayleen winced at that response.
“I… don’t want to be the center of attention again for such a scene, is all…” Cyial continued, shaking his head slowly. “It could cause trouble for us and... I’d just... rather go in after the rooms are secured and just kind of… slip by as unnoticed as possible, before too many people have a chance to get a good look at me.”
“I understand how you feel, but it’s going to be harder for me to get a room for you if you’re not there, Cyial.” Sairek replied.
“Can’t we just… share a room again?” Cyial suggested in a pleading tone.
Sairek sighed. He didn’t mind that in the slightest, it was just Cyial’s apprehension that bothered him. Still, he couldn’t blame the little demon after what he went through. It only made sense for him to be wary. “Okay… three rooms would probably be hard to grab anyway, but in that case, I want you to come with me inside, still.”
“Huh? But—”
“Cyial,” Nayleen cut in. “Most people inside will probably be too drunk or partying too hard to even notice you. If anything, you two should be concerned about me!”
“...You? Why?” Sairek asked.
“Yes me! I’m an attractive young girl and there’s probably lots of rowdy men in there!” She argued.
“Not… quite the words I’d use to describe you—ouch.” Sairek winced, feeling a harsh pressure come into contact with his right shin that felt uncannily like the shape of Nayleen’s boot. “I—I mean that we’ll see.” He surrendered, buckling with his own weight a little as he shifted his posture. “A-Anyway, do you mind watching out for Cyial?”
“I can do that.” Nayleen smiled, grabbing Cyial by the arm like they were a couple of sorts. “With Cyial next to me, maybe they will think I’m already taken and leave me alone.”
“Huh…? W-Wait, I’m not…” Cyial trailed off, a look of discomfort on his features.
“...It’s so people wouldn’t bother him by being alone, not the other way around…” Sairek drawled.
“Oh, right. Yeah, if people say things about you Cyial, I’ll clock them in the face.” Nayleen replied.
“No, no 'clocking' people in the face. Just… tell them off, or something.” Sairek shook his head, beginning to regret this suggestion more and more. He turned back towards the door and pushed it open, holding it to allow the other two to enter first and him after them. The door swung closed by itself as he let go of it.
The first thing Sairek noticed was that it would normally be very roomy and comfortable in here, had it not been so overly crowded by patrons. The noise was… impeccably loud, and he was surprised that he hadn’t heard a peep of anything from outside. Maybe some magic was at work with that, he hadn’t been paying attention. Regardless, his ears were assaulted with voices, shouts, cheers and music. He wondered how anyone would be able to discern anything sensible through all of the loud ambience that wasn't immediately in front of them. Drinks were being clinked, laughter rang out... he supposed the overall tone was at least cheerful, but to him, it felt incredibly foreign. This was the first time he was witnessing this sort of atmosphere, let alone being inside such a place before.
Cyial seemed to be even more overwhelmed than he was, though he also seemed to have forgotten about his apprehension, if at least for the moment. Nayleen however didn’t seem nearly as surprised, only taking quick glances around. The party atmosphere was probably different, but Sairek imagined that the city was probably crowded like this a lot of the time and Nayleen probably had seen and dealt with it at least a few times.
“Excuse me...!” a woman called out to them over the noise. They looked over to see a waitress moving towards them. “Are you kids looking for someone? Where are your parents?”
“We’re looking for rooms to rest in for the night.” Sairek called out over the noise.
“Oh! Please excuse me sir, I didn't figure you three as patrons, you just… all look so young.” She apologized with a bow. When she erected her posture again, she turned to point at a set of stairs at the back of the inn that Sairek could only just make out as people walked by in front of his view of it. “If you want rooms, you will have to rent them from the owner. He is manning the second bar in the basement.” She answered, before turning around to the three of them. “Although, please be a little careful. Most of the people on that floor are drinking more heavily than this floor. Some can be very rowdy. Please try to avoid confrontation. We’ve already had a few incidents in the past few days.”
“I understand, thank you.” Sairek answered. She bowed once again, before leaving them, probably to be aiding another guest.
“Hmm. Well, you better get going.” Nayleen said, giving Sairek a playful push from behind, causing him to stumble a couple steps forward.
“What the–?” Sairek demanded, turning around to scowl at her.
“You heard her, there’s lots of drunks down there and as I said before, it wouldn’t be good Cyial or myself.” She declared.
“You’re making this way bigger than it actually is…” Sairek grumbled, a little bit annoyed. He glanced towards the demon though, who was looking down at his feet, looking like an animal trapped inside of a cage, very much uncomfortable right now. Sairek sighed. “Fine… I’ll go by myself, but you both owe me for sending me into the wolf’s den like this… It’s not like I’m completely comfortable either.”
Sairek didn’t wait for either of their responses. He instead turned around and walked off, gently pushing and shimmying his way through crowds of people who were all a foot or two taller than he was. He made his way through the crowd of people and to the set of stairs, taking the ones that led down towards the basement level. If the first floor was packed, crowded and loud, then this floor multiplied that at least twice as much. It was almost suffocating. The smell of alcohol and tobacco assaulted Sairek’s nose and there was a light mist in the air. Sairek quietly coughed at the sudden change of air quality. This really was a wolf’s den…
Scanning around the room from the stairs, he spotted the bar, not hard to recognize from his small height advantage he had by being a few steps up on the stairs still. Sairek braced himself, and took the final steps down and began gently pushing his way through wandering patrons and brushing against people who were at their seats, working his way slowly forward.
“Well, aren’t ye a fancy looking laddie?...” He heard someone slur drunkenly as he passed them by.
"Aren't you a bit too fresh to be down here, boy?" Another one commented.
“S-Sorry, I’m in a hurry, pardon me…” Sairek apologized, though he did regret currently having as extravagant an outfit as he did right at this moment, or having his royal jewel in plain view. He moved his left hand to cup his palm over it so it wasn’t completely visible to most people. He was already getting various kinds of looks, he could feel many eyes on him as he worked his way through the crowd. As he passed by, he could hear conversations hush and more eyes stare at him. Sairek gulped nervously as he approached the bar.
Finishing handing someone their drink, the barkeep and apparent owner of the building was a tall, well-built man, bald, with a thick brown mustache on his upper lip and bronzed skin. He may have reached six and a half feet in height, towering over Sairek who was barely more than four feet as he made his way over to the counter. Sairek pulled out that emotionless mask of his that he was used to using so well. He didn’t want to show he was nervous or intimidated. The man when he spoke had a deep voice, yet it was surprisingly rich from someone who looked like he could beat him to a pulp if he truly did desire it. “Aren’t you a little bit too young to be down here, lad?”
Sairek suppressed a gulp. “I was told I needed to speak to you about acquiring rooms. I need two of them for myself and my friends.” He stated.
He heard a few chuckles from other patrons sitting at the bar. “Oi, pretty boy, where’s yer parents?” One of them asked. Sairek ignored him, though. He didn’t even glance.
“A’ight kid, what’s yer name?” The barkeep asked him. The tone was still intimidating, but businesslike... or, at least close enough to it.
Sairek pressed his lips together. He leaned forward a little so hopefully at least a couple less people would hear him. He didn’t want to go around announcing who he was or that he was here. “Sairek.” He answered.
There was a twinge of disturbance on the man’s face. ‘Recognition’, was the best way Sairek could describe it if he was given only a single word. “Ah, so that’s you huh, boy? I guess you do match the description I was given. A bit younger and smaller than I expected, though...”
...Given? Description?
Sairek didn’t have the time to ask the question. “Alright, the two rooms you paid for beforehand are yours, I guess. You must have really wanted them badly despite the hefty price I told your friend to keep a hold of them. I normally don’t do that kind of thing mind you, but it was a lot. Guess I’m getting soft in my older age.” The man said, reaching down underneath the counter and presenting Sairek two keys. He had to stand on his tiptoes to even reach up above the counter and take them into his left hand. “The rooms are on floor ten, the best rooms. Room 1003, and room 1007. Your friend said to meet you in room 1010. Enjoy your stay, sir.”
“Th...Thanks… for holding them, I appreciate it.” Sairek replied plainly, clenching both keys into his gloved hand before turning around to slip back into the crowd and make his way back to the stairs as the people drinking at the counter were now eyeing him extremely hard, and perhaps with a bit of envy.
He was so confused. Who the heck pre-paid two rooms for him and on the tenth floor no less? Was it the same person who sent him that letter?
When he made his way back to the first floor, it took him a couple of minutes to find Nayleen and Cyial again, who were huddled into a corner out of sight as much as they could be. They didn’t notice his approach until he got much closer, and were lightly talking amongst themselves.
“Oh, welcome back! How’d it go?” Nayleen asked.
“Uh, very interesting...” Sairek began with a drawl. “Apparently someone paid for two rooms for me on the tenth floor and I have no idea who did that but I guess we got two rooms now, for free. I am supposed to meet whoever did this on the tenth floor in their room...” Sairek explained, showing off both keys in his left hand. “Here, take your pick, Nayleen. Cyial and I will have the other room.”
“Ooo, ladies first, huh? Maybe you are a gentleman afterall!” Nayleen teased. Sairek sighed and rolled his eyes at her. She feigned a look of deep, deep concentration, then abruptly went and plucked a key right out of his hand into her own. “This one~”
Sairek glanced down at his hand and saw he had the key for room 1007. He closed his hand around the remaining key again. “I guess that’s that, then. Shall we go up to our rooms?” He suggested.
Cyial gently shook his head. “I… want to look around the town some more, if you don’t mind. Besides, Bryn said that letter was for your eyes only, right? Maybe the person you’re supposed to meet with is only for you, as well.”
“I wanna look around too, although I was planning more to gather information than actually looking around…” Nayleen admitted as well.
“Alright, I guess you both have a point.” Sairek admitted. “I’m kind of nervous, though.”
“There’s like, two-hundred people here or something in this building alone and it’s the middle of the day. I doubt anyone would try anything. Security is also a heck of a lot tighter than Lamen, too.” Nayleen reminded him.
“I know, that’s… not what I’m worried about.” Sairek flinched. “I guess I’ll go meet whoever this is now, then. No matter what, do not lose that key, Nayleen.”
“Sheesh, you’re sounding like my dad, now. I’m outta here.” She teased with a wave of dismissal and turned around, heading towards the door. Cyial gave a gentle smile of amusement as he watched her, before giving a silent nod to Sairek and hurried after her.
“And alone yet again…” Sairek muttered to himself. He shrugged and headed back towards the stairs, this time heading all the way up to the tenth floor.
As curious as he was to open the envelope right away, he wanted to see the room first and used his newly acquired key to unlock the door to it, then when he stepped inside, he locked the door behind himself again.
It wasn’t a very large room. Actually, it was pretty tiny. Quiet, though, and the bed looked comfortable enough. Better than a straw bed, for sure. It looked like it would fit the both him and Cyial just fine. They both weren't that big, after all.
As small as the room was, it was cozy, too, considering the cold outside. The room also had its own private bathroom, which again, was small, but it had a toilet and even a small shower, separated in a cubicle with a lime colored curtain. Sairek briefly removed the glove from his left hand and turned the shower onto hot water, testing the temperature of the device. He was relieved to feel it was working properly, and the water changed nearly instantly, signalling that this was being done all by magic. He supposed that made sense. Shimira was too small to have any proper plumbing.
He turned the water off, dried his hand with a clean towel that was laying in a basin, and slid the glove back on. He moved to sit himself down on the bed, noting that a small window was placed over the head of the bed, and pulled out the envelope from inside his shirt pocket. He examined it as he set his staff on the bed beside himself. He moved his fingers to begin to tear it and stopped as he felt something go through his fingers like he had just bonked his funny bone or something, except it was through his fingertips instead.
“A magical seal?” Sairek muttered to himself softly. He supposed if it was for him and him being royalty and this letter coming from the castle, then it wasn’t that surprising. Apparently he passed the seal's test though, because he could tear into the envelope with no problem. There was only a tiny slip of paper with handwriting on it.
“Sairek, please meet me at the inn, in room 1010”.
Sairek frowned. That was no information at all, but it only reinforced that someone was definitely wanting to meet with him he guessed. He checked the other side of the paper, but it was blank. He put the envelope, its remnants and the note on a small table near the bed and pushed himself up, grabbing his staff as well and he moved to make his way out of the room and into the hallway, unlocking and relocking the door behind him. He walked down the narrow hallway of the inn just past a couple of rooms, reading the numbered platings beside each door to mark which room was which. When he made it to room 1010, he took a deep breath, raised his staff and slowly rapped it on the door firmly, three times.
“Please come in. The door is unlocked.” A muffled voice, from the otherside came through the door. It was femenine. Sairek swallowed and used his left hand to slowly turn the doorknob and push the door open, stepped into the room and then closed it behind him with a quiet thunk. He looked around the room and saw it was pretty much a near replica of his room. He could see the bathroom had its curtains drawn over the doorway, but could hear movement from within there. A few seconds later, the person inside reached for the curtain and drew it back.
Sairek took a couple of steps back and gasped in shock.
“L… Laure–!?”
