The Tale of Four

The Tale of Four
Chapter Two

I awoke for the second time in a much more comfortable way. I was lying down with my head resting on something. Beneath me I felt vibrations, like I was being moved by something. Was I in a car? It didn’t seem fast or smooth enough to be that. Whatever it was riding was soothing enough to gently rock me back to sleep. I snuggled further into my pillow and was about to fall asleep when someone started gently petting my head. It was a nice feeling, but creepy too since I had no idea who was doing it.

I jolted up and pushed away from the person touching me. It was the prisoner from before, but he was dressed in what looked like an officer’s uniform. He cleaned up nicely and it was almost enough to distract me from the fact that I was using that man’s lap as a pillow. Just seeing him with clean clothes made me want to change as well. I looked down at myself and realized that my shirt was gone. Someone had taken my shirt and replaced it with another. I also didn’t feel any blood on my face or neck, which meant someone, wiped it off. Luckily my pants were my own and they didn’t seem to be that dirty.

I looked at the man and found him looking at me. He seemed to be anticipating that I would start to freak out. I just shrugged my shoulders and sighed. I was glad that they had changed my shirt. I didn’t want the jail keeper’s blood on me at all. Besides I think I swallowed more than what I got on me, which was disgusting to think about. The man visibly relaxed and we sat in silence for a short while. We were riding in a very nice carriage. It was obviously meant for someone of high importance. It made me wonder who the man was. From his clothes he seemed to be a military man.

The man was gazing lazily out the window and must have felt me staring at him because he turned to face me. He smiled gently and I blushed, a little embarrassed to be caught staring at him. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked out the window. We were going up a mountain side. The view was spectacular. I could see miles away, miles which were full of unfamiliar territory. The man moved slowly in my peripheral vision so that I wouldn’t jump, and pointed to something in the distance, and started to talk. I still had no idea what he was saying, but his smooth deep voice made me relax. I hadn’t known that I was all tensed up. The man must have noticed and wanted to relax me with conversation. Though I couldn’t talk back I was still glad he was talking to me.

The farther up the mountain we went the temperature steadily dropped. I didn’t notice at first, but when I started to see snow I suddenly got chilled. When the man saw me shiver he placed a fur blanket around my shoulders. I smiled in thanks and he returned it with a smile of his own.

The man and I weren’t the only ones going up the mountain. We were surrounded by many warriors, in front and behind us. There were many more than before. My only guess was that these were the men from the valley. Just thinking of that reminded me of the wyverns and other things that I had seen. I started to get a headache just from that so I decided to place it from my mind for the moment. The company of warriors was making good time up this mountain. I assumed we were still being pursued by the others and hoped we wouldn’t be caught. It was dusk out by the time we got to the summit. The mountain we were on was massive and the top of it didn’t disappoint. It was strange though, the summit was flat and spacious. It looked like something had cut the top clean off. The summit wasn’t empty though. The area contained four huge archways. Each archway marked the beginning of a trail that led down the different sides of the mountain.

The carriage stopped and the man got out and started to speak with the leader again. I took this opportunity to check out the view. I reasoned that as long as I didn’t see any mythical creatures that shouldn’t exist I would be okay. I couldn’t see much below us because we were above the clouds. Through the spaces in the clouds I could see that we were very high up. I bet if it hadn’t been as cloudy I could have seen the entire world. I couldn’t see the world but the view of the setting sun reflecting off the clouds was breathtakingly beautiful. There were so many colors that I wish I had my camera to capture the effect. The reds, yellows, and purples were so vibrant that it could have been a background in a romance movie. I just stood there and watched it until the sun sunk beneath the clouds.

Shortly after the man came and led me back to the carriage. He opened the door for me and pointed to the seat. He then brought his hands to his head like he was using them as a pillow. I guess he wanted me to sleep. Before I could reply he went back to talk to the leader. It was only when I sat down that I realized how exhausted I felt. It was amazing how tired one got when doing nothing. I decided to take the man’s advice and get some more sleep.
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“Is she asleep?” Colonel Markus asked.

“She soon will be.” Replied Vincent. “What is your plan of action now? We were discussing is if we should take the Travelers Road all the way to Bastion or not. You deemed it to be unwise.”

“Sir, you have just spent the last two months as Saville’s prisoner. I’m sure you didn’t get the rest you needed. I believe that stopping in Vaxtion would be the best option.”

“The people of Vaxtion would not like us coming into their territory. She wouldn’t like it.”

“The Vaxtion Nation is no ally of Saville or his people. If they hear why we are there it won’t be a problem. Besides I got permission from her to go through Vaxtion when I went to rescue you.”

“She may not care if you’re passing through, but a whole army can’t stay there.” Vincent interrupted.

“That’s why only a small group consisting of you, me and few guards, and of course your guest will be entering Vaxtion. The rest of the army will go to Travelers Road and continue to Bastion. You need the rest sir. It will only be a few nights.” Colonel Markus explained.

“You have stated your argument well. I will follow this plan of yours.”

“Sir.” Markus saluted. “I will order Captain Graves to lead the army from here to Bastion.”

“Very well. I will return to the carriage. Snowpoint Pass is beautiful this time of year isn’t it Markus?” Vincent asked.

“Yes sir. Better then winter anyway, can’t even get up here during the winter.” Markus replied before heading to Captain Graves.

“Winter is indeed troublesome.” Vincent whispered to himself before getting back into the carriage. Seeing that the girl had fallen asleep he too decided to rest. He picked the girls head up and placed it on his lap. Vincent was so tired that he went to sleep almost instantly.
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A gentle shake woke me up for the third time. I opened my eyes to see the man outside of the carriage and gesturing me to get out. I sat up and realized two things. The first was that we were no longer on a mountain but in a place where the climate was hot. The second thing I noticed was that I was starving. I hadn’t eaten for two days and the hunger was starting to take its toll. My stomach hurt so bad that I could barely get up. I just couldn’t catch a break. First I was attacked by a jail keeper, and then I saw things that shouldn’t exist; now I was starving. My time in this world wasn’t going well.

I slowly climbed out of the carriage and into a street. We were in a city, not a city like I knew, but an old fashioned city. There were food stalls, merchant stalls, and stalls I didn’t know the names of. When I smelled the scent from the food stalls my stomach made a grumbling noise. The man heard it and chuckled. I was beyond embarrassed and I felt my face turn bright red. He chuckled again and took my hand to lead me towards what I thought was an inn. It took a while to cross the cobbled streets to get to the other side. The city was very busy and it was easy to imagine getting lost in the crowd. I was grateful for the man’s hand.

When we finally made it to the door of the inn we wasted no time getting inside. The interior of the inn seemed standard to what I thought and inn should look like. There appeared to be two floors to the building. The lower floor was full of empty tables and what looked like a bar. The second floor held what I assumed was guest rooms that people could rent out. The place was completely made out of wood so I hoped no one dropped a candle or anything. The blaze would be hard to put out. A person stood behind the bar area and watched us carefully. The leader, who had joined us with several other people as well, walked up to the bar tender and started to talk to him. I guess the leader was asking about rooms because I saw him hold up three fingers and gestured towards us. The bar tender nodded and they started to haggle on a price. I never saw someone haggle before but I could tell the leader was good at it. By the end of the conversation the leader looked happy about the price, the bar tender didn’t seem as pleased. Since there were several of us I hoped I didn’t have to share a room with one of them. I realize that I had slept next to the man for two nights but sleeping in a carriage together and sleeping together in an actual room were two different things entirely.

I was pulled along by the man up the stairs of the inn. The bar tender led us to the rooms we would be using. The first one we stopped at was the one furthest down the hall. The door was open and I was pushed in by the man. He shut the door behind me and I was left alone. I guess this would be my room. I was thankful that I wasn’t sharing the room with another man. I heaved a sigh of relief. The room wasn’t grand, but I didn’t need much. The room was small and barely had anything in it. A bed, a chest at the end of the bed, and a chair were the rooms’ only contents. I didn’t have anything to put in the chest and I didn’t want to lie in the bed because my clothes were dirty so I just relaxed in the chair. To be fair the chair was very comfortable.
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“These other two rooms are yours’ as well.” Jimmy the innkeeper explained. “Is there anything else I could get for you?”

“No, thank you.” Markus replied. “We will be fine for now.”

“As you wish. If you need anything the girl down stairs, Samantha, will help you.” Jimmy said and walked away.

“You two will be sharing the last room by the stairs.” Markus commanded the two guards who had come with them.

“Yes sir!” the replied in unison while saluting. They entered their room after Colonel Markus had dismissed them. They were tired form their long trek down from Snowpoint Pass.

“Don’t go anywhere outside the inn without one or both of them.” Markus demanded.

“That goes without saying Markus.” Vincent replied. “The first thing that I need to do is get a bath basin. I’m filthy and need to bathe. I’m sure the girl and everyone else needs one as well. After that we will need to eat and replenish our strength. I will go talk to this Samantha girl.”

“Sir the baths and the food with take some time to prepare therefore I will leave and gather the necessary supplies for the journey home. Is there anything you would like me to get?” Markus asked.

“Yes actually. The girl with need new clothes, hers’ are a little dirty.”

“I don’t think I am the right person to buy a female some clothes.”

“Don’t worry; you don’t need to buy anything fancy. A pair of trousers and a shirt should be fine.” Vincent assured. “I’m going to talk to Samantha now. Be back soon so you can bathe as well.”

“Yes sir.” Markus answered. Vincent walked away and left Markus on his own. He wasted no time in getting downstairs and to the inn entrance. Markus was about to open the door when someone else opened it from the other side and entered the inn. The person ran right into Markus, making him stumble.

“I am so sorry sir!” A young man cried. “I have a horrible habit of not looking where I am going.”

“It is alright young man. May I ask if you are planning to stay here?” Markus questioned. He was concerned for Vincent’s safety and wanted to know who was staying at the inn.

“Oh, no sir I am not. I am just looking for someone named Markus. He is a Colonel of some sort. Do you know if he is here? I have a message for him.”

“I am Colonel Markus. What is this message?” He demanded.

“You are? Well it’s a good thing I ran into you then. I have a message for Lady Erin. She says that you and your company may stay here, but only for three days. On the morning of the fourth day you must continue on to the Travelers Road.” He concluded, handing Colonel Markus the official document with Lady Erin’s seal on it. “It sounds mean but she is worried about angering the other Nations if you are found in Vextion.

After reading the document Markus responded with, “I understand. We only intended to stay that long anyway. We are very aware of the tension between the Nations. Lady Erin is right to worry. Putting that aside, who are you? Are you a personal guard or messenger to Lady Erin?” Markus asked eyeing the man closely. He was about 6’2” with jet black hair and emerald eyes. He looked lean and quick; the boy would be difficult to handle in a fight. He also had an accent that Markus couldn’t place.

“No sir, noting of the sort. Maybe I’m like an assistant. I really don’t know myself. She asks me to do things and I comply. I sort of own her a debt.” He answered.

He seemed to be telling the truth so Markus relaxed a fraction. “What is your name?”

“Oh how rude of me!” The boy replied. “My name is Jake and I work for Lady Erin.” He said with a bow.

“Very well Jake, we will obey Lady Erin’s wishes. We will return to the Travelers Road in three days. Now if you will excuse me I have things to do.”

“Of course sir, I must be going as well. I hope you get home safely.” Jake answered with a smile. He waved bye to the Colonel and hurriedly left. Markus watched him run down the street, stopping every now and then to apologize for running into someone. When the boy was out of sight he continued on his way to complete his errands.

Back inside Vincent was still looking for Samantha. He found her in the storage area tiding up. “Is your name Samantha?” He asked making the girl jump in surprise.

She turned around and when she saw who was asking she blushed. “I am sir. What can I do for you?” She asked shyly.

“Jimmy said to come to you if I needed anything.” Vincent answered.

“Oh! You’re a guest? Well it is my job to serve you. Ask me and I will do anything for you.” Samantha replied batting her eyes at him.

Vincent ignored her obvious attempts at seduction and continued on. “My companions and I would like to bathe so wash basins are needed. There are five of us all together. We have taken all three rooms to the right of the staircase. After that we will need to be provided a meal.”

“Yes sir. Anything you want.”

“One more thing before you go.” Vincent stopped her before she walked past him.

“Yes?” She asked earnestly.

“The girl in the last room doesn’t speak our language so don’t get mad if she doesn’t respond to you.” He said before walking away.

“She doesn’t speak Alteareon? Has she lived under a rock her whole life?” She questioned stiffly before getting the stove going to heat the bath water.