“My grandfather returned six months after their passing. He stayed with me until I grew into manhood. Then, the king offered me a job. I refused. His retaliation was a public execution. The whole town watched as my grandfather lost his head. I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t know how to! My only choice was to work for the king. As the gatekeeper.”
All that time I listened to his short and very sad story. I couldn’t help but be beside myself in my brash and unfounded emotions toward this man. Especially guilt. “What is your name?”
“Gandir.” Instead of saying it proudly, he spoke as though he had just been told he was doomed to die in the next few moments. His shoulders slouched with arms slack at his side and eyes remaining low.
I approached him, dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms tightly around him. He stiffened for only one small moment then relaxed.
“You are more than your blood. Your parents and grandfather would be proud of you. Thank you for helping us.”
“Ahem. Uh, yes, well…” He took a step back, pulling free from my hold.
I stood.
“Where to now, Gandir?” Marren asked, taking a hold of my hand. Our eyes met, and for a moment, pride and awe shone through them.
“Uh…oh, right. Follow me.”
We followed Gandir out of the covered shelter for the broken down wagons and carts to the side of a building that stretched above the wall. Windows were alight with blinking candles and a soft orange glow behind them. Murmurs of undecipherable chatter blended into one another, and the smell of ale and spice flowed from the openings. It reminded me of the inn, during one of its busiest seasons.
Beyond that was a large open road, bordered by buildings built upon one another of staggered heights. Each one had arched doorways of dark wood and a small hanging sign above the door. Some were dark while some remained alive with business. People walked to and from these opened stores. Some even gathered in small clusters. It seemed odd to view such a contrast within such a close area.
“This way,” Gandir said, pulling my attention back to where we stepped and not what was going on.
A small space between two buildings offered enough room for us to walk through in single-file. I only had to flick my hand to get my fingers to touch either wall. There were no windows in these walls, only rough stone squares stacked upon one another to form the sides of the buildings.
The farther in we went, the darker it became and the harder it was to discern shapes beyond our own. We arrived at the end of the small alley. Gandir knocked a couple times. A few knocks were returned, followed by something scraping against the ground. It sounded like stone on stone.
A stone door?
Seems like it. Marren squeezed my hand.
“I’ve got some rather intriguing company here. Won’t ye let us in?” Gandir’s voice was low and deep. I couldn’t pick out anything on the other side of the stone door, but then it scraped some more, raising the hairs on the back of my neck, revealing a darkened room and a figure outlined in a light blue-green aura.
“Well, let us get a look at this intriguing company. Do step inside. Quickly.” The voice came from the other side, thickly accented and choppy. He was tall and thin in stature, judging by the way his robes cloaked him. He turned and walked further into the darkness.
Chapter 30
A Fallen Comrade to Kill an Enemy
Into the belly of the city. At least that’s what it seemed like. We walked through darkened halls after a long flight of stairs downward. Soon the shadows lightened, and the sounds of chatter filled the air. We turned down a hallway and into a room lit with sconces and lanterns. In the center of the room rested a small table, crudely made. A chair sat on the other side, appearing to have seen better days. The walls were bare, made from sandstone and left jagged in areas. Aside from the door, there were no other ways in or out of the room, including the extreme lack of windows.
“Please forgive my humble decorations. It’s difficult to find pieces to carry this far. And the dwarfs seem less enthused with building furniture than they are about carving this place out of the ground.” The man took a seat in the chair. It groaned loudly at his weight. He removed his hood to reveal long light brown hair, straight eyebrows, and bright green eyes. His lips were squared, yet puckered, and he had a large scar that crossed his face in a diagonal. I quickly averted my eyes when he caught my gawking.
“It’s quite the sight, isn’t it my lady?”
I glanced up, meeting his gaze again. His voice was free from sarcasm, and I didn’t detect a hint of anger in his expression. I smiled politely. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect to see…well…”
“Relena was attacked when she was younger,” Marren said. “She was scarred horribly. You are the only one of the immortal races that she’s seen with scars like hers.”
“Ah, I see. Kindred spirits, you and I.”
I nodded.