Tales of Fire and Ruin - Chapter 22: Chapter 22

I had never seen so many people gathered in once place. Wildewall's streets were bustling with life. They made the Thundercoast's docks, which used to be the largest marketplace I knew, seem tiny in comparison. I marvelled at the tall stone buildings, the fountains with dragon statues, and the countless of stands selling fresh fish, bread, pelts, jewellery, oils, and more. I didn't even recognise all the goods for sale or what their purpose was. Later, when we were out of Ariane's judgemental earshot, I'd ask Endris about them.
Despite the crowds, our passage was unhindered. As we rode our horses across the plaza, people hastily stepped aside like waves parting for frigates. Left and right, I felt eyes trained on my exposed chest. I did my best to ignore the stares until a woman up ahead shrieked. A loud thud followed her cry as her cart with wares toppled over. Apples, oranges, and other round fruits rolled our way across the ground.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up and question if what I was about to do meshed with Wildewall's etiquette. When I glimpsed the woman's horrified expression, I immediately brought Spot to a halt, dismounted, and started collecting pieces of fruit to bring back to the cart.
People leapt out of my way as I walked to the woman with my arms full of fruit. She had managed to push her cart upright, and I gently placed her wares back where they belonged. I didn't expect a thank you or a smile from the woman—people at the Thundercoast certainly never offered any acknowledgement. If I ever helped them, they ducked their heads and walked away before they were seen with a Montbow and got side-eyed by their neighbours. But I had also not expect the reaction I got here. When I turned to the woman, she had eyes like saucers and watery with tears. Her lips were parted in a silent scream. We made eye-contact for only a moment and then she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground.
"Thunder god's chosen one. Please, don't punish me," she pleaded. "Please don't hurt me. I have children to feed."
I gaped at the woman. "What? No. Stand up. Why would I hurt you or punish you?"
Behind me, Ariane cleared her throat. "Laurence, my beloved, please, we must hurry. We have a long day ahead and we haven't time to punish merchants for their unsightly behaviour. Let us resume our journey."
Ariane put on a high-pitched, chirpy voice, making her sound every bit like a doting betrothed. I stared up at her in surprise, and she smiled softly at me. "Get back on your horse now, my sweet and leave the merchants to their business."
I opened my mouth to protest, but when I made an eye sweep of the street, I only found fear in the people's eyes. Some visibly flinched as I looked their way and lowered their gaze. Now I realised what Ariane meant. It was probably no use trying to talk to them while they seemed to be so scared. I quickly mounted Spot with a beet-red face.
Ariane's expression hardened as she turned to the merchant woman who had pressed herself against the ground. "You are in luck today, woman," she said. "Spread the news that Laurence Montbow, storm-touched, has arrived in Wildewall and we will spare you your punishment for slowing us down with your graceless presence."
"Y-yes, my lady," the woman stammered.
"Now, get out of our sight."
The woman scrambled to her feet. She ran to her cart and pulled it after her as she fled the scene, half running, half sliding down the road, leaving behind most of the fruit that had fallen on the ground. The bolder people surrounding us dove on the grapes, oranges, and apples like vultures, picking up the free treats as fast as they could. Nimbly, they danced out of the way of our horses' hooves as we started moving again.
The moment we were out of sight, Ariane glared at me. Already, there was nothing left of the adoring betrothed act she'd put up in front of the merchants."Laurence, for the love of the thunder god, could you please stop embarrassing yourself in every single place you enter?"
"I was only trying to help her!" I protested. "The poor woman lost most of her wares. How will she feed her children?"
Ariane clacked her tongue. "The only thing you just did is scare that poor women needlessly. When a noble, or even worse, a storm-touched, gets off their horse, it means you messed up and you will get punished. If you wanted to help that merchant, you would have ignored her to show her and the others that you're graciously giving her a pass for inconveniencing you."
I shot Ariane an incredulous look. "That's not helping. That's rude. The people of the Thundercoast never behave like this. They're not scared of us, and they shouldn't be."
Ariane responded with a shrug, "All I'm hearing is what I already knew: you Montbows have been soft. You're allowing them to sneer at you. Even disgraced, you can still reduce anyone to a fried blood smear on the walkway, but you allowed them to forget about your power by crawling for them. The people of Wildewall, on the other hand, still understand how easily you could snuff out every life in this street, should you so please."
"Yes, because waving your sword at all who oppose you has worked out so well for my uncle Harold," I retorted. "Fear-mongering and tyrannising definitely work. Until the people finally had enough and rise, which is the reason house Montbow is in the mess it is in now."
Ariane raised a brow. "There is middle ground to be found between being a tyrant like your uncle and rolling over like the rest of your family seems to want you to, my dear," she said. "Regardless, enough about that public embarrassment. We have future embarrassment to prevent. Let us head to the inn so we can change you into more appropriate garments for the city. You'll also need to get fitted for more outfits after the hearing tomorrow. Oh, but try not to talk to the tailor if you're going to behave like you're from the southern coast."
"I am from the southern coast," I replied. "Proudly so."
Ariane didn't respond. She only sighed deeply, and I didn't feel like arguing further, either. Even I realised it was probably a good idea to keep my mouth shut while there were so many eyes on me.
Ariane wasn't lying when she said people of Wildewall worshipped god-touched and that it would shock me how different things were in the capital. Oleander was also right when he said I was probably going to be in more trouble than he would be inside the city walls.
Ariane guided us away from the marketplace, and I was glad to leave my embarrassment behind. Crowds thinned, and we passed an arched bridge with more dragon engravings. The difference between the marketplace and the district on the other side of the bridge was night and day.
It was like stepping into an idyllic world. Lush green bushes with flowers in all the colours of the rainbow grew in orderly rows on the sides of the road, and the road itself ended in a sparkling, clear lake. A waterfall cascaded down from cliffs that formed a natural barrier around this part of the city. The walls, which were built up against the cliffs, continued further ahead.
Only the wealthy seemed to come to this part of town. I saw men and women dressed in frilly clothes and with many expensive-looking pieces of jewellery worn around fingers and necks. Many of them had servants shuffling after them with heavy bags. I still felt eyes resting on me, but the well-born people reacted in a whole different manner than the merchants and the commoners did. Instead of fear, I received double-takes with raised brows, followed by a curtsy or a bow. This response was a lot easier to deal with, especially since remembered from the etiquette book that I was to give these people a nod but to not acknowledge them further if they didn't have a mark.
Through a miracle that had to be the thunder god's work, we arrived at the inn without further incidents. Ariane steered towards a stone archway with a nameplate above it that read, in golden swirly letters, 'Prince Malte's Honour.' Through the archway, we entered a courtyard with fragrant flowerbeds. A building that was worthy of being named after a prince came into view.
Like the temples, the 'Prince Malte's Honour' inn was carved out of bright, white stone that lit up in the sun. The shape and style also reminded me of the spiralling towers in the gods worship area, but with flatter and wider towers, which I assumed were bedrooms for guests.
Beautiful as this inn was, staying at a place named after the prince who won humans the bloody elven war gave me a sense of foreboding. I didn't dare look at Oleander to see how he felt, but a stone settled in my stomach as we dismounted to head inside.
Five stable boys who somehow seemed to know exactly when we'd arrive appeared out of nowhere to take our horses. All the other inn staff seemed to be highly trained and even stealthy. The hostess welcomed us with a bright smile and a deep bow. We didn't have to wait a single moment before being escorted up the stairs, yet all my bags were already in my rooms before I reached my room myself. I hadn't seen a single person in the hallway bringing anything upstairs, making me sincerely wonder if the inn had trapdoors that allowed the servants to slip silently through the building.
The woman who'd showed me my room curtseyed and closed the door behind me. Before I knew it, I was standing in a luxurious inn room alone. My arrival at Wildewall had been a blur. I already missed my family, even Conrad and my dad, terribly. Valda would know how to act. Gisela wouldn't be daft enough to get off her horse to help a random woman in the street. She would've stopped me, too.
The sudden silence in the room made me realise my heart was pounding and every muscle in my body was tense. I breathed in and out deeply, grateful for the moment of respite, and took in my new environment.
The entire room reminded me of Ariane. Luxurious, needlessly extravagant, but also tasteful. The carpet was cyan blue with god-touched symbols woven into it. On the round table in the corner, grapes, cheese, and a carafe of what I guessed was some sort of fruit juice were stalled out. Two curved wooden chairs stood beside the table. I also had a four-poster bed with dark blue sheets, and an outfit was neatly folded on top of it. It looked similar to what the nobles outside wore, and I figured these were the 'more appropriate garments' I was to change into before heading outside again.
I ignored the clothes for now and walked over to a set of paintings on the wall first. The men and women portrayed all looked vaguely familiar to me. War heroes from history classes which I'd mostly slept through, but I guessed the handsome raven-haired man wearing a crown with a red gem embedded in it was prince Malte.
I snickered when I noticed one of the 'war heroes', a blonde woman, had a hole in her pants at the height of her thigh. She also had a mark in the shape of a sun and it seemed I'd been right all along. People actually did cut a hole in their clothing to make sure their mark was visible. Imagine having a mark on your ass. Your god had to really hate you if they branded you there.
With a smile still lingering on my lips, I walked over to the table and poured myself a glass of fruit juice. While I drank the liquid pure sweetness, I wondered where Oleander and Endris were right now. One of the inn staff had whisked them away to another place and I probably shouldn't be leaving them alone for too long in this city, especially Oleander.
Unfortunately, leaving my room meant worming myself into the 'appropriate garments.'
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I grumbled as I grabbed the outfit Ariane had chosen for me off the bed and gave it a proper look. Wildewall's weather was warm compared to the Thundercoast, but that didn't mean I want to walk around in a top that had so little fabric to it I might as well walk around bare-chested. There were almost no sleeves to speak of, and I'd be showing skin down to my navel. Why the tailor had even bothered putting two buttons at the bottom of the shirt so I could 'close' it was beyond me. At least the pants were normal, and I was even more grateful now my mark wasn't on my thigh or ass.
With a deep sigh, I sucked it up and slipped into the clothes. When I caught my reflection in the mirror, however, I almost laughed. It wasn't that I looked bad. My chest was broad and strong from years of shooting arrows daily, and the green fabric complimented my brown skin tone. But wearing a sleeveless green vest-like garment made of shiny and thin material wasn't exactly my usual style.
As I turned around to check myself from the back, there was a rapid knock on the door. "Laurence, are you changed yet?" Ariane's voice sounded through the door. "Are you coming downstairs?"
"I don't want to!" I called back. "Why exactly are you making me go outside half-naked?"
"Oh, would you stop being a child? This is god-touched fashion and all the others with a mark on their chest wear it too. Just come downstairs," Ariane huffed. Then her footsteps faded into the distance.
I cursed under my breath and glanced at myself in the mirror one last time. It'd take some getting used to, like many other things in Wildewall. I'd be happy if the hearing and the ball were behind me and I could go home.
Squaring my shoulders, I resigned to my fate, left my room, and headed downstairs.
In the common room of the inn, there was an audience waiting for me. Ariane, Nele, Endris and Oleander all looked up when I entered. I immediately noticed none of them were made to change clothes. I might've complained about it, if I hadn't made eye-contact with Oleander first.
Like many people had today, Oleander was staring at my chest. Unlike all the others, however, it clearly wasn't about my mark. Oleander's gaze slowly wandered down to my midriff and abs. He bit his lips as he lifted his eyes to meet mine and the look he gave me, combined with his radiant beauty, made my face and ears burn. If we could have, I was certain we would've moved into my room right now.
Oleander blatantly seducing me with his gaze in front of Ariane and everyone else made words catch in my throat. Thankfully, Endris stepped in and saved me from having to speak.
"Lady Seydal, the hearing is tomorrow, correct?" he asked. "The day is still young. Would lord Montbow have the rest of his time today to see the city?"
Ariane crossed her arms. "And what would my beloved be planning on seeing today?"
"I want to go to the library," I said. Standing opposite Oleander, I suddenly remembered the promise I'd made to him: we'd go looking for his past. The history of the elves.
Ariane side-eyed me. "Because you are so interested in reading?"
"I would be inside somewhere not talking to people, and I will study my speech," I lied with a shrug. "It sounds like one of the safest places to be for a boorish south-coast man to me."
"I see." I still read suspicion in Ariane's expression as to my motives, but she didn't question me out loud.
"And I will take Endris and Oleander with me," I added. "Endris lives here. He can keep me out of trouble."
"Then I insist you also take one of my servants with you," Ariane replied, gesturing at Nele. "For protection."
I struggled to keep myself from grimacing. Having Nele there as a spy for Ariane would make it a lot more difficult to learn about elven history without her finding out. Endris, Oleander, and I would have to try to lose Nele inside the library because I couldn't think of a good reason to refuse Ariane's offer right now.
"That's very nice of you," I said with a forced smile.
"Visiting Wildewall's library is an excellent choice, lord Montbow," Nele politely told me. "There are many brilliant historians and scholars who know much of the city. I noticed you had an interest in the elven wars, so I would especially recommend speaking with Ezra Dagon, the most knowledgeable historian on elven culture in this city."
"I believe we shouldn't," Endris interjected before I could open my mouth. "He's very busy."
"Surely he's not too busy for lord Montbow," Nele shot back with a smile. "It's truly not a problem."
Oleander stood hesitatingly beside me, his green eyes searching my face. A historian specialised in elven history sounded exactly like the kind of person we needed, but I'd caught Endris' reluctance to see the historian loud and clear too.
"We'll see what we'll do when we get there," I answered vaguely.
Endris' jaw clenched like he'd hoped for me to decline the offer fully, but I couldn't take my words back now. Seeing Endris' suppressed frustration made me feel like I'd just made another mistake—one much worse than helping a woman in the street.