In Search of Auria (21 page)

“Gee, sir, you’re strong!” said the kid to
me. I smiled and patted him on the head. I went to the owner and we
shook hands.

“Thank you very much,” he said, “I pass here
and there to grab pieces of wood, but I stopped right on top of the
mud. Mighty silly of me!”

“You’re welcome. But, since I have helped
you, could you offer me some help in return?”

“Oh, I get it,” the man strained his brow,
“you want money as compensation! Well, you didn’t help me that
much, either!”

“No, no,” I rectified, “I seek no money from
you.”

“Then, what are you asking for?”

“You see, my loved one has been snatched
away, and I believe that the culprits are inside the city. But,
since I’m not from the area nor do I own a permit, I’m afraid the
guards won’t grant me access.”

“You don’t have a permit? Where do you come
from, sir?” asked the kid.

“Well, I live close to the border of Balora
and Miaflore.”

“You have come a long way, warrior,” said
the man. He passed his rough hands on his blonde moustache as he
eyed me from top to bottom. He finally nodded, “Very well, I will
help you. You truly look like a good man that does not seek riches,
but only wants his woman.”

“Thank you so much!”

“But, you’ll need to change your appearance
and you’ll have to hide your sword and shield.”

I removed my sword, shield, and gambeson and
hid them under the lumber. I was left only with my bag. Afterwards,
the man put his hands in the mud and slapped me across the
face.

What the hell are you doing?

I sternly stared at him. He explained that I
had to look like I had been working with them. He proceeded to do
the same with my clothing. I got irritated; the Fenghuang had
practically made them clean and new, and now I had to dirty
them.

When I finally looked like I had taken a mud
bath, we continued on the road, passed a few cottages and small
fields, and arrived at the gate. No citizen was coming in or out at
the moment, so all eyes would be on us. As we neared the threshold,
a young and impudent soldier stopped us.

“Show us the permit!” he barked. The man
reached for a sack resting on the horse’s back and took it out. It
was simply a paper with a long paragraph. The only important thing
on it was the seal at the bottom. The seal was of violet wax with
an image of a crow pressed in. The soldier nodded at the sight of
the paper, but he got suspicious when he saw my face.

“Did you come out before? I don’t remember
seeing you…”

The man and the kid froze as I did. I didn’t
know what to say, and if things got ugly, my sword and shield were
hidden out of reach. My mind drew blank as the soldiers nailed
their gazes at me. But to my relief, a distraction arose. A man
clutching a square box came rushing out of the gates. He was being
pursued by a couple of inner guards. They stopped at the gate and
panted, “Stop the thief… stole a chest of lorins…”

The soldier that had questioned me walked
out of the threshold and shouted to the archers on the top,
“Archers, stop that man!”

The three archers were joined by two more
that came out of adjacent sentry boxes. They all readied their bows
and took aim. The thief was about to turn a corner behind a
cottage, but he never got the chance. He fell into the mud with
three arrows on his back and one on the nape. Only one missed. The
archers returned to their posts and the two guards went out to
secure the chest and body. The soldier looked at me to continue the
conversation, but I opened my mouth first.

“What an idiot!” I chuckled. “Didn’t he know
the balorian soldiers are not to be trifled with?”

The soldier stared, but one of his
colleagues gave into the praise, “Right? Who would be so dumb to
defy us?”

Then the third soldier replied, “Only those
miaflorians dogs, haha!”

Everyone laughed at the Miaflore jokes, even
the man and kid. I laughed too for I did not wished to get caught;
but inside me each little joke was like a needle poking my heart.
In the end, the guards were greatly amused and let us pass. Inside
the walls, the city buildings were tall with stained glass windows;
some were constructed of strong wood and others made of rock. There
were people of different social status walking around, ranging from
men with tights and fancy coats, to beggars with dirty rags,
pleading for alms.

The man stopped the wagon and said to me,
“We need to go about our business, but I advise you not to walk
around with your sword and shield here. The soldiers shall stop
you. They might’ve ignored you on the towns away from the capital,
but not here. Do your search and when you need your weapons, come
to my house and collect them. I live beside the lake wall. The
house that has the wagon outside shall be it.”

“I appreciate the risk you took by helping
me enter the city. Thank you very much. I do need to know one more
thing before we part. Can you tell me where the royal mews is?”

“The what?”

“The mews, where the carriages are kept and
stored.”

“Oh, yes. Well, I know there’s a couple in
the city, but not exactly where they are. Only the high and fancy
have carriages, so you’re asking the wrong person. But wait, are
you telling me nobles kidnapped your lady?”

“I wouldn’t call them
noble
, but they
are from the higher ups.”

I thanked him again, patted the kid on the
head and went our ways. I walked here and there trying to find the
mews, but I was a bit distracted by the shops and the food markets
around. They were bigger and livelier than the smaller villages. I
noticed people were avoiding me, and I remembered that I still had
mud spattered across my face. I later found a city square with a
fountain and used its waters to clean the mud off me. There, I saw
a white round carriage dropping some fancy people at an
establishment. I drew closer and listened to the conversation
between the passenger and coachman.

“Return at sunset to take us to our home.
Don’t be late!” said the passenger.

“I won’t disappoint. I will go to the mews
to feed the horse and return at sunset,” the coachman replied.

The carriage was going to one of the mews, I
only needed to follow. I walked slowly at a distance as the
carriage made its leisurely trip on the streets. I always kept my
eye on it, and when soldiers came marching through, I acted like
and average guy taking a pointless walk around the city. Finally,
the carriage made a left turn towards an iron gate made of curvy
and twisted bars. Soldiers opened it and let the carriage pass
through into a large courtyard. They immediately closed when the
carriage was inside. I continued my stroll on the street and
glimpsed between the twisted bars. There I saw it, to the far
right, the black carriage hauling the cage! I continued walking
without making eye contact and got out of the soldiers’ sight.

From what I had seen, the mews had three
floors, the first one being an open garage where they kept the
carriages. In front of the building was the courtyard, on the sides
where other tall structures and protecting the entrance was a wall
with sharp barbs lining the top. I was not getting inside any time
soon. I walked to an alley opposite to the iron gate and sat on the
floor, thinking on what to do. My best bet was to wait for the
black carriage to come out of the mews and follow it out of the
city. Only then would I make my move. I would have to wait, but for
how long? Would they go now, later in the day, or tomorrow?

I stayed in the alley for hours, measuring
the length of the shadows as the sun passed. Carriages came in and
out, but not the one that held my precious Auria. My stomach
started to bother me and I couldn’t ignore its hunger anymore. I
decided to go to the house of the man who helped me, eat, and then
return with my equipment. But, what if the carriage left while I
was gone? I would lose track of it.

I exited the alley and right around the
corner I bumped into a beggar. He lifted his hands and cried for
money, but I walked around him. Suddenly, I had an idea. I grabbed
the beggar by his filthy coat and led him into the alley. I
released him inside and he fell in cowardice, “Oh, please don’t
harm me, I have nothing!”

I squatted in front of him and hushed him,
“Be quiet and listen. You desire money that I can provide. I only
ask of you one thing, and that is to stay here and keep watch on
those gates until I return. I am waiting for a black carriage
hauling a covered cage to come out. If it does, you will tell me
when I return, got it?”

The beggar nodded fearfully, but asked,
“H-how will I know you will pay instead of beating me up for an
answer.” To this I took out a silver coin out of my bag and gave it
to him.

“I shall give you another one when I return,
but you must be here, understand?”

He clenched the coin with both hands and
nodded to me like if he had become my faithful servant. He
immediately sat behind a pile of rubbish and set his sights to the
gates. I left and made my way to the lake wall, looking for a house
with a wagon. Getting there, I noticed it wasn’t the best kept part
of the city. The houses were small, not that well built, and the
roofs were made of twigs and hay. I quickly paced along the lengthy
wall until finally finding the house. When I got there, the man was
outside fixing one of the wagon’s wheels. He greeted me as I
arrived.

“Hey there, friend. Have you found the
mews?”

“Yes, I have,” I confirmed militantly. “Do
you have my sword and shield?”

“Of course. Please, come inside. My wife is
readying supper.”

I heard the word supper and almost forgot
everything else. Inside his humble home, he let me sit on a crooked
seat at an oddly round dinner table. The room was lit by the hearth
on the back. A thin redhead lady stirred food in a pot. After
handing me my weapons and my gambeson, the man sat across me, right
beside the kid. He waved at me and I smiled.

“Well then, now that you have found the
mews, what will you do now?” asked the man.

“I have someone posted there in case the
carriage I’m looking for leaves. If you could provide me some food
to satisfy my hunger, I will be on my way and won’t bother you
anymore.”

“Bother? What bother? Not at all!”

The lady carried four bowls of oatmeal and
placed them on the table. She went back to the hearth and returned
with a small loaf of bread. It was simple food, but it was what
folks like these could afford. The lady sat beside the man. She
looked at him impatiently until finally saying, “Well, aren’t you
going to introduce him?”

“Oh, right,” the man said in laughter, but
abruptly stopped, “Wait, we never really exchanged names, did
we?”

The man was right! With the rush of passing
through the gates, hiding my equipment and setting out to the mews,
we never even thought to formally present ourselves.

“Well, I’ll start. My name is Francis.” He
then put his hands on his lady and son’s shoulders, “This is my
wife Rachel, and my son Gabriel. We all welcome you to our humble
abode.” They all smiled at me. They were poor, but so modest.

“My name is Erik, and I appreciate your
courtesy.”

They took their time eating their oatmeal
and bread, but I wolfed it down eagerly. After finishing, I quickly
put on my gambeson. I took out the blanket from my bag and wrapped
the sword and shield so that they didn’t look so obvious.

“You’re leaving so soon?” Francis
exclaimed.

“I must,” I replied, “Time is not on my
side. If I lose track of the carriage, all could be for nothing.”
Francis understood and nodded. He went to open the door for me as I
said goodbye to his wife and kid.

“I wish you good luck, Erik,” Francis said
after he let me out of his home. I gave a faint grin as I reached
inside my bag. I rested the wrapped equipment on the side of the
house and took his hand. On it I dropped five gold coins. Francis
inhaled in amazement until he could inhale no more.

“But, this--”

“This is yours,” I interrupted. “You deserve
it. Throughout my journey I have been the one doing the helping,
and for it I got my rewards. Now, it is you who has helped me. You
deserve this. It is the only thing I can give, so please, accept
it.”

Francis just didn’t know what to say. As I
picked up my equipment, his wife Rachel called concerned, “Francis,
what’s happening?”

He looked back, but then quickly to me.

“Thank you, Erik,” he finally said.

I nodded and left for the mews. I didn’t
look back, but I heard the door close and a sudden scream of joy.
Five pieces of gold were nothing to me, but for him and his family
it would be life changing.

My life already changed drastically since
the moment I met Auria. And now, I was finally going to reach her
and confront her kidnappers.

“I will save you, and I shall crush them!
Auria, wait for me. I am almost there!”

After retrieving my weapons from Francis and
his family, I dashed through the streets to return to the mews. The
evening sky was overrun with dark clouds, marking the streets
opaque. Wind blew strongly, picking up dust into my eyes. Every
time I spotted a squad of soldiers, I changed direction or entered
an adjacent alley. I was so close to her now, I could not risk a
quarrel!

When I reached the beggar in the alley, the
idiot was fast asleep on the floor! I got topped with so much anger
I stretched my hand and slapped him awake.

“Ahh, no, no!” he whined. I grabbed him by
his torn clothes and violently rose him up.

“How dare you fall asleep?” I shouted. I was
so enraged; it was only a simple task! When he realized it was me,
he quickly replied me.