Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (50 page)

  “How will I
know I have found the right man to be king?”

  Roedan nodded
as Max formed a horse behind him, “This is something that I cannot answer. You
must trust in yourself to choose the right man. He must meet the requirements;
having a three element blade. He must be a man that you trust, that has already
shown King Atmos he will stand for what is right.
You
, go and find this
man and we will rescue your sister. After this soul wizard has been dealt with,
perhaps this new king will help you serve justice to King Atmos.”

  Kilen smiled.
A king to the Water Realm could easily recruit the Fire Realm and his own
people to fall against King Atmos. The king could restore order between the two
realms and dethrone Atmos from his tyrannous reign.

He clasped his
fist to his chest, saluting the elder in farewell and Max lept forward racing
west through the trees. Kilen was sure that Max would make it to Keepers as
quickly as possible to start their search for a new king.

**********

  Bowie took a
long drink of the ale he had carefully bought with a copper piece in his back
pocket. Most of what he had was gold coins and would have bought the whole inn
a room and a drink. The hot ale was something he had wanted for close to a
month and he finally had his mug filled to the brim. He needed it more now than
ever.

  Two weeks ago
he had been a superior in the king’s army. Now he looked like a beggar, so
close to a beggar he would have been thrown out of the bar had he not presented
his copper coins first. The barmaid waited for more money to be placed on the
counter before putting the bowl of mutton stew down.

  Ria had
insisted that he changed the way he looked, so they traded his nice jacket,
pants and shoes with those of a traveling man. He wiggled his big toe out of
the hole in his boot; it was a habit he had made since acquiring them. The
thick wool jacket irritated his skin and made him sweat at all hours. Wherever
it hung loosely, it caused him to itch. He only wore it when they came near a
town, but since he could actually see Deuterium, Ria insisted that he wear the
jacket all the times.

  He planned to
take it off as soon as he was in the stable when he was done eating so he
started to spoon some of the mutton into his mouth. His attention was snatched
by Auburn coming down the stairs from her room. She had taken to wearing the
purple dress that the greedy merchant had given her. The contrast between her
red hair and the color of the dress drew every head as she entered the room.
She touched his shoulder before sitting down. He was playing the part of her
manservant until they could find a way to get Kara out of the dungeon.

  From across
the room she sat down at a table; servants rarely ate at the same table as
their noble owners. She pushed the long red braid of hair from behind her back
to rest on her shoulder. She smiled while doing it. Bowie’s hair was only
shoulder length now. Ria had also cut his hair to obscure any description the
king’s men had given of him. Auburn had taken to teasing him about it every
moment of the day. It now fell loosely around his face in greasy strands,
obscuring it from view.

  A plate of
chicken and buttered potatoes with a basket of rolls was set beside Bowie’s
bowl. The barmaid glanced at him and stuck her hand out in Auburn’s direction.
Bowie let out a grunt before getting up from his half finished stew to serve
Auburn’s dinner to her. She took a roll from the basket and handed it to him
before he left the table. Then handed him her mug to have filled. She smiled
and ostantagesly batted her eyes.

  Bowie grumbled
under his breath as he went back to the barmaid to have the mug filled.

She gave Bowie
an unpleasant look before sliding back the mug, “It’s a wonder she keeps you
around with all your complaining.”

  Bowie retorted
the storyline he had been given; “I’m an old family friend. She’s helping me
get back on my feet.”

  She started
cleaning out a mug behind the counter, “She is doing more than she should then.
I would start treating her nicer if you wanted to keep getting help.”

Bowie wanted to
tell her who he was really a master craftsmen but instead walked on to serve
Auburn her drink. She handed him another roll wrapped in a handkerchief.

  He mumbled,
“Thanks.”

When he turned
around, Brent was showing a chair to Ria. They paid no attention to him as they
sat down at a table near the front door. The barmaid went directly to their
table to serve them.

  They had
traveled separately into town, playing the part of mother and son. Ria’s dress
had stayed mostly the same but Brent had changed to wearing pants and a linen
shirt with a vest instead of his blue wizard robes. He had a hat made out of
straw to cover his head while traveling and give him the look of a farmer. They
were supposedly in town to pick up some supplies for their livestock.

Bowie did his
best to stay quiet like a manservant should. He sat down and bent over his bowl
to take a bite when a piece of his hair drooped down to dangle in his bowl. He
hated being dirty and unkempt, but if it kept him alive he would tolerate it a
little while longer. He listened to conversations talking about Deuterium and
how there were loud noises coming from the training grounds during the early
hours of the morning. Most speculated something was being built. Bowie couldn’t
think of anything that needed building and he didn't want to draw attention by
asking about it. He simply listened and hoped there would be others to chat
with in the stables about it.

Brent and Ria
both ordered mutton stew and biscuits. As he listened, they laughed over
someone named Ben they had managed to get kicked by one of their horses. Bowie
was still unsure if Ben was real or made up. He took one of the rolls from his
pocket and wiped up the rest of the stew left in the bottom of his bowl. He
carefully fished another copper out of his coin purse. He soon would have to
find a way to make change for the gold inside. Bowie mulled over the idea of
having Auburn do it since she looked the part of a noble’s daughter or wife.

With the
presentation of the copper, the barmaid made her appearance to scoop it up and
bring him another ale. He raised the mug and felt the frothy foam stick to the
hairs on his unshaven face. Yet another inconvenience of having to play the
part of a poor manservant. A finger slid across his shoulder. He nearly choked
at the unexpected touch. He coughed as he turned around.

Auburn’s new
lacquered nails went back to her waist. “Do not drink anymore. I have some
boots that need cleaned and I don’t want you to sick up all over them this
time.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he
said in response.

His response
also admitted that the manservant version of himself couldn’t hold his drink.
He had wanted to get really drunk but now he couldn’t. The barmaid eyed him
from behind the counter and nodded to Auburn that she would regulate his
drinking. Bowie knew getting good and drunk was probably the only way he was
going to fall asleep in the straw. He would have to drink it after he cleaned
Auburn’s boots, or whatever she wanted with him for in the room. He knew it was
unlikely that she actually wanted him to polish her boots. She had to know he
wouldn’t, even if she tried to make him.

He drank the last
couple gulps and wiped his scruff dry on his sleeve. He hoped she did not keep
him long, he wanted to have another couple mugs before finding a spot between
their horses.

He winked at the
barmaid as he stood and she frowned at him, “Not a chance.”

Bowie wished he
had his hat; girls always fell for the hat.

Brent and Ria
finished their stew as he made his way to the stairs. A few more people came to
sit down at one of the empty tables and a man with a lute sat down in the
corner and plopped his hat upside down on the floor. Perhaps he would be able
to get a dance later before retiring to the stables. Then he remembered what he
looked like and knew he stood no chance at getting a dance.

Four different
doors were closed on the second floor. He started to knock at one before the
one behind him opened.

Auburn poked her
head out and looked both ways, “Get in here. I want to get to bed and you are
standing around in the hallway.”

Bowie grumbled
and walked into the room.

She promptly
shut the door behind him. She let out a whisper of a squeak and patted her
hands together, “This is so much fun! I get to pretend like I’m a different
person. All this sneaking around, acting like we don’t know each other, and
finally getting to wear this dress!”

Bowie sat down
on the bed, “You do realize this is all to keep us alive and isn’t a game?”

  Auburn was
pacing and glancing out a crack in the door, “
Of course
. It won’t last
as long if you don’t embrace it.”

  “Oh believe
me, I have embraced the fact I have to sleep with the horses tonight. I have
also embraced the fact that I get to fetch everything for you and be at your
beckon call.”

She stood at the
door with her back to him.

  “It’s only for
a little while, then you can go back to your fancy coats.”

  “You think we
will be done hiding as soon as we rescue Kara? We will be chased more when we
do. We won’t be done hiding and running until King Atmos no longer sits on his
throne or we grow wings and fly away. I haven't been able to grow any feathers
yet, so I don’t see that happening any time soon.”

  “If you get
any better with that wind magic, you will be able to fly without feathers and
wings,” She still had her back turned on him, looking through the door.

  “What are you
looking for?” Just as he said it she turned and grabbed him by the arm.

  She started
pulling him towards the door, “Come on.”

She opened the
door and he saw the door across the hall open as well. Brent and Ria stood
inside and waved them across. Quickly, Bowie and Auburn crossed the hallway
into the room.

  Brent quickly
closed the door, “Has anyone seen any guards?” He spoke in a whisper as he
crossed the room to look out the dirty window.

  Bowie sat down
on the bed to one side of the room.

Auburn took a
seat on the other and started kicking her feet, still excited about the
secrecy. “Why are we whispering? You should just do some of that magic stuff to
prevent others from hearing us.”

  The water
wizard backed away from the window, “Using magic might alert any watching
wielder to our presence. The kingdom’s wielders already search for us
relentlessly. Every use of magic will be investigated. Now, answer my
question.”

  “I have not
seen any guards in town. None on the walls either,” Bowie waited for the
wizards response.

Auburn shook her
head that she had not seen any either.

Brent went back
to the window, “Good, that’s at least something. We will be able to investigate
our best avenue to get inside the castle walls with little interruption. I know
a couple inside routes to the cellars. I think coming up from below to the
dungeons is the better than coming through the castle from above.”

Auburn nodded
her head in agreeance.

Ria stepped away
from the door, “We will need you both to be ready with a bow if needed. I
assume you will be able to collect items to make your arrows before we enter
the castle grounds?”

“Deuterium is
still the next town over. All I need is a bit of iron to make the arrow heads.
I have the mold and will have to build a fire on the way to melt the iron. If I
can, I will buy some in town,” Bowie said.

Brent sat down
beside Bowie, “No, let me. They blacksmiths may have been given a description
of your face. I saw a few scattered posters on the way into town. Let Auburn
collect the rest of the items.”

Auburn cleared
her throat,“Won’t people recognise you?”

Brent laughed,
“I did grow up in Deuterium, but I rarely got out of the castle walls, let
alone to the next town over. Most have heard of me, yet they have never seen my
face. I will be less likely spotted than our fletcher here.”

Ria sat down
next to Auburn, “Bowie, I will remind you it is at utmost importance that no
one know we are here. For some reason the king wants you more than the others.
Perhaps it is because of your connection to Kilen and his sister.”

Bowie laughed,
“It could be because I refused him. I will do my best to stay out of places I
don’t need to be. When do we make our attack on Deuterium?”

Brent and Ria
looked at each other, “It will not be an attack. We were hoping to get in and
out without harming anyone.”

Bowie laughed as
if it were a joke.

Brent continued
with an irritated look on his face, “Collect your supplies for the arrows. When
you have made enough, travel into Deuterium with Auburn and find the inn that
we stayed in when you first arrived. Do you remember it, Bowie?”

“I do. Won’t the
guard remember me?”

Brent smiled, “I
think it more likely the wenches would remember you. The owner is a friend of
mine and loyal to the Water Realm and water wizards. I will arrange for a new
guard and workers to be there. Marcum is the owner and is who you will ask for.
No one else. To be sure everything is arranged, come in the back and have
Auburn fetch us inside. We will maintain our separate parties to avoid
recognition. I hope that by the time you arrive we will have a more solid plan
on getting inside the gates.”

“Once we get
inside there is no reason to take Auburn. She can stay with our things so we
can get out of town quickly.” Bowie said, trying to keep Auburn from performing
her normal amount of protective heroics.
            “No, I will show you the way to the dungeons but it will be up to
you two to get Kara out. I have some things that I need to collect and I must
also speak with my brother,” Brent said.