The Choosing (25 page)

The group weaved in and out of the crowd, taking in the sights around them.  All were astonished to note that not every person in the city was human.  Sara had met a few members of the other races of men, and Ashton had read about them all, but none of them could have imagined this.  There were short stocky dwarves, tall incredibly thin elves, small child like gnomes, and even a few people that must have been cross breeds.  The city was brighter now than it had been when they arrived, the sun finally high enough in the sky to shine its light over the massive walls surrounding the city.  They walked down the street, their mouths occasionally dropping open in astonishment.  The street climbed ever slowly up hill, and as they followed it they noticed a pattern to the streets that intersected it.  All the streets were evenly spaced, crossing the one they followed at regular intervals.  Seth had quickly noticed, and mentioned to his companions, that each street they crossed seemed to bring them to a different style of building, as if each section of the city had been built in ever older fashions the further they progressed towards the center of the city.  They counted the streets as they walked, and enjoyed the scenery.  The further they traveled into the city the fewer people crowded the streets making it much easier to walk.  Looking back it appeared that the buildings behind them were built shorter and shorter as they went to the outer wall, however they discovered this was just an illusion caused by the road climbing steadily, forever uphill.  As they continued to travel down the road the buildings became more and more lavish.  Here the buildings were painted with murals depicting different times and stone statues adorned the buildings.  All four travelers gawked at the beautiful buildings having never seen such elegance before.  Seth hoped that one day he could afford a home as beautiful as the ones here, and he and Sara could enjoy it together.

As they climbed the street, they noticed yet another change in the architecture, now the buildings were not decorative, elaborate, or beautiful.  Just the opposite in fact, these building were plain structures, built out of necessity.  Most of them had signs above the doors, and windows filled with displays of various wares.  They had reached the beginning of the market area of the city.  They noticed another intersecting street just ahead, marking the road as the seventeenth they would cross.  They walked the side of the street peering into each shop they passed, trying to make mental notes of the locations of any they might want to visit.  The market was an expansive portion of the city consisting of nine of the city sections split by roads, and no telling how far the market carried down each side street.  People bustled about here darting into and out of shops on either side of the road.  In some places carts stood in the street and were either being loaded or unloaded.  The shops of the city came in various shapes and sizes and even different colors, just like the people who inhabited it.  Most of the people they could see now were all human, though even the humans here showed much variation.  Some were pale and creamy looking like Sara, others were more of a tan color like the twins and Ashton, yet others were darker still ranging from shades of pale brown to a color almost as dark and rich as to look almost black. 

The market ended abruptly without warning and was replaced by rows and rows of small homes.  Each home was built identical to the next except for the varying colors they had been painted.  These homes were all built close together, so close in fact that there were even homes behind the homes on the street, with only a small paved path joining them all together and spilling between two of the homes into the street.  Looking between these homes there were more just like them as far as the eye could see to the left and right of the road.  The masses of identical homes only spanned the length between two of the intersecting streets, and once again the group traveled amongst lavishly painted and decorative homes and offices.  The more upscale buildings here lasted for three more intersections, and took them all the way to the section where they found the inn.

The King’s Herald was a beautiful building, and that was the understatement of the century.  The front of the building consisted of a sprawling porch from one end of the building to the other.  The roof to the porch was held in place by a dozen massive stone columns carved to display royal persons once inhabiting the city in scenes of glory.  The building itself was made from the same stone that had made Stone Haven and the wall surrounding Valdadore.  The inn, like the wall, had been painted white and glistened in the sun.  Several tall windows made with colored panes of glass depicting a royal family stood upon the front wall of the inn.  The inn, its columns, and the windows climbed three stories into the air before being trapped under a roof clad in baked clay segments.  The group stood in front of the inn, awe on their faces, momentarily lost in their own thoughts.

A loud whooshing sound followed by a hollow whistling startled the companions from their reverie. Looking around to locate the sound they were once again mystified.  From the stone pillars steam erupted from the mouths and nostrils of every man and beast depicted upon them.  The steam hung ominously about the front of the building coating the pillars in moisture.  Within seconds the hollow billowing ceased and once again they stood in awe of the building.

“Whoa.”  Garret said.

The rest of his companions nodded in agreement without so much as an attempt to look at Garret when they did.  They stood for long moments once more taking in all the tedious details of the magnificent building.  It was Sara who took the first step.  Giving Seth’s hand a gentle squeeze, Sara led him up to the door of the inn, and looking back, assured herself that Garret and Ashton had decided to follow.

Being a gentleman Seth pulled the massive, decoratively carved door open, allowing Sara to enter before him.  The group all entered the door and allowed it to swing closed behind them.  Looking around it was apparent that this inn was like no other they had visited.  Beyond the main entrance was a small lobby.  The floor here was made of polished marble tiles.  Each of the tiles was inlaid with gold filigree in symbols of some foreign language.  The walls were painted brightly and lacquered to give a rich shine.  Directly in front of them, across the small lobby was a tall counter also made of polished marble.  The room was crafted sparing no expense and it showed.  It was the most lavish room any of them could recall ever seeing.

Not wanting to be noticed gawking, Seth led Sara to the counter.  At this time no one was attending the counter, but this allowed the group to look beyond the room at the rest of the building.  Behind the counter was a wall hiding what lay beyond it, but muted humming sounds came from somewhere in that direction.  To their right they could see a lavishly decorated dining hall.  The room was filled with large wooden tables stained a deep russet color and polished to a gleaming shine.  Upon each table rested a silk cloth protecting the table’s surface from scratching.  Upon each cloth were two sconces with candles, and a vase of freshly cut flowers.  The same polished floor they stood upon now carried through the dining room, and the walls were decorated in interlocking wooden planks that spanned from the floor to the ceiling.  These planks were stained in various shades of honey and brown creating striped pattern around the room.  These too were polished to shine.  To the left of where they stood now was a large seating area, a common room of sorts.  Here the walls were left to allow the bare stone to show, and each wall contained several small fireplaces.  Each of them showed slight signs of use so it was apparent they were not for decoration.  Around each fireplace several upholstered chairs and benches rested forming dozens of cozy conversation areas where visitors could just relax and talk with other travelers or their companions.  The floor here was the same marble as the rest of the building, and though less formal than the other rooms, this room was no less luxurious.

Waiting several minutes to allow everyone to look around, Seth decided it was time to see if they could afford such accommodations.  Reading the sign on the counter Seth quickly followed its instructions and pulled on a cord that hung from the ceiling that he hadn’t noticed before.  Pulling the cord, Seth could feel it give, and releasing it emitted a deep resounding dong, dong, dong.  From somewhere higher in the building the bell rang and reverberated through the stone walls to be heard throughout the entire structure.

Immediately from somewhere beyond the wall in front of them, they heard a door swing open and then closed again.  Footsteps clicked across the marble floor and around the wall from the dining hall a woman appeared.  She was tall and slender, and wrapped in an elegant silk gown that clung to the curves of her body like a lover.  No detail was left to the imagination and it was apparent that the woman’s body, though appearing delicate, had a distinctive tone to her muscles.  She smiled to them as she rounded the corner showing her flawless white teeth.  She had a pretty smile, one that both welcomed them and made them feel at ease.  As she stepped behind the counter, she began to speak.

“Welcome to The King’s Herald, I am Sasha the Inn’s director.  In anticipation of the celebration of The Choosing ceremony we have temporarily cut our rates to better accommodate those that have traveled from afar to attend.  We still have several rooms available if you should like to stay.”  The woman stated with rehearsed perfection.

Seth stood looking away from the woman as if to show Sara he was not interested in any other woman but her.  The other boys were too busy drooling to form any words, so it was left to Sara to do the speaking.

“We would indeed like to stay Miss Sasha, but first may I ask some questions about your accommodations?”  Sara said trying to mimic the other woman’s word mastery.

“Yes please do feel free to ask me anything your heart desires.”  Sasha replied.

“First off then, do you have bathing facilities, and facilities to launder our clothes?  Secondly, what sizes of rooms do you have available?  Lastly what are the current rates on those rooms?”  Sara asked all at one to get the questions out of the way.

“Well M’lady we do have bathing facilities, and we also can launder your clothes and dry them while you bathe so they are fresh and warm when you are finished.  We have several sizes of rooms remaining as well.  We have some large one bed suites available with one bed that runs ten silver per night, while on special.  We also have some two bed rooms remaining they are less lavishly decorated and on a higher floor and so run a bit cheaper at seven silver per night, then we also have some rooms on the top floor each with four beds made into bunks.  The rooms are small but satisfactory and cost six silver per night, from now until the day after the ceremony.”  Sasha replied.  She then waited patiently for a response.

Sara ran several calculations through her head knowing they could afford any rooms they wanted, but unwilling to spend all of their remaining money on the rooms.  Four nights remained until the ceremony, and Sara realized she still had a substantial amount of money, her purse now totaling one gold, seventy six silver, and ninety two copper.  Taking this into account she had one last question to ask.

“What services are included with a room?”  Sara asked Sasha.

“Everything but food darling.”  Sasha replied quickly.

“Ok then, we would like a one bedroom suite for four nights, and a two bed room also for four nights.”  Sara said smiling provocatively at Seth.

“Alright M’lady, extended stays must be paid for in advance to reserve your room.  Also if you should wish for someone to go to the markets for you just ask and I will send one of ours servants free of charge, you will only need to pay for the items you’ve sent for.”  Sasha spoke once again as if she had been practicing the lines all morning.

Sara dug out the two large silver coins still in her possession, and eighteen small silver coins.  She paid Sasha, who thanked her graciously and asked if they would like to see their rooms or bathe first.  All of them decided they would much rather bathe first asked to be led to the baths.  Sasha led them through the lavish building taking them first through the dining hall and then around a corner into a long hallway.  They walked to the end of the hall and Sasha opened the door at the end of the hall revealing a room like none the group had ever imagined.  It was not that the room was excessively decorative.  It was the massive metal structure in the middle of the room that drew the focus of their attention.  A giant copper tear hung from the ceiling at the middle of the room, it was polished to a golden honey shine, and across its polished surface flames leaped and danced.  The fire was actually situated below the giant metal tear, but its reflections danced all over the object causing it to appear as if it were completely engulfed in flame. At the top of the giant tear, where it hung from the ceiling, dozens of small copper tubes erupted out in a cascade across the ceiling.  The tubes ran across the expanse of the ceiling in all directions, curving this way and that, some of them even doubling back upon themselves before turning once again in another direction.  The tubes then flowed down the walls disappearing behind the semitransparent glass walls of a dozen stalls.  Shadows and sparkles danced around the room making the entire expanse seem alive.  It was an amazing site, awe inspiring.  Sasha watched their expressions as they entered the room and she smiled knowingly.

“The device was once created by the gnomes as a weapon of war.  They brought several of them here to Valdadore to present to the King as a gift.  However as most gnome devices are dangerous at best, there was a fatal flaw in their design.  The large tank we so lovingly refer to as the gods’ tear was designed to hold a large quantity of tar.  It would then be heated causing the tar to expand and spray out the tubes.  The tubes can be bent to face in the direction of the enemy who would subsequently by coated in boiling tar.  However while demonstrating the device to the King its tubes clogged preventing the escape of the heated tar.  Pressure continued to build in the tear until the demonstration unit exploded killing all of its handlers.  The King rejected the gift, and the gnomes were so upset by their failure left the remaining devices for the people to do with them whatever they wanted.  We, here at The King’s Herald obtained this one and modified it slightly to heat water for our baths.  Inside each stall is a tube with a valve, if you would like to heat your bath further simply turn the valve and hot water will flow into your bath.  Be careful though it is very hot.  After you undress please place your clothes at the base of the door to your stall and one of our people will collect them and have them quickly washed, dried, and returned.  Please feel free to take your time and relax.”  Sasha finished her narrative, and smiling politely left the room allowing the door to close behind her.