The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (17 page)

Ser Larson
scoffed. “If you solve his problems, I’ll endorse you myself.”

“
Then we have a deal,” I smiled.

He smirked.
“Very well, Mage. We are currently in a skirmish with the Nesqians.
They believe we are responsible for kidnapping their Emperor’s
Daughter. Prove we didn’t do it and end the conflict, and I’ll take
you to the King.”

“
DID you kidnap the Emperor’s daughter?” I asked.

“
How DARE you accuse us of such a petty act,” he said turning
red.

I raised my
hands defensively. “I’m just eliminating suspects. Besides I didn’t
accuse the Kingdom, I had asked YOU if YOU did it personally.”

He squinted at
me and turned a brighter red. “I will cut your tongue out if you
dare say such things again. You know where the door is. Get
out.”

“
Thank you for your hospitality,” I said with a bow. “But I
should really be going.”

I turned
around and walked out of the castle confidently. I began the
descent back to the market level.

I’m starting
to think merging our personalities was the wrong thing.

Why?
Cathy
chuckled
. That was hilarious to watch. You
really made him mad.

That’s what I
mean! I can’t become this arrogant, sarcastic jerk every time I
talk to authority. It’s going to get me killed.

Nonsense,
Cathy
chuckled
. You weren’t sarcastic or a
jerk.

That wasn’t
the point of what I said.

Will you relax?
Cathy said.
You are powerful enough to fight out of any
situation. Once you stop thinking that defending yourself is
‘murder’, you won’t have to worry about pushy guards like Larson.
If he had tried something you could have slipped into that Demon
skin of yours and given him the fright of a lifetime.

Hmm. I haven’t
used Harden Skin in a long time and I don’t think people here will
laugh and call me Lizard. Tell you what; if it comes up that we
need to scare someone, I’ll use it to scare them for you.

Cathy laughed excitedly.
Excellent
.

At the bottom
of the stairs I nodded to the guards and continued without a word.
My first destination was the Tailor for my hat. When I walked in,
the clerk immediately went into the back and grabbed the hat. It
looked pretty much the same but the clerk explained that the
material was similar to poorly made gloves and he was able to clean
it the same way. He still offered to return the money and destroy
it but I took the hat and thanked him. Placing the hat on my head,
I left the store.

The market was
quieter than when I first arrived. With the supper rush over, most
of the stalls were closing and everyone was retreating home for the
evening. I could enjoy a carefree walk through the marketplace. IF
I didn’t have to worry about stopping a conflict between two
nations.

Judging by your memories, the Master of your Order was
looking into what could have caused this,
Cathy pointed out. Your best course of action may be joining
the other Mages.

That would be
a good idea but I don’t think it could work. With the problem in
the Szwen forest and the Evenawks I think the Balendar and Nesqa
conflict isn’t top priority. With the Mages Larose sent now dead,
by what we can guess to be Pryce’s Mages, I think the Order is
going to be too busy fighting itself to help out here.

So what’s Plan B?
Cathy
asked.

I’m still
trying to figure out Plan A.

I arrived at
the docks to find Aaron at our agreed meeting spot. He nodded and
started to head for the ferry.

“
Hold up,” I said as I stopped. “I won’t be going back. I
still have business here.”

Aaron turned
back around and smirked. “The King said no?”

“
The King didn’t say anything,” I said. “His Captain of the
Guard was chatty enough.”

“
So, now you have to figure out a way to talk to the King?”
Aaron asked.

“
Worse,” I started. “I have to end the conflict between
Balendar and Nesqa.”

Aaron laughed.
“Oh, is that it? Well, you should be done by the morning.”

“
It can’t be too hard,” I said in strange confidence. “The
whole thing was caused by a kidnapping and the Nesqians blamed
Balendar. All I have to do is prove Balendar is
innocent.”

“
Still, not a walk through a meadow,” Aaron said. “So, you
will be poking around in the underground to see if anyone knows
anything about the kidnapping?”

Not a bad
idea.

Why didn’t I think of that?
Cathy
asked annoyed.

“
Exactly,” I said crossing my arms. “You might as well go back
home, I’ll be here awhile.”

Aaron looked
at the ferry then looked back at me. “It’s getting pretty late in
the day to be ferrying the river. I might as well stay the night
and head out in the morning. Besides, you’ll need a guide to get
around the city. Seeing as it is your first time here.”

I nodded
slowly. “You are probably right. But I have to warn you.”

“
What about?” Aaron said curiously.

“
If I wake up naked in a bathtub again, I’m turning you into a
frog and delivering you to your sisters,” I smirk.

Aaron laughed.
“Let’s see it, Mage.”

I laughed as
we headed back into the market. “Where to first, Guide?”

“
There’s a pub on the second level, ‘Sewer Rats’. It’s as
charming as it sounds,” Aaron explained. “Good place to
start.”

“
Now, what did I just warn you about,” I said.

“
Just drink slowly and you’ll be fine,” Aaron
suggested.

‘
Sewer Rats’...
Cathy said
thoughtfully
. Sounds familiar. This
farmer’s boy is more knowledgeable then he lets on.

“
How do you know of this public house?” I asked
curiously.

“
There’s an inn close by, ‘The Sleepy Cricket’,” Aaron
answered. “I always stay there if it is too late to travel back to
the farm. The Rat is always very rowdy and doesn’t give off the air
of ‘up class establishment’.”

“
Maybe we should hit that place up first, drop off our packs
and change,” I suggested.

“
Good idea,” Aaron nodded. “Those Mage robes will make you
stand out like a purple cow on a mountain side.”

I think a purple cow would stand out no matter where you put
it,
Cathy pointed out.

I laughed at
both of them.

We made our
way quickly to the residential level which contained ‘The Sleepy
Cricket’. Upon entering the level, I couldn’t understand how a pub,
one that is supposed to be a centre for shady characters, could be
found here. As we journeyed deeper, though, the upkeep of the
buildings slid, it became much clearer. Aaron’s ‘Sleepy Cricket’
was the last building the looked like it took any care of
itself.

The rooms were
cheap but clean and we locked our packs away after I changed into a
set of Aaron’s clothes. Seeing as I am smaller then he is, the
clothes looked ridiculous on me but Aaron tried to persuade me that
the baggy look would work in this situation.

I look like a
street bum.

Because you looked like royalty to begin with?
Cathy asked sarcastically.

I looked good
enough for you to swoon over me AND marry me!

Oh ho!
Cathy exclaimed with a
chuckle.
Touché, Dream Boy.

I don’t
understand why I can’t bring the hat.

And you never will,
Cathy
mocked.

I sighed and
follow Aaron towards ‘The Sewer Rats’. As we drew closer to the
door, two men came storming through it. One was being chased by the
other who was all fists.

Oh yeah
, Cathy laughed.
You two are going to fit right it.

“
Maybe we should rethink our strategy,” I whispered to
Aaron.

“
Nonsense,” he scoffed. “That’s perfectly normal.”

He fully
opened the already ajar door and entered the pub. The fact that he
didn’t immediately get thrown back out meant I had to follow him
in. I walked up to the door and pushed it open.

The laughter
and chatter of about a hundred people hit me as soon as I entered.
In reality there were probably no more than twenty but they were
all gifted in creating noise.

Tables
scattered the floor, some brought together in groups to create
large card games and others kept away so a couple of guys could
talk in private. Aaron was already heading towards the bar along
the far wall and I picked up my pace to stay close behind him.

We received a
few looks from some of the drinkers who were alone but nothing
threatening. They were here for a reason other than fighting.

Aaron took an
empty stool and I sat down on the one to his right. Beside me was a
big guy holding onto a giant mug of ale. He looked straight down
and didn’t seem to notice that I had sat down beside him.

“
Welcome to the Sewer Rat,” the bartender said drawing my
attention to him. “What are you drinking?”

“
Two ales,” Aaron said holding up two fingers.

The bartender
headed to the other side of the bar to grab our drinks. He returned
quickly with two mugs and Aaron dropped a couple of coins in the
his hand. The bartender nodded and headed down the bar to the next
patron.

Aaron picked
up his mug and took a long drink before turning to me.

“
Ok, look around for people we can ask about the kidnapping,”
Aaron said as quietly as he could over the noise.

“
And that’s just going to work?” I asked.

“
Why not?” he shrugged picking up his mug.

He has no clue what he’s doing,
Cathy chuckled
. Don’t just flat out
ask someone. Bring it up subtly in conversation.

I nodded
slowly and turned to the big guy beside me. “How are you doing
today?” I asked.

The guy didn’t
respond but turned to look at me in a jerky motion. His head was
shaking and bobbing a bit like he was having problems holding it up
and the look in his eyes said the he wasn’t all there at the
moment.

What do you want to bet that he doesn’t know what day it
is?
Cathy asked.

“
Did...did yous ay sumting?” he asked.

“
Hmm?” I asked looking up at him confused. “No, sorry, I
didn’t.”

The big guy
looked at me a moment longer before turning back to his drink. I
looked around the floor for someone else that was alone but a
little more coherent. I found a guy who was spinning an empty mug
and looked lost in his thoughts. I took my mug of ale and walked
over to him while Aaron headed in a different direction.

“
A mug of ale for you if I can use this seat,” I said putting
the mug of the table and motioning to the seat beside
him.

“
The seats are there for everyone but I won’t turn down ale,”
he smiled weakly.

I sat down
beside him. “Thanks, my friend. My name is Andrew.”

“
Gerry,’ he answered. “What brings you to this dung
pit?”

Work those
lies, Cathy suggested. See if you can’t bond with him a little.

“
Trade,” I lied while I tried to work out more of a story.
“Brought some arms and armour down from Riverside and I needed a
drink, you?”

“
I am a hunter,” he answered after a sip of ale. “I bring in
the goods for the meat vendors in the market.”

“
So you would know the area pretty well,” I said
thoughtfully.

Gerry laughed.
“Trust me. There is nothing worthy of seeing out in the country
side but yeah, I would know those hills and roads. Were you
planning on heading south to Malkia?”

“
I was planning on it but I have to skip Malkia because of
this stupid conflict between Nesqa and Balendar,” I lied shaking my
head in fake frustration.

“
It’s been nothing but trouble since it started,” Gerry said
matching my frustration. “All the good hunting ground is further
south and I can’t travel down without getting an earful from the
outposts.”

“
I know right,” I said shaking my head. “Do you know what
caused all this? It can’t be the usual political babble. You can
still walk freely during those.”

“
Nope,” he said. “Something about some kidnapping or whatever.
Nobody knows for certain but everyone’s acting like we are already
in war or something.”

Damn.

It was a good try though,
Cathy
said.

I blew out a
long breath of air. “I should probably pack it in. Maybe one more
drink before I head out. I have a long trek north.”

“
Here,” Gerry said rummaging through his pockets. “As thanks
for the drink. I have something that you will find
useful.”

Gerry pulled
out a scroll and a piece of paper. “This is my map,” he continued
tapping the scroll. “It has all my routes. I’ll copy down a nice
quiet route to Malkia for you. It should get you past all those
outposts.”

“
Thank you, I appreciate it but it isn’t necessary,” I
said.

“
Bah!” he exclaimed waving dismissively. “It is only fair, my
friend.”