Author's note- Heya readers. Time for things to get interesting again. I cant really think of anything else to say. Review!
***********************************************
Chapter 26- Negotiation
Year 22, Day 43
Rayde woke early in the morning to get ready for work. He sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched his stiff limbs, popping a few joints. Rayde then stood up and walked over to his dresser. He pulled out his work uniform, a gray sweatshirt and gray pants. Rayde then walked into the bathroom to change.
Once he was dressed, he walked over and looked at Rogan asleep at the foot of Rayde and Lace's bed inside his crib. Rayde smiled at Rogan and said, "Even though you are over a year old, we still have yet to find a suitable nickname for you as human custom dictates." Rayde chuckled to himself and walked over to Lace. Rayde kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the bedroom, not waking either Lace or Rogan.
Rayde then made some breakfast for himself, then started to walk out of the house. Once he opened the door, he walked outside and breathed in the morning air.
"Draye?" a voice said to the left of Rayde. Rayde turned to see what looked like a brown wolf that walked on two legs. For a minute, Rayde thought he was seeing things, then he remembered what Alliel told him the day he arrived at Galdevorm's house. This was a Derove.
Rayde nodded and said, "Can I help you?" The wolf then said, "You are wanted at Vergan. It is a request from Morjek himself." Rayde thought for a second and asked, "Morjek?" The wolf sighed and said, "The leader of the Deroves."
Rayde thought for a while on what to do, eventually saying, "Okay, you could not have found me at a worse time. I am just now leaving for work, and I cant---" The wolf then interrupted by saying, "You boss will believe that you are sick for a few days. We will pay double of what you normally make in compensation for coming with us." Rayde gaped and said, "Well, I am not properly dressed." The wolf smiled and said, "We will wait for you to dress, and pack. Be sure to tell your wife about this as well."
Rayde paused for a moment and said, "How do you know of my wife?" The wolf shifted slightly and said, "I am not authorized to say, I only have orders to bring you to Vergan. By any means necessary." Rayde smiled and said, "Can she come along with me?" The wolf shook his head and said, "No." Rayde then smiled and said, "Yeah fine, whatever. I'll just get my things." Rayde then walked back inside.
Rayde shut the door and said, "What is all of this about? There must be a reason for it." Rayde then walked back into the bedroom and pulled the suitcase out from under the bed. Rayde heard Lace stir and say, "Mmmmm....Rayde? What.....what are you doing?" Rayde looked at Lace and said, "Some Derove is outside asking me to go with him to some place called Vergan. Apparently, there is something the leader there needs to talk to me about." Lace gaped and said, "What about work?" Rayde shrugged and said, "The Deroves are going to pay be double my daily salary to go with them for as long as I am gone. So, I might be gone for a few days. You have enough food from now until then right?"
Lace nodded and said, "Can I come with you?" Rayde shook his head and said, "No, he wont let me take you. And I think it would be best if I do go. To turn down a request from the leader of the Deroves would be unwise, I think." Lace nodded and said, "Yeah, I think I can take care of Rogan and myself for a few days." Rayde smiled and said, "I'm sorry, but I would rather not deal with the repercussions." Lace smiled and said, "I understand. Just be careful okay?" Rayde nodded and said, "And take care of yourself Lace."
Lace smiled and kissed Rayde. Rayde smiled and kissed back for a few minutes before he started to pack the rest of his things. Rayde changed into his regular travel clothes, a gray t-shirt, blue jeans, and a gray open-chested overshirt to keep warm. Rayde also had tan traveling boots on. Rayde pulled his sheathed sword out from under his bed. Rayde smiled and brushed the dust off thinking, I never thought I would use this again, but its better to be safe then sorry. Rayde then buckled his sword, feeling the familiar emotion of holding his most prized weapon. Rayde then picked up his suitcase and walked back out into the living room.
Just before he left the bedroom, he turned back at Lace and said, "I'll be back in a few days, I love you." Lace smiled and said, "I love you too Rayde. See you in a few days." Rayde nodded and walked back outside.
The Derove was sitting on what looked like a carriage that Rayde just now noticed. Although, the carriage had no horse, or any animal to pull it. The Derove stood up and said, "Place you luggage in the back." Rayde nodded and walked behind the carriage, setting his suitcase in an open port in the back. Rayde then shut the port and latched it. Rayde then walked up to the Derove and said, "What now? How does this thing move?" The Derove smiled and said, "This carriage is not like others. This carriage will move so fast, it almost teleports. We will arrive in Vergan within a few minutes."
Rayde stared at the carriage and said, "Wont the speed of that kill us?" The Derove shook his head and said, "No, you wont feel a thing. The inside is enchanted so that its atmosphere remains stationary no matter the speed." Rayde nodded and said, "And how did you come by this type of magic?" The Deroves shuffled his feet slightly and said, "Someone helped us. I do not know who he is, or even what he is."
Rayde nodded and said, "Then let us be off." The Derove nodded and stepped inside the carriage. Rayde was short to follow. The inside of the carriage was made of brown wood, the seats were woven in a very fine cloth. There were armrests on the sides of each seat. Rayde sat down in one of them, and the Derove sat down in one across from him. The Derove grabbed his armrests and said, "There is a slight bump upon the carriage taking off. I would advise you hold the sides of your armrests." Rayde nodded and grabbed his armrests tightly.
As soon as his hands connected, Rayde felt the carriage lurch, causing him to fling his head forward. Once he could move again, Rayde sat straight up in his chair and said, "A slight bump huh?" The Derove smiled and said, "We should arrive shortly." Rayde nodded and looked out of his window. All he could see was a blur of blue and green. The blue was on the top, while the green had a small portion of the bottom. Rayde looked at the Derove and said, "We are in the air aren't we?" The Derove nodded in response.
Within a few minutes, the Derove grabbed his armrests again. Rayde took this as a signal to grab his. A few seconds after he grabbed them, Rayde felt the carriage start to slow. This caused Rayde to be pushed back against the wall, his head bouncing off of the hard wood. Once the carriage stopped, he rubbed the back of his head in slight pain. The Derove then walked out of the carriage, holding the door open for Rayde. Rayde grunted and stood up and walked out of the carriage. Rayde was standing at the gates of a massive city. It was almost equal in size to Narris, just a bit smaller. The city was carved in wood and stone. There was a 7 story tower in the center.
Rayde marveled at the city for a minute or so before going back for his suitcase. Once Rayde had his suitcase in hand, the Derove said, "There is a group of Deroves wearing armor at the gates, they will escort you to the tower where Morjek will see you within a few hours." Rayde nodded and said, "Thank you for taking me this far." The Derove nodded and said, "You welcome." The Derove then began to walk back towards the city. Rayde followed him, seeing the guards standing at the gates. Rayde walked up to them and said, "Are you my escort?" One of the Deroves nodded and said, "Follow us." The guards then circled Rayde and began to walk into the city.
Rayde stayed in the circle of guards upon entering the city. Rayde looked at the Deroves in the city. All of them were staring at him, some of them with their hands in their shirts and pockets. The atmosphere in the city held a dangerous aura, as if as soon as he would walk out of his circle of guards, he would be hacked and slashed into oblivion.
It took Rayde and the guards about 10 minutes of walking before reaching the tower. Once the guards were at the tower, they formed a half-circle around the door, with Rayde still within the circle and said, "Go to the staircase, there is someone there waiting for you to take you to where you will talk to Morjek." Rayde nodded and walked inside. The inside of the tower held nothing but doors on the walls and a spiral staircase running along the wall. There was a single Derove at the foot of the staircase. He beckoned for Rayde to walk towards him. Rayde walked up to the Derove and said, "Are you the one who will take me to see Morjek?" The Derove nodded and said, "If you please, follow me." The Derove then began to walk up the staircase, Rayde not far behind. Rayde guessed they went all the way to the seventh story due to the fact that his legs were burning in exhaustion.
The Derove walked over to a single white door and said, "In here, Morjek will see you momentarily." Rayde nodded and walked inside. The room appeared to be a massive bedroom. The walls were colored red, and the carpet was a darker shade of red. Mounted on one side of the wall was a green longsword. There was a massive against the opposite wall of the sword. There was 2 couches, and 3 chairs. The couches were facing across from each other, while the chairs were facing the wall towards a fireplace , and also the couches. There was also a large balcony to the side, overlooking the city. Rayde took a seat in one of the couches, enjoying the warmth of the fire.
As the Derove from before said, It took about 3 hours for the door to finally open. Rayde looked at the door and saw a Derove with dark-brown fur. At a distance, he looked as if he had black fur. The Derove shut the door behind him and walked over to the couch opposite of Rayde. He sat down and looked at Rayde. The Derove then smiled and pointed at Rayde's sword saying, "Admirable, but unnecessary." Rayde smiled and said, "One can never be to careful." The Derove smiled and said, "Yes, I apologize if my citizens were.....uncanny. If you had experienced what they have, then you wouldn't take kindly to strangers either."
Rayde nodded and said, "I take it that you are Morjek." The Derove nodded and said, "Morjek I am. I have come to negotiate with you Draye." Rayde stared at Morjek and said, "How do you know so much about me? This is the first time we have met." Morjek smiled and said, "I know a lot about you Draye. Even some things that you prefer others not to know. Like Xaider for instance."
Rayde gasped, taken aback by the fact that someone knows his secret. "How do you know about him?" Rayde asked. Morjek smiled and said, "Do you know the history of Xaider? Xaider wasn't always a dark spirit. His first name was Tarrac. He was a well-known leader of Vergan. Although, when his cities technology was copied, he waged war on the civilization on those who copied it. The war did not go well for Tarrac, and he took desperate measures. He found a book on dark spells, and he tried to use a spell that required years of experience. He tried to send powerful spirits into his soldiers. Although, instead of going to his soldiers, the spirits went into him. He couldn't control them, turning into what you know as Xaider. Before he could do any damage, he was sealed by a white mage in a coffin beneath our city. He eventually broke out though, and that is when he attacked your city of Narris."
Rayde nodded and said, "What does this have to do with me?" Morjek smiled and said, "All of this deals with you. I am going to get straight to the point. What would you say if I could take the Wolf Spirit out of you?"
RAH SON YAH!!!! Perfect spot to end for right now. Well, now things are getting good again. Review!