Chapter 14: City in the Clouds
Upon feeling the familiar tingle I rose up from my bed and grabbed my Gospel from my nightstand. I flipped open the black cover to reveal the worn out pages and began to flip through them one by one until I found what I was looking for. I activated Object Premonition and let the world around me fade away. It took a few moments before my surroundings were replaced with a new unfamiliar spectacle. On top of a large plateau overlooking the surrounding land. There was a lake which I was familiar with in sight. Lake Penelope which wasn't too far away from where we were situated. The Gladiator Island of Ginunhive was visible to the east and the Godraidh Waterfall to the southwest. The city itself was fortified as typical of most Vollachian settlements sporting the usual oppressing atmosphere of the Empire. The city was drab and grey, lacking any of the lively feel of Lugunica.
I looked around for anything that could clue me into why I needed to head there, however, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary as most of my visions would show. There was the usual hustle and bustle of any city with merchants walking up and down the streets as well as footmen patrolling about. I let out a sigh and deactivated Object Premonition as it wasn't going to be of any help this time around. I looked at the new writing in the Gospel and groaned once again. In the City in the Clouds, find the heaven-sent orphan.
"Gah!"
I slammed the book shut and put it back on my nightstand. I rolled back over in my bed mulling over my new objective. I recalled the vision and tried to remember if there was any sort of orphan begging on the streets, but as far as I could tell there wasn't anything out of the ordinary as was typical with those visions. I closed my eyes in a futile attempt to sleep before thrashing around a bit to get comfortable. It's not that the bed was uncomfortable that I couldn't sleep, in fact the bed was incredibly warm and soft. It felt like I was laying on a cloud. No, the reason I was struggling to fall asleep was because I simply couldn't stop thinking about my next task.
Who was this orphan? Why did I need to find them? For what reason? For what purpose? These thoughts swirled around in my head in a circular fashion. What should I do once I find them? That was the one question I was most concerned about. It's not like the Gospel mentioned anything regarding their appearance. I doubt I would find my brother that easily. After laying in bed staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours I got up and paced around in circles in my room letting my wild thoughts consume me. What did heaven-sent mean? I've never even heard that phrase before.
"Wait-"
I stopped in my tracks. Heaven sent. Heaven sent. I actually think I've read that phrase before. I walked over to where I kept Stride's old journals and began skimming them one after another searching through them. I went through journal after journal not wasting time to actually read any of their contents. I finally got to a journal titled, "Summoning of the Black Dragon," which if I recall is where Stride noted down the requirements to summon the Evil Dragon Valgren. I flipped through the pages where one of the requirements was listed: Slay 10 of the Heaven-sent children in offering to the Evil Dragon. (Divine Protection?) A smile took form on my face. This was a lead that I could work with, but as to which divine protection I'm looking for…
"That sounds like tomorrow's problem."
I returned the books to their place with my mind now at ease. I nestled myself back under my bed sheets and held my pillow tightly. Letting my eyes shut slowly and the darkness of sleep overtake me.
The morning came just like any other. Prylla served breakfast as usual, however, the key difference is that there's an additional guest. We were inside the dining hall that came directly off the kitchen. Prylla set out plates for everyone and we enjoyed our meal together chatting about this and that. After finishing my food I cleared my throat to catch their attention.
"We will be setting out to the City in the Clouds. We are looking for an orphan with a Divine Protection of some kind."
"Alright then." Prylla nodded. Most likely mentally sorting out the list of things to get ready for the trip.
"We're going to Mezoreia?" Ireyne perked up.
"Hm? Are you familiar with that place?"
"As a matter of fact, I am. I used to go see the travelling circus that would visit there from time to time. I heard before I arrived here that they would be performing there soon."
"A circus? What's that?"
"Have you never been to one?"
"No. Never."
"It's a group of entertainers that perform various shows in different cities. We should stop by it if they're there."
"Yeah that sounds like it could be fun."
The rest of the day passed without incident. Prylla had prepared everything for the trip which would take roughly twelve hours, so we decided to leave early in the morning. This more or less left me with nothing to do for the day, so I spent it reading books as per usual. The next day Prylla woke me up and we had breakfast before we set out for the City in the Clouds. Ireyne seemed quite nervous being on her first real mission and all. The ride was far bumpier which really drove home my appreciation for land dragons. If Lugunica did anything right it's most certainly securing land dragons. Nothing can beat the smooth ride they can provide. The Divine Protection of Wind Repel certainly was a formidable foe for our trusty falo to compete against. The only thing the falo had over a land dragon was it's softness.
"Deneb… Please stop harassing the falo." Prylla scolded.
"Don't accuse me of such slander!"
We had set off three hours ago and I insisted on riding the falo directly. I think I'll name him Fally. Fally's fur was incredibly soft to the touch. The large oxen creature huffed in response to my merciless petting.
"Fally and I have come to a mutual understanding where he realized my greatness and has offered his fur in penance for his sins."
"And what sin did he commit?"
"Not finding me sooner!"
"Prylla… Let her have her fun. She's the ringleader of our merry band after all." Ireyne poked her head into the coachbox.
"See! She agrees with me! Fally will pay for his crime by letting me pet him forever! Muahahahaha!"
"When did we become a troupe!?"
The next few hours of the trip went by quickly as I indulged myself in Fally's softness before Prylla eventually pried me off when she handed the reins over to Ireyne for a break. I sulked in the back of the carriage for a while before eventually falling asleep.
"Mmhm..." Something was rustling me.
"Up... "
"Noooo…." I groaned.
"We're here."
"Huh?" I got up and went to the front peeking out.
The bland and depressing city laid before me. A few tall buildings could be seen over the walls, however, most of the buildings were no more than a story or two tall. The grey walls were incredibly smooth in appearance and most certainly built with the intention of keeping something out. At the entrance gate two imperial guards stood on either side checking in visitors. Most people that travel to this city were on their way to the Gladiator Island of Ginunhive to spectate a match or were being transported there as a sword slave. The Great Cascade was visible in the distance as torrents of water rained down into the abyss beyond. Just where was that water going? Reaching the entry gate the guard stopped the carriage to do a routine check.
"Please state your business."
"We're here to meet some friends to attend the circus performance."
"Oh that circus? That group is a troublesome bunch. Hah- It's not a big deal anyhow. Alright then, enter."
The guard waved us through and the inner city became visible. The city was laid out into four districts. Starting from the main gate going clockwise they were the shopping district, residential district, entertainment district, and prison district. The most distinct of the districts being the entertainment district as it was where the travelling troupe had set up their encampment to prepare for the show. The prison district sported a large drab prison where the sword slaves who have yet to be shipped to Ginunhive are kept. The shopping and residential districts are exactly what you'd expect.
"Wow~ That prison is huge."
"They have to filter new sword slaves quite often as they don't last very long. Even that prison itself is a test of strength." Ireyne noted.
The carriage rolled across the smooth stone pavement slowly as we reached our destination. Ireyne suggested we stay at an inn that she would use whenever she visited the city located between the shopping and residential districts. We pulled up to the building and the cart came to a halt.
"This is the place right?"
"Yep! This is the one I'd stay at with my parents when I was little. It's not the best in the world, but it'll do."
Prylla nodded at her statement and took Fally to the stable. I went inside with Ireyne and we booked our rooms for three nights as we intended on visiting the circus at least once since we're here. Whoever that orphan kid is would probably enjoy it as well. The room I got had a single bed in it and Prylla and Ireyne would be staying together. Something about it being disrespectful to sleep in the same room as me. Now that all the preparations were settled I decided it was time to assign everyone their tasks.
"As we already know we need to find an orphan child with a divine protection. The Gospel didn't mention which divine protection so I think that it doesn't matter. Now onto the task assignment. Prylla you search the residential district, Ireyne will search the shopping district and I'll search the entertainment district."
"You just want to go see the circus, don't you?" Prylla saw right through my foolproof scheme.
"Gah! That's- That's not it at all! I'm just following the Gospel's guidance. I swear on my Pride!"
Prylla closed her eyes and let out a sigh seemingly deciding to drop the issue. The distribution of labor settled, we set out for the remainder of the day and agreed to regroup before dinner time. Exiting the inn Prylla took a right and disappeared into a back alley while Ireyne went across the street to question the shop owners. I turned left and began walking towards the entertainment district where a large tent was visible. The streets became progressively more crowded the closer I got to where the tent was set up in the center of what looked like a stadium.
I pushed through the crowd as best I could, but I accidentally bumped into a random person. The person scowled at me before pushing past me. I stumbled out of the main crowd to reassess the situation.
"Hmph. Too many people."
It was a simple yet accurate assessment. Way to go, me! Offering myself praise in my superb judgement I had yet to decide on an appropriate course of action. I knew of an easy way to disperse a large crowd, however, using it in Vollachia might actually have the opposite effect. As people who fervently adhere to the creed of the Empire the likelihood of them attempting to fight back was a greater risk than I was willing to take. Ultimately I decided to try and use the alley ways to skirt around the crowd and make my way to the tent. I weaved through the back alleys making sure to remember which direction the tent was in. This would have worked had I not run into a dead end.
One option of course would be to break down the wall between me and my destination, however, I wasn't looking to start a fight with the footmen even if I'd win it flawlessly. I turned around to leave the alley when I found a shadow blocking my path.
"Hm? Where do you think you're goin' girly." A gruff voice pierced my ears.
A man blocked my path out of the dead end, cornering me.