The Aftermath
Ch. 7 Foul Play
Eyes glowing with curiosity, Ryu anxiously awaited Lenwë's response. "I have never seen such inscriptions before in my life," Lenwë mumbled incomprehensibly under his breath. "However, if you permit it, I would like to examine it more closely. Although I have spent countless hours studying ancient texts from various languages and cultures, perhaps I have skipped over something." Pointing to the vast library of knowledge beyond the walls of the small classroom, he commented, "Perhaps something out there may contain the answers you seek."
"But the entire library will take days or even weeks to search," Ryu whined. "I don't think we have that long. My dreams have been continually getting more intense, although more informational as well, with each occurrence. What if what my sister said was true?" Ryu looked quite worried.
"Your sister appeared in your dreams? What did your sister say to you?"
"She said that a new evil is growing stronger and stronger the past year." Looking at Nina and then turning back to the scholar, he continued, "With our experiences last year, you must concede that it is possible."
Nina barged in, "Ryu is right. Anything is possible. I-I trust his belief in the importance of his dreams."
Ryu smiling at Nina, Risinger added his views on the subject. "I don't. Just because he helped save the world doesn't mean he is right in this instance. Like Mr. Nimue said a few minutes ago, dreams are only manifestations of our inner desires and feelings."
"That is correct," Lenwë said, joining in the discussion. "Although dreams are linked to our subconscious mind and spirit, leaving them open to express what even we know on the inside, I do not think that even your subconscious mind could hide a whole new language, not to mention knowledge of a new evil." Lenwë seemed proud of his statements.
"Whatever, old man. You aren't the authority on dreams, so." Ryu argued out of rage.
"Settle down Ryu," Risinger said, trying to calm Ryu's anger. "No one likes to be told he is wrong."
Smirking, the old scholar announced, "I said I would continue to examine this a bit longer. Ryu, if you are so worried about it taking so long, how about searching the library with me?"
Since he felt like punching Lenwë due to his lack of interest in Ryu's dreams, Ryu thought the old man must be insane for asking him to do such a thing. Trying not to sound angry, Ryu replied, "I would, but we have a situation to clear up in the Grimfowl Forest, and I would really like to see if my suspicions are true."
Nina about concur with Ryu's decision, Risinger spoke first, "Don't worry about us, Ryu. We can handle the situation alone. In a covert operation such as this one, it would be easier if our group were smaller anyway. We will surely bring back any interesting news." Nina could not argue with Risinger's logic, but she did not like his assertion over her in this matter. After all, she is royalty, giving her the right to decide on needed actions.
Ryu thought about it for a few seconds, realizing that he could meet the other members of their former party upon their arrival if he stayed behind. "Okay. I guess I can help Mr. Nimue here with deciphering this message," Ryu said uneasily. Immediately after agreeing to stay behind, Ryu regretted his decision. How could he possibly get along with a man who's every view seemed to conflict with his own?
"Let us get to work. We will need all the time we can get," said Lenwë, twice clapping his hands together as if Ryu were a pet.
Ryu, murmuring indistinguishable words to himself, nodded his head. Waving farewell, Nina and Risinger left the classroom.
"If Ryu is correct about all of the recent disturbances being linked, then the Grimfowl must not be held responsible for this. There would have to be an outside source in this case, right?" Nina questioned.
"Correct, Princess Nina," responded Risinger.
"Then we should buy disguises if we want to get any information from the public."
"We can purchase some from the local shops. I suggest we get traveling cloaks, ones in which the brown has faded slightly. It will hide our bodies, not to mention it will allow us to easily blend in with the other vagabonds."
"Good thinking, Risinger." With a smile on her face, Nina winked at Risinger and motioned him to leave.
"Thank you, princess." He cherished moments like these, for her smiles always made him feel warm inside. After Nina returned from her journey with Ryu, King Frederick ordered that a bodyguard be assigned to protect his daughter at all times. At first, they did not get along. But after a few difficult weeks and dozens of diplomatic missions together, they became pretty close friends.
They left the castle altogether and marched off to the marketplace. Unlike most customers, however, they were not looking to haggle with the merchants for good deals. All they wanted were worn-down cloaks. Price was no object. As they arrived, they noticed that the stalls sold various items, ranging from armor and weapons to food and trinkets. Unfortunately, they could not locate any cloaks in the immediate vicinity.
"We should split up," suggested Risinger, with confidence. "We can find the cloaks much faster that way."
Disheartened by the multitude of stalls, Nina shook her head violently. She was not used to doing her own shopping, for the royal seamstresses custom-made her wardrobe and delivered it to her each month. Even on the journey with Ryu the year before, she let the others purchase her equipment for her, trusting in their knowledge of the equipment she would like. Although she had almost absolutely no experience, she tried to hide her lack of knowledge in the area of commerce by making an excuse, "We can find a better deal if we shop together."
"As you wish," Risinger said, playing along with her. He detected her ruse, but he understood her feelings toward the task.
The pair searched around for while and finally found a booth lined with all sorts of armor and other goods. Noting the assortment of cloaks laid side by side across the table, they ambled up to the old lady tending the stall. After observing the color of the goods and rubbing the fabric between his fingers to get a sense of the quality of the fabric, Risinger asserted himself due to Nina's apparent fear of dealing with merchants. With Nina watching attentively in the background to learn how it was done, Risinger asked the old lady, "Do you have anything that is more modest-maybe like this one?" He had just found one that perfectly followed the criteria he mentioned earlier and lifted it up to show her.
With a sly grin on her wrinkly face, the woman responded with another query, "Modest in price or modest in appearance?"
Although Risinger assumed that the two qualities were linked, he replied "Modest in appearance."
In her high-pitched voice, the old woman said, "Today is your lucky day then, young man." Turning around, she removed some breastplates from the back wall, for behind them was a cloak similar to the one Risinger had chosen. Pointing at it, the old lady appeared astonished by it for some reason. "Here it is. How about two thousand gold pieces?"
"What! The original cloak was only twenty gold pieces!" Risinger mentioned wrathfully. "How dare you try to rip me off! Forget it, woman!"
Nina chuckled, and Risinger tried to leave, but the woman called him back over there. "But you don't understand," she pleaded. "This is no ordinary mantle. It has mysterious special abilities."
"Now you want us to pay two thousand gold pieces for a cursed cloak," Risinger declared, shaking his head from side to side.
Nina cupped her hands around Risinger's ear and placed her mouth in them. Nina whispered, "Please, just buy it Risinger. We must hurry to Nabal. We said we would investigate the disturbance, and I do not want to let Ryu down."
Risinger reluctantly unhooked his coin purse from his belt. After the grueling count of the gold pieces, the old lady stared at them for quite a while. "Princess Nina, it is you! How you've grown since I last saw you." Nina and the old woman talked for a few minutes, after which the stall tender returned to Risinger one thousand of his gold pieces. Risinger was getting impatient, however, so the conversation soon ceased. As the two made their way outside of the bustling market, Nina smiled at her bodyguard, indicating to him that bargaining was easier than she had previously conceived.
Task accomplished they left for their destination. The flight to Nabal, which was to the southwest, would take about nine hours, which meant that they would arrive very late at night. But since they were alone, they could actually talk to each other without seeming rude.
"I pity Ryu for having to stay behind with Lenwë," said Nina with a dismal tone. "Ryu totally disagrees with him, and yet he must stay there and help him with his work-most likely for days."
"If it lasts that long," commented Risinger. "Knowing Ryu's unpredictable behavior, he will probably either get expelled from the library for arguing incessantly with Mr. Nimue or for assaulting him." Laughing, which looked strange on his bird-like beak, was not mutual.
"What makes you say that? Ryu is a good person. He would never do those things."
"Are you sure you know him as well as you think you do? He has secrets. Everyone does. I've heard some things about Ryu, and they aren't something he should be proud of."
Disheartened, Nina thought about refuting Risinger's claim, but did not want to continue the conversation. What if Risinger was right? She did not want to know the answer to that question, so she asked, "Can we talk about something else, Risinger?"
"As you wish, Princess Nina."
Meanwhile, a few hours after Nina and Risinger left him, Ryu found himself locating and bringing Lenwë dozens of parchments, slabs, and books. Running hastily throughout the library, Ryu realized that he was not just the man's helper. He was more like a slave.
"Hurry up with that tablet, Ryu. I think I have found something that correlates with it in this manuscript." Ryu looked and looked for the tablet Lenwë had requested, but it was not in the location described. "Ryu! Before I die please!"
With that comment, Ryu snapped. "Go get it yourself, old man! I'm not taking orders from you anymore!"
"Fine," Lenwë responded, as if he held Ryu's life in the palm of his hands. "Then I cannot help you. You will just have to go and see the Sorceress then, since she is the only other person who might be able to help you." Lenwë mentioned this to show Ryu how unlikely it would be for Ryu to get help from any source besides Lenwë because he knew that it was nearly impossible to see the Sorceress due to the three ghosts guarding her chambers in Wisdon. However, he had forgotten that Bleu was one of Ryu's former companions, and that would make the task considerably less difficult.
Wondering why he had not thought of that before, Ryu slapped his hand against his forehead. Ryu exclaimed, "Alright. I will I forgot all about Bleu!" Lenwë realized what he had done as he saw his client storming out of the library. Once outside, Ryu morphed into a dragon and flew off to Wisdon, which was a twelve-hour flight to the southeast.
The rest of the trip was smooth, and the two enjoyed the view. They first passed over the ruins of Nanai and the Nanai Mines, peering to the great south to see if Hizan's group of experienced miners had yet arrived. They had not, but it was understandable considering the journey would certainly take at least a week. Next flying above Camlon, Nina reflected on the recent military treaty she negotiated between Winlan and Camlon. Would the alliance be able to withstand any attack, despite the attack's strength? The third site was Drogen, home of Ryu and the Light Dragons. Nina had planned to make a visit to Gorle, but because of Risinger's comments earlier, she changed her mind. Doubting her friendship with Ryu for a moment, Nina wondered if she could really trust him. "Of course I can," Nina said within her mind. In no time at all, the two landed in a field at the outskirts at the edge of Grimfowl Forest, about a mile from Nabal. Although they were extremely tired, they still stared onward into the forest. Unfortunately, the moonlight was blocked by the treetops, leaving the gloomy forest to appear almost pitch black and haunted.
Fearless, Risinger inquired, "Should we explore the forest now?"
"It is too late. Even if we searched it tonight, I doubt we would see anything due to the overwhelming darkness," Nina reminded. "Besides, we should question the villagers first to see if they know anything about the occurrences lately."
"Before just waltzing into town, I think that we should put on our cloaks first. I would not want anything to happen to you, Princess Nina, so I will use the expensive one in case it is cursed."
"Thank you, Risinger."
After donning their new cloaks, the two began the trek to Nabal. After about a half of a mile, they observed flashing lights and loud music coming from the city. The noise increased as they came closer and closer, and in addition to the music, loud bursts of laughter and singing could be heard.
A large iron gate along with several armed sentries guarded the entrance to Nabal. The guards, who were chatting about who were the favorites in the Hippo-Dragon races the next day, pointed their lances at the concealed Winlanders when they reached their destination. "What business have you in Nabal, travelers?" asked one of the sentries, barely shouting over the thunderous racket within the walls.
"What business is it of yours?" Risinger snidely remarked.
Laughing at Risinger's audacity and insolence, the sentry continued, "Only tourists and riders that possess a silver ticket are allowed in the city during the Hippo-Dragon races. I guess it's because so many people come to the festival the day before. There is nowhere to put them all. Once the parties in the town square die down, many have to sleep in the streets!"
"Silver ticket?" Nina whimpered. Removing her a hood so the guards could see her clearly, Nina tried to flirt her way into the city. "Neither of us have one, but we are extremely tired. Could you by chance let us in anyway?"
"Sorry, but rules are rules."
"But we were sent for by your king!" cried Nina.
The sentries started to laugh hysterically, but all but the lead one were drowned out by the severe clamor. "I think we would know if anyone besides the soldiers from Tunlan were expected. Now be gone!"
"How can you live with yourselves knowing that you denied access to an inn to two fatigued travelers?" questioned Risinger, believing that that would finally get to them.
Remembering her mother saying that they would have to "unofficially" investigate, Nina pulled her hid back over her head, grabbed Risinger by his cloak, and dragged him away from the discourteous guards, who had ignored Risinger's last question and resumed their conversation.
Placing her hand on her chin, Nina suddenly brightened up. "I have an idea. Since the guards will not allow us to enter the city, we will have to sneak in. We can follow the wall away from the gate and then fly into the city when no one is watching. I am sure most of the inhabitants are at the festival in the town square, so we should have no problems getting in unnoticed."
Smiling, Risinger accepted her plan, "You do like to take risks, don't you? I like that."
After playfully bowing, she made a motion to Risinger to follow her to an abandoned portion of Nabal's fortifications. With a swift beat of their wings, they effortlessly leaped and glided over the stone defenses and into Nabal's streets. However, after this achievement, they realized that they were more exhausted than they had thought. After all, they had flown from Hizan to Winlan and then from Winlan to Nabal in the same day.
"We should look for an inn," Risinger suggested. "We have had a very long day."
"I agree."
They explored the vacant streets for a small duration of time, but the volume of the festival was devastating to their ears, which, because of their weariness, were very sensitive to the loud noises. As they dragged along for another twenty minutes, frustrated, they remained unlucky. In fact, Nina's strength had been completely depleted, and she collapsed into Risinger's arms. With adrenaline pumping to increase his endurance, Risinger used the last of his might to hoist Nina up in the air and carry her to a tavern. As Nina's head rested against across his arm against his shoulder, her hood fell back with the light breeze.
Looking at her beautiful face, Risinger thought to himself, "I swore an oath to protect her, and yet here she is, unconscious. I must save her. But what is the likelihood of no one being here to help when I need it most?" Groaning, Risinger surprisingly saw a swaying wooden sign in the distance with a primitive picture of a bed painted on it. It was on the next street, however, so he would have to take an alley. Struggling to find the correct route, at last he found his way. Suddenly, he heard a soft sound, as if someone was watching his every move. Turning around cautiously, Risinger visually searched the surroundings, looking for any suspicious shadows, but his search was fruitless. Believing it to be a spare noise from the festival at first, he settled on the idea that he was imagining things due to his exhaustion. Entering the alley, he walked a few steps before he heard another sound. However, the second noise was much louder, but at least Risinger was sure of it being a shout from one of the festival games or songs this time. He continued to walk towards the building with the swaying sign.
"I am almost there. Only a short distance left to go," Risinger thought to himself. Then there was a clank. "Who's there?" he shouted over the boisterous festivities. Pausing as if to wait for some sort of response, Risinger searched around again, but all he could see was crates randomly stacked up against the buildings and litter strewn across the rocky street.
Before he knew what hit him, what felt like knives were being gently pushed against Risinger's back, and he was being threatened by an unknown figure.
"Who are you and what do you want?" requested Risinger nervously.
"Put her down," the voice said, "unless you want to die."
"I will not. She is under my protection."
"Oh is that what you fiends call it. The person kidnapped is now under your protection? I think not. Now, if you fear for your own life, I'd hand her over if I were you."
"Kidnapper? I have not kidnapped this woman. I am her protector, and due to our extensive travel today, she has fainted from exhaustion." Almost pleading, Risinger said convincingly, "I am just trying to take her to that inn over there." Risinger pointed to the wooden sign at the end of the alley.
Hesitating, the voice muttered, "Turn around-slowly. I will decide if you are telling the truth or not."
The dark figure slowly lifted the sharp blades away from Risinger's cloak, so Risinger began to turn. Fearing for Nina's life because he was not in fighting condition, Risinger hoped that it was only a random thug. After rotating the full one hundred eighty degrees, he gazed blankly ahead at the empty space before him. Only the alleyway and a few broken crates could be seen.
Ch. 7 Foul Play
Eyes glowing with curiosity, Ryu anxiously awaited Lenwë's response. "I have never seen such inscriptions before in my life," Lenwë mumbled incomprehensibly under his breath. "However, if you permit it, I would like to examine it more closely. Although I have spent countless hours studying ancient texts from various languages and cultures, perhaps I have skipped over something." Pointing to the vast library of knowledge beyond the walls of the small classroom, he commented, "Perhaps something out there may contain the answers you seek."
"But the entire library will take days or even weeks to search," Ryu whined. "I don't think we have that long. My dreams have been continually getting more intense, although more informational as well, with each occurrence. What if what my sister said was true?" Ryu looked quite worried.
"Your sister appeared in your dreams? What did your sister say to you?"
"She said that a new evil is growing stronger and stronger the past year." Looking at Nina and then turning back to the scholar, he continued, "With our experiences last year, you must concede that it is possible."
Nina barged in, "Ryu is right. Anything is possible. I-I trust his belief in the importance of his dreams."
Ryu smiling at Nina, Risinger added his views on the subject. "I don't. Just because he helped save the world doesn't mean he is right in this instance. Like Mr. Nimue said a few minutes ago, dreams are only manifestations of our inner desires and feelings."
"That is correct," Lenwë said, joining in the discussion. "Although dreams are linked to our subconscious mind and spirit, leaving them open to express what even we know on the inside, I do not think that even your subconscious mind could hide a whole new language, not to mention knowledge of a new evil." Lenwë seemed proud of his statements.
"Whatever, old man. You aren't the authority on dreams, so." Ryu argued out of rage.
"Settle down Ryu," Risinger said, trying to calm Ryu's anger. "No one likes to be told he is wrong."
Smirking, the old scholar announced, "I said I would continue to examine this a bit longer. Ryu, if you are so worried about it taking so long, how about searching the library with me?"
Since he felt like punching Lenwë due to his lack of interest in Ryu's dreams, Ryu thought the old man must be insane for asking him to do such a thing. Trying not to sound angry, Ryu replied, "I would, but we have a situation to clear up in the Grimfowl Forest, and I would really like to see if my suspicions are true."
Nina about concur with Ryu's decision, Risinger spoke first, "Don't worry about us, Ryu. We can handle the situation alone. In a covert operation such as this one, it would be easier if our group were smaller anyway. We will surely bring back any interesting news." Nina could not argue with Risinger's logic, but she did not like his assertion over her in this matter. After all, she is royalty, giving her the right to decide on needed actions.
Ryu thought about it for a few seconds, realizing that he could meet the other members of their former party upon their arrival if he stayed behind. "Okay. I guess I can help Mr. Nimue here with deciphering this message," Ryu said uneasily. Immediately after agreeing to stay behind, Ryu regretted his decision. How could he possibly get along with a man who's every view seemed to conflict with his own?
"Let us get to work. We will need all the time we can get," said Lenwë, twice clapping his hands together as if Ryu were a pet.
Ryu, murmuring indistinguishable words to himself, nodded his head. Waving farewell, Nina and Risinger left the classroom.
"If Ryu is correct about all of the recent disturbances being linked, then the Grimfowl must not be held responsible for this. There would have to be an outside source in this case, right?" Nina questioned.
"Correct, Princess Nina," responded Risinger.
"Then we should buy disguises if we want to get any information from the public."
"We can purchase some from the local shops. I suggest we get traveling cloaks, ones in which the brown has faded slightly. It will hide our bodies, not to mention it will allow us to easily blend in with the other vagabonds."
"Good thinking, Risinger." With a smile on her face, Nina winked at Risinger and motioned him to leave.
"Thank you, princess." He cherished moments like these, for her smiles always made him feel warm inside. After Nina returned from her journey with Ryu, King Frederick ordered that a bodyguard be assigned to protect his daughter at all times. At first, they did not get along. But after a few difficult weeks and dozens of diplomatic missions together, they became pretty close friends.
They left the castle altogether and marched off to the marketplace. Unlike most customers, however, they were not looking to haggle with the merchants for good deals. All they wanted were worn-down cloaks. Price was no object. As they arrived, they noticed that the stalls sold various items, ranging from armor and weapons to food and trinkets. Unfortunately, they could not locate any cloaks in the immediate vicinity.
"We should split up," suggested Risinger, with confidence. "We can find the cloaks much faster that way."
Disheartened by the multitude of stalls, Nina shook her head violently. She was not used to doing her own shopping, for the royal seamstresses custom-made her wardrobe and delivered it to her each month. Even on the journey with Ryu the year before, she let the others purchase her equipment for her, trusting in their knowledge of the equipment she would like. Although she had almost absolutely no experience, she tried to hide her lack of knowledge in the area of commerce by making an excuse, "We can find a better deal if we shop together."
"As you wish," Risinger said, playing along with her. He detected her ruse, but he understood her feelings toward the task.
The pair searched around for while and finally found a booth lined with all sorts of armor and other goods. Noting the assortment of cloaks laid side by side across the table, they ambled up to the old lady tending the stall. After observing the color of the goods and rubbing the fabric between his fingers to get a sense of the quality of the fabric, Risinger asserted himself due to Nina's apparent fear of dealing with merchants. With Nina watching attentively in the background to learn how it was done, Risinger asked the old lady, "Do you have anything that is more modest-maybe like this one?" He had just found one that perfectly followed the criteria he mentioned earlier and lifted it up to show her.
With a sly grin on her wrinkly face, the woman responded with another query, "Modest in price or modest in appearance?"
Although Risinger assumed that the two qualities were linked, he replied "Modest in appearance."
In her high-pitched voice, the old woman said, "Today is your lucky day then, young man." Turning around, she removed some breastplates from the back wall, for behind them was a cloak similar to the one Risinger had chosen. Pointing at it, the old lady appeared astonished by it for some reason. "Here it is. How about two thousand gold pieces?"
"What! The original cloak was only twenty gold pieces!" Risinger mentioned wrathfully. "How dare you try to rip me off! Forget it, woman!"
Nina chuckled, and Risinger tried to leave, but the woman called him back over there. "But you don't understand," she pleaded. "This is no ordinary mantle. It has mysterious special abilities."
"Now you want us to pay two thousand gold pieces for a cursed cloak," Risinger declared, shaking his head from side to side.
Nina cupped her hands around Risinger's ear and placed her mouth in them. Nina whispered, "Please, just buy it Risinger. We must hurry to Nabal. We said we would investigate the disturbance, and I do not want to let Ryu down."
Risinger reluctantly unhooked his coin purse from his belt. After the grueling count of the gold pieces, the old lady stared at them for quite a while. "Princess Nina, it is you! How you've grown since I last saw you." Nina and the old woman talked for a few minutes, after which the stall tender returned to Risinger one thousand of his gold pieces. Risinger was getting impatient, however, so the conversation soon ceased. As the two made their way outside of the bustling market, Nina smiled at her bodyguard, indicating to him that bargaining was easier than she had previously conceived.
Task accomplished they left for their destination. The flight to Nabal, which was to the southwest, would take about nine hours, which meant that they would arrive very late at night. But since they were alone, they could actually talk to each other without seeming rude.
"I pity Ryu for having to stay behind with Lenwë," said Nina with a dismal tone. "Ryu totally disagrees with him, and yet he must stay there and help him with his work-most likely for days."
"If it lasts that long," commented Risinger. "Knowing Ryu's unpredictable behavior, he will probably either get expelled from the library for arguing incessantly with Mr. Nimue or for assaulting him." Laughing, which looked strange on his bird-like beak, was not mutual.
"What makes you say that? Ryu is a good person. He would never do those things."
"Are you sure you know him as well as you think you do? He has secrets. Everyone does. I've heard some things about Ryu, and they aren't something he should be proud of."
Disheartened, Nina thought about refuting Risinger's claim, but did not want to continue the conversation. What if Risinger was right? She did not want to know the answer to that question, so she asked, "Can we talk about something else, Risinger?"
"As you wish, Princess Nina."
Meanwhile, a few hours after Nina and Risinger left him, Ryu found himself locating and bringing Lenwë dozens of parchments, slabs, and books. Running hastily throughout the library, Ryu realized that he was not just the man's helper. He was more like a slave.
"Hurry up with that tablet, Ryu. I think I have found something that correlates with it in this manuscript." Ryu looked and looked for the tablet Lenwë had requested, but it was not in the location described. "Ryu! Before I die please!"
With that comment, Ryu snapped. "Go get it yourself, old man! I'm not taking orders from you anymore!"
"Fine," Lenwë responded, as if he held Ryu's life in the palm of his hands. "Then I cannot help you. You will just have to go and see the Sorceress then, since she is the only other person who might be able to help you." Lenwë mentioned this to show Ryu how unlikely it would be for Ryu to get help from any source besides Lenwë because he knew that it was nearly impossible to see the Sorceress due to the three ghosts guarding her chambers in Wisdon. However, he had forgotten that Bleu was one of Ryu's former companions, and that would make the task considerably less difficult.
Wondering why he had not thought of that before, Ryu slapped his hand against his forehead. Ryu exclaimed, "Alright. I will I forgot all about Bleu!" Lenwë realized what he had done as he saw his client storming out of the library. Once outside, Ryu morphed into a dragon and flew off to Wisdon, which was a twelve-hour flight to the southeast.
The rest of the trip was smooth, and the two enjoyed the view. They first passed over the ruins of Nanai and the Nanai Mines, peering to the great south to see if Hizan's group of experienced miners had yet arrived. They had not, but it was understandable considering the journey would certainly take at least a week. Next flying above Camlon, Nina reflected on the recent military treaty she negotiated between Winlan and Camlon. Would the alliance be able to withstand any attack, despite the attack's strength? The third site was Drogen, home of Ryu and the Light Dragons. Nina had planned to make a visit to Gorle, but because of Risinger's comments earlier, she changed her mind. Doubting her friendship with Ryu for a moment, Nina wondered if she could really trust him. "Of course I can," Nina said within her mind. In no time at all, the two landed in a field at the outskirts at the edge of Grimfowl Forest, about a mile from Nabal. Although they were extremely tired, they still stared onward into the forest. Unfortunately, the moonlight was blocked by the treetops, leaving the gloomy forest to appear almost pitch black and haunted.
Fearless, Risinger inquired, "Should we explore the forest now?"
"It is too late. Even if we searched it tonight, I doubt we would see anything due to the overwhelming darkness," Nina reminded. "Besides, we should question the villagers first to see if they know anything about the occurrences lately."
"Before just waltzing into town, I think that we should put on our cloaks first. I would not want anything to happen to you, Princess Nina, so I will use the expensive one in case it is cursed."
"Thank you, Risinger."
After donning their new cloaks, the two began the trek to Nabal. After about a half of a mile, they observed flashing lights and loud music coming from the city. The noise increased as they came closer and closer, and in addition to the music, loud bursts of laughter and singing could be heard.
A large iron gate along with several armed sentries guarded the entrance to Nabal. The guards, who were chatting about who were the favorites in the Hippo-Dragon races the next day, pointed their lances at the concealed Winlanders when they reached their destination. "What business have you in Nabal, travelers?" asked one of the sentries, barely shouting over the thunderous racket within the walls.
"What business is it of yours?" Risinger snidely remarked.
Laughing at Risinger's audacity and insolence, the sentry continued, "Only tourists and riders that possess a silver ticket are allowed in the city during the Hippo-Dragon races. I guess it's because so many people come to the festival the day before. There is nowhere to put them all. Once the parties in the town square die down, many have to sleep in the streets!"
"Silver ticket?" Nina whimpered. Removing her a hood so the guards could see her clearly, Nina tried to flirt her way into the city. "Neither of us have one, but we are extremely tired. Could you by chance let us in anyway?"
"Sorry, but rules are rules."
"But we were sent for by your king!" cried Nina.
The sentries started to laugh hysterically, but all but the lead one were drowned out by the severe clamor. "I think we would know if anyone besides the soldiers from Tunlan were expected. Now be gone!"
"How can you live with yourselves knowing that you denied access to an inn to two fatigued travelers?" questioned Risinger, believing that that would finally get to them.
Remembering her mother saying that they would have to "unofficially" investigate, Nina pulled her hid back over her head, grabbed Risinger by his cloak, and dragged him away from the discourteous guards, who had ignored Risinger's last question and resumed their conversation.
Placing her hand on her chin, Nina suddenly brightened up. "I have an idea. Since the guards will not allow us to enter the city, we will have to sneak in. We can follow the wall away from the gate and then fly into the city when no one is watching. I am sure most of the inhabitants are at the festival in the town square, so we should have no problems getting in unnoticed."
Smiling, Risinger accepted her plan, "You do like to take risks, don't you? I like that."
After playfully bowing, she made a motion to Risinger to follow her to an abandoned portion of Nabal's fortifications. With a swift beat of their wings, they effortlessly leaped and glided over the stone defenses and into Nabal's streets. However, after this achievement, they realized that they were more exhausted than they had thought. After all, they had flown from Hizan to Winlan and then from Winlan to Nabal in the same day.
"We should look for an inn," Risinger suggested. "We have had a very long day."
"I agree."
They explored the vacant streets for a small duration of time, but the volume of the festival was devastating to their ears, which, because of their weariness, were very sensitive to the loud noises. As they dragged along for another twenty minutes, frustrated, they remained unlucky. In fact, Nina's strength had been completely depleted, and she collapsed into Risinger's arms. With adrenaline pumping to increase his endurance, Risinger used the last of his might to hoist Nina up in the air and carry her to a tavern. As Nina's head rested against across his arm against his shoulder, her hood fell back with the light breeze.
Looking at her beautiful face, Risinger thought to himself, "I swore an oath to protect her, and yet here she is, unconscious. I must save her. But what is the likelihood of no one being here to help when I need it most?" Groaning, Risinger surprisingly saw a swaying wooden sign in the distance with a primitive picture of a bed painted on it. It was on the next street, however, so he would have to take an alley. Struggling to find the correct route, at last he found his way. Suddenly, he heard a soft sound, as if someone was watching his every move. Turning around cautiously, Risinger visually searched the surroundings, looking for any suspicious shadows, but his search was fruitless. Believing it to be a spare noise from the festival at first, he settled on the idea that he was imagining things due to his exhaustion. Entering the alley, he walked a few steps before he heard another sound. However, the second noise was much louder, but at least Risinger was sure of it being a shout from one of the festival games or songs this time. He continued to walk towards the building with the swaying sign.
"I am almost there. Only a short distance left to go," Risinger thought to himself. Then there was a clank. "Who's there?" he shouted over the boisterous festivities. Pausing as if to wait for some sort of response, Risinger searched around again, but all he could see was crates randomly stacked up against the buildings and litter strewn across the rocky street.
Before he knew what hit him, what felt like knives were being gently pushed against Risinger's back, and he was being threatened by an unknown figure.
"Who are you and what do you want?" requested Risinger nervously.
"Put her down," the voice said, "unless you want to die."
"I will not. She is under my protection."
"Oh is that what you fiends call it. The person kidnapped is now under your protection? I think not. Now, if you fear for your own life, I'd hand her over if I were you."
"Kidnapper? I have not kidnapped this woman. I am her protector, and due to our extensive travel today, she has fainted from exhaustion." Almost pleading, Risinger said convincingly, "I am just trying to take her to that inn over there." Risinger pointed to the wooden sign at the end of the alley.
Hesitating, the voice muttered, "Turn around-slowly. I will decide if you are telling the truth or not."
The dark figure slowly lifted the sharp blades away from Risinger's cloak, so Risinger began to turn. Fearing for Nina's life because he was not in fighting condition, Risinger hoped that it was only a random thug. After rotating the full one hundred eighty degrees, he gazed blankly ahead at the empty space before him. Only the alleyway and a few broken crates could be seen.