Chapter 4:
Rhiamon, the capital of the kingdom found herself awake in an ordinary, warm spring day. The people of Rhiamon went about their businesses as usual, and no one paid any attention to a small boy in white.
Harry was fascinated by the city scenes; there was something different about the people here. The young man was throwing glances at that young girl near her window; and the girl was pretending not to look at him; an old couple was fighting over who was to blame for the broken vase; a mother was holding a crying child. Back at home, people give each other no more glances than was necessary, and if they did look at you for long, that usually meant they were about to kill you or be killed. Harry felt strange; he felt empty. There was no connection between him and those stupid emotions. But somehow the feelings he had at the little woods came back again. Harry shook his head, I have work to do.
It did not take him long to find out that Lord Thales was the younger brother of the late Queen, the uncle of the Prince Neville, the one that was said to be able to defy even the Dark Lord. It also did not take him long to realize that prestigious Thales may sound, he was not in full control of the kingdom. The relationship between the royal house and the Council had always been less than friendly, and there were also menacing warlords. Harry took mental notes of all these facts; they could come in handy for Master later.
To find the Mirror, Rhiamon would be the best place to start. Traditionally the Mirror had always been passed along the royal house, yet it was not seen in more than ten years, and no one knew for sure where it was hid – or if the royal house even had it. There were rumors, but Harry decided to take a look at the palace first anyway; after all, if Master wanted to take over, he would have to face it someday. What he saw did not soothe his worries: Hogwarts was surrounded by enormous, bronze walls; walls so tall that only the tops of the three North Towers were seen from outside, walls so ancient and powerful that Harry knew they would not fall easily even if master's whole army were somehow to lay siege to it. The walls were surprisingly smooth, as if they were made by a whole piece of bronze, with symbols Harry did not recognize glittering even in daylight. But Harry also realized that the spells that held the walls had not been repaired for at least a thousand years. The royal house was indeed awane now, even though it had once been fair and radiate, commending and governing with tremendous magic and power. Harry couldn't help but sigh.
"The one will come back, the one will raise the flag of fierce silver horse again, and the bronze walls of Rhiamon will be repaired, the kingdom of Allirea reunited!" The words were said with such conviction that even Harry found his faith in his master tremble for the first time, and his own heart fill with fear, the fear for the ineluctable. He bent down, almost sick, and found to his greater surprise that a part of him actually rejoiced at the words. Disgusted with himself, he looked up to see an old, boney woman standing before him, her left eye shining, where her right eye should be was an empty, black hole. Her claw-like hands holding out to Harry, she murmured in the same shrill voice, "I saw you, I see you…"
Harry had seen much more false beings back at the Dark Land, but the sight of this woman filled him with an irrational fear; he stumbled back and fell – when a pair of strong arms caught him. He turned his head and saw a middle aged man. "Don't be troubled, she's just an old fool, hanging around here for several years now." Harry looked, and indeed as he spoke, some other market people had dragged the old woman away. The woman did not struggle, but her grey eye was fixed on Harry, on her mouth an eerie smile.
Harry left the market place before the palace hurriedly, his heart still racing. He decided to find a place to lodge first, then he'll worry about the Lord Thales and all.
As he put down his bag on the crude, wooden table, something fell out of it. Harry picked it up and was surprised to find that it was a small, silver horse, its emerald eyes glittering. He was convinced that the old woman had slipped it into his bag earlier, and his first instinct was to throw it away, but Harry knew better than that. In a world like his, every tiny thing could be of some mysterious power. He wrapped it in a cloth and placed it in the deepest layers of his pocket so that he would not see it lying around.
Just then trumpets sounded at the North Gate. Harry went downstairs and saw people gathering around the streets. "What is it?"
"Ah," said he, "I forgot you just came. It is the Lord Thales, he is leaving the city."
Harry did not waste one more second; he thanked the innkeeper, rushed upstairs, left enough coins on the table, and jumped out of the window. He knew something was fishy, why would Lord Thales announce his departure in such an obvious way at such a time? But for now he had no other choice than to run to the North Gate and somehow manage to travel with the lord's escorts.
Harry looked through the window, and was surprised to see the face of the man he met at the little village four days before. He furrowed his brows thoughtfully…if that man was Thales…did that mean…Kerr was Neville.
He frowned; he knew it would be hard to dig out a secret from someone like Thales – if the encounter in the inn was anything to come by, and master's task must be done. Yet he couldn't very well just go up and ask…besides, he wasn't even sure if Thales had the mirror.
Just then, the boy Kerr – Neville walked into the room, "It is all prepared, uncle."
"Very well. Now, we still have much journeying to do tomorrow, go rest now."
Harry watched the two part and turn off their lights. He listened until their breaths became soft and regular and slipped into the room noiselessly. Not that he expected Thales to carry the mirror around if he indeed had it, yet it wouldn't hurt to do a light search. He might even have some important information, a map, perhaps. Harry gazed around the room; as it was just a temporary lodging, he did not expect Thales to hide anything in the room. Naturally, his gaze fell upon the sleeping man himself. He decided that it was too elementary for him to hide anything in his clothes or boots, but where could he hide something?
Harry looked at older man's sword and opened the blade; but instead of what he had expected to find, he found gold. He frowned, traveling with a large amount of money, not to mention with the Prince, was quite suspicious. Perhaps, thought him, Thales was going to buy something back, perhaps even the Mirror itself. Things would be simple then; he merely had to follow their track.
Quietly he left, wrapped himself with his mantle and fell asleep under a tree just outside the house.
But before he slept for long, he was awakened by small sounds. Two black figures slid down the wall even as he watched. Then he knew. The obvious departure was used to throw everybody off their track; the escort would continue travel in the Lord and the Prince's name, but they would be heading somewhere else. Harry was up and alert in a moment, his eyes shining with excitement like a true courser. He silently went for Floke and disappeared with the two men in the dark.
The sun was dancing on the horizon now, Harry noted. It was no easy job following them as the roads were almost deserted besides them, but Harry was well trained, as was Floke. For a horse her size, she was unnaturally quiet. Now they were crossing a small forest. A layer of green moss that seemed like thors thick was on the floor, absorbing any sound of the hooves. The trees were small but thick, with long, beard-like branches. Suddenly Thales and the Prince stopped, for a small man was standing before them. He was dressed in a yellow robe, his small, black eyes staring at them like a fox. "No followers?" Harry heard him ask.
Thales nodded, "You can trust my word."
The fox-like man spit, "And the gold?"
"No gold until we see the Mirror."
The man nodded, but instead of taking out the mirror, he waved for them to follow him.
Harry left Floke just as Thales and the Prince did their horses, she followed up noiselessly. They walked until they were in the depth of the forest, then the man walked up to a particularly thick tree. He tapped on its smooth trunk and somehow opened a door. Harry could dimly make out a stair way at him distance; he watched as the three disappeared into the hole.
He ran over as the door began to slid close and stopped it with a wave of his hand. He looked down; it was a stairway, a slippery-looking one at that. Shrugging, he frowned and jumped in, closing the door behind him; the men were sure to suspect something if they see light coming through the hole. The air inside was moist, smelling that of mosses. The stairs were wet and steep, but Harry ran down it swiftly, not making any sound either. He could soon see the torch light and therefore slowed down.
After a final turn, the stairway ended as abruptly as it began; Harry was facing an ancient, wooden door. The light he saw earlier was obviously from the two candles lighted besides it. Harry knew it was no ordinary door and was fortified by magic. He frowned; it was impossible to blast it open by force without alarming the people within - unless, of course, that he can find the correct way to open it. He placed his hand on the handle of the door; and, to his surprise, the door glowed. On the mean time, he heard murmurs filling the room, "All…bow to…the…true heir…" He took a step back, afraid that some defensive spells were at work; but the door simply opened.
Harry took a breath and looked in, behind the door was a long hallway, the three men was no where to be seen. He stepped in and looked around; the wall and the floor seemed to be of pure mud, with water dripping from the ceiling, which was made of green stones. Harry flew down the hallway and was relieved to see Thales and the man in yellow still bargaining in the little room at the end of the hallway.
"Alright," Harry heard the man groan. He pulled out what seemed like a weed on the muddy wall, and held out a small leather bag with great care.
Harry didn't know what drove him to it, but somehow she knew Master would not be happy if Thales or the Prince looked at the mirror. Thus he concentrated on his power and let it loose. The three men docked while the walls shook, sending a rain of mud and small stones alike. Thales pulled his nephew down near him while Neville tried to use his power to stabilize the channel.
It was no difficult task and soon the shaking stopped. When they got up however, Lucius the Glorious Hand was lying on the floor, unconscious. Thales bent the man over and searched frantically for the leather bag, but it was gone.
"What happened? Is he…dead?" Neville asked.
Thales shook his head, "No, he's just unconscious. This is fishy, very fishy…the Mirror is gone…perhaps he did this so he doesn't have to show us the mirror…but I was sure he was desperate for the gold…"
"Uncle, what is the mirror, that it is so important?"
Thales patted him, "Never you mind. It…er…was a tradition…a talisman, that's all"
A/N: There, two chappies at once! This should make up for the delay. And please read and review!