Disclaimer: I haven't put a disclaimer on in quite some time, so… Yes, you heard right… I don't own SSO or its characters… The only thing I do own is this story and my original character, Jeremy and a few places I created... and there is a mention of someone's mother... but I don't know if she exists...
Author's Note: I am so very very very sorry for not updating in such a long time! I was going to, but then all these things started happening and my world changed. But enough about me and my excuses.. here's chapter 11… Hope you like it! No wait…hang on, before you read the story, I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of you who have reviewed and said kind words of encouragement (You know who you are!). Your reviews really do help when I write and I really appreciate it!
Chapter 11: Unexpected
"Thank you for staying at the Dragon Inn…" Bras said wearily. "I hope you enjoyed your stay," he yawned.
"Sorry to have to wake you so early," Hartia apologized as he paid for the night that they had spent at the inn. "And thank you for your hospitality."
Bras managed a smile and waved as Hartia walked out of the inn and made his way onto the carriage.
"About time," Orphen said sardonically as soon as Hartia sat next to him.
"Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Hartia replied evenly.
"I'm not grumpy, if that's what you're implying," Orphen retorted, "I just want to keep moving."
"Excuses, excuses," Hartia shook his head mockingly.
"We could have at least stayed for breakfast," Azalie interjected before an argument arose between the two. She yawned and stretched her arms.
"If you're hungry, there's bread in one of the packs," Orphen informed them all.
"You want me to eat bread? Do I look like a bird to you?" Azalie questioned Orphen.
"No one's gonna force you to eat it, Azalie. It's either you eat bread or you can wait till we stop for a break which won't be anytime soon."
Azalie grumbled to herself. She sighed heavily, " I don't think I can stand this anymore."
"Stand what?" Hartia asked.
"Sitting in a carriage, picking at almost stale bread, waiting to get to Alenhatan."
"We're not even taking the long way around Bandit City!" Hartia exclaimed.
"Well, as soon as I get a bit more sleep, I'm going straight to Stephanie's," Azalie planned.
Orphen was about to protest, but shut his mouth knowing that it would be no use. Orphen just mumbled a reluctant agreement. He couldn't stand it either. He would go with Azalie if he could, but teleporting all that way would waste his energy that he knew he would need later on. Plus he wasn't planning on teleporting their things all the way to Alenhatan too.
"If only Alenhatan was right next door to Totokonta," Majic said aloud. No one replied. He sighed when he realized that the two sorcerers were lost in thought and Azalie was asleep. He stifled a yawn. He looked at Azalie who was somehow managing to sleep while sitting up. Majic's head titled to one side in contemplation. "That's a good idea," he whispered to himself. Majic closed his eyes, and sleep followed soon after.
The rain began pouring down on them a few hours after they left Hale. It was certainly unexpected weather, especially during summer.
"It's an omen," Azalie told them as she nibbled on the bread. You could see a look of distaste cross her face every time she chewed and swallowed.
"Don't say such things, Azalie," Hartia scolded the older woman.
"Well it is," Azalie looked at the sky. It had darkened and grey clouds loomed over them. The rain was relentless. "Something has either happened, or something will happen."
"It doesn't matter if it's raining, snowing, or if the sun blisters our skin. All that matters is that we get these copies translated," Orphen said flatly.
Azalie sighed and looked at Orphen who now sat in front of her. She knew that he was going through a lot right now and it pained her to know that she couldn't do anymore than she already had. It made her sad. But instead of focusing on all the bad things, she thought about how the Heavenly Ones had smiled benevolently down on them and brought them back together after many years of being apart. That thought brought a warm smile to her lips.
Orphen gave her a funny look, "What are you smiling about?"
Azalie laughed at herself, "Just thinking. Nothing for you to worry about." Azalie wrapped her cloak securely around herself and gave an involuntary shudder as the wind touched her body. "Well, this seems like a good time to go. I'll see you all tomorrow. Have fun in Bandit City." Before anyone could even respond, she had already departed.
"Coming! I'll be there in just a second!" Stephanie called out to the person knocking on her door. She dried her hands on her apron and turned the tap off. She opened the door and couldn't stop her mouth opening in surprise when she faced a person she hadn't seen in almost 8 years. "Azalie! What an unexpected surprise! Please come in," Stephanie greeted after she recovered from her initial shock.
"Thank you," Azalie replied when Stephanie motioned for her to go inside.
"If I knew that I was going to have company, I would have cleaned up a bit. Sorry about the mess."
Azalie just smiled politely. Her and Stephanie never really did have a close relationship.
"Please, sit down. Make yourself at home," Stephanie said to her visitor. She sat opposite Azalie in the living room. "Would you like anything to drink? Coffee? Or maybe some herbal tea?"
"No thank you."
"Are you sure? How about something to eat?"
Azalie considered this one carefully, "Maybe later."
"Ok. Well, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
"Krylancelo and the others are on their way with some copies-" Azalie stopped as she realized her own stupidity. I should have brought the copies with me! How foolish was I to not realize it sooner! She felt like kicking herself.
"Copies of what?"
"Oh… um… copies they found at the ruins that you told them to investigate."
"So they did find something?" Stephanie smiled at this and fixed her glasses. "I knew they would. So Orphen, Cleao and Majic are on their way?" A thought dawned on Stephanie. She became confused. "If they're coming, then why are you here?" Stephanie didn't even bother to apologize for sounding rude. "Is there something wrong?" Something just didn't add up, and Stephanie had a feeling she wasn't going to hear any good news.
"It's about Cleao."
"Cleao? What's happened? Is she alright!" Stephanie began to worry. Without missing a beat, Azalie told Stephanie everything. She retold everything carefully, making sure that she didn't miss anything important. The look of worry deepened on Stephanie's face. It was definitely unexpected news.
"What an idiot!" Orphen cursed at his own sister. "I can't believe she didn't take the copies with her! She isn't going to teleport back now! Instead of having the copies translated by the time we get there, we'll have to wait!"
"Master, calm down," Majic said. Orphen's yelling and cursing had woken him up.
"Majic's right," Hartia conceded, "We can't do anything about it now."
"We could've saved a lot more time," Orphen complained quietly after he took a few relaxing breaths. No matter how angry he was at Azalie for her recklessness, he knew that the other two were right. There was nothing he could do about it now and cursing at his sister wasn't going to get the copies translated any faster.
"Besides," Hartia added, interrupting Orphen's train of thought, "We're here." They had finally reached Bandit City.
"That's terrible," Stephanie gasped. "So how is Orphen dealing with it?"
"It's hard to say. But most of the time he seems fine."
"That's… good," Stephanie murmured, not knowing what else to say. She looked intently at Azalie, " So, I take it that you didn't bring the copies with you?"
Azalie blushed at her own foolishness, "No."
Stephanie remained silent for a while. She could only imagine how Azalie would be feeling right now, having forgotten something so important as this. She smiled kindly at the sorceress, "Not to worry. Once the copies are here, I'll have them translated in no time at all. So, how about some lunch? You must be hungry."
Azalie returned the smile, " Lunch sounds good."
"Great. I'll whip us up something good." Stephanie stood and made her way to the kitchen. She turned back to Azalie, "Would you like something to drink and snack on while you're waiting?"
Azalie nodded and followed the blue-haired woman into the kitchen.
It didn't take long for Stephanie to cook something. She just made a simple beef stew that she served with bread. It wasn't much, but it tasted great.
"I'm glad you like it," Stephanie grinned, but her smile faded a bit. "It's been a while since I've had to cook for more than one person…"
"Oh?" Azalie seemed surprised, "Oh! I almost forgot! I heard that you got married. Congratulations."
"Thank-you," Stephanie replied, "My husband, Tim, has gone to stay with his mother for a few weeks. She's been sick lately and he wanted to be with her."
"How unfortunate."
"Yes. So I stayed back here to manage the business."
"When will he return?"
"As soon as his mother is better."
Azalie murmured to herself as she finished her meal. She looked at Stephanie to see her lost in her thoughts. "Stephanie?"
Stephanie snapped out of her reverie, " Yes?"
"I just wanted to say thank you for everything. And I'm sorry if I'm imposing. I just couldn't bear to sit in that carriage any longer!"
"Oh, don't worry about it! A friend of Orphen's is a friend of mine," she smiled benignly at Azalie. "We have a guest room that you can use. I'll show it to you when you're ready."
"But till then, I'll help you clean up," Azalie said.
"No, you're my guest. All you have to do is sit down and relax."
"I insist."
Stephanie finally agreed after Azalie's persistent offers. All they had to do now was wait for the others.
Hartia steered the carriage slowly through the remains of Bandit City. " What on earth happened here?"
Orphen was dumfounded," Hartia… you sure you didn't take a wrong turn or something?"
"I'm sure I didn't."
Majic shook his head, "This is why maps were invented."
Orphen glared at his apprentice then turned back to Hartia, " Stop here. I want to have a look around." Hartia did as he was told. Orphen got out of the carriage and began to walk around. "Well, I'm positive that we were going the right way… " Orphen stopped a few meters away from the carriage and looked around him. There was nothing left. No buildings, no people. Nothing. Orphen didn't understand what he saw. Taking one last look around, he walked back to the other two.
"Maybe they decided to relocate," Majic suggested.
"No, something tells me that there's more to it than that," Orphen disagreed.
"Yes, Krylancelo is right. Don't you feel it, Majic?" Hartia said.
"Feel what?"
"Residual magic."
"I was just about to mention that. It's faint and you can barely feel it, but if you try really hard…" Orphen trailed off.
"I don't feel anything," Majic said indifferently.
"You just need more training," Hartia replied. He looked at Orphen, " What do we do now?"
"We can deal with this later. Let's just get to Steph's first. I have a feeling that this is all connected."
"Right, nothing is coincidence," Hartia concurred.
"Isn't it a good thing that this happened? I mean, at least we didn't have to fight all those bandits," Majic said to them.
"The only thing that's good about this is that we've saved time, Majic," Orphen replied. "Take a look around you," he said to his apprentice and gestured at the ruins around them, " This was a city, Majic. A city! Look at it now! It's all debris and rubble. To bring a city down, you're going to need a lot of power and I 'm not really looking forward to meeting whoever did this."
Majic was speechless, "I- I'm sorry, Master."
Orphen bit his tongue. "No, I'm sorry, Majic. I didn't mean to bite your head off. I'm just… stressed," he smiled apologetically. Majic smiled back.
"Well, if you two don't mind, I'd like to get out of here. This place is starting to give me the creeps." Hartia said and got the horses going at a canter. Their next stop was Eraelon.
The journey to Eraelon was faster than expected. With the horses rested, they were able to travel at a gallop. They reached Eraelon within 2 hours.
"It's only a couple of hours past midday, Krylancelo," Hartia informed his friend.
"I suppose we can rest for a bit," Orphen considered, " Yeah. With the horses rested, then we can ride them at a gallop again."
"So, where to?" Hartia asked.
"Well, I heard about a tavern that served really good ice-cream floats…" Orphen started, " I think it was called 'The Sleepy Eagle'…"
"Are you talking about that building over there, Master? The one with the sign that says 'The Sleepy Eagle'?" Majic queried.
Orphen looked to where Majic was pointing, "That's the one."
"What are we going to do with the carriage?"
"We'll park it in the alleyway over there. Then Majic can keep an eye on it," Orphen decided.
"Me!"
"Well your name is Majic, isn't it? I swear, sometimes you ask really stupid questions," Orphen replied and shook his head.
Majic huffed angrily, "Well, while you're there, get me an ice-cream float too. And a sandwich, I'm a bit hungry."
Orphen grinned at his apprentice, " It seems like my young apprentice is growing a backbone." Majic looked flushed. Orphen was walking away already, " I think you could learn something from him, Hartia."
"Very funny! He's just been hanging around Cleao too much that it's starting to show!" Hartia exclaimed angrily and rushed after Orphen. Majic could hear their laughter fade away as the tavern door closed behind them.
"Take your time, it's ok. I don't mind. I mean, I'm just dying of thirst and hunger, but it's ok," Majic muttered to himself. He had been sitting in the carriage for an hour and Orphen and Hartia still hadn't returned. His stomach grumbled. "Oh, shut up. I know you're hungry, I am too."
"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness," Orphen stated.
"Aah! Master, you shouldn't go around scaring people like that!" Majic exclaimed.
"Here, you go. Thanks for waiting for us," Hartia said to the young blonde and handed him his ice-cream float and sandwich.
"About time! My stomach was starting to eat itself," Majic accepted his food gratefully. He sat in the carriage and Orphen took the reins. "What was taking you so long anyway?"
"Krylancelo got carried away with his ice-cream floats. How many was it? Three? No, I think it was four." Hartia laughed.
"Hey, don't blame this on me, Hartia!" Orphen exclaimed, "But Bagup's are still the best."
" You only got me one sandwich! I was waiting here for an hour and all I get is one sandwich!" Majic complained after finishing his meal.
"Quit complaining, kid. You're lucky I got you anything at all," Orphen replied. Majic scowled.
"Krylancelo, just concentrate on getting us to Alenhatan."
"Yeah, yeah."
"How long will it take, Master?"
"We should be at Steph's in around… four hours?" he looked at Hartia for confirmation.
"Yes, four hours sounds about right."
"It'll be nightfall by then," Majic said.
" Let's just hope Steph cooked enough food for us too," Orphen replied.
"Well, maybe one of us should teleport there to let her know that we're on our way," Hartia suggested.
" Good thinking. Hartia, you go," Orphen responded, " Majic, hand him the copies." Majic complied with Orphen's commands and gave Hartia the copies that needed to be translated.
"Make sure that Stephanie gets started on translating those," Orphen said to Hartia.
"Will do," Hartia replied. "Away."
"Now it's just the two of us," Majic said to his master. He took Hartia's seat beside Orphen and looked at their surroundings. As much as he liked traveling with Orphen, it just wasn't the same without Cleao.
"Hartia! What are you doing here?" Stephanie exclaimed at Hartia's sudden arrival outside her door.
"Yes, do tell. Shouldn't you be with Orphen and Majic in Bandit City?" Azalie asked as they all sat down in the living room.
"Well, we made it to Bandit City-"
"No! Don't tell me that something happened to Orphen and Majic!" Stephanie cried out.
Hartia couldn't help but laugh at Stephanie's expression. "No, they're alright." Hartia's expression became serious, " But Bandit City isn't."
"Excuse me?"
"When we reached Bandit City, there was no city left. Just ruins." The two women were speechless, so Hartia continued. "But we could feel residual magic. It was very faint."
" Any idea who could have done this?" Stephanie inquired.
" Not a definite criminal, but Krylancelo has his suspicions. I do too."
"Jeremy?" Azalie asked.
Hartia nodded, "But before we can do anything else, we need to get these copies translated." Hartia handed the copies to Stephanie who studied them carefully. When Azalie saw the copies, she looked at Hartia and blushed. Hartia smiled, "Don't worry, Krylancelo wasn't that mad." Azalie sighed in relief. " After an hour of yelling and cursing, he calmed down," Hartia laughed when he saw Azalie's violet eyes widen in shock.
Stephanie interrupted the two, " I'm going to get started on this. It might take me longer than I thought. The script is older than most I've studied…"
"Right, " Hartia agreed. "We'll get out of your way." But Stephanie didn't hear him, she was already concentrating on something more important.
Azalie led Hartia to the kitchen, " C'mon then. You must be hungry. Luckily, Stephanie made more than usual."
Hartia sat at the kitchen counter and watched as Azalie rummaged in the kitchen. So far so good. Stephanie should have those copies translated in no time, and Cleao will be back before we know it, Hartia thought.
"Are we there yet?" Majic asked impatiently.
"Not yet. Look, Alenhatan is only another hour or so away, so don't get too restless ok?"
Majic nodded and looked up at the night sky that twinkled with bright stars. Only another hour or so, Majic sighed and closed his eyes, If only we were there already.
"Majic!" Orphen repeated, louder this time.
Majic's eyes snapped open, "Huh?"
"We're here."
Majic was confused, "We're… here?" Already?" He looked around him and sure enough, the carriage was parked just outside Stephanie's house. The streets of Alenhatan were almost deserted with only a few townsfolk still walking around. Majic looked at Orphen questioningly.
"I sped things up a bit," Orphen explained and Majic grinned. "So, how about we go inside?" Majic nodded in agreement with Orphen.
"Who could that be?" Azalie wondered aloud, "And at this hour."
Hartia shrugged, "Maybe it's Tim. Maybe he's back already."
Azalie stared expectantly at the redhead.
"What?" Hartia asked.
The knocking continued. "Don't just stand there, Hartia. Go and open the door."
Hartia exhaled sharply and did as he was told." Laziest Elder I've ever met," Hartia muttered under his breath.
"I heard that," Azalie snapped and Hartia flinched, " Lazy or not, I have excellent hearing."
"Open the door already!" Orphen yelled from outside.
"Krylancelo!" Hartia said as he opened the door, "We weren't expecting you so soon."
Orphen shrugged and they went inside, "I teleported the rest of the way. We were close by."
"The carriage and everything?"
"The carriage and everything," Orphen repeated. He looked around, " So where's Steph?"
"She's in the study," Azalie answered from where she sat in the living room. Orphen began to make his way to the study. "Not yet. She's working on the copies."
Orphen stopped in his tracks, " That's good then." Noticing Azalie's worried expression, he added, " Don't worry, Azalie. I'm not angry anymore."
"Well, while you're waiting, how about some dinner?" Hartia offered. He glanced at Azalie, "There's still some left right?"
Azalie nodded, "Unless you ate it all."
"Dinner sounds great!" Majic said enthusiastically. Majic led the way to the kitchen, glad that his hunger and thirst would be quenched.
Author's note: How was that? I hope it wasn't too bad… To me it seemed a bit short... There wasn't really any Cleao in it, but she will be in the next chapter! Anyway, please review! And thank you for those who take the time to read and review this story! Chapter 12: Lost In Translation is still in the works, but hopefully I'll have it posted soon…And I'll also try not to delay any more than needed!