Cost of a Crown (Book 1)
Two Brothers
Chapter Nine:
Keldor tried to leave Panthor in the Vine Jungle when he left.
"He'll want to stay with you." Raqquill warned him.
But Keldor ignored him and set the cub down on a patch of soft earth between two raised tree roots.
Panthor meowed loudly when Keldor stood up; and started crying when he turned and began walking away. Panthor climbed out from between the tree roots and ran after him. Jumping up, claws out, and climbing up Keldor's cape and back into his hood. Panthor made his opinion of being left behind very clear.
Raq roared with laughter.
Keldor pried the cub out of his hood and held him by the scruff of the neck. "I cannot keep a pet on a journey."
"Oh, I'll go with you." The Beastmen was still laughing. Nothing was cuter than watching a person who knew nothing about animals being claimed by an animal. "I know about animals."
Under his breath, Keldor muttered something unintelligible. Then, more clearly added, "You two better not slow me down."
…
From the Vine Jungle, they headed north up to the Mystic Mountains.
Keldor had heard far too much about the Mystic Mountains for a person that had never actually visited them before in his life. It seemed like every change of season, either the Andreenids or the Avionians were bringing a new grievance before the throne. Keldor knew more about the history of the Mystic Mountains than he knew about the Plains he grew up on.
The Mystic Mountains were inhabited by a number of local flora and fauna, all of it with varying degrees of danger. But there were only two main peoples that settled in the mountains. The Andreenids, which were insectoid creatures that lived in hive-like communities overseen by a Queen. And the Avionians, bird-like people who roosted in his high peaks to the north of the range. Living so close to each other, the two communities came into competition with each other more than once. Squabbling over resources, property borders, gaming rights, or whatever else neighboring societies might fight over. Keldor, and Miro before him, had to mediate more than one conflict between them.
It was colder up in the mountains than it was down in the Vine Jungle. The humidity dropped off as they climbed higher, giving way to a crispness to the air that made it dry and sharp. Keldor cuddled Panthor against his chest with one arm, and held his cape closed around them with the other. Down on the Plains it was only the nights and the winters that were cold. Up in the mountains the days were cold too, even the sunny ones, and Keldor was regretting just wearing a loincloth and a harness. He should have packed at least one tunic with sleeves, and maybe some stockings.
Raqquill did not seem as bothered. Then again, the Beastmen had all that thick fur to keep him warm.
The winds were also a thing to worry about. They blew stronger and colder up on the mountains than down on the plains or in the jungles and forests. Keldor couldn't allow them to camp on the open ground or in trees at night. The chill was too strong. They had to find shelter in the hollow between two ledges or -if they were lucky enough- an empty cave.
All three of them cuddled close in the night. Sharing warmth. It was almost comfortable for Keldor, sandwiched between two furry bodies. Warm enough that he almost didn't care about the hard cave stone under him.
Panthor had also started growing much more rapidly now that Keldor was feeding him real meat instead of cub formula. He was now large enough for Keldor to hug while he slept and not fear crushing the cub under the weight of his arm.
They reached the first settlement on their third day in the mountains.
An Andreenid hive.
From the outside, it looked small. A few organic looking structures oozing out of the side of the mountain. Layers of hexagonal fibers covered in wax. Soft and pliable by themselves but made strong enough to withstand the mountain gales when they were fused together. The result gave the walls a sort of 'dripping' look, but on closer inspection, Keldor found it to be very hard. Like porcelain. Lightweight and smooth, but also strong.
They were met where the path dead-ended at the entrance to the Andreenid hive. A pair of insectoid drones buzzed down from lookout perches above.
"You Avionian spies?" Demanded one of them.
Keldor raised one ebony black eyebrow at them. He tilted his head up to see how high their vantagepoints were, then glanced behind him at the mountain path. "Shouldn't you have stopped us before we got right up to your door if you thought we were enemy spies?"
There was a beat of a pause.
Then the second one demanded, "Are you giving us notes?"
At least, back in Eternos, the guards would have ridden out on mounts long before suspicious outsiders made it up to the gate. But Keldor wasn't going to say that out loud.
Next to him, Raqquill cleared his throat. "You should listen to him. This is Prin-"
"We're just travelers." Keldor cut him off before the Beastmen could announce again that he was Prince Keldor on a quest to save the ailing King Miro. No one needed to know that the King's health was really that bad, and no one needed to know that the Crown Prince and next in line to be King was not present and available at the capital.
"Do we… look like Avion spies?" Raq asked, a little confused. Neither of them looked even remotely Avionian.
"Avionians wouldn't use their own people as spies. That'd be too obvious." Announced the first guard.
"And yet you let us walk right up to your door." To illustrate this, Keldor touched the hardened wax wall again.
The hostile guard made a low buzzing sound that Keldor assumed was the Andreenid language. Probably exchanging some colorful words about Keldor.
The second guard placed a three-fingered insectoid hand on the other one's shoulder. "They can't be spies. No spy would work so hard at being an asshole. A spy would go out of their way to put us at east, not piss us off."
"Hm, an intelligent guard." Keldor flashed a taunting smirk.
"I am actually our Queen's champion." Announced the Intelligent Guard. "My name is-" he made a long series of buzzing sounds which all seemed completely indistinguishable from each other "-but since I know you'll never be able to pronounce it, I have come to accept being called 'Waspus' when speaking in Standardized Common."
"Lord Waspus?" Keldor recognized the name. Lord Waspus accompanied the last party of Andreenids that came to Eternos to request the throne's intervention on their ever-going cold-war with the Avionians.
That was almost a year ago. A little bit before Miro's health began to decline in earnest. Keldor wasn't sitting in on petitions and audiences yet by at point. Which was probably why he didn't recognize the insectoid warrior right away. The question was, had Waspus seen him in Eternos and would he recognize the Gar standing at his city gate as 'Prince Keldor'.
Waspus did turn a more scrutinizing glare at him. Blinking semi-transparent eyelids that closed horizontally. It was hard to read his wide insect-eyes, they didn't have pupil or iris, so it was difficult to follow his gaze. But there was a flash of recognition in the dark sclera. Waspus did find him familiar, he just couldn't decide where he knew Keldor from.
"Travelers!" Waspus echoed. "Of course, travelers are always welcome! When you leave, you can tell everyone in your homeland how hospitable we are. Unlike those savage Avionian brutes."
Keldor smirked again as they stepped through the door and into the hive. "And if the coin that travelers spend happens to fund more weapons for your war, all the better."
He was expecting that statement to earn him another buzzed swear, or at the very least, a look of polite insult.
But Waspus just smirked back. "You understand economy better than the average traveler."
Inside, the hive was massive. The outside gave the appearance of a small building. But on the inside, the mountain had been hollowed out into one massive chamber. The walls covered in the same overlapping wax to shore them up and help support the weight of the ceiling. The buildings were made out of the same layered wax, all of them also looking like they were pored instead of built. Hardened coats dripping over other hardened coats. An entire city under the mountain.
Everything was lit with an amber glow that seemed to emanate from the wax-covered walls, and it took Keldor several moments to pick out the glowstones imbedded in the wax. They used magic for their lighting instead of burnable fuels, so there were no smokes or noxious gasses that would need to be ventilated out of the air.
The guards did not provide an escort, but Keldor also quickly realized that an escort wasn't necessary. Pairs of drone-soldiers patrolled the spaces between buildings so much that it was impossible to take a turn without nearly bumping into a weapon-carrying Andreenid.
All the buildings had similar build and architecture, so it was difficult to figure out which one was supposed to be the inn. Keldor was getting damn close to thinking about the possibility of maybe having to ask someone for directions.
Then Raq pointed out one building that had a sign hanging by the main door with an illustration of a mug and a bed. A tavern and inn.
Keldor walked right up to the inn's check-in counter. It was a little early in the evening to be going to sleep. But he was weary from traveling, and sleeping on cave floors, and waking up covered in two kinds of fur. He wanted a bath and his clothes to be washed. He wanted to enjoy the comforts of civilization. Hot water, clean clothes, shampoo and conditioner. The basics.
"Two rooms." He announced, and reached a hand into his coin purse to withdraw whatever amount the receptionist would quote him.
They fluttered their wings rapidly, a gesture that meant they were embarrassed (if Keldor was remembering right). "We only have one room available at the moment." They informed him apologetically. "And there's only one bed."
Keldor resisted the urge to mutter some very unprincely words under his breath. "I will pay extra for a second room."
"That doesn't change the fact that there aren't any extra rooms available." Insisted the Andreenid receptionist. "And I can't turn out one paying customer for another. Perhaps if you wanted two rooms, you should have sent word ahead and made a reservation. Now, I have one room with one bed. Would you like me to check you in?"
"I could take my business elsewhere." Keldor threatened. He wasn't used to not getting his way. As an eldest son and future King, Keldor was not told 'no' very often.
"You could." Agreed the receptionist. "But we are the only inn that provides accommodations for non-Andreenid peoples."
This time Keldor did grumble some very unprincely words under his breath. "Fine." He growled. "How much for the stupid room?" He paid the quoted fee. "And I want a bath!"
He was charged extra for the bath as well.
"Unbelievable." He muttered as he snatched the room key out of the receptionists three-fingered hand. Keldor glanced at the number etched onto the fob to make sure he knew where he was going. But Raq stopped him before he could rush off to the room to take his bath.
"Can we get some food too?" Asked the Beastmen.
Keldor paused. He was also hungry. Panthor would need to eat again too. He reached back into his coin purse and pulled out a few more copper and silver mints. "Don't spend too much, but get something for me and Panthor too. I'll rejoin you in a bit."
He then disappeared into their room. Keldor would feel better after he'd bathed and eaten.
And he did feel better after his bath. The soap provided had a pleasant honey and nectar scent which reminded him of some of the luxury soaps he enjoyed in the palace. The inn's combination shampoo and conditioner shared the same scent and Keldor smelled like a tea party in the royal gardens by the time he was finished and dried off.
He toweled his hair off and used a warming spell to dry it the rest of the way. Then pulled a comb through it to work out all the tangles and kinks before pulling it back into the tight knot he kept it in. The style pulled his hair tight to the sides of his head, accenting his sharp Gar features and drawing attention to the tall points of his ears. Just like he always wore it in Eternos. A tight and controlled style that forced people to acknowledge the fact that King Miro's first born and heir was of non-human descent. (Even if no one was supposed to know he was Miro's heir right now, Keldor maintained the discipline.)
Finally, he redressed and rejoined Raqquill and Panthor in the tavern.
Raqquill had found a table near the corner, out of the way of the bulk of the tavern's flow of foot traffic. Enough out of the way that he could place a plate of rare-cooked meats on the floor for Panthor.
Keldor sat down at the table and plucked a slice of what looked like bread off a platter in the middle of the table. Biting into it, Keldor realized it was some kind of honey cake. A bit too sweet for his taste, but it was food and he was hungry.
… .. .
Author's Note:
So, this fic was last updated on January 5, almost a year ago. I never abandoned this story; I've just been stuck on this one chapter for forever.
Since I can't seem to push through this one point, but I do still want to continue this story, I'm just gonna post a summary of everything that I planned to happen, then pick up the narrative at the point that I'm really excited to write.
So, as you know, this is Keldor's "World Tour" where he travels all over Eternia and meets the people that will eventually become Skeletor's Evil Warriors.
Here in the Mystic Mountains, he's going to get involved in the feud between the Andreenids and Avionians. We've already met Waspus, the evil counterpart to Buzz-Off. (At this point, Buzz-Off either has not hatched yet, or is still in his larval stage. Either way, Buzz-Off will be closer in age to Adam in this fic.)
After the Mystic Mountains, Keldor and Beastman were gonna travel to a town near the Tar Swamp and -remember those poachers mentioned before?- Panthor was gonna get snatched by some poachers. This is gonna bring Kronis back into the narrative. Kronis is gonna be a smuggler the poachers try to hire to move the kidnapped Panthor. Kronis is gonna recognize Panthor as Prince Keldor's pet and refuse the job (he doesn't wanna get on the wrong side of royalty). This makes him an enemy of the poachers, and so when Keldor and Beastman arrive to rescue Panthor, Kronis joins them and they work together.
It's gonna be the trio of Keldor, Beastman, and Kronis from that point on with Panthor as the animal companion.
Somehow, they end up "borrowing" a boat (the Tar Swamps being on the coast of the Sea of Rakash) and escape the poachers with Panthor safe and sound.
Until they realize the boat they stole was scuttled because it was old, and they end up sinking in the Sea of Rakash.
They're rescued by Squidish Rex (Mer-Man) who uses his underwater magic to allow them to breath. He makes them guests in his undersea kingdom and gives them nice rooms to rest in and good food to eat, and when everyone's rested and ready, he drops them off back on dry land.
In the Dark Hemesphere.
None of them really know where they are, but they know that if they're on the main continent of the Dark Hemisphere, to get back to the Plains they need to either go west over the land bridge, or go east and take a ship over the Growling Sea. But since there's no run rise/sun set or stars visible through the haze that covers the Dark Hemisphere, they have no idea how to navigate and end up going south.
They get lost in the desert surrounding Zalesia.
The next chapter will pick up when they meet Evelyn and the Faceless One.
Their trio just might become a quartet!
(Author's Note 2: If you're reading this on , I no longer post on ff.n you'll have to continue reading this fic on my AO3. My penname over there is RenkonNairu, same as here.)