Oh boy...only four chapters in and I've already missed two updates.
Hey, guys! Welcome back to Into the Dark! SUPER sorry about the lack of updates for a while...school's been kind of kicking me in the face lately with homework, projects, essays, and midterms. It's just been...yikes. But I'm here now, so we can continue! First, though, let's take care of reviews!
Thanks so much to WinterCrystal1009 (I mean...I still appreciate reviews XD And hey, at least it was more subtle than the "Will B. Hohtt" I was originally gonna go with XD Let me have my punny author names!) and Guest!
That being said, on with the chapter!
Chapter 4: Enter Motoraus
The journey across the desert was a long, difficult, and decidedly boring one. Towards the beginning of the ride, Jack had been occupied with marveling over how well the cooling gem he had been given was working. Just as he had been told it would, merely wearing the amulet around his neck kept his entire body comfortably cold to the point where he seemed physically incapable of even breaking a sweat. Zephyr seemed to greatly benefit from the gems embedded in his tack as well, cantering without tire across the sweltering sands despite the heat that normally would have winded him in no time at all.
Once the awe related to the magical gems had faded, however, Jack was left with the undesirable realization that the rest of the two-day journey was destined to be unbelievably dull. He didn't consider himself alone, but the fact remained that horses were not the best conversationalists, and the boy had little else to occupy his attention besides ensuring that his stallion did not stray from the sand-flecked path beaten by travelers long before them.
Thanks to Aster's sun-blocking concoction, the Tsar's cooling gems, and the pathfinding spell North had taught him days prior, Jack had no physical difficulties in his travels. Nevertheless…
Moon above, this is boring, he caught himself thinking multiple times. The young sprite was no stranger to traveling, but he was less than accustomed to landscapes where there was quite literally nothing to look at aside from sky and sand. Usually, there was at least something else that could catch his attention and keep intense boredom from setting in.
Of course, this was not counting the constant terror he had been forced to live in due to his state of being on the run, but that was beside the point.
The two days of travel felt as though they dragged on for longer, but finally, to Jack's relief, he came upon his destination: the northernmost Motorean city known as Sahran. At last, he was able to see brown, stone buildings rise up in the distance, and soon, he was walking among them, carefully dismounting and leading Zephyr through the crowded streets of the city.
As he walked, he was acutely aware of the multitude of stares he was attracting with his appearance alone. He knew that the people of Motoraus were significantly less wary of snow sprites than the rest of the tsardom proved to be (they knew that sprites were drastically weakened in heat, and so they had nothing to fear in their homeland), but a member of his kind was still an extremely rare sight this far south.
Granted, he acknowledged that snow sprites were an extremely rare sight in general nowadays, but quickly pushed that dark thought away before it could persist.
Jack couldn't pretend that he wasn't exceedingly uncomfortable with the amount of eyes that shifted in his direction over and over again. He figured that most of these people probably knew exactly who he was, since the news of his Guardianship had spread rapidly across the entirety of the tsardom directly following the announcement. As a result, he doubted any random passerby would attempt to harm him, but he still could not shake the old urge to reach back for a hood that wasn't there.
Get ahold of yourself, Jack… he mentally chided himself, a slight grimace coming to his pale face. You're fine...just find the translator and then you can get started on saving those children...
Unfortunately, finding the translator was no easy task. It was true that Jack had been given precise directions to their meeting spot and was now following them dutifully, but it was still frustratingly difficult to navigate the packed streets with a horse by his side. Several times, he was almost tempted to mount Zephyr once more in order to get a better look at his surroundings, but quickly thought better of it. He wasn't exactly inclined to stand out from the crowd even more than he already did.
The reason for the streets being so crowded was the fact that they were narrowed considerably by the presence of several stalls and vendors on both sides. Unlike the indoor shops of Soluna City, many Motorean merchants seemed to have chosen to conduct their business outside, which, Jack had to admit, appeared to be a rather profitable strategy, as they were able to call out to the people passing right by them and display their wares openly without the hindrance of store walls. Several times, a few merchants called directly to Jack, attempting to entice the clear newcomer to their stalls, but the boy, having no idea how to speak or even understand Motorish, merely smiled thinly and politely shook his head before continuing forward.
Finally, the young Guardian was able to lead Zephyr into the much less crowded side street where they were to wait for the translator. Thankfully, they only stood there about a minute or so before they were approached by a dark-haired, tanned-skinned, clearly Motorean man who looked a little over a decade or so older than Jack.
"Ah, you are Jack Frost, correct?" he asked, his formal and decidedly un-Aster-like accent suggesting he was from somewhere in the northwestern region of Motoraus as opposed to the southeastern area the Pooka originated from.
"Yes," Jack answered, relieved to finally hear words he was familiar with. "That's me."
The man smiled warmly and nodded in greeting. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Frost," he said. "My name is Ayrin, and I will be your translator over the course of your stay here."
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Jack replied. He then chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and adding, "But you don't have to call me Mr. Frost...just Jack is fine."
Ayrin gave a slight chuckle as well. "I will keep that in mind," he said with a nod. "Now, come with me. A few of our city guards would like to speak with you about your mission."
()()()()
Jack soon discovered that conversing via translator was a rather unique experience. He privately thought it strange to have the entire conversation be essentially controlled by one man, rather than each member involved. The moment Jack spoke, Ayrin would (he assumed) directly translate his words into Motorish for the city's captain of the guard, who would then respond and have Ayrin tell Jack in Iskald what he had said.
The young sprite idly wondered if there had ever been a translator that had intentionally twisted the words of two important officials in order to pit them against each other. He quickly banished the thought, however, putting faith in the fact that the Guardians would have found him a translator he could realistically trust.
"Captain Terrah would like to know exactly how much your fellow Guardians have informed you about our situation," Ayrin was saying, addressing the boy.
"Well," Jack began. "I know that a group of bandits has been kidnapping children from this city and holding them for ransom, and that my task is to find them and recover the victims. However...I do not know where to begin looking for them."
Ayrin relayed his message, waited for the captain's reply, then responded, "It seems that you know nearly everything there is to know. All that is left to explain is the location and what you are to do with the bandits themselves."
After waiting a few more moments for the captain to speak once more, he continued, "You are to incapacitate them, but ideally, keep them alive. They will be brought back to the city for a brief trial, then likely punished accordingly."
Jack nodded, somewhat relieved. He wasn't sure if he would have been quite willing to walk in and slaughter the bandits if he was asked to do so, no matter their crime. Ending the life of another was far from appealing to him, especially given his history with the subject.
"I can do that," Jack told them. "Just direct me to their location and I will take care of things there."
"Good," Ayrin replied once the captain had spoken. "I will send two guards to escort you to the area in which their lair lies."
Captain Terrah then turned to the group of soldiers that lined the far wall and called out, "Kyro! Rivahn!"
The two men in question stepped away from the wall and stood at attention, giving their captain a brief salute. Ayrin went on to recite the captain's next words, explaining, "Both of these men speak a small amount of Iskald, likely enough for any necessary communication. No dedicated translator is to be sent into danger, so for now, my guards will have to do. If you need them to do anything for you, you need only ask."
Jack gave a grateful nod in response. "Thank you, sir, I'll keep that in mind," he said politely.
Once Ayrin had translated the snow sprite's words, the captain smiled and nodded in return. He spoke a few more words, which Ayrin repeated as, "Good luck, young Guardian. Please...bring our children home."
"Don't worry, Captain," Jack replied determinedly. "I will do everything I can to save them."
()()()()
Jack, Kyro, and Rivahn parted ways from Terrah, Ayrin, the other soldiers that had been present, and Zephyr, as well. Jack was admittedly reluctant to leave his equine companion behind in an unfamiliar city, but Terrah had assured him that the stallion would be well cared for in his absence. Jack still worried, but regardless, even he had to admit that bringing a large horse along to complete a task requiring stealth would be less than intelligent, so he agreed to press on without him.
The two guards led the boy back to the outskirts of the city and a little ways into the desert. Just as the cheap desert survival guide Jack had purchased had said, they explained as carefully as they could with their limited knowledge of Iskald, most bandit groups had taken to placing their hideouts underneath the desert sands, both to avoid detection and to keep cool in the Motorean heat. As such, as they neared a small oasis, the guards quickly stopped Jack and gestured for him to keep quiet.
"This place," Kyro whispered, gesturing at the oasis. "They hide here...careful. Underground, but not blind."
Rivahn nodded in agreement. "Probably guarded. Entrance near water pool...remember, careful."
"Alright...I'll be careful," Jack whispered with a nod. His eyes narrowed slightly against the harsh sunlight as he examined the pool of water in question. Sure enough, it seemed as though a large quantity of sand close to it had been displaced, and he could just barely make out the outline of what looked like some sort of handle attached to a nearly-hidden door.
There… he thought. That's where the entrance is…
The young sprite turned back momentarily to face Kyro and Rivahn, giving a nod and a slight smile. "Thank you," he said softly. "I'll be back as soon as I can, with the children safe and the bandits in chains."
"Good," Kyro responded with a nod. He and Rivahn stayed crouched just out of sight at the edge of the oasis while Jack began to slowly creep forward.
I don't sense anyone else's presence… he thought idly as he carefully moved. It does not seem as though any of them are above ground currently...I'll only have to worry about being spotted once I get underground.
The boy reached the pool of water and crouched down, fingertips lightly brushing the sand from the now-visible wooden door covering what was no doubt a tunnel leading to the bandits' lair.
And either way...even if they spot me…
Jack carefully opened the door and slid into the tunnel, resealing the entrance behind him and plunging his world into darkness.
...they won't stand a chance against my magic.
We're getting to the point where things are picking up! See you guys next week (ideally) for Chapter 5!
'Til then, Sapphire316, out.