A/N: Hey everyone. I'm sorry for how long this chapter took to get updated! Between working on 'Apollo Gramarye,' work, and school, I've been swamped.
Good news is, here's another chapter!
Review Reply to Gordon: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for reading, and the encouragement!
Well, here we go!
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Chapter Four: Caneopa
Sneaking out of the professor's flat, and onto a train heading east, was a lot easier then it really should have been. That was about a week ago. My pen danced across the page in front of me as I wrote down everything I knew about the mystery before us. Eric, meanwhile, was dozing in the seat next to me, his head on my shoulder.
"Next stop – Caneopa!" the train conductor called as he walked through the hall outside our compartment. I smiled slightly at that, putting my notes away and gently shaking Eric awake.
"Wazzup?" he muttered, sitting up and blinking blearily.
"We're almost here," I said softly.
"Mphm…" he huffed, but sat up all the same. I smiled, watching him rub his eyes, before stretching, a wide yawn forcing his jaw wide open.
"Morning, sleeping beauty," I teased with a giggle. He huffed again, and I grinned, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. "Come on, you. Let's get out stuff together," I said. He nodded with a smile.
By the time we got all of our stuff repacked and ready, the train was slowing to a stop at an indoor station. We quickly dismounted and were immediately thrust into the hustle and bustle of a packed platform. Eric caught my hand before we could be separated, knowing my feelings about being left alone, especially in a strange place, and we immediately made our way to the exit. A gasp caught in both of our throats as we left the building.
Caneopa was beautiful. If circumstances had been better, I would have loved the chance to explore the city with Eric.
It was large and sprawling, full of tall, beautiful buildings mixed with shorter ones, set against a backdrop of mountains. The architecture of the buildings were works of spiraling, intricate art, and everywhere we looked shimmered with the color of pure silver.
It was also packed. Along the main road were booths and vendors, selling all kinds of goods from jewelry, to handmade crafts, to kid's toys, to food. People milled from booth to booth in a pulsating mass, though almost everyone seemed to be headed in the same direction, towards the center of town.
"What's going on?" I breathed.
"I don't know. Why don't we ask?" Eric suggested, and I nodded, moving forward with him.
"Excuse me," I said at one of the booths.
"Yes, Ma'am? Would you like one of our silver charm bracelets? I have the perfect one for you!" the woman said, diving for something at the other end of the table.
"Er, no. I was just… well, I just wanted to now what was going on," I explained, motioning to the crowd.
"What's…? Oh! You must mean the festival. Are you tourists?" she asked. Both Eric and I nodded, and the woman grinned.
"Well, this is the Silver Festival! You're in luck! The next one won't be for another ten years," the woman explained.
"Every ten years?" Eric asked, but I gasped softly.
"That's right!" I suddenly said, looking at the woman. "This is for the City of Silver, isn't it?" I asked.
"Correct!" the woman said, pointing at me. "After all, it's not in every city that a legendary city rests just beneath the surface of your lake," she said.
"The lake?" Eric asked. I nodded.
"That's right! And it's only accessible every ten years, so the legends say," I explained.
"Oh… that would explain it then," he said. I nodded in excitement.
"It really would!"
"But… and this is something we still don't know," Eric started slowly. "What is Hertz after? What's in the City of Silver?"
"Erm…" I hummed, cupping my chin.
"If someone is looking to steal something from the City of Silver, the only real thing of value is the Staff of Wisdom," an aged voice said from behind us. We turned to see an older woman, hunched forward and leaning heavily on a cane.
"The Staff of Wisdom?" Eric asked.
"Mmhmm…" she hummed. "It is said to grant the older immeasurable wisdom," she explained.
"So, first the Chalice of Youth, said to grant the drinker immortality, now the Staff of Wisdom," I said, quickly noting this down in my journal. I then looked up at Eric. "Sounds like the second key to the City of Gold."
"Yeah," he nodded, before looking up at the women. "You wouldn't have happened to see a tall, skinny woman with black hair and a tall, teenage guy with wild, red hair, have you?" he asked, talking about Hertz and Alfendi.
"I haven't. Friends of yours?" the merchant said.
"Something like that," I said solemnly.
"Well, I don't know about the woman, but would the guy have had newspapers in his pockets?" the older woman asked. I gasped.
"Yes! That's Alfendi!" I said.
"I saw him heading towards the center of town," she said. I grinned. I could have hugged this woman, but settled instead for grabbing Eric's hand.
"Thank you so much!" I said, dragging him along. I heard Eric chuckle softly behind me, but didn't glance back. Along the way, we asked again and again about the tall woman and red head, and each answer, if the person did see them, pointed us towards the center of the city.
"Whoa…" Eric breathed once we finally reached the center. It was a large courtyard, the road encircling a large, grassy area. In the center was a large lake, the water a perfect mirror of the sky above.
There was no sign of Hertz or Alfendi amongst the bustling people though.
A little girl suddenly ran up to us. "Hey, are you two the ones looking for a woman and a red head kid?" she asked.
"Yes, why?" I asked, crouching down to her height. She suddenly grabbed both of our hands and started dragging us down a side road.
"You have to come with me!" she said brightly. Eric and I glanced at each other, but allowed ourselves to be lead. The little girl took us to an inn that had a bright blue door.
"Welcome to the Blue Door Inn!" she said, letting us go and opening the door. "My Pappy owns it. And he has something for you!"
"Something for us…?" Eric asked.
"Mhm. Go talk to him!" she said, pointing towards a desk. I looked around and noticed movement from a curtain behind the desk.
"Ah… sir?" I called. A slightly eccentric, older man, looked out.
"Eh? Ruthy, is that you?" he called.
"Here, Pappy! I bought that boy's friends!" the little girl, Ruthy, called, skipping forward. "They were even asking about him! Don't they look like those two from the picture!?"
"Hrm… they do," the man mused, before motioning us closer. "The name's Burly."
"I'm Flora, and this is Eric. You know something about my brother? About Alfendi?" I asked. Alfendi might not have truly been my brother, but blood or legal means, but he was close enough. Burly hummed again, taking out a crumpled, newspaper clipping, and studying our faces, comparing it. I glanced at it, noticing it was the picture of Eric and me in Seacreast from ten years ago.
How old are the papers Alfendi carries around…? I wondered.
""Welp, good enough for me!" Burly said, barking out a laugh. "After all, anyone's better then no one."
"For what…?" I asked, unsure.
"Why, to save that little boy, after all!" the man said with a scoff. He reached under the desk and pulled out a blank envelope. "He left this hear. Said to give it to the two that matched the kids in this picture, or a gentlemanly fellow with kind eyes in a top hat. You're the first to show up," he said. I smiled warmly, taking the envelope.
"Thank you," I said. He nodded as I opened the envelope, only to find another blank piece of paper. I brushed my fingers over it, and sighed.
"Could I… use your kitchen?" I asked.
"Sure! Ruthy?" he said, looking at the young girl.
"Right!" she said brightly, leading us into the back.
After a few minutes later, a red, soaked paper sat before us, white words scrawled across it. I read it out loud.
"'Dive down deep,
And only death shall keep.
Instead to the west,
To the mountains, continued your quest.'"
"What does it mean?" Eric asked as I mulled over the words in my head. I finally sighed.
"It means anyone who tries to reach the City of Silver by the lake are doomed to fail – to drown," I explained. "Instead, our next step is the mountains."
…
A/N: Another chapter done! Hurrah!