The city stretched endlessly in a tangled maze of stone and wood buildings, with towers rising above like silent sentinels bearing proud banners of the human kingdom—a shield with a crown. The smell of seawater and fish mixed with the stench of the canals and the aroma of food and incense.
There were people everywhere, and Glen held her roughly by the wrist, dragging her behind him. They passed the most diverse groups of people – jugglers, street musicians, children wearing colorful masks, and women with wreaths of wheat on their heads. In smaller and larger squares, fires burned in metal baskets, and couples with flushed faces danced to the rhythm of drums or sat by tables full of fruits and various pastries. People bumped into each other, laughed, shouted, called out to each other to make toasts, and poured intoxicatingly fragrant drinks from barrels.
The whirl of sounds and colors made Nita's head spin. The joy radiating from the groups of people was contagious, and for a moment, the girl felt an urge to break free from Glen and join their dance. But Glen held her tight, weaving through the streets of Rovisk with a swift stride. Her feet were filthy from walking the dusty stone streets, and her legs ached, stumbling over each other.
No one stopped them, no one paid them any attention. Who would notice a sailor leading a small child during the Autumn Equinox celebrations?
They had docked two nights ago, but Glen had forbidden her to leave the ship without any further explanation.
He brushed off her questions and simply told her there would be time to journey to the warlocks the day after tomorrow. So, Nita waited on the ship, her restless young mind filled with all sorts of imaginings. In her mind, the figures of the warlocks often resembled Rem, only they were taller, cloaked, and without the greenish skin.
She had pieced together Rem's vague stories of the Elder's magic and their grand residences into a vision of a large and beautiful temple, where people would patiently answer her questions just like Rem did. A place where she would feel welcomed and learn to use magic… She was so close to fulfilling her dream of magic! She, a mere human child, as she often heard. This was her chance to no longer be "just" human.
She had been planning to slip off the ship and find the way to the warlocks on her own without Glen. She thought that since she was born in Rovisk and had lived here as a child, it couldn’t be that hard to find way through city. But when she watched the bustling port, resembling a giant anthill, she quickly reconsidered her plan. In the end, she was glad she waited for Glen and didn’t leave the ship alone — she was lost and disappointed in the first streets they walked through. She had thought that once they arrived in Rovisk, the city would feel familiar to her. She even hoped a little to find something deep inside that would remind her of "home," some place among humans where she belonged. However, what she saw was entirely different from her memories, and Nita felt only loneliness — she was returning to her own people, yet she was a stranger. But then Glen led her into a crowd of celebrating people, and Nita's curiosity made her forget both her feelings of disappointment and her restless anticipation of the end of her journey.
Occasionally, they passed groups of soldiers who stood aside from the main festivities with serious expressions. Every time she saw them, it stung her heart – the sight of soldiers triggered vague memories of her father and the old refugee's stories about the war. But apart from the presence of soldiers, there was no indication that there was a war anywhere.
Humans wouldn't be celebrating like this if they were at war with the Elders, would they? she wondered. And suddenly, she realized that they hadn't encountered any of the Elders or seen any symbol of the circle during their entire walk.
Out of nowhere, Glen turned sharply into a narrow alley disappearing between two tall stone buildings. The alley was dark and narrow, the kind that would make most people take a detour. But Glen led her on, and the houses changed from open and well-kept to dark, silent buildings, and even the music and joyful shouts were fading away. Nita instinctively pulled her cloak tighter around her body. They reached one of the city’s canals, which collected sewage from all over the city. No one was rejoicing here. The sailor continued leading her upstream along the canal until a view of a small square opened before them.
The square was surrounded by old stone buildings, some with peeling walls and overgrown roofs. Nita felt that the air here was suddenly colder and heavier. A few people stood on the edges of the square, but unlike in the main quarters where joy and celebration reigned, the people here were quiet and kept to the shadows.
Glen led her to one of the buildings, from which an older man with a frowning face was just exiting.
"We’re here."
Nita looked up at the sign above the door, with nearly unreadable writing that said "Rat’s Nest" in the common tongue.
The building, with its walls of dark stone blocks and a low wooden roof, looked more like a half-collapsed warehouse. Three stone steps, worn smooth by generations of visitors, led inside.
Inside, Nita was greeted by dimness and the smoke of a smoldering hearth. The dull light coming in through the windows was muted, and combined with the flickering flames, it created deep shadows in the corners of the room. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of burnt wood, mustiness, and sourness.
It wasn’t the radiant temple of her childhood fantasy — judging by the few figures in hooded cloaks sitting around with tankards in hand, she realized she was in a tavern.
Right behind the entrance was a long bar where the innkeeper stood – probably the tallest person Nita had ever seen. He leaned his massive arms on the bar and observed the newcomers with a gaze that had something peculiar in it, but Nita couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Something in his pale eyes...
Glen tugged her further inside, and Nita nearly slipped on the straw that covered the floor. In the back of the room, among benches and tables covered in layers of grease, stood a few people and children. The children were of various ages, but Nita noticed that they were all younger than she was. Some were crouching, others were whimpering. One girl knelt on the floor, crying. The warlocks were indeed cloaked as she had imagined, but otherwise, they bore no resemblance to Rem at all. She frowned in disappointment. Nothing she saw – the apathetic and crying children, the figures indifferently standing around, the stench and filth of the tavern – resembled the joyful atmosphere she had expected.
"Are you here with a child?"
The voice was tinged with bored indifference, and Nita looked up at the young woman who had spoken. She quickly turned away – like the innkeeper, she also had something unsettling in her eyes.
Glen shoved Nita into the group of other children.
"She's a bit older and looks like a boy, but she's a clever girl. She should fetch a better price than the others."
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One of the warlocks chuckled. "You should be glad to get rid of her. The price is the same for all."
Glen grumbled something and reached out his hand. "I want her belongings," he nodded toward Nita as he took the money from the warlock.
A chill ran through Nita, and she looked at Glen, alarmed. Why does he want her things? Humans are cruel and greedy animals, Rem’s voice echoed in her head.
She clutched the strap of her travel bag tightly. It held all her possessions, her memories of life with Rem.
"Have it your way. Their things and clothes get burned anyway. We don’t want their lice."
Glen sneered and stepped toward Nita.
"No–" she shook her head and backed away. She bumped into the wall.
"Hand it over," he growled, reaching for her bag.
"No!"
She tried to kick him, but Glen was quicker. He swept her other leg out from under her, and Nita hit the floor hard, knocking the breath out of her. But she didn't let go of the strap of the bag.
"It’s mine!"
"Let go, you brat!" he shouted, trying to wrench the bag from her grip.
He gave a sharp pull, but Nita clung on with all her might. The bag opened, spilling its contents - her spare clothes, several pouches of herbs from Rem, her diary...
She let go of the bag and lunged for the diary like a wild animal. She clutched it tightly, desperate to protect it—it was the most important thing she had with her.
"Tsk," one of the warlocks hissed angrily. "We don't have time for this." Then he spoke a word in a foreign language that Nita didn't understand.
A flash of red light burst forth, and suddenly the girl felt sluggish and sleepy.Her hands went limp, and she dropped her diary.
In her head, she heard whispered words like a sweet melody, and she willingly succumbed to them. The other children also fell silent. The honeyed voice beckoned them, coaxing them to follow, and they willingly went after its lure.
As if in a dream, she noticed the innkeeper pulling back a heavy tapestry on the wall next to the bar, revealing a corridor leading into the depths below. They descended further and further down a winding path. Nita felt the air grow colder and heavier around her, and her feet ached from the cold, damp stone. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she still had no control over her mind or body - her feet obediently continued to move in rhythm with the soft footsteps of the other children.
The voice led them into an underground room with a low ceiling, lit by strange, reddish-glowing orbs. There was a wooden bench with piles of clothing of an indeterminate color.
Change, the voice commanded in Nita's head.
She obeyed thoughtlessly, shedding her beloved cloak and her old clothes and slipping into the coarse, plain attire. She could feel the rough fabric scratching against her skin, but she didn't care — the haze still clouded her mind.
After they changed, a few warlocks led them down another corridor with many branches, further and further, deeper into the underground labyrinth. They stopped in a dimly lit and narrow hallway with many drapes on the walls.
The fog in Nita's head suddenly lifted, and she began to fully feel her body freezing in the underground cold and her burning eyes. A wave of anger, disappointment, and disillusionment washed over her. She had just lost everything she had. But wasn’t this what she wanted? She felt ashamed of herself for the tears welling up in her eyes.
The warlocks, with cold, indifferent expressions, divided the children into smaller groups and led them to the curtained sections. Nita was led by a gray-haired man with a beard. He pulled back one of the drapes and pushed Nita to step into a small room. The word "room" might have been a generous description for the niche in the wall, which held only a narrow bed and a small table.
The space was illuminated by another of the reddish orbs, like those that lit the hallways and the entry room. Nita finally got a closer look at one of the orbs and, with a mix of surprise and mild fear, realized that the orb was looking back at her — fiery eyes stared out from within. The face inside the orb was certainly not human, grinning at her in a grotesque mockery.
"This-" the man gestured toward the glass orb on the small table, "-is now your source of light and warmth. It's an imp, the lowest of all demons. Make it serve you."
He turned to leave. Nita stared speechlessly at the glass orb, where a tiny face was grinning mockingly and sticking its tongue out at her.
"Tomorrow morning, you will start with basic training."
Nita tore her gaze away and looked at the man, but he had already disappeared behind the curtain in the hallway.
She sat down on the bed – it was made of roughly hewn, creaking boards and a straw mattress. The orb emitted warmth and light, which gradually dimmed as the imp inside slowly closed its eyes.
She realized that if it went out, she would spend the night in complete darkness and chilled to the bone. Her anger gave way to sheer hopelessness. She tried to speak to the orb, but the imp was slowly falling asleep and paid her no attention. In desperation, she began to threaten it, and eventually even begged, but the orb went completely dark, and Nita was plunged into pitch-black darkness. Stars danced before her eyes as she stared into the darkness where the reddish glow had just been. Her eyes filled with tears, and she chose to keep them tightly shut and curled up on the narrow bed in the stone alcove. She felt for the cold, damp blanket and tried to cover herself with it. The cold crept into her body from the walls, icy and relentless. She felt it seeping into her bones, and her whole body began to ache. She crossed her arms over her chest, shivering as her body tried to generate even a small amount of warmth for itself.
From the adjacent alcove, she heard a quiet sobbing. She didn’t want to listen; she was struggling not to cry herself. She tried to cover her ears, but the cold quickly forced her to put her hands back under the blanket.
She vaguely sensed that she should somehow comfort the crying child next to her, but she didn’t know how.
If only Rem were here... she thought. If he were here, he'd probably force me to drink something awful and laugh at me.
Another sob, louder this time. She took a deep breath and gripped the edge of the blanket with her fists as she tried to muster her courage. Then she got up from the bed and cautiously stepped out into the dark hallway.
Feeling her way, she found the curtain of the neighboring alcove and entered. The imp’s orb here was also no longer glowing.
"Don’t cry. It’ll only get worse," she whispered into the darkness.
The sobs quieted for a moment, and then a faint voice asked, "Aren’t you scared?"
Nita moved toward the voice and bumped into the bed. "I am. Can I come in?"
There was only a faint rustling in response. Nita took it as a yes and slipped onto the other girl’s bed, which creaked just like her own. "We’ll be warmer this way."
"What’s your name?"
"Nita. And yours?"
"Ellie."
Nita hugged her.
"Why are you here?" Ellie asked in a trembling voice.
"I want to learn magic."
The girl whimpered. "I don’t. I want to go home."
"Then why are you here?"
Ellie started crying again. "There were too many of us at home. We didn’t have enough to eat."
Nita regretted that she didn’t have any herbal tinctures or salves that could soothe Ellie. She wondered what to say to calm her. What if I say something wrong, and she starts crying even more? She wished once again that Rem was there with her. He could at least tell a story... A story!
"Would you like me to tell you a story?"
Nita sensed the other girl’s movement, which might have been a nod. She thought for a moment and then began to tell Ellie about her journey by ship to Rovisk. She described the ship and the voyage along the coast — but she decided to leave out any mention of the undine and the war. She wasn’t sure if she could confide such things to anyone at all.
Ellie’s breathing gradually calmed until it became a steady wheeze, and Nita realized the girl had fallen asleep. Her own eyelids were as heavy as stones. Her mind slowly drifted into a dream, and her last thought before falling asleep was that Ellie’s skin felt far too warm.
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